The Jesse Tree: Day 2
THE FALL
God created humanity in his own image, male and female. He put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to work and keep it, to enjoy the world that he’d given them. But he also gave them one restriction:
"You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
Genesis 2:16-17
Genesis 2:16-17
Then the serpent came slithering into the garden, and with questions and lies, he sowed doubt into their minds and provoked their faulty desires.
"Did God actually say…"
Genesis 3:1
Genesis 3:1
“You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened…”
Genesis 3:4
Genesis 3:4
They wondered whether God might be withholding from them, and as their eyes lingered over the fruit, desire overwhelmed their curiosity. Casting restraint aside, they reached up among the leaves, plucked the fruit from its branch, and devoured it.
They disobeyed the command of God, which was meant for their good. And instead of possessing only the curriculum of good, they learned evil as well. Sin entered the world, and with it death and despair, sickness and suffering. In fear and shame, they hid from God in the bushes. No longer would they walk with him in the cool of the day. No longer would they enjoy his pleasant company and conversation. A rift was formed, and they were expelled from the garden.
In this new reality, sin reigned over them; they were its slaves. But God promised that it wouldn’t always be that way. To the serpent, he said:
They disobeyed the command of God, which was meant for their good. And instead of possessing only the curriculum of good, they learned evil as well. Sin entered the world, and with it death and despair, sickness and suffering. In fear and shame, they hid from God in the bushes. No longer would they walk with him in the cool of the day. No longer would they enjoy his pleasant company and conversation. A rift was formed, and they were expelled from the garden.
In this new reality, sin reigned over them; they were its slaves. But God promised that it wouldn’t always be that way. To the serpent, he said:
“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.”
Genesis 3:15
And between your offspring and her offspring;
He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Genesis 3:15
This promise was that the seed of Eve would bruise the head of the serpent, that her descendant would overturn the evil introduced that day in the garden. This divine utterance was the first mention of the gospel in all of human history. A promise that one was coming who would dethrone sin and the serpent, mend this broken world, and bring healing to that painful rift.
For thousands of years, humanity waited, as this promise was preserved, and handed down through the line of Israel. Until finally, on one starry night in Bethlehem, that seed was born, the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the promise, the hope of the world.
For thousands of years, humanity waited, as this promise was preserved, and handed down through the line of Israel. Until finally, on one starry night in Bethlehem, that seed was born, the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the promise, the hope of the world.
Pause to reflect
In the Garden, Adam and Eve were overwhelmed by their desire for something that wasn’t good for them. Sin affects us in the same way, causing us to desire things that aren’t good for us. What are the questions and lies you find yourself wrestling with in moments of temptation?
When Adam and Eve were caught by God, the first thing they did was blame others for their sin. Where do you see the same tendency in yourself? And how can you respond differently?
When Adam and Eve were caught by God, the first thing they did was blame others for their sin. Where do you see the same tendency in yourself? And how can you respond differently?
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