ture whole. Anacondas can eat white-tailed deer, pigs, large ro-dents, fish, and other creatures. They usually do not attack humans,

but on rare occasions, some anacondas have done so.

The LongesT snake in The WorLd

While you might think that the biggest snake would be the longest, that is not true. Even though anacondas are

the thickest snakes in the world and can weigh the most, they are not the longest. The longest snake in the world is the reticu-

lated python. The reticulated python gets its name from the pattern of lines on its back. The longest one ever measured was 33-feet-long. Reticulated pythons can eat animals as large as sheep, pigs, or dogs. They can also go long periods without eating anything. One reticulated python that lived in a zoo went almost 2 whole years without eating anything. These huge snakes can grow to be longer than anacondas, but their girth (how thick their bodies get) is smaller.

The FasTesT snake in The WorLd

You would need a very special pair of run-ning shoes to get away from the black mamba, the fastest moving snake in the world. Black mambas live in Africa. They can grow to be over 10-feet-long. Oddly enough, they are not always black. They are sometimes grayish or ol-ive. They are called black mambas because the insides of their mouths are black. These super-fast slitherers can race up to speeds of 7-12 miles per hour. They are excellent tree climbers and are the second longest venomous snakes in the world.

The LongesT Venomous snake in The WorLd

Most of us have seen the king cobra. In movies, snake charmers of-ten charm the king cobra. It is recognized by the broad, flaring skin around its neck that spreads out when it raises itself off the ground. A very small amount of venom from this creature can kill an adult elephant or several people. It can grow to be over 18-feet-long, which makes it the longest ven-omous snake in the world. Snakes are amazing creatures designed

by the most brilliant Designer—God. God gave snakes remarkable abilities that humans can observe and study. As we study these astounding creatures, we realize that they could not have evolved over millions of years. They were intentionally designed. Let’s remember to thank God for His sensational slithering snakes.

Snakes are some of the most frightening and interesting animals that God created. The fact that many snakes have sharp fangs and are

venomous is enough to keep our attention. And al-though we might be a little afraid of these amazing creatures, it is important to remember that God cre-ated them for very specific purposes. In fact, many snakes eat rodents like mice and rats. Since rodents can have many babies in very short amounts of time, they might become too numerous and damage crops and food supplies if snakes were not around to eat them. Furthermore, the venom from certain snakes can be used to make medicines that can help

sick people. While we need to respect the fact that some snakes can be dangerous, we also need to study them to see how their design shows God’s creative ability.

Snakes are reptiles that are cold-blooded. The term “cold-blooded” means that snakes cannot keep their body temperature the same if it is cold outside. Unlike mammals, such as dogs or cats, snakes do not produce their own heat. They absorb heat from the Sun and from their environment. That is why you would never find a snake in Antarctica or other climates where it stays freezing most of the time. One good thing about being cold-blood-ed, however, is the fact that snakes do not have to eat all the time. Since they do not have to produce internal heat of their own, snakes can go for months and even a year or more with-out eating. In fact, when food is not abundant (and temperatures are colder) snakes can slow down their metabolism (body movement) until more food is available.

The BiggesT snake in The WorLd

It is always fun to know which animals are the biggest, fastest, slowest, longest, etc. When it comes to snakes, there are some fun “snake” facts that make this creature quite interesting. For instance, the biggest snakes in the world are anacondas. They live in South America and can grow to be 30-feet-long and weigh over 400 pounds. Anacondas live and hunt mostly

in the water. They are constrictors, which means they wrap their bodies around their prey and squeeze it to death. Once the anaconda has killed its prey, it then swallows the crea-

kyle Butt

God’s Sensational Snakes

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83

This is not a reticulated python but numerous types of pythons grow to be very long.

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Egyptian Magicians, snakEs, and rods

Do you remember the story in the Bible when Moses and Aaron threw down a rod that became a snake, and Pharoah’s magicians cop-ied them by throwing down their rods that became snakes as well? The biblical account states:

“And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their

enchantments” (Exodus 7:10-11).Have you ever wondered how the magicians of Egypt could have

possessed the miraculous power to repeat the sign that God had given to Moses and Aaron? Did the magicians really have supernatural powers? The biblical text does not give us all the details, but there

are clues that suggest that the Egyptian magicians used trickery instead of real supernatural ability.

Egyptians often used the snake in their religious rituals. Many Egyptian paintings and carvings portray this animal in

connection with ancient Egyptian snake charmers and magi-cians. They would certainly have become very skilled at cap-

turing, handling, and displaying snakes. One common trick charmers could do was to press below the neck of certain snakes to “paralyze” them. By pressing a certain spot below the neck, the snake becomes stiff and difficult to bend, much like a rod. This could have been the trick that the Egyp-tian magicians used with Moses and Aaron.

The Bible does not say that the magicians possessed miraculous powers. Their “magic” tricks were most like-ly just the ability to know how to hold a snake to make it stiffen like a rod. While the magicians could at least make it look like they had amazing abilities, they could not withstand the power of the almighty God. Their weak attempts to copy the miracle per-formed by Moses and Aaron were ruined when God showed His power by causing the rod of Moses and Aaron to eat all the other snakes of the magicians (Exodus 7:12). The important

point to remember is that God is all powerful—more power-ful than any false god or magician.

kylE Butt

What’s the most dangerous snake in the world? Is it the 400-pound anaconda, or the 33-feet-long python? Is it the king cobra of Asia, or the rattlesnake of North America? It certainly would not be good for your health to get squeezed by an anaconda or bitten by a king cobra. These are very dangerous snakes. But, spiritually speaking, the most toxic, deadly “snake” of them all is the serpent of old—Satan.

When Adam and Eve were still living in the Garden of Eden (before they sinned), Satan appeared to them as a snake. Then, similar to how God allowed Balaam’s donkey to speak to him “with a man’s voice” (Numbers 22:28,30; 2 Peter 2:16), Satan spoke to Eve while in the form of a snake. His words may not have seemed all that dangerous, and may have been spoken in the gentlest manner, yet they were full of the most deadly poison.

Earlier God told Adam that he could freely eat “of every tree of the gar-den…, 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” (Genesis 2:16-17). Later, however, when the snake spoke with Eve, he lied, saying, “You shall not surely die” (3:4). The sneaky snake convinced Eve that it would be okay to eat from the tree that God had forbidden. Adam and Eve sinned by listening to Satan and disobeying God, and they were separated from the tree of life (3:22). Satan was sly and crafty in the Garden in his temptation of Eve. He added one word to God’s command and changed the world for-ever (read Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:18-19).

This story shows us how skillful Satan is at lying. The “father” of lies, as Jesus called him ( John 8:44), tries to get people to see a lie as truth, and evil as good (Isaiah 5:20). Consider how he has led so many to believe that abortion is not murder, but just a choice. Think about how many people lie everyday who think it is okay “just as long as no one gets hurt.” Instead of having this attitude, we must “resist the devil,” oppose his lies, and “draw near to God” by obeying His eternal truths (read James 4:7).

T h e M o s t D a n g e r o u sSnake of Them All

ERIC LYONS

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(New King James Version)1. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a ________. But

Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their ___________ (Exodus 7:10-11).

2. Now the _______ was more ________ than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1).

3. You are of your father the ______, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no ______ in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a _____ and the _______ of it ( John 8:44).

1. ____ The Bible does not say that the magicians which Moses and Aaron faced in Egypt possessed miraculous powers.

2. ____ Evolution explains the existence of snakes.

3. ____ What appear to be tiny legs on some species of snakes are really small claws that snakes use when mating.

4. ____ God created snakes for very specific purposes.

5. ____ Satan is the “father” of lies.

6. ____ Venom from certain snakes can be used to make medicines that can help sick people.

7. ____ Snakes are mammals that are cold-blooded.

8. ____ Moses and Aaron threw down a rod that became a lion.

9. ____One common trick Egyptian charmers could do was to press below the neck of certain snakes to “paralyze” them.

10. ____ Snakes are amazing creatures designed by time and chance.

1. Means that snakes cannot keep their body temperature the same if it is cold outside. _______________

2. Biggest snake in the world. ___________3. Moses’ brother. ________4. The fasted moving snake in the world. _______

________5. Satan deceived this woman. ______ 6. God created land-living snakes on this day of

Creation. ________7. Spiritually speaking, the most toxic, deadly

“snake” of them all. ___________8. A snake with broad, flaring skin around its neck.

______ _______9. When Adam and Eve were still living in the

Garden of Eden (before they sinned), Satan ap-peared to them as this. __________

10. The kind of animal that spoke to Balaam. _________

Write down two reasons why snakes are beneficial.

Why do you think Satan is called the “father” of lies?

What clues suggest that the Egyptian magicians used trickery against Moses and Aaron?

Fill in the BiBle Verses

E T U Y T Y J C S I X Z Y EN U S K D J U V A U D X T CV O B X E D T X B H N N B ES C O L D B L O O D E D L VX A O H N L R P O X L N A EB D U N B K V X U K A Z C SN R Y E J U I A A T F H K AS E R P S H D N A S T Y M AN B P U D N F S G B L U A RA V B C O O F D K C C Y M OK D J C Y I N C P O O Z B NE V A U H P D K T H X B A GL N J I E F B H E H S V R ZA M B V C A M G Z Y A C I A

solVe, Find, and CirCle

Dear Digger Doug, Why did Satan take the form of a snake to trick Adam and Eve? —Katie C.

Dear Katie,Thanks for this inter-

esting question. First, remember that Eve, not Adam, was “deceived” (1 Timothy 2:14; 2 Cor-inthians 11:3). Eve prob-ably did not sense the danger of the serpent or see through his false argument.

We cannot be sure why Satan took the form of a snake to tempt the first woman, but there are some good possibilities. Genesis 3:1 says, “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord had made.” He knew what he was doing; perhaps he be-came a serpent in order to be in the right posi-tion in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to speak to Eve.

But there’s probably more to it. Snakes have the appearance of being very fascinating, but also very tricky and smart. Plus, people generally think that snakes look interesting. Perhaps Satan felt that he could capture Eve’s attention best by looking like a snake.

In the New Testament we read that Satan walks about the Earth “like a roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8). Whatever form he is in, Satan is dangerous. Even though God always provides a way to resist and defeat Satan, many people refuse to let God help them. Let’s make sure we trust God to help us defeat Satan.

True or False

on a Separate Sheet of paper

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Brad Harrub

Snake Evolution Doesn’t

Have A Leg To Stand On

ETUYTYJCSIXZYENUSKDJUVAUDXTCVOBXEDTXBHNNBESCOLDBLOODEDLVXAOHNLRPOXLNAEBDUNBKVXUKAZCSNRYEJUIAATFHKASERPSHDNASTYMANBPUDNFSGBLUARAVBCOOFDKCCYMOKDJCYINCPOOZBNEVAUHPDKTHXBAGLNJIEFBHEHSVRZAMBVCAMGZYACIA

FIll In THe BIBle Verses: 1. serpent, enchantments; 2. serpent, cunning; 3. devil, truth, liar, father. True or False: 1-T; 2-F; 3-T; 4-T; 5-T; 6-T; 7-F; 8-F; 9-T; 10-F.

solVe, FInD, anD CIrCle: 1. cold-blooded; 2. anaconda; 3. aaron; 4. black mamba; 5. eve; 6. six; 7. satan; 8. king cobra; 9. snake; 10. donkey.

Some snakes have tiny claws that they use when mating. These claws are not left-over legs of evolution.

There I was, lying in a creek enjoying an afternoon of “creek stomping,” when suddenly someone yelled, “Snake!” Before I had time to get up, the snake slithered right across my stomach! I was only seven, but I won’t soon forget that mo-ment. The snake didn’t walk across my stomach, but rather it wiggled back and forth. Even without legs it was ex-tremely effective at moving around. Were snakes designed this way or did they evolve into legless creatures?

Is there any way “natural selection” could be the driving engine for a creature to lose its legs, and in many cases produce deadly venom? Do we find natural selection removing legs from other creatures today? How can “selective pressure” cause an animal to produce deadly venom—and the necessary storage

and delivery sys-tems? And why don’t all snakes possess venom if it is so ben-eficial? The answer to all those questions is that evolution can-not explain the exis-tence of snakes.

Evolutionists themselves have

trouble deciding whether snakes lost their legs on

land and then journeyed to the water, or whether they lost their legs at sea and

then crawled onto land. Many evolutionists be-lieve that because snakes possess scales, lay eggs, and

have special features in their skulls that they closely resemble four-legged lizards. However, lizards have only 25 vertebrae, while most snakes typically have over 100! Then there’s the problem with the legs that snakes supposedly had in the past. How did they “disappear”? Evolutionists argue that limbs would get in the way of animals that wiggle around in small holes or crevices. But there are many animals, such as our friend Digger Doug (the underground mole), that have limbs yet live in holes or in tight places.

Some scientists have pointed to a fossil known as Pachy-rhachis problematicus as the ancestor to snakes. It appeared to have tiny legs and a pelvic girdle. However, what appear to be tiny legs on some species of snakes are really small claws that snakes use when mating. They are not “tiny legs” at all. Like them or not, snakes show purpose and design by the ultimate Designer—God.

photo by Terri Heisele

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