Introduction
God had already given clear instruction as per the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in that Adam (meaning first-man) and Eve (meaning life-giver) were commanded not to eat of this tree. We hear God’s instruction echoed by Eve in Genesis 3:2 and 3 in her response to the serpent’s initial deceitful attack (Gen 3:1). The dialogue continued, and finally, the deception took hold, and both Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Soon after, they heard God walking in the garden calling to them. So they hid. At this point they had managed to put together some sort of clothing made from animal skins and leaves to cover themselves. God, omniscient as He is, still queried them as to how they knew they were naked, skillfully highlighting the rotten fruit of the accuser by drawing out from both Adam and Eve the answer which they gave, by accusation. First Adam accused Eve, then Eve accused the serpent. God then first approached the original perpetrator (the last to be accused), then came back to the next in line, Eve, with the consequences, and finally landed on Adam. As God laid out the consequences for all (that would include us), He also put forward a promise (which thankfully, does not exclude us).
The Gospel, Enmity, And The Promise Of Both
This promise has been the target of the decievers attacks since the promise was made by God in Genesis 3:15. And we have been caught in the crossfire. However, saying it that way gives us too much credit, or removes from us the responsibility that we must take when approaching the promise for ourselves. We cannot just say that we have been caught in the crossfire, as it almost suggests that we are innocent bystanders. We know that we are not, because we are suffering the consequences today that God had given Adam and Eve then, which suggests that God says we are not innocent, and need to be justified, and we know, by the final atonement. The final atonement, being the fulfilment of the promise. The promise, being Jesus. The fulfilment, His death and resurrection. So it is here, as far back as Genesis 3:15 that we read of the Gospel:
“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.” - Genesis 3:15
en·mi·ty /ˈenmədē/
1. the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.
God had put enmity between the deceiver and the woman. And more importantly to understand, between their offspring for the generations to come. If Eve should mean life-giver, and the serpent being the deceiver, it was as if God made a declaration that day in Genesis 3:15 that from then on, there shall be enmity between Him, the true life-giver, and Satan, the deceiver. He continued on to say that there would be hostility and opposition between His and the deceiver’s offspring. An alternative way of looking at it: while Satan failingly attempts to overthrow God, and God victoriously and continually foils the deceiver’s schemes, there is going to be a very real spiritual battle for us (the offspring) as we endeavour to choose life despite deceptions attempts of steering us away.
It is Finished: Enmity Magnified
But God did not stop there. He continued on to deliver the promise of a Savior that would not necessarily put an end (as we know it) to the hostility and opposition per se, rather, would save us from it, while simultaneously calling us to join Him in it with a renewed understanding that He has already overcome it. Before walking out of the tomb, Jesus said prophetically as He hung on the cross, “It is Finished” (John 19:30). This promise, should we accept it, would magnify not only the hostility and opposition that is in the believer aimed at the deceiver, but also the grace, love, and compassion for those that have been deceived. Further, this promise might get hold of us in such a divine manner that we would come to a place of giving our lives away for each other and for those that have been deceived. This is made possible as a result of what the promise (Jesus), invites us into, because of the example that the promise (Jesus) has given us.
While the Book of Genesis offers to us the creation story in prose, it also gives to us the starting point of our lineage, and with that, the mostly dismal different directions humanity has gone in since. Since God’s declaration of enmity that would ensue since the fall (Gen 3:15)—and with that His promise of a Savior—what has been on display through the ages and experienced still today, are the attempts of the deceiver and his offspring to exterminate or adulterate God’s offspring; thus attempting to render the promise of Jesus who is to “crush the head” of the enemy, void (Gen 3:15). This continues and culminates with failed murder attempts on now not just the lineage that would give birth to the Messiah, but the very embodiment of the promise Himself, Jesus, Who in fact, took His own life to the cross, defeated the deceiver, rose from the grave and as a result has rendered any attempt of the deceiver and his offspring to disqualify God’s plan, void. This is the fulfillment of God’s promise as it was stated in Genesis 3:15.
Lineage Is Split And God’s Peculiar Promise Presents
The promise of the Messiah and the origin of enmity between Him, the deceiver, and their offspring was in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:15). Soon after, Adam knew Eve and bore three sons. First, Cain, then Abel (removed), then after Cain had killed Abel, God gave Adam and Eve another son, Seth. This is the origin of two generational lines—Godly offspring and the offspring of the deceiver—from which the most riveting story of all time starts to unfold as the deceiver begins to make attempts on Gods promise. However, spoiler alert, God’s promise in Genesis 3:15: we know how the story ends, but we are still working out how to live (well) while journeying to get there, and getting a clear view of our aged story helps us tremendously in achieving that. Let’s consider the details of God’s peculiar promise:
It Is An Unchanging Gospel
"Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”” - Galatians 3:7-8 (English Standard Version, 2016)
It Is An Intergenerational Plan
It Is Continual Warfare
“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.” - Genesis 3:15
Deceiver’s Attempts To Exterminate Or Adulterate the Godly Line
Take Heart: Hated By The World
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.”” John 15:18-20 (English Standard Version, 2016)
In Conclusion
It is an unchanging gospel. We have seen that God had made known to us the Gospel from the very start. Salvation for all the generations that would follow would always be through faith in the promise of a victorious offspring. We recognize that God’s salvation plan is an intergenerational plan and that despite all of the attempts to exterminate or adulterate His line over the long-arc of time, still, God stands victorious. Those—often at times—difficult to read through biblical genealogies indeed matter a great deal in getting a clear view of where we are in this story. We have also learned and must come to terms with the fact that there has been and is continual warfare. The deceiver and his offspring, I repeat, have long tried to destroy the woman’s offspring by exterminating or adulterating, but I close with the words that Jesus uttered on the cross before sabotaging the enemies plans once and for all:
"It is Finished..."