Curses part 2: Genesis 3:12-19

In my last post I compared the temptation in the garden to a chess game between the serpent and God.  The serpent made his move and declared victory.  So, how does God respond in this situation?  Let's keep this in mind as we look at the text today.

God first deals with the source of the temptation in verse 14 by cursing the serpent.  There is a lot to say here (I'm using Derek Kidner's "Genesis" commentary again today) but I want to briefly focus on verse 15.  Notice that part of God's curse on the serpent is for his head to be crushed by one of Eve's descendants.  How fitting that the serpent should be "done in" by the very thing he sought to destroy.  Kidner suggests this curse on mankind's enemy is a "glimmer of the gospel".  God indicates that the serpent's victory is temporary and that his power over mankind will be undone.

If we return to the chess game for a moment, it seems like the serpent's declaration of victory was a bit premature.  It's as if God says, "That is not checkmate, I have other pieces on the board that you didn't pay attention to."  

Next God pronounces judgement on Eve.  There are two parts.  The first is painful child bearing.  While the curse on the serpent is for his power to be undone by Eve's offspring, this judgement tells her it won't be an easy thing.  The second judgement is a depiction of marital discord.  This shouldn't be surprising to us since we already saw their broken relationship when they played the "pass the blame" game in verse 12.  In a sense, God is giving her a head's up about the damage that has already been done to their marriage and how that damage will manifest as a mutual desire to dominate each other.

Now God turns his attention to Adam.  Just like the explanation of relational brokenness he gave to Eve, God explains that Adam's actions have cursed the earth and that he will have to struggle to provide sustenance.  And he explains that mankind will eventually die and return to the earth from which God made them.

We might be tempted to think that the pronouncements upon Adam and Eve are rather harsh, but consider, for a moment, what God has done.

1)  He ordered the earth and made it a place suitable for life
2)  He created all living things and provided for them.
3)  He had an inclusive, patient relationship with Adam and gave him Eve as his wife.

Now that mankind has rebelled against God and declared, "I know better than you," there is a separation between God and man (see verse 8).  Since God authored the three things above, it seems logical and natural that a broken relationship with him would translate into a broken relationship with the things he created.  And so the natural result is that life, provision, and relationships are all broken because of man's rebellion.  In this light, God is not being harsh, he is being very forthcoming with Adam and Eve about the natural result of their actions.