But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

Why are we always drawn to that which is forbidden?

All we need is for someone to say, “Whatever you do, don’t look up,” and we will immediately want to look up. We hear, “Whatever you do, don’t go in there,” and we will want to go in there.

Try saying to a child, “Stay out of that room,” or “Don’t touch that,” and that child will immediately begin to push the limits and try to see how much he or she can get away with. It is our human nature.

Perhaps in our sinful way of thinking, we assume that God says no to us because He is trying to keep us from something that would be enjoyable. We think, Why wouldn’t God let me do that? If God really loved me, He would let me do anything I wanted to.

But that kind of reasoning is simply false. Because God loves you, He puts up warning signs and barriers and tells us, “Stay away from that, don’t do this.”

The Bible tells us, “For the Lord God is our sun and our shield, He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” (Psalm 84:11).

So a good thing to remember is that if God tells you not to do something, then that something is not a good thing.

In sense, God issues warning signs, and there was one clearly attached to a particular tree in the Garden of Eden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God placed Adam and Eve in an absolute paradise, talk about landing a great job. Adam’s job was to be in the Garden and to appreciate and discover all that God had created. He was to spend time in the presence of the Lord each and every day as the Lord came walking through the Garden during the cool of the day.

God had placed only one restriction on Adam and Eve. Of all the trees in the Garden,  (there must have been thousands of them) there was only one tree they could not eat from.

And yet, in Genesis 3, we find Adam and Eve hanging out at the foot of the only tree God told them to stay away from. Adam and Eve deliberately ignored the warning God gave them.

The devil is cunning. He will try to make the bad look good and good look bad. And he does a pretty effective job of it, look around us. There is no doubt he was trying to attract Adam and Eve to this tree to get them to eat of its fruit.

We notice three specific strategies the devil used to get Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit.

First, he questioned God’s Word. He did not deny that God had spoken; he simply questioned whether God had really said what Eve thought He had said. He wanted her to think that perhaps she had misunderstood God’s command. And today, the devil still twists the truth to try and alienate people from God.

Second, he questioned God’s love. He wanted Eve to think that God was holding something back from her when, in reality, God himself had placed those restrictions for Adam’s and her own good to keep them from sinning.

Third, he substituted his own lie. He questioned God’s Word, he questioned God’s love, and then he substituted his own lie. He led them to believe that they would become like gods if they ate the fruit of the three. He was saying, “Eve, You will be a goddess. Imagine. You will know good and evil. God is trying to hold something back from you. Go ahead, it’s ok…”

Here we see a primary principle of spiritual attack: the devil works from without to within, which is the very opposite of God’s method. God begins His work in a person’s heart, and the changes then affect his or her outer lifestyle. But the devil will always to try to come from the outside to gain a foothold on the inside.

That strategy was successful with Adam and Eve, and their eyes were opened to the wickedness of sin, the deceitfulness of the devil, and the weakness of their own nature. They were exposed to all of the wicked depravity of the world.

Unfortunately, we know more about this wicked world than we should, and we know far less of the Word of God, which we desperately need.  As the apostle Paul said, “But everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord. This makes me very happy. I want you to be wise in doing right and to stay innocent of any wrong.” (Romans 16:19).

It all starts with paying attention to the warning signs God gives us. Are you ignoring any today?

“The devil will twist the truth to try and alienate you people from God.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank You for taking my sin upon You. I am sorry for the wrong things I have done and for the right I have failed to do. I confess my sins to You and ask for forgiveness. Lord, thank You for Your warning signs that help turn me from sinful things. Help me to keep my eyes not on sin, but on my Savior, Jesus. Help me to soar by casting off the weights of my sin. Help me to live the life You have called me to live. I thank You for having a winning game plan for us, In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you have not asked Jesus into your life and experienced His Amazing Grace. Please Click Here to ask Jesus to be your Lord and savior.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org