You seemed to be starting out to teach me something about the genealogy, if that's what's on your heart, have at it.
No. . .I was just establishing the credit-worthiness of an account of a talking snake and two magic trees.
So if folks are losing their way (I did not think you believed that could happen) God wants to reason with them but if we are faithful He doesn't? I believe in context but isn't that twisting it a bit?
I see it in the context of changing one's mind about God (from unfaithfulness to faithfulness), which mind of those seeking God is already changed. I don't see God as "reasoning" with the faithful. I see him as "revealing" to the faithful, who willingly receive, and do not have to be "reasoned" with. It's all a matter of distinction, not a matter of dispute, though often times distinctions
do matter.
What we eat physically is what gives us physical life, that and air, right? What we eat Spiritually is what gives us Spiritual life, right? You remember Jesus saying unless we eat this bread and drink this fruit of the vine which is His body and blood we will have no life in us.
Could the tree of life be metaphorical/figurative for Christ?
Actually, what we eat physically
sustains the physical life we already have, as distinct from
giving it to us.
What we eat spiritually
sustains the spiritual life we already have, as distinct from
giving it to us.
You analogize the Lord's Supper to the tree of life, that Supper in orthodox Christianity being a sacrament. That fits well in my description of the tree of life as a
means of grace.
The Lord's Supper does not
give us eternal life, rather we receive therein (take into ourselves) the
benefits of Jesus' death on the cross--
sustaining eternal life, transforming us from glory to glory (
2 Corinthians 3:18), as he likewise sustains/transforms us in feeding on the Word of God, in prayer, and in obedience.
So the tree of life sustained Adam's spritual life, it did not give it to him,
God gave it to him.
So the tree would be metaphorical/figurative of anything which sustains our spiritual life, not metaphorical/figurative of the life itself.
Which brings us to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. What gives us the knowledge of good and evil? The Law of course, in Adam and Eve's case, thou shall not. In our case if we think we can live by the law we find that we are dead as did they. So do you think the tree of the knowledge of good an evil may be metaphorical/figurative for the law?
If you are with me so far,
Well. . .two things:
1)
Regarding the Law. . .you're confounding two things as
law here: God's
command to Adam, and the
tree itself.
The tree was
not the law itself, only God's
command regarding the tree was the law.
The tree was the
object of the law, as say, my neighbor is the object of the law of love, but my neighbor is not the law itself.
God giving a righteous and just command in accordance with his nature (re: tree of knowledge), which if completely
obeyed by Adam would bring
death (as did the Mosaic law), is an oxymoron, a contradiction of terms (obedience = death).
God giving a righteous and just command in acordance with his nature, which Israel could not obey perfectly because of their fallen nature, is Biblical and just.
So no analogy here between the tree (object of the law) and the (Mosaic) law itself.
2)
Regarding the tree: Israel was dead by the law because they could
not obey it
perfectly, not dead by the law simply because it was
law. Israel was dead because of their
sin nature, which even
in obedience, was still guilty of minor
infraction. But Adam had the
ability to
obey God's law (command) perfectly--no infraction, therefore, obedience to the law of the Garden would
not have been a curse of death to him, as fallen/imperfect obedience to the law of Moses was necessarily a curse of death to Israel (
Galatians 3:10), both due to their
natures, not the
law.
So no analogy here between the law of the Garden and the law of Moses as causes of death, because the cause of death in both cases was their different natures, not the law, whereby the perfect obedience of Adam would prevent death, and the necessarily imperfect obedience of Israel would cause death.
So I guess that means I'm not with you here. . .
I will attempt to explain what I think the snake is metaphorical/figurative of. If not there is no point.
I'd still be curious to know. . .
Note. I do not believe most of the subjects people debate are important to our salvation but they are sometimes interesting and like the blind hog under the acorn tree, once in a while we find an acorn : )
Agreed. . .and still curious.