In the Garden of Eden, there are two particular trees: one is the Tree of Life, which, as we read in Scripture, turns out to be God himself. He is life. The other is the Tree of Knowing Good and Evil, which, as we also read in Scripture, turns out to be us, thinking we can be god by deciding for ourselves what is good and evil.
In 2 Chronicles 28, we learn about King Ahaz. If Ahaz were in the Garden of Eden, he would be eating of the Tree of Knowing Good and Evil. Ahaz relies on his own wisdom to decide what is good for him and the kingdom of Judah. So, in order to keep the surrounding nations from invading, he closes the Temple and directs Judah to worship their gods instead of the Lord. He even institutes child sacrifice to Baal, a popular god in the other nations.
None of this seems to do him any good. The surrounding nations attack Judah anyway, despite Ahaz’s prayers and sacrifices to their gods. Ahaz even appeals to the Assyrian empire for help. He offers to make Judah a part of their empire since Judah is already worshiping their gods. But instead, Assyria attacks Judah. Still relying on his own wisdom, Ahaz tries to appease the Assyrians by offering them valuable items from the Temple, the palace, and the homes of his officials, but the Assyrians invade nonetheless. Apparently, Ahaz’s wisdom is not working out too well for him.
In Proverbs 3:5-6, God gives us a promise.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
God is inviting us to trust in him instead of ourselves. As we rely on him, he promises to be with us, sharing his wisdom and his love. And God keeps his promises!
Questions for reflection:
- Think of a time in your life when your own solutions made things worse rather than better. What did you learn from that situation? What did you learn about yourself?
- What would it look like to “trust in the Lord with all your heart” instead of your own way of thinking? Is there any situation you can think of where you could give this a try?
- Who do you know who could help you build trust in your relationship with God? What kind of conversation might be helpful to you?