Eve and The First Sin

I love studying Adam and Eve.  Their story reveals to us many clues about our human nature.

Genesis 3: 4-5 says, “’You will not surely die,’ the serpent said to the woman.  ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”

The devil is enticing Eve to take the forbidden fruit, telling her she will not die from eating it.  God told Adam in Genesis 2:17 – “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”  God talks about immortality here.  Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve would not live in the Garden of Eden forever.

"You will not surely die."  Satan, on the other hand, was talking about immediate death – as in, the fruit wouldn’t kill them right then.  As humans, we tend to live in the moment with little thought about future consequences as Eve certainly did here.

Satan went on to tell Eve that “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God”.  Was the devil insinuating that God didn’t want them to eat the fruit because He didn’t want them to be like Him?  By eating the fruit they could be?  How crafty that Satan would suggest this.   

There is only one God.  We will never be "like Him" as humans.  We live in a society, though, where many believe that they are their own god.  That thought feeds the ego and justifies selfishness.  It also relieves those people of any accountability to a higher power (in their own minds).  They do what they want with no regard to right or wrong.

We need to be able to differentiate between good and evil, right and wrong, in order to follow God’s will for our lives.  Knowing  the difference and still choosing evil (sin) can lead to a life separate from God.  Eve quickly forgets that eating the fruit is blatant disobedience to God, and she falls prey to the first evil act of the devil resulting in the beginning of sin.

We would like to believe that we have evolved into a sophisticated society, but we are really no different than Adam and Eve.  Sure, we have more gizmos and gadgets than anyone could need, but we are still easily swayed by the temptations of the devil.  We often choose to live a worldly existence.  We want to be our own god – even in our marriages. 

Obedience to God may be the most important part of a relationship with Him.  Without obeying Him and casting our selfish desires aside, we will never know the fullness of His grace, His power and His love.  

When you give your desires, your marriage, and your life over to God, to do His will, you will find a life of peace and security that you never imagined before.