Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.”
At the end of Genesis chapter two, all was good. Adam and Eve were together and caring for the garden God had planted. If the story had ended there, we could imagine a fairy tale ending: they lived happily ever after. But the story didn’t end there, taking a dramatic turn for the worse.
Chapter three opens by introducing a new character to the story: the serpent. Who is this serpent, or snake, in the garden? The dragon of Revelation 12 is referred to as the ancient serpent, who is also called the devil and Satan (Rev. 12:9). He is called the father of lies in John 8:44. And he is identified as our adversary, looking for someone to devour in 1 Peter 5:8. In this story, he comes as the tempter, a role he reprises with Jesus in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1).
Then there is a tree. In chapter two, this tree was called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A tree that was forbidden to them. And the penalty for eating from it was death. This tree offered Adam and Eve a choice. Would they obey God and live? Or disobey God and die?
Awaking Desire
But then the cunning serpent came, awakening desire within the woman and casting doubt on God’s motivation. He told her that God didn’t want them to eat from the tree because He knew that when they did, they would become like Him. The threat of death was just a lie to keep them from eating.
And the deception worked. She ate and gave some to Adam. He ate, saw he was naked, hid from God, lost his place in the garden, and his access to the tree of life.
There is much that could be said about this story. But it has a very personal application. When the tempter comes, and desire awakens, what will I do? Will I doubt God and follow Eve’s example, giving in to my own desires and suffering the consequences? Or will I follow the example that Jesus set when tempted in the wilderness, refusing to give in to the temptation, and trusting that God’s way is best? A way that leads back to the garden and the tree of life.
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