The Curse of the Fall

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I’ve often heard that in the fall the man was cursed, the woman was cursed, and the serpent was cursed. The man was cursed in that, now he would have to work by the sweat of his brow; and woman, she would have pain in childbearing. The emphases of these normally being the work and the childbearing. But if we think about it, those two things were part of the blessing. God created mankind and blessed him with the privilege of taking dominion over the earth and multiplying and replenishing the earth. In that command/blessing, man was given a job (work) and woman was to bear children. This is important to recognize. Work is not a curse and neither is childbearing. The curse is that the work would be difficult and the childbearing would be painful. It’s important for us as parents to understand this as we work and teach our children about work. Work (and children) is a wonderful gift from God. We must see it that way. Otherwise, any or all work becomes drudgery and it becomes very difficult to honor God in our work.

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Published by Jeff Voegtlin

Dr. Jeff Voegtlin has been in Christian service for over twenty years. He is an associate pastor at Fairhaven Baptist Church in Chesterton, Indiana, and a Vice President of Fairhaven Baptist College. As conductor of the church and schools' orchestra program, and overseer of the educational program of the college, his teaching has helped to train hundreds of young adults to prepare for full-time ministry. After completing a bachelor's degree from Fairhaven Baptist College, he received a master's degree in Bible from Pensacola Christian College. In 2007, he completed the requirements to finish a doctor's degree in education from Bob Jones University. Dr. Voegtlin is available for seminars in instrumental and choral music practice and philosophy, for education seminars, and to preach and present the college ministry.

6 Comments

  2. Someone said (I think it is from a Catholic origin – but true nonetheless, believe it or not): To work is to pray. Work is a blessing from God and because God is a worker, and we are made in the image of God, then we must be workers also. Thanks for this post.

  4. Kent said “What has been…”

    Sorry, I can’t say the I have had a view on this part of the curse. I was just rambling on about a distinction that I thought should be made when we speak about work and childbearing.

    So, what has been your view on the last part of the woman’s curse?

    I guess that when I looked up the verses to make a reply to your comment, I thought, “Hmmm, I thought the woman’s desire and the man’s rule was part of creation, not the curse.”

  5. The Hebrew word for “desire” is the same one used to describe how sin behaves with Cain in Genesis 4:7. Sin wants to manipulate Cain. As part of the curse, she would want to manipulate her husband. Feminism. And he would rule over her. The word rule is not the ordinary word for rule, and this too is found in Genesis 4:7. It is despotic type of rule specifically. Chauvenism. Feminism and chauvenism, these two extremes, are part of the curse. the relationship between man and woman was cursed. The control of the Holy Spirit breaks the power of this curse (Eph. 5:18-31).

  6. I had heard somewhere about the desire being related to the same word as in the account with Cain, but I didn’t know what the meaning was. I’m glad that you pointed this out here. It helps my understanding of the Bible. Someday……. I’ll learn some more languages.

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