Shame and blame, dread and doubt, hang on Adam as a weighty stone on a suspended thread. His sin has found him out, and with it comes inner condemnation, a testament to a broken relationship and a betrayal of trust.
He has nowhere to hide as the trees refuse to conspire with the traitor against their Maker. Eden is uncharacteristically quiet as sounding steps announce the imminent, ominous, and obvious.
Then the voice. Dread, shame, and doubt.
The question, where are you? haunts the hiding Adam, obliging him to surrender.
Then, blame.
Adam faults his wife for his sin, and indirectly, God the Giver (Gen 3:12). Eve, in turn, accuses the serpent. One sinful act estranges man from God, his next neighbor, himself, and creation. The fall is radical and total.
But Genesis 3:15 forcefully breaks forth as a beacon of hope and light that beams with promise and pardon. In what is called the protoevangelium, that is, the first proclaimed Gospel, God pledges to shatter sin and separation, shame and fear, with His love.
He will not leave humanity in self-ruin. He will come and save us.
In the battle of cosmic significance, the woman’s Seed shall crush the Serpent’s skull. At the cost of His life. For the lethal snake shall deal His heel a fatal blow, sniffing out His light of life. And yet, His victory is not despite, but through His death. As a result, humanity triumphs over evil because the Victor, the Seed of the woman, is one of us!
Genesis 3:15 announces His coming, He whose steps we formerly dreaded. We don’t notice Him until He is with us, wrapped in humility and clad in humanity, our humanity! He is with us, but also, for us.
No more shame, blame, dread, or doubt. God has descended and found us, for the Seed of the woman is also the Son of God. Immanuel, the eternally blessed with-us-God has come to save Adam’s seed.
In Him is faith and forgiveness, light and delight for everyone who believes.
Rejoice O man, for your God, is here!
This piece was written as part of the 2018 Advent Devotional for North Shore Community Baptist Church. The full Devotional can be downloaded here.