One of the most difficult questions that Christians are often asked is: How can there be suffering in a world created by an all-powerful, loving God?

Genesis 3:14–19 is the Bible’s first answer to this question. All the mess in our world, all the conflict and pain, is the direct consequence of human sinfulness. Some of the misery we suffer is the natural result of our brokenness. Some of it is the result of divine punishment for what we’ve done wrong.

In this passage, we encounter three words in biblical vocabulary that many of us may dislike:

• “cursed”, or condemned, judged (vv. 14, 17)
• “enmity”, or conflict (v. 15)
• “pain”, or suffering (vv. 16–17)

All these are introduced when God addresses those who have sinned against Him: the serpent, the woman, and the man. We now learn that God, along with being the powerful Creator, is also the righteous judge:

Judgment on the serpent (vv. 14–15): The serpent, who was craftier than any other animal, will be “cursed”. It will also face constant conflict with the offspring of the woman (see Revelation 12:17). The New Testament writers saw Jesus as the woman’s offspring who came to destroy Satan, the ancient serpent (see Hebrews 2:14; Romans 16:20; Revelation 20:7–10).

Judgment on the woman (Genesis 3:16): The woman will experience two specific consequences: pain in childbirth and conflict in marriage. Childbearing was one of the blessings pronounced in Genesis 1:28, and marital joy in 2:24–25. The Hebrew word translated as “desire” is very rarely used in the Bible, but it occurs again in Genesis 4:7, which speaks of sin’s “desire” to manipulate Cain. Genesis 3:16 reveals the first hint of conflict between a husband and wife, a conflict marked by the husband’s attempts to dominate his wife, and her attempts to manipulate him. This breakdown in the harmony between husband and wife is the result of sin.

Judgment on the man and his work (vv. 17–19): The garden had been the perfect habitat for mankind, but sin now brings the natural world under a curse (Romans 8:19–21). Food had once been abundant (Genesis 2:8–9, 16), but now, meeting their daily needs would require “painful toil” (3:17). Work as God’s gardener had been a joyful blessing (2:15), but now it has become frustrating labour (3:19, “the sweat of your brow”). Worst of all, the man (and woman) will now face the ultimate punishment—death. The man had been given the “breath of life” at his creation (2:7), but now he will return to the ground (3:19).

Today’s reading shows us that sin has consequences. It also shows us the righteousness of God’s judgments. He investigates everything carefully (vv. 8–13) before pronouncing each judgment, showing no favouritism and making sure that the punishment matches the crime (vv. 14–19).