Eat My Dust
I’ve learned most of my comebacks from The Simpsons, mainly from Bart. I thought I was so clever when I figured out how to say “eat my shorts” in French II.
My classmates and I had some serious trash talk going on during review games. I used my new “clever” comeback a little too much.
“Hey Brittani, I’m going to kick your butt this round”
“Manger mon short!”
“Hey Team 2, you’re going down!”
“Manger mon short!”
*walking away as I got the answer right* “Manger mon short!”
Well the catchphrase of “Manger mon short!” didn’t last too long when I was asked to stay after class that day.
I was more upset that I was late to my next class than I was being told to stop saying “eat my shorts.” However, when I arrived to History late with my pass, the teacher asked me why she held me after class. He thought it was hilarious and told me it was appropriate for his classroom.
If I was Usain Bolt my catchphrase would change from “Manger mon short!” to “Eat my dust!” As the fastest man on earth, I think I would have every right to that phrase.
But I think this catchphrase has been copyrighted by God. So if I were Usain Bolt, “Manger mon short!” might suffice.
The catchphrase “eat my dust” was coined in the story the NIV translation of the Bible simply calls “The Fall.” The story stars in Genesis 3:1 and it goes like this:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
(v. 1-5)
The crafty serpent…you see what he is doing? He is creating doubt. He starts with, “Did God really say..?” He continues, “You will not certainly die” even God knows that. Have you heard that crafty serpent?
I have! It comes in the form of anxiety for me. I named my anxiety Janice after the FRIENDS character. My anxiety is always shouting:
If you know the show, you can probably hear her nails-on-a-chalkboard voice saying it! That’s why my doubt feels like:
Did God really say?
It certainly cannot be true!
Even God knows that!
And so the story continues that both the man and the woman eat from the very tree God told them not to and the story of sin began. After they did so, they hid from God. When He finds them and confronts them here is what happens:
Then 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,
“Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life…”(v. 13-14)
And that’s were “eat my dust comes” was first said. Well that’s the paraphrased version. God doesn’t just say “eat my dust.” He actually starts with cursing the serpent. He didn’t say 4-letter colorful words - he actually condemns the serpent or dooms him.
Doom (verb) - condemn to certain destruction [Oxford Dictionary]
The enemy is condemned to certain destruction. God doesn’t say “one day I might get you.” He commands with certainty that the enemy will be crushed (Genesis 3:15, Luke 3:41-45, Romans 16:20, Revelation 20:7-10].
But let us not lose sight of the catchphrase here. God dooms the serpent to the ground where “(he) will eat dust all the days of (his) life.” There it is “eat my dust.”
I’m going to pause on writinging “eat my dust” - it’s getting a little like “manger mon short” now. Let this sink in now.
God says to the woman “What is that you have done?” She confesses. God punishes both her and man, don’t get me wrong. But did you notice that he punishes the enemy first?
He doesn’t gloss over their blatant sin. He addresses it and makes correction. But he addresses the enemy first. It’s what He does for us still today. It’s why Jesus died for even us today. Jesus had to address the enemy first. He had to die for sins that weren’t even committed yet (and still haven’t been committed this day).
There is something powerful in my mind when I think about what happened on that cross. As Jesus died, it is understood that he descended into Hell before ascending into Heaven. When I picture that encounter in Hell, this is what I see:
He tells the enemy that His death is for all the sin already committed.
The enemy might snicker in response.
Jesus then hits the biggest blow in crushing his head when he says, “And My death is for all future sins too.”
I see the enemy cock his head like a dog when you say, “treat.”
Jesus explains, “You might try to make My people doubt Me like you did to Eve. You’ll try to confuse them. And in the moment, it will look like you are winning. But My death forgives those sins too. My people will be washed cleaned.”
He addressed the enemy first. Like God did when He cursed him during The Fall, it is with certainty.
And lastly, I see Him on His way back to Heaven yelling “Eat My dust!”
And all God’s people say, “Manger mon short!”
