She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he at it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked. ~~Genesis 3: 6b, 7

That evening, in the cool of the day the Bible says, God came down. Adam and his wife were afraid and they hid themselves. Of course, to no avail. God called out, man answered, and the handing down of the punishment for disobedience began. Yet, even in His disappointment, God granted a reprieve. To the serpent, he said:

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. ~~Genesis 3:15

The first prophecy of the Messiah’s victory over Satan was spoken. Though man would not physically live forever, there would be salvation for his soul. Another tree would enter the picture.

A Tree on A Hillside Called Calvary

Thousands of years passed. God’s story of dealing with mankind was filled with both worship and apostasy. God’s people, the Hebrew nation, had been brought into the land God had promised their ancestor, Abraham. They had conquered it and lost it, conquered it and lost it. The land was called Israel, the people were called Jews and they were both under the authority of the Roman government.

In a small Galilean village called Nazareth, a young boy had grown to be a man. He worked as a carpenter, as his father had before him. About that time, along the hillsides and in the villages the people were talking about a preacher with wild hair and strange clothes. A rabbi who shouted “Repent and be baptized!”

The carpenter, named Jesus, now knew that the time was right. It was time to lay down the tools of his earthly father and enter in to the work of His Heavenly Father. For the next three-plus years, He would walk from village to village, bringing the Good News. He would lay hands on the sick and they would recover. He would speak to demons and they would flee. He would touch the dead and they would live again.