Snake is cursed - Part 2
Notes
Transcript
Main Point: God’s response to evil
Heart Change: Recognize that humanity has opened the door to evil and we are now powerless to defeat it.
Recap of Last week:
Recap of Last week:
Evil is like -15 degree weather (Texas not built for it)
It's overwhelming
Parallelism in Hebrew Poetry
Now it's hard to comprehend God
What is a biblical Curse?
Curses got their power from the supernatural
YHWH always wins
A curse reflects the breakdown between God, Humanity, and the Animals
How does God Respond to Evil?
Doesn’t ask the snake anything - He just curses him
God is in total Control - Evil does not go unchecked
Part 2: How God deals with evil & what it means for us today.
Part 2: How God deals with evil & what it means for us today.
Parts of the curse:
Parts of the curse:
Back story
Vs 14
Vs 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.
This section is full of Irony
Hyphendated vs Non-hyphenated
Remember what the snake represents: twisting the gift God gave for selfish gain
Gen 3:1 More crafty than all the animals = Gen 3:14 more cursed than all the animals.
Snake is more cursed (more removed from God) than all the other animals (domestic and wild)
If you are more (Crafty - street starts) than anyone else you but you use it against God you will be removed from him. More crafty - more removed
If your gift makes you more _________ than anyone else but if you twist it to trick people into giving you power it removes you from God. - Pharos hard heart
Bold/Strong
Kind
Academic smarts
Social skills
How do we know he is more removed?
Because the authority order of creation was flipped - the snake is cursed.
Irony!
On your belly, you shall go
Low life
Dust you shall eat
The crafty convinced Woman to eat - now what does he eat?
All the days of your life
In perpetuity (forever)
Death
How does God deal with Evil? - Cuts it down as low as he can for us. But there are still natural consequences
Ridding a motorcylce without a helmet - Ben Roethlesberger
Why not just eliminate evil and its consequences? God is in control and it's his mercy and grace that he creates a way back to him.
So what is the long-term play? Where is this going?
VS 15
VS 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.”
Enmity = enemy or hostility
-15 - The offspring of evil and humanity will continue and there will always be a battle.
Women are scared of snakes? Baby snakes?
Fight between humanity standing tall and being attacked by the low life (evil).
Do the things I don’t want to do. Why do I keep messing this up? (-15)
So there will be hostility between humanity and evil - How long?
The offspring of the woman can bruise the snakes head
The rest of the Bible is full of people who just might fit this, but are not strong enough to overcome evil.
Noah - something bad happens in the tent
Moses - no one like him - but struck the rock
Saul - Nope
David - Bathsheba
Salomon - Breaks all the rules
No human can overcome evil on their own.
You and I today - Sinners
Worried about someone taking advantage of you
Kids suffering from physical and mental issues
Proof that humanity is struggling with evil
But there is Good news
Notice all the good news from:
Chapter 1 & 2,
Chapter 3
God called out to them
Here is another Adam coming
But someday there will be a human who can finally defeat evil, but the poisonous snake will cost him his life. - Jesus
Son of Man
Point of God cursing the snake.
Point of God cursing the snake.
The complexity of the poem shows how we can’t understand the heart or mind of God anymore. We could think forever and still feel short. (separation)
The same mysterious words that spoke everything into existence.
God speaks to the serpent he created - humiliating and reducing him (evil)
Yet there will always be the natural consequence of humanity and evil-fighting.
God is a good God and he won't allow Evil to just run amuck with this good world. There is a cost.
Adam and Woman - opened the door to life with evil, (they got what they wanted) and they are unable to close it. (Cold air)
Someday an offspring of the woman will stomp on the snake and the snake will take his life.
What does this mean for us today?
What does this mean for us today?
We are in a constant fight with evil and we always lose. (like Texas not built for it)
Like Noah, Moses, and David
You are powerless to defeat evil on your own or even with the help of other humans.
Workout - not physically healthy enough
Study - not smart enough to understand God
See councilors - not emotionally healthy enough to withstand evil
Have the best network of friends (accountability) - won’t prevent you from fighting evil
Trying to get in touch with the supernatural - won’t do it.
Don’t miss hear me this thing are good. But without the Spirit of Jesus (Holy Spirit) these things will not end evil.
We have to fight evil. But we need someone who can overcome evil to get back to being with God.
We need someone who can overcome evil and in the process give his life because we cannot.
We need someone who can overcome evil and in the process give his life because we cannot.
Jesus is the only solution - Jesus is the only thing that has ever or will ever overcome evil.