Genesis 3:1

Genesis 3:1 says, Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  This was not just a serpent that God had created, because God called His creation good.  This was Satan, either in the form of a serpent or having possessed a serpent.  The woman, Eve, was not afraid because at that time there was only peace and harmony between mankind and the animals.  The serpent, or Satan really, was very subtle.  He did not just state the fact that God had declared that there were two trees that weren't to be eaten from, but questioned Eve if that was what God had said.  Satan knows what God has declared is true, so his best hope is to get us to question what God has said.  As long as we stand firm in God's word, Satan is already defeated.  Verse two states, And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: Eve had not been given these instructions, but Adam had.  Eve starts with the truth of God.  They were free to eat of the fruit of the trees, except two.  Verse three adds, But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  Eve said they were prohibited from eating from the tree in the midst, or middle, of the garden, but she added to what God had said.  Sho said that God said that if they even touched it they would die.  If we are to obey God, we must never attempt to add to His word.  If we do, we will find ourselves going astray as Eve did.  Verse four states, And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:  Satan said that God had lied.  I know that he didn't come out and say this directly, but that was his implication.  Satan will always be subtle in his temptations and will appeal to our carnal nature.  Verse five adds, For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.  Satan basically said that God was trying to keep something good from them.  Satan said if they ate of this tree that they would be like gods.  God had created them and given them a perfect world to live in, but Satan said they could have more.  This is always the temptation that Satan leads us to.  He says if we disobey God's laws that we can have more, but this was, is, and always will be a lie.  Verse six says, And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.  Eve saw that the tree and its fruit looked good.  I don't believe that we are ever going to be tempted to disobey God by something that looks bad.  I guess God could have made the tree look bad just as He could make all sin look bad, but this would not be a true test of our obedience to Him.  The question will always be whether we will disobey God for the things of this world that tempt us.  Eve ate of the tree and gave some of the fruit to Adam, and he ate also.  Adam, to whom God had given the instructions, chose to follow Eve instead of God.  If we are in a position where we have to follow those closest to us or follow God, we must always choose to be true to God.  Verse seven declares, And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.  After they ate, they saw the world differently.  The knew that they were naked, and now it became something that they saw as wrong.  They attempted to fix what they saw as a problem and made themselves aprons of fig leaves.  When we sin, we cannot cover it up or correct it ourself.  We must go to God in repentance and ask His forgiveness.  Verse eight states, And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.  When they heard God, they attempted to hide from Him.  Their relationship with God had changed.  Anytime we sin, our relationship with God is changed, but we must acknowledge that we cannot hide from Him.  We always need to confess our sins so that our relationship can be what God wants it to be.  The more we attempt to hide from God, the worse things will become.