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Tag: OT

Seed of the woman

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Genesis, What’s new?.

Who is “the seed of the woman” in Genesis 3:15?

In Genesis 3, God pronounces judgment against Adam, Eve, and the serpent for their sinful rebellion. To the serpent, God says, “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” (verse 15, KJV). This verse is known as the protoevangelium, or the “first gospel,” because it introduces the theme of a Savior who will redeem humanity from the curse of sin (Galatians 3:13). In Genesis 3, the Savior is called the “Seed” of the woman (NKJV and AMP).

The Hebrew word for “seed” here means “offspring,” which is how many translations render it (e.g., NIV, ESV, CSB). The figurative language in Genesis 3:14 (“dust you shall eat,” ESV) indicates that the subsequent verse speaks of a spiritual war between Satan (the serpent) and humanity (the seed of the woman).

The woman spoken of is Eve, the mother of humanity (Genesis 3:20). The prophecy is that her offspring would be continually harassed by Satan and his followers (the offspring of the serpent). Sin entered the world through Adam’s disobedience, and we all suffer because of it (Romans 5:12–14). The perpetual war Satan wages against humanity began in the Garden of Eden.

There is an indication of number in Genesis 3:15 that we cannot overlook. The woman’s offspring is referred to by the singular noun seed, and that seed is immediately antecedent to the singular pronouns he and his. So, the seed of the woman is individualized. There is one Seed in particular who is to come. The sole tempter will be countered by the sole Savior.

Also, Genesis 3:15 speaks of the seed of a woman rather than the seed of a man. This unusual wording could indicate that the woman’s offspring would not have an earthly father. In that case, the protoevangelium is certainly fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who was begotten of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin (Luke 1:34–35).

The enmity spoken of in Genesis 3:15 is ultimately between Satan and Christ. Satan “bruised the heel” of the Savior when Jesus was crucified—Jesus suffered in His flesh. But the story does not end there. On the third day, Jesus rose from the grave. In so doing, He crushed the power of Satan, sin, and death—He crushed the serpent’s head. Jesus is the Seed of the woman who has won the victory over the tempter and enemy of mankind. And, to His eternal praise, He grants victory to everyone who believes in Him (John 16:33). “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne” (Revelation 3:21).

Did God create other people

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Genesis, The Age of the Earth, What’s new?.

Did God create other people in addition to Adam and Eve?

There is no indication anywhere in the Bible that God created any humans other than Adam and Eve. In Genesis 2 we read, “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven. Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed… Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.’ …So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:4-8, 18, 21-22).

Notice that the passage says, “There He placed the man whom He had formed.” Not the “men,” just the one “man.” And this man was alone (v. 18) so God made a woman out of his rib to be his companion. All other human beings have descended from these two original people. The two main reasons why this question usually comes up are (1) Cain’s wife, and (2) the origin of the different races. If the only people on the earth were children of Adam and Eve, whom did Cain marry and how did we get all the different races of people with their different skin colors from just two people? For answers to these issues, please read “Who was Cain’s wife?” and “What is the origin of the different races?”

Dominion over animals

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Genesis, God our Creator, What’s new?.

What does it mean that God gave humanity dominion over the animals?

The word dominion means “rule or power over.” God has sovereign power over His creation and has delegated the authority to mankind to have dominion over the animals (Genesis 1:26). David reinforces this truth: “You made [mankind] rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet” (Psalm 8:6). Humanity was to “subdue” the earth (Genesis 1:28)—we were to hold a position of command over it; we were placed in a superior role and were to exercise control over the earth and its flora and fauna. Mankind was set up as the ruler of this world. All else was subjugated to him.

God’s command to subdue the earth and the animal life in it is a command to have the mastery over all of it. A true mastery (of anything) cannot be accomplished without an understanding of the thing mastered. In order for a musician to master the violin, he or she must truly understand the instrument. In order for mankind to attain mastery over the animal kingdom, we must understand the animals.

With the authority to rule comes the responsibility to rule well. There is an inherent accountability in the command to subdue the earth. Man has a duty to exercise his dominion under the authority of the One who delegated it. All authority is of God (Romans 13:1-5), and He delegates it to whomever He will (Daniel 4:17). The word subdue doesn’t have to imply violence or mistreatment. It can mean “to bring under cultivation.”

Man is to be the steward of the earth; he is to bring the material world and all of its varied elements into the service of God and the good of mankind. The command to subdue the earth is actually part of God’s blessing on mankind. Created in the image of God, Adam and Eve were to use the earth’s vast resources in the service of both God and themselves. It would only make sense for God to decree this, since only humans were created in God’s image.

When God gave humanity dominion over the animals, it was in order to care for, tend to, and use those animals to their fullest potential in a just manner. At the time that God gave mankind dominion over the animals, humans did not eat meat (Genesis 1:29). Eating meat did not begin until after the Flood (Genesis 9:1–3), and it was at that time that animals started to fear humans. However, although God changed the way we interact with animals, in that they are now “meat,” we still bear a responsibility to treat animals humanely. Human rule over animals does not mean we have the right to mistreat or misuse those animals.

Having dominion over the animals should entail a humane management of them as the resource God has ordained them to be. We should consider that mankind was given the task (and blessing) of representing God in this world. We are the caretakers. We hold sway over all the earth, and we (bearing God’s image) bear a responsibility to act as God would. Does God misuse His creation? No. Is God unwise in His management of resources? No. Is God ever cruel or selfish or wasteful? No. Then neither should we be. Any misuse or mistreatment of God’s creation is the result of sin, not the result of following God’s original command. We must fulfill our duty to manage the earth wisely until that time when the wolf shall lie down with the lamb in the kingdom of Christ (Isaiah 11:6).

One less rib

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Genesis, What’s new?.

Since God took a rib from Adam to make Eve, does that mean men have one less rib than women?

God took a rib from Adam to make Eve, but this removal of a rib from Adam did not result in all men having one less rib. There are some interesting reasons why this is true and why God chose to take a rib in the first place.

On the sixth day of creation, God created the first man. It was a special work of creation: “The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). The structure and design of the human body is amazing—not to mention the soul and the fact that humans are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).

After creating Adam, God guided the man to the discovery that he was, in a sense, alone in the world; unlike the animals, the man had no counterpart, no equal companion: “For Adam no suitable helper was found” (Genesis 2:20). Once Adam was aware of his need, God took steps to remedy the problem. He created the woman.

How God created the woman is significant. In Genesis 2:21–22, after causing Adam to fall into a deep sleep, God took a rib out of the man and used it to form the woman. So Adam and Eve were of the same substance and were connected physically. All people are from Adam, including Eve. When God brought the woman to the man, Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man” (Genesis 2:23).

Learning of God’s removal of a rib from Adam, some people assume that men today have one fewer rib than women have. It’s a wrong assumption, of course. Ribs are easily counted, and men and women have the same number of them. God made a surgical change to Adam, not a genetic change. Performing surgery does not alter one’s genetic makeup. Every descendant of Adam has the DNA encoding that produces 12 pairs of ribs—24 ribs total in the rib cage. Adam’s sons all had the same number of ribs that Adam had originally; in the same way, the son of a kidney donor will have two kidneys, not just one, and the daughter of an amputee will not be born missing a limb.

The fact that God pulled a rib out of Adam and not some other piece of his body shows God’s wisdom, planning, and foresight. Ribs regrow. All bones in the human body are able to mend themselves, but rib bone is unique in that it can regenerate. When a surgeon performs a costectomy (the removal of part or all of a rib), he or she will be careful to leave the perichondrium (the membrane surrounding the rib). The rib taken can be used for bone grafts elsewhere in the body, and in the spot of the missing rib will grow a new rib—usually within one or two months. (See Moore, K., Dalley, A., and Agur, M., Clinically Oriented Anatomy, 7th ed., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2013, p. 83).

Given the rib’s ability to regenerate, we know that God did not permanently wound Adam when He took a rib from his side to make Eve. Adam did not live the rest of his life with a defect or a weak spot in his skeletal thorax. Because of God’s wonderful design, Adam lived out the rest of his days with the same number of ribs that he had been created with.

God walk in Garden of Eden

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Genesis, What’s new?.

Did God literally and visibly walk in the garden (Genesis 3:8)?

Genesis 3:8 says, “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” We know that God is spirit (John 4:24), so how exactly could He be “walking” in the garden?

First, it is clear from Genesis 3:8 that God’s approach in the garden was heralded by a “sound” or a “voice.” The verse begins by stating, “They heard the sound” of the Lord God. Whatever form God took, it certainly allowed for the physical production of sound. His walk was audible; He was making noise.

The verse also mentions the “presence” of God “among the trees” of the garden. It was a presence that Adam and Eve acknowledged and thought they could hide from. So, God’s garden walk included both sound and some sort of presence among the trees.

Even given these two statements, interpretations differ greatly. Some emphasize the fact that God the Father is invisible and cannot be seen by humans. According to this view, God did not appear in the flesh; rather, He took on a symbolic, incorporeal appearance, such as a cloud, much like He did with the Israelites in the desert with Moses (Deuteronomy 31:15).

Others suggest that the idea of God “walking” refers to a theophany—an appearance of God in a tangible, human form. Theologians who hold this view point to a parallel in Genesis 18, where God appears as one of three (seemingly human) visitors to Abraham.

Another theory is based on the Hebrew phrase translated “the cool of the day.” This could be literally translated “the wind of that day.” Some think this might refer to a strong wind. If so, Adam and Eve’s reaction makes more sense. They heard God’s approach as a terrible wind that lashed the trees of the garden, and they took cover. God called (using a Hebrew word that also means “to summon”) Adam to face judgment. Acts 2 records an interesting parallel: the coming of the Holy Spirit was accompanied by “a sound like the blowing of a violent wind” (verse 2). Also, God spoke to Job “out of the whirlwind” (Job 38:1).

Regardless of whether God appeared in human form or in a cloud, or whether He made His presence known by a windstorm, it is clear God Himself confronted the sinners and issued judgment. To the praise of His grace, this judgment also included the promise of a future Redeemer (Genesis 3:15). Thus began a great saga that ultimately led to Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrifice for sin and substitute for sin’s judgment. Through Christ, those who believe are forgiven of sin and receive eternal life (John 3:16).

Adams rib

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Genesis, What’s new?.

Why did God use Adam’s rib to create Eve?

The book of Genesis relates how God created Eve: “The Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:21–22). The phrase for “one of his ribs” could be translated “a part of his side” (NET), but almost every English translation specifies the part as a “rib.”

Earlier, in making Adam, God used the “dust of the ground” to form his body and “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). But, in making Eve, God did not go back to the dust; He used one of Adam’s ribs to form the woman. When she was brought to Adam, the man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man” (verse 23).

God used Adam’s rib to form Eve—He used existing tissue and did not “start from scratch”—to show that Adam and Eve were of the same substance; she was made from the same “stuff” and was a bearer of God’s image and likeness, just as Adam was (see Genesis 1:27). The woman made of Adam’s rib was designed to be a companion and “helper suitable” for Adam (Genesis 2:18). Eve, formed from a physical part of Adam, was truly his complement, an integral part of who he was. As such, she was a perfect companion.

Why did God use Adam’s rib? Interestingly, ribs have amazing regenerative powers. Portions of rib bone and cartilage removed in bone graft surgery will regrow in a few months’ time, as long as the rib perichondrium is left intact. This means that Adam’s loss of a rib was only temporary; he did not have to go through the rest of his life with an incomplete skeletal system.

When God brought Eve to Adam, they were united in marriage: the “woman” in Genesis 2:22 is called Adam’s “wife” in verse 24. The pattern for marriage, the first social institution, was thus established by God in Eden. The manner of Eve’s creation is “why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” The unity of a married couple and the “one flesh” principle are based on the fact that God used one of Adam’s ribs to make the woman.

God’s use of one of Adam’s ribs to make Eve is a reminder that woman was created to be “beside” man. Together, the man and woman complement one another in marriage, and in Christ they are “heirs together of the grace of life” (1 Peter 3:7, NKJV).