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Genesis 3:18, Romans 8:28

Thorns and Thistles!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 28, 2022

Since God had commissioned man to “work” the ground in the Garden of Eden, the curse on the ground brought difficulties that hadn’t existed before. Man’s work will become just that “work.” I’ve often thought, “what would it be like if what you wanted to do, was what you had to do?” Or better, what you had to do was what you wanted to do? I remember my elementary years with great nostalgia, the summers especially. I was free in the summer! No homework, no report cards that I was always afraid to show and no early morning alarm clocks. Yet, I was excited to get up at 5am and walk all the way to the lagoon at Miller Park to fish. But life in general is not like that. It might be briefly, but sooner or later everything becomes work. Not just work, but “hard work.” When school started again in the fall, I complained terribly that my mother would make me get up at 7am and after a quick breakfast make me walk all the way to school, which was across the street from Miller Park. I wasn’t given a choice. We learn quickly in life the lesson that our daily living must be worked out through thorns and thistles. In Genesis 3:18, God continues his curse on the ground explaining its impact on mankind. It says, “…thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.” Yep, thorns and thistles were necessary even then if I was to eat at my mom’s dinner table.

I’m often reminded of Romans 8:28. I believe it too! “God works all things together for good to those that love the Lord.” All things are not good! Thorns and thistles are not good for us, but they are inevitable in life and often work out for our good. This is the way Spurgeon preached on this passage. He said, “It is, perhaps, the worst thing that can happen to us to be without any kind of trouble. We do not grow in grace very quickly without trial, and we do not then develop the graces of the Spirit as we do when God sends the thorns and thistles to grow up around us.”[1] Then in a later sermon, he says, “Do not fret, therefore, over thorns, but get good out of them. Do not begin stinging yourself with nettles; grip them firmly, and then use them for your soul’s health. Trials and troubles, worries and turmoils, little frets and little disappointments, may all help you if you will.”[2] As useful as this practical advice might be, I find a more poignant understanding regarding the thorns and the thistles.

Just as it was the sin of Adam and Eve that brought the curse of thorns and thistles on the ground, It was our sin that caused Jesus’ suffering at the hands of the soldiers.  The scarlet robe draped over him poignantly reminds us of Isaiah’s words, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”  The curse that was due us, he wore on his head, represented by the crown of thorns.  Thorns and thistles came into the world as part of God’s curse upon the sin of man.  Jesus bore our sins in the scarlet robe; he bore our curse in the crown of thorns.

[1] Spurgeon, C. H. 2009. Teachings of Nature in the Kingdom of Grace. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

[2] Spurgeon, C. H. 2009. Teachings of Nature in the Kingdom of Grace. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

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Genesis 3:17, John 6:35

No More Free Lunches!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 27, 2022

After dealing with the Serpent and the woman, God now turns his attention to the man. It was to Adam that He gave the directions about not eating from the forbidden fruit so it feels like this is the bottom line. Genesis 3:17 says, “And to Adam he said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life.” God cursed the serpent and He pronounced some serious consequences on the woman and now He curses the ground. He does not curse man! In their discussion on how best to translate the Hebrew word for Adam, the Handbook for translators tell us that this is the first appearance of the proper name. In other words, it appears that God addresses Adam by his personal name instead of saying “the man.” The indictment begins with the cause of the curse. It’s because he listened to his wife. I’ve told many jokes about this phrase over the years. Abraham listened to his wife also when she gave him Hagar to bed in order to have children. Listening to your wife can be dangerous. But then again, so can not listening. But it wasn’t the listening that was the problem. Several times in the Bible God tells men to listen to their wives. The Handbook rightly concludes, “It is not listening as a passive act, but rather doing what he hears her say.”[1] Sometimes doing what he hears his wife say is good. God instructed Abraham to listen to his wife concerning Hagar and her son.

Before the ground was cursed, it gave of its produce generously. But now, as Hughes observes, “Ironically, the very ground that had been such a source of joy when Adam cared for the garden now became the source of his ongoing pain. The earth became an enemy.”[2] Briscoe compares the state in which Adam finds himself with that of a war torn England after World War Two. He writes, “Winston Churchill, standing in the wreckage of war-torn Europe, told the House of Commons on the 13th day of May, 1940, ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat’—words strangely reminiscent of the solemn words spoken long before to a man standing in the wreckage of a glorious garden. Life would become a struggle for survival, a battle against a world strangely reluctant to yield its benefits.”[3]

Churchill’s use of “blood, toil, tears, and sweat” sound appropriate. The word for “pain” here means “hard labor.” Just as the woman will produce children through “hard labor” so too will man provide food only through “hard labor.” Yes, blood, toil, tears and sweat have become the lot for man and woman both. God had in his generosity told Adam that of the trees of the garden he may “freely” eat! Not anymore! There is no such thing as a free lunch anymore, or so the saying goes. In the reversal of this curse, Jesus offers us a free lunch. It’s more than that. In John 6:34, “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’” Furthermore, according to the book of Revelation, we will be given access once again to the “tree of life” from which we may freely eat.

[1] Reyburn, William David, and Euan McG. Fry. 1998. A Handbook on Genesis. UBS Handbook Series. New York: United Bible Societies.

[2] Hughes, R. Kent. 2004. Genesis: Beginning and Blessing. Preaching the Word. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

[3] Briscoe, D. Stuart, and Lloyd J. Ogilvie. 1987. Genesis. Vol. 1. The Preacher’s Commentary Series. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

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Genesis 3:16, Ephesians 5:21f, Isaiah 26:8

What’s Your Desire?

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 26, 2022

Some commentators have observed that God cursed the serpent. He cursed the ground, but he did not curse Adam and Eve. In an Old Testament apocryphal book, 2 Enoch 31:7-8 we read, “But I cursed ignorance, but what I had blessed previously, those I did not curse, I cursed not man, nor the earth, nor other creatures, but man’s evil fruit, and his works.” In a sense that’s correct, yet you cannot avoid the consequences that God pronounced on them for their rebellion. Some have even suggested that the monthly period women endure which is sometimes referred to as “the curse,” is part of the pain and discomfort associated with childbearing.

It’s the second part of the curse, if I may call it that, on the woman in Genesis 3:16 that is more difficult. It says, “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” I think there are two possible ways to see this, and it is related to the verb that’s translated in the King James Version as “desire.” This is the most common translation of the verb. However, in the Song of Songs 7:10 it’s used to refer to sexual attraction and desire. It says, “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.” One preacher says, “the woman’s pleasure in sex serves as a gracious blessing to offset the preceding curse of pain in childbirth.” But then the same word is used to refer to sexual desire shows up later in Genesis where God addresses Cain after he has murdered his brother and explains that it’s sin that “desires” to have him. Genesis 4:7 says, “Sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” This is not a sexual desire! It means to control, master, dominate. Her desire will be to control, master, and dominate her husband. But because of the physical differences in the physical strength. The man will always win that battle when he forces his will upon her. One writer said “This seems to be a result of the fall and, God help us, males’ sinful nature has taken it to the extreme. Jealousy, rape, divorce and godless dominance have characterized mankind’s sexual drive! We have become like the animals but with the problem of ego added to sexual desire!”[1]

I agree with Steve Cole that it’s hard to decide between these two views. He says, “I find it hard to decide between the two views because both have their strengths and both express truths taught elsewhere in Scripture. If the second view is correct, …It means that godly women must now fight the tendency to dominate their husbands, and godly men must fight the tendency to dominate their wives. Both must learn to love one another in the context of the proper roles ordained by God.”[2] Paul exhorts wives to submit honorably to their husbands “out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21) Husbands submit to your wives needs and “love her as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Isaiah 26:8 lays out what we should truly desire. It says, “Yes Lord, walking in the way of your truth, we wait eagerly for you, for your name and renown are the desire of our souls.”

[1] Utley, Robert James. 2001. How It All Began: Genesis 1–11. Vol. Vol. 1A. Study Guide Commentary Series. Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.

[2] https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-10-curse-and-covering-genesis-316-24

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Genesis 3:16, Revelation 21:4

Saved by an Epidural!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 25, 2022

After God deals with the Serpent, Satan, he turns his attention to the woman. Genesis 3:16 begins, “To the woman he said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.’” Some translations say “greatly multiply your pain.” I’ve heard it said that there is nothing as painful as delivering a baby not to mention the discomfort that comes along the way during the gestation period. Here is the testimony of a couple of women I found on a web blog about it: “I was told it would feel like very bad menstrual cramps, but that’s not what it felt like to me. It was much more intense, and it was almost all in my lower back. Every time a contraction would come, my lower back would slowly begin to seize up. It was kind of like the muscles inside were slowly twisting harder and harder until it became almost unbearable, and then it would slowly subside. This is what back labor felt like for me, and it was still much more painful than I had imagined it would be.” – Angelina, Ellicott City, MD. “To me, labor felt like the worst menstrual cramp or gas pain that you’ve ever had, combined with someone stabbing you in the stomach! It would subside and come back until the beautiful epidural lady came to save me.” – Rebecca, Indianapolis, IN

There are numerous discussions about the possibility of pain before the fall. Many argue that since the text says “multiply” your pain, it must be referring to some pain that existed because there must be some pain in order for it to be “multiplied.” Anything times 0 is always zero. Yet that Hebrew word doesn’t mean a mathematical multiplication, it is best to understand it as “increase” of pain. In that case any pain at all is more than no pain. But if you consider that there, be both an increase in the physical pain involved of course but it also added another element related to childbirth and child bearing. One blogger said, “But really there is a two-fold aspect to this pain. There is physical pain in the actual birthing process (most mothers can attest to this) and mental anguish (e.g., sorrows) associated with having children in a sin-cursed world. Consider that Eve not only went through the pain of childbearing during delivery, but she also had to endure the loss of Abel, her own son, slain by his own brother. Consider also Mary, who saw her son Jesus die on the cross.”[1] This is not to mention all the emotional and mental suffering mothers have endured when their children suffer in numerous ways.

But the curse on the woman that involves the pain associated with childbearing is reversed in the victory won on behalf of all mankind on the cross of Calvary. It will all be gone. Revelation 21:4 tell us that in the Kingdom of God, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

[1] https://answersingenesis.org/bible-questions/was-there-pain-before-the-fall/

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Genesis 3:15

Cut it’s head off!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 24, 2022

Everyone knows that the best way to kill a snake is to cut it’s head off. The final part of God’s curse on the Serpent, Satan, is the death blow that the “seed” of the woman would deliver on behalf of all mankind. Genesis 3:15 finishes by saying, “…he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” According to Josephus, an ancient Hebrew Commentator and historian the curse involved a lot of other things. He gleans this from his understanding of the overall dealings of Satan and the woman. Josephus writes that God, “Also deprived the serpent of speech, out of indignation at his malicious disposition towards Adam. Besides this, he inserted poison under his tongue, and made him an enemy to man; and suggested to them that they should direct their strokes against his head, that being the place wherein lay his mischievous designs towards men, and it being easiest to take vengeance on him that way: and when he had deprived him of the use of his feet, and made him go rolling all along, and dragging himself upon the ground.”[1]

That speculation is all very interesting for sure, but the bottom line, regardless of how you see the details, is that the Serpent is cursed, and Satan loses in the end. Notice that God is addressing the serpent, Satan, and telling him to his face that he’s going to lose. Hamilton makes some good comments, “Also, the serpent is told that he is to be on the losing side of a battle between the seed of the woman and himself. In this eventual showdown, his head will be crushed by the seed of the woman. Is the ‘seed’ collective or singular? The Hebrew allows for either, but the Septuagint has ‘he.’ (The Latin Vulgate even has ‘she’!) Not without good reason many have referred to Genesis 3:15 as the protoevangelium, ‘the first good news.’ An as-yet-unidentified seed of the woman will engage the serpent in combat and emerge victorious. It is likely that Eve does not comprehend this word. But the snake is not left in the dark—he is to be cursed, a crawler, and crushed.”[2] The original readers of Genesis did not know any details, but they did know that salvation from the curse would one day come! That’s the good news!

I’m not a very “original” guy, but I am a good student. If I find someone who says it better than me, I don’t have to try to improve on it. That’s why I use so many quotations in my writing. Redford does a great job wrapping up this discussion. “The enmity in this verse is more than the aversion that many people have for snakes. It is a perpetual and spiritual enmity between Satan and Eve, between all the forces of evil and all humanity (the offspring of the woman). At last, however, the offspring of woman, in the person of Jesus Christ, would gain the victory by crushing the head of Satan. Immediately after the baptism of Jesus, the tempter came to him as he had come to Eve, but he was defeated at every turn. Whatever damage Satan was able to inflict on Jesus was, in effect, a mere strike at his heel. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus attained the final and decisive victory. Thus does Paul declare the assurance that every Christian possesses: ‘The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet’ (Romans 16:20).”[3]

[1] Josephus, Flavius, and William Whiston. 1987. The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged. Peabody: Hendrickson.

[2] Hamilton, Victor P. 1995. “Genesis.” In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible, 3:14. Baker Reference Library. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

[3] Redford, Douglas. 2008. The Pentateuch. Vol. 1. Standard Reference Library: Old Testament. Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing.

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Genesis 3:15, Galatians 4:4

The Seed of the Woman

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 23, 2022

In his comic strip, “BC,” Johnny Hart focuses a lot of attention and humor on the ongoing battle between the woman in his cartoon and the snake. It is one of his regular themes. He gets this, of course, from Genesis 3:15 which describes the curse God put upon the serpent. It reads, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring…” The King James Version uses the literal rendering of “seed” instead of offspring. It says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed.” Hart uses this idea to show how the woman hates the snake and is always clubbing it. The snake, in his cartoons, can talk of course. Sometimes you see him instructing his “offspring” regarding the ongoing feud with the woman and plotting ways to get at her. His understanding of “the seed” is the many generations of the snake and the woman.

Adam names his wife “Eve” because she’s the mother of all the living. As such all humanity comes from her. It seems that the “enmity” mentioned here is more than the dislike that we normally have for snakes, but something much more dire. It’s a battle between ultimate evil and a “Savior” who will defeat this enemy that defeated Adam and Eve in the garden. Let’s get specific. To whom does the woman’s seed refer? Some say the term simply points to her many descendants, suggesting enmity between women and snakes like Hart depicts in his comic. Swindoll says, “But several factors indicate her seed is one person, namely, Christ. First, since the crushing blow is to come on the head of one individual (the serpent himself) and not his offspring, the implication is that a single individual is to inflict it. To take the seed of the woman as collective here conflicts with the use of the singular ‘he’ and ‘you.’ The reference is to an individual, not a group.”[1]

Galatians 4:4, speaks to us about the victory that will come to conclude this battle and it will come from the Son who will be “born of a woman.” That seed, the individual, will bring victory over the “seed of the serpent” for all mankind. Since the “seed” is said by God to be of the woman only, we might conclude that a virgin birth is in mind. Ross sees it this way and writes, “The ‘seed of the woman,’ i.e., the human race, will have victory over evil finally in the representative of the race, Jesus Christ, who was born of a virgin, without a human father, so he was truly ‘the seed of the woman.’” The seed of the serpent, however, does not refer to any particular offspring, but of the sinful nature of Satan himself. Ross goes on and says, “The expression does not refer to baby snakes; it is referring to anyone who shares the nature of the evil one behind the serpent (such as the ‘sons of vipers,’ Matt 23:33). Such ungodly people, driven by spirits or demonic forces, would work to destroy life, and ultimately to destroy Christ. But the victory would be Christ’s on behalf of the human race.”[2]

[1] Swindoll, Charles R., and Roy B. Zuck. 2003. Understanding Christian Theology. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

[2] Ross, Allen, and John N. Oswalt. 2008. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Genesis, Exodus. Vol. 1. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

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Genesis 3:14, 1 Corinthians 15:21f

Eat My Dust!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 22, 2022

The curse God pronounces on the serpent begins in Genesis 3:14. It says, “…on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.” Although the curse is really on Satan, the figure or the serpent can’t be missed here. As the serpent was the most crafty, tricky, and deceptive of the creatures in the Garden, he was now to be the most cursed. Swindoll says, “Readers have long wondered if the serpent had legs up until this moment, but the physical form of the serpent is of little significance.”[1] Radmacher disagrees with Chuck on this and says, “The text suggests that the serpent became a creature that slithers on the ground and appears to eat dust. This implies that before this the serpent had some other bodily form.”[2] After studying a couple dozen commentaries and ancient writes, a web blogger says, “The more logical answer is that the serpent originally had some form of legs or appendages, and these were either lost or reduced (consider how many reptiles crawl on their bellies and yet have legs, e.g., crocodiles). This seems to correlate with the plainest reading of the passage and the comparison of a curse (‘on your belly you shall go’) as compared with cattle and other beasts of the field, which do have legs.” (by Bodie Hodge on January 26, 2010 Featured in Satan, the Fall, and a Look at Good and Evil)

“On your belly” puts your appetites on the ground. His whole mind and everything about Satan was “fleshly” or “earthly.” I haven’t found this anywhere, but my son noticed that the passions and desire of the flesh are of this world, earthly. He suggested we think about this curse as saying something like, “all your interests, desires, and delights will be sought in earthly things only.” Thus, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life are his only interests, and he thinks they should be ours. He even presented Jesus with those same three temptations in the wilderness. There may very well be a figurative sense associated with this curse because we know that serpents don’t actually eat dust. Although many ancient religions have similar ideas regarding the evil one. According to Barry, “Ancient Near Eastern texts, such as the Akkadian work Descent of Ishtar, depict serpents as inhabitants of the underworld that feed on dust and clay.”[3] Matthews elaborates on this, “The depiction of dust or dirt for food is typical of descriptions of the netherworld in ancient literature. In the Gilgamesh Epic, Enkidu on his deathbed dreams of the netherworld and describes it as a place with no light and where ‘dust is their food, clay their bread,’ a description also known from the Descent of Ishtar. These are most likely considered characteristic of the netherworld because they describe the grave. Dust fills the mouth of the corpse, but dust will also fill the mouth of the serpent as it crawls along the ground.”[4]

Another thought I can’t escape is that when God speaks to Adam, he informs him that “dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.” We know that our bodies will return to the earth and decompose in the grave. God is saying, “the real life of man his soul and spirit are mine! You can have the physical part of him since that’s all you really care about any way with your belly to the ground.” According to 1 Peter 5:8, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” The grave, Sheol, is Satan’s territory. The Angel of death is often depicted as a dark skeletal figure in a black robe with a sickle ready to harvest our bodies. God says, “you can have them Satan.” Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, “…the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” Our rotting corpses, are eaten, so to speak by the dark specter of evil that reigns in the grave. But please remember that this is a temporary situation.  Paul informs us all in 1 Corinthians 15:21f, “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive… For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

[1] Swindoll, Charles R., and Roy B. Zuck. 2003. Understanding Christian Theology. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

[2] Radmacher, Earl D., Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne House. 1999. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary. Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

[3] Barry, John D., Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Michael S. Heiser, Miles Custis, Elliot Ritzema, Matthew M. Whitehead, Michael R. Grigoni, and David Bomar. 2012, 2016. Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

[4] Matthews, Victor Harold, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton. 2000. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. Electronic ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

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Genesis 3:14

Snakes! I hate snakes!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 21, 2022

After confronting Adam and Eve for their disobedience, he then turns from them to the one who tempted them in the first place. He asked Eve a question. He asked Adam a question, but there was no question for the Serpent. God’s words to the serpent opened up with a curse. Genesis 3:14 begins, “The Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field…’” As you can see the text records the curse upon the “serpent” as an animal rather than directly on Satan who spoke through the snake. The serpent was declared by God the symbolic picture of the evil one because it was the instrument Satan used to seduce Eve. Twice in the book of Revelation (12:9, and 20:2) Satan is described as “The ancient serpent who is the devil, or Satan…” Satan can shape-shift at will. He might have simply appeared to Adam and Eve as a serpent. Maybe, he simply decided them into thinking they were talking to a serpent, or possibly Satan possessed a literal serpent and caused it to speak or spoke through it. We see Satan possessing pigs in the New Testament. We don’t get all the details here, but we do know that it was a serpent that tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. Thus, the serpent would remain a reminder to every generation of the fall of our first generation of parents.

The word “Satan” literally means “adversary.” We know several things about this being from the Scriptures and we can glean other things. It seems to me we can build a case that Satan’s original adversarial relationship with God began before time. Kendall agrees and says several helpful things. Satan’s fall took place before , “God created man; for the serpent was already the ‘father of lies’ when he approached Eve. It was obviously after God created the heavens and the earth. Perhaps the angels were created before God created the earth; ‘the heavens’ is listed first. The angels were probably a part of the ‘heavens’, the invisible realm of God’s creation. It could be that the revolt of Satan took place, then, after God created the heavens but before he created the earth.”[1]

As the representative of Satan in the temptation of man, the curse was on the snake. “Man would always regard him as a symbol of the degradation of the one who had slandered God. He was to represent not merely the serpent race, but the power of the evil kingdom. As long as life continued, men would hate him and seek to destroy him.”[2] Indiana Jones is the great archeologist and adventurer made famous in recent (kind of!) movies. Indiana Jones isn’t afraid of anything—until a snake shows up on the scene. Then we hear him mutter, “I hate snakes” and “Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?” I confess, when I used to mow my own yard, whenever a snake appeared I would take my lawnmower after it. Why, like Indiana Jones, I hate snakes. It seems that the fear and hatred of snakes is acknowledged by evolutionary scientists but they have their own explanation for this. A California anthropologist did an experiment once with Monkeys. “One day she put a fake snake into the large outdoor cage of Rhesus macaques at the Davis Primate Center only to see a real snake slither into the cage. About half the 80 resident monkeys gathered around the real thing, mobbing it, calling out in alarm. The fear of snakes, Isbell reasoned, must be deeply embedded in our primate history.” The anthropologist Lynn Isbell has argued that, as primates, the serpent as a symbol of death is built into our unconscious minds because of our evolutionary history. Isbell argues that for millions of years snakes were the only significant predators of primates, and that this explains why fear of snakes is one of the most common phobias worldwide and why the symbol of the serpent is so prevalent in world mythology; the serpent is an innate image of danger and death.” My fear and dislike of snakes might look irrational but it’s anything but “unconscious.” They are cursed by God and all the hatred and fear of them have their roots in Genesis Chapter 3.

[1] Kendall, R. T. 2000. Understanding Theology, Volume Two. Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus.

[2] Pfeiffer, Charles F. 1962. The Wycliffe Bible Commentary: Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Press.

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