Read Genesis 3
Darkness is everywhere.
It’s in Sudan. Ukraine. Gaza.
It’s there every morning the news reports another woman who didn’t get home safely the night before.
It’s in our personal conflicts.
And in my homeland, it’s literal since we are down to 8 hours of murky daylight at best.
Where did it all begin?
Genesis 3 gives us the origin of darkness.
Humanity.
Adam and Eve want to throw off God’s rule and choose their own path.
Sounds reasonable. Until we factor in which God we’re talking about. This is not an evil dictator who has created minions to serve his every need. This is a kind, loving, generous God who has created out of an overflow of love to give people a good life lived in relationship with him. And Adam and Eve knew this. They experienced this love daily as they walked with God in the most beautiful garden ever created. And yet they grasped for more.
Surely if we could just be God…
And that decision brought darkness into the world.
Humanity is the problem. And it’s not hard to believe that when we consider the examples I mentioned – war, murder, conflict. The problem is other people.
Isn’t it?!
It doesn’t require a great deal of personal honesty to admit things aren’t that simple… I may not be a warlord or a murderer, but I’m part of the problem. When I misread others’ words or actions out of my own insecurity, or snap because I’m having a bad day, or fail to meet others’ needs because I’m so wrapped up in myself, I’m contributing to the darkness that we all experience daily. Darkness isn’t just outside – it has wrapped its evil tentacles around my very soul and every day I experience its ugliness.
What hope is there?
Despite Genesis 3 being the place where we discover the origins of evil, it’s one of my favourite chapters of the Bible. Because it’s only in darkness that the true value of light can be known. And God responds to the evil Adam and Eve have invited into the world with three clear glimmers of light.
One
‘Where are you?’ v9
Let’s remind ourselves that God is all seeing and all knowing. As Adam and Eve hide behind the curtains like a pair of naughty toddlers, unaware that their legs are in full view of mum, God calls out ‘Where are you?!’ It’s not a question the Creator of the Earth needs an answer to. He’s fully aware of their location! Instead, this is a grace filled invitation to reconciliation. ‘Come out and tell the sorry story of what you’ve done. Don’t try and carry on whilst the truth in all its shame keeps threatening to jump out when your back is turned. Come and face up to it so we can start over. Yes, there will be consequences, but come.’
Two
I’ll send a Saviour v15
This isn’t a mess that Adam and Eve can fix. My own darkness isn’t a mess I can fix. We need help! And God, in his compassion and mercy, promises help immediately. One of Eve’s descendants will crush the head of the serpent – will crush and destroy evil itself. It’s not going to be easy, he will be struck himself in the process, but it will be done. This evil will be conquered. The darkness will be forced to give way to light.
Three
I’ll clothe you v21
I don’t know if you’ve ever had the ‘gone to work naked’ dream… It’s horror stems from shameful exposure, and we all know that isn’t limited to nakedness. Whenever we lose our temper, we want to say ‘that wasn’t me!’ and to make excuses for our behaviour. But it is us – we’ve simply been exposed for who we truly are when our social conditioning fails us. Our shame is exposed. For Adam and Eve, nakedness is the symbol of that. And in an act of incredible grace, God clothes them in animal skins. The first death of the Bible is an animal who is sacrificed to cover the shame of Adam and Eve. It points to a need we all have – for our shame to be covered – and to God’s gracious intention to meet that need.
Darkness enters the world. But God is immediately active in providing three clear glimmers of light. Which speaks to you most clearly today?
Reflect
What do you most need?
An invitation to come out of hiding
The help of a strong and capable Saviour
To have your shame covered
Susie lives in NE Fife and works in ministry. She loves being with friends, feeding people and half finished creative projects.
