Today’s Old Testament Lesson tells us about the ramifications of the Fall into Sin, and the fear that fell over the man and the woman.
One bite of the fruit and their eyes were opened. They were ashamed because of their nakedness. They were afraid and so hid. They are so afraid that a snap of a twig would have set them into flight. How much more God’s voice.
The voice of the Lord which they once delighted in now gives them the frights. The man and woman only have fear in their mind. And that is what sin does and its immediate. We fear the unknown. “How will God deal with us now that we have broken the only law God gave us?” And instead of listening to the word of the Lord, they listen to the voice of sin and doubt welling up in their own now sinful nature. So they try to remove themselves from the presence of the Lord because they think that hell would be better than being in the presence of the Lord God Almighty.
And what makes it even worse is when the man finally answers the Lord, he admits his fear and trepidation. Obviously something changed in the man and woman immediately because how can one who walked and talked with the Lord in the paradise of the garden now be deathly afraid of the Lord’s voice? Furthermore, the man does what every sinner does: blame someone else for his problem of sin without admitting that he has done anything wrong. Sin is compounded and again and again til the point that the man is audacious enough to blame God for sin. But don’t we still do that today?
God shows the man and the woman their sin. He gives them the opportunity to confess their sins. And He gives us the same opportunity and He gives us the same word of promise. The promise is the sending of the offspring of the woman. That in this “seed of the woman” He would defeat the serpent once and for all. And we know who that is. He is Jesus Christ. And in Him do we have hope of eternal life and complete reconciliation to God our Father.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter Lutheran Church, La Grange, MO
©2018 Jacob Hercamp. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com
This world needs to hear this so bad. This world needs God back in the center and ask for forgiveness
Yes indeed, we ought to repent of our sins and receive forgiveness from the goodness and mercy of our Lord with thanksgiving and praise.