The fullness of God’s love is expressed in all of creation and then through redemption of the fallen mankind in His Son, Lord Jesus Christ. Everything that He created was very good and what was perfect reached a stage that God repented and destroyed it all except Noah and his family and representation of all species of living beings. The curse that Adam and Eve received through their sin of disobedience to God affects all of mankind even today. Why did curse His own creation and how has it affected mankind?
How do a blessing and curse fall on a person? – A blessing is pronounced and one may not deserve it but a curse is deserved and received as a result of some action. A curse may also come due to jealousy or hatred of others who initiate curses through the power of evil forces. But we are assured that ‘Like a fluttering sparrow, like a flying swallow, so a curse without cause shall not alight’ (Proverbs 26:2). ‘Then God blessed them’ (Genesis 1:28) and human life started with a blessing, for God’s love is revealed in all that He created for man before creating him. All the needs of man were already fulfilled by God and since man is ‘created in the image and likeness of God’; he is endowed with the power of the word.
God brought all animals, beasts and birds that He had created to Adam to name them, ‘And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name’ (Genesis 2:19-20). Name is supposed to be an indicator of the character of the one named and secondly it represents the authority of the one naming, over the other. Adam’s naming process not only defined the character of each animal, beast and the bird but also declared his control over them. Adam was thus equipped by God to speak the word and see the resultant action of obedience by the nature or the created beings.
After their act of disobedience Adam and Eve were hiding from the All-Knowing God and His question to Eve, ‘What have you done?’ is not to know the answer but to ask her that does she know the answer? (Genesis 3:13). God had created a perfect world on the earth to fellowship with man and see him rule over His creation but one action of Adam and Eve denied them so much. Since the devil, the serpent, had initiated the fall of mankind, God cursed it and put enmity between him and the woman, between his seed and the woman’s seed. Adam and Eve were then informed about the result of their act, separation from God and immediate spiritual death.
The result of this on the serpent was to make it of little value and worthless while for Adam and Eve it was to lose the protection of God. God does not curse His people but by stepping out from under His wings, we make ourselves vulnerable to the forces of evil which were separated from the light but not destroyed. The curse on the devil is enmity between him and the woman and her seed. Apparently the effect is there all over the world in every society or culture that the woman suffers much more than men. Though the act of crushing of his head has already been completed long ago by Lord Jesus, Satan carries on with his hatred for the woman even today because of the prophesy of Genesis 3. Likewise Adam also carries the curse on his life, resulting in lesser result of his efforts because of the curse on the earth.
Moses warned the Israelites of the danger of forgetting God after entering the Promised Land and becoming wealthy for it is God ‘who gives you power to get wealth’ (Deuteronomy 8:18). Only God can set us free from what has come upon us due to our evil deeds.
Moses presented two choices to the Israelites from God, ‘Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse’ and right from the time of creation this has been the choice for mankind (Deuteronomy 11:26). Lord Jesus is the Son of God but the Jewish people then and even today regard Him as a great teacher, a Rabbi and refuse to be blessed by recognizing Him as Son of God. So for every believer He, as the Son of God, is the Savior and during my life here on earth while facing the tribulations, He is my Rabbi also. To receive blessings from Him I must accept Him as a Savior, follow His teachings and develop a close relationship with Him. Lord Jesus quoted the same option for us, that there are two gates before us, one narrow and the other is wide and the way smooth (Matthew 7:13-14). The teaching is about perception, the wide gate looks to have a smooth way, but just after one moves thereon, the difficulties start and never end for this leads to our falling under the devil’s control. The narrow or strait gate appears to be troublesome but the way beyond what is visible is smooth and pleasant always, for the Lord is with us to guide and lead us all the way.
The idea of free will given by God is about making the choice and God does not force His will on us. We make the choice to obey and stay under God’s protection and abundance or do our own will and be forced out of the Garden of Eden created for every person. When faced with difficulties that we have created in our lives due to wrong decisions, we tend to follow Job’s wife’s advice to curse God and let go (Job 2:9).
Most often we turn God’s blessing also into a curse much like Adam and Eve did of the abundance of the Garden by eating of the wrong tree. God has given us various food items but we have to use discretion to eat whereas over indulgence results in various diseases afflicting us
Does the curse from God affect all womankind? – The curses of Genesis 3 are on the devil, the woman, man and the earth but these are after the fall and cannot be taken as God’s plan for us. Apostle Paul’s teaching of sin is that ‘Adam was not deceived but the woman being deceived fell into transgression’ (1 Timothy 2:14. The command to Adam from God (Genesis 2:16-17) and Eve’s understanding of the same is different (Genesis 3:2-3). When she touched the fruit and nothing happened, she ate and also gave it to Adam, who was fully aware of the result but ate it. First Adam did not stop the woman from eating and then ate it himself also.
Genesis 3:16 has four different curses on the woman; First, the curse of sorrow – The Hebrew word used here means ‘pain, sorrow, toil, labor’ and as a result of this and enmity with the devil, much of suffering is on women. Woman was created to bring forth new life and keep words in her heart to ponder them (Luke 2:19, 35, 51). But Satan uses this to sow seeds of harsh words, misunderstandings and hurt through other’s words. A woman must be careful and not bring up a root of bitterness and defile many and she must meditate upon God’s word and not of the devil (Hebrews 12:15). But praise be to the Lord that He did not desire this to continue and His coming brought forth blessings for women. The message of His coming was received by Mary (Luke 1:28-33); washing of His feet by tears and anointing with fragrant oil was done by a sinner woman (Luke 7:38); Mary anointed the Lord with spikenard, a very expensive oil (John 12:8). After resurrection the Lord first appeared to Mary Magdalene and she was the first Apostle or messenger to carry His message to others (John 20:16-17). Today a woman can break this curse in the name and authority of the Savior Lord.
Second, curse of painful pregnancy – Some experts’ say that no other animal suffers as much pain in child bearing as a woman does. It is a woman who is supposed to plan a family and suffer side effects of operations, medications etc. Lord Jesus became a curse for us and now a believer woman can claim perfect freedom and blessing in Him (Galatians 3:13).
Third, curse of desire for husband – the Hebrew word ‘Teshuqah’ used here means ‘intense desire, craving, longing’ and the same word is used when God warned Cain about sin’s desire for him (Genesis 4:7). The custom of dowry in India and many other nations is a result of this. But the Bible teaching is different, for a woman’s role is defined by God to be an ‘ezer-kenegdo’, a spiritual protector for her husband. For ‘He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD’ (Proverbs 18:22). A woman can break this curse in and through salvation in Lord Jesus.
Four, Curse of husband’s domination – God created both man and woman in His own image and likeness and equal in every respect (Genesis 1:27). God created woman from Adam’s rib and she being closest to his heart, she is to have a special place in his life, protect his desires and longings and stands by his side to be protected by him and be a partner to face and defy all odds against them (Genesis 2:21-22). On the other hand man is supposed to love his wife as Lord ‘Jesus loved the church and gave Himself for her’ (Ephesians 5:25 & 33). With such love a woman’s respect and submission to her husband would be natural and not as per the curse. The curse of misinterpretation of rule and misuse of authority causes undue pain for both partners.
Curses and blood sacrifices –– God has decreed that the ‘life of the flesh is in the blood’ and the sacrificial offerings were about forgiveness through the shed blood (Leviticus 17:11). Our redemption is through the shed blood of the Lord. Satanists copy the same principle to receive occult powers and even the natural blood flow of a woman is used to bring about curses by misusing the soiled napkins. The shed blood through miscarriage and abortion also opens the door for the devil to bring about a curse on the woman, that goes on for generations.
The curse of Genesis 3 has been affecting the woman since ages and other such curses either spoken by someone or by using evil powers also continue to affect till these are broken by using the name and authority of the Savior Lord.
Escaping the effect of the curses – The very fact that God created man and woman in His own image and likeness; it is natural that he desires both to live a life of blessedness. Lord Jesus’ promise of abundant life is for both sexes and rather understanding the oppression that woman had been suffering, He created special opportunities for her to worship Him (John 10:10). Lord Jesus became a curse for us and has ‘redeemed us from the curse of the law’ (Galatians 3:13).
The curse of sin came on Adam and Eve and through them to whole of humanity but what then is the curse of the law? God created everything out of love and the law was given through Moses to maintain holiness and purity in the universe. Any curse must thus be a necessary one for preserving order in the universe and ensuring manifestation of holiness of the Sovereign God. Through disobedience we become God’s adversaries and it brings about sorrow and aguish, death of both kinds, physical and spiritual. Apostle John saw the result of that death on Patmos island as being cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14). The law is to warn a person about the restrictive boundaries in which one must live and only the one who sets these boundaries can set one free from the punishment due for any violation.
LORD God was pleased to bruise His Son and to put Him to grief for He desires all mankind to be set free the curse (Isaiah 53:10). Lord Jesus is seated at the right hand of God in fully restored glory of the Son of God with full power and authority. Only in His mighty name do we receive forgiveness of sins, our own and of our forefathers to be freed from sin and the curse.
Our prayer then is : –
Our Heavenly Father,
I worship and give You thanks for Your Beloved Son who came to restore the original place of honor to women in Your creation.
I repent of and seek forgiveness for all my acts of rebellion and disrespect against my father, husband or any other male authority placed over me by Your decree.
Search me and cleanse me of all sin of wrong attitudes of trying to escape and takeover any authority that You did not intend for me.
Open my eyes to identify the area of my life that open a door for Satan and his forces of evil to trap me and help me to close all such avenues.
Heal me of all hurt that has been caused by ungodly male rulership that came over me through the curse and set me free to live a life You planned for a woman as a partner of man in submission.
Since You have placed a male partner to be my head, help me to be his right helpmate giving him due honor as due and make me stand together with him to destroy the devil’s dominion over us and others.
I break every curse of ungodly desire and idolizing my husband and I break the curse of sorrow and pain and in my Savior Lord Jesus’ name and seek and receive life of abundance.
I get rid of any desire or leaning towards blood thirsty evil spirits and break any curse over my life as a woman.
Heavenly Father I thank You for listening to and accepting my prayers in Jesus’ name!
Amen and Amen
Halleluia!
