INTRODUCTION
The Bible is full of predictive prophecies. One such prediction is about Christmas in Eden. Nowadays, weather predictions go wrong. Earlier, I once happened to read about a man who was a very much qualified TV meteorologist but however, he did a terrible job at forecasting the weather. As a result, he lost his job and he eventually moved to another state to apply for a similar job. In that interview, they asked him the reason for leaving his previous position. So, he then replied, “The climate there never agreed with me.”
While it is very much impossible for any of us to forecast the future, the Bible’s prophecies are always true.
If you read closely, you can hear the sounds of Christmas right in the Old Testament. Surprisingly, the OT belongs to 1000 years before Jesus Christ was born. And, 300 references about the Messiah came true in Jesus Christ. In fact, the first Christmas is the Christmas in the Eden Garden
Today we are going to take a look at the very first Christmas message i.e., Christmas in the Eden Garden ever preached which mentions Jesus crushing satan. The seed of woman crushed the Serpent.
300 years later to Jesus’ birth, the first Christmas celebration took place. Surprisingly, the first Christmas message shared was Christmas in Eden around 4000 years before Christ’s birth. God the Creator Himself preached the first Christmas Message. He pictured Jesus crushing the satan at the cross. Adam and Eve along with Satan was the congregation. The Garden of Eden was the sanctuary. That is the message of Christmas in the Eden Garden. Shall we explore this Fisr Christmas message?
Genesis 3:14-15 – MESSAGE OF CHRISTMAS IN EDEN
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
BACKGROUND
Adam and Eve have just eaten the prohibited fruit and sin has entered paradise. Their first impulse is to hide from God. Their second is to make excuses for their sin. Adam blames the woman and Eve blames the serpent. No one is willing to stand up and say, “I did it. It’s my fault and I take responsibility.”
Thus suddenly, the glorious garden is not so beautiful. The entrance of sin has ruined Eden. Dark shadows fall on the ground as Adam and Eve contemplate what they have done. The smell of death is in the air. Under a nearby tree, the serpent lies quietly. He alone is happy, and he delights in what is happening for this was his plan from the very beginning. He intended to humiliate God by ruining paradise and now he has done it. Satan who once fell from God’s presence took the man out of the presence of God. Satan now tells the human beings, “you are not faithful to trust God with your free will.”
GOD’S JUDGMENT BEGINS
As God surveys the moral wreckage of the fall, He immediately begins to deliver judgment. He begins where the sin began – He starts with the serpent. God pronounces the victory of Jesus over satan as the message of Christmas in the Eden garden. Later he pronounced judgment to the woman and then to the man.
Let’s see what God spoke to the serpent:
Genesis 3:14
So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.”
God passes judgment on the serpent for his part in the fall of humanity.
a. He is cursed above every other animal.
b. The serpent will crawl on his belly forever.
c. He will eat dust all the days of his life.
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
1. THERE IS A PERMANENT CONFLICT THAT STARTED IN EDEN
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers……
The key word is enmity, which means “hostility” or “animosity.”
If the devil thought that by deceiving the woman, he had her on his side, he was greatly mistaken. Eve made a huge mistake, but she would never join Satan’s party. She will never get along with Satan. She will hope for Jesus. A message of Christmas in the Eden.
MEANING OF SEED
Seed means offspring. Usually when we talk about the seed we talk about a man. When we speak of offspring, we say this person is an offspring of so and so which is his dad. Why is it the seed is that of the woman here? I believe the Bible is talking about the first Christmas in Eden here and this verse is making a point of the virgin birth the Savior will have. There is no male seed in the miraculous Holy Spirit pregnancy.
It is the seed of the woman. Joseph was there but he was not the father of Jesus. If Jesus was the seed of a human being it is the seed of the woman. Now, God is saying that there will be permanent enmity between Jesus and Satan. It talks about the permanent conflict that God has with Satan, the conflict that the Light of the world has with the ruler of the kingdom of darkness.
The “seed” or offspring has another meaning.
Galatians 3:29
If you belong to Christ then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. So, if you are a child of God, you are the seed of God and also the seed of Abraham. The seed here refers to the men and women of faith in every generation who believe in God. This seed is the godly line that starts from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses, down to David, and eventually culminates in the person of Jesus Christ. After Jesus Christ, the seed is all those who believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the seed of the woman and when we accept Christ, we become the seed of Jesus Christ.
SEED OF GOD AND SEED OF SATAN
Now, just like we are the seed of God, Satan has his seed too. Throughout history in every generation, in every country, in every city, in every village, in every tribe, and in every family, Satan has had his people. The sinful seed started with Cain who killed Abel and continued to the wicked generation of Noah’s day, to the Pharaohs who opposed the Israelites and the Canaanites who mocked Joshua. It includes all the pagan people who came against the people of God.
Finally, when Jesus was born, Herod tried to kill Christmas. When He grew up, the Pharisees opposed Him and plotted to take His life. Satan even infiltrated His disciples and filled the heart of Judas with deception. Upon his arrest, some men wanted to readily lie about Him.When Pilate offered to release Jesus, the bloodthirsty crowd cried out for Barabbas instead.
Who was behind the crucifixion of Jesus? It was the sinister seed of Satan. The “seed of the woman” and the “seed of the serpent” have opposed each other continuously across the centuries. That struggle continues even today.
It is a permanent conflict until the second coming. We have a conflict with the devil, we do not agree with each other, we are in a war zone; a spiritual warfare and we need to be on our guard against the schemes of the devil. Let’s not be defeated or tempted like what he did to Eve. Instead, let us seek the final victory pronounced during the Christmas in Eden.
2. CHRISTMAS IN EDEN: THERE MAY BE A TEMPORARY DEFEAT
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. God then says that the woman’s seed (Jesus) will crush the head of the serpent. Then God says that the serpent will strike the heel of the woman’s offspring (Jesus).
This is speaking of Jesus being crucified by the serpent. When Christ died on the cross, Satan struck his heel. Where on his body were the nails forced into? His hands and through His feet right through his heels. On Friday when they took the dead body of Jesus down from the cross, it appeared that Satan had won the battle.
Satan delivered a terrible blow to Jesus on Good Friday. No doubt he thought he had thrown a knockout punch at Jesus, but he was wrong. All he did was strike Jesus on the heel. As painful as it was, that suffering was nothing compared to the glory of the Resurrection. That is the full meaning of the victory of Jesus mentioned in the Christmas in Eden. On Sunday morning, the true Victor walked out of the grave, alive from the dead.
Now, since we are the children of God and the seed of Abraham by faith there are chances, we may be temporarily struck in our heel.
Sometimes we are “wounded” by discouragement, criticism, anger, bitterness from our loved ones, dreams that never come true, and goals that are not reached despite our best efforts. This verse reminds us that the Christian life is not a bed of roses. Not only is there continual conflict, but the bad guys win a fair number of the battles here. The evil one uses repetitive and excessive blows to break us down. Understand, satan if at all can only strike our heal. Today you may be in pain, sickness, or defeat; but hold on, do not worry, the final victory is ours. The Lord will win the battle for us. Good Friday may seem to be a defeat for us, but a glorious Sunday is coming our way. At times like this, we need to remember the full victory predicted in the Christmas in Eden.
We have a permanent conflict, we may face a temporary defeat…
3. WE HAVE AN EVENTUAL VICTORY
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. See the phrase: “Crush your head.” Now Satan will strike the heel of Jesus, but Jesus will crush the head of Satan.
FINAL VICTORY AT THE CROSS
We all know the difference between a head injury and a heel injury. Have you ever had a heel problem? If you’ve ever had a heel spur or pulled your Achilles tendon, you know how painful this can be. We normally don’t think about heels until we start having problems. But what happens then? We end up on crutches, take painkillers, and perhaps have surgery. Heel trouble slows you down. But it doesn’t kill you. You can live with heel problems even though you have to hobble around. But no one survives a crushed head. At the cross, Satan struck the heel of Jesus but in reality, it was God’s deathblow against Satan. It was the payback for the fall. Victory belongs to the woman’s seed; Jesus Christ crushed the head of Satan and through Jesus, you and I have victory over evil.
QUESTION TO THINK
That leads to a question: If Satan has been crushed, why does he still seem to be doing so much evil now? We know that Satan is indeed alive and well on planet Earth. How can a defeated being who was crushed by Christ exercise so much power? The answer is that at the Cross Satan was judged and his sentence pronounced. However, he is now free to roam the earth and is awaiting his final execution. This also explains why Satan’s destructive power on the earth will grow even greater in the last days because he knows his end is coming. In the end, he will be destroyed and all those who follow him will be destroyed. We have an eventual victory.
We have a permanent conflict. There may be a temporary defeat. We have an eventual victory.
POINTS TO PONDER
1. CHRISTMAS IN EDEN: FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH
Firstly, Salvation is free, but no one gets a free ride to heaven. There are struggles in a Christian life. Don’t expect our faith to be wonderful all the time. We may face failures, problems, and difficulties. Apostle Paul uses the Christian as an image of a runner, of a boxer, of a wrestler, and of a soldier. Christian life isn’t easy; it’s hard work that demands our full commitment and dedication.
People think that Christian life is easy. People are looking for rewards when they come to Christ. Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.” Our real reward is in heaven. Of course, we will be rewarded here on earth, but that is just the icing on the cake, but a greater reward awaits us in heaven. So, don’t run for reward. Until the day we die, we have a battle against evil. Sometimes we’ll win, other times we may lose. Do not run away from the battle when the going gets tough. Life may be hard, times may be difficult for you, and the enemy may be attacking you on every side. But hold on! Fight the good fight of faith, victory is coming our way.
2. CHRISTMAS IN EDEN: THERE IS NO PROGRESS WITHOUT PAIN
Secondly, our victories will not come without wounds. If it pleased the Lord to bruise His own Son, how shall we escape the abrasions of life? Jesus said, “In this life you have trouble.” If Jesus suffered in doing the will of God, so will we. Friends, there is no victory without wounding, and there is no progress without pain.
When we are rejected, when we are targeted by people, when we are put down, we identify ourselves with God. From a worldly point of view, we may be called a failure, but when God sees us, he sees progress in us. Our victories will not come without wounds but when wounded, God binds our wounds and promotes us.
3. CHRISTMAS IN EDEN: JESUS IS GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION
Thirdly, looking at the verse again in,
Genesis 3:15 – (CHRISTMAS IN EDEN)
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION IS WRAPPED IN JESUS CHRIST
I want you to notice the phrase, “between your offspring and hers.” The reference to “her offspring” is very interesting in human culture because the male is considered the one who has the seed. Children are normally referred to as the “offspring” of the father. Why does it say “her offspring” here? I think it is because this verse predicts the virgin birth of Christ. When the Messiah was born, he was the “seed of the woman” because, in His conception by the Holy Spirit, there was no male seed! He didn’t come in the usual way; he came by means of a miraculous virgin birth. God’s plan of salvation is wrapped up in the person of Jesus Christ. This is the first Christmas in Eden ever proclaimed by God Himself.
The day man committed sin God pronounced the first Christmas message that he was going to send his son, Jesus Christ into this world to take away the sins of the world. “Jesus” is the seed of the woman, he came to overturn the curse of Genesis 3, and he came and accomplished His mission for you and me.
CONCLUSION
Let’s put our trust in Jesus Christ alone. He is God. He is the fulfillment of the law. In conclusion, if you have never had a chance to accept Jesus as Lord in your life, we would like to give you a chance to do so. If you already believe in Christ and if you are going through tough times, God wants to deliver you today. He wants to strengthen you today. Jesus was bruised and brought us healing! He was pierced to ease our pain! He was cursed, and he brought blessings. Jesus Christ is God and is faithful to lead you. Amen.
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