Read Genesis 3:1-6- 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’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 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.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 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.

Do you notice the dialogue that takes place with the serpent and Eve? The serpent is making statements or assuming questions, almost playing dumb and Eve is answering them, but incompletely.

Notice the first engagement- He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 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.’”

Really? The serpent said, “you must not eat from any tree.” Deception, doubt. Stating, God is holding out on you.

Let’s check the facts, what DID God say?

Genesis 2:16-17- 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Here’s a clue to combat chaos, knowing truth and knowing God’s character. God isn’t holding out on Adam and Eve, he is giving them abundance. We also need to know the truth, the lie was; can’t eat from any tree in the garden, truth is, you can eat from all but one.
Even though Eve rebutted the serpent, she was still incomplete in her answer. She said, “you must not eat from the tree in the middle of the garden and you must not touch it.”
Again, incomplete, there were two trees in the middle of the garden, one they could eat, one they couldn’t. And God never said they couldn’t touch it. The serpent’s questions created chaos, doubt, uncertainty.

Let’s keep going. 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Wait, what? The serpent must be ill-informed. Because God did say they would die. Sure, not a present physical death, but a spiritual death.

But I want to highlight something else. Why would they need to be “like God”? They were created in the image of God. Again, check the facts. What DID God say? Genesis 1:27- God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them.

Again, the serpent is contradicting what is true and essentially saying, “you can take (wisdom) for yourself, and you will be like God.” Take the wisdom, take the knowledge of knowing good and evil, which means you will be like God. Versus trusting God’s wisdom in our life, because we were created in His image.

Before we get to Eve’s response, the crafty serpent, created all kinds of chaos through deception, doubt, and accusation. The serpent was essentially saying, “God’s holding out on you, you can’t trust God, so you should take (wisdom) for yourself.”

I wonder how many times in our own journey we have wrestled with the same realities? God IS holding out on me. I CAN’T trust God. I SHOULD take that for myself.
Because that’s eventually what Eve does. 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, (Which by the way, they already knew that Genesis 2:9) 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.

This choice, free choice to listen to the chaos monster over the truth of God disrupted all of life. Brought chaos to humanity, creation, and our relationship with God.

Tremper Longmen shares it in his commentary this way. “The story of Adam, though does expose the nature of sin. What is sin at its heart? Sin is rebellion against God, a refusal to accept him as Lord. Sin places oneself in the position of God, and like Adam and Eve, humans substitute their own ideas of right and wrong in the place of God’s definition. Sin rejects God… The account of Adam and Eve is a way of telling us what we would all do (and indeed we all do) if we were in their place.”

Adam and Eve’s sin is a departure of love and trust of their creator. It was a departure from their purpose of bringing order to the chaos as God’s representatives. It was a departure from intimacy of one another and how they were invited into community.

John Walton also shares, “Humanity was supposed to continue God’s process of moving the cosmos from nonorder to order. With the failure of humanity all creation was stuck in ripple effect of sin and the disorder it brought.”

Today, pause and identify the chaotic voices in your life. What doubts are you entertaining? What fears are creating disorder? Recognizing the serpent's strategy is the first step toward resisting it. God's truth brings order; the enemy's lies bring chaos.

The serpent suggested that God was "holding out" on Adam and Eve. When have you been tempted to believe God is holding out on you? How did that belief affect your relationship with Him?