GENESIS 3:1-11: Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

In the spiritual war God has called us to, the foes are strong – the world, our flesh, and the devil. The world uses its pleasures and attractions to draw a Christian to forget this world is not our home and thus we become spiritually lukewarm and worldly. Another foe is our flesh which always pulls us to comfort and ease tempting us to forget the Christian life is one of self-denying sacrifice, not self-fulfilling comfort. The result is a spiritual laziness that leaves no Christ-centered impact on people. And the third foe? The devil. He has many tactics based on his various names – accuser, tempter, slanderer, evil one, and in today’s scripture, the “crafty deceiver.” As the “crafty deceiver”, he begins his work on Eve by a tactic he continually uses to this very day

The devil drew Eve to bring sin into humanity by doubting God’s Word–“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’? She listened to him which led to the questioning of God’s Word, particularly His command and warning. The result? We know well both from history and in our own lives. She ultimately disobeyed God’s Word. It is the same today. God gives us positive commands and negative warnings. And He does so for our own good. Begin to doubt that by playing with temptation, and sin is inevitable which leads to painful and severe consequences. Nothing ever goes well when we choose out of willful act or passive neglect to disobey God’s commands and warnings. Let Eve be an example to us. Don’t listen for a second to the whispers of the devil saying, “Did God actually say?” instead respond with “Yes, He did and I will heed His command and warning.” To do so is life and peace. Not to is to bring about regret and misery.

PRAYER: “Father, forgive me for the times I ignore Your clear commands and warnings and give into temptation.”

QUOTE: “All God’s commands and warnings are not to hinder life’s pleasures but to enjoy life’s real pleasures.”