Today’s reading: Genesis 3-5; Matthew 2

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 3:15

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Matthew 2:16

In Genesis 3, temptation and sin enter the human experience. By listening to the serpent and eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve fail the test of trust in and obedience to God. They are confronted, exposed, convicted, and sentenced, but even here there is hope of ultimate salvation (Genesis 3:15) while the conflict with the serpent continues down through the ages.

Indeed that conflict plays out in the lives of the first siblings, Cain and Abel, culminating in murder. It continues through subsequent generations leading up to a judgment on all mankind which we will read about tomorrow.

God would have been just to execute the sinning first couple immediately, but instead He promises an ongoing conflict in which the serpent’s head will be crushed by the offspring of the woman, whom we will later learn is none other than Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:14,15). More about that later.

In Matthew 2, the birth of Jesus is met with both international recognition and royal rejection. King Herod’s scheme to kill the infant is thwarted and prophecies are fulfilled through that heinous action. Here the serpent, through the king, strikes at the heel of the woman’s offspring (figuratively speaking).

In these readings, God’s holiness, sovereignty, and mercy are clearly seen as He rules over the earth, blessing those who believe in Him, and using evil to work out His plans and purposes for good (Romans 8:28) .

The battle lines are drawn in Genesis 3. That battle continues in our time but the victory has been secured through Jesus Christ. Do you trust in Him, the woman’s offspring who crushed the serpent’s head by His death and resurrection? Are you relying upon Him as your Savior? Think about that.

© 2017 John A Carroll Used by permission.