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Scripture: Genesis 2:1-25
Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the
image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
Isn’t it interesting that the Bible tells us all about
creation…about the order in which God created…about the
perfection of the Garden of Eden…about making man in His own
image and yet there is not one word about what Adam or Eve looked
like? No indication of their sizes, shapes or coloring…apparently
God doesn’t consider those things to be important. There has
been a great deal of speculation about how they would physically
compare with the ages of people today. While we don’t know
their chronological age or physical description we do know that
Adam was pleased with what he saw when he first Eve. Our English
translation of the Bible reads, “This is now bone of my
bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman because
she was taken out of man.” (Genesis 2:23) but in the Hebrew
language this is actually written in poetic free verse. The first
poem, love song or perhaps Hallmark card was voiced in Genesis
chapter 2.
This, this at last is bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh:
This shall be called Wo-man,
For from man was she taken!
God called both Adam and his wife “Adam” which means the man or reddish
tint. Adam named his wife “Eve” which means life. I find that interesting
because she was the first mother…human giver of life…and because so
many men still refer to their wife as their life when they are faced with a
crisis. Genesis 3:20 “And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she
was the mother of all living.”
Many Bible scholars have blamed Eve for sinning…for the ground being cursed…and
childbirth being painful and while all of those things are true, it might be
better to blame Eve for being too trusting and daring. The Bible does not record
Adam trying to stop Eve nor did he refuse the fruit once he saw she had not
died or become immediately ill. It is possible that Adam was off talking to
a kangaroo but I doubt it. Mr. and Mrs. Adam were on their honeymoon; Adam was
not likely to be far from Eve’s side. While they had never seen evil and
were living in innocence, once they disobeyed God and ate of the tree of good
and evil they immediately recognized evil. God records that they now had knowledge
to discern good and evil and had to take them out of the presence of the tree
of life. “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us,
to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of
the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:” (Genesis 3:22)
Just as the sin nature passed on to all future generations so did the ability
to recognize evil. (Romans 5:12, Romans 1:18-25) Every culture has its own set
of taboos. Many of those taboos remain consistent from one culture to another.
When a very young child gets into the cookies (steals) no one has to teach that
child to lie. Even as a toddler, children recognize when they do wrong. (Recognition
of evil)
Satan used a subtle seed of temptation with Eve. He began by questioning what
was already known, and then indirectly reflected on the goodness of God.
Genesis 3:1-5 “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field
which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said,
Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of
the garden:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said,
Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know
that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall
be
as gods, knowing good and evil.”
Can’t you just hear Satan in a crooning soft voice questioning Eve…?
“Hath God said?” Following her reply with a small tolerant smile and
a nod of his head. I believe I hear him now, “God is so marvelous and such
a great creator, surely He wants you to know all that He knows. You must have
misunderstood what He meant. God has given you this garden, He certainly wants
you to have it all.”
Satan knew how to reach Eve with his temptation. She was living in a perfect
place, with her husband who had never sinned. She didn’t have to wonder
about his past and there were no other women around to seduce him or for him
to compare her to. Everyday, Adam and Eve walked and talked with God. There
were no financial concerns…never a bill collector or telemarketer. No sibling
rivalry or worry about health or happiness. We could easily believe that if
we lived in a perfect place in sinlessness we would have been stronger than
Eve. So, just how did Satan tempt her? He still uses the same three temptations
that are recorded in Genesis 3:6 when he tempts us today:
Physical Appetite was tempted “And when the woman saw that the tree
was good for food…” I can resist over eating until I decide to get
just one piece of dessert at a pot luck. Then Satan tempts me and suddenly my
plate is holding 4 kinds of dessert and I leave the building having over eaten.
It may be a specific food, personal comfort or many other reasons but gluttony
and its opposite, anorexia is still sin. Lack of self-control is yielding to
the temptation that Satan so subtly uses to entice us.
Sensuous nature was tempted “that it was pleasant to the eyes…”
Women are often on a quest to gather stuff. A bigger diamond, a newer car, the
latest toy that the advertising industry tells us we want, need, or deserve.
Spiritual desire was tempted “a tree to be desired to make one wise…”
An education without common sense is a very dangerous thing. We easily buy into
the “You have a great mind” philosophy. I don’t believe God is
opposed to our learning since He answered Solomon’s prayer for wisdom,
however, knowledge without Godly wisdom will draw us away from Christ.
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