Episode Details

Remsen Bible Fellowship; 11/12/2023

Introduction

What is wrong with the world? That’s one of the most fundamental questions we can ask. It’s also one that is thrust upon us every time we open up our web browsers or news apps and see what’s going on in the world. Where do the hatred and the evil come from? What clown show did some of our elected leaders escape from? What explains this chaotic mess?

The world hasn’t always been this way. For those who’ve been with us, you’ll remember that over the last month or so we’ve looked at the first two chapters of Genesis, and what we’ve seen is amazing. God, over the course of six days, created the world by his powerful Word. Light, galaxies, oceans, mountains: spoken into existence by the Creator. Then from and for that world he fashioned creatures, birds in the air above, fish in the waters below, and everything from ants to elephants for the earth. And then he did something special: he made man. He gave this man, Adam, dominion over all of the other creatures, authority over them, and over the earth itself. 

But in Genesis 2:18 we met the first instance of something not good: it wasn’t good for the man to be alone. So God put Adam into a deep sleep, took a rib from his side, and fashioned from the man a helper fit for the man: woman. And when Adam awakes he sings the first love song in history. The chapter concludes with the man and the woman both naked and not ashamed. There was nothing to be ashamed of. The world was - completely, stunningly - beautiful and without blemish. But it didn’t stay that way for long.

Text

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. 

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 

Explanation of the Text

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.” We should feel the ominous note these words strike. The man and the woman are both innocent, but now they encounter a crafty beast. They have no category - yet - for craftiness, shiftiness, slippery-slimy-cunning. But they’re going to, soon enough.

We should note the oddity, as we read this, of the serpent speaking. I’m assuming you’ve never encountered a talking beast, and neither have I (at least this side of Narnia). The text doesn’t draw attention to this fact. It just leaves the statement of fact - that the serpent spoke - there for us to deal with. But as the narrative of Scripture unfolds, it is clear that we are supposed to see this snake as a tool, an instrument. Satan has taken hold of this snake and is speaking through him. Thus, as the Biblical story moves forward, Satan and those who follow his lead (both human and demonic forces) will be associated with snakes, sea serpents, worms, and dragons. 

Snakes are not inherently evil - they were part of God’s good creation - but they take on a symbolic place in the Bible. And the symbolism is in connection with that fallen angel, Satan.

We should also ask, where is Adam? Why do