Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
In this passage of scripture we are shown the dangers of tampering with sin, which Eve indulged in before the devil presented his temptations, and thus caused both Adam and herself to fall into sin. The Lord had given specific instructions pertaining to the tree of knowledge, of good and evil, which included the prohibition of touching or eating it, lest death be their fate. Now on the first instruction given, there are very great lessons to be derived in our own experiences, for when the Lord teaches us that something is forbidden, He implies that we should stay as far away from it as possible, and even if we were to happen to come across by accident, that which has been prohibited, we should then flee as quickly as possible, lest by the indulgence of curiosity, we too like Eve fall a prey to temptation.
Many of the past and current incidents of infidelity within marriages began with tampering with sin, by which those who consequently fell encouraged temptation by harboring forbidden thoughts and flirting in one way or another with the opposite sex. It's worthy of note that flirting with sin is just as much a sin in the sight of God, as is the actual sin. For instance, if a man were to harbor evil thoughts and desires for another woman other than his wife, and that other person is encouraged to send text messages or private emails to the one who is already married, but for some reason they never made it to bed, the recording angel writes the sin of adultery in the books in heaven, just as if they had actually slept together. The reason for this is that God is a Spirit, and He discerns the inner workings and motives of the heart, therefore the sinful thought makes us guilty as much as the sinful act does. This sacred truth is clearly stated in the Bible. Let's read:
Matthew 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
The other error that was made by Eve, and one that is often repeated in our day is that of reasoning with the devil, in any matter. The adversary of souls must never be reasoned with by mortal man, for although he is an angel fallen, yet he was created with a giant intellect that is not surpassed by any human being. The fact that he succeeded in getting one third of the angels to fall with him speaks volumes to our own feeble efforts to argue with him. It is true that the weakest saint in Christ is able by the grace and power of God to withstand all of his advances, yet we are never to presume that we on our own are a match for the devil, for all those who come to this erroneous conclusion will be taken down by his fierce temptations. This is what Christ was trying to save Peter from when He cautioned him to pray earnestly for help, for He had observed in the disciple the disposition to be self-confident in his ability to withstand unseen forces that threatened his own soul. Let's read:
Luke 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
When the Lord told Adam and Eve not to touch the forbidden tree, He also meant not to almost touch it, and in our day when He bids us depart from sin and iniquity, He also means that we should avoid and stay as far away from it as possible. Thus by cooperating with Him in avoiding that which is prohibited, we thereby facilitate the inner working of The Holy Spirit in uprooting from our hearts, everything that is detrimental to our eternal salvation, and if we continue on in this path, God will bring us to the point where the sin that had easily beset us in times past, will not continue to faze us anymore.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to depart from the very appearance of evil, and God will then do for us, what we cannot do for ourselves, in removing every trace of sin from our hearts. Let's read:
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!