Never Without Hope

And he said to the woman,

“Indeed, has God said,

‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

Genesis 3:1

In Genesis 1:31, God saw all that He had made, and He said it was good—very good—and He rested.

Somewhere between chapters 2 and 3 in Genesis, Satan attempted to set himself up as God. We get a glimpse of his rebellion in Isaiah 14:13–14: “You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God … I will make myself like the Most High.”

God cast him out of heaven and down to earth, and one third of the angels followed him. In Revelation 12:9 we read, “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

Never again in Scripture does God say He presently rests. In fact, He now says He never sleeps nor slumbers (Psalm 121:4), but a sabbath rest is waiting (Hebrews 4:9). We now are engaged in a battle, a battle “not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

Satan was cast out of heaven into a serpent. While in this serpent, Satan remained not only under the dominion of God, but under the dominion of man, for man had been given dominion over all the living things on the earth. This, Satan would not have, so he came and deceived Eve. Then Adam listened to the voice of his wife and chose to disobey God. In this one act of disobedience, “sin entered the world and death through sin” (Romans 5:12), but God was not surprised.

In the fall of mankind, God shows us how great His mercy and kindness is and how far His grace extends. In the ugliness of sin, His glory still beautifully shines. We see the truth of God’s Word and the fact that His Word is for our benefit. His words are an illustration of His love, and when they are obeyed, they result in giving and sustaining life. Yet even in our disobedience, his love abounds.

God is perfect in wisdom, and He knows all things. He knew Adam and Eve believed the lie of the serpent and had disobeyed His command, and yet He gave them the opportunity to first come to Him and confess what they had done. God gave them the opportunity to repent.

He listened patiently to the blame game and pointing of fingers. When it came time for God to deliver His judgment, it was just, for He is a just God. He cursed the root first, the tempter.

Before our Creator cursed man and the earth, He first laid out His redemption plan. God did not leave Adam and Eve without hope, and He does not leave us without hope. He did not eradicate the consequences of their actions, but in their repentance, He gave them hope. God’s mercy and grace continued as He shed the blood of an innocent animal, the first blood sacrifice, to cover the shame and nakedness of a sin-aware Adam and Eve.

In his mercy He cast Adam and Eve out of the garden so that they could not eat of the tree of life and live forever in their sinful, decaying state. Outside the garden, sin would claim its wage, physical death (Romans 6:23), but also outside the garden, redemption could be found. God had promised a seed, and that promised seed was and is Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16), and all who trust in him even though they die, they shall live (John 11:25).

Satan was out to destroy man’s relationship with God, but all he succeeded in doing was showing Adam and Eve how very great God’s love was for them when he forgave them for their disobedience. My friend, do you know how great his love is for you? Do you understand that He has “forgiven you for all that you have done” (Ezekiel 16:63)?

Do not listen to the lie of the serpent: “Indeed has God said” (Genesis 3:1). Know that yes, God has said and all that God has said is true. Know, my precious one, that when God speaks, He speaks out of the essence of who He is and “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and in His words are the power of life.

The same God that reached out to Adam and Eve in their sin is the very same God who is reaching out to us in our sin. His arms are outstretched, and his voice cries “come” (Revelation 22:17).

Oh Father,

That I would never forget Your great love for me, nor the open arms You hold out to me. I fail; even as Your Holy Spirit-filled child, I fail. I still stumble, and sometimes I have eyes that don’t see and ears that don’t hear and a mind that’s been deceived, but still I am Yours.

You promised You would never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5). This is the hope I have that is in Christ; if I confess my sin, You are faithful and righteous to forgive me and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Oh Father, I am so grateful to be Yours. My Jesus, I am so thankful for the hope that I have in You. I love You, my Elohim.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen.