Shattered Paradise
Read Genesis 3:1-7. For further reflection, read Genesis 3:8-24.
Have you ever watched a video of a seemingly perfect wedding, just for a disastrous accident to happen suddenly? It could be the bride falling off the stairs as she goes up to the stage, or the bridegroom dropping the rings into the river, or the flower girl crying in the middle of the processional. When an accident like that happens, it feels so much more pronounced because everything else seems to be perfect in the wedding. An imperfection is much more glaring and obvious in an otherwise completely perfect item/event.
As we read in our previous entries, God created a perfect paradise for the first man and woman to live. However, that perfection did not last. Into that perfect world, sin was introduced. What made it even more tragic was that, unlike the accidents that we just mentioned, the first sin was not an accident. It was a deliberate and intentional action on behalf of the man and woman. That first sin was not an accident. It was spurred on by the temptations of the serpent. They ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The first temptation here is the same temptation for all of us today – to be autonomous and independent from God’s loving rule. Instead of looking to God for the knowledge of good and evil, mankind wanted to be the ones who decided what is good and evil. However, the moment they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their eyes were opened, “and they realized they were naked.” (v7) Their pathetic attempt at covering up their nakedness with fig leaves only serves to highlight the depth of their sins. Their paradise was shattered.
They dug a deeper hole for themselves when both the man and woman shift the blame onto another. Adam blamed Eve for his actions while at the same time indirectly blaming God himself. (v12 – “the women you put here with me…”) Eve on the other hand blamed the serpent for his deception. God’s judgement came swift and severe. Ultimately, they were banished from the Garden of Eden, and their access to the tree of life (v22), and thereby God, was cut off. It was no longer possible for them to have a relationship with God. In that sense, they were “dead”. God was faithful to his promises – “for you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (cf. Gen 2:17)
However, there is another promise that God made to mankind – “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.” (v15). This is a promise that the eventual offspring of Eve will crush the serpent. God himself also clothed their nakedness with garments of skin. This is the start of God’s promise which will eventually lead to the birth of Jesus Christ – the one who will ultimately crush the head of the serpent, and whose blood will clothe the nakedness of our sins.
While it was an absolute disaster with the introduction of sin into that perfect world, God has a promise for us. That promise was still in the form of a seed in Genesis, but as we read through the Bible storyline, we will see this seed of a promise grow and grow, until it reaches full bloom at the height of Jesus’ life and continues to bloom throughout eternity. Everything changed with the entrance of sin into our world, but our God remained the same faithful God of grace for all eternity.
- Pray that we will not be tempted by our desire to be free from God, but rather live joyfully and happily under the loving rule of God
- Thank God for his grace and mercy in having Christ crushing the work of the devil and covering our sins with his blood