The Talking Snake

Last time we left Adam and Eve together in the Garden of Eden. Was this a real place or poetic licence? Well the Genesis story if pretty clear that God placed Adam and Eve in a ‘garden’. It certainly wasn’t some sort of formal garden as we might imagine but a space which was in some way protected in that they could live in it without fear and really without much to do apart from tend what was already growing and collect food from it. One could perhaps image it as some sort of ‘nursery’ where the newly created (whether this be in a physical or spiritual sense – see previous post) humans could develop and mature. The reference to them as being naked suggests a childlike naivety like that possessed by children. Certainly the impression that the story gives is one of an idyllic life without cares and responsibilities, just like that of young children in our society.

We are told that God gave then only one instruction – not to touch a particular tree in the garden. Enter the talking snake. Was there really a talking snake or imagery? Well there is no way of knowing. Again if you imagine a young child coming across a talking animal they would in all probability take it at face value – they wouldn’t know any different. However, it is not particularly important whether Eve had a conversation with a physical snake or not; the important thing is that she had an encounter with Satan (the devil). So where did he come from? There is no explanation in Genesis but what is clear is that Satan is not any sort of God alter ego, he is not an evil equivalent of God but a part of creation. A few verses later on God makes this absolutely clear. Much later on in the Bible there are references to Satan as a fallen angel: an angel who challenged God and was thrown out of heaven. The meaning of the word ‘satan’ is deceiver. He persuaded Eve to break the one rule that God had given her and Adam; not to eat from the particular tree. Again, are we really talking about an actual apple from an actual tree? It doesn’t really matter either way; the message is clear; God wasn’t just being perverse, Adam and Eve were not ready to handle an understanding of good and evil or mature enough to make the right choices. We can use the child analogy again – we might well tell our children that they can pick and eat the raspberries but under no circumstance should they eat the laburnum seeds (these are very poisonous). Adam and Eve lost their childlike naivety before they could handle it. That was Satan’s strategy – to disrupt God’s plan for humanity.

Next time we’ll look at the effects of this one act of disobedience