So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring[a] and hers; he will crush[b] your head, and you will strike his heel.”
16 To the woman he said,
“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Summary of Genesis 3:14-19
In the beginning, the serpent didn’t. have to crawl on its belly and didn’t have to eat dust every day. Sin changes the way we walk, rather than walking uprightly, we crawl around. Sin changes the way we move through life.
Verse 15 is a prophetic verse that speaks of Jesus’ victory, that Jesus defeated Satan.
Childbearing was not supposed to be painful. Sin causes pain, pain of all kinds. Pain of regret, pain of shame.
It is easy that we often listen to our wives and people around us, rather than listening to God. Adam’s work in the perfect garden was supposed to be “very good”. But sin caused toil, and Adam had to earn his living, even have to deal with troubles in life, to Adam, thorns and thistles.
For the wages of sin is death… - Romans 6:23
Humans will return to dust. But even before their physical death, we experienced spiritual death the moment they sinned against God. Sin also causes the death of relationships — the death of a marriage, the death of a family relationship.
For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. - 1 Corinthians 15:21-22
Questions
How did life change for Adam and Eve because of their disobedience? Women would experience pain when giving birth and in the upbringing of children. Work has increased pain and weariness, where thorns and thistles will come. Sin has entered the world, everyone is condemned by sin, and death came to everyone.
What promise did God make? What is the significance of this promise? There is a Messiah coming, Jesus, who will deliver us from sin, and destroy satan. God has a redemption plan even in the midst of sin, a redemption plan to restore this separation. God has plans for entire human race, right in the beginning; he can surely do great things in our lives, desipte how much we might have screwed up.
How do people currently experience the realities of the judgment and promise given to Adam and Eve? In the current world, the amount of mess occurring daily, shows how much sin and destruction is happening.
Adam and Eve disobeyed God