"Did God Actually Say..."

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’?” (Genesis 3:1 ESV)

No other question has ever had the consequences of this; the first question ever posed. Where was the sin? Was it the posing of the question by a condemned archangel? For humans, the first sin was when Eve questioned the words of God. Satan’s question was asked to elicit a response, and he got it.

Satan is the embodiment of all evil. He is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44), as the act of lying spawned in humanity from Satan’s question—his question caused Eve to pause and think about the Words of God. To question the nature of God. Satan’s follow-up narrative ended with “You will not surely die” (v4). Satan implied that God had lied, Eve questioned God’s words, and man had fallen. The eating of the apple was not the first sin; it merely nailed the last nail in the coffin of eternal life in the Garden.

Satan used Eve to get to Adam. It was Adam who received the blame, not because he was deceived, but because he ate. Adam most certainly saw the problem. He could have seen the problem and gone to God to try to correct the course of humanity, but he did not, and as such, Satan gained control of the world. We know this because we can read it in  Luke 4:5-6,  ^“And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.” Paul also tells us this in 2 Corinthians 4:4, “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 

The reality of God’s words set in on Adam and Eve. They realized they were naked and were ashamed. While Satan made the knowledge of good and evil seem desirable, it was not. Like every other human, the two tried to cover their sin, hence the fig leaves, which were not successful. The downward spiral had begun in earnest. In the Garden, Adam and Eve hid from God, who came to walk with them in the cool of the day; good luck there.

Satan’s question was evil; it questioned God's grace and love. It implied God was denying Eve something good. Conversely, God’s question to Adam and Eve came out of love, “where are you?” (3:9). While an apparent question of location, it is the very question God asks us is it not? “Where are you?” Do we know Him? Have we, the lost sheep, been returned to Him? Do we believe? This question is about our spiritual state. It is a manifestation of God's loving presence and concern for us.

“God made clothing for Adam Genesis 3

“And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” (3:17), much more adequate than the fig leaves from the garden. Despite their sins, God took care of Adam and Eve. The clothing covered their sin. Essentially, the same way the Judaic sacrifices covered the sins of Israel, never truly erasing them. But God… He had another plan, which He announced in the garden to Adam, Eve, and Satan. A promise given to crush the head of Satan, sin, and death.

In this, Christ came in the incarnation, becoming flesh, walking with His creation, and paying the price for all human sin through the shedding of His blood. Willingly, Christ went to the cross and paid for your sins. Do you know this truth? Have you accepted Christ as your Savior? He gave His life for you on the cross; give your life to Him now and receive the free gift of Salvation and eternal life. Like Adam and Eve, despite your sins, God is there to care for you out of His love, grace, and mercy.

Do not wait, seek Him now.

Grace and Peace.