The Heart of God: Genesis (2)

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24.27

Read and meditate on Genesis 3, 4, 6, and 8.15-22.
The entrance of sin into creation caused enormous disruption. The readings for today should help us understand the great calamity of sin and its severity in the eyes of God. Perhaps they will help us to hate sin, especially when we find it in our own lives.

For reflection
1. Adam and Eve ushered sin into the world by preferring the lies of the serpent to the revealed Word of God. Instead of resting in God’s Word, they relied on their own feelings and thoughts about what would be best for them. The results of trying to live this way are disastrous in the extreme. How many ways did sin affect Adam and Eve? How did it affect their attitudes toward themselves, one another, and God? Is this what God intended?

2. Sin didn’t just affect Adam and Eve. Sin is a force for rebellion, corruption, and destruction that pervades the entire creation, turning the goodness of God to blight, wickedness, and death. How many different ways can you see this in chapter 3?

3.  Genesis 3.15 introduces the third unifying thread of Scripture. God was not content to leave His people or the creation with the consequences of human folly, under the oppression of sin. What does God promise here? What will be the effect of this? Why was it so important that God attack the very heart of the problem of sin in this first great promise of redemption?

4.  What do we learn about God’s attitude toward sin from the punishment of Cain and the story of the flood? How does sin affect the glory of God and His plan for His people? How can you see that the ark of Noah represented a validating and unfolding of the promise of God in Genesis 3.15?

5.  What do we learn about sin from Genesis 4.16-26 and 6.1-5 about the effects of sin on human life and culture? Does sin become more virulent when it becomes established in cultural forms? Explain.

Summary
All creation is affected by the sin of Adam and Eve, even to this day. But God was not content to allow sin and the serpent to have the last word. From the beginning, therefore, God pointed His faithful people forward in time to a coming day of redemption, in which the one who caused the problem of the fall would be crushed and the people of God would be ushered by God’s grace through the corruption and storms of sin into a new day of redemption. How can you see the intertwining of the unifying threads of Scripture – God’ glory, His people, and His work of redemption – in these early chapters of Genesis?

Closing Prayer
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.
When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

Psalm 32.1-7

Next steps – Preparation: Think of the world represented by your Personal Mission Field. In what ways can you see the corrupting power of sin at work there? According to Romans 12.21, and in the light of Genesis 1.31, what is your calling in this situation? Share your thoughts with a Christian friend.

T. M. Moore

Two books can help you gain a fuller understanding of the terrain we will be covering in this series. Kingdom Documentsprovides a concise overview of the primary teaching of the Old and New Testaments, and shows, through early Church creeds, how our forebears understand the primary teachings of God’s Word. (click here to order). I Will Be Your Goddevelops more fully the idea of God’s covenant and leads us to consider the practical implications of our covenant relationship with God (click here).

Visit The Ailbe Seminary, where our course, Introduction to Biblical Theology, offers a parallel study of our theme in this series, using brief video presentations and the workbook God’s Covenant: An Introduction. All courses at The Ailbe Seminary are available without charge.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.