Satan

Satan

He is not much discussed in the Law, but Satan is present throughout.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. Genesis 3:1

How did sin become established as a continuing condition of the human soul and the creation of God? The Law of God explains that sin entered through the rebellion of Adam and Eve, which was instigated by Satan, the serpent from of old (Rev. 20:2). The Law of God presents Satan as a reality, but it does not reveal much about him. He is not even named in the Law; rather, he took the form of a serpent, and this is how the Lord was pleased to refer to him. He makes but one appearance in all the Law of God, but we are to understand that this was enough. By his guile and deceit, he plunged the creation into sin and trouble. It would take a mighty act of God to redeem, not only the people He had chosen for Himself, but the entire vast cosmos which He loves (John 3:16).

We do not learn anything more about Satan until we get beyond the Law of God. He makes three more appearances in the Old Testament, and the prophets describe his origins and fall from grace. All we know from the Law is that he exists and that he is in some way related to the fallen and sinful condition of men.

But the fact that so little is said about Satan in the Law of God reminds us that the story of humankind is not about Satan and the baleful effects of sin; it is about God and His will and desire for the world to know and enjoy His glory. How it must have galled Satan to be assigned such a bit part throughout the whole vast compendium of Old Testament revelation! And how it must have reminded him, with each additional book of Scripture, precisely Who is in charge of whom.

Sin has a “personal face” in the Law of God, but he is kept largely out of sight as God sets the stage for His glorious work of redemption and renewal in the unfolding of His Covenant.

For more insight to the nature of God’s Covenant, order a copy of T. M.’s book, I Will Be Your God, from our online store. To discover more of the workings of Satan, and the evil he brings to our midst, order a copy of Satan Bound from our online store. Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T. M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.