Tempted by the Fruit

Genesis 3:1-6
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.

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Tempted by the fruit of another,
Tempted but the truth is discovered

"Tempted" written by Glenn Tilbrook, Chris Difford; recorded by Squeeze

But before we get started, let's get this straight, it's not Eve's fault! The serpent is the trickster. Adam and Eve are dupes. It's not like Eve had to go to the back 40 to get Adam. Look at the passage, he's right there with her. He's just standing there not saying anything. That either makes Adam the strong silent type or big and dumb. You pick, it doesn't matter in the end.

Here's the key point, Eve saw what the serpent was saying, the fruit was a delight to her eyes, to everybody's eyes. They ate the fruit and they discovered the truth, truth they never were intended to know.

It's kind of a layup for this song isn't it. The forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden, the ultimate temptation. Tempted by the fruit of another, tempted but the truth is discovered.

This is the song about someone who is leaving town after a love affair ends badly. Packing up and leaving town, it's telling that one of the places that gets the attention of the singer on the way to the airport is a church.

But the memory of the place, in the place the garden, don't leave the singer alone. The memory of the Garden still are a part of the human experience. We long for paradise, we long to live side by side with God as beloved children, not as rebellious imps. But to this day we are still tempted by the fruit of another, tempted but the truth is discovered.

Like the singer we try to make amends. The singer spends a fortune. We call it "salvation by works." Neither have the desired effect. We are saved by grace through faith. We are saved by the work of God in Christ. We are saved not by what we do, because what we do is forever tainted. We aren't tainted by what happened in the garden, we're tainted because what happened in the garden is what humans do with perfect freedom. Tempted by the fruit of another, tempted but the truth is discovered.

But the one who gives that freedom never turns from us. The one who gives that freedom stays alongside us to welcome us with open arms. It may be too late for the singer and that mythical other, but our lives and our Lord are not mythical.