Did God Really Say?

Satan started out by casting doubt on what God had said to Adam and Eve. “Did God really say?” “Are you sure this is what God told you?” (Gen. 3:1) He did not start out with the big lie. He made the woman think about it, he cast doubt on the command.

What is interesting is that in verse 2, Eve knew exactly what God had told her. In fact, she almost quoted it verbatim in Genesis 2:16-17. But what is also interesting about that command is that, if the second half of Genesis 2 is chronological, Eve was not told directly by God. God gave the command to Adam. Adam would have conveyed the command to Eve unless God told her directly as well in an unrecorded conversation.

But after Eve had rightly conveyed what God had really said, Satan, the Serpent, comes with his big lie. No! You will not die! (Gen. 3:4)

The Fall of man began with doubt being cast on the word of God and then an outright lie from the Great Deceiver, Satan. This is a pattern that continues with all sin. Satan will twist, turn, and lie to tempt us. He did this with Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11. There is a reason that Satan is called the deceiver of the whole world in Revelation 12:9.

Peter has warned us to be ever vigilant in our daily path against the schemes of the Devil (1 Pet. 5:8). We need to make sure that we are looking for the lies of Satan and when he says “Did God really say?,” we need to make sure our answer is firmly grounded in Scripture and that we do not listen to the lies of the Great Deceiver.