Three Little Lies

I was amazed to see the pattern of Satan’s work so clearly outlined in Genesis 3. For me, temptation has always been a mysterious, terrible thing, but here in the very beginning, Satan begins his pattern of tempting and seducing that continues to this very day.

Confusion-The first ploy that Satan used against Eve was to create doubt and uncertainty regarding God’s command. “Do not eat from the tree.” Those were God’s words concerning the matter, but when Satan began beguiling Eve, things got a little muddled. She wasn’t sure what God had meant when He told them not to eat from the tree. Satan wasn’t outright discrediting God’s word, he was lightly questioning it.

Denial-Satan’s second ploy was to come right out and say that God’s words were wrong! He denies God’s commands and tells her that what God said doesn’t matter. He tells her that she can get away with her disobedience, and that God will never know.

Wrong Assurance-Satan’s last trick was to question God’s true intention for Eve. Satan tells her, “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” (Gen 3:5). He accuses God of withholding goodness from her, of holding out on her. He tells her that God doesn’t really want what’s best for her, He wants to keep her in the dark. And Eve bought into it.
Consequences- As God promised, there would be consequences for their wrong choices. Curses were distributed among the guilty parties. The serpent would crawl upon the ground, the woman would bear children in great pain, the man would toil in his work. Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden, banished forever. And so the cycle of sinful mankind had begun. Cain killed Abel. Perhaps Satan used the same arguments on Cain that he used for his mother. “Are you sure God says you should love your brother? After all, he showed you up.” “He surely couldn’t have meant it, after all Abel has done to you. It’s not fair to you!” “God doesn’t care about what you think or want! He doesn’t want to take care of you, he’s holding out on you, and it’s all Abel’s fault!”
In the same way, Satan comes to us with temptations to trap and enslave us further in our sin. I thank the Lord that he has so clearly shown the Devil’s way, so that we may flee the very moment God’s commands and wisdom gets just a little fuzzy.