Last Sunday morning (1/10/21) I urgently searched Google for sermons from Pastors that I loved and respected to hear a sermon or talk about the events that happened in our Nation’s Capital on January 6, 2021. But sadly I did not find what I was looking for. My own pastor said that he wouldn’t talk about the events that weekend. I was sad and disappointed and asked God for comfort and perspective. At some point in the week God reminded me of a passage in Genesis. It was the one where “the fall” occurs; the one where Eve is deceived and Adam chooses to eat the fruit with her.

I studied that passage trying to understand what happened to the pair, trying to understand how deception happens to me, trying to understand how so many people in our nation and around the world have been affected by deceptions.

I shared what I seeing with the small Bible study group of women that I have the honor to lead, and again with another group of younger women. I am now sharing these thoughts with you, just in case you too, are hoping to have some perspective from the word of God.

This is long passage… but worth reading so you have context. It begins with Adam and Eve in the garden. Maybe it was just a typical day, but life would never be the same. (Maybe Wednesday 1/6/21 started as a typical day. You went to work or school or were at home doing your regular tasks, but for some people, their lives will never be the same.)

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

² “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. ³ “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

⁴ “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. ⁵ “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

⁶ 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. ⁷ At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

⁸ When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. ⁹ Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

¹¹ “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”

¹² The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” ¹³ Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live.¹⁵ And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strikeyour head, and you will strike his heel.”

¹⁶ Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”

¹⁷ And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.¹⁸ It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains.¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”

²⁰ Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live.²¹ And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. Genesis 2:1-21 NLT

This is a chilling event in the history of the world. If I were to try to summarize it I might say.

Adam and Eve had a deep relationship with God at first. Because of His love, He had given them freedom of choice, but also given them rules to live by that were for their good.

But an enemy deceived them, by creating doubt about God’s rules and His character. Was God holding out on them by not allowing them to eat from every tree? Was He is not giving them the best by sharing only good and withholding evil?

Eve believed the deception, and disobeyed God. And Adam, who could have maybe said, “no thank you Eve, my Love, I’m not going to disobey,” sadly did not, and he too ate of the forbidden fruit.

Because God is loving and just, He allowed all of the parties to live with the consequences that He had given in advance. He was merciful though. Adam and Eve would eventually die, they would return to dust. The enemy would eventually be defeated – but the resurrection of Christ. And death did come immediately into the world, to the animals, which were slaughtered for their skins, so that Adam and Eve would have clothing.

As I read and re-read this passage I am struck at the two large deceptions the enemy used:

1.  Encouraging people to believe that the truth is actually a lie.

2.  Encouraging people to believe that a lie is actually the truth.

The devil in the form of a snake, told the couple that they would not die, if they disobeyed God’s directive. He convinced them that the truth of God’s word was a lie.

He also put forward a lie, and persuaded them that it was the truth. The snake said, you will be like God, knowing good and evil. He made evil seem like a good thing to know. And they believed his lie, as truth.

As I think of my life, I have gotten myself into some of the hardest and most painful moments when I fell into deception. I am praying that I will be more vigilant in seeking the truth of God’s Word and insight from the Holy Spirit.

For those who stormed the capital, I am afraid that you were deceived. Even if you thought your cause was just, your approach was not. Sadly I have heard very few believers speak about this matter.

Deception was the instigator of the fall, which separated human beings from perfect fellowship with our Creator. And nothing but an acknowledgement of the truth, will open the door to redemption. Then and today…