Curses? I think not.

As I have deeply studied the so-called "curses" it's clear to me that the ONLY "punishment" that was given out to the woman - was pain in childbirth. The other things, when viewed properly, can only be categorized NOT as punishments, but as lessons. 6000+ years of "You're grounded until you understand just what it is you have done wrong!" if you will indulge me in the word picture.

The woman was deceived - She was able to be so easily deceived because she had desire of something beyond what G-d had given her - she had a lack of faith. G-d had told her, "Don't do this, or you'll die." But then all she needed was to have just ONE dare to dispute this. This was enough to cause her to take a second look at the tree. At this point she saw that it was good for food, nice to look at, and .... the ultimate clincher for a woman - - - "the tree was to be desired to make one wise"

Think about it carefully. If the woman had ***known herself*** well enough to know that she desired wisdom, and she had coupled that with a ***true trust and faith*** in Yahweh, she would not have broken Yah's Law!!! Wisdom, ALL through the Scripture, is a feminine connotation. The Greek word for wisdom is - Sophia. Proverbs calls wisdom "she". When the wisdom side of Yah is revealed, it is always spoken of in feminine connotation. Eve thought she needed something that was already available to her, in its ultimate form. D U H ! ! ! Does this reaction of Eve not follow EVERYTHING you know about women? That whole "Gimme mooooorrrrrreeeeeeee!" response. My husband has a saying - it goes like this. "Give me ....; Get me.....; Buy me.....: You're as bad as a woman!" He's right. That's how women are. I’m a woman. I know.

Now - about the man. I get the impression he was standing there, or was nearby at least. I also get the impression he just . . . blindly, like a child, took the fruit and ate it. No questions asked. No thought to the command of Yah. No thought to protecting his wife. No thought to dying. No thought to anything. Does this reaction of Adam not follow EVERYTHING you know about men? Just a "deer in the headlights" cave man reaction. "Pretty female give Adam yummy fruit. <crunch> Mmmmm." sort of response.

The woman was given four consequences to deal with.

JPS Gen 3:16 Unto the woman He said: 'I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy travail; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.'
1. A multiplication of pain in "travail" - or her work/toil/efforts - physical or mental effort expended to produce something.

A "binding" lesson - She's going to have to work harder now to accomplish anything - no longer is it just handed to The Princess on the proverbial silver platter. She has to be more consumed now with daily tasks in order to accomplish anything. She won't be causing so much trouble if she's having to spend her time doing this rather than looking for MORE. Woman will eventually learn to be content and happy with what she is given.

2. Pain in childbirth

A direct punishment - This one is self explanatory.

3. A desire for her husband

A "grace" lesson - This is a type of grace. When one looks at the "curses" given to the male, this one given to the woman certainly creates a modicum of peace. Can you imagine how war-like a marriage would be if at least one of the two were NOT of this mindset? Sheesh - you think you argue now, take this one out of the equation and murder of spouses would be the norm! Without this desire women would rarely ever commit to marriage. Their desire would be for much different things. Additionally, this lesson shows us that should woman's desire have been for G-d to begin with (where desire belongs) we might not be in this mess. Women, while your first desire is for your man, this lesson was put in place to teach us that our REAL first desire should be for our FATHER - as we were created to be. Woman sinned to begin with because her desires were for MORE than she perceived she was getting. Learn quickly to be content, to be patient, and to love with everlasting love! Stop abusing your gifts that were freely given to you! You were created to help your man, NOT control or manipulate him. Stop forcing men to be your emotional servants and learn your lessons well!

4. Husband will rule over her

A "binding" lesson - Apparently women have an inherent NEED to be supervised, or they do things like disobey G-d and listen to those who would harm her and those she loves.

Now these last two also seem to be added responsibilities for the man! We have no evidence that man was responsible to do any "ruling over" the woman before the fall. So can we safely say that it was also a combined "curse" for him? Additionally, have you ever been someone's "desire"? It's GREAT when you want it, but pretty burdensome when you don't.

Now for the Man.
JPS Gen 3:17 And unto Adam He said: 'Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying: Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.'
1. The ground is cursed

A punishment of another - The Earth was cursed because of Man's sin. Men, how does this make you feel? Because of man's unthinking response to being offered the fruit, the ground was CURSED!! This is directly the result of man's sin. Realize that when you sin, others suffer!

2. Work to eat

A "binding" lesson - Before the fall man's work was pleasant (Gen. 2:15; 20). No longer is food given freely but must be worked for, and no longer is the work pleasant. The entire connotation of "work" changed, thus the lesson of being content is eventually learned. Don't dismiss G-d's gracious gifts to you, or they will be removed.

3. Thorns and thistles will be the produce

A direct punishment - For all the work (toil/travail) one does for food, the result will be thorns and thistles. It will always be an ongoing fight against the prickles of utter frustration to simply EAT. Again here we see the reversal in the connotation of "work". Work is not only no longer pleasant, it is often futile.

4. Eat from the field (VS eating from the garden.)

A "binding" lesson - Make your own darn garden now! You didn't appreciate the one given to you, perhaps you will appreciate one you work for yourself.

5. Return to dust

A direct punishment - This is to go "backwards" in creation. This is also the death of the physical body, IMO.

6. The woman's desire for her husband

A responsibility - Some men may consider that this is more a direct punishment than a responsibility. Now there is no more "cleaving together" (a mutuality) ONLY (Gen 2:24) . . . man must now deal with being the near obsession of fallen womankind.

7. Ruling over the woman

A "binding" lesson; A responsibility - Let me give you a piece of good advice, men. If you want women to be what G-d created them to be for you (your help meet) then stop treating them as you would your ox. Women are not here for your pleasure only, and you have no right to treat them like property. They ARE your equal. Take the yoke off, and let her bloom in your love for her. You'll get more of what you truly desire from a woman. The next thing I want to point out about this one is the word ***RESPONSIBILITY***. The fallen male has made this "ruling over" a god-given RIGHT to ***power***, and not a responsibility. Men seem to think that since women needed some supervision they have G-d's permission to be a tyrant over the women.


Ladies, we definitely got the better end of all of this. While we have to deal with the lessons and punishment of men in an ancillary way, men must deal with our lessons in a direct way. On the other hand, we can see clearly that we all endure all of the "curses".