Knowing The Word in Genesis 3:14-19, The Consequences of Sin

14 The Lord God said to the serpent [who, unlike the man and the woman is not given a chance to reply],

“Because you have done this, cursed [the antonym of blessed, meaning to invoke God’s judgment] are you above all livestock [the one who was shrewd above all is now cursed above all] and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go [unclean Lev 11:42], and dust you shall eat [figurative for abject humiliation, especially of enemies (Ps 72:9, Isa 49:23, Mic 7:17)] all the days of your life. [The serpent and his descendants are merged into a humiliation that endures a lifetime.] 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman [those who were in league against God will now fight each other], and between your offspring and her offspring [Christians see “her offspring” referring ultimately to Jesus]; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” [The verb tense implies repeated attacks on both sides. The curse, however, is on the serpent, who is in a tactically weaker situation, being able only to strike the heel as opposed to having one’s head crushed. The serpent is an anti-God symbol, representing sin, death, and the power of evil. The wording suggests a long struggle between good and evil with man eventually triumphing. The New Testament alludes to this passage, seeing its messianic meaning in Rom 16:20, Heb 2:14, and Rev 12. Only the serpent and the ground (v 17) are cursed, not the man and the woman. Instead, the sentences on the man and woman disrupt their appointed roles are cultivator of the garden and chief helper and mother.]

16 To the woman he said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. [The Hebrew word used for “pain” is unusual, not usually used for childbirth, and is only one letter different than “tree,” suggesting a deliberate pun.] Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” [Rule here represents harsh subjugation, which we see in all kinds of societies. Though woman was created to be man’s companion, she is told that her desire for independence will conflict with his demand for submission. As a result of the fall, those who were to be one flesh find themselves tearing each other apart. As Kidner writes, “To love and to cherish” becomes “To desire and to dominate.” These are not curses but results of the sin of moral autonomy.]

17 And to Adam [the first time the man is named] he said [the longest and fullest sentence since he bore the greatest responsibility having been the one to whom the command was given],

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife [instead of God’s voice] and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread [first mention of bread in the Bible], till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” [Man’s sin was in eating. His punishment involves how hard it will be to produce food to eat. The toil to prepare each meal is a reminder of the fall. Only Jesus makes meal preparation easy! Man’s pain is in his basic role as farmer and food-producer. Now the days of his life will be limited. His return to dust is presented as inevitable rather than an immediate consequence in his death penalty as Adam lives hundreds of years more.]