Did God really say …?

That was the question Satan used to tempt Eve in the Garden of Eden, and it was how he deceived her into sin. 

There were three things Satan did to deceive Eve. Today we don’t have God walking around in the Garden, but we do have His book. Today opponents of the Gospel are constantly attacking the Bible, trying to discredit it and spread doubt on the faith. The same tactics are often employed.

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The first trick was to misquote what God had said. This is done today as well, and often it is couched in the idea that the Bible is not clear. It usually is clear, but people sometimes don’t like what it says so they try to make it say something else. 

The idea is to trick people into misunderstanding what God has said. Misquoting, or using the “it can be translated another way” argument is a method of deception.

3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 

Eve corrected the misquote, but the deception continued.

Satan told her she would not die. He directly contradicted what God had said. He questioned what the ramifications would be if she ate the fruit and tried to make her think it was something she need not worry about. 

Today this is done by saying the Bible is mistranslated. They say a word could be translated differently, which changes the meaning enough to change what the Bible says. It is easy to trace why words are translated the way they are. It is true some things “could” be translated differently, but it does not mean they “should” be.

The text is usually clear; it’s just an easy way of getting around something you don’t like or agree with.

5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

The third attack is to make it seem like God is not being fair. When God tells you something is wrong, and you don’t want it to be wrong, you might feel it is not fair. 

But God makes the rules, fair or not. The idea that it is mistranslated, or not clear, is usually just an excuse to justify your pet sin.

Another ironic thing here is that the devil told her she would be like God, knowing good and evil. The thing is, Adam and Eve were already like God. They were created in God’s image. Knowing good and evil might have seemed like a good thing, but it turned out not to be.

They might have lived forever in a paradise, and they would still have been like God and would learn a lot of things. Were they really better off, knowing good from evil? Some might say yes, but what could they have possibly lost in reality by not knowing good from evil?

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 

Verse 6 tells us she took the bait. She saw a benefit, that it was pleasing, and bought the idea that it would give her knowledge. She ate the fruit in direct disobedience to God. 

A lot is made of Eve being deceived, and she was, but what about Adam?

Adam was apparently there with her and watched the conversation happen. He let it happen. Adam was not deceived. His sin was intentional. Adam’s sin was worse. He was not tricked into doing something as Eve was; he intentionally did wrong of his own accord.

Conclusion

The enemy attacked Adam and Eve in three ways, and nothing much has changed regarding that strategy.

• Question what it says
• Deny what it says
• Accuse God of being unfair

It sounds familiar doesn’t it?