In today’s study, we read more about God’s response to sin and evil.
(A) The curse on the serpent: defeat, shame and enmity (Gen 3:14-15)
God’s reaction to sin is punishing the parties swiftly with justice in the form of a curse. He addresses the parties in the order they were introduced in Genesis 2, in an orderly fashion. Even at this point, this is clearly a vigilant, efficient, decisive God. These verses provide some form of comfort even today. We can take heart even though we see great injustice in the world that we live in, because these verses remind us that God knows what He’s doing. The events of Gen 3 did not take Him by surprise.
God begins by pronouncing two big curses on the serpent. The serpent was pronounced to be the lowest of all creatures. The picture of going on the belly and eating the dust is one of a despised, defeated creature, completely laid low. Note how this is poetic language, and would not necessarily mean a literal understanding of the text, i.e. provide an explanation for why snakes slither about. There is another curse in relation to the woman's offspring. This is important and forms the basis of understanding the rest of the Bible. Here, we see a picture of two lines (c.f. Jn 8) and there is a clear separation between these two distinct groups. In Genesis 3, we see the beginnings of this division, and we can understand that there will be opposition between God’s children and those against them.
B. The curse on the woman: difficulty in obedience, pain in childbearing, corruption of human relationships (Gen 3:16)
God curses the woman in two ways. Firstly, she is cursed with the pain of childbearing. Yet, notice how this curse of pain show God’s commitment to His original plan, and yet, also reflects the results of the woman’s rebellion (v.16a). In Gen 1:27-28, we read that God intended for children before the fall. This was His mandate for the world. The only difference after the fall is that it will be painful to do God’s will. We see the picture of a God who is committed to His purposes even in a broken world. It was always His intention for the world to be filled with people.
There is a second curse in verse 16b. She will also be ruled by her husband. This verse helps us understand why human relationships breakdown. In the verse, the word can be translated as “against”, which imply conflict, or “for”, which conveys a sense of longing and neediness. In either case, it is a picture of a broken relationship. Man was not made to be alone, and woman was given as a helper (Gen 2). Yet, as a result of the fall, he will exert his rule over this helper too. After the fall, even the closest of all relationships will break down.
C. The curse on the Man: all creation is cursed, work is spoiled, death comes to all (Gen 3:17-19)
What does God curse as a result of Adam's sin? Firstly, God curses the ground and therefore all creation. Even nature rebels against the rule of Man (v.18-19). Furthermore, work will be hard. Note once again that work was given before the fall, and after the fall, it still remains, only that will be painful.
That's not all. Death has entered the world (v.19b). Gen 1-2 helps us see that God never intended for us to die originally. Deep down, we know that death is a sign that something is not right with the world, and that’s why we all struggle with it. For the Christian, the Bible provides an account for death and all the pain that we see in the world. What do we think of death? Have we considered that death arose as a result of sin?
D. The curse that will be lifted: faith in the promise, the sacrifice for sin, the seed of the woman (Gen 3:20-24)
Gen 3 ends with Adam and Eve being sent out of the garden. Why does God do that? Isn't that that unkind and wicked of God? God is not unkind or wicked by sending them out of the garden. This was the only way that would ensure that they would not eat the fruit of the tree of life and live without Him forever. Such an existence would be akin to living in hell. God has to deal with sin and is unable to tolerate sin. He is a God of love, but also a God with a holy and just character, and both are in tension. In these verses, we see how His actions reveal both these seemingly contradictory characteristics.
Yet, what hope is there in this passage? There are three glimmers of hope in this darkness:
The naming of “Eve” (v.20): In this, there was a pronouncement of faith in a promise of God, trusting that there will be life somehow though death has entered the world.
God clothed them with something more lasting, animal skins, instead of the fig leaves they sewed for themselves (v.21). This is an early picture of sacrifice, that something has to die before they can be clothed
The woman’s offspring was referred to in the singular (v.15). This is the promise that one day, there will be one that will come to reverse the curse!
Gen 3 helps us understand this broken world. Because of sin, human relationships are broken and even the most intimate relationship between a man and a woman is not spared. Sin also affect work -- both the toil of the man and the childbearing of the woman will therefore be painful. Even the earth is not spared. Finally, death will come to all. Yet, Gen 3:15 reminds us that right at the beginning, God had a plan. One day, years later, He will send a son from the woman's line, a second Adam to undo the curse on the world. We sing of this at Christmas, in the popular carol Joy to the World:
“No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found!”
Indeed Jesus came to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found. For us today, this does not mean an easy life, and truthfully, life is far from perfect and paradise. Yet, as Christians, we can continue to look forward to Jesus' return, and when His redemptive work is finally complete! In that day, there will be no more tears, and sadness and death. In that day, then, our most intimate relationship, that with our creator, can be fully restored. And as the hymn goes, then joy unspeakable will flood our souls, and we know that we are truly home.