Mary Did You Know?
Scripture Reading: Genesis 4-6; Matthew 2; Psalm 2
Before the birth of Cain, the last words we hear from Eve are, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Between that sorrowful confession and Genesis 4:1, the voice of God alone fills the narrative. He speaks curses to the serpent, the woman, and the man. He declares in divine Trinitarian counsel His decision to drive Adam and Eve from Eden, barring their return with cherubim and a flaming sword.
Yet, even as He pronounces judgment, God proclaims the gospel: the woman would have a child who would crush the serpent’s head and set all things right.
Hope...
I believe Eve believed.
Her words in Genesis 4:1—“I have begotten a man with the help of the LORD”—are her Magnificat. Martin Luther, John Calvin, Franz Delitzsch, and others share the view that Eve’s statement reflects her faith in the promise of Genesis 3:15. Luther suggested she believed Cain was the promised deliverer. Calvin wrote that she “imagined the redeemer had already been born, and that he would immediately restore all things to their proper order.” Delitzsch described Eve as “full of believing expectation.”
Yet Eve’s expectations, though full of faith, were tragically misplaced. Cain was not the promised Messianic seed but rather a seed of the serpent, embracing a perverted, devilish religion and persecuting his righteous brother to the point of murder.
Eve was wrong about the timing and the person, but she was not wrong to hope and believe in God’s promise. The fulfillment did not come in the way she imagined or as quickly as she hoped, but it did come.
Matthew’s Gospel recounts the birth of another Child, one who truly came to crush the serpent’s head. Luke tells us of Mary singing her own Magnificat, more informed by centuries of revelation. (Mary’s Magnificat is mostly a recitation of Scripture strung together into a poetic song of praise). All Eve had was one verse to ground her faith on.
Psalm 2 further reveals His identity: not only the Son of Man but also the Son of God (Psalm 2:7). It declares that all the nations belong to Him, and the wise serve Him with reverence and joy (Psalm 2:10–11).
We, too, may not get everything right—our understanding may be incomplete, and our timing off. But we are never wrong to lean into the promises of God. We are never wrong to fix our eyes on Jesus and hope in Him for the restoration of all things.
