Hey Pastor John.
What does it mean to be “wise as a serpent”?
Mxxxxxx
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Hi Mxxxxxx.
Serpents were known to be cunning because of their stealth. people didn’t know where serpents would show up. They could slide in and not without being noticed and could be in a place without anyone knowing. The serpent in the garden of Eden was very crafty. Eden didn’t know where the serpent was going with his words.
In telling his disciples to be wise as serpents, Jesus was counseling them to be discerning and not to talk a lot, and certainly not to throw their “pearls” before swine. Solomon said that fools utter everything that’s on their minds, and he also said that if you don’t talk much, people around you will automatically think you are wise. But more to the point, I think, is that if you are as quiet as a serpent, you learn to depend more on your other senses; in particular, you listen better and, consequently, you learn more.
Pastor John