Genesis 3:14

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.

Since the serpent has been the instrument of deception, God addresses him first in judgment.

God’s pronouncement of a curse on the serpent above all cattle, and above every beast of the field seems to say that all other creatures will suffer negative effects as a result of sin’s entrance into the world (see Romans 8: 22 , 23 ), but the serpent will be punished more severely than they.

Some suggest that the words upon thy belly shalt thou go imply that the serpent stands upright prior to this curse.

But this phrase may mean that the serpent’s crawling will now carry with it a meaning of contempt that was not present previously.

The idea of eating dust likely signifies humiliation or shame, which it does elsewhere in Scripture (see Psalm 72: 9 ; Isaiah 49: 23 ; Micah 7: 17 ).


Genesis 3:15

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.

“And I will put enmity between thee [that is, Satan] and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it [that is, Christ] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel,” This is a tremendous statement that is given to us here.

The most prominent thought is not the ultimate victory that would come, but the long-continued struggle.

This verse reveals the fact that now there is to be a long struggle between good and evil.

This is exactly what you will find in the rest of the Scriptures.

The Lord Jesus made this statement in His day concerning this struggle: “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” (John 8:44).

“The devil” is Satan. The Lord Jesus Christ made the distinction between children of God and children of Satan.

John again mentions this conflict in 1 John 3:10: “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”

Thus we have brought before us the fact that here is a conflict, here is a struggle, and here are two seeds in the world.

There will be the final victory—but the long—continued struggle is important to note.

Every man must face temptation and must win his battle.

Before Christ came, the victory was through obedience in faith.

After Christ came, we are to identify ourselves with Christ through faith.

What does it mean to be saved?

It means to be in Christ.

Man was one of three orders of creation: angels, man, and animals.

Animals were given no choice, but man and angels were given a choice.

Here you have, if you please, man’s choice.

He has made a decision, and he is held responsible for the decision that he has made.

Notice that it says “her seed.” It does not say the man’s seed. Here is at least the suggestion of the virgin birth of Christ.

When God went into that garden looking for man, He said, “Where art thou?”

Any anthology of religion tells the story of man’s search for God.

My Christian Siblings, that is not the way God tells it.

Let’s tell it like it is: Salvation is God’s search for man. Man ran away from Him, and God called to him, “Where art thou?”

God seeks out man, and He offers man salvation, but there is going to be a long struggle that will take place.

The enmity, or hostility, mentioned here is reflected to some extent in the aversion most people have to snakes.

But the language of this verse, especially toward the end, points to a deeper spiritual hostility that understands the seed of the serpent to be linked with Satan and all who carry out his evil intentions (compare John 8: 44 ).

Satan’s continuing desire is to ruin lives by deceit (just as he ruined Eve’s ), thereby thwarting God’s righteous purposes toward those created in His image (compare Revelation 12: 9).

In time, however, one seed (descendant) of the woman fulfills God’s purpose by dealing Satan a death blow. This is pictured here as striking the enemy’s head.

Jesus does this by means of His death on the cross (Hebrews 2: 14 , 15 ; compare 1 John 3: 8).

That Satan is to bruise his heel indicates that Satan inflicts a measure of suffering on the Son of God, but this in no way causes the kind of damage that Jesus inflicts on Satan.


Genesis 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.

This is the judgment upon woman. She cannot bring a child into the world without sorrow.

Isn’t it interesting that that should be true?

The very thing that brings joy into the life and continues the human family has to come through sorrow.

God turns His attention to the woman.

Childbearing was to occur as a part of God’s plan prior to the fall ( Genesis 1: 28), but now the process of multiplying through childbearing will be accompanied by a multiplying of sorrow, referring primarily to the pain involved in giving birth.

Some suggest that a part of this sorrow includes the understanding that any child will enter a world greatly tainted by sin.

Who can foresee what aspects of the curse of sin lie ahead for a newborn baby as he or she matures?

Despite a parent’s best intentions, a child will experience the sorrows of life in a fallen world— and for some that sorrow will be especially tragic.

Another consequence for the woman is stated, one that affects the relationship between husband and wife: and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

This has been interpreted in various ways.

One idea is that it means she will still desire her husband in spite of the pain of childbirth, and that he will use that to dominate her in the relationship.

It seems better, however, to view this statement as a description of the tension, in the sense of a power struggle, that will characterize the relationship between a husband and a wife as a result of the fall.

The harmony and unity that was so eloquently expressed by Adam when the Lord brought the woman to him ( Genesis 2: 23 ) will now be a struggle to maintain.

No man should interpret the language of this verse as a license to mistreat his wife.

He must honor God in the way he treats his spouse, a principle discussed by Paul, who uses Christ’s love for the church as a model ( Ephesians 5: 25 ).


Genesis 3:17

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.

Now addressing the man, God makes Adam’s blame clear: he hast hearkened unto the voice of [his] wife rather than to God’s voice.

Then the man’s punishment is pronounced: cursed is the ground for thy sake.

Like the woman, the man will experience his own version of sorrow; it will come in his efforts to bring forth food from the ground.

God had placed the man in the Garden of Eden “to dress it and to keep it” ( Genesis 2: 15 ).

This task was intended to be a source of satisfaction as the man worked in harmony with his Creator.

Now, however, such work will be much more of a drudgery or toil.

Thus the important tasks given for the man and the woman will still be done: children will to be born and crops will be harvested.

But the struggle to carry out these duties will always be a reminder of the high price of disobeying God.


Genesis 3:18

Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

Thorns and thistles were not originally in the creation of God, this being a result of the curse, which is a result of the sin of man.

This would not now grow freely, as originally intended, but only now with great care and great labor.


Genesis 3:19

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 is the judgment upon man. Death now comes to man.

What is death?

Physical death is a separation of the person, the spirit, the soul, from the body.

Ecclesiastes says: “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Eccl. 12:7).

Man ultimately must answer to God.

Whether he is saved or lost, he is going to have to answer to God.

But Adam did not die physically the day that he ate. He did not die until more than nine hundred years later.

The whole point is simply this: he died s