The fall of Adam has us all in the shape we’re in, and it is the result of listening to the devil. The opening words of Satan to Eve were “yea, hath God said?” Right down to taking the bite, we can see the devil working the same way today. It’s easy to blame Adam and Eve, but we’re responsible for our own sins. Adam and Eve made a mistake, and sure sin came as a result. But we were born with a Savior present. We were born with a choice. They made the wrong choice. It’s all about choices. Who do we listen to? The devil’s method has been so successful; he uses the same one. It may be a different temptation, born by our weaknesses, but it will be done the same way. It will be the same for me; it will be the same for you. We’ve all fallen for it. We let the devil succeed. The devil has not changed his method because it works so well. We learn a lot about Satan in the Bible, and it’s there to teach us. Don’t blame Adam; when the fruit is brought to us let’s not take a bite.
Genesis 3: 1 “Now the serpent was more subtle 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? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”
Picture the garden in your mind. Look at these verses. Listen. Learn about yourself. The first thing that comes to my mind is the devil can’t make me do anything, but he can talk me into it……if I listen. He talked Eve into it; he didn’t force her. When we say “I can’t help it” we are not being truthful with ourselves. For example, saying gossiping is wrong, but “I just can’t help it” is the same as used on Eve. “Yea, had God said?” What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If we listen to the devil long enough, he’ll talk us into feeling and thinking things such as what God said is not wrong or maybe not what he really said.
The serpent was subtle; he was sneaky and subversive. In spirit form the devil entered the serpent. He was a beautiful reptile and at that time had legs and arms. There was no fear of animals by man or man by animals. There was complete harmony in the entire universe. Satan approached Eve in a harmless way. Paul said Satan can transform himself into an angel of light. He approaches us all in a “user friendly” way. His first step is presenting himself as something that won’t hurt us. That’s what he did to Eve.
Notice that Satan did mention the tree of good and evil. He was sneaky; slowly, patiently, and methodical he approached Eve. He knows a great deal about us, maybe more than we know about ourselves. We may deny our weakness, but the devil will come and say “yea, hath God said.” Satan tries to get us to focus on what we can’t have or concentrate on what we lost. They had the whole garden of trees and could eat of all but one. Quit looking at our “can’ts” and more at what we can.
The first thing he did was make Eve doubt what God said. He’ll say “God doesn’t mean what he said.” He tried to make it appear that doing it or not doing it is harmless. When Eve tried to explain it she began to stumble. This is the first step to a down hill road. Yes it’s true but not true. He means it, but He doesn’t mean it. Satan was trying to confuse Eve, and he’ll do the same to us. He confuses the simplicity of yes or no facts on what is sin and not.
Chapter2 verses 8 and 9 say “And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” Here is the creation of the garden. There are three distinctions in the trees. (1) Every tree that bears fruit can be eaten. Animals were not eaten at that time, and God provided protein by such things as nuts. (2) The tree of life brought perpetual life. They were healthy on and on. (3) The tree of knowledge of good and evil was not to be eaten. Verses 16-18 say “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 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.”
The prohibition was about one tree of the many in the garden. Eating it meant they would die. What about that statement? What is so bad about knowing good and evil? There is one explanation and only one—the day you eat it, you’ll die. Why is that the only thing God said about it? God knew they didn’t need to know good and evil. He wanted Adam and Eve to trust him. Remember this. God doesn’t have to explain himself. Don’t put God on trial. “Yea, hath God said?” It’s all a matter of trusting God.
Study chapter 3 for next week. Adam and Eve had time to think about what God said. Along comes the devil in his sneaky way, the one that had a most devastating effect. We must seek to understand what God says- not what we think.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 