4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “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.” 6 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. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
Genesis 3:4-7 NLT
Each time I read the Bible from beginning to end, I am reminded that it is the Living Word. When I read in expectation, God uses His word to show new revelations for navigating the world as His child.
The story of Adam and Eve’s temptation and sin is one of the first stories we encounter in the book of Genesis after the creation story. In Genesis 3, Eve is found being questioned by a serpent. Their exchange leads Eve and Adam to eat fruit from the forbidden tree. Four points stood out to me about how the enemy can get us to fall into sinful situations.
Lying is a tactic of the enemy(v.4). Jesus taught us in John 8:44, that the devil was a murderer from the beginning. It is in this same verse that Jesus tells us that the devil is the father of lies. To lie is the enemy’s nature. In our everyday lives, we can be surrounded by falsehoods, half-truths, and lies. Our flesh can get compelled to be dishonest too. But in order to win against sin, we need Jesus and we need His truth. That is how we defeat the enemy. We pray and speak God’s truth over ourselves and others. We turn away from lying and seek the truth in all we do.
Listening to the lies of the enemy can cause us to fall down a slippery slope of sin (v.6). Why? Because the lies get embedded into our soul and cause us to act in ways that are counter to the image of God. If you are constantly told by the world that you are worthless, then the concept of someone giving their life for you would feel unbelievable. And even though your feelings are valid, God’s word is true. God’s grace has covered us through His son, Jesus Christ. We no longer have to live with the lies of the enemy being whispered in our ears by the world and echoing through our souls. We can choose to root ourselves in the truth of God’s word and His character.
Doing things in our own strength will often leave us in situations where we end up crying out to God for help(v.6). Eve listened to the lies of the serpent instead of the truth of God. What she didn’t realize was that the death they would experience wasn’t physical, it was spiritual. The consequences of her actions were irreversible in her own strength. Without God’s grace, Adam and Eve were destined for eternal death. Yet, our God is good and holy. God’s grace has covered us through sacrificing His son, Jesus. Let me remind you that God wants the best for his children. When we ask for things that are within His will, we can be confident that they will happen (Romans 8:28). The key is to wait for the Lord and stop trying to make things happen in our own strength.
Adam shows that being complicit with the sins of others can cause our downfall too (v.6). Adam wasn’t directly tempted by the serpent, but he was there. As the head of the family, he was well aware of God’s commands and was in the position to cover his wife’s weakness. Instead, he joined in on the act of eating from the forbidden fruit. When we see others doing wrong, we have a chance to be bold and infuse the situation with God’s truth. Ultimately, they have free will to choose what they want to do, but we don’t have to join in. We can continue to stand firm in God’s truth and walk away if necessary.
Lying, listening to the lies of the enemy, doing things in our own strength, and being complicit were my takeaways from this passage of scripture. And yours may be completely different. That’s the beauty of God’s Word. It is a discerner of hearts, it encourages the soul, and it convicts and corrects. I would love to hear your impressions about this passage of scripture below!
This year, we are doing 365 Days in the Bible to stretch ourselves to meet with God each and every day. By dwelling in His Word, we find eternal truths, our identity, and our purpose. We invite you to join in with us, you can start at the beginning or jump in where we are. If you have another plan that you’d like to read, that’s fine. The goal is to be in the word each day. We know that we will be forever changed by reading God’s word.
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