Tragedy and Hope
As I have become acquainted with Biblical Theology and the Reformed Tradition over the past few years, I have grown ever fonder of Genesis 3. It is a curious passage to be fond of, as in it, we see the event that forever curses all of humanity through Adam’s sin. I agree; this is quite a defeating and dreary passage, but in it lies a kernel of hope.
“And Yahweh God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you more than any of the cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life; and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Genesis 3:14-15 LSB).
This hope dubbed the “Protoevangelium,” would grow slowly through history, and is where I would like us to focus. This crushing of the head of the serpent and bruising of the heel of the crusher gives Christians a framework for dealing with the problems that lay before us. There are many serpents worldwide, but many more heels that could use bruising.
Head Crusher the Lesser
Rumors and whisperings of this gospel hope revealed themselves throughout the Old Testament. One such case is in David. When Goliath is described in the Bible, most readers see a corn-fed Philistine with a big sword and more considerable pride. He was much more than that. He was the champion of the enemies of the people of Yahweh. Remind you of someone? The serpent had returned, clothed in scales, to taunt Israel and make himself a stench to all that is good and holy (1 Samuel 17:5).
What does the young shepherd boy do? Cower in fear? Allow Goliath to continue and drag the Creator through the mud while standing by with the rest of the chosen ones of God (1 Samuel 17:24)? “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have reproached. This day, Yahweh will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you.” (1 Samuel 17:45-46). The anointed of God took a stone and placed it four inches behind Goliath’s eyes. This servant of the serpent was crushed in his head by a seed of the woman.
Head Crusher, the Greater
Unfortunately, David was no perfect man. The curse eventually caught up to him, and he joined his fathers in death. He was but a shadow of the coming fulfillment of Genesis 3. There needed to be another who could recover from the bruised heel. Christ came onto the scene. God incarnate; He came into the world to do just that. Jesus, too, met a servant of the serpent. When Judas returned the 30 pieces of silver and went to end his life, he hung on a tree (Matthew 27:5). Christ was nailed to His tree (Mark 15:25). Both the servant of the evil one and the servant of God seemed to have died again, neither recovering from the injuries of battle. To the world’s surprise, the third day dawned, and the Son of God recovered from His wounds (Luke 24:6). Out of the grave, He arose while Judas remained.
That day, the tide of the war, which started in the Garden of Eden, turned a corner. The sons of Adam had never been able to survive the stomping of the snake. Christ changed that. With the defeat of death and the promise of life in Christ, man is free to find the nearest serpent and stomp till the sun comes up. It is an incredible, excellent story, but why does this aspect of the gospel matter? Why is there an emphasis on the battered brains of legless lizards and the antivenom of the resurrection?
Unbruised Heals
Today, the church has become like a frog in slowly boiling water. We see the snakes of abortion, idolatry, paganism, feminism, and many more all around us, but as long as they don’t bite too often, we let them crawl around us. We are like animals caught in the clutches of a boa constrictor who will not admit that we are being circled for fear of being squeezed. We do not want to become a stench to the world or hurt our feet, so we let the serpent slither on until it has devoured everything our fathers built. Our children are swallowed up whole while we ask politely if they could do it somewhere we at least can’t see.
Learning from a Marshwiggle
C.S. Lewis created one of my favorite characters of all time in his novel, The Silver Chair. In it, we meet Puddleglum the Marshwiggle. He is a tall frog-man-ish person who sees the glass as half empty no matter how full it is. In the story, a witch has lulled him and three others into a trance with music and an enchanted fire. In this trance, she is slowly wiping away their memories and the memories of everything good they and their fathers once knew, turning them into her slaves. At the last moment, when all hope seems lost and the three others are at the edge of no return, Puddleglum stiffens his neck (The Silver Chair, 181). Refusing to go quietly without a fight and knowing good and well how much it will hurt; he walks to the fire and stamps it out with his bare foot. This burns his foot, sending a burnt smell that awakens his friends wafting through the room. The pain sends a shock through his system as well, allowing him to once again think clearly. They defeat the witch, and the rest is history.
I bring this story in to show you a few things that Lewis showed me. First, the head crushing will hurt. The heel is not unscathed. It is bruised, as Christ was. When we go to crush idols and make stands for truth, they will not go without opposition. Just because the serpent has lost in the macro does not mean he will give up any of the micro willingly. We must accept that as part of the fight as God made it and run in headlong all the same.
Second, courage begets courage. It inspires us when we see our brothers and sisters in Christ fighting for the faith, taking up the sword against sin in their lives, and pushing back the darkness. We should rejoice in this taking up of the battle and join in. The sideline is no place for a Christian. When I see the gospel playing out in the lives of my friends, I feel the call of the Holy Spirit to follow suit. The encouragement of seeing courage in one another is an excellent gift from the Lord. Let it spurn you on.
Application: Crush on Christian Soldier
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the might of His strength” (Ephesians 6:10). If it were up to us to find the strength and courage to crush the head of the serpent, we would be lost. Thank the Lord for His strength in us. This crushing is not an angry and blood-lusting thing. Nor is it a pietistic, solemn, and almost unfeeling endeavor. We are to be so full of joy it makes the world grimace as we go along in our daily lives. “Let the sea roar, as well as its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy before Yahweh, for He is coming to judge the earth” (Psalm 98:7-9). When we see sin in our lives, do not merely try and not do it again. Crush it. Hate it. Sin is despicable and should be treated as such. When you see a brother or sister fall, help them and show them how to grind their heels into their idols. Love your God more and more. Mortify your own sin. Love your families and lead them in the Lord. Love your neighbors and the community God gave you. When you do these things, you will indeed receive pushback.
The sin in our lives can seem impossible to defeat, and the problems in the culture and in the world seem insurmountable. The enemy has the church on the run with no end in sight. The serpent looks like he is making a push once again, ready to devour the bride of Christ. While this all may be true to varying degrees, remember that Christ has won.
Act like it.
