“And the Lord God said unto the serpent . . . upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.”
Genesis 3:14
God was displeased because Satan, disguised as a serpent (or snake), had deceived Eve and brought sin into the world. He pronounced the curse in Genesis 3:14 as a constant reminder of that time.
There are over 2500 species of snakes. About one-tenth of them are poisonous. Sizes range from five inches to great anacondas and pythons, 30 to 40 feet long, that can swallow a deer or wild pig whole.
A snake would be handicapped without ears, nose, feet, legs, hands or arms, except that God has shown His kindness. In spite of the curse, God has provided it with means of getting along without these aids. In place of ears it has nerves that are sensitive to ground vibrations. Its sense of smell (aided by a flicking tongue) is keen. A change in temperature tells it when something is close by, and it easily locates whatever it is even on the darkest night.
It has flexible vertebrae (its backbone) which enable it to writhe, crawl and coil. Scales on the underpart of its body, overlapping like shingles, provide means of moving over the ground. Each scale hooks onto a rough surface, so the snake can pull itself along. When in a hurry, the snake presses against rocks, tree trunks, etc., to thrust itself forward.
A snake’s mouth is fitted with hinged jaws joined with elastic ligaments. This enables the jaws to open very wide and swallow objects of great size. Eggs are a favorite, and by unhinging its jaws a snake can swallow eggs without breaking them until they are well inside its body. Its stomach also has a special ability to digest egg shells, bones, feathers, fur and other animal and bird parts.
A snake never stops growing. As it increases in size and its skin becomes too tight, it makes a hole in its skin by rubbing its snout against a rough stone. Pushing its head through this hole, twisting and wriggling, it peels the old skin back over its tail, shedding it. It does this several times a year.
Snakes do not attack humans unless frightened or provoked. The Creator has made them helpful to mankind in their search for food because they eat rats, gophers, mice and other small rodents. A small snake will be quite content with a good meal every week or ten days. Larger snakes can easily survive on six or seven big dinners a year.
Like the snake in the garden of Eden, man also displeases God in his behavior. This is made clear in the Bible, which says, “There is none that seeketh after God. . . . There is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:11-12). Yet God shows great mercy and kindness to all mankind, as His Word tells us: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Do you know the joy of having your sins forgiven through faith in the Lord Jesus?
MAY 28, 1995
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
Proverbs 28:13
ML-05/28/1995