Monday, December 10, 2007
Genesis 3:15 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.
AN ADVENT MESSAGE TO: ADAM AND EVE
We begin this week's advent meditations at the beginning -- 6,000 years ago in the Garden of Eden where our text records for us the very first promise of a coming Savior. Adam and Eve gave in to the temptation of the serpent and disobeyed the LORD, bringing sin and death upon God's perfect creation.
The key word in this Advent promise is "enmity." Enmity is deep rooted hatred. Enmity is the feeling one has for someone who is an enemy. In this case, God Himself will bring about enmity. The LORD says, "I will put enmity between . . ."
First the LORD says, "I will put enmity between you and the woman." Remember how the serpent had come to Eve under the guise of being her friend? He started by building a relationship with Eve, telling her that eating of the tree would be good for her and she would become like God. This "friendship" between Eve and the serpent would be done away with by God; it would be replaced with enmity between the two.
Next, "I will put enmity . . . between your seed and her Seed." This enmity would continue for quite a while. This enmity, which here started between Satan and Eve, would continue on through succeeding generations. Not only does this refer to the enmity between human beings and Satan but also between believers and unbelievers (John 8:44).
Finally, the LORD would put enmity between the Seed of the woman and Satan Himself. The Seed of the woman would come and would crush the head of Satan, who had led Adam and Eve into sin and brought death into God's perfect world.
Thanks be to Christ Jesus, Savior and Head-Crusher!
