“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” (Genesis 3:6). Temptation. It’s never going to come to us through a cartoony image of an angry little red man with horns on his head and a pitchfork in hand. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says the devil was “a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth...for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). There’s a reason why Satan didn’t use raw garlic to draw Eve in. Clearly he had to use fruit that appealed to her senses and sprinkled it with just enough doubt to make her think God was holding out on her. Consider how cults never start with bold-faced lies to brainwash their followers. They begin with the tiniest twisting of the truth, often too minuscule to be noticed, but enough to appeal to the weak and vulnerable. Have you ever wondered, “Ok, I know there was one rule God had, but really...what was the big deal about the fruit?!? Couldn’t God have waited for there to actually be a real sin, like murder or something?” We would be remiss to think that the fall of man revolved around a stinking piece of fruit. Nevertheless, a valid question. For one thing, we know that the enemy maneuvers by slithering, not charging. Obviously he wouldn’t have come right out and demanded Eve to rebel. If we look carefully at the text, the first words out of the serpent’s mouth to Eve were, “Did God really say?” (Genesis 3:1), thereby planting the seed of doubt. Ultimately, it wasn’t about the fruit. It was about trust. Aren’t we all capable of the mistake they made? Adam was right by Eve’s side when she fell for the serpent’s lie and the blame game began. Adam blamed Eve and had the gall to take it a step further and remind God that HE was responsible for creating her. Eve then blamed the serpent, down went the dominos...and Paradise was history. "But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death" (James 1:14-15).
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 11:11:25 +0000
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