December 3, 2024
Where is Jesus first mentioned in the Bible?
Genesis 1:1-2, 26-28; Genesis 3:1-15
Rebekah Rose
Big Book Idea
God with us.
Key Verse | Genesis 3:15
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.
Genesis 1:1-2, 26-28
The Creation of the World
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man 1 1:26 The Hebrew word for man (adam) is the generic term for mankind and becomes the proper name Adam in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Footnotes
[1] 1:26 The Hebrew word for man (adam) is the generic term for mankind and becomes the proper name AdamTable of Contents
Introduction to Genesis
Timeline
Author, Date, and Recipients
Traditionally, Moses is considered to have been the author of Genesis and the rest of the Pentateuch (see Num. 33:2; Deut. 31:24; John 5:46). Of course, Moses lived much later than the events of Genesis. Presumably, stories were passed down about those earlier events, and Moses brought them all together.
The first audience would have been the Israelites Moses led through the wilderness. For readers today, Genesis is an essential introduction to the rest of the Bible. It is rightly called the book of beginnings.
Theme
The theme of Genesis is creation, sin, and re-creation. God made the world very good, but first cursed it and then destroyed it in the flood because of man’s disobedience. The new world after the flood was also spoiled by human sin (ch. 11). God chose Abraham for a special purpose. Through his family, all nations would be blessed (12:1–3). God’s purpose will eventually be fulfilled through Abraham’s descendants (ch. 49).
Key Themes
- The Lord God commissions human beings to be his representatives on earth. They are to take care of the earth and govern the other creatures (1:1–2:25).
- Instead of acting as God’s representatives on earth, the first man and woman—Adam and Eve—listen to the serpent and follow his advice. Their disobedience has devastating results for all mankind and for the entire created world (3:1–24; 6:5–6).
- God graciously announces that Eve’s offspring will free humanity from the serpent’s control (3:15). Genesis then begins tracing the history of one family that will become the people of Israel. This family has a special relationship with God and will become a source of blessing to fallen humanity (12:1–3).
- As a result of Adam’s disobedience, his unique relationship with the ground degenerates, resulting in hard work and later in flood and famine. But the special family descending from Adam also brings relief from the difficulties (3:17–19; 5:29; 50:19–21).
- While Eve’s punishment centers on pain in bearing children (3:16), women play an essential role in continuing the unique family line. With God’s help, even barrenness is overcome (11:30; 21:1–7; 25:21; 38:1–30).
- The corruption of human nature causes families to be torn apart (4:1–16; 13:5–8; 25:22–23; 27:41–45; 37:2–35). Although Genesis shows the reality of family conflicts, individual members of the chosen family can also help resolve those conflicts (13:8–11; 33:1–11; 45:1–28; 50:15–21).
- The wicked are exiled from Eden and scattered throughout the earth (3:22–24; 4:12–16; 11:9), but God is kind to his chosen people and promises them a land of their own (12:1–2, 7; 15:7–21; 28:13–14; 50:24).
- God is prepared to destroy almost the entire human race because of its corruption (6:7, 11–12; 18:17–33), but he still wants his world to be populated by righteous people (1:28; 9:1; 15:1–5; 35:11).
Outline
- Primeval History (1:1–11:26)
- Patriarchal History (11:27–50:26)
- Terah’s descendants (11:27–25:18)
- Isaac’s descendants (25:19–37:1)
- Jacob’s descendants (37:2–50:26)
The Near East at the Time of Genesis
Fact: In the Beginning
In the Hebrew Bible, the title of Genesis is In the Beginning, the book’s first words. The English title is related to the Greek word genesis, which means “beginning.”
Fact: Genesis through Deuteronomy
Genesis through Deuteronomy are the foundation of the Bible. They introduce the key promises that show God’s purposes in history and prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ.
Fact: The Sadducees
The Sadducees were a small but powerful group of Jewish leaders who did not believe in the resurrection (12:18). This may have been because of their emphasis on the Pentateuch (Genesis–Deuteronomy), which does not seem to explicitly mention the resurrection. But Jesus showed them that the idea of resurrection can, in fact, be found in the Pentateuch (Mark 12:26–27).
Fact: All things were made through him
All things were made through him. John begins his Gospel in the same way that Genesis begins: with creation (1:1–5; Gen. 1:1). He reveals that Jesus, God’s Son, existed eternally with God the Father, and the whole creation was made through him (Col. 1:15–16; compare 1 Cor. 8:6).
Fact: As numerous as the stars
As numerous as the stars. As the book of Exodus begins, some 350 years have passed since the end of Genesis. The 70 Israelites who went to Egypt have grown into a great multitude. This fulfills God’s promise to multiply Abraham’s descendants and to make them a blessing to all the nations of the world (Gen. 12:1–3; 15:5).
Fact: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God said, “Let us make man” (1:26). This phrase could be the Bible’s earliest indication that God exists as three persons in one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Christians around the world refer to this as the doctrine of the Trinity.
The Near East at the Time of Genesis
c. 2000 B.C.
The book of Genesis describes events in the ancient Near East from the beginnings of civilization to the relocation of Jacob’s (Israel’s) family in Egypt. The stories of Genesis are set among some of the oldest nations in the world, including Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, and Elam.
The Garden of Eden
Genesis describes the location of Eden in relation to the convergence of four rivers. While two of the rivers are unknown (the Pishon and the Gihon), the nearly universal identification of the other two rivers as the Tigris and the Euphrates suggests a possible location for Eden at either their northern or southern extremes.
The Generations of Genesis
| Primeval History (1:1–11:26) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction | General heading | Specific heading | Section introduced |
| 2:4 | These are the generations of | the heavens and the earth | 2:4–4:26 |
| 5:1 | These are the generations of | Adam | 5:1–6:8 |
| 6:9 | These are the generations of | Noah | 6:9–9:29 |
| 10:1 | These are the generations of | the sons of Noah | 10:1–11:9 |
| 11:10 | These are the generations of | Shem | 11:10–26 |
| Patriarchal History (11:27–50:26) | |||
| 11:27 | These are the generations of | Terah | 11:27–25:11 |
| 25:12 | These are the generations of | Ishmael | 25:12–18 |
| 25:19 | These are the generations of | Isaac | 25:19–35:29 |
| 36:1, 9 | These are the generations of | Esau | 36:1–37:1 |
| 37:2 | These are the generations of | Jacob | 37:2–50:26 |
The “Bookends” of Biblical Theology
God’s ultimate purpose in redemptive history is to create a people to dwell in his presence, glorifying him through numerous varied activities and enjoying him forever. The story begins with God in eternal glory, and it ends with God and his people in eternal glory. At the center stands the cross, where God revealed his glory through his Son.
The biblical story of redemption must be understood within the larger story of creation. First Adam, and later Israel, was placed in God’s sanctuary (the garden and the Promised Land, respectively), but both Adam and Israel failed to be a faithful, obedient steward, and both were expelled from the sanctuary God had created for them. But Jesus Christ—the second Adam, the son of Abraham, the son of David—was faithful and obedient to God. Though the world killed him, God raised him to life, which meant that death was defeated. Through his Spirit, God pours into sinners the resurrection life of his Son, creating a new humanity “in Christ.” Those who are “in Christ” move through death into new, re-embodied life and exaltation in God’s sanctuary, there to enjoy his presence forever.
The “bookends” concept of biblical theology illustrates that in the third-to-last chapter of the Bible (Revelation 20) God removes his enemies—Satan, death, and evil—that entered the story line in the third chapter of the Bible (Genesis 3), thus completing the story of redemption. The last two chapters (Revelation 21–22) don’t simply restore the first two chapters (Genesis 1–2); they go beyond them to a world that is fully ordered and holy, in which God is fully present with his people, completing the story of creation. (Chapter divisions in the Bible are, of course, human contributions, not divinely inspired.)
Gen. 1:1 In the beginning. The opening verse of the Genesis creation account can be taken as either (1) a summary of the entire process of creation or (2) a description of the first event in creation. This event would have occurred sometime before the first day (vv. 3–5), and would have included the creation of matter, space, and time. This second view emphasizes the fact that God created the universe from nothing (compare Heb. 11:3). God created. The Hebrew word for God, ’Elohim, is plural, possibly to express God’s majesty, but the verb “created” is singular, indicating that God is one being. In contrast to other ancient Near Eastern accounts of creation, Genesis always emphasizes that there is only one God. Whenever the Hebrew verb for “create” occurs in the OT, God is the subject. Heavens and the earth here means “everything.” Thus, “in the beginning” refers to the beginning of everything. The text indicates that God created everything in the universe, which means that he created it out of nothing.
Gen. 1:2 Before the first actual day of creation (vv. 3–5), the earth was without form and void (compare Jer. 4:23), implying that it lacked order and content. The reference to darkness . . . over the face of the deep points to the absence of light. The Spirit of God was hovering suggests that something was about to happen. There is no reason to think that a long time elapsed between Gen. 1:1 and 1:2.
Gen. 1:26 Let us make man in our image. Some have suggested that God may be addressing the members of his heavenly court, whom the OT elsewhere calls “sons of God” (e.g., Job 1:6) and the NT calls “angels.” But man is not made in the image of angels (see Gen. 1:27), and the Bible never teaches that angels participated in the creation of human beings. Since God alone creates man (v. 27), many Christians believe that “let us” means God is speaking to himself. If so, this would be the first biblical mention of the “Trinity” (see note on John 1:1).
Fact: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God said, “Let us make man” (1:26). This phrase could be the Bible’s earliest indication that God exists as three persons in one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Christians around the world refer to this as the doctrine of the Trinity.
Gen. 1:27 The term image of God can be seen as describing the ways in which man is different from all other created beings. It describes how humans resemble God in their ability to think, to communicate, to understand right and wrong, to be creative, and to experience relationships with God and with one another. This allows men and women to represent God as they exercise authority over the rest of creation (see v. 26; and note on v. 28). The Hebrew word for man (’adam), is often a generic term for both male and female, though sometimes it refers to man in distinction from woman (e.g., 2:22, 23; 3:8). It can also be the proper name “Adam” (2:20; 3:17; 4:1; 5:1).
Gen. 1:28 Be fruitful and multiply. From the time of creation, God’s plan has been that the whole earth should be populated by those who know him and who serve wisely as his representatives. To subdue the earth and to have dominion over it probably means that humans are permitted to make the earth beneficial for themselves. They are to investigate and develop its resources. This command provides a basis for wise scientific and technological development. It does not mean that humans may exploit the earth and its creatures simply to satisfy their own greed.
Genesis 3:1-15
The Fall
1 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 1 3:1 In Hebrew you is plural in verses 15 shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 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.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 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, 2 3:6 Or to give insight she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool 3 3:8 Hebrew wind of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 4 3:9 In Hebrew you is singular in verses 9 and 11 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 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.
15
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring
5
3:15
Hebrew seed; so throughout Genesis
and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
Table of Contents
Introduction to Genesis
Timeline
Author, Date, and Recipients
Traditionally, Moses is considered to have been the author of Genesis and the rest of the Pentateuch (see Num. 33:2; Deut. 31:24; John 5:46). Of course, Moses lived much later than the events of Genesis. Presumably, stories were passed down about those earlier events, and Moses brought them all together.
The first audience would have been the Israelites Moses led through the wilderness. For readers today, Genesis is an essential introduction to the rest of the Bible. It is rightly called the book of beginnings.
Theme
The theme of Genesis is creation, sin, and re-creation. God made the world very good, but first cursed it and then destroyed it in the flood because of man’s disobedience. The new world after the flood was also spoiled by human sin (ch. 11). God chose Abraham for a special purpose. Through his family, all nations would be blessed (12:1–3). God’s purpose will eventually be fulfilled through Abraham’s descendants (ch. 49).
Key Themes
- The Lord God commissions human beings to be his representatives on earth. They are to take care of the earth and govern the other creatures (1:1–2:25).
- Instead of acting as God’s representatives on earth, the first man and woman—Adam and Eve—listen to the serpent and follow his advice. Their disobedience has devastating results for all mankind and for the entire created world (3:1–24; 6:5–6).
- God graciously announces that Eve’s offspring will free humanity from the serpent’s control (3:15). Genesis then begins tracing the history of one family that will become the people of Israel. This family has a special relationship with God and will become a source of blessing to fallen humanity (12:1–3).
- As a result of Adam’s disobedience, his unique relationship with the ground degenerates, resulting in hard work and later in flood and famine. But the special family descending from Adam also brings relief from the difficulties (3:17–19; 5:29; 50:19–21).
- While Eve’s punishment centers on pain in bearing children (3:16), women play an essential role in continuing the unique family line. With God’s help, even barrenness is overcome (11:30; 21:1–7; 25:21; 38:1–30).
- The corruption of human nature causes families to be torn apart (4:1–16; 13:5–8; 25:22–23; 27:41–45; 37:2–35). Although Genesis shows the reality of family conflicts, individual members of the chosen family can also help resolve those conflicts (13:8–11; 33:1–11; 45:1–28; 50:15–21).
- The wicked are exiled from Eden and scattered throughout the earth (3:22–24; 4:12–16; 11:9), but God is kind to his chosen people and promises them a land of their own (12:1–2, 7; 15:7–21; 28:13–14; 50:24).
- God is prepared to destroy almost the entire human race because of its corruption (6:7, 11–12; 18:17–33), but he still wants his world to be populated by righteous people (1:28; 9:1; 15:1–5; 35:11).
Outline
- Primeval History (1:1–11:26)
- Patriarchal History (11:27–50:26)
- Terah’s descendants (11:27–25:18)
- Isaac’s descendants (25:19–37:1)
- Jacob’s descendants (37:2–50:26)
The Near East at the Time of Genesis
Fact: In the Beginning
In the Hebrew Bible, the title of Genesis is In the Beginning, the book’s first words. The English title is related to the Greek word genesis, which means “beginning.”
Fact: Genesis through Deuteronomy
Genesis through Deuteronomy are the foundation of the Bible. They introduce the key promises that show God’s purposes in history and prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ.
Fact: The Sadducees
The Sadducees were a small but powerful group of Jewish leaders who did not believe in the resurrection (12:18). This may have been because of their emphasis on the Pentateuch (Genesis–Deuteronomy), which does not seem to explicitly mention the resurrection. But Jesus showed them that the idea of resurrection can, in fact, be found in the Pentateuch (Mark 12:26–27).
Fact: All things were made through him
All things were made through him. John begins his Gospel in the same way that Genesis begins: with creation (1:1–5; Gen. 1:1). He reveals that Jesus, God’s Son, existed eternally with God the Father, and the whole creation was made through him (Col. 1:15–16; compare 1 Cor. 8:6).
Fact: As numerous as the stars
As numerous as the stars. As the book of Exodus begins, some 350 years have passed since the end of Genesis. The 70 Israelites who went to Egypt have grown into a great multitude. This fulfills God’s promise to multiply Abraham’s descendants and to make them a blessing to all the nations of the world (Gen. 12:1–3; 15:5).
The Near East at the Time of Genesis
c. 2000 B.C.
The book of Genesis describes events in the ancient Near East from the beginnings of civilization to the relocation of Jacob’s (Israel’s) family in Egypt. The stories of Genesis are set among some of the oldest nations in the world, including Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, and Elam.
The Garden of Eden
Genesis describes the location of Eden in relation to the convergence of four rivers. While two of the rivers are unknown (the Pishon and the Gihon), the nearly universal identification of the other two rivers as the Tigris and the Euphrates suggests a possible location for Eden at either their northern or southern extremes.
The Generations of Genesis
| Primeval History (1:1–11:26) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction | General heading | Specific heading | Section introduced |
| 2:4 | These are the generations of | the heavens and the earth | 2:4–4:26 |
| 5:1 | These are the generations of | Adam | 5:1–6:8 |
| 6:9 | These are the generations of | Noah | 6:9–9:29 |
| 10:1 | These are the generations of | the sons of Noah | 10:1–11:9 |
| 11:10 | These are the generations of | Shem | 11:10–26 |
| Patriarchal History (11:27–50:26) | |||
| 11:27 | These are the generations of | Terah | 11:27–25:11 |
| 25:12 | These are the generations of | Ishmael | 25:12–18 |
| 25:19 | These are the generations of | Isaac | 25:19–35:29 |
| 36:1, 9 | These are the generations of | Esau | 36:1–37:1 |
| 37:2 | These are the generations of | Jacob | 37:2–50:26 |
The Genealogies of Genesis
The “Bookends” of Biblical Theology
God’s ultimate purpose in redemptive history is to create a people to dwell in his presence, glorifying him through numerous varied activities and enjoying him forever. The story begins with God in eternal glory, and it ends with God and his people in eternal glory. At the center stands the cross, where God revealed his glory through his Son.
The biblical story of redemption must be understood within the larger story of creation. First Adam, and later Israel, was placed in God’s sanctuary (the garden and the Promised Land, respectively), but both Adam and Israel failed to be a faithful, obedient steward, and both were expelled from the sanctuary God had created for them. But Jesus Christ—the second Adam, the son of Abraham, the son of David—was faithful and obedient to God. Though the world killed him, God raised him to life, which meant that death was defeated. Through his Spirit, God pours into sinners the resurrection life of his Son, creating a new humanity “in Christ.” Those who are “in Christ” move through death into new, re-embodied life and exaltation in God’s sanctuary, there to enjoy his presence forever.
The “bookends” concept of biblical theology illustrates that in the third-to-last chapter of the Bible (Revelation 20) God removes his enemies—Satan, death, and evil—that entered the story line in the third chapter of the Bible (Genesis 3), thus completing the story of redemption. The last two chapters (Revelation 21–22) don’t simply restore the first two chapters (Genesis 1–2); they go beyond them to a world that is fully ordered and holy, in which God is fully present with his people, completing the story of creation. (Chapter divisions in the Bible are, of course, human contributions, not divinely inspired.)
Eve
God created Eve, whose name means “life,” as a helper for Adam. Fashioned from one of Adam’s ribs, Eve became the mother (that is, the female ancestor) of all human beings. Though enjoying perfect fellowship with God, Eve was deceived by the serpent and disobeyed God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Because of their sin, Adam and Eve were driven from the paradise of Eden and began to experience great hardship. For Eve, that included pain in childbearing. Yet, as promised in Genesis 3:15, one of her offspring would defeat the serpent and bring salvation and eternal life to all who put their trust in him. (Genesis 2:23)
Gen. 3:2–3 The woman’s response echoes the divine instruction given in 2:16–17 (see note on 2:17), although she fails to identify the tree clearly, and she adds, “neither shall you touch it.”
Gen. 3:4–5 The serpent directly contradicts what God has said. He presents the fruit of the tree as something worth having. By eating it, he says, Adam and Eve will be like God, knowing good and evil. The irony of the serpent’s remarks is that Adam and Eve, unlike the serpent, were already made in the image of God (1:26–27). They are already “like God.” This means they are expected to exercise authority over all the beasts of the field—including the serpent! By obeying the serpent, however, they betray the trust that God has placed in them. You will not surely die. It is sometimes claimed that the serpent is correct when he says this, for they do not immediately “die.” Further, their eyes are in fact opened (3:7), and God acknowledges that “the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil” (v. 22). Yet the serpent speaks only half-truths. What Adam and Eve will experience outside of Eden is not life as God intended. It is spiritual death.
Gen. 3:6 when the woman saw that the tree was good. Somehow the serpent has made the woman discontented with the permitted trees (2:16), and she desires instead the forbidden one. Apparently she is attracted to the tree’s ability to make one wise (see note on 2:17). she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. As Adam ate what God had forbidden, he was deliberately rebelling against God. The fact that he was “with” Eve at the time meant that he had failed to carry out his God-given responsibility to guard and “keep” both the garden and his wife (see 2:15). The disastrous consequences of Adam’s sin include the fall of mankind, the beginning of every kind of sin, suffering, and pain, along with spiritual and physical death for the entire human race.
Gen. 3:9 the LORD God called to the man . . . , “Where are you?” Both “man” and “you” are singular in Hebrew. God thus confronts Adam first, holding him primarily responsible for the sin committed by both Adam and Eve. Adam is thus treated as the representative or “head” of the husband-and-wife relationship, established before the fall (see note on Eph. 5:23–24).
Gen. 3:14–15 The serpent is punished for tempting the woman. It will live in ongoing hostility with the woman, which will be carried on by their respective offspring.
Gen. 3:15 This verse is usually understood as pointing forward to the defeat of the serpent by the offspring (that is, a descendant) of the woman. For this reason, it has been labeled the “Protoevangelium,” that is, the first announcement of the gospel. While Genesis does not explicitly identify the serpent with Satan, that is clearly what the apostle John understood (see Rev. 12:9; 20:2). The idea of the woman’s “offspring” is seen again in Gen. 4:25 in the birth of Seth. The rest of Genesis traces a single line of Seth’s descendants (see diagram), which will eventually produce a king through whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed. he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. The use of the singular “he” and “his” suggests that one particular person (“offspring”) is in view. The promise of this person comes to fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is clearly presented in the NT as overcoming Satan (Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8; compare John 12:31). At the same time, he is “bruised” by Satan at the cross.
The Genealogies of Genesis
The Genealogies of Genesis
S3:238 Genesis 1:1-2, 26-28; Genesis 3:1-15
Listen NowDive Deeper | Genesis 1:1-2, 26-28
God is a planner and a provider. From before the beginning, He knew what would be, and He knew what was needed. That is true in the Scripture we are reading and is true of your life today. What a comforting truth that is! In our 20 verses, I see God's provision and plan through Jesus, mankind's purpose, our needs, and our discipline, to name a few. Let's look deeper at some of these.
Did you notice that God's purpose and plan for mankind was set before He created us? God did not create humanity and was then forced to make up our job description. He purposefully planned how He would create us (Genesis 1:26a, 27) and what we would be created for (Genesis 1:26b, 28).
He also provides us with everything we need, including truth to combat Satan's lies. We jumped over Genesis 2; however, I encourage you to stop and read what God tells Adam. I think we are quick to judge Eve's incorrect response to Satan; however, do you know how she should have responded? Just like Adam and Eve, God wants us to know and walk in the truth that He graciously provides.
Finally, but, oh so importantly—Jesus! We see the seeds of the gospel and the Savior Jesus planted in Genesis 3. "He shall [fatally] bruise your head, and you shall [only] bruise His heel." (Genesis 3:15b, AMP). I love the Amplified Bible version of this verse and how it clearly highlights who wins. While it was a mystery to Adam and Eve, God started to reveal that Jesus would be the One to defeat sin and death. God planned it, and the provision of Christ was always present. Do you see it? John 1:1-5 complements Genesis 1 and emphasizes the point that Jesus was there. He is our sweet provision, and God's plan included Him from the beginning. Not only was Jesus present before the beginning, He was always the plan.
Rest in the plan and provision of God. He has a plan, and He will provide!
This month's memory verse
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
– Isaiah 43:7
Discussion Questions
1. Do you believe that you are uniquely and purposefully made by and for God? What purpose did God create you for? (Isaiah 43:7, Ecclesiastes 12:13) How have you fulfilled His purpose for you this week?
2. How do you meditate on God's truth? Practically, what does it look like to confront lies with the truth?
3. What truth is the hardest for you to believe? Stop and pray that God will help your unbelief.
4. If someone asked you, "What is the big deal about Jesus?," what would you say? If you don't know, check out The Bridge Illustration or The Bible in 60 Seconds. If you do know, when was the last time you told someone about Him? If it has been a while, ask your community group this week if you can practice.
5. How can you rest in the plan and provision of God this week?
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