Sweat and Shame

Genesis 3:17-24

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it.’ Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and dust you will return.” Adam named his wife Eve, because she was mother of all the living. The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

As I sit and reflect on Adams punishment, I can’t help but notice the dramatic difference between his and Eves punishment. What sticks out to me most is that even though Eve was the one who led their family away from God, Adam was the one who got the harsher sentence. This makes me understand that our husbands feel the heavier weight of our consequences. They pay the cost over who and what we let influence our hearts. He tells Adam, “Cursed is the ground because of you.” We as helpers hold a responsibility to keep our husbands safe too. In Gods eyes, our husbands are at fault even when we allow ourselves to be led astray. “Through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.” Men don’t experience the temporary pains of childbirth or have to be ruled over but for all the days of their life they have been cursed.  As a godly woman, I feel this strong desire to be obedient to the Lord, especially if my husband will also have to pay for the consequences. It’s not just me who is effected by my disobedience but it’s also my family. Lastly, we see how God still protects us even after we’ve become his enemy. He uses the animals he provided as a sacrifice to clothe us. He also takes the tree of life away from us so that we would no longer be allowed to live forever. With the punishment we’ve been given who would want to live forever. God knows that we’d be tempted to eat from the tree of life so he decided to place cherubim and a flaming sword to guard us from it.

God really is a loving Father. 1 Corinthians 13:5, Paul says that love keeps no record of wrongs. This is the kind of love I think of when I think of our loving Father. Even after we’ve sinned against God, He doesn’t hold our mistakes against us. Instead, he offers us a chance of redemption. I urge you to declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God sent Him from the dead. This is your only chance at redemption, to be in loving relationship with our Creator.

Heavenly Father, I am sorry that things didn’t work out the way you intended. I pray that you continue to show us mercy and give us what we need to believe in our hearts. Soften us, help us protect our men, lead us to you. I thank you for being a merciful Father, for still wanting a relationship with us after betraying you. Thank you for giving me another chance. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

https://coe22.com/devotional/stand-firm-with-gretchen-martin-w1d5/