Genesis 3:15 | Crimson Thread and the Promised Dragon Slayer

Today marks the first Sunday of Advent.

Advent, “Coming or appearance”

Advent became a Christian term to refer to the coming of the Savior. It refers to both the first coming and the second coming of Christ.

The Advent season is a four-week period before Xmas. It is designed to help people slow down in order to reflect and prepare for the advent, the coming of Christ.

Advent has a two fold meaning. On the one hand we reflect and prepare for the first coming of Christ, that is his birth on Christmas day. On the other hand, advent is also a time to reflect and prepare for his second coming.

Bonhoeffer: “Our whole life is an Advent, a season of waiting for the last Advent, when there will be a new heaven and earth.”

For the next four Sundays, our Advent series “A Thread of Redemption” will trace God’s crimson promise from Eden to Bethlehem. Each week, we’ll see how the stories of Genesis are woven into the unfolding story of Christ’s coming — a single redemptive thread.

Today’s sermon is titled, “Crimson Thread and the Promised Dragon Slayer.” The Bible is the story of a dragon-slayer who shows up to rescue his people.

Genesis 3:14–15 “14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.””

NIV: And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Crush: Total destruction! Specifically, God promises to raise up a human descendant from Eve who will deal Satan a mortal blow

The book of Revelation identifies this

Revelation 12:7–9 “7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

The serpent/dragon ultimate goal: destruction of God’s people

OUTLINE: (1)God exposes the character of the serpent

Understanding the character of the Serpent. Thankful for Andrew Naselli. The Serpent and the Serpent Slayer

Serpent is an umbrella term that includes both snakes and dragons.

It’s the big category.

Snakes and dragons are kinds of serpents.

The Greek word δράκων (drakōn), explains an expert Greek linguist, refers to “a monstrous serpent”—“the ancients Greeks did not visualize it as a winged, fire-blowing creature with claws.”

A serpent has two major strategies: deceive and devour. As a general rule, the form a serpent takes depends on its strategy.

When a serpent in Scripture attempts to deceive, it’s a snake.

When a serpent attempts to devour, it’s a dragon.

Snakes deceive; dragons devour.

Snakes tempt and lie; dragons attack and murder.

Snakes backstab; dragons assault

In the Garden of Eden, the Lord God speaks to the serpent in Gen. 3:14, “Because you have done this…” The serpent succeeded into leading God’s people into sin and death.

(2)God pronounces a curse on the serpent

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(3)God declares war against the serpent and her offspring

Enmity - God declares war: The snake crusher, dragon slayer is coming.

Throughout the OT, God uses an individual, foreshadowing the coming snake crusher, dragon slayer that is to come. This individual crushes the head of the enemy of God’s people in order to deliver them.

Note: These stories serve as The Old Testament foreshadows Jesus through "types and shadows," which are historical people, events, objects, and ceremonies that symbolically point to Christ's life and work.

Numbers 24:17, Balaam prophecies “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.”

In the book of Judges, we see God’s people being hated by the Canaanites. The Canaanites hate God and God’s people.

Judges 4:21–24 “21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. 24 And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.”

Judges 5:24–27 “24 “Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed. 25 He asked for water and she gave him milk; she brought him curds in a noble’s bowl. 26 She sent her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen’s mallet; she struck Sisera; she crushed his head; she shattered and pierced his temple. 27 Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still; between her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell—dead.”

Jael is an foreshadow of the coming snake crusher, dragon slayer that is to come to deliver his people.

Go forward in the book of Judges to the story of Abimelech, a wicked leader.

Judges 9:52–53 “52 And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire. 53 And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.”

This unnamed woman is an foreshadow of the coming snake crusher, dragon slayer that is to come to deliver his people.

Let’s go forward to one of the most famous story of the Bible: David vs. Goliath.

In this story:

The people of God are paralyzed with fear: nobody wants to face Goliath

1 Samuel 17:5 “5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.”

Goliath is described as wearing scale armor

His armor resembles scales

The author intentionally uses serpent-like imagery

God calls the Pharaoh of Egypt the great dragon with scales in Ezekiel 29:3–4 “3 speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, ‘My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.’ 4 I will put hooks in your jaws, and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales; and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams, with all the fish of your streams that stick to your scales.”

Goliath is covered in scales, just like a dragon.

The Serpent and the Serpent Slayer David Crushes Goliath, the Giant Dragon

The Hebrew word translated “of scales” or “scale” (qasqeset) occurs seven other times in the Old Testament, and every time it refers to the scales of fish—including the dragon in the sea

1 Samuel 17:49–51 “49 And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.”

David is a foreshadow of the coming snake crusher, dragon slayer that is to come to deliver his people.

From Genesis to Revelation you find this wonderful promise,

Wait patiently, the snake crusher, dragon slayer is coming back to finish what he started.

Bible Verses to add

Isaiah 27:1 “1 In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.” (God will destroy the most powerful evil monster in the universe)

Romans 16:20 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

The first Adam was defeated by the serpent under a tree. The second Adam defeats the serpent on a tree.

Graphic:

https://www.fullofeyes.com/genesis-315/

“By going to the cross,” explains New Testament scholar D. A. Carson, “Jesus will ultimately destroy this serpent, this devil, who holds people captive under sin, shame, and guilt. He will crush the serpent’s head by taking their guilt and shame on himself.”

The Serpent and the Serpent Slayer As a Result of the Snake’s Deceit, God Curses the Snake and Promises a Snake Crusher

The first seed of the serpent is Cain, who kills his brother Abel (