Genesis 3:14b “[…] and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:”
Part of the curse on the serpent was a change of diet. Hitherto the serpent had eaten herbs (Genesis 1:30). Some will be quick to point out that snakes today eat other animals, not dirt, but they are ignoring the context of the creation account where God makes all the living creatures from “the dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:19). An animal that is devoured by another animal is either dead or becomes a dead animal and thus returns to dust. The logical conclusion therefore, is that meat-eating is part of the curse God placed on literal serpents. In this curse is implicit a shortening of life. If you eat dirt it only stands to reason that you will return to dirt more quickly than you would otherwise. What a blessing for us that snakes’ lifespan is cut short! Vegetarian reptiles like the Giant Tortoise can live up to nearly 200 years, while the longest living snakes do well to reach half a century.
On the Spiritual plane, Satan has made a steady diet of destroying the image of God in humanity. He wants to return us all to dust forever, and so he feasts on the souls of men, and when he can’t do that, he does everything possible to cause pain and destroy our health and physical bodies, often using these attacks as an avenue to tempt us to doubt God (Job 2:7-9). He has certainly been eating tons of dirt for a very long time, and for that his days are to be cut short. Our verse today ends with the phrase, “…All the days of thy life,” which implies that there will be a limit: the serpent’s days will come to an end, praise God. Speaking to Satan, God says “I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. […] thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more” (Ezequiel 28:18-19).
How about you? Are you eating snake food, whether physical or spiritual? For those of you who love to eat your meat, why would you want to adopt the curse of the serpent for yourself and shorten your days as long as there are any other options still on the menu? Why criticize, gossip, accuse, attack, tear down and destroy others with your words and actions? “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another” (Galatians 5:15). Don’t self-destruct eating dust.
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