It’s the question that set the course of history. It’s the first question encountered in the Scriptures. That it is encountered so quickly, might seem kind of amazing . . . but there it is . . . put out there by a slimy deceiver . . . fumbled with by God’s still relatively fresh, and obviously frail, creation . . . the set up that would establish the essence of the battleground for all the days of the earth. Did God really say . . . ?

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’?”   (Genesis 3:1 ESV)

The Fall . . . pretty familiar story . . . pretty far-reaching consequences . . . but I’m stuck, this morning, on the fact that it began with a question. A seed of doubt planted . . . a bit of confusion created . . . human rationale appealed to . . . human reasoning relied upon . . . the ways of God processed within the context of the wisdom of man . . . and BAM! . . . off the edge of the cliff . . . nothing but air under your feet . . .

And it occurs to me that the serpent’s bag of tricks, while maybe looking more sophisticated to us today, really hasn’t changed a lot. Whenever God’s creation starts to get too “up close and personal” with God’s revelation . . . then, insert question mark. God made the universe? . . . Really? There’s a higher moral law than that set by society? . . . Is that true? God loves this world so much He would come in flesh and offer Himself as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of all mankind? . . . Is that reality? It’s all recorded in this inspired volume on my desk, available to all who have ears to hear? . . . Yeah? . . . Did God really say . . . ?

I probably do well to remember this tactic of the enemy. As I open my Bible . . . as I encounter the revealed mind of God through the Holy Word . . . as I chew on old truths, and, by God’s grace and the illumination of the Spirit, encounter some new insights . . . I shouldn’t be surprised if, from time to time, a thought forms . . . seeded by the father of lies — a self-proclaimed master of truth . . . a thought that, at it’s essence, boils down to, “Did God actually say that? Did He really mean it? For me? Or, just for somebody else? For today? Or, for some bygone era? Really?”

How I need to recalibrate from time to time . . . to remind myself that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man [and woman] of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2Tim. 3:16-17). To determine to subject all things to the authority of the word of God affirming that “it is impossible for God to lie” (Heb. 6:18) . . . to determine to “let God be true though every one were a liar” (Rom. 3:4) . . . really? . . . Yeah! Really!

But I’m realistic enough to know that I may be tripped up, on occasion, by the belly-crawler at my feet. Though I seek to be faithful . . . though I ensure I have seekers-of-truth in my life to help me steer true . . . that there will be times when my “wisdom” prevails. And for those times . . . when I’ve blown it . . . when my natural inclination is to follow me and/or try and hide from the presence of God . . . I’m so thankful for the second question recorded in Genesis. Not a question of doubt but a question of determination . . . of a Shepherd seeking lost sheep . . . of a Savior looking for those who know their need of forgiveness . . .

But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”   (Genesis 3:9 ESV)

I’m reminded that I seek Him this morning, because He first sought me . . . that I have been brought near by the blood of Christ . . . that the work He has begun, He will finish . . . that nothing can separate me from the love of Christ . . . and that His blood is sufficient payment to forgive all my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Did God really say? Yeah, He really said . . .