Snake is cursed - Part 2

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.

Recap of Last week:

Evil is like -15 degree weather (Texas not built for it)

It's overwhelming

Parallelism in Hebrew Poetry

Now it's hard to comprehend God

What is a biblical Curse?

Curses got their power from the supernatural

YHWH always wins

A curse reflects the breakdown between God, Humanity, and the Animals

How does God Respond to Evil?

Doesn’t ask the snake anything - He just curses him

God is in total Control - Evil does not go unchecked

Part 2: How God deals with evil & what it means for us today.

Parts of the curse:

Back story

Vs 14

Genesis 3:14 ESV

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.

This section is full of Irony

Hyphendated vs Non-hyphenated

Remember what the snake represents: twisting the gift God gave for selfish gain

Gen 3:1 More crafty than all the animals = Gen 3:14 more cursed than all the animals.

Snake is more cursed (more removed from God) than all the other animals (domestic and wild)

If you are more (Crafty - street starts) than anyone else you but you use it against God you will be removed from him. More crafty - more removed

If your gift makes you more _________ than anyone else but if you twist it to trick people into giving you power it removes you from God. - Pharos hard heart

Bold/Strong

Kind

Academic smarts

Social skills

How do we know he is more removed?

Because the authority order of creation was flipped - the snake is cursed.

Irony!

On your belly, you shall go

Low life

Dust you shall eat

The crafty convinced Woman to eat - now what does he eat?

All the days of your life

In perpetuity (forever)

Death

How does God deal with Evil? - Cuts it down as low as he can for us. But there are still natural consequences

Ridding a motorcylce without a helmet - Ben Roethlesberger

Why not just eliminate evil and its consequences? God is in control and it's his mercy and grace that he creates a way back to him.

So what is the long-term play? Where is this going?

VS 15

Genesis 3:15 ESV

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

-15 - The offspring of evil and humanity will continue and there will always be a battle.

Women are scared of snakes? Baby snakes?

Fight between humanity standing tall and being attacked by the low life (evil).

Do the things I don’t want to do. Why do I keep messing this up? (-15)

So there will be hostility between humanity and evil - How long?

The offspring of the woman can bruise the snakes head

The rest of the Bible is full of people who just might fit this, but are not strong enough to overcome evil.

Noah - something bad happens in the tent

Moses - no one like him - but struck the rock

Saul - Nope

David - Bathsheba

Salomon - Breaks all the rules

No human can overcome evil on their own.

You and I today - Sinners

Worried about someone taking advantage of you

Kids suffering from physical and mental issues

Proof that humanity is struggling with evil

But there is Good news

Notice all the good news from:

Chapter 1 & 2,

Chapter 3

God called out to them

Here is another Adam coming

But someday there will be a human who can finally defeat evil, but the poisonous snake will cost him his life. - Jesus

Son of Man

Point of God cursing the snake.

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)

The same mysterious words that spoke everything into existence.

God speaks to the serpent he created - humiliating and reducing him (evil)

Yet there will always be the natural consequence of humanity and evil-fighting.

God is a good God and he won't allow Evil to just run amuck with this good world. There is a cost.

Adam and Woman - opened the door to life with evil, (they got what they wanted) and they are unable to close it. (Cold air)

Someday an offspring of the woman will stomp on the snake and the snake will take his life.

What does this mean for us today?

We are in a constant fight with evil and we always lose. (like Texas not built for it)

Like Noah, Moses, and David

You are powerless to defeat evil on your own or even with the help of other humans.

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.

Don’t miss hear me this thing are good. But without the Spirit of Jesus (Holy Spirit) these things will not end evil.

We have to fight evil. But we need someone who can overcome evil to get back to being with God.

We need someone who can overcome evil and in the process give his life because we cannot.

Jesus is the only solution - Jesus is the only thing that has ever or will ever overcome evil.