How satan speaks 1: Snake in the garden - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) May 5, 2023

What would you do if a serpent came up to you and started speaking? Many would pull out their phones to record for viewers on the internet. And because we've watched so many movies, many of us would be thoroughly curious to hear what it had to say. And if it uttered what we wanted to hear? Say, it spoke of riches, power, and ways to get other things we wanted, people would likely kill to possess the snake.

The snake in the Garden of Eden was no different. It went right up to Eve and with very few words changed the course of history. To Eve's credit, a talking snake was probably not abnormal. After all, God literally walked in the garden and spoke to both Adam and Eve in a way no other humans have experienced. Essentially, life on the garden was amazingly different than we could imagine.

Genesis 3:1 - Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Eve responded with the warning she'd received and the snake followed up with “[y]ou 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.” (Genesis 3:4-5).

She ate from the forbidden tree, shared its fruit with her husband, and unlike what the serpent said, she did actually die. The death wasn't immediate, but the everlasting life she and Adam were to enjoy, came to a screeching halt. All because she was tempted by the lie and momentarily forgot God's truth.

Unfortunately, Eve didn't recognize the snake for what it really was. And there's a reason. The Lord had given man dominion over all the creatures of the earth in Genesis 1:26 and so she assumed the snake was another harmless animal that herself and Adam had complete control over. In fact, it was a more sinister creature. One older than she was. One that had been a sly liar and murderer from the beginning. One that could never speak the truth because there was nothing truthful in it. One so twisted that lies were all it spoke, for that was and is its native language (John 8:44).

Eve didn't recognize how satan speaks. The question we must ask ourselves is - do we? If we were in her shoes, would we be able to spot the devil's lies? Or would they sound good to us? Would we whip out our phones to record and share its untruths? Would we parrot them back to others?

Before you dismiss those questions, ask yourself if you've studied the word of God to distinguish it from that of the serpent? As you ponder on this, remember that Eve was used to hearing the Lord and being in His presence. Yet, that wasn't enough to keep her from succumbing to the enemy's lies.

So, how would you do?

For the next few weeks, we'll look at how satan speaks in an effort to learn how to isolate and dismiss its lies. Unlike Eve, you and I have the weapon of God's word in the Bible to help us recognize the snake for what it really is. If, however, you do not regularly spend time with God's voice as freely given to us in the Bible, you may not gain the best out of this series. Nevertheless, by God's grace, it will help you spot the serpent a bit more. The devil speaks even louder in this day and age than it did in the time of Adam and Eve. Alas, the majority of us have little to no experience being in God's presence and being familiar with the cadence of His voice. The result is that lies sound sweeter than the truth and we readily gobble them up.

May the Lord help each of us to hear and listen to the voice of the Shepherd and not that of the stranger, IJMN Amen.