Genesis 3:1-5: a reflection

1Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?” 2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, 3but not the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it. You shall not touch it, lest you die.’” 4The serpent said to the woman, “You won’t really die, 5for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

In the account of the first temptation, notice how the serpent works. He begins by casting doubt on God's word: Did God really say you shall not eat from any tree in the garden? He twists and questions what God had said, making Eve unsure of it. Then he casts doubt on God's goodness and truthfulness: You will not surely die, he says, contradicting God outright; God knows that when you eat it, you will be like God. He suggests that God is withholding something good, that his command is not for their good but to keep them down.

Notice the two tactics of the tempter: to make us doubt God's word, and to make us doubt God's goodness. First, did God really say?, unsettling confidence in what God has clearly spoken. And then, the suggestion that God's command is not for our good, that he is withholding something better, that his goodness cannot be trusted. These two together, doubt of God's word and doubt of God's goodness, are the heart of the temptation; if the serpent can make us doubt these, the rest follows.

Those same tactics are used against us still, and it helps to recognize them. Temptation often begins by making us doubt God's word, did God really say?, unsettling our confidence in what God has clearly commanded; and by making us doubt God's goodness, suggesting that his commands are not for our good, that he is withholding something better, that we cannot trust his heart toward us. Recognize these tactics when they come. When you are tempted to doubt God's word, or to doubt his goodness, to suspect that his commands are not for your good, know that this is the serpent's ancient strategy. Hold fast to the truth of God's word, and to the goodness of God's heart toward you, against the doubts the tempter would sow. He undid Eve by making her doubt God's word and God's goodness; guard those two, and you guard against the heart of temptation.

Lord, in the first temptation the serpent worked by two tactics: casting doubt on your word, did God really say, and casting doubt on your goodness, suggesting your command was not for their good but to keep them down. Help me recognize those same tactics, used against me still. Temptation often begins by making me doubt your word, did God really say, unsettling my confidence in what you have clearly commanded; and by making me doubt your goodness, suggesting that your commands are not for my good, that you are withholding something better, that I cannot trust your heart toward me. Help me recognize these tactics when they come. When I am tempted to doubt your word, or to doubt your goodness, to suspect that your commands are not for my good, help me know that this is the serpent's ancient strategy. Help me hold fast to the truth of your word, and to the goodness of your heart toward me, against the doubts the tempter would sow. He undid Eve by making her doubt your word and your goodness; help me guard those two, Lord, and so guard against the heart of temptation. Keep me trusting your word and your goodness.