And there will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His slaves will serve Him; - Revelation 22:3
After creating the heavens and the earth (the natural universe) God fashioned a man, Adam, from the dust of the ground and a woman, Eve, from Adam’s rib to live in the Garden of Eden. They were made in God’s image, were joined together as husband and wife, and were commanded to be “fruitful and multiply”. Tragically, they were deceived by the serpent (the Devil) and sinned against God.
In this morning’s message we will begin to consider the grave consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin. Today we will focus primarily on the natural consequences that would affect them (and their descendants) during their temporal lives on the earth. Next week we will discuss the spiritual consequences of their sin.
I have titled this sermon “God’s Curses". It is the 12th message of our current series. The text for this message is found in Genesis 3:14-19.
I. THE SERPENT’S CURSE (v14-15)
After confronting Adam and Eve about their sinful disobedience, God turned to the serpent and pronounced a curse upon him. The LORD said, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than any cattle or beast of the field. On your belly you shall go, and eat dust all the days of your life.” Furthermore God stated that He would put enmity between the serpent and the woman and foretold that her seed would crush the serpent's head.
Satan controlled the serpent and used it to tempt Eve. Therefore, God’s curse applies not only to the serpent (an animal), but also to the Devil himself. As for the serpent, apparently it was originally created with legs. As a part of the curse, God changed the serpent’s physical design, so that it would crawl on its belly. This punishment symbolized its degradation and would serve as a lasting reminder of its fall. Furthermore, going forward serpents (snakes) would generally be regarded as vile and despised creatures. Notice that the serpent was cursed more than the other creatures, indicating that other animals were cursed also to a lesser degree, nevertheless resulting in a corruption of the entire animal kingdom. This is possibly when some animals became carnivorous.
The curse against Satan is known by theologians as the Protoevangelium. This Latin term means, “The 1st gospel”. Addressing the Devil directly, God stated that He would put enmity or animosity between he and his followers (the powers of darkness) and the woman and her posterity (mankind). Then God predicted that the Devil would bruise her seed on the heel (a minor wound), but have his own head crushed by her seed (a major, fatal wound). This prophecy refers to Jesus, who was born of a woman, suffered at the hands of Satan, but ultimately conquered sin and death, defeating the Devil forever.
II. THE WOMAN’S CURSE (v16)
Next God turned His attention to Eve. He said, “I will greatly increase your pain during childbirth.” He added, “Your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.”
As discussed last week, it seems reasonable to believe that if Adam and Eve had borne children prior to the fall of mankind they would not have inherited a sinful nature. Since all people do have a sinful nature (Romans 3:23), it would appear that they had not yet had any children. Thus, we can infer that God’s original intent was for conception, pregnancy, and childbirth to be a relatively pain-free process. But that never happened and, as many of you can attest, bearing children is quite painful.
While Adam and Eve were united in marriage as 1 flesh, the harmony of their relationship would be damaged as the result of their sin. Eve would still desire her husband, but he would rule over her. In other words, there would be a power struggle between them. Conflict and strife would enter into their marriage, resulting in arguments, jealousy, bitterness, and so forth. This breakdown would have profound effects on the family and culture at large.
III. THE MAN’S CURSE (v17-19)
Finally God spoke to Adam. He said, “Cursed is the ground because of your sin. I will cause thorns and thistles to grow in it.” He told Adam that he would have to eat from the plants of the field all the days of his life, painfully laboring to work the land and produce crops necessary for his sustenance. God also declared, “You will return to the ground. From dust you were taken, and to it you will return.”
Up to this point, Adam (and Eve) had been provided food that grew naturally on trees in the garden. But God cursed the ground, including the plants that grew on it, thereby altering this blissful arrangement. All of the earth, nature itself, was adversely affected. As such, it now suffers all sorts of natural disasters - drought, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, and so forth - that never occurred prior to man’s sin (Romans 8:22).
Adam and his posterity (mankind) would now have to labor and toil in order to provide for themselves. This was the beginning of agriculture, which we mentioned earlier in this series. Men would have to sweat, fighting weeds and other obstacles, to make a living. It would not be easy, but rather painful and tiresome.
As the culminating words of His curses, God informed Adam that he would physically die. God had warned that this would happen if he ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Sure enough, Adam would begin to age and grow old, and would ultimately pass away. After his death, Adam’s physical body would decay into dust, like that from which it had been created. Though this consequence was part of Adam’s curse, it obviously included Eve also.
CONCLUSION
In closing, let’s take a look back over God’s curses and list those we’ve identified and discussed in this morning’s message:
Of course, the curses God pronounced to and upon Adam and Eve actually apply to all of humanity, as all people are descended through them. The consequences of their sin have grossly tainted all of creation - people, animals, plants, and nature. While we have emphasized the physical, earthly fallout of their disobedience in this morning’s passage, next week we will examine the spiritual consequences of their sin.
After creating the heavens and the earth (the natural universe) God fashioned a man, Adam, from the dust of the ground and a woman, Eve, from Adam’s rib to live in the Garden of Eden. They were made in God’s image, were joined together as husband and wife, and were commanded to be “fruitful and multiply”. Tragically, they were deceived by the serpent (the Devil) and sinned against God.
In this morning’s message we will begin to consider the grave consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin. Today we will focus primarily on the natural consequences that would affect them (and their descendants) during their temporal lives on the earth. Next week we will discuss the spiritual consequences of their sin.
I have titled this sermon “God’s Curses". It is the 12th message of our current series. The text for this message is found in Genesis 3:14-19.
I. THE SERPENT’S CURSE (v14-15)
After confronting Adam and Eve about their sinful disobedience, God turned to the serpent and pronounced a curse upon him. The LORD said, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than any cattle or beast of the field. On your belly you shall go, and eat dust all the days of your life.” Furthermore God stated that He would put enmity between the serpent and the woman and foretold that her seed would crush the serpent's head.
Satan controlled the serpent and used it to tempt Eve. Therefore, God’s curse applies not only to the serpent (an animal), but also to the Devil himself. As for the serpent, apparently it was originally created with legs. As a part of the curse, God changed the serpent’s physical design, so that it would crawl on its belly. This punishment symbolized its degradation and would serve as a lasting reminder of its fall. Furthermore, going forward serpents (snakes) would generally be regarded as vile and despised creatures. Notice that the serpent was cursed more than the other creatures, indicating that other animals were cursed also to a lesser degree, nevertheless resulting in a corruption of the entire animal kingdom. This is possibly when some animals became carnivorous.
The curse against Satan is known by theologians as the Protoevangelium. This Latin term means, “The 1st gospel”. Addressing the Devil directly, God stated that He would put enmity or animosity between he and his followers (the powers of darkness) and the woman and her posterity (mankind). Then God predicted that the Devil would bruise her seed on the heel (a minor wound), but have his own head crushed by her seed (a major, fatal wound). This prophecy refers to Jesus, who was born of a woman, suffered at the hands of Satan, but ultimately conquered sin and death, defeating the Devil forever.
II. THE WOMAN’S CURSE (v16)
Next God turned His attention to Eve. He said, “I will greatly increase your pain during childbirth.” He added, “Your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.”
As discussed last week, it seems reasonable to believe that if Adam and Eve had borne children prior to the fall of mankind they would not have inherited a sinful nature. Since all people do have a sinful nature (Romans 3:23), it would appear that they had not yet had any children. Thus, we can infer that God’s original intent was for conception, pregnancy, and childbirth to be a relatively pain-free process. But that never happened and, as many of you can attest, bearing children is quite painful.
While Adam and Eve were united in marriage as 1 flesh, the harmony of their relationship would be damaged as the result of their sin. Eve would still desire her husband, but he would rule over her. In other words, there would be a power struggle between them. Conflict and strife would enter into their marriage, resulting in arguments, jealousy, bitterness, and so forth. This breakdown would have profound effects on the family and culture at large.
III. THE MAN’S CURSE (v17-19)
Finally God spoke to Adam. He said, “Cursed is the ground because of your sin. I will cause thorns and thistles to grow in it.” He told Adam that he would have to eat from the plants of the field all the days of his life, painfully laboring to work the land and produce crops necessary for his sustenance. God also declared, “You will return to the ground. From dust you were taken, and to it you will return.”
Up to this point, Adam (and Eve) had been provided food that grew naturally on trees in the garden. But God cursed the ground, including the plants that grew on it, thereby altering this blissful arrangement. All of the earth, nature itself, was adversely affected. As such, it now suffers all sorts of natural disasters - drought, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, and so forth - that never occurred prior to man’s sin (Romans 8:22).
Adam and his posterity (mankind) would now have to labor and toil in order to provide for themselves. This was the beginning of agriculture, which we mentioned earlier in this series. Men would have to sweat, fighting weeds and other obstacles, to make a living. It would not be easy, but rather painful and tiresome.
As the culminating words of His curses, God informed Adam that he would physically die. God had warned that this would happen if he ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Sure enough, Adam would begin to age and grow old, and would ultimately pass away. After his death, Adam’s physical body would decay into dust, like that from which it had been created. Though this consequence was part of Adam’s curse, it obviously included Eve also.
CONCLUSION
In closing, let’s take a look back over God’s curses and list those we’ve identified and discussed in this morning’s message:
- God cursed all the animals, mostly particularly the serpent, causing it to crawl on its belly and forever be despised and downcast.
- God told Satan that the woman’s seed, referring to His Son Jesus, would ultimately crush (or defeat) him. This is the 1st rendering of the gospel in the Bible.
- God greatly increased Eve’s pain in the process leading up to and including childbirth.
- God permitted marital conflict and strained relationships to exist between Adam and Eve.
- God cursed the ground, plants, and nature. As a result, Adam would have to work hard and suffer in order to provide for himself and his family.
- God declared that Adam and Eve would not live forever, but would instead - as He had warned - physically die.
Of course, the curses God pronounced to and upon Adam and Eve actually apply to all of humanity, as all people are descended through them. The consequences of their sin have grossly tainted all of creation - people, animals, plants, and nature. While we have emphasized the physical, earthly fallout of their disobedience in this morning’s passage, next week we will examine the spiritual consequences of their sin.