Why Did Satan Take the Form of a Snake to Trick Adam and Eve?

Dear Katie,

Thanks for this interesting question. First, remember that Eve, not Adam, was "deceived" (1 Timothy 2:14; 2 Corinthians 11:3). Eve probably did not sense the danger of the serpent or see through his false argument.

We cannot be sure why Satan took the form of a snake to tempt the first woman, but there are some good possibilities. Genesis 3:1 says, "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord had made." He knew what he was doing; perhaps he became a serpent in order to be in the right position in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to speak to Eve.

But there's probably more to it. Snakes have the appearance of being very fascinating, but also very tricky and smart. Plus, people generally think that snakes look interesting. Perhaps Satan felt that he could capture Eve's attention best by looking like a snake.

In the New Testament we read that Satan walks about the Earth "like a roaring lion"        (1 Peter 5:8). Whatever form he is in, Satan is dangerous. Even though God always provides a way to resist and defeat Satan, many people refuse to let God help them. Let's make sure we trust God to help us defeat Satan.

---

Copyright © 2014 Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

*Please keep in mind that Discovery articles are written for 3rd-6th graders.

This document may be copied, on the condition that it will not be republished in print unless otherwise stated below, and will not be used for any commercial purpose, as long as the following stipulations are observed: (1) Apologetics Press must be designated as the original publisher; (2) the specific Apologetics Press Web site URL must be noted; (3) any references, footnotes, or endnotes that accompany the article must be included with any written reproduction of the article; (4) textual alterations of any kind are strictly forbidden; (5) Some illustrations (e.g., photographs, charts, graphics, etc.) are not the intellectual property of Apologetics Press and as such cannot be reproduced from our site without consent from the person or organization that maintains those intellectual rights; (6) serialization of written material (e.g., running an article in several parts) is permitted, as long as the whole of the material is made available, without editing, in a reasonable length of time; (7) articles, in whole or in part, may not be offered for sale or included in items offered for sale; and (8) articles may be reproduced in electronic form for posting on Web sites pending they are not edited or altered from their original written content and that credit is given to Apologetics Press, including the web location from which the articles were taken. Further, documents may not be copied without source statements (title, author, journal title), and the address of the publisher and owner of rights, as listed below.

For catalog, samples, or further information, contact:

Apologetics Press
230 Landmark Drive
Montgomery, Alabama 36117
U.S.A.
Phone (334) 272-8558

http://www.apologeticspress.org