The Purposed Woman

In Genesis 3:1-4, notice how the serpent: 1) questions God’s instructions; 2) listens to Eve repeat God’s instructions; 3) disputes what God has told Eve, stating that it is false. In Genesis 2:17, God told Adam, “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” (NKJV). Satan told her the opposite, saying “you will not surely die.” As previously stated, this caused Eve to doubt the validity of God’s word. Once she entered into a verbal exchange with the serpent, he deceived her and diverted her attention from God’s instructions by making an appeal to her flesh (carnal-sin nature). More specifically, the appeal was to Eve’s desire to have something she thought she was being deprived of (the fruit) and to attain something that she thought she should have (knowledge like God’s), which was the very thing she already had access to. We must expose the root of this deception and how it occurred. Merriam-Webster’s defines deception as “the act of deceiving.” Deceive is defined by Merriam Webster as “to ensnare, or to cause to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid.” The Students’ Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary to the Old Testament defines deceit as follows: “to lead astray, i.e., (mentally) to delude, or (morally) to seduce, beguile, greatly fill with wonder, or utterly amuse.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Reference Library edition) states, “Lusts are excited by deceit and although the lusts aren’t deceitful in themselves, deceit is the source of their strength.” Genesis 3:5-6 reads, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate” (NIV). Interestingly enough, verse 5 was not a lie told by the enemy, but the truth. Satan followed the lie that eating of the tree was not harmful with the truth about what the tree would do for Adam and Eve. We have to be cautious, because there is often some truth mixed in the enemy’s suggestions. Consequently, in verse 6, Eve rationalized what she did; her judgment had become distorted. All Eve needed had already been provided in the garden by God; moreover, she had Him and was created in His image and likeness. However, her talk with the serpent led her to doubt God and believe that she would not surely die and would be like God, knowing good and evil, as if she needed to. I often wonder, since she already knew the good things about God and walked with Him daily, why did she desire to know the evil as well. Women of God, we must be sensitive in those times that we desire to know both “good and evil.” Perhaps God is trying to protect you from evil. Because Eve’s desire to know good and evil was aroused, we now have to pray, as Jesus taught, “deliver us from evil.” The thought of the ability to know all appealed to Eve, causing her to desire God’s power. Eve was so convinced by the serpent that she disregarded God’s promise that eating the fruit would lead to death. This crime in the garden is the first clear illustration of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. It is vital that we understand the war that rages between the flesh (our carnal-sin nature) and the spirit (our longing for the things of God). If we are not continually focused on God and led by the Holy Spirit, the flesh will win over the spirit every time. Romans 8:13 reads, “If you live according to the sinful nature you will die, but if you live according to the Spirit you will put to death the deeds of the body and you will live” (NIV). Romans 13:14 states, “but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (KJV). We must change our garments, put on Christ, and put away the deeds of our flesh or carnal-sin nature. Genesis 3:6 reads, “When the woman saw the tree was good for food, and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom . . .” In this verse, let us examine the four main areas of Eve’s vulnerability, which also plague us once we enter into the snares of the enemy and the trappings of our flesh: 1) Eve’s reliance on natural sight as opposed to spiritual insight (the realization that the tree was good) speaks to her inability to see in the Spirit. After doubt and deception set in, Eve no longer avoided the tree as she had previously. Becoming separated from God and operating in her carnality caused her to have a distorted view of God and the tree. She now saw the tree as something to attain, something good and desirable. When she lost sight, she lost vision. 2) The belief that the tree was good for food speaks to a woman’s natural need for security and fulfillment, the desire to know all of our needs are met. This is a carnal desire that often undermines our faith. When deception set in, Eve’s security in God became inadequate and she gained a desire for more. She saw the tree as another resource for her and Adam that would bring the security she now felt they needed. A relentless pursuit for natural security can often lead to the forfeiting of spiritual security, going against the spiritual law of Matthew 6:33, which instructs us to seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness; then all other things will come to us. 3) Eve’s lusts reveal her natural satisfaction and desire based on what she saw and now craved. Merriam-Webster’s defines desire as “a conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction in its attainment.” This was a deadly pleasure, aroused by the suggestions of the enemy and produced from the flesh. Desires themselves are not sinful, but those tainted by lust can become deadly. 4) Eve pursued wisdom and power, although she was designed by God and filled with His wisdom. She was made in His image and likeness and equipped with all that she needed. However, she was deceived into believing that she could be even wiser, knowing good and evil as God did. All that Adam and Eve knew was good. It’s hard to imagine why Eve would have wanted to know the evil as well. Perhaps it was that evil, in and of itself, that aroused her curiosity with her knowledge; however, the attainment was not worth the loss. Seek to know the good things of God, and ask Him to deliver you from evil. These accounts are thought-provoking and riveting, and too often are the basis for how we process things and make decisions, especially when separated from God and governed by our flesh and its deadly appetite. We must crucify our flesh in every situation or circumstance so that we don’t fall into the deadly discussions that the enemy uses to appeal to our fleshly appetite. I love Paul’s instructions in Colossians 3:5: “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.” We must remember these “members” are always at war within us, and we must take the responsibility of subjecting them to the Holy Spirit and the word of God, so that we will be victorious over the enemy and the flesh! It is our responsibility to walk in an understanding, reverent, and righteous lifestyle in Christ Jesus.