God’s Word for You

Genesis 3:1 Part 4 The temptation begins

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Tuesday, September 8, 2026

3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

We continue to meditate on this passage. Here we consider (4) The form of this temptation, attacking the word of God.

The words of Satan question the Word of God by misquoting him with the almost innocent-sounding words, “Did God really say?” The Hebrew phrase, aph-ki, means “Did he really?” It seems as if the serpent had heard about this command, or that is his approach to Eve. Is it true, he asks? Did God really say this?

Notice that he shows that he knows who God is. He knows that God speaks to Adam and Eve. He knows that God has given commands. What a well-informed beast this wild serpent must be! But, poor thing (he pretends), he doesn’t know the full story.

The devil’s attack is not really about clarity at all. He says, but does not even imply, that he hasn’t heard the message correctly. He says, without quite saying it, that God’s word goes too far. God’s word is unreasonable. God’s word is unfair. God’s word is too difficult to keep!

Here Satan betrays his usual tactics, and he proves two old proverbs (not Biblical proverbs, but true nevertheless):

1, Every evil begins in the name of the Lord.
2, Wherever God plants a church, the devil sets up a chapel.

Satan imitates God. He wants to outdo God by seeming to do the same things, working with words in the hearts of human beings. Luther shows the contrast: “Just as from the true Word of God salvation results, so also from the corrupt Word of God damnation results.”

So Satan attacks the will of the woman, to lead her away from God’s will. And he corrupts the intellect by planting weeds, lies, to confuse the woman. The devil doesn’t fight fair: He throws sand in our eyes so that we can’t see properly. And he sows the seeds of doubt. Then sins sprout and grow disbelief, unbelief, and doubt over the Word of God.

This is what the devil’s human servants in the world do—heretics and fanatics. They don’t realize it. They either have no faith at all and just want to fleece people, or they want to make a following for themselves because they misunderstand the Word of God. The devil doesn’t care which, just as long as people no longer listen to and believe the pure word of God.

It is like having a compass that shows the way to heaven. Any compass has its 360 degrees marked out on it. But since Jesus says that there is only one way to heaven (“No one comes to the Father except through me,” John 14:6), there is only one degree on that entire compass that points to Paradise. Let’s call that true north, which is actually 0° or 360° (those are identical on a compass). That means that someone going 180° (due south) is going the wrong way, but probably doesn’t care. Then again, the devil can convince someone who is going just a little to the west, 358° or 359°, that they’re close enough. And the same is true for those who are just a little over to the east, 1° or 2°. Especially with lots of obstacles in the way, the trees and hills and bushes and ravines of this world, but they’re still not heading directly toward Christ, and that makes the devil rock back on his heels and laugh.

This is his deception with Eve. “Just a little bit wrong.” He makes it seem that she didn’t hear God correctly. Or that God’s commandment is too harsh, too unreasonable.

“Come, follow me,” the serpent spake, “and in my way come walking!”

The old rascal is still at work this way with some who make God the author of sin, and this delights the devil: “It’s all God’s fault!” But, while God knows all things beforehand (Daniel 2:28), this foreknowledge extends over good people and evil people alike. But God is not the cause of sin; the original source of sin is the devil, and then man’s wicked and perverse will after the fall (Formula of Concord).

Here we must pause, recognizing this first trick of the old enemy, and remember that just in the same way that everything the devil does among mankind is for our destruction, so also everything that God, our loving God does among us is for our eternal good. Remember how much he has done for you! He has given you forgiveness in your baptism. He has given you forgiveness in the sacrament of the altar. He has given you forgiveness spoken and declared in many ways in his holy Word. He has given you forgiveness spoken by his command by the pastor in worship week upon week, your whole life through. His forgiveness is portrayed in all of the artwork of the church, and certainly in every depiction of the cross of Jesus. There is your forgiveness, covering over the guilt of your sins, undoing the wretched work of the devil by displaying the sinless sacrifice of the Son of God, done for all, done for you yourself. Put your trust in him. He points you to that one safe and pure path to eternal life, and that one safe path is Jesus himself.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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