(Genesis 3:1-6) Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
From everything I've heard, and from everything I've read in the Bible, we know that somehow Satan entered or manipulated the serpent to talk. The question I've always had is - how did Eve not think this was strange??? But then again, there have been many people who have been convinced their pets are able to communicate to them, so... we can only needlessly speculate on this point.
What we do see is that Satan states one truth, to start the conversation and raise a question. But obviously, Eve has forgotten exactly what God HAS said, because she adds to the commandment. God only told them not to eat from it, He never told them not to touch it. How religious of her.
I'm thinking that - if Eve truly had trusted and believed in God, she would have cherished His words, and she would have understood that God means what He says. She would have also understood that God loves and protects us. She would have not just focused on the "DO NOT", but she would have known that they were ALREADY "like God". And so she would have focused on the positives, like: they already had wisdom and intellect; they already had a close relationship with each other and with God...
Obviously, she just didn't see how good they had it. She felt like God was withholding something from them. MAYBE she felt like something was missing - because - she didn't yet believe IN God??? Her soul then would have still been empty. Just a thought. Perhaps like Satan, she too wanted "to be like God" - to be God - and try to be in control.
The only thing they were missing out on was knowing what sin was. And who wants that??? But because Eve wasn't exactly sure what God had said, or why He had said what He did, she was vulnerable. Eve was not only tempted, but she fell into the temptation and chose to disobey.
Then Eve somehow got Adam to eat the fruit. Kind of like, if I'm going to sin, I don't want to be alone in this. "Misery loves company." But I'm sure Adam knew exactly what this fruit looked like, and he still chose to eat it. We know that God spoke the commandment directly to Adam. But obviously, God's words weren't his focus - at that moment anyway.
Now, even as a Christian, how much do I cherish and trust in God's words? How much do I try to keep them in mind as I go through "life"? And even though I've always had the habit of attending church, I must confess that several years ago, I was not the most faithful in having a daily devotion. But once I got into that habit, I definitely saw a change in myself and in my walk with God.
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