Jesus In Genesis

Jesus in Genesis

Genesis 3 is a very important chapter in the Bible. It contains a number of firsts, and one is especially significant. The chapter begins with Adam and Eve's disobedience. This was followed by the first religious act - Adam and Eve made clothing for themselves out of vegetation to cover their nakedness. But as is always the case, man's acts of religion are never acceptable to God. Later God Himself makes garments of animal skins to cover the sin and nakedness of His children - for the first time spilling innocent blood as a consequence of sin.

Between the religious act and God's prescribed remedy, the Lord addresses the instigator and victims of the first human sin.

And Jehovah God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all beasts, and above every animal of the field. You shall go on your belly, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He will bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. He said to the woman, I will greatly increase your sorrow and your conception; you shall bear sons in sorrow, and your desire shall be toward your husband; and he shall rule over you. And He said to the man, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat from it, the ground shall be cursed because of you; you shall eat of it in sorrow all the days of your life. And it shall bring forth thorns and thistles for you, and you shall eat the plant of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until your return to the ground. For you have been taken out of it; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. - Genesis 3:14-19

The consequences were severe for all involved - the serpent cursed and put on a diet of dust, the woman's pain in childbirth increased, and the ground cursed because of the man and he would have to toil and sweat until he returned to the dust of the ground. But that wasn't all. God also places enmity (hostility) between the serpent and the woman and between the serpent's seed and the seed of the woman. Seed of the woman?

Yes, that's what God said, even though it is biologically incorrect - it is the man who carries the seed. This is our first hint of the virgin birth that would bring forth the Messiah. But the Messiah being mentioned all the way back in Genesis 3? Of course! It was the willful sin of Adam that necessitated the sacrifice of God's perfect Lamb, so this is where He is introduced - as the Son of a virgin, the perfect sacrifice for sin, and the One who would be the ultimate victor over the serpent.

Adam's sin encompassed far more than simply the first couple's expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Adam had been given stewardship of the Earth. When he sinned, Adam relinquished the title deed. The Messiah's atonement was required not only to redeem man, but creation itself. So here, at the moment of man's fall from God's inexhaustible grace, God introduces us to His perfect solution - a solution that was in place before time itself.

It is here that the scarlet thread begins. Where will it lead? Join us next time to find out!

6/02


	Jesus in Genesis Genesis 3 is a very important chapter in the Bible. It contains a number of firsts, and one is especially significant. The chapter begins with Adam and Eve's disobedience. This was followed by the first religious act - Adam and Eve made clothing for themselves out of vegetation to cover their nakedness. But as is always the case, man's acts of religion are never acceptable to God. Later God Himself makes garments of animal skins to cover the sin and nakedness of His children - for the first time spilling innocent blood as a consequence of sin. Between the religious act and God's prescribed remedy, the Lord addresses the instigator and victims of the first human sin. And Jehovah God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all beasts, and above every animal of the field. You shall go on your belly, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He will bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. He said to the woman, I will greatly increase your sorrow and your conception; you shall bear sons in sorrow, and your desire shall be toward your husband; and he shall rule over you. And He said to the man, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat from it, the ground shall be cursed because of you; you shall eat of it in sorrow all the days of your life. And it shall bring forth thorns and thistles for you, and you shall eat the plant of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until your return to the ground. For you have been taken out of it; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. - Genesis 3:14-19 The consequences were severe for all involved - the serpent cursed and put on a diet of dust, the woman's pain in childbirth increased, and the ground cursed because of the man and he would have to toil and sweat until he returned to the dust of the ground. But that wasn't all. God also places enmity (hostility) between the serpent and the woman and between the serpent's seed and the seed of the woman. Seed of the woman? Yes, that's what God said, even though it is biologically incorrect - it is the man who carries the seed. This is our first hint of the virgin birth that would bring forth the Messiah. But the Messiah being mentioned all the way back in Genesis 3? Of course! It was the willful sin of Adam that necessitated the sacrifice of God's perfect Lamb, so this is where He is introduced - as the Son of a virgin, the perfect sacrifice for sin, and the One who would be the ultimate victor over the serpent. Adam's sin encompassed far more than simply the first couple's expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Adam had been given stewardship of the Earth. When he sinned, Adam relinquished the title deed. The Messiah's atonement was required not only to redeem man, but creation itself. So here, at the moment of man's fall from God's inexhaustible grace, God introduces us to His perfect solution - a solution that was in place before time itself. It is here that the scarlet thread begins. Where will it lead? Join us next time to find out! 6/02