Why would God place in the garden a tree from which Adam and Eve were not to eat?

Because God desires a loving relationship with man, and true love is built on choice. Therefore, in placing the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden, it was as if God said to mankind, “If you want to kill our relationship, if you want to turn your back on Me, I must provide this opportunity. All you have to do, Adam, to end our relationship is to eat from that tree.”

The Lord is so good because He made it as scary as possible. He said, “If you eat from that tree, it’s going to kill you.” What else could the Father have done? He provided a choice, but He also made the right choice obvious.

Notice God did not say, “If you eat of that tree, I’m going to kill you.” He said, “If you eat of the tree, it will kill you.” Perhaps there was something carcinogenic in the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, something that would cause men to begin to die. For many years, I thought that if I did something wrong, God would track me down. No, the Bible says, “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). It is sin that tracks us down; it is our sin that wipes us out. Wise is the man and of utmost intelligence is the woman who stays as far away from sin as possible, and instead draws ever nearer to the side of the One who gives life.