Snake is Cursed
Notes
Transcript
Main Point: God’s response to evil
Heart Change: Recognize that humanity has opened the door to evil and we are now powerless to defeat it.
Part 1 - The overwhelming issue of evil. And God’s total control.
Understand the overwhelming issue of evil
Understand we can’t understand God, yet he is sill in control
Part 2 - How God deals with evil.
Part 1: The overwhelming issue of evil. And God’s total control.
Part 1: The overwhelming issue of evil. And God’s total control.
Intro:
Intro:
Something is broken - Someone should do something
Worried about breaking down in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Kids who struggle with physical or mental issues
look for answers - genetic testing
Today we are going to look at God’s response to evil
Review
Review
Week 1 - The serpent is evil because he took his gift from God and twisted it into something for selfish gain.
Week 2 - How temptation works - Dwelling on something cause us to eventually act on it.
Week 3 - The Blame Game - The woman you gave me!
It’s not my fault
What I did wasn’t as bad as them
It’s not fair Id didn’t know this would happen
Yet God is still looking for them (us) and wants us.
So now that there is evil in our world how does God respond?
Cold weather coming in the house.
Water pump issue, SGF
house not built for cold weather
How does God respond to the evil? How should we respond to the evil?
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.
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.”
Parallelism in Hebrew Poetry
Parallelism in Hebrew Poetry
Three types of parallelism in Hebrew poetry.
Three types of parallelism in Hebrew poetry.
Where the idea expressed in the first line is developed and completed in the following lines.
The thought expressed in the first part of the verse is repeated in the second part in different but equivalent terms.
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
This section has both!
Why I showed you this
It’s all over the bible - 1/3
The Bible is designed for meditation
The layers of complexity
The separation between God and Humanity has already started
Mind blowing - so hard to comprehend
God confronts evil by cursing it
What is a Curse
What is a Curse
What we think of a curse:
What we think of a curse:
1) Kids shows - make belief no importance
Hocus Pocus
Sabrinia the teenage witch
2) Sometime of trans or hypnosis
C.S. Lewis says there is a equal danger in over emphasizing the spiritual and under emphasizing the spiritual.
3) “Bad words”
A biblical Curse is 3 things:
A biblical Curse is 3 things:
Profanity or bad words have nothing to do with a curse:
Back then:
It was assumed in ancient times that curses got their power from the gods (1 Sam 17:43 Goliath cursing David).
The spiritual and physical where interconnected
For many ancient people words are just words, but if you got the gods on your side they would do what you wanted them to
The power of a curse came from the spiritual/supernatural.
YHWH is sovereign
For the Israelites, God or Yahweh was universally sovereign no curse could have effect without Yahweh’s directing (Exodus of Egypt).
Yahweh could turn a curse against its speaker or turn a curse into a blessing (Balaam Deut 23:5).
YHWH always won
While, blessing provides both the context and the framework for relationship. (God breathed life into Adam and woman). Cursing on the other hand reflects a breakdown in relationships and causes alienation.
Broken home
People are trying to get back to God not the garden of eden - proof of breakdown in relationship.
Adam and Woman are separated from God - There is a gap in our understanding. Poem
God was calling and looking, but the door to evil has been opened. Cold air
Summary
Summary
A biblical curse is words, but the power of action comes from the supernatural and spiritual.
YHWH always wins proving he is the most powerful
And now there is a breakdown in relationship between God, Humanity, and the Animals (especially the serpent)
God is forced to respond to the evil that has been brought in.
So how does God respond to evil?
So how does God respond to evil?
God doesn’t ask the snake anything. He just curses him.
God doesn’t ask the snake anything. He just curses him.
God says“blessed are you” tons of times in scripture. But he only says “cursed are you” twice here to the snake and to Cain.
God cursing the snake is huge deal!
God is totally in control
God is totally in control
He never loses authority
He is sovereign over his creation - no judge or journey needed.
You can trust him. He shows he is in control
YHWH wins.
Adam and Woman fortified their rightful place above the serpent, but God does not.
God deals with evil by cursing it (putting evil in its place)
Point: God has to deal with evil which he does through the power of his words.
Point: God has to deal with evil which he does through the power of his words.
The same words the spoke everything into existence, curses evil.
The complexity of the poem shows how we can’t understand the heart or mind of God anymore. We could think forever and still fall short. (separation) -10
Even Jesus says things we can’t under stand. - Sermon on the mount
Evil does not go unchecked.
I bet you don’t understand it - I don’t
2 take home points
2 take home points
Do you understand the overwhelming issue of evil?
Try to understand we can’t understand God. He has never loses his authority.
Goes sideways in 2 ways;
Miss understanding evil cause us to think we don’t need God.
Just because we gave up our place in the created order doesn’t mean God did.
He doesn’t have to answer us.
Part 2: How God deals with evil & what it means for us today.
Part 2: How God deals with evil & what it means for us today.
Parts of the curse:
Parts of the curse:
remember what the snake represents: twisting the gift God gave for selfish gain
Section 1
Section 1
Compared to the the Animals (domestic and wild)
More crafty than all the animals = more cursed than all the animals.
Because the authority order of creation was flipped the animals are cursed.
On your belly eating dust
Low life
Eat dust
The crafty convinced Woman to eat - now what does he eat?
Thus More than all the other animals, this low life, will eat dust, and this humiliation will endure for the lifetime of the snake and all its descendants.
Section 2
Section 2
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.”
Enmity = enemy or hostility
The offspring of evil and humanity will continue and there will always be a battle.
Forever their will be a fight between humanity standing tall and being attacked for the low life’s.
Worried about someone taking advantage of you
Kids suffering from physical and mental issues
But there is Good news
But someday there will be a human who can finally defeat evil, but it the poisons snake will cost him his life. - Jesus
Point: God has to deal with evil which he does through the power of his words.
Point: God has to deal with evil which he does through the power of his words.
The same mysterious words the spoke everything into existence. Speaks to the serpent he created - humiliating and reducing him (evil) yet there will always be a fight between humanity and evil.
The complexity of the poem shows how we can’t understand the heart or mind of God anymore. We could think forever and still feel short. (separation)
Even Jesus says things we can’t under stand. - Sermon on the mount.
God is a good God and he can’t allow Evil to just run a muck with this good world. There is a cost.
What is God’s response to evil (misuse of his gifts) - punishment through his words and actions.
Adam and Woman - opened the door to life with evil, (they got what they wanted) and they are unable to close it. (Cold air)
What does this mean for us today?
What does this mean for us today?
Something is broken - there is evil and it continues to strike us on the heal and infect us.
Worried about someone taking advantage of you
Kids suffering from physical and mental issues
You are powerless to defeat evil
Workout - not physically healthy enough
Study - not smart enough to understand God
See councilors - not emotionally healthy enough to withstand evil
Have the best network of friends (accountability) - won’t prevent you from fighting evil
Trying to get in touch with the supernatural - won’t do it.
We need someone who can overcome evil and in the process give his life because we cannot.
We need someone who can overcome evil and in the process give his life because we cannot.
Jesus is the perfect solution - when you realize there is a problem.
He wants to change the temperature of our heart.