PART I: God's perfect will revealed in the light of paradise
Premise: In the beginning God did not give Adam dominion over the woman . . . please read on . . .
Passages of Scripture examined in this post are:
Genesis, chapters 2 & 3 (KJV or ASV)
Genesis 1:26-28 (note: bible verses are listed after each set of facts)
FACT 1---- The word "man" in verse 26 represents "humankind" and is not speaking of Adam alone. As the Word of God always interprets itself, the context is speaking of both Adam & Eve and is understood by the word "them" in all of the verses below. Four times (4x) the word "them" is used concerning God's will for both Adam & Eve.
FACT 2 Both Adam and Eve were made in the image of God
FACT 3 God told both Adam and Eve (them) to be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue it, and have dominion over all the earth.
1:26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
1:27 And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
1:28 And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 2:18 - 25
FACT 1 God searched for a compatible companion for Adam, but He found none that was suitable for him in all His creation. Thus, the woman is made from Adam's rib, from his side, to be side by side with him.
FACT 2 In verse 24 the relationship of the man to the woman is clarified. Adam was to "cleave" or rather "be joined" to the woman, and not to usurp authority over her. Neither Adam nor Eve usurped authority over the other.
2:18 And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.
2:19 And out of the ground Jehovah God formed every beast of the field, and every bird of the heavens; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them: and whatsoever the man called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
2:20 And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the heavens, and to every beast of the field; but for man there was not found a help meet for him.
2:21 And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof:
2:22 -25 and the rib, which Jehovah God had taken from the man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And the man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
PART II: God's perfect will lost in the darkness of sin
THE CURSE
FACT #1---- Anyone claiming to have dominion over another, whose claim is solely based on gender, and is propagated in the name of God is wrong. The need for this type of control is fleshy and the work of a fallen humanity.
FACT 2 ---- Much that has been taught concerning the story of Adam and Eve has been premised on speculation, and not fact.
Gen 2:9 And out of the ground made Jehovah God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Gen 2:17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
The devil then tempts Eve to eat of the fruit of the tree.
Gen 3:2 - 6 And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.
At this moment both spiritual and physical death entered the human race, and Adam, Eve, and all of creation fell under the curse of sin. By this transaction of accepting the devil's offer, the whole earth fell under Satan's dominion. They lost their original spiritual life with God and any hope of eternal life. For God said,
Gen 3:22 - 23 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. Simply put, God could not allow this state of corruption to live forever. He would need to redeem man from the curse through Jesus Christ.
THE AFFECTS OF THE CURSE ON ADAM & EVE
Please note when reading the following account that the curse is a result of sin and not a conscious act of God or a commandment of God to cause humanity to suffer. When you come to the words "I will" please keep in mind the following information:
"Active verbs were used by the Hebrews to express, not the doing of the thing, but the permission of the thing which the agent is said to do” (Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible, 823).
Gen 3:16 -19:Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy conception; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 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; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 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.
In other words for the woman:And though your desire will be for your husband, yet he will dominate you.The word "desire" means longing or craving. Some bibles have added footnotes to state that this desire means women want to have control over men.
This is mere speculation, there is no indication in the verse that this is the case. Some also suggest that God was speaking to Eve and it was Adam who would exercise control over Eve. Anything is possible, however, I hope I have demonstrated here that the need of some men to control women and take authority over them is not the work of God, but the result of the curse of sin.
