Since the fall the woman has played a vital role in the war with the serpent. When God pronounced his curse on the serpent, he first stated that there would be enmity between the woman and the serpent (Gen 3.15). Through grace given to her in child-bearing, she will be saved by the serpent’s head being crushed (see 1Tim 2.15). Child-bearing is the preeminent tool, you might say, given to the woman to play her role in taking dominion over the serpent.
Throughout the Scriptural record we hear of women participating in this war and crushing heads of serpents. They use various tools of their dominion to accomplish this. For instance, when Abimelech, the son of Gideon and self-proclaimed king, approached the Tower of Thebez to defeat the people of Thebez, an unnamed woman throws an upper millstone–a tool for grinding wheat, a tool of dominion–down upon the head of Abimelech (Jdg 9.50-57).
Earlier in Judges another lady crushes another serpent’s head. Jabin, king of Canaan, is fighting against Israel with Sisera, his chief commander, leading the campaign. Barak, with the counsel of Deborah, soundly defeats Jabin’s army, and Sisera goes AWOL. While running away he came to the tent Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, whom he thought was an ally. Jael works off of that assumption and invites Sisera to find rest and protection in her tent. While he is asleep, she takes a tent-peg—a tool of her dominion–and drives it through the skull of Sisera. Deborah praises Jael in her song saying, “Most blessed of women be Jael” (Jdg 5.24). Jael is a serpent head-crusher.
It is her story that comes to the fore when Mary visits Elizabeth. Upon Mary’s entrance bearing the incarnate Son of God, Elizabeth, being filled with the Spirit sings, “Blessed are you among women.” The Spirit through Elizabeth makes a connection between Mary and Jael. Mary will be a head-crusher.
How does Mary crush the head of the serpent? Through bearing the child, Jesus. The grace given to her for participation in dominion over the serpent is child-bearing. This is the blessing to which Elizabeth refers.
As Protestants we become frightened talking about Mary this way. There have been many distortions about Mary in the church through the millennia. Some have exalted her to being a “co-redemptrix.” We have also been told that she is the one to whom we need to pray if we really want to get Jesus’ attention. These are all distortions. Mary is blessed to be sure, but her bearing the baby Jesus puts her in no greater position than any others who have heard and submitted to the word of God. Jesus says so himself as one lady in a crowd tries to give this exalted place to Mary. An unnamed lady cries out, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” Jesus replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Lk 11.27-28). Jesus’ mother and brothers and sisters are those who hear the word of God and do it (Lk 8.21).
Seeing Mary in line with the women head-crushers in Scripture shouldn’t frighten us because we know how she will crush the head of the serpent. She will crush the head of the serpent through child-bearing, and it is through child-bearing that she herself will be saved.
The church, the bride of Christ, now takes up this vocation of serpent head-crushing. Paul assures the Romans that God will soon crush Satan under their feet (Rom 16.20). God will do the crushing, but he will do it under their feet, the feet of the woman. Like Mary our head-crushing dominion will be through Christ who provides our victory over our enemy, but we participate in that war and in that victory.
As the bride of Christ, we use the tools of dominion that we have been granted in this head-crushing mission. Along with the broad sword of the proclamation of the Word by the entirety of the church through word and deed, individuals within the church have been given graces, gifts of the Spirit. Through the proper exercise of these gifts, the church marches on in her mission. Child-bearing is still one of those gifts given by God to women within his church to accomplish this mission. While the serpent consumes his own children through practices such as abortion and the general selfish disdain for and prevention of children, we have been given the gift to be fruitful and multiply.
Like Mary, we are serpent head-crushers. Like Mary, we crush the head of the serpent because of Christ in us.
