The Serpent Is Not an Uninvited Guest in the Garden of Eden: Understanding God’s Divine Plan Through Temptation

Matthew 6:13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Did the Fall Catch God by Surprise?

The Bible begins after the creation with a bizarre story of the fall of man. No one ever starts something with the intention of failing. But GOD did. If not, there would not be such a story as the fall of man, seeming out of GOD’s control. Job said, “I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.” Joshua said, “Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel had failed; everything was fulfilled.” Both echo the power of GOD, that everything is under His control and He never fails. However, the fall of man does not seem to align with Job and Joshua’s reflection of God. Firstly, GOD lost control of man when they disobeyed, and secondly, He failed to prevent them from falling into sin. Therefore, if God does not appear to have blundered, then the fall of man is His every intention.

The Serpent Was Not Outside God’s Sovereignty

As unacceptable as it may sound, when we put two and two together, the fall of man is GOD’s will and purpose. Therefore, GOD was not caught off guard when He found Adam and Eve had gone into hiding. It might seem like an OMG situation, but it is not. GOD is omniscient, possessing complete knowledge of all things, past, present, and future, so He will never blunder to the extent of having to send His Son to die on the cross to save fallen men. Unlike us, GOD is perfect and in perfection, there is no room for mistake. Therefore, a perfect GOD can’t blunder at all costs and never will at the expense of the life of His beloved Son unless there is more than meets the eye.

Many might argue that it is Eve’s fault for falling into the Serpent’s deception that led to the fall of man. GOD is at no fault. GOD gave man free will, and they chose to disobey. However, is GOD that innocent of their fall? The Book of Genesis writes, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made.” GOD is transparent when He made known His creation of a first-class deceptive beast to us. Even despite knowing its potential threat to man, GOD did not keep it under lock and key. None of us would ever put dangerous items lying in the home within reach of children.

GOD did that when He created the Serpent and allowed it to roam freely in the garden and interact with Eve. GOD was playing with fire, but He knew what He was doing. We must understand that Eve is the “Baby of Eden” because she was the last to be created when GOD found no animals compatible to be Adam’s companion. No “baby” is good enough to stand against the greatest deceiver GOD had ever crafted. Unfortunately, that was precisely what happened. Not only did GOD do that, but He also planted the forbidden fruit, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, to be in the centre of the garden so that it was easily within reach of man. There were no barbed wires, high fences or ferocious dogs to deter Adam and Eve. Consequently, with the sweet talk of the tempter, the attraction and the ease of reach of the temptation, it is only natural that Eve took the bite.

The Pattern Repeats: Wilderness, Giants, and the Throne

As unbelievable as it may sound, the Hand that used to create us, protect us and love us is the same Hand that pushes us into our fallenness. Please do not stop reading at this point, but have faith in the goodness of GOD. Many would turn away from GOD, like the Israelites turning away from the promised land after knowing the promised land is filled with giants. The modus operandi in the beginning in the Garden of Eden and the wilderness is the same: GOD, who lovingly brought the Israelites out of Egypt, out of slavery and out of pain and suffering, is the same GOD who brought them into the wilderness to endure thirst, hunger, war, fear and uncertainty.

What is GOD doing? The examples do not stop there. The loving Hand that anointed David through Samuel to be the next king also brought him to face Goliath, the giant, to run for his life from Saul and to live as an outlaw and fugitive. GOD did not smooth the path for his ascension as king. We must not be mistaken. Although David was the second ruler after Saul, his throne was not handed down from Saul, as David was not the successor to Saul’s throne. He fought for his throne. After Saul’s death, the tribe of Judah anointed David as king in Hebron. Later, David made a covenant with the elders of the northern tribes and was anointed king over all of Israel. David’s journey as king was far from easy, as it was laced with hardship and conflict. David took approximately 15 years to transition from being anointed as king to actually reigning over all of Israel. What can we learn? GOD promises are like roses but with thorns. There is no free handout.

Adam and Jesus: Two Encounters With Temptation

The Epistle of Hebrews writes, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” That means the nature of GOD does not change, nor does His modus operandi. If we can recognise His style of doing things, we will see it repeating itself. That means the treatment given to Adam and Eve was also the same treatment given to Jesus and all of us. Therefore, GOD is fair, showing no favouritism. The Epistle of Philippians writes of Jesus, “Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.”

From the passage, we can see the parallelism between Adam and Jesus, showing both walked a similar route. Both had to leave a better place for a less favourable place to experience hardship and suffering. Jesus was reduced from being GOD to the likeness of man, a lower being. Adam was reduced from a sinless man to a fallen man. Adam met Satan in the form of the Serpent in the Garden of Eden, and Jesus met Satan in the wilderness. The difference is that Adam fell while Jesus overcame. Jesus proved Himself and met GOD’s conditions and claimed GOD’s rewards as written in the Epistle of Philippians, “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Trial Is Not Proof of Rejection

We must not be mistaken that the Father makes life difficult for those He dislikes. Therefore, Jesus was sent to earth to suffer. The Father said of the Son, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” Jesus was not the prodigal son but the beloved Son sent to the world. Therefore, we must not misconstrue that GOD does not love us, so He made us go through trials and temptations. Even Jesus had to go through the test to prove the purity of His heart; what more for the rest of us? All need to be sifted, as Jesus told the Apostle Peter, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail.” Satan specifically chose the Apostle Peter because he was no ordinary disciple. He was the selected one to be the first pope. Where he is the rock, GOD built His church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. Therefore, Peter had to be sifted by Satan.

The Baptism of Fire

Unbeknownst to many, GOD has prepared the baptism of fire for His chosen ones and those He loves. These people are not only good, but they have been refined like gold and silver, with no impurities. Therefore, never mistake GOD as a trash collection centre, accepting unrepentant sinners. He does not. If any of us proves to be trash, we will be incinerated in the fire of hell. Many do not understand the difference, as GOD will surely forgive our sins but not our unrepentance. If we are unrepentant, it means we refuse refinement and are filled with impurities. GOD will not accept.

Refined Like Silver and Tested Like Gold

To gain a deeper understanding of how GOD works, let us examine the book of Zechariah. It writes, “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones. And in all the land, declares the LORD, two-thirds will be cut off and perish, but a third will be left in it. This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.'”

The passage emphasises the importance of refinement to achieve purity in our walk with GOD. It states that two-thirds will be cut off and perish, while the one-third that is not cut off and perished will have to go through the fire. Unfortunately, there is no double-win option where one does not need to be cut off and perish or go through the baptism of fire. All have to choose one form of fire or the other. It is either the eternal fire of hell or the fire of refinement that leads to life. For the Israelites, the giants of Canaan were like the baptism of fire from GOD. They were not there to kill them but to make them more than who they think they are.

Likewise, any fire from GOD is not to kill GOD’s chosen ones but to refine them to be like gold and silver. Once purified, only then will GOD allow them to call on His name, and He will answer them. He will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God’. At this point, we can see that GOD is being calculative. GOD is clear to whom can call His name and to whom He will answer. If we were to read the implied version of the Bible, GOD does not answer the two-thirds that will be cut off and perish. Neither does He answer the one-third that has not gone through the fire.

Who May Stand in His Holy Place?

To look for further confirmation, the book of Psalms writes, “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully.” We go before GOD to stand in His holy place because we have a request for Him. However, as written in the verse, not everyone can approach Him, as there is a restriction. Only the one with clean hands and a pure heart. The issue is that many of us have a good heart but not a pure heart because a pure heart requires refinement. Therefore, what is written in the book of Psalms confirms what is in Zechariah on how and when God will answer prayers.

Exile, Prayer, and the Purified Heart

If we are not convinced that we must be purified before GOD becomes real to us, we can look further at the book of Jeremiah. It writes, “For this is what the LORD says: ‘When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. You will find me, declares the LORD, and I will restore you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and places to which I have banished you, declares the LORD. I will restore you to the place from which I sent you into exile.”

The message is clear: only after the Israelites have gone through the baptism of fire of seventy years in Babylon will GOD fulfil His promise to restore them. Before that time was up, God did not have any plans to prosper them or to harm them but to give them a future and hope. Only after the years of refinement were over would their prayers be heard. They would seek Him and find Him when they search for Him with all their hearts. In short, they would see God’s mighty power at work with them, making things happen so that they would no longer live under oppression but in hope and a future.

From Gardener to Co-Ruler

To many, going through pain and suffering is sadistic that many cannot accept. However, GOD does not have any evil intention through them. It is His love, even though His expression might seem unconventional. His act of love is like a hand that hits a rubber ball hard on the ground, causing it to bounce much higher than it ever could. GOD wants us to go from strength to strength and glory to glory until each appears before Him. From Genesis, we can see that GOD tasked man to be a gardener. However, GOD had no intention of keeping him forever as a gardener in Eden to work and maintain it. At the end of the Bible, in Revelation, God reveals that His purpose for man is to sit with Him on His throne and rule together with Jesus. If man were to stay in the Garden of Eden, he would remain a gardener forever. Therefore, GOD did something so that man could go from strength to strength and glory to glory.

GOD wants to promote us from Eden to the throne of heaven and from a gardener to a co-ruler with GOD. To do that, the man had to fall. And to fall, GOD allowed the Serpent into Eden, resulting in the ground being cursed and man being cast out of Eden. The world outside of Eden becomes the school of the making of the children of GOD. There, GOD would strike man hard on the cursed ground to know their hearts. Those who bounce are those who have turned themselves, metaphorically, into rubber balls because their faith, hope and love are in GOD. With GOD, they are able to jump out of their predicaments and be stronger than their adversaries. No giant is too big for them to defeat because the harder they are struck, the higher they will bounce.

In contrast, those unrefined by the baptism of fire are those not transformed into rubber balls. They cannot please GOD. They will remain like eggs with brittle eggshells, cracking under pressure. Where they are dropped, they stay. Life will not be easy for them simply because they are unable to bounce back from life’s challenges. They are like all the Israelites who died in the wilderness. They failed to live up to GOD’s expectations because they chose not to believe in what they saw, trust that GOD is able, and be transformed by the wilderness. Consequently, GOD did not change them from slaves to giant slayers as intended.

When God Seems Silent

It is undeniable that life is very tough, regardless of our life status. And in many of our most challenging moments, GOD often seems dead. But He is not. That moment is when He patiently watches us metaphorically transform from an egg into a rubber ball or like a seed breaking through the shell and dirt to be a seedling that will grow into a mighty tree. If He were to interfere prematurely, we would fail to transform completely. Let us not doubt GOD’s love for us. Let us trust in what the Apostle Paul said, “And we know that God works all things together for the good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Therefore, no matter what kind of unreasonableness we may experience, it will definitely work out for our good.

The unreasonableness might be like the Israelites being put into slavery in Egypt for more than 400 years, not by their choice but by GOD’s will. Fortunately or unfortunately, the Israelites are called for GOD’s purpose. The purpose is written in 1 Peter, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” For such a high calling, they must be refined to portray God’s Word and reflect God’s character and will to the world.

Trust the Purpose When the Path Is Unreasonable

In all things, let not our hearts be troubled. GOD can do whatever He wishes, even in allowing Satan to control the world, causing pain and suffering to prevail. As long as we trust Him, He will bring us through the lion’s den, fiery furnace, stormy water or the giants of Canaan. GOD’s purpose is never to destroy us but to make us co-rulers with Him. Be confident in what the Apostle James says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.”

Related Ideas

Trial Is Not Proof of Rejection — Jesus was the beloved Son and still entered the wilderness; David was anointed and still endured years of danger; Peter was chosen and still sifted. Trial is therefore not automatic evidence that God has rejected or abandoned His people.

Temptation Begins by Questioning God’s Goodness — the serpent’s strategy in Eden begins by challenging whether God’s word and boundaries can be trusted.

Faith Sometimes Means Refusing to Turn Back — wilderness, giants, sifting, and fire can make retreat look reasonable, yet faith continues with God before the purpose becomes visible.

The Gifts Can Leave While the Heart Remains — trial exposes whether the heart belongs to God Himself or only to the circumstances and blessings we hoped He would preserve.

Connected Ideas

Eden · Serpent · Temptation · Sovereignty · Free Will · Trial · Refinement · Wilderness · Sifting · Fire · Purity · Calling · Perseverance · Transformation · Co-Ruling · Divine Purpose

Originally published on X on 2025-06-23. This website edition preserves the original essay while adding structural headings and knowledge links.