Genesis 3:6-7(NLT) states, “The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.” Of course, this passage is schooling us on Sister Eve and the steps she took to sabotage herself, her husband, and most importantly, their relationship with God. She was bamboozled by the evil one, and from the record the Lord shares with us, satan didn’t have to work very hard. The question that continues to linger with this record is why? Why did Eve turn her back on the most excellent and glorious existence that God provided for her and her husband?
It’s a very important question to the woman of God that is living today, especially if she is waiting for the manifestation of a blessing. Exploring the answer requires us to know and understand some key factors about the first woman, Eve. The first thing we should know is that Eve was no dummy. The Bible tells us that God communed with the first couple continually. The Creator of all that we survey had an open line of communication with them, and God would not waste His time doing all that talking if Adam and Eve lacked the ability to understand. He talked to them and no doubt taught them because intelligence was baked into their makeup. They understood God and responded to Him in a way that was mutually fulfilling for them all.
God doesn’t keep things in the dark. He is more transparent than any of us could ever imagine. Everything about His relationship with Adam and Eve was above board and out in the open. He created a paradise and plopped them in the middle of it. Their relationship with Him was glorious, and their relationship with each other was glorious. Nothing about the life they shared with God was imperfect or flawed in any way. They enjoyed the kind of bliss many of us are praying to experience today. But Eve’s allegiance to God would be tested, and it set in motion a test of endurance and commitment to Him that many women are struggling with today.
Eve’s mistake teaches us many things, one of which is the reality that things that look beautiful can be deadly. She saw that the tree was beautiful, and its fruit looked delicious, and this convinced her to act on the lie the devil had fed her. She took the forbidden thing because it looked appealing, and the look of it caused her to abandon the truth and trust she once had for Heavenly Father. So many of us are going down this path. Sistergirl was in the middle of paradise in every single aspect of her existence, yet she yearned for the forbidden thing. She saw, she desired, and she ate.
James 1:14-16(NLT) warns, “14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. 16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.” Eve’s single act of disobedience led generations to darkness. As God’s daughters, we must ask what impact will our sin have? Will it lead our husbands to sin as Eve’s sin did with Adam? Will the unrepented sin in us give birth to sin in our daughters and sons? Will we turn our backs on the paradise God has given us through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son and continue denying that we need to repent? We must understand with crystal clarity that the darkness of sin is destructive and devastating. It will chew us up and spit us out if our sin is unaddressed through repentance, and therefore allowed to grow.
Many of us desire a relationship that will lead to marriage. Eve had that and desired something else. Genesis 3:5 tells us that Eve wanted her eyes to be opened so she could be like God and know both good and evil. The bottom line is that she would not allow herself to be content and fulfilled with God. She would not let herself depend totally on Heavenly Father to supply all her need and prepare her for the bounty that laid ahead. She desired the thing that she was in no way prepared to receive and refused to wait on Heavenly Father’s leadership and direction. She bowed to disobedience, and it cost her and husband everything.
Understand that because of what the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished for us, we are children, not servants. We have God’s seed in us and have received a better covenant through Christ. We are empowered to walk in his victory every moment of each day. God did not take us back to where Adam and Eve dropped off, through Christ, He exceeded His own standard of restoration, and 2Corintians 5:17 declares He’s made us new creations through our Lord and Savior! His standard is high for us because the gift of salvation that He’s given us is exponentially higher. We can do more than Adam and Eve. We can reject their actions! Because we have God’s seed in us, we can live a life through Christ that is more than abundant, and we can have a relationship with God that is tighter than tight. All this splendidness is because of Christ.
God lives in us! And if there’s sin in our hearts that we’re denying, best believe He’s doing a work in us to expose it and move it out. He will not allow it to be said that He is helping us to self-destruct. He will not help us lead others away from a relationship with Him because of some darkness we’re holding on to. If your desire is marriage, and you are poised to do a ‘Eve’ on your future spouse, God will not be complicit in that.
The Holy Spirit will lead, guide, and direct us to such a degree that everyone we meet is elevated because they’ve been in our presence. But we must surrender to the Spirit. We must commence to demonstrate that we are seeking to get our commitment to God on point in the right now, so that we prove ourselves willing to let Him be at work in our lives. Our walk with Christ should reveal that we will not allow the pretty thing we see to trick us into abandoning obedience to our Heavenly Father. Although we might desire it, we won’t take matters into our own hands or grow weary in well doing and lose heart. Instead we will be faithful to Heavenly Father through Christ and show Him that our commitment is not based on what He can give us, but on our adoration for who He is. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“She Saw, She desired, She Ate and Gave Some to Him” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!