Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Now, what about that snake? I’ll bet you thought I forgot. Well, I didn’t. In fact we all need to remember that snake, that beast of the field. However, before I deal with the snake issue, we have to take a step backward, then a step sideways, before we can move forward. I know, it sounds really confusing. But it’ll all start to make sense in a short while.

A step backward:

Remember in the beginning of genesis when God began creating the heavens and the earth? That word translated as God is the Hebrew word elohim. Nothing complicated there, right? The only problem is the word elohim is in a plural form. Sometimes, it means one God. At other times, it means gods. Okay, yes, I know what you’re probably thinking. But trust me, I am a Christian. But to really understand what’s happening in the beginning of the 3rd chapter, we have to learn more about what’s happening in the background. The fact is there are many “gods”. And yes, they are real. But the problem isn’t with these other “gods” (at least not yet). The problem lies with the translation of the word elohim. A better translation would probably be spiritual being(s) or divine being(s). Here’s what I mean: In 1 Samuel 28:13, Saul asks the witch of Endor what she sees and she says that she sees an elohim coming up out of the earth. Saul later confirms that it was Samuel. So, was Samuel a god? The obvious answer is no. He was incorporeal. Incorporeal is just a fancy way of saying without a physical body, nonmaterial, or nonphysical. In other words, Samuel was spirit.

The word elohim is also used to describe the gods of Egypt (Exodus 12:12), angels, and sons of God (Genesis 6:2, Job 1:6, Job 2:1, and Job 38:7). In Exodus 23:3, God says, “You shall have no other elohim before me.” And in Psalm 82 God is actually judging other elohim. In fact, in the first verse of Psalm 82, God is presiding over a divine congregation. Some translations say congregation of the mighty instead of divine congregation, but you may be getting the idea. Think back to the very first post in this series where God uses the words “us” and “our” when referring to making man in “our” image. Who is He speaking to? The answer seems to be other divine beings that He created. Remember, He is the Lord of hosts! What are cherubim, thrones, principalities, seraphim, and archangels? I think they would qualify as divine or spiritual beings? Some might and have worshiped other spiritual beings as gods, but they aren’t God.

Sidebar:

George Foreman, the ex-boxer, famously named all of his sons George. Let’s imagine they have a big family get-together and you have a house full of Georges. I’m talking lots and lots of Georges. The thing is, it doesn’t matter how many of George’s Georges there are, they are still only sons of George. In other words, there is still only one creator or papa George. You might even call him, in that setting, the George of all George’s at the gathering. Likewise, it doesn’t matter how many sons of God there are, there still is only one Creator of all the Georges…I mean elohim. Well, technically, since He is the creator of all things, He rules over the Georges as well, even papa George.

Okay, now just a little more about the word elohim and then we’ll take that sideways step. As I mentioned before, elohim is naturally in plural form. So, how do you know when the bible is referring to the capital “G” God or the little “g” gods. Good question. So, here’s the thing: Elohim is plural like the word sheep or deer is plural in the English language. How do you know when someone is referring to one deer versus a herd of deer? Easy (if you remember your basic grammar)! If I said the deer was drinking water. The verb was clearly lets you know it was one deer. If I say the deer were drinking water… Yep! That means more than one deer. In Hebrew, it works in a similar way. The verb helps you to understand when elohim is singular or plural. Now, that’s a very simplified version of the rules of Hebrew grammar, but I think you get the point. At other times you might see something like elohim of elohim, which of course is translated as God of gods (Deuteronomy 10:17).

Trust me, there is only one true creator. But before He created the heavens and the earth, he created spiritual or divine beings. Are we good now? Still Christians? Still buddies? Great! All of this may be new and a bit scary. However, keep in mind that God is still master of all things. He still has authority over everything He’s created. That should be a comfort to all of us. I know it is for me. If I feel at any time that I’m under attack from anything in the earthly or spiritual realm, I know there is a power greater than anything that can come against me. That’s the difference between gods and the God of gods. Now, that’s powerful!

Okay, before we end this post. One quick thing to know: Divine beings are in a different class than earthly beings. They also naturally belong in a different realm or domain. This is an important point to keep in mind as we move forward. In our next post, we’ll take that sideways step, and then move forward like I promised.