This Battle is Not Against Flesh and Blood

This week's lesson in my life comes from Genesis of all places.  It is a book that has a lot packed into it, but often I forget that and view it as an obscure book without much relevance...after all, the events it contains happened at least 4,000-6,000 years ago (if not even further back than that!).  However, Genesis is so timely and relevant.  We have the assurance from the New Testament in the Bible that "whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4).  All of Scripture is pertinent and necessary to our lives today!

A valuable treasure    

There is nothing contained in the Word of God that is meaningless or useless!  So Genesis has an importance--this book contains the creation of all things, the inauguration of marriage, the introduction of sin to the entire world, the fall of mankind from relationship with God, a sacrifice made to cleanse for sin, the promise of a Redeemer who would one day come and with His sacrifice remove the guilt of sin and offer eternal life (Hebrews 10:11-18), and countless other stories of men and women who served God, failed God, and were transformed by God.

It is a fascinating narrative of an incredible God.  In Genesis, we are introduced to God as Elohim (Creator - Genesis 1:2-3), El Elyon (God Most High - Genesis 14:18-24), El Roi (God Who Sees - Genesis 16), El Shaddai (the All-Sufficient One - Genesis 17:1-2).

That was a long and roundabout way to simply say that God taught me something in Genesis 3 yesterday.

Genesis 3

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'"

The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die!  For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"  He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."  And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"

The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate."  Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life; and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel."

To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you will bring forth children; yet your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

Our foe

First of all, "the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field" (vs. 1).  Satan is cunning and roams around, wanting to devour people and do them in (1 Peter 5:8).  Often I think that Satan is harmless or really not as powerful as he is, due to the fact that I do not see him with my eyes.  For the same reason I sometimes think that God is not all-powerful, merely because my physical eyes cannot see Him.  Yet Satan is powerful and God is all-powerful!

I must not be naïve and think that Satan really has no power.  The Bible teaches that our struggle is not merely a physical one, but "against the spiritual forces of wickedness" (Ephesians 6:12).  And elsewhere in Scripture, Satan is described as a murderer, who "does not stand in the truth", who is "a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44).  So if he prowls around, lies, kills, and destroys, then we have no hope, right?  Wrong.  God, who holds all power, being the Creator of everything, has made a way to defeat this serpent of old (Revelation 20:2).  One day Satan will be defeated once and for all (Revelation 20:10)!

What can anyone do?

However, what can we do in the meantime?  Ephesians 6:13-18 provide instructions for us to "put on the full armour of God, so that [we] will be able to resist".  We are to "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might" (Ephesians 6:10).  We alone do not have the strength in and of ourselves to resist Satan, but with Christ, we do have the power to resist.  Peter reminds us to "be on the alert" and to resist Satan, "firm in your faith" (1 Peter 5:8-9).  How can anyone be firm in your faith?  I believe this comes by the transformation that God's Word does in us--it renews our minds (Romans 12:2)!

Renewing

So spend time daily in the Word of God.  Ask Him to be with you and to help you live victoriously.  Memorize Scripture pertinent to your struggles and situation.  These all are things I need to regularly remind myself to do!  You're not alone in the struggle against sin 1 Corinthians 10:13.