Genesis: A Portrait of Providence
If you're trying to read through the Bible this year, you're probably in Genesis right now. Genesis is a book of beginnings.… The beginning of the universe, the beginning of humanity, the beginning of evil and suffering, and the beginning of redemption. I also see Genesis as a book about providence—that God is working all things together for good.
Even as humans mess everything up (starting in chapter 3 and getting worse and worse and worse with each page), God—in the beautiful confluence of His goodness and His sovereignty—meets us where we are and chooses to rescue us from ourselves. As soon as evil enters our world, God decisively and definitively promises us He will undo it and make things right. He will send us a hero ("the woman's offspring") to undo the curse of sin. Yet, curiously, He accomplishes it through suffering. Even as the Son will crush the serpent’s head, He will also be crushed.
The rest of Genesis is a narrative tracing the path to the serpent-crushing Son. Along the way, we see God’s grace on display again and again. He often uses our weaknesses, our defeats, our struggles, and our trials to bring good despite evil, good in the midst of evil, and good that ultimately triumphs over the evil that precedes it. Genesis ends with one such story, a fitting conclusion to this gospel message. Joseph tells his brothers (who had previously caused him untold heartache by trafficking him to slave traders), “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…” And the good Joseph means here is their very own salvation. Despite their earlier intent to harm their own brother, who but God could turn their plans against them in a way so jarring, it becomes comical and unbelievable—and joyful beyond measure.
And that’s what God accomplishes in the gospel. The worst sin committed—the murder of God's Son, Christ Jesus—is also our very redemption. By giving His own Son for us to take our place on the cross, God makes the way for us to receive infinite mercy and grace. It was our sin that held Him there, until it was accomplished. His dying breath has brought us life; we know that it is finished.
