Conflict I Eve in the Garden

Well, I have wearied of editing and posting from my commentary on Ecclesiastes so I have decided to post excerpts from my book on the Armor of God (a free download on this blog). We are living in the days when the anti-Christ is about to be revealed and engage the saints in unprecedented warfare (Please see Dan 7:21; Rev 13:7). In this book we try and expose the "Whiles of the Devil" as he moves with indignation against the saints; we seek to emphasize the necessity of being clothed with Gods Armor. Please read prayerfully and with consideration of your own walk with the Lord.

Blessings, Rev Frank R. Anderson

As we already stated previously, the enemy is a believer. He believes in the power of God and the promises of God; that is why he works so hard to discredit them. I fear that the enemy at times believes more in the promises of God than do some of the saints! His work is to discredit those promises and to attack the character of God, which he successfully did in the Garden.

In Genesis 3:1-3, it 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? (2) And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: (3)  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.” Up to this point we can give Eve a passing grade in doctrine. She expressed the commandment as it was given to her; you can eat of any of the trees except for the tree in the center because that is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the original translation it says, “The day you eat of it before the sun goes down ye shall surely die.” Now, when God said “ye shall surely die,” He obviously meant spiritually since they did not physically die. This is indeed the very reason Christ had to come and die for our sins, to be born again of His Spirit because death passed upon all men through Adam and Eve’s disobedience (Rom 5:12). Bear in mind that when God created Adam and Eve they were created to live forever, they were not created to die.

The Enemy Wants to Convince Eve of Something False

Now the serpent, which is a master at trickery and deception, began to sneer at what God said and make Eve ashamed that she believed what her husband and her God said. Genesis 3:4 says, “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:” Today, the conversation would sound something like this: “You’ve got to be kidding me, that is utter nonsense; you don’t really believe you will actually die do you?” Now, the enemy knew full well that what God said was true but he was using his tools (his words) to deceive her. Why? It is because he wanted to convince her of something he himself knew was false and thereby slay her. By his deceptive words he convinced her to believe something false because, once she believed it, he knew she was going to act on that belief, separating her from her husband and God (sin separates us from God). He also knew that by convincing Eve he was going to affect the entire human race by her disobedience, giving him an advantage throughout the history of man. He wanted to get her to believe something that is not true; he wanted to convince her that what the Lord (and her husband) said she could not have was because they were unfair and controlling. In Genesis 3:5 the serpent said to Eve, “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.” These words were smooth as oil I am sure, but what a slanderous accusation against the nature and character of God. Oh, how many he has slain with variations of this same lie throughout the generations!

The Problem was That Eve Believed the Lie

Now, the enemy coming and undermining the character of God is not really the problem, as heinous as this is. The problem is that Eve believed it. Why did Eve believe it? When the enemy pointed out the “merits” of this tree, Eve turned and she looked. This is the problem; she began to believe the lie. Genesis 3:6 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.” Prior to this encounter this was a hated tree. They probably never even looked at it because God, who had always been good to them, told them it would be certain death to do so and so they dismissed it from their minds. Then the enemy came to her and said something like this: “Let me tell you what the problem is here; God is holding you back, all He wants to do is control your life and keep you back.” With that, evil thoughts entered into Eve’s heart and she began to see things in a “new light.”  Let me put this caution in here for the ladies: when you begin to feel your husband and the church are holding you back, you need to examine your heart and take careful note of who is talking to you and what they are saying. These are the warning signs that something is wrong.

Evil Thoughts Entered Her Heart When She Believed a Lie

The lies the enemy told Eve corrupted her. Evil thoughts of self-interest entered into her and even worse, she believed them. Always choose the fear of the Lord over personal gratification to avoid this snare. It was Eve’s self-interest that got her in trouble here. The enemy did not tell her what he knew to be true, that God was holding her back from things that would harm her and the generations that would follow. Instead he imparted to her a doubt about God’s character and she questioned if God had her best interest at heart. The enemy also implanted a desire for the forbidden fruit. Once he accomplished this task he knew that she would do the rest, disobeying the commandment of the Lord and bringing God’s judgment on that disobedience.

In Genesis 3:7-8 it then states, “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.  (8) 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.” What a sad day when the Lord came down into the garden to walk with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day as He had done so many times before, only to find them hiding from the one who lovingly created them with His own hands and breathed the breath of life in them and put them in the beautiful garden.

And so, what we learn through this example is what the enemy is really after in our lives, an evil confession of the Lord and a belief in something about God that is false. That is his primary objective! However, brokenness and humility before God will absolutely save you. Those who think that they are something, that they deserve a certain treatment, or that their own happiness is all that matters in life are putty in the enemy’s hand. The rash and passionate are easily persuaded by the enemy, but a man or woman who has come to the realization that everything God has given them has been by His benevolent hand are preserved.

Ecclessiastes Chapter Seven cont... Looking back what will we see?

27 “Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:”

Solomon is about to tell us his observation and he is letting us know they were the result of a methodical search he made, counting one by one. Unfortunately no matter how thorough his observations are he is still analyzing them through the eyes of a backslidden man and so his conclusions many times will be wrong. For instance, this verse is connected with the next verse; they are part of the same statement. He is going to conclude that he could only find very few men and no women who were virtuous and yet we know that is not true because his first love was the Shulamite and she was the virtuous woman.

28 “Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.”

V:27-28 are one verse, unfortunately when verses where added (The first Bible in English to use both chapters and verses was the Geneva Bible published in 1560.) they divided them into two making it difficult to expound them separately.  Solomon, no doubt, is speaking from his own experience, marrying one thousand "strange women" (1 Kings 11:1). However, we know the rarity of a virtuous woman, her price is far above rubies (Proverbs 31:10), therefore, she is rare indeed. This statement, however, can hardly be true for Solomon because at one point he had found a virtuous woman; at one point Solomon had courted such a woman as we read in Songs 6:8-9 but now he has become a disillusioned man forced to live with the wrong choices he has made. He now has a thousand wives and none of them are upright.

At one point his Shulamite was to him his one and only true love but now he has multiplied wives and none of them (not one of the thousand) were good. This illustrates to us how we must preserve propriety if we are to maintain our situation. Solomon had a good situation but he lost it trough intemperate living and foolish choices. That which he once had he lost because he strayed in his desires and as a result lost a very good situation (one love who was rare). We have the one of a thousand, the one out of a million as long as we preserve our walk with Him but if one begins to toy with other idols then they lose their situation with Him and they too become disillusioned and backslidden. Preserve your relationship with Jesus; be careful about what you let into your heart and life because the wrong time to realize you have lost something is after you lost it. Examine your walk daily in order to ensure you are preserving your relationship with Him.

Ecclessiastes Chapter Seven cont... Jesus as our guide...

26 “And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.”

This is, of course, being spoken experientially from Solomon whose heart we are told was led astray by his wives (1Kings 11:4 “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.”). He says of this seductress: "...whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands..." This word snares means "lying in wait to catch men"; in other words she is a huntress (See Proverbs 6:26). We would emphasize this verse with all caution; this woman is the subject of Proverbs 7 (See Proverbs 7:6-27). Solomon had fallen, no doubt, into this snare many many times. He found it bitter personally! But the caveat is this: "...whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her..." There are weights and measures with God; those who please the Lord are directed by the Lord and escape her snares and nets whilst those abhorred by Him are not preserved (Proverbs 22:14 “The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.”)! How does one please the Lord? Christ said: “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”  (John 8:29). By walking in humility, the fear of the Lord and keeping His commandments we bring pleasure to the Lord. Proverbs 7:1-5 begins with the good advice on how to please the Lord and how to avoid this woman.  “My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.  Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.  Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:  That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.”

It is important to distinguish the difference between being loved by the Lord and bringing Him pleasure. One can have a child that they love dearly but if the parent strongly disagrees with his or her choices then there is no pleasure in them. It is the same with the Lord He may love us but is He taking pleasure in us, it is not the same thing. At the end of this book Solomon wisely summarized the whole duty of man and gave to us the key to pleasing the Lord (Eccl 12:13)

Ecclessiastes Chapter Seven cont... No mixture!

25 “I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:”

Solomon illustrates for us time and time again the mixture that was in him; this is not the pathway to righteousness peace and joy but rather to confusion and misery. The quest one should be on is not one the mixture of Ecclesiastes 1:17 “And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.” Or of Ecclesiastes 2:12 “And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.” Our quest should be to have the mixture removed from our lives and to have singleness of vision; David illustrates this for us in Psalm 27:4 “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.” Whilst Solomon sought for, and pursued, many things his father David was seeking for one thing only!

Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven cont... The deep things of God

24 “That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?”

That which is afar off (in the future) and deep (profound), who can know it? Man, without help, cannot discern the future nor discover the profound, deep and hidden treasures known only to God. However, that being said we do have a way of seeing deep things and knowing these things that are far off if we draw near to God in the person of the Holy Spirit. Consider the words of 1 Corinthians 2:9-11. “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” If we draw near to Him with a true heart He will draw near to us (See James 4:8) and it is those who are close to Him that He reveals the hidden deep things of God

Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven cont...gifts versus character!

23 “All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me”.

All of Solomon's observations he made by his gift of wisdom. Because of the anointing that was upon him he could see and observe with the ability to form what he saw into a statement that was instructive. This is seen more so in the book of Proverbs than in Ecclesiastes; by now he has corrupted his gift by a reckless and licentious lifestyle (See V:25). There should have been two tracks running in the life of Solomon; the gift and the character to sustain the gift and to prevent a crash. Because these two tracks were not in their proper order in his life his gift was corrupted. This is very instructive for us as well; over the years I have observed it is not to the talented or the gifted to take the prize but it is to the man or woman of character.

1) The Gift - first of all we have the gift itself; a gift is something given from the hand of God to a man or a woman that makes their way in this life (Proverbs 18:16 “A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men”.)

2) Good Character - this is what is needed to ensure proper behavior in the execution of the gift. God is very much about behavior and how we conduct ourselves. Character preserves the anointing.

Ecclessiastes Chapter Seven cont... Do not listen too closely to what is being said about you!

21 “Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:”

Be careful about being over affected by what people say about you; people bless and curse indiscriminately. If you hear, by accident, something someone said about you then let it roll off you. Bear in mind you probably said (or thought) at one time or another troubling things about others (See next verse as well Ecclesiastes 7:22). Whilst the scriptures do talk quite a bit about a good name and even of being well spoken of by others the truth of the matter is that some will have very negative feelings about you (Cain hated Abel because Abel’s works were righteous and Cain’s were evil, this is the natural animosity that exists between the righteous and the wicked). You must not let these opinions and words spoken against you have to much affect on you.

22 “For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.”

Building upon the last verse (V:21) Solomon is saying, "Be realistic, have you yourself only spoken positive things about others?” If you have said things without much forethought then is it not reasonable to expect others to do the same. And so do not take their words to heart. That being said we are told in the scriptures to let our conversation be chaste; let it be pure and without sin and hypocrisy. The words of our mouth are so important with it we praise and bless the Godhead let us not use it to tear down His creation.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven cont.... There is no justification for pride!

20 “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”

This verse, as is understood from other translations, is saying there is not a man upon the earth who never sins; that we are all subject to the fallen nature is the real meaning of this verse. There are several verses in the bible which state as a matter of fact the failing nature of man (This verse being one of them along with: Ezekiel 22:30; Psalm 14:1-3). It is curious, therefore, in spite of his true sinful condition that man by nature is so proud so arrogant? We look at times academically with full disdain at king Nebuchadnezzar as he audaciously declares "…Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” (Dan 4:30) and yet every day through out the world mankind is full of himself reeling as if drunk, intoxicated with self love and self exaltation. However, to whom does God show His favor, to whom does God look, is not to the man or woman who soberly confesses their need for the Great Sacrifice offered by Jesus Christ; the man or woman who knows without that sacrifice they are doomed because of their sin. Oh, the great need for humility of character and brokenness if we desire His favor and blessing (See Isaiah 66:2)

Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven cont... The wise are strong through wisdom!

19 “Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.”

The key phrase here is "Wisdom strengthens..." What an important virtue to possess. Wisdom strengthens the wise making them stronger than the mighty. Solomon knew the merits of wisdom; he knew it is more powerful than physical strength. We have examples in the word of God where this is so Ecclesiastes 8:1 “Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.” Also, in Ecclesiastes 9:15-16 “Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.   Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.” So the question is this, where does wisdom come from and how do we obtain it? We have the answers to these questions in Proverbs and Job. Proverbs tells us that wisdom comes from the mouth of the Lord (Proverbs 2:6). And to whom does God give wisdom? To him that is good in His sight (Ecclesiasts 2:26). Job tells us that we obtain it by walking in the fear of the Lord Job 28:28 “And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” Now that we comprehend this merits of this virtue let us take the heed of Wisdom herself as she tells us to cry out for her as if we were seeking for hidden treasure (Proverbs 1:20-23; Proverbs 8).

Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven cont... The Wicked Will Have Darkness But Those Who Fear The Lord Will Come Forth From Them All

17 "Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?"

The wicked will have their day of judgment; they will laugh and play in this world but they will pay for it in the world to come. It says in Proverbs 31:31 concerning the virteous woman "Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates." the same is true of the wicked only replace the word "praise" with the word "judge". In the succeeding verse we will see why Solomon is saying V:16-18

18 "It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all."

The wise will take hold of this but the foolish will not be able to grasp it that he that fears the Lord comes forth from them all. This illustrates what we have discovered in the book of Proverbs (See introduction on Proverbs for specifics) that Gods blessing is upon those who fear the Lord and that hand of blessing brings one to the front. Life for the wicked is tangled and complicated fraught with problems and dilemma's for which there seems to be no solution.  Obviously one who "chooses" the fear of the Lord has chosen wisely. The fear of the Lord is a path that one seeks that one puts themselves on but it is also one of the Seven Spirits of the Lord that God can place on an individual or a group of people or even a nation (Isaiah 11:2). This individual, corporate assembly, city, state or nation that chooses the fear of the Lord will eventually emerge from them all.