And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. Genesis 3:13-14 (NKJV) emphasis mine

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 (NKJV) emphasis mine

After the fall of Adam, the serpent was made to eat dust. God formed man’s flesh out of the dust of the ground. Both of these two verses in Genesis mention dust. Are they related? If so, how? And what could it mean for us?

In scripture, because of the serpent’s role in the fall of man, the serpent usually represents the devil. The entrance of sin into the world resulted in the serpent being made to move around on its belly and eat dust.

God made Adam out of dust, therefore man’s flesh is made of dust. Actually, if a chemical analysis is done of human flesh, it is found to be made of the same elements are regular, ordinary dirt. In the Bible, the flesh refers to man’s natural, carnal, sinful nature.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.  For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.  Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,  idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,  envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:16-21 (New American Standard Bible, NASB)

As we take a good look at the list of deeds of the flesh, we see a few that may be surprising, such as jealousy and outbursts of anger. I think most of us would admit, if we were honest, that we have been guilty of an outburst of anger or two, so let’s use that one for an example. What happens in the spirit realm when we have an outburst of anger? When we act in the flesh, it beckons the one who likes to eat dirt. If the flesh is made of dust, and someone acts “in the flesh,” it is an open invitation to the one who eats dust- the serpent. Therefore, it is safe to say, that acts of the flesh open the door to the enemy to have access to our lives. This is why so many Christians deal with ongoing attacks of the devil- they open the door wide to him by walking in the flesh rather than walking in the Spirit.

If we realize we have opened the door to the enemy in this way, we can close it just as quickly. First, we need to repent of the deed or deeds that opened the door. For example, if we were jealous of a coworker’s success, we need to go to God and ask Him to forgive us of it. Then, we need to address the enemy and tell him to leave.

So then, surrender to God. Stand up to the devil and resist him and he will turn and run away from you. James 4:7 (The Passion Translation, TPT)

As we walk in the Spirit, and stay on guard for any situation where we slip up and act in the flesh, we can repent and close the door to the devil. By staying out of the flesh, we can remain out of the reach of the dust eater and we can live in victory.