Chapter One There are many roads which lead to Bethlehem. The one from Jerusa lem only takes a few minutes to get to the city of our Saviour’s birth. Others lead from Nazareth, Hebron, and various other parts of Israel. The most important, however, is the Bible road leading to Bethlehem. It has its beginning in Genesis 3:15 and con tinues to the second chapter of Luke in the New Testament. God said in the first passage men tioned, “And I will put enmity be tween thee and the woman, and be tween thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15 is sometimes referred to as the “seed plot” of the Bible. Matin Luther declared, “The entire Bible was simply the out working of this great prophecy. Ev ery tear, every heart-ache, all wars and disappointments, discourage ments of life, greed, envy, and grief of all sorts can be traced right here to the third chapter of Genesis.” In this important chapter we see the fall of man in his separation from God. Man’s fellowship and commun ion with God happened in the Gar den of Eden. After God created the garden, placing man in it, He gave Adam the responsibility of tending it. It was a place of supreme enjoy ment. One prohibition was placed upon Adam and Eve in that they were not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Man was most certainly a free moral agent, as he is today with the ability to choose right and wrong. He had intelligence to discern that which was acceptable with God and that which He would not allow. The same is true today. Then came the temptation of Sa tan. The devil was more subtle than any creature of the field. The ser pent, being indwelt by Satan him self, came and tempted Eve. He sowed the seeds of doubt. This was his sharpest wedge. He appealed to
her flesh. There was the suggestion to behold that which was beautiful and desirable (I John 2:15). Every sin man has ever committed will come in one of these three categories: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. When Adam sinned he knew he was guilty. He hid himself. Even to day man knows when he does wrong. He reveals this by his actions. As an example, ritual ceremonies are sim ply devices which reveal the fact that man wants to curry favor with God. The second thing that stands out •in this chapter is the judgment of God. It came immediately when man sinned. How foolish to hear people say, “How can a holy God punish man?” We must understand that it is God’s holiness that demands pun ishment for sin. What kind of world would it be if the unjust were allowed to go unpunished? This judgment came first of all on the serpent (verse 14). This creature was cursed above all cattle and every beast of the field. It was relegated to crawling in the dust all the days of its life. The next part of this judgment came upon the woman (verse 16). Her sorrows would be multiplied in conception and childbirth. Her hus band was to rule over her. This verse shows us the way people come into this world by natural reproduction. Then in verses 17 to 19 we find described God’s curse upon Adam and all mankind. The ground would even bear the marks of his sin. Thoms also and thistles would be brought forth. Just to eke out an existence would require the sweat of the brow. Adam was reminded that he had been made from dust, and that ulti mately to this state would he return. How beautiful the earth must have been before the fall! Even today there is a semblance that remains. Much is being said about ecology today. It all brings us to this one Page 11
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