Scripture:
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.
He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, “‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘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.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
“And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.’ He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.’ Then the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’
The LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 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.”
To the woman he said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.’
And to Adam he said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’
“The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:1-21)
Devotion:
Have you ever created something that you were truly proud of and then have it ruined or discarded by someone else? It’s moments like this that can shed light on how God may have felt to watch Adam and Eve choose sin and death over life and relationship.
In Genesis 3, God’s innocent creation was scarred by Adam and Eve’s sinful rebellion. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God’s command to not eat of a certain, forbidden tree; they did not trust that God’s way was best or that His words were true. They believed that they would make better gods than God Himself. The result of their rebellion was brokenness and death. Remember how, in Genesis 1, God crafted humanity for relationship? After Adam and Eve sinned, they hid from God for the first time – their relationship with Him was broken. They had to leave the garden and be separated from God’s presence. God, in His holiness and perfection, could not be in communion with fallen humanity.
But, thankfully, this was not the end of the story. God had a plan and He made a promise. In verse 15 of Genesis 3, God promised that the offspring of the woman will one day crush the head of the serpent. God was letting us know that He already had a plan to rescue the world from the power of sin and death. That plan was the redemption work of Jesus. Even all the way back in the garden, God knew He would send Jesus so that our relationship with Him could be restored. When we put our faith in Christ, we can know God and have abundant life (John 10:10).
This Christmas season let us rejoice in the One who came to conquer death and make all things right again.
Questions:
- What in your life feels broken or out of place this Christmas season? How could the good news of Jesus transform the way you think about that?
- When was the last time you had a meaningful conversation with someone about faith? What would it look like to engage in a conversation with family or friends this season?
- What is a promise of God you want to remind yourself of in the coming days?
Family Activity:
Satan came into the garden as a snake to tempt Adam and Eve into believing God didn’t really love them. Draw a picture of a snake on your ornament for today, reminding us of the temptation that we all face to not trust God. Play a game of hide-and-seek with your kids. Adam and Eve tried to hide from God, but He still loved them and came to look for them. God loves you, too, and there’s nowhere you can go that is outside His reach.
