Justice and Mercy – part 12

Where does the serpent appear in the Bible and what does the serpent represent?

The first time the serpent is mentioned is in Genesis 3:1.

"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?" - Genesis 3:1 KJV

The final result of this encounter was man was judged.

The serpent was the perpetrator of a chain of events that resulted in justice and judgment for both Adam and Eve as well as for the serpent.

The serpent is actually a form of the devil.

"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." - Revelation 12:9 KJV

Jesus spoke to the Jews that were seeking to kill Him of the beginning of the devil.

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." - John 8:44 KJV

The devil, in the form of the serpent, lied to Eve telling her she would not die if she ate of the tree God commanded not to eat of. In effect, the devil was a murderer.

"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 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." - Genesis 2:16-17 KJV

"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:" - Genesis 3:4 KJV

To be continued...