God gives us the promise of Messiah after the fall of Adam and Eve. Amid their sin and its consequences, God gave them hope. Genesis 3:15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.[1]
The Scripture reveals that satan is our enemy and will do anything to get people to follow his evil ways. The phrase “you will strike his heal” refers to satan’s repeated attempts to defeat Jesus during His ministry on earth. The phrase “he will strike your head” foreshadows satan’s defeat at the death and resurrection of Jesus. A blow to the heel is not deadly, but the blow to satan’s head will be.
Even in the Garden, the Lord revealed His plan to rescue humanity through His Son Jesus. Satan may have thought there was no redemption for Adam and Eve, like the fallen angels, but that was not true. Paul tells us that God had a plan for humanity even before He created them. Ephesians 1:4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.[2]
The Seed of a Woman
The promised victory over satan will be through the woman’s seed or her offspring. Paul gives us insight. Galatians 4:4But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.[3] In addition, Isaiah gives more insight into the woman’s seed. Isaiah 7:14 All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).[4]
The fulfillment of God’s reference to the seed of the woman came as Jesus was born to the virgin Mary. It is Jesus who would crush the head of satan, the enemy of God and humanity. Satan bruised Jesus but could not crush Him as He gave His life to save humanity on the cross. Jesus died for our sins, and in three days, He rose from the dead in victory over satan and death.
The Seed of Promise
When Adam sinned, his disobedience would bring about a curse on creation, yet God gives us hope during tragedy. The hope He gives is Jesus, who will save us from our sins and crush satan under his mighty feet. In God’s perfect timing, He offered this hope before punishing and expelling Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.
The Lord provides the same hope today when we sin and fall short. He offers the hope that we can come to the cross, confess our sins, and receive forgiveness. Forgiveness begins our restoration. It is then that we live a renewed life.
To learn more about the promise of Messiah, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/the-fall
[1-4] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers.