A Public Cemetery (bought with the blood of Jesus)

Genesis 3:16 NIV

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.”

In contrition over what she had done to overthrow perfection, the woman wants the relationship with her husband to be right again.

But the man, out of shame for his failure to provide necessary drection at the time when it most mattered, he never wants to put himself in that position again.

God did not design man to rule over the woman, nor the woman to rule over the man. The problem of the garden was that the man was older, more knowledgeable, and he failed to do his duty as the firstborn, and protect the younger.

God walks into the garden and whispers, “What in the world did you do?”

God curses the ground's ability to provide for the man because he followed his wife at the time when he could have kept her safe.

Forever after, this has become the state of things between the man and his wife, in all cultures. Her desire is for her husband, but he rules over her; it is as if this story is burned on the subconsious mind of every human in the world throughout history.

Woman desires the husband, but the husband desires dominion. This is the first thing that was broken at the fall - their relationship. Together, they had been husband and wife, king and queen, worker and necessary helper because man could not be alone. They had not ruled over each other, but had ruled over their world as the images of God.

But after they broke the will of God, their relationship began to suffer. This is obvious, because the first thing to break down was view of their own bodies. Despite the fact that they were husband and wife, they still needed to throw some clothes on to hide themselves from each other.

This is obvious, because the first thing to break down was view of their own bodies. Despite the fact that they were husband and wife, they still needed to throw some clothes on to hide themselves from each other.

God’s declaration to the woman, the consequences of her deception, was “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

This is important that we understand it this way, because this same phrase occurs again in the next chapter.

Genesis 4:7 NIV

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Genesis 4:6 NIV

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?

Genesis 4:2-

In this passage, Sin takes the place of the woman, and Cain takes the place of the man. Sin desires Cain, wants to develop a relationship with him, longs for everything to be right between them. Cain, rather than being told that he will rule over Sin, says that in this case, he must.

Do not develop this relationship. You belong to another.

But Cain does develop this relationship. He opens the door to the demon, and refuses to rule over Sin.

We know the story that develops. He invites his brother out into the field, and attacked him, and killed him.

And God meets Cain at the house and asks him, “What have you done?”

The voice of Abel’s blood cried out to God from the ground, and declared Cain guilty.