WEDNESDAY, June 10, 2009                                                       READ: Genesis 3: 1 - 9                                                                                                        

THE DEVIL ATTACKED THE HUMAN FAMILY

MEMORIZE: "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”         Genesis 3: 1, 2

God designed and created the human family to serve the divine redemptive purpose. God designed and created the human family to bring glory and honor to His name (cf. Ephesians 2: 7). We are told in Isaiah 14: 12 – 17 and Ezekiel 28: 12b – 19, that because of his attitude towards God, his creator, Satan, the devil, was cast out of Heaven, and we may assume, upon the earth. He was and is determined to continue to undermine God. He is determined to deprive God of the honor and glory which He desires and deserves to have from His creation. He uses nefarious means and methods to accomplish his objectives. We who serve the LORD are not to be ignorant of the enemy’s devices.

Here in our text, Genesis 3: 1 – 9, we are able to see how the devil attacked the human family. Using the body of the serpent, he deceived the woman, the man’s wife into thinking that God was holding out on them. He got her to come to distrust God and to disobey His command. She then enticed her husband to join her in disobeying God’s command, and thereby sinning against God. The devil attacked the human family by working through the woman and used her to entice and seduce her husband to disobey God’s command to him (cf. Romans 5: 11 – 21). In v. 1, we are able to see how the devil used the body of the creature who became known as the serpent, to engage the woman and deceive her. This creature was aware of its own beauty and cunning (cf. Proverbs 31: 30). The devil used that to appeal to the woman. We see how he spoke through the creature and challenged God integrity. In vv. 2, 3, we are able to see how the devil got the woman to question the word of God, as it had been told to her by her husband. “Did God actually say…?" “Are you sure that what you were told is what God actually said?” What did God tell Adam (cf. 2: 16, 17)? How did the woman answer to the question which was asked of her? Would she have done better had she not being so quick to speak up (cf. James 1: 19)? So many things are opened in error, and our mouth is one of them. In vv. 4, 5, we see how God’s integrity was challenged. How are we to respond when we hear God’s integrity being challenged (cf. Psalm 18: 30; 1 Peter 3: 15)? In v. 6, we see how the devil got the woman to want more than God in store for her and her husband. He got her to decide to take the lead, and to make the decision to go against what her husband had told her not to do (cf. Ephesians 5: 22). Her husband had spoken God’s word to her. This represents the heart of our problem – refusing to obey God’s word to us in our hearts. Deceived by the devil, the woman chose to distrust God’s word and ate the forbidden fruit. Then, using her own means, she enticed her husband to follow her lead. She was supposed to help him to fulfill His life’s mission. She got him to choose to obey her instead of obeying God’s word to him. If we are going to live victorious lives, we will have to commit ourselves to give God’s word the place of primacy in our lives. We have to commit to trust God and obey His word. Both the woman and the man ate of the fruit which God had commanded them not to eat. Instead of leading and taking his stand, the man chose to follow and went the wrong way. In vv. 7, 8, we are able to see the immediate effect of sin upon both the man and the woman. Things changed significantly (cf. 2: 24, 25). They became self-conscious of their nakedness and tried to protect themselves from each other and from God. In v. 8, we are able to see another effect that their disobedience to God had on them. They heard God coming to them, as He had done before, but now they were afraid. Sin destroys the sense of security. In v. 9, we are able to see how God called Adam to account for his location, since he was attempting to hide from His presence (cf. Psalm 139: 7 – 10). Adam do you know where you are? Are you aware that you were attempting to hide from Me? What is God saying to you today? Do you know where you are?

PRAY: LORD, God Almighty, thank You for making me aware of the devil's work and how sin and confusion came to the human family. LORD, I want to learn to trust You and to obey Your word. Please help me, LORD. Work in me and make me what I should be, in Jesus’ strong name. Amen.