The Schemes of Satan, Part Two
A Devotional Series from Genesis
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
3/15 Reading Portions: Exodus 26; John 5; Proverbs 2; Galatians 1
Genesis 3:2-3
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
WORDS
When Satan gets us to doubt God’s Word (see yesterday’s devotional thought), he can easily get us to add to God’s Word or take something away from God’s Word that was originally there. We see this first example here in the Garden with the woman. She added to God’s Word by saying that they were not allowed to touch it. God never commanded that. It is written:
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17
Now, since the command was given to Adam before the woman was created, some may suggest that Adam may have added to the commandment when conveying its truth to the woman. Whether Adam did or not is not the point. Since Scripture is silent concerning that, we must keep our focus on the point we are already considering—that doubt towards God’s Word will cause us to add to or take away from God’s Word. Taking away from God’s Word is seen in Satan’s tempting the Lord Jesus in the wilderness. Satan misquoted Scripture to the Lord Jesus when he said,
“If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command His angels concerning You,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear You up, lest You strike Your foot against a stone.’” Matthew 4:6
Satan was quoting the Psalms, but he left out an important part of the verse:
For He will command His angels concerning You to guard You in all Your ways. On their hands they will bear You up, lest You strike Your foot against a stone. Psalm 91:11-12
Satan left out the part, “to guard You in all Your ways.” Jesus’ way was to go to the cross, not to hurl Himself from the pinnacle of the temple in an extravagant display of power.
When we doubt God’s Word, and then add to God’s Word, we become twisted legalists, demanding that we and others behave in a perverse manner apart from God’s Word. When we doubt God’s Word, and omit certain portions of God’s Word, we become as manipulative as Satan, tempting even our Lord Jesus Christ through our unfaithful unbelief.
The only truly infallible truth is God’s wonderful words of life.
Again, the remedy is putting on the full armor of God (Eph 6:10-11),1 which is practically applying the truth of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Keep on the lookout for the article coming that will express the practical truth of the armor of God as Christ Jesus, how each element correlates to the truth of Jesus Messiah and how to apply it in our daily warfare against the devil and his minions.