EHP Day 7-Checking With God When Tempted
Genesis 3:4-6
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So 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 to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Numbed by the modern swirl of untruths whipping through our minds on any given day—the endless onslaught—it may be we are wholly desensitized to recognizing when someone calls God Himself a liar. “God has held out on you, Eve,” the serpent presses. “He has not let you in on the entire story. Violating His prohibition has nothing to do with your demise. Disobedience will hardly end in death. It has everything to do with God wanting no rivals on insider knowledge and experience. He simply wants to ‘keep you in your place.’ C’mon girl… you’re better than merely taking God’s words at face value!”
Genesis’ account of Satan’s ruse darkens, dimmed by two silences. First, Adam’s silence. The leader is speechless, quiet, retiring. Standing next to Eve (note: “who was with her”) Adam fails to correct or protect. Personally given God’s Word, he retires from applying God’s Word. Second, Eve’s silence. Why not ask Adam, “Should we do this?” Why not caution, “Let’s ask God when He visits later today.” All that echoes in the void is the serpent’s offer to become like God by violating God’s revelation.
Suddenly, Eve leans, fascinated with the forbidden tree’s alleged assets: good food, delightful fruit, instant insight. Sin is slippery quick; momentum in disobedience draws another in. “She ate… he ate.” Quietly, tragically, death quickly strides through the opened door.
Journal Notes