God was displeased because Satan, disguised as a serpent (or snake), had deceived Eve and brought sin into the world. He pronounced the curse as a constant reminder of that time.
There are over 2500 species of snakes. About one-tenth of them are poisonous. Sizes range from five inches to great anacondas and pythons, thirty to forty feet long that can swallow a deer or wild pig whole.
A snake would be handicapped without ears, nose, feet, legs, hands or arms, except that God has shown His kindness. In spite of the curse, God has provided it with means of getting along without these aids. In place of ears, it has nerves that are sensitive to ground vibrations. Its sense of smell (aided by a flicking tongue) is keen. A change in temperature signals when something is close by, and it easily finds it even on the darkest night.
Its backbone has flexible vertebrae that enable it to writhe, crawl and coil. Overlapping scales on the underside of its body provide means of moving over the ground. Each scale hooks onto a rough surface, so the snake can pull itself along.
A snake’s mouth has hinged jaws joined with elastic ligaments. This enables the jaws to open very wide and swallow large objects. By unhinging its jaws, it can swallow eggs without breaking them until they are well inside its body. Its stomach also has a special ability to digest eggshells, bones, feathers, fur and other animal and bird parts.
A snake never stops growing. As it increases in size and its skin becomes too tight, it makes a hole in its skin by rubbing its snout against a rough stone. Pushing its head through this hole, twisting and wriggling, it peels the old skin back over its tail, shedding it. It does this several times a year.
Snakes do not attack humans unless frightened or provoked. The Creator has made them helpful to mankind, because they eat rats, gophers, mice and other small rodents. A small snake will be quite content with a good meal every week or ten days. Larger snakes can easily survive on six or seven big dinners a year.
Like the snake in the garden of Eden, man also displeases God in his behavior. This is made clear in the Bible: “There is none that seeketh after God.... There is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:11-1211There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Romans 3:11‑12)). Yet God shows great mercy and kindness to all mankind, as His Word tells us: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:1010Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)). Do you know the joy of having your sins forgiven through faith in the Lord Jesus?
ML-05/05/2013