Genesis Framework

GF 32 Genesis 3.16
April 17, 2016
Part 32

 

Genesis 3:16-19
16 To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."
17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you,
saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return."

Last week we examined the general description of the curse upon Satan as a humiliating degradation to the highest degree, and we particularly noticed that it was set forth by God as having perpetual duration.I hope by this time that it is abundantly clear that the curse was specifically directed to Satan behind the serpent rather than to the serpent as a member of the animal kingdom per se. If you have any lingering doubts, I am happy to discuss it with you later on, after today’s message.

If you look carefully at this part of Genesis 3, you will notice that the progression of God’s judgment moves in the sequence in which guilt had been incurred in the temptation; namely, from the devil (Gen 3.15), to the woman (Gen 3.16), and then to Adam (Gen 3.17-19).

3.14 So the LORD God said to the serpent:…

3.16 To the woman He said:…

3.17 Then to Adam He said,…

Soon we will see that the judgment addressed to Adam and Eve was more broadly applicable to mankind generally.

Though Adam and Eve were covenant breakers, they were still predestined to become God’s covenant people through redemptive grace.

The first glimmer of cause for hope and faith in the salvation process was implicitly contained in the curse of Satan in Gen 3.15.

For example, the promise of a champion of the people of God who will defeat the whole host of evil and death, and the armies of the devil by crushing the head of its principle representative, Satan. The Champion will do a redemptive work in behalf of God’s people, ending in victory over sin, darkness, and death, a positive result that will be legally imputed to God’s people, rendering the murderous serpent powerless
under the sovereign and righteous cosmic Law of God.The divine revelation that follows in Genesis 3.16-19, although addressed directly to Adam and Eve, did not have so much their personal identity in view as elect individuals; it rather contemplated the mankind to come
which Adam represented and in him had broken the covenant.So, we have to say that God’s judicial pronouncement was an official registering of His verdict against the generality of fallen mankind, reflecting His wrath regarding the inhabitants of the earth because of their
violation of the covenant.What we have to bear carefully in mind is that the curse of God here is not the ultimate curse of damnation
against those shown to be reprobate, but the curse is a temporal one which is to be experienced by all men in common until the great separation is effected at the Day of final judgment.

The common curse is temporal in these two main aspects:

1. The history of mankind would be turned into a history unto death. (The wages of sin is death.)

2. The ground (adamah) man (adam) was to subdue, would subdue him instead.

The ground did not have a natural claim on man that required his return to the dust, as might be supposed by the phrasing in Gen 3.19, “for dust you are”.Man’s falling victim to death is not to be accounted for by his created nature, but as the wages of sin.The phrase, “for dust you are” simply indicates how, under the common curse, man experiences the “first death”, in the form of physical dissolution, physical
corruption.

The first death is to be experienced by believers as well as all others.

This characterizes the commonness of the curse.

We cannot help but notice that all through the Scriptures, even esteemed patriarchs of the faith are spoken of with the inevitable statement, “and he died”.What we as believers must always remember is that, with regard to the “second death”, without the hope of eternal life given to those who are in Christ, all our labors would have to seem like a clutching at the wind, and temporal life would appear to be nothing but vanity.

So, today we begin looking at the terms of the common curse and its frustrations of man’s efforts.

It starts with a blight of pain and sorrow on the whole genealogical-cultural process; the woman’s frustration as characterized by the various travails associated with childbearing (Gen 3.16a).

Then, as for man’s task in the cultivation of the earth for sustenance, instead of being blessed at every step along the way, it would become a wearisome, sweaty toil characterized by various vexations and disappointments (Gen 3.17b-19a). Notice this, however, the specific word of curse in Genesis3.17b is directed against the ground, and so it is exactly in this regard that it has its harmful impact on man.

For example, in Genesis 8.21, we see a similar phraseology, where the cursing of the ground is revealed as the turning of nature into a weapon to smite man.

NKJ Genesis 8:20-21
Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma.
Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

Now as a fallen king, the ground would bring man a tribute of thistles and a crown of thorns to scorn his kingly dignity; the ground would be as a jester at court, rather than a vassal consecrated unto faithful service.

Under the common curse, humanity in general was to be troubled by social discord, as well as by afflictions in the realm of nature.

The common curse would bring disharmony into the whole range of social relationship in the family of man in general, manifesting itself in all manner of oppression and injustice, in violence and the agony of war. Beginning with their marriage relationship, both Adam
and Eve had transgressed it, and their personal relationship would be disturbed by conflict from that moment onward.

“Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”

This is a curse that brings an ongoing struggle between the woman and the man for leadership in the marriage Relationship, a distortion of the consecration structure.

God had originally ordained a complementary relationship between husband and wife, with the primary responsibility placed on the man in headship. Because of the Fall, that relationship, as well as others among mankind, was deeply damaged and distorted by sin.

The damage takes two forms.

On the part of the husband; his temptation is to take a domineering role as supreme lord and master, and to require verifiable evidence of submission of his wife to his magnificence.

On the part of the wife; her temptation is to take a domineering role as supreme lord and mistress, and to require verifiable evidence of submission of her husband to her magnificence.

While our concentration today is on Genesis 3.16; we also need to make a few comparisons between verse 16 and the verses that follow.

Exposition

Look at the context; a major part of it is about seed-sowing, fruit-production-management, and the mandate originally given to both of them by God, to “be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.”

The character of the general curse is to apply various kinds of encumbrances to the work involved in fulfilling the mandate.

Look, Adam’s encumbrances with regard to seed-sowing will be brought upon him as the result of God’s curse of the earth( ground).

His unique contribution to the mandate will be primarily to subdue the ground, and to sustain food for existence.

Look, Eve’s encumbrances with regard to seed-sowing will be brought upon her as the result of God’s curse of the genealogical process.

Her unique contribution to the mandate will be primarily to conceive, carry, and to give birth.

The process of bearing-fruit will prove itself to be exasperatingly difficult for both Adam, and Eve.

Genesis 3:16
16 To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;

Genesis 3:17
17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you,
saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake;

And the process of managing the growth of fruit will also prove itself to be exasperatingly difficult for both.

There are several possible factors and implications to consider from this statement “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception.”

How might sorrow exist apart from conception?

By an unfulfilled desire to bear children; barrenness.

It is not always easy to conceive.

There are several possible factors and implications to consider from this statement “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception.”

How might sorrow exist after conception?

By an unsuccessful carriage to term; miscarriage.

It is not always easy to keep the baby.

Mankind has never known what original childbirth would
have been like.

How about a fertility that assured immediate conception!

How about a gestation period of 3 days!

How about a painless delivery that was too easy to ever be called “labor!”

In this case, you would have to be careful where and what you did for three days, otherwise you might sneeze and have the baby at the same time.

Aah-Choo!!
Oops, I just had a baby!!

Genesis 3:18-19
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return."

Genesis 3:17

17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you,
saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.

Genesis 3:18-19
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return."

Without the proper ordering of the original consecration of God over all creation, there exists a perpetual need for mankind to draw upon the strength and help of God to overcome all the potential temporal consequences of the reversal of the consecration order and its affects on
mankind; the wages of sin, such as struggle, distortion, toil, sorrow, pain, and death.

Then, there are the eternal consequences of original sin!

Many will be surprised on the Day of Judgment when they discover that it was just as the Word of God says; only the righteousness of Christ is able to save you.All men are sinners and no one can save himself. God is just, so He must punish sin; but He is also merciful, moreover gracious, and offers His Son as the perfect sacrifice in order to purchase a place for you in heaven, which He offers to you as the free gift of eternal life. As we continue to examine man’s earliest duties with regard to the covenant of works, although they can be categorically divided into two distinct types of classes; one in relationship with God, and the other in relationship with fellow man, all covenant stipulations are expressions of the will of the Lord. The law of the covenant is the law of man’s image-sonship.

Jesus is God Incarnate

In order to pay the debt of our sins, He came from Heaven, having been sent by the Father, where He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father even unto the shameful death upon the cross in order to pay the debt of your sins.This gift must be received by faith, believing that Jesus’ perfect life and Cross Work was His complete and necessary Atonement for your sins, in your behalf.Faith is a gift that comes by the Power of God the Holy Spirit working in a person’s innermost being. The Holy Spirit has the authority and power to quicken your dead spirit, to make it come to life. If you have not done so before this moment, ask Jesus to forgive you your sins, tell Him you’ve stop trying to be your own savior, and ask Him to come into your life right now, and to give you eternal life. Then, in faith believing, thank Him for the gift that He is giving you, the one He paid for in full in your place, in Jesus’ name, AMEN

 

Copyright April, 2016
Rev. Jim Craig
All Rights Reserve