In the very verses that first explain to us the mess we are in, the Bible reveals that there is already a plan to rescue us. Genesis 3 is a pretty sobering chapter as humanity turns its back on God and falls with a great crash. Yet don’t miss the hope already tucked away in these verses. Here it is:
Genesis 3:15 (NIV)
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Here right at the beginning of the Bible is a promise that a man (a son of Eve) will, one day, deal satan a fatal blow. Whilst satan will ‘strike his heel’ (cause him pain and agony), he will ‘crush his head.’
The cross and resurrection of Jesus was exactly that. Satan threw his worst at Jesus, and as the Son of God lay cold in a Palestinian grave you could have been forgiven for thinking that satan had won. But God’s word is true and Jesus rose from death to crush satan’s head. Death itself had been defeated. Paul put it like this
Colossians 2:15 (NIV)
15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
There is something else though in Genesis 3 and for a long time I missed it. Adam & Eve’s rebellion had left them feeling naked and ashamed and they had made fig leaves to cover themselves. Then, in a prophetic act of grace, the Bible says that:
Genesis 3:21 (NIV)
21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
This was certainly an act of genuine kindness on God’s part. The poignancy, however, should not be lost on us. It was through sacrifice (the death of an animal) that their shame and nakedness were covered. Blood was spilt to provide a covering for their sin. What, I wonder, was on God’s mind?
Simon Harris 