Someday when I go to Heaven,
I will know why Jesus is described as a Lion and a Lamb; and I will know why Satan is described as a serpent and a dragon. In Genesis 3, the serpent is introduced as “More crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.” Nāḥāš, the Hebrew Word for "snake", is associated with divination, a supernatural way to practice spiritual knowledge and fortune-telling. Nāḥāš is also used in conjunction with Seraphim, a celestial being known as the “burning ones.” It's hard to believe that Satan was once close to God, and at one time, Satan worshipped him. I wonder if he was a seraphim? I'm guessing maybe he is not, because Ezekiel said, "You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked." Ezekiel 28:14 I'm guessing Satan was once a beloved son, who stood at God’s throne worshipping Him. "You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared." Ezekiel 28:13 Can you imagine how beautiful Satan was - the day he was made these precious stones were created. But we do know this, the Day of the Lord is coming soon, and Satan and his children will be burning! Once in a while the Hebrew word Tannin is used, and the Greek word, Drakon too. These words describe the Antichrist Spirit as a sea monster who brings chaos and evil to the world! So, with this biblical, background knowledge, let us see what happens when Satan enters the scene in Genesis 3. The serpent said to the woman, “Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” First, why did Satan approach the woman, and not the man? Could it be that because she came from Adam’s rib, perhaps she would have been more vulnerable to Satan’s question? Did she feel she was once removed from God? And why did the serpent start with “Did God really say?” He loves to put doubt into our heads! Did he know that humans would have an inner desire to be rebel against God? The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” It just amazes me that Eve knew exactly what God had warned them not to do! She fully understood the consequence of her decision, and yet, she still fell into temptation! And if you think that you can judge, well - I'm here to say you surely can NOT! You and I are not any better than Adam and Eve! We become entangled with sin every single day! I don’t care how righteous you think you are! “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” And this where Satan begins to twist the truth! He knew exactly what he was doing! He knew that anything not attached to God’s Word is completely evil. And yet, his sole desire was to put humans in a position to surely die! “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” The women immediately experienced temptation. The fruit of tree became tempting, and she ate it. Here’s the interesting thing - Adam was standing right next to her, and yet, he did not protect her. He did not tell the serpent to stand back or go away! He let the serpent approach her, entice her, and thus, Adam fell into the same old trap! “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” Genesis 3:1-7 I always found this last verse an interesting passage. When Adam and Eve fell into sin, their eyes opened and their thoughts, feelings, perspectives and behaviors changed. They felt shame, and they thought their nakedness was bad, so they hid behind fig leaves. This reminds me of the story of the barren fig tree, where Jesus was very hungry and saw a fig tree with leaves growing out of season. When he approached he hoped for some fruit, but it was barren. All humans exist in sin; for sin make up the very world we live in. No human is without sin. And yet, people hide behind leaves all the time. They make excuses, create defenses and rationalize. They do all these things instead of standing vulnerable before God, and repenting. God sees the serpent lurking inside you and me. He has x-ray vision, and He knows the intent of your heart! If it has not happened yet, it is time to repent and turn back to God. We must submit and bow before Him - before it is too late.
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