LESSON 9

Adam and Eve disobeyed God.

Genesis 3:1-6 / 创世记 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 surely die," the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ "For God knows that when you eat of 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.

1耶和华上帝所造的，唯有蛇比田野一切的活物更狡猾。蛇对女人说：“上帝岂是真说，不许你们吃园中所有树上的果子吗？” 2 女人对蛇说：“园中树上的果子我们可以吃， 3 唯有园当中那棵树上的果子，上帝曾说：‘你们不可吃，也不可摸，免得你们死。’” 4 蛇对女人说：“你们不一定死！ 5 因为上帝知道你们吃的日子眼睛就明亮了，你们便如上帝能知道善恶。” 违背主命 6 于是女人见那棵树的果子好做食物，也悦人的眼目，且是可喜爱的，能使人有智慧，就摘下果子来吃了；又给她丈夫，她丈夫也吃了。

 

 

          1.      Satan entered into the snake to disguise himself.

•   Adam and Eve were living in the garden in Eden.

God had placed everything in the garden that Adam and Eve needed. They had a vast variety of fruits and vegetables to eat. Their surroundings were beautiful. God was their friend. He loved them, and they were very happy.

•   God’s great enemy wanted to destroy Adam and Eve.

We talked before about God's great enemy, and we're going to talk about him again. God’s great enemy was named Satan.

Before Satan had rebelled against God, he had seen God create man, and he knew that God loved Adam and Eve. Satan had seen God appoint Adam and Eve as managers over the earth and everything in it. Satan also knew about God’s warning to Adam that they would die if they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Because Satan hates God, he wanted to destroy the man and woman that God had made.

Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:12-16 tells us that Lucifer was a great spirit created by God. He was beautiful and perfect, until the day when he began to be jealous of God’s glory and desired to be worshipped for himself. He, and the spirits who followed him, were removed from heaven by God. He is referred to as Satan, the enemy of God.

      •   Satan disguised himself so that he could deceive Eve.

This wasn’t just a snake talking to Eve. Satan had entered into the snake to disguise himself so that he could deceive Eve. Satan chose to enter the snake because Eve would be more likely to listen to it than to any other animal. The snake was more clever than any other animal that God had made.

Satan deceived Eve when he didn’t allow her to know that he was the one talking through the snake. And Satan still deceives people today. The more you learn from God’s Book, the more you will realize how deceitful and wicked Satan is. Satan disguises himself so people will not realize that he is trying to trap them and destroy them.

Satan disguised himself so that Eve would not know that he was speaking to her. Eve thought the snake was talking to her. She did not know that God’s enemy, Satan, was talking to her.

               •   Satan still disguises himself so he can deceive people.

Satan does not speak today through snakes or other animals, but he still disguises himself so he can deceive people. Satan has continued to hide and disguise his activities so your ancestors would not know that he was speaking to them. Even today, Satan still hides and disguises himself so that he can trap and destroy people all over the world. He wants to deceive you and trap you too.

Many times Satan deceives people by speaking lies directly into their minds. Satan doesn’t let people know that he is the one who is speaking to them. They think that the thoughts in their minds are their own, but it is really Satan who is putting the thoughts into their minds. For example, Satan might speak to you even when you are listening to God’s Word. He may put a question into your mind, such as, “Why should I believe the Bible?” Satan is constantly trying to trap you.

Sometimes, Satan uses other people to speak his lies to turn people away from the truth which God tells us in His book. For example, someone may ask you questions

like these, “How do you know that this Christian is telling you the truth? Are you sure the Bible is true?” Others may say, “That Bible you are listening to is just the Christian’s beliefs. We don’t need that. We have our own ways and beliefs.” Beware! Satan uses people even though they do not realize it. He will put thoughts into their minds and words in their mouths to try to keep you from listening to the truth. Satan does not want anyone to believe the truth of God. He does not want you to believe the Bible.

Satan also speaks through the spirits in this world. Our ancestors may have thought that it was the spirits of the trees and the spirits of the animals who spoke to them. Consider, however, what we have learned from God's Word. Who are the spirits of the trees and the spirits of the animals? The spirits that you know are those spirits who followed Satan when he rebelled against God. Satan uses these spirits to tell you his lies. He wants to keep you from believing the words of God.

Satan traps people everywhere by causing them to believe lies. Satan doesn’t want anyone to believe God and the truth. He doesn’t want you to believe God’s Word. Beware! He will try to deceive you just as he deceived Eve. Satan is clever, and he will disguise himself so you do not know that he is the one who is telling you lies.

He promised your ancestors many things, and he still promises you many things. At times you think that the spirits help you when you have troubles and sickness. This is just what Satan wants you to believe. Satan’s real purpose in having his spirits help you is to keep you in his power so that he can destroy you.

Satan is glad when people will not listen to God’s Word because he wants all people to remain under his control and to be destroyed.

2.      Satan tempted and deceived Eve.

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.'"

•   Satan questioned Eve in order to trick her.

Satan asked Eve this question even though he knew exactly what God had said. Satan deliberately changed what God had said to Adam because he was planning to deceive Eve.

               •   When Eve replied, she added words to God’s command.

God did not say that they could not touch the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God had said that they must not eat the fruit.

Let’s read what God had said.

Genesis 2:16-17/创世记 2:16-17

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 of it you will surely die."

16 耶和华上帝吩咐他说：“园中各样树上的果子，你可以随意吃； 17 只是分别善恶树上的果子，你不可吃，因为你吃的日子必定死。”

              •   God's command was for both Adam and Eve.

God spoke this command to Adam. Even though God did not speak the command directly to Eve, the command was for her to obey too. Whatever God said to Adam was also for Eve.

The Bible was given to people many years ago, but the Bible is still  God’s message to all of us today. God doesn’t have a different message for different people. It is the same to everyone – no matter what color your skin is or how old you are or if you are a man or a woman. What He says to me in the Bible, He also says to you.

Genesis 3:4-5

⁴ "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

               •   Satan said the opposite from what God had told Adam.

God had said that Adam would die if he ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Satan said that Adam would not die. By saying the opposite from what God had said, Satan was calling God a liar.

God had told Adam that if he ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die that same day. God meant that Adam and Eve would be separated from God, the One who gave them life.

God said that they would die. Satan said that they would not die. Who do you think was telling the truth? Was God telling the truth, or was Satan telling the truth?

                •   Satan was lying in order to trick Eve.

Satan wanted Eve and Adam to rebel against God just as he had done previously. Satan had wanted to take God’s place. He didn’t want to obey God any more. Instead, he wanted to be independent of God and rule his own life. Now he was trying to make Eve think that it would be to their advantage if she and Adam ate the fruit and were independent of God.

When Satan told Eve that she could eat the fruit and would not die, he was lying so he could deceive her. He knew that disobedience to God would be punished by death. But Satan was trying to make her think that she could be equal with God. He wanted her to think that she wouldn’t need God to tell her what was right and what was wrong. But God didn’t make people to live by their own ideas and thoughts. God made us to be guided by the words of God. It doesn’t matter what I think, what you think, what other people think, or what Satan and the spirits say. The important thing is what God says.

3.      Eve ate the fruit and also gave some of the fruit to Adam.

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.

                •   Satan deceived Eve, and she believed him.

Eve believed that Satan was telling the truth. Satan had tricked her and made her think that if she ate the fruit she would be wise like God. Satan tempted Eve to disobey God’s command by eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve was deceived by Satan’s lie, and she disobeyed God.

               •   Adam deliberately disobeyed God’s command.

Even though Adam knew that God had said not to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he ate it anyway. When he disobeyed God’s command, Adam deliberately turned away from depending on God. He wanted to be independent of God. He wanted to decide for himself what was good and what was evil.

Adam didn’t want God to rule over him any more. Instead of allowing God to be first in his heart, Adam put himself first. He wanted to be his own boss and do whatever he wanted to do.

Did God have the right to rule over Adam? Yes. God was his creator. Everything he had came from God so God had the right to rule over him.

Does God have the right to tell us what to do? Yes. All that we have comes from God. He gave us our life so He has the right to tell us what to do.

 

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Questions

1.     What did God’s enemy, Satan, want to do to the man and woman that God had made?

2.     Why did Satan want to destroy Adam and Eve?

3.     Did Satan come and talk to Eve face to face so that she could see him and know who he was?

4.     What did Satan enter into in order to disguise himself when he spoke to Eve?

5.     Does Satan still deceive and trap people today?

6.     What are ways that Satan deceives people today?

7.     Why does Satan deceive people today?

8.     God had told Adam that they would die if they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan told Eve that they would not die if they ate the fruit. By saying the opposite from what God had said, what was Satan suggesting God to be?

9.     What did Satan tell Eve would happen if they ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil?

10.     What did Eve do when Satan tricked her?

11.     What did Adam do when Eve gave him the fruit?

12.     By eating the fruit, what was Adam deciding to do?

13.      Why did God have the right to rule over Adam?