Based on Genesis 3 (New King James Version)
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’’ Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ So he said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.’ And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?’ Then the man said, ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.’ And the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’ So the Lord God said to the serpent: ‘Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.’ To the woman He said: ‘I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.’ Then to Adam He said, ‘Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: ‘Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.’ And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’—therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Adolf Hitler said: “By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise.” Hitler also said: “All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach.” It appears that this careful and subtle approach (through the media) is what Satan has been using for quite some time now to convince the masses; and it is working fantastically well. Most of the “civilized” world is being governed by discrete messages; portraying evil as good and good as evil. And due to the tactic that is being utilized, from the great intellectuals to the simplest of people, all are being governed by the media like puppets; manipulated by their own evil lusts.
And like our passage today, that simple yet tantalizing message is being repeated over and over and over: “Has God indeed said…?” It may not be verbatim (literally), but the feeling is there. It is the idea of questioning those things that are Bible-based. When we used to be a more God-centered society (not too many decades ago), the idea of marriage and family was important and sacred; at least, in general. The idea of marriage and that it consisted of being between a man and a woman was never questioned. It is now common place for people to just live together with no real commitment. Children grow up in all kinds of environments. Our public education now dictates to people what is right or wrong, taking its lead from government and the media. People have become more and more materialistic, living more for things and evil desires than for those things that really matter; or what used to matter. And people are still fed the same lie: “You will surely not die.” I am considered an outcast of modern society for writing what I am writing, but there is a certain and unchangeable reality that I know: God is God, and sin still causes death. Just because you choose to close your eyes or make like something is not there does not change reality. God will continue to exist no matter what, and no one can change that; not even the president of the United States.
What was Eve enticed with? The same thing that most people are tempted with today: the idea of attaining things that should not be sought after. She found it attractive to be like God. It seemed attractive to her, even though she really had no clue what was waiting for her on the other side. She doubted God (or what God commanded) and gave much more credit to some animal from the field. Adam did not doubt. He unfortunately and blatantly disobeyed; especially being the first one to receive the commandment. The most prevalent feeling that resides in the heart of man (fed by Satan himself) is that: “I am going to do whatever I feel like doing, and I don’t care what anyone thinks about it; least of all God (if He even exists).” The problem with that sort of mentality is that God is God, and the universe was created by Him, with an unbreakable structure: sin causes death. Desiring things that go against God will bring about death and destruction. For this is even written about the fall of Satan himself; thinking he could be like God: “How you are fallen from heaven, o Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.” Isaiah 12:12-15.
There is nothing wrong with desiring and attaining things. What we have to be careful with is with what we desire. And our judgement of what is good or not should rest on the One (God) that made all things. Otherwise, certain destruction will occur, sooner or later. So, do you have dangerous desires or good desires; and what are they based on? Lord bless! John