Is God’s Word Trustworthy? (Genesis 3:1-13)

This is the third in a series called “Why Not Believe”, where we turn to the Bible to address some of our doubts and obstacles we face in the Christian faith. In the previous two sessions, we have considered our doubts about good news, and doubts due to the sin and chaos we see in the world.

In this study, we will turn to the book of Genesis to answer the question, “Is God trustworthy?” How does Genesis 3:1-13 help us understand our doubts and difficulties in trusting what God says?

I am sure you have heard of or used the phrase, that someone you know is “a man of his word”. We describe these people with words like trustworthy, faithful, dependable, steady, reliable. We know that we can trust these people because when they mean what they say, and they say what they mean. When they say they will do something, they will do it. They do not just fully intend to keep their promises, they have also got the capability to follow through. Do you have such friends? Are you such a friend yourself?

Friends, at the heart of the question “Is God’s Word trustworthy” is another related question – is God trustworthy? Does He mean what he says? Will He intend to do what He promises? Can He deliver results?

(A) Two Ways to Live: Reliance or Rebellion (Gen 3:1-6)

To understand Genesis 3, we also need to understand the context in Genesis 1-2. What are some patterns that we see in Genesis 1? We can see from Genesis 1 that God is the Creator. There is a repeated pattern in Genesis 1 — “God said. . ., then “and there was. . .” / “and it was so” / “and God made . . .” / “so God created.” The pattern we see is – God speaks, and reality comes into being. There was nothing, God spoke, and then there was something. God spoke, and it was so.

And this God is not a part of creation. God was there first and the Bible did not try to explain where God comes from. Instead, Genesis 1:1 assumes that this God exists, and then proceeds to tell us that this God acts. 

We also see God’s pleasure in creation – the repeated refrain “and God saw that it was good” indicates not only God’s pleasure and joy, but His judgment that his work was good. It takes a good Creator to make good creation. 

We see God’s provision. He creates the world in a particular order, starting with the environment that sustained the living creatures that come thereafter. He not only created the means for sustenance, but made it enjoyable too! Genesis 2:9 says that “the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food”. Foodies – God made food pleasant to our eyes and to the taste! 

What does this tell us about who God is? It is important to understand what God is like before we consider whether His word is trustworthy. We see God’s power in creation, and His delight in all He makes. We see that He is a good, organised, meticulous, and wise designer. He gives blessings to His creation. And core to our understanding of today’s passage — God’s word is effective. When He speaks, He determines reality. Because of this, we can know that His word is truth –- because when He speaks, reality follows. We can depend on Him and what He says because of the goodness of His character and His capability.

Let us now turn to Genesis 3, where we see doubts arising around God’s trustworthy word. In Genesis 3:1, we are introduced to the serpent, and we read how the serpent was “more crafty than any other beast of the field . . .” Satan is introduced here in the form of the serpent. He is described as crafty, wily, cunning. And, Satan is ultimately a creature of God (“. . . that the Lord God had made”, Gen 3:1b). What does that imply about his status as compared to God?

As Christians, we can err on either side of the continuum where Satan is concerned – some disregard the real threat of Satan, as if he is harmless to us; others are so fearful of Satan that it borders on obsession. We must beware the serpent and his influence. This verse helps us with a proper threat assessment of the devil. He is crafty and cunning, and thus rightfully 1 Peter 5:8 warns us to “be sober-minded [and]; be watchful” as “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”  

Yet, crafty and devious as the devil may be, he is not on the same level as God. The battle of good versus evil is not an even face-off. God is the Creator; Satan is but a created being. God is superior to Satan. If you are a Christian today, then know from 1 John 4:4 that “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” We must be wary of Satan, but rest secure in God’s strength and power (not our own).

How does the serpent portray God and his Word and what is Eve’s response?

Firstly, we see how the serpent casts doubt on what Eve remembers or knows about what God said. The serpent says “Did God actually say . . .” (Gen 3:1b) and this conveys a sense of incredulity and disbelief.

Next, the serpent also deliberately distorts what God had said, making more extreme and restrictive than it actually was — “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden? (Gen 3:1b)”. This makes God seem harsh and stingy. But, what did God say? “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. (Gen 2:16-17)” God was certain about His permission and His prohibition.

How did Eve actually respond? Eve does not remember accurately what God had said responds only partially correctly (Gen 3:2-3). God only prohibited them from eating from a specific tree. However, she went beyond what God had said and portrayed Him as harsher than he was (” . . . neither shall you touch it”); and focused only on the prohibition and neglected to mention God’s provision (“you may eat of any tree of the garden, except. . .”). In doing so, she made God different from how He has revealed Himself. 

The serpent then directly contradicts what God says (“you will not surely die”, Gen 3:4), and casts aspersions on God’s character by insinuating that the command to not eat from the tree was to prevent them from being like God (“for God knows that. . .”, Gen 3:5). Satan also presents the tree as a tempting and beneficial option: “. . . when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil”. It is not just about gaining wisdom, it is about being on the same level as God – being like God.

Satan’s attack is two-pronged: First, he casts doubt on the character of God himself by casting doubt on his word. What did He say? Is that true? What does that say about God Himself? Do you want to listen to that kind of God? Second, He appeals to Man’s sense of pride and self-determination, to be like God, to choose right and wrong for themselves.

A few observations and thoughts for us to consider.

Would God lie? God had Himself created all of creation out of nothing by speaking. God’s word is so powerful He literally spoke reality into being. Why would God even need to lie, when His word itself produces and determines reality? 

Think of your own experiences doubting God’s word. You may have an immediate reaction, like “surely not!” “this can’t be?”. Where does that come from? What assumptions are you making about God and His character?

As we consider Eve’s response, do we focus on just one aspect of God’s word, and ignore what the rest of Scripture tells us about God or His commands? For example, do we focus on holiness and purity, and forget about mercy? Do we focus only on God’s provision for us, that we forget His commands for us to work and to serve others through sacrifice?

Is it ok to just remember just the gist of what God said, but not remembering the reference or the exact words? The trouble with remembering God’s word partially, is that we run the risk of not remembering the wrong thing entirely and even distorting it entirely. In doing so, we may also become uncertain of what God actually said. 

How does Eve respond? What does Eve choose to do and what determined her choice? Observe the flow of reasoning behind Eve’s actions in Genesis 3:6. Eve ultimately took of the fruit and ate. But notice how she saw that the tree was good for food, found it to be a delight to the eyes and the tree was desired to make one wise. Then, she took of its fruit. 

Do you see how when Eve chooses to entertain Satan’s words instead of rejecting them, she leads herself further and further down the road to sin? She thought on it, mulled it over, and gave in to her own fleshly desires. She did not choose to check the serpent’s words against what God said and instead went with what she wanted. 

Have you ever had that experience of wanting something and holding back from getting it, but then you keep thinking about it and eventually you just cave in? Eve did something similar here. The Bible tells us to resist the devil and to flee from temptation. We are not to entertain temptation and always check against God’s word. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 reminds us that temptation is common to man, and God always provides us a way to stand up under it. 

Who else was in the picture? What did Adam do? Nothing! He was there with her when the serpent spoke (Gen 3:7b); he was the one whom God had spoken to (Gen 2:16), but he corrected neither the serpent nor Eve about God’s commands. This is Scripture’s rebuke to us if we keep silent and refuse to correct others who are straying from God’s word. 

What was absent in Eve’s flow of thought? There is no further thought about God’s command not to eat of the fruit. There were other trees with fruit that she could eat from – why choose that one tree, of which she was commanded not to eat?

In the final analysis, what determined Eve’s choice to disobey God’s word? Was it the serpent’s tempting? Was it Adam’s inaction? Or was it Eve’s own desires working in her heart? While all of these factors contributed to her choice, in the end Adam and Eve both chose to disregard God’s word and trust their own choices. James 1:14-15 sheds some light on this – we are told that “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

In the previous study, we looked at the book of Judges where we read this familiar refrain: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Is this really any different? Adam and Eve had rejected God as king over them, and did what was right in their own eyes. At the core of the matter of distrusting God’s word, is man’s rejection of God’s rule and rebellion against Him, relying not on God’s word but on our own sense of right and wrong.

My friends, are you any different? Which parts of God’s commands do you most struggle with? In what ways do you choose to disregard God’s commands and wisdom, and choose instead to do what is right in your own eyes?

Do you sniff at certain passages of Scripture, thinking that there’s nothing for you there? 2 Timothy 3:16 says all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

Do you minimise your choices to make dirty jokes, or to steal lustful glances at people of the opposite gender? Do you justify to yourself that it’s okay because no one gets hurt? Jesus warns us in Mathew 5:28 that whoever looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery in his heart. It is not a victimless crime – the offended party is God himself!

Do you dishonour your father and mother in the way you speak with them, or of them? What do you say to justify your own choices?

Friends, this is the heart of the matter. We struggle to trust God’s word, not only because we do not think God to be trustworthy, but because we think it is better to trust ourselves than to trust God. Perhaps some of us find it hard to trust God, because our experience with others in this world tells us that people are not trustworthy. God is not like other people. He is not like shifting shadows, He is good. 

God reveals Himself in the Bible and makes promises that He will keep. But we must know His word as He has revealed Himself and not make Him in our image. 

(B) God Seeks the Sinner: Ruin and Redemption (Gen 3:7-13)

As a result of their disobedience, Adam and Eve realised their sin and were filled with shame. They tried to sew fig leaves to make themselves loincloths to cover their nakedness (Gen 3:7). They were afraid and tried to hide themselves from God when He called out to them (Gen 3:8-11).

Instead of admitting his disobedience, Adam blamed both God and Eve, and he was dishonest about his sin (Gen 3:12). Eve also blame shifted, blaming the serpent’s deception (Gen 3:13). Sin ends up disrupting and breaking our vertical relationships (hiding from God) and horizontal relationships (she gave me the fruit of the tree). Death followed sin.

Friends, when we choose to determine what is right or wrong, we are bound to ruin our relationships. 

God seeks out Adam and Eve and asks them questions, though He already knows (Gen 3:9). What are these questions getting at? This presents an opportunity for them to think about what they have done and also to confess it. Our omniscient God initiates this conversation to draw out of them a response and we can see how He is paternal. He does not come in and immediately accuses them.

He is gentle with us but will not just let it go. Our God is a seeking God. He knows our sin, and He seeks us out. He does not just swoop in to save us – He first reveals our sin and the ugliness of our hearts.

Our God is a just and merciful God. In the subsequent verses, He punishes the serpent, Eve, and then Adam (Gen 3:14-19). Yet He also provides a promise of good news, a proto-gospel (Gen 3:15). He spoke, and those things came to be years later, with the coming of Jesus, this serpent crusher. 

What is our God like? Can we trust what He says? He is Creator God who is merciful and just and calls us to look at our sins and also to confess our sins, and trust in the forgiving work of Jesus. It is only He who provides the redemption — in Jesus — for the ruin that we bring.