Genesis 3:1 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?
The other day, Mom and I went to do one of my least favorite things - wash clothes. We don’t have a washer/dryer here at home, so we take our clothes to the Laundromat in Lovingston. We have done this for years.
So yesterday, we loaded up the car and headed out. When we got there, Mom went in first and then I came along behind her with one of the baskets. After we were inside, Mom just casually says, “Is that snake real?” I turned and looked back, and there was a small snake laying right beside the door inside the building.
He wasn’t moving. I walked a little closer, and he didn’t move. I went outside to the car to try and find something to catch him with (you know I really mean to kill him with, right?). I found an umbrella. So, Mary Poppins went back inside to deal with the creature.
I tapped the umbrella near him several times, and he still didn’t move. I thought I would just empty the tub that the clothes were in, cover him with it, then shove him outside. So right as I approached him to put the tub over him, he moved.
So did I.
So now we are at the point where I am trying to gauge how quickly and efficiently I could crack him with the umbrella; and we are asking ourselves, “Do we really want to do laundry today?” Mom was ready to go at this point, but then we thought about that if we didn’t do something and just left, that someone else might come in and get hurt.
The snake began to move toward the door, and started exiting through a small opening. Awesome! So, I go outside (through the other door) to see where he is going, and he’s not there. Really?
So, to make this long story shorter, he had crawled up inside the bottom of the door. When Mom moved the door, he came back inside. He eventually ended up behind the trashcan in the bathroom and we decided to call for help before somebody (me) got hurt trying to be She-Woman the Snake Hunter.
Animal Control came, took one of those pinchy things like they use on television, and in 10 seconds took care of our snake problem.
How did he take care of it so quickly? He is a professional. He knows what he is doing, and he has the right tools to do the job.
This reminds me of the battle we fight with the enemy every day.
How did Satan show himself to Eve in the Garden? The Bible tells us that he appeared as a serpent. God made the serpent, but Satan used it.
The serpent was subtle; the Hebrew word for this is aruwm, which means cunning (usually in a bad sense): crafty, prudent, subtle (Strong’s Concordance).
Satan is subtle. Do you think he just randomly bumped into Eve as he was taking his daily slither through the Garden?
Matthew Henry’s Commentary says:
- It was his policy to enter into discourse with her when she was alone. Had she kept close to the side out of which she was lately taken, she would not have been so much exposed. There are many temptations, to which solitude gives great advantage; but the communion of saints contributes much to their strength and safety.
- He took advantage by finding her near the forbidden tree, and probably gazing upon the fruit of it, only to satisfy her curiosity. Those that would not eat the forbidden fruit must not come near the forbidden tree. Avoid it, pass not by it, Proverbs 4:15.
- Satan tempted Eve, that by her he might tempt Adam; so he tempted Job by his wife, and Christ by Peter. It is his policy to send temptations by unsuspected hands, and theirs that have most interest in us and influence upon us.
This explains some of the ways Satan tempts us today. We have already discussed in past posts that we should immerse ourselves with Scripture and allow Christ to live through us. If we study Scripture, and hide it in our hearts (Psalm 119:11), then we have the proper tool to fight this enemy when he attacks.
And will he attack? Absolutely.
1Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
How does he do it?
Genesis 3:1 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?
Hath God said? Has God indeed said? Did God really say?
The devil attempts to deceive by distorting God’s Word.
Satan lies. And we listen.
And it’s not something new that is happening now, through false prophets, prosperity preachers, and cults. It started in the Garden.
And it continues today.
I was trying to deal with the snake in the Laundromat by trying to figure out what to do myself to take care of him. I could have gotten hurt. I could have just gone home, and someone else could have gotten hurt. Then I realized what I needed to do: call a professional who has the knowledge and tools to deal with the snake.
The Christian must be equipped to deal with the enemy - and we know the Professional who has the knowledge and tools to deal with Satan. Over the next few days, we will go over some ways Satan uses to deceive, and what tools God has to deal with them.
Because that Snake is real.
The other day, Mom and I went to do one of my least favorite things - wash clothes. We don’t have a washer/dryer here at home, so we take our clothes to the Laundromat in Lovingston. We have done this for years.
So yesterday, we loaded up the car and headed out. When we got there, Mom went in first and then I came along behind her with one of the baskets. After we were inside, Mom just casually says, “Is that snake real?” I turned and looked back, and there was a small snake laying right beside the door inside the building.
He wasn’t moving. I walked a little closer, and he didn’t move. I went outside to the car to try and find something to catch him with (you know I really mean to kill him with, right?). I found an umbrella. So, Mary Poppins went back inside to deal with the creature.
I tapped the umbrella near him several times, and he still didn’t move. I thought I would just empty the tub that the clothes were in, cover him with it, then shove him outside. So right as I approached him to put the tub over him, he moved.
So did I.
So now we are at the point where I am trying to gauge how quickly and efficiently I could crack him with the umbrella; and we are asking ourselves, “Do we really want to do laundry today?” Mom was ready to go at this point, but then we thought about that if we didn’t do something and just left, that someone else might come in and get hurt.
The snake began to move toward the door, and started exiting through a small opening. Awesome! So, I go outside (through the other door) to see where he is going, and he’s not there. Really?
So, to make this long story shorter, he had crawled up inside the bottom of the door. When Mom moved the door, he came back inside. He eventually ended up behind the trashcan in the bathroom and we decided to call for help before somebody (me) got hurt trying to be She-Woman the Snake Hunter.
Animal Control came, took one of those pinchy things like they use on television, and in 10 seconds took care of our snake problem.
How did he take care of it so quickly? He is a professional. He knows what he is doing, and he has the right tools to do the job.
This reminds me of the battle we fight with the enemy every day.
How did Satan show himself to Eve in the Garden? The Bible tells us that he appeared as a serpent. God made the serpent, but Satan used it.
The serpent was subtle; the Hebrew word for this is aruwm, which means cunning (usually in a bad sense): crafty, prudent, subtle (Strong’s Concordance).
Satan is subtle. Do you think he just randomly bumped into Eve as he was taking his daily slither through the Garden?
Matthew Henry’s Commentary says:
- It was his policy to enter into discourse with her when she was alone. Had she kept close to the side out of which she was lately taken, she would not have been so much exposed. There are many temptations, to which solitude gives great advantage; but the communion of saints contributes much to their strength and safety.
- He took advantage by finding her near the forbidden tree, and probably gazing upon the fruit of it, only to satisfy her curiosity. Those that would not eat the forbidden fruit must not come near the forbidden tree. Avoid it, pass not by it, Proverbs 4:15.
- Satan tempted Eve, that by her he might tempt Adam; so he tempted Job by his wife, and Christ by Peter. It is his policy to send temptations by unsuspected hands, and theirs that have most interest in us and influence upon us.
This explains some of the ways Satan tempts us today. We have already discussed in past posts that we should immerse ourselves with Scripture and allow Christ to live through us. If we study Scripture, and hide it in our hearts (Psalm 119:11), then we have the proper tool to fight this enemy when he attacks.
And will he attack? Absolutely.
1Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
How does he do it?
Genesis 3:1 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?
Hath God said? Has God indeed said? Did God really say?
The devil attempts to deceive by distorting God’s Word.
Satan lies. And we listen.
And it’s not something new that is happening now, through false prophets, prosperity preachers, and cults. It started in the Garden.
And it continues today.
I was trying to deal with the snake in the Laundromat by trying to figure out what to do myself to take care of him. I could have gotten hurt. I could have just gone home, and someone else could have gotten hurt. Then I realized what I needed to do: call a professional who has the knowledge and tools to deal with the snake.
The Christian must be equipped to deal with the enemy - and we know the Professional who has the knowledge and tools to deal with Satan. Over the next few days, we will go over some ways Satan uses to deceive, and what tools God has to deal with them.
Because that Snake is real.
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