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Genesis 3:16
Lesson # Genesis 3:16
Study Material - Genesis 3:16
You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
Gen. 3:16
16 To the woman He said, 'I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you shall bring forth children; yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.'
God continues to place reminders before us. So far in Genesis we have the reminders of the universe around us as to the existence and work of God. We have the reminder of the Sabbath and the importance of peace in our life and how it is acquired through Bible doctrine. We have the reminder of the constant battle between good and evil. Good is from God of course, and anything that is not from God is evil.
Now we have the judgment on the woman. But the judgment did not terminate the life of Eve, nor end the existence of the human race, but it was a curse on the child birth process and the pain that goes with it. This reminder will extend throughout all of human history, and will bring attention to its source which is the initial sin of Eve in the Garden. Her sin was of ignorance, but her motivation was for pleasure and her trap was her pride. Both of which came from her apathetic attitude toward Gods teaching.
In pain the woman will give birth. In fact in pain she will experience the whole pregnancy process as well as non-pregnancy process of the monthly cycle. It is a monthly reminder of the humility of the menstrual process, the pregnancy process of enlargement, which some consider unattractive, but certainly it makes life more difficult, especially in the latter months. If you are female and been pregnant, then you know that a sneeze while in the last couple of months can send you to the little girls room. Your bladder just hasn't enough room to share with all the other overhead of the pregnancy. So it is miserable, embarrassing, annoying, and so forth. Then the birth itself calls for pain killers, unless you are really tough. Now I have been through several births and it did not bother me a bit, but I did not dare tell my wife that she could handle it. Her reaction would probably have shortened my life!!!
This sorrow which the woman experiences throughout her life, was brought about by sin. Sin is the producer of sorrow. Nothing good ever comes from sin. But even God has seen fit to end this sorrow with menopause. God always has a solution to pain and agony. He does not extend it unnecessarily.
God will multiply her pain. The entire process of the sexual apparatus, the birthing, the rearing of children, the loss of the father of the children for what ever reason, usually falls back on the woman. Today there are a lot of single parents, mostly women. Sure men have this obligation and there are single men parents too, but this is not the issue as to who is rearing the children. The children can turn out good or bad, but too they will have their problems as they grow up. And this eventually falls back on the parents in some fashion. Difficult times in life, such as bad economics in ones life, the loss of a job, a war, a major accident. Any difficulty is made even more difficult when children are involved because there is that additional responsibility. A person on their own can more easily weather a storm. But a person with a child has a more difficult time, with baby sitters, work interruptions, sicknesses, personal problems and the list goes on. So the pains are multiplied and because the woman is the lessor of the sexes the pain is greater on her. I need to define 'lessor' before people get to bent out of shape.
Before defining lessor, though, lets finish the verse. She is placed under the authority of the husband, and her desire shall be for him. This is not really a punishment unless in arrogance a woman feels humiliated by the thought of it. Then the punishment is from her own attitude and not God. So why did God make such an assignment? Eve demonstrates that she is a responder, while Adam demonstrates in his failure that he is an aggressor. She acted without thought. He acted with thought. There are many contrasts between man and woman which I know you all are aware of, but the short list is the soft curves of the woman vs. the muscular appearance of the man. Generally the size of the woman is smaller than the man, and so forth. You can add to the list. IQ is excluded from this list, because it is a function of the soul, and not the biology of the body. There are lots of women that are much smarter than men. But that is not an issue in this verse analysis either.
The issue is of the structure of the soul, and the foundation of the security of the human race. God established authority to secure the human race, not destroy it. God is the ultimate authority with man responsible to God. On earth the woman is placed into subjection to the man for the purpose of securing the marriage and the family. Children are responsible to the parents, teachers, laws, and so forth. Where there is respect for authority there is stability. Where there is disrespect for authority there is tyranny and chaos. God established authority, or the principle of it to counter the effect of sin which was introduced into the world. Eve disregarded Gods authority, and that of the man, and sin was introduced. The result was disaster for mankind, sin and death. Eve responded to her own desires, apart from God's desires for her own good. Thus this is the weakness which makes her the lessor of the two sexes. We know that all things work together for good, so this punishment is designed not to destroy, but to preserve and remind us to get back to God when we stray away from Him.
Later, man will get his own reminder which is circumcision. And that will be a daily reminder every time a man goes to the bathroom. Because he will be holding in his hand the principle of faith. God has a sense of humor too!!!
Her desire will still be for her husband despite all the humiliations and pains she goes through. The woman can disregard the sorrow for the pleasure she receives from her husband. And she should receive pleasure from her husband. Notice that Eve sought pleasure on her own and received sorrow. God disciplines her with sorrow and produces pleasure. God can always turn cursing into blessing. Nothing is impossible for God.
Now the woman is designed to be the responder and the man the initiator. When a woman responds properly, then she is in a stable environment within her soul. When she reacts to things there is aggression and negative results occur. All this needs to be placed in the perspective of the Bible and then life. Man as the initiator acts in aggression, and that is normal. But in the act of a response, the man is weaker. Now I need to explain. This is not justification for a bar room brawl, or for an extremely submissive woman. Think in the perspective of Bible doctrine. Everything God creates is part of our reminder of Him. And as a result of that reminder we should be directed back to God, so we can stay on track in our spiritual life. Given these reminders of the two different functions of the sexes, we can apply both attitudes to each of our individual lives.
With doctrine and spiritual growth in ones life, whether male or female, you will function properly in life. A woman will respect her husband and respond to him without humiliation. The picture of sex is her opening up to him, and surrounding him in her protection. The woman with doctrine will also defend her home aggressively, and fight tooth and nail any who threaten her family, her livelihood, and so forth. These are not contradictions in character, but proper application of doctrine. The woman without doctrine will be competitive in a negative sense. She can be flawed in her character to the extremes in both directions. Super weak, or super aggressive, with her own self pity of lust driving her. When doctrine is absent, then the function of ones character is short circuited and runs in error.
The man likewise without doctrine can be a wimp or a bully. He will be unstable and inconsistent. With doctrine he will have a sense of responsibility and use his authority in proper fashion and not in tyranny or unfairness. He will use diplomacy in his dealings with others and his wisdom will make his life all that much easier.
These concepts both apply to the woman and the man. For both can experience both aspects of these soul functions when they are outside of Gods will. Only in doctrine is there stability and proper function of ones soul.
So in her punishment, God has defined boundaries for the woman, but the mans boundaries are defined as well. These boundaries are designed to keep our focus on God and to provide incentive to study His Word and advance in our spiritual growth. Thus getting us back inside the place of Gods provision, where we should be. Adam and Eve were inside the Garden. The best of all possible places to be. They lost that advantage, but God has created a way for us to get back into that environment within our soul, and that is through spiritual maturity. The next lesson is the mans turn to screw up.
Now is the time to post a prayer.
End Of Lesson
Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.
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