Commentary - Genesis 3:14-19

Bird's-eye view

In Genesis 3:14-19, we have the formal sentencing that follows the crime. God, acting as the righteous judge, addresses each of the culprits in turn, beginning with the serpent, then the woman, and finally the man. But this is no ordinary sentencing. Right in the middle of the pronouncement of the curses, God embeds the first proclamation of the gospel, what theologians call the Protoevangelium. He declares a perpetual state of war between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, a war that will culminate in a crushing head-blow for the serpent and a painful heel-wound for the woman's seed. This passage, therefore, sets the stage for the entire biblical story of redemption. The curses on humanity, painful as they are, describe the broken world into which the Savior will come, and they explain precisely why we need Him. The remainder of the Bible is the outworking of this foundational promise and conflict.

The curses themselves are not arbitrary. They are tailored to the nature of the sin and the sinner. The serpent is humbled, the woman's calling in childbearing and marriage is filled with sorrow and strife, and the man's calling to work and keep the ground is turned to toil and futility. All of it culminates in the sentence of death, a return to the dust from which man was made. This is a bleak picture, but it is a realistic one. And it is a picture that is immediately illuminated by the bright hope of a promised conqueror who will crush the serpent's head.

Outline

Context In Genesis

This passage is the direct and immediate consequence of the Fall, described in Genesis 3:1-13. Adam and Eve have sinned, their eyes have been opened, their fellowship with God has been broken, and they have attempted to hide from Him. God has come to them in the cool of the day, not with ignorance, but with interrogatives designed to bring about confession. After their pathetic attempts at blame-shifting, God now moves from cross-examination to sentencing. These verses are the judicial foundation for the state of the world as we know it, a world groaning under a curse, yet a world in which a promise of redemption has been sown. Everything that follows in Genesis, and indeed in the rest of Scripture, unfolds under the shadow of this curse and in the light of this promise.

Key Issues

Commentary

14 And Yahweh God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than any of the cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life;

God begins with the instigator. The serpent is not asked any questions; he is a liar and the father of lies, and there is nothing to be gained by interrogating him. The judgment is immediate and severe. The curse is pronounced first on him because he was the first in the transgression. He is cursed "more than" all other animals, indicating a unique level of abasement. This is not just about snakes. The physical serpent was the instrument, but the curse strikes through the animal to the dark spiritual power behind it, Satan. The command to go on his belly and eat dust is a sentence of ultimate humiliation. In the ancient world, to eat dust was a metaphor for utter defeat and subjugation. This is a picture of the final destiny of the devil, who, despite his pride, will be brought to the lowest possible place.

15 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 is the gospel in its first, embryonic form. God himself declares war. This is not a natural antipathy that people have toward snakes; this is a divinely initiated and supernaturally sustained conflict. God says, "I will put enmity." This is the great antithesis that runs through all of human history. It is a war between two lines, two posterities. The "seed of the serpent" refers to all those who follow in his rebellion, whom Jesus would later call a "brood of vipers." The "seed of the woman" refers ultimately and singularly to the Lord Jesus Christ, born of a woman without the seed of a man, but it also includes all those who are united to Him by faith.

The climax of this war is described in terms of two blows. The seed of the woman, "He," will bruise the serpent's head. This is a fatal, crushing, decisive blow. It speaks of total victory. The serpent, in turn, will bruise the heel of the woman's seed. This is a painful, injurious wound, but it is not a mortal one. This is a stunningly accurate prophecy of the crucifixion. At the cross, Satan struck the heel of Christ, inflicting suffering and death. But in that very act, Christ was crushing the serpent's head, disarming the principalities and powers and triumphing over them. The resurrection was the proof that the head had been crushed.

16 To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain and conception, In pain you will bear children; Your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”

Now the Lord turns to the woman. Her punishment fits her crime and her calling. Her glory was to be a mother of nations, to fill the earth with godly offspring. The curse twists this high calling. God does not introduce pain into childbirth, but rather says He will "greatly multiply" it. The joy of conception and birth will now be mingled with deep sorrow and pain.

The second part of the curse addresses the marital relationship. "Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." Given the context of sin and judgment, this is not a romantic desire. The language here is almost identical to the language used in Genesis 4:7, where God warns Cain that sin's "desire is for you, but you must rule over it." The desire, therefore, is a desire for mastery, a desire to usurp, to control, to have her own way contrary to her husband's. It is a lust for control that is the essence of her original sin, now written into her fallen nature. The corresponding judgment is that "he will rule over you." The beautiful, pre-fall headship of the man is now distorted by sin. Because of her sinful desire to contend for leadership, his leadership will now often be felt by her as a harsh or domineering rule. The harmony of Eden is replaced by a battle of the sexes.

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 pain you will eat of it All the days of your life.

Finally, God addresses Adam. The charge against him is precise: "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife." His sin was not simply eating the fruit; it was an act of abdication. He was the covenant head, tasked with guarding the garden and his wife. When the serpent came, Adam stood by passively. He followed his wife into sin instead of leading her in righteousness. He hearkened to the creature over the Creator. Because the head has fallen, the curse falls upon everything under his dominion. "Cursed is the ground because of you." The whole created order is subjected to futility because of its federal head (Rom. 8:20). His work, which was to have been joyful cultivation, will now be characterized by "pain" or sorrowful toil.

18 Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field;

The curse on the ground is now specified. The earth itself will resist his efforts. Instead of yielding its fruit willingly, it will bring forth "thorns and thistles." This is a picture of cosmic disorder. The very ground from which man is to get his sustenance will now fight back. Thorns become a potent symbol of the curse throughout Scripture, so much so that when the true seed of the woman comes to undo the curse, He wears a crown of thorns, bearing the curse for us. Furthermore, man is demoted from the rich fare of the garden to eating the "plants of the field," the common vegetation that requires hard labor to produce.

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.”

Work itself is now cursed. It is not that work is a curse; work was given before the Fall. But now, it is characterized by "sweat." It is toil, frustration, and exhaustion. And this toil will define his life until the very end. The final sentence is death. God had warned, "in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." That sentence is now formally pronounced. You came from the dust, and because of your rebellion, you will return to the dust. This is the final wage of sin. Apart from the intervention promised in verse 15, this is the final word for all humanity: toil, sweat, and a return to the dust.

Application

This passage is not ancient history; it is the diagnosis of our current condition. We live in a world of thorns and thistles, of marital strife, of painful labor, and of death. We must not be surprised by this. This is the world as the Bible describes it. But more than that, we live in the midst of the great war declared in verse 15. The enmity between the two seeds is the central conflict of all history, and there is no neutral ground. You are either of the seed of the woman, united to Christ by faith, or you are of the seed of the serpent.

The application for us is therefore twofold. First, we must recognize the nature of the curse in our own lives. We see the desire for usurpation and the harshness in rule within our marriages. We feel the futility and sweat in our work. We face the reality of death. This should drive us to humility and to a desperate need for a savior. Second, we must take our place in the battle, knowing that the decisive victory has already been won. Christ has crushed the serpent's head. Our task now is to live in light of that victory, to fight as those who are on the winning side, and to proclaim the good news of the promised seed who came to undo the curse and bring us back to God.