If the Hose Moves

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

Revelation 12:17, KJV

One warm summer day, I went to water the garden and plant sweet potato slips. I turned on the spigot and walked toward the garden. Something in my head said “look down, to the left”, and there I spied it, just a step or two away from the hose. It resembled the hose and looked like a long black branch, common in the yard, but mind you, branches don’t have curves—at least not in this area. Is that a snake?!

Yes, it was black, around four feet, and definitely not my cup of tea. Obviously, neither of us expected the other, so we both paused, and made the best of the encounter. As I was in an otherwise peaceful frame of mind, I didn’t feel the need to induce harm on one of God’s creatures. If it had been my father writing this story, it would have ended rather abruptly as a Haiku:

Look, a snake below

I took it out with one blow

It is cursed you know

Or,

Isn’t that a snake?

Yes, but not any longer

Snakes are not my friends

I proceeded to the garden alone, or so I thought. As I picked up the spray nozzle, I again looked down, to the left, and there was my newfound friend, who had also made the 75-foot trek to the garden. This was curious but definitely not a welcomed situation. Again, not expecting each other, or as least I was not, we both paused, and realizing a situation was not about to develop, it turned and slithered off into a dense portion of the garden. I turned and watered the garden.

Seconds later, the snake reemerged and headed straight towards me! “Friend”, I exclaimed, “you really need a hobby!” The garden hoe was there and I could have done what I knew to do. However, again we both paused, and then it meandered off to another portion of the yard to live another day.

Believe it or not, you and I face this scenario almost every day as we are pawns in an unseen spiritual battle as good and evil rage about us. Many attuned to this cosmic warfare recite 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” Thus, this is how they often depict him in movies, TV, books, and other forms of media, as overt and scary.

How many of realize that this is not his only form of approach? Our introduction to the concept of evil came in Genesis 3, where the devil approached Eve not as a brash dragon, but as a smooth, seductive, and sinister serpent. He presented himself as a friend who just wanted companionship, someone to talk over a few ideas. As perfect beings, literally made from the hand of God, dwelling in a most pristine and pure venue, she and her husband fell from grace and generations continue to suffer the consequences.

In retrospect, a divine hoe would have taken care of necessary business. It is not too late, as he presents us with temptations every day. We could pause and consider the ideas presented and therefore fall in the battle or we could swing the mighty sword of God’s Word, as our Example and Savior, Jesus Christ did when He proclaimed the first line of the divine Haiku, “For it is written!”

So as in “Bees in the Cookie Jar” (August 19, 2022), be careful where you place your hands and if the hose moves, don’t pick it up!