The Attack Of Depression

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We have just finished part two of this series, and are looking at Satan’s method of attack, and currently, we are relating this and connecting it to depression. Note that the serpent initiated the conversation, and that Eve did not rebuke him. And how did he initiate this conversation? The first thing out of his mouth was a question and the purpose of the question was to create doubt.

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Dictionary.com defines doubt as:

–verb (used with object)
1. to be uncertain about; consider questionable or unlikely; hesitate to believe.
2. to distrust.
3. Archaic. to fear; be apprehensive about.
–verb (used without object)
4. to be uncertain about something; be undecided in opinion or belief.
–noun
5. a feeling of uncertainty about the truth, reality, or nature of something.
6. distrust.
7. a state of affairs such as to occasion uncertainty.
8. Obsolete. fear; dread.

Here we see the beginning of the attack, and it starts with a form of fear. The purpose? To steal away their trust, which was established in gift of relationship. So here we see an attack against not just God’s relationship with this couple, but also an attack against the couple’s relationship with one another. It’s got to be an inside job before it comes outside and is more visible.

Gen 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
Gen 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

In these two verses, it is clear that the serpent was successful in establishing doubt, because now, clearly, the woman doesn’t accurately remember the instructions, and she adds to them or embellishes them a bit.

Her view or perspective of the situation has now become skewed. She is clouded and confused. This is attributed to the fact that the command was not given to her directly, but to Adam. So this could not have been a purposed attempt to usurp her husband as it is preached in some circles, where the fault for the fall is misplaced upon women for the purpose of control.

This was a trust issue with her husband, and rightly so because we later find out where he was in relationship to her, the serpent and this entire dialog between them.

However, note that when Satan went after the gift of relationship, he had to follow protocol. There was a hierarchy established, which breaks down like this:

Again we see 3 sets of the number 3. So here we have, originally before the fall, this super couple who is a mirror reflection of God-made in God’s image, but they don‘t know this. They have the power of a king and queen, but have no idea about their real identity. Because they don’t know who they are in God, they strive in the wrong way to attain something they already possess. They don’t attain “celebrity status” until after they do something extremely controversial (the catch phrase for “against God’s will”), and then they become infamous, and ultimately miserable.

Satan made his first attempt against Christ here; as represented by the seed or offspring in the analogy above. He attacks family unity, and the sanctity of marriage, which again, is a reflection of God Himself, and of a pattern He orchestrated and set up in the earth. It was one of the first covenants God made with mankind.

So Satan creates doubt in the relationship of Adam and Eve. How was he so successful at this? Well, while Eve was busy processing this new information that the enemy planted, no rebuke came forth. What am I referring to? I’m going to jump ahead of myself just a bit and then come back to the point I was making.

Gen 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.

Why did Eve have reason to doubt Adam’s word? She had reason to doubt Adam’s word because he was right there the entire time of this dialog with the serpent, and he failed to defend God’s Word. Therefore, her doubt has become justified. There was no rebuke, and because her husband failed lead with God’s Word (instructions) it caused a wedge of doubt in their relationship.

This doubt then catapulted into decisions and action which subsequently caused the destruction of their relationship with each other and God. We see evidence later of the destruction of their relationship the minute God calls them on the carpet and begins to question their actions. Suddenly, the finger of blame gets pointed by Adam, at his wife. It’s been this way ever since. (Next in series)