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No.11.
Genesis 3:
(3) The Temptation.
pp. 135 - 140
No statement is made in Gen. 3: to inform us as to the apparent absence of Adam.
We do not know whether he was present or absent, all we know is that the Serpent
addressed himself to the woman.
"Yea, hath God said?" "Can it really be?" (Rotherham).
"Can it be true?" (Young).
This is the tempter's opening gambit--to sow the seed of doubt. The first temptation
recorded in the O.T. was presented in a garden of plenty, the first recorded in the N.T.
was presented in a wilderness of want, but the opening words reveal the same line of
approach: "If Thou be the Son of God."
The stress should be placed on the word "every" when reading Gen. 3: 1:
"Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of EVERY tree of the garden?",
the insinuation being that God was withholding something, that He was niggardly and He
was depriving them of something good. The truth could have been expressed by placing
the emphasis thus:
"What a lovely garden, every possible need so freely and fully supplied, nothing
withheld that love and wisdom can grant, and only one small reservation in the midst of
this prodigal supply, must surely indicate a loving protection, rather than a heartless and
meaningless prohibition."
But such an approach was not in line with the tempter's attack. The woman had
learned about the tree of knowledge of good and evil through her husband, Adam, and he
had received the communication direct from the Lord. We place the words of the Lord
and the reply of Eve together for comparison.
The Words of the Lord. "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in
the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2: 16, 17).
The reply of Eve. "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of
the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not
eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die" (Gen. 3: 2, 3).
We note the omission of the word "freely" which plays into the tempter's hand a little.
We learn from Gen. 2: 9 that the tree of life was in the midst of the garden, but we are
uncertain from the wording whether the tree of knowledge was in the midst or not. Eve
said that it was, and we must give her the benefit of the doubt. The words "neither shall
ye touch it are not found in the Divine commandment but may have been an added
precaution suggested by Adam for their safety, and if so need not be quoted against her.