Genesis 3:1-3 KJV – “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”
From the beginning, Satan has sought to thwart God’s plan for mankind. Though he isn’t named, we know that the devil possessed this incredibly beautiful reptile based on the characteristics of the serpent—he could talk and was cunning. Satan’s methodology is brilliant, and here we glimpse the subtlety of it. The root word for serpent in Hebrew means to whisper, cast a spell, or enchant. The enchantment of the serpent probably captivated Eve as he questioned, “Has God indeed said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
Satan’s sly first attack involved sowing doubt, but Eve countered by repeating God’s command. Undeterred, Satan pressed on, “You’re not going to die. Go ahead, there’s no harm.” Now, God’s authority was in question. Only this time, there was no resistance. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate” (Genesis 3:6).
Eve saw. The word saw, in Hebrew, means self-advised, self-guided, and self-dependent. Eve’s self-centered desire superseded God’s, and with it came the unimaginable because self-justification of sin always has ramifications. “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:15).
Has God indeed said? Satan’s playbook remains unchanged. And like Eve, we’re faced with a decision when the devil’s cunning lies come to our ears. Whose voice, whose Word will we believe?
