Girls and Snakes

"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." Genesis 3:15 (ESV)

It sounds silly now, but growing up I thought the purpose of this verse was primarily to explain why girls did not like snakes. As an adult, I think I just dismissed the verse like so many others that I could not explain. However, after reading Geerhardus Vos' Biblical Theology, I found the Gospel there.

"The emphasis rests on the pronoun: God says 'I will put enmity'. Here is not primarily an appeal to man but a divine promise. Nor does God merely instigate or promote enmity; He sovereignly puts it. . .The essence of the deliverance consists in a reversal of the attitude assumed by man towards the serpent and God respectively. Man in sinning had sides with the serpent and placed himself in opposition to God. Now the attitude towards the serpent becomes one of hostility; this must carry with it a corresponding change in man's attitude toward God. God being the mover in the warfare against Satan, man, joining in this, becomes plainly the ally of God." Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology, Banner of Truth Trust, 2004, p. 42.

I look forward to that day when our redemption is complete and we love sin no more.