The Temptation of Eve, Genesis 3:1-7

Satan’s begins his conversation with Eve: “has God said…” He poses a question. He poses a doubt. In fact, Satan poses the first conditional statement found in the Old Testament. Has God really said this? There seems to be an error of some kind in what God said, since according to the wise serpent, it doesn’t seem right. The snake has some standard of truth by which he lives by. Satan’s standard of truth is not God’s – but his own. And Satan’s first move in the Garden of Eden was to push Eve to doubt the goodness of God.[1] If anything was true, God had just finished displaying His power in creation and His beauty was reflected in this creation (Genesis 1:1 to 2:25). All of this creation was for His glory and for man’s enjoyment. As man enjoyed the land and cared for the animals he had earlier named (2:19), he was satisfied with God. God was seen as all glorious and His creation of earth was satisfying for man. Moreover, Adam was very satisfied with Eve. The Hebrew puts great emphasis on this satisfaction (compared with the rest of creation). God had made all of this for man and it couldn’t get any better!
At this point how could Eve, or any of us, doubt God’s goodness? Is He doing all of this for man’s total satisfaction? Just like Eve, we all have stumbled into this same temptation. Satan uses old tricks. His temptations are not new; he’s just a master at using the old since he’s practiced them for ten thousand years. Satan attacks God’s goodness by posing doubt in the mind of Eve.

Possibly the root problem in all of our sins, is that deep within our own hearts we doubt the goodness of God. Reflect on this in your own life. How would your life be different today if you fully embraced God’s goodness? How would your life look? It’s amazing that so many doubts, frustrations, anxieties, and discouragements in life come out of us because we do not completely accept God’s goodness. We doubt this fundamental attribute of God, and we doubt His extension of that goodness into our own life. We may accept that He is all-present (omnipresent) or that He is all knowing (omniscience). But if we admitted it, God’s goodness may be hard to swallow for most of us. Satan immediately attacked God’s character. He went for the sting – to wipe out all of the creation process that God had just finished for man’s enjoyment. If man doubts God’s goodness after all that He had just beautifully accomplished for man, then Satan’s goal is reached.

The enemy focused on the one restriction, and completely glazed over everything that was permissible. Don’t be fooled, the enemy wants you to neglect the good gifts of God. He wants you to focus on the few things that are prohibited, with the lie that maybe what is prohibited is actually good for you. Remember this truth: God is perfectly good and He only gives what is best for you. This is true no matter how uncomfortable or uncertain it may seem. God never withholds what is best. Paul says in Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” Christ is the very best gift the Father has and will ever give to His children. If He has already given us the best gift, should you worry about the lesser gifts?
[1] Luzter, Erwin. Winning the Inner War, 19.