Saturday, March 26, 2011
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"
THE MANIPULATIVE METHODS OF SATAN
Like those demons during Jesus' day that took control of human beings and controlled their words and actions, here Satan has chosen a serpent as his vehicle. And we're told why Satan chose this creature. It was the smartest of the land creatures that God had made. In this way, Satan borrowed the serpent's reputation and used it to his own advantage when tempting Eve to sin.
Satan still does this today when he uses the highly educated men and women of prestigious universities to raise doubt about the trustworthiness of God's Word. The most deceptive and effective temptation never comes from the people we consider foolish, or our open enemies. The most deceptive temptation comes from those who appear smart. People who just want us to be free from the manipulative influences of organized religion, or of the sadly outdated and oppressive ideas of the Bible.
This story from Genesis is so precious for understanding Satan's character and methods. It's no wonder he's done his best to make people consider it some sort of tribal fairy-tale. If we think that, we'll miss the detailed description of Satan's tactics that we find here. And when history is forgotten, it is bound to be repeated.
First he takes a wise form. Then he gently questions God's goodness. Then he move in for the kill and openly assault's God character, suggesting that we will do much better if we just follow another path. Of course, we know what sort of world Satan's manipulative leading has brought us to.
Instead, let's follow the way God’s Son offers: "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life" (John 5:24).
