Good Matthew Henry remarks upon the Passage, that the Devil chose to act his part in a Serpent, because it is a specious creature, has a spotted dappled skin, and then went erect. Perhaps it was a flying Serpent, which seemed to come as a messenger from the upper world—one of the Seraphim, for the fiery Serpents were flying—Isaiah xv, 29. Many a gay temptation comes to us in fine colours, which are but skin deep, and appears to come from above, for Satan can seem an angel of light.
The learned Witsius remarks, He who seduced man to this apostasy was doubtless a wicked spirit, who, tormented with the horrors of a guilty conscience, envied man his happiness in God, and God the pleasure he had in man. Seeking wretched consolation in a partaker of his misery, he concealed himself, therefore, in the Serpent, which was at that time not less acceptable to man than any other creature. The great Du Moulin conjectures this Serpent was of a conspicuous form, with fiery eyes; decked with gold, and marked with shining spots, such as to draw the eyes of Eve after it; and that before this, he had, by his soothing sounds, insinuated himself into Eve’s favour—which is very probable.
The present learned Dr. Clarke conjectures this creature was an Ape instead of a Serpent; but the arguments he brings forward are by no means sufficient to support the fact. The form of the curse pronounced on Satan, in the Serpent, is, Now thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. This curse has not fallen upon that species of animals, called the Serpent, in general, though it might on that particular one which Satan made use of; for there are various kinds of Serpents, or creatures of the Serpent kind—the reeded Serpent, the fiery flying Serpent, the horned Serpent, the Basilisk, the Dragon, the Deaf Adder, the common Adder, the Viper, the Asp, the Water Snake, the Land Snake, the Rattle-Snake, the Conger Eel, the common Eel, and the Lamprey—these are of the Serpent kind. Now the Serpent the Devil abused was but one, but of what kind we know not, and the sentence of God is in the singular number—so Dr. Gill remarks, that Serpent—on thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. So that as far as the curse went on the agent, when that one Serpent died the sentence was fully executed on that creature. But the curse, in all its dreadful weight, fell on the Devil, who is cursed above all sinners, who are called cattle, Beasts, and the unclean—as Lions, Dogs, Bears, Rams, Wolves, Leopards, Bulls, Heifers at grass, Foxes, and Goats. Many of these have been tamed, become useful and tractable, but Devils never were, nor never will; and Satan, the ring-leader, I apprehend is cursed above them all—upon thy belly shalt thou go. What the learned have said about the Serpent’s going erect is bare conjecture. But this curse is evidently upon the Devil: the word Belly in scripture, sometimes signifies the Conscience, and I believe it means this: Hence Job speaking of the seed of the Serpent, says, they shall not feel quietness in the Belly—it means depression and deep abasement, in awful affliction—our belly cleaveth to the ground, our soul is bowed down to the dust. This is what Satan feels, and will be cursed with for ever—no ease or rest, but hell in him wherever he goes—God’s curse and wrath upon him—the arrows of vindictive wrath sticking fast in him; nor can he feel any joy, only that kind of malicious infernal pleasure, suited to his nature, as he draws men to sin against God—especially believers.
The term Serpent not only applies to the Devil, but to his people—the non-elect, the reprobate; more particularly to those Pharisees, who make a fair shew in the flesh—a noise about holiness, and who are endeavoring to establish their reputation upon the ruin of others—who are searching for the sins of others, and they search for iniquity with a diligent search—who keep up the form of godliness, are found in every external, yet in heart hate the saints, condemn them, as enemies to good works—as Antinomians—enemies Moses—as a people not fit to live, of course not to come near them.—These characters are called Serpents, and a generation of Vipers; not only so themselves but their parents were so, and they are the offspring of such Vipers; and so we find it to this day—a deistical Preacher begets Deists, a Socinian begets such, an Arian begets an Arian, an Arminian begets an Arminian by his ministry, and an Antinomian, whose religion lays in his head, without the Work of the Spirit, such may beget an offspring like themselves, while every Pharisee in the Ministry may also beget the same; but the name John the Baptist gave them is a generation of Vipers, when he saw the Pharisees come to his Baptism. A Viper appears very beautiful outwardly, so do these persons to a blind, carnal world, who are making a stir about good works, and, like Alexander Pope, are exclaiming,
For Modes of Faith let zealous bigots fight,
His can’t be wrong whose life is in the right.
But, I would ask, Can a man’s life be in the right when all his principles are bad? Vipers, inwardly full of malice, hatred, envy, bitterness, and evil speaking; it looks innocent, as if it could harm nobody, but, under the garb of religion, holiness, and morality, what will such characters not do? The Redeemer calls such by the same name John did, in Matt. xii, and then in Chap. xxiii, Ye Serpents, ye generation of Vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Fair in speech and shew, but cruel and dangerous; with many such as these we have had to combat, who are of their father the Devil, and the desires of their father they do.
But the decree runs, And dust shall be the Serpent’s meat. This is only renewing the curse upon Satan and his seed, which was first pronounced in the Garden of Eden. Good men have differed a little upon the food of the Serpent; some suppose that before the fall he lived upon the fruits of the Garden, but afterwards that he was only to eat dust. Perhaps this was the case with that one Serpent the Devil made use of, but it certainly is not true of Serpents in general. Others think it means, that in consequence of the curse, upon thy belly thou shalt go, that they should eat much dust with their food; this may be the case in part, but not universally. Many keep Serpents in the kingdom of Abyssinia for the purpose of divination, as Mr. Bruce tells us in his Travels, and they feed them with white bread and milk, which there are very fond of.
Mr. Toplady justly remarks on this passage, that what is said of the Serpent going on his belly and eating dust, are properties common to many kinds of vermin, such as worms, &c.—and why should that be esteemed a curse to the Serpent which is natural to many other animals beside. But is it so said because this creature is obnoxious to man? so are many others beside, and it is worthy observation, that there are some kind of Serpents which are remarkable for the affection they bear to man; and others are good for food, and have been served up as such, even at royal tables.
The words then must refer to something mystic and spiritual. The phrase, Dust shalt thou eat, implies a state of absolute subjection, for so it signifies in scripture—his enemies shall lick the dust; they shall lick dust like a Serpent—they shall bow down to the earthy and lick up the dust of thy feet. These enemies shall be totally vanquished and subdued, and lie at the feet of the conqueror.
By the dust that the Serpent is to eat is meant sinners against the most high, living and dying enemies to God, Father, Son, and Spirit—enemies to truth and the seed of God. This I think is clear from the declaration I will put enmity between thy seed and her seed, the seed of the Serpent. This is the dust he is to eat; this is his curse. These persons are the Serpent’s prey, and the dust he shall devour. The phrase of Satan eating, denotes the hellish pleasure he takes in man’s ruin; for a person is supposed to eat nothing but what he loves; it is the Devil’s meat, his joy, his delight, to lead into sin, to get men to serve him, and to buffet, vex, and plague the saints.