Scripture:

“The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?’

 

‘Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,’ the woman replied. ‘It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’’
‘You won’t die!’ the serpent replied to the woman. ‘God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.’
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her.” Genesis 3:1-6a (NLT)
Perspective:

The serpent came to Eve with a broad generalization to tempt her. He knew that God had designated a tree to not eat from in the middle of the garden. However, he appealed to the logic that God was hiding and restricting everything from Adam and Eve. Eve’s response showed that she knew what God said, but it wasn’t enough to side step the temptation of knowing everything. The serpent came back with an appeal. If the first question was an exaggeration, this second question would be an understatement. Surely, God’s way wasn’t the best way. When Eve had this seed planted into her heart, she began to rationalize her earlier resolve and decided to take matters into her own hands.

 

Eve wanted to know everything more than she wanted to trust God. This first sin isn’t too far from what we experience. The enemy’s tactics to destroy us have not changed that much since the Garden of Eden. We want to know, so instead of trusting God, we rationalize that it would be better if we go our own way. Furthermore, have you ever thought God was restricting you from something? When we follow our own way based on our own knowledge, then it is possible that we are not seeing everything there is to see. Eve fell for the line that she would know everything, but she didn’t realize what that actually meant. When we allow doubt to creep into our hearts that God doesn’t want to do good for us, then we become subject to this same temptation. God was protecting Adam and Eve from the pain and shame they experienced from sin. God also reaches out to us by inviting us to follow His way. Disregarding His plan places us in a vulnerable place where we rely on the limitations of what we know. Don’t fall for the lie that God doesn’t want to do good for you or that He is hiding and restricting everything from you. It’s simply not true. When we replace doubt with faith, we can see the lies of the enemy as what they are – lies. Then, the truth of God’s character can bring freedom from the need to control our own lives, because we have placed that control in the hands of the One who laid down His life for us. If Jesus would lay down His life to remedy the first sin in the Garden of Eden, we don’t have to question whether or not He would do good for us.

 

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. 

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About Hona Amer

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