Isaiah 11:6-8 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
What about the role of Satan, the serpent, in all of this? He is the one who enticed the woman in the Garden of Eden. He is the one who suggested to the woman to challenge God’s authority. He is the one who suggested disobedience to God. What does the future hold for Satan and future snakes? Let’s take a look back to the Garden. Satan was successful in the encouragement of the woman’s disobedience. Granted she and Adam made their own choices and are responsible for them.
Satan’s consequences are spelled out in Genesis 3:14, The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life… This is why we see snakes slither around on their belly.
…on your belly you go…The snake was reduced to the lowest of all animals. The snake is the most cursed (judged, condemned, harshly punished in the original Hebrew as noted per Strong’s Concordance) animal on the planet. There are some who conjecture the snake was originally created with the ability to maneuver upright prior to the fall. Notice the last part of the verse. The length of the sentence, punishment, and consequence is all the days of your life…
The context of Isaiah 65:25 is a time when there is peace in the animal kingdom. “The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD. Despite these changed and improved conditions, the snake is still cursed. Look at the living conditions of the cobra and viper. They are still in the ground on their bellies.
He wanted to exalt himself like the Most High. Micah 7:17 They will lick the dust like a serpent, like reptiles of the earth… His curse will not be reversed.
