The Curse (KT 6)

Nakedness Produces Shame

Whereas in Genesis 2:25, they were naked without shame, now they are exposed. Their sin was of choosing to ignore God (Eve’s deception) and rejecting God (Adam’s willful choice) in favor of trust in themselves and physical creation. Their instinct now is to cover themselves because their very physicality motivated their sins. This aligns with Paul’s discussion in 2 Corinthians 5:1–4, where he contrasts the perishable body with the everlasting body:

We know that if the tent we live in—our earthly body—is torn down, we have a building from God, an everlasting home not made by human hands, secured for us in the heavenly realm. And in this present body, we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from above—our true, lasting body—because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we remain in this tent, we groan under the weight of our longing—not because we wish to be stripped of our body, but because we yearn to be fully covered, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

The shame—the unease and anxiety—they felt in nakedness was because they now sought to satisfy their longing for TGB through themselves rather than through God.

Genesis 3:8 continues the scene with a sense of God moving in the garden. Since God is spirit, this is not a physical movement rustling leaves. Rather, God’s presence is perceived inwardly, just as he speaks to the prophets in a still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12; Numbers 12:6). When Adam and Eve hear God, it is a relational call rather than an audible sound. They sense his presence and try to hide. But where could they go?

God calls out: “Where are you?” (verse 9)—not because he is unaware, but to prompt Adam to examine himself: Where is your heart? What have you done? Adam’s response acknowledges his newfound awareness: I was naked, so I hid. But again, where could he hide from God? As David later declares in Psalm 139:7–10: Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to heaven, you are there: if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. . . .

God presses further: “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree?” God ensures that Adam connects his awareness of nakedness to his disobedience.

Verse 12 is often misunderstood. Adam is not blaming Eve, nor is he blaming God for giving her to him. Rather, he is attempting to justify his decision:

• Adam loved Eve. He had rejoiced in her (Genesis 2:23) and bonded with her (Genesis 2:24).

• In his mind, he chose relationship with Eve over relationship with God—thinking that was what God wanted.

• His argument: God, you gave her to me. We were made for each other. Isn’t that what you wanted?

But Adam’s mistake was severing relationship with God—the very foundation of love and life itself. Without God, even his love for Eve would unravel. In trying to preserve his relationship with Eve, he undermined it instead.

Eve, however, does not attempt to justify herself. When God asks, “What have you done?” (verse 13), she responds simply: “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.” Unlike Adam, she acknowledges deception and wrongdoing.

Consequences For Satan

God does not interrogate the serpent—he immediately issues a curse. Unlike Adam and Eve, the serpent receives no invitation to respond. The curse extends beyond the physical snake to the spiritual force behind it:

• “Cursed beyond all livestock and wild animals”—a unique judgment setting it apart from all creation.

• “Crawl on your belly and eat dust”—not just about physical posture but symbolic of humiliation and defeat.

• This mirrors Satan’s fall from glory, cast down in disgrace.

Genesis 3:15 then presents one of the most significant statements in Scripture: “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

This isn’t merely a prophecy about Christ—it establishes the ongoing battle between those aligned with the deceiver and those faithful to God. The wording suggests that the victory will come through suffering—the serpent’s head will be crushed, but the offspring will be wounded in the process.

Consequences for the Woman

God tells the woman that childbearing will now be painful. But this is not an arbitrary punishment. Rather:

• “You will suffer greatly in pregnancy, and with painful labor, you will bring forth children.”

• This captures both the general hardships of pregnancy (‘itsavon’) and the acute pains of labor (b’‘etsev teledi).

The second consequence is relational struggle: “Your desire will be for your husband, but he will rule over you.”

Many assume this means that women will long for affection while men dominate. But the Hebrew parallel in Genesis 4:7 suggests a different meaning:

• Desire (teshuqah) = a longing to exert influence.

• Rule (mashal) = a response of domination.

Instead of mutual love and service, relationships will now be characterized by conflict—the woman seeking relational control, and the man responding with assertion of dominance.

Consequences for Adam

Adam’s punishment is tied to the ground:

• “Because you listened to your wife . . .”—not blaming Eve, but highlighting his failure to rule his own soul.

• “The ground is cursed because of you.” Now, dominion is reversed—the earth resists Adam rather than yielding to him.

• “By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food until you return to the ground.”

• Adam, formed from dust, will now return to dust—a complete undoing of his original design.

Yet, even in judgment, hope remains. Adam names his wife Eve (meaning Life), affirming that God has not abandoned humanity.

God Clothes Them—Atonement Foreshadowed

Then comes a striking moment: “And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.”

The garments replace the fig leaves—God provides what they could not. But this also foreshadows atonement:

• If animal skins were used, blood was shed.

• For the first time, death enters creation.

• This anticipates atonement—clothing that truly covers sin.

Yet, before Adam and Eve can continue in the garden, something else must happen. God declares: “Now that the human has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to reach out and take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.”

At first glance, this might seem like an act of protecting Adam and Eve from eternal corruption—but that isn’t the primary issue. The tree of life is not magical; it represents relationship with God. To allow them to eat while remaining focused on their own essence rather than God’s would mean God affirming a false relationship—one in which humanity lives by its own distorted perception of TGB rather than by God as the source of life.

If God allowed them to eat while he himself remained fully embracing, he would be validating sin as if it were still in relationship with him. This would compromise God’s righteousness—which is impossible. Therefore, removing them is necessary, not to punish them, but to uphold God's perfect righteousness in relationship.

Thus, God’s act is not about cutting them off from life entirely but ensuring that true life—life in restored relationship—remains possible. The cherubim do not destroy the way back; they guard it until redemption is fulfilled.

Conclusion

The garden is closed, but hope remains. The story of exile and return will shape the entire biblical narrative—culminating in the One who will bear the curse and reopen the way to life.