Illuminate the Plan: Crushing Heads and Bruising Heels

By Pastor Dan Hickling  

READ

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”—Genesis 3:15 (NKJV) 

On the surface, this passage can be a bit confusing. You may be asking, “What’s this ‘enmity’ referred to here? What is enmity anyway? What’s this Seed supposed to mean? And what does this bruised head and bruised heel have to do with anything?” These are all great questions, and the importance of this passage will become evident as we answer them. But we need to start by considering the context of this verse.

God is pronouncing a judgment against Satan, who had just enticed Eve in the Garden of Eden to eat the one fruit God had forbidden. She then gave it to her husband, Adam, who also ate the forbidden fruit. By disobeying God this way, sin entered into their lives. And because God is righteous, His righteousness required Him to judge those He had created in love. Instead of living in innocence and peace with God, humanity entered into a condition of guilt and hostility because of sin. Our existence would now be defined by sin, pain, sorrow, and death. This was Satan’s plan: to separate us from our loving Creator—and he succeeded to a great degree!

So, this passage came at a time of universal disaster (literally), and the whole story of God’s relationship with the human race could have ended right there! But it didn’t. In fact, it didn’t because of this very passage. For this judgment contains a promise, which opens a door of hope, forgiveness, and restoration for what had just been lost.  

How so? Well, God tells Satan He will put enmity (meaning a state of hostility) between him and the woman. In other words, there’s going to be an ongoing battle between Satan and humanity, as represented by Eve. This conflict would eventually culminate between the “seed” of Satan and the “Seed” of the woman. The imagery of “Seed” here represents offspring. Satan would continue to produce followers who would advance his plan against us, but there would be another “Seed” who would eventually come through the line of humanity. 

At a certain point, a showdown would occur between these opposing forces. And although Satan would inflict a non-fatal wound on the woman’s Seed, the Seed of the woman would crush Satan’s head in the end. In other words, God promised that despite the consequences brought upon mankind through Satan’s plan, He, Himself, had a greater plan: a Deliverer would come to destroy what Satan had done to destroy our relationship with God. 

This is the first glimpse of the gospel, God’s plan to restore us to Himself. Paradise was lost through sin and Satan, but through the Seed, paradise would be regained.

We discover the Seed’s identity as the biblical story unfolds. Just a little further on in Genesis, God references the Seed again in the following promise to Abraham, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:18 NKJV). Several centuries later, Paul connects the dots by writing, “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16 NKJV).

As we put all of this together, God’s plan of rescue and redemption becomes clear. He sent His Son, Jesus, as the promised Seed born of a woman, who would eventually be wounded by Satan on the cross. But through that cross, He ultimately defeated Satan’s plan to keep us separated from the God who loves us. On the cross, the penalty of sin was covered, making forgiveness and reconciliation with our Creator now possible.

LET THE LIGHT IN

wə·zar·‘ă·ḵā

Seed. Descendant. Offspring.

This word is used in the Bible to describe a descendant or child in someone’s family line, but it’s also used to represent seeds planted that produce fruit. And in God’s promise, both definitions work! In His earthly family tree, Jesus is a child/descendant of Abraham, but He’s also the amazing fruit this seed of God’s promise produced—a promise made to Abraham almost 2,100 years before Jesus’ birth! And we get to enjoy the fruit of this seed (Psalm 34:8) through a relationship with Him. How cool is that? 

Abraham

“Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed” (Genesis 22:18 NIV).

The Seed
“Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, CHRIST” (Galatians 3:16 NKJV). 

LET THE LIGHT SHINE

Do a scavenger hunt found on our Christmas site. At the end, talk about how the items go together!