January
2 - TODAY’S READING FROM THE ONE YEAR BIBLE- Genesis 3-4:26; Matthew 2:13-3:6;
Psalm 2:1-12; Proverbs 1:7-9
GENESIS 3
In Genesis 3 we have
the account of the fall of humanity. But we also have the first mention of the
gospel and a prophetic picture of it.
The
first mention of the Coming Redeemer is found in Genesis 3:15.
Theologians call this the “protoevangelium”, the first mention of the gospel.
Genesis
3:14-15 (NIV)
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 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."
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 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."
The
Promised Redeemer would be “the seed of a woman”. The expression, “to
crush the head” is an oriental expression meaning to “depose the governmental
rule”. This is the prophetic picture of the Messiah who would not be the Son of
fallen man, but the Son of God, born of a virgin. He would come to save us from
our sins and destroy the works of the devil, deposing his rule.
In
Genesis 3:21 we have a picture of the failure of human attempts to cover sin
(Operation Fig Leaf!) and God’s provision through the sacrifice of an innocent
animal on behalf of the guilty sinners, a picture of the sacrificial Lamb of
God.
Genesis
3:21 (NIV)
21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
This
is the gospel of God. The good news of the Messiah and the provision of the
atoning sacrifice.
GENESIS 4
The
gospel presented in Genesis 3:14-15 and 3:21 was to be passed on to Adam’s
children.
Prior
to the fall, the man and the woman lived as a one flesh unit. They shared the
same name. After the fall, with sin, came dissolution of oneness. The woman was
named Eve. Whereas Adam was created in God’s image, Adam’s children were born
in the image of fallen man (Genesis 5:3). Therefore although Adam was the first
man, his son, Cain, was not qualified to be called the second man. Cain was no
longer, man, as God created man to be. Instead of being filled with the Holy
Spirit, his nature was fallen and he was spiritually subject to the dominion of
the god of this age, Satan. Never in human history would there be another ‘man’
until the Messiah. He would qualify as the ‘second man’ because He was born,
not of Adam’s seed. He would be, as Adam was originally, born without sin. His
obedience would be tested. Where the first man Adam disobeyed and brought sin
and death into the stream of humanity, Jesus would obey and bring righteousness
that would be extended as a gift to believers, and a new stream of humanity
that would be born of the Holy Spirit.
Abel,
the second son of Adam, is a picture of one who is obedient to the gospel. Cain
brought to God what he thought best. He is a picture of man living by human
reason without revelation. His religion is one of self-redemption.
Abel
brought what God required- an innocent animal substitute, a type of Christ.
This sacrificial system was instituted as a means of communicating the gospel.
Abel received the witness from the Holy Spirit that He was accepted by God on
the basis of the sacrifice of another made on his behalf, Jesus Christ, the
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Cain
rejected the gospel. Although God appealed to him that both a sin offering and
the rule of sin were at his doorstep, Cain rejected the sin offering and
submitted to the rule of sin.
“By
faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was
commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings.” (Heb 11:4)
We
see the first case of depression in Cain. Failing to believe the gospel, he
does not have the witness of God’s acceptance. He is still in his sins and
under God’s wrath. He is angry that he is not accepted by God by living on his
own terms. He is jealous of his brother Abel’s peace and joy. The spirit of
antichrist takes over and we have the first religious war. Cain rises up to
persecute and kill Abel.
“This
is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the
evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own
actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.” (1 John 3:11-12)
Jesus
is the greater Abel who was despised, rejected and slain by His
brothers. Abel was the first shepherd and Jesus is the Great Shepherd (John
10:11) Abel died a violent death and his blood called for judgment. Jesus died
a violent death but His blood cries out for mercy. (Hebrews 12:24)
The
rest of Genesis 4 is a powerful study on human sociology.
AS YOU READ THE GOSPELS
Matthew
gives us insight into God’s sovereign protection in delivering Jesus from His
would-be killers. In doing so, Messianic prophecies were being fulfilled (Hosea
11:1; Numbers 24:8; Exodus 4:22).
God
graciously spoke to Joseph several times in his dreams (Matthew 1:20, 2:13, 19,
22). God speaks to us primarily through His written Word but we should be open
to Him speaking to us in the ways the prophets foretold (Acts 2:17, Joel 2:28).
Matthew
also carefully points out that John the Baptist fulfills the prophecies
regarding the one who would call Israel to repentance and prepare the way for
the Messiah (Matt. 3:3; Isaiah 40).
Worship
the One who came to save us from our sins (Matt 1:21). He went right to
the root of our problem. John the Baptist says it well: “ The ax is already at the root of the
trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and
thrown into the fire.”. Jesus did not come to prune our sinful nature. He
came to deal with its root. He goes right back to the beginning of the problem-
Adam. Where Adam fell into disobedience, Jesus would bring judgment on Adam and
his progeny, as “the last Adam”, by identifying Himself with his sin on
the cross. Sin would be cut down and thrown into the fire. As “the second man”,
the federal head of a new humanity, he would rewrite our history as one of
perfect obedience.
Jesus,
though sinless, identified with the natural man in baptism. Notice the
commendation by the attending persons of the Trinity. This is my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased! (Notice also that the dove who is not seen after
being sent out by Noah after the old creation is judged (Gen. 8:12) is finally
seen in Matthew 3:16 resting on the head of Jesus Christ, the second man,
the head of THE NEW CREATION!)
Where
the first man was tested and failed, this man would succeed. The woman (whose
name was also Adam) was tempted in the garden to live autonomously and to break
fellowship with God through disobedience at the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil through the lust of the flesh (she saw that the fruit was good for
food) the lust of the eyes (a delight to the eyes) and the pride of life
(desirable to make her wise). Jesus was tempted in the wilderness in the same
areas: the lust of the flesh (to make stones bread, to break fellowship with
the Father and to satisfy his hunger independently from the Father’s
provision); the lust of the eyes (Luke has this as the second temptation,
Matthew the third- to behold the glory of the kingdoms of this world) and the
pride of life (prove who you are by casting yourself down from the pinnacle of
the temple and commanding angels to save you).
As
Jesus resisted the temptation to worldliness and sin by hiding the Word of God
in His heart, let us do the same!
4 Jesus
answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every
word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:4)
AS YOU READ THE PSALM
Psalm
2- Jesus is the Son of God
AS YOU READ PROVERBS
Proverbs
1- Jesus is our Wisdom from God (1 Cor 1:30; Prov 4)
Proverbs 1:7-9 (NASB) 7 The
fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and
instruction. 8 Hear, my son, your
father's instruction And do not forsake your mother's teaching; 9 Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your
head And ornaments about your neck.
Notice the starting point for true
knowledge- It is the revelation of God’s answer to the human dilemma- Christ- “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3)
Pastor David
P.S. As we pray for the global harvest, may the Lord increase our vision, our compassion, our prayer life and our
obedience. Let’s pray for the “Global Hot Spots” on page 10 of the prayer guide, "Operation World" and “the
Global Trends to Watch” on page 12.
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