July 10

TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE

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. Genesis 3:15​

Memorize this Verse:
Cover the verse text and using just the first letters of each word try to recite the entire passage.
15. A I W P E B T A T W A B T S A H S I S B T H A T S B H H

Notes on verse:

After cursing the physical serpent, God turned to the spiritual serpent, the lying seducer, Satan and cursed him.

“Shall bruise thy head … shall bruise his heal”: This “first gospel” is prophetic of the struggle and its outcome between “your seed” (Satan and unbelievers, who are called the Devil’s children in John 8:44), and her seed (Christ, a descendant of Eve, and those in Him), which began in the garden.

In the midst of the curse passage, a message of hope shone forth, the woman’s offspring “seed” called “it”, is Christ, who will one day defeat the Serpent. Satan could only “bruise” Christ’s heel (cause Him to suffer), while Christ will bruise Satan’s head (destroy him with a fatal blow).

“It” [or He,”] “shall bruise” [literally “crush’] “thy head, but thou shalt bruise his heal” refers to Christ’s bruising on the cross, which led to the eventual crushing of Satan and his kingdom.

Paul, in a passage strongly reminiscent of Genesis 3, encouraged the believers in Rome, “And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom. 16:20). Believers should recognize that they participate in the crushing of Satan because, along with their Savior and because of His finished work on the cross, they also are of the woman’s seed.

For more on the destruction of Satan (see Heb. 2:14-15; Rev. 20:10).

This verse has long been recognized as the first messianic prophecy of the Bible. Thus, it also contains the first glimpse of the gospel (protoevangelium). It reveals three essential truths:

(1) That Satan is the enemy of the human race, explaining why God put “enmity” [related to the word enemy] “between thee” [Satan] and “the woman”;

(2) That He would place a spiritual barrier between “thy seed” (Satan’s people), and “her seed” (God’s people); and

(3) That the representative seed of the woman (i.e., a human being: Christ), would deliver the deathblow to Satan, but in so doing would be bruised Himself.

Adamic Covenant: The dispensation of conscience was based on Adam’s limited experience with good and evil. He should have remembered the positive results of obedience and the disastrous consequences of disobedience. The Adamic covenant was introduced at the beginning of this period.

Under the covenant, the serpent was cursed (verse 14); God promised redemption through the seed of the woman (verse 15); the woman experienced multiplied sorrow and pain in childbearing (verse 16); the earth was cursed (verses 17-18); sorrow, pain, and physical death became part of the experience of life, and labor became burdensome (verse 19).

Man failed under this covenant, degenerating to the point where people did only evil continually (6:5), until God judged them with the Flood (9:12).

This is one of the most important verses in the Bible. This is the promise of Jesus Christ as destroyer of the devil. The very first verse said that the serpent, or Satan, would be the natural enemy of mankind.

This statement truly means Satan is our enemy, but also that the snake is the natural enemy as well. The statement, “between thy seed and her seed” indicated that the enemy of Satan (Jesus), will be of the woman and not of the man. The devil, Satan, or his demons truly do nip at the heels of the Christian, but through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can stomp on his head.

TODAY'S BIBLE READING

July 10
Today's Bible Reading Plan selections can be found below. If you don't have a Bible with you, just click the references to read each passage online:

Old Testament
1 Chronicles 23-25  —  7.5 minutes
Psalms 135  —  3.5 minutes

New Testament
Luke 9:28-36  —  2.5 minutes
1 Thessalonians 1-1  —  3.0 minutes

Total Average Read Time — 16.5 minutes