Genesis 3:1-24
Friday, 1 July 2022
‘…..“Did God really say……?”’ -Genesis 3:1
Our reading takes us to the first man and woman in the Garden of Eden where God had put them in charge! We see God always dwelt in the midst of Adam and Eve and He was a regular visitor in the garden. He used to talk to them and enjoyed their companionship in the cool of the day. God always wanted man to only do good and not to know evil. God gave them the commandment in Genesis 2:16-17: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden. But you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
Then the serpent, a subtle and crafty creature first comes into the garden and talks to Eve, questioning her: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the Garden?’”(vs.1) The Serpent’s question or arguing about God’s commandment, raises confusion in the mind of Eve. Eve’s answer is distorted— instead of saying what God said, she also added her bit to it— “you must not touch” or you will die.’ She gives an ear to the serpent who poisons her mind. The word of God says, “Submit….to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7). But Eve did not resist and had to face the consequence.
The serpent tells Eve, “You will certainly not die.”—a direct denial of God’s divine pronouncement in Genesis 2:17. The woman was slowly lured by the devil’s lies and forgot the love of God. She saw the fruit as:
Good for food- the craving of the flesh (1 John 2:16)
Pleasing to the eyes- lust of the eyes (1 John 2:16)
Desirable for Gaining wisdom- the pride of life (1 John 2:16)
These are the three areas where men fall, even to this day. That’s exactly where Jesus Christ won over every temptation the devil brought His way (Matthew 4:1-10). And that’s how every believer can get victory through Him and His Word. Jesus used God’s Word to combat the devil each time he brought a temptation in the above three areas!
Just as he did to Eve, the devil is out in subtle ways to tempt and make God’s children fall. Hence we are to be always aware: “…in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (2 Cor. 2:11) We should be very careful and sensitive to the Spirit of God and be like the Berean Christians (Acts 17:11) who received the messages with all readiness and searched the Scriptures daily to find out the whether the Word of God they heard was true. We must pay careful attention to what we have heard so that we may not drift away (Hebrews 2:1).
Ephesians 5:15 -21 is part of a practical walk with the Lord – we must always be alert and walk in complete obedience to His word understanding the will of God- and the will of God is our sanctification. The Perfect Love of God in us casts out fear (1 John 4:18). We will then experience Christ dwelling in us and move with His presence!
Let us pray: “Almighty Father, help me each day to experience Your presence in this world to live a victorious life until I meet you face to face. In Jesus Christ name I pray, Amen.”
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