TWO CONVERSATIONS/TWO OUTCOMES

Genesis 3 1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Matthew 4:1-11 (King James Version) 1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Two cases of the devil talking to people and two different conclusions. When the devil approached Eve, He asked her a question, and Eve answered the question. She got into a conversation with the devil.

Jesus was asked twice “If you are," but there is a difference between Jesus and Eve. Jesus did not get into a conversation with the devil, He did not even answer directly the question asked. He spoke scripture to the devil. Finally the devil tells Jesus “all these things I will give You, if You will fall down and worship me.” This time Jesus speaks to the devil saying to him, “Away with you, Satan!” and again scripture. Jesus did not get into a conversation with him at any time.
Job 1:6-12 (King James Version) 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. 7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? 10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. 12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

We see from scriptures that the devil had to ask to touch Job. Would he not then have to ask to approach Jesus? We see that we are to tell the devil what scripture says, not what we think. We are to tell him “Away with you” we are not to get in a conversation with him.

The mistake Eve made was in talking with the devil. Jesus did not.

As I was reading this a few things caught my attention. Adam and Eve walked and talked with God on a daily basis. He told them what He expected of them, and the one thing they were not to do. They did not pray and fast as we would think of today. The devil knew who they were.

Now let’s look at Jesus. First we are told that Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted. He fasted 40 days and nights and then the tempter came to Him. Jesus did the right thing, He fasted and prayed to get closer to God, He was prepared for whatever came against Him. He also did not talk with the devil, He spoke scriptures to Him.

True Adam and Eve did not have scripture, but they did have the Word of God. They had a day-to-day conversation with the Lord. In the end it will be that way again. Until that day happens we need to do as Jesus did and pray and fast.

Two conversations and two different outcomes. If Eve had told the devil “God said” the out come would have been different. God said He would not put more on us then we can bare, 1 Cr 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].

What do we do when we hear that voice that does not line up with the Word of God? Do we question him, do we talk to him, or do we do as we should and tell him what God said?

There is also a difference between the devil speaking to us and being demon possessed. We can only we possessed if we allow the devil to come in and make himself at home. That is another story.

God Bless,

rECj/LJG