The Bible’s first question: Unmasking the poisonous lie that still deceives

The Bible is full of questions. Sometimes the biblical author himself asks a question, and other times the authors report what a person asks.

Have you ever considered the Bible’s very first question? It’s not a question from the Lord or from his image bearers. It’s a question from humanity’s archnemesis.

The serpent’s goal of misrepresenting God was to increase the appeal of the temptation that would come next.

According to Genesis 3:1, the serpent said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

This first question was a sharp sword. It was a pointed tactic of manipulation and deception. It was a strategy aiming to derail the woman’s confidence in God. The serpent said, “Did God actually say …?” And the goal of his question was to unsettle Eve’s heart. The poisonous lie had begun its work.

Let’s make several observations about the beginning of Genesis 3.

First of all, the serpent didn’t even represent the Lord’s words correctly. And that’s part of the point. The deceiver was doing what he does, misrepresenting what God says and what God means. The reader knows that in Genesis 2:16-17, God said, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” So the serpent starts out, in Genesis 3:1, by acting like he’s quoting what God said, when actually he deliberately misquotes what God said.

Second, the effect of the serpent’s question is to portray God as stingy, as miserly, as a poor provider for the creatures he’s made. Can you imagine a scenario where God creates these fabulous and fruitful trees and then forbids Adam and Eve to eat from all of them? That’s exactly what the serpent’s words convey: “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1).

Third, the serpent’s goal of misrepresenting God was to increase the appeal of the temptation that would come next. The forbidden tree certainly had fruit that looked good to the eyes and looked good for food (Genesis 3:6). If the serpent could frame God’s command as stifling, the temptation would appear more freeing and alluring. The serpent needed to start by casting doubt on what God had (allegedly) said — though we know the serpent didn’t accurately represent God’s words.

Fourth, the woman’s response to the serpent’s question shows that she wasn’t immediately taken in by his words. She corrected the serpent by saying, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden” (Genesis 3:2). She learned this either from Adam (see Genesis 2:16) or from divine revelation to her that the biblical author did not report.

The Bible’s first question still echoes through the ages: Did God actually say?

And the serpent’s strategy still echoes as well. He misrepresents the Lord and distorts what the Lord has actually said. He calls God’s character into question. He wants God’s commands to seem stifling and oppressive rather than soul-nourishing and life-giving. He wants temptation to shine with the deceiving light of intrigue and possibility.

Jesus said that the devil “does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

The serpent cast doubt on God’s words because the serpent is a liar. He misrepresented God’s words because he is the father of lies. He impugned God’s character because he spoke out of his own malicious character.

The very first question in the Bible was full of poison, spoken by the enemy of God and of God’s people.

This essay was originally published at Dr. Mitchell Chase’s Substack, “Biblical Theology.”