The Serpent: Who Was It and What Did It Do?

OK, as promised, we are going to continue our story of Adam and Eve and the fall of man.  We only briefly touched on the fact that the serpent was involved at all in our previous study. But, today we are going to look at his part in the fall of Man.

 Our account can be found in the third chapter of Genesis. Unlike our previous study, I won’t be just telling the story. We are going to go verse by verse.

 So let’s break it down:

  Vs 1, "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"

 We see here that the serpent was created just like everything else that God created in Genesis chapter 1. This verse doesn’t give us a name of any other designation, just serpent.  But, you always hear people say the serpent is the Devil. How would they know if the story doesn’t say so?  Well, the Bible, in Revelation 12:9 refers to...

‘that old serpent, which is called The Devil and Satan…’

 Now we know, right? Are we sure? Are there any other verses that support this?

 Ezekiel in verse 28:13 of his book says, “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God.” This whole passage (Ezekiel 28:13-15) is about Satan and confirms that he was in Eden. Well, the prophesy on the surface is written about the king of Tyre which came true in and of itself, but could the King of Tyre have been in Eden?   No. The Bible often has deeper meaning that what you see at the initial reading of the passage.

 Let me give you an example so we know we aren’t just trying to read things into God’s Word. Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again in order to see the kingdom of Heaven, (John 3:1).  
Nicodemus was confused and asked Jesus how someone could climb back, into his mother’s womb to be born again. Obviously, Jesus’ words had a deeper meaning which He goes on to explain to Nicodemus. He was referring to spiritual rebirth.

 So, now we know that Satan was controlling the serpent. How do we know that animals can be possessed?  There was a certain man known locally as the Maniac of the Gadarenes or more familiarly to us, as Legion. Jesus delivered Legion and cast his demons into a herd of pigs which, at that point, ran into the sea and were drowned (Mark 5:1-20).

 What we don’t know for sure, is why the serpent. Many, many people venture guesses but, aside from its subtlety, (which means crafty or cunning), the Bible just doesn’t tell us for sure.

 We do know that the animal was cursed as well as the entity that possessed it. 

The second thing we notice about this verse is that the serpent quotes the Word of God and used it to bait Eve into a discussion.

 God had, indeed, told them that they could eat of every tree in the garden save one, The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That part of the Word was conveniently omitted by the serpent.

Vs. 2-3 "And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die."  

So here Eve reiterates God’s word except, she changes it some.  God had called the tree, 'The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil'. By calling it the tree in the midst of the garden, she made it less important somehow.  Then she goes on to add to God’s words. God had not said, “If you touch it, you shall surely die.” God had simply told them not to eat thereof.

 Many Jewish rabbis say that at this point, the serpent pushed Eve into the tree to prove it wasn’t poison to the touch. I don’t think this would be necessary, but consider that she believed an untruth. Her mistake would have given credence to the Devil's enticement.  But, even if it was the case, God didn’t think it important enough to include in His word.   The point is, the serpent had omitted some of God’s word. Eve is the one who twisted what God had said.

Vs 4-5, And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For god doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

 This is where the serpent comes in for the kill. He calls into question the goodness and justice of God. Goodness because he indicates that God had not provided everything they needed, and justice because a just god would insure equality.

Isaiah 14:12-14 tells us of the fall of Lucifer, who we now know as Satan, which means accuser or adversary. He wanted to exalt himself above the stars of God. He said, “I will be like the Most High.”
I think people forget that Satan didn’t try to exalt himself above God. He wanted to make himself equal to the Most High. After all, there is nothing higher than Most High, right?  I could easily get sidetracked on the issue of equality here but I will stick to the story.
The point is, the serpent caused Eve to doubt God.

Vs. 6, And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, ant a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 

So, what three things had the serpent appealed to? The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The Bible says in 1 John 2:16 that all this world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

 These are the same three temptations Satan threw before Jesus when He was in the wilderness, Matthew 4:1-11.   I'm paraphrasing here: 

“Jesus, you have been 40 days without food! You are going to starve! Don’t wait till you get to town. If you are the Son of God, you should turn these stones to bread and nourish yourself.” 
This is the lust of the flesh.

“Jesus, throw yourself off the pinnacle of the temple. If you are indeed the Son of God, the Bible says in Psalm 91:10-11 that God has Given his angels charge over you. Why, they wouldn’t even let you stub your toe on a rock much less fall to the ground. And what better spectacle could there be to prove that you are who you say you are?" 
This is the pride of life.

"Jesus, here we are at the top of this high mountain and all you see is mine to give. Look at the beauty and glory and every bit of it can be yours. I’ll give it to you if you will just worship me.” 
This is the lust of the eyes.

So, we see the serpent hasn’t changed his techniques. He still manipulates the word of God and he still appeals to the three lusts.  How did Jesus counter these temptations?  With the Word of God, of course.  Satan had twisted the Word and taken it out of context and Jesus responded with the true Word. This is why your own personal study of the Bible is crucial.

The last thing I want to mention here is, Eve offered the fruit to her husband and he ate also.  Soon, we will look at Adam’s part in all this and what their disobedience cost us all.