The Woman and her Seed

Genesis 3:14,15 “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, … 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.”

The above verse is the prophecy pronounced by God, after the fall of man, concerning the promised “seed” that was meant to defeat Satan. This is also the first incident in the Bible where we find a mention of the woman and her seed. Taking into consideration the context and the audience before whom God uttered these words, it would seem as though the “woman” specifically referred to Eve. But Eve did not give birth to the “seed” no matter how badly she and her husband would have wished it to be so, especially after witnessing how ugly sin could get. Some, however, opined that this woman was the virgin Mary. Well, no matter what or how others think or perceive this matter, I invite our readers to look into this issue from a much wider and deeper perspective.

To begin with, the words uttered by God had a metaphorical and an allegorical connotation. Though at first sight, God appears to be speaking to the serpent, but in actual fact He was addressing Satan himself. In fact, the Bible recognises Satan as “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan.” (Revelation 12:9). Another metaphorical tune to this message can be seen in the words, “it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Bruising the head is another way of saying that the seed would inflict a crushing blow to Satan that would ultimately prove to be fatal. Bruising the heel, on the other hand, refers to a mere wound that can inflict severe pain, at best, but is not enough to defeat the foe. In a similar way, the words “woman” and “seed” in this prophecy also bear a deeper meaning behind them.

We shall first look at the meaning behind the “seed.” Fast forward to the time of Abraham, we find yet another incident where God reaffirms the promise or the covenant He made in the garden of Eden with special reference to the “seed.” However, this time around, He mentions that the “seed” would come from the loins of a man, not a woman, who in this case was Abraham.

Genesis 22:18 “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

In looking at this prophecy once again, one may get the impression that the “seed” here refers to the descendants of Abraham, particularly the Jews. However, a closer inspection of the word of God reveals the true identity of the “seed.”

Galatians 3:16 “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”

Here, the apostle Paul alludes to the promise made unto Abraham which the Holy Spirit led the apostle to understand the true import behind the message of the “seed.” Therefore, the “seed” in question is none other than Christ Himself.

We are now left with one more player in this great controversy, that is, the woman. By now it is clear that the woman does not necessarily refer to a literal woman, though the virgin Mary is a partial fulfilment of the prophecy. To understand this aspect, we should first know and understand that more details were subsequently added to the prophecy that was first made at the garden. Why did God choose to do this? I can think of at least three reasons why God did this. The first reason was that He wanted to keep reminding His people from time to time that He had not backed away from the promise, thereby keeping the hope of deliverance alive. Secondly, in order to remove all misconceptions, conspiracies and mistaken identities that could have surrounded the birth of Christ, God added these intricate, yet simple to understand details. But the third and final reason, which I consider as the most important of all the three, was that God wanted to reveal the true identity of the “woman.” It is this aspect that I wish we pay a closer attention to.

The covenant that God made with Abraham, was also made with his son, Isaac (Genesis 17:21), and with his grandson, Jacob. We know from Scripture that Jacob had twelve sons whose posterity made up the twelve tribes of Israel. From among these tribes, God chose to fulfil this covenant through the tribe of Judah.

Isaiah 65:9 “And I will bring forth the seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.”

God further made it clear that the Messiah would descend from the line of kings, particularly that of king David. God chose to echo this truth in the ears of David himself which the latter expressed in one of his Psalms.

Psalms 89:3,4 “I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, thy seed will I establish for ever and build up thy throne to all generations.”

On the day of Pentecost, after the outpouring of the Spirit, Peter in his sermon confirms that the man, Jesus Christ, whom the Jews condemned to death was a descendant of the king of Israel.

Acts 2:29,30 “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.”

Therefore, as far as His human incarnation is concerned, Jesus descended from a certain ancestral line that traces its beginnings from Adam himself. Luke highlights this fact in Luke chapter three where he gives a detailed account of Christ’s genealogy. In so doing, he not only proved that Christ came in the form of a man but his main intention was to drive home the fact that God had a group of people here on earth through whom He was able to use as a channel to usher the advent of the Messiah. This group of individuals is the “woman” that is spoken of in Genesis 3:15. However, I wish to make one thing clear that though the names mentioned in Luke were mostly men, the women, particularly the wives of these men, were also part of this group. The reason that Luke did not choose to mention all the women in the list was because the ancestral lineage, as ordained by God, was of a patrilineal nature. The other reasons would be in the interest of brevity and accuracy. I therefore believe that there were other people and individuals, men and women, who certainly fell within the purview of the “woman” but are not mentioned in Luke’s or even Matthew’s list. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews gives us a more complete list of the “woman.”

On close inspection of this group, we will notice that it exhibits a particular trait. These individuals stood out as the faithful ones of God in the midst of the prevailing infidelity that surrounded them. In other words, the “woman” is God’s church, a group of people who trusted God and who stuck with Him through thick and thin. I say this with the utmost confidence because a woman in Bible represents the church. We read about this in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians where he links the relationship that exists between the husband and the wife to the relationship between Christ and His church.

Ephesians 5:23 “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.”

Another indication to support this view is found in the book of Revelation chapter 12 wherein we find the description of a woman clothed with the sun, wearing a crown of twelve stars on her head and the moon is under her feet. She is also pregnant with a child which she is ready to give birth to. Once again, the woman in this chapter of Revelation represents God’s church.

Revelation 12:1,2 “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And she being with a child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.”

The child that this woman is pregnant with is Jesus Christ because in verse five, it mentions that the child, after being born, is caught up to God and to His throne. It is in this chapter that we see a more comprehensive and a complete picture of what God’s church is supposed to be. Here, God’s church is presented as an incubator that brought forth this Child. The questions that now face us are: How many of the Christian denominations that are in existence today, existed at the time when Christ was born? Was even Christianity established when Christ was born? The answer to both these questions is, “NO.”

Again, the book of Revelation is mostly a book that presents the truth in symbols. So, the sun and moon have a meaning behind them. When God portrays the woman as being clothed with the sun, it means that it is clothed with the righteousness of Christ. A confirmation of this point is found in the book of Malachi where Christ is referred to as the “Sun of Righteousness.”

Malachi 4:2 “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings: and ye shall go forth, and grow as the calves of the stall.”

This righteousness is sometimes depicted as a white robe. This is in agreement with the appeal that Christ makes to the Laodicean church that it should acquire from Him a white robe which can cover its nakedness. (Revelation 3:18). This covering, shields the shame or the nakedness that emanates as a result of the sins that the people commit. So, when an person stands before the judgement seat, he will not be found wanting because the righteous life of Christ makes him complete. That is why Paul says, “Ye are complete in [Christ].” (Colossians 2:10). However, this can only be possible if Christ is allowed to live in our hearts. In this way, our bodies can truly be the temple of God. Again, as Paul puts it, and I love quoting this verse, “Christ in you the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27).

However, you may ask, “What about the people who died before Christ could even impart His righteous life to them?” Though this can be a lengthy topic to discuss, but for the sake of brevity I would simply say that it is not what they did but what Christ did for them that would save them. However, not all of the old testament folks will be granted eternal life because as I mentioned earlier, there was only a certain group of people who stuck with God primarily because of their faith in Him. So, faith and Christ together make the key. No wonder the Bible says that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. A not so well known yet prominent figure in the Bible that fits the description of this class of people is the thief on the cross. His faith in Christ was enough to earn him eternal life.

Going back to Revelation 12, just as the moon reflects the light that comes from the sun, in a similar way, God’s people naturally reflect the character of Christ because Christ literally lives in them. Hence the meaning of the moon that is under the woman’s feet.

However, there is yet another meaning to the sun and the moon. After the fall, God’s church was instructed to observe the rite of offering an unblemished lamb as an offering to God. This rite was intended to reflect the death of Christ as the “Lamb of God” on the cross. Those who, like Cain, did not see the significance of this system of worship decided to either invent their own way of accomplishing this task or to completely ignore to comply with the divine ordinance. The Jewish ceremonial observances along with the sanctuary and the services connected with it were also a type that pointed to Christ and His ministry as the Saviour of this world. Once Christ had offered up Himself as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world, the ceremonial law became null and void. God’s church now moved from the reflected light (the moon) to the true light (the sun). Therefore, Christ was the point of transition for God’s church. This is reflected in the gospel of John when it says, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17). So the woman or God’s church moved from the type to the antitype.

As we can see, the church is simply a group of people in relation to their faithfulness to God who alone are worthy of the righteousness that comes through Christ. This church traces its origins from the garden of Eden. In light of these facts, no particular church organisation or denomination can rightfully claim that it is exclusively God’s church. Even if they do so, there is no ample evidence in the Bible to support such an idea. But at the same time, it is also true that God uses the different churches and ministries to lead people to the ultimate truth.

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