Adam & Eve Part 8: Eve and The Serpent

How did Eve find out about the tree? And who or what was this serpent?

Genesis 2:16-17 KJVS

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: [17] But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Have you ever wondered, “How did Eve find out about the tree?” She was not present when God told Adam not to eat of it. So how then did she know? Well, it’s simple… Adam told her.

1 Peter 3:7 KJVS

Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

One of the important roles of a husband, is to instruct his wife; guide her, lead her, especially in righteousness. Some (especially some women) can take this as an insult and feel that a woman can teach her husband as well. True, a woman can teach her husband something, and true, your husband does not know it all, nor is he one that is immune to error. However, you must change your perspective. Liken it unto a business, if you have a job (which most of us do) you are more than likely an employee, and as such, report to your employer, you have a boss. That boss is primarily responsible for guiding you and commanding you concerning what needs to be done and what shouldn’t be done. Although, you may have various things to offer, you are not primarily in the position to call the shots, in the same way as your employer. However, a wise employer, will listen to their employees and take heed to wise counsel. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Deuteronomy 4:5-6 KJVS

Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. [6] Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

Just as Moses received the laws, statutes and commandments from The Most High and taught the people. So too did Adam receive the laws from God and taught the people, especially, Eve his wife. This is how she knew concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 3:1 KJVS

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?

Now we get to the serpent. Which doesn’t seem to alarm us until we get to the following sentence in the same verse. “And he said unto the woman.” Which now causes a wrench to be thrown into the equation. So we now deduce, that there is a serpent; so a snake. The snake is a male, and the snake can talk. Thus, a talking male snake spake to Eve. Makes sense when you put it that way. But let us dig deeper, precept upon precept, to better understand this character.

Sirach 25:15 KJVA

There is no head above the head of a serpent; and there is no wrath above the wrath of an enemy.

Such a way to phrase this. “There is no head above the head of a serpent.” Why is that? Well let us better understand by defining head using the Strong’s Concrodance:

Strong's Number

H7218

Original Word

ראשׁ

Transliterated Word

rô'sh

Phonetic Spelling

roshe

Parts of Speech

Noun Masculine

Strong's Definition

From an unused root apparently meaning to shake; the head (as most easily {shaken }) whether literally or figuratively (in many {applications} of {place} {time} {rank} etc.): - {band} {beginning} {captain} {chapiter} chief (-est {place} {man} {things}) {company} {end} X every {[man]} {excellent} {first} {forefront} ([be-]) {head} {height} (on) high (-est {part} {[priest]}) X {lead} X {poor} {principal} {ruler} {sum} top.

Head can mean a variety of things, even if you use the dictionary to look up head, you are met with a length of applications. However, with wisdom and context, we can figure it out and reduce the options here. In Sirach 25:15, we see the latter end says “there is no wrath above the wrath of an enemy”. This is key to understanding the context of what this verse is saying and how head is being used. When you look at an enemy, in comparison to others, an enemy is going to be far more adverse than someone who is not an enemy against you. Nothing else can trump what an enemy can do, they are at the top of the list. On one page, there is no head above the head of the serpent literally, because a serpent does not have a head; it does not have a leader or someone in position of rank above it. It will do as it pleases. Likewise, if you were to take some of the most venomous animals and line them up, snakes are among the top three in nature. Alongside the nature of the actual snake as an animal.

Genesis 49:17 KJVS

Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

A snake can be a highly venomous creature. And its bite can be very quick and very painful. It’s not like a mosquito, where you can get bit and not notice until hours later. You will know you got bit by a snake. But unfortunately, you may only find out when it is already too late; the damage is done.

Matthew 23:33 KJVS

Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

See, a snake is cunning; crafty. A snake is naturally skilled at detecting its prey, staying under the radar and avoiding detection, blending in with its environment and waiting patiently, until the moment it needs to strike. Then, at that point, it gets you. It strikes when it believes the odds of success are highest. And this is the nature that people tend to take on. This is why Christ, both then, and for many of us, even now, can refer to people as what? Snakes! He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Zondervan Compact Bible Dictionary

Serpent

The Bible has many references to serpents which implies poisonous qualities. No single species can be identified with certainty. The serpent is commonly used as a symbol of evil and Satan was called a serpent.

This definition helps serve as a key, to unlocking your understanding on what was being conveyed in many instances, from Revelation to Genesis. God wants you to look at the serpent as an animal in both contexts. The serpent is behaving like an animal; the serpent is deadly, the serpent is evil, the serpent is the devil, the serpent is a man.

Revelation 12:9 KJVS

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

The serpent is the great dragon of Revelation. But notice it called him, “the Devil, and Satan,” and “that old serpent.” Why? Because they are all one and the same. Satan means adversary, he is a spirit, the chief of all evil angels or evil spirits. A devil is a deceiver. Satan was the devil, and that old serpent, from the book of Genesis that we read about.

1 Peter 5:8 KJVS

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

That spirit was upon the earth. Satan was working and being a devil, seeing who he can devour. God made good and evil. But man was not familiar with the evil, although subject to it. It is there, just don’t mess with it.

Luke 22:3 KJVS

Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.

But man gets curious, man feels a certain way and can then choose to act on those feelings. Satan entered Judas, just as Satan entered the man you know as the serpent, that enticed Eve. But he is mentioned as a serpent for two main reasons. 1. To focus on the spirit that was working through him. 2. To highlight the qualities that this man had chose to take on and how he was moving… like a snake.

Ephesians 6:12 KJVS

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The key is the spirit operating in man. That was, and is the problem. You are dealing with the spirit in the individual, that is moving adversely. With all manner of lying and deception. This is what Eve was dealing with; a man lead by the spirit of Satan.