What about the Tree?

What was the purpose of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? We used to live near a very busy road and we have small children. My wife and I would often say as they went outside, "Don't play near the road." Because we love our children and want what is best for them, we gave them this command. But we also want our children to honor us and trust that what we say is good for them really is good and that what we say is harmful or evil for them really is evil and harmful. 

They will only come to an agreement and approval of our word through experience. When they play outside and avoid going near the road, they are affirming that what mom and dad say is good for them is truly good for them. When they agree by experience that what we say is evil for them really is evil by staying away from the road, they show that they trust and love us by obeying what we say.

We could put a fence in front of the road. But then they would never be able to come to an experiential knowledge of what is good or evil for them according to our word.

God's purpose with the tree was very similar. God had already given the man an abundance of food from which he may choose to eat (Gn. 2:16). So the tree was not intended for food neither was its fruit poisonous or deadly. The tree of the knowing of good and evil was there so that Adam and Eve might gain an experiential love for that which God called good and hatred for that which God called evil. 

But this would only happen as Adam and Eve walked past the tree and actively honored God's command not to eat from it. In doing so, they would show love for God and trust in him who only had their best interests in mind. By obeying, they would be confirmed in God's image and properly trained for partnering with him to take care of his world and one another. But if they rejected God's word and disobeyed him, showing both a lack of trust in and love for God, he warned them that they would surely die.

For discussion: List some ways in which the tree of the knowing of good and evil is similar to the 10 Commandments. Are there any connections we can make between the tree and the cross?