Genesis 3:16-21

G.    Punishment pronounced on man & woman Genesis 3:16-19

1.     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.

a.      If the sin of disobedience was simply eating the fruit, wouldn’t the appropriate punishment involve the digestive system rather than the reproductive system?

b.     So if the transgression against God was physically eating forbidden fruit how does that increase conception?

·       The result of the “act” was conception of the “thy seed” or the “tares” spoken of in the previous verse

·       Conception is to be multiplied in order to “outproduce” the “tares” and take dominion through numbers

·       I Timothy 2:14-15 – And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression: Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

o      Saved through increase of the “wheat” and teaching children the righteousness of God.

c.      Proverbs 30:20 – Such is the way of an adulterous woman; She eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, “I have done no wickedness.”

·       Isn’t this precisely what the woman did in 3:13,

d.     Notice three things she receives from God as a consequence for her actions are very different than her perception of the serpent’s temptations:

·       Good for food (lust of the flesh) à multiplied sorrow, conception (pain in the flesh)

·       Pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes) à desire shall be (subject) to the husband (restrained from desires)

·       Desired to make one wise (pride of life) à husband shall rule over thee (imparting humility)

e.      I Corinthians 11:9-10 – Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.  For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

2.     Genesis 3:17 – 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;

a.      Men, is it wrong to listen to your wife? Of course not, but what this does tell us is that as a man sometimes we need to take a stand in obedience to God.  Pure speculation here but I would conjecture that the man would have certainly been able to prevent certain events from transpiring had he not been in an altered state of mind from eating the fruit.

b.     The curse, seems to be a more appropriate punishment as God has now cursed the food source.  Leads one to believe that the entirety of Adam’s sin was the disobedience of eating the forbidden fruit.

c.      The creation is placed in “bondage of corruption” on account of the man

·       Romans 8:19-24 – For the earnest expectation of the creature (creation) waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.  For the creature (creation) was made subject to vanity (disappointing misery) not willingly, but by reason of Him Who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature (creation) itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

·       Here we see that God’s creation (which is now cursed and in bondage) is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, the day when we realize Thy Kingdome on earth as it is in heaven.

·       When is this?

o      Revelation 11:15 – And the seventh angel sounded (seventh trump); and there were great voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.”

o      See also I John 3:2 and I Corinthians 15:51

d.     Now that the ground is cursed and the yield is most likely much less, does this introduction of a food shortage change the orientation of some animals from vegetarian to carnivore?

e.      Placed a higher value to the words of the woman vs. the Word of God

·       Matthew 10:36 – And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.

o      Sometimes we listen to the things those closest to us say to our own detriment rather than taking a stand that may hurt someone’s feelings.

3.     Genesis 3:18 – Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

a.      A sample of the things brought into being from the curse

b.     Thorns and thistles might also allude to famine, plagues, insects, weeds and other poisonous or non-edible plants

4.     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.

a.      “…Thou art dust…”, what was it again that the serpent should eat all the days of his life?

b.     First mention of a “return unto the ground” indicating that the man would indeed suffer death

c.      James 1:14-15 – But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

d.     Note that there is no evidence that the man or the woman repented of their sin or even felt remorse for their disobedience.

H.    God’s provision Genesis 3:20-21

1.     Genesis 3:20 – And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

a.      Here we have Adam giving his wife the name Eve because she was the mother of all living

b.     By eating from the forbidden fruit death was just pronounced upon them, so were they living? The promised seed was to be of the woman.

c.      All living - חי chay (adjective, feminine noun, masculine noun) live 197, life 144, beast 76, alive 31, creature 15, running 7, living thing 6, raw 6, misc 19

d.     What does this phrase “all living” mean?

·       Could not be all physical life because all physical life would include plants and animals not of the human species

·       Could not mean all human life for she obviously was not the mother of Adam and humans were no longer “living” after the curse

·       Could it possibly mean that she is mother of “her Seed” who is Christ and “In Him was life; and life was the light of men” (John 1:4)? In that in her lies the “Seed” preserved. How God preserved the line of the Deliverer is a marvel of primeval history. Adam had, of course, listened closely to God’s oracle to the serpent. He understood that one of Eve’s offspring would bruise the head of the snake. Thus Adam “called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living”. Eve means “life.” Hope of a Deliverer welled in the primeval couple.

2.     Genesis 3:21 – Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

a.      Even after rebellion God still provided a covering

b.     What did God make the coats of? Skins…therefore to get the skins animals would have had to have been killed, who killed them? Is this the reason sacrifice was necessary? To cover sin

c.      Once again, what was covered with the skin? Their nakedness, their shame…not their mouths