articlesforchristians

After the sin of Adam and Eve, God pronounced judgement. This came in the form of four curses and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.

1. The Curse on the Devil
   • The first curse was on the serpent, the devil.
   • Genesis 3:14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
   • The serpent had allowed the devil to use his body. See this article on snakes. https://answersingenesis.org/reptiles/legless-snakes/
2. Curse on the Woman
   • The second curse was on the woman.
   • Genesis 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
   • This means that at one time childbearing would not have been so difficult. This is also where God placed the man over women. This does not mean that men are to be mean, hateful, or cruel.
   • Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
   • Colossians 3:18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
   • Colossians 3:19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
   • It is noted that husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the church. Recall the depth of Jesus’ love for the church, to the extent that He endured a brutal death on the cross for it. Likewise, wives are called to submit to their husbands’ leadership.
3. Curse on the Land
   • The third curse was upon the land.
   • Genesis 3:17-18 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
   • The curse rendered the cultivation of food more challenging. However, work itself was not a curse; from the outset, the man and woman were tasked with tending to the garden and the animals.
4. Curse on the Man
   • The fourth curse was on the man, Adam.
   • Genesis 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
   • The curse foretold a fate of mortality, proclaiming that all would one day turn to dust. It further stated that humans must toil diligently simply to sustain life.

Amidst the curses, not everything was lost. God provided a glimmer of hope, promising a savior who would ultimately defeat the devil. Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. One thing that is interesting to note about this scripture is that women don’t have seed they have eggs. To say that from the seed of woman would come anything is to say that she would be the vessel from which God would send forth the deliver. We now know that is how God did it.  Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Later Jesus was crucified on the cross.  Matthew 27:33 And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,