I’M TRYING MY HAND at some easy-reading Bible commentary. Here’s a rough cut, first draft on an excerpt about the snake in the Garden of Eden. The snake that chatted up Eve.
This section zeroes in on the line about God vowing perpetual hostility between the serpent’s offspring and Eve’s offspring:
Genesis 3:15. “Hostility between your offspring and her offspring” (New Living Translation).
Snakes and humans—the tag team that had collaborated to rebel against God—would turn on each other.
For generations to come:
- Snakes would nip at the heels of humans.
- Humans would crush the heads of snakes.
Some Bible experts say they read this story as the case of an historian using reverse engineering: a way of explaining why snakes and humans don’t take kindly to one another.
Others read it as literal history.
Still others say it’s a metaphor to illustrate humanity’s long struggle with the power of evil, and with sin and death.
- Snake = sin and all things bad.
- Hostility = humanity’s battle with sin.
- Crushed snake head = humanity’s eventual victory over sin.
As the theory goes, snakes might be able to bite the heels of humans, and even kill some of them. But humans have a huge advantage over snakes: high ground and big feet. We’ll stomp their heads a good one.
In time, the world will run out of snakes—and sin. Eve’s offspring will win.
Yes – in time.