Romans 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit: the poison of asps is under their lips.

      There are many ways for poison to enter the soul of a person’s life. It could have entered because of something that was done or said maliciously, or by accident, but regardless, the poison is starting to affect the way one now responds to the person who brought the hurt. Psalm 55:12 If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. 13 But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, 14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers. The painful reality of being betrayed by a spouse, friend, spiritual leader, mentor, or figurehead of any kind, can have the same effects on our heart, mind, and body as being bitten by a venomous asp. Our emotions and attitudes can become sluggish or paralyzed to extend grace or forgive those who hurt us. To forgive completely, in the manner God asks us to forgive, will take an antivenom of prayer and submission to the Spirit of God.

      The asp’s bite is excruciating, and an untreated bite can be fatal. The bite symptoms begin with sharp pain, swelling, and bruising. Renal failure and vision impairment may also occur if not treated quickly. If this were to happen to anyone you knew, you would be the first to get them to the emergency to be given an antivenom that would get them through the dangers of being snakebit. This emergency action would be the obvious thing to do in this situation. However, this is not usually what happens to an offended person’s heart when poisoned by the venom flowing through their soul as the result of someone’s careless words or actions.

      The Word of God asks us to pray for those who have hurt us. Matt. 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. It can be hard to pray for those who have spitefully used, cursed, and hated us. If the venom of that asp’s bite gets too deep within your heart before you act on the Lord’s Word, then your vision as to how God sees them can become impaired and you are suddenly praying judgment upon them rather than forgiveness for them. The poison distorts the truth of God’s intention for all man and we become blinded to the grace God has given to whosoever would accept Jesus as Lord.

      There was a man named Haman who allowed the poison of his hatred for the Jews to create a plan to destroy them. Est. 3:8 Then Haman approached King Xerxes and said, “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire who keep themselves separate from everyone else. Their laws are different from those of any other people, and they refuse to obey the laws of the king. So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live. Imagine a statement like, “So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live” coming out of your heart as casual as ordering a coffee. We are not born racists, it is something we learn throughout the years of our lives, and it is something we permit to take up residence in our hearts. Haman was a victim of the venom he had allowed to flow freely through his being, and the result was pure hate with no room for graciousness for people who were bringing blessing and prosperity to a kingdom.

       As the asp’s venom can cause vision impairment, Haman’s vision became distorted because he was not able to look past his hatred for the Jews and see that God chooses the destiny of a people and nation. He built a gallows to be used to hang and destroy Mordecai. Haman could not visualize that the gallows would be the instrument of death of his own life rather than for the annihilation of an ethnic group. Est. 7:10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided. 8:1a That same day King Xerxes awarded Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. The Irony in this case, of reaping what Haman sowed, by building your own death trap is a mystery that only God saw coming.

      Not only can the poison in a person’s heart affect their life, but it can have dire consequences for the members of the family and friends. The hate of one person can spread to many and cause them to fall for the same rhetoric and blindness, only to become damaged and in some situations, end up dead. Est. 9:14 So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman. No one falls alone, the offences and hatred that are being expressed openly, always take other people down the same path of punishment awaiting the ones who are full of venom. Rom. 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit: the poison of asps is under their lips.

      If you have experienced a venomous demonic bite lately, and find yourself in constant emotional unease, while losing sight of God’s Word of life, then it is time to take a full measure of the Lord’s antivenom within your heart. The blood of Jesus can heal all wounds, hurts, and offences. The sanctified blood of Christ cleanses us from all the sinful poisons of life. We need to let the Lord into our mess and submit to His love so that our pains may be healed and we clearly see the Lord of our salvation. John 1:29b Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!