Genesis 3:15 (NIV84)
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Have you ever played the "blame game?" It goes like this... Someone confronts you for something you've done, but instead of saying "I'm sorry", you tag someone else with being at fault. Step into most marriage counseling sessions and one thing becomes very obvious -- husbands and wives are very good at pointing at each other rather than themselves. It's not just husbands and wives, though, is it? We live in a world where no one wants to own up to their own actions. It's always someone else's fault or problem, and accountability is a fleeting concept at best.
Adam and Eve are a prime example, aren't they? Today’s passage rises from an interview in the garden of Eden between God, Adam and Eve, and the treacherous serpent. When confronted with his sin, Adam blamed Eve. Ultimately, he put the responsibility upon God himself stating, “the woman you gave me...” Eve similarly rationalized, charging, “the serpent deceived me.” Adam and Eve were guilty. They had eaten from the tree God commanded them not to. They had listened to the master of lies rather than the God of truth. Then they had the gumption to blame someone else for their sins! They deserved to be punished for their actions!
The truth is, someone needed to be punished for the sins of the first man and woman. Instead of crushing them with eternal punishment, God, in our text, punished the serpent, Satan. He proclaimed a promise for all mankind -- I myself will see to it Satan, that you are held accountable and are crushed by my very own Son, Jesus.
My friend, isn't this the promise that Old Testament believers clung to day after day, year after year? The Savior would one day come. The God of all grace and truth kept his promise! In what looked like a failure to the world, the perfect Christ dying on the cross was nothing short of a crushing blow to Satan. It was the fulfillment of his Genesis 3:15 promise. Isn't the death and resurrection of Christ what we cling to day after day, year after year? You and I should be held accountable for our sins. But instead, God cast them on Christ, and he became sin for us. Your sins and mine were nailed to the cross, and Jesus was crushed in death for us. My Christian friend, cling to the cross of Calvary this Lenten season, for in the death and resurrection of Christ, you and I find our victory!
PRAYER: Dear Savior, Help me cling to the cross every day of my life. I deserve the punishment for my sin, but instead, your promise of old came true in Christ, crushing Satan and forgiving me. Give me the courage to say no to Satan, the trust to lean on you alone, and the faith to know I'm forgiven and loved by you. Amen.