Genesis 3 "Meet the Redeeming God"

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.

God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we do pray for your help.

We always need your help.

Every moment, every day.

Amen.

We are especially needy as we come to your word and seek to know it and understand it,

to see it cut to our hearts, that it would shape us and mold us as you would have it.

And so we ask that you would speak this morning as we look to your word.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Last Sunday, I had the privilege of preaching in Memphis as the church that I grew up in celebrates its 50th anniversary, 50 years as a church.

And looking back 50 years to remember God's faithfulness is really neat.

But God has been faithful a lot longer than 50 years.

He's been a God of redemption since before He created the world.

That's who He is.

Looking back to the Old Testament even to see His character on display generation after generation

is a beautiful reminder to us of who God has always been and who He continues to be today and in our lives.

So this summer, we're going to do that for a few weeks to look at what we will call redemption stories in the Old Testament.

You can see a couple of them up there.

You might be able to figure out which ones they are.

He's been working to redeem for thousands and thousands of years.

And some pastors and churches these days are critiquing the Old Testament.

They're fearful of the wrathful God that we will find there and not like and be turned off by.

But we will see there a God who is indeed holy and who is and has always been all about redemption, full of grace.

So that's going to expand our vision of God's greatness, of His love.

That vision we have that Paul tells us in Ephesians is the one thing that is absolutely essential

essential to us being the people in the church God has called us to be.

That we would have a glorious vision of God, of His great love for us.

And as we look back to the Old Testament, it's going to expand that vision that we have.

That we might love God as we should.

That we might be used of Him to transform Huntsville and the world.

We need that vision.

I love being able to go to the Old Testament for that.

One other reason that we pastors wanted to spend some time in the Old Testament this summer

besides the fact that we've been in Luke for 17 years, not that long, just a couple of years.

We're almost finished, by the way.

Many of these great stories are stories that we and our kids know and love.

And so we get a chance as we look at some of these Sunday school stories and some others

to understand stories that we love in the context of the big story.

God's big story.

So that's an opportunity we'll have all through this summer.

This morning we're going to start near the beginning of God's big story

with a familiar episode.

The story of Adam and Eve.

A serpent.

Forbidden fruit.

The fallout of the first sin as they rebel against the Holy Creator.

Is there redemption there in that story?

Absolutely.

Because God is here and that's who He is.

Read with me in Genesis chapter 3 the whole story

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

and then we'll look back at parts of it together.

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 you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?

And the woman said to the serpent,

We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,

but God said you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden,

neither shall you touch it lest you die.

But the serpent said to the woman,

You will not surely die,

for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened

and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food

and that it was a delight to the eyes

and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,

she took of its fruit and ate.

She also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate.

Then the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked

and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day

and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God

among the trees of the garden.

But the Lord God called to the man and said to him,

Where are you?

And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden

and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.

He said, Who told you that you were naked?

Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?

The man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me,

she gave me fruit of the tree and I ate.

And the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that you have done?

And the woman said, The serpent deceived me and I ate.

The Lord God said to the serpent,

Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock

and above all beasts of the field.

On your belly you shall go and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

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.

To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain and childbearing.

In pain you shall bring forth children.

Your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.

And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you,

you shall not eat of it.

Cursed is the ground because of you.

In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life.

Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you.

And you shall eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread

till you return to the ground.

For out of it you were taken.

For you are dust.

And to dust you shall return.

The man called his wife's name Eve

because she was the mother of all living.

And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife

garments of skins and clothed them.

Then the Lord God said,

Behold the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.

Now lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life

and eat and live forever.

Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden

to work the ground from which he was taken.

He drove out the man and at the east of the garden of Eden

he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword

that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Thus far God's holy, inerrant, infallible word

for which we give him great thanks.

It was a really hot August day

that I first learned a lot

about my offensive line coach

in high school.

I was a freshman on the football team.

It was the first time through two-a-day practices.

It was sweltering out there.

I didn't know what it would feel like.

And I watched as one of the upperclassmen

tried to block his own way,

the way he wanted to do it

rather than the way that the coach had taught us.

And he ended up face first on the ground.

He could have gotten seriously injured

trying to do it his own way.

And to remind him of that,

he got a metal visor clip

from my coach on the back of his helmet.

And the way he reacted,

wincing in pain as the ringing in his ears,

I said,

I never want that ringing in my ears.

I'm sure of that.

But then he decided to talk back to the coach.

And he got sent in full pads,

all of his football gear,

to run up and down the steep hill

up to the locker room

for the rest of practice.

Dripping with sweat,

you can imagine he didn't run too long.

Pretty soon he was crawling up the hill

and almost rolling down it.

I knew,

as I watched this develop,

that coach took quite seriously

both blocking your own way

and the dangers that come with that

and disrespecting his authority.

Adam and Eve had been promised

that disobeying God

would have frightful consequences.

And man's first sin here,

determining to distrust his good creator

and insist on his own way,

indeed receives God's just punishment.

We learn right away about God

that he takes sin quite seriously,

don't we?

I mean, just look at how this develops

for a second in this passage.

Satan, having inhabited the serpent,

begins to cast doubt on the word of God.

Did God really say?

Are you sure?

But beyond that,

he casts doubt on the character of God.

Can God really be trusted?

Does he really have your best in mind?

Is he really good?

Y'all, what a monstrous evil.

Right?

Can you imagine this?

This God who has just created

this glorious, good world

and put Adam and Eve in the midst of it

and said,

here's everything you need.

Eat fruit from all these trees.

Look at all these animals.

And I'm going to walk and talk with you

every day with me.

And evil suggests

that he might not be good.

Evil questions his goodness?

Preposterous!

No way will they buy that.

I mean, we would never.

But Eve begins to wonder, doesn't she?

And soon, Adam and Eve decide

to try their own way

rather than God's.

It may seem astounding,

but we still try to handle relationships

and our marriages our own way

rather than God's, don't we?

We try to handle our bodies

and our sexuality

our own way

rather than God's.

We try to handle our money,

our time,

our priorities,

our own way

rather than God's.

And it's dangerous to us.

And God knows that.

The Creator's just judgment is severe.

The man and woman

must not be left to think

that they can find life their own way.

It's not true.

And so God pronounces curses

on all of creation.

In fact,

right on the places

they hurt the most.

Adam and Eve were created

to reflect God's image

by filling

and subduing

the earth.

Two things He told them to do.

Now,

filling

will be hard

and painful.

Pain and childbirth.

Now,

subduing

will be hard

and painful.

Thorns,

thistles,

a cursed

ground.

But it gets worse.

As you read through

the rest of the story,

what happens to Adam and Eve?

Banishment

from God's presence,

right?

Their closest friend.

Out of the garden.

Sent away.

And the spiritual

and eventually

physical death

that they'd been promised

if they disobeyed.

all the good creation

broken.

Those around you

hurt

by your failure.

Can you imagine

for a minute

the guilt

and shame

that Adam and Eve

must have felt

as that sunk in?

As they experienced

the Holy Creator

pronouncing these

curses,

sending them away.

How did we get

taken in by that?

We've blown it

and we can't fix it.

Have you felt

the shame

of sin

and failure?

Kids,

have you felt

so embarrassed

or ashamed

at disobeying

your parents?

At something

you've looked at?

At something

you've said?

the first audience

of the book

of Genesis

had felt this.

That the Exodus

generation

that God had just

brought out of Egypt

now they're

wandering

in the wilderness.

Why?

Because they

didn't trust

God.

And they

doubted Him

and insisted

on their own way

didn't they?

And so

here they are

wandering

and perhaps

wondering

how will this

God respond?

What's He like

anyway?

And they learn

that He does

take sin

seriously

don't they?

They're tasting

that when they

get this story

from Moses.

But is that

the end of the story?

Is that all

there is?

See

all the other

gods that

they've heard about

in Egypt

and the other

nations around them

those other

gods are like

that?

They take sin

seriously.

They're

terrifying.

Retributive.

You need to

watch out

or they'll

get you.

Is Yahweh

any different?

Is there

any hope

for us

in our failure

now that we've

blown it?

Maybe you're

wondering that

this morning.

Here's the

good news

God's

of this story.

In the midst

of our failures

which are huge.

The holy

creator

and He is

holy

and He

takes sin

very seriously

He is also

our gracious

redeemer.

And this makes

all the difference

y'all.

There's no other

God like

this.

Look at how we

see God's

character on

display here.

How do we

and the

Israelites

learn about

a redeeming

God who

gives failures

hope?

Well it

starts with

a question.

Where are

you?

Nearly every

day when I

get home from

work my

five-year-old

Lily runs

and hides

away from

me.

That's kind

of a thing.

It's a game

right?

Except that

I know

where she

is.

Invariably

Lily has

run up

to her

bed

and hidden

herself under

a blanket

creating an

unmistakable

lump in the

exact shape

of a five-year-old

little girl.

It's hard to

miss.

But she hides

there and I

walk up the

stairs and I

say Lily

where are

you?

Now I know

where Lily

is.

But I

I ask

where are

you?

And so

she gets

engaged,

right?

She can

make noises

to give me

hints or

usually she

just starts

giggling

underneath the

blanket so

now it's a

moving lump

even easier

to spot.

And I

say where

are you?

Not to

get an

answer but

to get her

engagement because

I love her and

being in

relationship with

her, right?

If I know

where Lily is

under her

blanket, do

you think

God, the

Creator knew

where Adam

was behind

his fig

leaves?

Yeah.

Yes he

did.

And yet he

says, where

are you?

Here comes

God on his

daily walk

in the garden

as he always

does.

Used to

being with

the man and

the woman in

intimate

relationship.

He loves

them, doesn't

he?

He comes to

walk with

them.

And yet

today they're

not running

out to greet

him.

They're hiding,

aren't they?

Verse 7,

they sewed

fig leaves

together and

made themselves

loincloths and

they heard the

sound of the

Lord God walking

in the garden.

They knew that

sound.

He always came

to walk with

them in the

cool of the

day and the

man and his

wife did what?

Hid

themselves.

from the

presence of

the Lord

God among

the trees of

the garden.

And the

first question

that God

asks in the

Bible's whole

story, it's

not, what

were you

thinking?

It's not, how

could you

possibly?

What's the

first thing he

asks?

Where are

you?

God's not

looking for

information.

God's

pursuing Adam

in his

guilt and

shame to

engage him in

relationship

because he

loves him and

being in

relationship with

him.

A pastor

friend of mine

recently said

to me that

God asks

fallen man

here, where

are you?

And we are

still avoiding

that question

and hiding

from him.

We love to

hide, don't

we?

Adam says

he was

ashamed and

afraid and

so he

hid.

He didn't

run out and

throw himself at

God's feet and

say, oh

father, I'm

right here, I'm

feeling the pain

of my mistakes,

the embarrassment

of my failures, I

need you desperately,

here I am.

No, he went to

the fig leaves.

Man, I get

that.

He'd really

blown it.

Big time

failure, genuine

guilt and

when I feel

that, my

instinct is to

hide.

Don't let

anybody know.

Some of you

hide the way

that I often

do, behind

busyness.

Just so no

one can know

where my heart

really is.

I'll be really

busy, I'll

avoid God's

word, avoid

prayer, just

let's do a lot.

Nobody will

really know

what's going

on.

Maybe you

hide by not

telling your

parents what's

really going

on.

Maybe you

hide behind

blame shifting

like Adam.

This woman,

you gave

me.

It's always

someone else's

fault, right?

Plenty of

people to

blame.

Maybe you

hide behind

alcohol,

behind

religiosity,

being a good

person,

behind humor,

behind

intellect,

telling

yourself as

you hide

that no

one, not

even God,

really knows

you.

We all have

our favorite

hiding spots,

don't we?

And of

course,

they're fig

leaves.

God sees

right through

us.

He knows

where we

are, but

we hide.

Maybe you're

hiding this

morning.

God says,

where are

you?

This won't

sound like

good news,

perhaps, if

you're hiding

from Him,

but it is.

No matter

how good you

are at

hiding,

your father

is even

better at

seeking.

It's not

even like

the odds

of me

finding Lily

under her

blanket.

He's way

better at

seeking than

we are

at hiding.

He pursues

you because

He loves

you.

And that's

good news

because God

makes a

promise that

He's not

coming merely

to shame

us and

punish us.

He's seeking

us for our

good, to

redeem what

once was

lost.

God pledges

to remove

our guilt

and shame.

Isn't it

remarkable that

the first

promise in

the Bible

comes in

this

passage?

The one

where we

blow it

and the

Creator King

has just

been spurned

by His

creatures,

rebellion

is rampant,

here come

the curses,

and the

verse that

Christians since

the first

century have

referred to

as the

Proto-Evangelium,

the first

promise of

the gospel

comes in

the midst

of God

pronouncing

curses.

Verse

15,

I will put

enmity between

you and the

woman,

between your

offspring and

her offspring,

he shall

bruise your

head and

you shall

bruise his

heel.

What's God

saying?

I haven't

given up on

these failures.

sinners.

There's a

singular

person

coming from

this disobedient

woman who

will bring

hope.

There's a

child I'll

send who

will defeat

the serpent

once and

for all.

Listen to

this promise,

y'all.

Right at the

low point

in the story,

right?

There's a

certainty

that evil

will

lose.

that your

arch enemies

will be

defeated,

that Satan

will be

crushed and

all creation

will be

redeemed.

That's what

God's saying.

Adam and

Eve, don't

lose hope

in your

failure.

Israelites

wandering in

the wilderness,

don't lose

hope in

your failure.

Southwood,

dear friends,

don't lose

hope in

your failure.

The one

true God

is a

redeeming

God.

That's the

unchanging

nature of

his character.

That's who

he is.

Do you want

to know how

gracious your

father is?

Yes?

Yes, you do

want to know?

See, ask me,

right?

How gracious

is he?

Okay, can you

ask me that?

One, two,

three.

How gracious is he?

That was really

good, all

talking during

the sermon.

Even in the

midst of

meeting out

justice, he

oozes out

grace, doesn't

he?

Even in the

face of our

greatest rebellion,

he promises

redemption.

Even to the

most guilty

and the most

ashamed, he

brings hope.

Even to those

facing certain

death, he

brings life,

eternal life.

He's so

good.

He's so

gracious.

That's who

he is.

But the

redemption

story gets

even more

beautiful.

Before they're

sent out of

the garden

because of

their sin,

God doesn't

just speak

hope.

He begins

to act to

cover our

guilt and

shame.

I don't

want to

overplay the

sacrifice

imagery here,

but it's

almost certain

that we see

the first

example of

an animal

having to

die so a

person could

be covered.

Look at

verse 21.

The Lord

God made

for Adam

and for

his wife

garments of

skins and

clothed

them.

This probably

means there

was an

animal

sacrificed,

but it

definitely

means that

God

demonstrates

tangibly

that he's

continuing

to care

for Adam

and Eve

even better

than they

could care

for themselves,

right?

No fig leaves,

garments of

skin.

He hasn't

abandoned them

even when

they've sought

to abandon

him.

He offers

protection,

covering for

their shame

much better

than their fig

leaves.

This time,

God himself

does the

covering,

doesn't he?

God.

And in that

sense,

at least,

we get a

taste already

of the

redeeming

grace of

God that

we know

most fully

in Jesus.

Covering

Adam and

Eve with

animal skins

is only the

beginning of

what God's

going to do,

of his

care for

his rebellious

people.

In Jesus,

God provides

not merely

a second

chance for

failures who

would blow

that second

chance anyway,

but a second

Adam,

one who

comes and

who when

he is

tempted to

doubt God's

word and

God's good

character,

he does

what?

He trusts

his father.

He obeys

the father.

He succeeds

where Adam

has failed

and where

we have

failed.

And yet,

even though

he's the

successful one,

the one who

doesn't give

in to temptation,

he does

actually go

to the

cross,

doesn't he?

He goes

to the

cross to

die where

we deserve

to.

Galatians 3

actually says

it this way,

he redeemed

us from

the curse

of the law

by becoming

a curse

for us.

For it's

written,

cursed is

everyone who

is hanged

on a tree.

Jesus

takes the

curse so

that we

receive the

blessing he

earned.

That's why

we sang in

that great

hymn,

the beginning

of the

service.

He comes

to make

his blessings

flow far

as the

curse is

found.

Where's the

curse in

this story?

It's on

creation,

it's on

you,

it's on

me,

it's everywhere

and Jesus

comes to

make blessing

flow

everywhere.

That's why

we rejoice.

That's why

we have

hope.

For

failures

buried

beneath

their

guilt

and

their

shame.

Jesus

sacrifices

himself

to be

a

covering

for us.

Hebrews

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10

says it

this way,

but when

Christ had

offered for

all time

a single

sacrifice

for sins,

he sat

down at

the right

hand of

God,

waiting

from that

time until

his enemies

should be

made a

footstool

for his

feet.

For

by a

single

offering,

he has

perfected

for all

time those

who are

being

sanctified.

He

crushes

the head

of the

serpent,

defeats

all his

and our

enemies,

and by

his one

sacrifice

covers us

safely

forever.

Verse 17

keeps going.

I will remember

their sins

and their

lawless deeds

no more.

Where there

is forgiveness

of these,

there is no

longer any

offering for

sin.

No more

sacrifice

needed for

your sin.

It is

finished.

His was

enough.

No matter

how shameful

your failure,

no matter

how big

your sin,

his death

covers

you.

What's God

like when

you fail?

Can you

answer that

a little bit

better now?

He pursues

you to draw

you out

of hiding

into a

relationship

with him.

He promises

hope at

your lowest

and darkest

moments.

He takes

action to

provide what

you need.

He's always

been that

way.

He always

will be.

It's who

he is.

It's the

first glimpse

of his

redeeming

nature in

this story,

but there

are many,

many more

preparing us

for the

ultimate

redemption

we find

in Jesus.

Yahweh is

the king

of creation

who rules

justly and

firmly and

living your

own way

rather than

his is

dangerous to

your soul.

So take

heed.

Don't trust

yourself.

And at the

same time,

he loves

to redeem.

So take

comfort

and trust

him.

I said I

learned a lot

about my

coach that

really hot

August day.

I did.

I actually

came to

realize I

could trust

my coach,

that he

really loved

me.

Coach would

eventually say

encouraging

things.

He would

pray for us

before every

game.

God,

take care of

my guys.

And so he

would demonstrate

his love.

But I knew

by the end

of that first

practice I

could trust

him.

By the end

of practice

that day,

I saw what

he was like

having been

disregarded,

having been

disrespected.

He went

and walked

over to that

hill where

of course the

player is now

crawling up

the hill.

And my

coach, who

is not a

small man

himself,

got down on

his hands

and knees

beside him

and started

crawling up

the hill.

Shouting

encouragement

to the guy

next to him.

Come on,

you can do

it.

You can do

it.

Keep

coming.

Of course,

my coach

beat him

up the hill

because it

was his

first trip.

He got

up to the

top and

he turned

around and

reached down,

grabbed the

guy by the

arm and

pulled him

up to

stand next

to him and

threw his

arms around

his big

sweaty,

stinky

self and

hugged

him.

And I

thought,

I can

trust him.

He does

love us.

I don't

want to

blow it,

but he's

the one I

want around

when I

do.

Y'all,

God has

entered into

our sin.

He has

suffered for

us and

given us

not just a

hand up

but an

eternal

security,

a righteous

standing with

him,

a new

family when

we deserved

none of it.

there's no

other God

like him.

No one

else meets

you in

your failure

to bring

you hope

and redemption.

Everyone

and all

of creation

needs to

know about

a God who

redeems like

that.

Amen?

Let's pray.

Father,

we need to

know that

because we

forget.

we fail

and we

forget that

you still

love us

and that

you're more

gracious and

merciful than

we believe.

Thank you for

giving us a

reminder of that

this morning,

a picture

of your

redeeming

nature,

how you love

to rescue us

in the midst

of our failure.

Would you

so excite us

by that

that we

might long

for the

world to

know

for everyone

and every

part of this

creation to

be touched

by the

God who

rules over

it all

and who

redeems

so gloriously.

We ask it

in Jesus'

name.

Amen.

For more

information,

visit us

online at

southwood.org.

Thank you.