Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

THE FIRST MESSIANIC PROMISE

This entry was posted on 01-15-2010 and is filed under STUDIES IN GENESIS.

Now we come to the first Messianic promise in the Bible. How ironic is it that it is spoken to the serpent! "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Gen. 3:15 KJV). Some have called this verse the Protoevangelium, the first announcement of the Gospel. In the Bible my father gave me in 1965, I underlined the portion of this verse that reads "it shall bruise thy head." The promised Messiah would bruise the head of the serpent some day! It implies that there would be a long, hard struggle between Jesus and Satan, but our Lord would win in the end.

Notice that the battle would be between the seed of Satan and the seed of woman. Interesting, is it not, that the writer does not say seed of man but rather seed of woman. I believe that this is a clear reference to Mary and the virgin birth (see Isa. 7:14). Consider what Paul declared. "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons" (Gal. 4:4, 5 ESV). God patiently waited for centuries until the time was just right for the right woman (the virgin Mary) to give birth to His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Messiah. And you and I are included in this passage - "so that we might receive adoptions as sons." Praise His holy name!

It would seem to me that Jesus bruised the head of Satan at the Cross, when Satan bruised His heel. Which wound is worse? A wounded head or a wounded heel? Jesus recovered from His heel wound three days after the Cross. Satan has never recovered from the head wound he suffered at the Cross. Christ took on flesh so that "through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2:14 NKJV). On the Cross Jesus "disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it" (Col. 2:15 NKJV). Jesus Christ prevailed at the "showdown at the Cross."For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). I am so glad that in the midst of sin, selfishness, and subsequent sorrow that God included this first Messianic promise ~ this first promise of the Gospel. I am so glad that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary to save us all from Satan's power and to save us from all our sins (Matt. 1:21).

Hymn: "God rest you merry, gentlemen, Let nothing you dismay, Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day; to save us all from Satan's power When we were gone astray. O tidings of comfort and joy..." (Traditional English Carol, 18th century).