The Book of Genesis
Part 10
The Fall:
In our last study we were considering the tempter, and sought to learn a little about his character from the names and appelations given to him in the Bible. Let us now consider the circumstances under which the temptation was made, as well as the temptation itself, and the consequences of the temptation.
The Circumstances:
The happiness of man in the days of his innocence remains unparalleled. There are a number of things which obviously contributed to his happiness. Some of these were:
GEOGRAPHIC: The earth was but recently reconstructed, in the centre was the area, Eden, and eastward in Eden was a garden. This area was well supplied with water by a river, and so fertile was this garden that, “Out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food.” Moreover, in the garden at Eden were placed the trees of life and of knowledge of good and evil. A little reflection upon the geography of Genesis 2 and 3 will disclose something of God’s providence as well as His sovereignty.
SOCIAL: The innumerable species of zoological life provided a test of Adam’s wisdom and a display of his knowledge as he named them, but these left him unsatisfied for among them there was not found an help meet for him (Gen. 2:19-20). Consequently, “The rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife.” Man, who not only was surrounded by the evidence of Divine providence, but in his wife found social and marital satisfaction, discovered that his existence and personality were perfectly integrated in this union with the woman.
SPIRITUAL: There was a sweet fellowship existing then between God and man. Some of the expressions found here are most interesting; for example, “The Lord took the man.” “The Lord God commanded the man.” They reveal to us that God accompanied the man into Eden, and personally gave him His commandments. Furthermore, we read that the Lord put man to sleep, and that finally the Lord brought Eve to Adam. What appears to be the customary approach of God to man is described for us, “They heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”
An examination of the circumstances under which the temptation was made proves that man was satisfied with his geographic position, with the social, mental, and physical relationship to his wife, and with the spiritual response of God to his own spiritual consciousness. What more could he seek!
These considerations only prove the power of the tempter, and the force of his subtle approach and persuasive argument.
The Temptation:
Satan’s approach to man was an indirect one; he went by the way of the object of man’s affection. A direct attack upon the Divine representative who had been made in the image and likeness of God may have been considered indiscreet by the artful foe. By dragging down into sin the object of man’s affection, by degrading the complementary part of man’s being, Satan may have reasoned, he could indirectly accomplish his ruin. If so, in this, he reasoned correctly. Let us consider—
THE MEANS SATAN EMPLOYED: The first, insinuation “Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden ?” What boldness! What falsehood! Second, assertion, “Ye shall not surely die.” In third place, deception, “God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” This statement was but partially true. Man might possess the knowledge of good and evil without the power to adhere to the former and refuse the latter.
THE MOVEMENT SATAN ACCOMPLISHED: There exists a fixed law of moral movement, and this is produced by: first, a perception that results in an understanding of a matter, second, a desire that results from an appreciation of the matter understood; and, in third place, an action resulting from volition. These processes are readily detected in the case of Eve. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes.” Here we have her perception at work leading her to an understanding of the character, beauty, and possibility of the true knowledge of good and evil. “A tree to be desired to make one wise.” In this second statement, we discern in Eve’s mind a desire that has resulted from her appreciation of what she now understands about the tree. In the last clauses of this verse she wills to act. “She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her and he did eat.”