The Seed War: A Tale of Two Gardens

We all know the passage in Genesis 3 when that old serpent Satan tempted our first parents. He got Eve to doubt "hath God said?" and even worse Adam refused to resist and use his God given authority to say NO I refuse to disobey.

1 Timothy 2v14 tells us clearly that "Adam was not deceived but the woman being deceived was in the transgression"..

Adam went along with his wife Eve and in doing so failed her and the Adamic seedline.

In Genesis 3v14-19 God details the consequences of their actions, starting with the serpent, then Eve and finally Adam.

v15 God speaking to the serpent says

"And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her Seed;

He shall bruise your head,

And you shall bruise His heel.”

The central showdown and fulfilment of the seed war that was initiated in the Garden of Eden also involved another garden, Gethsemane.

We read about how Jesus agonised in prayer to the point that His body was under such stress that He sweat great drops of blood as He cried, if it is possible take this cup from me (the cup of death, separation from the Father and bearing the sin of the whole world, Adam's fallen children) nevertheless not my will but your will be done. Read Matthew 26v36-46, Mark 14v32-42, Luke 22v39-46.

Paul writes one of the most revealing passages about Gethsemane in Hebrews 5

7"who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear,

8though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered".

Historically Gethsemane is where they crushed olives.

The name Gethsemane literally means "oil press".

Interestingly the harvested olives were placed in a stone trough and a large stone was rolled over them to extract the oil.

The olives were often pressed 3 times and were used for the temple oil, lights etc.

Jesus prayed 3 times each time with increased pressure and agony as He was crushed under the weight of what lay before Him.

I think it's significant that the One who was the true Light of the world as symbolised by the golden candlestick should be found in a garden where olives were crushed to produce the oil for that very light.

The seed war started in a garden with the words I will put enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman, He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel.

The bruising of the Seed of the woman, Jesus Christ started in Gethsemane.

In the words of the old hymn

King of my life, I crown Thee now,

Thine shall the glory be;

Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow,

Lead me to Calvary.

Lest I forget Gethsemane;

Lest I forget Thine agony;

Lest I forget Thy love for me,

Lead me to Calvary.

May that be our prayer this Easter.

Lord lead me afresh to Calvary to view the cross where Jesus died for me.

My Dad would regularly start that old chorus written by Dottie Rambo in church

I shall forever lift my eyes to Calvary

To view the cross where Jesus died for me

How marvelous the grace that caught my falling soul

He looked beyond my fault and saw my need

Aren't you glad that He looked beyond our faults and saw our needs and fulfilled what was prophecied in Genesis 3v15.

We will look more at how this prophecy was further fulfilled on that old rugged cross.