Hooks in the Bait

 

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5 ESV).

 

I couldn’t help but think of the back story of the picture my son, David, sent to Mary and me this week. As you may see, he caught a pretty nice Florida Largemouth Bass. His son is looking on, perhaps in wonder, and liberally laced with some trepidation. (Oh, I nearly forgot the standard preamble when posting a picture of fishing. The fish was placed back in the water very quickly. David doesn’t keep any of the fish he catches.)  You can also see the sunset in the background. I’m

Sure the fish thought he’d better get a quick snack before he “retired” for the evening. David always fishes freshwater with artificial lures. I didn’t ask him whether he was using a popper, plastic worm, or spinner; however, I know the fish must have been surprised when what appeared to be an easy meal turned out to have hooks in it!

 

The subtle deception of fishing with artificial lures reminded me of the way the devil tempts us. As I begin a short series in the first few chapters of Genesis, our reading today recalls the serpent asking a provocative question that led Adam and Eve into temptation: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Eve replied, “He said we could eat from all the trees except for the one in the center, and if we did, we would die!” Then the serpent contradicted God: “You will not die! Instead, you will be like God!”

 

That’s how “that ancient serpent [who is] called the devil, or Satan” led “the whole world astray” (Revelation 12:9). Eve ate some of the fruit, and she gave some to Adam, and he ate it. In one way Satan was right: after eating the fruit, they didn’t physically die immediately. But their souls did. So often the devil springs the same trap of subtle deception on us. What appears to be benign, or even innocent, looks good; however, we don’t notice the “hooks.” If we’re not careful, we’ll find ourselves lost, naked, and ashamed in our personal wilderness. Thankfully, his great love for us in Christ wins the day. God’s hope-filled question from Eden reaches us today: “Where are you?” When Satan whispers train your ear to hear your heavenly Father, look to the Savior, and trust the Spirit to overcome.