DECEMBER 1ST
The Christmas Garden
Genesis 3:1-15 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,“Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 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.”
When it comes to the Bible and Christmas, most people immediately think of the Christmas story presented in the Gospels. They picture bright singing angels, curious farm animals, three wise men giving gifts, and a wrapped-up baby lying in a manger. But the truth is that the Christmas story started much earlier than the New Testament. The Christmas story began in a lush and beautiful place called the Garden of Eden many thousands of years ago at the very beginning of human history. The book of Genesis way back at the beginning of the Bible tells us this story by first focusing on a serpent and what seemed to be an innocent conversation.
Eden was the closest to Heaven that humanity has ever been. The flowers were beautiful, the bees never stung, and the food was delicious. But all that would soon come crashing down when the serpent tempted God's most prized creation. Instead of resisting those sinful desires, both the man and woman failed to trust God. They chose to disbelieve God's words and disobey His will. Because of that sin, all of humanity has fallen and we are no longer in the right relationship with our loving father in heaven. Death entered the world, bringing with it sickness, pain, and a lot of bad news. But the good news is that God did not leave us in that state of brokenness and sadness. God never lets a problem go unsolved. He already had a plan in mind that would later lead to the baby in the manger. God himself predicted what would happen when He said there would be a blood feud between the seed of the woman, who is Jesus, and the seed of Satan, which is the fallen world. The fallen world and sinful man would strike Jesus' heel by nailing Him to the cross, but at the same time, Jesus would crush the head of sin and death, defeating those with His victory on the cross. This is good news, even though it can sound gory and violent. The Christmas story itself is not clean and tidy, but it is beautiful in that it tells us how we can be made pure and holy in the eyes of God and how we can get back to a perfect relationship with God in a new Eden.
Eden was the closest to Heaven that humanity has ever been. The flowers were beautiful, the bees never stung, and the food was delicious. But all that would soon come crashing down when the serpent tempted God's most prized creation. Instead of resisting those sinful desires, both the man and woman failed to trust God. They chose to disbelieve God's words and disobey His will. Because of that sin, all of humanity has fallen and we are no longer in the right relationship with our loving father in heaven. Death entered the world, bringing with it sickness, pain, and a lot of bad news. But the good news is that God did not leave us in that state of brokenness and sadness. God never lets a problem go unsolved. He already had a plan in mind that would later lead to the baby in the manger. God himself predicted what would happen when He said there would be a blood feud between the seed of the woman, who is Jesus, and the seed of Satan, which is the fallen world. The fallen world and sinful man would strike Jesus' heel by nailing Him to the cross, but at the same time, Jesus would crush the head of sin and death, defeating those with His victory on the cross. This is good news, even though it can sound gory and violent. The Christmas story itself is not clean and tidy, but it is beautiful in that it tells us how we can be made pure and holy in the eyes of God and how we can get back to a perfect relationship with God in a new Eden.