The Consequences of the Fall on Marriage
Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and shared it with her husband (Genesis 3:6), thus bringing a curse upon humanity, and upon the earth itself (Genesis 3:14–19). We face a number of consequences today as a result.
The curse of death
“For dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19).
Up to this point, man would not have died or faced illness and the aging process. Yet, because of this sin, the curse of sickness, a limited life span and the ultimate termination of life on earth began.
God had previously warned: “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17).
Pain in child bearing
“In pain you shall bring forth children” (Genesis 3:16).
The wonderful joy of giving birth to a child would now have the added dimension of physical pain.
Strenuous work
“In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread” (Genesis 3:19).
Prior to the fall, Adam’s job description was primarily to discover and enjoy what God had made. Now man would have to labor hard and long to make a living.
Strife and selfishness in marriage
After Eve’s fall in the garden (which resulted from her failure to consult with Adam about the serpent’s temptation and her disobedience to God), the Lord had something very important to say:
“Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” (Genesis3:16)
After Adam and Eve sinned, the battle of the sexes began! Understanding the word desire in verse 16 will make this point even clearer. This word is the same Hebrew word used in Genesis 4:7, where God tells Cain, “And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
This term desire comes from an Arabic root that means “to compel, impel, urge, or seek control over.” Sin wanted to master Cain, but God commanded Cain to master sin.
The beginning of women’s desire for liberation
In light of this definition of the word desire, the curse on Eve was that woman’s desire henceforth would be to usurp the place of man’s headship—and that he would resist that desire and would rule over her.
The start of male chauvinism
The Hebrew word for rule in verse six is not the same word used by God in Genesis 1:28 when He tells Adam to subdue the earth. Instead, it represents a new word of authoritarianism that was not in God’s original plan for man’s headship.
With the fall and its curse came the distortion of woman’s proper submissiveness and man’s proper authority.
At this point in history, women’s liberation and male chauvinism came into existence! Women have a sinful inclination to usurp the authority of men, and men have a sinful inclination to put women under their feet.
