Knowing God's Word

I'm doing a study on the Women of the Bible and naturally
I started with Eve. You know, the first woman EVEr who
was made out of Adam's rib. The one who was made to be
a suitable helper to Adam- yes, God made the woman for
the man. It started out quite simple until there was a
temptation. As with many temptations, Satan was there
to bring deception and Eve's flesh played right along. But
one of the things I find most fascinating is the conversation
between Eve and the serpent (Satan). It's not that the
conversation happened, but it's her reply when Eve was asked,
"Has God indeed said , 'You shall not eat of every tree
of the garden?"

Now let me point out, in Genesis 2:16-17,
here is what God said to Adam and Eve: "From ANY tree
of the garden you may eat FREELY but from the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in the day
that you eat from it you SHALL SURELY DIE." (emphasis mine)

Here is what Eve said that God said: "From the fruit
of the trees of the garden we may eat but from the fruit
of the tree which is in the middle of the garden God
has said, 'You shall not eat from it or TOUCH IT LEST
you die."

A couple things that don't seem like a big deal but
really are:

1. God said you can eat from ANY tree FREELY but
Eve (by the serpent's deception) focused on the one
thing she couldn't have. Don't we do that sometimes!
We focus on what we can't have or don't have instead
of ALL that we do have! What a difference changing
our focus would make in all of our lives!
2. Eve said that she couldn't touch it either- God
never said that. She seems to focus more on what
she views as limitations instead of understanding
that she would forfeit God's best for her by going
against His perfect plan. So many times we view God
as this huge Rule Setter and until we understand who
He really is, the Perfect Loving Creator and Almighty
God, we just don't get it. He wants to protect us
and give us His best- always!
3. God said "you will surely die" in the day you eat
from the tree but Eve said "lest you die". God warned
that the consequences would be immediate but she is
downplaying what He said. One day "every knee will
bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord"
and every person will realize the magnitude of following
the God of the Bible or the consequence of choosing not
to.

It's very important for us to "KNOW" God's Word and
not change it around. Many people have "beliefs" and
have gone to church and might remember some stories
of the Bible, but this is a huge reminder how solid
our faith and understanding of truth (God's Word) must
be. We will quickly fall when we're tempted if we
don't know God's Word and more importantly, when we
don't obey it.