Hope through the Storm

FIRST PROMISE

12/25/2022

She lifted her face to the sun, shielding her eyes from the light. A hint of dampness hung in the fresh morning air, still fragrant with dew. She reached her hand upward, considering the lush fruit. “Ah... That one,” she whispered to no one, plucking the biggest piece and admiring its perfection. A smile played at the corners of her mouth as she bit into the pear, juicy and sweet.

She continued her walk, wandering among the trees along the river. An eagle flew overhead; she could hear its wings cut the air as it passed. Grasses reached toward the sky. Brilliant colours of wildflowers filled the fields.

The world was still a beautiful place. A different kind of beautiful. Not like before. A tinge of sadness touched her heart. Very beautiful, yes. But not like before.

Footsteps pounded on the path ahead. Someone was coming. She darted off the trail into the thick growth and crouched low. Adam had warned her not to go so far.

She peered through the leaves till she saw a young man round the turn. She held her breath. Had he seen her? Her heart beat faster.

But the young man passed by quickly, without even a glance in her direction. Still, she stayed hidden, not daring to move until he was long out of sight.

An image flashed before her: another time she’d crouched in the bushes to hide …

“Where are you?” the voice called.

She hunched lower, but Adam stood and answered. “I heard you coming, and I was afraid.”
It was their first fear. Their first shame.

She saw her husband’s terrified eyes, the creases in his brow, his pathetic stance—head lowered and shoulders slumped. Pitiful.

Then it hit her—did she look that way too?

Inside her was a feeling she’d never known before, like something was in there—something evil, roiling and churning; laughing; taunting; loving her for yielding; hating her.

“The woman you gave me,” Adam was saying. “She did it. She took the fruit and gave it to me. That’s why I ate it.”

“What have you done?” God asked her now.

She stood slowly, not daring to look at Him. “It wasn’t my fault. The serpent tricked me.” She hated the lie. But the truth was so despicable... unspeakable. She’d chosen to disobey.

The voice of God sounded above the battle within her. He cursed the ground because of Adam’s sin. The soil would not be as fertile as before and Adam would have to work hard his whole life to get it to produce enough for their survival.

God cursed her because of her sin. She would have many pregnancies, and the births would be excruciating for her. Her family, while bringing her much joy, would now bring much sorrow, too.

But it was what He said to the serpent that affected her most. “ … You will bruise Him, but He will crush you.” The first promise of a Saviour.

Their Creator looked on her and Adam with compassion. They were completely depraved. Completely guilty. Completely condemned. Completely helpless. Their very lives—their eternal souls—hung in the balance, utterly dependent on His mercy. It wasn’t till later that she came to understand this better.

Then the Lord God killed a spotless lamb and made clothes for them to cover their shame. But these coverings couldn’t take away their sin. This lamb couldn’t purify their blackened hearts. The Creator would send another Lamb, the perfect sacrifice, one day. Someone who would take on their sin and clothe them in His righteousness, instead. Someone who would cleanse their hearts and restore them to their God. This was His promise.

Adam believed the promise. She believed it too. Because of their faith, they were redeemed.

Everything had changed that day. Driven from their paradise, they would never again see their garden home. They had to make their way in a fallen world. Strife and sorrow followed them; pain and heartache. They tried to honour God; they taught their children of the Creator and of redemption; they taught their children’s children. But they were sinful parents, and their children were sinful. The generations became more and more corrupt—hating God; forsaking His truth—until evil enslaved most of humanity. The population increased, and society advanced and flourished; but so did wickedness. It grieved her heart. How much more must it grieve the heart of God?

Eve left her place in the undergrowth and started for home. She still saw the blood of that innocent lamb, poured out for her. Even after all these years, the Creator's promise was still her hope. She knew a Saviour would come, born of her seed. For a long time, she’d thought it would be her—that she would be the mother of God’s chosen One. By now, she knew that wasn’t to be.

Eve would never see that perfect substitute. It would be centuries before the promise would be fulfilled in One called Jesus. He would be born in a stable in Bethlehem.

Sweet baby whose purpose on earth was not to be adored in a manger ...

... but to die on a cross.

It was the Creator’s plan from before the beginning:

Jesus, Emmanuel—God from eternity past—who was there at creation, forming man from the dust; who was there in the garden, pronouncing the curse. Yet He would become flesh and blood—a man, Himself. He would walk the earth with the fallen race. But He would still be God, the righteous One, the Messiah.

He would live a life without sin. His holiness would make him the only worthy substitute. His blood would provide atonement for Eve and for all her descendants who believed and repented of their sin, as she did. He would bring forgiveness to those who trusted in Him. Redemption... Restoration to the Father.

He is the spotless Lamb. The perfect sacrifice. The Promised One.

The hope of Eve and all mankind.

From Winter
Copyright © 2022 by Sandra Grace

The Book of Genesis doesn’t say it was a lamb that God killed, just that He made garments of skins for the man and the woman.

The beginning of ‘First Promise’—the story of Eve later in life—is fiction. The retelling of the curse follows the account in Genesis 3; however, Eve’s thoughts and feelings here are speculation and are not recorded in the Bible.

Read the true account of Eve and the first promise of a Saviour in Genesis 2 & 3; the Saviour's sacrifice for us in Isaiah 53; His birth in Luke 2.

0 Comments

THE ARK

2/21/2022

0 Comments

The book of Genesis gives the historical account of a worldwide flood. Humanity had become so corrupt that it grieved the heart of God, so much so that He would eliminate them from the earth. The rains would come, He promised, destroying all land creatures and all mankind.

Yet there was one man among the masses who honoured Him, and the Lord would spare that man and his family. In His mercy, God provided an escape. He directed the man to build it. It was there for anyone who would turn from evil and trust in Him.

An ark.

God had specific instructions concerning the ark, for both its design and its contents. He waited a long time—possibly 75 years—for Noah to build it and make it ready, all the while extending grace to everyone, opportunity for them to repent of their wickedness.

Out of all the earth (population probably 4–10 billion), only eight people were saved from the crushing waters: the man, his wife, his three sons, and his sons' wives. They were the only ones who acknowledged their plight, believed God’s promise, and accepted His invitation into the safety of the ark. The rest were swept away.

The ark took the pounding of God’s judgment.
The ark was the family's only refuge in the fierce storm.
The ark provided their every need: food, water, warmth, rest.
The ark was secure. Through the raging tempest, it held them.
The ark was their salvation; it brought them through unharmed.

There's a striking similarity between those people of the pre-flood world and us today, their plight and ours. God is still merciful and longsuffering; but as with them, He's promised us a judgment to come. Count on it.

For us, too, He's provided an escape—only one. A refuge. Protection. Provision. Security. Salvation. Offered to all who trust and repent.

Our Ark is Jesus.

Genesis 6: 5–8 & 7:1. “The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The LORD said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land ... for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
“Then the LORD said to Noah, ‘Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time.’” (NASB)

Genesis 7:17–23. “Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered. The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died ... and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark.” (NASB)

1 Peter 3:20. “... when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.” (ESV)

Romans 10:13. “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (ESV)

Luke 13:5. “... I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (ESV)

Acts 3:19. “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.” (ESV)

Romans 5:6, 8 & 9. “For while we were still weak ... Christ died for the ungodly ... but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” (ESV)

References:
Calculations of pre-flood world population
Pre-flood conditions and estimated world population
Years to build the ark

Leave your comment here, or message me privately at
[email protected]

0 Comments

SON OF GOD. SON OF MAN

12/24/2021

1 Comment

The baby’s cries break the stillness of the night. His little fists flail as his mother unwraps him and changes the soiled strips of cloth for fresh swaddling bands. She pulls him closer and coos softly to quiet him. The rustle of hay in the stalls...the lowing of cattle...the pounding of hooves in the dirt are the music of a lullaby. She strokes his velvet cheek. She smiles into his pinched, round face and marvels at his newborn perfection. “Beautiful boy,” she whispers.

Her baby is much like any other baby. He cries when he’s hungry; he shivers when he’s cold; he soothes at the sound of her voice and snuggles into her embrace. In time, he’ll learn to crawl. He’ll pull himself awkwardly to his feet and take his first steps. He’ll stumble and fall; she’ll wipe his tears and clean his scrapes. He’ll curl up on her lap as she teaches him the Scriptures. He’ll study math and practice shaping his letters. He’ll learn and grow like every other child.

But this baby’s not like any other. Her baby is the Holy Son of Yahweh. This little one, born into poverty, is King, master and owner of the universe. These cries are the voice that spoke the world into existence. This helpless infant is the God who formed man out of the dust and breathed life into his lungs.

He is Emmanuel (God with us), stepped down from the splendour of Heaven into this world of evil and hate, sickness and sorrow. He’s taken on the form of the fallen ones, His created. One of us, living among us.

Sinless One, subjecting Himself to imperfect parents. Omniscient One, under instruction by fallible minds. The Omnipotent, restricted by hunger, fatigue, pains, mental and physical ends. He is deity wrapped in flesh; spirit confined to a body; the eternal set in time; holiness amidst depravity; limitless bound by the laws of physics.

Still, He is El Shaddai (all Sufficient One), Adonai (the Lord), El Elyon (the God Most High), and the Great I Am.

He is born to die, this innocent one—the Lamb, the perfect sacrifice—to suffer the wrath of God that sinful man deserves. Saviour. Redeemer.

All this, He chooses for a purpose decreed in eternity past: salvation, freely offered to all; forgiveness, granted to those who repent.

But death will not be the end. He is Yeshua, the risen Lord. The Life. Victor over the tomb and conqueror of the grave. He will sit at the right hand of His Father in Heaven—alive evermore. El Olam (Everlasting God).

He is Jesus, the Lion of Judah, the Judge, fierce and righteous. Sing praise and honour, glory and majesty forever to the King of kings, Saviour God.

This little one...the promised Messiah.

...Child like no other, her beautiful boy.

John 1:14. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

1 Corinthians 15:3 & 4. “… Christ died for our sin according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…”

Philippians 2: 10 & 11. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow ... and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord ...”

Revelation 4:8. “... Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”

Revelation 4:11. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

Revelation 5:12. “... Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.”

Leave your comments here, or message me privately at
[email protected]

1 Comment