January 2, 2026 - Genesis 3

Genesis 3!  Key to understanding the entire biblical story!  “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.  He said to the woman, “Did God actually say . . . (3:1).  Eve’s sin was doing what God had forbidden.  But that disobedience was occasioned by her believing Satan’s lie that God could not be trusted.  How often is this the case with us!  I remember that Billy Graham, in his sermons, over and over again when referencing Scripture, would say, “And God said . . .”  To hear God is to pay attention to his Word.  Of course, this requires us actually to read his Word.  And, hearing God, we must trust him.  Well, we know how the story continues and how, in response to our first parents’ disobedience, God said to the serpent, “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” (3:15).  I do not believe it is an exaggeration to say that to forget or misunderstand this verse is to miss the meaning of all of Scripture.  A man, a descendant of Adam and Eve, will come.  He will fight against Satan.  In the battle, he will be harmed (bruised heel) but will also deal a death blow to Satan, sin, and death (a mortal head wound).  The announcement of a Redeemer!  He is coming, and all the Old Testament prepares us for his coming.  He has now come!  And he will return!  And so, we have hope!

Praise to the Holiest in the height,

and in the depth be praise;

in all His words most wonderful,

most sure in all His ways!

O loving wisdom of our God!

When all was sin and shame,

a second Adam to the fight,

and to the rescue came.   --John Henry Newman (1865)