The Devil Uses Doubt

The Devil Uses Doubt (Genesis 3:1-6)

Genesis 3:1-6, “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. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 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. 6 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.”

The curtain opens in chapter three with Satan, in the form of a serpent, questioning and attacking God's Word. Have you ever noticed when Satan made his first appearance in Scripture after his exile from Heaven? He came on the scene immediately after God created and designed marriage. If you’ll notice the serpent didn’t seem to bother Adam until God gave him a wife. Soon after the marriage union was established the devilish assault against the home began. Satan's first words were poisoning Eve's mind with seeds of doubt. This tactic is found all throughout the Scriptures.

Notice what transpired once Adan and Eve were married:

• Satan attacked and beguiled Eve during a moment when she was separated from Adam. (Separation)
• He promoted miscommunication among them and distorted what God had commanded. (Miscommunication)
• He was able to make them turn their eyes upon the natural desires of the forbidden fruit. (Worldliness)
• He destroyed their relationship with God. (Disobedience)
• He got them kicked out of their home. (Loss)

Notice Satan's weapon that he used upon Eve again for a moment. It was the doubting and questioning of the authority and accuracy of God's Word. The Scriptures refer to Satan as the Father of Lies (John 8:44). This is one of Satan's most effective weapons. Doubt brings fear, uncertainty, and hesitancy in obeying and believing God. When we doubt or question God, we have a tendency to take matters into our own hands and then really mess things up. Satan wants couples to doubt and have lack of confidence in God’s Word.

His intent for your home and marriage is still the same today. He wants to come between you and your spouse and cause division and dissention. His ultimate goal is to destroy your home and cause you to lose all God has given your family. Beware of his subtlety and guard your relationship against his devices.

Satan’s makes promises he cannot keep. Satan attack’s God, questioning His ability to carry out judgment. Satan declared to Eve, “Ye shall not surely die…” but death did come. He promised their eyes would be opened and they would be as gods. Their eyes were opened, but eventually closed in death and they did not become gods. Wisdom is never attained by disobeying God's Word. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7).

In Eve's reply to the serpent, she added to God's Word. She said she would die if she ate of the fruit or touched it. God said nothing about touching the fruit. Meddling with God's Word is a very serious matter. God does not like His word to be changed or misquoted. We are the same. We do not like our words twisted or misquoted.

The goal of Satan was to ruin Adam and Eve. He accomplished this by tempting Eve to have the wrong goal of wanting to be like God. Instead of being content, Eve felt she was being cheated. Her attitude affected her desires in life. When our priorities get mixed up, our goals in life are rearranged, too.

To have a strong, godly marriage you must hate how the world has tried to distort marriage. You must hate divorce. You must hate the things that tear marriages apart and you must both stand on that conviction when marriage gets hard. You also must learn how to lose. I know, we live in a “win-at-all-cost” society, but a couple who lives victoriously “will lose”. They “will lose” their pride. They “will lose” their selfishness. And they “will lose” any and all things that try to pull them away from God and each other.

Prayer, Father in Heaven, I’m fully aware that Satan is on the prowl seeking opportunities to destroy my marriage. His strategy is to get me and my spouse in competition with each other and You. Help me to never lose sight of this. In Jesus name, Amen.

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