Jesus is the One Who Delivers the Crushing Blow
Our Redeemer appears.
God warned us.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16–17)
God knew what eating the fruit from that tree meant.
We warn our children, “Don’t touch the stove, or it will burn you.” God knew we would “get burned” if we ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He saw the pain, suffering, and grief in our future if we chose to eat that fruit.
The first time in Scripture that God told humanity not to do something, He had our wellbeing in mind.
Someone might wonder, as I have, “Then why was the tree even there at all?”
I think we have a hint in the name of the tree itself — “the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” The tree gave the knowledge of what was truly good and right, but to know what is truly good, you also have to understand the other side of the coin — evil.
I remember something C.S. Lewis wrote that helped me with the idea of knowing good and evil.
“But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?”
Eating this fruit opened Adam and Eve’s eyes to the massive difference between good and evil. They had lived in a state of innocence before eating the fruit.
By eating the fruit, they disobeyed God. By eating the fruit, they opened the door to the horrors of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. By eating the fruit, they opened the door to sin.
The consequence of touching a hot stove is you get burned. The consequences of eating the fruit of this tree were that pain, suffering, and death entered the world (Genesis 3:16–19).
This would be a dismal place if this is where the story ended. But this is only the beginning.
What story unfolds throughout the rest of the Bible? We receive a glimpse in Genesis 3:15. The Lord God spoke to the devil and said:
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
The devil was the one who lured us into sin and its consequences: pain, suffering, and death. But, Someone would come to crush him for what he did.
Someone would be sent to deliver us from the slavery of our own sin. The Crusher of the enslaver would come - and He would be victorious (1 Corinthians 15).
As the narrative of Scripture plays out, Jesus is the one who delivers the crushing blow.
Takeaways
The rest of the Bible tells how the combat between the devil the Seed of the woman (Jesus Christ) plays out. The Bible is the ultimate “good versus evil” story.
God created us, and we chose the side of evil. Can we begin to appreciate the depths of God’s mercy for us when we realize He has given us another chance to choose His side?
I enjoyed listening to this lesson. Thank you for your endeavors to spread Gods word.
I worship at Amory Church of Christ.
We should never think we have gone so far that God will not forgive us. His blood just keeps on cleansing if we only accept His love and return to His fold. James 4:7 says “resist the devil and he will flee”.