The woman took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, and he also ate it. Immediately they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and covered themselves. That evening they heard the Lord God walking in the garden, and they hid from Him among the trees. But the Lord God called out to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard You in the garden; I was afraid and hid from You, because I was naked.” “Who told you that you were naked?” God asked. “Did you eat the fruit that I told you not to eat?” The man answered, “The woman You put here with me gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” (Genesis 3:1-12)
We’ve previously noted that Satan has many strategies: “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against ALL strategies of the devil.” His primary method is DECEPTION—“Your father, the devil, is the father of lies” (John 8:44). In this post we’ll explore the primary goal of deception: DISCONNECTION.
By embracing the lie of the Monster the first couple detached themselves from the Creator: They hid from Him among the trees. God says, “It is your sins that separate you from your God.” A.W. Tozer describes our situation like this: “We have broken with God. We have in guilt and fear fled as far as possible from His Presence. So the life of man upon the earth is a life away from the Presence, wrenched loose from our right and proper dwelling place, the loss of which is the cause of our unceasing restlessness.”
Second, the God-designed self was replaced with a false fabrication—“Realizing their nakedness, they sewed fig leaves together and covered themselves.” After severing connection with his father, the Prodigal Son traveled to the far country. Note these words: “And when he came to himself, he said, ‘I will return to my father.’” You see, the young man lost his authentic self by separating from his father. “We don’t know ourselves! Why, thirty or forty skins or hides, as thick and hard as an ox’s or bear’s, cover the soul” (Meister Eckhart).
Third, the relationship between Adam and Eve became disjointed. When confronted by God, Adam resorted to self-protection via blame shifting: “The woman You put here with me gave me the fruit.” Timothy Keller observes, “There are many ways to cover up our sin. We justify or minimize it by blaming other people.”
Finally, by disconnecting from the Creator, humankind also severed the bonds of harmonious connectedness with nature: “The ground will be under a curse because of what you did. As long as you live, you will have to struggle to grow enough food. Your food will be plants, but the ground will produce thorns and thistles. You will have to sweat to earn a living.”
But remember, this is the Father’s heart revealed in Jesus—“When the son was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him.”