Summary of the “two seeds” in
Genesis 4-9:
|
The Seed of the Serpent: Cain – murderer Lamech – polygamist and
murderer * No one in Cain’s line is
mentioned as being a follower of God or pleasing to God. |
|
The Seed of the Woman: Abel – one who pleased
God Seth – replaced Abel as the
seed of the woman Enosh – associated with men
calling upon God Enoch – walked with God for 300 years, and then was
translated, without dying Noah – righteous in God’s
sight * No one in Seth’s line is said
to be displeasing to God. |
******* THE GREAT FLOOD *******
Continuation of the “two
seeds” in Genesis 9-11:
|
The Seed of the Serpent: Cain’s descendants are wiped out in Noah’s flood. Ham/Canaan replace Cain as the cursed seed of the
serpent. Canaanites
– a wicked nation (cf. Deut. 7:1-3) Girgashites
– a wicked nation (cf. Deut. 7:1-3) Amorites –
a wicked nation (cf. Deut. 7:1-3) Hivites –
a wicked nation (cf. Deut. 7:1-3) Jebusites
– a wicked nation (cf. Deut. 7:1-3) Another line of Ham’s
descendants: Mizraim – commonly held to be the founder of Nimrod –
founded wicked cities of Philistines
– a wicked nation (cf. 1 Samuel 17:45-47) |
|
The Seed of the Woman: Seth’s descendant, Noah, is saved from the flood by
God. His family survives to continue the
blessed line of the seed of the woman. His son Shem continues this blessed
line. Shem – blessed of God – ancestor to Abraham Little is said of Shem’s descendants, until
Abraham. It is known that Terah did
not worship God, but it is not clear how many of his ancestors did or did not
do so. God remembered His covenant with the seed of the
woman, and ultimately brought the Messiah into the world as a descendant of
Terah. Jesus is not only a descendant
of Terah’s son, Abram/Abraham, but is also descendant of Terah’s other two
sons, (cf. Gen. 11:27, 19:36-37;
Ruth 1:4; Matt. 1:5) Nahor –
ancestor to the nation of (cf. Gen. 22:20-22,
24:60,67, 25:20) Abram/Abraham – ancestor to Jesus, and father of our faith |
It is significant to note that God dealt covenantally with His people from the beginning. He didn't start with Abraham.
Some people think that God's covenantal dealing with His people was only a temporary thing, from the time of Abraham, until the time of Jesus. And if this were true, then it would be hard to argue why the 2,000 years after Christ should be any more covenantal than the 2,000 years before Abraham.
But as we can see, God has always dealt with His people covenantally, lovingly sending His grace through family lines. The seed of the serpent has always been at war with the seed of the woman, from Genesis 3:15 until today, and until the end of time. God chose the line of Seth in Genesis 4-5. God chose the line of Shem in Genesis 9. So God's dealing with Abraham was not as radically "new" as some people think. Rather, Abraham was simply the next person in the line of the "seed of the woman", the line of God's people which had been around for thousands of years before Abraham was even born.
The "covenantal tree" of God's people (cf. Jeremiah 11 & Romans 11) has been around since the beginning. God has always covenantally set apart a group of people for Himself. Those whom He elects remain faithful to the covenant, while nonelect members of the covenant are cut off (cf. Jeremiah 11:16 & Romans 11:22).
God set apart His covenant people from the beginning, in Genesis 3:15. He called His people the "seed of the woman". These people were generally faithful to God, as we see in Genesis 5. Cain's descendants were the "seed of the serpent", and were generally wicked, as we see in Genesis 4. God wiped out Cain's descendants, and saved a remnant of His people: Noah and his family. After the flood, Ham & Canaan were cursed to be the seed of the serpent. Shem continued the line of God's people, the seed of the woman. His descendant, Abraham, was a continuation of this line. And later, the entire nation of Israel continues this line of the seed of the woman. All those outside Israel are considered to be the seed of the serpent. In the New Testament, once again, God saves a remnant of the seed of the woman. After the resurrection of Jesus, the first Christians were the faithful remnant of Israel. Gentile converts to Christianity are grafted into this same tree, this same covenantal people of God (Rom. 11:17). In other words, the Church is simply a continuation of Israel, which itself was simply a continuation of the "seed of the woman". And the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent are still at war with each other. The seed of the woman is the church. And the seed of the serpent is all those outside the church.
Before we see the continuity between Israel and the Church, we should first recognize the continuity between the "seed of the woman" and Israel. Once we understand the unity of God's people from Seth to Shem to Abraham, it should be easy to recognize the unity of God's people from Abraham to Christ to the modern Christian.
--- article by Joseph M. Gleason - March, 2006
Click here to return to the Bible Lighthouse homepage.
Click here for a bookmark-friendly copy of this page.