TRIUMPH OVER CURSES, CONFLICTS, PAIN AND PERSPIRATION

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 – Genesis 3: 15

Knowing the inception, genesis or origin of a thing goes a long way in being able to deal with it. The righteous Judge addressed the plight of fallen humanity with four simple but powerful pronouncements, just consequences of actions in each case. These pronouncements radically changed the course of creation:
1. God pronounced a CURSE on the SERPENT which chained his destiny to the DUST – a symbol of dirt and death (vs. 14).
2. God initiated CONFLICT between the Seed of the serpent and the Seed of the Woman and pronounced the dominion and victory of the latter over the former (vs. 15). A bruising to the serpent’s head is eternally fatal, while a bruise to the heel of the woman’s seed is curable.
3. God pronounced on the woman multiplied PAIN in pregnancy and child-birth, and yet a renewed desire for and subjection to her husband – an ironic mixture of cycles of pain and pleasure (vs. 16).
4. God pronounced a CURSE on the GROUND and informed man of the PAIN and PERSPIRATION that he would henceforth endure in order to survive; it would take experiencing “thorns and thistles” for man to thrive (vs. 17-19).

These were the “wages of sin” – death – “but the gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). Even in the midst of Judgement, we perceive the mercy of God. This passage indicates two recipients of curses: the serpent and the ground. Adam and Eve simply received the just repercussions of their disobedience, tempered with God’s redemptive mercy!

By the bruising of His heels through the death on the Cross, Jesus Christ – the Seed of the Woman – ultimately bruised Satan’s head and eternally redeemed mankind from every curse and consequence of iniquity! That is where the unfolding Story is right now! In Christ Jesus, you can now receive deliverance and exercise dominion over Sin and its offspring: bruises, sorrow (pain), thorns, thistles, and sweat (perspiration). Even the power of the grave – DUST – has been defeated: O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15: 55-57). Alleluia! Amen!!