Genesis 3:3-6; 13-16, 20
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
The birth of Christ is central in God’s word – it begins in Genesis and contuse through into Revelation.
We find it in Genesis although it is not a pleasant scene. Read the account in the Garden: God’s gift was they did not die physically right away; but God gave a promise. It is not surprising to find prophecy of Christ’s coming in Genesis, but the surprise is how gracious the context of the judgment.
Christmas is God’s grace to people who deserve judgment. Here He speaks of enmity or warfare on three levels. Those three levels are: all humans and the devil; the seed of the devil and the seed of the woman and the devil and Jesus. We often think of the absence of conflict as good and we and all mankind strive to achieve this state – and call it peace.
The devil and the seed of the woman
Man did not immediately worship the devil, but became self-centered. The devil succeeded in disrupting everything, and he broke harmony with God. But we did not immediately think like him. The devil says good is evil and vice versa, but we digress to that state as told in Rom 1. If we don’t have God and His way we go further away and eventually begin to think like the devil.
We are depraved but don’t automatically think the devil is right. God has given us a conscience in a moral universe so we struggle with wrong – especially as children.
The seed of the devil and the seed of God
Isaac Watts song Am I a Soldier of the Cross:
Are there no foes for me to face? Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend of grace to help me to God?
The answer is “no” – we’re in a battle and this should cause us to draw close to God. The enemy is relentless and the battle if long and hard, but we have the LORD of Sabaoth as our Captain and with Him in the lead we will win.
Christ and the devil
The Deliverer is going to come from the woman’s seed and a battle greater than any others has been ongoing thru the ages. The devil will succeed in bruising His heel – at Calvary. But it is not a mortal wound. -- as is evidenced thru Christ’s life, resurrection and continuing life. The devil used the law to try to get Joseph to divorce Mary but God intervened. Then he used Herod’s plot to kill; plots to kill Jesus throughout His ministry; the plot to turn disciples away – Peter & Judas in particular. The numerous times people attempted to kill Jesus before the cross, then finally the crucifixion.
God allowed Christ to die for the salvation of mankind. Jesus rose again and will crush the head of satan.
Christmas is the promise of the Deliverer who came and that Deliverer is Jesus, and He came to save us from our sin – from the judgment of God for our sin. The message is in the Bible and in our carols. Read them, sing them and hear the truth and message they urge upon us, and then worship the Christ Child and the wonderful plan of salvation.