Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.
Genesis 3:1
I saw a picture of a snake the other day and for some reason the verse above happened to come into my head. And God showed me that it said the serpent was more crafty than another beast of the field. This suggests that the other beasts we’re also crafty. Now it was Satan that made the serpent crafty. It was Satan in the form of this serpent that tempted Adam and Eve to eat of the tree. So if Satan made the serpent crafty he also made the other beasts crafty.
Most people suggest that this was the first time Adam and Eve where tempted. But now when I read this verse it’s as if Satan tempted them many time before this. He came in the form of other animals and tempted them, being crafty in his ways. But each time Adam and Eve declined and didn’t fall for his tricks. I’d almost say it was as if Satan was testing the waters. Seeing how strong Adam and Eve were and what type of bate they would take.
Back in the days when cities had massive walls around them and when the men battled with swords, armies would have tested the strength of the other army. It still happens these days as spies are sent in to see how strong the enemy is. But back in them days sometimes the king would have sent a number of men to attack the city, knowing what the outcome would be. They were not trying to win the battle and most times the men would have been killed with only a few getting away. As this happened the king and some of the head men of the army would watch on and point out the strengths and weaknesses of the city and its army so they could come back with a plan that would work.
Is it possible that Satan tested Adam and Eve many times to see what their strengths and weakness were? Did he use other animals to tempt them until he found out what would get them?
What about us then? Is it possible that Satan comes back and tempts us so many times every day to see how strong we are? Sometimes we fall for something easy when we’re having a bad day or were tired. Other times he might try to get us with the same thing but that day we might be strong enough to resist it so he’ll just try to tempt us with something else to trip us up. And if that doesn’t work he’ll just keep coming back and back until he gets us. We can’t let our guard down and we can’t lose our focus on Christ. We need to be pray constantly as the Bible tells us we should (1 Thes 5:17), and this is pretty impossible for us so we should be praying that God would help us do this. Remember, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)
Finally whose power is Satan testing? Is it yours or is it God’s? Satan cannot win a battle against the Holy Spirit but he will triumph in a battle against us. Live today by God’s power, praying on your spiritual armour.
