“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the Lord God had made.” The serpent asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?”
The woman answered the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, “You shall not eat or even touch it lest you die.” Genesis 3:1-3
The serpent we generally understand to be the devil or Satan, the tempter. The serpent twists the words of God and puts a seed of doubt in Eve’s mind. He makes it sound as if God is very limiting by twisting God’s words. God said that they could not eat of one tree, but the serpent asks if it is true that God said they couldn’t eat from any tree in the garden. He subtly attacks God’s character.
And so, Eve responds with what God said, they are not to eat the tree in the middle of the garden or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There is only one tree off limits not every single tree. She gets that right, but she also adds something God never said. God never said that if they touched the tree they would die. Eve has added that, and it is an indication that she is getting subtly sucked into the serpent’s scheme.
The Fall of humanity starts when human beings get just slightly off track and doubt God’s character just a bit. Pray today for the grace to stay aligned with God’s word and to trust his character completely.