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.” This is what is known as the “seed of the woman promise.” This is the very first promise of a savior given. Notice that God puts “enmity” between Satan and the Woman. The word translated as enmity is the Hebrew wordאיָבה’ ēyḇāh (342) and means hostility, animosity, or ill will.[1] This can be seen throughout history in treatment of women in general. This can also be seen symbolically in the historical treatment of Israel.
Next we read “between your seed and her seed” . Her seed is a direct reference to Jesus Christ and the “your seed” is a reference to the antichrist.
In the last part of that verse we see that Satan is dealt a death blow while only inflicting a non mortal wound to Christ. “He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
There are over 100 prophecies concerning the first coming of Christ in the Old Testament. Throughout the Old Testament God narrowed the “seed of the woman” promise through his dealings with Noah, Abraham, Israel and then finally bringing about the seed of a woman promise through Marry.
Christ was born and lived a sinless life, tempted in every way just as we are but without sin and finally being crucified He was placed in a grave and rose on the third day.
We have covered a lot of history with very few words and I am sure that those few words have raised a lot of questions. In order to answer some of those questions let us consider John chapter 3.
This is the story of how Nicodemus came to Jesus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and he came to Jesus by night to ask Him a question. He greeted Jesus by calling Him Rabbi and acknowledging that He was from God. John 3:2.
Jesus cuts to the chase in verse 3 by saying "unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Now this did not compute for Nicodemus. "How can a man be born when he is old?"
Jesus responds in John 3:6, "that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Every person on the earth has the potential to have two births, one physical and one spiritual. Notice that I said potential not necessity. One does not have to be "born again", but if the second birth is rejected then that person will experience two deaths, both physical death and spiritual death.
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” John 3:9. Once again Nicodemus is confused. As a Pharisee he would have been taught that his being a Jew and his works would save him, now he is confronted with the concept of a new birth.
Jesus gives him an explanation and we should pay close attention to verses 14 and 15. This is a reference to Numbers 21:9. The Israelites had sinned and God had sent serpents to punish them. In verse 7 we see that they repented and ask Moses to intercede on their behalf. In verse 9 we see the results of Moses' intercession. The serpent is a symbol of sin judged; brass speaks of the divine judgment, as in the brazen altar and self-judgment, as in the laver of brass. The brazen serpent is a type of Christ "made sin for us" (2 Cor 5:21).[2]
This brings us back to John 3:15 - 17. It is true that God is love, but it is just as true that God is righteousness. The penalty for sin had to be paid and Christ paid it. Just as the Israelis in Numbers 21 had to look at the brazen serpent, we must believe in Christ in order to receive the gift of salvation.
Faith in Christ is how God saves us from the penalty of sin, but salvation is a starting block, not a finish line. Once we are saved we are expected to grow. (2Peter 3:16, Romans 8:29, Romans 12:2)
[1] The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament
[2] Scofield Notes on Numbers 21:9, Scofield Study Bible, HCS Version p. 219
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