Have you ever thought about how large the Garden of Eden must have been? Have you ever considered just how many trees might have been in that garden? I personally believe that the Garden of Eden was quite large. In fact, I believe it was huge, much larger than most people likely think of when they think about the garden. I think we are talking about a large area covered with many different trees that would have been filled with luscious fruit.
Why am I talking about this, you may ask. I’ll be happy to tell you, my friend. I am reading through the book of Genesis again and I can’t help but think about how many trees would have been in the garden. So, why was Eve anywhere near the one tree she had been commanded not to eat from? Why go that close to temptation? In Genesis 2:16, God told Adam that he was “free to eat from any tree of the garden” before commanding him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
He pointed out all that they were free to do before telling them the ONE thing they were forbidden from doing. The very next chapter of Genesis finds Eve being tempted by the enemy while apparently being close enough to see the tree she should have stayed far away from. Why? Why go near it? She had so many good choices, why go near the one bad one? Beloved, may I offer some advice? Stay as far away from temptation as possible! Don’t get close enough to give the enemy an easy target!
Eve should have stayed far away from the ONLY tree in the huge garden full of trees that she wasn’t supposed to eat from. Dear heart, we are going to see that we can learn a lot from our ancestress Eve, but this is our first lesson. If at all possible, stay as far away as possible from temptation. Don’t open the door to the enemy. Don’t make yourself an easy target. “and don’t give the devil an opportunity” Eph. 4:27. Don’t seek out temptation, my friend, do your best to avoid it.
The enemy is always ready to offer any temptation that he thinks will appeal to us, so it is wise to make sure that you are not helping him out by getting too close to the things you need to avoid. In His merciful kindness, God always provides a way out. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” 1 Cor. 10:13.
I’m not here to bash Eve; I just want us to look at her story so that we can see what we can learn from her experience. This was our first lesson to keep in mind. Stay away from temptation. Our next lesson is a very, very important one that I hope you will pay careful attention to. You need to know EXACTLY what God says. You need to know His Word! The enemy’s first words to Eve were, “Did God really say”. His very first words were meant to cause confusion regarding God’s command.
The enemy wanted Eve to question God’s Word. He twisted God’s words and when Eve tried to correct him, she added to what God had actually said. Beloved, you need to know the Word of God for yourself. You don’t need to know what someone told you it said, you need to know it for yourself. I don’t know if Eve ever heard directly from God or if Adam had been the one to tell her about the tree. Either way, she needed to know and REMEMBER exactly what God had said.
When the enemy comes knocking, it is vital that you know how to stand on the Word of God. In Matthew chapter four, Jesus withstood the enemy’s temptation by pointing him back to Scripture. Three times He responds with, “It is written”. Not many, if any of us, will ever actually find ourselves tempted by Satan himself. However, the important thing to remember is that if it worked for Jesus against satan himself, we need to learn to do this when we find ourselves facing temptation.
Friend, how can we respond like Jesus if we don’t actually know what is written in the Word of God? I cannot stress it enough, dear heart, you need to daily get in the Word of God. Get in the Word and get the Word in you or you, like Eve, will find yourself falling for the enemy’s lies and deception. The only way to truly arm yourself and guard against the lies of the enemy is to saturate yourself in Truth. You have to immerse yourself in His Word so that you truly know it.
This leads me to the next thing we are going to talk about in our look at Eve today. In Genesis 3:13, Eve confesses what she now realizes to be fact. The serpent aka satan had deceived her. Too late, she realizes that it was all lies and deception. The enemy had promised one thing and delivered another. Poor Eve realized to late that she didn’t really want what the enemy had offered. She realized too late that she had been deceived by the enemy of her soul.
This is our next lesson, my friends. The enemy always lies to us. “There is no truth in him” because “he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Whatever the enemy promises you; it is a lie. Whatever he whispers to you; it is a lie. He is not capable of speaking truth. He is a liar. He is the deceiver. Unfortunately, like Eve, we sometimes don’t realize we are being deceived until it is too late. We don’t realize that we are being deceived until we have fallen for the deception.
How can you guard against deception? At the risk of sounding like a broken record… you have to KNOW TRUTH! The best way to guard against deception is to ground yourself in Truth. “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping Your word” Psalm 119:9. His Word protects us and guides us. It is our defense against the enemy’s lies. “I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You” Psalm 119:11. Get in His Word, hold on to it, and let it guide you.
Beloved, I believe that as time get shorter, it will become more and more important to know His Word. Deception is already increasing at a rate that I have never seen before. I looked in one of my study Bibles to see what the original Hebrew meant by deceive and there were three things that stood out. It means “to lead astray”, “to delude (mentally)”, and “to seduce (morally)”. I believe that we are seeing all these signs of deception in our current society.
My friend, the world around us is desperately trying to lead us astray, mentally delude us, and morally seduce us on a daily basis. And, I must also add that they are not just after us; they are after our children. We face an evil, relentless enemy who wants to destroy not only us, but also our children. You need to know Truth and you need to teach it to your children. This is a battle we cannot afford to lose. In fact, we have already given up too much ground already.
Please heed the warning I am trying to sound today, dear heart! Too many believers are spending less time in the Word instead of digging in deeper like they need to. We are in a battle and the only way to survive a battle is to be properly armed! Read Ephesians chapter six, my friend, and take heed to what Paul is saying. And please note that the only weapon mentioned in our arsenal is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Beloved, read your Bible and arm yourself for the battle.
Don’t underestimate the enemy! He is real and he is still quite active. His favorite question is still “Did God really say…”. May I ask you to carefully consider a question for me? If he approached you with this question regarding something in the Bible, would you be able to respond accurately? Could you accurately answer like Jesus, “It is written” or would you, like Eve, stumble in your answer? I mean no condemnation, beloved; I hope only to encourage you to arm yourself for the battle.
Trust me; no matter who you are or how well you know His Word, you can still learn more. You will never regret the time you invest in reading, studying, and applying His Word. It will be the best investment you could make, my precious friend. I pray that you will spend some time considering these words of mine and ask the Lord to help you find the best way to arm yourself against the enemy. As we close out our look at Eve, here is one last thing to consider.
Eve conversed with the enemy, but she never stopped to cry out to God. She never stopped to call on God and ask for His help while dealing with the enemy. If she had, she would have found the help she needed. And so will you, beloved. Whatever you face, He is always there ready to help you; you can call on Him and trust that He will be there. As you get in His Word and arm yourself against the enemy, remember this. God is always just one whisper of His name away.
Katrina Douglas
1/16/2023
