God himself served notice on the Serpent that from this point forward there would be enmity between his seed and the seed of the woman. It has been the devil's goal from that time to do away with the natural enmity between good and evil by any means other than God and his plan of redemption. Satan tries to break down the enmity by seducing the people of God into agreeing with the wicked that evil is not so bad. It has worked very well for him through the ages.
We must get our bearings right about who we are talking about here from the beginning. The Serpent is the devil, and his seed are those who follow his example and choose the same path of evil that the devil has - to usurp God's authority over their lives.
Seed - That from which any thing springs; first principle; original; as the seeds of virtue or vice. (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)
The seed of the woman refers to that part of humanity that chooses the way of righteousness, in particular the promised Messiah. The pronouns used mark the difference between her descendants who live for God and the very special descendant who will one day lead his people to bruise the Serpent's head.
"…it (her seed) shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his (Christ) heel.
The fact that there is enmity between good and evil is one of the basic facts of life. It is so simple and so true that it is overlooked when considering the problems we face in our lives, especially with other people. God ordained it from the beginning that good and evil could never be reconciled together. There always has been, and always will be that enmity between the two. They will never get along – evil will always hate good and that which is truly good will always hate evil. The righteous will always be hated and persecuted by the wicked simply because there IS enmity between good and evil.
"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman."
Enmity was a new concept for Adam and his wife. Enmity is hatred, hostility, and mistrust. This was something that referred not only to a feeling, but also to a condition, a circumstance, or state of things. They had lived in a world of peace and harmony and had never known enmity, even with the serpent. The enmity between the woman and the serpent is evidence that she has turned from sin back to God. She has recognized her sin and confessed it to God and has forsaken, not only the sin itself, but that which led her into it. She not only hates her sin, but she hates the very things that took her there. God steps up and says, "And I will put enmity between…" - so we see that the entrance of God put enmity between the Serpent and the woman, and between his seed and hers. The presence of God among those who love Him brings peace and harmony, but the introduction of God into the social interactions of those who love God and those who do not causes enmity between those people.
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10:34)
Enmity is a thing that separates and divides people. Those at enmity with one another cannot live in harmony and cooperate together. They must separate from one another or one must abandon his views of good and evil and be converted to the other side. The only other solution is for one or both to be destroyed. This is the fact of reality, and yet sinful man has tried in vain for all these millennia to remove the enmity by somehow reconciling good and evil without God's intervention. The Serpent is the power behind this determined attempt to remove the enmity between good and evil without God. Removing the enmity is, and always has been, one of the devil's main goals. He does not want to remove the enmity by surrendering and submitting to God, but by removing all that speaks of God or makes people aware of his existence. The devil does not want the enmity removed so there will be peace, but because he hates God, loves evil, and wants to do away with all that pertains to God. He does not attempt to remove the hatred for good from those who are evil, but he always tries to remove the hatred for evil from those that are good.
Here, as he always does, he twists the truth of the Word of God to suit his own evil purposes. He abuses and misconstrues the idea of the love of God and how that we should love everyone no matter what. Our modern generation is not the first to swallow this distorted view of God and his Word. But the Bible is very clear about the fact that the enmity is still there and that as long as a holy God exists there will be enmity between good and evil.
Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. (Psalms 97:10)
The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. (Proverbs 8:13)
Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. (Amos 5:15)
Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. (Luke 6:22)
I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. (Psalms 101:3)
Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. (Psalms 139:21-22)
Interesting that these two verses are followed by:
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalms 139:23-24)
The wicked must be made righteous for there to be any peace. The devil deceives people into believing that there can be peace by making the righteous wicked instead. But the Bible says,
"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. (Proverbs 29:2)
Therefore, knowing that one of the main strategies of Satan is to remove the enmity we should guard our hearts in this matter. Anything that takes the edge off of our hatred for evil is from the devil - not from God. Anything that has that effect on us is the result of the presence and influence of Satan and not of God.
Mike Miller
August 2, 2013
