Dec 2

Dec 2 Advent Day 2 :: He Is Coming

“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.” (Genesis 3:15)

For the last few months we have been recording lessons in Genesis with Bill Cumbie. One of the things that continually pops up in conversation is the many little things we notice that we haven’t seen before. I have come to realize that I’ve become all too familiar with the Scriptures. We read through verses and chapters not realizing the minute details that frequently point us to Christ.

In yesterday’s study we talked about waiting and the Genesis story was briefly mentioned. It begins with the creation of the world and at the very center of it all, the apex of all created things, is man and woman. Adam and Eve. We were the only created beings made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). That’s pretty special. A lot special. We were given dominion over everything. God created us to co-reign with Him over all creation. There was one exception. The tree in the middle. Adam and Eve couldn’t eat of it.

Notice two things. First, everything else in the garden was pretty much fair game. We could eat of every other tree, just not the one in the middle. The second, was that the one tree we couldn’t eat of was in the middle. No matter where they were in the garden I would think Adam and Eve had a glimpse of that tree. But, nonetheless they prevailed. Until the serpent showed up.

It went downhill from there. The serpent craftily manipulated the words given to Adam and Eve and caught them off guard. Immediately Eve 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” (Genesis 3:6) She ate. Gave some to Adam. He ate. Before they could finish the first bite their eyes were opened. They felt the guilt and shame of what they did. They hid.

They couldn’t conceal what they had done, so they hid themselves. They made fig leaf clothing and took shelter behind the trees in the garden. Sounds silly doesn’t it. God knew what happened. So, why try and hide it? Why not just confess to it?

We do the same. We lie. Cheat. Steal. Manipulate. Covet. Lust. The eyes of our hearts have shifted from loving the Father to loving everything else. We’ve given ourselves over to the desire of our hearts and not the desires of the heart of the Father. The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, huh?

Thankfully, it doesn’t end there. God doesn’t just slam his fist on the table and kick them out never to enjoy a relationship with him again. He doesn’t let them off completely either. The serpent and the ground were cursed. Adam and Eve were punished.

But, there’s a glimmer of hope. A twinkle of grace.

In the midst of the darkness, God spoke a word of hope. A Savior would come. He would be born of the woman, to defeat the enemy and deliver God’s people.

God’s word in Genesis 3:15 is oftentimes referred to as the proto euangelion or the first gospel. From the very first moment that we were in need of rescue, God’s promise for us was there. Before God addressed Adam and Eve, God let the enemy know that sin would not go undefeated. He announced that the enemy would not prevail. A Savior would come.

Despite the consequences Adam and Eve received, there was comfort in knowing that a Savior was coming to bring them back in a right relationship with the Father. A rescuer. A redeemer.

The wait had begun. They watched and waited.

We can relate to that feeling. A feeling of being hopeless, helpless, and in desperate need of redemption. We’ve come to believe that we are too far gone in our rebellion towards God. It’s heavy and inescapable. There is evidence all around us that something is wrong and it needs to be made right. It’s the reason we celebrate Advent. The story of the garden doesn’t just end with our rebellion. It ends with God’s redemption of His creation.

He is coming.