Our Unseen Enemy - Part 2: The Manipulator
Last week we took a look at the origins of Satan. I used two Old Testament passages to explain how Satan was created by God, to be a powerful, beautiful being who was placed in the Garden of Eden. I also let you know that these two passages are somewhat controversial, as far as many scholars believe they are only referring to the two literal kings: the King of Tyre and the King of Babylon. However, I also believe there is truth in these passages that applies to our enemy, Satan.
This week I want to move away from Satan’s origins and look at his tactics. It might take a few weeks to thoroughly go over the characteristics of our unseen enemy. Before we start looking at the tactics Satan uses, I thought it would be helpful to understand what Satan’s names mean.
Satan - in both the Hebrew and the Greek the name Satan means adversary. If you look up the word adversary in the dictionary it says, “one that contends with, opposes or resists.” (Merriam Webster Online dictionary)
Devil - in the Greek this word refers to one who is a liar, slanderer and accuser.
For the purpose of these posts, we are going to stick to those two names, but you have probably also heard the devil called the Father of Lies, Beelzebub, Lucifer and many others.
I would like to start with one of the very first tactics we see Satan use in the Bible.
Manipulation.
Image by Alex Yomare from Pixabay
Webster’s online dictionary gives these as some of the definitions for manipulation:
- to manage or utilize skillfully
- to control, or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means, especially to one’s own advantage
- to change by artful or unfair means so as to serve one's purpose
Now let’s look at the manipulator in action.
“8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
“15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.””
“1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.””
I know I am giving you a lot of Scripture, but it is necessary to fully understand the whole picture. We are not going to get into why God put the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden, because His ways are not our ways, and many things we do not understand, that is why it is called faith. Some may say, “Well, then, your faith is blind.” On the contrary, my faith is that much stronger, because I do not need proof that God is good. His goodness so far outshines mine there is no way I can make a comparison between what I think is good and the pure goodness of a Holy God.
If you look at the above three passages, all from the first book of the Bible, Genesis, you can see how Satan in his conversation with the woman in the garden, manipulated her and the truth. I honestly don’t know what Eve was thinking when she said, “but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” God did not say they couldn’t touch it, only that they were not to eat from it.
Satan then takes full advantage of the opportunity. Eve was already walking on precarious ground seeing that she did not remember what God had said about the tree, or what her husband had told her. She opened the door to doubt and deceit by not knowing the Words of God. Can you see how important it is to know God’s Word? Satan had her right where he wanted her. He, in his beautiful, handsome and beguiling way charmed her by twisting another truth that God said.
“You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Take a minute to think about that. Satan was right. They didn’t die, at least not physically, right away, and their eyes were opened, they did know good from evil. How very sad! God wanted them to know only good. He gave them a beautiful place to live, a purpose for their existence and a relationship with Him, but now their eyes were wide open. The devastating guilt, the regret, the sadness and the pain would be felt for the rest of their long lives.
Why did Satan do it? Remember what we learned last week? He was full of pride. He very well may have been jealous of the time and attention God devoted to the mere human beings. He was full of violence. What better thing to do than to violate the precious relationship God had with His creation?
The application today.
Have you ever been manipulated by someone? It is not a fun feeling. Perhaps you are manipulated by your spouse, your boss or a friend. Perhaps, you are the one who manipulates. Why do they do it? Why do you do it? It is always about self: what I want, who I am, what I want to feel, and what I want to obtain. We’ve heard all sorts of stories in the last few years out of Hollywood about the “casting couch”, where directors, producers and fellow veteran actors have taken advantage of actors and actresses promising them jobs, popularity, money and accolades in exchange for sex. Isn’t this exactly how our enemy works?
Let’s take the application further and look at what is going on in our country with our upcoming election and civil unrest. No matter how you look at it or what side you stand on I believe we are being manipulated. The media manipulates. The candidates manipulate. The social entities who are trying to bring about change are using manipulative methods to achieve their ends. The sad thing is many of these people and groups blatantly admit they are working with our enemy to get what they want.
I am not here to win you over to one side or the other, but let me make something clear; our enemy is delighted by the violence, rioting, killing, lying and hate that is going on. I can picture him, his grin like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, delighted by the chaos of humanity. He is thrilled, because he has had to do so very little. He sends a few of his minions out, to plant a see of doubt or hold one captive to stare in the face of hate, so that eventually they are overcome by it.
I want you to take some time to think about this idea of being a manipulator. Is this something that pleases God? God does not manipulate. His will is clear in His word. He doesn’t play games, that is the ploy of our unseen enemy.
Next week, we will look at another one of Satan’s tactics. Until then, pray, rejoice, give thanks and put on the armor of God.