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Bible Reading
Bible Reading
Genesis 3:8-15
Genesis 3:8-15
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”
11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”
“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”
14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, you are cursed
more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
groveling in the dust as long as you live.
15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Comments
Comments
You will notice that Afam and Eve no longer have a close and warm relationship with God. They knew they had done wrong and they were afraid of God. Evil is having more and more influence. They had triggered something over which they no longer had control. Instead of being honest and taking responsibility, Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the snake. Adam seems to have even tried to blame God: It was the woman you gave me."
Of course, the snake was to blame. He had tricked them. But Adam and Eve had also chosen to do what they had been told not to do. The snake might have initiated it but they went along with it.
As a consequence, God punished all of them. The snake would crawl on its belly, grovelling in the dust. And snakes and people would always be enemies.
If we had read a bit more, we would also have seen that Eve (and all of the women she represented) would suffer pain in child-birth and would be "ruled" by their husbands. Adam would have to toil to make the earth produce. He would have to contend with thorns and thistles. And he would die, returning to the dust from which he had been made.
Adam and Eve were banished from the garden and from God's presence.
We see the reality of this in our world. The world is a tough place. It is no longer the perfect, beautiful, productive and peaceful place God had made. People are selfish and do terrible things to each other. The world is broken. We are no longer close to God.
Was God just being mean? Did He have to punish?
A diffciult truth is that God is holy. He is good in every way and so He must be tough on evil. The only way for the world to be good is for God to hate evil. Wrong-doing has consequences - very serious consequences. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
But notice something very important in today's reading. God said that the snake would strike at the heel of one of Eve's descendents but that that descendent would strike (or, crush) Satan's head.
That is what this story is about. Keep reading.
For Reflection
For Reflection
- Do you agree that the world is broken? What is the evidence?
- Do you know who the descendent of Eve would be? What does it mean that Satan would strike His heel but He would crush Satan's head?
A Carol
A Carol
Why would we have a carol called "Joy to the world" on the day when we read about God's punishment and the future suffering of the world?
You might notice that this carol makes reference to this story.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
These things will happen no more when "the Lord has come". It is joyful because the broken world will, one day, be fixed.
A Christmas Tradition
A Christmas Tradition
Advent
Advent
In the traditional calendar of the church, the period before Christmas is called Advent. It starts four Sundays before Christmas and, because Christmas can be on any day of the week, the length of Advent varies.
Advent means "come to". It is the time when Christians think about Jesus' coming 2,000 years ago but also think about the fact that He will come again. (We will talk about that again later.)
During Advent, Christians think about the meaning of Christmas so that they are ready to celebrate it, rejoicing in what God has done to heal the broken world. That is the purpose of this website. As you use it, may God prepare you.
A Family Activity
A Family Activity
The world is a mixture of good and evil. With God's help, we can choose to do good. As a family, think of someone who is suffering and do something to show your love for that person.
A Prayer
A Prayer
Loving God, there is so much sadness in this world. There are so many people suffering. I thank You that You are want to bring joy into the world. Please be with those who are suffering and please help us to always choose what is right, not what is wrong.
Amen.
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