The Promise Of A Seed

THE PROMISE OF A SEED
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. (Genesis 3:15). This prophecy was given in the Garden of Eden. The words are spoken to the serpent. We can understand from our perspective that Satan had used the serpent to lead the first man and woman into sin. God comes on the scene and pronounces judgment upon everyone involved. An intense hatred is pronounced between the serpent and the woman and between their offspring -- their seed. The first seed was to be the seed of the serpent. It was the seed of rebellion. It was the seed of sin. It was made up of all who walked in the way of Adam in turning against God.

There is also a second seed promised. It is the seed of the woman. This second seed is set over against the first seed. The two seeds are at war with one another. And God has decreed that the second seed shall ultimately win. From our vantage point, we know that this second seed is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ - the One who was bruised for our iniquities as He crushed underfoot the Serpent's Head.

Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. (Hebrews 2:14-15). The defeat and destruction of Satan is accomplished in two parts. First, Christ defeated Satan when He died for sins upon the cross and then rose in victory from the grave (Colossians 2:14-15). The ultimate conquest will be completed at the second coming of Christ -- Paul speaks in Romans 16:20 of how the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. Just as the serpent is destroyed by striking him on his head, the most vulnerable part of his body, so Jesus Christ will destroy and neutralize Satan. The Old Testament is a history of the Satanic attacks on the seed of the woman and the royal line of Christ. Satan may have considered either Cain or Abel to be the seed of the woman, and so he tempted one into murdering the other. It would not be too far a stretch to imagine that the sinfulness that brought about the flood in the days of Noah was due in part to the temptations wrought by Satan. Later attacks can be seen against Abraham and his descendants, against the nation of Israel and against the Davidic line. When Jesus was born, there came a great intensification of these attacks. Herod tried to have the child assassinated. The Pharisees and the Sadducees plotted with the priesthood to put Him to death. Even Satan himself came and tried to entice Jesus to sin. In the end, it was Jesus who conquered. That conquest took place upon the cross. In the very process of striking a death blow tot he head of the serpent, Jesus Christ suffered and died upon the cross. But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5). The crushing of Satan's head is not the only crushing that takes place in this prophecy. In His crushing of Satan, Jesus was also crushed. The Seed of the Serpent|The Seed of the Woman|
Points to Satan|Points to Jesus Christ|
He receives a wound to the head -- this is a fatal wound.|He receives a wound to the heel -- painful but not lasting.|
He was fatally bruised for all eternity.|He was temporarily bruised while on the cross.| The picture is of a man stomping upon the head of a serpent in order to kill it, but being bitten on his heel in the process. The one suffers that which is painful, the other suffers a crushing and fatal wound.