deception and a snake.

Long ago, when God created the world, He made man and woman.  They had a perfect relationship with God.  They were like one.  They walked as one, talked as one.  God watched over the man and the woman.

But then, Satan entered the snake and approached the woman: “Did God really say you could not eat from any tree?” 

The woman confidently replied, “God said we could eat from any tree in the garden except for one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  He said that if we ate from that tree, or even touched it, we would die.”

Satan in the snake did not hesitate to confuse and bring doubt: “You will not surely die.  God does not want you to eat from the tree, because then you will be like Him, knowing good and evil.”

The woman saw that the fruit was pretty to look at, good to eat, and a wonderful thing that could make her wise like God.

The woman was deceived and she ate.

***

Two days ago in class with Davis, we read another story of deception from Joshua 9.  I told Davis that there are people who want to deceive others and turn them away from God and the truth.  We, then, looked at verses in Proverbs, which mention people with lying tongues, and the evils of gossip and speaking untruths. 

I read Proverbs 10:18.

“He who conceals his hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.”

I asked Davis what he perceived as the meaning behind this verse.  “We need to watch out for people who lie,” he answered right away.

That’s when I heard the lizard drop.  This sound is not uncommon; lizards often splat on the floor when they misstep on a beam in the ceiling, and fall to the floor.  They quickly gather their wits and scurry to a hiding place.  I looked to the corner of the room as Davis searched for next verse.  I did not see the lizard.

Instead, I saw from the tiniest crack at the top of the large school container doors a thin, small, bright green head.  A snake.

“A snake!” I cried.  “Oh man, what do we do?”  I was consulting Davis on his expert snake-killing skills.  Davis said nothing.

“Davis!  Oh man!  Look!  It’s creeping up near the ceiling!”  Davis did not turn his head, not even one inch, to glance behind him.

“Davis, it’s really a snake!  Look!”  Not even a sideways, peripheral glance.

I needed a weapon.  The snake’s entire body was visible now, slithering and coiling around small rings at the top of the container.  I told Davis, “Oh!  I’ll get the iron rod from outside!”  He laughed.

Finally, he responds, “I am not turning around.  You are just joking with me.”

“No, I’m not!  There really is a snake.  Davis, you know I always tell you the truth.  Look!”  Still, he would not look behind him.

Now, I, with iron rod in hand, decided to make a move on my enemy.  I went for a whack on his head, and he stretched out his head and snapped, bared fangs, at the tip of the iron rod.  “Eeeek!”  I screeched as I jumped backward.

Still, there was no movement from Davis.  He continued to smile and stare in the opposite direction.

The snake slithered in the other direction, toward the door, along the back wall, and then began descending down a pipe by the electrical box.  “Davis, it’s going to get away!”  I swiped at it again with my iron rod and missed.

THEN, Davis turned around.  “Oh my goodness!  It IS a snake!!!!”

“YES!”  I shouted.

He called for his mom, “Snake!”  She readied for attack with a mop but was far away.  He called for his dad, “Snake!”  Shannon came running with a big club stick.  He called for our watchman, Edwin, “Snake!”  And then even Davis himself looked around for a tool.

By that time, Shannon made his way over to the container.  Mindy and Walker came over to watch.  The snake was sneakily hidden behind the electrical box.  Shannon hit the box with his stick, and after several hits, the snake leaped out from its hiding place into the air!

Shannon moved quickly and stamped with his hiking boots on the snake’s midsection.  Its blue tongue reached out as it bared its fangs in a final futile attempt to bite its attacker!  Finally, Davis helped him to squish the head and kill the snake!

Davis then explained himself to me.  “I thought you were trying to deceive me, to really teach me the Bible lesson for today.”

“OH…” I understood.  He was already practicing ignoring deceivers.  A quick learner!  My favorite part was when he realized it WAS true, that there REALLY was a snake in the classroom, because he did EVERYTHING he could to get truth out there.  He told everyone he knew! 

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.”   Ephesians 5:6

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”  Colossians 2:8

Pray for the Toposa.  

They are surrounded by empty words and deceptive philosophy based on traditions.  Pray that they see the truth and submit themselves to God, resisting the devil and his deceptiveness (James 4:7).  Pray that they would draw near to God!