Genesis 2:16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—
17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” (New Living Translation)
God gave Adam responsibility for the garden and told him not to eat from the Tree of Conscience. Rather than physically preventing him from eating, God gave Adam a choice, even though Adam may choose wrongly. God still gives us choices today, and we, too, often choose wrongly. These wrong choices may cause us pain and irritation, but they can help us learn and grow and make better choices in the future.
Living with the consequences of our choices is one of the best ways to become more responsible.
Why would God place a tree in the garden and then forbid Adam to eat from it?
God wanted Adam to obey, but He gave him the freedom to choose. Without choice, Adam would have been a prisoner forced to obey.
The two trees presented an exercise in choice, with rewards for choosing to obey or consequences for choosing to disobey.
(Unless otherwise stated, parts of this series of studies on Obedience have been taken from The Living Life Application Bible by Tyndale)
sharin His love 