Serpents

Serpents can be venomous or non-venomous. Personally, I’ve never been a big fan of snakes, but it is, at the very least, helpful to recognize the difference between these two groups. A non-venomous snake can actually be pretty beneficial to have around as it is a natural predator of rodents and other animals that can be nuisances to man. A venomous snake can likewise be beneficial, but caution is necessary as it can swiftly administer a deadly bite to further its purposes or to protect itself. 

Yesterday morning, while I was thinking about some things on my to-do list and some of the people with whom I knew I would associate, the image of a serpent popped into my head. I thought about how cunning serpents are. Recent interactions with people around me have taught me that people can be very cunning and so I looked up the definition in Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary:

CUNNING, a. [G. See Can.]

1. Knowing; skillful; experienced; well-instructed. It is applied to all kinds of knowledge, but generally and appropriately, to the skill and dexterity of artificers, or the knowledge acquired by experience.

2. Wrought with skill; curious; ingenious.

3. Artful; shrewd; sly; crafty; astute; designing; as a cunning fellow.

4. Deceitful; trickish; employing stratagems for a bad purpose.

5. Assumed with subtilty; artful.

Interestingly, only one of these definitions has specifically negative connotations. As definition 4 suggests, “cunning” is a negative quality when the motivation behind it is bad, but none of the other definitions suggest that it is inherently bad. In fact, definitions 1, 2, 3, and 5 can be accurate descriptors of God and his works. Marvelously so, at that.

The imagery of serpents is found in the scriptures. The most obvious one (probably because we are introduced to it first) is found in the Adam and Eve story. The serpent cunningly tempts mankind to partake of something of which he was forbidden to partake. The intention was bad as it led to sin and death.

But another serpent story that we have in the scriptures is the one found in Numbers 21:

4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

6 And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Now there is a lot that could be said about this passage, but here we find the second of two kinds of serpents that represent forces that are diametrically opposed to each other—one resulting in death and the other resulting in life. Applying definitions 1, 2, 3, and 5 above, is either one less cunning? No. 

God is every bit as cunning. There is so much imagery in the details of this short story found in Numbers, but arguably the most important conveys the idea that everything God does is calculated to bring life to others—even the death of his Son. The placement of the serpent on top of a stick was not arbitrary. It was a type and shadow of a future sacrifice. It was calculated. It was cunning. That sacrifice was foreordained from the foundations of the world. It was designed to lay the foundation of a process that could save those who were unable to save themselves.

So how do you tell the difference between two things that, for all intents and purposes, look identical?

So much of discernment lies in understanding (1) God’s character, (2) God’s purposes, and (3) the degree to which any person has acquired God’s character and shares his purposes. If you cannot recognize any one of these three things, you will not be able to discern what circumstances and individuals are working to your favor or to your detriment. And this is critically important—it’s like not being able to tell the difference between a garter snake and a black mamba. These really are matters of life and death. There are forces at work who are constantly, consistently, and ever-lastingly working for your betterment and improvement, there are forces at work who are hellbent on your destruction, and it is in your best interest to be able to discern which is which.