Side note, isn't it interesting that lucifer isn't capable of doing what Christ is capable of doing? Think about this for a second, and realize that in the garden, satan had to "convince" the woman to eat of the fruit. The enemy needed another party to affect change. Christ, on the other hand, began and completed the work of salvation with no assistance from any other human being. And we believe now through the witness of the COMPLETED work, rather than believing like Adam and Eve did, through the wiles of a used-goods salesman who is only interested in commission. Jus sayin...
"'No! You will not die,' the serpent said to the woman. 'In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil,' Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves."
Genesis 3:4-7, HCSB
Talk about some pride, huh? We'll start with the serpent, who arrives in the garden and calls the two humans to the only tree they are forbidden to eat from. Placed in a strategic area, he says only what is necessary to say in order to convince the woman to take the first bite. The explanation he gives speaks only to immediate consequences, where death in concerned, and doesn't include the long-term problem that will arise.
Then there's Eve, standing there, listening to a serpent reassure her that she will be just fine if she only takes a bite. She hops onto her high horse and decides that the fruit is fun to look at, and it must be good, and what would be wrong with knowing about good and evil? I mean, if we get to be like God, isn't that a good thing?
But the worst part here is not Eve's fault... it is Adam's. He is the protector, but failed to stand in the way of the serpent. He is the one who should have spoken reason into the situation, but decided to be silent. His pride allowed his wife to fall. The thought process was probably something along the lines of, "well, if she does eat it, and then she dies like God says, I can just tell Him that He made a bad creation, and then we'll go on just fine... but if she eats it and lives, then He must be wrong, and perhaps I can eat some, too. Of course, if God walks up in the middle of it all, I can just say that she was disobedient to me, and then it won't be my fault. Let's see what happens!" What happened was Adam's complete abdication of his role as the leader, and the original sin occurred.
Adam's pride is to blame in this scenario, for he should have been willing to stand in the face of danger, harm, and death if necessary to protect his wife. He should have been the man that God created him to be. He should have swallowed his "I don't want this to be my fault either way" attitude of pride, and stepped right in the middle. Of course, we know he did not, and that is where the knowledge of good and evil began, and the labor of the land and the pains in childbirth, etc. with all of the issues we would face (ref. Genesis 3:8-Revelation 22).
(It should be noted that at many places throughout the Bible, points of amazing grace and forgiveness and the eternal salvation of all believers do come to pass... I use the entire Bible as a reference above, because it all tells the stories of the disobedient and the obedient, and the strife and hardship that exist in the lives of both the sinful and the faithful. This is the reality as inspired by the Spirit through those whom were chosen to pass God's Word down throughout the ages, and it all must be referenced in order for the greatest love story ever told to make sense.)
And you know, if the enemy had said much more about it and been honest (yeah, right), then Eve may not have bitten the fruit. If the enemy had admitted that the death to come would not be instant, but would rather be a limitation of mortality that will come for everyone, eventually, they may not have been so easily swayed to the point of violating the one rule they were given. However, since they feared an instant death from the bite, and satan was able to prove that one small point wrong (which is a point of lacking human understanding), he was able to gain a foothold. And when lucifer comes after you in the arena of pride, a foothold is probably far, far more than he needs.
You know, on another side note, both of my dear friends (who don't know each other, by the way) made a solid point yesterday... the exact same point. They both stated at different times that we probably don't need a lot of encouragement from the enemy in the area of pride, as we're born with that ability. It's super easy to be prideful, and when any human being is left to their own devices, as they and I have said many times to many people, that human being will do the one and only thing that he/she is capable of doing: they will sin. We're sinners from the moment of conception, folks, and it's our natural and default setting. That's why we so desperately need Christ!
Another point to look at here, and this one is huge, is that the couple were given only ONE command in the garden, and that was to not eat from that specific tree. Now, if I were to give you one rule, and you were to break it, would that show that you were a prideful person? Any other day I would say "yes," but today, I'm just gonna go ahead and say "YES!" The only thing that was not supposed to be done is so tempting and so viral in the heart, mind, and soul that it becomes so easy to walk right across that line and sin. Adam sinned by not moving, due to his pride. Eve sinned by biting of the fruit, pridefully wanting to be "like God." And the enemy just is sin, because he is the embodiment of pride, as we've seen in Isaiah.
Yes, Christian sibling, this passage shows the three-fold pride that all contributed to the original sin and the fall of man. This is why we get sick; this is why we feel bad; this is why we grow old; this is why we work and work and work, and sometimes nothing comes of it; this is why childbirth hurts; this is why we are allergic to things; this is why the world is in a slow but constant state of decay, both physically and morally; and it is 100% due to the root cause of pride. And this is truly the greatest reason for me to seek and fight to remain in a spirit of humility about all things... because all I can control is me, and I don't want to be like the first Adam.
God bless you all!!!
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