Everyone is familiar with John 3:16.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

But over time, I began hearing wonderfu scriptural nuggets and they all ended in 3:16.  Now I’m not saying that there’s some secret code in the Bible although I’m not saying that there’s not.  The Bible is a treasure trove of wisdom and truth and promise.  It contains mysteries that are only revealed by God when we seek to know them.

So I thought, “What else does 3:16 have for us?”

Genesis 3:16
To the woman he said,
‘I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children,
yet your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.’

This is not my most favorite verse in the Bible.  As a mother of four, I can attest to the “pangs of childbearing”.

This is the part of “the Fall” narrative.  Here’s the short version of what came before:

In the beginning was God. God created everything (including Man in His own image) and it was good.  He blessed his brand new humans and gave them command over the Earth and every creature.  He gave man every seed bearing plant on the whole earth to eat.  (Gen 1:1-31)

He gave Man everything but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  If you eat the fruit of this tree, you die. (Gen 2:15-17)

But the crafty serpent (Satan) asked Eve if God really said what He said.  Satan called God a liar (“you will not surely die”) and said that God was holding out on them.  Eve then looked at the fruit and chose to trust Satan’s lies and her own senses over the words of God. Eve and then Adam ate the fruit and committed Man’s first (of many) violation of God’s commands. Their eyes were opened but not in a good way.  They hid from God.  They didn’t take responsibility for their actions and begin blaming others for their choice. (Gen 3:1-13)

Then came the punishment in the same order as the transgression; first to the snake, to Eve and then to Adam.  And they were expelled from their perfect home. (Gen 3:14-24)

Those are the facts Jack.  But in the middle of the curse the serpent is a kernel of hope.

Gen 3:15

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

So although the woman’s pains in childbirth will be severe, Eve’s offspring would crush the serpent’s head. This is the blessing in the curse.  Even though their punishment was just, God was at that moment (and from the beginning of creation) unfolding a plan to bring Man back to his perfect home and his perfect relationship with God.

Jesus was the offspring and He paid all the penalties of the transgression for all mankind by His death, burial and resurrection.   Where the curse brought death, Jesus destroyed death forever. Where sin separate man from God, Jesus is the bridge that brings us together again. (2 Timothy 1:9,10; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

Now I use to think, “Silly, Eve.  Listening to talking snakes and doing the one thing God told you not to do.  I would never do that.”  But I do it all the time.  Every time I know that God’s word says to love my neighbor and I instead judge them or steal from them or lie to them or about them, I choose to follow my own senses, flesh and understanding and not follow God’s words. Anytime I trust me over God, I fall into the serpent’s trap.

Silly Felicia!

Be blessed.