Breaking God’s Command

God had created man with greater mental and emotional capacities than the other animals, so that they were more like God.  He had given Adam only one instruction, in Genesis 2:17.  “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” 

The creation story does nto tell us all the details, but some can be inferred from other passages.    Isaiah 14:12-15 compares the destruction of Babylon to the judgement on Satan at the beginning of time.  “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”  II Peter 2:4 stresses that these were in fact angels.  “…if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, …”  Jesus was present in heaven as the son of God, and helped with the creation.   Luke 10:18 tells us, “…he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” 

God had given man dominion over the earth.  Satan had been cast out of heaven for trying to usurp God’s authority.  He was still trying to usurp God’s authority when he came to earth.  He immediately tried to usurp God’s authority by gaining control of man.   He began by questioning what God had said, in Genesis 3:1.  “Now the serpent was more subtle 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?” 

The serpent was a very intelligent animal, and by getting control of his mind, Satan was able to cause him to talk.   Genesis 2 seems to imply that Eve had not yet been made when God gave the command not to eat the fruit, but had been told what God said by Adam.  Satan cast doubt, questioning whether it was really what God said or just how Adam interpreted it.  He uses the same trick to get people to question God’s word today. 

Eve’s response in Genesis 3:2-3 indicates she wasn’t sure what God had said.  “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.”   She implied God had said they might die of eating the fruit.  God said they would surely die if the ate of it, but he said nothing about dying if they touched it. 

Her unsureness gave Satan and opening.  I suspect he may have handed or tossed a piece of the fruit to her and she automatically took it and didn’t die.  Satan then used that fact to imply God had lied and was deliberately keeping them from learning as much as he knew, in Genesis 3:4-5.  “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.”   

Convinced God was wrong about the effects of eating the fruit, Eve began to think about eating it.  Genesis 3:6 tells us, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”   The appearance of the fruit appealed to her eyes, and the smell and looks made her feel like it would taste really good.  That it would make her as wise as God, appealed to her pride as well. 

Satan still uses deceit to convince us God’s word cannot be trusted, and he still uses the same things to convince us to disobey,  I John 2:16 warns, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”  People are social animals, and tend to want to be like everyone else.  When they do something wrong, they try to get others involved, and when they see someone do something they tend to go along with it.  Eve gave some of the fruit to Adam, and though he knew what God had said, he went along with her.    Today, even those who know something is wrong are often tempted to go along just because everyone else is doing it.