The Snake’s Trick

“But the LORD God called out to the man, ‘Where are you?’” — Genesis 3:9

In the garden there was a snake, and it was more cunning than any other animal. One day the snake came to Eve and asked a sly question.

“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

That wasn’t what God had said at all. “We may eat fruit from the trees,” Eve answered. “But God said, ‘You must not eat from the tree in the middle of the garden, or even touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not die,” said the snake. “God knows that when you eat it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

That was a lie. But Eve looked at the tree. The fruit looked good to eat, and lovely to look at, and she wanted to be wise. So she took some fruit and ate it. Adam was with her, and she gave some to him, and he ate it too.

At once everything changed. Adam and Eve felt ashamed. They sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. And when they heard God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, they did something they had never done before. They hid from Him among the trees.

But God called out, “Where are you?”

God knew where they were. He was giving them the chance to come out and tell the truth. Adam came out, trembling. “I heard you in the garden,” he said, “and I was afraid, so I hid.”

“Did you eat from the tree I told you not to eat from?” God asked.

Adam blamed Eve. “The woman you gave me, she gave me the fruit.” And Eve blamed the snake. “The snake tricked me.” Nobody wanted to say, “It was my fault.”

Disobeying God is called sin, and sin spoils everything. Now there would be pain and hard work and sadness in the world. One day people would grow old and die. And Adam and Eve had to leave the beautiful garden.

But even on that sad day, God was kind. He made clothes out of animal skins for Adam and Eve and dressed them Himself. And He made a promise. He told the snake that one day a child would be born, a descendant of Eve, who would crush the snake’s head. The snake would hurt him, but He would win.

It was a promise that God would put things right. And the whole rest of the Bible is the story of God keeping that promise.

Looking ahead to Jesus: That promised child was Jesus. “This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

Read it in your Bible: Genesis 3

Dear God, I am sorry for the times I have disobeyed you and then hidden or blamed someone else. Thank you that you don’t stop loving me, and that you sent Jesus to put things right. Amen.