Anchor Devotional

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The Endangered Promise

“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.” Genesis 3:15

In the first book of the Bible, God promised an offspring who would one day conquer the serpent, Satan. The promise was profound; the threats to it endless. There would be betrayal, murder, barren wombs, slavery, and crucifixion before it would be fulfilled.

The book of Judges can feel depressing for readers because the greatest threat in the hand of Satan was God’s own people and their wayward hearts. But with the despair in the book of Judges, there also was hope. The judges God appointed to deliver His people—Old Testament saviors, if you will—were never sufficient. They only saved some, and only for a time. They only saved from foreign enemies, not from the deadly poison of their own depravity. Of course, the judges themselves needed a savior for their sin.

How would God’s promise prevail when every human hand failed to save? We’re much better at rebelling and crucifying than we are at worshipping. For the promise to hold through the ages, it would have to be upheld by God Himself. We see exactly how He does so in the book of Ruth.

SCRIPTURE FOCUS
Genesis 3:1-15

INSIGHT
The promises of God are maintained by the power of God, and His power is our unfailing hope.

THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Numbers 1-2
Psalm 61
John 1

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