Genesis 3:15 -
“I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Nestled in the midst of curses given as a result of the first sin is a startling promise. Adam and Eve have just eaten of the forbidden fruit, and been told that death will come, that work on earth will be toilsome, and man will now be separated from the presence of God. But then God turns his gaze upon Satan, the liar. There will be a consistent tension between man and the realm of Satan and his demons on earth, but there is an end predicted here as well. He, the offspring of the woman, will “bruise your head.” This corresponds to prophecy in other parts of the Old Testament about the Messiah, like Psalm 110, which says –
“The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
Genesis 3:15 offers us the first promise of an end to Satan. There will be one who will come, who is an offspring of the woman, who will be the crusher, and place Satan under his feet. This Satan will “bruise the heel” of this conqueror, which means it will be costly to crush Satan under his feet. This is true of course, as Jesus will come to earth to die. He will lose his life as a result of this great conquest, only to see new life on that Easter Sunday!
But notice this in anticipation of Christmas: Jesus as the answer for sin and death and Satan was predicted right from the beginning! There was no gap between sin and God’s answer for sin. He clothed the sinners, Adam and Eve, and made a promise that this cosmic problem would be solved!
Hymn for Reflection: Joy to the World. Here’s a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPA0jTQI2HM