Scripture Reading: Genesis 3:1-7 (KJV)
Before sin entered human life after the Creation event, Satan posed the very first query. After being confronted with this query, Adam and Eve hid. The second query from God was, “Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:9). In human history, and especially in our own, these two questions have been posed one after the other.
The serpent stands for the enemy of God, the tempter, and the antigod, and he is more cunning and evil than people. Satan is cunning because he highlights Adam and Eve’s frailty while misconstruing God’s directive: he manipulates Eve into what appears to be a meaningful theological discussion but falsifies it by focusing on God’s limitations rather than His blessings, and he intends for the Bible to come across as strict and binding.
When Adam and Eve choose to eat the fruit, they are choosing to put their own practical, aesthetic, and sensual preferences ahead of God’s word. What is healthy for us is no longer determined by God’s prescription but rather by what people deem desirable in order to improve life. In other words, we make good things nasty.
Adam and Eve destroy the bonds that are fundamental to their beings by choosing to disobey God. First, their union was described as being “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23). As they hide from one another behind the cover of fig leaves, this unity is shattered (Genesis 3:7). As they no longer converse with God in the evening breeze but rather flee from His presence, their connection with God is the next to perish (Genesis 3:8).
Satan’s question to the woman made his identity clear: his tendency to lie. The only thing we need to know about Satan is that he is never to be relied upon. In John 8:44, Jesus called him a liar and the father of lies — the origin of all falsehood and trickery. Satan has a variety of tactics that operate on several levels. But they are built on lies. After being successful with the first man and woman, he planted the question about what is and is not holy in people’s hearts. Jesus often urged those who listened to Him not to fall prey to the evil one’s tricks. Satan will become more convincing as the end times approach by developing his misleading work.
Satan is far more powerful than we are, and we are often susceptible to his tricks. As a result, we betray our faith and turn away from God. Even if Satan is persistent, God will not abandon us. “Where art thou?” Jesus cries out to us. Do we recognise His silent, little voice, and if so, do we pay attention to it? We might or might not. We could change for a period before reverting to our old habits. Paul expressed empathy in his words about letting go of our old selves and becoming new people. The first step in maintaining our trust is to carefully listen to God’s queries. If you claim to have heard His inquiry, it just proves that you are in an inappropriate location. But that doesn’t matter since it also indicates that you have faith in Jesus’ ability to bring about redemption. We need the aid of the Scriptures, their interpretations, and the application of God’s will for us in our lives in order to comprehend this. As Jesus commanded, we ought to love one another. In our Christian community, we need to support one another and receive support from them. We cannot defeat a terrifying entity like Satan by ourselves. But together, we can. Congregations, fellowships, and communities exist for this reason. Jesus wants us to be a part of His body, the global church, for this reason.