IN THE BEGINNING PART 15

The Curse of the Serpent

Psalm 72:9 “May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust!”

Micah 7:16–17 “The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hands on their mouths; their ears shall be deaf; they shall lick the dust like a serpent, like the crawling things of the earth; they shall come trembling out of their strongholds; they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God, and they shall be in fear of you.”

John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Matthew 23:33 “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?”

Because he was more crafty than any other animal, now he is more cursed than any other animal.

The Curse of the Woman

Giving birth would have been a pure joy, but now it will be filled with pain. Not only will the birth be painful, but raising the child will be painful as well.

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—”

Psalm 58:3 “The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.”

We also see a cursed relationship between husband and wife. The wife has the desire to rule over the husband, while the husband has the role of leading the wife. We see the clashing of wills between man and wife.

See Ephesians 5:22-33...

The Curse of the Man

Before the curse, everything the earth was blessed and a joy to work. But now, work is going to be hard and painful. It is almost like creation is fighting against us as we try to cultivate it. Now we have to deal with thorns, thistles, and weeds. Our lives will be filled with hard work until we die and return to dust.

Isaiah 24:5–6 “The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.”

“Mankind had been given dominion over creation when Adam and Eve were first formed. But now the ground claims victory—it brings mankind into ultimate subjection. Mankind will not gain eternal life on the earth, but they must go back to the dust from which they were taken.” — Josh Currid

Driven Out of the Garden

Eve is the feminine form of the word for “life” or “living thing”.

Here we see God provide a covering for the nakedness and shame of Adam and Eve. Notice an innocent animal had to die to provide a covering for them.

Hebrews 9:22 “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

Psalm 5:4 “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.”

The Giving of Hope in the Midst of Despair

Revelation 12:3–5 “And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,”

Hebrews 2:14–15 “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”

The serpent wounds the heel that crushes him.

Romans 16:20 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

Revelation 20:10 “and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Romans 8:20–23 “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

2 Peter 3:13 “But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”