DEVOTION FOR FEBRUARY

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VOICES IN THE GARDEN

 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Genesis 2: 17.

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: Genesis 3:4

In God, Adam and Eve’s love spot, they had had wonderful moments all by themselves; discovering the garden, naming plants and animals, enjoying the beauty of nature.

The garden was to be a prototype for Adam and Eve’s offsprings when they are ready to plant their very own gardens. Watching the behaviors of the different animals, Adam laughingly gave each one a name that fitted its personality exactly:

Sly as a fox,

Vain as a peacock,

Slow as a turtle,

Big as an elephant,

And so on.

It was a loving Father’s walk with His beloved children in the garden of His estate.

It was a walk that God looked forward to each day.

Up to this time the only voice that mattered in the garden was God’s voice.

The only opinion that mattered was God’s own.

Now, all of a sudden, Adam, Eve and God’s love spot was intruded upon. Now, a cunning snake came in casting the very first shadow of doubt into a wonderful, trusting relationship.

Up to this time, it had never occurred to either Adam or Eve to doubt God. There had never been a reason to do so.

God had said, “don’t eat that fruit.”

The snake said, “eat it.”

God said “you will die if you do.”

Taking a luscious bite at the apple, the snake hissed,

“You will surely not die. I just took a bite. Did you see me die?”

“Who do I believe?” Eve was confused.

But she made a fatal mistake, not by eating the fruit, but by listening to the serpent. The more she listened, the more she saw that what he said made common sense.

Eve chose to believe the snake, because she listened to the voice of reason.

And when the woman saw (eyes)

that the tree was good for food, (taste)

and that it was pleasant to the eyes, (eyes)

and a tree to be desired to make one wise, (brain)

she took of the fruit thereof, (touch)

and did eat,( taste)  Genesis 3:6

Reason made sense.

What did God have as proof for His own injunction?

“Nothing! Just trust me. Trust my words.” God said.

“Just that?”

“Yes, just that. Trust me. I will never fail nor deceive you.  Trust me.”

It didn’t make sense anymore to simply trust God without any proof.

Eve ate the fruit.

She gave her husband. He also ate the fruit.

Death came in as God had said.

The first animal died. Genesis 3:21

Plants began to die. Genesis 3:18

Abel died. Genesis 4:8

Adam and Eve eventually died. Genesis 5:5

They died as God had said they would. God is right after all. But it was too late for the couple to change their minds.

The fatal mistake had been made.

God knew it was coming.

Maybe Adam knew, we don’t know.

But Eve definitely didn’t expect it. Maybe if Eve had known it was coming she would have been prepared for a counter argument to that of the snake.

Today, the devil still floors us when we don’t expect his attack.

A good marriage, with everything going for it was attacked. The couple was unprepared and so they fought and argued, thinking each other was the cause.

A good home was attacked as children choose to rebel against the values that God through their parents had stood for. The family unprepared, attacked back at their children, not seeing the destroyer at the door.

A good business was attacked and the owner thought it was better to just leave this earth and die, and didn’t see the serpent near the tree.

A youth was attacked because a girlfriend or boyfriend left, and he or she thought the world had come to an end, not seeing the cunning snake, giving him the bait.

On and on it goes.

The devil appeals to reason.

God appeals to faith.

Eve had to make a choice. To believe in a good God or the contrary voice of reason?

Today, we all still need to choose. The devil’s bait has not changed hands.

To read more please order for the book

A Garden Romance by Bisi  Chukwudile