6–8. THE FALL The serpent here disappears from the story, except for the mention of him in the woman’s words of excuse (v. 13), and in the Divine sentence upon him (vv. 14, 15). He did not tell the woman to eat the fruit. The temptation which is most dangerous is rarely the most direct. The soul, which has once yielded to the temptation to distrust the goodness of God, may be left to itself to disobey Him, and, in the conflict between pleasure and the service of God, will prefer its own way. Disobedience