Monday, November 4, 2013

Genesis 3 "The Fall of Man" is the title given to this chapter.  It is the sequence of events from which the rest of scripture plays out; the telling of the story's dramatic plot that all of history tries to solve; which climaxes in our Savior's death, resurrection, and someday His glorious return.  There is a detailed retelling of the drama through the actions of the main characters.
The crafty Serpent tempts. He lies.
The woman is deceived. She breaks the commandment.
The man is persuaded. He sins.
God is righteous. He does exactly what He said He would do.

Satan always acts the same.  He lies and deceives.  He tries to convince us that what God has said is wrong. He is cursed to always eat dust. (Since we are dust, that means he is after us.)
The woman saw the fruit, delighted in it, desired it, ate it, shared it, and paid for it.  Pain in childbirth,  longing/ desperation for a husband, dominated by him.
The man listened to his wife, hid from God, and ushered in death.
God cursed the serpent and the ground.  He gave consequences to the man and the woman for their disobedience. They were removed from the garden that He had planted and returned to the place of Adam's creation, to the place where he was formed from the dust. Out of the garden where there was life, into the wilderness where they would eventually die.
Yet, God clothed the man and woman. He covered them with the skin of an animal.  And He gave a promise that one day the "seed" of the woman would bruise the head of Satan.  A  promise that is fulfilled in Jesus, the Son of God.

It is all here.  All the drama of our lives and every life before us, and those who will follow after us.
We are all deceived by the cursed serpent.  We see the "tree" that we think is delightful.  We desire after that which God has told us not to desire.  We share it with others, leading them to the same fate. We hide from God's presence. We are destined to return to dust. We dwell in a wilderness instead of a garden.  Until we turn to Jesus.  Until we are covered by His blood, by His righteousness, clothed by the Father's grace.

Oh we need You, Lord Jesus!  Every hour we need You.  We need Your Truth, lest we swallow the enemy's lies.  We need Your life, for we are just dust.  We need Your covering, for we are naked and afraid.  We need Your will to be done, not our own.  For Your will is good and holy and right.  We need You.   Thank You for rescuing us from sin and death through Jesus, the Lamb of God, slain for our redemption. Bless Your Holy Name forever and ever. Amen.

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