This morning I was reading in the book of Judges, Y'all, and that is some sad stuff. One of these days I may be led to exegete that book; but, if/when God leads in that direction I'd better "gird my loins", because those were some tragic chapters in Israel's history. People hacking up other people into bits and sending those bits all over the country and such....monstrously sad.
However horrific those and other certain portions of the Holy Bible be, they have their purpose - - to turn our hearts toward The One and Only.
This morning we are going to begin to deconstruct one of the two most heartbreaking stories of the Bible. (Can you guess the other? Comment your thoughts in the comments section of this post!)
The Fall of Man
Now, why Satan wanted to destroy God's perfect creation is anybody's guess. Mine is that he just hates everything God represents and does; therefore, the chief aim of his existence is to destroy all righteousness, all that is "of God". This is why one of his scriptural names is "The Destroyer" (Revelation 9:11). Did you know there are more names for Satan in scripture than for anyone else, other than Jesus? That would make an interesting blog post...
At any rate, Satan in the beginning of today's sad, sordid tale, takes on the form of a "serpent", which some take to mean something like a snake because of the curse God pronounced upon that creature in Genesis 3:14 "on your belly you shall go...". Satan is called a serpent in both Genesis 3 (the first book of the Bible) and in Revelation 12:9 (the last book).
Others believe the serpent was more of a glorious creature before The Fall. This fits with Satan's arrogant, prideful nature. He would have chosen the most glorious, beautiful creature to inhabit, not a slithering snake as we know them today.
The Hebrew word that is translated "serpent" describes a creature that, in its own nature, was crafty, subtle and discerning. God created all creatures with general tendencies, didn't He? Dogs are frequently loyal companions. Sheep are generally clueless, and must be led. Serpents . . . wily.
So, it would not have surprised Eve to hear such words from the serpent, because of the serpent's general nature. Was telepathy common before The Fall? Did creatures "speak"? We do not know. But, it appears in this passage the serpent, possessed by Satan, spoke audibly; and, Eve was not surprised. We really have very little information about the wonders of the Garden of Eden before tragedy struck in Genesis 3.
More importantly . . .
We need to carefully consider Satan's malevolent strategy in Genesis 3:1 - - "Did God really say. . . "
This was and is the foundational "first step" down the path to sin. It was the first temptation recorded in the Bible. It worked so successfully for Satan there in the Garden, he still uses it today!
The most foundational source of God's word to us in modern times is . . . God's Word, the Bible. It's not the only source, but is by far the most reliable. This book, a compilation of 66 divinely inspired books, is often called the Holy Bible, because Scripture is (according to 1 Timothy 3:16) God-breathed. The "Good Book", another moniker, is full of wisdom, cautionary tales (such as those in Judges, for example), rules, promises, declarations, warnings. Overall, it shows us how to be reconciled to God, and then, after that relationship is established, to live for His glory.
As such, the Bible is constantly attacked by Satan and his diabolical servants, both human and demonic. The argument is the same one used so long ago in Eden. "Is the Bible more than just a book?" "Is it really the Word of God?" "Is it full of errors?" "Is there a God at all?"
When we come face-to-face with the Bible, we come face-to-face with our own sin and resulting separation from this holy God, who has decreed that the consequences of unrepentant sin is eternal death, manifested as being forever separated from God in a place of horrific torment, called Hell.
Not a pleasant message on its own, is it? Bad news.
But, that's not the end of the story. God also went about providing reconciliation to mankind, through faith in God, beginning in the Old Testament and culminating in Jesus, revealed in the New Testament as "the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6). That's why the gospel message of Jesus Christ is called The Good News.
For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:22 (NET)
Of course, when Satan was tempting Eve in the Garden, there was no Bible, no Savior. There was only God's spoken word. Back then, God (the pre-incarnate Jesus?) communed with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening, according to Genesis 3:8. (Can you even imagine that?!) And, as such, He continued to share with them about life in that perfect place. We read in Genesis 2:15-17 about God giving them the command about not eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Eve, and later Adam, chose to willingly reject God's word, because it did not jive with what they wanted to do. Ahhhh....free will...
Eve should have basically shut the serpent down. But, instead, when confronted with the question, "Did God really say that?", she added to what God had said. Take a look at Genesis 2:
15The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
And now, compare Eve's words in Genesis 3:
2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”
Did God say in Genesis 2 that the First Couple could not touch the fateful tree? No, He did not (although staying far away from it would have been a great idea...).
Instead of believing God, Who said eating the fruit would cause death, Eve believed Satan, who promised that she would become more wise by eating it. She believed whom she wanted to believe.
4“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
After believing what she wanted to believe, she did what she wanted to do.
Eve
...doubted God's Word
...listened to God's enemy
...lusted with her eyes
...exerted her own will
...touched the fruit
...beguiled her husband, Adam,
and ate the fruit.
Sin by inches.
Then, Adam, who could have influenced Eve to leave that tree alone, went along willingly and later blamed Eve for the disastrous escapade. A case of "passing the ... fruit (buck)", as it were!
With those actions of Adam and Eve, all of creation immediately began to deteriorate, to die. This is because, as God had warned and as Paul states in Romans 6:23 (NET) "the payoff of sin is death". Not just physical death, but eternal, spiritual death.
The philosophy of this world, so heavily influenced by Satan and his servants, has not changed. The Enemy of Our Souls' opening salvo, the essential question posed is: "Did God really say that?"
Sources:
http://www.markbeast.com/satan/names-of-satan.htm
https://creation.com/who-was-the-serpent
http://micahredding.com/blog/2006/12/27/satan-a-snake-angels-are-dragons-old-testament-word-and-the-secrets-of-the-bible
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