Gênesis 3
John Piper · Citado em PreceptAustin
Gênesis 3
Piper comments: Three human relationships were corrupted in the Fall. First, the relation to ourselves. "Thy eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together" (Ge 3:7). Rebellion against God in the human heart is so contrary to the way man is designed to be, that he must constantly put on airs, clothes, make-up, poses to try to convince himself that he is not really a naked, helpless child. Second, the relation to God was ruined. "They heard the sound of the Lord God … and the man and his wife hid themselves (Ge 3:8). And man has been running from God with his guilty conscience ever since. A youth who has said to his father, "I don't want your counsel, I don't want your authority, I don't want your help," cannot bear to be in the presence of his dad. We are homeless fugitives, always on the run until we give it up and come home to God. Third, our relations with other people have been ruined. "'Have you eaten of the tree which I commanded you not to eat?' The man said, 'The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree and I ate.'" (Ge 3:12). If anybody deserves to die, she does! Tender-hearted, loving, chivalrous husband! When the heart is in rebellion against God and is, therefore, wholly taken up with self-justification, other people turn into patsies. Therefore, all human relations -- with ourselves, God and other people -- are corrupted in the fall. And the misery that has resulted is untold. (The Emergence of Sin and Misery ) Genesis 3:11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” Ge 4:10 Ps 50:21 Ro 3:20 Genesis 3 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries GOD'S SECOND RHETORICAL QUESTION TO ADAM And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?: God knew but wanted Adam to know that He knew. Adam’s sin was evidenced by his new knowledge of the evil of nakedness, but God still waited for Adam to confess to what God knew they had done. The basic reluctance of sinful people to admit their iniquity is here established. Repentance is still the issue. When sinners refuse to repent, they suffer judgment; when they do repent, they receive forgiveness. Henry
Gênesis 3
Piper - When it says, "Your desire shall be for your husband," it means that when sin has the upper hand in woman she will desire to overpower or subdue or exploit man. And when sin has the upper hand in man he will respond in like manner and with his strength subdue her, or rule over her. So what is really described in the curse of Ge 3:16 is the ugly conflict between the male and female that has marked so much of human history. Maleness as God created it has been depraved and corrupted by sin. Femaleness as God created it has been depraved and corrupted by sin. The essence of sin is self-reliance and self-exaltation. First in rebellion against God, and then in exploitation of each other. So the essence of corrupted maleness is the self-aggrandizing effort to subdue and control and exploit women for its own private desires. And the essence of corrupted femaleness is the self-aggrandizing effort to subdue and control and exploit men for its own private desires. And the difference is found mainly in the different weaknesses that we can exploit in one another. As a rule men have more brute strength than women and so they can rape and abuse and threaten and sit around and snap their finger. It's fashionable to say those sorts of things today. But it's just as true that women are sinners. We are in God's image male and female; and we are depraved, male and female. Women may not have as much brute strength as men but she knows ways to subdue him. She can very often run circles around him with her words and where her words fail she knows the weakness of his lust. If you have any doubts about the power of sinful woman to control sinful man just reflect for a moment on the number one marketing force in the world — the female body. She can sell anything because she knows the universal weakness of man and how to control him with it. The exploitation of women by sinful men is conspicuous because it is often harsh and violent. But a moment's reflection will show you that the exploitation of men by sinful women is just as pervasive in our society. The difference is that our sinful society sanctions the one perversity and not the other. (There are societies that do just the opposite.) This is not the way God meant it to be before sin, when man and woman were dependent on him for how to live. This is the result of rebellion against God. (Manhood and Womanhood: Conflict and Confusion After the Fall) Multiply (07235) rabah speaks of numerical increase. "means to become numerous or great: it expresses God's original mandate for humans to multiply on earth (Ge 1:22, 28). It depicts the increase of Israelites in Egypt (Ex 1:10, 12); it refers to an increase in volume, extent, power, or influence (Ge 7:17, 18; Ps 49:16; Da 12:4). It is used for both animals and inanimate things (Ex 11:9; Dt 7:22; 8:13; Ezek 31:5). It refers to an increase or multiplication of time: days (Gen. 38:12); years (Pr. 4:10). It indicates in a comprehensive sense God's greatness over humans (Job 33:12). In the intensive or causative stems of the verb, it indicates the increasing or enlarging of someone or something: (Jdg 9:29; Ps. 44:12; Lam 2:22; Ezek 19:2). God makes His followers great (2Sa 22:36; Ps 18:35); the leaders of His people (1Chr 4:10). He increases in number persons, things (Dt 17:16; Hos 2:8). Adverbially (especially harbēh), it means to do something, to perform greatly (Amos 4:4). The phrase harbāh ʾarbeh means I will increase, multiply greatly (Ge 3:16; 16:10; 22:17). (Complete Word Study Dictionary- Old Testament) Desire (08669)(teshuqah) is a feminine noun meaning longing, urge, craving, desire and refers to an urge to control or dominate. In Genesis 4:7 the desire is that which sin has for Cain, a desire to control for the sake of evil, but Cain must have mastery over it. The meaning in Ge 3:16 is debated - Some feel teshuqah in Ge 3:16 refers to sexual desire, because the passage discusses the relationship of a wife to her husband, and also because teshuqah is used in a romantic sense in Song 7:10. It was used to describe the strong feelings of desire that one person had for another, but it was not always a healthy desire. As part of the judgment after Adam and Eve’s sin, God said that a woman would long for her husband (Gen. 3:16). People are not the only thing that can long: God told Cain that sin was lying at his door, desiring to enter (Ge 4:7). Teshuqah - 3x in the OT Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you." Genesis 4:7 "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." Song 7:10 "I am my beloved's, And his desire is for me. Related Resource: Susan T Foh What is the Woman's Desire? - Westminster Theological Journal 37, 1974/75 Rule (4910)(mashal) means to reign, or to have dominion over. Baker writes that "Although its general tone communicates leadership and authority, its specific nuance and connotation are derived from the context in which it appears. In the creation narratives on the fourth day, God created the great luminaries. The greater luminary was to rule the day, and the lesser was to rule the night (Gen. 1:18). It is also applied to people who rule: a servant over his master’s household (Ge 24:2); a king over his country (Josh. 12:5); or his people (Jdg. 8:22, 23); a people over another people (Jdg. 14:4). God is also said to rule over His people (Jdg 8:23); not over His adversaries (Isa. 63:19); over the nations (2 Chr. 20:6; Ps. 22:28[29]); over Jacob (Ps. 59:13); over all things (1Chr. 29:12)." Mashal - 73v - Usage: dominion(1), gain control(1), govern(1), had charge(1), have authority(1), master(1), obtain dominion(1), really going to rule(1), rule(27), ruled(5), ruler(18), ruler's(2), rulers(6), rules(9), ruling(3), wielded(1). Ge 1:18; 3:16; 4:7; 24:2; 37:8; 45:8, 26; Ex. 21:8; Dt. 15:6; Jos. 12:2, 5; Jdg. 8:22f; 9:2; 14:4; 15:11; 2 Sam. 23:3; 1 Ki. 4:21; 1 Chr. 29:12; 2 Chr. 7:18; 9:26; 20:6; 23:20; Neh. 9:37; Job 25:2; Ps. 8:6; 19:13; 22:28; 59:13; 66:7; 89:9; 103:19; 105:20, 21; 106:41; Prov. 6:7; 12:24; 16:32; 17:2; 19:10; 22:7; 23:1; 28:15; 29:2, 12, 26; Eccl. 9:17; 10:4; Isa. 3:4, 12; 14:5; 16:1; 19:4; 28:14; 40:10; 49:7; 52:5; 63:19; Jer. 22:30; 30:21; 33:26; 51:46; Lam. 5:8; Ezek. 19:11, 14; Dan. 11:3, 4, 5, 39, 43; Mic. 5:2; Hab. 1:14; Zech. 6:13 QUESTION - Why did God punish women with pain in childbirth (Genesis 3:16)? ANSWER - A woman’s pain in childbirth is part of the suffering brought into the world through sin. As a direct result of the original sin, Adam, Eve, and the serpent were all cursed in one way or another. Genesis 3:16 lists one of the judgments for Eve’s sin as pain in childbirth: “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children.” It appears that, even before the fall, there would have been some pain in childbirth. God says, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth” (ESV), using a Hebrew word meaning “to increase.” The pain of childbirth would be more than before. The pain was amplified. The pain in childbirth that Eve and all her daughters would experience involved more than the actual delivery of the baby. The phrase “painful labor” indicates that the whole process of childbirth, from conception to delivery, would include much difficulty. This judgment from God was meant to be one that every childbearing woman would experience. Pain in childbirth was placed on Eve and on every future mother. This pain serves as a universal reminder of God’s judgment for the sin Adam and Eve brought into the world. Of course, Adam did not experience the pain of childbirth. His judgment included a curse on the ground for his sake (Genesis 3:17–19). In the Garden of Eden, food was plentiful without laborious farming. But after his sin Adam spent the rest of his life working to provide food for himself and his family. While Eve’s judgment took place during the times she carried and delivered children, Adam experienced his judgment every day for the rest of his life. Interestingly, this judgment passage is immediately followed by Genesis 3:20: “Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.” Despite God’s judgment of painful and difficult childbearing, God gave His blessing to Adam and Eve in the form of children. Even in judgment, there is mercy. Eve took on the role of mother of all living; in the pain of childbirth, she would also receive a blessing. A further blessing, even in the face of the pain of childbirth, is found in the condemnation of the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15). This is a messianic prophecy, but it also contains an immediate focus: Eve will have children who will be in conflict with the serpent (Satan). This conflict between Satan and humanity has been ongoing ever since, and it began with Adam and Eve and their offspring (Genesis 4). Certainly, Genesis 3 does not provide every detail regarding why Eve was judged with increased pain in childbirth. However, we know that this judgment impacted the rest of Eve’s life and serves as an ongoing reminder of the far-reaching consequences of sin.GotQuestions.org QUESTION - How is a woman’s desire for her husband a curse (Genesis 3:16)? ANSWER - As God pronounces judgment on Eve for her part of the transgression in Eden, He says, “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you” (Genesis 3:16). This verse causes some puzzlement. It would seem that a woman desiring her husband would be a good thing, and not a curse. The Hebrew phrase in question does not include a verb and is literally translated “toward your husband your desire.” Since this judgment is predictive, the future tense verb “will be” is added for clarity: “Your desire will be for your husband.” The most basic and straightforward understanding of this verse is that woman and man would now have ongoing conflict. In contrast to the ideal conditions in the Garden of Eden and the harmony between Adam and Eve, their relationship, from that point on, would include a power struggle. The NLT translation makes it more evident: “You will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.” God is saying that Eve would desire to rule over her husband, but her husband would instead rule over her. Replacing the mutually interdependent relationship the Lord had created was a desire for one spouse to lead the other. Sin had wrought discord. The battle of the sexes had begun. Both man and woman would now seek the upper hand in marriage. The man who was to lovingly care for and nurture his wife would now seek to rule her, and the wife would desire to wrest control from her husband. It is important to note that this judgment only states what will take place. God says that man and woman will live in conflict and their relationship will become problematic. The statement “he shall rule over you” is not a biblical command for men to dominate women. In the New Testament, God affirms His ideal relationship between man and woman in marriage. Christ-like qualities are emphasized. What the curse of sin created, believers in Christ are called to correct by living according to God’s Spirit. Ephesians 5 says that the wife should willingly submit to her husband’s authority in the home, in essence, refusing to scratch the curse-fueled itch to seize control (verses 22-24). Husbands are to love their wives unconditionally and sacrificially, just as Christ loves the Church (verses 25-30). The whole passage begins with an emphasis on mutual submission to one another: “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (verse 21). From the beginning, God’s focus has been love and respect between husband and wife. Though sin has tainted the original beauty of this relationship, God commands believers in Christ to pursue this ideal relationship between husband and wife, an ideal perfectly illustrated in Christ’s relationship with the Church .GotQuestions.org QUESTION - What is the Adamic covenant? ANSWER - The Adamic Covenant can be thought of in two parts: the Edenic Covenant (innocence) and the Adamic Covenant (grace). The Edenic Covenant is found in Genesis 1:26-30; 2:16-17. The details of this covenant include the following: Mankind (male and female) created in God’s image. Mankind’s dominion (rule) over the animal kingdom. Divine directive for mankind to reproduce and inhabit the entire Earth. Mankind to be vegetarian (eating of meat established in the Noahic covenant: Genesis 9:3). Eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil forbidden (with death as the stated penalty). The Adamic Covenant is found in Genesis 3:16-19. As the result of Adam’s sin, the following curses were pronounced: Enmity between Satan and Eve and her descendants. Painful childbirth for women. Marital strife. The soil cursed. Introduction of thorns and thistles. Survival to be a struggle. Death introduced. Death will be the inescapable fate of all living things. Although these curses are severe and inescapable, a wonderful promise of grace was also included in the Adamic Covenant. Genesis 3:15 is often referred to as the “Proto-Gospel” or “First Gospel.” Speaking to Satan, God says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, / And between your seed and her seed; / He shall bruise you on the head, / And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Here God promises that one born of a woman would be wounded in the process of destroying Satan. The “seed” of the woman who would crush the Serpent’s head is none other than Jesus Christ (see Galatians 4:4 and 1 John 3:8). Even in the midst of the curse, God’s gracious provision of salvation shines through. GotQuestions.org Walter Kaiser - Genesis 3:16 Is Childbearing a Curse or a Blessing? If bearing children was declared a blessing from God in Genesis 1:28, why did God totally reverse this blessing as a result of the Fall? Indeed, the “pains,” a word which reappears in verse 17 in the curse on man as well, are said to have increased. But no pain had been mentioned previously; only a blessing. There is no doubt that this term refers to physical pain. Its root lies in a verb that means “to injure, cause pain or grief.” Whether the pain would lie in the agony of childbirth or in the related grief that accompanies raising that child cannot be finally determined; the text would seem to allow for both ideas. Katherine C. Bushnell, in God’s Word to Woman, suggests that verse 16 be translated differently since the Hebrew text could support such a reading. She noted that some ancient versions attached the meaning of “lying in wait,” “an ambush” or “a snare” to the word generally read as “multiply.” This idea of a snare or a lying in wait, however, may have been moved back to Genesis 3:15 from its more normal position in Genesis 3:16. Bushnell would render the opening words of verse 16 this way: “Unto the woman he said, ‘A snare has increased your sorrow and sighing.’” This translation is not all that different in meaning from the more traditional “I will greatly multiply … ” The difference between the two readings is found wholly in the interlinear Hebrew vowel signs which came as late as the eighth century of the Christian era. The difference is this (using capital letters to show the original Hebrew consonantal text and lowercase to show the late addition of the vowel letters): HaRBah AaRBeh, “I will greatly multiply,” and HiRBah AoReB, “has caused to multiply (or made great) a lying-in-wait.” The participial form ARB appears some fourteen times in Joshua and is translated as “ambush” or “a lying in wait.” If this reading is correct (and some ancient versions read such a word just a few words back in verse 15, probably by misplacement), then that “lier-in-wait” would undoubtedly be that subtle serpent, the devil. He it was who would increase the sorrow of raising children. This is the only way we can explain why the idea of “a snare” or “lying-in-wait” still clings to this context. But another matter demands our attention in verse 16, the word for conception. This translation is difficult because the Hebrew word HRN is not the correct way to spell conception. It is spelled correctly as HRJWN in Ruth 4:13 and Hosea 9:11. But this spelling in Genesis 3:16 is two letters short, and its vowels are also unusual. The form is regarded by lexical authorities such as Brown, Driver and Briggs as a contraction or even an error. The early Greek translation (made in the third or second century before Christ) read instead HGN, meaning “sighing.” The resultant meaning for this clause would be “A snare has increased your sorrow and sighing.” What difference does such a rendering make? The point is simply that this curse cannot be read to mean that the right to determine when a woman will become a mother is placed totally outside her will or that this function has been placed entirely and necessarily in the hands and will of her husband. Furthermore, it must be remembered that this statement, no matter how we shall finally interpret it, is from a curse passage. In no case should it be made normative. And if the Evil One and not God is the source of the sorrow and sighing, then it is all the more necessary for us to refuse to place any degree of normativity to such statements and describe either the ordeal of giving birth to a child, or the challenge of raising that child, as an evil originating in God. God is never the source of evil; he would rather bless women. Instead, it is Satan who has set this trap. The next clause strengthens the one we have been discussing by adding “in sorrow [or pain] you will bring forth children.” Once again note that bearing children in itself was a blessing described in the so-called orders of creation of Genesis 1:28. The grief lies not so much in the conception or in the act of childbirth itself, but in the whole process of bringing children into the world and raising them up to be whole persons before God. (Go to page 65 in Hard Sayings) Genesis 3:17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. Septuagint - to de Adam eipen hoti ekousas tes phones tes gunaikos sou kai ephages apo tou xulou ou eneteilamen soi toutou monou me phagein ap autou epikataratos (epikataratos: under a curse, yet more cursed: Gal 3:13+: "cursed is everyone who hangs..." Same word to describe Christ redeeming us from the CURSE of the law...how? by becoming a CURSE for us!!! To take away the curse on the earth!) he ge en tois ergois sou en lupais phage auten pasas tas hemeras tes zoes sou Septuagint in English: And to Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee of it only not to eat -- of that thou hast eaten, cursed is the ground in thy labours, in pain shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Because: 1Sa 15:23,24 Mt 22:12 25:26,27,45 Lu 19:22 Ro 3:19 and have eaten from the tree: Ge 3:6,11 Ge 2:16-17 Jer 7:23,24 cursed: Ge 5:29 Ps 127:2 Ec 1:2,3,13,14 2:11,17 Isa 24:5,6 Ro 8:20-22 In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life: Job 5:6,7 14:1 21:17 Ps 90:7-9 Ec 2:22,23 5:17 Joh 16:33 Genesis 3 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Genesis 2:16-17+ The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat (THE CLEAR COMMAND), for (THE CLEAR CONSEQUENCE) in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it' - This sentence begins with a term of explanation (because) which most often forces us back to the preceding context, but in this case is explained in the text that follows. God gives 2 reasons - (1) listening to your wife (2) overtly disobeying the command not to eat. God had made the command crystal clear Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life: The judgment on man involved his work: paradise would be replaced by wilderness, and the joy of ministry in the garden by the sweat and toil in the field. It is not work that is God’s penalty, because work is not sinful (Ge 2:15). It is the sweat and toil of work and the obstacles of nature that remind us of the fall of man. All of creation suffered consequences when Adam and Eve rebelled against the Lord. Ro 8:20, 22 tells us, “For the creation was subjected to futility ...for we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.” Fortunately, when the Lord returns he will lift that curse. Allen Ross has an interesting comment on the punishment - These punishments represent retaliatory justice. Adam and Eve sinned by eating; they would suffer in order to eat. She manipulated her husband; she would be mastered by her husband. The serpent destroyed the human race; he will be destroyed....No matter how hard people try to do away with male dominion, agonizing labor, painful childbearing, and death, these evils will continue because sin is present. They are fruits of sin. (See context in The Bible Knowledge Commentary) The full force of the Curse fell on Adam, as the responsible head of the human race, and on all his dominion. Instead of believing God's Word, Adam had "hearkened to the voice of his wife," and she had been beguiled by the voice of the serpent. It is always a fatal mistake to allow the words of any creature to take precedence over the Word of God. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. Can any of us reading this identify? I certainly can and I even had a medical degree, but so often was forced to struggle and toil and labor (and experience frivolous lawsuits)! When the Kinsman-Redeemer takes the Scroll, the Title Deed of the Earth, breaks its seals and then returns to planet earth, He will redeem the earth of this curse, as prophesied in Zechariah 14:11+ speaking of the Messiah's Millennial Kingdom - People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security. The Forest And The Tree Read: Genesis 3:17-24 | Blessed is the man who endures temptation. —James 1:12 (See Commentary) All of us have been so close to a temptation that we lost our perspective. It may have involved something as small as a rumor that we knew shouldn’t be passed along, but the urge to gossip blocked out our sense of love and good judgment. Adam and Eve faced a similar problem long ago. They became so preoccupied with one plant in their garden paradise that they couldn’t see the forest for the tree. Just look at what it cost them. The Garden of Eden had been created especially for them. In it they knew no evil, no trials, no sickness, no death. They enjoyed the company of the Creator Himself. Yet they gave up all they had just to eat of the fruit of that one forbidden tree. Their mistake still plagues us. How often do we miss the whole forest of God’s goodness for a single tree of testing? The moment of temptation seems so overwhelming, the idea so irresistible, our twisted logic so justifiable. Today, think about all that Adam and Eve left behind in the Garden. Fill your mind with the truths of God’s Word and rely on the Holy Spirit’s moment-by-moment guidance and strength. Then you’ll experience the joy of God’s blessing rather than temporary pleasure. HOW TO HANDLE TEMPTATION Seek God with your whole heart (Ps. 119:9-16). Listen to wisdom (Prov. 8:1-11). Resist the devil; draw near to God (Jas. 4:7-8). The way you respond to temptation will make you or break you. Genesis 3:18 "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; Thorns: Jos 23:13 Job 5:5 31:40 Pr 22:5 24:31 Isa 5:6 7:23 32:13 Jer 4:3 12:13 Mt 13:7 Heb 6:8 plants: Job 1:21 Ps 90:3 104:2,14,15 Ro 14:2 Genesis 3 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THORNS AND THISTLES THANKS TO ADAM! Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field - If you have ever had a thorn in your foot or finger, you have Adam to thank for it! And if you have ever tried to grow a beautiful lawn, you know the battle against the seemingly strongly weeds, especially the crabgrass variety! NET NOTE on plants - The Hebrew term עֵשֶׂב (’esev), when referring to human food, excludes grass (eaten by cattle) and woody plants like vines. Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return." By the sweat of your face: Ec 1:3,13 Eph 4:28 1Th 2:9 2Th 3:10 Till you return to the ground: Job 1:21 Ps 90:3 104:29 Ec 5:15 for dust: Ge 2:7 18:27 and: Ge 23:4 Job 17:13-16 19:26 21:26 34:15 Ps 22:15,29 104:29 Pr 21:16 Ec 3:20 12:7 Da 12:2 Ro 5:12-21 1Co 15:21,22 Genesis 3 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Genesis 2:7+ Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. LIFELONG TOILING FOR OUR FOOD By the sweat of your face you will eat bread - Sweat speaks of toil (a metonymy). At least God shows mercy and allow man to eat bread. He could have caused us to graze grass like He did with arrogant Nebuchadnezzar! (Da 4:33+) Solomon asked a Genesis 3 related question in Ecclesiastes 1:3 "What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun?" Till you return to the ground - Till is essentially a "time phrase." Signifies toil will be from our birth to our death (or the rapture if that comes first! Maranatha!). From dust and back to dust is man's fate! ESV STUDY note - The Bible looks forward to a time when nature will be set free from the consequences of human sin; i.e., nature will no longer be the arena of punishment, and it will finally have glorified human beings to manage it and bring out its full potential (Ro 8:19-22). (See context in ESV Study Bible) NET NOTE- Until you return to the ground. The theme of humankind’s mortality is critical here in view of the temptation to be like God. Man will labor painfully to provide food, obviously not enjoying the bounty that creation promised. In place of the abundance of the orchard’s fruit trees, thorns and thistles will grow. Man will have to work the soil so that it will produce the grain to make bread. This will continue until he returns to the soil from which he was taken (recalling the creation in 2:7 with the wordplay on Adam and ground). In spite of the dreams of immortality and divinity, man is but dust (Ge 2:7), and will return to dust. So much for his pride. In general, the themes of the curse oracles are important in the NT teaching that Jesus became the cursed one hanging on the tree (Gal 3:13-note). In his suffering and death, all the motifs are drawn together: the tree, the sweat, the thorns, and the dust of death (see Ps 22:15). Jesus experienced it all, to have victory over it through the resurrection. Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return. The Curse on Adam had four main aspects: (1) sorrow, because of the futility of endless struggle against a hostile environment; (2) pain, signified by the thorns; (3) sweat, or tears, the "strong crying" (Heb5:7) occasioned by the labor necessary to maintain life and hope; and (4) eventual physical death in spite of all his efforts, returning back to the dust. But Christ, as the second Adam, has borne the Curse for us (Ga 3:13): as the "man of sorrows" (Isa 53:3), wearing the thorns and suffering the greatest pain (Mk 15:17), accompanied by strong crying (Heb 5:7) to sweat drops of blood before being finally brought into the dust of death (Ps 22:15). Because He so suffered for us, someday God will dwell with men, and "there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain" (Rev 21:4). Indeed "there shall be no more curse" (Rev 22:3). The Curse thus applies to man and woman, the animals, and the physical elements: God's whole creation. It is so universal as to have been discovered and recognized empirically as a general scientific law, the law of increasing entropy ("in-turning"). This famous Second Law of Thermodynamics is sometimes also called the law of morpholysis ("loosing of structure"). It expresses the universal tendency for systems to decay and become disordered, for energy to be converted into forms unavailable for further work, for information to become confused, for the new to become worn, for the young to become old, for the living to die, even for whole species to become extinct. One of the most amazing anomalies of human thought is the concept of evolution, which has never been observed in action scientifically and is exactly the opposite of the universally proven scientific principle of increasing entropy. This theory is nevertheless believed to be the most fundamental principle of nature by almost the entire intellectual establishment. QUESTION - What does it mean when God tells Adam, “For dust you are and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19)? ANSWER - Genesis 2:7 teaches that God created Adam from the dust of the earth: “The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” After Adam sinned, God informed him that he will toil the earth his entire life. It will be frustrating and difficult. Ultimately, Adam’s lifelong work would end in death, and he would return back to the dust from which he was created. Death was the final consequence of Adam’s choice to sin. In Genesis 3:19, God tells Adam, “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (NKJV). God formed each element of creation with His word. He said it, and it was. But God specially formed Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Humanity is made from a combination of the earth and the life-giving breath of God Himself. The glory of God is found in His breath in us, while being made from the dust of the earth is a reminder of our lowliness and dependence on Him. God’s declaration to Adam that “to dust you shall return” is final and gave Adam a continual awareness that one day he would die physically. The curse of death that came to Adam was imparted to all humans who have lived since. Because of Adam, sin entered the world (Romans 5:12), all were condemned because of sin (verse 18), and death came to all humanity (verse 15; 1 Corinthians 15:22). All people are sinners (Romans 5:19) and will one day die and face judgment before God (Hebrews 9:27). The reality that “to dust you shall return” is for everyone. For those who trust in Christ, though, the curse of death will be overcome (Ephesians 2:1–10). Rather than fear death, believers have the assurance of eternity that fuels the way we live. Peter urges believers to remember that we are pilgrims and sojourners, and as such we are “to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11). The certainty that “to dust you shall return” should humble us to seek and follow God. Our time on earth is short compared to eternity. Paul calls our bodies “earthly tents” in 2 Corinthians 5:1. This world is not our permanent home, and our bodies are destined to return to dust. On earth we groan and are burdened. Yet resurrection and eternity with God in a heavenly dwelling are promised to those who belong to Christ (2 Corinthians 5:4). We cannot be so entangled in the affairs of this world that we miss out on what matters eternally. James also reminds believers, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). We are called to be Christ’s ambassadors, sharing the gospel with others and urging them to be reconciled with God (2 Corinthians 5:20). In light of the brevity of life, we should take account of how we live. Instead of living for ourselves, we should live for God and do good (James 4:16–17). “To dust you shall return” should impact how we live and what our lives are about. As pioneer missionary C. T. Studd penned, “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” God’s declaration to Adam that “to dust you shall return” still rings true for every person today. We all come from dust, and we will all return back to it. What happens in between matters. May we live our lives for His glory, in obedience to Him and telling others of the hope we have in Christ. May many turn to Him before it is too late.GotQuestions.org Genesis 3:20 Now the man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. The man: Ge 2:20,23 5:29 16:11 29:32-35 35:18 Ex 2:10 1Sa 1:20 Mt 1:21,23 of: Ac 17:26 Genesis 3 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries ADAM NAMES EVE THE LIFE-GIVER Now the man called his wife's name Eve - Her name means life or life giver, life-producer, life giving. Adam had originally called her ishshah(woman or "out of man") (Ge 2:23+). But he now calls her life producer or life giver after they have been told they will die! Because - Term of explanation, explaining why she is named Eve or "Life-Giver." Allen Ross sees this as a manifestation of Adam's faith writing "Adam's faith and God's provision are noted in these verses. God would save them and ensure that they would not live forever in this state. Adam's faith is seen in his naming his wife Eve (lit., "living"). Thus Adam was looking to the future and not primarily to death. Eve's faith is seen later (Ge 4:1) when she named her firstborn Cain because he was from the Lord." (See context in The Bible Knowledge Commentary) She was the mother of all the living - There were no children at this time, so this statement is apparently an editorial insertion by Moses, testifying that all mankind had descended from Adam and Eve. NET NOTE - The explanation of the name forms a sound play (paronomasia) with the name. “Eve” is חַוָּה (khavvah) and “living” is חַי (khay). The name preserves the archaic form of the verb חָיָה (khayah, “to live”) with the middle vav (ו) instead of yod (י). The form חַי (khay) is derived from the normal form חַיָּה (khayyah). Compare the name Yahweh (יְהוָה) explained from הָיָה (hayah, “to be”) rather than from הַוָה (havah). The biblical account stands in contrast to the pagan material that presents a serpent goddess hawwat who is the mother of life. See J. Heller, “Der Name Eva,” ArOr 26 (1958): 636-56; and A. F. Key, “The Giving of Proper Names in the OT,” JBL 83 (1964): 55-59. Ray