photo by Jan Kopriva on Unsplashed
As I’m sure we all know by now, Adam and Eve did not continue on in perfection and bliss forever; they fell. What (or who) caused them to fall? Why did they eat from the tree? And who exactly was the Serpent?
Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?”
Genesis 3:1
“Serpent” is translated from the Hebrew word “nksh”. Depending on the vowels used, it could have several meanings. Written Hebrew has no vowels, you see. It could mean snake; or shining or burning one; or witchcraft or divination. The most likely meaning is shining or burning serpent. Contrary to popular beliefs, Satan did not “take the form” of a snake, nor did he possess the body of a snake; the burning or shining serpent is his natural physical state.
This was no ordinary garden snake; this was a spiritual being of great knowledge and power. It is identified as Satan in the book of Revelation. This is evidenced by the fact that neither Adam nor Eve were surprised that the serpent was talking to them. It is possible that they had had many conversations with the serpent. The serpent is described as being “subtle”, “crafty” or “shrewd”. He was a master manipulator, using language to trick Eve into taking the fruit.
Satan began the conversation by placing a seed of doubt in Eve’s mind. All sin comes from doubt of God’s goodness.
Eve (though according to the scriptures, her husband was there with her) was focused on what was prohibited by God, not on all the things He had blessed them with. This allowed Satan to gain a foothold. This is why we must keep our focus on the generosity of God, rather than His strictness.
but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
Genesis 3:3
Eve added the words “nor shall you touch it”. This was the first error – adding more rules to God’s commands. This May have been added by Adam out of an abundance of caution and concern for his wife. We frequently do the same. This is called “legalism” and while it may seem pious, it is adding to the word of God, and therefore sinful. This extra rule allowed Satan to gain a foothold; once the man-made rule is broken, then it was not much of a leap to break God’s rule.
While it may seem unfair for God to restrict Adam and Eve from eating the fruit, the fact is God was only protecting them from its power. It was improper for Adam and Eve to eat the fruit. The knowledge it contained was so powerful as to be intoxicating. It was simply unsuitable for them.
Returning to the serpent, his punishment may not make much sense to us in a strict, literal reading of Genesis. “Crawl on the belly and eat dust” isn’t that what serpents do? (Genesis 3:14)
In the Ancient Near East, if a person offended the king, he would have to leave the court crawling on his stomach as a sign of ultimate humiliation. “To eat dust” is an ancient euphemism for death. God sentenced Satan to unending death and humiliation for leading mankind into sin. Surely, no punishment could be more severe, especially for such a proud being as Satan.
But God did not leave our first parents without hope. Verse 15 is clearly a prophecy of Jesus. The seed of the woman did indeed bruise the serpent’s head, and the serpent did bruise his heel. But the seed of the woman triumphed over the serpent that glorious morning 2,000 years ago.
LogoSophia Magazine 