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Opinions of Tuesday, 27 June 2023

Columnist: Isaac Asare Poku

How that old snake talked

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Many have wondered how the snake that appeared to Eve in the Garden of Eden spoke. This ignorance comes to me as a rotten surprise because the answer is inherent in the account. Below is my take:

The proximal interlude of an orchestrated flamboyance may have been dissipated on the curly creation's verbal discharge. However, the fangled mannerism of this ancient reptile decants all voracious vivacity. In essence, its thrasonical bombast at Eve evacuates any iota of Jejune babblement.

No matter how deep the explanation above looks, it is full of trash. Many self-styled prophets who claim to explain mysteries hide behind big vocabularies to hide their ignorance. Unfortunately, when they rattle incomprehensible stuff in sweat and a hoarse voice, their victims are carried away by them but not their message.

This posture is foreign to sound biblical interpretation and the preaching style of Jesus, as well as that of the apostles. In handling the Bible, one should accept the fact that "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us..." (Deuteronomy 29:29). Herein, we should be silent where the Bible is.

Then again, where the Bible or the Holy Spirit illuminates our understanding, we should use simple and clear speech to present the message; else, we will only be speaking to the air (1 Cor. 14:9). Moreover, we may be allowing unbelievers to mock us and our Lord (1 Cor. 14:23).

Jesus spoke in plain language so that his audience will benefit (Matt. 7:28-29). When he spoke in parables, it was a sieve to sift out the hard-hearted (Matt. 13:11-15). The apostles emulated this simplicity in delivery (1 Cor. 2:1-5), and they restrained themselves from unwholesome conjectures on any matter the Scriptures or the Holy Spirit was silent (1 John 3:2).

The Bible was not written to merely satisfy our curiosity. It is God's story of his love for a corrupt world and his design to build a saving relationship with them through his Son, Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:8). Hence, we ought to handle it responsibly with humility under the tutelage of God's Spirit in us (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

If you wish to embrace the simple but powerful nature of the Gospel of Christ, all you need is to believe (Mark 16:16), repent (Luke 13:3), confess (Rom. 10:10), baptize (Acts 22:16), be added to his church (Acts 2:47), and walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:3,4).

Enjoy the Grace of God!
Amen!