(I had a ChatGPT picture that was generally close to depicting my story, but it was a gruesome sight. I chose not to post it. That said, what the devil plans for his victims makes this picture pale in comparison. We face a vicious adversary. Thank God we had a loving, all-powerful Defender.)
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel (Genesis 3:15).
I don’t usually write about personal experiences, but I pray this nature nugget will be a blessing to you as it was for me.
This past Saturday night, I was unloading dog food into my basement. As I lifted the tailgate, I heard a terrible squawking quite close to my head. Above the basement window is a bird’s nest. Hanging from the nest was a snake wrapped twice around the fragile little bird which had been taken from the nest and was being lowered towards the ground by the dangling snake
Momentarily the cry for help went silent. I ran in the basement searching frantically for some instrument to try to free the bird, not knowing if it was already dead.
Finding a blunt object with some mild length for personal safety, I rushed out to meet the predator.
The Bible calls Satan, “that great serpent” (Revelation 12:9). The serpent “deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). He goes about “seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The stealthy, deadly hunt of the serpent is such an appropriate choice of symbols for God to apply to Satan’s efforts to destroy us.
We are all entangled and trapped by Satan’s power through sin. We have zero chance of escape without Divine intervention. We have absolutely no hope of saving ourselves. With our dying breath, we cry out for salvation, hoping Someone will hear us.
Walking the waves of the sea and crashing down to the deep as a result of his pride, Peter cried out, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30). Just as I heard the gasping cry of the tender bird, Jesus is ever listening for our call. He stands ever ready to “save to the uttermost those that come to God through Him” (Hebrews 7:25).
With a swing I haven’t used since softball, I smacked the still hanging snake. The snake went flying towards the wall. The bird flew away before the snake hit the ground.
Jesus doesn’t owe us any more attention than I owed the bird. But His care and concern is infinitely greater than mine. Had I not been unloading dog food, the bird would be dinner, and I would have never known—or cared.
Jesus would have known the bird was dead. And it would have broken His heart. Sin is a deadly disease that has ruined the perfect world He created by His Word and with His hands. But with all the pain the loss of the bird would have caused Jesus, He assured us that we “are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31).
There was another night where the great serpent wrapped himself around a priceless Victim. The difference between us and Him was that this Victim had every power in heaven and earth at His disposal for His rescue. With a word, with a thought, He could release Himself from Satan’s hold and return to the glories of heaven, leaving sinful man to die the death we had chosen in Eden.
A few days before, anticipating the crushing power of sin, Jesus had said, “should I ask You (the Father) to save Me from this hour? No. For this hour I came” (John 12:27). He added of His impending demise, “now is God glorified. Now is the power of sin broken” (John 12:27-33).
As the serpent slithered into the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus seemed to be having second thoughts to the outside observers as the crushing weight of sin bore down upon Him. Fervently His prayer to His Father was, “if there’s any other way, let’s take that route” (Matthew 26:39). But each time His prayer closed with, “not My will, but Thine be done” (Matthew 26:39).
With His final few breaths on the cross, determining to lose everything if that’s what it would cost to save you and me, He did not cry, “Save Me!” The separating power of sin led Him to beg answers from His Father, “why did You desert Me when I needed You the most?”
But then, in a cry of triumph that will resound throughout eternity, the darkness lifted and He said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). “We did it Father! We have crushed the serpent’s head! Sin, Satan and all who follow him will be destroyed for eternity! And an unnumbered host of humanity will be eternally saved!” (Ezekiel 28:18,19; Revelation 7:9,10).
I still shudder to hear the mortal cry of woe from that bird. I’m so thankful Jesus put me at the right place at the right time to save it. But I am so much more grateful that Christ’s cry of woe was not a cry for Personal rescue, but rather a cry of submission to the Father’s plan. “By His stripes, we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Because Jesus refused to cry out to save Himself, you and I now have a faithful Defender that we can always call on. We are helpless against the serpent’s power. But the serpent is helpless against the crucified and risen King.
When it seems the serpent is crushing your spiritual life, call out to Jesus. Trusting in His power, pray the prayer of Jehoshaphat.
We have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You (2 Chronicles 20:12).
Jesus will answer:
Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s (2 Chronicles 20:15). You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord (2 Chronicles 20:17).
The danger we face from Satan is more real and more deadly than a mere corn snake squeezing a small bird. The devil is laser-focused on our eternal destruction and will stop at nothing to see his plans come to fruition. Praise God that our Rescuer has defeated the devil and offers us the reward of His victory.
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:7,8).
As we resume our studies in Daniel, it is easy for me to get excited about the details. This symbol represents that entity, etc. I’m a very concrete person, and I love when a history book proves the Word of God has been true. Perhaps you are like me in that regard. We should indeed be excited when the Bible becomes clear. God specifically says that we can trust in Him because He’s the only One that can tell the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9,10).
But let us never forget that each and every topic in the Bible is part of the story of salvation. Everything we study needs to be seen in the light shining from Calvary. If we decipher a prophetic entity for the sake of solving a puzzle rather than for determining its purpose for Christ’s work or its method of working against Christ, then our study has not benefitted us at all and may have actually caused spiritual harm.
Each and every portion of prophecy we study should leave us with a deeper love for Christ and a better understanding of the plan of salvation. I pray that will be your experience as we move forward.
Happy New Year and a Blessed 2025 to you and your family.
Love this, Brent!! Thanks for writing and sharing.🥰🙏