The Fall
So what can we learn from the fall of man? How did we get here, and what does this all mean for us today? We see in the Genesis story the fall of man in one of the greatest tragedies ever told. Adam and Eve had it all: all their needs met, a garden of glory and beauty, walking with God in the cool of the day… and they threw it all away.
They didn’t see all that they had, and they made crucial mistakes shortsightedly. I have a friend, who was a little short sighted.
In 1997, he decided to take some money and purchase this thing called, a VHS player. Anyone remember those? I remember getting in trouble for returning a VHS to blockbuster and forgetting to rewind it… where they charged you an extra dollar. My parents weren’t happy!
He also purchased a brand new Nintendo 64 with extra controllers and all the games he wanted. He completed his setup with a nice sound system and the total came to around $1000 bucks. He told me that his dad told him he should instead invest in a small stock called Amazon at only $18 a share.
Well today that VHS is worthless, the Nintendo 64 has some value, but that tube tv and old speaker set is long in the trash. If he would have purchased $1,000 worth of Amazon stock at $18 per share during its 1997 IPO, that would’ve been 55.56 shares. Factoring in the numerous stock splits over the years, those 55.56 shares would grow to 13,334 shares in 2024. Multiplied by the May 2024 (when him and I discussed this), share price of ~$187 ($224 today) and that $1,000 investment in 1997 would now be worth $2,493,532.80.
The enemy loves to sell you short term solutions and cover up the long term benefits of following after God’s heart. He wants to sell you and I short of our potential in Christ.
The enemy has many strategies. Horrible and manipulative strategies. But I believe that this narrative is here today for us to learn from. It is available to us so that we can find wisdom in the word of God and be successful when the enemy uses the same ploys against us today.
The enemy will try and make you question God
The devil got Eve to question God’s goodness. He does the same today. “Did God really say” is where he starts here. Has the enemy ever tried this trick on you: “Didn’t God say he would take care of you? Didn’t he say you would have life through him? Then why are you here suffering?”
Let me remind you that the devil is called the father of lies according to Jesus in John 8:44. He wants you to question God’s goodness. But the truth is this: the suffering, difficulty, and pain that you experience is a result of sin, not a loveless God.
“You will be like God” the serpent promises. Of course, we see in Genesis 1:27 that they were already made in God’s image. What does he mean? His trick here is the desire to gain knowledge, to attain God’s wisdom. Remember, Adam and Eve were naked and had no shame. They didn’t have the knowledge of evil, just the things of God.
Hear me this morning friend, God is the only trustworthy arbiter of truth. To look elsewhere is to forsake the author of truth and life itself. It is a tragedy that the enemy gets them to forsake the tremendous position they are in. Have you ever imagined the garden of Eden before? What a place it must’ve been… and that kind of closeness with God… truly a dream.
Well guess what, the enemy has spoken so much to you that he has convinced you that right now you should forsake all the great and glorious things you have. What do you mean Pastor?! I mean your royal identity in Christ. You are made in his image and likeness, you are a child of God! The enemy does the same today that he did then: pushes for you to forget who you are and forsake what you have.
They saw it was pleasing to the eye… we still do this today. We try to live according to our own wisdom. Proverbs 1:7 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. As smart as we think we are, can I ask you to trust instead in the wisdom of God? Even if you might disagree with God’s word about something, he is the beginning and the end, the foundation of wisdom itself. Listen to him. Silence the enemy with God’s truth.
Shame can keep us from God’s redemption and healing
Who has had this experience before? You were close with the Lord, your relationship with him was thriving, and then you made a mistake? Sin worked its way into your heart, and now, you are ashamed to spend any time with God.
Did you know that when you are broken and in your sin, that is actually the best time to go to God? Condemnation can work on your heart and tell you that you can’t go speak to your Father, you are a screw up! He will be so disappointed in you. But the gospel says: because you have made a mistake, you must run to your dad! You must go to be reconciled and healed fully. He loves you and has a plan for you!
Romans 8:1 says there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Shame can keep us from receiving the healing that God desires to extend to us.
Instead of confessing their sin and taking responsibility for their flaws, Adam and Eve turned to a bad place: their own wisdom. What seemed right to them. Cover it up… explain it through logic.
Don’t let shame, and don’t let pride keep you from restoration through Christ’s atoning work on the cross. Yes, you don’t deserve it. Yes, you feel gross and broken and might not feel like God loves you right now, but he does. This whole story explains why Jesus needed to come and why he wanted to! To redeem you from this broken story, to get you back and win you to the Father.
Sin has consequences
It is important to understand the reality of sin. I think that is why Leviticus and some of these harder books are in there. These books tell us that they actually had to kill a goat, they had to spill blood when they sinned. Today, we are so flippant about sin. “I said a prayer, it’s over. I am good.” Sin has consequences, in this life, and the one to come.
Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death. Eternal death, forever separation from God without Jesus. But Galatians 6:7 provides another truth: God is not mocked, whatever a man sows he shall reap.
Some of us are dealing with sin issues in our life and wonder why. We have sown sin for so long, can we be surprised that we are reaping a harvest of sin as well? Yes, God redeems you and loves you, forgives you and restores you, but you might have some ramifications for sin. God might need to renew your mind and help you think in a new way. He might need to teach you to be more honest through his abiding and daily work in your life. He might need to change your way of thinking through the process of daily becoming like him.
Are there instances where God takes away all consequences and miraculously does a powerful and immediate work? Of course there are! Is it like that for every case? Of course not.
These consequences we read about in Genesis 3 have been prominent still for centuries. Sin caused tremendous devastation in this moment, and has been wrecking lives in droves ever since. Sin has consequences, but sin also has a solution: and it is Jesus.
Conclusion
Let’s land the plane there today. I tell people who are struggling reading the Old Testament to look for Jesus in the passage. Where is he here in this one? Genesis 3:15, 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.”
Someone, a champion, a savior should we say, must come and crush the head of this serpent. The whole Old Testament is a story of “should be” serpent crushers who failed instead. Abraham, Moses, the Judges, king Saul, David, Solomon… but they all succumb to the work of the cunning serpent.
Who is this warrior king? This righteous man who will crush his head and deliver mankind from his fate? Of course, it is Jesus. And what will happen to Jesus? “And you shall bruise his heel.” Where do snakes leap out and bite? The heel as one walks by.
Jesus is immediately pitted against the devil. As soon as he is baptized, where does he go? The wilderness. And who speaks to him? The serpent, Satan himself. And what does he try to do? Get him to question God, just like Eve. “Did God really say? If God loved you, you wouldn’t be out here starving now would you? Do you have to go to the cross? You can have it all right now, it is pleasing to the eye to become the ruler of it all right now and skip all that suffering…”
But your warrior king defeats the snake. How? Crucifixion. Allowing the serpent to bruise his heel, in the process of crushing this snake. You serve a God who has won, and you face an enemy who is defeated, how will you live in response to this?