Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it, or touch it, or you will die.’ ”

“No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil.”     Genesis 3:1-4 HCSB

Now we know that if sin had never entered into the equation that we would all be living this garden of Eden type existence today, much like heaven on earth. When I study how the first sin took place, it feels painfully familiar.

So, let’s break this whole sin thing down. Adam and Eve are strolling around in the garden minding their own business enjoying life. If you fast forward to the book of Job, you see that Job is living the good life, loving God and then the devil steps in. When things are going well and you are loving the Lord and doing what He has called you to do, beware, the devil is lurking nearby and wants to mess things up. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us to be sober, be alert for the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. When things are going well, we tend to let our guard down. This is when we are vulnerable for attack.

Now we know a few things here. Verse 6 tells us that she took some of the fruit, ate it, and gave it to her husband who was with her. So, Adam instead of stepping up and being the man and guarding Eve from the serpent just stands by and watches the destruction begin. The serpent chose to address the woman. Maybe because he thought that the woman would be more susceptible to his lies, maybe because he knew that the man loved the woman and the woman would be able to convince the man to eat the fruit. Either way, we know that the serpent was very cunning. We are told this in verse one.

The devil wants to divide and conquer. When we step away from the church and away from our pastor and our Sunday School class and our church family we are more vulnerable. The devil has us picked out of the herd and we become easy prey. He chose to address Eve directly.

We also know that they were close to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were close enough to see it and close enough to pick the fruit and eat it. We must be very careful. Often times we dance a little too close to the fire. We should keep our distance from the things that God forbids.

Now the first thing the serpent does is call into question God’s commands. He wants Eve to doubt God and if he can’t get her to doubt God he wants her to doubt herself. He tries to convince her that maybe she misunderstood what God meant.  Again, the serpent lies to the woman. In John 8:44 we are told that the devil is a murderer who has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. We are told that when he lies he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of all lies. We make our biggest mistakes when we believe his lies. In our scripture passage today the serpent is able to convince Eve that God didn’t really mean what he said.  God always means what He says and says what He means. Don’t ever let the devil convince you otherwise. Remember the devil is a liar.

Now in the scripture passage that follows Eve looks at the tree. This is another huge mistake. Don’t go near sin. If you find yourself near sin, turn away, don’t look at it. Why? Because it looks good! It looks beautiful and tasty and fun and desirable. If it didn’t, we wouldn’t be tempted, right? When I’m at a party, I can stand by the vegetable and fruit trays and there is no danger there. But let me get near brownies and cake and I crumble like a cookie.

Then the serpent puts just enough doubt into her mind and combined with the desirable appearance of the fruit, Eve succumbs to the temptation. She not only succumbs to the temptation, but she convinces her husband to do the same and the rest is history.

Sin looks good, it tastes good, and it feels good. This is why we fall into it. But know that when we are tempted, we have a way out. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that no temptation has overtaken us except what is common to man. We are told that God will not allow the devil to tempt us beyond what we can handle. And we are told that God will provide the way out. In James 4:7-8 we are instructed to submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from us.

Walk close to God and seek His protection. Don’t let your guard down. Our lives are a series of ups and downs and we must be able to ride the highs and survive the lows. To do this, we must obey God’s commandments and submit to Him. Don’t let your guard down!

Have a great day!