Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Genesis 3 before reading the devotional below.
Before we explore Genesis 3, we have to go back to Genesis 1:26, where God gives humans authority over “all the wild animals on the earth.” With that in mind, notice in Genesis 3:1 it says, “The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made.” It’s a complicated backstory — and we only know bits and pieces of it from other parts of the Bible — but Satan (also known as the Devil or Lucifer) shows up here as a serpent. This is an important detail because of the authority God had given humans over the animals. It’s no accident that Satan showed up as a lesser creature.
Why does all this matter? Because Adam and Eve had freedom, and they also had authority. They could have thrown the serpent out of the Garden. They could have commanded him to shut his mouth and stop his lies. Humanity lost everything when we handed our authority over to the very thing we were supposed to rule over. What’s worse, we keep doing the same thing every single day.
Here’s your freedom for today:
You have been given great power.
Some may say it’s not fair that Adam and Eve ruined the world and we all have to suffer for it. Perhaps you think you could have done better. Ultimately, Adam and Eve represent the weakness of us all. And Jesus also chose to represent us all. Romans 5:12-19 explains this well. God’s original command gave humanity authority over creation. When we handed our authority over to Satan, he began to rule (2 Corinthians 4:4 calls him “the god of this world”). However, Jesus’ life on earth and resurrection from death turned the tables. In Jesus we now have power and authority restored to us. Too often, we give away our power just like Adam and Eve did. We believe lies (“Does God really love you? Did God really say that?”) and we repeat exactly what Adam and Eve did. In Jesus we have the authority to tell Satan to leave us alone — let’s make use of it.