The goal of this fallen world is the same as that faithful day in the garden. The alure and attraction of this world pulls believers and unbelievers alike into its grips through wealth, status, friends, religion, ETC. The enemy’s plan has not changed since the garden; he’s only become stealthier and more deceitful. The battle that started has only become more intense and with an enemy harder to target. The Word warns us not to become like the world, but to imitate our Messiah and to walk in the spirit which is full of life and peace.
Whenever we think about the garden of Eden our minds go directly to Adam & Eve as the main characters in a play and a talking snake that comes alongside in an accompanying role. We often tend to think after the fact, but let’s look at the snake prior to the great deception. First of all, the snake talks which doesn’t seem to be a surprise to anyone in the text. The Torah almost reads as if this is normal behavior for an animal.
For example, in our recent Torah portion Bila’am is surprised when his donkey talks in Numbers 23. When you read the text it’s almost a shock that his donkey talks, but here in Genesis 3 the snake’s ability for language seems to indicate normal behavior.
And the naḥash was more crafty than all the lives of the field which יהוה Elohim had made, and he said to the woman, “Is it true that Elohim has said, ‘Do not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
We know from later on in the text the snake not only talks, but also walks. So we are presented with this picture of a walking snake that strolls right up to Eve and starts a conversation about what Elohim had actually said.
From the text we don’t actually know what the snake’s diet was in the garden either, but it wasn’t dust. It was only after Elohim cursed the snake that he mandated forever to crawl on his belly and eat dust all the days of his life. Another interesting character trait is that the snake was more cunning then any beast of the field (Genesis 3:1).
So far, we know the snake walks, talks, and has some sort of intelligence that made him more cunning then all other animals in the garden. Let’s take a look at the snakes mischievous plan to lead Eve astray. It seems there would be lots of ways the snake could have tricked Eve, but we read these words from the text
“Is it true that Elohim has said, ‘Do not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
This is how most translations render the text, but a more literal translation of the Hebrew says:
“Even if Elohim said do not eat from any trees of the garden”
That’s it? We expect here for the snake to finish his sentence with some sort of question, but as one rabbi says ‘it trails off into nothingness’. We can now see why most translators take liberty in smoothing out the text, but from the actual Hebrew we can gather the snake is basically saying ‘Even if Elohim said don’t eat from any trees of the garden, so what? Go right ahead and take a bite.’ It doesn’t seem to be a good argument. To Eve, Elohim is real, not an abstract religious idea. Elohim most definitely created her. The snakes cunning statement is almost like a five year old testing his parents rule on keeping his hand out of the cookie jar.
And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, and she took of its fruit and ate. And she also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
We find in verse 6 that Eve in fact put her hand in the cookie jar and then gave to her husband and he also ate it. The first man and women stepped outside the limit set by YHWH, ate the forbidden fruit, and became separated from Him. The snake (Satan) which seems to possess human characteristics (Walking, talking, intelligence) planted doubt in Eve’s mind (“Even if Elohim said”), deceit (“You shall certainly not die”), and self-delusion (“you shall be like Elohim”).
What’s odd here about “you shall be like Elohim” is that from the text the ability to be like Elohim is knowing good and evil. What’s more strange is the snake was actually telling Eve the truth! I mean if you wanted to deceive someone would your first weapon of choice be the truth? In the end YHWH confirms the snakes words:
And יהוה Elohim said, “See, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil.
To ponder the text, it almost seems like we are gods over our own lives. We have the ability to rule over ourselves making decisions on our own based upon good and evil, life experiences, and a desire that is wired into our mainframe called the flesh. However, we are called to humble ourselves before YHWH Elohim and submit to the king of all kings. HalleluYah! While the snake’s words are very true, it’s not the words on the outside but the voice of YHWH that is found speaking to all of us from the inside. We are born with an internal system of knowing good and evil.
Let’s back up for a second:
And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise.
Here we can see Eve contemplated three things:
The tree was good for food.
It was pleasant to the eyes.
Desirable to make one wise.
The third contemplation “desirable to make one wise” is generally smoothed out again by translators but the literal Hebrew say’s “It was desirable to contemplate”. Websters dictionary defines ‘contemplate’ as “to view or consider with continued attention : meditate on.”
This was in fact the self-delusion. Satan made rebellion against YHWH seem attractive, something to think about. What if I were to be like Elohim? I would be in control over my own destiny. Pride has now filled the mind of the thinker who contemplates rebellion against YHWH.
The enemy’s methods are the same today. The things of this world are marketed to be pleasant to the eyes and desirable to contemplate. Money, materialism, vanity, gluttony, self-indulgence, becoming lovers of our-selves rather than lovers of Elohim. Sin works its way into our lives and regardless of the form of deception it takes, the goal is always the same to tempt us to choose our own ways over His ways. The delusional goal is for us to be like gods.
The downward spiral starts in our minds just like it did for Eve. We contemplate what if? What if a had a million dollars? Thinking then turns into behavior. My desire is to now get the million dollars, and I begin to work every which way into getting what I want. Sins demands will always come up empty-handed leaving us empty instead of being satisfied. We are not to love the things of this world or to become like the world, but to be lovers of Elohim denying ourselves. We live life trying to make YHWH a part of our lives, but we should in fact live and dwell in Him continually by walking in His ways, keeping His commandments, and erecting fences to live a set-apart life. We should make committing sin difficult.
The mind of the contemplator and the free thinker may say, “I live by the spirit, and the spirit directs me in my faith.” However, this self-delusion, which began in the garden, is still occurring today. The Bible never instructs us to be merely spiritual; rather, it calls us to be scriptural. The life of a believer is one of obedience—this is our part of the covenant. God promises, “You will be my people, and I will be your Elohim.” As the people of Yah, we have requirements to uphold, and He has already provided guidance on what we should do. He promises blessings if we walk in His ways. Only then will the Ruach dwell within us, allowing us to walk in the spirit. We must humble ourselves before Him, and He will lift us up. There is always a responsibility on our part, just as Adam and Eve were responsible for not eating the forbidden fruit.
If you find you have been living your own way, being your own god as it were, you can still turn back to YHWH and He will receive you with loving arms. Focus your attention on knowing Him and believing His promises and following His commands. Turn away from the ways of this world and tear down the idols in your life. Enter into a relationship with Yeshua the Messiah, let Him be the only God in your life and you will have the ability to face temptation and overcome the snake in the garden!
The Didache, also known as “The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles,” stands as one of the earliest and most mysterious documents in the history of the early church. Its text, shorter in length yet far reaching in impact, offers a window into the beliefs, observances, and community halakha of the earliest followers of Yahshua.
Much like Moses, you may find yourself feeling discouraged, confused, and questioning where Yah is in your life. We all experience these moments, and often, the most heartfelt prayers come when we feel completely empty and simply ask for help. It’s in these times of humility, when we realize that there is nothing we can do on our own, that we must fully depend on and trust Him.
We as believers are expected to adhere to a high moral standard. Why? Because just like Samson YHWH expects us to be salt & light. To be the light in the darkness and that light only dwells in YHWH our Elohim. He is the source of our light. What seems popular to contrary belief is we must live, look, act, and be set-apart from this world.