Dietrich Bonhoeffer identified the conversation between the serpent and the woman in Genesis 3 as the first theological discussion about God. Some aspects of their conversation can guide us in staying faithful to God and resisting the lure of evil.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1).
The serpent’s first tactic was to make the woman doubt God’s goodness. His opening question was, “Did God really say?” When we begin to question God, His goodness, or His intentions for our lives, we risk stepping away from a close relationship with Him and falling into sin.
A wise minister once said, “When the devil knocks at your door, send Jesus to answer it.” The woman would have been wise to follow this advice. Instead of engaging with the serpent’s questions, she should have turned to the Lord for guidance and help.
Unfortunately, that is not what she did.
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 middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die'” (Genesis 3:2-3).
Psalm 1 rightly declares that those who avoid engaging with the wicked, sinners, or scoffers are truly blessed.
Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked
or take the path that sinners tread
or sit in the seat of scoffers. (Psalm 1:1)
Had the woman followed the wisdom of Psalm 1 by aligning her life with God’s will instead of entertaining the serpent’s advice, the story of the Garden would have been far different.
But their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night. (Psalm 1:2)
An Attack on God’s Character
The serpent intensified his attack on the woman’s resolve to stay faithful to God by making disparaging remarks about God’s character.
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die, for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5).
The serpent’s temptation was rooted in the claim that God was withholding something valuable. He suggested, “You can be like God, knowing good and evil.”
I once led a class where I asked if they believed God could throw a great party. Their hesitant expressions and uncertain murmurs revealed they had fallen for the same lie as the woman.
They doubted God’s goodness, thinking that following Him would diminish their joy rather than enhance it.
When we doubt God’s good intentions for us—believing either that He doesn’t love us or lacks the power to fulfill His promises—we risk finding ourselves in the same tragic situation as the man and woman in the garden.
The Final Step
Five key verbs illustrate the progression of sin in this account: the woman saw, was delighted, desired, took, and gave. This pattern mirrors how we often interact with sin—we see it, desire it, take it, and then involve others in it.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves (Genesis 3:6-7).
This portion of the story highlights three important points:
(1) The man was present with the woman the entire time. Although he remained silent, the text makes it clear he was not a distant or innocent bystander but a passive participant.
(2) Their disobedience disrupted their relationship. What was once an innocent awareness of nakedness now became a source of shame, creating separation between them.
(3) They attempted to address their sin on their own by sewing fig leaves together, trying to cover their guilt in their own way.
Masterful Wisdom
Genesis 3 is both a masterful work of art and a profound analysis of human behavior. As readers engage with this passage, they can observe the progression from thought to action, to attempts at covering up, and ultimately to separation—both from God and from others.
This is the pattern of sin, and it serves as a warning. We would do well to heed the wisdom of Psalm 1: avoid the counsel of sin, and instead meditate on and internalize God’s guidance in our lives.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 