Why didn't Adam and Eve find a talking snake to be strange? Why didn't they think it odd that the serpent spoke?
Adam and Eve were innocent—and they did not have the same kind of experience of animals that we have today. We all know, from childhood, that if an animal opens its mouth and begins speaking to us, that would be extremely strange, and even frightening. But Adam and Eve were created alongside the animals, and had no idea that they were not supposed to speak. It is even possible that all the animals were originally given the power of speech. The Bible doesn't explicitly say this, but we know from the way that Eve reacted to the serpent, his speech was to her a very natural and normal thing.Whether or not animals have ever had the power of speech, there are powerful beings (God, angels, Satan, demons) who can manipulate the physical world, including enabling animals to speak. For instance, Balaam's donkey spoke to him and tried to keep him from going down a road where stood an angel that only the donkey could see (Numbers 22:21–35). Clearly Balaam's donkey spoke truth whereas the serpent's speech was intended for deception.
Satan is often referred to as a serpent, or a dragon. It is widely held that Satan was possessing the serpent in order to speak to Eve without raising suspicion. For all these reasons, it is not really strange that Adam and Eve were talking to a snake. What is strange is that despite being perfect, and walking with God daily in a perfect Paradise, they chose to believe the serpent's accusations and view God with distrust. When the serpent contradicted God and made it seem that God was holding something back from Adam and Eve, they believed the serpent instead of believing their Creator (Genesis 3:1–7).
Today, men and women everywhere are making the same mistake. They are turning away from God, who loves them and made them, and listening to the words of a crafty deceiver who calls God into question. This is what the Bible calls sin—the self-destructive impulse to choose darkness over light, and to believe lies instead of truth, and to accept what is unhealthy and harmful while distrusting what brings us peace and joy (John 3:19). Our first parents were deceived in this way, and we are all stained and cursed by their fall (Romans 5:12). However, just as Adam's sin threw the human race into chaos, Jesus' sacrifice was provided so that all who wish to be with God do not have to be separated from Him any longer (Romans 5:15–21). Satan triumphed for a temporary time, but Jesus' triumph is eternal.
"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him" (Colossians 2:13–15).
What is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
If God knew the Fall was going to happen – that Satan would rebel and Adam and Eve would sin – why did He create them?
What was the effect of the fall on humanity? How did the fall affect our world?
Does humanity truly have free will?
How can I be saved?
Truth about Creation
