You’re driving along, and up in the sky is the most beautiful sunrise, and it’s amazing; while on the car radio the news tells of amazingly tragic events - a stabbing here; a bomb alert there; and much more pain and suffering. Or you’ve gone for a walk and you’re standing at a beauty spot, enjoying a scenic view; while all around and along the path were the takeaway wrappers and litter. Or you’ve heard of the great news of a new baby being born; while at the same time, you hear of a neighbour or friend who has got bad news; a diagnosis; or even has died.
Perhaps you’ve experienced something a bit like that yourself. You get a glimpse of God’s good creation, and yet at the same time know that we’re not in Eden now. So how did we get from there to here? How did things turn out so wrong? How was paradise lost, and can we ever get back there?
That’s what Genesis 3 tells us. Here we see how we got into this mess in the first place; how the circumstances of the first sin are so familiar to us; and how there might be the glimmers of hope even in the midst of despair.
To set the scene, you need to remember where our first parents are living. They’re in the Garden of Eden, that perfect paradise, created by God for Adam and Eve. There is perfect provision - all kinds of trees that are pleasing to the eye and good for food. They have a perfect relationship with each other - naked but with no shame. And they have perfect fellowship with God, who comes to walk with them in the garden in the cool of the day. God’s perfect paradise.
There was just one rule that they had to follow. Only one command to be obeyed; one limit. The tree in the middle of the garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They could eat of any other tree’s fruit; but they weren’t allowed to eat that tree’s fruit. ‘For when you eat of it you will surely die.’ (2:17)
And so, for a while, everything was perfect. Adam and Eve cared for the garden, enjoyed the perfection of paradise. But trouble was brewing. At the start of chapter 3 we’re told that the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. But don’t just think of a talking snake. Later in the Bible we discover that the ancient serpent is none other than the devil, or Satan. He stands in rebellion against God, and seeks to recruit Adam and Eve to his side.
And he does it by questioning God’s word. Do you see what he says in verse 1: ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree of the garden”?’ He’s testing what God said, sowing doubt and confusion. Eve says that they can eat fruit from any of the trees in the garden, just not from the tree in the middle of the garden. But did you notice that either Eve herself, or maybe Adam in passing on the command, has added to God’s word. Do you see the extra bit? ‘and you must not touch it...’ (3)
Maybe it was an extra safety barrier. Maybe they thought - if we don’t touch it, then we definitely can’t eat it. But it’s the last phrase in verse 3 that the serpent seizes on: ‘You will not surely die... For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’
Again, the serpent denies God’s word; he suggests that God is holding something back from them; that God isn’t really good - as if God was afraid that they would become like him. And so Eve focuses her attention on the forbidden fruit. She knows God has said no. And yet she is gripped by it. It’s a but like the sign that says, ‘Wet paint, do not touch’. And you’re drawn to wanting to touch it. Or the sign that says ‘Do not walk on the grass’ and that’s precisely where you want to walk now!
So here, Eve sees that the fruit of the tree was ‘good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom.’ (6) She takes it, eats it; gives some to her husband, and he eats it. They imagined that this would be a glorious moment, a coming of age, of equality with God. And as they bite, and disobey God’s (only) command, suddenly they realise what they have done. They already knew what good was beforehand; but now they have the knowledge of evil - experiencing it and knowing it firsthand.
Their eyes were opened, they realise they are naked; and so they sew fig leaves together, to attempt to cover themselves up. They know shame for the first time. They try to hide from each other, but then, even worse, they try to hide from God.
God turns up for his usual evening walk with them, and they hide. And so the Lord God calls to the man, ‘Where are you?’
Now, it’s never happened to me, but there’s the story of the minister out on visits. And he knocks at a particular door. He has the sense that the lady is inside, but there’s no answer. So he leaves his card, and writes on the back Revelation 3:20. ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock...’ Well, on Sunday morning, the lady slips a card into his hand at the door, and it has Genesis 3:10 written on it. So he goes and gets his Bible, and finds these words: ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’
Adam and Eve his themselves from God because they knew they were naked. And we’ve been hiding from God ever since. We know that we can’t stand before him by ourselves; we have all done things that he doesn’t like; we’re naked before the all-seeing, all-knowing God. But then it gets even worse.
Rather than confessing his sin, Adam begins the first ever blame game. Maybe you’ve seen this in your workplace. Something happens, and it’s always someone else’s fault. Or maybe you’ve seen it at home. It wasn’t me!
So look at what Adam says: ‘The woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’ (12) So it’s either Eve’s fault - she gave it to me. Or it’s God’s fault - because you put her here!
And Eve, she doesn’t own up either. ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’ (13). So, let’s recap. You could say that Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent, and the serpent didn’t have a leg to stand on!
So what happened next? Well, immediately we see God’s grace towards Adam and Eve. God could have executed the death penalty straight away - but then none of us would be around today. There are consequences and curses, but we also see God’s love, and grace, and mercy in operation as well.
First, God curses the serpent. He will crawl on his belly and eat dust. But the curse is given so that Adam and Eve hear it. And look at verse 15: ‘And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.’
God promises a serpent-crusher. God says there will be enmity between the serpent and the woman; his offspring and her offspring. But then comes the promise, and it’s different. Her offspring ‘he’ is set against ‘you’ the serpent. The serpent will strike his heel - a bad wound - but in doing so, the woman’s offspring will crush the serpent’s head - a fatal blow.
Next, God curses the women - pain in childbirth, and desiring to overcome her husband, to rule over him. And then comes the curse on Adam. Now, sometimes people read these verses and think that work itself is the curse - that having to go to work is the result of the fall. But God curses the work that was already in place. Adam and Eve were already employed in working and caring for the earth. The difference now is that there is frustration in work. Now, you don’t need to put your hand up, but have you ever known frustration in your work? When you’re experiencing this curse: painful toil, thorns and thistles, sweat, and finally, returning to the ground, dust to dust.
At the very end of the chapter, Adam and Eve are banished from the garden, separated from God’s presence, barred from eating from the tree of life. There’s no way back, past the cherubim and flaming sword. And so we find ourselves east of Eden. Living in this paradise lost world. It explains why the world is the way it is - through sin - Adam and Eve’s, and ours too. But is that it? Thankfully not. There is good news in this chapter.
Adam and Eve had sewed fig leaves to try to cover themselves. But in verse 21 God clothes them in garments of skin. It’s a picture of sacrifice and the covering of sin and shame - the animal died, its blood was shed, to provide covering for them. That’s a hint of the ultimate sacrifice of the cross.
But there’s more. You see, Jesus himself bore the curse for us. In Galatians 3 we read: ‘Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”’ (Gal 3:13). Jesus died on the cross, naked, in shame, so that we would be clothed and covered. And what did Jesus wear on the cross? His clothes had been gambled for by the soldiers; but on his head he wore the crown of thorns - the thorns of the curse are borne by the Saviour.
It’s at the cross that Jesus crushes the head of the serpent. You see, the serpent thought that he had finished Jesus, engineering his death. But it was like a strike to the heel - because Jesus rise again from the dead. But in doing so, Jesus crushed the head of the serpent, the devil. The cross was the means of the long-promised, long-anticipated victory.
And because Jesus died on the cross, he has opened up the new and living way for us to come to God. And he opens up the way for us to eat of the tree of life. In the very last chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22, we’re given a picture of the new heavens and the new earth - the new Jerusalem. And flowing from the throne is the river of the water of life. And on each side of the river is the tree of life - there for us to take, and eat, and live forever. Paradise may have been lost, but this is paradise regained.
Genesis 3 explains why this world is the way it is. Perhaps in it you’re getting a glimpse into your life - the pain and agony of broken relationships; the never-ending blame game; frustration at work; separation from God. This is life as you know it.
but Genesis 3 also points to the way life should be, and can be, when you turn back to God. All those glimpses and hints and pointers to the perfect work of the Lord Jesus - who lived the perfect life, and died an undeserved death, in order to bring rebellious sinners like you and me back to God. All it takes is to trust him. To believe that Jesus died for you. Your life will be turned around. Your future in heaven guaranteed. Because Jesus has carried the curse we deserve, and offers us life everlasting, and never-ending peace, and a hope that is sure and certain.
This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 22nd September 2019.
No comments:
Post a Comment