He will crush your head

[the new justin]

What did God mean when he said this to Adam & Eve

And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring [m] and hers;
he will crush [n] your head,
and you will strike his heel."

thanks,

 

[Dreamer]

God was talking to the serpent (Satan), when he made those statements of things to come.

Women hate snakes and creeping creatures; they have a natural, instilled fear of them--thus the term "enmity" (hatred)

Her offspring---Down into the ages, Eve had a child, and that child had a child, and after many generations, JESUS was born.

Jesus crushed satan's head when He came to save the people and set us free.
Satan striked at Jesus' heel like a snake, but..Jesus still had the victory!!!!

Even in Jesus death, although it seemed that satan had victory as Jesus hung on the cross in humilation and total pain, our sins laid upon our King.....the snake thought he'd won.

But, ha! Ha-ha-hallelujah!

Jesus death on the cross; His blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins, and now we are offered this gift of eternal life through Him.

 

[the new justin]

Ok thanks Dreamer. I have heard that before but I had forgotten and someone asked me. I have passed it on. Thanks!

 

[mounty]

yes thank you that was helpfull to me i sometimes find it hard to understand what the bible means in certains words it uses

 

[VGisondi]

enmity between you and the woman

No no no. The enmity between the serpent and the woman has nothing to do with women and (some) men's natural aversion to creepy crawly things.

You were right in saying that the woman God promised is Mary since it was her offspring that would crush the head of the serpent while he strikes at the heel.

But the meaning of the verse "enmity between you and the Woman" (singular) is talking about one specific woman. It has nothing to do with women hating snakes.

Since the beginning of the early church, there is evidence that the interpretation of this verse means that the enmity God speaks of means a complete polarization between the woman (mary) and Satan; a battle between sin and grace. There would be nothing in common between them and he ws placing mary in a very special role as the new Eve who, unlike the old Eve, would say "yes" to God and bring life back into the world instead of sin and death like the original Eve did.

1. She is the bearer of light of the world: Jesus. He hates her because she is the Ark of the Covenant who brings in Her womb the One who brings salvation and liberation from sin and who will defeat satan forever.
2. She is the response of God to satan’s rebellion. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the masterpiece of God, the true star of the morning that takes the place of Lucifer. Who She is and all of Her virtues become the response of God to satan:

But there is more. and this will rub a lot of you the wrong way but it is always important to interpret the bible in the way the authors through the HS intended.
That enmity has to mean one thing and one thing only; that the woman would know no sin. She would be sinless and therefore a direct enemy of Satan.

And it is a fact that the early church taught and believed this and so did Martin Luther. It was only after the reformation that this teaching was lost or distorted.

1. 1. She is conceived without sin and remains always immaculate by the grace of God and her personal decision. The devil never had power over her; she is the only creature that has never been under the dominion of satan. If the Ark of the Covenant which contained the Tablets of the Law was constructed with wood that was incorruptible, how could the Mother of the Word-made-flesh not be immaculate and incapable of corruption when She bore Him, not in an ark of wood, but in an ark of flesh? ~

 

[ElliotReid]

I agree with VGisondi in that the "I will put enmity between you and the woman" doesn't refer to giving women a fear of "snakes and creepy crawlies", but instead shows God putting a curse between mankind and the devil.

However, you said "You were right in saying that the woman God promised is Mary", but I don't understand, there is no promised woman? There is absolutely no mention of this woman is a 'future' woman, rather than Eve herself.

Also, nowhere in scripture will you find Mary, mother of Jesus being sinless, but as Luke 11:28 would indicate, she was in no way special other than the fact that Jesus was her son.
Much like the entirety of the bible shows us, (for example, Titus 3:4-7) the good things which God does for us are not because of our piety or righteousness, but rather because of His own mercy and generosity.

the catholic church puts unbiblical emphasis on Mary, for if she was sinless, that completely defies Jesus' purpose in living the perfect life and dying in our place.

The fact that God says that there is enmity between Satan and the woman (whom I would suggest is more directly Eve, not Mary) is the disparity between the devil and us, in that he would have us all damned.

 

[james g]

VGisondi that the woman would know no sin. She would be sinless and therefore a direct enemy of Satan.

so why didn't she die on the cross if she was sinless?