Genesis 3 (Wrath against sin)

Is there consequence for sin? According to God’s Word there is! After Adam and Eve give in to the Serpent’s trickery and hogwash that plays on their own desires, something terrible happens. Adam and Eve sinned by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; a tree declared off limits by God in Genesis 2:17. However, their sin goes deeper than just action, it involved their will/heart. They decided God was wrong and holding something back from them, they decided they knew better than God. They made a conscience decision from the heart to disobey God. The saying the rest is history should be changed to the rest is our history because their sin has damned the human race. Is there hope?

If we didn’t have the New Testament Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) we might consider our situation hopeless and grim. But, God’s gift to us was His Word and that Word (made flesh, John 1:14) helps us see hope in God’s plan of redemption. The New Testament helps in our understanding of the Old Testament, especially here in Genesis 3. We know from the Gospels that God sent Jesus to proclaim the Kingdom of God among us, to show His love to world, and to die for humanity’s sins so a proper relationship could be restored between God and man and man and man. The New Testament actually helps us see God’s plan for the coming Savior in Genesis 3. How?

In verse 15 God talks about woman’s seed and the enmity between this seed and the serpent. The word seed used here is interesting because it is singular and not plural. We can deduce two things from this:

1. All of humanity is at enmity with Satan and his minions. From the first children (Cain & Abel) to everyone born today. John mentions the hatred of Satan towards humans in Revelation 12:17.

2. We can also see a prophecy and a sneak peek at God’s plan of salvation. When the Hebrew people were passing this story on to their families, there would have been some expectation of a coming redeemer, king, or messiah when they heard the word “seed”. The deathblow to Satan and his power over death is mentioned in verse 15, “He shall crush you on the head.” Which is certainly what Christ did when He arose from the grave on the third day. Paul writes of this in Romans 16:20.

Even though Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden for their sin, God still shoveled love and mercy upon them. He could have killed them on the spot for their disobedience, but He didn’t, however He did not stop the natural consequences of sin from taking their toll on their lives and offspring. Even though all of humanity has been kicked out of God’s presence from birth, He has shown us love and mercy in sending us His Son. A gift offered to all willing to receive Him. God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). Any thoughts?