Genesis 3:1-6 Scripture Questions
Genesis 3:1 – “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
· The serpent did not make Eve feel threatened.
· Craftier than other animals – were others crafty too?
· No indication that the serpent was Satan or bad.
o Because he had not proven or shown himself to be evil?
o Eve didn’t know evil existed?
o Had Eve known about evil would she have had a conversation with the serpent?
· Had there been casual conversation leading up to the serpents questions?
o Regardless, he made an overstatement to have Eve define the rule precisely.
Genesis 3:2-3 – “The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” · Did they know or understand the concept of death?
· Did they know what the consequences were?
o If they had known, would it have motivated them not to sin?
§ Loving God should be motivation enough!
· Had Eve pondered eating the fruit prior to the conversation with the serpent
· The serpent scoffed at God’s words (still does) causing Eve to doubt them.
· The serpent told Eve why God didn’t want her to eat the fruit, casting a negative light on God.
· God knows evil is bad for us and does not want us exposed to it
· Did Eve feel she was lacking knowledge before the serpent told her God was keeping something from her?
Genesis 3:6 – “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 it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”
· Was Eve’s mind instantly made up to eat the fruit?
· Did Eve impulsively eat the fruit before Adam could stop her?
o Did she convince him to eat the fruit with an attitude of “see, I didn’t die.”
· Did she mull it over, rationalizing her decision then acting on it when Adam was with her?
· Did Eve have any discussion with Adam?
Genesis 3:1-6 Summary
The serpent was not frightening to Eve, there was no fear yet. He was a creation which God had given man to rule over. In fact, Eve was comfortable conversing with the serpent, so much so she did not notice when he directed the discussion in order to plant a temptation. There is no indication Eve had doubted God or that she could not trust him. Chances are she never gave the forbidden tree a thought – either what it would bring her or what consequences were.
However, at the point of temptation, Eve did not need to know the consequences of sin or exactly what God meant by “surely you will die.” She needed to know God said no - sounds so simple. Anyone who has raised children knows at some point our children go from unquestioned obedience to wanting to know why we give them a directive. Who has not answered, “Because I said so?” That should be sufficient, right? As the parent we have our children’s best interest at heart and we have authority over them – our word should be enough. However, as our kids age, we need to explain our reasoning to them so they can understand our logic and learn to make the same decisions on their own. Praise God, his word does that for us. He gives us reasons and examples to guides us in making our own decisions and to become more like Him.
“To be like God, knowing good and evil,” was one of the arguments the serpent used in his temptation strategy. There is no record of how Eve actually made her decision to sin. Did she discuss it with Adam? Was she impulsive or did she think it over? Regardless of how Eve rationalized her thoughts, she decided to indulge, trusting it was what she wanted and disbelieving any harm would come. Eve only knew God’s goodness and love and thought she could handle the consequences of disobeying. We are no different today. We like to think we could handle the situation better, after all we have church, small groups, and Christian books to help prepare us, yet we enter sin the same way either impulsively or with a slow justification.
How Eve should have handled the temptation is the same way we should handle our temptations - first by connecting with God in prayer, two by fleeing the situation, and third by discussing it with other believers. Forgiveness was a foreign concept at the point of Eve’s sin. However, God made a way to cover her sin then and ours now with the atoning blood of Christ.
Genesis 3:1-6 Life Lessons
Trust God has your best in mind and obey him
Who are you letting influence you?
How do you rationalize what you want to do?
Pray - stay connected with God.
Seek godly consel.
Recognize the gift of forgiveness.
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