Temptation Sometimes Disguised as Pleasure, January 15

Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Genesis 3:1. In order to accomplish his work unperceived, Satan chose to employ as his medium the serpent—a disguise well adapted for his purpose of deception. The serpent was then one of the wisest and most beautiful creatures on the earth. It had wings, and while flying through the air presented an appearance of dazzling brightness, having the color and brilliancy of burnished gold. Resting in the rich-laden branches of the forbidden tree and regaling itself with the delicious fruit, it was an object to arrest the attention and delight the eye of the beholder. Thus in the garden of peace lurked the destroyer, watching for his prey. The angels had cautioned Eve to beware of separating herself from her husband while occupied in their daily labor in the garden; with him she would be in less danger from temptation than if she were alone. But absorbed in her pleasing task, she unconsciously wandered from his side. On perceiving that she was alone, she felt an apprehension of danger, but dismissed her fears, deciding that she had sufficient wisdom and strength to discern evil and to withstand it. Unmindful of the angels’ caution, she soon found herself gazing with mingled curiosity and admiration upon the forbidden tree. The fruit was very beautiful, and she questioned with herself why God had withheld it from them. Now was the tempter's opportunity. As if he were able to discern the workings of her mind, he addressed her: “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Eve was surprised and startled as she thus seemed to hear the echo of her thoughts.... To the tempter's ensnaring question she replied: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 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. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 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.” ... Such has been Satan's work from the days of Adam to the present, and he has pursued it with great success. He tempts people to distrust God's love and to doubt His wisdom. He is constantly seeking to excite a spirit of irreverent curiosity, a restless, inquisitive desire to penetrate the secrets of divine wisdom and power. In their efforts to search out what God has been pleased to withhold, multitudes overlook the truths that He has revealed, and that are essential to salvation.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 53-55.

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Labor Necessary Even in Eden, January 14

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. Genesis 2:17. In creating Adam and Eve, God designed that they should be active and useful. The holy pair was placed in Paradise and surrounded with everything that was pleasant to the eye or good for food. A beautiful garden was planted for them in Eden. In it were stately trees of every description, all that could serve for use or ornament. Flowers of rare loveliness, and of every tint and hue, perfumed the air. Merry songsters of varied plumage caroled joyous songs of praise of the Creator. Paradise delighted the senses of the holy pair, but this was not enough; they must have something to call into play the wonderful human organism. He who formed them knew what would be for their good; and had happiness consisted in doing nothing, they, in their state of holy innocence, would have been left unemployed. But no sooner were our first parents created than God appointed them their work. They were to find employment and happiness in tending the things which God had created, and their wants were to be abundantly supplied from the fruits of the garden. Work of brain and muscle is beneficial. Each faculty of the mind and each muscle of the body has its distinctive office, and all require exercise to develop them and give them healthful vigor. Each wheel in the living mechanism must be brought into use. The whole organism needs to be constantly exercised in order to be efficient and meet the object of its creation.—Manuscript 58, 1890. Christ is called the second Adam. In purity and holiness, connected with God and beloved by God, He began where the first Adam began. But the first Adam was in every way more favorably situated than was Christ. The wonderful provision made in Eden for the holy pair was made by a God who loved them. Everything in nature was pure and undefiled. Fruits, flowers, and beautiful, lofty trees flourished in the Garden of Eden. With everything that Adam and Eve required, they were abundantly supplied. But Satan came and insinuated doubts of God's wisdom.... Eve fell under the temptation, and Adam accepted the forbidden fruit from his wife's hand. He fell under the smallest test that the Lord could devise to prove his obedience, and the floodgates of woe were opened upon our world.... By one man's disobedience many were made sinners.—Manuscript 20, 1898 (Manuscript Releases 8:39, 40).

First Transgression Inexcusable, January 13

I made the earth, and created humankind upon it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. Isaiah 45:12, NRSV. Adam and Eve received knowledge through direct communion with God, and they learned of Him through His works. All created things, in their original perfection, were an expression of the thought of God. To Adam and Eve nature was teeming with divine wisdom. But by transgression the human family was cut off from learning of God through direct communion and, to a great degree, through His works.... Upon every page of the great volume of His created works may still be traced His handwriting. Nature still speaks of her Creator. Yet these revelations are partial and imperfect. And in our fallen state, with weakened powers and restricted vision, we are incapable of interpreting aright. We need the fuller revelation of Himself that God has given in His written word.—Education, 16, 17. All heaven took a deep and joyful interest in the creation of the world and of Adam and Eve. Human beings were a distinct order. They were made “in the image of God,” and it was the Creator’s design that they should populate the earth. They were to live in close communion with heaven, receiving and assimilating power from the great Source of power. Upheld by God, they were to live sinless lives. Satan determined to defeat God’s plan. We need not try to understand the motives that prompted the being next to Christ in the heavenly courts to bring envy and jealousy into the ranks of the angels. To many he communicated his disaffection, and there was war in heaven, which ended in the expulsion of Satan and his sympathizers. We need not puzzle our minds for a reason that Satan acted as he did. Could a reason be found, there would be excuse for sin. But there is no excuse. There is no reason human beings should travel over the same ground that Satan traveled.... After Satan was thrust from heaven, he determined to set up his kingdom on this earth. Through him sin entered the world, and death by sin. By listening to his misrepresentation of God, Adam fell from his high estate, and the floodgates of woe were opened upon our world. There is no excuse for Adam’s transgression. All his wants were generously supplied. He had need of nothing more. Only one prohibition was laid upon him.... This prohibition Satan used as a means of insinuating suggestions of evil.—Manuscript 97, 1901.

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Significance Of The Sabbath, January 12

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. Genesis 2:1, 2. Human philosophy declares that an indefinite period of time was taken in the creation of the world. Does God state the matter thus? No; He says, “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever; for in six days [not six indefinite periods of time, for then there would be no possible way for us to observe the day specified in the fourth commandment] the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” Please read carefully the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy. God says again, “Remember [do not forget] the sabbath day, to keep it holy.... For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Yet with the living oracles before them, those who claim to preach the Word present the suppositions of human minds, the max- ims and commandments of humans. They make void the law of God by their traditions. The sophistry in regard to the world’s being created in an indefinite period of time is one of Satan’s falsehoods. God speaks to the human family in language they can comprehend. He does not leave the matter so indefinite that human beings can handle it according to their theories. When the Lord declares that He made the world in six days and rested on the seventh day, He means the day of twenty-four hours, which He has marked off by the rising and setting of the sun. God would not pronounce the death sentence for a disregard of the Sabbath unless He had presented before His people a clear understanding of the Sabbath.... When the foundation of the earth was laid, the foundation of the Sabbath was laid also. When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy, God saw that a Sabbath was essential for Adam and Eve, even in Paradise. In giving them the Sabbath, God considered their spiritual and physical health. God made the world in six literal days, and on the seventh literal day He rested from all His work which He had done, and was re- freshed. So He has given human beings six days in which to labor.... By thus setting apart the Sabbath, God gave the world a memorial. He did not set apart one day and any day in seven, but one particular day, the seventh day. And by observing the Sabbath, we show that we recognize God as the living God, the Creator of heaven and earth.—Letter 31, 1898.

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