A CURSED WORLD

Passage: Genesis 3:14-24

Key verse: 19

NIV

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed(A) are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust(B)
    all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring[a](C) and hers;(D)
he will crush[b] your head,(E)
    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.(F)
Your desire will be for your husband,
    and he will rule over you.(G)”

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,’(H)

“Cursed(I) is the ground(J) because of you;
    through painful toil(K) you will eat food from it
    all the days of your life.(L)
18 It will produce thorns and thistles(M) for you,
    and you will eat the plants of the field.(N)
19 By the sweat of your brow(O)
    you will eat your food(P)
until you return to the ground,
    since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
    and to dust you will return.”(Q)

20 Adam[c] named his wife Eve,[d](R) because she would become the mother of all the living.

21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.(S) 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us,(T) knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life(U) and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden(V) to work the ground(W) from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden(X) cherubim(Y) and a flaming sword(Z) flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.(AA)

Read full chapter
Footnotes
  1. Genesis 3:15 Or seed
  2. Genesis 3:15 Or strike
  3. Genesis 3:20 Or The man
  4. Genesis 3:20 Eve probably means living.
  5. Genesis 3:24 Or placed in front
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
    cursed are you above all livestock
    and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
    and (A)dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring[a] and (B)her offspring;
(C)he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
    (D)in pain you shall bring forth children.
(E)Your desire shall be for[b] your husband,
    and he shall (F)rule over you.”

17 And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
    and have eaten of the tree
(G)of which I commanded you,
    ‘You shall not eat of it,’
(H)cursed is the ground because of you;
    (I)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,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
(J)for you are dust,
    and (K)to dust you shall return.”

20 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.[c] 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

22 Then the Lord God said, (L)“Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand (M)and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden (N)to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the (O)cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Read full chapter
Footnotes
  1. Genesis 3:15 Hebrew seed; so throughout Genesis
  2. Genesis 3:16 Or to, or toward, or against (see 4:7)
  3. Genesis 3:20 Eve sounds like the Hebrew for life-giver and resembles the word for living
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

The consequence of sin was death. It was also hardship, struggle, and pain. What was once perfect became tainted. Once they were naked and felt no shame, now they had to dress to impress or to hide their shame. Once they loved and accepted each other as they were, now cursed desires and power struggles arose in their relationships. Once they found the simple pleasures in life, now they had to work for life’s necessities.

For sure, we still live in a fallen world, full of sin and hardship. But God did not abandon us. God’s salvation was always in mind. It is said the first prophecy of Jesus is here, that speaks of the offspring of woman crushing the head of the serpent. God did not intend to leave us in our brokenness, but to be with us in it, and to restore us to himself and to each other. Adam could still choose to love his wife instead of rule over her and seek God’s kingdom and righteousness despite hardships. The tree of life, though out of reach, remained.

Prayer: Creator God, we are accountable for our sins, yet you are with us through it. May we experience your saving grace.

One Word: God is with us in our struggle.