Good Plan

Published: January 28, 2018

Author: Joseph

God created mankind with the purpose of being His ambassador and caretaker for the rest of His creation. In other words, mankind would represent Him as he cared for the animals and cultivated the land. Mankind was given the responsibility and purpose to keep care of all of God’s works. And it was good.

“Man and woman were living in complete paradise.”

When God saw that the man (Adam) was alone and that none of the animals could help him accomplish God’s will for him, He created the woman (Havah) to support and sustain his works, while also having a unique role herself in the procreation of mankind. They were perfectly made for one another and for God’s purpose. Man and woman were living in complete paradise. They lacked nothing. God had given them all of creation to rule over and provided for their every need – His presence, their companionship, food, water, and best of all, peace.

The serpent, whom other bible passages reveal to be Satan (Revelation 12:9; 20:2), wanted to take that away from mankind. The serpent knew that he had already been judged and was doomed to eternal punishment and separation from God, so he shrewdly planned to take away the peace and prosperity of God’s creation, to make others suffer with him.

The woman was in the garden when she came across the serpent. The serpent immediately asked her a question to get her attention, saying, “Indeed has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?’” The serpent’s first question was not meant to fool the woman, but he was luring her into a conversation. In her innocence, the woman thought the serpent was simply asking about any tree, as his question stated. But the serpent’s plan was to use this conversation to talk about the tree, that is, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The serpent lures the woman to speak and make mention of the forbidden tree, which he then immediately uses to cause her confusion. He tells her that she can eat from the tree. The serpent states, “You surely will not die!” in direct contrast to what God had told her, and then added, “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Suddenly the woman’s confidence in God’s words was challenged. Now there was a conflict within her. Who was right? The serpent or God? This loss of faith in God caused her to go further into temptation and further along the path towards death. She faced a decision point, to either rebuke the serpent and go away, trusting in God’s words or to stay with the serpent and reject God’s authority.

In our society many people face a similar challenge to their faith. When we know what God has revealed to us, primarily through the bible, and still allow the shrewd voice of sin to take hold in our mind, it leads us into trouble. Our faith begins to slip and although the arguments of the world seem logical and convincing, we must firmly trust in who God is and what His wisdom has revealed. His character is beyond reproof and He will always and forever give us exactly what we need, as He did with Adam and Havah. God’s wisdom is beyond the logic of mankind. We should never doubt that He would withhold anything good from us, as the serpent deceived the woman into believing.

Who do you put your trust in? And do you believe that God, by who He is, will also bring you good?

Bible Passage: Genesis 2:15 – 3:6

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB). www.lockman.org

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