What is temptation? According to the dictionary, temptation is "a desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise." "A thing or course or action that attracts or tempts someone." Synonyms used to describe it are "lure, seduce, entice, attract".
I'm going to assume all who are reading this are familiar with the Genesis 3 account of Eve in the Garden being tempted by Satan. For many of you, the image that comes to mind is a slithery snake, descending from a tree, speaking to Eve. I don't know about you, but I myself would be very taken back by a situation like this. A sly, creepy animal talking to me and attempting to convince me that he knew better than my Maker? Was Eve really that naive or blind? Or have we reconstructed the story using our human imagination? I think it would be best to go the Word and dig into this story.
- Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
- Gen 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
- Gen 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
- Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
- Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
- Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
In Genesis 3 we have neither allegory, myth, legend, nor fable, but literal historical facts set forth, and emphasized by the use of certain Figures of speech.
All the confusion of thought and conflicting doctrines have arisen from taking literally what is expressed by Figures, or from taking figuratively what is literal. A Figure of Speech is never used except for the purpose of calling attention to, emphasizing, and intensifying, the reality of the literal sense, and the truth of the historical facts; so that, while the words employed may not be so strictly true to the letter, they are all the more true to the truth conveyed by them, and to the historical events connected with them.
Let's quickly look at verses 14 and 15:
- Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
- Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
But for the figurative language of verses 14 and 15 no one would have thought of referring the third chapter of Genesis to a snake: no more than he does when reading the third chapter from the end of Revelation 20:2. Indeed, the explanation added there, that the "old serpent" is the Devil and Satan, would immediately lead one to connect the word "old" with the earlier and former mention of the serpent in Gen. 3: and the fact that it was Satan himself who tempted "the second man", "the last Adam", would force conclusion that no other than the personal Satan could have been the tempter of "the first man, Adam".
The Hebrew word rendered "serpent" in Gen. 3:1 is Nachash (from the root Nachash, to shine), and means a shining one. Hence, in Chaldee it means brass or copper, because of its shining. Hence also, the word Nehushtan, a piece of brass, in 2 Kings 18:4.
In the same way Saraph, in Isa. 6:2, 6, means a burning one , and, because the serpents mentioned in Num. 21 were burning, in the poison of their bite, they were called Saraphim, or Saraphs.
But when the LORD said unto Moses, "Make thee a fiery serpent" (Num. 21:8), He said, "Make thee a Saraph", and , in obeying this command, we read in v. 9, "Moses made a Nachash of brass". Nachash is thus used as being interchangeable with Saraph.
Now, if Saraph is used of a serpent because its bite was burning , and is also used of a celestial or spirit-being (a burning one), why should not Nachash be used of a serpent because its appearance was shining , and be also used of a celestial or spirit-being (a shining one)?
The Nachash, or serpent, who beguiled Eve (2 Cor. 11:3) is later spoken of as "an angel of light" in v. 14. Have we not, in this, a clear intimation that it was not a snake, but a glorious shining being, apparently as angel, to whom Eve paid such great deference, acknowledging him as one who seemed to possess superior knowledge, and who was evidently a being of a superior (not an inferior) order?
Moreover, in the description of Satan as "the king of Tyre" it is distinctly implied that the latter being was of a supernatural order when he is called "a cherub" (Ezek. 28:14, 16, read from vv. 11-19). His presence "in Eden, the garden of 'Elohim" (v. 13), is also clearly stated, as well as his being "perfect in beauty" (v. 12), his being "perfect in his ways from the day he was created till iniquity was found in him" (v. 15), and as being "lifted up because of his beauty" (v. 17).
These all compel the belief that Satan was the shining one (Nachash) in Gen. 3, and especially because the following words could be addressed to him :-- "Thing heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness : I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee" (v. 17).
The word "beast" also, in Gen. 3:1, chay, denotes a living being , and it is as wrong to translate zoa "beasts" in Rev. 4, as it is to translate chay "beast" in Gen. 3. Both mean living creature. Satan is thus spoken of as being "more wise than any other living creature which Jehovah Elohim had made". Even if the word "beast" be retained, it does not say that either a serpent or Satan was a "beast", but only that he was "more wise" than any other living being.
We cannot conceive Eve as holding converse with a snake, but we can understand her being fascinated by one, apparently "an angel of light" (i.e. a glorious angel), possessing superior and supernatural knowledge.
When Satan is spoken of as a "serpent", it is the figure of speech Hypocatastasis or Implication; it no more means snake than it does when Dan is so called in Gen. 49:17; or an animal when Nero is called a "lion" (2 Tim. 4:17), or when Herod is called a "fox" (Luke 13:32); or when Judah is called "a lion's whelp". It is the same figure when "doctrine" is called "leaven" (Matt. 16:6). It shows that something much more real and truer to truth is impressively; and is intended to be a figure of something much more real than the letter of the word.
When it is said in v. 15, "thou shalt bruise His heel", it cannot mean His literal heal of flesh and blood, but suffering, more temporary in character. When it is said (v. 15), "He shall crush thy head", it means something more than a skull of bone, and brain, and hair. It means that all Satan's plans and plots, policy and purposes, will one day be finally crushed and ended, never more to mar or to hinder the purposes of God. This will be effected when Satan shall be bruised under our feet (Rom. 16:20). This again, will not be our literal feet, but something much more real.
So with the other prophecy, "Dust shalt thou eat". This is not true to the letter, or to fact, but it is all the more true to truth. It tells of constant, continuous disappointment, failure, and mortification; as when deceitful ways are spoken of as feeding on deceitful food, which is "sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth shall be filled with gravel" (Prov. 20:17). This does not mean literal "gravel", but something far more disagreeable. It means disappointment so great that it would gladly be exchanged for the literal "gravel". So when Christians are rebuked for "biting and devouring one another" (Gal. 3:14, 15), something more heart-breaking is meant than the literal words used in the Figure.
If a serpent was afterward called a nachash, it was because it was more shining than any other creature; and if it became known as "wise", it was not because of its own innate positive knowledge, but of its wisdom in hiding away from all observation; and because of its association with one of the names of Satan (that old serpent) who "beguiled Eve" (2 Cor. 11:3, 14).
It only shows the power of tradition, which has, from the infancy of each one of us, put before our eyes and written on our minds the picture of a "snake" and an "apple" : the former being based on a wrong interpretation, and the latter being a pure invention, about which there is not one word said in Holy Scripture.
Never was Satan's wisdom so craftily used as when he secured universal acceptance of this traditional belief: for it has succeeded in fixing the attention of mankind on the letter and the means, and thus blinding the eyes to the solemn fact that the Fall of man had to do solely with the Word of God, and is centered in the sin of believing Satan's lie instead of Jehovah's truth.
All turned on the truth of what Jehovah had said. The Word of God being questioned, led Eve, in her reply, (1) to omit the word "freely" (3:2, cp. 2:16); then (2) to add the words "neither shalt thou touch it" (3:3, cp. 2:17); and finally (3) to alter a certainty into a contingency by changing "thou SHALT SURELY die" (2:17) into "LEST ye die" (3:3).
Now I don't know about you, but I can understand more realistically, Eve being drawn to a "shining one" that used enchanting words to draw her in and manipulate her. It makes a lot more sense than her being lured to, and convinced to disobey God, by a slithery snake. What we know is the motive behind Satan's temptation of Eve. Like a snake or serpent, he was quiet and crafty, sneaking up on his prey to trick then devour them. This is just one of many stories of Satan trying to deceive a child of God.
So often we think of evil as being obvious and scary, when the reality is that far more often its things that appear good, fun, or shiny that will lead us down the wrong road. At first things seem safe and interesting, you follow your curiosity, then find yourself entangled in sin. This is the tactic of the adversary. He draws you in, then once you're there, he comes in with the accusations, "How dare you? How could you? A real Christian wouldn't have done such a thing." If we aren't careful, we can be easily discouraged and lose our course. One of Satan's favorite places to work is within the church. He's much more concerned with deceiving and manipulating a child of God, than he is going after the life of a non-believer. Non-believers, whether they know it or not, are on his side already, so no need to get to work there. Believers, although we cannot lose our salvation, can be lead astray by his dangling temptations, and feel like we aren't good enough to have an effect on the world. Satan isn't original, he takes the truths of the Lord and twists them; just as he did with Eve saying, "Ye shall not surely die." He is a con artist that specializes in knock offs. He wants you to believe that the things and people you are involved with are not influencing you, but rather you, that is influencing them. A good test on this is to ask would I say or do this activity if Jesus Christ was here with me?
You may recall the Sunday school song "Oh be careful little ears what you hear, Oh be careful little eyes what you see, Oh be careful little mouth what you say, cause there's a Father up above and He's looking down in love, so be careful little ears what you hear." We do need to be on guard and aware of the wolf in sheep's clothing. The adversary's aim... keep the child of God from really learning the deeper truths of scripture to trap them with fear and render him ineffective for the work of the ministry. Did you know that he will often throw us distractions that appear good on the outside. Maybe its voluntary work, or other hobbies that pull us away from the sweet time of communion with the Father. I highly encourage you to assess your life and what is presented to you. Can you see anywhere you are being pulled in a direction that leaves you questioning God's faithfulness, and relying on your own ability? Give it God, ask for wisdom and open the Word.
- Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the diving asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
The history of Gen. 3 is intended to teach us the fact that Satan's sphere of activities is in the religious sphere, and not the spheres of crime and immorality; that his battlefield is not the sins arising from human depravity, but the unbelief of the human heart. We are not to look for Satan's activities to-day in the newspaper press, or the police courts; but in the pulpit, and in professors' chairs. Whenever the Word of God is called in question, there we see the trail of "that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan". This is why anything against the true interests of the Word of God (as being such) finds a ready admission into the newspapers of the world, and is treated as "general literature". This is why anything in favor of its inspiration and Divine origin and its spiritual truth is rigidly excluded as being "controversial".
This is why Satan is quite content that the letter of Scripture should be accepted in Gen. 3, as he himself accepted the letter of Psalm 91:11. He himself could say "It is written" (Matt. 4:6) so long as the letter of what is "written" could be put instead of the truth that is conveyed by it; and so long as it is misquoted or misapplied.
This is his object in perpetuating the traditions of the "snake" and the "apple", because it ministers to the acceptance of his lie, the hiding of God's truth, the support of tradition, the jeers of the infidel, the opposition of the critics, and the stumbling of the weak in faith.
The Rightly Divided Word of God is the amazing and powerful weapon that is freely within our reach everyday. Are you utilizing it accordingly? Are you running the race with your eyes on the prize set before you? Eternal life, in heaven, with Christ Jesus forevermore? If not, it is never too late to begin. Proverbs is full of treasures to equip you with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. We also have a fully stocked book store with study books on just about any Biblical topic that you want to learn more about. The resources are available, its up to you to take the time to get ahold of them and use the knowledge you gain to positively effect all those The Father puts in your path.
All His blessings,
Kacy
