Genesis 3:1-7
In Genesis 3, we come across the moment when everything changed. The serpent appears on the scene, not with force or a lie but a question: “Did God really say?” (verse 1a). This is what makes Genesis 3 so unnerving. Just four words. Seemingly reasonable but they are filled with poison. I read somewhere that the most effective challenge to authority is never a frontal assault but a raised eyebrow. It is the devil’s oldest strategy.
In response, Eve quotes God carefully but adds something He never said: ‘you must not touch it or you will die’ (verse 3). When you distort what God says, it becomes easier to disobey. The serpent presses harder, telling Eve she will most certainly not die. Far from it, her eyes will be opened and she will be godlike (verses 4 & 5).
The serpent was inferring that God is not the good God he says He is. The boundary dressed up as love is really about control. God is actually withholding something good from her, i.e. her independence and happiness.
Theologians have long recognized that this is how disobedience works: first, the questioning of the word. Then the motive behind it. Once you decide the boundary-setter cannot be trusted, the boundary begins to dissolve. But God can be trusted – completely and without reservation. When He says something is good for us, it is good. His warning to stay away from something is wisdom and mercy wearing a firm voice.
Genesis 3 is not merely ancient history but a mirror. Every generation hears the same whisper, ‘Did God really say?’. What do we do when the whisper comes – when circumstances seem to contradict what God’s promises, when waiting feels like abandonment, when obedience is hard and goes unrewarded?
We hold fast to God and what He has said. We recall words like Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers, and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever”. We rehearse His faithfulness, not as an intellectual exercise but as an act of faith and worship. We say aloud in praise: “Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever” (2 Chronicles 20:21).
He demonstrated that love most fully at the cross where Jesus the Good Shepherd laid down His life. A shepherd who gives his life for his flock is not withholding something from his flock. Rather he is giving everything for them. Such a Shepherd is worthy of every ounce of our trust.
Fisher of people,
Mark
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