Gênesis 3

Gênesis 3

MacArthur - This “first gospel” is prophetic of the struggle and its outcome between “your seed” (Satan and unbelievers, who are called the Devil’s children in Jn 8:44) and her seed (Christ, a descendant of Eve, and those in Him), which began in the garden. In the midst of the curse passage, a message of hope shone forth—the woman’s offspring called “He” is Christ, who will one day defeat the Serpent. Satan could only “bruise” Christ’s heel (cause Him to suffer), while Christ will bruise Satan’s head (destroy him with a fatal blow). Paul, in a passage strongly reminiscent of [Ge 3], encouraged the believers in Rome, “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly” (Ro 16:20). Believers should recognize that they participate in the crushing of Satan because, along with their Savior and because of His finished work on the cross, they also are of the woman’s seed. For more on the destruction of Satan [Heb 2:14,15 Rev 20:10]. (See context in The MacArthur Bible Commentary) Adrian Rogers - The first gospel sermon that was ever preached was preached by God himself in the Garden of Eden—the congregation, Adam and Even. You want to hear the first gospel sermon ever preached? Here it is. Genesis 3:15. Because the searching led to a Savior, and, I want you to see, the first gospel sermon ever preached. This is the seed bed of all Bible prophecy. Almost all of the Bible is wrapped up in Genesis 3:15. And God says, "And I will put enmity between Thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, it shall, bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel." There are three things in this verse I want you to see. First of all, a battle is prophesied. Secondly, a birth is prophesied. Thirdly, a bruising is prophesied. In Genesis 3:15. First of all, a battle is prophesied. God says, I'm going to put warfare serpent. I'm going to put warfare between your seed and the seed of the woman. I will put enmity between you, your seed and the woman. A battle enmity means warfare, ha, and what God was doing right now is declaring war on the devil and declaring wrong sin, and war has been declared, and God has thrown down the gauntlet, and there is a continuing battle between righteousness and unrighteousness, between Heaven and Hell, between sin and evil, between light and darkness, between Christ and Antichrist. The seed of a woman and the seed of a serpent. There is a battle and that invisible war is raging on American soil and that battle is being taught in this congregation this morning as I am pleading for the souls of men. There is a battle with no holds barred. It is a fight to the death, warfare. And, I want to tell you who's going to win, and it's not the devil. Amen. Ha, He must prevail, He cannot fail, our great God. Amen. But, here is a battle prophesied. But go on. There's a birth that is prophesied. Look again, if you will in verse 15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman. Now watch it, between thy seed, and her seed." S E E D, her seed. Ha, now, the old rabbi's used to read this and scratch their heads because this is an unusual verse. The seed of the woman. Now, if you know anything about Bible language, you know the Bible always speaks of the seed of the man. The seed for procreation is in the man. The egg for fertilization is in the woman. And so the Bible speaks of the seed of the man, the seed of a man, more than one hundred times. But, in this place, in this place only it speaks of the seed of the woman. What's our Lord talking about? Over here in the dawn of human history He's pointing to the virgin birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There would be coming one who would be the seed of the woman. "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and be with child. And thou shalt call his name Emanuel, which being interpreted is God with us." Here, our Lord looks down at the war and then He looks at the way that He's going to accomplish the war and He's going to look at His mighty victor. That one who was God himself who would become man and be born of a virgin and through man He is going to destroy him who is the devil. Now, God could just (claps) like that and destroy the devil. God says I'm going to do it another way. I'm going to become a man. And as man, that the devil has tried to ruin, I'm going to destroy you, devil. It is the seed of the woman. You see, why did Jesus have to be born of a virgin? Why the virgin birth? You take away the virgin birth and your hope of Heaven collapses like a house of cards. Why the virgin birth? You see, we need a substitute and in order to be our substitute, God had to become a man. But, further more, we need a sinless substitute, and in order for Jesus to have been sinless and not to have inherited the sinful nature of Adam, He had to be born of a virgin. And so, therefore, we have a perfect sinless substitute provided by the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. The seed of the woman. The seed of a woman. See here in Genesis 3:15 how a battle is prophesied. There is a warfare going on. See how a birth is prophesied? One of these days the seed of the woman, the Lord God Emanuel is going to step out of Heaven, down to this earth and be born as a man and fulfill the prophesies that says there's one God and one mediator between God and man himself man, Christ Jesus. A man who will die for us. The seed of the woman, But, I want you to notice something else. Not only was there a battle prophesied and not only was there a birth prophesied but there was a bruising prophesied and here in Genesis 3:15, God says that the seed of the serpent is going to bruise the seed of the woman in the heel. Look at it again. And God says, "it shall bruise thy head and thou," the serpent, "shall bruise his heel." What's he talking about? He is talking here about what happened to the Lord Jesus when He came into this world. You see, where does a serpent strike? Right there in the heel. And here is this withering, slithering, vile serpent that reaches out with those fangs and fastens those fangs upon the Lord Jesus Christ and injects into the Lord Jesus the bitter, burning, venom of sin, and the old serpent strikes at Jesus. And bruises His heel. Him who knew no sin, God hath made to be sin for us. And the Bible says He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. He was, the Lord Jesus. And He took that terrible, vile, awful venom, the precious perfect, cleansed holy Savior, not cleansed, He never needed to be cleansed. The holy Savior took the venom of sin. That is a prophecy of the first coming of Jesus because He came into the world the first time to die and the serpent bruised His heel. But, go back and look in verse 15. It says, "and her seed, it, the seed of a woman will bruise thy head." Ha ha, there's coming a time at the second coming of Jesus when our mighty Lord coming in power will crush the serpent's head. That's the Second Coming of Jesus, when He comes again. You see, what a wonderful prophesy this is. His incarnation and His carnation are prophesied here. You see the bruising of the serpent's head is still out in the future. Oh, I realize that the power of the devil was broken at the cross but I want you to know that he is going to be crushed. You see, the devil's still at work today. Don't get the idea that the devil is inoperative today. The devil is doing his dirty work but there's coming a time, just put in your margin, Romans 16:20. I love this verse. Romans 16:20. Here's what Paul told of those saints who were at Rome who were suffering, under the iron boot of Esaias. Here's what Paul told them. And he said, "and the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." "The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet." Now, wait a minute, wait a minute, who is going to bruise the devil? Jesus or us? The answer is yes. Yes. You see, here's the great thing. Man, when we got saved, we became a part of the body of Christ. I am in Him and He is in me. And we are going to participate with our Lord in that victory. And when He reigns, we will reign with Him. Some ladies were talking about the body of Christ and where they would like to be since we are members of His body. One woman said, I'd like to be His great heart and love as He loved. Another said, I like to be His eyes and to be able to see and understand as He understands. Another said, I'd like to be His ears and know and learn as He learns. One little old saint who had a hard time all of her life, the devil had been giving her what for so long, said I want to be one of His feet, bruise the devil when he comes. Friend, we will. (CLICK for his sermons on Genesis 3) Related Resources: The Significance of Genesis 3:15 - Ligonier Ministries Don Stewart : What Does Genesis 3:15 Mean? Prophecies of the Birth of Christ - Bible.org The Messianic Hope of Genesis: The Protoevangelium - Jared M. August in Themelios Hope Through the Curse - John MacArthur C H Spurgeon calls Genesis 3:15 The Bible’s First Promise - THIS is the first promise to fallen man. It contains the whole gospel and the essence of the covenant of grace. It has been in great measure fulfilled. The seed of the woman, even our Lord Jesus, was bruised in His heel, and a terrible bruising it was. How terrible will be the final bruising of the serpent’s head! This was virtually done when Jesus took away sin, vanquished death, and broke the power of Satan; but it awaits a still fuller accomplishment at our Lord’s second advent and in the day of judgment. To us the promise stands as a prophecy that we shall be afflicted by the powers of evil in our lower nature, and thus bruised in our heel: but we shall triumph in Christ, who sets His foot on the old serpent’s head. Throughout this year we may have to learn the first part of this promise by experience, through the temptations of the devil, and the unkindness of the ungodly who are his seed. They may so bruise us that we may limp with our sore heel; but let us grasp the second part of the text, and we shall not be dismayed. By faith let us rejoice that we shall still reign in Christ Jesus, the woman’s seed. (Faith's Checkbook) Enmity (0342)('eybah or 'ebah from 'ayab = to be hostile) is feminine noun meaning hostility, animosity, ill will or hatred. It denotes the blood-feud that runs deepest in the heart of man. In most of its occurrences it connotes the hatred in which a hostile act is perpetrated. In Nu 35:21-22 it indicates hostility of one human towards another which is in the context of a teaching on manslaughter where the sentence of death was contingent on whether he committed the act with or without enmity. If the act was without enmity, the guilty party could seek protection in a city of refuge. 'Eybah is used in a context describing the hostile acts of Israel's enemies and speaks of God's judgment on Philistia for acting in hostility towards Israel (Ezekiel 25:15) A similar intention is expressed towards Edom in Ezekiel 35:5. Warren Baker on 'eybah - It is used to signify acrimony, as between the woman and the serpent (Gen. 3:15); malice that leads to violent acts against another (Nu. 35:21); and the lingering hatred between mortal enemies (Ezek. 25:15; 35:5). (The Complete Word Study Dictionary: OT) Brown-Driver-Briggs Expanded Definition - אֵיבָה noun feminine enmity — Genesis 3:15 2t.; construct אֵיבַת Ezekiel 25:15; Ezekiel 35:5 — enmity, personal hostility, between men Numbers 35:21,22 (P), between serpent & woman Genesis 3:15 (J), between peoples אֵיבַת עוֺלָם Ezekiel 25:15; Ezekiel 35:5. 'Eybah - 5v in OT - all translated "enmity": Genesis 3:15 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." Numbers 35:21 or if he struck him down with his hand in enmity, and as a result he died, the one who struck him shall surely be put to death, he is a murderer; the blood avenger shall put the murderer to death when he meets him. Numbers 35:22 'But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or threw something at him without lying in wait, Ezekiel 25:15 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Because the Philistines have acted in revenge and have taken vengeance with scorn of soul to destroy with everlasting enmity," HCSB Study Bible Note - The Philistines migrated to the coast of Palestine from the Greek coasts and islands of the Aegean Sea (Jer 47:4; Am 9:7; Zeph 2:5). As early as the time of the judges they were constant adversaries of Israel (Jdg 3:31; 10:7; 13-16; 1 Sam 4; 13; 31; 2 Sam 5; 2 Ki 18:8; 2 Chr 21:16-17; 28:18). David was credited with the final subjugation of the Philistines during his reign (2 Sam 5:17-25). Though there is virtually no record of the existence of the Philistines after the time of the Maccabees (second century B.C.), the region of Canaan came to be called Palestine (Philistine = Palestine). Ezekiel 35:5 "Because you have had everlasting enmity and have delivered the sons of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of the punishment of the end, HCSB Study Bible note - The bitter relations between Israel and Edom began in the womb of Rebekah (Ge 25:22-23) and continued with Jacob's deception of Isaac for Esau's blessing (Gen 27:1-46). The phrase ancient (everlasting) hatred occurs elsewhere in the Bible only in Ezekiel 25:15 in reference to the actions of the Philistines. The theological significance of the word "hatred" (Hebrew = 'eybah) is clear from its use in Genesis 3:15 in reference to the perpetual hostility that exists between the serpent and Eve's descendants. "Hatred" here in Ezekiel 35:5 refers to the hostility between Jacob and Esau, as their personal rivalry (Gen 27:41) spilled over into a national conflict (Nu 20:14-21; 2 Sa 8:13-14). When Nebuchadnezzar leveled Jerusalem, the Edomites stood by clapping their hands with joy at this disaster (Ps 137; Lam 4:21; Joel 3:19; Ob 1-14; Mal 1:2-5). The Lxx translates the Hebrew word for enmity with the Greek word echthra (2189) which describes that extreme negative attitude that is the opposite of love and friendship. The NT views this attitude as the source from which hostile acts flow. It is the inner source rather than the acts themselves that are focused on. NET NOTE - The Hebrew word translated "hostility" is derived from the root byae ('ev, "to be hostile, to be an adversary [or enemy]"). The curse announces that there will be continuing hostility between the serpent and the woman. The serpent will now live in a "battle zone," as it were. Bruise (07779) (shûph) to gape, snap at; to overwhelm: break, bruise, cover. Baker on shuph - A verb meaning to crush, to bruise. A verb used twice, once referring to the attack of the serpent and once of the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15). It may be translated as crush in Job 9:17 to describe God’s supposed attack on Job. It also has the sense of to engulf, to hide, to cover (Ps. 139:11). II. A verb meaning to strike, to snap at. It is used of the attack of the serpent and the response of the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15). The verb is rendered figuratively as follows by the various translations: KJV, bruise . . . bruise; NIV, crush . . . strike; NASB, bruise . . . bruise; NKJV, bruise . . . bruise. III. A verb meaning to cover, to envelop, to overwhelm. It is used of darkness engulfing or hiding a person from God (Ps. 139:11). (The Complete Word Study Dictionary) Used only 4x in the OT (twice in Ge 3:15) and in Job 9:17 "For He bruises (Lxx = ektribo = to cause removal by irritation, to obliterate as by rubbing and so ruin; to rub out, i.e. to destroy root and branch) me with a tempest and multiplies my wounds without cause. Psalm 139:11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm (shuph; Lxx = katapateo = will trample underfoot, treat with contempt) me, And the light around me will be night," NET NOTE on shuph in this passage - The Hebrew verb shuph which means "to crush; to wound," in (Ge 3:15) and Job 9:17 is problematic here. QUESTION - What does Genesis 3:15 mean that “he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel”? ANSWER - In Genesis 3 God metes out various judgments against those who brought sin into His perfect world. Adam, Eve, and the serpent all hear of the consequences of their rebellion. To the serpent God says, in part, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15, KJV). Even in this judgment, there is mercy. God’s curse on the serpent, in particular, was laced with words of hope. The woman mentioned in Genesis 3:15 is Eve. The serpent, addressed directly, is the animal that Satan used to deceive the woman. Some of the curse was directed at the animal (verse 14); at the same time, the curse of God falls upon Satan, who had taken the serpent’s form or body in Eden (cf. the dragon in Revelation 12:9). As part of the curse, enmity—mutual hatred and ill will—will exist between the woman and the serpent. Later, the same enmity will continue between the woman’s seed or offspring (mankind in general, since Eve is the “mother of all living,” Genesis 3:20) and the serpent’s seed. Their offspring will remain enemies throughout all generations. The serpent’s (metaphorical) offspring are demonic forces and also those people who follow the devil and accomplish his will. Jesus called the Pharisees a “brood of vipers” in Matthew 12:34 and said they belonged to their “father, the devil” in John 8:44. In short, God says that Satan will always be the enemy of mankind. It follows that people who side with Satan will be at perpetual war with God’s elect and that we are engaged in a very real battle between good and evil (Ephesians 6:12). Genesis 3:15 is a remarkable verse, often called the protoevangelium (literally, “first gospel”), because it is the Bible’s first prediction of a Savior. The second half of the verse gives two messianic prophecies concerning that Savior: The first messianic prophecy in Genesis 3:15 is that “he will crush your head.” That is, the seed of the woman will crush the serpent’s head. The Amplified Bible makes it clear that “the woman’s seed” is more than mankind in general; it is an individual representing all mankind: “And I will put enmity (open hostility) Between you and the woman, And between your seed (offspring) and her Seed; He shall [fatally] bruise your head.” The second messianic prophecy in Genesis 3:15 is that “you will strike his heel.” That is, the serpent will bite the heel of “the woman’s seed.” The heel-bite is set in contrast to the head-crush, as the Amplified Bible brings out: “And you shall [only] bruise His heel.” This passage points to the promise of Jesus’ birth, His redemption, and His victory over Satan. The woman’s offspring is Jesus. Being virgin-born, He is literally the offspring of a woman (Matthew 1:25; Galatians 4:4; cf. Isaiah 7:14). Being the Son of Man, He is the perfect representative of humankind. The devil’s offspring were the evil men and demonic forces who, like a snake, lay in wait for the Savior and struck at Him. Their venomous conspiracy condemned Jesus to be crucified. But the serpent’s strike did not spell the end of the Offspring of the woman. Jesus rose the third day, breaking the power of death and winning the ultimate victory. With the cross, Jesus “crushed” the devil’s head, defeating him forever. So, in Genesis 3:15, the crushing of the serpent’s head was a picture of Jesus’ triumph over sin and Satan at the cross (cf. John 12:31). The striking of the Messiah’s heel was a picture of the wounding and death of Jesus on the cross. Satan bruised Jesus’ “heel,” but Jesus showed complete dominance over Satan by bruising his “head.” Satan, although still active in this world, is a defeated foe. His doom is sure: “And the devil . . . was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur” (Revelation 20:10). Until that time, there remains enmity between Satan and God’s children. The protoevangelium shows us that God always had the plan of salvation in mind and informed us of His plan as soon as sin entered the world. Satan formulated a plan involving the serpent in Eden, but God was way ahead of him, having already ordained the Serpent-crusher. Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled God’s mission: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8).GotQuestions.org QUESTION - What is the protoevangelium? ANSWER - Genesis 3:15 says, “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.” This is known as the protoevangelium—the first gospel. The verse introduces two elements previously unknown in the Garden of Eden, elements that are the basis of Christianity—the curse on mankind because of Adam’s sin and God’s provision for a Savior from sin who would take the curse upon Himself. Ge 3:14 makes it clear that God is speaking to the serpent whom He curses to crawl on his belly and “eat dust” all his days. In verse 15, God switches from condemning the serpent to the one who inhabited it, Satan. He curses Satan to be forever at war against mankind, depicted as the seed or offspring of the woman. The woman in question is in a general sense Eve herself, all of whose offspring would forever be harassed by Satan and his minions. Sin enters the human race at this point, and the ravages of sin and its consequences reverberate down to us today. We inherit sin and the sin nature from Adam, and we suffer for it continually. The enmity—the hostility and hatred—of men and demons, between whom the warfare still continues, begins here. Evil angels and also wicked men are called serpents, and even a brood of vipers (Matthew 3:7), and they war against the people of God, the seed of the church, who are hated and persecuted by them, and so it has been ever since this affair in the Garden. More specifically, the offspring of the woman refers to Jesus Christ, who was born of a woman. The “enmity” or hostility and hatred spoken of here is between Satan and Christ. The seed of the serpent, evil men and demonic forces, struck at the heel of the Savior when Judas, the Pharisees, the rabble, and the Romans, conspired to condemn Jesus to be crucified. But His wound was not the final act. He rose the third day, having paid the price for the sin of all who would ever believe in Him. The ultimate victory was His, and He crushed the head of Satan, removing forever his rule over man. The power of Christ would destroy Satan and all his principalities and powers, confound all his schemes, and ruin all his works. The power of the cross would crush Satan’s whole empire, strip him of his authority (particularly his power over death), and his tyranny over the bodies and souls of men. All this was done by the incarnate Christ when He suffered and died for the souls of men (Hebrews 2:14–15). Because of what Jesus did on the cross, he “crushed” the devil’s head, defeating him forever. The protoevangelium shows us that God always had the plan of salvation in mind, and informed us of His plan as soon as sin entered the world. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8).GotQuestions.org M R De Haan - Portraits of Christ in Genesis We point out a number of important facts in this first promise of redemption. 1. Notice first of all that this declaration of war and ultimate victory was spoken to the enemy, the serpent, and not to Mother Eve. This verse, Genesis 3:15, serves notice on Satan that although he seems to have won the first skirmish against the Word of God, it is only the beginning of a conflict which will end in complete victory for the Seed of the woman. 2. Notice next that this promise of victory was given soon after the fall, and before Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden. God had declared the sure penalty of death, both physical and spiritual, upon their sin, and so before the poor sinner could die and be lost forever, God came with the glorious promise of redemption. What an illustration of the words of Paul, that “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20). 3. Then, thirdly, notice that we have here the first clear mention of the Virgin Birth of the Lord Jesus, here called the seed of the woman. Every human being born since the days of Adam and Eve is the seed of Adam. The seed is always traced through the male line. But there is one exception to this rule. Jesus Christ is called the “seed of the woman.” There is no mention of Adam in this verse at all, and this is the one and only place in the entire Bible where a person is called the “seed of the woman.” It was Eve who fell before the deception of Satan, and God has designed that the woman too should bring forth the Redeemer. By woman had come sin, and by woman should come the Saviour. By woman had come the curse, and by woman should come the One who would remove the curse. Yes, indeed, “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” The coming Saviour was to be virgin-born, without a human father. Higher critics and skeptics have ridiculed the doctrine of the Virgin Birth of Christ, and have attacked especially the verse in Isaiah 7:14, … Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. All the attacks of the critics have concentrated on this verse, because they say the Hebrew word “almah” may also refer simply to a young woman. However, the New Testament gives its real meaning in the account of the Virgin Birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:27). But the revelation of the Virgin Birth goes way back to the Garden of Eden where the coming Deliverer is called the seed of the woman, not the seed of the man. 4. Then notice further that there are two seeds mentioned, the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. Since the seed of the woman was to be a person, the seed of the serpent will also be a person. Satan will have a personal seed as well as the woman. These two seeds are later identified as Christ and the Antichrist. Since Christ will be the supernatural Son of God, the Antichrist will reveal himself in the end time as the son of perdition, the man of sin. The final struggle announced in this first declaration of war in Genesis 3:15 will be between Christ, the Son of God, and the Antichrist, the son of perdition. That the seed of the serpent will be a literal person is the only logical conclusion we can reach in view of the fact that the seed of the woman will be the personal Redeemer—the Man, Christ Jesus. 5. One more observation we would make before we conclude this inexhaustible picture of the coming Deliverer in the Protevangelium of Genesis 3:15. And this final observation is of utmost importance if we are to understand the agelong struggle between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent until the final victory of the end time. In Genesis 3:15 we have the beginning of the “battle of the seeds” between Satan and Christ. It will be finally culminated in the complete victory of the Saviour. We have the account of this final victory in the last book of the Bible. It begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation. The personal Antichrist is defeated and cast into the lake of fire at the Second Coming of Christ (Revelation 19:20), while Satan himself will be doomed to the same place later on (Revelation 20:10). Between these two events (the beginning of the battle in Genesis 3, and the end of the battle in Revelation 20) is a history of struggle which indeed seems to be in favor of the enemy, for will you notice we have two bruisings in this verse. The seed of the serpent will bruise the heel of the seed of the woman, and ultimately the seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent. One of these bruisings is history—when the Redeeemer came the first time it seemed to be a victory for the enemy, for the Redeemer was put to death on the cross. Here His heel was bruised, symbolic of the sufferings and death of our Saviour, who was “wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). This part of the promise and prediction of Genesis 3:15 is history. It happened almost two thousand years ago, but it was only His heel which was bruised. The other “bruising” of the serpent’s head is still future. It will be consummated at the Second Coming of Christ. The Saviour’s heel was bruised at His First Coming, but Satan’s head will be crushed at His Second Coming. This is the only possible interpretation of the prediction of Genesis 3:15. We must emphasize the difference between the two “bruisings,” not only as to time but also result. The bruising of the heel was not fatal, but the bruising of the head is fatal. It will be the end of Satan’s attack upon both the Redeemer and His redeemed. It will take place when our Lord returns to earth in person and power, and when “the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, shall be bound for a thousand years, and be cast into the bottomless pit” (Revelation 20:2, 3). What an evidence of the divine inspiration of the Word of God! Who but He who knoweth the end from the beginning could have given such an accurate, unassailable outline of all subsequent history and condensed it all within the limits of one verse of only twenty—eight words, way back in the Garden of Eden? One wonders indeed how the skeptics and unbelievers can fail to see in this one verse alone the incontrovertible evidence of divine inspiration. What human mind could have conceived such a prediction? It is only because the same “mastermind” who deceived the woman in the Garden is still blinding the eyes of them that believe not. But all these attacks upon the Word do not disturb us who believe, when we have such evidence of divine revelation and the witness of the Spirit of God through this infallible Word. If you cannot see in all this God’s revelation of His Son, then you are still blinded by unbelief. The Bible needs no proof; it needs only to be honestly faced and believed. Then every page of the Book will reveal a picture of the Christ of God. Allen Ross - OT Christology Genesis 3:15 “The Seed of the Woman” One thing in life seems never to change, the perpetual struggle between good and evil. Ever since sin entered into the world, there has been this struggle, this enmity between the force of death and the desire for life. And the human race has had to endure pain, conflict, anxiety and death as a result. This is the declaration of the oracle of God in Genesis 3—but that declaration is not all bad news, even though it is popularly referred to as “the curse.” It is more than that, for it declares that the victory belongs to the human race. In what has been called the “protoevangelium,” the first good news, we have these words: And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he will bruise you in the head, but you will bruise him in the heel (Gen. 3:15) These words are said to the serpent, whom Revelation 12:9 explains is Satan, or the Devil, in the form of a serpent in the garden. There would be a perpetual struggle between Satan and his seed, and the woman and her seed. Now the language is definitely figurative, so we have to ask what is meant here by “seed.” The word is usually used for the descendant or descendants of a man. So it is unusual to describe the woman’s seed. But in spite of that figurative use, the oracle would first include all descendants of the Eve, the woman. The conflict would first begin in Genesis 4 where her first “seed” or descendant, Cain, would be sought by the forces of evil. The text says, “sin is couching at the door, and its desire is to have you” (4:7). Sin is personified in the passage as a force, and may imply even more than a personification, for in cognate languages the word “couching” is a kind of demon. The first edition of the Jewish Publication Society’s translation had “sin is the demon at the door.” Whether that is the best translation or not, we would have to say that the “seed of the serpent” would be figurative as well, referring to all who share his nature and do his work. And that could include humans as well as fallen angels and evil spirits. Jesus told His enemies that they were of their father the devil (John 8:44). This would be a prime example of the way the language of “father” or “seed” could be applied figuratively. The human race, then, will be constantly at war with the forces of evil, led by Satan and his angels. This is the spiritual warfare of the ages. When the Son of God came into the world to redeem the world, He was born of a woman, without human father. And so in a special sense He would be the offspring, the seed of a woman, and not of a human father (see Gal. 4:4). Paul made the point that the promise was given to the “seed” of Abraham. And while the word seed refers to all the descendants of Abraham who will share the victory of faith, spiritual as well as spiritual-physical seed of Abraham (Gentile believers as well as Jewish believers), Paul notes that the word is singular, and so has a particular application to “the Seed” of Abraham, the One descendant who is the promised One--Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:15-20). Now that we are “in Christ” by faith, we too are “sons of God” (Gal. 3:26--4:7) and so part of the seed that will have victory over evil. Satan and his forces would cripple the human race, but not destroy it. That is the meaning of bruising them in the heel. But the Seed of the woman would ultimately destroy the serpent. That is the meaning of bruising him in the head. That victory would come in two stages, corresponding to the first and second coming of Christ. In the first coming Jesus defeated Satan at the temptation, just the opposite of the temptation in the garden of Eden. At the cross Jesus paid for our sins, and that took away the accusation of the accuser of the brethren. At the resurrection Jesus conquered death and the grave, and that took the main weapon out of Satan’s hands. Then, at the end of the age, Jesus will judge Satan and cast him into the lake of fire. Believers can have victory over Satan in Christ, for Christ has given them the victory. THE FALL "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel" (Genesis 3:15). Shopping with Liam He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. — Genesis 3:15 Today's Scripture & Insight: Genesis 3:14-19 My son Liam loves to pick dandelions for his mother. To date, she hasn’t wearied of receiving them. One man’s weed is a little boy’s flower. One day I took Liam shopping with me. As we hurried past the floral section, he pointed excitedly to an arrangement of yellow tulips. “Daddy,” he exclaimed, “you should get those dandelions for Mommy!” His advice made me laugh. It made a pretty good Facebook post on his mother’s page too. (By the way, I bought the tulips.) Some see in weeds a reminder of Adam’s sin. By eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve brought on themselves the curse of a fallen world—relentless work, agonizing birth, and eventual death (Gen. 3:16-19). But Liam’s youthful eyes remind me of something else. There is beauty even in weeds. The anguish of childbirth holds hope for us all. Death is ultimately defeated. The “Seed” God spoke of in Genesis 3:15 would wage war with the serpent’s offspring. That Seed is Jesus Himself, who rescued us from the curse of death (Gal. 3:16). Help us, Father, to find You even in the midst of all life’s pain and aggravations. Forgive us for so often overlooking the beauty You have planted everywhere. Creation reminds us of the promise of redemption. The War is Over - The bitter conflict had finally ended between the North and the South. The soldiers of the US Civil War were free to return to their families. But a number of them remained hidden in the woods, living on berries. They either didn't hear or didn't believe that the war was over, so they continued enduring miserable conditions when they could have been back home. It's something like that in the spiritual realm too. Christ made peace between God and man by dying in our place. He paid sin's penalty on the cross. Anyone who accepts His sacrifice will be forgiven by a holy God. Sadly, many people refuse to believe the gospel and continue to live as spiritual fugitives. Sometimes even those who have placed their trust in Christ live on almost the same level. Either out of ignorance or unwillingness, they fail to claim the promises of God's Word. They do not experience the joy and assurance that should accompany salvation. They do not draw from their relationship with God the comfort and peace He intends for His children. They are the objects of His love, care, and provision but live as if they were orphans. We fail, O Lord, to realize The fullness of what You have done, So help us trust Your saving work And claim the triumph You have won. —D. De Haan Christ's victory over death means peace for His saints. Genesis 3:15 SOUR NOTES In his early years, Ansel Adams, the famous landscape photographer, studied piano. Once, while playing Chopin for a friend, he could not get his hands coordinated. The next day the friend gave him a backhanded critique by telling him, "You never missed a wrong note." Although no one knows exactly when or where Adam and Eve sounded the first sour note, people have been playing wrong notes perfectly ever since. The tragic Eden error called sin means missing the mark. The discord that started in God's garden has been heard throughout history. As the New England Primer put it, "In Adam's sin, we sinned all." As Adam and Eve experienced guilt, loneliness, and estrangement, so have all of their offspring. Without the Fall, death could never have sung the blues' dark song, and lying, hatred, and pride would not have become the funeral march of the masses. The mad sounds of sin would still be humanity's only tune had it not been for God's note of grace—He followed Adam and Eve out of the gate. Satan's Strategies Against the Seed of the Woman - Robert Neighbour "Sermons and Bible Studies" We have before us some very striking scenes presenting satan's strategies against the Seed of the woman. After man had sinned, God entered the garden and pronounced the curse. While addressing the serpent, God gave His great prophecy of the coming Seed. He said: "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel" (Gen. 3:15). Thus God foretold the Divine method of redemption, which He had purposed in Christ Jesus, before the world began. Satan might do much (he would bruise Christ's heel); Christ would do much more (He would bruise the serpent's head). Through the disobedience of one, sin might abound; but through the righteousness of One, bruised for us, grace would super-abound. With the promise of the "coming Seed" hanging over him, satan at once began his conflict against the Almighty. Satan sought first of all, to keep the Seed from being born; and later when the Seed was born, he sought to overcome the Son. Old Testament Types - Ian Paisley If you glance at the Old Testament scriptures you will find there are many types of the resurrection. The resurrection is first of all suggested to us in Genesis 3:15. Because in Genesis 3:15 we have the prophecy of the absolute victory of Christ over the serpent. The serpent's head was to be bruised. Jesus Christ proved that He had bruised the serpent's head. How? By rising from the dead and showing that He had destroyed him that had the power of death, that is to say the Devil. You have another wondrous type of the resurrection in Genesis with Isaac. Isaac was laid on the altar after three days journey. And if you read Hebrews chapter eleven and verse nineteen you will find that Paul says he was a type of the resurrection. Abraham received Isaac back from the dead as in a figure. It was after three days and three nights. I was greatly struck this week when I discovered that the children of Israel marched into the Red Sea exactly three days and three nights after the Passover lamb was slain. And of course the Red Sea crossing is a perfect type of the resurrection. They went down into death and they rose again three days and three nights after they had eaten the Passover lamb..... In the first five Books of Moses we have seven prophetic representations of Christ. Seven is the perfect number so it is a perfect prophetic representation of Christ. 1. Seed: Genesis 3:15 2. Shiloh: Genesis 49:10* 3. Shepherd: Genesis 49:24* 4. Stone: Genesis 49:24* 5. Staff: Numbers 18:8 6. Star: Numbers 24:17 7. Sceptre: Numbers 24:17 The Promise of the Saviour "The seed of the woman." Genesis 3:15 The promise of a Saviour. How sweet those words must have been to fallen man and woman. Stripped of their glory, shaking with fear and crushed and cursed by sin amidst their terrible night, a light had sprung up. Undeserved salvation and not deserved damnation was promised. This promise was a lifeline to our fallen first parents, sinking in the dark and troubled sea of their own iniquity. That Adam believed the promise is evident, for the fallen woman who ought to have been a vehicle of death he called Eve—the mother of all living. Note the word living—life. Adam's faith triumphed over the fall. Parting thought: "We cannot close with Christ without a promise, and we must not close with a promise without Christ"—Thomas Martin. (Ian Paisley - A Text a Day Keeps the Devil Away) GLORYING IN THE CROSS - James Smith Gal. 6:14 We glory in the Cross because in it we see— 1 The Fulfilment of Prophecy. Gen. 3:15. Isa. 55. Dan. 9:24-26. 2 The Love of God Exhibited, 1 John 3:16 3 The Love of Christ Declared, John 15:13; Gal. 2:20 4 The Removal of that which was against us, Col. 2:14 5 The Redemption price for our souls, Gal. 3:13 6 The Way of Escape from our sins, 1 Peter 2:24 7 The Foundation of our Peace established, Col. 1:20; Eph. 2:16 Nowhere To Hide Read: Genesis 3:6-13,22-24 | To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. —Revelation 1:5 I smelled something burning, so I hurried to the kitchen. Nothing was on the stove or in the oven. I followed my nose through the house. From room to room I went, eventually ending up downstairs. My nose led me to my office and then to my desk. I peeked beneath it and there, peering back at me with big eyes pleading for help, was Maggie, our dog, our very “fragrant” dog. What smelled like something burning when I was upstairs, now had the distinct odor of skunk. Maggie had gone to the farthest corner of our house to escape the foul smell, but she couldn’t get away from herself. Maggie’s dilemma brought to mind the many times I have tried to run away from unpleasant circumstances only to discover that the problem was not the situation I was in but me. Since Adam and Eve hid after sinning (Gen. 3:8), we’ve all followed their example. We run away from situations thinking we can escape the unpleasantness—only to discover that the unpleasantness is us. The only way to escape ourselves is to stop hiding, acknowledge our waywardness, and let Jesus wash us clean (Rev. 1:5). I am grateful that when we do sin, Jesus is willing to give us a brand-new start. From the wondrous cross on Calvary Flows the stream that still avails, Cleansing hearts and bringing victory Through that love which never fails. —Elliott Sin’s contamination requires the Savior’s cleansing. Genesis 3:16 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.” Lxx: kai te gunaiki eipen plethunon plethuno (1SFAI: increase Mt 24:12) tas lupas sou kai ton stenagmon sou en lupais texo (2SFMI:tikto) tekna kai pros ton andra sou he apostrophe sou kai autos sou kurieusei (3SFAI: being lord or master over, exercising dominion Lu 22.25, sin, death, law are said to exercise control or dominion over mankind as in Ro 6.9). Brenton's English of the Lxx : And to the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pains and thy groanings; in pain thou shalt bring forth children, and thy submission shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. Comment - Brenton's translation does not make sense - the Greek word means a "turning back" or "turning away from" not a submission to and is also the same noun used in Ge 4:7 to translate desire. Septuagint NETS - And to the woman he said, I will increasingly increase your pains and your groaning; with pains you shall bring forth children, and your recourse will be to your husband, and he will dominate you. BGT καὶ τῇ γυναικὶ εἶπεν πληθύνων πληθυνῶ τὰς λύπας σου καὶ τὸν στεναγμόν σου ἐν λύπαις τέξῃ τέκνα καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα σου ἡ ἀποστροφή σου καὶ αὐτός σου κυριεύσει KJV Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. {to thy...: or, subject to thy husband} NET To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your labor pains; with pain you will give birth to children. You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you." CSB He said to the woman: I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children in anguish.1 Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you. ERV Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. ESV To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; ain pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." (See ESV Study Note below) NIV To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children.a Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.b" NLT Then he said to the woman, "I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.1 " NRS To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." YLT Unto the woman He said, 'Multiplying I multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, in sorrow dost thou bear children, and toward thy husband is thy desire, and he doth rule over thee.' GWN He said to the woman, "I will increase your pain and your labor when you give birth to children. Yet, you will long for your husband, and he will rule you." NKJ To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you." NAB To the woman he said: "I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing; in pain shall you bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall be your master." NJB To the woman he said: I shall give you intense pain in childbearing, you will give birth to your children in pain. Your yearning will be for your husband, and he will dominate you. ASV Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy conception; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. DBY To the woman he said, I will greatly increase thy travail and thy pregnancy; with pain thou shalt bear children; and to thy husband shall be thy desire, and he shall rule over thee. BBE To the woman he said, Great will be your pain in childbirth; in sorrow will your children come to birth; still your desire will be for your husband, but he will be your master. BHT ´e|l-hä´iššâ ´ämar harBâ ´arBè `iccübônëk wühë|rönëk Bü`eºceb Të|ldî bänîm wü´el-´îšëk Tüšûºqätëºk wühû´ yimšol-Bäk s NAS To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain 1in childbirth, In pain you shall bring forth children; Yet your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you." NIRV The LORD God said to the woman, "I will greatly increase your pain when you give birth. You will be in pain when you have children. You will long for your husband. And he will rule over you." RSV To the woman he said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." In pain you will bring forth children: Ge 35:16-18 1Sa 4:19-21 Ps 48:6 Isa 13:8 21:3 26:17,18 53:11 Jer 4:31 6:24 13:21 22:23 49:24 Mic 4:9,10 Joh 16:21 1Th 5:3 1Ti 2:15 Yet your desire will be for your husband: Ge 4:7 And he will rule over you.: Nu 30:7,8,13 Es 1:20 1Co 7:4 11:3 14:34 Eph 5:22-24 Col 3:18 1Ti 2:11,12 Tit 2:5 1Pe 3:1-6 Genesis 3 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries EVE'S SENTENCE LABOR PAINS To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply (rabah, rabah) Your pain in childbirth, In pain (itstsabon; Lxx - lupe - sorrow, grief, pain, affliction) you will bring forth children - The couple was initially told to multiply (rabah) offspring, but now there seems to be a play on words with a double use of rabah when the woman gives birth to offspring. So in addition to spiritual death, there are individual consequences for the sins of Adam and Eve. Eve is condemned to: a state of sorrow, and a state of subjection, proper punishments of a sin in which she had gratified her pleasure and her pride. Pain the rare Hebrew word itstsabon (from atsab = to hurt, pain, grieve) which is used for Adam's toil in Ge 3:17 and Ge 5:29. Yet your desire (teshuqah) will be for your husband, And he will rule (mashal; Lxx = kurieuo - exercise authority) over you - The desire spoken of here is not sexual or psychological, both of which Eve had for Adam before the Fall as his specially created helper. It is rather the same desire spoken of in Ge 4:7, where the same Hebrew word for "rule over" (mashal) is used. The term comes from an Arabic root that means “to compel, impel, urge, or seek control over.” The Lord warned Cain, “Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you [that is, control you], but you must master it” (Ge 4:7 niv). Sin wanted to master Cain, but God commanded Cain to master sin. The curse on Eve was that a woman’s desire would henceforth be to usurp the place of man’s headship and that he would resist that desire and even more strongly exercise his control over her. The Hebrew word here translated “rule” is not the same as that used in Ge 1:28. Rather it represented a new, despotic kind of authoritarianism that was not in God’s original plan for man’s headship. With the Fall and its curse came the distortion of woman’s proper submissiveness and of man’s proper authority. That is where the battle of the sexes began, where women’s liberation and male chauvinism came into existence. Women have a sinful propensity to usurp men’s authority, and men have a sinful propensity to put women under their feet. The divine decree that man would rule over woman in this way was part of God’s curse on humanity, and it takes a manifestation of grace in Christ by the filling of the Holy Spirit to resolve the created order and harmony of proper submission in a relationship that has become corrupted and disordered by sin. NET NOTE on desire says the romantic interpretation of teshuqah "makes little sense in Ge 3:16. First, it does not fit well with the assertion "he will dominate you." Second, it implies that sexual desire was not part of the original creation, even though the man and the woman were told to multiply. And third, it ignores the usage of the word in Ge 4:7 where it refers to sin's desire to control and dominate Cain. (Even in Song of Songs it carries the basic idea of "control," for it describes the young man's desire to "have his way sexually" with the young woman.) In Gen 3:16 the Lord announces a struggle, a conflict between the man and the woman. She will desire to control him, but he will dominate her instead. This interpretation also fits the tone of the passage, which is a judgment oracle. See What is the Woman's Desire? ESV Study Bible Note - These words from the Lord indicate that there will be an ongoing struggle between the woman and the man for leadership in the marriage relationship. The leadership role of the husband and the complementary relationship between husband and wife that were ordained by God before the fall have now been deeply damaged and distorted by sin. This especially takes the form of inordinate desire (on the part of the wife) and domineering rule (on the part of the husband). The Hebrew term here translated “desire” (teshuqah) is rarely found in the OT. But it appears again in Ge 4:7, in a statement that closely parallels Ge 3:16—that is, where the Lord says to Cain, just before Cain’s murder of his brother, that sin’s “desire is for you” (i.e., to master Cain), and that Cain must “rule over it” (which he immediately fails to do, by murdering his brother, as seen in Ge 4:8). Similarly, the ongoing result of Adam and Eve’s original sin of rebellion against God will have disastrous consequences for their relationship: (1) Eve will have the sinful “desire” to oppose Adam and to assert leadership over him, reversing God’s plan for Adam’s leadership in marriage. But (2) Adam will also abandon his God-given, pre-fall role of leading, guarding, and caring for his wife, replacing this with his own sinful, distorted desire to “rule” over Eve. Thus one of the most tragic results of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God is an ongoing, damaging conflict between husband and wife in marriage, driven by the sinful behavior of both in rebellion against their respective God-given roles and responsibilities in marriage. (See notes [or see online version] on Eph. 5:21-32 for the NT pattern for marriage founded on the redemptive work of Christ.) (See context in ESV Study Bible or see online copy of ESV Study Bible) John MacArthur writes "The Hebrew word translated “rule” means “to reign.” In the Septuagint the word used (kurieuo) means “to elevate to an official position.” It’s as if God were saying to the woman, “You were once co-regents, wonderfully ruling together as a team, but from now on the man is installed over you.” That was not in God’s original plan for man’s headship." Just as the woman and her seed will engage in a war with the serpent, i.e., Satan and his seed (v15), because of sin and the curse, the man and the woman will face struggles in their own relationship. Sin has turned the harmonious system of God-ordained roles into distasteful struggles of self-will. Lifelong companions, husbands and wives, will need God’s help in getting along as a result. The woman’s desire will be to lord it over her husband, but the husband will rule by divine design (Ep 5:22-25). This interpretation of the curse is based upon the identical Heb. words and grammar being used in [4:7] to show the conflict man will have with sin as it seeks to rule him. In his sermon Wives, Marriage, and Submission, John MacArthur adds that "The Hebrew word here for “rule” is not the same as that used in Ge 1:28. (ED: Hebrew = radah = have dominion; Lxx - katakurieuo = become master, subdue, exercise dominion) Rather it represented a new, despotic kind of authoritarianism that was not in God’s original plan for man’s headship. With the Fall and its curse came the distortion of woman’s proper submissiveness and of man’s proper authority. That is where the battle of the sexes began, where women’s liberation and male chauvinism came into existence. Women have a sinful inclination to usurp man’s authority and men have a sinful inclination to put women under their feet. The divine decree that man would rule over woman in this way was part of God’s curse on humanity, and it takes a manifestation of grace in Christ by the filling of the Holy Spirit to restore the created order and harmony of proper submission in a relationship that has become corrupted and disordered by sin." John