From Eden to Egypt- Day 8

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.- Genesis 3:1 (ESV)

Typically, we get the story wrong.  Art gives us a false perception at times, especially when it comes to this Old Testament . We picture a snake slithering and easing up on this woman.  Oftentimes, the depiction is of a snake entangled upon some tree limb and hanging in the face of the woman, Eve.  Or, in some cases, where the Scriptures don't even come into consideration, the snake is positioned between the man and woman with his coiled body asymmetrically balancing the artwork as he offers the temptation of a deep-red apple to both parties.

Can you simply read Genesis 3 for yourself?

The serpent was not cursed until after he participated in the temptation of mankind.  In essence, we do not know the serpent's previous condition, its pre-fall nature, but we are certain that, after Genesis 3:14, the serpent's condition is changed by God Almighty.  The word "enmity" comes up in the next verse as an indication of the changed relationship between mankind and the serpent.  Regardless of how we look at it, the serpent demonstrates that God can change us.  He is an example of God's correction of created beings under His divine control.

The serpent symbolizes the introduction of devilish deception.  He introduced a seed of doubt in regards to the Word of God.  He simply shared that what man had been led to believe was not so.  He keyed in on the notion that God had something to hide, something to keep from man. 

Imagine if we understood are enemy and his tactics so well that we could have our defenses ready for anything he threw our way.  That would be just a taste of paradise.

*From Eden to Egypt is a series for Life Path Ministries by Rev. Bruce Jackson that chronicles a daily study and reading of the Book of Genesis and The Genesis Record by Henry M. Morris.