| Gen. 3:1-6
|
"Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Has God indeed said, "You shall not eat of every tree of the garden"?' And the woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, "You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die." ' And the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate." |
| Gen. 3:13 |
"And the Lord God said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' And the woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.' "
 Note: I was talking with a young man in placement about a situation when he was in a computer class and the kid next to him keyed into a place he shouldn't be in. The young man asked him, "How did you get there?" The other kid showed him how, and then quickly got out of it. That's about the time the teacher saw what was happening, and the young man got docked. I asked him why he did that and he said, "He snaked me." This is a term they use in that place. His mother asked him, "What does that mean?" I replied, "I think it goes back to Scripture when the woman said to God, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." The young man said, "I think it does." On the way home the Lord gave me other bible situations regarding snakes. |
| Num. 21:5-9 |
"And the people spoke against God and against Moses: 'Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food an no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.' So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, 'We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.' So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.' So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived."
Note: God sent fiery serpents to punish the people for their complaints, but in His mercy He also gave Moses a way to help them with the serpent as a symbol when he prayed. It's important to see that the people had to have the faith to look upon the bronze serpent in belief they would be healed to live. This is also where the medical field got their symbol of a serpent on a pole. |
| 2 Kin. 18:1-4 |
"Now it came to pass..that Hezekiah...began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. ...And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done. He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden images and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it *Nehushtan (Lit. Bronze Thing).
Note: Of course they began to worship this snake after Moses was taken by God and buried where only God knew (Deut. 34:5-6). |
| Mark 16:15-18 |
"And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents...' " |
| John 3:14-16 |
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.'
Note: Jesus Himself paralleled His sacrifice to that of Moses with the serpent on the pole lifted up, and looked upon to save man. So we must choose life. |
| Acts 28:3, 5 |
"But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand...But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm."
Note: This is a biblical example of God's ability to protect a man from the harm of an actual snake when you walk in His ways with His Holy Spirit's power. In John 8:44 Jesus refers to the devil as a liar and the father of it. |
| 2 Cor. 11:3 |
"But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." |
| 2 Cor. 11:13-15 |
"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works."
Note: There are consequences when we make poor decisions. Many of the people in America today are in defiance of God's laws, and so in getting back to the young man, the curiosity of the moment resulted in an all day walk with a heavy back pack. And though this activity may build up his body the question is when will the mind learn the discipline of doing the right thing. |
| Rev. 20:1-2 |
"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years." |
| Rev. 20:10 |
"And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."
Note: As you can see the consequences for the Devil making a decision to try and elevate himself as God will be eternal. Let us choose life through the light of Jesus Christ, and don't let him suck us into his pit of darkness in the fire of hell. |
