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.
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 3:14-15)

A promise. Whether it is small or large, a promise is one of the key components of trust. Parents are judged by their children on their ability to keep promises. Politicians are judged on their ability to keep promises. When promises are broken, trust begins to erode. When they are upheld, the foundation is secured. People need kept promises. It gives us comfort, confidence, and consistency necessary to step out in faith.

This is important in our relationship with God as well. After all, He created us this way and promised us many things; He’d never flood the earth again (Genesis 9), we are never alone (Hebrews 13), He loves us unconditionally (Romans 8), we are created intentionally and given purpose (Psalm 139), etc… God’s keeping of these promises gives us a consistent Lord that we can trust, rely on and step out to serve in the midst of risk.

With that in mind, this promise in Genesis 3 is quite vital. He tells the serpent how it will all end. Evil (sin) will bite His heel, but He will crush its head. This is the initial promise of Jesus and is laid out perfectly on the cross. Evil thought it ad scored the major victory with Jesus’ lifeless body hanging on that tree. But, on the third day, Jesus crushed its head by rising from the dead and securing forgiveness and eternal life for all who trust in Him.

With this curse handed to the snake, God promised that good would win, evil would be defeated and destroyed, and restoration would come. That’s a pretty amazing promise!