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Introduction
9 Weeks – Behold the Lamb of God
Objective:A Biblical Theology of Christ in the Old Testament orienting us toward Advent of Christ.
Biblical Theology is simply connecting across the Bible in progressive nature. Trace through the Bible, connecting various of dots between the OT and the Coming of Christ.
Resources:draw from Behold the Lamb by Russ Ramsey taken from Andrew Peterson’s CD. The Jesse Tree….Jesus Story Book Bible
When in your life have you had the greatest sense of anticipation? (marriage, having a baby, moving to another country, opening presents at Christmas)
Everything changes. Life is completely different since his arrival. New Center.
What causes us to lose our sense of anticipation or delight?(mundane, reality/loss of naiveté, new delights, lose of a sense of need)
1) But we forget what life was like before. Longing to have a spouse, living off of roman and frozen pizza.
2) We take things foregranted. See your wife, children everyday. It is helpful to remind ourselves of what life was like before we had this blessing.
3) Distraction – love and focus elsewhere
4) Loss of a sense of need
In the same way, our hearts can become shallow toward central events/doctrines in the Christian faith. If we begin with the nativity scene we will miss how climatic this event is.
THIS IS OUR AIM: Examine Life before Christ Coming into the World and See our Life Through that Lens.
Prayer
Class #1: Undoing and Fulfilling the Curse – Genesis 3:15
Good theology is intended to creating singing. Theology/doctrine that can’t be sung is not from the Bible. Isaac Watts was filled with the hope of the promise of Genesis 3 that moved him to sing of the glory of Christ coming when he wrote in Joy to the World.
No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make
His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Need a rootedness in the joy of Christmas. Otherwise our Christmas will easily be ruined as we are bound to more of a cultural fascination with a holiday celebration.
1) Getting to the Root of our Apathy by Acknowledging the Curse and our Bruises
Illustration: Do you have days where you wake up soar and are completely frustrated because you forgot why you feel that way? Then you remember oh yeah I did extra exercising and helped a friend move a two days ago.
Need to see the devastating effects of sin on our world
First pronouncement of the Gospel is found in Genesis 3:15 – Focus here but it is here where we come to understand the problems in our world. Before we look at the passage:
Where do you see the curse play out most clearly in our world? (news, family brokenness, ourselves, work, education system, other countries, etc)
Context of Gen 3:15: Creation and fall
Open to Genesis 1 – What are the repeated refrains in God creating the earth? (And God said Let there be, “and there was evening and there was morning, the ____ day, and God saw that it was good/beautiful. ALSO –According to their kind (order) (VERSE 11, 12(twice), 21 (twice), 24 (twice), 25 (three)) (refains showpower, order, beauty)
TRANSITION:Verse 26 –Man made his image/after his kind-Shows:Center and Value
Creation (making what he intends) -glorious colors and shapes are flung across the sky
-Given great freedom in work and enjoyment….but also given a Prohibition
-GREAT ADVERSARY APEARS ON THE SCENE:Fall into Sin -----Satan, Eve, Adam
Read Gen 3:14-19 -
What is the consequence for each party?
The curse in general (Note ONLY THE SERPENT IS CURSED –not the man or woman)
-Adam: Ground cursed, therefore labor becomes curse, death & return to ground
-Woman: pain in childbirth, conflict in marriage
-Serpent: Crawl on belly, eat dust, enmity with woman & offspring, bruised on head (i.e. fatally)
In looking at these verses what ways has the curse affected the world? How could we categorize these? (world, work, family/relationships, opposition toward the people of God….preceding verses – Shame and humiliation)
The curse of the serpent (Focus- chiastic structure)
-1) Enmity, personal hostility (Hebrew at front of sentence), emphatic Hebrew noun that communicates an intense, hostile intent to the point of murder. That is what Satan has tried to do: by enticing Adam and Eve to break the command, he was wanting to bring upon them eternal death(the penalty of the CoW). So this will be a cosmic, bloody war between these two seeds.
2)Enmity extends to seed ([r;z), i.e. posterity, descendants. (word for offspring)
[r;z<
-Used 229 times in OT, 59 of which are in Gen. First used of plants, but becomes significant re: humans.It is used in genealogies (structure of Genesis) and similar contexts where offspring are mentioned
-Collective singular—singular noun that can refer to groups. This use common in references to one’s descendants. But can also refer to an individual (Gen 4:25- Seth)
-But it is a masculine singular noun here, & translated that way in LXX.
-. But it can also refer to spiritual seeds, as it is ultimately used in Rom 4:13 and Gal 3, referring to Jesus and the church as Abraham's “offspring” / seed
Seed of Satan: Spiritual descendants(not merely physical- those of faith are Abraham’s descendance but reflected from Esau: EDOMITES) who are wicked and opposed to God's will. He will produce “children” who continue to do what he tried to do: take out the people of God. We see this, for instance, when Jesus rebukes the Pharisees and says that they are “children of the Devil”
Seed of the Woman: The redeemer-Seed will come through childbirth, descending from the woman (there is physical dimension). We see this when Luke ties Jesus' genealogy to Adam. But there is also a spiritual aspect of this seed as well: elect believers who obey God.
Transition: we consider the curse consequences of sin, the ongoing death match between the seeds.
What is unexpected about this passage? Or another way to ask it is: What makes this conflict so good? (“I will put” –God’s sovereignty but also by the power of his word creates relationship- I will establish my covenant with you, God’s grace in initiation, judgment of death delayed, he does not leave them to themselves, friendship to enmity to friendship, death blow-not unresolved conflict)
“This is the unexpected wonder of Christmas in its very first form” Boice
God gives promise immediately after the sin, expect only judgment, R.C. Sproul says “God graciously converts the depraved woman’s affections from Satan to Himself.”
Also the Satan’s hatred of Eve was already present but what is great is that now God is granting to Eve and her seed a hatred toward Satan which will serve as means of preservation.
There would be a never-broken line of fighters against the serpent.
-One “seed” will bruise the serpent on the head, while the serpent will bruise the “seed” on the heel.
- Bruise on heel indicates relatively superficial injury
- Bruise on head indicates serious, likely fatal injury. Clearly the worse of the two!
The “seed” in Genesis, rest of OT
-Like plants, mankind will produce seed, but of 2 kinds: seed of the woman, the godly line, and seed that’s actually offspring of the serpent. Dividing lines in humanity.
Example: Cain and Able descendants (text God raise up Seth to replace Able and the line is preserved…Gen 5- Traces the godly line from Seth to Noah)
****God is blessing is people, preserving the line through persecution and infertility, and disobedience of his people to grant his people faith.
2) Getting to the Root of our Celebration by Acknowledging Christ Victory
How has Christ fulfilled this promise? (serpent crusher, atonement, destruction of evil one)
1)The lineage in jeopardy: Moses to Christ– Matthew 2:16
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.
Whenever you see the world’s hatred of Christ or of you, rejoice at the coming of Christ!
2)Temptation of Christ:Garden to Wilderness – Luke 4:9-13
And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,
for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’ and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Whenever your see you own hatred for sin, rejoice at the coming of Christ!
3)The Cross and Resurrection – Death to Resurrection Where Christ was bruised!
Col. 2:13-15
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”
Whenever you see/remember the death of a saint, rejoice at the coming of Christ!
4)The Christian’s Triumph -Serpent’s Deceit to Final Doom: Romans 16:20 and Revelation 12:10-12
Paul in Romans: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
John: ““Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
Christ victory paved the way for victory. Matthew 12:29 (Satan bound) and again in Rev 20 ----this includes the idea that the Nations will no longer be deceived.
Application:
How do you live in such a way as though the curse has not entered the world?
How does the Curse and Promise of Genesis 3:15 effect our view of Christ’ First coming?
How would viewing this world through the lens of the curse cause you greater delight in his first coming and greater anticipation for his second coming of Christ?
The Seed of the Woman
Horatius Bonar
Meek and lowly,
Pure and holy,
Poor and needy,
Veiled in flesh from human eye,
All thy heavenly majesty,
King of glory, Though art come
From Thy high celestial home.
Thee manifest in flesh we know;
At Thy cradle would we bow,
Child of promise, Virgin’s Son,
Heir of the eternal home.
Here the woman’s seed we see,
Babe of Bethlehem, in Thee;
Bearer of our awful load,
Son of man, yet Son of God.
Christ our Lord and King, to Thee
Everlasting glory be!
Prayer
From Brian’s Notes
God Provides for them (v. 20-24)
- God made garments of skins
- God forced them out of the garden
Application Why would God have to banish them from the peaceful garden?
(v. 22) explains that it would be dangerous for them to continue in this state in the garden, b/c they could eat of the tree of life and remain in this state of sin eternally. Therefore, God is gracious to them by removing them from the garden and protect them from completely destroying themselves.
Consequences of the fall: the image of God distorted, all mankind is born in sin, separation from God, broken relationships, death, curse placed on man, and nature, etc.
Certainty of the promise: Even though man has sinned against the command of God and sought his own way to determine what is best for him God remains faithful. He promises a seed, who will overcome the serpent and sin to redeem sinful man. Christ came as that promised seed to crush the head of the serpent and destroy death. As Heb. 2:14-15 says, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” It is evident that the consequences of the fall are extensive and vast in the way they have twisted man and all of creation. But, God graciously provides hope in the midst of the disobedience of man by a certain promise that was fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. This day we must face our fallen sinfulness for what it is and yet at the same moment run to the promised Savior in Gen. 3:15, who brings lasting redemption and finally will make all things new!
Additional Study notes
-Genesis structured around toledot’s, “these are the generations of”—it traces development of humanity, both godly and ungodly seed.
Prologue: Creation1:1-2:3
Toledot of the heavens and the earth2:4-4:26
Toledot of Adam5:1-6:8
Toledot of Noah 6:9-9:29
Toledot of Shem, Ham, and Japheth10:1-11:9
Toledot of Shem11:10-26
Toledot of Terah 11:27-25:11
Toledot of Ishmael25:12-18
Toledot of Isaac 25:19-35:29
Toledot of Esau36:1-37:1
Toledot of Jacob 37:2-50:26
Why so many genealogies in Gen—showing how the two lines developed, spread out over earth
-Ch 4: first conflict between the two, as Cain murders Abel. Score 1 for seed of serpent, seed of woman appears in danger.
-4:25 birth of Seth; Eve: “God has appointed for me another offspring ([r;z)”
- See right away development of ungodly line of Cain (4:16-24, incl Lamech), godly line of Seth (4:25-ch 5, note 4:26 “men began to call on name of YHWH”)
- Not that everybody descended from Seth was blvr and everyone descended from Cain wasn’t, but general pattern of godly and ungodly line
-Worship originates in godly line, ungodly line continues into more wickedness, e.g. Lamech
-Godly line gets narrowed down: to Noah, to Shem, to Abraham, to Isaac (not Ishmael), to Jacob (not Esau). At beginning of Genesis Θ’s dealing with all of humanity, in ch 12 just one family (Abraham’s), but by end that one family is becoming nation. Rest of OT will deal mostly with Θ’s dealings with that one nation, then things broaden again in NT.
And, conversely, the woman’s seed shall crush the serpent’s head. Therein is present, in principle, the doctrine of the atonement. The evil one and the power of evil can be overcome only if they are permitted to harm their foes. It had to be permitted that the serpent wound the woman’s seed in the heel. The serpent has to bite His heel and so pour the poison of death into Him, so that He becomes the serpent lifted up (John 3:14–15). But just because the serpent strikes at His heel with its bite, He has been given the opportunity to bring down His heel on its head. It can strike Him only from below, that is, in such a position that it becomes possible for Him to kill it when it bites. This is linked to the curse pronounced on it: “On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life” [Gen 3:14]. Because sin is cursed, the serpent can kill, but because it kills from the power of a curse and not by a blind law of nature, the possibility exists that killing by sin becomes the killing of sin. Since the serpent bites in the heel from the earth, it can be pushed down into the earth by the heel of the Serpent Trampler and crushed.
Key themes as this battle unfolds ◦
Lineage vs. jeopardy: the seed of the woman unfolds through reproduction, but it is
also a spiritual descent. At times, we will see that the seed can be in jeopardy through
an attack on reproduction / barrenness.
◦Blessing vs. Curse: note that “curse” is only applied to Satan. We think of the “curse”
of the fall upon man and woman, and there is a sense this is correct. But the Hebrew only applies curse to the wicked seed. This will be notable as this key word reappears. In contrast, the righteous seed is continually blessed.
◦Wicked vs. righteous in conflict: note the priority here – the seed of the Serpent will strike first (and continuously), and he will inflict much damage, but the seed of the woman will prevail (ultimately).
◦Separation vs. Blurriness: finally, note that the enmity assumes a firm separation between the two seeds; however, Adam and Eve have already succumbed to the wicked seed once, and that trend of “blurring” the lines between the seeds will reappear.
◦Sight vs. faith: how was Eve first tempted? Gen 3:6 - “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes.” The seed of the serpent will live by sight. The seed of the woman will live by faith.