F.E. Marsh :: 432. The Tempter

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GENESIS iii

THE tempter used the serpent to tempt Eve, just as he used Judas to betray Christ.

1. The tempter is subtle. Thomas Watson says: “Satan did not break over the hedge where it was weakest; he knew he could more easily insinuate and wind himself about her by a temptation. An expert soldier, when he is to storm or enter a castle, observes warily where there is a breach, or how he may enter with more facility; so did Satan tempt the weaker vessel.”
2. The tempter questioning. “Hath God said, &c.?” Bunyan, in his Holy War, speaks of one “Mr. Evil-questioning,” who was a Diabalonian, and an enemy of Man-soul. This man went by another name, viz., “Honest-inquiry,” but for all that, he was condemned and put to death. As the bait covers the hook, so the questions of Satan and his instruments hide the hook of doubt in the bait of questioning.
3. The tempter lying. Said a quaint New England preacher, “Beware of Bible commentators who are not willing to take God’s words just as they stand. The first commentator of that sort was the devil in the Garden of Eden. He proposed only a slight change, just the one word ‘not’ to be inserted-‘Ye shall not surely die.’ The amendment was accepted, and the world was lost. Satan is repeating that sort of commentary with every generation of hearers.”
4. The tempter deceiving. “Ye shall be as gods,” but Satan only presents one side. “Martha Browning, a young woman, aged 24, was executed many years ago for murder. The fatal deed was committed to obtain possession of a £5 note, but when the tempting bait was at last really possessed, it proved not a note of the Bank of England, but a flash note of the Bank of Elegance!”
5. The tempter cursed (Gen. 3:14). God will not allow sin to go unpunished, either in the instrument or the one who uses the instrument. The serpent crawls along on its belly, and dust is to be its meat (Isaiah 65:25; Micah 7:17); and that old serpent the devil is thrust into the abyss during the Millenium (Rev. 20:2, R.V.), and ultimately into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).
6. The tempter hurting. “Thou shalt bruise His heel.” By these words we are told that Satan would injure Christ in some way. We know how effectually he succeeded in getting Christ to be crucified as a malefactor. The reviling, the suffering, the false accusation, and His being esteemed smitten of God and afflicted, tell out the malice of the enemy.
7. The tempter conquered. “He (not It) shall bruise (crush) thy head.” Christ is the Seed of the woman (Gal. 4:4). Christ is the Stronger Man, who has overcome the strong one (Luke 11:21, 22). Christ has been the death of death by His death (Heb. 2:14); He has spoiled (stripped) all the hosts of hell (Col. 2:15), and undone the whole kingdom of Satan (1 John 3:8) for those who believe in Christ.