from Israel My Glory, Vol. 50, No.5
Messiah In The Law
by Will Varner
The Law is known in Hebrew as the Torah, the first
of the three traditional divisions of the Hebrew Bible. The other two
divisions are the Prophets and the Writings. An acronym, Tenak,
composed of the first letters of the three Hebrew words for these
divisions, is often used by Jewish people as a title for the Hebrew
Scriptures.
Messianic prophecies are found throughout the Tenak, progressively unfolding an ever-widening portrait of the Promised One. This article examines three of the messianic promises in the Torah, or the Pentateuch, as it is also called. These three passages declare that the Messiah will be (1) the seed of the woman, (2) the Lion of Judah, and (3) the prophet like Moses.
THE SEED OF THE WOMAN (GEN. 3:15)
In Genesis 3, a crucial chapter, the conflict of the ages began. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command by heeding the serpent’s counsel, the Holy One pronounced judgment on each of the three participants—the serpent (vv. 14–15), the woman (v. 16), and the man (vv. 17–19). In the context of His curse on the serpent, the first promise of a messianic deliverer shines forth: “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (vv. 14–15).
Embedded within these ominous words of doom is mankind’s only hope—the seed of the woman, the Deliverer, the Savior, the Messiah. But before He arrived, a fierce conflict would develop. This is a promise not only of hope but also of warfare—a battle between the followers of the Lord and of Satan. Ultimately, the conflict focuses on two individuals. The word seed in Hebrew (i.e., zerah) has both a collective and an individual meaning as does its English equivalent. The singular pronoun used in the promise, “he [KJV, “it”] shall bruise thy head,” indicates that a male member of the human race will deliver a fatal blow to the serpent. This crushing blow will hot come, however, without the woman’s seed receiving a wound on His heel.
Until modern times, Jewish commentators saw a prophecy of the coming Messiah in this verse. Consider, for example, this comment from Bereshit Rabba 23, a rabbinic commentary on Genesis: “Eve had respect to that seed which is coming from another place. And who is this This is Messiah the King.” Basically, this verse teaches that the Messiah will suffer in the process of defeating Satan. The concept of a suffering Messiah, although unfamiliar to many Jewish people, can be traced back to this ancient promise. Isaiah further developed this theme with his teaching about the suffering servant: “He was bruised for our iniquities … Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him” (Isa. 53:5b, 10a).
Although Satan was defeated on a cross outside of Jerusalem nearly two thousand years ago, His ultimate destruction is portrayed as yet in the future, in “the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:10). It is then that his head will be bruised in the long-awaited fulfillment of Genesis 3:15.
The following basic truths can be deduced about the Messiah from Genesis 3:15. First, the Messiah will be of unique birth—He will be the seed of the woman. Although some people may have difficulty seeing the truth of the virgin birth in those words alone, it is clearly implied that the Deliverer will be of unique origin. Why else is He called the seed of the woman and not the seed of the man Second, the Messiah will be supernatural—He will defeat Satan, a supernatural being. Only one who has power beyond that of a mere man could defeat the one who is called “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). Thus, the Messiah’s deity is implied. Third, the Messiah will be of the human race—from a woman, not an angel or a visitor from another world. Thus, the ultimate mystery begins to unfold: The Messiah will be both God and man, a theme later developed by the prophets (Isa. 9:6; Jer. 23:5–6; Mic. 5:2).
It must be remembered that this promise was only the first of a long series of messianic prophecies. As the revelation unfolded, more information was given and the Messiah’s credentials progressively narrowed the focus to one who would be a descendant of Shem (Gen. 9:26), Abraham (Gen. 12:3), Isaac (Gen. 26:3), Jacob (Gen. 35:11–12), Judah (Gen. 49:10), David (2 Sam 7:12–16), and Zerubbabel (Hag. 2:23) and who would be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2) before the Temple was destroyed (Dan. 9:24–26; 70 A.D.). Like an inverted pyramid, this portrait of the Messiah rests on the only one who could fit these and the many other prophecies concerning Him—Jesus of Nazareth, who was born of a woman (Gal. 4:4), vanquished Satan, and sets free all those who are in Satanic bondage (Heb. 2:14–15).
 Will Varner is professor of Bible and Greek at The Master's College in Santa Clarita, California.
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