Genesis 3:1-6--The Great Deception
Have you ever wondered why Satan approached Eve
about eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil instead
of approaching Adam?
I have a couple of thoughts. Based on how the early
chapters of Genesis are worded, we have no proof that Eve ever heard
the command not to eat of that tree directly from God. In Genesis
2:15-17, we read, “God told the man.” It’s possible that somewhere
during Adam’s and Eve’s personal relationship with the Lord, as they
walked through the garden in the cool of the day, that He reiterated
that command to both of them. After all, we really don’t have any
idea how much time passed between Genesis chapter 2 and chapter 3.
It could have been one day, one week, one month or many months. But
according to the scripture we’ve been given, we can’t be dogmatic in
saying that Eve heard the “don’t eat” directive from God. But if she
didn’t hear the command from God, the fact that she knew she
shouldn’t eat the fruit of the tree means that Adam had passed that
message onto her. It would also mean that she received the message
second hand.
If this were the case, it emphasizes the importance
of personal Bible study and prayer. As we study God’s Word and give
Him opportunity to speak to us personally, it’s much more effective
and meaningful than anything we will ever hear or receive from
someone else. I know when the Holy Spirit pricks my heart about a
scripture I’m reading and gives me special insight into it, His
supernatural touch of my heart blesses me, and rarely is it a
message I soon forget. It stays with me, and I often meditate on it
throughout the day and beyond. Yet, if I hear the exact same message
from a Bible teacher, friend, or even my husband, it doesn’t have
nearly the impact on my life. Hearing a message from a human rather
than directly from God is never as effective or lasting.
Perhaps this is what happened to Eve and why Satan
targeted her. By not hearing the words directly from the Lord, it
would have made it easier for Satan to confuse the message and twist
its meaning.
Satan might have also appealed to Eve’s appreciation
of beauty. Let’s face it. Women generally notice and appreciate
beauty more readily than men. For example, if a vase holding a dozen
red roses sits on a table, rarely will a woman walk by without
noticing them, or even leaning over to smell them. She may even cup
one of the blossoms in her palm to feel the velvety smoothness of
its petals. Most likely a man will walk by without even seeing the
roses. “What roses?” he may ask, if the woman makes a comment about
them.
Since we don’t know how much time elapsed between
chapter 2 and chapter 3, perhaps Satan had time to observe Adam and
Eve as they spent time in the garden. As he observed them, he
probably noticed how differently each responded to the beauty around
them. Since Adam was given the assignment of naming the animals, he
might not have been quite as enamored with the cuteness of the
squirrels as they played tag among the trees. Satan might have also
noticed how Eve stopped to observe the flowers, or comment on their color or fragrance to Adam. Seeing that she responded more
emotionally to the beauty that surrounded them, Satan might have
decided to put his own secret weapon to work, and he recognized that
it would work best on Eve. And what was that secret weapon? It was
himself. You’ll get a better understanding of that by studying
Ezekiel 28, particularly focusing on verses 11-17. C. I. Scofield’s
note in The New Scofield Reference Bible says of these verses, “the
language goes beyond the king of Tyre to Satan, inspirer and unseen
ruler of all such pomp and pride as that of Tyre.”
In addition to God’s reference to Satan’s “perfect
beauty” in verse 12, a detailed list of Satan’s covering of precious
stones is given in verse 13. This will give you a glimpse of just
how Eve might have been drawn to him. His beauty would have been
indescribable, even breathtaking. Yet we see in verse 17 how his
beauty, which had been bestowed on him by his Creator, ended up
being his downfall. His “heart was lifted up” because of his own
beauty. We see further insight into his arrogance in Isaiah
14:12-14. He had every expectation of being like “the most High” and
exalting his throne “above the stars of God.”
Satan had only two objects in the Garden of Eden to
target, so he had to be wise in the choice he made. He may have
observed how Eve approached beauty; therefore, he would have seen
how she would find him and his beauty approachable. Eve was naïve.
She had never known evil, and she wouldn’t have recognized deceit.
God’s character was totally honorable, pure and loving, and that’s
all she was familiar with. She had no experience in recognizing a
lie, or that the stunningly beautiful creature that approached her
was only interested in her destruction. So, it could be, that in her
emotional response to his beauty (not to mention that he could speak
and hold a conversation with her!), Satan saw her as the most likely
of the two residents of the Garden of Eden to be swayed by his
cunningness.
Finally, after hearing Satan’s persuasive argument,
it was her own emotional response to the fruit that was her final
downfall: “…the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that
it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one
wise” (v. 6). If only Eve had stepped away from the situation long
enough to talk the matter over with God before making her final
decision, perhaps everything would have turned out differently. But
she didn’t. And, in that, lies a valuable lesson for us. When we’re
tempted by a façade of beauty and attracted to something that
appears too good to be true, we should step away to get God’s
perspective before proceeding. After all, we shouldn’t think for a
minute Satan isn’t taking the time to observe our weaknesses, just
as he observed Eve’s over 6,000 years ago. But today we have God’s
written word and the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us in our
decisions. We have no excuse when we fall prey to Satan’s age-old
tactics, for we have every power available to us in the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ to be an overcomer.
(See also 2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:14)
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