The Tree of Life

Call to Prayer

Title: The Tree of Life

By: Daniel Peter

Date: 04.06.2024

The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:9 NIV

The scripture was written in such a way that each verse has layers of meaning. The use of allegories by God leaves room for multiple interpretations of the same texts. As we seek to understand beyond the literal, we prove ourselves as kings, for it’s our honour to search out a matter, that which God had concealed in His glory (Prov. 25:2).

The Bible tells the story of Adam and Eve being placed in the Garden of Eden. This Garden had multiple trees, though Just the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were specifically mentioned. According to scriptures, when one partakes of the fruits of these trees, it will give you certain qualities of God: for the tree of life, you will have eternal life. While for the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, you will have wisdom. Though not mentioned, other trees in the garden also impart certain qualities of God when one partakes of them.

The very fact that these trees impart certain attributes of God suggests that they were not literal trees, for no tree on earth imparts the attributes of God when we eat their fruits. So those trees were symbolic and not literal. To discern what those trees were, let’s consider the healing of the blind man in Mark 8. The Bible mentions that after Jesus Christ spat on the ground and made clay, which he placed on the eyes of the man, He asked him if he could see. The Bible recorded: “And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking (Mark 8:28). This speaks of the first level of spiritual sight, where things are shown as symbols instead of literal. From this healing, we understand that men can be represented as trees.

Furthermore, Proverbs 18:20 states: “A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth…”, which indicates that our words can be said to be fruit. So, we see a man can be symbolised as a tree and his words, fruit. With these, let’s reimagine what was said of Eden. Is it possible that those trees represented people? Yes, it does. Now, what would one say that would give eternal life? it is the Gospel. For when we hear and believe the Gospel, we receive eternal life. So the Tree of Life represents a preacher of the Gospel.

The knowledge of salvation has been since creation, for the lamb was slain before the foundations of the world (Rev 13:8). After the fall of man, the way to it was concealed for a while, until the coming of Jesus Christ. When we preach the gospel, we become a tree of life to those who hear us.

Prayer Point
Let’s thank the Lord for His word today. Let’s ask Him for grace to preach His word boldly and accurately.