Spiritual Warfare - The Serpent's Strategy

This blog is about the third chapter of the Bible study Spiritual Warfare by Jack Kuhatscheck.

1. "Reflecting on this passage, what different thoughts and emotions do you think Eve had throughout?" I think she doubted God's love for her, and maybe felt a little cheated out of the one thing God didn't want her to have.

2. "In verse 1 the serpent asks Eve, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" How does Satan's version compare with what God really said (see 2:16-17)?" Satan's version makes it look like God is saying that they can't eat from any tree, and is being a big mean guy in the sky who just makes rules. But God's words said, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tre of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." God said she was FREE to eat from any tree (except the one), which was something God had given her as a blessing. Satan focused on the part she couldn't have. It was like the whole "cup half empty vs. cup half full" thing. It was just how Satan made her look at it that made it look incomplete. "From the way he worded the question, what do you think Satan hoped to accomplish?" I think he wanted her to doubt God's goodness and the quality of His blessings for her life. Satan wanted her to focus on the one thing she couldn't have instead of all of the wonderful things she was already blessed with.

3. "Why do you think Satan appears to Eve in the form of a serpent (v. 1) instead of showing himself openly?" If Eve thought he was evil or trying to deceive her, she probably would not have listened to him. He appeared as a creation of God, and it seemed less threatening to her, so she listened.

4. "How does Eve's response reveal that Satan's venom is beginning to affect her thinking about God (vv. 2-3)?" She says "but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree...'" She spent more time talking about how God would not allow her to eat the fruit. When she spoke of what she could eat, she didn't word it the same way God did, and her way made it seem like He was limiting her, and not giving her the freedom to eat from all of the other fruit.

5. "How can doubting God's generosity make us targets for temptation and sin?" When we are focused on all of the things God does not give us instead of the things He blesses us with, we want to use our own means to get them. This leads to sin, and can even lead to not even trying to follow God at all. If we stop believing that God is blessing us, we will stop wanting to follow Him, and we will rebel. We need to remember that God does bless us. It's something I often forget.

6. "Satan's next tactic is to boldly declare, "You will not surely die" (v. 4). Why do you think he lies to Eve about the consequences of sin?" I know that consequences keep most people (me included) from doing things. Parents and teachers say, "If you have sex, you may get pregnant," and it stops a lot of people from doing that. When parents say, "If you sneak out/break rules/etc you will be grounded," and the threat of punishment is enough to make most children stop. The same was with Eve and the fruit. The consequence of death was the last thing keeping her from eating the fruit, and all Satan had to do was tell her, "You will not surely die," and she picked the fruit and ate it. He took the consequences out of the equation and made the sin even more appealing to her.

7. "Why is it tempting to believe that sin has no consequences? (Give examples, if possible.)" When we are about to sin, we try to rationalize and explain away all of the consequences and arguements against whatever desire it is we want. To continue the example of having sex, we may say, "If we use a condom, she won't get pregnant," and then decide to have sex. But the consequences are much deeper than that. God intends sex for marriage because when a person has sex, they create a bond with that person, and outside of a marriage, that bond is broken. It can leave emotional scars on us. We may have explained away many of the consequences to make it easier for us to do that sin, but there are other consequences.

8. "In verse 5 Satan goes a step further: 'For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' What does this statement imply about both God and sin?" God knows both good and evil. Sin happens when we know about both good and evil and choose to do the latter of the two.

9. "What evidenc do you see today what some people believe God is a 'cosmic killjoy' and sin is really good for them?" Just turn on the TV or look at the magazines at the store, and you will see sex splashed all over the place. We live in a world where we should do whatever feels good, whenever we want it. It's a selfish, "me" generation. When these people who are led to believe you should do what you can to please yourself see religion, they see all of the rules. They don't see the loving God who made these rules to protect His children.

10. "In verse 6 the converstaion between the serpent and the woman breaks off. How is Satan's tactic at this point similar to the one a waiter uses with the dessert tray (see group discussion question)?" Satan just left her to look at the fruit and think about what he said. If he continued to push, she would probably start to wonder why he was pushing so hard to get her to eat the fruit. But he just had a little conversation and waited for her to make the choice. She looked at the fruit, saw that it was good, and the temptation was too much. She ate of the fruit.

11. "The great reformer Martin Luther once said, 'You can't keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair.' Why is it dangerous to toy with temptation or to fantasize about it?" When you think about something, taking a step towards us doesn't seem like too much more. Then when you take that step, you think, "One more won't hurt." Eventually you'll find yourself so far in sin that it will take a slap in the face to get you out. I know; I've been there. When I thought and wondered about sex, it wasn't a big deal. Then I started learning more about it. Making jokes. Before I knew it, I was looking at porn and I was obsessed. It took God using His children to bring me back to where I should be. And it all started with just thinking about a sinful thing. "Instead of toying or fantasizing, what should you do when you're tempted?" For me, when I'm tempted to do those things, the only thing that works to keep me from doing them is to pray, read my Bible, or contact my accountability partner.

Closing thoughts: A lot of temptation, for me especially, is more based on curiosity than downright defiance. I don't want to disobey God. But God made us curious beings, and sometimes we take that curiosity too far. We need to be careful not to let Satan have a foothold.