The Consequences Fit the Crime

After sin was conceived in the garden, Adam and Eve severed their intimate fellowship between God and one another as neither one wanted to take ownership of the sin that they had committed.  Not only did their act of sin, that began first in their hearts, have corporate consequences for mankind ,  the LORD God dealt with each of the culprits on an individual basis.

There were specific repercussions for each  individual offender based on their wrongdoing.  As the LORD approached them, Adam and Eve tried to hide the truth of what had occurred but God, like a methodical prosecuting attorney, asked a series of questions.  Although He already knew what had happened and how it occurred, because He is omniscient and omnipresent, He required an acknowledgement of their sin.

"What is this that you have done?"  The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

God knew that the serpent had seduced His child and so before ever dealing with the error of His children, He curses the serpent.

Because you have done this, cursed are you 

above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; 

on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat 

all the days of your life.  

I will put enmity between you and the woman, 

and between your offspring and her offspring; 

he shall bruise your head, 

and you shall bruise his heel."

God dealt directly with the perpetrator and confined him to a life of humility because he tried to usurp God's authority.  God went a step further and laid the decisive blow of the gospel by using the women, who the serpent had deceived, to bring the prophecy to fruition.

Next, God deals with the woman directly.

To the woman he said,

"I will surely multiple your pain in childbearing;

in pain you shall bring forth children.

Your desire shall be for your husband, 

and he shall rule over you."

Eve will pass on the curse of pain in childbirth to all of womankind due to her giving birth to the first sin.  The sin of the garden caused much pain in the heart of the Father but also for all of the earth.  She was the mother of sin in that as it was conceived, it gave way to the act of sin and so God dealt with her sin appropriately in that her consequence for sin fit the crime.

James 1:14-15

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Eve also influenced her husband to partake of the forbidden fruit and in this way she usurped his authority.  God punishes Eve by giving Adam authority to rule over Eve.

God is reestablishing order as He doles out these consequences.  He put Satan in his place by humiliating him to the lowly position and putting him under the control of His creation, He doesn't take away His command to be fruitful and multiply but shows us that when we sin the consequences to that sin will fit the action.  He reminds Eve that Adam was created first and ultimately will be held responsible as leader over his wife.

Last but not least the LORD God deals with Adams offense.

And to Adam he said,

"Because you listen to the voice of your wife 

and have eaten of the tree

of which I commanded you,

'You shall not eat of it,'

cursed is the ground because of you;

in pain you shall eat of it all the days 

of you life;

thorns and thistles it shall 

bring forth for you;

and you shall eat 

the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your face

you shall eat bread, 

till you return to the ground,

for our to it you were taken;

for you are dust,

and to dust you shall return."

In essence God is saying,  You made the decision to disregard my command as if you were in charge. So since you want to be in charge I will give you what you want but it will be difficult.

Stepping outside of God's ordained plan for our lives brings difficulty.  Like Adam and Eve our hearts want to usurp His authority and rule over our lives.  We walk on our own path and don't realize that God says, go right ahead.  He has given us free will because He loves us.  When we decide to be our own authority we must face the difficulties and specific consequences that come with our sin.

I, for instance, married a man who was an atheist.  In so doing I spent many years struggling with the reality of my decision, realizing that God did not owe me anything but I deserved to die in a stagnate marriage where there was a battle on every front.  But God in his mercy and love answered my years of prayers when my husband came home one night to declare, "He's the Man!"

He set up a rescue for my life but not before I had gone through a life living with the consequences of my sin.  He did the same thing in the garden.  Adam and Eve and even the serpent had to live with the consequences of their sin but God set up a rescue plan so that they were not left to their sin but He made a way of escape from their life of death.

Psalm 66:20

Praise be to God, 

because he has not reject my prayer 

or removed his steadfast love from me!

God you are so merciful, gracious and kind to us even in the consequences that you dole out in our lives because of our sin.  Your plan has always been to save us from ourselves and reestablish the bliss of the garden, where we have perfect communion with you.  Thanks be to Jesus who has taken on himself the curse of the garden, as he was crowned with the thorns that represented the curse that all of mankind would be under.

 You submitted Yourself to all of creation for our sake and we are so thankful that You did!