Stuffing

Tree of life

3 days ago, I decided to start reading the Bible from the beginning, about a chapter or so a day because it's been quite a while since I read the whole shebang from start to end. I think the last time was 1994!
anyway, after reading the first 3 chapters of Genesis, what stuck in my head was the tree of life.

In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:9

The second tree gets a lot of air time because that's the one that they weren't allowed to eat from. But they were allowed to eat from the tree of life.

22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side [a] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3

This is where I paused last night - could Adam have eaten the tree of life and did not???? I guess Adam and Eve missed it! Ack. Or was it that God did not want Adam to live forever in his fallen state? (that he had eaten of the tree of life when all was good, but the living forever was revoked when he disobeyed and entered a fallen state)

And then he puts a guard up so that Adam and Eve can't get back to that tree of life. But Adam and Eve didn't seem all that savvy to necessitate a 'flaming sword'. You would think a stick across the entrance would work just as well!

In proverbs the writer talks about the tree of life as wisdom, fruit of the righteous and a healing toungue. But the tree doesn't get mentioned again until Revelation

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.(Rev 2:7)

Well, at least we know the tree hasn't moved, but God has- now he's willing to let people eat from the tree of life (because of the redemption that Jesus got for us?) But then in Rev 22 it has a glorious but puzzling picture:

1Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

I'm not sure about the math in this. If it is 'the' tree of life how can it be on each side of the river. A bit puzzling, but maybe it is just the translation of participles. In any event the tree of life seems to figure prominently in the vision. Is it of heaven? It certainly is a beautiful healing picture. I think there are a lot of nations and peoples that need the leaves of the tree of life!

posted by Aphra @ 2/12/2008 01:10:00 PM