“The Beginning of Sin & Misery” Genesis 2:4-3:24

“The Beginning of Sin & Misery” Genesis 2:4-3:24

Audio forthcoming...

An Expositional Sermon
God’s justice demands His wrath. But in the midst of cursing the serpent and the ground, and punishing Adam and Eve, God makes a powerful promise in Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he [her offspring] shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his [her offspring’s] heel.” This is the first promise of the hope of salvation. Many have called it the protoevangelium or the first promise of the gospel. Here we see the hope of victory over Satan and death through a child. And it’s this promise that the rest of the Bible rests upon. Isaiah 9:6-7, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” God promises life and final defeat of his enemy through the seed of Eve. The rest of the Bible is how God has worked in history to fulfill this promise. The seed will be bruised, but the head of the serpent will be crushed. Jim Hamilton wrote, “[T]he damage done to the head of the serpent and the damage done to the heel of the seed of the woman in Gen 3:15 both seem to be interpreted in later biblical texts as resulting from the stomping of the serpent. The seed of the woman tramples on the head of the serpent, crushing the serpent’s head and incurring damage to his own heel.”

As we see in the rest of Scripture, God was up to more than just crushing Satan, but pursuing the salvation of a people. How would God crush Satan and save His people from His eternal wrath? Christ. Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity. He has come in the flesh as fully God and fully man. Bearing the shame and guilt of His people. Bearing God’s eternal wrath for sin, and in His death He would crush the head of the serpent. Jesus is the fulfillment of the suffering servant from Isaiah 53 who was crushed by Yahweh, he was crushed by taking the sin of His people. And in being crushed He would save, and open a way back into paradise. Remember what he told the thief on the cross who trusted in him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43) From Genesis 3:15 forward the Bible is in constant anticipation of Eve’s offspring who would destroy the serpent. This is the constant question of the Old Testament; how is this a continuation of the promise in Genesis 3:15? How is God preserving the seed of the woman to save His people and to crush the serpent. Jesus is this fulfillment of this promise. He told His disciples in Luke 10:18-19 that they will tread upon snakes and overcome the enemy, and in Romans 16:20 Paul wrote that God will soon crush Satan under their feet. In Galatians 4:4 we see that Jesus is born of woman alluding to being the offspring of Eve. And listen to Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” In the face of a sinful world filled with pain and misery find your hope in Christ. Find your hope in the seed of Eve, the one who came to die for our sin, to conquer the world, our flesh and the devil. Who came to satisfy the eternal wrath of God that we deserve for our sin. Trust in Christ today. Find your hope in Him, His death and His resurrection. Turn from your sin and turn to Christ. Life, paradise, covenant, relationship, fall, and hope. This is the arch of the story of the history of the world and where it is headed. Christ will come again, to judge the living and the dead. He will work perfect justice. He will wipe every tear. And those who refuse to have God as their king will face His eternal wrath in hell. Friends, hate sin, and fight it with hope in the seed of Eve.