12-23-13. Genesis 3:1-24. THE HOPE OF REDEMPTION- my devotional

Key Verse: 3:15                                                                                                 Kevin E. Jesmer

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

    Dear Lord, thank you for this Christmas time, that we can celebrate the birth of Jesus, who is Immanuel, “God with us.” Thank you that we can meditate on the meaning of this wonderful event for our lives. May the truths of Christmas change our lives. May the love of Christmas warm our hearts. May the Spirit of Christmas guide and strengthen our spirits. May the hope of Christmas inspire our souls. May the beauty of Christmas capture our imagination. Lord, help the people of our land come to Jesus Christ during this Christmas time. Please impart your word to my heart. I pray in the name of Immanuel…Jesus Christ. Amen!.

Part 1: Humanity’s Fall (1-7).

Verses 1-7, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” (ESV)

Adam and Eve enjoyed an intimate love relationship with their Father God in the Garden. But when they entertained a conversation with the tempter, they lost their sense of the absoluteness of God’s word and doubted God’s love. The forbidden tree, a symbol of freedom in God, now appeared stifling. Its forbidden fruit appeared desirable and even beneficial. (6) When Adam and Eve sinned against God by disobeying his command, sin began its despotic reign in their hearts. Where God’s love and peace once reigned, now fear, shame and guilt ravaged their lives. And the shadow of death hung over them. They hid from God.

This seems like such a dark, ominous story, but it is the necessary backdrop to understanding the meaning of Jesus’ coming into this world. For it shows why it was necessary for God to send a Savior into this world. It is true that people are separated from God. They are cut from their life source and their souls, hearts and minds, wither. They succumb to death awaiting judgment. As they wither, they continue to believe deceptive lies; their hearts endlessly long for the forbidden fruit; they hide from God; and are forever trying to sew fig leaves together to cover their shame. In essence they are trying to find ways to save themselves from the dark hole they have dug. But there is no way out. What a terrible situation to be in! This really shows why God had to send a savior. We could never save ourselves. The devil’s deception is just too powerful. All of our feeble efforts to save ourselves can never do the job. We need a savior. We need Jesus.

Part 2: The Promise Of A Savior (8-24).

Verses 8-24, “8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 The Lord God said to the serpent,“ Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock    and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat  all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” 16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for[f] your husband, and he shall rule over you.” 17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you,    ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground,    for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” 20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.” (ESV)

God cam to this lost couple. He tried to help them to confess their sins and their predicament and be restored.  But they did not respond. In pride they justified their sin and passed the blame. Their love relationship with God and one another was broken. They yielded to the devil’s temptation who caused their fall from Paradise and enslaved them in his dungeons of sin and death. God’s conversation with them didn’t lead to a humble confession and their salvation.

But, praise the Lord, that he did not abandon them. He came to them with a great and wonderful promise that one would come through the woman’s offspring who would defeat the devil. Look at verse 15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

It was the promise that the Messiah would someday come to deliver all mankind from Satan’s rule. He would suffer pain and be wounded on the cross. But he would deliver a fatal blow to the devil though his suffering, death and resurrection, through the Gospel. God planted hope of salvation in men and women living…and suffering under curse of a fallen world.

I thank God for Jesus who came to this world to save sinners like myself. I am a man. I would have had to live under the curse of Adam all of my life. The curse is found in verses 17-20, “And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you,    ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground,    for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (ESV)  I would be destined to work hard to simply survive. I would work hard with no return for my hard labor. In fact this world would work against me and render all that I do futile. After working hard, day after day, I would simply die struggling to keep my head above water. I would be devoid of hope. Bitterness and disappointment would permeate my every thought. I would have nothing to write about other than dark poems of despairing reflections. I would hopelessly plunge into depression with no way out. There would be no heaven with my Lord Jesus, to look forward to. Wow. What a dark predicament! I am definitely in need of Savior. I need Jesus.

I had no way out. I was trying to save myself for years, through excuses and justifying my sins in my own mind. I attempted to find meaning in living a pleasure seeking life. I created my own world view and lived by my own made up philosophy of life…basically my own religion. I ran from God, avoiding the things of Christ. No matter how hard I tried. I could never save myself. I was lost in a fallen world.

But God did not give up on me. He gave me Jesus. The tiny baby born in a manger 2,000 years ago came to save me from the curse. Jesus forgave my sins. He granted me sonship. He bears his eternal fruit in my life. He shows me the most fruitful path. He makes all that I do fruitful for his glory. He frees my wife Julie from the curse also so we can grow in oneness together. All this because of God did not stop in trying to save me and my family. Today I want to thank God for sending Jesus into this world to be the Savior of humanity. Without you we are truly lost forever. But in you, Lord, we can dwell in the paradise of God.

Prayer: Lord, let the hope of the Messiah keep burning in my heart.

One Word: God sent a Savior to crush the head of Satan. He is name is Jesus.