Genesis 3:14-15

Genesis 3:14-15

We are in Genesis 3 and have divided the chapter as follows,

1. The Temptation, vs 1-5.
2. The Fall, vs 6.
3. Immediate Consequences, vs 7-8.
4. The Divine Confrontation, vs 9-13.
5. Long term Consequences (the Adamic Covenant), vs 14-19
6. The Expulsion from the Garden, vs 20-24.

Last time we covered the Divine Confrontation noted in verses 9-13. We noted Adam and Eve heard the Lord walking in the garden and so they hid themselves so as not to be discovered. But you cannot hide from God. As Heb 4:13 says nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

In verses 9 and 11 God asks Adam three questions in order to get him to confess. In his answer Adam initially blames God for his sin, since God was the one who created Eve who got him into trouble. Then he blames his wife for leading him into disobedience. In verse 13, God asks Eve, what have you done? And we noted she blames the serpent for deceiving her, then admits she ate the fruit.

We noted some conclusions from our study last time,

1. Sin always creates guilt. Guilt is the emotion we feel when we have transgressed.
2. With guilt comes shame. Shame is the internalization of guilt which says you are bad.
3. With guilt and shame comes the desire to hide. We hide from God, from each other, and ourselves.
4. Yet God pursues us even though we sin! It was God who sought them out. Romans 5:8 confirms this, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (NASB).
5. But when he finds us, he wants a direct and truthful answer, as David said in Ps 32:5, I acknowledged my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not hide, I said, “I will confess my transgression to the Lord” and you forgave the guilt of my sin (NASB).
6. God forgives our sins. I Jn 1:9, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (NASB).

Today we are going to see God’s judgement on the first two participants in this affair, the serpent, and Satan, while in the next two weeks we will examine the judgement on Eve, Adam, and the creation which God had made for them. This section (verses 14-19), in theological circles, is called the Adamic covenant (or think of it as long term consequences of the fall).

We introduced the idea of covenants when we studied the Edenic Covenant given in Gen 1:28-30 and 2:15-17. For a quick review, a Biblical covenant is simply a binding agreement between God and man. There are eight such Covenants in the Bible. The first is the Edenic, then the Adamic, the Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Palestinian (or land covenant), Davidic, and New. They can be categorized in two ways: they are either conditional or unconditional; and they are either for all mankind (general) or specifically for Israel.

A conditional covenant follows the formula if you will, then I will; or in Biblical terms, if I will, then God will. In other words, its fulfillment is dependent upon man accomplishing some outlined responsibility, which if done, means God will then do what He promised. An unconditional covenant follows the formula, I will, and you don’t have to do anything. Whatever is promised is to be done regardless of the other parties’ actions. In Biblical terms, an unconditional covenant obligates God to bring to pass promises, blessings, and conditions for the covenanted people. It is a unilateral deal secured by the grace of God. Biblically the conditional covenants are the Edenic and Mosaic. The others are all unconditional.

The other way to divide them is whether they are general in the sense they are given to all mankind, or are they specifically given just to Israel? Those directed to all mankind are the Edenic, Adamic, and Noahic, while the covenants made to Israel are the Abrahamic, Mosaic, Palestinian, Davidic, and New.

We also need to ask, are these covenants still in effect? And the answer is mostly. Of the eight, only the Edenic and Mosaic no longer have application. All the others are still in effect and have either been fully fulfilled or partially fulfilled, with anticipation that in the future they will be completely fulfilled.

So as we approach Gen 3:14-19, and using the categories mentioned above, we see the stipulations made in these verses are unconditional and apply to all mankind. The effects of this covenant are still in effect as we live under their umbrella.

The Adamic Covenant (long term consequences to the Fall).

Gen 3:14-19 has a number of stipulations and judgements directed to specific parties.

1. Verse 14 details judgement on the serpent.
2. Verse 15 details judgement on Satan.
3. Verse 16 details judgment on the woman.
4. Verses 17 and 19 detail judgement on the man.
5. Verse 18 details judgment on the creation.
6. Judgement on the Serpent, vs 14.

Vs 14a, So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

The first curse, or judgement, is directed against the Serpent. We know from Gen 3:17 and 18 and Rms 8:20, the ground and the living creatures became cursed as a result of Adam and Eve’s sin. However, the curse upon nature is given in a general sense; but the idea here in Gen 3:14 is that the serpent is selected singularly to bear God’s greater curse. Why is that? The serpent had no moral conscience, no rationality, no higher intellectual function, and no personality. So why was the serpent judged? Gen 3:14 says, “It is because you have done this. The serpent was judged for being possessed or inhabited by Satan and thereby was an accomplice in deceiving Eve and leading her into sin. This may not sound fair to us, that an innocent animal is judged for the deed of Satan, but I remind you we were not there, and we are not God in that we do not possess perfect justice and perfect fairness. But here is the bigger picture. In a sense the snake becomes a symbol for the punishment of Satan. Satan, who aspired to be God, is now symbolized by the snake who crawls on the earth, and eats dust.

Now note the three part judgement,

Vs 14b, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals!

First, the serpent is cursed above all other creatures. Livestock means all domesticated animals andwild animals means all the non-domesticated creatures. So of all the creatures God made the serpent will be the most cursed.

Vs 14c, You will crawl on your belly

Second it is to crawl on its belly. This implies it may have been upright before or at least it was suspended from the ground. Whether it had legs and could stand we do not know (some have advocated the serpent was a dragon prior to the fall -see Rev 12:3). Now the serpent must crawl along the ground. To be on the ground is also a figure of speech which indicates defeat, defilement, something that is detestable and cursed (see Lev 11:41-43).

Vs 14d, “and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

Lastly, it is to eat dust. This phrase is not literal, but rather is a Hebrew idiom for being especially cursed (see Mic 7:17). Also note that in Is 65:25, Isaiah states that in the Millennial kingdom animals will live in peace with one another, but the snake will still eat dust; the wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. But the snakes will eat dust. So even in the most blessed of times, the snake will still be cursed and despised.

So to summarize. The serpent is judged because the serpent was an accomplice to the fall of mankind; but more importantly, the serpent is a living symbol of the Divine punishment of Satan. Satan, who aspired to be as high as God and to be like God is now cast down on his belly to crawl along the earth, and be the lowest and most despised of creatures. So here is the practical application. Every time you see a snake, be reminded that God has vanquished Satan; that he is cast out and down to the lowest physical level you can get—on your belly -prostrate to the ground, as a living reminder of God’s Divine punishment.

Judgment on Satan, vs 15.

Vs 15, And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring^[a] and hers;
he will crush^[b] your head, and you will strike his heel.”

In verse 15, God moves the judgment from the animal as a symbol of judgment to the judgment placed on Satan himself. Note the four components involved.

1. Enmity between Satan and the woman
2. Enmity between the woman’s offspring (or seed), and Satan’s offspring (or seed).
3. The Woman’s seed will crush Satan’s head.
4. Satan will strike the woman’s seed on the heel.

Vs 15a, And I will put enmity between you and the woman,

To get a full appreciation of this verse we must step back and appreciate the context. Sometime in the past, before this event in the garden, Is 14 tells us Satan had willed to be like God. In his rebellion, Rev 12:3 tells us he was able to convince a third of the angels to join him. Now in Gen 3:5-7, he has convinced man to follow him as well. So, we can assume Satan is feeling rather good about himself. He has now convinced the man and the woman to join him and I suspect he expected all of the man and the woman’s progeny would follow him as well. But God says it is not going to be that way.

We see from verse 15a, God will put enmity between you and the woman. The word enmity means animosity or hatred. I do not think Satan was expecting this. He had convinced the woman to follow him, yet God is now saying there will be hatred between the woman and himself; and why is this? The reason is given later in the verse, where it says the offspring of the woman will crush his head. In other words, the means of Satan’s destruction will come from the woman he has just deceived and enjoined into his kingdom.

Vs 15b, and between your offspring and hers;

The second provision of the curse on Satan states this enmity will prospectively persist between two offspring (some translations have seed) yours and hers. The seed of the woman is Christ, while the seed of Satan is the anti-Christ. This phrase along with the next phrase, he will crush your head, is the first Messianic prophecy in scripture. It is also important to note that to refer to the offspring of the woman differs from the Biblical norm. In scripture, the genealogy of someone’s offspring or seed, is always traced through the male line. However, this will not be the case with the Messiah; but in this passage, Moses does not give us an explanation of why this will be. Only centuries later does Isaiah make this clear that the Messiah will be conceived in the womb of a virgin (Is 7:14). Yet here in the beginning of Genesis, the offspring of the woman implies a supernatural conception. The offspring of the woman will have no human father, so his lineage can only be traced through the mother. This fact will become important in Gen 6 when we study how Satan tries to corrupt the offspring of the woman so Christ cannot be born.

Vs 15c, He will crush your head,

Obviously provision number two (discussed above) is closely tied to provision number three given here in verse 15c: the offspring of the woman will crush your head. To crush means to kill, and when you kill something it poses no more threat or danger to you. It is pretty obvious looking at the world today that this event has not yet occurred. Satan is still operable and present. So when will this event occur? There are four passages that are important to know in this regard.

The first is Heb 2:14-18, Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had^[g] the power of death. ¹⁵ Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. ¹⁶ We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters,^[h] so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. ¹⁸ Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested (NLT).

Satan’s threat and danger to us is his power of death. When Adam and Eve sinned they joined Satan’s rebellion and the punishment for that act was death (which we have studied before). So, mankind is in a kingdom slated for destruction, and we have no escape. This is the power of Satan over us. Hebrews 2 tells us that at the cross, this power was disarmed for Christ became our substitute. He bore that punishment so we did not have to. Is Satan still alive and operable? Yes he is, but his power over humanity has been neutered through the death and resurrection of Christ.

The second verse is Romans 16:20. This verse is written to the Church in Rome but applies to our time. Paul says, The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus^[f] be with you.  The writer to the Hebrews states Satan’s power over us has been broken, but Paul makes clear Satan is still alive and well, and still operable in our world; but soon Christ will crush him.

The third verse is Rev 20:1-3, Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit^[a] and a heavy chain in his hand. ² He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. ³ The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while. During the Millennial Kingdom Satan will be bound so he cannot deceive the nations.

The last passage is Rev 20:7-10, When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. ⁸ He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore. ⁹ And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them. ¹⁰ Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. This passage is the account of Satan’s final demise, the ultimate fulfillment of Gen 3:15c, he will crush your head.

Vs 15d, and you will strike his heel.

Satan will bruise the heel of the seed of the woman, which was accomplished at the crucifixion. This was painful, but not terminal. Now here is the picture. In the middle east it was customary to kill a poisonous snake by crushing its head against the ground. Moses knew this. The people of his time knew this. So here is the picture. As the heel of the Messiah is coming down on Satan’s head, Satan lashes out and strikes Jesus on the heel. This causes pain and torment, but it is not fatal. Initially the heel of Christ bruises Satan’s head (the cross and the resurrection in which the power of death is broken), then his head is finally crushed when he is cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:10).