Father of Lies - Day 7
“Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings…Have mercy upon me, O Lord; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:” Psalms 9:11,13
When Satan spoke to Eve in Genesis 3:1 casting doubt on God’s Word, he was diminishing what God had said. He used doubt in his attempt to take away the Word of the Lord. “Did God really say…?” But that was no worse than what Eve did in her response by adding to what God had said; “…neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” Both are equally wrong. Deuteronomy 4:2 says, “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”
After God created everything, including the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, He pronounced everything good.
“And God saw everything He had made, and behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31
Very good means perfect. The tree itself, including its fruit, was not harmful nor poisonous. Eve, in responding to Satan’s deception, opened the door for further deceptions. 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.” Now Satan is directly contradicting what God said in Genesis 2:17, “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.” Isn’t it interesting that liars are often quick to call others liars? John 8:44 says, “…When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
Satan first cast doubt on what God had said. Now he is casting doubt on God’s character. And Satan went on, and told Eve that it would be to her great benefit to eat this fruit. She and Adam could be as God Himself in their awareness and wisdom. They wouldn’t need God to tell them what is good or what is wrong. They could choose for themselves. Satan, who sinned when he himself acted on these very thoughts was now leading Eve to commit the same sin.
Living by self-interest and the lust for independence from God drives us to rebel and sin. God created us to depend on Him, to live according to His Word, and not our own ideas. The sin of pride destroyed Satan. He is fully aware that tempting Eve to act on her pride will destroy her as well. He knew God said they would die if they disobeyed Him. Satan wanted nothing more than for Adam and Eve to sin and die. But what Satan did not know was how great and vast and powerfully effective and perfectly sufficient the love, mercy, and grace of God is toward mankind.
“Thank you, Lord, for your life-giving Word. Keep my eyes on you so I never doubt you nor your Word. Amen.”
