The Fall: The Story Takes a Downturn Reflections on Genesis 3
I think it is helpful to see the Bible as a storyline that tells the story of redemption. Using this approach, we might say that the plot has four primary acts: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. The first three chapters of Genesis are so important because we see the first two of these taught explicitly and the third element introduced, though perhaps in an obscure way.
In Genesis 1-2, we see that God has created the world and all humanity. He has declared everything “good,” and we learn that human beings are a special object of His creation because men and women are the only ones created in God’s image (see Genesis 1:26-27). In His graciousness, God provides for all they need and makes only one prohibition, which takes us to Act 2: The Fall.
Most of us know the story. There is a serpent in the Garden of Eden who comes and tempts the man and woman through deception. Lest we have any doubt about the true identity of this creature, Revelation 12:9 and 20:2 make clear that this is the one called the devil and Satan, God’s supreme adversary. Satan (literally, “the accuser”) accuses God of being stricter than He is (see how he misquotes God in Gen. 3:1) and less loving than He is (see how he questions God’s motive in Gen. 3:4). As we know, the man and woman succumb to temptation and then face the drastic consequences of their disobedience. The results of their sin include guilt, shame, and fear, things that still plague us today. We see how sin destroys relationships and the “shame and blame” games begin – Adam blaming the woman and God who gave him the woman, and the woman blaming the serpent.
BUT . . . did you happen to see a glimpse of light in the midst of the doom and gloom? Did you see the mercies of God? God seeks out the guilty party and covers their shame. In the midst of God’s judgment, He makes a prediction and a promise that will bring hope to the world. Is Genesis 3:15 simply about the hostility between people and snakes, that descendants of Eve will crush the head of snakes, while snakes bite and bruise their heels? Since we know that the snake represents Satan, what more may be going on here? Some have seen in this passage the very first indication of the gospel.
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom. 16:20).[1] “Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the Devil” (Heb. 2:14).[2] Yes, Satan bruised Jesus’ heel on the cross; but through His death and resurrection, Jesus crushed the Serpent’s head.
Some have called Genesis 3:15 the proto-euangelion, that is, the “first gospel.” Genesis 1 and 2 tell us of Creation. Genesis 3 tells us of the Fall. But, in Genesis 3, we have the first hint that God will send a Savior into the world to save His people from their sin and to, “destroy the one holding the power of death – that is, the Devil.”
[1] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009), Ro 16:20.
[2] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009), Heb 2:14.