Sometimes it is difficult to understand the word of God and whenever that happens it is a clear sign to us that our spirit is not ready or not mature enough to receive such teachings. In the book of Genesis we find a very strange interaction between Man and God involving a serpent and two trees. I had so much difficulty with this that I even doubted God and questioned his perspective for a long time, but I believe I have a better understanding now and I'll try to present it here as my opinion.
Gen 2:17 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
God forbids Adam to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, warning him he would die.
Gen 3:1, 4-5 "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?... And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."
The serpent claims they will not die but become as gods.
Gen 3:22-24 "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."
God confirms what the serpent claimed, that man has become like god - knowing good and evil, but instead of granting him access to the tree of life (making him fully godlike), God blocks him from it - condemning him to death.
At first glance it appears that the serpent is telling the truth as indeed Adam and his wife don't die and they do become as gods - knowing good and evil. Why did God forbid access to the tree of life? Why didn't God reveal the full truth to Adam - that the tree of knowledge will make him wise like God?
I think God anticipated that the knowledge of good and evil presented a great and terrible risk of man becoming irredeemably evil. God probably had in mind an alternative approach to education but it seems the serpent ruined it. So, when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree they became good and evil. But what is wrong with that if God himself possesses those very same qualities? The difference is that God has a different perspective on both concepts and that is revealed with God protecting (the tree of) life. In Isaiah 11:9 we read "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." This knowledge of the Lord is knowledge of life as the Lord is not the God of the dead but of the living. God didn't forbid access to the tree of life up until the point that Adam accepted death from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It is my opinion that the tree of life is simply a physical representation of the knowledge of God. God and his holy spirit give life to every living thing on earth and yet mankind asks "What is the purpose of life?" it is like a toothless man asking "What is the purpose of a toothbrush?" if we are dead in spirit just as we die in our body that question will always remain unanswered.
Is God evil? Throughout the bible we see God destroying entire armies, cities, nations and even wipes away almost every living thing by a flood. Many non-believers dig up these passages and try to portray God as an extremely malevolent being intent on destroying mankind. But why didn't he start with Adam if that were the case? The problem that arose in the pre-flood world was that mankind advanced too quickly with technology due to its longevity. Every man and woman down to Noah's generation lived up to a thousand years of age. One or two generations after Adam and mankind achieved the technology that we possess right now. In Genesis 6 we see all flesh had been corrupted, I assume it is by genetic manipulation since there we also find the first reference to giants. So, when you consider that mutated animals and "humans" are everywhere, and mankind is constantly inventing new ways to control or destroy all life on earth it only becomes necessary to wipe everything and start from scratch. Later in Exodus, Judges and Kings we find God ordering the destruction of certain tribes/nations - it is probably because tribes like Anakim settled in ruins of pre-flood peoples and reverse-engineered some of that tech to create new breeds of giants.
Imagine a poisonous plant spreading its roots and destroying everything around it, even killing animals that eat in the area. Would it be good to water it and help it spread further, to the ends of the earth or cut it down, rip out its very roots, burn it to cinders and dig the ground where it grew so it never reappears again? And if an unintelligent plant can cause so much death and destruction around it how much more evil can a human with supernatural power or advanced technology cause?
The tree of knowledge of good and evil gives each of us a perspective, a horizon - a choice of tools and methods we can use to achieve our goals, most of the time benefiting our own lives, our own desires but God looks at the whole earth, at nations and cities and families and he wants us to give life to everyone. He wants the individual to work for his family, family to work for their neighbors, neighbors to work for their city, cities for the nation and nations for the whole world. In the end we as individuals should give life to the world, but mostly we strive to take it for ourselves and whenever we take those "others" pay for it with their own lives. We all have knowledge of good and evil but that doesn't mean we know how to use it. The knowledge we have is instrumental - we have good and evil as tools at our disposal but we don't know where to use one or the other. God always chooses life even when he does evil - he kills a man if that man is a killer and known for certain he will kill again. He destroys a city if that city destroys both its own people and its neighbors. Evil and good are meaningless concepts if you don't take life as a guiding principle.
Our world is lacking in knowledge of God - it doesn't have the realization or the insight that life needs protecting and support and care. Those who have knowledge of God actually try to keep with this principle - to further the cause of life, to fight for life. But all of us eventually end up in an awkward position - our very own family, neighbors or nation rejects and hates us because we choose life over death, knowledge of God over our own interest or the selfish interests of the world. In a world plagued with war and destruction we would seek peace and love, in a world of deception and death we would seek truth and life. With the knowledge of God we have the tree of life and we become gods, children of God. Without the knowledge of God we are nothing but demons thirsting for life to devour forever.
Adam and Eve were created to be eternal beings. When they sinned they started aging although they still lived for centuries. So God was telling the truth by saving, "The day that you eat it you shall surely die." What was sure is that they would die. God wasn't saying that they would die that day.
No, God isn't evil. God is free to do whatever he wants with his creation. God has the right to have different rules for mankind than he does for himself.
God wasn't surprised by what Adam and Eve did. God is never surprised. God had taken into account when they would do.