TheCurse on the Woman -- 7/13/08

Sunday, July 13, 2008

GOD’S CURSE UPON THE WOMAN
Gen. 3:16

I would like for you to think with me a bit about the plight of women down through history. The life of a woman has not been easy. Of course, we sometimes think of the way women in pioneer days had to wash clothes on a rub board, do dishes without any of the modern conveniences, and bear up under generally rugged conditions. I have a brother whose name I won’t mention, but this brother sometimes gets on a roll and talks about how he would like to go back to the old days without electricity, etc. Of course, I’m pretty sure that Alisa doesn’t share his viewpoint. (What are you snickering about; I didn’t say his name).

But I’m not really talking about the difficulty of housework and that sort of thing. I’m thinking about the kind of things that go deeper than that. Who can deny that down through history women have often been treated as second-class citizens? But that isn’t the half of it; more often they have been treated as slaves. It seems that because men are bigger and stronger, they have brutally imposed their wills upon women, both in the home and in society. Even among the ancient Jews, life for women was far from pleasant. The most respected religious leaders in the land (the Pharisees) arose in the morning and regularly prayed, “Lord, I thank you that I’m not a Gentile or a woman.”

Of course, we live in an enlightened age where women have rights. I’m not being facetious; there is great truth in that statement. In spite of the fact that there are many in our society whose thinking is way off base, in general American women have a much better life than in many cultures. What American woman would like to live under the Muslim standards?

But think with me. Even in our own culture, life can be very hard for women. Don’t
confine your thinking to our own little circle, but think about women in general in our country and in the world. Who is it that gets the privilege of having babies? And who is it that generally has the responsibility of taking care of the children she bears? And while she’s taking care of the kids, she has to be concerned about her husband. Let me just give you a little quote from Pastor John MacArthur…
…It's difficult dealing with husbands. You know, it may be difficult dealing with your husband when you're living in a third world country or when, in ancient times, you were in some tribal environment. But from the looks of things today, it probably isn't any easier to deal with a husband living in the fast pace of the 20th [21st] century high-tech world, who may be equally or even more insensitive to your needs, [if he's at home at al]l to find out what they are. So here's a mother, continuing giving birth to little sinners, and married to a big one.

Now all of us will readily admit that we live in a messed up world. All we have to do is open our eyes and look around. And why is that? Because of sin. Sin has taken its toll on the whole human race and has even affected all of creation. Nevertheless, women have their own peculiar trials.

Let’s conclude our introductory thoughts about women and come to our text for this morning. We are in Genesis 3, the third chapter of the Bible. Only the third chapter and we have recorded for us the fall of mankind. After Eve ate the fruit and gave it to Adam, their eyes were opened. They realized that they were naked before one another, and when God came looking for them, they hid themselves. Then when God began to question them, they shifted to the blame. Adam said, “The woman you gave to me – she gave me the fruit and I ate it.” When the Lord turned to the woman and asked, “What is this that you have done,” Eve replied, “The snake deceived me, and I ate.” That is where we picked up the story last week, with the curse upon the snake. It was through that curse upon the snake that man received such a wonderful and gracious promise. Within that promise is the seed of the gospel, the first promise of the Savior. Let’s recall that promise as we read this morning Gen. 3:14-16…
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: 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. 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 we have God’s curse upon the woman. Before we look at it specifically, there is one thing we must note. Because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, sin and death entered the human race. We read it in Rom. 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spead to all men, because all sinned--…” (NKJV). Every human being alive feels the consequence of sin; there are no exceptions. However, God specifically and deliberately pronounced a curse upon the woman, just as surely as He pronounced a curse upon the snake, Satan, and later the man. The substance of the curse in verse 16 goes beyond the normal consequences of sin. This is a direct curse pronounced upon the woman because of her specific sin.

As we look at this curse, we can easily see that it involves two realms of a woman’s life. For most women, these are the two realms that dominate her life more than any others. We are talking about her relationship to her children and her relationship to her husband. God’s curse was directed to these two areas of life. Let’s read it again in verse 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.”

I. The Woman’s Relationship with Her Children

For most people, the first thing that comes to mind is the pain of childbirth. This is part of the curse upon the woman. Most women would give a hearty “Amen,” when we refer to this pain as a curse. There are quite a number of us here who have had very little experience bearing children, but this curse is so severe that even we have some sense of the seriousness. And it goes beyond momentary pain. Some of you ladies can testify of being sick for weeks or months while you were pregnant. Down through history, how many women have lost their lives in the process of giving birth? I can think of two such instances recorded in the Bible – Rachel (Gen. 35:18-19) and the mother of Ichabod (I Sam. 4:19-22). In ancient times the delivery of the child was a very dangerous thing.

I did find something kind of interesting as I was looking at this passage. I ran across the idea that the great pain of childbirth is a rather new thing, that women of ancient cultures didn’t have that kind of pain. As I was trying to check this out, I ran across something written by a modern American midwife. She said that the only reason women have pain in childbirth is because of the fear factor. A woman is told that this is going to be extremely painful. As a result, she goes into labor very fearful, and it is the fear itself that paralyzes her and prevents the muscle groups from working together as they were intended to do. If the fear is not there, she will be relaxed and will give birth with very little pain. I bounced that idea off a mother and she was bit skeptical, to say the least.

So is there anything to that theory? I believe we find the answer clearly in the words of Jesus. While there are other scriptural passages that allude to the same truth, I believe His words settle the issue. John 16:21, "A woman when she is in travail [labor] hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world." In this case, it seems obvious that the sorrow Jesus is speaking of is physical pain, because it doesn’t last very long, only as long as the labor lasts. Jesus refers to the pain as “anguish.” That word translated “anguish” is a Greek word that I mention often. It is the word that is most commonly translated “tribulation.” It is the word that speaks of “being squeezed.” I can tell that some of you identify. One doctor who did a great deal of research in this area concluded that the pain of childbirth was comparable to having your finger chopped off without the aid of anesthetic. Though I have never experienced it personally, I have to conclude that childbirth is painful and has always been painful. And according to the Word of God, that pain is a direct result of the curse that God pronounced upon the woman.

Here in Gen. 3:16, we find a difference in translations. The King James is most literal: “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception.” The NASV reads: “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth.” Similarly, the NIV renders it: “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing.” You will notice that both the NASV and NIV eliminate the word “and.” They change “your sorrow/pain and your conception” to “your pain in childbirth.” While that is permissible grammatically in the Hebrew language, the KJV rendering is much more in keeping with normal usage. It is possible that God did indeed curse her by multiplying her conceptions (or pregnancies).

This becomes a bit difficult for us to sort out, because we are told in Psalm 127 that “children are an heritage of the Lord” (127:3), a wonderful blessing from Him. While that is true, there is also great sorrow that comes with the bearing and raising of children. We would certainly have to say that this wasn’t the case before Eve’s sin. When we read that God says He will multiply or increase the woman’s sorrow, He is not saying that she had sorrow before. He is simply saying that He will make that sorrow great. Let me read you a very literal translation: "causing to be great, I shall cause to be great your sorrow.” The repetition is for emphasis. It isn’t that it is going to be worse than before; He is simply emphasizing how severe the sorrow will be. Before the fall, there was no sin; there was no sorrow.

We don’t know the complete effect of the curse. It is possible that God was saying He would increase the frequency of her pregnancies. God had already commanded them to replenish the earth. That was His plan from the beginning. Think about this: After the fall, that task would be more difficult. Why? Because now every child brought forth would die. Reproduction would have to outstrip death in order to populate the earth. In order to accomplish this, it may be that the Lord increased the fertility of the woman and multiplied her pregnancies. And with more pregnancies comes more sorrow.

But that is not the end of the story. Have you ever noticed in the scripture, that while the physical is real and undeniable, we rarely get the whole picture if we don’t go beyond the physical? This is true even of death itself. We read in Rom. 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death.” We look around and find that to be true because everyone dies. But that is only a small part of the picture. Death cannot be confined to physical death, the separation of the body from the spirit. There is a spiritual death that we have all experienced, because we were born into this world spiritually dead. That is, we were separated from God, cut off from God. And unless something is done about our condition, we face eternal death, separation from God forever in hell.

We find the same thing to be true to be true of the curse that God pronounces upon the woman. The physical pain of childbirth is intense, as we have already discussed, and that is part of the curse, but that is not the end of the woman’s sorrow. In reality, that is only the beginning. When a woman bears a child, she brings that little one into a corrupt and wicked world. As Herod tried to kill baby Jesus, the evil one unleashes powerful forces against our children even at a young age. You will remember the words of Simeon to Mary the mother of Jesus. When the baby Jesus was less than two months old, Simeon spoke these prophetic words: "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 35. (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Lk. 2:34-35). Surely those words were true. We find it hard to imagine how painful the sword that pierced Mary’s soul, as she watched her son die on that cross. Though no mother’s pain can quite match that, think of the mother whose daughter marries a man whom the mother knows will give her nothing but grief. Sorrow with that mother who witnesses her son being sentenced to life in prison. Grieve with the mother whose 15-year-old daughter is raped. Cry out for the mother who watches her grown son die with absolutely no evidence that he knew the Lord. No, the sorrow doesn’t end with childbirth. Though the pain of childbirth is extreme, there are greater pains to come for many mothers.

How tragic that the Lord said to the woman: “In sorrow you shall bring forth children.” Though there is certainly joy over bearing a son or daughter, the sorrow is there as well – pain at the time of birth and even deeper sorrows through life. Just ask some of these mothers who are in their 80’s if the sorrow of a mother ceases with age. When the child hurts, the mother hurts. And somehow that is more true of a mother than a father. To some extent, it is a part of the curse.

Now let’s look at the second aspect of the curse…

II. The Woman’s Relationship with Her Husband

Read verse 16 again, "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." “Your desire shall be to your husband and he shall rule over you.” How much ink has been spilled over those words down through the centuries! Such a few words, but such confusion and controversy over their meaning.

Let’s begin with the word “desire.” Your desire shall be to your husband. Some believe that this speaks of sexual desire. Surely that is not the case. God intended a sexual relationship from the beginning, because He told them to be fruitful and multiply. Such a desire was not part of the curse, for Eve had that appropriate sexual desire for her husband from the beginning. Since the desire of verse 16 is a curse from God, we should look for something negative, something that isn’t appropriate.

Some teach that the woman’s subjection to her husband is the substance of the curse. I do not believe that is what this verse teaches, for two reasons…

1. There is ample evidence that even before the fall God intended Eve to be subject to Adam. Eve was made to be Adam’s helper. God made her as a help meet for Adam – that is, a helper suitable for him. Though our society doesn’t like to accept it, God created mankind with a certain order. He made Adam first. He gave His command to Adam and expected him to pass it along to Eve. When God made Adam and Eve, He made Eve subject to Adam.

2. As we will see next week, much of the curse upon Eve is reversed in Christ. However, as we will see, the concept of the wife being in subjection to her husband is not reversed. This concept of wifely submission is clearly taught in Ephesians 5.

I must conclude that the subjection of the wife to the husband is not part of the curse. Rather, it is a part of God’s original plan.

So what is the curse? What is it in the words “And your desire shall be to your husband” that is truly a curse? The basic traditional view is expressed well by Richard Strauss…

The consequences were almost more than Adam and Eve could bear. For Eve, the pain of childbirth would be a recurring reminder of her sin. In addition to that, she would experience an insatiable yearning for her husband, a piercing desire for his time, his attention, his affection, and his assurance. Her need would be so great, her sinful husband would seldom be willing to meet it.
And finally, the authority Adam possessed over Eve from creation was strengthened by the word rule. “And he shall rule over you.” In the hands of a sinful man, that rule would degenerate at times to harsh and heartless domination over her—disregard for her feelings and disdain for her opinions. Eve no doubt chafed grudgingly under the sting of her sin as Adam drifted farther from her, paid less attention to her, and became preoccupied with other things. Bitterness, resentment, and rebellion began to settle in her soul. (“The Honeymoon Is Over—The Story of Adam and Eve,” by Richard L. Strauss. Found at http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=1288)

This interpretation stresses the need the woman would have for her husband, the great longing for understanding and compassion. It would be easier for her to just strike out on her own, but deep within would be this longing for her man. Though the bearing and raising of children is full of pain and sorrow, she finds her desire is to that man who teams with her to produce more children. Perhaps all would be well, if that man treated her the way she longed to be treated. Instead, she finds him to be a domineering despot who is more interested in his own needs than hers.

Now let me ask you to consider another idea. It is a somewhat different interpretation, but when put together with what we have just considered, it seems to strengthen the picture of the curse. There are a number who have pointed to the idea that the word “desire” here refers to a desire to control. This idea comes from a comparison with Gen. 4:7. The word translated “desire” in 3:16 is found in only two other places in the Old Testament (the other is Song of Solomon 7:10). It is rather amazing that one of those occurrences is so close at hand, even in 4:7. What is even more amazing is the parallel structure of the ends of these two verses. 3:16, “… And your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.” 4:7, "And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." It is impossible to miss the parallel. Many translations take the “his” as a reference to sin, which is the subject of the first part of the verse. (There are those who take it to man Abel.) Read all of Gen. 4:7, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." So if it is sin that is still in view, then the idea is this: “To you is sin’s desire. It desires to control and dominate you, making you its slave. You must rule over it.” (See Amplified, NIV, NASV).

Now if this is the sense of 4:7 and we look at the parallel structure of 3:16, it would indicate that “desire” would have the same meaning here. And if that is so, then this is speaking of the woman’s desire to control her man. It would speak of a deep resentment of her being in subjection to her husband.

This interpretation is not totally at odds with the idea that the woman will have a desire and appetite to be with her man. I don’t see these ideas as mutually exclusive. Rather, I see this idea as increasing the extent of the curse, because it adds to the difficulty of the relationship between the man and the woman, especially the husband and the wife. God intends her to submit to her husband, but she resents that submission. The more she bucks up against it and tries to control and manipulate her husband, the more he either becomes more dominant or withdraws altogether. Nevertheless, she has a great desire to be with him (or, at least, with some man). What a mess. That’s why it is a curse.

III. The Relationship Between the Sin and the Curse

God intended the woman to follow the man. No, she was not inferior in any way. Nevertheless, it was God’s design that Adam lead and Eve follow. Instead, Eve took the lead. It may well be that Adam was not being the leader he should have been, but that does not soften the truth that Eve acted on her own without consulting with her husband. She acted independently. She struck out on her own, disregarding the God-given authority of her husband and disobeying the commandment of her God.

So now the Lord pronounces this sentence upon her. Gen. 3:16, "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." She sought independence, but God links her ever so closely with her husband in that they will produce children together. Not only that, but her desire will be to her husband. There will be a continual looking to the husband to meet her needs. But even in that, she will resent the fact that she needs him. Rather than submitting quietly, she will buck up against the idea of wifely submission and will try to take control herself. And as she does, her husband will not be the loving spouse that she longed for. Rather, he will treat her harshly and will “rule” with an unloving hand.

You may be quick to point out exceptions. Where there are exceptions, it is the grace of God. This is not to say that marriages do not experience any happiness. Nevertheless, there is deep pain not only in the bringing forth of children, but also in dealing with the man. When we look at the world as a whole down through the years of history, this is largely what we find, and it is the direct result of the curse that God pronounced. Ladies, if you don’t see much of this curse in your life, thank God for His grace in Christ.

Conclusion

So why did God curse the woman? Did He do it just to demonstrate His power, to remind Eve who is in charge? Isn’t this cruelty to curse not only Eve, but all of the women who are descended from her? Why this terrible curse?

Please allow me to suggest two answers to that question. First of all, this is indeed punishment. Sin does have consequences, and sometimes the consequences are related very closely to the sin. That was the case here. Because she tried to escape from the protection of the man, God cursed her within that relationship. As a result of her sin, her attitude toward the man would hinder their relationship.

But what about the pain and sorrow in bearing and raising children? That brings me to the second reason for the curse. The curse would be a continual reminder of her sin. And so it is today. God’s curse is intended to be a reminder of sin.

This is very difficult for us because we live in a society where most people refuse to relate evil to sin. Let me give you an example. Consider sexually transmitted diseases. The world will not accept the idea that these are the consequences (even the curse) of sinful, immoral behavior. Could it be that those diseases are intended to be a powerful reminder of the sin that brought them about? Or consider what we call “natural disasters.” If someone even suggests that the crushing of New Orleans by hurricane Katrina was a result of the sinful things that went on in that city, our society will crucify him. I’m not saying that was the case, but I must remind you that this is exactly what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah. How foolish to think that it cannot happen again. Of course, we have to be careful. Remember these words from our Lord Jesus in Luke 13:4-5, "Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5. I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." All disasters are not directly related to specific sins of individuals, but some are, and that is definitely the case with the curse upon the woman.

Let’s get practical. Lindsay, I am going to pick on you because you are pregnant. Unless you are the rare exception, there will be pain associated with the delivery of this child. Tracy will sympathize with you in your pain, but you alone will bear the brunt of it. But there is value in your pain. In the first place, you know that it means you are indeed going to have this baby, and in that you will rejoice greatly. But your pain will also remind you of sin – the sin of Eve and your participation in that sin. Even now when you are sick because of the pregnancy, God can use that sickness to remind you of sin. Your relationship with your husband hasn’t been all that God intended.

Perhaps some of you think all of this is too negative. Please hear me. God doesn’t remind us of sin in order to crush us. He reminds us of sin so that we can run to the Savior, so that we can cling to our Redeemer. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). Lindsay, during this pregnancy, what a time to let the Lord remind you of your sinfulness in that you are weak in your relationship with Tracy. What a time to let Him remind you that you don’t have the wisdom and strength to raise this child as he or she ought to be raised. What a time to cry out to God and thank Him for the way He is going to pour out His grace upon you. “For where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20).

Don’t we serve a mighty God. He can still turn a cruse into a blessing. We will learn more about that next week, as we see how God through Christ works to reverse the curse. And how will that curse be reversed? In the same way that the effect of sin is reversed – through Christ! Praise God that He sent His Son that we might live through Him!