January 2
Genesis 3-4
Psalm 2:1-6
Proverbs 1:5-6
Matthew 2
Father of Lies
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which Yahweh God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, lest you die.’ And the serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” Genesis 3:1-3 LSB
In John 8:44, Jesus tells us that Satan is the father of lies. He has been a liar from the beginning and continues to lie. He really has no new tricks. He uses the same lies and tricks with us that he used with Adam and Eve because they work. He is very smart, much smarter than we are. He knows exactly what he is doing. He doesn’t try to tempt us with blatant lies because we will recognize those right away and reject them. He is cunning and manipulative. He starts with the truth and just twists it a little. He knew very well what God had told Adam and Eve. He knew that there was only one tree that they were not allowed to eat from. Satan wanted to emphasize the thing that they could not have so that they would desire it.
Satan approached Eve, “So God says you can’t eat from any of the trees in the garden?” Eve responded by saying, “Oh no, we can eat from all the trees in the garden except one. God is protecting us because if we eat from that tree we will die.” He has made her think, so now he goes all in. He tells her, “You won’t die, God just knows that if you eat of that tree, you will be like God, knowing good from evil.” He makes Eve doubt God’s goodness and love and he makes her desire the thing she couldn’t have.
He uses the same tactic in our lives. He draws attention to the restrictions God has given us in His Word often by adding to it or twisting it slightly. When we respond by clarifying, he makes us question the reason for the restriction. God’s Word is filled with wisdom and knowledge about how to avoid many of the trials and struggles that are common to man. God really does know what is best. He can see into the future and He knows what we need to do in order to have a life of meaning, purpose and peace. When we follow our selfish passions and desires, we are setting ourselves up for future struggles and difficulties. If we heed the instructions in His Word, we are able to avoid many of the things that cause pain and heartache. We cannot avoid all problems because some of them are the result of the choices of others, but when we seek to follow God and live our lives according to the principles He has given us in His Word, our lives are characterized by peace and we are able to avoid a lot of the pain caused by sin and disobedience.
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