1-3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4-5 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:1-5 English Standard Version

This is surely one of the most difficult parts of the Bible for people in the 21st century to accept as literal. It goes against all known science. But we must remember that science does not know everything and this incident took place before the world was dramatically changed by sin. Keep in mind too that people in the days of the New Testament were educated and intelligent. The Greek culture especially took pride in its knowledge and learning. Yet we find the apostle Paul saying to Christians in Corinth “I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3) Paul believed the account in Genesis was literal and his Greek hearers didn't respond by saying “Well, that story is just a myth”.

So while we know WHAT took place, we don't know the details of HOW it took place. In the vision the apostle John had of a great red dragon that swept away a number of stars from heaven he says “The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world - he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” (Revelation 12:9) Could it be that Satan used the serpent in Eden in much the same way as demonic spirits can speak through a human being? Whatever the solution, we need to take the story as it is told, something that actually took place.

In interpreting the Bible we must be careful of reading things into it that are not there, and must certainly not be dogmatic about our speculations. But it is right to ask questions and draw lessons from what we read. Can you see anything in the way the serpent asked his question, and the way the woman responded, that show how subtle temptation can be? (vs 1-3)

The serpent didn't make a direct attack. He asks if God had said they mustn't eat of ANY tree. As the woman pointed out, God had in fact said they COULD eat of the trees of the garden, only not of the one He had forbidden. (By the way, the word 'you' in these verses is in the plural, so it applied to both the woman and the man.) But the woman's reply also seems to add to what God had said because she says they were not even to TOUCH the tree. God may have said that, but it was not mentioned before.

The thought that came to my mind is I suspect Satan's strategy hasn't changed. The way he tempts Christians will not always come in the form of a direct attack on God's word, but more likely in a subtle twisting of what God has said. The temptation may not be to flatly disobey God, but rather to compromise on what He has said. Yes, adultery is wrong, he’ll agree, but surely a bit of flirting is natural. The danger too is that Christians may add to God's words. This happened when some Jewish converts to Christ accused gentile converts of sinning by not being circumcised and for not keeping other Jewish traditions.

But, having got her into discussing what God had said, the serpent then directly contradicted God and said He was really just stopping her and the man from being on the same level as Himself. This is temptation at it's peak! It's the invitation for men and women to be equal to God – to run their own life and make their own choices between good and evil. That message is still very alive in the media, movies, philosophies, and even some Churches today. The message is 'you can be your own God and don't need the God of the Bible'. And like the woman then, people still take the bait.