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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.”

Today we begin our Advent series of devotions as we prepare once again to meet our Lord—our salvation and hope—at Christmas.  “But it’s not advent yet!” you might reply.  And, you’d be right.  It’s not quite advent yet.  But our series will take us through many of the Old Testament texts that “Prepare the Way of the Lord,” our advent devotional theme.  There are more of these texts than we have space for in the regular season of advent, so we have decided to begin early.  That, and if we would have continued with the Psalms we would have found ourselves in the Psalms of Ascent, something we thought we’d save for after Christmas.

So, here we are—beginning Genesis at a text that the church has long seen as the first inkling of the good news that God had a saviour in mind. 

The first transgression of humanity has just taken place.  Adam and Eve reached for more than they were given, they sought to become God rather than have a relationship with God, they fell short of what they had been created for.  Ashamed, they ran away from God and hid. 

But, no sooner had sin and death entered the world than God entered too.  God sought out his beloved children, and while there was punishment and exile in store for their sins, there was also grace.  Just because this bit of Genesis constitutes the section of our faith and scriptures we refer to as “the Fall” does not mean that the power and reality of God’s “Creation” and “Redemption” do not still flow through these verses at the very same time. 

God comes to his children: searches them out.  He calls them back to honesty in this relationship between Creator, Creature, and Creation.  “What is it you have done?” God asks.  Adam and Eve respond with admission that something has gone wrong, but neither of them can own up to their own part in it.  The blame is passed on to others.  So comes punishment, curse, and exile. 

But with it, also a veiled promise.  Not always will the snake get the upper hand.  Through the woman’s offspring will also come one who will, in the words of Paul “crush Satan” underfoot (Romans 16:20).  Many long years would pass with the snake striking at our heels before this promise would finally be made reality.  But the promise was made, nevertheless.  And God keeps his promises. 

For a lovely depiction of this small slice of Gospel in Genesis, you can find an illustration given by Sr. Grace from a monastery in Iowa by clicking here.