The Foretelling, part one

                                                

 

 

Advent Blog; Day 2

 

 

 

Bob Dylan uses a rather unusual image in his song "Ain't Talkin". He sings the line "I'm walking with a toothache in my heel" its a very odd line, not to mention a surreal image. I will explain.

 

It seems in the story of creation and the fall of mankind that there is a shred of hope for the messiah right from the outset. A pip from the apple, a seed of prophecy from that awful event. We see that when God is cursing the snake (widely seen as Satan) he says that he will put enmity between the offspring of the woman and the snake. He says

 

"He will crush your head and you will strike his heel"~ Genesis 3:15
 

When I first had the prophetic nature of this explained to me I was quite taken aback. You see the act of enmity is simultaneous. At the same time the snake tries to bite the man, it is crushed. I believe this is What Dylan is referring to  by "toothache in my heel". Its the sting of the snake. He is crushed but he has left a mark. In hindsight we see how this applies to the cross. The very act that Satan uses to attempt to destroy Jesus, actually seals his downfall. This, as C. S. Lewis puts it, is a deeper magic.

So we see that even at the outset, when Sin and the Devil ruined everything there is a hope of redemption for Adams race, a "second Adam", an Adam who would not fail. God always intended us to find a way back to the garden.