Another interesting week! This is definitely a time of discovery as you can see, and Luke 8:17 definitely applies. This week, we're going back to the beginning, to the garden of God. We're going to take a look at the first deception, the motive behind it, and the message Yehovah gave us to bring us hope.
To get the full picture of the beginning, we have to take a look at the middle. But before we go there, let's take a moment to remind ourselves of what happened in the garden. Reading Genesis 3 we see the full account of the fall of mankind. Verse 1 tells us the serpent which tempted Eve was more crafty than any living thing God created. Just as a side note, the Hebrew for Eve is chavvah, which means "life." But we'll get more into the meanings of names later.
So you might say, yeah I know that already. But how do we know this serpent is Satan? Perhaps this is just one of God's creatures talking to Eve. We don't know exactly what life was like in the garden before sin. We know God's voice "walked" around in it (Genesis 3:8), so it could definitely be possible that animals could communicate with Adam and Eve in some way. We jump to Revelation 12:9 to see the serpent and Satan are one in the same. It's also emphasized in Revelation 20:2.
Paul references this original deception in his second letter to the Corinthians. He tells them he is afraid they will be deceived even as Eve was and led away from the "simplicity and purity" in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3). What's interesting about those two words, is the Greek for simplicity is haplotetos, which can also mean liberality, or generosity. So Paul is afraid if someone comes to them and proclaims (kerysso, not preach like KJV says. Remember last week!) a message other than that Jesus' love is given generously and liberally and is completely pure, without any hidden motive, the Corinthians may start believing that instead of what Paul taught them.
And isn't that interesting? He makes it a point to mention the purity in Christ. Be sure to use my link for 2 Corinthians 11:3, because for "some" reason the part about purity was removed from the KJV translation (I think we both know who was the spirit behind that!). It is in the original Greek though, which you can read in the interlinear version at biblehub.com.
What's so interesting about mentioning the purity, the lack of motive? Because Satan never operates without a motive. Let's take a look in Ezekiel to get the full picture of Genesis 3 (I told you we had to go to the middle!). We find in Ezekiel 28 a message for Satan given by Yehovah to Ezekiel. He loves to give messages to find, kind of like a scavenger hunt! Starting in verse 12, we see this message is hidden, directed to the "King of Tyre." But as we read on, in verse 13, we see this king is actually an angel God had ordained to be a guardian cherubim. And a very beautiful one at that.
We see that the motivation in him, that caused his downfall and subsequent temptation of Eve, was pride (v. 17). We must remember that as we start to feel tempted to exalt ourselves, or even tempted to think we got this all on our own. That we don't need Jesus. It may come very subtly (the same way the serpent came to Eve), in the form of thinking it's just a small problem. That you don't think you should "waste Jesus' time" on it. You can handle it so Jesus can take care of people that need more help than you, right?
Remember Paul's message to the Corinthians! His love is given liberally! His help is given generously. Call on Him no matter how small you think it is! I mean, think about it. We have the benefit of 6000 years of history to show us that Adam and Eve's actions were a big deal. But in that moment, don't you think the thought crossed her mind that "it's just one fruit from one tree." Just one bite. Such a small action with repercussions for thousands of years.
I promised a message of hope from God about this, and let me tell you it's amazing. From God to Noah, the names in that line gives us the message. Those individuals were God, who created Adam->Seth->Enosh->Kenan->Mahalalel->Jared->Enoch->Methuselah->Lamech->Noah. And putting the meaning of those names together tells us "The God->Man->is appointed->a mortal man of->sorrow is born.->The Glory of God->shall come down->instructing that->His death shall bring->those in despair->comfort and rest."
So remember all this as you go through your week. Satan's deceptions come subtly. He's motivated by pride and wanting to prove he's better than even Yehovah. Do not let yourself be prideful. Ask for help from Jesus because His help and love is given generously and purely. His death gives us comfort and rest in these despairing times which are looking more and more like the days of Noah and the days of Lot (Luke 17:28, Matthew 24:37). We can overcome with His help, because He overcame the world! (John 16:33)
Hope you have a wonderful week! Shabbat Shalom and God bless you!
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