Not much mention is made of Satan. Genesis starts with the fall of A and E, only the serpent is mentioned.
Just who is Satan? Assuming he was the serpent, did he actually do a good thing by tempting A and E to acquire knowledge? I mean, knowledge is a good thing, right? A and E were ignorant until they ate from the tree of knowledge, and Satan was instrumental. So did God really want A and E to eat from the tree, which was why he allowed the serpent to enter the garden to begin with? Is Satan then a teacher rather than a tempter, a teacher appointed by God to educate mankind?
Some insights would be appreciated.
Elysian
Using your perspective on the matter, wouldn't God allowing Satan to tempt Adam and Eve IN ORDER to bring His Plan of Salvation simply be USAGE of Satan for something he wouldn't like? Wouldn't that be a type of mocking against Satan for what he did of old in rebelling against God? I think so.
In Isaiah 14 God mocks Satan (as Lucifer) with his evil proclamations that he will exalt himself upon the Throne of God, be like The Most High. Yet God is going to allow him to tempt the nations in our near future, to deceive those who don't listen to God in His Word, and not just at the end of this present world, but also at the end of Christ's future "thousand years" reign.
This involves how many don't know in what relation Satan has with God's overall Plan of Salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 10, God is pointing symbolically to Satan with "the Assyrian", calling him the rod of God's anger upon the rebellious.
Thus God uses... Satan as a whipping rod upon those who rebel against Him, just like what Satan did against Him originally. Satan started this mess, so God is Just in using him to quell the wicked that rebel with him, until... the time of God's Eternal Kingdom when wickedness will be destroyed in the "lake of fire".