The Need for Good News In the Garden Genesis 3:15-19

Hatred between the Serpent’s seed and the Woman’s seed. v.15a

The 1st Gospel (Protevangelium) v.15b

A. He shall bruise you on the head

NOTE: The language has changed from seed as a plural offspring of eve to a personal pronoun, “he”.

B. And you shall bruise him on the heel

NOTE: The word “bruise” (shoof) means to “snapp at . . . to overwhelm.” "bruise him on the heel” seems to be an attempt to strike and kill Christ on the cross and yet the grave could not hold Him.

ILLUST: Romans 16:20 “The God of peace will soon crush satan under His feet.”

TRANS: As early as the garden, God announces a plan to the serpent that He would put an end to this rebellion through a man through the seed of Eve. Luke 3:23-38 traces Jesus back to Adam.

C. Why the Need For Good News. V.16-19

We need look no further than the pain and difficulty of human kind. The rebellion has brought a curse and we live in this curse until we choose different.

1. The woman’s need v.16

a. “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth” v.16a

Why Child birth? It appears that there was some pain in childbirth prior to this? God’s plan is to multiply the pain and yet you ladies endure this pain for the joy of bringing life into this world. God has placed life in our hearts. Just a thought but BIRTH is where man and woman’s sexuality come together to produce new life. This was the mandate, be fruitful and multiply and have dominion . It would make sense that death would try to prevent life?

NOTE: "Pain”, is the same word used to describe Adam’s “toil” with the ground. We would both be subject to an endless difficulty in producing “Life”. It may be part of the hatred as well?

b. In pain you will bring forth children.

NOTE: This word for pain means “hurt (of mind), grievous . . .”

This goes deeper than physical but is emotional pain that mom’s carry.

ILLUST: Are they going to be healthy, how do I keep them safe, are they hungry, do they need changed, who will they marry, what will they be when they grow up, will they make it home tonight, why don’t they talk to me. . .

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist, just a mom to figure out the need for good news.

c. But wait it gets worse 1. Your desire will be for your husband. 2. And he will rule over you.

NOTE: The lack of women’s rights over the years was simply a cry to make right what sin had corrupted. Ladies, man was never meant to rule you, Christ was. Ladies your greatest desire should not be for your husband, it should be for Christ.

However, Feminism was not and is not the answer. Empowering women to believe they can or even should do what men do is not the answer. The answer is in ladies recognizing that in Christ you , by desiring Christ and learning to do everything He taught have the opportunity to bless and benefit creation ruling over it well, whether married or single.

Single or married, you may not be able to be fruitful and multiply, but you can rule well which was a God given command to you. See since the garden you see the great need for GOOD NEWS!

2. The Man’s Need 17-19

Not sure if you caught this but when man listens to anything else other than the counsel of God it leads to a mess. True for you ladies as well!

a. Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree I told you not to eat from.

Men need to start listening to Christ. Not to their wives, not to CNN, FOX, ALEX Jones, The Simpsons, not naked and afraid, not to motivational speakers, TO CHRIST. Men need to get into this word and begin learning to care for their wives and the creation the way God designed it.

ILLUST: The ground is cursed! Again, this is where we live from, get our sustenance. The cursed ground invites us to believe the lie that we need to find some way to make this life fulfilling and enjoyable and sustaining even if it means doing it without depending on or being completely in object to God.

Solomon wrote 12 chapters on pursing life to fulfill him in life. After trying everything he concluded Eccl. 12:13-14 “fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

b. Cursed is the ground because of you

1. In toil you will eat of it all your life

2. Thorns and Thistles it shall grow for you.

ILLUST: My garden this year is full of weeds. The other day I was on a prayer walk and I came across a field of corn where all the grass in between the corn stalks was dead but the corn was thriving.

Man has been trying to fix the cursed ground problem without God’s help. This independent solution has brought environmental pollutions as well as exponential growth of diseases in animals as well as humans.

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3. You will eat the plants of the field v.18a

NOTE: This is interesting here. It appears that Man forfeited the life giving food of the garden for “plants of the field”. These were plants that were now growing from a cursed ground. Plants that would not yield what they were created to be, (nutrient dense, full of life and abundance)

4. By the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the earth.

NOTE: So all our lives now we work hard to live only to die. Listen work is not evil which is what the culture is teaching our young people. It is working for things that never fulfill that is evil. God told Adam to cultivate and keep the garden that was work but it was For God.

No matter what you do as work, if you do it for the glory of the Lord you will find work to be a satisfying thing.

This is the “rest” that Jesus promises, learn how to work, to run a business, treat people, and your “soul” will be satisfied (Rest) .

5. You are dust and to dust you shall return.

ILLUST: Eve get to the hospital quick it able, I don’t think he is going to make it. . . .

Death is the most unnatural and devastating part of the cursed and fallen world. And yet from the first moment death entered, God promised that One would come to put an end to it.

CLOSE: I know we still die, its part of the curse. So we have a great need and God has abundantly supplied that if anyone would “believe” put their trust in, become a student of the promised seed that was to come and crush the head of Satan then what Jesus said to Martha is true for you.

I Am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never dies. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS! John 11:25-26