Genesis - 9
The Beginning of Temptation
We are continuing our discovery of the beginning of things as recorded in the fist book of the Bible - Genesis. This time I am going to consider “The Beginning of Temptation”.
Whoever you may think your worst enemy to be, we learn from Genesis chapter 3 that our greatest enemy is a very real being called Satan, or the devil. The Bible tells us that he is a fallen angel who rebelled against God, and who because of his pride was long ago cast out of God’s presence. It is in this chapter that we read of the beginning of temptation, and it is Satan who is involved. We read of a serpent who tempted Eve to disobey God by eating of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve then involved Adam and so by that one act of disobedience sin entered the human heart.
Now it may seem strange to you that Genesis describes the first temptation as coming through a serpent, but the last book of the Bible, The Revelation, speaks in chapter 12 verse 9 of “that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.” The serpent is described as “crafty” in Genesis 3 verse 1. This means that it was cunning, sly and tricky, the very characteristics of Satan himself. In some way Satan used the serpent and spoke through it to gain access into the mind of Eve first of all.
Now we need to remember that Satan, as a rebel against God, was in opposition to everything to do with God, including His creation. He was determined to come between man and his Maker, dragging Adam into rebellion and into the punishment for which Satan and his followers are destined. It is a great mystery why God chose to allow such things to happen. It is beyond our limited human understanding. We must not question the infinite wisdom of God in all this, but we can be sure that his ultimate purpose is for good.
We need to remind ourselves that before the events recorded in Genesis chapter 3 took place, our first parents were completely innocent. They were created by God as perfect beings not knowing anything evil. They were created with a totally free will. They could choose to obey or not to obey God’s command that they must not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Such was their state when Satan approached the woman with the first temptation to face mankind. Their innocence and freedom was lost when both the woman and the man chose to disobey God, and so they fell into sin.
It was to Eve that our great enemy directed his subtle words. Listen to what he said as recorded in verse 1: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” With this question he was sowing doubt and confusion in the mind of the woman. He was twisting God’s words to make Him appear an unreasonable Creator. By her reply Eve showed that she fully understood God’s instruction and warning regarding the trees in the garden. She said: “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die’”. Still Satan persisted in raising questions in her mind, this time by causing her to doubt that she and Adam would die if they disobeyed God. He further suggested that all God was doing was frightening them off. He said: “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Satan’s suggestion was that God was withholding from them something He enjoyed, but wanted to keep back from them.
All this was a misrepresentation of the truth. It was because God loved the ones He had created, and wanted to keep them from harm, that He warned them not to touch that one tree. Just as a loving parent warns a child about the dangers of going near fire or a fast-flowing river, so God warned his children of the consequence of their disobedience. But they were free to choose.
So, here we have the devil encouraging Eve to test God’s word, to find out what it is like to take a risk, to step over the line. God’s word was twisted and doubted and the temptation proved too much for the woman. In verses 6 to 8 of Genesis chapter 3 we read of the very first act of disobedience, the first transgression that resulted from the first temptation. Eve looked at the forbidden fruit and saw that it was “good for food, and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom.”
She did not just stop to look, for verse 6 goes on to say, “she took some and ate it.” The pattern is the same in us all today: listening, looking, thinking and then doing. That is how we so easily fall into sin, time and again. When we listen to the voice of the tempter and doubt God’s word and his love for us, then we are on the slippery slope to disobedience just as Eve was. Sadly, she also involved Adam in her sin for “she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” So both the man and the woman disobeyed the command of their Creator and would soon experience the consequences.
With that one act of disobedience their consciences were awakened and they knew that they had done wrong. With their sin came a sense of guilt, shame and uneasiness. When the Lord God came looking for them in the garden, for the first time they were afraid and they hid themselves from Him. Of course they could not hide from God any more than you or I can.
He knew exactly where they were and what they had done.
When people are faced with their sin and wrongdoing they often try to hide it. Sometimes they will do this by laughing it off, or by angry denials. Others will try to quieten the voice of their conscience by turning to pleasure, or to alcohol or to drugs. It doesn’t work, for our sin still has to be faced and dealt with, and a righteous, holy God has to be faced one day.
In verses 9 and 10, when God asks Adam where he is, the guilty one gives a reply typical of man in his fallen condition and estrangement from his Maker, “I was afraid. I hid myself”. When challenged by God over his disobedience, Adam blames the woman whom God had given him.
How readily we blame others for our own sinful acts, seeking to make excuses. But, like Adam, we must take responsibility for our own actions and face the consequences. No longer would they have access to the tree of life and their daily work would become hard instead of being easy and pleasant. Unbroken fellowship with God and immortality had both been lost.
At the end of Genesis chapter 3 we read these words: “The Lord God made clothes of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” The skins of animals speak of a sacrifice that had to be made in order to provide for the two guilty sinners. Here is the first glimpse of the gospel truth that “without the shedding of blood their is no remission for sins.” Another hint is given in verse 15 where we are told that the offspring of the woman would crush the head of the serpent, but that the serpent would strike the coming one’s heel. This was God’s promise that one individual, born of a woman, would destroy the evil works of our great enemy, the devil.
That one is none other than God’s own Son, our Lord Jesus Christ who, in the words of 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 18, “died for sins once for all, the righteous one for the unrighteous, to bring to you to God”. The Son of God has indeed come into this world as the “second Adam”. He was tempted in all ways, just as we are, yet He committed no sin. He lived in perfect obedience and then willingly gave his life on the cross to atone for our sins. You need not struggle and agonise in your fear and guilt, for Christ has paid your penalty. Turn from your sinfulness and trust Him as your Saviour today.