Sermon Tone Analysis

Scripture Reading

As we turn to our text this morning, keep in mind that we are looking together at the fall of man in the garden of Eden.

Previously in our study in this series we consider that God had made man with purpose of man being a ruler over the created order.

God had created man in his own image.

Much was said on that (much more could be said).

But just by way of reminder this evening, keep in mind that God created man to rule over the earth, and to subdue it.

Man was put there to steward the creation of God.

In the context of the Garden, we considered last time in this series that there was one command given to Adam.

The command was that he was not to take and eat of the fruit of the tree that was in the middle of the Garden.

A simple command.

Just one key command.

He was also told that if he ate of that fruit, he would surely die.

Last time we were together, we considered what unfolded in the GArden of Eden under three main points…

1. Deception (vv.1-5)

2. Disobedience (vv.6-7)

3. Blame-shifting (v.8-13)

Man had disobeyed.

Man had rebelled against God, seeking rather autonomy, making His own decisions, deciding for himself what was good and bad, rather than living in obedience to God.

This evening, we will continue from where we left off, and look at four further points from this text in Genesis chapter 3.

Keep in mind that I spoke about the fact that it is the events in Genesis 3 that will set into motion the remainder of what unfolds through Scripture in terms of God’s redemptive purposes…

With that in mind, we pick up in verse14 of Genesis 3, where God will now address Adam and Eve following their disobedience, and the blame-shifting that has already taken place.

Introduction

As we come to our text this evening, we need to keep in mind that was just taken place in the garden of Eden was an act of rebellion against God.

Satan had come into the garden in the form of a serpent.

In other words, Satan wasn't a serpent himself, but rather came in the form of a serpent.

It is perhaps best to suggest that Satan inhabited a serpent and entered into the garden as a snake.

It is from this position that he addressed Adam and Eve.

Significance of this will become clear to continuing our study.

As we come to our text this evening, we will see you through the curses that God proceeds to pronounce upon the serpent, and also upon Adam and Eve, that God indeed do that which he had claimed he would do, but further than this, it would nonetheless show mercy and grace in the midst of rebellion against him

In addition to this, we will find that God had always purposed to be victorious, and he would indeed always be victorious, even though there appeared to be some usurpation of his authority.

With this in mind, let us consider first main point for this evening, which is really the fourth main point in our overall consideration of Genesis.

The main point is curses pronounced.

4. Curses (vv.14-19)

As we move into verses fourteen through nineteen of our text, we find a series of curses that God pronounces upon Adam, Eve and the serpent.

We will consider each curse separately.

The first curse that is pronounced in verses fourteen and fifteen is upon the serpent.

Curses upon the serpent

In verse 14-15 we read...

The first thing that we must notice from the curse that is pronounced upon the serpent, is that God says that the serpent is cursed above all the livestock and all the wild animals.

Now, keep in mind that we need to keep in mind over here that the curse itself is not so much on the serpent as an animal, but rather upon the serpent in the sense that this was the animal that Satan used in order to approach Adam and Eve and deceive them.

The idea of the Hebrew here is rather that out of all the animals, out of all the domestic animals, along with all of the non-domesticated animals, the serpent was selected to be cursed.

That’s the idea.

The idea of the Hebrew text is that the serpent alone is cursed.

In and of themselves, serpents are neither moral or immoral.

Serpents don't have intellect.

They are simply creatures created by God.

However, we find here that the serpent was used by Satan, and the serpent would then take the curse, and continue to be a perpetual reminder of an important truth through what unfolds in the garden of Eden.

The nature of the curse that is brought against the serpent is that the serpent is told he will crawl on his belly and eat dust all the days of his life.

Within this statement there is a declaration of God's divine judgment as well as a demonstration of His divine authority and power and victory over the serpent.

When God speaks here about the serpent eating the dust of the ground, it is not to be taken that the serpent would literally eat the dust of the ground, but rather that it would be a demonstration of the utter humiliation of this creature.

In that day we would often see pictures of those who were defeated and conquered as those who were made to lick the dust of the ground.

This is the terminology that would have been used.

For example, Psalm 72:8-9 is a Psalm in which Solomon calls out to God to allow the king on the throne to judge and rule with righteousness and justice, and ultimately to be victorious over his enemies.

It is a Messianic Psalm… In verses 8-9 we read...

As God pronounces this curse on the serpent, it was only appropriate that Satan had come in the form of a serpent, and God now says that the serpent will be cursed and will continually lick the dust.

Thus the serpent continues as a perpetual reminder of the degradation of Satan and of the fact that God will be victorious over him.

Whenever we see a serpent, a snake, we can be reminded that Satan was abased and was laid low.

We can be reminded that Satan would always be the one that was going to lick the dust as he was defeated in the purposes of God.

One further thing that is worth pointing out from verse fifteen of the stages the fact that God says that he will put enmity between the serpent and Eve.

Keep in mind that when Satan entered into the garden in order to deceive Adam and Eve, up until that point man had been in submission to God.

Man had listened to and obey the voice of God.

When Satan came in and offered deceitful counsel, and offered a better way of living, man listened to Satan rather than to God.

As such, we find that instead of being in submission to God man was in submission to Satan.

When God pronounces the curse upon Satan that there will be enmity between Satan and man, he is saying that there will be a continual struggle against Satan.

No longer would Satan be able to continue giving counsel to man that was simply followed without any thought of resistance.

Rather, there would be an animosity.

In one sense this comes out in the account of Cain and Abel.

Curses upon Eve

At this point, God turned his attention to Eve and proceeds to pronounce his judgment and curse upon her as a consequence of the sin that she engaged in.

We read this in verse sixteen:

There are just a few things that I would like to point out from this.

Firstly, God says that he will greatly multiply the pain of the woman in childbirth.

Before we come to the curse itself, notice that there is even a hint of grace in this pronouncement of the curse.

The fact was that God would continue to allow childbirth.

Although death had been promised if man rebelled against God, God nonetheless allowed life to continue and not only to continue but to even expand.

But that raises the issue of the curse that is brought upon the woman.

God says to her that "in pain you will bring forth children."

As we consider the curse that is pronounced upon the woman, we need to recognize that God had made man and woman with unique responsibilities.

We haven't had the time to delve into that in terms of the covenants of Scripture, but is important that I just touch on this.

In the original creation design, man was created in order to tend to the garden and to keep it.

The woman was brought in as a helper that was suitable to that person Adam.

Further to this, we find that the woman was the one that was given the ability to bear children.

That is simply to say that man and woman had the unique positions in the original design intent of God.

As God here pronounces the curse upon the woman, we see that the curse actually curses that for which woman was created.

In the first place this is found in terms of bearing children.

Instead of bearing children in a pain free context, God says that he will greatly multiply pain in childbirth.

In other words, there is not only going to be a measure of pain in childbirth, but rather they will be great pain for the woman in bring forth children.

That is certainly true in terms of what unfolds in this world today.

In addition to that however, we find that God states another curse that will be on the woman, that will play into her specific role to be a helpmeet to her husband where is the woman was designed and created in order to support her husband, God states over here that the woman's desire will be for her husband.

It's important that we understand what God meant when he said this.

He did not mean of a here that the woman would long for her husband would long to be in good relationship with her husband, or would long to have company with her husband.

The word desire that is used over there has the sense of having mastery over.

In other words, the woman would seek to have mastery over her husband.

To better see this look with me at Genesis 4:7 that we touched on a little bit earlier.

In that account Kane was told by God that he needed to keep watch because sin was crouching at the door and its desire was for him.

In other words, sin wanted to master him.

That's the same use of the word in Genesis 3 verse sixteen of a here.

Instead of living in humble submission underneath her husband, the curse of Eve was that she would now seek to have mastery over him.

Curses upon Adam

This leads us to consider very briefly the curse upon the man.