Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:00 — 4.1MB)
PROGRAM D-7664
We’re looking at how the enemy of our soul schemes against us, for if we don’t know what to expect, we will fall victims to his attacks. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that we should not be unaware of his schemes and we should not allow him to outwit us (2 Cor. 2:11). That means that God has given us the power, through his Spirit, to outwit the enemy, if we will follow biblical instructions.
The devil is described in 1 Peter 5:8 as a roaring lion, and we’ve looked at the tactics of a roaring lion. But he is also pictured as a fowler in Psalm 124:7:
“We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped.”
And again in Psalm 91:3:
“Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.”
A fowler is a hunter of birds, and they set snares for the birds, which are hidden and once ensnared, very difficult to escape. A fowler makes no noise, because that would frighten the bird and it would fly away. A fowler quietly sets his lure, and even sometimes uses fake birdcalls to enchant and deceive the bird, until it flies into the trap and is caught.
David uses the imagery of a fowler to warn us that the enemy of our soul can be very deceitful and fool us easily, if you don’t know what kind of snares he uses. One of the devil’s favorite snares is to mix a little truth with a lot of lies and thereby deceive us. That is how cults begin; that is why false teaching ensnares some people. They hear something that sounds right, but fail to understand that it is basically a lie dressed up with a little truth to ensnare them.
Getting caught in the snare of the devil transpires when we are biblically illiterate; Christians who have very shallow teaching and understanding of theology and doctrine are very susceptible to being deceived. And here’s the thing you must remember: When you are deceived, you don’t know it!
But God’s truth sets us free from the fowler’s trap. Of course, you have to know the truth in order for it to set you free. So, if we want to avoid the fowler’s snare, we must be continually growing in our knowledge of God’s Word, his truth, for that is how the snare is broken.