Going back to my earlier discussion of the Dreamworks animation classic, Prince of Egypt, I can't help but mention another bit of the story that is surprisingly accurate. The scene takes place in the first meeting of Moses and Rameses, the Pharaoh. Now obviously the extravagant song and production by Hotep (Steve Martin) and Huy (Martin Short) as the court sorcerers is strictly fictional and for entertainment value only. There was also some license taken with the characters in that Moses turns the rod to a serpent in the movie when, in reality, it was Aaron; but, there is one part in the scene that really surprised me as being true...
EXODUS 7:10-12
10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.Now this is an area where I thought for sure the creators took a little "story telling" license; but no, the serpent of God really ate all the other serpents! How crazy is that?
11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
I wanted to expound somewhat on the importance of the serpent in scripture and how it has been used to portray both good and evil but I found a fascinating article that accomplishes that for me, thank you Paula I. Nielson, Serpents and Snakes in the Bible. If you would rather not read the article, despite my glowing endorsement, here is the concluding statement...
"The serpent in the Bible thus represented both punishment and death and healing and life at the same time."
To put it simply, just because Satan first appeared in the form of a serpent does not mean snakes are the earthly representation of the devil. Would we feel the same way about rabbits if Satan first appeared to Eve in the form of a beguiling little bunny...ponder that!
~Kipling
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