The Hope of Redemption

Genesis 3:14-15

The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
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.”

Do you ever wish you could have a “do over” involving a decision you made? Perhaps the regret was immediate. Or, maybe it took some time for you to realize, “I really blew it.” There have been many times in my life that I have wished I could undo a decision made, an emotional reaction to a circumstance that was not Christ-like, or a word spoken that was not thought out. The sad reality is that we cannot undo decisions made, actions taken, or words spoken. We can however, find hope in redemption in the midst of our disobedience, pain, and shame.

Adam and Eve thought they could hide from God when they disobeyed His command and succumbed to the serpent’s temptation. Hiding was not remotely possible. God called the couple out of hiding and listened as each one pointed the finger of blame at another. Being just, God pronounced judgment on all involved-first on the serpent, then on the woman, and finally on the man. Today, I was us to focus on the serpent’s [Satan’s] judgment and the hope it reveals for us.

God’s condemnation of the serpent has three aspects. First, the serpent would be cursed more than any livestock (“cattle,” KJV) and more than any wild animal. All of the living creatures would suffer the burden of the curse, but none more so than the serpent. It had participated directly in the fall of humanity by tempting the woman to disobey God. Such trickery was deliberate. Satan’s intention was not only to attack the woman but also to destroy her husband and, ultimately, to oppose God.

Second, God declared that the serpent would move (“crawl,” NIV) on its belly and eat dust all the days of its life. Some Bible students suggest that originally the serpent may have had legs like other creatures and received its present state after the fall. Others emphasize the serpent’s humiliation in having to eat the dust from which the man was made and to which the man would return. Still others emphasize the phrase, “all the days of your life,” indicating the creature’s mortality.

A third aspect of the serpent’s punishment in verse fifteen was an enduring hostility between the serpent and the woman. One must interpret God’s judgment against the serpent by keeping in mind Satan’s evil activity. Some aspects of God’s judgment apply to the serpent as a creature, while other features point to God’s judgment on Satan. Consider, for example, the hostility God put between the serpent and the woman. Evidently, Eve had no fear of the serpent during the temptation dialogue. Since then, however, the natural repulsion most people feel toward snakes is obvious. That repulsion is but a reflection of the bitter hostility between Satan and humanity that will continue unto the end of the age (see Revelation 12:12-17).

If the phrase “your seed” also refers in some way to God’s judgment against Satan, how is that to be understood? As a spirit being-a fallen angel-Satan will endure on earth until the Day of Judgment, when he will be cast into the lake of fire forever (Rev. 20:10). But who is Satan’s seed, his offspring, who will participate in the ongoing hostility against the woman and her offspring? Jesus referred to people who opposed Him as God’s Son as being the children of the Devil (John 8:44). The apostle John wrote that those who live in habitual sin also are children of the Devil (1 John 3:7-10). He also wrote that “anyone not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). In other words, Satan’s “children” also will suffer his fate.

The phrase “her seed” also requires application beyond the Garden of Eden. Nowhere else in Scripture do we find the idea of a women’s seed. Christian teaching from its earliest days had found in this verse an expression of hope for humanity that despite our falling under the curse of sin, One who was “born of a woman, born under the law, [would come] to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). Thus, Genesis 3:15 is understood to point to the virgin birth of Jesus Christ and to His ultimate victory against Satan, sin, and death. Satan would strike His [Christ’s] heel in the crucifixion, but Christ would strike Satan’s head in His victorious resurrection from the dead.

Hebrews 2:14 (NASB) tells us, “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.”

The great news is that we have ultimate hope through Jesus in the midst of the pain, suffering, and shame of sin and disobedience. You may have blown it, but that is not the end of the story. You can recover and move forward. So do not give up in despair. Seek Jesus today. Ask Him to forgive you of you selfish decisions and mistakes and restore hope, joy, and peace to your life. He stands ready to answer your call.

Serving Christ, Loving Others, and Growing Together,

Dr. Bryan Cox