On the Road to Bethlehem #1: The Prophecy of Hope

“And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
He will crush your head,
and you will strike His heel.”

—Genesis 3:15 (NIV)

Every great story has a beginning. And the greatest story ever told began in a Garden right in the midst of great tragedy. It was not just a garden, but the Garden—the Garden of Eden. Man and woman were just breaking in their bodies, with no aches and pains, no stress, no daily grind, and as of yet, no kids. Everything was new and perfect. Then Satan entered in. He had been cast out of heaven, forced to roam this new place called earth. He had to watch as Adam and Eve fellowshiped with God unhindered. Unable to sit idly by and watch lowly man be esteemed and exalted, he disguised himself as a serpent and the rest is history. He managed to trick Eve into eating of the fruit and the great beginning became ground zero for sin, death, and destruction. It has become known as The Fall, because it was at the moment when Adam and Eve sinned that humanity fell from the lofty position of walking unimpeded with God. Man could now die, experience pain, loss, disappointment, and whatever other unimaginable atrocities come with sin and death.

Yet, God did not leave man in his hapless and helpless state. He made a promise. It was the very first promise, but it came veiled in a prophecy of what would come. Man would not be left in this position of death and sorrow. There would come one who would be a deliverer, a Savior, and a redeemer from the mess of sin. This first promise would be expanded throughout the coming ages. God would give us clues to who this Savior would be, His characteristics, and His actions. And the clues would be obvious to everyone if they would just look for them and believe.

God said that He would “put enmity between you and the woman” a clear reference to Satan and Eve. And that enmity would continue on “between your offspring and hers” refers to the posterity of both Satan and Eve. Eve’s posterity is seen in the entire human race, but the language in the passage indicates that there is one individual who may represent the race as a whole—one descendent who is the representative of the race par excellence.

On the other hand, Satan’s offspring is found in all of those who relish in the deeds of darkness and have joined him in rebellion against God. However, there is a sudden shift in the midst of the passage. The text turns from the human race as a whole to one single individual, “He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel." Who is this “He” who “will crush your head”? This is none other than the Messiah. We do not know anything about His identity, only that He will battle with the serpent. The serpent will have his head crushed; all the while he strikes the heel of the descendant’s foot. In other words, the serpent will strike a deathblow to the heel of Eve’s descendant, but will die in doing so.

The importance of this passage cannot be overlooked. God will bring a Messiah to save men and women from their sins. In the next few weeks I hope to take us through the Old Testament as we discover together the identity of this coming one. Because it is through Him and Him alone that we have hope for anything, even beyond what this world has to offer. This world makes promises that it cannot keep and hope is found only through God’s promise of Christ, which is why this Advent season is so amazing. Like a woman with child looks forward in hope of what is to come and the joy experienced once the baby arrives, so too we look forward with hope all over again, knowing that it is through God’s promise plan that we can be freed from the chains of sin on our souls. The limits of our earthly and sinned marred bodies and the fear of death are no match for the hope of Christ. May God open our eyes to rediscover this truth anew this Advent season. Amen.