THE PROMISE OF A SEED

Genesis 3:15

The first prophecy of a coming Messiah was not made to either the man or the woman, but to the serpent.

This verse provides the theme of the rest of Genesis. This will be a book about two seeds:

Genesis is a book about two seeds. God initially created all life to reproduce after its kind. Throughout the first chapter of Genesis, we read a continuing refrain where plants and birds and fish and animals and even mankind is created to bear fruit "after its kind." But man rebelled and sinned against God. And so, a promise was given. It was a promise of TWO SEEDS.

The promise is found in Genesis 3:15. The first seed was to be the seed of the serpent. It was the seed of rebellion. It was the seed of sin. It was made up of all who walked in the way of Adam in turning against God.

But there is also a second seed promised. It is the seed of the woman. This second seed is set over against the first seed. The two seeds are at war with one another. And God has decreed that the second seed shall ultimately win.

From our vantage point, we know that this second seed is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ - the One who was bruised for our iniquities as He crushed underfoot the Serpent's Head.

The rest of Genesis is the story of these two seeds. First we read of Cain and Abel. Although they are brothers descended from the same father and mother, Cain shows himself to be of the spiritual seed of the serpent by murdering his brother. But God replaces murdered Abel with Seth.

We see the genealogy of each. Cain's seed leads us to Lamech - a man who is willing not only to murder a man, but to compose a song in which he boasts of his deed. Seth's seed leds us to Enoch who walks with God, and from there to Noah who is spared the destruction of the Flood.

But the story does not stop there. Noah has three sons. And one of them performs an evil deed which demonstrates that he is of the spiritual seed of the serpent. He and his descendants through Canaan are cursed (the impact of this was not missed on the Israelites to whom Moses wrote the book of Genesis). Noah's other son, Shem, is given the promise of blessing. The Babel Rebellion is an account of men trying to make a SHEM for themselves (Shem is the Hebrew word for "name"). They are dispersed among the nations.

But one is called out to be a blessing to the nations. His name is Abraham. He has two sons. One is seen to be the seed of the serpent - he is cast out. The other is of the spiritual seed of God. He is Isaac.

Isaac also has two sons. They are twins. But one is of the spiritual seed of the serpent. Esau does not hold the blessings of God in high esteem. Jacob, on the other hand, shows himself to be of the seed of the woman.

Jacob has 12 sons. Only one of them shows from the outset that he is of the seed of the woman. The others are rebellious. Two of them murder the inhabitants of a town. Another is involved in a sexual scandal. The brothers plot together to sell their younger brother into slavery. But the Lord uses this to His own ends. And all of the brothers are redeemed in Egypt. They all receive the promises of God.

As Moses writes the book of Genesis, the children of Israel are in the wilderness. And the question before them is this - which seed are they to be? Will they follow in the footsteps of the serpent? Or will they show themselves to be of the seed of the Lord?

Genesis will be a book about a line of children. Thus, a key word in Genesis will be "generations."

• The Hebrew word for "generations" is toledoth.

• It is taken from the root word yelad, "to give birth."

Each new generation will determine which seed it is. Will it continue in the covenant relation to God and show itself to be a part of the promised seed? Or will it turn from God to join and be a part of the seed of the serpent?