In the introductory article of this series, we saw that a theme running through the entire Bible is one that could be called the Struggle of the Seeds. It originates with the curse of the serpent in Gen 3:15, where God declared, “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 seed of the woman—those who belong to the Lord—would be locked in a struggle with the seed of the serpent—those who belong to the devil—throughout salvation history. Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of this curse/promise. He is a curse to the serpent in that He came to destroy the devil; He is a promise to the faithful in that by destroying the devil, He sets His people free from sin and death (Heb 2:14; 1 John 3:8).
Accordingly, throughout the storyline of Scripture, there are repeated attempts by the seed of the serpent to cut off the seed of the woman, the devil seeking to prevent his own demise in the coming of King Jesus. In this article, we’ll begin to look at examples of this struggle so that as you read your Bible you’ll recognize them yourself and wonder at the great power and faithfulness of God and the unsearchable riches of Christ.
The first iteration of the Struggle of the Seeds begins right away in Genesis 4 with Cain and Abel. It seems clear from the very beginning that our first parents were looking for God to reverse the effects of the curse through the seed of the woman and to do it immediately. It’s tempting to read quickly over Eve’s response to Cain’s birth, but it is worth considering closely: Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD” (Gen. 4:1). The most literal way to render her statement is, “I have gotten a man with Yahweh.” She is hopeful that this son is God’s promised seed who will crush the serpent’s head. She is ironically mistaken.
The text immediately records the birth of a brother, Abel, as well as the brothers’ respective offerings to the LORD, along with this commentary on those offerings: And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard (Gen. 4:4b-5a). Much is made of the difference between the offerings and why God would prefer one offering over the other. The text says God had regard for Abel and his offering and not for Cain and his offering. It is likely that God’s regard and lack thereof for the respective offerings was due to the hearts of the two brothers themselves. Abel’s heart belonged to the Lord; Cain’s did not. The Lord was pleased with Abel but not with Cain.
The following verses show that Cain was in a position to do what he most wanted to do, choose sin or follow God: So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it” (Gen. 4:5b-7). “If you do well, you will be accepted…sin is crouching at the door…you must rule over it.” We all know the choice Cain made. He chose sin. He chose not to be accepted by God. He chose to cut himself off. He killed his brother in cold-blood and was cursed for it.
He was seed of serpent seeking to cut off the seed of the woman.
Are we making too much of this—calling Cain the seed of the serpent, saying that he belonged to the devil? No, this is how the apostles read it, too. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous (1 John 3:12). There are echoes in that verse of the enmity between the seeds, pronounced in Gen 3:15. Likewise, by faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks (Heb. 11:4). Cain was the seed of the serpent. Abel was the seed of the woman.
By killing Abel, did the seed of the serpent win? No. The devil wanted desperately to prevent the line that would lead to Christ from ever bringing Him forth. But our promise-keeping God cannot be stopped: And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him” (Gen. 4:25). God raised up another seed for the woman. Adam and Eve had other sons (Gen 5:4); it was through Seth that the Christ eventually came (Luke 3:38).
Not only was Cain not the seed of the woman who would crush the serpents head, as Eve initially hoped, but he served to antagonize, throw a roadblock in front of the seed of the woman. His murder of Abel and God’s subsequent giving of Seth signaled that this road to an ultimate defeat of the serpent may be a long one. But God’s faithfulness in this instance was but a glimpse of His stalwart determination to bring Genesis 3:15 to bear on every page of salvation history. He would allow nothing to prevent the eventual coming of the Christ. Sinful men would wickedly attempt to stamp out the seed of the woman, but their deeds would only serve to bring the story closer to its glorious culmination in Christ.
Where are you reading in the Scriptures right now? Do you see this theme? God moving history toward the defeat of the devil and sin? Evil persecuting God’s people? God overcoming evil men and even using their devices to further His plans? God encouraging His people to trust His faithfulness? God’s people clinging to examples of His past faithfulness to see them through current darkness?
Can you see this theme in your own life right now? How might truth be brought to bear on your own thoughts today?
Comments