Genesis 3:6a
"And when the woman (Eve) saw that the tree was good for food, and it was pleasant to the (what?) eyes,…"
So what have we got? Here was a fruit that was an object of the lust of her eyes. It was a beautiful fruit. We don’t think it was an apple, but whatever it was it must have been beautiful. It was alluring, it must have just looked delicious and of course with Satan’s prodding it just looked all the better. Then the next part was that this same beautiful fruit was something that would make her wise.
Genesis 3:6b
"…and a tree to be desired to make one wise, …"
Now what does that appeal to? The pride. Pride and desire that it would make her wise, and remember that Satan’s temptation was that she could be as God. Then the third step was:
Genesis 3:c
"… she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat."
Now listen, have any of you ever been so full of a good large dinner that you couldn’t eat another bite? Of course you have. Just the thought of another bite just almost becomes repulsive. So really, in order to enjoy something, you have to be a little bit what? Hungry. My wife knows that better than anybody. When you are hungry just about anything can taste delicious. So, even though the Scripture itself does not definitively say it, Eve must have had enough of an appetite to really want to satisfy the desire to eat. And then what does she do? She plucked the fruit, she looked at it again, and she suddenly desire of the flesh of that fruit to satisfy her hunger. But also her old mind was just spinning like everything. What’s it going to do to her? It’s going to make her wise. So here she is pummeled with all three categories of temptation at one time. We guess it’s no wonder she succumbed is it?
But you see, the Lord went through those same three categories in Matthew chapter 4, but remember, apart from sin. He never had any inkling to give in like Eve did. Nevertheless, in Matthew chapter 4 at the temptations, this was the whole purpose. This was the purpose so that when He became our great High Priest, He knew exactly what we go through. He too was tempted with making those stones bread when He was hungry. He too was tempted to fulfill a desire of the eyes. He too was given the temptation, we guess the one that’s the easiest to understand, is chapter 4 and like we've said, don’t ever get the idea that He even thought about succumbing but this is simply given to us to understand that He knows what we’re going through. Because you see you can’t really understand unless you’ve been there.
Unless you have been faced with a certain dilemma that’s unique to your own situation, you don’t know what it’s like. But see the Lord did. The Lord faced these three categories so that He would know exactly what the human race is going through. He knew what it was like when He was hungry to have Satan mention bread. He knew what it was like when Satan said, "Fall down and worship me and all the kingdoms of this world, I’ll give them to you."
Well now it never affected Him because they were already His. But what we have to learn from it is, Satan was tempting Him with something that would make a human being proud. That’s why men attain to be emperors. That’s why they attain world power, to satisfy their pride. So the Lord could honestly say without any doubt whatsoever, I’ve been there. I know what you are going though. I know exactly what its like. That's why it says He will succor (aid or help) us. That’s why we can go to Him with full assurance that since He has tasted temptations, He has been confronted, He'll give us aid or help in time of need.
Let’s even go a little further with this thought. As He was going through the suffering leading up to the cross, and He cried out at one time "Father if it be Your will, let this cup pass from me." Do you realize what He was really saying? If there was any way that God could perform salvation without His having to go through that which was coming, do it the other way. What was that? Well it was really a temptation that He could have somehow avoided the sufferings of the cross. But He didn’t. He never did. So always take these things into consideration when you read a verse like this. That He can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities because He’s been there. He’s walked in our shoes and we're required to walk in His. And Yes even through His passion week experience. Now back to the Epistle of Hebrews, and let’s go on down to verse 16. And again one of Paul’s favorite words:
Hebrews 4:16a
"Let us therefore…"
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