“The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.” Genesis 3:6 (NLT)

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What more could Eve have asked for? She had her perfect soulmate, her perfect home, and her perfect life. She also had free will to be perfectly obedient…or not.

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When Eve arrived in the Garden, a prominent feature was already in place: The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This tree had its own set of simple straightforward rules. As long as Eve abided by these God-given commands, Paradise was hers.

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But then a beautiful creature, the Serpent, dropped by the Garden to visit. The Serpent was like nothing Adam and Eve had experienced to this point and was diametrically opposed to them in its very nature. Whereas Adam and Eve were innocent, pure and obedient, the Serpent is described as “subtle, crafty and shrewd.” We encounter this same creature daily and are warned to be vigilantly on guard against him, for he is none other than our adversary, the Devil (I Peter 5:8).

The Serpent began his ruse by asking Eve a seemingly harmless question: “Did God really say…?” It is well worth noting how all heresies begin from the point of questioning God’s clear-cut commands and then twisting them to make them fit our own desires. The path to disobedience often begins with doubt and duplicity. James 4:7 gives the only survival plan against Satan’s wiles: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” It is devastatingly tragic for the fate of mankind that Eve did not follow these godly instructions.

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Instead of fleeing, Eve drew nearer and engaged the Serpent in conversation. She misquoted the words of God by adding “neither shall you touch it” to the command not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This narrowest of openings allowed the temptation to take root.

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At this point, the Serpent switched tactics from questioning to outright blasphemy. “No! You will not die!” the satanic snake emphatically informed her. As she processed this new information, Eve had a decision to make. She had to believe one or the other, either her Creator or this creature, for both could not be telling the truth. This is a decision every human being has had to make every moment of their life since that time forward. When any authority, knowledge or information is in conflict with God’s express Word, which will we choose to believe and obey?

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Noticing this indecision on the part of Eve, the Serpent then went all in by declaring, “God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you'll become like God, knowing good and evil." It is interesting to note the parallels of Satan’s sales pitch to Eve (“you shall be like God”) with his own original sin of wanting to be like God. This, then, is the bottom line of every sin we commit in that we usurp the rightful role of God and set our own sinful desires in His place instead.

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While she pondered this decision, Eve decided to more closely examine the evidence. Just as when we fall to temptation, we know at the outset which direction we are leaning - we just want more confirmation to back up the wrong decision we are going to make. “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Genesis 3:6 BSB) The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil checked all the boxes: it looked good, it tasted good, and it was supposed to have a desirable outcome. What’s not to like? In fact, it was so positive she decided to share the experience with Adam.

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At that moment, Paradise was irreparably lost.