Eve’s particular area of responsibility, the bearing of children: “I will
greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring
forth children” (Gen. 3:16).
A third aspect of the curse was to introduce pain and conflict into
the relationship between Adam and Eve. Prior to their sin, they had
lived in perfect harmony, yet with a leadership role belonging to
Adam as the head of his family. But after the Fall, God introduced con-
flict in that Eve would have an inward urging and impulsion to oppose
Adam, to resist Adam’s leadership (the verb teshûqåh), and Adam
would respond with a rule over Eve that came from his greater
strength and aggressiveness, a rule that was forceful and at times harsh
(the verbmåshal). There would be pain in tilling the ground, pain in
bearing children, and pain and conflict in their relationship.
It is crucial at this point for us to realize that we ourselves are never
to try to increase or perpetuate the results of the curse.We should never try to
promote or advocate Genesis 3:16 as something good! In fact, the
entire Bible following Genesis 3 is the story of God’s working to over-
come the effects of the curse that He in His justice imposed.
Eventually God will bring in a new heaven and a new earth in which
crops come forth abundantly from the ground (Isa. 35:1-2; Amos
9:13; Rom. 8:20-21) and in which there is no more pain or suffering
(Rev. 21:4).
So we ourselves should never try to perpetuate the elements of
the curse! We should not plant thorns and weeds in our gardens, but
rather overcome them. We should do everything we can to alleviate
the pain of childbirth for women. And we should do everything we
can to undo conflict between men and women. Therefore Genesis
3:16 should never be used as a direct argument for male headship in
marriage. But it does show us that the Fall brought about a distortion
of previous roles, not the introduction of new roles. The distortion
was that Eve would now rebel against her husband’s authority and that
Adam would misuse that authority to rule forcefully and even harshly
over Eve.^23
- The restoration.When we come to the New Testament, salvation
in Christ reaffirms the creation order. If the foregoing understanding
42 BUILDINGSTRONGFAMILIES