Regarding Genesis 3:22-24

[Inkfingers]

“Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”

Am I the only one who reads that and sees a possible interpretation of the eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil as being the necessary prerequisite for getting access to the tree of life?

So you cannot get to eat from the tree of life unless you first eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

 

[Strong in Him]

Genesis 3:22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

In Genesis 3:22, God seems to express concern at the possibility that Adam could potentially eat from the fruit of the tree of life as he did from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, an act which would make Adam immortal. Right after this in verse 23 it's written: "therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden..." The usage of the word 'therefore' in this context seems to suggest that not only was it possible that Adam could have eaten the fruit from the tree of life, but that it was at least somewhat because of that concern that God cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden. Is the text saying that there could have been a different outcome where Adam did eat from the tree of life? Could Adam have not eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Am I reading this correctly or is there something I'm misunderstanding about the text? Any and all relevant insights or discussions would be appreciated.

When Adam disobeyed God and ate the fruit of the tree, he sinned and became separated from God.
If he had then eaten from the tree of life, he would have lived forever as a sinner, and permanently separated from God.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Am I the only one who reads that and sees a possible interpretation of the eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil as being the necessary prerequisite for getting access to the tree of life?

So you cannot get to eat from the tree of life unless you first eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

It's all about redemption and eternal life, really.

 

[Noscentia]

When Adam disobeyed God and ate the fruit of the tree, he sinned and became separated from God.
If he had then eaten from the tree of life, he would have lived forever as a sinner, and permanently separated from God.

Do you have any opinion on the questions I presented? I clarified them a bit in this post here.

 

[Bible2+]

ewq1938 said in post #16:

No, but he didn't literally die so that death was non-literal.

It was literal.

For Genesis 2:17b meant that eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would make Adam mortal that same day. That is, from that day forward, he would surely die, eventually. Also, even though Adam lived almost 1,000 years (Genesis 5:5), to God even 1,000 years are like one day (2 Peter 3:8).

Adam was not mortal until he sinned:

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin . . .

 

[ewq1938]

It was literal.

No it wasn't because he lived hundreds of years after this death he suffered the day he sinned.

 

[Strong in Him]

Do you have any opinion on the questions I presented?

In Genesis 3:22, God seems to express concern at the possibility that Adam could potentially eat from the fruit of the tree of life as he did from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, an act which would make Adam immortal. Right after this in verse 23 it's written: "therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden..." The usage of the word 'therefore' in this context seems to suggest that not only was it possible that Adam could have eaten the fruit from the tree of life, but that it was at least somewhat because of that concern that God cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden. Is the text saying that there could have been a different outcome where Adam did eat from the tree of life? Could Adam have not eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Am I reading this correctly or is there something I'm misunderstanding about the text? Any and all relevant insights or discussions would be appreciated.

Yes Adam could have refrained from eating from the tree of good and evil; if he had obeyed God. He was not programmed to obey, like a robot or puppet, and God did not make, or need, him to disobey.
If God had not driven Adam from the garden, he could have eaten from the tree of life. Then, as I said, he would have lived forever as a sinner.