‘The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”’ Genesis 3:1-13(NLT)
God established marriage in the very beginning. Before the enemy brought in sin, before humanity became corrupted, Adam and Eve lived as one flesh, united together by God through marriage.
As soon as sin entered into the story, though, that perfect unity broke apart instantly.
Both Adam and Eve knew not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but the Serpent led Eve towards the tree, tempting her with the attractive fruit that would “make one wise.”
During this time, Adam was nowhere near her.
Sin entered in when the two were apart.
Later, Eve offers the fruit to Adam, having him join her in sin, and instead of resisting, he participates as well. Now both have sinned.
When God questions them about their sin, Adam immediately casts blame on Eve, separating himself from her and effectively declaring that they are not one flesh, but rather, two separate people with no special connection.
Sin does this to marriage. It causes us to view the spouse as an “other” and not as part of ourselves. Sin causes us to cast blame and to make excuses for our own mistakes. It causes strife and leads to mental, emotional, and physical separation.
When the Serpent approaches Eve, he also causes her to distrust God. “Did God really say?” The strongest weapon against sin is a deep affection for God and a complete trust in Him. Do you lean on Him when you encounter sin in your marriage? Or do you run from him like Adam and Eve try to do?
As you read through the scriptures today, pray that God would reveal the ways that sin has entered into your marriage. Pray that He would help you trust Him more and that He would restore the unity between you and your spouse. In the next devotional, we will further examine God’s design for unity in marriage.
from Pursuing Love While Considering Divorce