ODJ: curses and conflicts
December 14, 2010
I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring (v.15).
READ: Genesis 3:1-15
Conflicts. I haven’t found anyone who truly enjoys them. I, for one, will do anything possible to avoid conflicts. For I desire and strive to live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18; Hebrews 12:14). Genesis 3:15 is about hostility and animosity. In this verse, God declares that He will cause enmity between Satan and Eve. Why would God deliberately create enmity between the two?
Satan had succeeded in getting Adam and Eve to disobey God (vv.1-7). But he couldn’t get their allegiance, because God intervened. God’s judgment, a curse on Satan, is tinged with hope and provides a blessing for us today. It’s God’s first gracious and merciful act immediately after the fall. God caused the hostility between the devil and Eve (v.15) in order to prevent Eve from giving her full allegiance to Satan.
The devil wants us to think of him as a friend (2 Corinthians 11:14). In setting up hostility between Satan and Eve, God reminds us that Satan is no friend. He’s our great enemy! The apostle Peter, writing from his own painful failure (Luke 22:31-34,56-62). warns us to “stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
Genesis 3:15 speaks of Eve’s offspring (seed NKJV). Many theologians believe the seed of the woman foreshadows the virgin birth of Christ. For in nature, the seed is in the male, not the female. So it appears that the promise of the Savior was first announced in the Garden of Eden—immediately after Adam and Eve had sinned. At that early time—the grace of God was revealed that allows us to be set free from the curse and conflict that came with sin. —K.T. Sim
How have you been oblivious to the subtle temptations of the evil one? What will you do to create some healthy conflict between you and Satan?
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