BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

The story of the Bible begins under two trees in Eden’s unique garden. The tree of life offers humanity an opportunity to trust God’s definition of good and bad. This trust would lead to Yahweh’s generous gift of ongoing life.

The tree of the knowledge of good and bad offers human beings the choice to define good and evil on their own terms. When we choose our own definition of good and bad over God’s, we reject God’s gift of life. The Satan, a deceiver, tells the humans this won’t be a problem. However, God guarantees that rejecting his life leads to one outcome—”dying, you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17).

When humans eat from the tree of knowing good and bad, God exiles them from Eden. As you’ll learn in today’s video, trees, along with other woody plants described by the Hebrew word ‘ets, continue to represent Eden-like places outside the garden. Trees represent places of blessing, abundance, and intimacy with God.

So when the authors write about the Israelites’ “affairs” with idols under the land’s trees, they’re creating a hyperlink to the Earth’s original trees in Eden. Israel’s behavior is like an extra-strong slap in the face for Yahweh. His people are cheating on him, doing what’s right in their own eyes, and therefore, dying. They do this in the very places they’re supposed to be doing what’s right in God’s eyes and living.

Every time the Israelites build an altar to Ba’al under a cedar’s branches or carve an Asherah pole from the gnarled trunk of an olive tree, they repeat humanity’s first failure in the first garden. They snub Yahweh’s gracious offer to receive true life. Instead, they attempt to take life from a tree that surely leads to death.

Like Adam and Eve, who did not have the power to survive in themselves, the Israelites are now powerless to stop the waves of violence, drought, famine, and disease that will soon wash out the Southern Kingdom, leaving desolation in its wake.

Yahweh does not stop Adam and Eve from making the poor choice. He allows them to experience the natural results. Similarly, Yahweh allows Israel to continue chasing other gods. He allows the natural consequences to unfold. They’re going to lose their life in the promised land and end up in Babylonian chains.

Reflection Questions

• Jeremiah 15:4 mentions the southern king, Manasseh. Take a moment to review the story of Manasseh’s gnarly reign in 2 Kings 21. How does this history shape your understanding of Yahweh’s accusations against the Southern Kingdom in today’s reading?
• Compare Jeremiah 17:5-8 to Psalm 1. According to these two passages, what does a person need to do to become like a flourishing, well-watered tree?