21 kjm advent devotional asset

Her Offspring

Genesis 3:15 (ESV) — 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. 

 

The dust settled in the Garden of Eden as the reality of sin’s calamity fell upon Adam and Eve. They hid themselves, suddenly aware of their nakedness and shame. The One they had known as their Creator, Companion, and Provider, was now their Judge. Sin wrecked everything. 

 

God created Adam and Eve to walk with Him in joyous, unbroken fellowship. But Satan entered the Garden, armed with questions of God’s goodness and wisdom in restricting their choices. They fell for Satan’s scheme, and mankind plunged into enmity and opposition to God. 

 

God set up a courtroom-style verdict for Adam and Eve. The gavel of God’s justice slammed, and they received a guilty verdict for their sin, and with that a sentence of many hardships in life, including death. But Satan also stood trial. God decreed a future promise of Satan’s defeat in addition to a curse. This became humanity’s promise of hope. 

 

God tells Satan, “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.” The serpent and the woman will stay at war. Enmity will govern their relationship. Her offspring will bruise the serpent’s head, and the serpent’s head will bruise his heel. The imagery is one of an offspring of Eve crushing the head of the serpent under his foot. The picture is of the ultimate defeat of Lucifer, crushed under the victorious foot of Christ. Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the grave upends the curse and brings salvation to all who believe upon him. But in the Garden on that dark day of Adam and Eve’s rebellion, the glimmer of light from the hope of that promise lay in the distant future. Countless millions of weary sinners and sufferers through the years placed their eyes on that promise and waited. Waiting is hard. It requires faith. It forces us to cling patiently to what God has said and trust His timing. 

 

What are you waiting on right now? What promises of God are you clinging to though you haven’t yet seen their ultimate fulfillment? Advent season is a time of reflection, waiting, and faith in God’s promises. There is light amid the darkness. Even on humanity’s darkest day, the light of God’s grace is on display for sinners.


Questions for Reflection:

  • Have you had areas in your life that have felt dark and hopeless?
  • Why is the promise given in the Garden of Eden so important for our faith?
  • What lessons do you pray God would teach you about waiting on the fulfillment of His promises during this Advent season?