Welcome to episode 3 of our series on the Son of Man! In this episode, Tim and Jon dive deep into the history, the story, and the ideas surrounding one of the most famous figures in the Bible: the Serpent.In part one (Tim says that Daniel’s vision in Daniel chapter 7 of the Son of Man shows us that humans are meant to be over the animals, but instead they end up behaving like animals.In part two ("Now the serpent was more arum than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made."In the following Proverbs, arum is used to demonstrate a positive character trait.Proverbs Proverbs So in Genesis 3, arum is translated as “crafty.” This is the only time it's translated with a negative sense, but usually arum means sharp, quick thinker, problem solver etc.Tim also briefly says that in other ancient religions, especially in Egypt, snakes were symbolically significant. Tim says the snake is presented as a creature alongside the humans. It uses its divine blessing (wisdom) to twist the divine command by telling the humans that they can be like-God (or “like gods”). But the humans already are God-like, having been made in God’s image.Tim observes that after Adam and Eve take the serpent's advice, eat the fruit, and are expelled from the Garden, the very next story is one where Cain also listens to “sin” that is described as “crouching” at his door. Both of these narratives portray humans being ruled by beasts, instead of ruling over them. Death is the result. Once humans choose to redefine good and evil, they become beastly.In part three (“And I will set hostilityBetween you [serpent] and the woman,And between your [serpent] seed and her seed;He [seed of woman] shall strike you [serpent] on the head,And you [serpent] shall strike him [seed of woman] on the heel.”Tim says that this sets up the main plot conflict for the biblical story. Humans must recover their ability to rule over the beasts, and this will be done by the true Son of Man who strikes the serpent.In part four (“The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given.Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant.Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood" (Genesis Noah eventually falls away from following God’s blessing. And one of his son’s (Ham) descendants Nimrod is mentioned as being the first “hunter” in the Bible. Nimrod was also the founder of Babylon. Why are we told both of these details about Nimrod’s life? Because it represents an archetype that is developing. Humanity is now choosing to become part of a cycle of acting like beasts, creating a violent, killing culture.Since humanity has chosen this path, they now must be saved by the true Son of Man. He will be the seed of the woman, but instead of giving in to the violence of humanity, he will choose to overcome it.Thank you to all of our supporters!Show Produced By:Dan Gummel, Jon CollinsShow Music:Defender Instrumental, TentsPilgrim, InstrumentalsThe Size of Grace, Beautiful EulogyShow Resources:Our video on the Son of Man: INSERT LINKGerhard von Rad, Genesis: A CommentaryCrispin Fletcher-Louis, Jesus MonotheismRichard Bauckham, Living with Other CreaturesJames Hamilton, With the Clouds of Heaven: The Book of Daniel in Biblical TheologyBrandon Crowe, The Last Adam: A Theology of the Obedient Life of Jesus in the Gospels Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.