When the serpent talked to Eve, scripture didn’t say she was surprised at all. So, before the fall, could they verbally talk to the animals, and they talk to them?
Let’s read the account of the serpent speaking with Eve in Genesis 3:1-8, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.”
It is not wise to go beyond what the Bible tells us and speculate about what is not told but let us look at what we can know from this portion. We can’t rightly assume that, at this point, all the animals could talk. This serpent was actually Satan in the form of a serpent. He is still referred to as the serpent in Revelation 20:2, “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.” So, it is not a strange thing that this serpent spoke.
We realize that Adam and Eve were in a state of innocence. The time period before sin entered the world is sometime referred to as the Dispensation of Innocence and it generally refers to the period from humanity’s creation in Genesis until the fall of Adam and Eve. During this time, there was direct, unobstructed communication between God and man. Genesis 3:8 mentions the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, implying a personal closeness made possible in a world untouched by sin. In this glorious garden in which the Lord placed Adam and Eve, there was only ONE THING that they were prohibited to do. “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17).
Even an innocent toddler can realize right and wrong. When a toddler is scolded, he realizes he has done wrong, and enough reinforcement will teach him to avoid doing the wrong things. Still, an innocent toddler may not understand that animals cannot talk, so Eve could have accepted that this serpent was talking to her and not be alarmed by it. After all, this serpent was “more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.” (Genesis 3:1).
This slippery serpent was able to trick and seduce Eve by questioning God’s word. He asked her, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” In verses 2-3, Eve repeated God’s commandment by saying, “And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” If you are familiar with this portion, you will notice that Eve misquoted the Lord’s words. He did not say they could not touch the fruit, neither did He say they MIGHT die if they ate of it. This misquote showed the serpent that Eve did not know exactly what the Lord said, so he calls God a liar by telling Eve, “Ye shall not surely die.” (Genesis 3:4).
My dear friends, we have a powerful enemy in Satan. He is subtle, he is a liar, and he will cause us to disobey the Lord if we listen to him. As believers on the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us (Ephesians 1:18, Romans 8:9). 1 John 4:4 tells us, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU (the Holy Spirit) THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD (Satan). By walking in the truth under the guidance of the Spirit, we can overcome Satan’s temptations and remain faithful to the truth of God’s Word. He still seeks to entice us and lead us away from the Lord. Seek the Lord’s guidance to overcome this enemy so that you can enjoy the sweet fellowship and strengthening hand of the Lord. (CC) (701.4)