Genesis 3:1-5 - 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’?”

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 certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Introduction

Eve was the first person in history to seek the wisdom of God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs ...). It would take the wisest man in the world for us realize this.

Mankind was created in God's image; the only living creatures on earth who can believe and obey God. For this we are seen as righteous, a position of honor even beyond that of angels. (1 Corinthians 6:3).

Adam was born a member of mankind, and was the first human God provided an opportunity for righteousness. When told to tend the Garden of Eden without eating of the Tree of Knowledge (lest he die), Adam believed God and obeyed Him. God later made Eve from Adam's rib, the perfect helper for Adam. She was in God's image as well, and believed God and obeyed Him like Adam.

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'?”

The Serpent

Eve does not appear suprised to hear a serpent talking to her. In fact, she answers! Perhaps talking animals (possessed by angels?) were the norm in Eden. It could explain why an animal might be considered for Adam's helper (Genesis 2:20, 1 Corinthians 6:3). In Jesus' time, we would see Legion possess a man at will, yet possess pigs only with permission (Luke 8:27-33). In Numbers, Balaam was surprised when his donkey rebuked him (Numbers 22:24-31, 2 Peter 2:16). Maybe possessed and/or talking animals were the norm in Eden, but not so much afterwards.

Eve Demonstrates Righteousness

Recall that Eve was not yet alive when God forbade Adam from eating of the Tree of Knowledge. So, Adam must have passed the command on to Eve. Also consider that Eve had never lived anywhere but the Garden of Eden, unlike Adam, who was born to people who did not know God, and was raised around agriculture and death. Eve, by contrast, had never seen anything but paradise and took God and (it would seem) talking animals for granted. So, she answered...

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.’”

Don't even touch it? It would seem that when Adam passed God's command on to Eve, he added something to it, or maybe Eve read more into Adam's words than he meant. "In fact," he may have said, "I don't think you should even touch it." It wouldn't be last miscommunication between a husband and a wife! It would seem that mere miscommunication however is no sin, an insight we would all do well to remember.

The Serpent Misleads Eve Through Truth

Before considering the serpent's response to Eve, it is important to keep some things in mind. First of all, physical death already existed in the world. This is why Adam and Eve were given the Tree of Life, whose fruit would provide life as long as they continued to eat of it. God's warning of death therefore was in part a promise to remove the Tree of Life from their grasp if they disobeyed. Through this deprivation, Adam and Eve would eventually -- and certainly -- die.

Another aspect of God's promise of death comes in terms of the life that God breathed into Adam in Genesis 2:7. It is like the new life we all experience when we come to know God as our Lord and Savior. Many Christians call it being "born again". Others will talk of being bathed in the Holy Spirit. As described so well in Genesis 2:7, it is like having the breath of life breathed into you. However, where there is spiritual life, there can be spiritual death.

If spiritual life is ones connection to God, then spiritual death would sever it. More than losing access to the Tree of Life, the risk of spiritual death is in many ways more significant. In fact, Adam passed this severance on to us. This is why Jesus did not come to prevent our physical death, but to restore our connection to God, to give us back spiritual life.

Getting back to Eve, she probably knew none of this before she answered the serpent's question. She most likely thought that the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge would immediately kill her, and the serpent preyed on her igorance...

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.

5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened,

and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Conclusion

Do you see the sneakiness of the serpent's reply? He might as well have said, "God lied. This fruit will not kill you, but will make you wise like God." Yet, even while lying, the serpent was telling the truth, much like Satan would do when he tempted Jesus 5,000 years later. He used the truth to deceive. Though Jesus would not succomb, Eve did not see it coming.