READING: Genesis 1-3
Some things never change, it seems. Today’s reading takes us back to the Garden of Eden, to the beginning of creation. Even there, though, human beings rejected God’s plan and chose instead to listen to the lies of a deceiving serpent. “You will not certainly die,” he said to Adam and Eve, thus directly contradicting God’s earlier warning to them. In fact, he implied that God was just keeping this tree from them. Taking his bait and ignoring what God had told them, Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
That’s exactly what we do when we sin. We temporarily ignore all of God’s words about the danger and penalty of sin, and we instead focus on the opportunities that the world and the devil paint as so inviting. We listen to the wrong voice every time we sin; in fact, we briefly choose to place the enemy’s voice over God’s — and that’s idolatry.
How right it would seem if God had just turned His back on the first human beings. He didn’t do that, though, because He is love. He announced judgment on them, including their death, but He also gave this word to the serpent: "I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel" (Gen. 3:15).
The serpent had created chaos, but God would raise up someone from the woman who would crush the serpent even as he himself would be wounded in the process. That person, of course, is Jesus. The Son of God would strike the serpent — and He would do so, ironically, through His death on a cross. Genesis 3:15 is thus more than judgment; it’s God’s victory cry in the midst of seeming defeat!
And that’s great news for us. The serpent God cursed in the Garden has never been, is not, and will never be, mightier than God.
ACTION STEPS: As we begin this year together, think practically about how you might apply God’s Word in your life each day. From today’s reading:
- Ask this question, “Do I know God’s Word well enough that I recognize the difference when the enemy tries to deceive me?” If not, I pray these devotions will help you.
- Identify the areas of your life where you have a tendency to listen to the devil rather than God. Admit those areas to God.
- When you sense temptation today, remember that the enemy wants to lead you to judgment and death. Make the right choices today.
PRAYER: “Thank You, God, that You announced victory in the Garden even when You pronounced judgment. Let me live in that victory today.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Genesis 4-7