The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

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.”

16 Then He said to the woman,

“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”

17 And to the man He said,

“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. 18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. 19 By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”

Sermon

Elder Joe Bell just read for us the account of “The Fall of Humanity”. The events it speaks of appear to have happened during the course of a single day, but it could have all happened across several days or even longer. (There’s no specific indications in the text.) But, enough to say that, in the words of one chapter is described humanity’s fall from a close, intimate, personal, living relationship with God to rebellion against and alienation from Him.

The telling of this incident in Genesis Chapter 3, short and sweet – in my opinion – does not do justice to the realities that must have been a part of these events. Because there is no commentary sharing what Adam and Eve were thinking they tend to come across as looking pretty “duped” and innocent in the whole thing, and the Lord God – our Father –coming across appearing so very harsh and over-reacting. (At least that’s how I’ve heard different people comment about it over many years.)

But notice that after the serpent – that dragon, the devil – tempted them with the idea of not having to trust God but to be able to know good from evil for themselves and to be able to become like God themselves, that Genesis tells us, “The woman was convinced.” (v. 6) Most literally the Hebrew says that she “saw” all that the serpent had told her, that is, she saw things differently after the serpent had spoken: Eve had given herself to a new lord. She no longer trusted God the Father but had come to believe the serpent, the devil, instead.

Interestingly, Genesis doesn’t tell us about Adam. Perhaps the idea percolated around his mind the rest of the day. (And perhaps even across several days, if it didn’t all happen right away.) But as he focused on the serpent’s promises more and more I imagine that pride began to form in his heart for what the devil promised him they could become, and lust for what he didn’t yet have, and anger at God for keeping it from them, and on and on until, I see he and Eve making their way to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil one day, and I picture Adam looking at the fruit of the Tree and then looking at Eve, and with a nod for her to go ahead, them silently agreeing to eat…

And suddenly they knew shame where before they’d only known innocence, and they tried to hide and distance themselves from God where before they’d only known vulnerability and security, and they blamed each other for their actions where before they’d taken responsibility… And the sheer pleasure of childbirth became tainted with pain, and the battle of the sexes began, and the joy of fulfilling work was spoiled by obligation and drudgery, and the reality of death entered the creation.

(Just an aside, one of the many harmful influences about evolutionary teaching – other than the fact that modern genetics has all but proven that species did not begin or develop that way – one of the many harmful influences about evolutionary teaching is death. Evolutionary teaching says that millions and billions of years of death produced humanity, but the Bible says that there was no death or dying or predators or hunting or anything else of the kind whatsoever before Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. [Of course, after the Fall God did permit human beings to hunt and trap and eat animals for food, and beasts began eating each other as food, but none of that was the case before the Fall.] And that’s what Jesus is leading us back to [or forward to]: That’s how the wolf will lie down with the lamb and the lion with the baby goat, etc… Because they won’t be predator and prey to one another any more! And a little child will lead them…)

So either the Bible is true or evolutionary teaching is true. And many teachers and professors and others will ridicule you if you believe the Bible, and such teaching causes people to doubt God’s Word, and so maybe this really means that in the Bible, and maybe it’s okay if I believe this part of the Scriptures but don’t believe that part… Again, that’s all just an aside…)

The reason I’m preaching about this here leading up to Christmas is, in our reading, did you see our Father promising Adam and Eve Jesus? Right here in Chapter 3 of Genesis! Look at it with me, v. 6, it’s our Father speaking to the serpent: The Lord says, “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.”

Some scholars over the years have minimized this verse to fable-like status, a cute reference as to why so many women don’t like snakes. Which may be cute but is clearly silly since not all women don’t like snakes. But it doesn’t even fit the context when the potentially plural of “offspring” becomes the absolutely singular as God promises, “He will strike your [the serpent’s] head, and you [the serpent] will strike his heel.” (Not only the first revelation that God will send a savior, but also the first revelation that that savior will suffer…)

Jesus Christ was not born Jesus of Nazareth just to save you from your sins. He was born to destroy that devil – Satan – and destroy the power of sin altogether, and every kind of rebellion and disobedience against God the Father once and for all! Jesus was not born at Christmastime in the hopes of making your life a little better. He was born in order to give you a new life! He wasn’t born in order to rent you and me for Sunday sing-a-longs and coffee clutches with His angels, He was born in order to buy us – body and soul! We are not our own, we’ve been purchased by His sinless death on the cross. We belong to God!

We had separated ourselves from God and Jesus came to make us friends of God. We were sons and daughters of destruction, but Jesus came to make us sons and daughters of God! We were headed for Hell, but Jesus came to be our bridge to Heaven-and-a-life-forever-with-God!

That’s Christmas! That’s why we sing! That’s why we decorate! That’s why we give gifts and have special parties and drive and travel to be with friends and family and other loved ones!

Because we couldn’t save ourselves: But God so loved us that He sent Jesus – the offspring of Eve – to save us! Our rebellion against God the Father and our constant hiding from Him left a God-shaped hole within each human beings’ heart. Try as we might nothing else can fill it! And God sent Jesus to come and fill it with what it had been made for, Himself!

Ephesians 2 says that since Adam and Eve that human beings are born and live in sin, obeying the devil – the commander of the powers in the unseen world. It is the devil’s power and influence over unredeemed human beings that keeps people refusing to obey God and following their self-centered and sin-drenched passions and predispositions. And in that condition, though people are technically “living” beings, the Bible says they are dead… And that is who we were. And the apostle Paul writes, “It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, He embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on His Own, with no help from us! Then He picked us up and set us down in highest Heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.” (Ephesians 2:4-6)

Sin has been defeated! Death has lost its sting! A new heavens and a new earth have been established and our Lord Jesus will bring them when He returns for us! He came the first time, just as God had promised, at Christmas. And the reality and celebration of Christmas is the down payment – our sure and certain hope – that He will indeed come back again!

That’s Christmas! That’s why He was born! Let these truths, let these wonders fill up our blessings and our “Merry Christmas’” and our celebrations with family and friends this wondrous season!

Now all glory to God, Who is able to make you strong, just as my Good News says. This message about Jesus Christ has revealed His plan for you Gentiles, a plan kept secret from the beginning of time. But now as the prophets foretold and as the eternal God has commanded, this message is made known to all Gentiles everywhere, so that they too might believe and obey Him. All glory to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, forever. Amen. (Romans 16:25-27)