Satan the Serpent
In Genesis 3: we are told that the serpents punishment for enticing Eve to
sin was that it would have to walk on it's belly and eat dust the rest of it's
life.
"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made... And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:" (Genesis 3:1&14)
It is clear that Satan was either appearing as a reptile, or projecting his
voice through the reptile to deceive Eve into believing that it was the reptile who was talking.
Satan is described as “the dragon” and that “ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole
world” (Revelation 20:2).
But there remains a question to be asked, didn't the serpent or snake already
do that?
While the Bible is not clear whether or not the serpent could walk before it was cursed, it is likely that, like other reptiles, it did walk on four legs. The fact that the serpent was cursed to crawl on his belly and eat the dust of the earth forever indicating that the serpent was a form of reptile or dragon prior to the curse. When the Bible was first translated into English the word for large reptiles was “dragons”. This curse meant that the dragons ability to move changed, and the change was a physical and visible one, to set it apart from all other animals. The serpent would be a creature forever despised and looked upon as a vile and despicable creature and an object of scorn and contempt.
To use the serpent to speak to Eve is entirely consistent with Satan’s character, as he is the “father of lies”.
It would not be very deceptive if he presented himself to Eve as himself, but
using an animal would be an effective means of deception.
So why was there a need to curse the serpent? To show both Eve and Adam that
there are consequences for sin, even if it is an animal. Otherwise God’s curses would have been a meaningless.
God was definitely out to teach them the consequences of sin and His absolute authority over His creation to judge, and choose the type of
judgment.