It Pays to be Precise

How we answer questions posed to us regarding Scripture can reveal our weaknesses and set us up for a fall.

Eve’s response to the serpent’s question—"Did God really say?” --revealed her glaring weakness. She didn’t know what God had really said. Granted, she was close, but not close enough. But the serpent knew exactly what God had said and tested her knowledge to see if SHE knew what He had said.

Her answer to the serpent’s question revealed her lack of precision; she made three mistakes about God’s one simple command (Gen 2:16-17). And that lack of precision left her vulnerable, at risk, and set her up for a fall.

The question of why she didn’t know precisely what God had said is open to question. Did Adam fail to inform her correctly? Did he get it wrong? Did she fail to listen carefully to him? The biblical text is silent as to the cause of her imprecision.

But let’s return to her mistakes about God’s Word. Eve omitted a sign of God’s gracious supply, “you may freely eat from any tree” (Gen 2:16). She also omitted an element of God’s warning that upon eating from the forbidden tree, they would surely die (Gen 3:17). And, thirdly, she added to God’s original command by including a ban on touching the fruit (Gen 3:3). Three mistakes in the span of just one command.

How Eve answered the serpent’s question regarding what God had said, left her vulnerable to temptation, at risk, and primed for a downfall.

The next time you are asked about what the Scriptures say about a particular topic or controversial issue, will your answer be precise, a bulwark never failing, or will it leave you wide open to temptation? It pays to be precise with Scripture.