If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

Genesis 3:15 contains what is generally referred to as the Adamic Covenant. The verse reads, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”

We’re all familiar with the situation. God is dealing with Adam and Eve for having eaten the fruit of the forbidden tree. Adam tells Him it’s Eve’s fault, and Eve says the serpent made her do it. God curses the serpent and tells him he will henceforth crawl on his belly and eat dust all the days of his life.

He goes on to tell Eve that He will greatly increase her pain in childbirth and that her husband will rule over her. Then He tells Adam he will have to toil for his food for the rest of his life.

They disobeyed Him, and He dealt with the disobedience pretty seriously. But right in between His statement to the serpent and His statements to Adam and Eve, He drops the promise mentioned in verse 15.

Speaking to the serpent, which all authorities I’ve ever heard accept to be Satan, He says, “. . . and you shall bruise him on the heel.” This is His authorization for Satan to tempt and torment us.

And please don’t question why this applies to us since we weren’t present. If we had been, we would have done exactly what Adam and Eve did. You know how we are. As soon as we’re forbidden to do something, we can’t wait to do it.

Anyhow, if that part of the promise had not applied to us, neither would the good part: “. . . and he shall bruise you on the head . . .” God is foretelling the fact that Jesus will conquer Satan.

What a glorious promise! This simple promise, given in the heat of God’s anger both at Satan and at man, is the basis for the entire rest of the Bible and the entire course of history. Where would we be without it? It’s this promise that has given hope, first to the Jew and then to the Christian, throughout history.

How comforting to know that when God makes a promise, it’s not like our promises. We intend to do such and such. We truly hope we can do such and such. But how often do we fail to make good on our promises. When God makes one, however, it WILL come to pass. His promises are much more solid than the Rock of Gibraltar or the Bank of England or whatever other things we may hold to be examples of dependability.

What thoughts come to your mind when you think of the Garden of Eden?

How have promises of God comforted you through the years?

We always love to see your comments at Where the Heart Is.

David N. Walker is a Christian father and grandfather, a grounded pilot and a near-scratch golfer who had to give up the game because of shoulder problems. A graduate of Duke University, he spent 42 years as a health insurance agent. Most of that career was spent in Texas, but for a few years he traveled many other states. He started writing about 20 years ago, and has six unpublished novels to use as primers on how NOT to write fiction. He has just e-published his devotional, Heaven Sent: 67 Stories of Godly Thoughts and Inspiration (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008CRL82M). His new fiction work—a series of novellas set during the period from 1860 to 1880 is underway. The first one is in the editing process, and he’s currently writing the second one.

Contact David at davwalktx@yahoo.com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx