Thursday, December 25, 2008

What are you think about the Eve's Curse?

Genesis 3:16 needs to be clarified relative to giving birth. The New International Version translates this verse: "To the woman [Eve] He said, I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." Because of Eves sin of disobedience to the Eternal, bringing forth of children and raising them would be painful toil, much hard work (Hebrew word for pain is etsev, "grievous, hard work, toil, painful struggle"). In addition, Eve would be placed under the authority and rule (Hebrew mashal) of her husband. Just as the Eternal rules over us (Judges 8:23), the husband is to lovingly rule over the wife. Rebellion of the wife against the husband is sin; she must "reverence" (hold in deep awe) her husband, Ephesians 5:22-33. She must never tell him "no" unless his command is contrary to Gods law!
Furthermore, Adam also received the Eternals judgment because he followed Eve in her sin, Genesis 3:17-19 (NIV), " . . . Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil [etsev] you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you . . . . By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."
Eves judgment did not end once she had given birth to children: the real labor began after the children were born, and the real grievous pains came when problems arose and Cain slew Abel.

Mankind in general has woefully misunderstood Gods "curse" on Adam and Eve. They feel that God was unfair, and, as a result, have striven ever since to nullify or do away with the righteous judgments of the Almighty. The Creators judgment was actually done for sinful mankinds benefit to give people work to do. Idleness leads to unhappiness, boredom and more sin. Proverbs 14:23 states, "in all labor [etsev] there is profit." Work is not a curse neither is a wife being put under her husbands rule since the parallel type is the Church being under Christ, Ephesians 5:21-33.

The real  explanation of Genesis 3:16-19:

(1) These judgments apply to us, not because of the "original sin" of Adam and Eve, but because of our own sins, in following their footsteps in rebellion against God.
(2) Some women have relatively easy and painless deliveries, others have extremely painful childbirth. The difference is often due to the health of the mother and her heredity, not necessarily because of the degree of sin.
(3) Many women today try to get around the pain of childbirth by taking drugs to alleviate the pain. This is harmful to the mother and the baby. Millions go even farther and dont want the living human being in their wombs, causing it to be aborted (murdered). All in a vain effort to escape etsev!
(4) The whole experience of giving birth to and the greater part of rearing the children is the toil given to woman. When a woman tries to evade this God-given responsibility, she is sinning against her Maker.
(5) "Womens liberation" is certainly not a new thing, but todays western society is so perverted that the authority of the husband is held up to open ridicule.
(6) In many Third World countries, especially those dominated by the Moslem religion, the reverse perversion predominates. Women are treated as slaves. One frequently sees women doing all the hard dirty work, while their husbands relax. Neither extreme is in accordance with the way of the Eternal.
(7) Men too have tried to circumvent Gods judgments. Poisons are used to kill weeds and bugs in a perverse attempt to alleviate the curse of the ground. The Eternals way is that of obedience, which sinful mankind rejects, Leviticus 26, Malachi 3:8-12. Wars are basically fought over the land, and who will dominate it. What sinful mankind fails to realize is the Eternal owns everything. The ONLY way to be blessed is to obey Him.
And so, as with Adam and Eve, so it is with us. Both man and woman have to undergo painful toil (etsev) for their own good. When a husband and wife labor together in childbirth and every other experience of life, they are brought into a very close relationship with each other, and their Maker. Far from being merely a curse on womankind that the husband should look upon as pain the woman deserves, natural childbirth is an awe-inspiring example of the righteous judgment, love and mercy of the LORD! It should bring a husband closer to his wife and children.
Every birth should remind us of the painful effects of sin, and that the Ancient of Days has sent the Son of Man, the Messiah, to be born through pain, live a life of toil, die a painful death in our stead, and most importantly, be resurrected and be accepted by the Father as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of mankind. In all this painful labor etsev there is great reward, Proverbs 14:23.

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