The chapter begins with the adversary. Satan and his ability have been so watered down in our day that many people either do not take him seriously or do not believe he exists at all. But the Bible presents Satan as real, personal, deceptive, and dangerous.
At this point, Satan has already fallen from heaven. Isaiah 14:12 says, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!” He was a created being who rebelled against God.
The phrase “Now the serpent” is used for emphasis. This serpent was not exactly like the snakes we see today. Part of the curse later in the chapter is that the serpent would go upon his belly, which suggests this creature was originally different in appearance. It may have been beautiful and impressive.
The Bible says the serpent was “more subtil” than any beast of the field. The word has the idea of being crafty, clever, or wise. There is something interesting here: the Hebrew word for “subtil” is very close to the Hebrew word used for “naked” at the end of Genesis 2. There is more going on than first meets the eye. Adam and Eve were innocent and unashamed, but the serpent was crafty and dangerous.
The subtilty of the serpent came from another source. Satan used the serpent as his instrument.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:3, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
Notice Satan’s first attack. He attacked the mind. He did not overpower Eve with strength. He came with a question: “Yea, hath God said?”
That is still one of Satan’s favourite tactics. He questions the Word of God. He tries to make people doubt what God has clearly said.
He also twists God’s command. God had given Adam and Eve great freedom, but Satan made it sound like God was restrictive and unfair. He suggested that God was holding something back.
Satan did not use the covenant name LORD in his question. He spoke of God in a way that distanced Eve’s mind from God’s personal authority. This is Satan speaking through the serpent, and Jesus said of him in John 8:44, “He was a murderer from the beginning… he is a liar, and the father of it.”
The chapter begins with the adversary. Satan and his ability have been so watered down in our day that many people either do not take him seriously or do not believe he exists at all. But the Bible presents Satan as real, personal, deceptive, and dangerous.
At this point, Satan has already fallen from heaven. Isaiah 14:12 says, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!” He was a created being who rebelled against God.
The phrase “Now the serpent” is used for emphasis. This serpent was not exactly like the snakes we see today. Part of the curse later in the chapter is that the serpent would go upon his belly, which suggests this creature was originally different in appearance. It may have been beautiful and impressive.
The Bible says the serpent was “more subtil” than any beast of the field. The word has the idea of being crafty, clever, or wise. There is something interesting here: the Hebrew word for “subtil” is very close to the Hebrew word used for “naked” at the end of Genesis 2. There is more going on than first meets the eye. Adam and Eve were innocent and unashamed, but the serpent was crafty and dangerous.
The subtilty of the serpent came from another source. Satan used the serpent as his instrument.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:3, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
Notice Satan’s first attack. He attacked the mind. He did not overpower Eve with strength. He came with a question: “Yea, hath God said?”
That is still one of Satan’s favourite tactics. He questions the Word of God. He tries to make people doubt what God has clearly said.
He also twists God’s command. God had given Adam and Eve great freedom, but Satan made it sound like God was restrictive and unfair. He suggested that God was holding something back.
Satan did not use the covenant name LORD in his question. He spoke of God in a way that distanced Eve’s mind from God’s personal authority. This is Satan speaking through the serpent, and Jesus said of him in John 8:44, “He was a murderer from the beginning… he is a liar, and the father of it.”