A Real Lady-killer
In the middle of the Garden of Eden, Satan was lurking around the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Bible says that “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.” Genesis 3:1 (NIV)
Now I’m sure many of you have seen images of a snake slithering down the limb of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil to meet with the woman. But, remember in our last lesson we read a description of Satan in the garden.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.
Ezekiel 28:13 (NIV)
As the woman walked past the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Satan was waiting for her. Can you imagine what she thought when “the shining one” approached her? She was looking at the most beautiful angel God had created with clothing covered in jewels and gold. She had never seen anything like him.
So begins Satan’s greatest challenge of his life — to create his first sinner. Why was this a difficult challenge? Because, up until this point, the woman is still perfect and without sin, and she has not experienced the emotions (those that created his fall) that Satan needs to arouse in her.
Satan knows that once he gets her to sin, he will move inside of her, having continual access to her, so that she will never be out of reach of his temptations again. That is why we can never out-run sin. Satan has a firm hold on our soul and can access us continually.
