⁶ Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
⁷ Without having any chief, officer, or ruler,
⁸ she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. 

In Proverbs 6, the Word of God tells us to go to the ant and find wisdom. In the ant, we learn principles of initiative, preparation, and hard work. Indeed, by looking at this little creature, an insect found everywhere and anywhere, we are told to look and learn her ways.

In fact, Proverbs 6 is one of many places where we find wisdom from the animals. In Proverbs 30, we find four animals in direct order: there is the ant, the rock badger, the locust, and the lizard. And from each we can gain insight into the way we ought to live.[1]

If we go further, the whole Bible teaches us to gain wisdom from nature. From the sparrows who fall from the sky, to the sheep who follow their shepherd, and from the lions who prowl the hills, to the Leviathan who roams the sea, all of these animals were created by God to give us wisdom.

And in Genesis, we have already seen the way that animals are used to teach Adam. For in Genesis 2:19 we find this report, ^“Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.”

God tasked the man with naming the animals, but he also tasked these animals to teach the man that no suitable helper would be found for him among their ranks, as verse 20 indicates. Indeed, the man would need God to make a helper suitable for him, and that is what the rest of Genesis 2 reveals—the glorious formation of the woman and the establishment of the first marriage.

As Genesis 2:24–25 concludes the chapter, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”

Getting into Genesis 3

So that is the backdrop to Genesis 3. In six days, God made the world good and very good. And on the sixth day, God made the man and the woman to have dominion over the earth, including all the beasts of the field, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea. And as we enter the seventh day, which comes in Genesis 3, there is hope that under God, God’s image-bearers would subdue creation and begin to fill the earth with children who would bear their likeness

This is how God would cover the earth with his glory, as Adam’s children filled the earth.

In the beginning, this was God’s very good plan. Yet there is more, and it comes in Genesis 3:1, as the wisest beast of the field enters the garden begins to talk.

Talking Animals and A Whole Lot More

Yes, the Bible has talking beasts. But that’s not all, God’s Holy Book also has flying angels, raging dragons, demonic giants, virgin mothers, staffs that turn into snakes, oceans that divide in two, raging storms that stop with a word, and dead men that rise from the grave.

As my kids keep telling me, the Bible is “crazy”!!

And if that divinely-inspired craziness is a problem, then the Bible may not be for you. But for those who are willing to concede that this world is more than a cosmic belch, and that there is a God who is there, you will find in the Bible a vision of the world and everything in it that exceeds the best evolutionary explanation. For the Bible is a book perfectly written by 40 men over 1400 years. And in that revelation, we discover realities visible and invisible, natural and supernatural, angelic and demonic, heavenly and earthly.

And in Genesis 3, we find both. The snake is a beast created by God who comes from the field, but he is also a symbol and source of the angelic being Satan. And lest you think this is a myth, a legend, or some other ancient religious tale, the rest of the Bible bears witness—the serpent is none other than Satan himself. Consider a few testimonies.

First, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:3, “the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning.” Reading Genesis as history, he applied Eve’s temptation from the serpent to the church and the threat of false teachers. Likewise, in Romans 16:20, Paul indicates that the serpent is none other than Satan. Applying the words of Genesis 3:15 to the church, he writes, “And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

Put these two passages together, and it becomes apparent: this serpent in the garden is not just a talking beast, he is a beast who is animated or inspired by Satan himself. In fact, to make this comparison crystal clear, Revelation 12:9 says this about the Serpent.

And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Using symbolic language to speak of the historical realities of Christ’s birth, death, and victory over the devil, John identifies the ancient serpent as the devil and Satan himself. In context, therefore, Jesus did in his exaltation what Adam should have down eons ago: put him under his feet and throw the devil off the mountain.

Tragically, the first man remained silent in the face of Satan. Instead, he listened to the voice of the woman, as refused to protect his wife as he was instructed. At the same time, when confronted with an unclean beast, he did not seek God, but ate of the forbidden fruit when offered by Eve. As a result, the man and woman fell into sin, which in turn resulted in a relentless avalanche of suffering, disease, dis-ease, and death.

The Wages of Sin is Death

In fact, these cursed features of our world are so common, we are tempted to think they are natural. But they are not. They are the result of Satan’s temptation, Eve’s deception, Adam’s rebellion, and God’s judgment. And thus, to understand what happened in the beginning to impact everything until the end, we need to see what the Serpent offered Eve, and what he offers to us.

And importantly, what Satan offered to Adam and Eve was a real need, not just an extravagance of his evil designs. No, Adam and Eve needed to grow in wisdom, the very thing that the serpent offered.

Naked and unashamed, the first couple entered the world immature and in need of wisdom, not to mention clothing. Indeed, such wisdom would be requisite for their service to God, both in the garden and in the field. And accordingly, when the serpent approached them and offered them such wisdom, this was a test designed by God, not just a glitch in his matrix or an accident against his sovereignty.

No, to enjoy the fruit of the covenant, and to rise from garden nakedness to heavenly glory, Adam would need to prove his fidelity. Yet, such faithfulness would be proven in the face of testing, something that Satan provides.

The Test of Wisdom

To be clear, Satan was not created evil, but under God’s sovereign purposes, he would tempt Eve and Adam to avail themselves of the knowledge of good and evil. Indeed, God is the one who made the tree that offered a knowledge of good and evil, and that knowledge would have come as the children of God obeyed the Lord—not eating from the fruit, unless and until God said otherwise.

In this situation, Satan came and tested God’s Son. Genesis 3 doesn’t explain how the wisdom of the serpent, or the creation of Satan, turned evil. But it did. And thus begins a pattern of Satan testing the Son. Genesis 3 is the first instance, but not the last. Israel was tested by serpents in the wilderness (Numbers 21), and so was Jesus (Matthew 4). Only, the sinless Son of God didn’t face snakes, but Satan himself, the spirit behind the serpent.

Accordingly, we learn in Genesis 3 that the offer of wisdom was a real need and a real temptation. For in this world, mankind is naturally deficient of wisdom. And the temptation comes in trying to find wisdom from sources other than God. While wisdom can be gained from animals about the world, those same animals are not sufficient to give us the wisdom we need for knowing God, his law, his righteousness, and the way to eat from the tree of life. Instead, self-made and self-authorized wisdom only leads to death.

That is the point of Genesis 3: how you seek wisdom matters. And it matters eternally!

For either, you will seek wisdom falsely, by relying on yourself and grasping for illicit sources. Or, you will receive wisdom truly, as you obey the last command of God and wait upon his revelation. The first is the way of works; the second the way of grace. The first leads to death; the second to life.

That is the divide in Genesis 3 and it explains the divide in humanity. There are some (the wise) who seek wisdom from the world, the flesh, and the devil. But others (the foolish) who seek wisdom from above, from God, and his Word. And if it appears I read these categories wrongly, consider 1 Corinthians 1:27–29:

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

God’s ways are not our ways, and from the beginning we learn that seeking wisdom on our own, or with Satan’s help, only leads to death.

The Wisdom of the Cross

In the Garden of Eden, Adam sought true wisdom falsely, and as a result his disobedience led all of humanity into sin and death. Thankfully, however, another Adam came and he sought wisdom righteously. By obeying his Father all the way to the cross, he became the source of all wisdom. And his tree, the cross, became the source of wisdom and life!

Indeed, Jesus refused to seek wisdom on his own, but instead, sought wisdom from God . Earlier in his life, he refused to take the kingdom when Satan offered it to him. Instead, he choose the wisdom of the cross—a wisdom that the world treats as folly. Yet, by his cross, Jesus wisely put an end to sin, procured a people to be his bride, and destroyed the works of the devil too! Truly, on the cross, Jesus turned the tree of death into a tree of life, and today, all who trust in him will find righteousness, wisdom, and life.

This is the true way to wisdom. And last Sunday I developed this theme of wisdom in a sermon on Genesis 3:1–6. You can listen to it here. But for today, let us simply remember that there are two ways to wisdom, and not all paths to knowledge, life, and learning result in blessing. Rather, Christ’s cross is the only true path to wisdom, so let us cling to his grace and not grasp for another source of glory.

Soli Deo Gloria, ds

Photo by Alex Shute on Unsplash

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[1] On the theme of learning wisdom from animals, see James Jordan, Trees and Thorns, 145–47.