Genesis 3:5 Daily Devotional & Meaning – The Deception of Becoming “Like God”

Daily Verses Everyday! Day 14

“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.”

While in the last verse, the serpent spoke a flat-out lie, he shifts strategy in this verse, using a partial truth to manipulate Eve’s perspective. He does not deny God’s command outright; he reframes it, suggesting that God’s prohibition is a limitation rather than protection. “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.” Here, the serpent appeals to curiosity, pride, and the desire for autonomy.

By speaking a kernel of truth, that their eyes will indeed be opened, he makes the lie more seductive, blending fact with deception so that Eve might doubt God’s goodness. This tactic highlights a subtle but powerful aspect of temptation: it rarely appears as blatant evil. Instead, it often masquerades as opportunity, insight, or advancement.

This tactic can be illustrated through a simple story: imagine a man who lives below his means because he is poor. Each week, he sets aside a small portion of his limited income to buy a lottery ticket, hoping for the chance to win and change his circumstances. The lottery, like the serpent’s partial truth, promises opportunity, advancement, and the fulfillment of his desires. Over the years, he becomes focused on this potential gain, justifying small sacrifices and risks because of the promise of reward. Finally, after much time, he wins the lottery. At first, it seems his patience and risk-taking have paid off. Yet in the end, he spends his winnings on frivolous things, chasing fleeting pleasures, and soon finds himself in poverty again. This story mirrors Eve’s temptation: the promise of gaining wisdom, power, and autonomy distracts from the reality of God’s design and protection. Like the man with the lottery, Eve is drawn toward what seems desirable and liberating, yet the consequences of disobedience are overlooked.

The serpent’s appeal exploits hope and desire, making the prohibited appear profitable, even though it ultimately leads to ruin. Just as the man’s fleeting win fails to provide lasting security, yielding to temptation can bring short-term satisfaction while undermining the deeper, sustaining good that God intends. This is why Jesus warns in Matthew 16:26, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Just as the man chasing the lottery is temporarily dazzled by wealth but ultimately left empty, so too can the pursuit of what seems advantageous lead to ultimate loss.

The lure of immediate gratification or apparent empowerment cannot compare to the enduring value of obedience, trust, and communion with God. Eve’s moment of hesitation reminds us that the stakes of temptation are eternal, and that true wisdom and fulfillment are found not in the deceptive promises of the world but in faithfully following God’s Word and trusting His design.

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If you would like to explore Genesis in a sustained, verse-by-verse way with space to reflect, journal, and trace how these foundational truths unfold through Scripture the Verse by Verse book expands these reflections into a unified reading experience. The book gathers these meditations into a structured journey through Genesis, designed to help readers linger in the text and engage God’s Word more deeply over time.

Continue on with Genesis 3:6.

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