The Origin of the Slithery One
This blog post is Week 1 of a 9 week series entitled, "The Snake Among Us" by Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith of Donelson First in Nashville, TN.
Message Date: May 1, 2022
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Our greatest enemy doesn’t wage war with unabashed fury. Instead, he methodically and often quietly slithers his way into our lives and strikes.
Does he hate you? Yes, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ. But, unlike all others who have waged wars against people and nations and religions, this enemy, the Snake, isn’t vocal about his hate. Instead, he operates quite differently than all other enemies.
There are 2 realities that separate this enemy from any other enemy the world has known. Two critical truths about the snake:
- He is my greatest enemy.
- He wants me to believe he is my greatest ally.
This is what we are going to see throughout this series. This is Satan’s MO – his mode of operation. He wants you to believe he’s on your side. He wants you to believe that you can trust in him – placing trust in the world, your money, a career, relationships, or placing trust in the idea of no religion and no “god." He wants you to place trust in anything other than placing trust in Jesus Christ. THIS is what Satan wants you to believe will give you lasting hope, meaning, and fulfillment.
The snake doesn’t wage war against me by stating his intentions to destroy me. The snake wages war against me by working to blind me. Blind me to truth. Blind me to God’s love. Blind me to my apathy, my pride, & my weaknesses. Blind me to what Jesus has already accomplished for my sins!
2 Corinthians 4:4: The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
The snake is the traveling medicine man who slithers his way into town, and at one point or the other, everyone buys what he is selling.
We all have! The Snake has lied to you. The Snake has misled you. The Snake works to convince you that getting your way is more important than God getting His way through you. The Snake has played a role in every hurt, every lie, every hateful act, every deceitful moment, of every lustful act, selfish thought, and on and on and on!
And in life, we all have given in to the lies of the Snake.
Romans 3:10-12: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Who is the snake?
The snake = Satan
Satan (Hebrew + Greek) = adversary
When you think of Satan, what comes to mind? Satan is not a guy with little red horns who sits on your shoulder and urges you to sin.
We are going to look at many, many passages throughout this series that reveal much to us about Satan. As we answer this question, “Who is the snake?”, I want to take you a passage in Isaiah.
There is a term often used in the study of the interpretation of scripture:
Hermeneutics = the principles of interpretation especially of the Bible or literary texts.
One basic hermeneutic principle: The Principle of Double Reference.
The Principle of Double Reference = a passage applying primarily to a person or event can also have another person or event in mind.
This Principle of Double Reference is often used in Scripture. And we are going to see it in two passages: One in the book of Isaiah and one in the book of Ezekiel.
Now, we know that Satan and the angels were created before time on earth. We also know that because Satan wanted to be like God, he was thrown out of heaven. What we don’t is exactly when this happened. We do know that Satan was kicked out of heaven somewhere after the time God creates him & before Satan tempts Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden. What we don’t know is the exact time this occurred. It could have been years, days or even hours before they are tempted. I believe that when Satan tempted Adam & Eve in the garden, this WAS NOT the first time the three of them had a conversation. I’m going to show you this shortly.
In the book of Isaiah, Isaiah is describing the judgement of God upon the King of Babylon. As we read, listen to this language. Here you will see this Principle of Double Reference:
Isaiah 14:12-15
We see this Principle of Double Reference immediately in verse 12. The king of Babylon cannot obviously “fall from heaven.” We too know Isaiah is referencing the Snake because we know the name “O Day Star” isn’t the name of this King. It’s the name of Satan!
Satan was created as holy. His name, as we read here, was Day Star.
Morning Star (Latin) = (translated as) Lucifer
“Son of Dawn” = one who brings light each day at dawn.
Lucifer was created to be a “bearer of light.”
Isn’t this interesting? Satan was created by God to be a bearer of light.
Verse 12 in the KJV is translated as this:
Isaiah 14:12: How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Lucifer was the name of Satan before his fall. It is only used once in Scripture. It appears the Snake was given the highest honor being created above all other angels as an angel of light!
Look again at: Isaiah 14:13-14. Notice the use of the word “I!” It is used 5 times in this passage!
Lucifer becomes arrogant. He wants to rule. He wants to set on a throne. He wants to be God! The first sin committed against God wasn’t committed by humans. It was instead committed by the Snake, Lucifer.
The first sin = pride.
The fall of the Snake began with pride. Lucifer becomes arrogant in his beauty and decides he wants to sit on a throne above that of God. What a message for each of us today: I must die to “I!” There is another passage where we read an even more clear description of the Snake. We too see here the Principle of Double Reference.
Ezekiel 28:12-19
The passage in Isaiah highlights the “ruler of Babylon.” The passage in Ezekiel highlights the “ruler of Tyre (tire).”
I want to highlight several things we learn about Satan from this passage in Ezekiel:
- Ezekiel 28:12 - The snake was perfect.
- Ezekiel 28:12 - The snake was full of wisdom.
Surely Ezekiel isn’t referring to the King when he calls him the “seal of perfection.” A King, no matter how great a King he was, would still be imperfect. I find this statement to be very alarming to me as a human! You should too.
Remember the 2 critical truths we’ve established about the snake:
- He is my greatest enemy.
- He wants me to believe he is my greatest ally.
To read here that he was “full of wisdom” tells us that we have to be on our guard! This means that we have an enemy who is working to convince us that he is on our side, AND he is super wise in how he does so!
Have you ever found yourself struggling with the same sin – repeating the same mistakes over and again.
Praying. Repenting. Sinning. Praying. Repenting. Sinning?
The snake plays a role here. As Ezekiel records, he is “full of wisdom.” Satan knows my weaknesses. Satan knows how to trip me up.
What else do we learn about the Snake in Ezekiel:
- Ezekiel 28:12 - The snake was beautiful.
- Ezekiel 28:14 - The snake was anointed and ordained.
I’ve been ordained as a Pastor. And this really speaks to me. If the Snake, who was once perfect and full of wisdom and created by God to be above all other angels, anointed and ordained can slip up…I can too! What a responsibility!
I want to draw your attention to one FINAL thought in this passage that I am confident helps us understand exactly how everything so easily went South in Genesis 3 with Eve & Adam:
In verses 13-15, we clearly see that the Snake was in the Garden.
The snake was in the garden of Eden. Yes, you knew this. He deceived Adam & Eve and they disobeyed God and everything from that moment forward changed! But this passage is proof that the Snake was in the Garden BEFORE Eve & Adam were tempted.
And what was he doing there: He was a “guardian!” (verse 14)
Now, what I am about to share with you is NOT a game changer in this story. BUT – it is an interesting thought that I have not been able to stop thinking about this week that I believe sheds light on how quickly Adam & Eve changed their minds about God.
Haven’t you wondered this before? I sure have. How in the world did Adam & Eve, who were given everything, a perfect place to live, everything they would ever want and need and more, in one brief conversation…turn on God! It appears that the Snake had a responsibility, an anointing, as the GUARDIAN CHERUB of the Garden of Eden.
Based upon what this passage says, there were stones in the Garden. (verse 13)
Verse 16 says: “I expelled you from the fiery stones.” Meaning: “I expelled you from the Garden!”
Why is this important?
Go to: Genesis 3:1-7
Does anything surprise you about this conversation that Eve & Adam have with a serpent?
Here’s what surprises me: Eve & Adam weren’t surprised!
From what I can read, neither Eve nor Adam was surprised, alarmed, or fearful to see this angel. We know in the book of Judges that Manoah, Samson’s father, was visited by an angel, and it says he “feared for his life after having been with an angel.”And when Mary was visited by an angel in the book of Luke, scripture tells us that Mary responded as troubled. The angel says to her, “Do not be afraid!”
We see this pattern in Scripture – People are visited by an angel, and often times, are in fear, or concern or feel troubled! We know that specifically Hebrews associated snakes with uncleanliness. They looked upon snakes with suspicion. They considered them to be crafty and untrustworthy. But, when the Snake begins to speak with Eve and Adam in Genesis 3, there is no suspicion, no odd feeling, no uncomfortableness mentioned at all. It’s as if there is already a level of trust between the Snake and earth’s first couple. Isn’t this interesting!
I believe it is quite possible that there is no suspicion because Eve & Adam have already developed a relationship with the Snake.
After all, remember what the book of Isaiah says about Lucifer:
“O Day Star, son of Dawn…” - - the Snake is the bearer of light - - one who brings light each day at dawn.
This truth, coupled with what Ezekiel says about the Serpent that he is the “guardian cherub,” reveals to me that the Snake was there in the garden to guard over it. Do you see this?! This means that potentially, Satan was in the garden as the guardian when God created Adam and Eve. He heard God tell Adam and Eve to not eat from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
I wonder, I just wonder if Satan was there as the garden guardian, and he listened in on the conversations Adam and Eve potentially had about the tree.
Can’t you see it going down - - Adam and Eve were talking one night over dinner: Why can’t we eat from this tree? It very well could be that Satan, listening in on the conversation between Adam & Eve, hears their questioning, sees their curiosity, and at the right moment, plants the seed of deception.
Genesis 3:1: Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden? And the rest is history!
Guys, THIS is how the Snake does what he does! And, as we begin this series, this is why we need to know:
I have to be so careful about the conversations I have. The snake is wise. The snake is listening. The snake is waiting. The snake is my greatest enemy. The snake hears my conversations. He sees what I watch on TV. He watches the things I do in private. He sees all with which I struggle. He learns my weaknesses. And then at the right moment…he strikes!
1 Peter 5:8: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
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Jeffrey Dean Smith is a husband, father to Bailey & Brynnan, author, and the Senior Pastor at Donelson First in Nashville, TN. If you are in Music City, meet Jeffrey and enjoy iced tea on the front lawn each Sunday at 10:30a.