Scripture:
“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,[a] she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”
(Genesis 3:6)
Devotion:
The serpent (the Devil) started tempting Eve by playing with her thoughts. He challenged what God had plainly said – “Did God (really) say?” Then he put a doubt in her mind. “You will not certainly die!” A direct contradiction of what God SAID.
He then told her the “real” reason why God did not allow them to eat of that tree. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will like God, knowing good and evil.” He cast a slur on God’s character – that perhaps God was withholding something from her.
Keeping things from her. Is God really so good and so truthful? Eve started to reflect upon all the LIES the Serpent threw at her. That opened her up to start to question God’s relationship with her and Adam. The Creator God that made all things wonderful and gave it freely to them for their exquisite pleasure and enjoyment perhaps was not that “good” after all?
The next step was to take a SECOND look at the tree and its fruits.
She SAW that the tree was good for food,
That it was a DELIGHT to the eyes,
And that the tree was to be desired to make one WISE.
The trap was set. By turning her heart and eyes away from God and His Goodness, she allowed her eyes and heart’s desire to motivate her. The relationship based on trust, mutual love and reverence for God was broken and lost.
This pathology of temptation is also spelt out by James in his epistle that tells “that each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:13-15)
Satan literally “dragged” Eve away deceiving her. She had the power to either choose to believe God or not. But she entertained the wrong voice. And she chose not to continue to cling on to the Lord and to not lose the love relationship they had.
Reflection:
(1) Do we resolve to only listen to God’s Word and not be “open” to the other voices in the world that often contradict or even malign God’s Word?
(2) As a family and church community, let us not be “led” by the flesh – our natural senses – but rather by the Spirit. John in his First Epistle tells us, “For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh (what appeals to our senses), the lust of the eyes (what we see that causes to crave for it), and the pride of life (what can make us proud of ourselves, our smartness, human wisdom, wealth, achievements and fame) – comes not from the Father but from the world.” (1 John 2:16)
Prayer:
Let’s pray for our households, that as parents as well as children we will grow in wisdom, discernment and knowledge of God’s Word. That we will not be fooled by the Devil and fall from grace and intimacy with the Lord. Amen.
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