The Wednesday Word - 17MAY23 A.D.

Bruising Satan’s Head

by D.G. Miles McKee

Since the first word of the gospel is ‘CHRIST’ (see 1 Corinthians 15:3) it is of no surprise to discover that the first prophecy of the Bible was one concerning Him.  We discover this prophecy in Genesis 3:15 where the Lord says,
 
'And I will put enmity between thee (the Serpent) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it (the seed of the woman) shall bruise thy (the serpent's) head, and thou shall bruise his heel.'
 
Notice how, according to this prophecy, the seed of the woman and not the combined seed of the woman and the man is to bruise Satan.  This is striking because, in Scripture, we usually read of the seed of the man.   We read, for example, of, “the seed of Aaron” (Leviticus 21:21), not the seed of Aaron and his wife. We read of "the seed of Abraham" (Isaiah 41:8), not the seed of Abraham and Sarah. We discover, "the seed of David" (Romans 1:3), not the seed of David and Bathsheba and so on and so forth.

But here, in Genesis 3:15, we are told only of the seed of the woman. Thus, we have the promise of the Virgin Birth. This means the one born of the Virgin is going to be One who delivers from the power of the old serpent, Satan. The promised Deliverer will conquer the devil.  He will bruise his head.  This scripture is very definitely pointing us to Jesus. 
 
Being that He is called the 'seed of the woman' means that He must be human. A human mother gives birth to human children. But how can a person, a mere man, bruise the devil’s head? No man would have the power to do that!  Satan is much more powerful than any mere human being. There will have to be something supernatural and extraordinary about this seed. Indeed, it is entirely possible that Eve knew this Seed would be more than merely human.
 
Many of the old-time commentators believed that Eve understood the Seed would be divine. We see this in her exclamation when Cain was born. She says; "I have gotten a man from the LORD" (Genesis 4:1). It is argued that there is no word in the Hebrew corresponding to the word "from" in our translation.  The verse would, therefore, read, “I have gotten a man, the Lord.”  The learned and judicious Dr. Gill comments:
 
"It would appear that she took that seed to be a divine person, the true God, even Jehovah, that should become man."
Gill’s Commentaries: Genesis 4:1
 
Eve was mistaken in thinking that Cain would be the promised Seed, but she was not mistaken in thinking that the promised Seed, when He arrived, would be none other than God Himself.

If Christ were ever to fulfill this prophecy in its entirety, He would, by necessity have to be God.  This is why He is one person with two natures.  It would take a work of divine omnipotence to crush Satan, yet the One who was to perform this act must be a man.  But, just so that there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind as to whether or not Jesus is God, this matter of bruising Satan is taken up in Romans 16:20 where we read;
 
'The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.'
 
So who is to bruise Satan? Is it God?  Yes indeed, for the scriptures plainly declare that the God of peace will do this.  But let’s ask again, who is to bruise Satan?  Is it a human? Yes indeed, for that’s what we learned in Genesis 3:15. So then, who is to bruise Satan?  God or Man?  Evidently, it is both, or rather it is He who is in Himself both God and Man, the Lord Jesus Christ! 
 
“The Son of God, the Son of man,
Who was before the world began,
Who is, and evermore shall be
One God to all eternity.”
 
And that’s the Gospel Truth!