This past week I read a story about a woman who used a handgun to shoot a man
who was attempting to steal her car. The
car had the woman’s children in it when the carjacking took place. When I
was reading the story, my mind went to the Sermon on the Mount. Honestly, even as someone who believes we are
called to live non-resistant lives, I don’t know how I would act in such a
situation. The more I thought about it,
the more my mind kept going back to the Sermon on the Mount.
The Sermon on the Mount is a pivotal teaching of Jesus’. For many people, many churches and even some denominations, the Sermon on the Mount is held as an ethic of the kingdom. However, for the first 20-25 years of my life, would you believe that I was taught in numerous churches, high school, and a couple colleges that the Sermon on the Mount is something that we as followers of Jesus don’t really have to worry about now? It is true. For most of my spiritual upbringing, I was told that the Sermon on the Mount will be the law of the land, so to speak, during the millennial reign of Jesus spoken of in Revelation. But for now, it pretty much can be set aside.
In my mid-to late 20’s, when I spent a fair amount of time in serious study of the Gospels, I started to question what I had been taught about the Sermon. I wasn’t comfortable with what I had been taught, but I wasn’t sure exactly what the ramifications would be if what I had believed all along was wrong.
Throughout our lives, as we continue to study the scriptures and look to the leading of the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us, we hopefully will grow in our knowledge and understanding of the Bible. At times we may get things wrong. But when we fall down, we can give up, or we can learn from our mistakes, get back up and prayerfully ask God to show us what He is trying to teach us from His word.
Sometimes as you spend time meditating and studying a passage you start to see things that you’ve never seen before. This is why, once again, I will say that I strongly encourage you all to study the scriptures for yourself and compare what I say with what the Bible itself says. There are a lot of opinions out there, some are likely accurate, and others aren’t.
For example, in studying for today’s sermon I read probably 30 commentaries and very few of them agreed on much. Some were dogmatic that it must mean such and such, and others were adamant that it must mean something completely different than the first group mentioned.
Some of the commentaries were not even consistent in their understanding between Genesis chapters 1-2 and chapter 3.
With all of this being said, I want to attempt to move forward in looking at Genesis 3, and the account of Adam and Eve’s choosing sin over obedience to God.
Genesis 3:1-19
Now the serpent was more crafty than
any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman,
“Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The
woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may
eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God
has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The
serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in
the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food,
and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make
one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband
with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they
knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made
themselves loin coverings.
8 They heard the sound of the Lord
God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid
themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9
Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He
said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was
naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked?
Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man
said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I
ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And
the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 The Lord God said to
the serpent,
“Because you have done this, Cursed
are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your
belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; 15 And I
will put enmity Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And
you shall bruise him on the heel.”
16 To the woman He said, “I will
greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth,
In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your
husband, And he will rule over you.”
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you
have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about
which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground
because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18 “Both
thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the
field; 19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the
ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall
return.”
I want to spend most of our time today in
looking at verses 15-17 today. But
before we can look at these verses we need to spend a little time with the
first part of the chapter.
Adam was told in Genesis 2 that he was not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil.
Genesis 2:15-17
Adam was told in Genesis 2 that he was not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil.
Genesis 2:15-17
Then the Lord God took the man and
put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 The Lord God
commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17
but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in
the day that you eat from it you will surely die.
Throughout history people have asked the
question why God would give people the free will that would allow them to
sin.
C.S. Lewis had this to say about man and free will in his book Mere Christianity. (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), pp. 52-53)
“God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong, but I can't. If a thing is free to be good it's also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata -of creatures that worked like machines- would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they've got to be free.
C.S. Lewis had this to say about man and free will in his book Mere Christianity. (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), pp. 52-53)
“God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong, but I can't. If a thing is free to be good it's also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata -of creatures that worked like machines- would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they've got to be free.
Of course God knew what would happen if
they used their freedom the wrong way: apparently, He thought it worth the
risk. (...) If God thinks this state of war in the universe a price worth
paying for free will -that is, for making a real world in which creatures can
do real good or harm and something of real importance can happen, instead of a
toy world which only moves when He pulls the strings- then we may take it it is
worth paying.”
So, God, knowing that Adam and Eve would sin,
still felt, as Lewis saw it, worth the price to give us freewill.
And as we move into Genesis 3, we see it didn’t take long for Adam and Eve to sin.
And as we move into Genesis 3, we see it didn’t take long for Adam and Eve to sin.
Genesis 3:1-8
Now the serpent was more crafty than
any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman,
“Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The
woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may
eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God
has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The
serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in
the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food,
and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make
one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband
with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they
knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made
themselves loin coverings.
The seed of doubt that the serpent gave Eve in
the garden is the same seed of doubt that all of us succumb to today. When tempted to do something we have been
told by God not to, will we trust God that He knows what is best for us, or
will see buy into the same line the serpent gave Eve: “has God really said…” At those moments, we must choose if what God
said is true or not. We have the choice
to choose, but we are not free from the consequences of our choices.
Genesis 3:8-13
Genesis 3:8-13
8 They heard the sound of the Lord
God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid
themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9
Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He
said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was
naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked?
Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man
said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I
ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And
the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Adam and Eve sinned. And, much like us today, when confronted about their sin, they tried to pass the buck. Any parent of at least two children is familiar with this scenario. You ask child one why they did something naughty towards child two and they respond that it wasn’t their fault, child two started it. In their mind, they aren’t to blame for their action, because …it’s their fault that I did what I did. As parents we sometimes may not see the whole picture. God, sees all and knows not only what we do but the heart attitude behind our actions. So, when God handed out His judgment on the Serpent, Eve and Adam, He knew the whole story.
Adam and Eve sinned. And, much like us today, when confronted about their sin, they tried to pass the buck. Any parent of at least two children is familiar with this scenario. You ask child one why they did something naughty towards child two and they respond that it wasn’t their fault, child two started it. In their mind, they aren’t to blame for their action, because …it’s their fault that I did what I did. As parents we sometimes may not see the whole picture. God, sees all and knows not only what we do but the heart attitude behind our actions. So, when God handed out His judgment on the Serpent, Eve and Adam, He knew the whole story.
Genesis 3:14
14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because
you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every
beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the
days of your life;
15 And I will put enmity Between you
and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the
head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
The harshest judgment came against the serpent. Not only are they to be “cursed..more than…every beast of the field”, for their action, but verse 15 the ultimate defeat of this enemy is prophesied. One day The offspring of the woman, namely Jesus Christ, would hand the serpent its final defeat.
The harshest judgment came against the serpent. Not only are they to be “cursed..more than…every beast of the field”, for their action, but verse 15 the ultimate defeat of this enemy is prophesied. One day The offspring of the woman, namely Jesus Christ, would hand the serpent its final defeat.
Then Eve received her judgment.
Genesis 3:16
16 To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”
16 To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”
This is one of the primary verses I want to
look at today. I think it may be the
most debated verse in this chapter. In
studying, I consulted commentaries to see what thinkers over the centuries have
to say about the judgment given Eve.
Let’s just say, doing so added far more confusion than clarity. I’m going to give a number of snippets into
what the commentaries have to say about this, just to be fair to all
viewpoints.
First off, God said “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children”.
One commentary says that “Physically she would experience multiplied pain (‘itstsebhon) especially as it is associated with childbirth. She who sought sweet delights in eating the fruit found not delights but pain, not joy, but sorrow.” (Smith, J. E. (1993). The Pentateuch (2nd ed., pp. 70–71). Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co.).
But other commentaries go further by pointing out that the idea put forth in this pronouncement involves more than just pain in child birth. “. I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception.” … And for us men, we should keep in mind, as this same commentary points out, that “The pains of childbirth are in Scripture emblematic of the severest anguish both of body and mind(cf. Ps. 48:6; Micah 4:9, 10; 1 Thess. 5:3; John 16:21; Rev. 12:2)” (Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). Genesis (pp. 66–67). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.)
Another commentary went further and said “Some take this to refer to the introduction of a monthly… menstrual cycle” as it is now. (Richards, L. O. (1991). The Bible reader’s companion (electronic ed., p. 27). Wheaton: Victor Books.)
This portion of the judgment, while varying some in interpretation, all the sources I read acknowledge that there will be pain now surrounding pregnancy and birth, where they likely wouldn’t have been pain before. With this assessment I agree.
The second half of the pronouncement to Eve carries much more controversy.
First off, God said “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children”.
One commentary says that “Physically she would experience multiplied pain (‘itstsebhon) especially as it is associated with childbirth. She who sought sweet delights in eating the fruit found not delights but pain, not joy, but sorrow.” (Smith, J. E. (1993). The Pentateuch (2nd ed., pp. 70–71). Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co.).
But other commentaries go further by pointing out that the idea put forth in this pronouncement involves more than just pain in child birth. “. I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception.” … And for us men, we should keep in mind, as this same commentary points out, that “The pains of childbirth are in Scripture emblematic of the severest anguish both of body and mind(cf. Ps. 48:6; Micah 4:9, 10; 1 Thess. 5:3; John 16:21; Rev. 12:2)” (Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). Genesis (pp. 66–67). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.)
Another commentary went further and said “Some take this to refer to the introduction of a monthly… menstrual cycle” as it is now. (Richards, L. O. (1991). The Bible reader’s companion (electronic ed., p. 27). Wheaton: Victor Books.)
This portion of the judgment, while varying some in interpretation, all the sources I read acknowledge that there will be pain now surrounding pregnancy and birth, where they likely wouldn’t have been pain before. With this assessment I agree.
The second half of the pronouncement to Eve carries much more controversy.
Genesis 3:16b
“…Yet your desire will
be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”
There are several different opinions on what
this portion of the passage means. And
most are pretty insistent that their interpretation is correct, even when it is
at odds with a number of other well-known biblical scholars.
There is one camp that says the woman’s desire is sexual in nature.
There is one camp that says the woman’s desire is sexual in nature.
One commentary put it this way. “(Eve’s) sin… tainted her relationship with her husband. “Desire… and its meaning in our passage is highly disputed. It has been explained widely as sexual desire on the basis of Song 7:10 [““I am my beloved’s, And his desire is for me.”] and the reference to childbirth in 3:15. If so, the adversative rendering of the following clause, “yet he will rule” (as NASB, NRSV), would mean that despite her painful experience in childbirth she will still have (sexual) desires for her husband. In other words, the promissory blessing of procreation will persist despite any possible reluctance on her part due to the attendant pain of delivery. Others view the woman’s desire as broader, including an emotional or economic reliance on her husband. In other words, she acted independently of her husband in eating the fruit, and the consequent penalty is that she will become dependent on him.
I’ll be honest. Up to this point, K.A. Mathews has summarized two of the more common interpretations fairly well, in my opinion. However, he didn’t stop there.
Her new desire is to be submissive to the man, and, quite naturally, he will oblige by ruling over her. (Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26 (Vol. 1A, pp. 249–252). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
“Her new desire is
to be submissive to the man”? If
her new desire, after sin marred God’s perfect creation, is to have a desire to
be in submission to the man, and if this is God’s intention, then how is this a
judgment by God on Eve? I don’t think it
is.
If this is part of the judgment on Eve, there must be a better explanation.
Let’s consider another commentary, “A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures”:
“And thy desire shall be to thy husband. This sentence obtains its full significance in its embracing that which follows, and in its contrast to it. It is, emphatically, that her desire should be to the man as though she were magically bound to him. … It is further emphatic that the man shall rule over her in a strong way; and finally that she, in her bound and destined adherence to man, shall find in him a strong and severe master.” (Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Lewis, T., & Gosman, A. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Genesis (pp. 237–238). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
If this is part of the judgment on Eve, there must be a better explanation.
Let’s consider another commentary, “A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures”:
“And thy desire shall be to thy husband. This sentence obtains its full significance in its embracing that which follows, and in its contrast to it. It is, emphatically, that her desire should be to the man as though she were magically bound to him. … It is further emphatic that the man shall rule over her in a strong way; and finally that she, in her bound and destined adherence to man, shall find in him a strong and severe master.” (Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Lewis, T., & Gosman, A. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Genesis (pp. 237–238). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
As I noted previously, in God’s perfect
Creation, when God created the “suitable helper” for Adam, he created a
co-partner for him.
“The expression indicates that the forthcoming helper was to be of similar nature to the man himself, corresponding by way of supplement to the incompleteness of his lonely being, and in every way adapted to be his co-partner and companion. (Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). Genesis (p. 50). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.)
“The expression indicates that the forthcoming helper was to be of similar nature to the man himself, corresponding by way of supplement to the incompleteness of his lonely being, and in every way adapted to be his co-partner and companion. (Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). Genesis (p. 50). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.)
Going back to the “Commentary on the Holy Scriptures” we read that as a result of the Fall:
“…..In consequence of sin thus
arises that subjection of the wife to the husband, bordering on slavery, that
was customary in the old world, as it still is in the East, and which through
the religion of revelation becomes gradually more tolerable, until, at last, in
the increasing worth of the woman, it becomes entirely evened” (Delitzsch).” (Lange, et al.)
I want to expound upon this thought that things were to get worse before they get better. Ultimately, I believe the worth of women and men should be viewed as equal, as stated above. But before I get into that I want to read just a little more from this commentary about how things would get much worse for woman after the fall, before they would get better. So, as we keep in mind man and woman were both created in the image of God, we don’t have to look far to see that after sin entered the picture, they were treated as anything but equals.
“Among the Hebrews a wife was bought by the husband (? ch. 34:12; Exod. 22:16; Hos. 3:3, 2). and was his possession (female slave, ? ch. 20:3; Deut. 22:22). He is called her lord (ch. 18:21; Exod. 21:3), and he can divorce her without much ceremony (Deut. 24:1). This subordinate and depressed condition of the wife the author regards as the punishment of sin.” Knobel.— (Lange, et al.)
I want to expound upon this thought that things were to get worse before they get better. Ultimately, I believe the worth of women and men should be viewed as equal, as stated above. But before I get into that I want to read just a little more from this commentary about how things would get much worse for woman after the fall, before they would get better. So, as we keep in mind man and woman were both created in the image of God, we don’t have to look far to see that after sin entered the picture, they were treated as anything but equals.
“Among the Hebrews a wife was bought by the husband (? ch. 34:12; Exod. 22:16; Hos. 3:3, 2). and was his possession (female slave, ? ch. 20:3; Deut. 22:22). He is called her lord (ch. 18:21; Exod. 21:3), and he can divorce her without much ceremony (Deut. 24:1). This subordinate and depressed condition of the wife the author regards as the punishment of sin.” Knobel.— (Lange, et al.)
As I said, things got much worse before they
started to get better. And, as we enter
the New Testament, we see things will get much better.
I’ve shared some of what others have to say about the punishment pronounced on Eve, but I want to share my thoughts now, before quickly trying to finish up for today.
After reading and studying both this passage, as well as others, I do believe the better explanation of the pronouncement of Eve’s “desire” in verse 16 is in regards to wishing to either “emancipate” herself from man, or to seek to elevate herself as a position of authority, whereas originally created they would have been co-partners. This makes more sense logically, since if her “desire” were merely a sexual desire for her husband, as some believe, it would indicate that sexual desire of a woman for her husband would not have been part of God’s original plan, but rather would be a part of His judgment for her sinning.
Seeing the proclamation of judgment the way I do, I see both physical and psychological aspects of the punishment.
I’ve shared some of what others have to say about the punishment pronounced on Eve, but I want to share my thoughts now, before quickly trying to finish up for today.
After reading and studying both this passage, as well as others, I do believe the better explanation of the pronouncement of Eve’s “desire” in verse 16 is in regards to wishing to either “emancipate” herself from man, or to seek to elevate herself as a position of authority, whereas originally created they would have been co-partners. This makes more sense logically, since if her “desire” were merely a sexual desire for her husband, as some believe, it would indicate that sexual desire of a woman for her husband would not have been part of God’s original plan, but rather would be a part of His judgment for her sinning.
Seeing the proclamation of judgment the way I do, I see both physical and psychological aspects of the punishment.
The physical punishment, pain in bringing
children into the world and in child birth, would be a physical punishment that
more or less is universal. While the
pain is real, some women are able to use medications and so forth to alleviate
some of the pain in child birth. I do
not believe this is wrong. It does not
deny that pain in child birth is a result of sin entering the world, but it seeks
to alleviate the pain when possible.
As far as the psychological punishment, Eve’s “desire” and him ruling over her, I think these can be in a different category altogether. These are aspects that may be reversed when a husband and a wife are living in subjection to Jesus. By implication, Eve’s desire to either brush off the partnership that God intended for those made in His image, or to seek to lord over her husband, were falling short of God’s perfect plan. And, in turn, the pronouncement that the man would “rule over” her, would also fall outside of the perfect plan that God had planned.
So, when we realize we are living outside of what God’s perfect will is for us, what are we to do? On our own, and in our own strength we cannot overcome our sin nature. But thanks be to God, through the completed work of Jesus Christ we no longer have to be slaves to our sin nature. That which sin corrupted, can be made right again.
2 Corinthians 5:14-17 tells us that if we are in Christ, we should not continue to live according to the way our sin nature had us living, but we should remember that in Christ we now have the power to throw off the sin that corrupted us.
14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
As far as the psychological punishment, Eve’s “desire” and him ruling over her, I think these can be in a different category altogether. These are aspects that may be reversed when a husband and a wife are living in subjection to Jesus. By implication, Eve’s desire to either brush off the partnership that God intended for those made in His image, or to seek to lord over her husband, were falling short of God’s perfect plan. And, in turn, the pronouncement that the man would “rule over” her, would also fall outside of the perfect plan that God had planned.
So, when we realize we are living outside of what God’s perfect will is for us, what are we to do? On our own, and in our own strength we cannot overcome our sin nature. But thanks be to God, through the completed work of Jesus Christ we no longer have to be slaves to our sin nature. That which sin corrupted, can be made right again.
2 Corinthians 5:14-17 tells us that if we are in Christ, we should not continue to live according to the way our sin nature had us living, but we should remember that in Christ we now have the power to throw off the sin that corrupted us.
14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
16 Therefore from now on we recognize
no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to
the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is
in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things
have come.
As we will see in the near future, a new
pattern is laid out for us to live today.
This pattern is one of mutual submission, where both husbands and wives carry
uphold one another in a relationship that is edifying and glorifying to
God. (Ephesians 5:22ff)
Finishing up this passage, we see that God
hands out His judgment to Adam.
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
When God confronted Adam in the Garden, asking
him if he had sinned, Adam tried to pass the blame to Eve for his actions. So, when God handed out His judgment on Adam
He said the judgment was because Adam had “listened to
the voice of (his) wife and (had) eaten from the tree” which God had
commanded them not to eat.
Above I noted that of the three judgments handed out the serpents was the harshest. Not only was the serpent itself cursed, God proclaimed that one day they would be completely destroyed through the promised “seed” of the woman, namely Jesus. When it comes to both Eve and Adam, while their judgments were difficult to take, they and their offspring have hope that what was corrupted by their willful sinning, can be made right before God because of the work that He has accomplished on the cross through Jesus.
While the physical effects of sin may linger, the consequences of our sin before God can be removed.
Above I noted that of the three judgments handed out the serpents was the harshest. Not only was the serpent itself cursed, God proclaimed that one day they would be completely destroyed through the promised “seed” of the woman, namely Jesus. When it comes to both Eve and Adam, while their judgments were difficult to take, they and their offspring have hope that what was corrupted by their willful sinning, can be made right before God because of the work that He has accomplished on the cross through Jesus.
While the physical effects of sin may linger, the consequences of our sin before God can be removed.
Maybe for you what I’ve said is nothing new for you. If that is the case I’d encourage you to read
and study the scriptures to make sure what I’m saying is true. Sometimes when we hear the same thing over
and over again we may be inclined to not pay as close attention to make sure
what is being taught lines up with the teachings of the Bible.
On the flip side, maybe what I’ve said seems off or wrong to you. Maybe it goes against what you’ve been taught and believe. Once again, I encourage you to read the Bible and study it to see if what I’ve said is true or not.
I welcome any questions you may have on this topic. I don’t claim to know all the answers, and I know that I can and still do get things wrong at times. I’m trying to learn, and in the process I hope to be of encouragement to you as you seek to learn as well.
On the flip side, maybe what I’ve said seems off or wrong to you. Maybe it goes against what you’ve been taught and believe. Once again, I encourage you to read the Bible and study it to see if what I’ve said is true or not.
I welcome any questions you may have on this topic. I don’t claim to know all the answers, and I know that I can and still do get things wrong at times. I’m trying to learn, and in the process I hope to be of encouragement to you as you seek to learn as well.
