Transcript
In September 2015, my family and I visited the United 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The memorial honors the passengers and crew of Flight 93 who, on September 11, 2001, stopped terrorists from reaching their intended target—the U.S. Capitol Building—by fighting the hijackers. It was a sobering place to visit.
The design of the memorial shows the flight path of the plane to where it crashed. Along a walkway near the crash site, a Wall of Names, forty inscribed, white marble panels, honors the passengers and crew.
One couple on the plane, Donald and Jean Peterson, were traveling to Yosemite National Park for a vacation. When they arrived at the airport in Newark, New Jersey early that fateful morning, they were offered the opportunity to take United Flight 93 instead of their later scheduled flight, and they accepted.
United 93 crashed in that Pennsylvania field at around 550 miles per hour, upside down and nose first. The force of the impact caused nearly everything to disintegrate.
One thing recovered intact at the crash site, however, was Don Peterson’s personal Bible, which included a handwritten list of men for whom he was praying.
It is difficult to imagine the horror of those forty people’s last minutes and the grief felt by their family members. Flight 93 was a tragedy resulting from an abominable act of terrorism, and there are horrifying events that take place in this world constantly.
After God created all things, He pronounced His creation “very good” (Gen. 1:31). But things are not and have not been “very good” in this world. This world is broken. What happened? A commonly asked question is, “If God is a God of love, why does He allow suffering in the world?” The simple answer to this question is found in Genesis 3.
Genesis 3:1 reads, “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?”
“The serpent” is the devil. The Book of Revelation calls him “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan.” God cast Satan down because of his pride. After his fall, he attacked man, who was made in the image of God, seeking to cause man to fall too.
Satan is a deceiver. He “deceiveth the whole world” Revelation 12:9 says. In the beginning, he deceived Eve. Since then, he has deceived mankind for thousands of years, and he continues to do so to this day. But the one he has deceived the most is himself.
He believes in all seriousness that he “will exalt [his] throne above the stars of God” and “be like the most High,” Isaiah 14:13-14 tells us. This will never happen.
For those who question how Satan was able to talk through a serpent, we should remember that, on one occasion in Israel’s history, God allowed a donkey to speak, Balaam’s donkey.
In the Gospel records, we learn how demons have the ability to inhabit human bodies and the bodies of animals, such as pigs.
In the Garden of Eden, Satan chose to indwell the cunning serpent as the vehicle most suitable for his evil purposes.
Satan, through the serpent, approached Eve. He began his conversation with her by questioning God. Neither she nor Adam had ever imagined that it was possible for a creature to question God’s Word: “Yea, hath God said…?”
In other words, “Did God really say such a thing as that, Eve?” Or, “Has God really said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” In the question was a mocking disdain for Eve’s naïve acceptance of God’s clear command.
The suggestion that God could be questioned was accompanied by the insinuation that God was not as kind as they had thought. “He has not allowed you to eat the fruit of every tree? Why do you suppose He is withholding something from you? If God is really kind, wouldn’t He be more generous?”
For Adam’s and Eve’s own good, there was a prohibition set by God. But Satan put a seed of doubt in Eve’s mind as to God’s goodness. Satan’s tactics haven’t changed. He still tempts people to question the Word of God and the goodness of God. His technique is to try to make us have negative thoughts about God.
Genesis 3:2-3 says, “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.”
Eve’s response to the serpent’s insinuations was to assure him that he was wrong.
She correctly replied to the serpent that God had given them permission to eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. There was only one tree in the midst of the garden that was forbidden.
Genesis 2:16-17 reads, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 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.”
Yet in Eve’s attempt to correct the serpent’s implication, she revealed that his question had an effect on her. In her reply, she added to, subtracted from, and changed God’s actual words. Her response made God out to be less generous and more demanding than He really was.
Eve made God less generous by subtracting from God’s Word, saying, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden” when God had said, “Of EVERY tree of the garden thou mayest FREELY eat.”
Eve made God more demanding by adding to God’s Word, saying, “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…”
God had not forbidden them from touching the fruit; He had only forbidden them from eating it: “thou shalt not EAT of it: for in the day that thou EATEST thereof thou shalt surely die.”
Eve changed the consequences of disobedience: “Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” “Lest ye die” suggests the possibility of dying, when God had said, “for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt SURELY die.”
Eve subtracted from God’s Word, added to God’s Word, and changed God’s Word. People haven’t changed! This has been done throughout history and is why there are warnings in God’s Word about these very things.
Genesis 3:4-5 says, “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.”
With Eve (and Adam) now questioning God’s authority, goodness, and His Word, Satan “went in for the kill,” you could say. “Ye shall not surely die” was a lie, the first lie. “Ye shall not surely die” was a direct contradiction to God’s “thou shalt surely die.”
At that point, the devil didn’t just alter or question God’s Word, he blatantly contradicted it and boldly called God a liar. But it is Satan who “is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).
Satan flatly contradicted God about the consequence of death for disobeying His command. And the devil still tempts people to deny the truth and the inevitability of the judgment of the second death and eternal punishment for those who do not believe.
With Adam and Eve, Satan attempted to make what God said beside the point. He suggested that the reason for God’s warning about the fruit was that God feared they would learn too much and “be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
In his subtle trickery, the devil mixed in a bit of truth with his lie. He still does this to make us fall and sin. He told Adam and Eve that they would know good and evil. This was true; after their sin they did know good and evil, but not as gods.
The devil’s deceptions are all the more effective when they are half-truths or distorted truth. This reminds us that we need always to be Bereans with the Word of God! Satan is not down at the tavern or in the drug houses. He is in churches.
2 Corinthians 11:14-15 teaches that “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness…” Satan, the prince of darkness, masquerades as an angel of light. As he deceives, he disguises himself as a messenger of truth and light.
And his emissaries, unbelieving men whom he uses, do the same. They are self-styled ministers of righteousness. They wear the religious clothing. They’re behind pulpits. They are often smooth talkers. And they lift themselves up.
These deceitful workers profess to lead people in the way of truth and righteousness. But they belong to the evil one. They are Satan’s servants. And like him, they deceive and enslave people.
Thus, because of this reality in this broken world, with what we hear taught from God’s Word, we need to receive the Word with all readiness of mind, but then we need to search the Scriptures to see if those things are so, so we are not deceived.
Amos Wells writes this poem: “I supposed I knew my Bible, reading piece-meal, hit or MISS; a bit of John or Matthew, next a little of GENESIS.
“Certain chapters of Isaiah, certain Psalms—the twenty-THIRD, twelfth of Romans, first of Proverbs. Yes, I thought I knew the WORD.
“But I found a thorough reading, was a different thing to DO, and the way was unfamiliar, when I read the Bible THROUGH. We treat the Crown of Writings, as we treat no other BOOK, just a paragraph disjointed, just a crude, impatient LOOK.
“Try a worthier procedure, try a broad and steady VIEW, you will kneel in very rapture, when you read the Bible THROUGH.”
Reading and knowing our Bibles protects us in this world and from the many deceptions and satanic, false teachings in it. This also leads to the renewing of our minds by the Holy Spirit. And by His Word and His grace, God will transform our hearts and lives.
Back here in Genesis, the deceiver told Eve, “Ye shall be as gods.” And the desire to “be like the most High,” was the same temptation that had led to Satan’s own fall. This temptation proved irresistible to Adam and Eve and resulted in their fall as well.
By the influence of darkness, there are world religions that teach that one can become a god. Secular humanism perpetuates this lie, holding out that man is god and the ultimate authority.
In Satan’s temptation, we see the exalting of man and the belittling of God. Satan suggested that God could lie and that God could fear something, when God cannot lie, and He has no fears.
Adam and Eve were also enticed by higher knowledge, that their eyes would be opened and they would know more. This satanic deception continues through New Age teachings, which promise enlightenment and higher consciousness.
In this, we find how Satan targets the mind. He wants to change the way we think.
Our Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:3, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
Adam and Eve had a simple command, but the devil deceived them and drew them away from God. Likewise, the devil desires to confuse and complicate our thinking to draw us away from the simplicity that is in Christ.
Genesis 3:6-8: “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.
“And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.”
Having allowed her mind and emotions to be influenced by the satanic suggestions of doubt and pride, Eve gazed at the forbidden tree.
Its fruit seemed more and more delectable. She lingered at the place of temptation. We get into trouble in life when we do the same.
1 John 2:16 says, “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.”
We find all 3 aspects of 1 John 2:16 involved here in their temptation. The tree to Adam and Eve was “good for food” (the lust of the flesh), it was “pleasant to the eyes” (the lust of the eyes), and it was “a tree to be desired to make one wise” (the pride of life).
The temptation also appealed to the body, soul, and spirit. To Eve, the tree was “good for food” (appealing to the physical, the body), “pleasant to the eyes” (appealing to the emotions, the soul), and “a tree to be desired to make one wise” (appealing to one’s knowledge and spiritual insight, the spirit).
When we are tempted, we are usually tempted in one or two of these areas. Here Adam and Eve got a triple whammy, all three at once.
Instead of finding strength in God’s Word by faith and obedience, Eve questioned, added, subtracted, changed, doubted, and rejected God’s Word in favor of the temptation to the body, soul, and spirit. It all led her to grab a piece of fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and to eat it.
Then she gave it to Adam who was standing there “with her,” saying nothing. Don’t think that Adam was off on the other side of the garden pruning a pear tree. He was beside Eve the whole time.
However, while Eve was completely deceived, 1 Timothy 2:14 teaches that “Adam was not deceived.” Adam sinned with his eyes wide open.
He was fully aware that he was willfully defying God and His direct command. Adam’s sin was deliberate, wicked, inexcusable rebellion.
Thus it was not by Eve’s sin, but Adam’s that sin entered the world and death by sin. As Romans 5:12 says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”
Satan said that they would know good and evil if they partook of that tree, and at that moment, they most definitely knew good and evil by the conscience which they now had.
Adam and Eve had known only good in their innocence, but now they knew evil as well. By Adam’s sin, evil and the evil consequences of sin entered this world.
Adam and Eve knew good and evil, and just as quickly, they knew the serpent had lied to them. They didn’t become “as gods”; instead, they were filled with guilt, shame, and embarrassment. They became acutely aware of their nakedness. Sin and disobedience to God does not lift us up; it pulls us down!
In their shame, Adam and Eve fashioned crude girdles of fig leaves and covered themselves. Fig leaves could never cover or hide the guilt of their sin against God.
The aprons of fig leaves are emblematic of man’s ongoing attempt to save himself by a bloodless religion of good works. People still try to hide their lost condition by their own efforts, convincing themselves that they have done enough good to cover their sinful hearts and that God will merely overlook their sins.
However, sin can never escape the eye of God’s righteous judgment, no matter what we fashion or do to try to gain His favor.
We need “the garments of salvation…the robe of righteousness” as Isaiah 61:10 puts it, which only God can provide.
After they sinned, God clothed Adam and Eve with “coats of skin” which came from shedding the blood of an animal. This was a type, a foreshadowing of animal sacrifice under the law and, later, the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
According to Romans 6:23, the wages of sin is death, and the remission of sins requires the shedding of blood, Hebrews 9:22 teaches.
The Lord Jesus Christ willingly paid the price for our sins and shed His blood at the Cross that we would have the forgiveness of all our sins and that God would clothe us in His righteousness.
No longer did Adam and Eve enjoy the fellowship with God for which they had originally been created. Instead, they “hid themselves” verse 8 says.
God was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and instead of encountering Adam waiting expectantly for a time of fellowship, he and Eve were hiding in the trees.
When they hid from the Lord’s presence, it teaches us that sin brings separation in our relationship with Him. It is a futile endeavor to try to run and hide from God.
As God said, death entered the world because of sin, both physical and spiritual death.
As a result of Adam’s sin, Adam, Eve, the serpent, and the earth were cursed by God.
Thus began the downhill slide of the creation. It has continued since that time to this day. This is why things are not “very good” in this world.
As a result of the fall, Romans 8:20,22 reads, “For the creature [creation] was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope…For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”
The curse of sin came upon man in Adam’s disobedience, and the physical world also came under the curse as a result of it. Thus, because of this event, the fall, the whole creation, believers included, groans and travails and suffers in pain together until now.
Every bad thing that ever happens in this world is rooted in the events of Genesis 3, in the fall of man, the day sin entered into the human experience.
After this event, in the biblical account you begin seeing the downhill slide and things such as, death, anger, envy, murder, deception, betrayal, pain, suffering, sorrow, bitterness, theft, covetousness, and so on.
Genesis 4:6-8: “And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou WROTH? and why is thy countenance fallen?… And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and SLEW him.”
Genesis 5:5,8,11: “And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he DIED… And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he DIED…And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he DIED.”
“Someone has said, ‘The wreckage of earth and a million billion graves attest that God is true and Satan is the liar.’”
Broken homes, broken hearts, broken bodies, broken hopes, broken dreams, broken health, broken vows, broken lives are all a part of this broken world.
In this account lies the simple explanation of all the suffering that has plagued the human race. Why is there suffering? It is because this is a broken, sin-cursed world.
Job said that “Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). In other words, as inevitable as it is that sparks of a fire go up, so it is inevitable that people are going to have trouble in life in this broken world.
In times of trouble and suffering, God puts His grace on display, and we find His promise true that He told to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for thee.”
God does not promise us a trouble-free life, but He does promise His grace and strength in the midst of our troubles. Lamentations 3:24 says, “The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him.”
God knows everything we go through. According to His perfect will and wisdom, He takes the broken pieces in the lives of His own and works all things together for good.
The suffering we endure in this life is difficult, but we must remember too that this broken world is not our home. Our home is in heaven. We have hope in Christ!
As Romans 8:18 reminds us, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”