Scripture: The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Genesis 3:14-15 ESV [Click here to read the entire chapter.]
Observation: Recapping Yesterday’s Daily Focus, Yahweh calls to Adam, asking, “Where are you?” Adam reluctantly replies that he hid when he heard the Lord because he was naked and afraid (regarding the consequences). So, God replies, “Who told you that you were naked?” Without waiting for an answer, the Lord further questions whether Adam ate from the fruit of the prohibited tree. Adam deflects responsibility toward Eve, who gave him the fruit, and toward God, who gave Eve to Adam as a helpmate. God then confronts Eve, who, in turn, blames the serpent who deceived her.
Today’s reading unveils a profound prophecy conveyed through God’s curse of the serpent. In poetic form, Moses recounts Yahweh’s condemnation of the serpent. The snake will not advance to a higher order but remain the lowest of life forms, minimally sustained by dust until his end. Still, the serpent will war against and wound the offspring of Eve, but her progeny will inflict a mortal blow to the serpent.
Takeaway: Once again, Moses employs wordplay. Where earlier he tells his audience the serpent was “crafty” (Hebrew ʿārûm; v.1), the serpent is now cursed (Hebrew ʾārûr; v.14). How so? He is relegated to the dust of the earth, a symbol of “defeat” and the “grave” in the ancient Near East. Similarly, in our Scriptures, “dust” implies utter defeat (see Isaiah 65:25; Micah 7:17). And regarding eating dust, as Isaiah continues his prophecy of the new heaven and earth at the end of the age, he tells us that “dust shall be the serpent’s food” (Isaiah 65:25a ESV).
The church has historically taught that the woman’s offspring is Christ, who crushed the serpent’s head when he offered his life as a substitutionary sacrifice for us. Still, the question remains: Who are the serpent’s offspring? As theologian John Walton contends, the snake and the seed are as one (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, p.55). However, the understanding of the serpent/snake being Satan developed later with the apostolic writers. Paul, referring to our text, contends that the God of peace will crush Satan under our feet (Romans 16:20). John sees in his revelation of the end times that the ancient serpent is the devil and Satan, who is the deceiver of the whole world (Revelation 12:9). Moreover, in the conclusion of John’s revelation, he sees Satan, along with the beast and false prophet, cast into the eternal lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). Indeed, the beast and false prophet are as one with Satan, and all will go down in utter defeat.
Our takeaway? This passage raises an age-old question: If Christ defeated Satan through his substitutionary death and resurrection, why is Satan allowed to continue to tempt and harass God’s people and deceive and lead unbelievers to their ruin? Unfortunately, the text does not provide the answer. But it does assure us that God is sovereign over his creation—that he knows the entire story unrestricted by time, and, with Christ in us, we win! So, press on as the victorious saints of God, fretting not over the remnants of evil that harass us as we harvest the fields of the Kingdom of God. Instead, put on our snake-proof boots of the Gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15), wielding our machetes of Christ’s love and forgiveness. When we do, that wiley serpent will scurry away.
Prayer: Father God, we thank you for your Son, who crushed the serpent’s head. We also thank you that when your Son returns and makes all things new, he will cast this ancient menace and all his minions into the darkness, where they will eternally suffer and no longer hiss among us. Meanwhile, being aware that the deceiver devotes much attention to distracting us, please remind us to wear our snake-proof boots and wield our machetes as we carry on with your Son’s harvest. Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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