Music recording by Ben Doggett. From Hark the Herald Angels Sing by Charles Wesley, 1739. View the Lyrics. Narration by Aimee Riegert.

Devotional by Randy Newman.

Image: Adam and Eve’s first child, Abel, was murdered by his brother, Cain, who in the biblical account is described using the same language as the serpent. It seems that Eve hoped her next offspring, Seth, would fulfill the promise of Genesis 3:15 (cf. Genesis 4:25)

Sometimes, while reading through the Bible, you get stuck on some unclear wording. Before that, everything seemed easy to understand. But then, something changed. You needed slower reading to make sense of the text. It might feel like you’re driving on a highway when, as you approach a toll booth, your car shakes because they put rumble strips on the road to slow you down.

Messianic prophecy can feel like verbal rumble strips to slow your reading down. That’s how the very first messianic prophecy in the Bible, Genesis 3:15, can feel. God’s punishment of the serpent, at first, makes sense. He’ll crawl on the ground and eat dust. The punishments to the man and woman that follow also seem easy to grasp.

But “I will put enmity between you and the woman?” Huh? your offspring? her offspring? The serpent will have offspring? “Bruise your head? Bruise your heel?” What’s going on here?

A little reflection (and continued reading of the rest of the Bible where the identity of the serpent is revealed to be the Devil) helps us see the cosmic realities of this drama. The serpent and a descendant of the woman (i.e. a human being) will have conflict. One side will inflict relatively minor damage (“bruise his heel”). But the other side will inflict a crushing blow (“bruise your head”).

The baby we celebrate during Advent would grow to be a man who gets his heel bruised. But in that very conflict, He crushes the head of His enemy—our enemy! The head-crusher defeats death. Christmas points us far beyond the manger to a battle. Those who identify with that baby also benefit from His victory. Rejoice at the wonder of His birth. Bask in the triumph of His death.