Genesis 3:2 He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Genesis 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Job 19:21 Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me!
John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Psalms 10:11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
2 Corinthians 2:11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
Demonic spirits evidently have the ability, under certain circumstances, to indwell human or animal bodies (Luke 8:33). On this occasion, Satan chose to indwell the body of a pre-curse serpent. “An immaterial spirit must be invisible; and therefore he must embody himself in some way or other before he can be seen. That Satan has power to enter into living bodies is clear, for he did so upon a very large scale with regard to men in the days of Christ…(Spurgeon)
Satan will often attack a chain at its weakest link, so he gets at Adam by tempting Eve. The stronger ones in a “chain” must expect an attack against weaker links and support them against those attacks. Satan’s first attack was leveled against the Word of God. If he could make Eve confused about what God said, or to doubt what God said, then his battle was partially won. From the beginning, Satan has tried to undermine God’s people by undermining God’s Word. He can undermine just as effectively by getting us to neglect God’s Word as by getting us to doubt it. (Guzik)
When Satan attacks we are not to have a discussion with him about it, but rather say, “The Lord rebuke you”. He is cunning and crafty in his speech and thoughts. When the Holy Spirit gives you discernment about such an attack then it is prudent to not have a discussion about it but rather rebuke it immediately. Why is it when we hear and know what God says about certain sins and temptations to avoid, that we want to get close enough to it to touch it and even eat of it? All of these will be exploited by Satan for sure, and only those grounded in His Word and that have a desire to wholly honor and glorify Him will be able, through the leading and strengthening of the Holy Spirit, to discern it and turn away from it. Satan’s attacks come at us through our minds. It is here where the battle begins. Fiery darts shot singly or in multiples are flung at us from every possible angle. They can come in the form of lust, greed, pride, etc… They can be subtle or obvious. They can come from within our minds or planted there by another person being used by Satan. This is why we must always be on guard. Having an overwhelming desire for God’s Word and feeding upon it with an equally deep desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do, and with a heart seeking to be led by the Holy Spirit, and with ears open to the quiet whispers of leading, it is then we will have the discernment to see all of the cunning and crafty attacks of Satan in our lives. It is good for us to have a Christian community with other believers, for where we might be deaf and blind they hear and see the fiery darts of temptation and strengthen us in our resolve to fight it off. No one is immune to these attacks, and for certain no one in their own power is able to stand against them. It is only through the indwelling Holy Spirit and our openness to listen and obey that we are able to stop the attacks. Oh, that we would have hearts and minds like David when he said; thoughts: “Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me, and discover my thoughts. Don’t let me follow evil ways, but lead me in the everlasting way.”