Columbiana County Jail 02/13/2026
Notes
Transcript
Genesis 3:14-19
Genesis 3:14-19
14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
In the previous two verses, God directly asked Adam and Eve if they had disobeyed His command and had eaten from the restricted tree. Adam essentially said “yes, but the woman gave it to me, and you are the one who gave me the woman.” Eve admitted she had been deceived by the serpent and had eaten the fruit.
Now God turns to the serpent, but with a notable difference. God does not ask the serpent what he did. He does not look for a confession or to engage in debate with the serpent. As we had discussed previously, we have come to understand the serpent to be Satan himself. My belief as I stated before, I believe Satan possessed the snake that God had created. As Jesus will says centuries from this moment,Satan is a liar.
Look at this verse.
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
God chooses not to give the liar a chance to speak in this moment.
Instead, God is going to pronounce a series of curses on the serpent, the man, and the woman. In each case, the curse is for each of them and for the future generations of their offspring. In this verse, God begins His curse on the serpent and all of his species to follow, as well as on Satan himself. So now we come to an interesting question. Whether you think Satan came in the form of a serpent or possessed a serpent, why curse serpents if Satan was just using that form or body to commit his evil?
in my opinion, God intended for the serpent to serve as a reminder to all future generations of humans both who Satan is and the power that God has over him.
The serpent would be uniquely cursed in comparison to all other animals on earth. the serpent and all of those to follow would crawl on the ground, unable to avoid eating the dust of the earth, from thgat point forward. The next obvious question would be this. Does this mean that all serpents or a particular species of serpents had legs before this time? In my opinion, sure, this is quite possible. Just like it is also possible that the change of the earth’s nature after the fall might be part of this curse as well.
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
In direct response to the serpent’s deception and Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience, God pronounces curses on each of them, as well as generations to follow.
In the previous verse, God began His curse on both the serpent and on Satan, who took the serpent’s form or body. In this verse, the curse is focused entirely on Satan. God promises to make enemies of Satan and the woman. In fact. their offspring or “seed” will remain enemies throughout all generations.
Eve’s offspring , obviously, includes all of humanity, born one generation after another. up to the present day. But the interesting question that has to be on everyone’s mind is this. But who is Satan’s offspring? In my opinion, we can eliminate Satan’s children. Why? It is unlikely this refers to actual biological children. However, Satan’s offspring may include all of the fallen angels (demons) who follow him. It definitely includes those humans who will come to believe and practice his lies.
Jesus, calling out the religious leaders in John 8:44, said this...
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
God’s final curse or oracle ( an oracle is a divine message , utterance, or revelation from God often delivering guidance, prophecy, or judgment) to the serpent was that the offspring of the woman would crush , or bruise Satan’s head, and Satan would strike or bruise his heel. In my opinion, this is a reference to Christ, the Son of God, and also the ultimate member of Eve’s offspring. Satan would damage Christ, but Christ would have the ultimate victory on behalf of humanity. Those in Christ will celebrate that victory with Him for all eternity.
The bottom line of God’s curse on Satan is this: He has been the enemy of humanity since the beginning. He can never be trusted.
Look at what Peter wrote
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Satan continues to hunt and seek to devour humans to this very day, though he won’t be allow to do so forever.
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.
Here, God turns to the woman who was deceived and willfully ate from the restricted tree. His oracle or curse for her has to do with her relationships and family life. Having children may bring her great joy, biut bearing and giving birth to them would require severe pain. More children would always bring more pain.
The marriage relationship would now be strained instead of simply being the source of love, comfort, and belonging the woman would desire. Basically it is unclear exactly how the second part of the curse about husbands and wives should be read. There have been numerous interpretations offered for this subtle Hebrew phrasing. Most interpret this to mean that the woman would desire to be in control of her husband, but he would be the master. Others see this as implying that the woman’s desire for her husband would be frustrated by his role as an authority in her life.
Male headship in the marriage relationship is not part of the curse and this idea is not implied here. On the contrary, God’s response to this incident proves that Adam’s role as leader and protector was intended before sin entered the world. When we read the New Testament, it makes it very clear what God’s design for human marriage was with the husband as the self sacrificing head. This is meant to be a beautiful picture of Christ and the church. Paul even quotes this verse..
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
when he paints that picture in this verses.
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Instead, it seems this curse involves conflict over God-given marriage roles. Adam and Eve both fail to uphold God’s intended pattern of spiritual leadership, it caused the greatest disaster in history. This is especially felt in our individual lives as each spouse fails to live up to God’s design for selfless love and respect between husbands and wives.
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;
God now turns to Adam and compared to the punishments given to Eve and the serpent, this curse is longer and more detailed.
Adam’s sin was not , simplistically speaking, that of listening to his wife. Taking godly counsel is always a good thing.
22 Without counsel purposes are disappointed: But in the multitude of counsellers they are established.
Instead, Adam sinned by not standing up and speaking the truth to his wife when she invited him to participate in her sin. And, judging by the description of Eve’s conversation with the serpent, for failing to protect and lead her as he should. God makes clear that Adam was independently responsible for his choice to eat from the tree. He would not be allowed to get away from passing the blame to her or anyone else.
As with Eve, Adam’s curse is one of hardship in doing the necessary work of life, in doing something that would otherwise have brought great joy and meaning to his existence. Instead of easily producing crops as seeds were planted, as had been the case in the garden up to this point, the ground would be cursed. Adam will suffer great pain in getting the ground to yield edible crops in doing his daily work. And this curse will afflict him all of the days of his life.
it is interesting to notice that Eve’s curse involved pain and struggle in her family relationships, while Adam’s involves pain and frustration in his working life.
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
This verse continues God’s curse on Adam for his sin. Adam disobeyed the command not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. And, he failed to guide and protect His wife according to God’s original plan. This remark from God to Adam has to be read along with the two previous verses to be fully understood.
God has pronounced that Adam’s lifelong work of getting food from the ground would now bring him great pain and frustration. The ground itself would be cursed. Part of that curse, revealed here, includes thorns and thistles coming up with the crops, making it more difficult to sustain and harvest them. Rather than the earth being a cooperative partner, it would now be an uncontrolled landscape.
However, frustrating it becomes though, Adam and his offspring would not be able to quit the work. They would need to eat the plants of the field in order to live, so the painful work must continue.
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.
This verse concludes God’s curse on Adam for his sin, and it has devastating ring of finality. In the previous two verses, God revealed that Adam’s working life in the fields would be marked by pain and frustration. The ground itself would be cursed , making it difficult to get crops they would need to live.
Now God concludes by saying that instead of work being joyful source of purpose and meaning in Adam’s life. it would be a lifelong source of necessary frustration. It would be hard and sweaty. And it would end in Adam’s eventual death. God, who formed Adam out of the dust of the ground announces that Adam will one day die and return to dust. Death will be the final consequence of Adam’s choice to sin, just as God had warned when giving the command.
It is true that Adam did not stop breathing on the day he ate of the tree, but death entered into his life on that day. Let us look at it in a modern sense. We sometimes refer metaphorically to a person with a fatal injury or disease as “already dead”. Adam’s heart may have continued to beat for many years, but the poison which killed him entered his body when he sinned.
In addition to being separated from God’s presence in a spiritual death, every day of Adam’s life from this moment on would be marked by an awareness that he would someday die. That is the curse all humans have lived under ever since. However, for those in Christ, though, the curse of death will be overcome.
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Next week we will finish chapter 3. Next week Genesis 3: 20-24.
