Read Genesis 3:1-7. What criteria did Eve use to choose between God’s Word and that of the serpent?

 Genesis 3 is one of the clearest examples of the psychology of temptation. God had warned Adam and Eve that if they ate from the forbidden fruit, they would certainly die (Gen. 2:16, 17). Assuming the form of a serpent, Satan used several rhetorical strategies to mislead Eve into sin.

 First, he generalized God’s specific prohibition. He asked her, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?’” (Gen. 3:1, NASB). Eve counter-argued that the prohibition was in regard only to that specific tree, for if they were ever to eat from it or touch it, they would die.

 Then, Satan contradicted God’s statement. He asserted categorically, “You certainly will not die!” (Gen. 3:4, NASB).

 And finally, Satan accused God of deliberately suppressing essential knowledge from her and her husband. The deceiver argued, “For God knows that on the day you eat from it [the forbidden fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5, NASB).

 Eve’s curiosity led her onto the enchanted ground of Satan. There she was forced to decide either to remain faithful to God’s restraining command or to embrace Satan’s seductive allurements. Doubting God’s word, she used her own senses — the empirical method, that of personal observation — to decide between the two conflicting statements.

 First, she saw that from a dietary perspective, “the tree was good for food.” Second, from an esthetic viewpoint, she saw that “it was a delight to the eyes.” Third, from a logical analysis, “the tree was desirable to make one wise.” Hence, in her own mind, she certainly had good reasons to heed the words of the serpent and to eat from the forbidden tree. Unfortunately, this is what she did.

 Some people argue that all forms of knowledge are valid, as long as we retain “that which is good” (1 Thess. 5:21, NASB). But the tragic experiences of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden demonstrate that knowledge, in and of itself, can be very detrimental. There are some things that, indeed, we are better off not knowing.