The Question?
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die’” (Gen 3:1-3).
The first thing said about the serpent was that he was “crafty.” Being crafty is different from being wise. Craftiness is usually devoted to finding brilliant ways to bend the rules. Contrary to this, Jesus came to fulfill the law. One of the fundamental ways we can distinguish those who are sent by God from those who are sent by the devil is by seeking ways to obey and seeking ways to avoid obedience and get away with it.
In his craftiness, the serpent did not boldly contradict the Lord\’s command at first, but just encouraged Eve to question it. There are good questions and there are bad ones. The good ones are motivated by faith, seeking to know the Lord\’s ways so that we can please Him. The bad ones are usually motivated by fear, or the desire to bend the rules. The serpent was trying to get the woman to question God in the wrong way, which is usually the first step into his deadly trap.
The woman\’s response to the serpent\’s question reveals the doorway to the disobedience the devil was seeking. She responded that the Lord commanded that they should not eat from the forbidden tree “or touch it.”
- Read Isaiah 54. This is a season of stretching in order to increase capacity – unmerited favor, outpouring of resources to help fulfill purpose, unexpected provision are your portion.
- Your season of joyful harvest is set to come. Psalm 30:4-5, Psalm 126.
- Pray that the Lord will release the fruit of the Tree of life for this month. Also pray that the leaves for the healing allocated for this month be released to you. Pray these for the family, the work of your hands, the church and nation. (Rev 22:2, Eze 47:12)