Did God really say...

Last week J read us the story of Adam and Eve.

Now I knew God had told Adam and Eve they must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And I knew that the serpent tricked them into eating from it. But what stood out to me was the wording the serpent used.

"Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the Garden'?" (Genesis 3:1 NIV)

When Eve answered that God said they would die if they ate from that specific tree, the serpent refutes it saying, "You will not surely die." (Genesis 3:4)

Now Eve knew exactly what God had said, but the fruit of the tree was "good for food and pleasing to the eye" (Genesis 3:6) so she ate it.

How often do we listen to people who question what God says? And how often do we go with what seems good (pleasing to the eye) even though we know it refutes God's word?

For instance:

• Did God really say marriage is between a man and a woman? (or should we not discriminate)
• Did God really say thou shalt not kill? (or is abortion a woman's right)
• Did God really say the husband is the head of the wife? (or are husbands and wives equal)
• Did God really say we should not spare the rod? (or are there better methods now)
• Did God really say we should not withhold ourselves from our spouse? (or is that just when we're not tired)

Going further in the story, what did Eve do next? She "gave some to her husband." (Genesis 3:6) "Honey, read this book about using timeouts and don't you dare snuggle up to me because I'm not in the mood."

The Bible says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Proverbs 14:12)

Eve thought the fruit of the tree was "desireable for gaining wisdom" (Genesis 3:6) and she led her husband to eat it, bringing death to the world. We ladies must be careful to seek wisdom in God's word, lest we deceive our husbands, starting our families on the road to death (divorce, rebellion).

Now I am talking mostly to myself, but I wanted to share in case others are struggling, too. A few weeks ago I told my mom I was confused about a parenting issue and she said, "Read your Bible. Everything I taught you is in there." Enough said, Mom.