There are major scenes in the first three chapters of Genesis that we need to consider to grasp the basics or the origin of marriage. Previously, we saw that this universe and life have a Creator, an Author; nothing is random or accidental. There is a Designer, a Rational Being behind this life and the universe (Genesis 1). We then saw how God made man, specifically the First Adam, from dust, breathing “into his nostrils the breath of life” and making him a living being (Genesis 2:7). God placed the man He created in the Garden of Eden, which He had prepared for Adam beforehand. God didn’t tell Adam to simply relax and enjoy the good weather. Instead, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15 ESV). Along with this, God gave the man one command, 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 2:16b-17 ESV).

Today, we will examine two more major scenes from Genesis chapters 2 and 3, skipping some passages purposely to focus on the ones we want to highlight in this series of teachings.

“Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”” Genesis 2:18 ESV

So, God made Eve from Adam (meaning, God made Adam a sexual being by taking one of his ribs):

“So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:21-24 ESV

When Adam woke up from his sleep, he didn’t search for his missing rib. Instead, he found himself in the midst of his own God-designed wedding ceremony. After making Adam a sexual being, God immediately provided him with a beautiful sexual outlet called marriage, a one-flesh relationship between one man and one woman.

So far, everything seems beautiful.

The next major scene we want to focus on begins like this in Genesis chapter 3:

“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 actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”” Genesis 3:1 ESV

Wow! God created the universe. Then He created man in His own image and likeness, making them male and female (Adam and Eve – Genesis 1:26-27). Both Adam and Eve were innocent of any sin or evil until a crafty serpent initiated a conversation with Eve.

The serpent didn’t waste any time. He immediately attacked the word of God, which he believed was guiding Eve’s life.

The most important and crucial phrases the serpent used to trip Eve were:

“Did God say”

“You shall not eat”

“Any tree”

He posed a question about the word of God, asking Eve to respond. The problem was that the question was strategically framed. It subtly directed Eve’s attention to the prohibition “you shall not eat,” rather than the permission, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden” (Genesis 2:16). With his craftiness, the serpent caused Eve to focus on “the barely empty cup” instead of “the almost full cup.”

God said to eat from every tree in the entire Garden except for one. He told them not to eat from only one tree. The serpent wanted Eve to focus on the one fruit God had said, “you shall not eat.”

The bait was crafted by a brilliant mind for the purpose of evil, and Eve quickly took notice of this shiny, innocent-looking lure. She immediately opened her mouth to answer the serpent’s seemingly ingenuous question, saying,

“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.’”” Genesis 3:2-3 ESV

What? Eve, where did you get this? When did God say this? Did God say, “You shall not touch the tree?” Did God say, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree” that is randomly found in the midst of the garden? And the fruit of the trees God said, “You shall eat,” how did God say it? Hello, Eve, do you read your Bible? Do you study and meditate on the word of God?

The serpent didn’t need to ask Eve these straightforward questions. Remember, the devil is a deceiver who always hides the truth. Without asking, the serpent found answers to all his questions directly from Eve. He quickly realized that Eve was like one of those churchgoers with perfect attendance and who faithfully give their tithes and offerings each week but have absolutely no relationship with their Bible.

So, I can imagine the devil thinking to himself at this point, “Bingo! I got my prey without much effort. Now I can tell her anything, and she’ll believe me because she doesn’t even know what she believes in.”

So, with full confidence, knowing his strategy was working perfectly, the serpent said to Eve:

“But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.” Genesis 3:4 ESV

He blatantly lied to her because he knew that Eve was nowhere near able to distinguish “God’s Truth” from “counterfeit truths.” So the serpent said to her, probably laughing as if to mock her, “How could you fall for such a lie? No, you will not surely die. Are you kidding me? No, you won’t die! God is a liar!”

Since the devil had Eve’s attention, he continued his rhetoric, saying,

“But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely 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 ESV

The audacity of him!

So, in effect, the devil said to Eve, “God is a liar, and He is so insecure that He doesn’t want anyone to compete with Him. He wants to be the only God, while you both have the potential to be gods like Him by eating this particular fruit. That’s why He’s trying to scare you by saying, ‘You shall surely die,’ blah, blah. You won’t die!” . . . cont’d ///

P. S. The above blog was taken from last week’s post since today’s video message matches the content of this specific blog.