ANATOMY OF TEMPTATION
Opening Prayer
Thank you, Father, that there is never a time I seek you that you are not waiting to listen and ready to answer my prayer.
Read GENESIS 3:1–13
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Fall
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won’t sin myself bankrupt’ (Psalm 119:11, The Message). Memorize a promise to ‘bank’ in your heart!Medical students diligently study anatomy. Understanding the human body helps them to diagnose what has gone wrong with their patients. Christians must be diligent students of the anatomy of temptation! Dissecting Satan’s subtle strategies enables us to recognize temptation’s pull.
Satan distorts God’s Word. Asking ‘Did God really say…?’ (v. 1) plants a niggling seed of doubt in Eve’s mind and ‘smuggles in the assumption that God’s word is subject to our judgment.’* The permission to eat from ‘any tree’ except one (Genesis 2:16, 17) is turned on its head, casting doubt on God’s character, portraying him as tight-fisted and restrictive rather than benevolent and wise. Consider whether a narrow focus on prohibitions sometimes causes you to lose sight of God’s wide-ranging permissions and his forest of blessings.
Satan also dismisses God’s warning. ‘You will not certainly die’ (v. 4) makes God out to be a liar. The devil then deceives Eve with an empty promise: ‘You will be like God’ (v. 5). The creation story repeatedly affirms, ‘God saw that it was good’ (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). But Eve made her choice based on what she ‘saw’ was ‘good’ (v. 6), ignoring God’s command and usurping the divine prerogative to determine good and evil (v. 5).
Apply
Eve’s story is an example to avoid. Jesus gives us an example to emulate. Contrast how the anatomy of temptation plays out in Matthew 4:1–11.
Closing prayer
I am grateful for the wisdom offered to me in your Word, Lord God. Holy Spirit, help me to grow in my understanding and be eager to apply what it teaches me.
*Derek Kidner, Genesis (IVP, 2005), 67.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2025 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.