In | The Two Ways, Part 2

The Bible’s “two ways tradition” goes back to the opening chapters of Genesis. When Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden, they were faced with two ways, one of life and one of death, represented by two trees that are singled out in the story—the “tree of life” and the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden (including the Tree of Life) you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” 
Genesis 2:16-17 (NASB)

But long after Adam and Eve have chosen death by eating from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” God still offers life in the context of a covenant relationship. This is made explicit in Deuteronomy, where God promises restoration to the Israelites:

See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply …. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish.
Deuteronomy 30:15-18 (NASB)

We’ll hear a later reference to this passage, when the prophet Jeremiah is prompted by God to remind the people:

You shall also say to this people, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.’” 
Jeremiah 21:8 (NASB)