Genesis 3:15 Seed of the Woman

Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

It is Advent, when people all over the world anticipate the day we remember Jesus' birth. No one knows exactly which day He was born, and probably it was not in mid winter. But the day of His birth is not as important as the fact of His birth and the reason He was born. God knew from the beginning that a remedy for man's imperfection would be needed, and He planned for that remedy to be provided at what He knew would be the right time and the right place.

Genesis 3:15 is generally accepted as being the first prophecy in Scripture about the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One. It says that He would be born of a woman, so He would be human. But He would be "her seed." This is an odd phrase because the seed is what is planted, and in the Bible refers to men, not women. The man inseminates the woman. Except here. This person would be born of a woman, but, since He was "her seed," he would NOT be the child of a man! Now think for a minute: if the Christ, who will bruise the enemy's head, is NOT the child of a man, but IS the child of a woman, how would that be known? The woman would have to be a virgin--if she was not, then her child could not be proved to be anyone other than a normally born human being.

So we see that here, right after imperfection, sin and death entered the creation, God's remedy was predicted: He would be human, but born of a virgin, and He would be the one to defeat the enemy.

Luke 5:29-32 & 6:1-5 Jesus Defends His Disciples

Luk 5:29-32  And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. 30  But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?
31  And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Luk 6:1-5  And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. 
2  And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?
3  And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; 4  How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?
5  And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

In these two passages the scribes and Pharisees challenge Jesus' disciples (not Him) about their actions. And instead of the disciples defending themselves, Jesus speaks for them. He is their advocate, their defense lawyer.
It is the same today. If you are Jesus' follower, if you are learning from Him and allowing Him to work in your life, He defends you.

Psalm 139:13 Covered

 ^"For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb."

"Thou hast possessed my reins"--God owns me and directs me. He made me (and you).
"Thou hast covered me"--He has woven me together and protected me (and you)
"in my mother's womb"--since conception.

This is such a warm comforting thought. I love it that God knows me so well and has such an intimate part in my being and life. He is truly my Father.

John 8:3-11 & Jeremiah 17:13 Written in the Earth

Joh 8:3  And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
4  They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5  Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6  This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 7  So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. 8  And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9  And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10  When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

I love it when God shows me Jesus in the Old Testament! Here we have the well-known story from the gospel of John of the woman taken in adultery. She is brought to Jesus by her accusers who test Him by asking what should be done with her. Instead of answering, he writes in the dirt. What does that mean? Then as they press Him, He turns their question back on them, allowing that anyone among them who is sinless may throw the first stone. And He writes in the dirt some more.

Here is where Jeremiah comes in. It explains the writing in the dirt.

Jer 17:13  O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.

These accusers had forsaken God: the woman had been taken in the act of adultery, but where was the man? The law required that both be stoned (Lev 20:10  And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.) so both should have been brought. Those who brought her wanted to find some fault in Jesus, not do what was just.

But Jesus shamed and disappointed them. He made them remember their own sins, and while they were thinking, he wrote them in the earth. Scripture doesn't say, but I hope some of them repented.