The Promise in the Ruins
Notes
Transcript
Handout
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
INTRODUCTION
Last week we studied the day everything broke.
Genesis 3 showed us:
deception
disobedience
shame
fear
death
Genesis 3 explains the broken world we live in…
But Genesis 3 is not only a chapter of judgment.
It is also a chapter of hope.
Right in the middle of the curse,
right in the middle of the consequences,
right in the middle of humanity’s worst moment,
God begins to reveal His plan of redemption.
Before Adam and Eve ever asked for mercy,
God began to provide it.
Today we see that even in the ruins of sin,
God plants the seeds of salvation.
I. GOD PURSUES THE SINNER (v. 9)
I. GOD PURSUES THE SINNER (v. 9)
“And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?”
This was not the interrogation of an angry commanding officer, but the heartfelt cry of an anguished father. God obviously knew where they were but He also knew a gulf had been made between Him and man, a gulf that He Himself would have to bridge.
The question was meant to arouse Adam’s sense of being lost.
The question was meant to lead Adam to confess his sin.
The question was meant to express God’s sorrow over man’s lost condition.
The question was meant to show that God seeks after lost man.
The question was meant to express the accountability man had before God.
God’s question demanded an answer. They couldn’t refuse to answer God the way a criminal might keep silent when questioned.
“In our courts of law, we do not require men to answer questions which would incriminate them, but God does; and, at the last great day, the ungodly will be condemned on their own confession of guilt” - C.H. Spurgeon.
The way God came to Adam and Eve is a model of how He comes to lost and fallen humanity ever since.
God came to them patiently, waiting for the cool of the day — the evening time.
God came to them with care, coming before the darkness of night.
God came to them personally, addressing Adam and Eve directly.
God came to them with truth, showing them their lost condition.
Instead:
He calls.
Throughout Scripture we see this same pattern:
10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Salvation begins not with man searching,
but with God seeking.
The initial question was not an indictment like “where are you hiding?” but simply “where are you?” There was no hint of accusation. God nudged Adam to come to his senses. The process was graced
If you feel conviction,
if you feel God drawing you,
that is not coincidence.
That is God calling,
just like He called Adam.
II. GOD PROMISES A REDEEMER (v. 15)
II. GOD PROMISES A REDEEMER (v. 15)
This verse stands at the center of Genesis 3.
“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
You must understand that there’s a bigger picture. It’s not just the physical. You see, he’s talking here about a conflict, a war between the seed of the woman who was coming (the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ), and the seed of the serpent, which is the devil’s offspring. Why do you think people like Pharaoh, Herod, and people of their sort kept striking at the Nation of Israel or at the promised line? Why do you think they hated Christ? There was a spiritual conflict going on.
Now see the rest of the verse, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel.” May I ask you which is worse, a heel bruise or a head wound? Well, you know the answer. A head wound. A heel bruise is a nuisance. It’s annoying. It’s a little painful, but it’s not life-threatening – it’s not fatal. God Almighty said to the Devil in Genesis 3:15, you’re going to bruise the heel of the seed of the woman – this points to what happened as our Lord Jesus Christ was bruised for our transgressions, wounded for our iniquities (Isaiah 53).
“That serpent struck at Christ at Calvary. He struck at Christ all through his earthly life and ministry. But then our victorious Savior turned around and put his foot squarely on the head of that old serpent, the Devil. When Jesus Christ came out of that grave alive forevermore, friend, he bruised the head of that serpent.”
We are told in the New Testament that
20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
He’s already under Christ’s feet, but soon he’ll be under our feet as well.
What do you find in Genesis 3:15? You find that a God who could make everything out of nothing can also make something beautiful out of an absolute mess.
When David had sinned his terrible sin with Bathsheba and had murdered her husband, he prayed in Psalm 51 these words “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
Did you know that in Psalm 51, David used the very same word create that is used in Genesis 1 and 2 for God creating the world? Literally, he was saying, God, I’ve given you nothing to work with. I have nothing to offer you. But would you create out of nothing? Would you create something absolutely beautiful?
Genesis 3:15 has been called the proto-evangelium, the first gospel. Martin Luther said of this verse: “This text embraces and comprehends within itself everything noble and glorious that is to be found anywhere in the Scriptures” (Leupold).
The moment sin entered,
God already had a plan.
Redemption was not an afterthought.
It was the eternal purpose of God.
14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
The Cross looked like defeat.
It was actually victory.
III. GOD PROVIDES A COVERING (v. 21)
III. GOD PROVIDES A COVERING (v. 21)
“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”
Earlier they made fig leaves. Human religion always begins with fig leaves… Man trying to cover what only God can cover.
But God replaces their covering. An animal dies. Blood is shed. Shame is covered.
This is the first sacrifice recorded in Scripture.
An innocent life given
to cover guilty sinners.
This points forward to Christ.
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Fig leaves represent:
human effort.
Animal skins represent:
divine grace.
“Some creature had to die in order to provide them with garments, and you know who it is that died in order that we might be robed in his spotless righteousness. The Lamb of God has made for us a garment which covers our nakedness so that we are not afraid to stand even before the bar of God.” - C.H. Spurgeon
You cannot cover your sin.
Church attendance cannot cover it.
Good works cannot cover it.
Religion cannot cover it.
Only the sacrifice God provides can cover sin.
IV. GOD PROTECTS THROUGH EXPULSION (vv. 22–24)
IV. GOD PROTECTS THROUGH EXPULSION (vv. 22–24)
The exile was terrible, but it was also a grace. The garden had been the Holy of Holies of God’s presence, the original divine space. Adam and Eve had lived gazing on God’s face as he walked in the garden. They had breathed the air of God’s presence. Now it was impossible. For them, their new state must have been like life without oxygen. They were perpetually short of spiritual breath.
They could never get enough of God.
Eve found pain at the very center of her domestic existence, and so did Adam in all his labors, all the days of his life. They fought. Their children fought. They saw a son violently die by the hand of his brother. After Eden, they were never truly at home again.
But Adam’s 930 years and the long years of Eve’s life were a grace.
There was plenty of time to seek God and to proclaim his word. Did they do so? Very likely they did, because the desire for God and his presence must have become more dear with the centuries. If they did, there awaits them the garden of the eternal city where the tree of life will continually grant its fruit to all who believe
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
What was closed in Genesis
is reopened in Christ.
Paradise lost
becomes paradise restored.
Conclusion:
Genesis 3 launches the story of redemption.
From this point forward,
Scripture traces the promised Seed.
Through:
Abraham
Isaac
Jacob
Judah
David
Until finally:
Jesus Christ.
The Bible begins in a garden.
It ends in a city with a garden.
3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Everything broken in Genesis
is restored in Christ.
Genesis 3 teaches us:
God pursues sinners.
God promises redemption.
God provides covering.
God protects His plan.
The Fall shows us what we lost.
The Gospel shows us what God restores.
FINAL CALL
FINAL CALL
The same God who called Adam still calls today.
“Where art thou?”
You may be hiding:
behind success
behind religion
behind excuses
But God still seeks sinners.
And the Seed that was promised in Eden
has come.
Jesus Christ.
The One who crushes sin,
covers shame,
and restores fellowship.
Come out of hiding.
Come to the Savior.
