Advent Devotional  |  November 29, 2020

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers; she will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15

A moment of realization can be either a feeling of great devastation or significant loss. It is the “ah-ha!” moment when you finally understand something just knowing about it. Adam and Eve knew what the boundaries were in the garden, and they even knew the consequences. But they never knew the implications fully until they experienced them.

Enter the story of Genesis 3, the world of Adam and Eve. They enjoyed the company of God in a way we will not understand in this life. There was no shame. Consider that! Perfect fellowship with God was available and humanity was void of any scandal, humiliation, guilt, confusion, or contempt. Let how good that must have been sink into your mind. Need help? Consider the last 24-hours and the relational roller coaster you found yourself on. But I digress.

Seemingly, all was lost. Adam and Eve went from knowing the potential consequences of not doing what God commanded to realizing the effects of sin. This was not a desirable light bulb moment. Yet even here, we see the first hint, a tiny glimpse, that what was happening now would not last forever. The relationship between Eve’s offspring and the serpent was destined to struggle with each other. Eventually, humanity would overcome because of the unexpected way God worked. 

Consider the thousands of years between this protoevangelium (first gospel) and the realized gospel of Jesus’ coming. People had time to think and guess about what God would do. Like we theorize about the second coming of Christ, they did the first. The first revelation was utterly devastating to humanity. God had planned for a second revelation: the (un)expected Advent of our Lord and Savior.

Pastor Dave Mergens