Know Your Enemy- A Lesson from the Garden of Eden

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

I think people have treated Satan like a bogeyman, a faerie story to use to frighten children, but also embellishing him (the horns and goat hooves are a bit much) to diminish their own belief in him. I believe, 100 percent, he is real. I do not believe he is needed by God (the enemies of Jesus are sin and death, and both were defeated by the Cross and Empty Tomb), but was a created being who is in rebellion against his Creator, and has a following, spiritual and flesh. I believe that the tricks we see him use in Scripture are very much still his playbook today.

And why do I say this? Why am I taking time out to focus on our adversary? Simply put, we need to know what we’re up against. We need to know what we need to focus on, and know his tactics that will distract us from our purpose. First and foremost, we’re designed for relationship with God. Jesus said “if you love me, you’ll keep my commands.” Satan will come at us with the same question he gave to Eve: “did God really say…?” And his question to Eve was so ridiculous, it got her to question the actual statement of God (Did God really say you cannot eat from ANY tree in the Garden?). The lie begins with questioning God’s word. We’re only ever at our best when we’re listening and obeying His voice. Adam and Eve were told not to eat of the tree in the midst of the Garden, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The choice that was given them: to let God define what is good (until that point, God had been the sole voice labeling things “good” and “not good”), or to decide for themselves what was good and evil, but that way lies death.

Satan further pressed Eve, convincing her that she wouldn’t die, but that she would be like God, knowing good and evil. He even convinced her that she could be her own God and set her own rules (that is really what the lie was about!). He told a half-truth; she wouldn’t, as we come to find out, die right away. But she would be Spiritually cut off from her Source, the God of the Universe who gave her life and designed her for relationship. When she ate the fruit, her eyes were opened, but both of her relationships were, indeed, cut off: she hid herself from her husband, and then from God.

The third thing Satan did was attack from the peripheral. He did not attack Eve this way, he went after Adam. Adam, before Eve was formed, was told to work and watch over the Garden, and was given the command to heed God’s voice (remember, do not eat from the Tree). Adam was with his wife, and did not provide for he, as they were at the Tree; he did not protect her, but let her, instead, dialogue with the serpent; and he let God’s word not merely be questioned, but reinterpreted and disregarded. Satan attacked Adam’s purpose through his wife.

I say all that to say this: the enemy of our souls will continue doing this same thing to us. He will get us to question God’s word; know that His word is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105). Walk every step in it! He will tell you that you don’t need God’s rule, you can be your own god, and set up your own rules. Follow God as the supreme authority! He is your Designer, and knows what is best (and my own personal history, and yours if you’re honest with yourself, tells me that my ways lead me to destructive situations I need help getting out of!). And, He will get your focus off of God’s word by attacking you through the things and people you love and value. He will attack from the peripheries to get your eyes off of Christ who died to save you. Know your enemy. Focus on Christ, the Cross, and the Empty Tomb. Hear God’s word and obey it! And, do not try to determine for yourself what is good, trust that God has your best interest in mind; as your Creator, He does!

Genesis 3:1-13

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You^a shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool^c of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

1 Peter 5:1-11

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.