Truth or lie : three messages of the Genesis

"God ... can not lie ..." Titus 1. 2

"[Satan] is a liar and the father of lies." John 8. 44

God has kept in his Word three messages that date from the dawn of time and that illustrate the two verses of the day.

- A message from God to man (the human being) : "You will eat freely from every tree in the garden ; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will not eat it ; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die" (Genesis 2:16, 17). This is a clear message, which does not require any further clarification. God ends with the adverb "certainly" which reinforces his affirmation.

- A message from Satan to the woman : "You certainly will not die; for God knows that in the day that you eat it your eyes will be open, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3: 4, 5). When speaking confidently, Satan wants to replace the truth with lies in the spirit of Eve. He had begun by installing doubt there : "What, God said: you will not eat of any tree of the garden ?" (3. 1). In his concern to impose himself on his interlocutor, he uses the same adverb as God : "certainly".

- A message from God to Satan : "You are cursed above all cattle, and above all the beasts of the field ; you will walk on your belly, and you will eat dust all the days of your life ; and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and his offspring. She will break your head, and you will break her heel" (3:14, 15). Here again is a clear, precise message ; a sentence pronounced by God to the serpent, a sentence that will be fulfilled at the moment of Jesus' victory on the cross: the broken head speaks of the complete defeat of Satan, the broken heel evokes the suffering of Jesus.

God's messages of our conduct have always been very clear since the time of Eden ; those of Satan are always based on lies. God is always true ; Satan is always a cunning and deceitful being, desiring to trap humanity with his lies.

These three messages date from the beginnings of humanity but remain current, they warn us. It's up to us to choose who we listen to ; let us close our ears to the false offers of the evil one, let us listen to the God of eternity.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)