Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head… The words are considerable — 1. For the person who speaketh them, the Lord God Himself, who was the first preacher of the gospel in paradise. The draught and plot was in His bosom long before, but now it cometh out of His mouth. 2. For the occasion when they were spoken. When God hath been but newly provoked and offended by sin, and man, from His creature and subject, was become His enemy and rebel, the offended God comes with a promise in His mouth. Adam could look for nothing but that God should repeat to him the whole beadroll of curses wherein he had involved himself, but God maketh known the great design of His grace. Once more, the Lord God was now cursing the serpent, and in the midst of the curses promiseth the great blessing of the Messiah. Thus doth God "in wrath remember mercy" (Habakkuk 3:2). Yea, man's sentence was not yet pronounced. The Lord God had examined him (ver. 8-10), but before the doom there breaketh out a promise of mercy. Thus mercy gets the start of justice, and triumpheth and rejoiceth over it in our behalf: "Mercy rejoiceth against judgment" (James 2:13). 3. They are considerable for their matter, for they intimate a victory over Satan, and that in the nature which was foiled so lately. In the former part of the verse you have the combat; in the text the success. (1) The conflict and combat: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed." I shall not consider the conflict now as carried on between the two seeds, but between the two heads, Christ the Prince of life, and the devil "who hath the power of death" (Hebrews 2:14). It was begun between the serpent and the woman; it is carried on between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent: but the conflict is ended by the destruction of one of the heads; the prince of death is destroyed by the Prince of life. (2) The success and issue of the combat. Where observe — (a) What the seed of the woman doth against the serpent, "He shall bruise thy head"; (b) What the serpent doth against the seed of the woman, "Thou shalt bruise his heel."(α) There is something common to both; for the word bruise is used promiscuously both of the serpent and the seed of the woman. In this war, as usually in all others, there are wounds given on both sides; the devil bruiseth Christ, and Christ bruiseth Satan.(β) There is a disparity of the event, "He shall bruise thy head," and "Thou shalt bruise his heel"; where there is a plain allusion to treading upon a serpent. Wounds on the head are deadly to serpents, but wounds on the body are not so grievous or dangerous; and a serpent trod upon, seeketh to do all the mischief it can to the foot by which it is crushed. The wound given to the head is mortal, but the wound given to the heel may be healed. The seed of the woman may be cured, but Satan's power cannot be restored. The devil cannot reach to the head, but the heel only, which is far from any vital part. (1st.) For the first clause, "It shall bruise thy head." The seed of the woman crushed the serpent's head, whereby is meant the overthrow and destruction of his power and works (John 12:31; 1 John 3:8). The head being bruised, strength and life is perished. (2nd.) For the other clause, "Thou shalt bruise his heel."Where — (1) Note the intention of the serpent, who would destroy the kingdom of the Redeemer if he could; but he can only reach the heel, not the head. (2) The greatness of Christ's sufferings; His heel was bruised, and He endured the painful, shameful, accursed death of the cross. Doctrine: That Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman, is at enmity with Satan, and hath entered the lists with him; and though bruised in the conflict, yet He finally overcometh him, and subverteth his kingdom. I. That Jesus Christ is the seed of the woman. That He is one of her seed is past doubt, since He was born of the Virgin, a daughter of Eve. That He is "The seed," the most eminent of all the stock, appeareth by the dignity of His Person, God made flesh (John 1:14; 1 Timothy 3:16). As also by His miraculous conception (Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:23). Now, if you ask what necessity there was that the conqueror should be the seed of the woman, because the flesh of Christ is the bread of life, and the food of our faith? I shall a little insist upon the conveniency and agreeableness of it. 1. That thereby He might be made under the law, which was given to the whole nature of man (Galatians 4:4). 2. That He might in the same nature suffer the penalty and curse of the law, as well as fulfil the duty of it, and so make satisfaction for our sins, which as God He could not do. He was "made sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21), and was "made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13; Philippians 2:8). "He became obedient to death, even the death of the cross." 3. That in the same nature which was foiled He might conquer Satan. 4. That He might take compassion of our infirmities, having experimented them in His own person (Hebrews 2:17, 18). 5. That He might take possession of heaven for us in our nature (John 14:2, 3). 6. That after He had been a sacrifice for sin, and conquered death by His resurrection, He might also triumph over the devil, and lead captivity captive, and give gifts to men in the very act of His ascension into heaven (Ephesians 4:8). II. That Christ is at enmity with Satan, and hath entered into the conflict with him. 1. We must state the enmity between Christ and His confederates, and Satan and his instruments. (1) There is a perfect enmity between the nature of Christ and the nature of the devil. (2) An enmity proper to His office and design. For He Came "to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8); and was set up to dissolve that sin and misery which he had brought upon the world. 2. The enmity being such between the seeds, Christ sets upon His business to destroy Satan's power and works. (1) His power. Satan bath a two-fold power over fallen man — legal and usurped. (2) His works. There is a two-fold work of Satan — the work of the devil without us, and the work of the devil within us. III. That in this conflict His heel was wounded, bitten, or bruised by the serpent. 1. Certain it is that Christ was bruised in the enterprise; which showeth how much we should value our salvation, since it costs so dear as the precious blood of the Son of God Incarnate (1 Peter 1:18, 19). 2. But how was He bruised by the serpent? Certainly on the one hand Christ's sufferings were the effects of man's sin and God's hatred against sin and His governing justice; for it is said, "It pleased the Father to bruise Him" (Isaiah 53:10). Unless it had pleased the Lord to bruise Him, Satan could never have bruised Him. On the Other side, they were also the effects of the malice and rage of the devil and his instruments, who was now with the sword's point and closing stroke with Christ, and doing the worst he could against Him. In His whole life He endured many outward troubles from Satan's instruments; for all His life long He was a man of sorrows, wounded and bruised by Satan and his instruments (John 8:44). But the closing stroke was at last; then did the serpent most eminently bruise His heel. When Judas contrived the plot, it is said, the devil entered into him (Luke 22:3). When the high priest's servants came to take Him, He telleth them, "This is your hour, and the power of darkness" (Luke 22:53). The power of darkness at length did prevail so far as to cause His shameful death; this was their day. 3. It was only His heel that was bruised. It could go no further; for though His bodily life was taken away, yet His head and mediatory power was not touched (Acts 2:36). Again, His bodily life was taken away but for a while. God would not leave His soul in the grave (Psalm 16:10). Once more, though Christ was bruised, yet He was not conquered. So for Christians, He may divers ways wound and afflict us in our outward interests, but the inner man is safe (2 Corinthians 4:16). IV. Though Christ's heel was bruised in the conflict, yet it endeth in Satan's final overthrow; for his head was crushed, which noteth the subversion of his power and kingdom. To explain this, we must consider — 1. What is the power of Satan. 2. How far Satan was destroyed by Christ. First: What is the power of Satan? It lieth in sin. And Christ destroyed him, as He "made an end of sin, and brought in everlasting righteousness, and made reconciliation for iniquities" (Daniel 9:24). Secondly: How far was Satan destroyed or his head crushed? 1. Negatively. (1) Non ratione essentiae, not to take away his life and being. No; there is a devil still, and shall be, even when the whole work of Christ's redemption is finished (Revelation 20:10; Matthew 25:41). Then eternal judgment is executed on the head of the wicked state. (2) Non ratione malitiae, not in regard of malice; for the enmity ever continueth between the two seeds, and Satan will be doing though it be always to loss, "The devil sinneth from the beginning" (1 John 3:8). Therefore he is not so destroyed as if he did no more desire the ruin and destruction of men. He is as malicious as ever. 2. Affirmatively, it remaineth that it is ratione potentiae, in regard of his power. But the question returneth, How far is his power destroyed? for he still governeth the wicked, and possesseth a great part of the world. Therefore the devils are called "The rulers of the darkness of this world" (Ephesians 6:12). He molesteth the godly, whether considered singly or apart, or in their communities and societies. Singly and apart he may sometimes trouble them and sorely shake them as wheat is winnowed in a sieve. "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat" (Luke 22:31). And in their communities and societies. "Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say; many a time have they afflicted me from my youth" (Psalm 129:1, 2). Use 1. Thankfulness and praise to our Mediator. 1. Satan's design was to dishonour God by a false representation, as if envious of man's happiness (Genesis 3:5). And so to weaken the esteem of God's goodness. Now in the work of our redemption God is wonderfully magnified, and represented as amiable to man; not envying our knowledge and delight, but promoting it by all means, even with great care and cost (1 John 4:8). 2. To depress the nature of man, that in innocency stood so near God. Now that the human nature, so depressed and abased by the malicious suggestions of the devil, should be so elevated and advanced, and be set up far above the angelical nature, and admitted to dwell with God in a personal union, oh! let us now cheerfully remember and celebrate this victory of Christ. Our praise now is a pledge of our everlasting triumph. Use 2. To exhort us to make use of Christ's help for our recovery out of the defection and apostasy of mankind. Oh! let Satan be crushed in you, and the old carnal nature destroyed. Use 3. To show us the nature of Christ's victory, and wherein it consisteth; not in an exemption from troubles, nor in a total exemption from sin for the present. 1. Not in an exemption from troubles. No; you must expect conflicts. Though Satan's deadly power be taken away, our heel may be crushed. 2. It is not a total exemption from sin. Necessary vital grace is only absolutely secured; yon shall receive no deadly wound to destroy your salvation. Use: 4. To animate and encourage Christ's servants in their war against Satan's kingdom, at home and abroad, within and without: "Not to give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:27). Christ whom we serve is more able to save than Satan is to destroy. ( T. Manton, D. D..) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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