WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.140 And this is the word of the Lord. 00:00:03.140 --> 00:00:10.960 Then the eyes of both Adam and Eve were opened, and they knew that they were naked. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:16.100 And they sewed fig leaves together, and they made themselves loincloths. 00:00:16.539 --> 00:00:22.240 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:27.519 And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 00:00:28.460 --> 00:00:31.000 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:32.060 Where are you? 00:00:32.060 --> 00:00:33.440 And he said, 00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:40.440 I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself. 00:00:41.480 --> 00:00:42.060 He said, 00:00:42.120 --> 00:00:43.340 Who told you that you were naked? 00:00:43.980 --> 00:00:47.460 Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? 00:00:48.520 --> 00:00:49.400 The man said, 00:00:49.740 --> 00:00:54.939 The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate. 00:00:55.480 --> 00:00:56.960 And then the Lord God said to the woman, 00:00:57.660 --> 00:00:59.240 What is this that you have done? 00:00:59.240 --> 00:01:00.719 And the woman said, 00:01:01.080 --> 00:01:03.340 The serpent deceived me, and I ate. 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:05.640 And the Lord God said to the serpent, 00:01:06.460 --> 00:01:09.000 Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock, 00:01:09.579 --> 00:01:11.299 and above all the beasts of the field. 00:01:12.040 --> 00:01:13.540 On your belly you shall go, 00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:16.939 and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:20.320 I will put enmity between you and the woman, 00:01:21.020 --> 00:01:22.960 and between your offspring and her offspring. 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:28.119 He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. 00:01:28.839 --> 00:01:30.139 This is God's holy word. 00:01:30.419 --> 00:01:30.859 Let's pray. 00:01:30.859 --> 00:01:37.939 Father, we come today, all of us in different places emotionally, 00:01:38.780 --> 00:01:41.659 different places and circumstances in our lives right now. 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:46.500 Some of us here or watching having lost a loved one. 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:52.280 Some of us facing losing people in our lives. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:54.939 Some of us dealing with long-term disease. 00:01:55.340 --> 00:01:58.819 Some of us dealing with the weight of emotional and mental strife. 00:01:58.819 --> 00:02:02.639 Some of us with decisions that are coming this week that are difficult. 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:07.179 Some of us celebrating good news, recent news. 00:02:07.739 --> 00:02:10.939 All of us from different places, Lord, you know every one of us. 00:02:12.019 --> 00:02:13.340 You know what we need today. 00:02:14.299 --> 00:02:17.740 So we pray now, Holy Spirit, living breath of God, 00:02:19.060 --> 00:02:23.740 open our hearts to receive your word in exactly the way we need it. 00:02:23.740 --> 00:02:28.040 Exactly the way you come to speak through it to us, each of us. 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:30.300 And we pray that now, in Jesus' name. 00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:30.860 Amen. 00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:37.060 We're in a five-week series looking at Genesis chapter 3. 00:02:37.200 --> 00:02:42.360 So five weeks, one chapter, because Genesis 3 is so foundational and so important. 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:46.560 And Genesis 3 is all about what broke the world. 00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:49.860 And the answer so far that we've seen is that we broke the world. 00:02:50.040 --> 00:02:50.960 Humanity broke the world. 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:53.900 So we did not trust in the Lord. 00:02:54.920 --> 00:02:56.720 God gave a command in the beginning of human history, 00:02:57.160 --> 00:02:59.080 don't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 00:02:59.300 --> 00:03:03.560 And it was a lack of trust that God is good, that God loves us, 00:03:03.560 --> 00:03:07.220 that brought humanity to this breaking point here in the beginning. 00:03:07.219 --> 00:03:13.400 And Milton, John Milton, in Paradise Lost, I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, 00:03:13.500 --> 00:03:17.919 he talks about how this scene, he described this scene, 00:03:18.020 --> 00:03:22.599 where Eve takes from the tree the fruit and she bows before the fruit. 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:24.879 And C.S. Lewis commenting on that says, 00:03:25.240 --> 00:03:28.340 in the beginning humanity bowed before a vegetable. 00:03:29.180 --> 00:03:30.439 And that's what broke the world. 00:03:30.439 --> 00:03:37.539 And it's a cheeky thing to say, but what he's saying there is that we as human beings always choose, 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:41.319 our hearts choose to worship creatures rather than the Creator. 00:03:42.060 --> 00:03:43.419 We bow before vegetables. 00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:45.340 We bow before anything in this world that God made. 00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:47.159 And we turn things into God. 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:49.379 We flip the world upside down in that way. 00:03:50.120 --> 00:03:52.060 And that is called sin. 00:03:52.680 --> 00:03:54.979 So sin is what Genesis 3 is all about. 00:03:55.139 --> 00:03:57.240 And there are people in our modern city, a city like Edinburgh, 00:03:57.240 --> 00:04:01.480 that will come and say sin, it's just this puritanical, old traditionalist concept. 00:04:02.480 --> 00:04:03.280 But sin is real. 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:05.920 And I think every single one of us knows that. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:07.860 We feel that down in the bottom of our souls. 00:04:08.020 --> 00:04:09.600 No matter what you might believe in today, 00:04:09.719 --> 00:04:12.439 I think probably there's some sense at the bottom of your heart 00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:16.240 where you wrestle with the sense of guilt that I am not who God made me to be. 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:19.139 And that's all that we mean by sin. 00:04:20.060 --> 00:04:23.400 And so Adam and Eve, in this moment, you know, they light a match, 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:24.480 they set the world on fire. 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:28.480 They open the floodgates, the waters come pouring in, the world breaks. 00:04:29.220 --> 00:04:34.540 If you pick up an old clock, you know it has lots of different gears in it. 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:38.560 And if one of the teeth on one of the gear wheels breaks, 00:04:38.960 --> 00:04:42.420 it throws that entire gear wheel off its circuit. 00:04:43.060 --> 00:04:44.379 And the whole clock stops. 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:48.400 And in the same way, the teeth, the image of God, 00:04:48.520 --> 00:04:51.840 we, the gear that God made to be the pinnacle of His creation, humanity, 00:04:52.340 --> 00:04:53.400 we broke. 00:04:53.399 --> 00:04:56.199 And so with that, the whole world got messed up. 00:04:56.739 --> 00:04:58.279 The whole clock got messed up. 00:04:58.799 --> 00:04:59.799 And that's called sin. 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:02.379 And last time we were looking at verse 7, 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:03.859 we were looking at the same set of verses, 00:05:04.279 --> 00:05:07.859 and we focused on verse 7 and 14 in particular, 00:05:08.739 --> 00:05:10.359 and this concept of nakedness. 00:05:11.459 --> 00:05:13.459 That nakedness is not just physical nakedness. 00:05:13.579 --> 00:05:14.599 It's spiritual as well. 00:05:14.659 --> 00:05:15.199 It's exposure. 00:05:15.419 --> 00:05:18.859 It's that we know from the beginning of history that we are not who we should be. 00:05:18.860 --> 00:05:20.340 We feel that guilt and shame. 00:05:20.540 --> 00:05:24.139 And we looked at how the serpent was so crafty and deceiving us. 00:05:24.939 --> 00:05:25.480 Verse 14. 00:05:26.080 --> 00:05:27.420 And so last time we said, 00:05:28.259 --> 00:05:29.120 because of our sin, 00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:32.800 there is alienation in our lives in all sorts of ways. 00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:34.340 We are alienated from ourselves. 00:05:34.500 --> 00:05:35.720 We don't really know ourselves. 00:05:36.699 --> 00:05:38.379 We're alienated from other people. 00:05:38.379 --> 00:05:40.480 You know, Adam blamed Eve 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:43.719 and broke marriage in a way in that moment. 00:05:45.079 --> 00:05:49.240 But today we come to learn that the greatest cost of sin 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:51.060 is our alienation from God. 00:05:52.079 --> 00:05:54.180 The greatest cost is that we are separated. 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:55.399 We're alienated from God. 00:05:55.519 --> 00:05:57.159 We hide when God shows up. 00:05:57.160 --> 00:06:00.340 And that's what we read about here in this passage today. 00:06:00.460 --> 00:06:01.380 Our greatest problem, 00:06:01.740 --> 00:06:02.500 we hide from God. 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:06.060 And God's tender solution 00:06:06.060 --> 00:06:08.400 is the seed. 00:06:09.320 --> 00:06:10.680 So let's think about those two things. 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:13.500 Our great problem is that we hide from God. 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:14.820 God's tender solution 00:06:14.820 --> 00:06:17.120 is what we learn here is called, 00:06:17.200 --> 00:06:17.820 in verse 15, 00:06:17.940 --> 00:06:18.500 the seed. 00:06:19.620 --> 00:06:20.160 So first, 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:21.460 hiding from God. 00:06:21.459 --> 00:06:24.319 If you look down at the passage with me, 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:25.120 in verse 8, 00:06:26.239 --> 00:06:28.000 God shows up into the Garden of Eden 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:28.939 and it says here 00:06:28.939 --> 00:06:30.599 that they, Adam and Eve, 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:33.399 they heard the sound of the Lord God 00:06:33.399 --> 00:06:35.399 walking in the garden in the cool of the day. 00:06:35.479 --> 00:06:36.539 That's how it's translated here. 00:06:37.500 --> 00:06:40.019 Now there are two big interpretations 00:06:40.019 --> 00:06:41.639 of this moment. 00:06:42.839 --> 00:06:46.159 And it's okay to be on either side of this, 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:47.000 let me say up front. 00:06:48.979 --> 00:06:50.319 The way it's translated here 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:51.839 that God came walking in the garden 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:52.740 in the cool of the day 00:06:52.740 --> 00:06:54.360 is translating it 00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:55.899 the way the King James Version did. 00:06:56.599 --> 00:06:57.779 And the King James Version 00:06:57.779 --> 00:06:59.540 translated the way 00:06:59.540 --> 00:07:01.180 a very old translation did, 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:02.199 the Latin translation, 00:07:02.360 --> 00:07:03.300 many, many centuries ago. 00:07:03.860 --> 00:07:04.719 And it took 00:07:04.719 --> 00:07:06.719 what is sort of a metaphor in Hebrew, 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:07.740 the cool of the day, 00:07:07.819 --> 00:07:08.579 it literally says 00:07:08.579 --> 00:07:09.699 the wind of the day, 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:11.219 and translated it 00:07:11.219 --> 00:07:11.980 understanding that 00:07:11.980 --> 00:07:12.899 it's talking about something 00:07:12.899 --> 00:07:14.120 like the evening breeze, 00:07:14.219 --> 00:07:15.060 the cool part of the day. 00:07:16.120 --> 00:07:17.459 And so in the first interpretation 00:07:17.459 --> 00:07:18.439 of this moment, 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:19.579 it says, 00:07:19.579 --> 00:07:21.159 God walked into the garden 00:07:21.159 --> 00:07:23.459 and you could hear His sound. 00:07:24.159 --> 00:07:26.039 And He came in the evening breeze, 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:26.779 the cool of the day. 00:07:26.899 --> 00:07:28.000 And you get the sense 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:28.939 that there's sort of 00:07:28.939 --> 00:07:30.279 a gentleness about this. 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:32.599 There's a calmness about this. 00:07:32.659 --> 00:07:34.259 God breezing in, 00:07:34.360 --> 00:07:35.639 walking in in a gentle way. 00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:38.039 The other interpretation 00:07:38.039 --> 00:07:40.279 is almost the exact opposite. 00:07:41.539 --> 00:07:41.719 Okay? 00:07:41.899 --> 00:07:44.039 And it's because these words in Hebrew 00:07:44.039 --> 00:07:45.620 can mean multiple things. 00:07:45.620 --> 00:07:47.259 And so the other interpretation 00:07:47.259 --> 00:07:48.160 is that when it says 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:49.819 God walked in the garden, 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:50.720 sometimes the word 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:52.560 to walk for God 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:54.180 is used in other parts 00:07:54.180 --> 00:07:54.879 of the Old Testament 00:07:54.879 --> 00:07:56.740 where God the judge 00:07:56.740 --> 00:07:58.759 walks into the space, 00:07:58.860 --> 00:07:59.319 the courtroom, 00:07:59.660 --> 00:08:00.019 temple, 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:00.920 the courtroom, 00:08:01.060 --> 00:08:01.220 temple, 00:08:01.300 --> 00:08:01.519 garden, 00:08:01.579 --> 00:08:01.920 perhaps. 00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:04.240 And the word sound 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:05.120 is sometimes used 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:05.780 for those moments 00:08:05.780 --> 00:08:07.579 to talk also about thunder. 00:08:07.579 --> 00:08:10.439 And the literal translation 00:08:10.439 --> 00:08:11.459 of the cool of the day 00:08:11.459 --> 00:08:11.859 is, 00:08:12.039 --> 00:08:12.680 there's a footnote 00:08:12.680 --> 00:08:13.719 in your ESV Bible, 00:08:13.859 --> 00:08:14.819 the wind of the day. 00:08:15.459 --> 00:08:17.300 And wind has already been used 00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:18.099 in Genesis 1 00:08:18.099 --> 00:08:19.079 as a word, 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:20.240 a metaphor for the Holy Spirit. 00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:21.860 And if you've read 00:08:21.860 --> 00:08:22.439 much of the rest 00:08:22.439 --> 00:08:22.959 of the Old Testament, 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:24.000 you might know that 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:24.680 the day, 00:08:24.839 --> 00:08:26.039 the word the day, 00:08:26.479 --> 00:08:28.139 is often used to describe 00:08:28.139 --> 00:08:29.159 the day of judgment, 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:30.419 the day of justice. 00:08:30.860 --> 00:08:31.759 So Zephaniah 2.2, 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:32.659 the day of the Lord, 00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:33.340 the day of judgment. 00:08:34.500 --> 00:08:35.579 And so some commentators, 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:36.179 especially now, 00:08:36.259 --> 00:08:36.720 come and say, 00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:38.160 actually what's happening here 00:08:38.160 --> 00:08:39.540 is they heard 00:08:39.540 --> 00:08:41.200 the thunder of God 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:43.899 coming in the day 00:08:43.899 --> 00:08:44.340 of the Lord, 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:44.860 the wind of the day, 00:08:44.920 --> 00:08:45.639 the spirit of God 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:46.740 coming in the day, 00:08:46.840 --> 00:08:47.500 the day of judgment. 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:49.560 And so they hid themselves away. 00:08:49.680 --> 00:08:50.360 Now let me say this. 00:08:51.420 --> 00:08:52.840 There are gospel-believing folks 00:08:52.840 --> 00:08:53.700 and good commentators 00:08:53.700 --> 00:08:54.500 on both sides 00:08:54.500 --> 00:08:55.279 of those interpretations. 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:56.759 And it's okay, 00:08:57.000 --> 00:08:58.920 it's okay that we're not 00:08:58.920 --> 00:09:00.300 totally sure which one it is 00:09:00.300 --> 00:09:01.680 because the outcome 00:09:01.680 --> 00:09:03.440 is exactly the same 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:04.279 no matter what way 00:09:04.279 --> 00:09:05.040 you go with it. 00:09:05.779 --> 00:09:06.700 And the outcome is this. 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:08.720 that just after that 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:09.540 when God says 00:09:09.540 --> 00:09:10.300 to Adam and Eve, 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:10.899 when they're hiding, 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:11.960 they're shaking in their boots 00:09:11.960 --> 00:09:12.420 in fear, 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:14.840 God says, 00:09:14.940 --> 00:09:15.540 where are you? 00:09:16.580 --> 00:09:17.379 Who told you 00:09:17.379 --> 00:09:18.060 that you were naked? 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:21.040 That moment 00:09:21.040 --> 00:09:23.120 is an interrogation, 00:09:23.220 --> 00:09:23.759 a questioning, 00:09:23.920 --> 00:09:24.639 a line of questioning 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:26.300 full of mercy. 00:09:27.340 --> 00:09:28.180 No matter which way 00:09:28.180 --> 00:09:28.580 you go with it, 00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:29.639 whether God comes in thunder 00:09:29.639 --> 00:09:30.759 or God comes gently, 00:09:31.220 --> 00:09:31.980 when he says, 00:09:32.160 --> 00:09:32.779 where are you, 00:09:32.779 --> 00:09:34.039 that is a question 00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:34.720 of mercy. 00:09:35.819 --> 00:09:36.559 That is a question 00:09:36.559 --> 00:09:37.079 where Adam and Eve 00:09:37.079 --> 00:09:38.240 are immediately not getting 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:39.299 what they deserve 00:09:39.299 --> 00:09:40.139 in the very beginning 00:09:40.139 --> 00:09:41.639 of human history. 00:09:42.339 --> 00:09:43.919 And let me show that to you. 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:44.720 In verse 14, 00:09:44.779 --> 00:09:45.279 we looked at this 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:46.039 a couple weeks ago. 00:09:46.120 --> 00:09:46.679 Verse 14, 00:09:47.319 --> 00:09:49.620 when God curses the serpent, 00:09:50.199 --> 00:09:51.459 is there an interrogation 00:09:51.459 --> 00:09:52.000 in that moment? 00:09:52.659 --> 00:09:53.879 When God turns to the serpent, 00:09:53.959 --> 00:09:55.079 is there a line of questioning? 00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:57.059 Does God say to the serpent, 00:09:57.419 --> 00:09:58.740 where are you, serpent? 00:09:58.959 --> 00:10:00.740 Where are you, Satan? 00:10:00.740 --> 00:10:01.480 Not at all. 00:10:01.539 --> 00:10:02.539 There's no questions. 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:04.460 Instead, God comes to the serpent 00:10:04.460 --> 00:10:05.539 and says, 00:10:05.820 --> 00:10:07.019 you shall eat the dust. 00:10:07.580 --> 00:10:08.060 In other words, 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:08.620 he's saying, 00:10:09.139 --> 00:10:10.360 there is no hope for you. 00:10:11.820 --> 00:10:13.299 Redemption is closed off to you. 00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:14.620 Death, 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:15.879 the only thing you can taste 00:10:15.879 --> 00:10:16.360 is death. 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:17.820 And that means that 00:10:17.820 --> 00:10:18.759 when he comes to Adam and Eve, 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:19.940 even if he comes in thunder, 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:21.180 when he says, 00:10:21.259 --> 00:10:21.860 where are you, 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:22.980 he's giving them 00:10:22.980 --> 00:10:23.519 an opportunity. 00:10:24.580 --> 00:10:25.379 He's giving them 00:10:25.379 --> 00:10:25.919 an opportunity 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:26.980 to come out 00:10:26.980 --> 00:10:28.299 from behind the fig leaf, 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:28.820 the tree, 00:10:28.820 --> 00:10:30.960 and to come clean 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:31.920 and to run. 00:10:32.460 --> 00:10:33.140 He's coming. 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:35.000 This is what Moses 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:35.540 wants you to see 00:10:35.540 --> 00:10:36.080 as he writes this. 00:10:36.280 --> 00:10:37.040 He wants you to see 00:10:37.040 --> 00:10:37.920 that when God comes 00:10:37.920 --> 00:10:38.460 in this moment, 00:10:38.940 --> 00:10:39.920 he's drawing 00:10:39.920 --> 00:10:41.220 and he's wooing 00:10:41.220 --> 00:10:42.180 and he's inviting 00:10:42.180 --> 00:10:43.320 and he's saying, 00:10:43.540 --> 00:10:44.020 come close. 00:10:45.100 --> 00:10:46.100 Even in the midst of sin, 00:10:46.200 --> 00:10:46.660 even in the midst 00:10:46.660 --> 00:10:47.660 of deserved judgment, 00:10:47.860 --> 00:10:48.560 real guilt, 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:49.940 this is God. 00:10:50.180 --> 00:10:50.740 The questioning 00:10:50.740 --> 00:10:51.560 is invitation. 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:53.540 It's drawing and wooing. 00:10:54.080 --> 00:10:55.400 There's a very similar moment 00:10:55.400 --> 00:10:56.380 in the next chapter, 00:10:56.920 --> 00:10:58.000 chapter 4, verse 9, 00:10:58.000 --> 00:10:59.899 where Cain murders 00:10:59.899 --> 00:11:00.940 his brother Abel 00:11:00.940 --> 00:11:03.320 and God comes to Cain 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:03.779 and says, 00:11:04.019 --> 00:11:04.879 where is Abel, 00:11:04.940 --> 00:11:05.320 your brother? 00:11:05.480 --> 00:11:06.000 Just like he came 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:06.440 to Ab and Eve 00:11:06.440 --> 00:11:06.879 and said, 00:11:07.159 --> 00:11:07.879 where are you? 00:11:07.899 --> 00:11:08.539 He comes to Cain 00:11:08.539 --> 00:11:08.799 and says, 00:11:08.899 --> 00:11:09.659 where is your brother? 00:11:09.740 --> 00:11:11.919 Now, God knows 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:12.799 where Abel is. 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:14.080 God knows Abel is dead 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:16.019 and God knows 00:11:16.019 --> 00:11:16.940 where Adam and Eve are. 00:11:17.379 --> 00:11:18.019 Where are you? 00:11:18.220 --> 00:11:18.980 He knows that they're 00:11:18.980 --> 00:11:19.740 shaking in their boots 00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:20.700 behind the tree over there. 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:22.100 He sees that, right? 00:11:22.580 --> 00:11:23.559 And in the same way, 00:11:23.620 --> 00:11:24.639 what is he asking Cain? 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:25.399 He's asking Cain 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:26.000 the same thing 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:27.240 he asked Adam and Eve. 00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:28.240 Where are you? 00:11:28.299 --> 00:11:29.139 Where are you is 00:11:29.139 --> 00:11:30.940 what is going on 00:11:30.940 --> 00:11:31.440 in your heart? 00:11:33.100 --> 00:11:34.940 Will you not come out 00:11:34.940 --> 00:11:36.899 and come to me 00:11:36.899 --> 00:11:38.639 and tell me 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:39.320 what has happened? 00:11:40.560 --> 00:11:41.600 And I'm ready. 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:43.580 I'm ready to deal with this. 00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:45.779 I'm ready to receive you 00:11:45.779 --> 00:11:47.519 if you would just come out 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:49.220 and come and meet with me. 00:11:50.740 --> 00:11:51.220 Guilt 00:11:51.220 --> 00:11:52.840 and shame 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:54.580 is present 00:11:54.580 --> 00:11:55.879 in every one of our hearts. 00:11:55.879 --> 00:11:58.720 We all feel that. 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:02.159 And God is also present 00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:03.379 in every one of our lives. 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:05.759 We learn in the New Testament 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:06.659 God is not far 00:12:06.659 --> 00:12:07.500 from every one of us. 00:12:07.620 --> 00:12:08.379 In him we live 00:12:08.379 --> 00:12:08.799 and we move 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:09.460 and we have our being. 00:12:09.559 --> 00:12:11.320 He is always revealing himself 00:12:11.320 --> 00:12:12.179 to us. 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:12.500 Always. 00:12:13.659 --> 00:12:15.220 And because of guilt 00:12:15.220 --> 00:12:15.500 and shame, 00:12:15.580 --> 00:12:16.259 because of our sin, 00:12:16.379 --> 00:12:17.500 our sin drives us 00:12:17.500 --> 00:12:18.080 into more sin. 00:12:18.139 --> 00:12:19.120 Our sin drives us 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:19.899 to run 00:12:19.899 --> 00:12:20.720 and to hide 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:21.679 from God 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:22.820 over and over 00:12:22.820 --> 00:12:23.399 and over again. 00:12:23.399 --> 00:12:23.980 And to get behind 00:12:23.980 --> 00:12:24.500 the fig leaves 00:12:24.500 --> 00:12:25.120 and the trees 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:26.840 and never come out 00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:27.600 and say 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:29.100 to the Lord 00:12:29.100 --> 00:12:30.120 when he says, 00:12:30.319 --> 00:12:30.740 where are you? 00:12:30.919 --> 00:12:31.579 What's going on 00:12:31.579 --> 00:12:32.079 in your heart? 00:12:32.759 --> 00:12:33.639 And he's drawing you 00:12:33.639 --> 00:12:34.379 and he's wooing you 00:12:34.379 --> 00:12:35.340 and he's inviting you. 00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:37.120 The human being, 00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:37.620 our hearts, 00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:38.539 we run from tree 00:12:38.539 --> 00:12:39.139 to tree to tree, 00:12:39.259 --> 00:12:40.019 fig leaf to fig leaf 00:12:40.019 --> 00:12:40.439 to fig leaf, 00:12:40.519 --> 00:12:40.860 hiding 00:12:40.860 --> 00:12:42.559 and staying away from him. 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:43.939 And we want him. 00:12:45.059 --> 00:12:45.600 Do you know that? 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:46.579 That the deep truth 00:12:46.579 --> 00:12:47.259 about our souls 00:12:47.259 --> 00:12:49.039 is that you want God. 00:12:49.139 --> 00:12:49.919 You want to be with him. 00:12:49.980 --> 00:12:50.740 You want to know him. 00:12:50.740 --> 00:12:51.860 And yet at the same time, 00:12:51.899 --> 00:12:52.399 your heart wants 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:53.980 to suppress him 00:12:53.980 --> 00:12:55.419 and push him down 00:12:55.419 --> 00:12:57.700 in unrighteousness. 00:12:58.100 --> 00:12:59.440 We are Jonah, 00:12:59.860 --> 00:13:00.100 you know, 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:00.980 running to Tarshish 00:13:00.980 --> 00:13:02.279 every time God 00:13:02.279 --> 00:13:03.220 shows up in our lives. 00:13:03.700 --> 00:13:04.680 And here in verse 8, 00:13:04.899 --> 00:13:05.940 God shows up 00:13:05.940 --> 00:13:06.620 to Adam and Eve 00:13:06.620 --> 00:13:07.879 and they go 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:08.379 and they get behind 00:13:08.379 --> 00:13:08.779 the tree 00:13:08.779 --> 00:13:11.299 and he longs 00:13:11.299 --> 00:13:12.139 for them to come out 00:13:12.139 --> 00:13:13.500 and to meet with him. 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:17.480 Parents in the room, 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:19.299 you parents in the room, 00:13:19.299 --> 00:13:21.919 or if you've ever 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:22.639 worked with children 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:24.679 or if you've ever 00:13:24.679 --> 00:13:25.279 been a kid. 00:13:26.319 --> 00:13:26.979 See, this is an 00:13:26.979 --> 00:13:28.139 all-inclusive illustration. 00:13:28.979 --> 00:13:30.019 I think I can capture 00:13:30.019 --> 00:13:30.859 just about everybody. 00:13:33.620 --> 00:13:34.240 If you've ever 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:34.799 worked with children, 00:13:34.899 --> 00:13:35.399 if you've been a parent, 00:13:35.439 --> 00:13:35.979 if you've been a child, 00:13:36.019 --> 00:13:36.799 you know that children 00:13:36.799 --> 00:13:38.159 feel guilt and shame 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:39.879 faster, quicker, 00:13:40.019 --> 00:13:40.419 a little more. 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:41.339 They're smitten 00:13:41.339 --> 00:13:42.219 and struck by it 00:13:42.219 --> 00:13:43.039 quicker than we 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:44.099 hard-hearted adults 00:13:44.099 --> 00:13:44.659 often are. 00:13:44.859 --> 00:13:46.379 Our consciences 00:13:46.379 --> 00:13:47.240 get seared 00:13:47.240 --> 00:13:48.039 over the years 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:49.179 and we don't feel 00:13:49.179 --> 00:13:50.120 guilt quite as quick 00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:50.759 as kids do. 00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:52.299 And so what do kids 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:54.120 do when they steal, 00:13:54.459 --> 00:13:55.120 they lie, 00:13:55.480 --> 00:13:56.399 they hit their sibling, 00:13:57.879 --> 00:13:58.299 they first, 00:13:58.459 --> 00:13:59.120 they run and they 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:00.139 hide quite often 00:14:00.139 --> 00:14:01.360 and then they do what? 00:14:01.419 --> 00:14:02.319 Then when they're 00:14:02.319 --> 00:14:02.919 exposed, 00:14:03.199 --> 00:14:03.899 they're naked, 00:14:03.980 --> 00:14:04.659 that sin is naked, 00:14:05.139 --> 00:14:06.219 they blame shift 00:14:06.219 --> 00:14:07.599 and, you know, 00:14:07.639 --> 00:14:08.639 he made me do it, 00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:09.679 she did it. 00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:12.939 And when a good parent, 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:13.719 what does a good parent, 00:14:13.859 --> 00:14:14.439 a good teacher, 00:14:14.539 --> 00:14:15.179 a good leader, 00:14:15.299 --> 00:14:15.859 what do they do? 00:14:16.899 --> 00:14:17.799 What do mom and dad 00:14:17.799 --> 00:14:18.099 want? 00:14:18.219 --> 00:14:18.819 Mom and dad, 00:14:19.179 --> 00:14:20.759 mom and dad 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:21.979 do not want 00:14:21.979 --> 00:14:22.399 to punish. 00:14:22.659 --> 00:14:22.779 You know, 00:14:22.819 --> 00:14:23.599 there's no desire. 00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:24.899 I don't enjoy punishment. 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:25.659 None of us 00:14:25.659 --> 00:14:26.579 want punishment. 00:14:26.699 --> 00:14:26.939 Instead, 00:14:27.219 --> 00:14:27.839 what we want is 00:14:27.839 --> 00:14:29.139 we want them 00:14:29.139 --> 00:14:29.739 to come out 00:14:29.739 --> 00:14:30.479 and to say, 00:14:30.659 --> 00:14:31.519 I lied, 00:14:32.079 --> 00:14:32.599 I cheated, 00:14:32.699 --> 00:14:33.159 I stole. 00:14:33.939 --> 00:14:35.139 And in tears, 00:14:35.819 --> 00:14:38.059 to put their heads 00:14:38.059 --> 00:14:38.879 into the shoulder 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:39.360 of dad, 00:14:39.419 --> 00:14:39.620 right? 00:14:40.220 --> 00:14:41.100 For dad to get 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:41.820 down on his knees, 00:14:42.019 --> 00:14:42.639 open arms, 00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:44.460 and in tears 00:14:44.460 --> 00:14:45.240 to have the little 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:45.659 one say, 00:14:45.860 --> 00:14:46.659 I lied. 00:14:47.340 --> 00:14:48.220 And you say what? 00:14:48.279 --> 00:14:48.500 You say, 00:14:48.580 --> 00:14:48.980 come here. 00:14:49.899 --> 00:14:50.480 And you put 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:52.340 a tearful shoulder 00:14:52.340 --> 00:14:52.580 on, 00:14:53.000 --> 00:14:53.799 a head on the shoulder 00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:55.100 and you say, 00:14:55.179 --> 00:14:55.860 we will fix this, 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:56.559 we will reconcile, 00:14:56.919 --> 00:14:57.820 we will bring justice, 00:14:57.939 --> 00:14:58.679 but I want you to know 00:14:58.679 --> 00:15:00.299 that I do not love you less 00:15:00.299 --> 00:15:00.899 because of the bad 00:15:00.899 --> 00:15:01.439 things you do. 00:15:02.379 --> 00:15:02.639 Right? 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:04.340 And you got to understand 00:15:04.340 --> 00:15:05.019 that in the beginning 00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:05.759 of human history, 00:15:05.899 --> 00:15:07.059 when we broke the world, 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:07.980 God the Father 00:15:07.980 --> 00:15:09.240 came in thunder, 00:15:09.340 --> 00:15:09.620 perhaps, 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:09.860 yeah, 00:15:09.920 --> 00:15:10.360 as a judge, 00:15:10.440 --> 00:15:10.720 yes. 00:15:10.980 --> 00:15:11.300 Guilty? 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:12.080 Do we have guilt? 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:12.680 Yes, we do. 00:15:12.759 --> 00:15:13.539 We feel that. 00:15:14.100 --> 00:15:15.300 But he came into the garden, 00:15:15.420 --> 00:15:16.539 he got on his knee 00:15:16.539 --> 00:15:17.960 and he said, 00:15:18.039 --> 00:15:18.840 where are you? 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:20.659 Come out from hiding, 00:15:21.300 --> 00:15:23.539 put your tearful head 00:15:23.539 --> 00:15:24.539 on my shoulder 00:15:24.539 --> 00:15:26.159 and I will bring you home. 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:27.800 That's what's happening here 00:15:27.800 --> 00:15:28.940 in the beginning 00:15:28.940 --> 00:15:29.600 of world history. 00:15:30.279 --> 00:15:30.600 Now friends, 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:31.759 you can hide 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:33.000 from yourself, 00:15:33.220 --> 00:15:34.300 the truth about yourself 00:15:34.300 --> 00:15:34.779 from yourself, 00:15:35.180 --> 00:15:35.899 you can hide 00:15:35.899 --> 00:15:36.579 from each other, 00:15:37.220 --> 00:15:38.019 but you can't hide 00:15:38.019 --> 00:15:38.439 from God. 00:15:39.220 --> 00:15:39.860 And when we try 00:15:39.860 --> 00:15:40.659 to hide from God, 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:42.139 the truth about 00:15:42.139 --> 00:15:42.639 what's going on 00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:43.139 in our lives, 00:15:43.220 --> 00:15:44.059 we hide it from God. 00:15:44.840 --> 00:15:45.659 Have you ever played 00:15:45.659 --> 00:15:46.539 hide and go seek 00:15:46.539 --> 00:15:47.019 with a toddler? 00:15:48.259 --> 00:15:48.480 You know, 00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:49.139 they can be standing 00:15:49.139 --> 00:15:49.539 in the middle 00:15:49.539 --> 00:15:50.259 of the living room 00:15:50.259 --> 00:15:51.360 and you say, 00:15:51.419 --> 00:15:52.039 now you go hide 00:15:52.039 --> 00:15:52.600 and what do they do? 00:15:54.079 --> 00:15:55.059 They put their hands, 00:15:55.500 --> 00:15:56.379 if you're only listening 00:15:56.379 --> 00:15:56.699 to this, 00:15:56.759 --> 00:15:57.480 I just put my hands 00:15:57.480 --> 00:15:57.799 on my eyes. 00:15:58.459 --> 00:15:59.480 They put their hands 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:00.000 on their eyes 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:00.879 as if they've hidden 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:01.679 because they think, 00:16:02.100 --> 00:16:02.659 if you can't, 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:03.620 if I can't see you, 00:16:03.700 --> 00:16:04.419 you can't see me. 00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:05.299 And if I think, 00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:06.279 and my heart says, 00:16:06.440 --> 00:16:08.200 if I can't see God 00:16:08.200 --> 00:16:08.539 right now, 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:09.360 God can't see me. 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:11.399 And we hide from God 00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:12.899 and it doesn't work 00:16:12.899 --> 00:16:13.759 and it doesn't need 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:14.159 to work 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:15.639 because God 00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:16.440 is on his knee 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:17.379 with open arms 00:16:17.379 --> 00:16:17.639 saying, 00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:18.179 come home, 00:16:19.220 --> 00:16:19.980 come back to me. 00:16:20.060 --> 00:16:20.740 A tender father 00:16:20.740 --> 00:16:22.060 is the God 00:16:22.060 --> 00:16:22.620 that made you. 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:24.679 So how can you hide? 00:16:24.740 --> 00:16:25.200 Let me run through 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:26.120 these really quickly 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:26.940 and we have to move on. 00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:28.100 Number one, 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:28.820 we learn here 00:16:28.820 --> 00:16:29.740 that you can hide 00:16:29.740 --> 00:16:30.879 from God today 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:32.940 by convincing yourself 00:16:32.940 --> 00:16:34.240 that there is no such thing 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:34.920 as sin at all. 00:16:36.920 --> 00:16:37.620 So here, 00:16:38.560 --> 00:16:39.280 we learn, 00:16:39.760 --> 00:16:39.900 well, 00:16:40.020 --> 00:16:40.740 in the next passage, 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:41.740 God comes to Cain 00:16:41.740 --> 00:16:42.880 after he murders 00:16:42.880 --> 00:16:43.320 his brother 00:16:43.320 --> 00:16:43.560 and says, 00:16:43.920 --> 00:16:44.520 where are you, 00:16:44.660 --> 00:16:45.400 where's your brother? 00:16:45.540 --> 00:16:46.220 And Cain says, 00:16:46.540 --> 00:16:47.640 am I my brother's keeper? 00:16:48.680 --> 00:16:49.200 And then, 00:16:49.400 --> 00:16:49.920 I've come from 00:16:49.920 --> 00:16:50.840 the southern U.S. 00:16:50.860 --> 00:16:51.700 and in the southern U.S., 00:16:51.700 --> 00:16:52.700 we have a way of saying that. 00:16:52.760 --> 00:16:52.960 We say, 00:16:53.020 --> 00:16:53.840 I ain't done nothing. 00:16:54.540 --> 00:16:55.340 That's what he's saying. 00:16:55.760 --> 00:16:56.240 And he's saying, 00:16:56.320 --> 00:16:56.440 look, 00:16:56.540 --> 00:16:57.500 there's nothing wrong with me. 00:16:57.680 --> 00:16:58.700 I am morally upright. 00:16:58.980 --> 00:17:00.060 Or perhaps even 00:17:00.060 --> 00:17:01.060 you intellectually, 00:17:01.740 --> 00:17:02.860 you use your brain, 00:17:02.940 --> 00:17:04.299 to try to convince your heart 00:17:04.299 --> 00:17:05.160 that there's no such thing 00:17:05.160 --> 00:17:05.779 as sin at all. 00:17:06.100 --> 00:17:07.080 That it's just a construct. 00:17:08.019 --> 00:17:09.080 A traditionalist idea. 00:17:09.220 --> 00:17:10.140 A puritanical idea. 00:17:10.420 --> 00:17:11.380 That there is no such thing 00:17:11.380 --> 00:17:11.660 as sin. 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:12.000 And yet, 00:17:12.080 --> 00:17:12.559 your heart, 00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:13.220 the heart knows 00:17:13.220 --> 00:17:13.759 what the heart knows. 00:17:13.840 --> 00:17:14.559 The heart knows 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:15.720 that that is not true. 00:17:16.420 --> 00:17:17.420 That sin is the concept 00:17:17.420 --> 00:17:18.600 that makes most sense 00:17:18.600 --> 00:17:19.220 of this world, 00:17:19.539 --> 00:17:20.000 in fact. 00:17:21.120 --> 00:17:21.740 And so you can, 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:22.700 modern person, 00:17:22.820 --> 00:17:23.660 you can be hiding 00:17:23.660 --> 00:17:24.400 from God 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:26.400 by trying to tell yourself 00:17:26.400 --> 00:17:27.140 by way of 00:17:27.140 --> 00:17:27.680 quote-unquote 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:28.200 science 00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:29.400 that there's no such thing 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:29.840 as sin. 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:32.119 Or you can hide 00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:32.679 from God 00:17:32.679 --> 00:17:33.679 secondly, 00:17:34.399 --> 00:17:35.500 by doing what Adam 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:35.980 does here 00:17:35.980 --> 00:17:36.939 in verse 11, 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:38.459 by blame shifting. 00:17:39.819 --> 00:17:40.179 And so, 00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:41.359 God comes to Adam 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:41.579 and says, 00:17:41.659 --> 00:17:42.059 where are you? 00:17:42.099 --> 00:17:42.639 Who told you 00:17:42.639 --> 00:17:43.279 that you were naked? 00:17:43.439 --> 00:17:44.879 And Adam says, 00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:46.199 she did it. 00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:47.159 She gave it to me. 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:48.119 It's not my fault. 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:49.659 But it's not really, 00:17:49.859 --> 00:17:50.539 we looked at this 00:17:50.539 --> 00:17:51.439 a couple weeks ago, 00:17:51.639 --> 00:17:52.639 but it's not really 00:17:52.639 --> 00:17:53.879 a blame shift at Eve. 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:54.319 Instead, 00:17:54.819 --> 00:17:55.500 what does he say? 00:17:56.359 --> 00:17:58.460 The woman you made 00:17:58.460 --> 00:17:59.500 made me do it. 00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:01.059 And you see who 00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:02.099 he's actually blaming there? 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:03.960 You can hide from God 00:18:03.960 --> 00:18:06.079 by actually turning things around 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:07.660 and blaming God. 00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:08.440 That's what Adam does. 00:18:08.940 --> 00:18:10.480 The woman you made 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:11.880 made me do it. 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:12.700 And if you wouldn't 00:18:12.700 --> 00:18:13.579 have created me like this, 00:18:13.619 --> 00:18:14.019 if you wouldn't have 00:18:14.019 --> 00:18:14.859 given me these circumstances, 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:16.259 you can hide from God 00:18:16.259 --> 00:18:17.440 by blame shifting 00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:18.220 and anger 00:18:18.220 --> 00:18:19.619 at God himself. 00:18:20.660 --> 00:18:21.799 And God is saying 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:22.700 in this moment, 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:23.599 all he's saying 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:24.220 in these questions 00:18:24.220 --> 00:18:25.319 to Adam and to every single 00:18:25.319 --> 00:18:26.200 one of us today is, 00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:27.100 where are you? 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:27.860 Where is your heart? 00:18:28.819 --> 00:18:29.740 Will you come out 00:18:29.740 --> 00:18:30.039 and just, 00:18:30.460 --> 00:18:30.960 what does he want? 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:32.740 He wants confession of sin, 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:35.339 sorrow and tears, 00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:35.900 repentance, 00:18:36.660 --> 00:18:37.720 and to put your tearful 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:39.539 head in his shoulder 00:18:39.539 --> 00:18:40.680 and to come home again. 00:18:41.100 --> 00:18:41.559 That's all. 00:18:41.640 --> 00:18:42.259 That's all God's 00:18:42.259 --> 00:18:42.880 looking for here. 00:18:45.120 --> 00:18:46.400 Time does not allow us 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:47.500 to explore all the ways 00:18:47.500 --> 00:18:48.259 that we can be hiding 00:18:48.259 --> 00:18:48.940 from God today. 00:18:50.319 --> 00:18:51.620 But if you'll let me, 00:18:51.700 --> 00:18:52.079 I just want to, 00:18:52.660 --> 00:18:53.519 and you have to let me, 00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:53.960 right? 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:56.640 But I'll just rattle off 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:57.759 a few more 00:18:57.759 --> 00:18:58.860 that may be true 00:18:58.860 --> 00:18:59.500 of us right now. 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:01.600 Some of us have 00:19:01.600 --> 00:19:02.980 old sins, 00:19:03.140 --> 00:19:04.319 sins from our past, 00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:06.759 where we are saying 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:07.940 right now in our hearts, 00:19:08.620 --> 00:19:09.920 I could never be forgiven 00:19:09.920 --> 00:19:10.660 for that. 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:12.660 I am too far gone. 00:19:13.600 --> 00:19:15.220 And that is hiding 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:16.740 from God in regret. 00:19:17.380 --> 00:19:18.220 You can hide from God 00:19:18.220 --> 00:19:18.740 in regret, 00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:20.380 never coming to him 00:19:20.380 --> 00:19:21.600 because you feel like 00:19:21.600 --> 00:19:22.400 you're too far gone. 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:24.440 And some of us 00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:24.860 are hiding, 00:19:25.019 --> 00:19:25.540 instead of that, 00:19:25.620 --> 00:19:25.920 we're hiding 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:27.280 in new sins, 00:19:27.460 --> 00:19:28.480 new patterns of sin 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:29.720 that we're currently 00:19:29.720 --> 00:19:30.500 walking in. 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:32.080 And we're like 00:19:32.080 --> 00:19:33.080 toddlers covering our eyes 00:19:33.080 --> 00:19:33.800 pretending that God 00:19:33.800 --> 00:19:34.460 doesn't know that. 00:19:35.420 --> 00:19:36.180 And we're not, 00:19:36.340 --> 00:19:37.380 we're hiding behind trees 00:19:37.380 --> 00:19:38.140 not yet willing 00:19:38.140 --> 00:19:38.600 to come out 00:19:38.600 --> 00:19:39.340 and confess 00:19:39.340 --> 00:19:40.519 in tears 00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:43.280 over what we're up to 00:19:43.280 --> 00:19:44.140 right now in our lives. 00:19:44.140 --> 00:19:46.340 And some of us 00:19:46.340 --> 00:19:47.180 might be hiding 00:19:47.180 --> 00:19:48.040 and I think this is 00:19:48.040 --> 00:19:49.080 probably the most 00:19:49.080 --> 00:19:50.100 dangerous place to be 00:19:50.100 --> 00:19:53.100 hiding in distraction, 00:19:54.520 --> 00:19:55.420 hiding in, 00:19:55.580 --> 00:19:56.020 from God 00:19:56.020 --> 00:19:57.120 in the normal, 00:19:57.259 --> 00:19:58.600 normalcy of life, 00:19:59.340 --> 00:20:00.980 just getting on with it 00:20:00.980 --> 00:20:03.000 and therefore 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:04.020 never actually 00:20:04.020 --> 00:20:04.780 coming to the Lord, 00:20:05.520 --> 00:20:06.180 never taking 00:20:06.180 --> 00:20:07.060 Christianity seriously, 00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:08.140 never taking the claim 00:20:08.140 --> 00:20:09.080 that your heart, 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:10.020 that check engine light 00:20:10.020 --> 00:20:10.960 is on in your heart 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:11.680 and you say, 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:12.220 I know there's 00:20:12.220 --> 00:20:12.720 something wrong, 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:13.920 but you're never willing 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:14.500 to take the step 00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:15.440 of coming to the Lord, 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:18.059 hiding by normalcy, 00:20:18.180 --> 00:20:19.059 hiding by distraction. 00:20:20.200 --> 00:20:20.799 And some of us 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:21.819 maybe are struggling 00:20:21.819 --> 00:20:22.360 with hiding 00:20:22.360 --> 00:20:23.720 in a fear of vulnerability, 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:26.180 hiding inside stoicism 00:20:26.180 --> 00:20:29.360 where you're not willing 00:20:29.360 --> 00:20:30.380 to let your heart 00:20:30.380 --> 00:20:31.180 be as broken 00:20:31.180 --> 00:20:31.920 as it should be 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:32.839 over your sins. 00:20:33.700 --> 00:20:34.460 And so you're hiding 00:20:34.460 --> 00:20:35.960 from being vulnerable. 00:20:36.140 --> 00:20:36.740 You know that you would 00:20:36.740 --> 00:20:37.740 have to become like Isaiah 00:20:37.740 --> 00:20:38.440 in Isaiah 6 00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:38.980 when he says, 00:20:39.500 --> 00:20:39.920 before the Lord, 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:40.860 woe is me, 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:41.559 I am a person 00:20:41.559 --> 00:20:42.559 of unclean lips. 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:44.299 And you're afraid 00:20:44.299 --> 00:20:45.120 of vulnerability, 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:47.059 hiding in stoicism 00:20:47.059 --> 00:20:48.519 from the Lord. 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:49.640 Or you could be hiding 00:20:49.640 --> 00:20:51.480 a fear of commitment. 00:20:51.860 --> 00:20:52.700 What would this cost me? 00:20:52.759 --> 00:20:53.299 This is what Simon 00:20:53.299 --> 00:20:54.019 was preaching about 00:20:54.019 --> 00:20:54.500 last week. 00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:55.559 You could be hiding 00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:56.120 from God, 00:20:56.279 --> 00:20:57.720 hiding from God 00:20:57.720 --> 00:20:58.460 in philosophy, 00:20:58.700 --> 00:20:59.000 thinking, 00:20:59.539 --> 00:21:00.400 if I can't work out 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:01.819 every jot and tittle 00:21:01.819 --> 00:21:02.500 of the claims 00:21:02.500 --> 00:21:03.079 of Christianity 00:21:03.079 --> 00:21:04.200 and make sure I know 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:05.120 beyond all shadow 00:21:05.120 --> 00:21:05.480 of a doubt 00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:06.360 I'm not willing 00:21:06.360 --> 00:21:07.220 to step towards God 00:21:07.220 --> 00:21:08.039 before the Lord, 00:21:08.100 --> 00:21:08.680 hiding in philosophy. 00:21:08.980 --> 00:21:09.759 You can be hiding 00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:10.500 today as a Christian 00:21:10.500 --> 00:21:11.380 in your doctrine, 00:21:11.380 --> 00:21:13.820 you can know 00:21:13.820 --> 00:21:14.840 a lot about God 00:21:14.840 --> 00:21:16.140 but never come to Him, 00:21:16.300 --> 00:21:17.180 never come to Him 00:21:17.180 --> 00:21:17.580 in prayer. 00:21:18.700 --> 00:21:18.780 Right? 00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:21.260 And there's a wonderful 00:21:21.260 --> 00:21:22.560 moment in Flannery O'Connor, 00:21:22.620 --> 00:21:23.440 one of her stories, 00:21:23.860 --> 00:21:24.600 about a character 00:21:24.600 --> 00:21:25.880 named Hazel Motes. 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:28.040 And she writes 00:21:28.040 --> 00:21:28.540 this about him. 00:21:28.680 --> 00:21:29.280 He learned that 00:21:29.280 --> 00:21:29.920 the best way 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:30.480 to stay away 00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:31.020 from Jesus 00:21:31.020 --> 00:21:32.420 was just to avoid sin. 00:21:32.420 --> 00:21:34.860 You can be hiding 00:21:34.860 --> 00:21:35.940 within your decency 00:21:35.940 --> 00:21:36.400 and your goodness 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:37.019 and your religion 00:21:37.019 --> 00:21:38.779 but let me say 00:21:38.779 --> 00:21:39.480 that this applies 00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:40.340 not only to everybody 00:21:40.340 --> 00:21:40.820 in this room 00:21:40.820 --> 00:21:42.180 that's not standing 00:21:42.180 --> 00:21:42.700 on the platform 00:21:42.700 --> 00:21:43.680 but to every person 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:44.340 who comes and stands 00:21:44.340 --> 00:21:44.920 right here too. 00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:46.680 And, you know, 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:47.400 a good preacher 00:21:47.400 --> 00:21:48.180 can hide behind 00:21:48.180 --> 00:21:48.720 a microphone. 00:21:49.720 --> 00:21:51.220 A talented speaker 00:21:51.220 --> 00:21:52.160 can hide behind 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:52.660 a microphone 00:21:52.660 --> 00:21:56.840 and be an absentee dad, 00:21:56.960 --> 00:21:57.960 an absentee husband, 00:21:58.900 --> 00:22:01.140 can be a prayerless minister, 00:22:01.140 --> 00:22:03.700 a thousand ways 00:22:03.700 --> 00:22:04.280 we could be hiding 00:22:04.280 --> 00:22:04.960 from the Lord today. 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:07.160 And I just want to say 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:08.640 where are you? 00:22:09.660 --> 00:22:10.520 God is saying to you 00:22:10.520 --> 00:22:11.240 right now on his knee 00:22:11.240 --> 00:22:11.720 where are you? 00:22:11.800 --> 00:22:12.320 Come home. 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:14.520 Come and confess your sins 00:22:14.520 --> 00:22:15.259 and repent 00:22:15.259 --> 00:22:15.900 and reconcile 00:22:15.900 --> 00:22:17.660 and God is ready 00:22:17.660 --> 00:22:18.360 to receive you. 00:22:19.100 --> 00:22:19.840 God is speaking 00:22:19.840 --> 00:22:20.460 to you today. 00:22:20.820 --> 00:22:21.600 He's a tender father. 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:22.800 Now, 00:22:23.060 --> 00:22:24.240 what does God do here 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:25.080 secondly and finally? 00:22:25.860 --> 00:22:26.020 Look, 00:22:26.080 --> 00:22:26.740 our great problem 00:22:26.740 --> 00:22:27.520 is we hide from God. 00:22:27.740 --> 00:22:28.700 The great solution 00:22:28.700 --> 00:22:30.480 is Genesis 3.15. 00:22:31.140 --> 00:22:31.500 Finally, 00:22:31.940 --> 00:22:33.300 and here's what happens. 00:22:34.780 --> 00:22:35.560 We learn here 00:22:35.560 --> 00:22:36.060 about the seed. 00:22:36.180 --> 00:22:37.120 So in verse 14, 00:22:37.900 --> 00:22:39.560 the curse of the serpent 00:22:39.560 --> 00:22:40.180 is total. 00:22:40.300 --> 00:22:41.060 There is no hope 00:22:41.060 --> 00:22:41.580 for Satan. 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:42.700 But when you come 00:22:42.700 --> 00:22:43.640 to verse 15, 00:22:44.140 --> 00:22:45.380 notice that 00:22:45.380 --> 00:22:46.560 what God says, 00:22:46.700 --> 00:22:47.700 I will put enmity 00:22:47.700 --> 00:22:49.120 between the offspring 00:22:49.120 --> 00:22:50.060 of the woman 00:22:50.060 --> 00:22:50.840 and the offspring 00:22:50.840 --> 00:22:51.480 of the serpent. 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:53.660 Notice that 00:22:53.660 --> 00:22:54.220 that is not 00:22:54.220 --> 00:22:55.180 a direct curse 00:22:55.180 --> 00:22:56.800 aimed at Adam and Eve 00:22:56.800 --> 00:22:57.420 or humanity. 00:22:58.100 --> 00:22:58.860 Not at all. 00:22:59.080 --> 00:22:59.820 What is going on here? 00:22:59.819 --> 00:23:01.480 Some modern commentators 00:23:01.480 --> 00:23:02.439 since the 19th century 00:23:02.439 --> 00:23:03.319 have come to this moment 00:23:03.319 --> 00:23:04.220 and said, 00:23:04.619 --> 00:23:05.939 this is an ancient mythology 00:23:05.939 --> 00:23:07.639 that helps explain 00:23:07.639 --> 00:23:09.399 or simply gives a myth 00:23:09.399 --> 00:23:10.259 for the reasons 00:23:10.259 --> 00:23:12.519 why human beings 00:23:12.519 --> 00:23:13.259 hate snakes. 00:23:14.259 --> 00:23:15.399 Why snakes and humans 00:23:15.399 --> 00:23:16.799 have never done well together. 00:23:17.579 --> 00:23:17.879 And look, 00:23:18.279 --> 00:23:19.799 that is in the commentary 00:23:19.799 --> 00:23:20.460 sometimes. 00:23:21.099 --> 00:23:21.599 And let me say 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:22.779 that that is so superficial, 00:23:23.539 --> 00:23:24.299 so facile, 00:23:24.939 --> 00:23:25.619 so silly 00:23:25.619 --> 00:23:26.939 of an interpretation. 00:23:26.940 --> 00:23:28.080 And that is the kind 00:23:28.080 --> 00:23:28.680 of interpretation 00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:29.440 you come to 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:30.799 when you deny 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:31.799 that God is the ultimate 00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:32.480 author of scripture. 00:23:32.700 --> 00:23:33.180 You have to say 00:23:33.180 --> 00:23:33.840 something like that. 00:23:34.340 --> 00:23:35.360 But that is not at all 00:23:35.360 --> 00:23:36.759 what we get here. 00:23:36.940 --> 00:23:37.279 Instead, 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:37.980 what does God do? 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:39.180 Understand that 00:23:39.180 --> 00:23:40.960 when God comes to Adam and Eve 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:42.259 and Adam and Eve 00:23:42.259 --> 00:23:43.140 hide from God, 00:23:43.380 --> 00:23:44.660 they are in that moment 00:23:44.660 --> 00:23:45.920 on team serpent. 00:23:47.100 --> 00:23:48.259 They are hiding from God. 00:23:48.340 --> 00:23:49.299 They refuse to come out. 00:23:49.620 --> 00:23:50.259 They are fighting 00:23:50.259 --> 00:23:51.039 for team serpent. 00:23:51.360 --> 00:23:52.400 They are on team devil. 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:55.320 And they never change that 00:23:55.320 --> 00:23:55.820 in that moment. 00:23:55.819 --> 00:23:56.659 Not at all. 00:23:56.919 --> 00:23:57.619 And what does God do 00:23:57.619 --> 00:23:58.200 in verse 15? 00:23:58.539 --> 00:23:59.960 It's God who then comes 00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:00.319 and says, 00:24:00.659 --> 00:24:01.519 I, God, 00:24:01.579 --> 00:24:02.480 will put enmity 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:03.879 between you and the serpent. 00:24:04.700 --> 00:24:05.200 In other words, 00:24:05.339 --> 00:24:05.819 it's saying that 00:24:05.819 --> 00:24:06.539 God is the one 00:24:06.539 --> 00:24:07.419 who comes and drives 00:24:07.419 --> 00:24:08.279 the wedge 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:10.439 between evil and humanity. 00:24:10.740 --> 00:24:11.220 God is the one 00:24:11.220 --> 00:24:11.839 who comes and says, 00:24:12.279 --> 00:24:13.679 you refuse to come to me 00:24:13.679 --> 00:24:14.579 so I will come 00:24:14.579 --> 00:24:15.200 and save you. 00:24:15.460 --> 00:24:16.559 I will come and rescue you 00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:17.639 despite yourself. 00:24:17.740 --> 00:24:18.619 I will get you off 00:24:18.619 --> 00:24:19.200 team serpent 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:21.179 despite your desires. 00:24:21.679 --> 00:24:22.279 And so here's how 00:24:22.279 --> 00:24:22.659 he does it. 00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:23.119 He says, 00:24:23.639 --> 00:24:23.899 I, 00:24:24.539 --> 00:24:24.960 I, 00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:26.620 will put enmity 00:24:26.620 --> 00:24:27.880 between the seed 00:24:27.880 --> 00:24:28.319 of the woman 00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:28.880 and the seed 00:24:28.880 --> 00:24:29.299 of the serpent. 00:24:30.420 --> 00:24:31.019 The seed 00:24:31.019 --> 00:24:31.579 of the woman 00:24:31.579 --> 00:24:33.420 will crush, 00:24:34.620 --> 00:24:35.579 bruise the head 00:24:35.579 --> 00:24:36.019 of the serpent 00:24:36.019 --> 00:24:37.100 and the serpent 00:24:37.100 --> 00:24:38.880 shall bruise the heel 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:40.180 of the offspring 00:24:40.180 --> 00:24:41.019 of the woman. 00:24:42.380 --> 00:24:42.519 Now, 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:43.240 Sinclair Ferguson 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:43.980 says that 00:24:43.980 --> 00:24:45.259 the rest of the Old Testament 00:24:45.259 --> 00:24:47.340 is a footnote 00:24:47.340 --> 00:24:48.400 to Genesis 315. 00:24:49.740 --> 00:24:50.860 And that's exactly right. 00:24:50.940 --> 00:24:51.200 You see, 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:52.539 what we call here, 00:24:52.539 --> 00:24:53.039 this is called, 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:54.359 often called seed theology 00:24:54.359 --> 00:24:55.200 and the reason for that 00:24:55.200 --> 00:24:56.339 is the word offspring here 00:24:56.339 --> 00:24:58.039 is literally the Hebrew word 00:24:58.039 --> 00:24:58.559 seed. 00:24:59.960 --> 00:25:01.299 And in this promise, 00:25:02.019 --> 00:25:03.180 the seed of the woman 00:25:03.180 --> 00:25:04.200 will come and crush 00:25:04.200 --> 00:25:05.639 the seed of the serpent 00:25:05.639 --> 00:25:06.579 is a, 00:25:06.579 --> 00:25:07.920 a little, 00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:08.460 a literal 00:25:08.460 --> 00:25:09.359 and metaphorical seed 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:09.980 in the sense that 00:25:09.980 --> 00:25:11.259 in the very promise 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:12.180 of Genesis 315, 00:25:12.379 --> 00:25:13.559 you have the seed 00:25:13.559 --> 00:25:14.379 that will unfold 00:25:14.379 --> 00:25:15.259 the rest of the story 00:25:15.259 --> 00:25:15.700 of the Bible. 00:25:15.700 --> 00:25:17.600 And at the same time, 00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:18.420 you have seed 00:25:18.420 --> 00:25:19.140 being referred to 00:25:19.140 --> 00:25:21.440 in a singular masculine noun, 00:25:22.700 --> 00:25:23.180 a boy, 00:25:23.539 --> 00:25:24.640 a male son, 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:25.180 a child. 00:25:25.380 --> 00:25:25.860 That's what's being 00:25:25.860 --> 00:25:26.440 talked about here. 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:28.400 You know that, 00:25:29.100 --> 00:25:30.299 I'm told this 00:25:30.299 --> 00:25:31.100 by the people 00:25:31.100 --> 00:25:31.880 who know these things, 00:25:32.600 --> 00:25:33.900 that a seed 00:25:33.900 --> 00:25:35.680 contains a plant 00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:36.779 already fully encased 00:25:36.779 --> 00:25:37.200 within it. 00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:38.039 So the DNA 00:25:38.039 --> 00:25:39.400 of an entire oak tree 00:25:39.400 --> 00:25:40.620 is already contained 00:25:40.620 --> 00:25:41.180 in the seed 00:25:41.180 --> 00:25:42.019 when it's sown. 00:25:43.120 --> 00:25:44.100 And so all that needs 00:25:44.100 --> 00:25:44.460 to happen 00:25:44.460 --> 00:25:46.059 is water and soil 00:25:46.059 --> 00:25:47.019 and it will bud up 00:25:47.019 --> 00:25:47.660 into the full tree. 00:25:47.740 --> 00:25:48.240 And in this moment, 00:25:48.340 --> 00:25:49.039 Genesis 315, 00:25:49.420 --> 00:25:50.440 you have the seed 00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:51.319 of the entire story 00:25:51.319 --> 00:25:51.759 of the Bible 00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:52.960 and you have the seed 00:25:52.960 --> 00:25:54.059 at the very same time 00:25:54.059 --> 00:25:55.240 of redemption itself. 00:25:56.039 --> 00:25:57.039 All encased 00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:57.900 in this one word, 00:25:58.079 --> 00:25:58.440 seed. 00:25:58.980 --> 00:25:59.759 It's right here. 00:26:00.440 --> 00:26:01.140 And what does it say? 00:26:01.220 --> 00:26:01.940 And Jonathan Gibson 00:26:01.940 --> 00:26:03.319 points this out. 00:26:03.380 --> 00:26:03.860 He says this, 00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:04.360 number one, 00:26:05.120 --> 00:26:05.539 let me give you 00:26:05.539 --> 00:26:06.480 six things it says 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:08.220 in 90 seconds. 00:26:09.259 --> 00:26:09.759 Number one, 00:26:09.840 --> 00:26:10.500 this is what we learn. 00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:13.400 Whoever this offspring 00:26:13.400 --> 00:26:14.039 is, 00:26:14.039 --> 00:26:14.899 this seed is, 00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:16.680 he would be a son 00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:18.779 because the word offspring, 00:26:18.879 --> 00:26:19.619 the offspring of Eve 00:26:19.619 --> 00:26:20.899 is used in the singular 00:26:20.899 --> 00:26:21.399 masculine, 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:22.099 a child. 00:26:22.859 --> 00:26:23.619 And as the seed 00:26:23.619 --> 00:26:24.359 begins to unfold 00:26:24.359 --> 00:26:24.920 this idea, 00:26:25.299 --> 00:26:25.920 we come to places 00:26:25.920 --> 00:26:27.079 like Isaiah 714 00:26:27.079 --> 00:26:27.619 that says, 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:29.259 the virgin shall conceive 00:26:29.259 --> 00:26:30.539 and bear a son. 00:26:31.740 --> 00:26:32.539 We learn that the seed 00:26:32.539 --> 00:26:33.659 is unfolding there. 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:34.200 Number two, 00:26:35.299 --> 00:26:36.139 there is no mention 00:26:36.139 --> 00:26:37.039 of a father here, 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:37.720 not at all. 00:26:38.019 --> 00:26:38.779 In an age 00:26:38.779 --> 00:26:39.859 where genealogies 00:26:39.859 --> 00:26:40.920 were always written 00:26:40.920 --> 00:26:41.940 according to the male, 00:26:41.940 --> 00:26:43.259 the male heir, 00:26:43.740 --> 00:26:44.440 the men. 00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:45.259 Here, 00:26:45.420 --> 00:26:46.320 we're being told 00:26:46.320 --> 00:26:47.960 something very uncommon 00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:48.720 in the ancient Near East. 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:50.220 Look for mothers 00:26:50.220 --> 00:26:51.160 and their sons. 00:26:52.140 --> 00:26:52.880 Read the Bible 00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:53.620 with an eye 00:26:53.620 --> 00:26:54.380 to mothers 00:26:54.380 --> 00:26:56.039 and their sons. 00:26:56.660 --> 00:26:57.279 And so when you flip 00:26:57.279 --> 00:26:58.380 to Matthew chapter one, 00:26:58.620 --> 00:26:59.660 very unusual 00:26:59.660 --> 00:27:00.860 for the Greco-Roman culture. 00:27:00.980 --> 00:27:01.640 In Matthew chapter one, 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:02.460 there's a genealogy 00:27:02.460 --> 00:27:03.799 and there are five women, 00:27:04.140 --> 00:27:05.100 five mothers in it. 00:27:05.320 --> 00:27:06.100 Very unusual. 00:27:06.099 --> 00:27:08.139 Number three, 00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:09.159 we learn whoever 00:27:09.159 --> 00:27:10.179 this young man is, 00:27:10.219 --> 00:27:10.599 this boy, 00:27:10.699 --> 00:27:11.139 this child, 00:27:11.500 --> 00:27:12.919 he would represent many 00:27:12.919 --> 00:27:13.899 when he came. 00:27:14.679 --> 00:27:15.299 How do we know that? 00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:17.000 Because this word seed 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:19.759 is like the word fish. 00:27:20.439 --> 00:27:20.639 All right? 00:27:20.699 --> 00:27:21.259 So in English, 00:27:21.980 --> 00:27:23.339 fish is both singular 00:27:23.339 --> 00:27:24.059 and plural 00:27:24.059 --> 00:27:24.939 at the same time. 00:27:25.439 --> 00:27:26.039 And in Hebrew, 00:27:26.179 --> 00:27:26.799 the word seed 00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:27.779 is singular and plural 00:27:27.779 --> 00:27:28.480 at the same time. 00:27:28.859 --> 00:27:29.500 So when you look 00:27:29.500 --> 00:27:30.319 at a fishbowl, 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:31.740 there might be one fish 00:27:31.740 --> 00:27:32.159 and you say, 00:27:32.219 --> 00:27:32.759 there's a fish. 00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:33.500 And you look at a fishbowl 00:27:33.500 --> 00:27:33.919 and there's ten 00:27:33.919 --> 00:27:34.240 and you say, 00:27:34.319 --> 00:27:35.959 there are the fish. 00:27:36.519 --> 00:27:36.899 Singular, 00:27:37.219 --> 00:27:37.759 but plural. 00:27:38.279 --> 00:27:38.959 And the word seed 00:27:38.959 --> 00:27:39.579 is like that. 00:27:39.659 --> 00:27:40.379 And so in this, 00:27:40.779 --> 00:27:42.480 the seed is also 00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:43.459 the offspring, 00:27:43.619 --> 00:27:44.719 the seed of the seed, 00:27:44.819 --> 00:27:45.219 the many. 00:27:46.159 --> 00:27:47.259 That whoever this one is 00:27:47.259 --> 00:27:48.339 would also represent many. 00:27:49.579 --> 00:27:50.099 Number four, 00:27:50.779 --> 00:27:52.039 he will be a warrior. 00:27:53.159 --> 00:27:54.039 So notice the order. 00:27:54.219 --> 00:27:54.539 It says, 00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:56.159 he will come and crush 00:27:56.159 --> 00:27:57.619 the head of the serpent 00:27:57.619 --> 00:27:58.740 while the serpent 00:27:58.740 --> 00:27:59.719 bruises his heel. 00:28:00.579 --> 00:28:01.819 And you see the order of that. 00:28:01.919 --> 00:28:02.859 The order of that's so important. 00:28:03.819 --> 00:28:05.000 Whoever this child is, 00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:06.220 he will come on the hunt 00:28:06.220 --> 00:28:08.339 to crush the serpent. 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:09.440 He will be hunting. 00:28:10.759 --> 00:28:11.279 And number six, 00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:12.039 something about us. 00:28:12.940 --> 00:28:13.400 And that's this. 00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:14.299 In the ancient Near East, 00:28:15.539 --> 00:28:15.859 sorry, 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:16.460 I should say, 00:28:16.619 --> 00:28:16.980 A and E. 00:28:17.460 --> 00:28:18.140 Adam and Eve 00:28:18.140 --> 00:28:18.940 is what I meant to say. 00:28:19.039 --> 00:28:19.640 Adam and Eve, 00:28:19.880 --> 00:28:22.440 as soon as they deserve judgment, 00:28:23.099 --> 00:28:24.859 as soon as they deserve judgment, 00:28:24.980 --> 00:28:25.900 as soon as we see them 00:28:25.900 --> 00:28:26.519 on Team Satan, 00:28:27.480 --> 00:28:28.519 God comes in 00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:29.339 with Genesis 3.15 00:28:29.339 --> 00:28:30.399 and drives the wedge, 00:28:31.099 --> 00:28:32.000 plants the promise. 00:28:32.919 --> 00:28:33.740 And this is called 00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:35.059 the Proto-Evangelion, 00:28:35.220 --> 00:28:36.299 the first gospel. 00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:37.099 That's just a Greek 00:28:37.099 --> 00:28:38.819 for saying first gospel. 00:28:39.399 --> 00:28:40.619 And let me say two things to you. 00:28:40.699 --> 00:28:41.139 Number one, 00:28:41.500 --> 00:28:42.959 if you want to read the Bible rightly, 00:28:44.259 --> 00:28:45.159 if you want to read the Bible 00:28:45.159 --> 00:28:46.099 for all it's worth, 00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:47.359 you've got to see 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:48.419 Genesis 3.15 00:28:48.419 --> 00:28:49.159 for all it's worth. 00:28:50.480 --> 00:28:51.319 Here we have 00:28:51.319 --> 00:28:51.899 the opening 00:28:51.899 --> 00:28:52.879 of the full story, 00:28:52.959 --> 00:28:54.079 the flower of redemption 00:28:54.079 --> 00:28:55.220 in this very moment. 00:28:55.679 --> 00:28:56.439 But number two, 00:28:56.440 --> 00:28:58.120 more importantly, 00:28:58.519 --> 00:29:00.039 if you today come 00:29:00.039 --> 00:29:00.880 as we all do 00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:01.580 in guilt and shame, 00:29:01.779 --> 00:29:02.580 covering your eyes 00:29:02.580 --> 00:29:04.160 like a toddler from God, 00:29:04.519 --> 00:29:05.380 hiding from God 00:29:05.380 --> 00:29:06.299 in any way, 00:29:06.340 --> 00:29:06.820 shape, or form, 00:29:06.860 --> 00:29:07.759 you've got to look here 00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:08.320 and see that 00:29:08.320 --> 00:29:09.620 in Genesis 2.17 00:29:09.620 --> 00:29:10.840 God said, 00:29:11.019 --> 00:29:12.080 if you eat of the tree 00:29:12.080 --> 00:29:12.440 of the knowledge 00:29:12.440 --> 00:29:13.059 of good and evil, 00:29:13.420 --> 00:29:15.019 you shall die, die. 00:29:15.100 --> 00:29:16.000 That's what it says in Hebrew. 00:29:16.799 --> 00:29:18.100 And as one commentator puts it, 00:29:18.259 --> 00:29:18.920 Adam and Eve 00:29:18.920 --> 00:29:19.500 in this moment 00:29:19.500 --> 00:29:20.620 live three times, 00:29:20.759 --> 00:29:21.160 four times, 00:29:21.259 --> 00:29:22.080 ten times as long 00:29:22.080 --> 00:29:22.620 as any of us 00:29:22.620 --> 00:29:23.259 could ever imagine. 00:29:23.720 --> 00:29:24.420 They don't get 00:29:24.420 --> 00:29:25.100 what they deserve. 00:29:25.099 --> 00:29:26.659 They get hope. 00:29:26.779 --> 00:29:27.359 They get promise. 00:29:27.679 --> 00:29:29.119 They get a tender father 00:29:29.119 --> 00:29:30.539 inviting them home. 00:29:30.779 --> 00:29:31.859 We have never gotten 00:29:31.859 --> 00:29:32.539 what we deserve. 00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:34.459 Never, none of us. 00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:35.399 If you're breathing today, 00:29:35.480 --> 00:29:36.119 we've never gotten 00:29:36.119 --> 00:29:36.679 what we deserve. 00:29:37.699 --> 00:29:38.819 And still even more, 00:29:38.899 --> 00:29:39.779 we have a tender father 00:29:39.779 --> 00:29:40.419 coming today 00:29:40.419 --> 00:29:40.839 and saying, 00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:41.779 come home 00:29:41.779 --> 00:29:43.839 through the seed 00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:45.000 of the woman. 00:29:45.099 --> 00:29:45.899 Who is the seed? 00:29:46.939 --> 00:29:47.740 Who is the seed 00:29:47.740 --> 00:29:48.119 of the woman? 00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:50.599 In the second century, 00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:51.679 Justin Martyr 00:29:51.679 --> 00:29:52.659 and Irenaeus, 00:29:52.779 --> 00:29:54.019 two of the early church fathers, 00:29:54.019 --> 00:29:55.680 they said that 00:29:55.680 --> 00:29:56.539 this promise 00:29:56.539 --> 00:29:57.519 is the promise, 00:29:57.940 --> 00:29:59.480 the promise of Eve 00:29:59.480 --> 00:30:00.339 and her boy 00:30:00.339 --> 00:30:02.720 is the promise 00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:03.319 fulfilled 00:30:03.319 --> 00:30:03.980 in Mary 00:30:03.980 --> 00:30:04.619 and her boy. 00:30:06.579 --> 00:30:07.500 And you can go 00:30:07.500 --> 00:30:07.859 to places 00:30:07.859 --> 00:30:09.299 like Galatians 4.4 00:30:09.299 --> 00:30:10.319 where Paul says, 00:30:10.759 --> 00:30:11.200 when the fullness 00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:12.319 of time had come, 00:30:12.519 --> 00:30:13.779 God sent his son 00:30:13.779 --> 00:30:15.599 born of woman. 00:30:16.619 --> 00:30:18.099 What is Paul quoting 00:30:18.099 --> 00:30:18.339 from? 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:19.240 Genesis 3.15, 00:30:19.660 --> 00:30:20.319 the son 00:30:20.319 --> 00:30:21.579 born of woman. 00:30:21.579 --> 00:30:24.740 And I have lists here 00:30:24.740 --> 00:30:25.299 of passages 00:30:25.299 --> 00:30:26.119 from the New Testament 00:30:26.119 --> 00:30:28.319 speaking of the one 00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:29.299 born of woman. 00:30:30.439 --> 00:30:31.059 And the moment 00:30:31.059 --> 00:30:32.139 that Jesus Christ 00:30:32.139 --> 00:30:32.939 hung on the cross, 00:30:34.359 --> 00:30:37.899 Jesus Christ suffered 00:30:37.899 --> 00:30:39.179 at the hand 00:30:39.179 --> 00:30:40.480 of an ancient foe, 00:30:41.099 --> 00:30:41.519 the serpent. 00:30:43.319 --> 00:30:44.500 The serpent came 00:30:44.500 --> 00:30:45.759 and bit his heel. 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:46.539 The poison ran 00:30:46.539 --> 00:30:47.439 through his body. 00:30:48.139 --> 00:30:49.299 He bore our sin, 00:30:49.359 --> 00:30:49.899 our injustice, 00:30:50.179 --> 00:30:50.679 our shame, 00:30:50.680 --> 00:30:51.340 our guilt 00:30:51.340 --> 00:30:52.360 in that moment. 00:30:52.440 --> 00:30:53.220 And it crushed him. 00:30:54.340 --> 00:30:55.120 But you've got to understand 00:30:55.120 --> 00:30:55.840 that this is saying 00:30:55.840 --> 00:30:56.880 at the very same time 00:30:56.880 --> 00:30:58.060 the son of God came, 00:30:58.600 --> 00:30:59.279 Jesus Christ, 00:30:59.580 --> 00:31:00.480 and in that moment 00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:01.000 the shock, 00:31:01.100 --> 00:31:02.000 the scandal of the gospel 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:04.000 is that he was stomping 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:05.240 upon the head 00:31:05.240 --> 00:31:05.740 of the serpent. 00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:06.840 All evil. 00:31:06.920 --> 00:31:07.680 He came on the hunt. 00:31:08.080 --> 00:31:09.039 He first came on the hunt 00:31:09.039 --> 00:31:09.580 for the serpent 00:31:09.580 --> 00:31:10.539 and secondly, 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:11.200 in that moment 00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:12.160 he came on the hunt 00:31:12.160 --> 00:31:13.039 seeking you, 00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:14.759 drawing you, 00:31:14.840 --> 00:31:15.600 come out from hiding, 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:16.680 come and put your 00:31:16.680 --> 00:31:17.700 teary eyes 00:31:17.700 --> 00:31:18.380 in the shoulder 00:31:18.380 --> 00:31:18.960 of the father 00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:20.259 through the son 00:31:20.259 --> 00:31:21.340 by the spirit 00:31:21.340 --> 00:31:21.860 this morning. 00:31:23.319 --> 00:31:24.279 The first Adam 00:31:24.279 --> 00:31:25.279 blamed his wife 00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:26.819 and he blamed God. 00:31:26.880 --> 00:31:27.519 The second Adam 00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:28.059 took the blame. 00:31:29.980 --> 00:31:30.380 And so, 00:31:30.620 --> 00:31:32.180 as we close, 00:31:33.940 --> 00:31:35.819 don't forget 00:31:35.819 --> 00:31:37.360 that at the moment 00:31:37.360 --> 00:31:37.840 of the cross 00:31:37.840 --> 00:31:39.420 there was Mother Mary. 00:31:39.620 --> 00:31:39.860 Mary, 00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:41.259 sometimes as Protestants 00:31:41.259 --> 00:31:41.759 we forget. 00:31:42.480 --> 00:31:43.539 There was Mother Mary 00:31:43.539 --> 00:31:45.140 standing there 00:31:45.140 --> 00:31:46.640 looking up 00:31:46.640 --> 00:31:47.259 at her son. 00:31:47.259 --> 00:31:48.299 There she was. 00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:48.839 Mary, 00:31:49.700 --> 00:31:50.700 the new Eve 00:31:50.700 --> 00:31:53.539 with her eyes 00:31:53.539 --> 00:31:54.920 gazing upon her son 00:31:54.920 --> 00:31:55.839 and her savior, 00:31:56.019 --> 00:31:56.579 Jesus Christ 00:31:56.579 --> 00:31:57.500 hanging upon the cross. 00:31:58.339 --> 00:31:59.099 The seed of the woman 00:31:59.099 --> 00:32:00.700 right there 00:32:00.700 --> 00:32:01.180 in that moment. 00:32:02.680 --> 00:32:03.660 And that means 00:32:03.660 --> 00:32:04.960 that just like Mary 00:32:04.960 --> 00:32:06.000 looked at him today, 00:32:06.059 --> 00:32:06.799 you've got to look at him. 00:32:06.940 --> 00:32:07.440 Don't hide. 00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:08.359 Look, friends, 00:32:09.220 --> 00:32:10.180 whatever's going on, 00:32:10.920 --> 00:32:12.019 do not hide your heart 00:32:12.019 --> 00:32:12.680 from God today. 00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:16.560 He's telling you 00:32:16.560 --> 00:32:17.440 by the power 00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:18.299 of the cross 00:32:18.299 --> 00:32:20.140 come out 00:32:20.140 --> 00:32:21.180 from behind that tree. 00:32:23.180 --> 00:32:23.779 Be repentant, 00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:25.000 tearfully repentant. 00:32:26.060 --> 00:32:27.200 Put your head 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.700 in the shoulder 00:32:27.700 --> 00:32:28.240 of the Father 00:32:28.240 --> 00:32:28.900 through the power 00:32:28.900 --> 00:32:29.440 of the Son 00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:30.539 and come home. 00:32:32.120 --> 00:32:33.000 Come home today 00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:33.980 as we come to the table 00:32:33.980 --> 00:32:34.460 of our Lord. 00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:36.299 Let's pray. 00:32:36.420 --> 00:32:36.620 Father, 00:32:36.759 --> 00:32:37.880 we thank you 00:32:37.880 --> 00:32:39.640 for the proto-euangelion, 00:32:39.740 --> 00:32:40.940 the first gospel. 00:32:40.940 --> 00:32:42.960 and we ask, 00:32:43.100 --> 00:32:43.240 Lord, 00:32:43.640 --> 00:32:44.660 that you would bring 00:32:44.660 --> 00:32:45.500 sinners home today. 00:32:46.059 --> 00:32:46.559 We thank you 00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:47.400 for a tender Father, 00:32:47.500 --> 00:32:48.519 a Father full of mercy 00:32:48.519 --> 00:32:50.039 and so we ask, 00:32:50.180 --> 00:32:50.340 Lord, 00:32:50.539 --> 00:32:52.420 we ask, 00:32:52.519 --> 00:32:52.580 Lord, 00:32:52.620 --> 00:32:52.860 right now 00:32:52.860 --> 00:32:53.600 that you would show up 00:32:53.600 --> 00:32:54.519 and give us your mercy 00:32:54.519 --> 00:32:55.620 as we come to the table. 00:32:57.799 --> 00:32:58.580 We pray this 00:32:58.580 --> 00:32:59.320 in Jesus' name. 00:32:59.820 --> 00:33:00.100 Amen.