Today’s reading: Genesis 3-5; Matthew 2
In Genesis 3, temptation and sin enter the human experience. By listening to the serpent and eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve fail the test of trust in and obedience to God. They are confronted, exposed, convicted and sentenced, but even here there is hope of ultimate salvation (Genesis 3:15) while the conflict with the serpent continues down through the ages.
Indeed that conflict plays out in the lives of the first siblings, Cain and Abel, culminating in murder. It continues through subsequent generations leading up to a judgment on all mankind which we will read about tomorrow.
God would have been just to execute the sinning first couple immediately, but He promises an ongoing conflict in which the serpent’s head will be crushed by the offspring of the woman, whom we will later learn is none other than Jesus Christ (Romans 5; Galatians 4). More about that later.
In Matthew 2, the birth of Jesus is met with both international recognition and royal rejection. King Herod’s scheme to kill the infant is thwarted and prophecies are fulfilled through that heinous action.
In these readings, God’s holiness, sovereignty, and mercy are clearly seen as He rules over the earth, blessing those who believe in Him, and using evil to work out His plans and purposes for good (Romans 8:28) .
Are you trusting in the woman’s offspring who crushed the serpent’s head, Jesus Christ, as your Savior?
How have you seen God’s power working through your sin and failure to bring about good?
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