Day 9: Examining the Fall
Hope for Your Marriage
I am praying for you, beloved. I am praying that as you navigate through the floodwaters of marriage that you will seek God’s desires for your life. My aim is that this selection will quell any overflow of friction within your marriage.
When God gave Adam instructions in the Garden of Eden, he commanded:
“You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:16
Background
When God spoke these words, Eve had not yet been made. She was created thereafter. It is assumed that Adam relayed this information to her. Adam received the commandment directly from God, and Eve received the news by the word of Adam’s mouth.
When Life was Simple
Adam and Eve were holy and happy in the garden prior to the fall. They had no knowledge of sin and therefore had an unobstructed personal relationship with God. They were in right standing before him and possessed an understanding that was characterized by true wisdom. This wisdom was the fruit of willful obedience. Their obedience was rooted in their fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and true wisdom. True wisdom does not come from experience, but obedience.
We say to our children, “Do not touch the stove when it is on. It’s hot.” If our child obeys and never touches the hot stove, this would be wisdom through obedience. However, if our child touches a hot stove and sustains painful burns, this knowledge of the hot stove was gained through experience.
And Then This Happened
And then our antagonist enters eerily into the scene—the crafty, sneaky snake.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’”
Here is what women can learn from this one question.
1. Satan knows that God has established an order for us to follow. Read about God’s established order here. Here is why we can assume this; He deliberately spoke to Eve, though he should have been conversing with Adam. Satan wanted to introduce chaos and to do so he disrupted God’s created order. Beloved, your husband was created to protect you. Grant him the ability to do that by yielding to his authority. This is no way means you are helpless. It simply leaves you blameless.
2. Satan is perfectly aware of God’s word. He was “the signet of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12) before his fall. He was lurking around the garden to confirm whether Eve knew God’s word. He quickly learned that Eve assumed God’s perfect word was open for human interpretation and can, therefore, be modified when she responded to Satan’s question saying:
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
Genesis 3:2-3
Ladies, that is not what God said! The Word of God is not open to human interpretation. His standards must be our standards. In our marriages, we need to submit to that, and the first step is submitting to our husbands.
3. The way that we respond when we are being tempted gives the enemy access into our lives. He doesn’t know our thoughts, but he can lure us and gain knowledge of our thoughts and desires through the way in which we respond when faced with temptation. Eve gave Satan access into her thoughts and, in turn, he had his way with her. Satan cast a seed of doubt in her mind, causing her to call God’s authority into question. This gave birth to desire, which ultimately led to sin.
“But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when 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, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”
Genesis 3:4-6
Ladies, when we fail to empower our husbands to serve in their rightful position as the leader of our homes, we are indicating to the enemy that we are out of order. We are allowing our lives to serve as fertile soil to be the enemy’s playground. Keep the enemy out of your life by living by the Word of God. Learn it. Keep it. Live by it.
4. From the beginning, the authority of our men has been called into question. Even if Eve presumed to know what God had spoken to Adam, she should have deferred to his authority to be sure. Men were designed to lead. This quality of leadership is much needed as we work to raise up the next generation.
Now We are Here
We now find ourselves living within the confines of a fallen world, in a realm where we are born sexually aware, morally discriminate and morally responsible for our actions. God gave Adam and Eve one law in the garden. But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in Eve the desire to eat of the forbidden fruit. And after such point, all hell broke loose. The remedy for our sinful nature is Christ. Repent of your sins, my friends, and live a life characterized by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.
It has been my pleasure to share with you. Here’s to living a life that makes much of Christ!