Snakes versus Satan

What makes snakes so frightening? Last week I had two separate encounters with snakes and I can tell you that neither time did I experience any pleasure in the incidents. However, a fox walked less than six feet in front of me during the same period and I got so excited that I was trying to get a picture of the beautiful, yet dangerous wild animal. The fox was probably much more of a threat to me than the small little garden snake. So what is the difference?

Could it be that growing up in the South there were several types of poisonous snakes that we had to be cautious around—copperheads, rattlesnakes, water moccasins? Or maybe it is a memory of my mother being afraid of them and calling my dad to kill them? Or perhaps it is the Bible story in Genesis that gives us the creeps when we are around snakes.


Do you remember the snake in the Garden of Eden? Eve was probably enjoying a beautiful day in the garden when she was approached by the serpent. It doesn’t sound like she was afraid of it, because she had a discussion with Him. (What a far cry from my feelings about them today!) The creature was actually Satan, who was there to tempt Eve into sinning by lying and twisting the truth. The evil snake made the good things sound bad and the bad things sound good, so that Eve fell for His tactics and disobeyed God’s commands. This one act caused sinfulness to enter the world and Adam and Eve to be cast out of the garden. This may be the very reason that we are not so fond of snakes today.


Maybe the object of our hatred should not be the snake itself, but Satan. Satan should be feared, he should be resisted, and he should be avoided. He still desires to take away the best that God has for us and will use the same tactics today of lying and twisting the truth. He wants to devour us and ruin our lives, so what can you do today to prevent that from happening?


James 4:7-8 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. (Do you notice something about these verses--when you surround yourself with God, it is easier to resist and Satan will flee.)

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