every living thing that moves on the earth.” Essentially, these two commands can be summed up in two words: procreate and steward. Adam and Eve were called to fill the earth with true worshipers of God and steward all of God’s other creation. The plan was simple and yet, very quickly, things began to unravel.
Satan Declares War
Satan is a rebel. He enjoyed the privilege of being in the presence of the Lord but chose to lead a rebellion in heaven. As a result, he was banished from God’s presence (along with 1/3 of the angels) and cast down to the earth. You would think that this severe rebuke and punishment would have been devastating to Satan. Yet, the reality is that it stoked the fires of his prideful rebellion and he sought to bring God’s rule and reign to dust. That is where we come into the picture. Consider the story as recorded in Genesis 3:1-7:
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.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Adam and Eve (the very first human beings) enjoyed God’s presence in the garden and had full reign over all the rest of creation. God had only given them one “no, no” – they were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17). They could eat from every other tree in the garden but this one, specific tree was off limits. The punishment for eating the fruit of this tree would be death (spiritual and physical).
Satan was not content with being the only rebel; he wanted other rebels – people who would throw off God’s rule and reign in their lives. Adam and Eve were perfect targets. Satan was crafty, craftier than any other beast that God had created. He appeared to Eve as a snake and unfolded his grand plan of rebellion. He did not call it a plan of rebellion but that is exactly what it turned out to be. Satan deceived Eve and caused her to question three specific things about God. He caused her to question (1) God’s Word, (2) God’s provision and (3) God’s goodness.
Did you notice that Satan began his conversation with Eve by asking a question? This was not an accident. He was crafty and cunning. He knew that the best way to begin a rebellion was to ask a question. It was a simple but pointed question: “Did God actually say…?” Satan began his attack on God’s kingdom by questioning God’s Word. We must never forget that Satan is as familiar with God’s Word as the most seasoned biblical scholar. In fact, in his temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11) he even quotes Scripture!
Satan moved from questioning God’s Word to insinuating that God’s provision for Adam and Eve was insignificant. What an absurd thought! God had provided Adam and Eve with everything they needed to enjoy the best spinach salad ever created. But, the text tells us that Eve saw that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was “good for food” and “a delight to the eyes.” In her estimation, what God had provided was just simply not good enough.
Then, Satan threw in the kicker – “Eve, God is holding out on you!” He questioned God’s goodness, calling him a liar and a deceiver. Satan declared that the only reason God gave them this command was to keep them from becoming like him. He reduced God to nothing more than a cosmic ogre seeking to maintain his position of authority.
Eve caved to Satan’s cunning and crafty rebellion and ate the forbidden fruit. Lest all the blame be laid at her feet, the text says, “she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (italics mine). Adam stood idly by while the serpent tempted his wife and then joined the rebellion against God without protest.
Satan Brings Destruction
The results of this rebellion were disastrous. The relationship Adam and Eve enjoyed with God before this event was radically altered. They immediately experienced the immense shame of sin, attempted to cover themselves with fig leaves and tried to hide from an omniscient and omnipresent God. When God came to them and began asking questions, Adam and Eve turned on one another and waved flags of personal innocence. Adam blamed Eve and she blamed the serpent.
Satan’s deception brought destruction. God is true to his word and, in that moment, Adam and Eve knew what it meant to die spiritually. They would later understand what it would mean to die physically as God removed them from the Garden of Eden and access to the tree of life. He also pronounced judgment on Adam, Eve, and the serpent. God promised that Adam would toil and sweat to bring sustenance from the earth and Eve would experience pain in childbirth and desire her husband’s position of authority. The most important pronouncement of judgment was issued to the serpent; he would spend his entire life cursed, slithering on the ground and would be crushed by the seed of woman. Theologians call this the protoevangelium – the first gospel. God, in his judgment of the serpent, issued the promise of a coming Messiah, one who would save his people from sin.
Ever since that day in the garden Satan has done everything within his power to disrupt God’s redemption plan. Knowing that marriage and family would be key to God fulfilling his mission to bring the Messiah (“the seed of woman”), Satan has worked overtime to destroy both. What began with Adam and Eve has continued for thousands of years. Marriages and families have always been and will always be under attack!
Why Families?
God promised that he would send a redeemer to “crush the head of the serpent” but he also noted that the serpent would “bruise” his heel. Throughout the Old Testament we see Satan working to bring God’s redemption plan to ruin. How did he attempt to accomplish this objective? He attacked marriages and families. There is a tremendous amount of dysfunction recorded in the Old Testament even with God’s own people, the nation of Israel. We encounter things like incest, prostitution, polygamy, child sacrifice, and idol worship. Satan was working overtime! Yet, his plan of rebellion did not succeed. Jesus Christ was born of woman, lived a sinless life, died on the cross and rose from the grave.
You would think that this would discourage Satan from his grand plan of rebellion against God but you would be mistaken. You see, Satan has continued his assault on families for two reasons. First, he attacks Christian marriages and the institution of marriage in general because it is a picture of the gospel. Consider these words in Ephesians 5:22-33:
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
The clearest picture of Jesus’ love for his church, outside the gospel narratives, is the institution of marriage. When a husband loves his wife unconditionally and she responds with honor and respect, the lost world around this Christian couple encounters the gospel message in real life. No wonder Satan is doing everything he can to destroy Christian marriages! If he can distort this picture of the gospel or even destroy it then he has hope that his continued rebellion against God might succeed. The last thing he wants is a walking billboard proclaiming the great love Jesus has for his church.