The Lord Jesus Christ- The Promised Seed, True Israel, and Last Adam- Part Two

In a real sense, Noah is the new Adam. He is commanded to spread the image of God throughout the earth which is recorded for us in v.18-19. However, though he is the representative of a new humanity that is saved in him and his ark, he is not the last Adam. His own sin demonstrates that he is not the ultimate fulfillment of the seed of the woman (cf. Gen. 9:21). Unable to keep his line in complete covenantal obedience, corruption soon emerges from Noah's own seed when Ham sees his father's nakedness and brings open shame to him (v. 22-23). As a result, Ham is cursed (v.25) and thus there is a re-emergence of the conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. We, however, do have a covenant representative who is able to keep his seed in complete covenantal obedience: the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Is. 53:10-11). This is not because we have our covenantal obedience to plea but the covenantal obedience of the representative who was faithful in all ways.

In the last article, I alluded to the antithesis between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent which began at the fall and will continue until the return of the Lord in glory. It was my assertion that the theme of redemptive history was summed up in the protoevagelium: the seed of the woman will triumph over the seed of the serpent. Immediately from Genesis 3:15 and following, we witness the unfolding of the conflict between the two seeds. In Genesis 4, the first act of murder occurs when Cain, the seed of the serpent, takes the life of his brother Abel, the seed of the woman. As a result of his actions, Cain is banished east to the land of Nod where he eventually builds a city and names it Enoch after his seed. Just when it seems that the seed of the serpent is flourishing and has triumphed over the seed of the woman, God provides Eve another son: Seth. The birth of Seth closes out the Cain and Abel narrative and Moses then gives us a genealogy. The point of the genealogy and of all the genealogies is this: that God maintains his covenantal faithfulness through the seed of the woman.

The growth of the seed of the woman does not remain unchallenged however. In fact, by Genesis 6, the seed of the serpent outnumber the seed of the woman so much so that only Noah and his seed finds favor with God (Gen. 6:8). God's judgment of the seed of the serpent, the flood account, spans the next two chapters and by the outset of chapter 9 we have the institution of the Noahic Covenant. In the aftermath of the flood, God has appointed Noah as the new representative of humanity and re-issues the cultural mandate he gave Adam (cf. Gen. 9:7). In a real sense, Noah is the new Adam. He is commanded to spread the image of God throughout the earth which is recorded for us in v.18-19. However, though he is the representative of a new humanity that is saved in him and his ark, he is not the last Adam. His own sin demonstrates that he is not the ultimate fulfillment of the seed of the woman (cf. Gen. 9:21). Unable to keep his line in complete covenantal obedience, corruption soon emerges from Noah's own seed when Ham sees his father's nakedness and brings open shame to him (v. 22-23). As a result, Ham is cursed (v.25) and thus there is a re-emergence of the conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. We, however, do have a covenant representative who is able to keep his seed in complete covenantal obedience: the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Is. 53:10-11). This is not because we have our covenantal obedience to plea but the covenantal obedience of the representative who was faithful in all ways.

We will continue to witness the unfolding of this drama of this between the two seeds until Genesis 15 and God's covenant with Abram. It is amidst the backdrop of the protoevangelium that we best understand significance of the Abrahamic Covenant, its fulfillment in the gospel and how Christ is the True Israel. We will examine this in greater detail next time.