Ending the Serpent’s Cycle

  • January 3, 2025
  • /
  • John Tillman

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Genesis 3 Listen: (4:14), Read: John 3 Listen:( 4:41)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Read: Genesis 4 Listen: (3:54), Read: John 4 Listen: (6:37)
Read: Genesis 5 Listen: (3:18), Read: John 5 Listen: (5:42)

Scripture Focus: Genesis 3.8-15

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”

Revelation 20.2, 10

2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years…

10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Reflection: Ending the Serpent’s Cycle

By John Tillman

The Ouroboros is an ancient image of a serpent eating its tail. It was well-known in Egypt and Greece, symbolizing the cycle of death and rebirth.

John connects the Serpent at the beginning of scripture to the one at the end by calling Satan, “That old Serpent.” Satan is introduced in Genesis 3 and defeated in Revelation 20. We live in the chapters in between where the cycle of sin feels repetitive and inescapable. How do we break out?

All things in this world are under Satan’s influence and he can make any of them a destructive tool. Where there is love, he spawns lust. Where there is passion, he births oppression. The world’s kingdoms are his and he tempts everyone with their power, including Jesus. (Luke 4.5-8)

If we do not resist him, whatever is true, he uses to deceive, whatever is noble, he corrupts, whatever is right, he uses wrongly, whatever is pure, he sullies, whatever is lovely, he scars, whatever is admirable, he debases. (Philippians 4.8)

Revelation warns us that Satan is thrown down to Earth, knowing his time is shortened, filled with rage and intent to deceive as many as possible. (Revelation 12.12)​​ He is the father of lies and hates those who are in the truth. (John 8.44) He means to do us harm.

How do we deal with his devilish influences? How do we shed shame and fight fear?

After watching Adam and Eve fall, we see them fight. We fight the same way if we only recognize the steps. When God calls, “Where are you?” stop hiding. Call out and come to him. When God says, “What is this you have done?” confess. Tell the truth and call the Devil a liar.

Scripture tells us to flee temptation and evil desires (2 Timothy 2.22), but don’t confuse fleeing evil desires with fleeing the Devil. We don’t flee the serpent. When we resist him, he flees us. (James 4.7)

This serpent’s cycle is doomed and he knows it. We resist the father of lies by reminding him of the truth. Even if Satan fools us temporarily, the truth will set us free and Jesus will straighten, repair, and restore everything twisted, damaged, and stolen.

The image of the Ouroboros is a lie. The cycle of the serpent is not eternal. The serpent’s end is assured. His head will be crushed, to eat no more.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

I sought the Lord, and he delivered me out of all my terror. — Psalm 34.4

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read The Bible With Us

Invite friends to join our Bible reading plan. Walk with us through the Bible at a sustainable, two-year pace.

https://mailchi.mp/theparkforum/m-f-daily-email-devotional

Read more: Christmas and Kaiju

He will not be a monster of rage, revenge, and havoc, but the same messiah of love, protection, and care revealed to us in the gospels.

Christmas and Kaiju — Love of Advent

Top 3 of 2018

  • January 3, 2019
  • /
  • John Tillman

Romans 15.15
I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again…

Top 3 of 2018
By John Tillman

Picking my own “Best Of” was too hard. So, I’m letting Google Analytics pick for me. These are the top three most visited posts not written by a guest author in 2018.

Hope on a Limb :: Hope of Advent

It is difficult for posts late in the year to compete with ones from earlier in the year that had time to build traffic and be mentioned multiple times. I’m thrilled that this one, from only a month ago, made the top spot. It’s not only the top post written by myself, but the top most visited page on our entire site for 2018. People are looking for hope…

“We can be assured as we stand on Zacchaeus’s hope-filled Sycamore limb, that the King of Glory we hope for will not pass us by. The colt will carry our King. And in the end, all the broken who enter the courts of His temple, will be healed.

What are you waiting for? Climb up on the limb in hope.”

The Seductive Idolatry of Politics :: Readers’ Choice

Politics is what people who have no faith in God must turn to for earthly salvation. Christians can and must do better. Since writing this post, several other pastors and writers have picked up the thread. May many more do so.  May we abandon all our idols, but most importantly the idol of politics and politicians.

“Politics is the most powerful new religion of this millennium. It continually plays on the kind of imagery we see in Revelation. But outside of Christ there will never be a day when every nation, tribe, people, and language are united. Politics promises this unity and diversity but instead gains its power from fear and division.”

Killing With our Hearts

After writing this post, a reader jokingly commented, “you take the fun out of everything.” She was right. Issuing a stinging rebuke can be fun and Jesus spoke his share of zingers. But so many times we excuse our sinful and petty hatreds by hiding behind Christ’s impassioned language that, we must remember, had a goal of calling people to him, not destroying them.

Too often lately, Christians have participated in, or stood by allowing, hate-filled rhetoric. As Saul, who became Paul, can tell you, you don’t have to throw stones at someone to be guilty of their blood. You just have to hold the coats of those who do.

“Christ’s words about how murder begins with inner violence, adultery begins with inner lust, and divorce is not only adultery, but a victimization of the vulnerable party are as shockingly harsh to modern ears as they would have been to the original audience.”

Moving On…

As we move into 2019, we will continue to allow God’s Word to speak to us, to disturb our comfort, to disrupt our thinking mired in selfishness, and to spur us on to love and good deeds.

Share one of these posts (or this one) with someone who you will walk through the scriptures with this year. As the African proverb goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.”

Prayer: The Greeting
The Lord lives! Blessed is my Rock! Exalted is the God of my salvation! — Psalm 18:46

– Prayer from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Prayers from The Divine Hours available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
Genesis 3 (Listen – 4:14)
Matthew 3 (Listen – 2:21)

Additional Reading
Read More about The Value of Words
Our culture values hard-hitting, biting words. The Internet swarms to support meanness. Crowds applaud words that degrade and attack. The Internet loves to verbally “stone” its victims, and too often Christians participate or give support to those who do, “holding the coats” of those who attack and degrade others.

Read More about Supporting Our Work
We keep our site ad-free and produce over 100,000 words per year of free devotional content that is read across the world by 4,000 daily readers. We are tremendously thankful to God for using our community to bring God’s Word to people in cities around the world!

How far will you travel in God’s Word this year?
On January 1st we restarted our two year Bible reading plan in Genesis and the Gospel of Matthew. Join us on the journey. We read the Old Testament over two years and the New Testament and Psalms each year.

Read with us at a sustainable pace. Subscribe and invite friends to join you using this link.

Where will a journey through the Bible take your faith in the coming year? Jesus calls each of us, saying, “Follow me.”