Genesis 3:1-24 continuing…

“And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die” Genesis 3:2-3

The serpent had implied in verse one that God had said they could not eat from every tree of the garden, not just the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eve being innocent caught the “error”, and proceeded to correct the snake. Surely, she found it fascinating that a serpent was able to speak in the first place. It was, most likely, not an event that was supposed to happen, except in this rare event. There must have been questions racing through Eve’s mind – ‘Where did this serpent with the ability to speak come from?’; ‘Is this the only one, or are there others?’; ‘Is this the only beast that can speak or can all the others?’ All these racing through her mind and distracted from the deception that was taking place.

Eve does answer the serpent correctly in this first phase of her answer. “We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden…” God had not forbidden Adam and Eve from eating any of the fruits of the garden, except the one tree. We must remember there were two trees in the “midst of the garden” (Genesis 2:9). In this part of the answer Eve’s answer becomes a little unclear. She says, “…Of the fruit of the tree which is in the MIDST OF THE GARDEN, God hath said,,,”. Now, which tree was she speaking of? Her answer there is unclear. She did not specify which tree. The serpent had her in his grasp. She was not clear on what God had said, or at least had not quoted God correctly, then, she goes on and adds more it seems. Since these last words she uses, “…Neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die” are not mentioned previously it seems that she has added to God’s Word; on that the serpent has her again. It would have probably been a good thing to not touch the fruit lest the temptation be stronger, but to add it as a commandment of the LORD God was a mistake.

Let’s have a refresher on what God had said, ” And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” Genesis 2:16-17. Eve was in error of not saying which tree in the midst of the garden, and she was in error for confronting the devil with what she may have assumed to be God’s Word. The MacArthur Study Bible note for this phrase, “Nor shall you touch it” states, “An addition to the original prohibition as recorded (cf. Gen. 2:17). Adam may have so instructed her for her protection“. I do believe that Eve had her own fellowship with the LORD God not based on Adam’s. If Adam did tell her this without instructing her that it was his own words and not the LORD God’s then, Adam was in error in doing so.

We can learn much from these two verses. One is that when we are tempted we better know the Word of the Lord. We cannot stand in this fallen world without God’s Word hidden in our hearts and lives. It is given us for our protection and keeping. “How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto, according to Thy Word” Psalm 119:9. “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” Psalm 119:11. Jesus said, “Sanctify them by Thy truth; Thy Word is truth” John 17:17. None of us can face the devil/serpent alone. We, as Christians, have the Spirit of Christ Jesus within us and the Word of God directing and cleansing us.