Question
Gramps,
What is the meaning when God put an enmity between Eve and Lucifer?
Pauline
Answer
Thank you Pauline,
This is a much deeper question than we may think. There are layers to this exchange that I’ve never heard in Sunday School. So, I’m happy to go down this rabbit hole with you. Keep in mind, that I’ll be mostly using the wording from Genesis rather than the Temple ceremony. Yet you may hear a few words from the temple as well.
And I will put enmity
- between thee and the woman
- and between thy seed and her seed;
- it (he) shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Genesis 3:15 (bullet points and parenthetical added)
The first reading is that Eve, herself, will not be condemned to hell because of her transgression. Remember that this is against the backdrop of the war in heaven. Everyone was either with the Father or with Lucifer. No standing on the sidelines. So, Satan assumed that Adam and Eve would be immediately condemned to be among Satan’s minions. And without Adam and Eve, mankind would not be multiplying on the earth — which would frustrate the Father’s plans… It didn’t quite work out that way. The Lord has a way of turning evil to His righteous purposes.
She will not become one of Satan’s minions. She will go with Adam and be under the protection of the Lord. This is the first layer of enmity between the Serpent and the Woman.
The next reading is that Eve is a representation of all women. Now, if we consider the partaking of the fruit by Eve as something that is prototypical of women, we have to consider what that is.
In the Garden, all they needed was provided for them. Even though they were told to dress the garden and care for it (Genesis 2:15) this didn’t require much effort.
5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
…
9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Mists watered all the plants. Plants had no natural enemies (bugs, weeds, etc.). Even when we consider the symbolic/metaphoric meaning of the narrative, there wasn’t much they needed to do to care for the garden. They received the good fruit that the plants (the Lord) provided for them freely. But the actual “dress and care” appeared to be no more than asking children to perform some chores in a household. They don’t “earn a living.”
Interestingly, the idyllic world that lacked nothing was purposefully created with one unobtainable thing — the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And it wasn’t because there wasn’t enough. It was because it was forbidden. As the provider, Adam (the man) was perfectly happy to gather what was provided. And needs were taken care of. What about Eve?
For the purposes of your question, we must recognize that ancient literature from many cultures around the world tends to include the curiosity of a female as a catalyst in their origin stories. In the case of Pandora, she ended up feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders, but she was eased by hope (the one remaining item in the box — a gift from Prometheus — whose name means “forethinker”). In the case of Eve, she wanted more knowledge. But the Father (who knows the end from the beginning) provided the hope of the Savior to all mankind which eased their burdens after being expelled from the Garden of Eden.
The next layer that we read is that it talks about the enmity between “thy seed and her seed”. This is about the fact that the spirits that follow Satan cannot possess us at will because we are the seed of Eve. It only happens if we invite them. We ultimately have power over our bodies in the spiritual sense.
Another layer is what Orthodox Jews will state: The seed of the Woman is the covenant people (Jews). Those not of the covenant (gentiles) are the seed of Satan. To Latter-day Saints, we are a covenant people. And non-covenant people are the seed of Satan. Do not misunderstand. This does not mean that Gentiles are evil. It means that without covenants, they are in his power. And he exercises dominion over them. And through sad experiences, we have seen the enmity that most of Christianity feels towards us. It is inevitable for a covenant people.
Adam and Eve were placed under covenant with the Lord to receive that protection by creating enmity between us and the power of the devil. And if we do not live according to those covenants we, too, will be under his power.
The next layer: a common Christian interpretation indicates that the seed is Jesus Christ. By extension, the woman is Mary, the mortal mother of the Savior. There will be enmity between Jesus and Satan. There was also protection offered to Mary in her younger years to become the chosen vessel who carried the pre-natal Jesus to Bethlehem and cared for Him beyond. While Satan may think he gets the upper hand through the crucifixion (bruising His heel) the Lord knows the end from the beginning. And the culmination of the Atonement of Christ crushed the serpent’s head.
The final reading, which I’ll share today, concerns the Tree of Life. Not only was Satan forbidden to approach it, but there was also another separation.
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Mortals are not allowed to approach the Tree of Life either, and we will not have that privilege until the resurrection.
I realize this is a lot to take in. And it just scratches the surface. I hope the Spirit can help you in further understanding.
Gramps
