Do you ever crave for a particular food, something that just the thought of starts the mouth watering, the nose straining to inhale a nonexistent smell, the eyes transforming the object in front of them into the perfect replica within the mind into said food? I do. It is usually brownies. Then I wonder why such a craving could not be for something good for me – like asparagus. But try as I may the level of excitement and pleasure and anticipation elicited by the mere thought of eating a warm, chewy brownie has never been, nor I am sure will ever be, reached by the thought of asparagus. As someone once said, “Is that right?” To which the other replies, “No it’s not right, but that’s the way things are”.

I do not believe I am alone when it comes to cravings. My guess is most people crave a food from time to time. But did you know Satan and his demonic cohorts crave a particular food? This craving is so intense they will do anything within their power to maintain a steady supply of it. How do I know this? Because in Genesis chapter 3 the devil’s food is explicitly named.

After Adam and Eve had eaten the Forbidden Fruit and then hid themselves from God as He came to visit them He wanted to know if they had disobeyed His commandment concerning the Fruit. Adam admitted that he had, then blamed Eve for his disobedience. Eve, too, admitted eating the Fruit, then blamed the serpent. (The blame game, perceiving oneself as a victim, and shirking responsibility for one’s actions or behavior is not a new phenomenon. It is the natural reaction of fallen mankind to absolve himself from sin without the need to ask forgiveness from his fellow man, and by extension, no need to acknowledge his need for a Savior).

Having listened to Adam and Eve’s excuses for disobedience God addresses the serpent (Satan). “Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life” (Genesis 3:14 NASU). The Devil’s food is dust. Dust? Yes, dust.

But there seems to be a problem with this curse. It did not seem to “take”.

If the story of the Fall is to be taken literally rather than as a myth (something purposed by some believers and unbelievers alike), then this curse was placed upon a literal serpent. Therein lays the problem. Atheists and other unbelievers, as well as liberal leaning Christians and denominations, do not believe the Bible is the God-breathed (inspired) Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). They support the belief that the Bible is nothing more than a compilation of myths and fantasies containing contradictions and historical and scientific inaccuracies. They point to this curse upon the serpent to eat dust as an example of such a scientific inaccuracy because snakes do not eat dust. That is true. So, if the Bible is the God-breathed Word of God, revealing the Truth without error, how does one reconcile this apparent contradiction?

The answer lies within who/what was actually being cursed by God. Literal, physical snakes do crawl upon their bellies in accordance with the curse. They do flick their tongue constantly as they slither along the ground giving an appearance of eating dust, though we know a snake’s tongue is actually a heat sensing organ used by them to locate prey. So, on a superficial level snakes do conform to the curse imposed upon them. But this explanation is neither complete nor satisfactory if we are to assert the Bible as the inerrant Word of God. The explanation needed to answer the critics is uncovered when we realize that the Bible reveals truth on different levels: physical and spiritual.

The appearance of literal snakes eating dust is a physical picture of a spiritual reality. In other words the ultimate “who” that God was cursing in this situation was not a literal serpent. The ultimate “who” who was being cursed was The Serpent (the Devil) and by extension his demonic hordes, the fallen angels.

Lest anyone wish to question this conclusion let me give some examples of other explicit instances in the Bible where a physical thing or entity is a picture or shadow of a spiritual reality.

Hebrews 8:1-6 speaks of the Aaronic priesthood along with the sacrificial offerings and the components of the Tabernacle itself as a “shadow of the heavenly things”. That is the laws governing the religious life of Israel, which is laid out in minute detail from the construction of the tabernacle to sacrifices that were acceptable to God to the dress code of the priests, were to be strictly obeyed because they were a physical picture of a spiritual reality. This truth is further emphasized in Hebrews 10:1. “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near” (ESV).

A more contemporary example is Ephesians 5:22-33. These verses speak of the divine roles husbands and wives are to fulfill within the covenant of marriage. But Paul makes clear that physical marriage is a physical picture of a spiritual reality when he says, “This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:32 NASU). The union of man and woman within the marriage covenant is a physical relationship that pictures Jesus’ relationship with the Church (Greek: ekklesia – a feminine noun). Jesus is our spiritual Husband; we the Church are His bride (2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19:7).

The point of these biblical illustrations is to more fully explain what it means when God cursed the serpent to eat dust. As we have seen literal snakes appear to eat dust, but do not. But when this curse is seen in the spiritual realm serpents (Satan and the fallen angels: demons) do eat dust. And they will do anything within their power to obtain this food they so intensely crave. But the dust Satan and his demonic army feasts upon is not obtained by a drought brought upon the earth that turns it to dust. No, this is special dust. They obtain it by bringing a spiritual drought of biblical truth within the soul of man.

So, what is this Devil’s food, this dust? “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (Hebrew: nephesh = soul)”(Genesis 2:7 NASU). To emphasize this point when God told Adam the consequences of his disobedience for eating of the Fruit, He said, “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19 NASU). In other words mankind is the Devil’s food. It is our soul he craves. We are warned about this in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (ESV). We are his food. More specifically our soul is his food.

But how do Satan and his demons “eat” or “devour” our soul? It is through our worship. Worship is the soul (emotions, will, and intellect) submitting to whatever spiritual head we choose to come under the authority of.

As pointed out earlier marriage is a picture of the relationship between Christ (masculine – husband) and the Church (feminine – wife). As Christians (notice as Christ’s wife we have taken His name) we submit our souls – emotions, will, intellect – to our Husband’s authority. We then become one spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17), united in holy matrimony. And because of that marriage made in Heaven we share in the divine nature and character of our Husband (2 Peter 1:4). As our Husband Christ loves us, protects us, and provides for our needs. Our gift to Him is our willful submission to His authority which is expressed by our worship.

In a sense it is our worship that our heavenly Father “eats”; it is His food (as pictured by the fire sacrifices detailed in the book of Leviticus for the nation of Israel). But when we worship the Father we are His guests at His table (as pictured by the Marriage Supper of the Lamb – Revelation 19:9); when we worship Satan or demonic beings (1 Corinthians 10:20-21) we are the menu.

C.S. Lewis said this best in his book, The Screwtape Letters, a fictional book containing a series of letters from a demon, Screwtape, to his nephew, Wormwood, detailing how keep man on the path to hell. Listen to these words of Screwtape: “To us a human is primarily food; our aim is the absorption of its will into ours, the increase of our own area of selfhood at its expense. But the obedience which the Enemy demands of men is quite a different thing. One must face the fact that all the talk about His love for men, and His service being perfect freedom, is not (as one would gladly believe) mere propaganda, but an appalling truth. He really does want to fill the universe with a lot of loathsome little replicas of Himself—creatures whose life, on its miniature scale, will be qualitatively like His own, not because He has absorbed them but because their wills freely conform to His. We want cattle who can finally become food; He wants servants who can finally become sons. We want to suck in, He wants to give out. We are empty and would be filled; He is filled and flows over. Our war aim is a world in which our Father Below has drawn all other beings into himself: the Enemy wants a world full of beings united to Him but still distinct.”

This is truth. Make no mistake. We either submit our souls (emotions, will, intellect) to Jesus or Satan. Either Jesus is our Husband or Satan is. We are under the authority of one or the other. But One is a loving Husband who gives of Himself to the point of laying His life down for us. The other is an abusive husband who beats us, controls us, tyrannizes us, enslaves us, causing us to live in fear. Or worse, we have lived so long under his authority we are blind to the truth and are deceived into believing this is what “marriage” is suppose to be like, that we deserve the treatment he gives us. Over time this relationship so ravages our spirits that we live in a state of denial regarding our captivity to the point of making excuses for our “husband’s” (Satan) behavior.

This spiritual reality is pictured everyday when we read about a woman (or man) who not only remains in an abusive relationship, but makes excuses for the behavior of her abuser. Such a relationship devours her being as her husband (or worse, “significant other” or live-in boyfriend) “feasts” upon her spirit and soul.

The curse placed upon the serpent to eat dust is very real. Satan’s desire is to consume us. And when man fell into sin Satan had a ready supply of “food”. But the Father immediately made it known to Satan that his “food” supply would be dried up. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Genesis 3:15 NASU). This is a prophecy of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and His triumph over Satan. With these words we can be assured that Satan and his followers are on the path to starvation because every time someone accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Him becoming their Husband) his food supply decreases. Is it any wonder he fights with such ferocity to keep us under his control by whatever means he has at his disposal?

No wonder Jesus taught us to pray,”Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come…” (Matthew 6:9-10 ESV). As we hallow our Father’s name by living a life of holiness, our souls in submission to His will and authority, the Kingdom of God advances upon this earth and Satan’s next meal (soul) is snatched away until there will be no more dust to eat. To that I say, “Amen!”

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About Terry L. Brown

Terry taught a home Bible Study for over ten years. In January 2000 he began a writing ministry called “Whispers of the Spirit”. In June 2003 he graduated from Yellowstone Valley Bible Institute with high academic honors, receiving a Certificate of Ministry. Upon graduation he taught adult Sunday school classes and preached upon occasion while maintaining his writing ministry. Terry is also the author of “Hallowed Be Thy Name”. It is available at www.authorhouse.com/bookstore or many other bookstores.He currently lives in Montana with his wife Julie.

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