Far From Home
Why is there so much trouble in the world? Why are there wars, murders, divorce, sickness, death, unrest, disappointment, depression, addiction, earthquakes, tornadoes, drought and famine? And you could go on and on, seemingly without end. The answer is clearly in Genesis 3:1-7:
1 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
(Many scholars today say that the translation for “serpent” actually should be “the shining one” because the root verb actually means “to shine”. Talking animals are a rarity, although God can cause anything to happen. God opened the mouth of Balaam's donkey in order to have the animal speak to him in Numbers 22. In any case, the “serpent” here is the chief devil, being more crafty than any other.
Revelation 12:9, in speaking of satan’s expulsion from Heaven, says: “The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” Being hurled out of his heavenly home, he made the earth a place to raise havoc for the time being, but only by God’s permission. The world actually recognizes his influence because snakes have become the universal symbol of Satan.
Throughout biblical history, all snakes or serpents are a picture of “evil”, just as pigs represent the “unsaved” or “unclean”, “wolves” are vicious people, and “sheep” are the image of believers in Christ.)
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”
This same story has “played out” millions times in history, probably even millions of times in your own life. It is actually the serpent’s sad scenario. Oh, you aren’t approached by a snake-like creature, if indeed, that is the image that God allowed satan to assume for this occasion, but every human being has been deceived by the devil, within and without.
The devil comes to us and masquerades as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14) He floods us, not with light which provides life, but he tries to immerse us with lies. “Did God really say? The devil douses us with inward doubt of God’s Divine Love. He tries to deceive us into doubting the word, the Truth and the very character and nature of God.
You might think for a moment that the devil doesn’t do that to you, but that is one of the lies that he wants you to believe. He wants you to believe that you are in control, and that he can have no effect on you, but he has perfected his skill with far more expertise than when he first came to “the woman” in the Garden of Eden and has been exercising his “craft” for many more years than you have been alive!
When the devil came to Eve, she was innocent: Did you ever think of that? She was without sin. Today, everyone born is sinful by nature, and so we are most often tempted from within, not without. You might be thinking: Why didn’t God just cause her to do the right thing? Why all the pain and misery? I don’t have a “logical” answer to the question, but I know that God does all things well. God did not create us as His human robots, but He created us with the capacity to be “temptable” and Jesus was also “temptable” but without sin. He created us as His image bearers, and we cannot argue about that truth without questioning the truth of His love for us. He did not create us in order to sin, but to reflect His character (to give Him glory).
Proverbs 14:12 says: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” That’s is what the devil wants us to do: He wants us to doubt God’s Creative Power and Purpose and think that God somehow made a mistake, and to go in that direction we will inevitably question His Perfect Love.
Satan sows seeds of doubt in order for us to be thrown away from the biblical truth that the devil ONLY produces lies, deception, and death. He is the exact opposite of everything that God is. Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Satan is the way that SEEMS right to a man, he is the “father of all lies”, and he does not provide life; Following him will lead to death (that is promised by God throughout His Word, and was promised in Genesis 2:16-17. God commanded: "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.") Satan had the sinister craftiness to ask Eve: “Did God REALLY say that?”
The devil’s work also entices our desires. The James 1:14-15 tells us: “But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (“for when you eat of it you will surely die.”)
The devil approaches us in the same three stages as outlined in James 1:
As James has told us, his first tactic is to arouse desire. James says that every man "is dragged away and enticed” by his own evil desire. The first thing the Devil does is to arouse desire to do wrong, to create a hunger, a lure or enticement toward evil.
The second is for us to permit intent to in our hearts and minds and then to act upon it. Desire is conceived and gives birth to sin (the idea of conception and birth). There is a gestation or incubation period in temptation, which sooner or later issues in sin, an act that is against God. (In Genesis 4: 7 God warned Cain: “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.")
The third stage is that the Devil immediately acts upon the opportunity afforded by the evil act to move in and to produce death -- "Sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
This is the Devil's aim, because as Jesus said, satan was "a murderer from the beginning" (John 8:44). He delights in mangling, smashing, twisting, destroying, and blasting whenever and wherever he can. That’s his life. These are "the works of the devil," says 1 John 3:8.
The results of the serpent’s scenario are easily seen in Genesis 3:6-7: “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves”. The serpent’s work becomes the sinner’s scenario.
It is inevitable that Sin and sinners influence others. It was the case with Adam and Eve and it continues to be the case, only the influence is millions of times greater. In the garden, there were only two people and one tempter at the time. After that time, sin entered the world through every person born. Our decisions and behaviors influence others and satan’s legions are also at work, to say nothing about all of his strongholds in the world.
Sin and sinners reproduce nakedness and craftiness. Adam and Eve realized that they were naked. (You can run but you cannot hide!) Their eyes were opened to their sin. The word for “naked” has its derivative in the word for “crafty,” which is used in verse one to describe “the serpent”. They indeed had known what it was like to be at home with God and in His perfect presence, and now they knew what it was like to be far from home, separated from God and hiding from Him.
They quickly make clothing for themselves, trying to cover their sin, trying to find a way back from where they had moved. You have to notice also that Satan did not hang around. He disappears once his deadly deeds had taken hold.
Although satan aroused their desires to turn from God, we have to also know that God is also at work to arouse our desires, to make us want things, to stimulate us and activate us to move us away from sin, so that we can be at home with Him: Let’s call it “The Savior’s scenario.”
We will look more at these in the coming verses, but First, God’s approach is that he demonstrates his love to us. He comes and touches us somehow, blesses us, pours out upon us his sunshine and his rain, all the blessings of our lives. He comes in Christ and moves in among us and lives with us, touching us, blessing us always giving Himself to us, not taking from us.
Second, he declares a promised result. He gives his word to us. He declares what will happen and He does not deviate or deceive because He is the Truth.
Third, He offers us his presence to bring us to that promise, to bring about its fulfillment. Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28). "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in," (Revelation 3:20). He wants sinners to be at home with Him, and He came to our home on earth in order to prove it.
What a contrast between the way God works and the way the Devil works? The Devil first implants a distrust of God's love, but the Lord demonstrates his love. God declares a promise to us. The Devil declares lie. God strengthens it by offering himself, the truth itself to us. The Devil distorts that truth and makes it look like something else, makes it vague, hazy and undefined.
In Isaiah 54:10, God promises that, “Though the mountains (of your life) be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.”
OUTLINE
I. “The serpent’s scenario”
A. The devil douses us with inward doubt of God’s Divine love.
B. The devil only produces lies, deception, and death.
C. The devil’s work entices our desires.
1. He arouses desire.
2. We permit intent to form and then act upon it.
3. He moves to give birth to death.
II. “The sinner’s scenario”
A. Sinners influence others.
B. Sinners discover nakedness and “craftiness”.
III. “The Savior’s scenario”
A. God demonstrates His love.
B. God declares a promised result and He is the Truth.
C. God offers His presence to bring us to His promise.
