“Bible animals: a snake”
Genesis 3:1
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
Snakes! Sneaky, slippery, stealthy, slimy, scaly, slithering, swerving, spiraling, striped, speckled snakes! Some people love them. Most don’t. And it’s easy to understand why. They’re creepy. They’re crawly. In fact, it’s safe to say that if I were to tell you that, just this morning, I spotted a snake hiding in a corner over by the organ, most every one of you would probably pick up your feet, just in case. We don’t like them that much!
Herpetologists, (that’s people who study snakes, in case you didn’t know), tell us that there are close to four thousand different kinds of snakes here and around the world, making them the second largest group of reptiles after lizards. (And by the way, if you really don’t like snakes and want to get as far away from them as possible, I’m afraid you’ll have to move to Antarctica. That’s the only continent on earth that doesn’t have them.)
So what are the different kinds of snakes? I’m glad you asked! There are constrictors, like the python and the boa. There are venomous snakes, like the viper, the mamba, and the cobra. There are non-venomous snakes, like the hognose and the milksnake. And there are rattlesnakes, like the Timber, the Sidewinder, and the Eastern Diamondback.
The world’s longest snake is the Reticulated Python, growing to over thirty-two feet long, and the world’s heaviest snake is the Green Anaconda, weighing in at five hundred and fifty pounds! That’s a lot of snake!
But let me tell you, when it comes to snakes, being bigger isn’t always better. In fact, the most dangerous snake in all the world is the one called the Inland Taipan, found in the outback of Australia. Weighing in at a mere three pounds and stretching to a little over six feet long, it’s got enough venom to kill one hundred humans with just one bite! Yikes!
And in case I haven’t scared you all enough already, let’s learn some snake facts. Did you know that while snakes have teeth, they don’t chew their food? Instead, they swallow their prey whole--alive or dead--skin, feathers, hair, bone and all. And while they supposedly can’t see the best, they can smell in stereo with their forked tongue. Imagine smelling with your tongue!
As one author wrote, “Snakes can out-climb, out-swim, out-smart, and out-wrestle any animal in God’s kingdom.”
Even more, they can perplex. One minute they’re over here, the next minute, they’re over there. They’re behind you. They’re in front of you. And you won’t even know just where they are until it’s too late!
And as much as I hate to say it, snakes have even slithered their way into movies and TV. Think, for example, of Sir Hiss in Robin Hood, Rattlesnake Jake in Rango, Jafar in Aladdin, Nagini in Harry Potter, and Kaa in the Jungle Book. And if you really want to get creeped out, you could always watch that classic Snakes on a Plane!
There are even snakes in the Bible. In the book of Exodus, to show God’s power, Moses’ staff and Aaron’s staff both turned into snakes. In the book of Numbers, when poisonous snakes bit the people, God told Moses to put a bronze serpent on a pole, and anyone who looked at it would live. And in the New Testament, both Jesus and John the Baptist said to the Pharisees and the Sadducees, “You brood of vipers.” In other words, “You’re all just a bunch of snakes!
Snakes and more snakes. It seems we can’t get away from them!
It’s surprising if you think about it--there are animals galore in the Bible. Noah sent a raven and a dove out from the ark. Rebekah watered Eliezer’s camels. Balaam’s donkey talked. Lions laid down and slept rather than eat poor old Daniel. A fish swallowed Jonah. A young donkey carried Jesus into Jerusalem. And on Maundy Thursday night, as Peter warmed himself by a charcoal fire, a rooster crowed.
As Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26).
But here in the Bible’s very first book, the book of Genesis, we meet one of the creepiest and crawliest creatures of all--the snake.
I’ll start at chapter 3, verse 1: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. 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’” (Genesis 3:1-5).
Imagine how it all must have been. Just as soon as God created the heavens and the earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars, He made a paradise on earth, a garden He called Eden. Then as He formed man from the dust of the ground, and Eve from Adam’s rib, He placed them in that garden to live in it, to work it, and to care for it. And as the Bible says, it wasn’t just good. It was very good (Genesis 1:31).
But of all the plants and trees that God planted in that garden, as amazing and beautiful as they all must have been, He planted two more. As it says in chapter 2, verse 9: “The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
And along with those two trees came both a command and a test. Chapter 2, verse 15: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 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’” (Genesis 2:15-17).
Poor Eve had absolutely no idea what was about to happen. After all, she was, quite literally, living in paradise. But while she wasn’t looking for the serpent that day, the serpent was most certainly looking for her.
Can you see her walking along the banks of the river that ran through the Garden of Eden? The sun warmed her shoulders as the fragrance of a thousand flowers and the chorus of a thousand birds filled the air. It was the sort of day that we all dream about--a perfect day in paradise!
And that’s when she spotted the serpent. She wasn’t afraid. Why would she be? She was, after all, living in paradise, and there was no fear in paradise. Besides, the creature before her was a stunningly beautiful creature. When he spoke, his voice was captivating, inviting, and alluring. Who or what was he, and, in her innocence, she wondered, what did he mean to say?
Can we stop there for just a moment? It’s easy to say that, just like Eve, temptation comes when we least expect it. After all, if it were to ever give us a warning call, we’d be much better prepared.
And while we might think that temptation comes when life is hard and everything is going against us, we’re just as likely to be tempted when everything is going well--when our bills are paid, when our boss likes us, when our spouse loves us, when our doctor says we’re in perfect health, and when our children are well behaved.
Instead, when everything is going well in life, beware! Just like Eve in the garden, you’re a prime candidate for temptation.
Then what? Chapter 3, verse 1: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden”?’”
It was a brilliant move, really. In essence, Satan challenged Eve to a game of “Bible Trivia,” a three-part conversation in which he speaks, Eve responds, then he speaks again. It could have all been over in less than a minute.
And his question was this--”Did God really say…?”
Now notice that, when she answered, she made three very subtle, yet very tragic mistakes. First, she lessened the Word of God. While God had said, “You may eat from any tree,” Eve said, “We may eat from the trees.” Second, she added to the Word of God. While God had said, “You shall not eat of the tree,” Eve said, “You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it.” And third, she lessened God’s judgment and punishment. While God had said, “You will surely die,” Eve said, “You will die.” The differences are subtle, but they’re differences still the same.
Then what did Satan say? Ever so sneakily and craftily, he defied the Word of God. Verse 4, “You will not surely die...” Or as another translation puts it, “Die? No, you won’t!”
Why this temptation rather than some other? Because if you’re convinced you can get away with it, sooner or later, you’re going to do it. If you think no one will know, that no one will notice, and that no one will ever call you to account for your actions, eventually you’re going to give in. If there are no consequences for sin, then there’s no reason not to indulge in your wildest desires. That’s why Satan said, “You won’t 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” (Genesis 3:5).
And in that moment, that earth-shaking, heart-breaking moment, the downward spiral began. Eve listened when she shouldn’t have listened. She talked when she shouldn’t have talked. And she wanted what she never, ever should have wanted.
He had her hook, line, and sinker.
And what happened next came quickly. Notice the verbs in verse 6: “saw”...”took”...”gave”... ”ate.” “She saw that the tree was good for food...She took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”
Then what? Verse 7: “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.”
Law broken. Innocence gone. Pride condemned. It was the absolute worst moment in all of human history.
How did Adam and Eve end up like this? It was all a series of short, little steps in the wrong direction. Yet it was those steps that added up to one huge catastrophe--pain, sorrow, sadness, sickness, death, despair, loneliness, trouble, murder, hatred, mayhem, and every form of evil--that continues to haunt the world even today.
In his book The Serpent of Paradise, author Erwin Lutzer tells the story of a construction company that invited various contractors to submit bids for a major building complex. And all things being equal, the contractor who submitted the lowest bid would get the job. Needless to say, the bids had to be submitted in secret.
On the last day bids could be accepted, one last contractor walked into the company president’s office with a bid application in his hand. Much to his surprise, he noticed a bid from his major competitor sitting squarely on an otherwise empty huge mahogany desk. The only problem was there was a can of pop sitting directly over the most important figure in the document--the final bid.
And as he stood there completely alone, he thought to himself that if he could only know the amount written on that line, he could adjust his own bid to come in just beneath it, and the multi-million dollar contract would be his.
Nervously, he paced the floor, knowing full well what was at stake. For a moment, he thought about moving the can, reading the figure, and then putting it back. He even touched the can, but found it too hard to move.
Carefully glancing around the room one more time, fully confident that no one was looking and that no one would ever know, he quickly lifted the can off of the paper.
But to his surprise, as he lifted the can off of the desk, hundreds of BBs spilled onto the desk and spilled all over the floor.
The can of soda was not what it appeared to be!
And neither was the fruit on the tree. For just as soon as Adam and Eve took that fruit, everything came crashing down!
And it was all because of that snake on the tree.
Everything in this message so far has been bad news. There is, after all, a direct connection between what happened in the Garden that day, and the pain, sorrow, and sadness we see all around us. We are what we are because of Adam and Eve.
But even in the midst of their mess and misery, God had a plan. And while He could have taught them how to properly sew fig leaves with vines or weave linen or flax, instead He clothed them. He covered them. He wrapped them in, of all things, an animal’s skin, still warm with the life that had been sacrificed for them, pointing to Another whose life would someday be sacrificed for them--the Lamb of God, our Savior Jesus.
So whatever you do, whatever you’ve done, don’t run from God. Instead, turn to Him. He’ll forgive you and restore you, no matter what it takes, even if it’s the death of His own Son.
We thank You, Father, for the grace You show and the gifts You give. Help us to find in You forgiveness for our every sin and help for our every trouble, for Jesus’ sake. Amen