Meaning of Genesis 3 15: Crushing the Serpent’s Head
“. . . he [humans] will crush your [the serpent’s] head, and you will strike his heel” Genesis 3:15b.
This short passage is part of the curse God pronounced upon the serpent in the Garden of Eden after the fall. The read the entire chapter click here.
I think the reason the serpent’s head gets crushed is precisely because he strikes our heel. When a mosquito bites us, we slap it. And when the serpent strikes at our heel, we retaliate by killing it.
Meaning of Genesis 3 15
In a spiritual sense, he whose heel has been most struck by the devil (the serpent) will have the most power to crush his head. It’s the trials that test our faith, or the “stricken heels” that build endurance or strength.
And according to James 1: 2-4, endurance makes us mature and complete. This mature Christian has power over the devil, over temptation, and over his own will. In other words, he has what it takes to crush the head of the serpent.
So, with this in mind, consider it pure joy when the serpent (the devil) strikes your heel. This is because he is ultimately empowering you to crush his head (James 1: 2-4). Temptation = heel striking. Temptation flees as we resist= crush the serpent’s head.
Resisting temptation, fearing God, obedience, humbling, exertion, Wilderness Experience, The Narrow Path. These are all a picture of the serpent striking our heel. It’s hard. It involves suffering, death to sin, to needs, to self. In a word, it involves laying down our life.
The Devil Is in It
And this can’t be done without some degree of pain. Therefore, the devil is in it. It is mingled with darkness. He is striking our heel, but in the end, we will crush his head as a result of this pain and death.
It will ultimately result in cessation of temptation, and produce wisdom, maturity, exaltation, rest, promise land, life and glory. Once we’ve attained these, we will have the power to crush the serpent’s head.
I know from my own experience with bulimia (and other sins) that temptation will eventually cease as you resist it. It comes less and less frequently and when it does come, it’s less intense. Until eventually it is gone completely. To read the account of my struggle, see Beauty for Ashes: A Divine Exchange.
This idea is similar to dying to the sinful nature or the “old man” as the KJV puts it. The more we refuse to meet the needs of the “old man”, the weaker he gets until he eventually dies.
Result of the Curse
We have to endure temptation and exertion and humiliation and suffering and The Narrow Path etc. in order to attain cessation of temptation, rest, exaltation, glory and life. This is a result of the curse.
If Adam and Eve wouldn’t have fallen, we would already be in that state. We wouldn’t have to attain it through effort and resistance.
But the good news is, we can still have that blessed state of rest, exaltation glory and life. Now, however, it requires painful effort and sacrifice. In a word, it requires death, to sin, needs and self. Our heels are subjected to striking by the serpent.
To read another post similar to Meaning of Genesis 3 15: Crushing the Serpent’s Head, see If You’re a Suffering Christian Read This!
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