Angelic Conflict part 92: Human history – Gen 3:1-13; Mat 13:18-23; 1Jo 2:16.Title: Angelic Conflict part 92: Human history – Gen 3:1-13; Mat 13:18-23; 1Jo 2:16.
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"
“serpent” – nachash = serpent. Preceded linguistically by two root words – to whisper or hiss and to shine. “Whispering shinning one.”
Many have offered explanations as to why Eve was fine with talking to a serpent. No one knows and it may be that she was innocent as a child, not dumb, she was a genius likely, but did not have the makings of suspicion. If an animal started talking to a 2 year old I would think he was just talk right back. Also, Genesis is a compilation of events as God desired us to know through the authorship of Moses. He wasn’t there. The serpent may have started talking to Eve about the weather and marriage and God long before this while he, satan indwelling the creature, bided his time waiting for the perfect moment. Again, no one knows.
Satan’s tactics here in the garden are easy to see. He begins with a frontal attack on the word of God and not an attack on her or her husband. He uses words only that are designed to deceive and confuse the woman’s own knowledge of God’s word that has been revealed to her so far.
Our introduction to him includes his questioning of the authenticity and validity of God’s word, “Indeed, has God said …?”
The woman should not have answered this question.
Hence we see one of the future problems of man, born again and saved man, entertaining thoughts that test the validity of God’s word.
This is greatly brought out by our Lord in the parable of the sower.
Mat 13:18 "Hear then the parable of the sower.
Mat 13:19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one [“devil” in Luk 8:12] comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
Category 1 – these have heard the gospel but agree with a lie about Jesus Christ and conclude that He is something other than God incarnate.
Mat 13:20 "And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy;
Mat 13:21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.
Category 2 – is the new convert who is emotionally charged. He is a believer but when he is persecuted for his faith his ties to the world are shown to be more important than his new ties to his Lord.
All new believers or old believers who are newly introduced to doctrine will be persecuted by friends, family, co-workers, etc. who are worldly. Satan motivates or has already motivated their hearts through influence.
Mat 13:22 "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Category 3 – is the believer who lacks faith in the word of God for he continues in worry and the pursuit of wealth. Satan brings in more worries and the opportunity or temptation for greater wealth.
The warning given from categories 2 and 3 is that even immediately after the message is heard from the pulpit something in the sense of persecution, argumentation, anxiety or worry, temptation for promotion, etc. will come upon the mind and it is the strategy of satan to snatch away the word that has been sown. [Ex: gap theory]
Mat 13:23 "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
Luke’s account: Luk 8:15 And the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.
Category 4: The humble and teachable believer whose arrogant spirit is diminished by knowledge the work of Christ on his behalf.
Unfortunately, this is the woman in the garden all over again, and satan has been somewhat successful in blinding multitudes of people from the only source of spiritual life – the word of God.
So the first attack was to raise doubts as to the wisdom, justice, and love of God.
Secondly, satan’s attack was to get man to doubt the goodness of God and again here he has been very successful.
Ask the average person their concept of God or Christianity and they will reveal something along the lines that God is only good to the very moral or the best of us and that Christianity is a religion designed to suck all the fun out of life so that you can be the super moral person that God rewards. Let’s read to verse 5.
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"
Gen 3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
She first mentions what was permitted. There was a recognition of divine liberty.
Gen 3:3 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, lest you die.'"
Then she mentions what was prohibited.
Eve recognized that there was a divine limitation to that freedom.\ The NT has a similar construction.
Gal 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Some say that adding to the word of God was her first sin, but it is clearly recorded elsewhere that her first sin was eating the fruit.
Also, the restrictive command was given to the man: Gen 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;
Gen 2:17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die."
It is possible that Eve received this command from her husband and not directly from God and it may be that Adam advised her not to even touch it. Maybe he was aware of her natural curiosity.
Satan moves to his third attack. He moved from questioning what God said to an outward negation of what God said.
Gen 3:4 And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die!
This is the first lie in the Scripture which is significant as the Bible emphasizes the first mention of principles.
First mention principle: The first lie is that God lied and that His word is not true.
The Lord said in Joh 8:44 that satan was a liar from the beginning and the father of lies.
Satan moved from a perverted question to an outward denial. And in verse 5, from an denial of the penalty, to a denial of God’s integrity.
Gen 3:5 "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
“you will be like God” – the very desire that brought about the fall of satan, Isa 14:12-14.
According to satan, the knowledge of good and evil is what makes on God.
In verse 5, satan presented a denial of God’s goodness, because satan accused God of selfishness and jealousness.
He is suggesting that God is jealously guarding His coveted secret and if He were to share that with her and her husband then they would be gods also.
God who gave them all things that were good is now being charged with withholding the greater good. This is fallen man’s attitude for all history.
Through this suggestion and Eve’s belief of it, it has almost become inherent in man. Man is insatiable. All that God has given is not enough. Man wants more, and more, and more. I wonder if God cut off such a person’s air supply if he would still be whining about not having a new car or a nicer house or a romantic relationship or more money, etc. Believers, children of God who will never be judged and have a destiny in the heavenly paradise forever continue to have this attitude.
1Ti 6:8 And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.
Num 16:6 is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them;
Korah wanted to be the high priest as well and so Korah hated Aaron, God’s chosen high priest, and conspired against him and Moses.
Satan was making the blunt suggestion that man had rights and should declare his independence; that he should take the place of God which was rightfully his in view of the fact that he was such a noble creature, above all the animal life in his dominion. There was also included in the phrase the insinuation that God was arbitrarily holding back something good from man and that man would be far better off if he would only turn away from God’s command [restriction] and transgress in the single point where restraint had been laid upon him.
Do you think God is holding something back from you? Is there something you want or a change that you want that you think God is holding back? Guess who is the author of that thought as he authored it in the beginning of our history. These thoughts quench your relationship with God today. You are always waiting for something to happen before you enjoy your complete relationship to Him as a son or a daughter to their Father. Always waiting and never living in His love because there is the agonizing thought that God is holding something back.
Satan’s methodology was threefold: First, he raised doubts as to the wisdom, justice, and love of God; second, he made a direct contradiction of the word of God; and third, he claimed that disobedience to God will result in the highest good.
Think of all the religious and secular organizations who voice this same methodology. Man has been doing this from the Garden and it has found many followers from the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve.
So they will get partially what they want, the knowledge of good and evil, however…
However, in reality, Adam and Eve will know good and evil only from the standpoint of sinners and not from the vantage point of perfect +R and +J.
That makes a big difference. God knows both and knows how to bless the one and curse the other perfectly. He can judge evil and overcome it with omnipotence. Fallen man is not smart enough or powerful enough to do anything with this knowledge except to become deceived and confused by it.
It was the highest and best in her nature that the shining one appealed, and it was here that she succumbed.
She has tremendous curiosity and she has a desire to better her husband’s station as well as her own. After all, she was designed to be a helpmate to her husband.
Gen 2:15 Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him."
Add to this great curiosity and she will search for ways to help her husband which also helps her status as a caregiver and helpmate. This is quite noble and fulfilling if done according to God’s commands, but the temptation here is that she can do it better without God’s restrictions. Satan has told her that if she transgresses the command of God then she can be an even greater helpmate.
Satan came to the woman on the good side of her woman’s nature. The temptation was similar to that which might come to a woman today if she were told that a certain course of action would result in such advancement for her husband that he would be able to buy the home they had wanted, and that their children would receive a college education. It just goes slightly or not so slightly against the word of God or interferes with your normal schedule for doctrinal intake.
I assume it happens often enough that a couple or family has an opportunity for more money or advancement or promotion which makes them busy between the hours of 7 and 8 pm or whenever their pastor is teaching.
She transgressed with the thought that she was doing something good for her husband and their eventual posterity.
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