Garden Theology: A New Hope

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:15

One of my favourite movie collections is Star Wars, the story of Luke Skywalker and a band of rebels who fight against an evil Galactic Empire and its Emperor to save the galaxy from oppression. The Star Wars Trilogy debuted in 1977 with A New Hope and was followed by The Empire Strikes Back and finally, Return of the Jedi. With each chapter of the story, filmmaker George Lucas cleverly drops hints about the characters, providing the viewer with small insights into their history. As the story unfolds, the viewer learns that each hint is only a small piece of a larger puzzle. In fact, subsequent movies revealed that we were introduced to the story midstream. That is, the first movie released was actually episode six of the story. In essence, if this were a book, we would have started reading in the middle. 

Similarly, the Christmas story is often represented by nativity scenes with Mary, Joseph, and Jesus gathered together in a manger, marking the first night of Jesus’s life, a Holy Night. The familiar scene from Bethlehem is commonly used as a launching point from which the story of God’s redemptive plan of hope and salvation through His Son Jesus Christ is told to our children at bedtime, depicted in Bible-themed TV dramas, and shared on holiday cards. However, deeper investigation reveals that God’s plan for redemption began early in the bible narrative. In fact, its seeds were planted shortly after “The Fall,” depicted in Genesis 3. 

The Context

Chapter one of Genesis tells the story of creation, which God proclaims as “good.” (Genesis 1:4, 1:10, 1:12, 1:18, 1:21, 1:25, 1:31). At the end of chapter one, the Lord decides to create man and woman in His own likeness with the purpose of ruling over His creation. 

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:27-28

However, conflict was introduced to the story when the serpent, the devil, deceived the woman by questioning God’s command, enticing her to eat an apple from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:17) Eve then offered the apple to Adam. Adam took a taste of the apple, and as a result, the first couple abdicated their rule over creation, having succumbed to the desires of the serpent. What was good is now corrupt, and sin entered the story. In a tension-filled scene in chapter three, God proclaimed curses on the serpent, the man and the woman. However, embedded in the account was a promise of redemption found in verse fifteen. 

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:15

In this verse, the Lord proclaimed that there will be conflict between the descendants of the serpent and those of the woman. In the second part of the verse, the Lord promised that a descendant of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent while the serpent bruises Him on the heel. From this point on, through the entirety of the Old Testament, the biblical story searches for the seed of the woman who will restore God’s original plan and bring redemption to His creation. God, the masterful author of the human story, begins to reveal His grand plan of redemption by establishing covenants with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and promising to make a great nation of their descendants. *Abraham (Genesis 17:4-8), Isaac (Genesis 26:4)  and Jacob (Genesis 28:13-14). The search for the seed of the woman who will rule goes from generation to generation, searching for viable options amongst the kings, judges and prophets of Israel and no one worthy is found until it arrives at the small town of Bethlehem, where a virgin girl gave birth to a king.* see footnote. 

For us Christians, the Christmas season is a chapter in which hope for salvation was introduced to the bible story. However, let us never forget that our God, the author of our story, out of  His abundant love for us, planted the seeds of hope and a plan for our redemption long before. Oh, what an amazing God we have. This Christmas season, I encourage you to reflect on His faithfulness, His mercy and His grace and find peace in the fact that just as He has fulfilled His promises in the past, He will continue to do so in the future.

Yours in Christ,

Brad

Explore the Word

Genesis 3
Genesis 17:4-8
Genesis 26:4
Genesis 28:13-14
Revelation 20:7-10

*It is important to note that God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob includes people (Israel), land, and a promise that through their descendants, all the families of the earth will be blessed. (Genesis 28:14)