Did God Say?
The other morning I woke up with part of the verse from Genesis 3:1 hath God said going through my mind. The verse encouraged me to go deeper and analyze it's contents. This is what I found in the conversation between the serpent and the woman from Genesis 3:1–5 (using KJV). We have to remember that the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.
(subtil -sly; artful; cunning; crafty; insinuating; as a subtle person; a subtil adversary. Planned by art; deceitful; as a subtil scheme. Deceitful; treacherous.)
First, the serpent says unto the woman, “Yea, hath God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
Now the woman is carrying on a conversation with the serpent and she says “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, you shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”
The serpent answers her back, “You shall not surely die: for God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
That ended the woman and the serpent’s conversation.
Genesis 3:6 And when 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, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7a And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;
When we look at the conversation between the serpent and the woman, we can see the serpent twist things and make the fruit of the tree to be pleasant to the eyes, and to be desired to make one wise. He not only made it look really good but made her question God’s instructions.
In this conversation between the serpent and the woman, once the serpent got his way, the conversation was over.
It is the very same way today. We do not call him a serpent, we call him the devil or satan or the enemy. Satan uses the very same tactics over and over and over. You may not be in a garden, but may be in a relationship, on a job, in school, in a church or a marriage and the list goes on. He will make us question what God told us. Now we question ourselves and we allow doubt and unbelief to enter into our thoughts. This is a trick of the devil. Do not listen to him.
When God tells us to do something, that is what we are to do. Eve added to her story and said that they were not to touch the fruit. God did not say that. Do not add to what He tells us to do. Write down the instructions we are given is a good way to keep them straight.
In life there are so many trees that we can choose from. We become what we surround ourselves with. If we surround ourselves with Godly people our actions will reflect that. If we surround ourselves with secular people our actions will reflect that. If we surround ourselves with worldly people our actions will reflect that. I know you get the picture. We have to make a choice of which tree we are willing to eat from. Will it bring life or will it bring death.
The devil continues with these tricks today making promises with lust of the eye, desires to wise, to be like a god, twisting good and evil. Once he has you…he will once again ask “Did God say?”
