I'm just going to admit right up front that today's lesson is probably not going to be entirely cohesive. We are going to look at Genesis 3 in terms of patterns and foreshadowing and to get all the information tucked neatly into 10-15 minutes I'm gonna have to cut out a lot of flourish. I promise taking a second look at this chapter will be well worth a possibly chaotic writing style.
First I'm going to ask you to refresh your memory and take the time to reread all of Genesis Chapter 3.
Adam, unlike Eve, was not lied to by the serpent.
"And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner." 1 Timothy 2:14
Eve handed Adam some fruit and he took it and ate. What I find fascinating (though I may be barking mad) is that Adam was without sin, but when he saw that his bride had sinned, he chose to sin as well in order to be with her. It's the same and yet the opposite of what Jesus does for us. Holy, perfect, wonderful Jesus saw that His beloved bride was filthy with sin, so He became sin to make her holy and perfect.* Adam's sacrifice pushed the weight of sin onto all mankind, while Christ's sacrifice cleansed us of our sins. As I said in The Fall Day 1, Adam is both a pattern of Jesus and yet Jesus is the end to what started with Adam.
The pattern continues in verses 17-19. Because of Adam's sin, providing for his family would become hard work. The ground would produce thorns and thistles and eventually Adam would die a physical death (return to dust). Adam would be the first man to bear these consequences, but Christ would conquer them.
"Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head." Matthew 27:27, 28a
The Roman soldiers in their utter ignorance and cruelty thought it would be funny to make the "King of the Jews" wear a crown. They wound up some thorny branches, the symbol of the fallen world, and put it on Jesus' head. When they were done mocking and beating Jesus they took off the robe but apparently left the crown.** Jesus was then led up a hill to a very real and physical death. The Christ died bearing the curse so that we could be set free.
In God's grace and mercy, He saw fit to set patterns and symbols into His Word so that we would know Salvation when He came.
With Eve, it's less about symbols and more about themes. The Bible is an intricately woven tapestry, everything is connected in some way to everything else. Of course, with Scripture, it all leads to Jesus.
Tucked neatly into God's declaration of war in Genesis 3:15, He says the most peculiar thing.
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers."
The problem is, it's hard to see how strange this statement is unless you either look in the notes at the bottom of your page or read it in the New King James Version. The Hebrew word, Zera, translated in the New International Version as offspring, is better translated seed. Though indeed it is the offspring that would ultimately crush Satan's head, there is an implication that is lost in the translation. Without going into too much detail, seed is never equated with female reproduction. Strictly speaking, seed comes from men. No author, ancient or modern, would call someone the seed of a woman without expecting their audience to read into it. What is even more interesting about this particular Hebrew word is that is is singular. God is speaking of one specific descendant of the woman.***
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14.
When God declared, through His prophet Isaiah, that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, no one should have been surprised. He had hinted at a virgin birth since the beginning.
God promised that the Savior would come from woman, but because of her sin, it would not be the most pleasant experience. Birth would become a bittersweet event, how much more so for a young virgin in Nazareth. Her pregnancy almost cost her her husband, her reputation, possibly even her life, yet she was about to give birth to the Savior of the World.
The last bit of foreshadowing we are going to look at (which is my no means the last bit in chapter 3) is in verse 21.
"The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them."
It seems like a simple and easily overlooked verse, but again we see a hint at what was to come.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
"Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." Hebrews 9:22b
Before removing Adam and Eve from the Garden, God showed them what the cost of their sin was. Sin could never be overlooked by God, it has a price and the price must be paid. But God, in his infinite mercy and grace allowed for a substitution. In place of Adam and Eve's death, God taught them to offer an animal for atonement.
Atonement in the Bible is an interesting word. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word for it implies a covering over, or pushing ahead of sin.**** But the Greek word used in the New Testament means the sin-debt has been paid in full and removed.*****
It would be thousands of years before Moses would receive that Law on Mount Sinai with all the regulations for sacrifice to make atonement. It would be thousands more until Christ would take the burden of all sin unto Himself, once and for all. In the Garden at the beginning, God showed Adam and Eve the price of their sin. However, in love and mercy He demonstrated for them His provision for atonement.
From the first pages of Genesis to the last page of Revelation, God's love letter to us is Jesus.
"For God so Loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal live." John 3:16
* Ephesians 5:25 & 26
** Matthew 27:31
*** Hebrew- Greek Key Word Study Bible, NIV. Chattanoga, TN. AMG Publishers. 1996. pg. 1514
**** Hebrew- Greek Key Word Study Bible, NIV. pg 1524
***** Hebrew- Greek Key Word Study Bible, NIV pg. 1634
Showing posts with label Genesis 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Genesis 3. Show all posts
Friday, April 23, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The Fall Day 2
I really don't like those pictures of Adam and Eve dressed in fig leaf aprons standing next to a fruit laden tree with a snake wrapped around a branch. I think it's the fig leaves more than anything that makes me sad. Ever since that day in the Garden we've been sewing fig leaves together trying to cover our sin. For centuries, people have been striving to fix themselves. If we can just be good enough, if we say the right things, do more right things than wrong things maybe we can earn Eden back. So we help old ladies cross the street, refrain from kicking puppies, turn the lights out when we leave a room, and try really hard to not use certain naughty words. The problem is that everything we try to do to save ourselves is like a fig leaf apron over our naked sin, foolishness.
Please read Genesis 3: 8-19. Really take your time and savor it. Imagine God, not full of wrath and throwing curses (except at the snake) but as a Father who is brokenhearted, but cannot protect His children from all their consequences.
I have no idea how long our all-knowing God let Adam and Eve try to cover themselves with leaves. Somehow in His great mercy I imagine it was only long enough for them to see that they would never be able to cover their sin on their own. However many fig leaves they had sewn together, when they heard the LORD walking in the Garden they knew they were still naked, so they hid, but it is hard to hide from a God who knows everything.
Just because you know something is coming doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't hurt when it arrives. God knew that Adam and Eve were going to sin, He had even planned for it, but it still broke His heart to know that even though He had given them everything, including Himself, they rejected it and chose to be independent. Unfortunately, actions have consequences and choosing independence from God had some big ones, but our gracious and loving Father began with a promise that He would fix what Adam and Eve had messed up.
Talking to the serpent, God said,
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel." Genesis 3:15
Since the second century this verse has been considered (by most scholars) the protevangelium which is just a fancy of way of saying the first glimpse of the gospel.* You might also call it a declaration of war. Either way God proclaimed victory over the serpent who is both literally and figuratively sin and death.
For the sake of time and getting to the good part, I will operate on the assumption that you know that the serpent was really Satan in disguise (if you don't trust me, it's always better to check for yourself, look at Revelation 12:9).
Enmity is exactly as it sounds, an enemy.** God promised Satan he would have an Enemy. Satan would manage to hurt Him (strike His heel) but his Enemy would eventually crush his head. Thousands of years later, our Savior hung on a tree. I have no doubt that as He took His last breath Satan and his minions celebrated what appeared to be their victory. I once heard a preacher speculate that the darkness that came over the Earth in Matthew 27:45, as Christ hung on the Cross was Satan and his angels filling the sky as they rejoiced over His death. It paints a gruesome scene, but what Satan thought was a death blow was merely a bite in the heel. "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day." Luke 24:46.
Three days after Satan's big celebration, Jesus stepped out of the grave. Having conquered sin and death, He dealt the death blow that would crush Satan's head. Though we are still waiting for the sentence to begin, the judgement has already been made. On the Cross, Jesus paid the price for all of our sins and began the restoration of what Adam and Eve lost. Satan's fate is sealed (check out Revelation 20), unfortunately the battle isn't quite over. Thankfully, in Christ we can have victory.
"Finally, be strong in Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:10-12
"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:56 & 57
We may still live in a post-Fall world, and we may share the same enemy as Adam and Eve did, but in Christ we have the power to no longer be deceived and can reclaim the relationship with the Living God that was lost.
God is so awesome! It never ceases to amaze me that from the moment (and even before) sin entered into this world, He was already laying the foundation for Restoration. God didn't let Adam and Eve suffer unbearably in darkness, but even before explaining to them the consequences of their actions, He told them He would fix it.
" For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might have the righteousness of God in Him ." 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV)
*Arnold, Bill T. Encountering the Book of Genesis. Grand Rapids, MI. Baker Books. 1998. pg. 39
** Hebrew- Greek Key Word Study Bible, NIV. Chattanooga, TN. AMG Publishers. 1996. pg. 1503
Please read Genesis 3: 8-19. Really take your time and savor it. Imagine God, not full of wrath and throwing curses (except at the snake) but as a Father who is brokenhearted, but cannot protect His children from all their consequences.
I have no idea how long our all-knowing God let Adam and Eve try to cover themselves with leaves. Somehow in His great mercy I imagine it was only long enough for them to see that they would never be able to cover their sin on their own. However many fig leaves they had sewn together, when they heard the LORD walking in the Garden they knew they were still naked, so they hid, but it is hard to hide from a God who knows everything.
Just because you know something is coming doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't hurt when it arrives. God knew that Adam and Eve were going to sin, He had even planned for it, but it still broke His heart to know that even though He had given them everything, including Himself, they rejected it and chose to be independent. Unfortunately, actions have consequences and choosing independence from God had some big ones, but our gracious and loving Father began with a promise that He would fix what Adam and Eve had messed up.
Talking to the serpent, God said,
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel." Genesis 3:15
Since the second century this verse has been considered (by most scholars) the protevangelium which is just a fancy of way of saying the first glimpse of the gospel.* You might also call it a declaration of war. Either way God proclaimed victory over the serpent who is both literally and figuratively sin and death.
For the sake of time and getting to the good part, I will operate on the assumption that you know that the serpent was really Satan in disguise (if you don't trust me, it's always better to check for yourself, look at Revelation 12:9).
Enmity is exactly as it sounds, an enemy.** God promised Satan he would have an Enemy. Satan would manage to hurt Him (strike His heel) but his Enemy would eventually crush his head. Thousands of years later, our Savior hung on a tree. I have no doubt that as He took His last breath Satan and his minions celebrated what appeared to be their victory. I once heard a preacher speculate that the darkness that came over the Earth in Matthew 27:45, as Christ hung on the Cross was Satan and his angels filling the sky as they rejoiced over His death. It paints a gruesome scene, but what Satan thought was a death blow was merely a bite in the heel. "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day." Luke 24:46.
Three days after Satan's big celebration, Jesus stepped out of the grave. Having conquered sin and death, He dealt the death blow that would crush Satan's head. Though we are still waiting for the sentence to begin, the judgement has already been made. On the Cross, Jesus paid the price for all of our sins and began the restoration of what Adam and Eve lost. Satan's fate is sealed (check out Revelation 20), unfortunately the battle isn't quite over. Thankfully, in Christ we can have victory.
"Finally, be strong in Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:10-12
"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:56 & 57
We may still live in a post-Fall world, and we may share the same enemy as Adam and Eve did, but in Christ we have the power to no longer be deceived and can reclaim the relationship with the Living God that was lost.
God is so awesome! It never ceases to amaze me that from the moment (and even before) sin entered into this world, He was already laying the foundation for Restoration. God didn't let Adam and Eve suffer unbearably in darkness, but even before explaining to them the consequences of their actions, He told them He would fix it.
" For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might have the righteousness of God in Him ." 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV)
*Arnold, Bill T. Encountering the Book of Genesis. Grand Rapids, MI. Baker Books. 1998. pg. 39
** Hebrew- Greek Key Word Study Bible, NIV. Chattanooga, TN. AMG Publishers. 1996. pg. 1503
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Fall Day 1
You will need your Bible today.
I am so excited about this week's lesson. That might sound a little bit morbid considering we are going to be talking about The Fall, which is absolutely tragic and painful, but the fact that 3 chapters into Genesis I get to talk about Salvation makes me giddy! I wasn't there when Adam and Eve first bit into that deadly fruit. Other then what is described in Scripture I don't really know what life was like before The Fall. I know it was wonderful, that Adam and Eve got to walk and talk with God, that He provided for their every need, and to me that sounds amazing, but I have never experienced it, none of us have. We only know the reality of life after sin entered the world. We know pain, frustration, hard work, and hard relationships. We know what it is to desire to know God, to walk with Him and hear His voice, but what we have is separation. Or should I say that's what we have apart from Jesus. In Jesus we have the restoration of the relationship that was lost when Adam and Eve sinned. Jesus is the answer, the way. He is life, full and abundant, in Him we get all of what was lost. Maybe not all of Eden today but the most important part, a relationship with God, and the rest is coming! God promised. But before we can get to Jesus we must address the problem, sin.
Genesis chapter 3 is where we see why we need Jesus. From this chapter we learn why the world is the way it is and we are given a glimpse of God's ridiculous love and mercy. His grace is all over this chapter, but before we get to it, we need to back up just a bit. In the midst of God creating Adam in Genesis 2, the Bible tells us that God placed two special trees in the Garden along with all the others. One of the trees provided the basis for the one rule that God gave to Adam.
"And the LORD God had made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground- trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the LORD God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.'" Genesis 2:9, 16 & 17.
Now please read Genesis 3:1-7.
God gave Adam one simple rule, "Don't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." God warned him of the consequence, death, and then graciously provided him with all the fruit trees he could ever want to eat from. It was not a trap, it was choice.
Sin is always a choice. It is always an option that we have been warned about, we are aware of the consequences (though we might think they won't apply to us) and God has always provided a better alternative. Most often the temptation starts subtly, a friendly invitation, a glance at something (someone) beautiful, a new opportunity. The serpent simply asked Eve a question, "Did God really say?" Of course his question was a thinly veiled challenge to God's one rule. That's the reality of all temptation though. God gave us one rule, love Him with all our hearts mind, soul and body. He promised us a full and abundant life, a relationship with Him, and best of all eternity in His presence. What more could we ask for? But then we see something that appears to be better. We are invited to try something that seems to feel better, or we are given an opportunity to try to become better. Whatever the temptation, its a challenge to God's best for us by offering us something that seems in the moment, in the flesh, in our human finite minds, better. The serpent accused God of holding out, of keeping something back from Eve that would make her wise, make her special, make her like Him. The snake encouraged her to take a second look at the forbidden fruit, to question God's motivation, to decide for herself what was good to eat.
It's amazing to me that this is the exact same temptation that continues to wreak havoc. King David was well aware that adultery was a sin. He knew there were consequences, but when his eyes fell on Bathsheba he questioned God's rule and chose for himself to eat the forbidden fruit. The consequences almost destroyed his family.* Solomon might have learned from his father's mistake, he knew that God forbid the collecting of many wives. God warned him that they would turn his heart away from Him toward their pagan gods, yet he reasoned that God's rule was for the weak. Solomon was, after all, the wisest man that ever lived. He chose the forbidden fruit and eventually began to worship foreign gods exactly as he had been warned. Because of his sin, the nation of Israel was split in two.**
Every time you or I allow a thought, a person, or even an experience to challenge God in our lives we are taking sides with the serpent. We are declaring that we would like to choose for ourselves what is good for us, that God may not be trustworthy. Never mind the fact that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal and loving, that He sought us out. He sent His Son to die so that we could live, and He desires to bless us, to give us more then we can imagine, still we think we know better. We want to decide for ourselves.
Eve took the second. Even though she knew what it was to have a face to face relationship with God, she chose to believe that He was holding out on her. She took the fruit and ate it, then as the serpent slithered off snickering she offered the fruit to Adam.
When I was young I used to get so mad at Adam and Eve. I remember saying that when I got to Heaven I was going to have words with them. When she ate that fruit everything changed. Because of I never got to see the world perfect and pure, never got to walk and talk with God, but with maturity comes perspective. Every time I sin I show my solidarity with Adam and Eve. Had it been me in the Garden I absolutely would have messed it up to, we all would have and God knew it. That's why His love letter is all about Jesus. Revelation 13:8 tells us that the Lamb (Jesus) was slain from the creation of the world. Before God spoke into the darkness creating the light, He knew it would cost Him His Son.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
* 2 Samuel 11
** 1 Kings 11 & 12
I am so excited about this week's lesson. That might sound a little bit morbid considering we are going to be talking about The Fall, which is absolutely tragic and painful, but the fact that 3 chapters into Genesis I get to talk about Salvation makes me giddy! I wasn't there when Adam and Eve first bit into that deadly fruit. Other then what is described in Scripture I don't really know what life was like before The Fall. I know it was wonderful, that Adam and Eve got to walk and talk with God, that He provided for their every need, and to me that sounds amazing, but I have never experienced it, none of us have. We only know the reality of life after sin entered the world. We know pain, frustration, hard work, and hard relationships. We know what it is to desire to know God, to walk with Him and hear His voice, but what we have is separation. Or should I say that's what we have apart from Jesus. In Jesus we have the restoration of the relationship that was lost when Adam and Eve sinned. Jesus is the answer, the way. He is life, full and abundant, in Him we get all of what was lost. Maybe not all of Eden today but the most important part, a relationship with God, and the rest is coming! God promised. But before we can get to Jesus we must address the problem, sin.
Genesis chapter 3 is where we see why we need Jesus. From this chapter we learn why the world is the way it is and we are given a glimpse of God's ridiculous love and mercy. His grace is all over this chapter, but before we get to it, we need to back up just a bit. In the midst of God creating Adam in Genesis 2, the Bible tells us that God placed two special trees in the Garden along with all the others. One of the trees provided the basis for the one rule that God gave to Adam.
"And the LORD God had made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground- trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the LORD God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.'" Genesis 2:9, 16 & 17.
Now please read Genesis 3:1-7.
God gave Adam one simple rule, "Don't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." God warned him of the consequence, death, and then graciously provided him with all the fruit trees he could ever want to eat from. It was not a trap, it was choice.
Sin is always a choice. It is always an option that we have been warned about, we are aware of the consequences (though we might think they won't apply to us) and God has always provided a better alternative. Most often the temptation starts subtly, a friendly invitation, a glance at something (someone) beautiful, a new opportunity. The serpent simply asked Eve a question, "Did God really say?" Of course his question was a thinly veiled challenge to God's one rule. That's the reality of all temptation though. God gave us one rule, love Him with all our hearts mind, soul and body. He promised us a full and abundant life, a relationship with Him, and best of all eternity in His presence. What more could we ask for? But then we see something that appears to be better. We are invited to try something that seems to feel better, or we are given an opportunity to try to become better. Whatever the temptation, its a challenge to God's best for us by offering us something that seems in the moment, in the flesh, in our human finite minds, better. The serpent accused God of holding out, of keeping something back from Eve that would make her wise, make her special, make her like Him. The snake encouraged her to take a second look at the forbidden fruit, to question God's motivation, to decide for herself what was good to eat.
It's amazing to me that this is the exact same temptation that continues to wreak havoc. King David was well aware that adultery was a sin. He knew there were consequences, but when his eyes fell on Bathsheba he questioned God's rule and chose for himself to eat the forbidden fruit. The consequences almost destroyed his family.* Solomon might have learned from his father's mistake, he knew that God forbid the collecting of many wives. God warned him that they would turn his heart away from Him toward their pagan gods, yet he reasoned that God's rule was for the weak. Solomon was, after all, the wisest man that ever lived. He chose the forbidden fruit and eventually began to worship foreign gods exactly as he had been warned. Because of his sin, the nation of Israel was split in two.**
Every time you or I allow a thought, a person, or even an experience to challenge God in our lives we are taking sides with the serpent. We are declaring that we would like to choose for ourselves what is good for us, that God may not be trustworthy. Never mind the fact that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal and loving, that He sought us out. He sent His Son to die so that we could live, and He desires to bless us, to give us more then we can imagine, still we think we know better. We want to decide for ourselves.
Eve took the second. Even though she knew what it was to have a face to face relationship with God, she chose to believe that He was holding out on her. She took the fruit and ate it, then as the serpent slithered off snickering she offered the fruit to Adam.
When I was young I used to get so mad at Adam and Eve. I remember saying that when I got to Heaven I was going to have words with them. When she ate that fruit everything changed. Because of I never got to see the world perfect and pure, never got to walk and talk with God, but with maturity comes perspective. Every time I sin I show my solidarity with Adam and Eve. Had it been me in the Garden I absolutely would have messed it up to, we all would have and God knew it. That's why His love letter is all about Jesus. Revelation 13:8 tells us that the Lamb (Jesus) was slain from the creation of the world. Before God spoke into the darkness creating the light, He knew it would cost Him His Son.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
* 2 Samuel 11
** 1 Kings 11 & 12
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