"Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’? ”2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ”

4 “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3:1-5

The First Question (Genesis 3:1-5)

Genesis 3:1-5 pictures the temptation and original sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve.Up to this point in the biblical narrative, God is pronounced as the story's main character. He is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He speaks all of creation into existence. The seas, the sky, the birds, and the animals all are created by His powerful word. The apex of his creation is the human being who is created in the image of God, according to his likeness, for the human to know him, love him, live with him, and glorify him forever. Further, God has given his creation parameters to live and dwell within God's perfect world. At this point, God's Shalom (his perfect peace and intention) is in proper order.Everything changes in Genesis 3.

Genesis 3:1 records the first question in the entire Bible. It states, "Did God really say, "You can't eat from any tree in the garden?"

Here we are introduced to the antagonist of the meta-narrative of Scripture, Satan. The first thing he does is call into question the authority and goodness of God. The opening two chapters of Genesis, all 55 verses, are declarative sentences speaking of God's good and rightful creation and rule. But in the 56th verse, a shred of doubt is entered...Did God really say...One observation from this text is that the answer is NO. God didn't say that. The truth is that they are allowed to eat from any tree in the garden, except from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as stated in Genesis 2:17.

The serpent twists the truth to sow seeds of doubt about God's goodness and God's rule.

This account not only tells us what happened. It shows us what always happens.This twisting of the truth, the doubting God's goodness and God's rule, is always the beginning of our demise. While we do not have an embodied serpent asking us leading questions about God's character, we certainly experience similar doubts.

• Did God really say to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you?
• Did God really say to turn the other cheek?
• Did God really say to fight for sexual purity?
• Did God really say that the love of money is the root of all evil?
• Did God really say that gossip is a sin?
• Did God really say that I'm to die to myself?

Unfortunately, our first parents did not confidently or accurately respond to what God said. Instead, they folded under pressure and succumbed to the pride and arrogance that proclaimed, "Maybe we know better than God does." So the challenge for us is knowing what God said and proclaiming that truth when we question or doubt.The word of the Lord brought life, order, and purpose. The word of the serpent brought death, chaos, and confusion. The ball is in our court of whose Word we will trust and obey.