Have I ever mentioned how the Bible is full of great insight and wisdom? Of course I have, but here’s a new one that came to my attention. Not every theologian agrees with all the particulars, but this can be said of many other interpretations as well. So, here we go!
Genesis 3:16b notes some particular details regarding how Adam and Eve are punished for disobeying God. Here’s what is said…
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you. (Gen 3:16b NIV)
Now, in context, God is talking to Eve and has just explained how child birth will be painful. Then, God says the quote above. What is interesting, it that every version of the Bible I reviewed uses “desire” and “rule over”. If we look at the Greek definitions of the Greek words that have been translated, many theologians agree that “desire” and “rule over” are defined as follows from a fine explanation I found on the web…
When it says, “Your desire shall be for your husband,” it means that when sin has the upper hand in woman she will desire to overpower or subdue or exploit man. And when sin has the upper hand in man he will respond in like manner and with his strength subdue her, or rule over her.(a)
Doesn’t this sound like many marriage relationships today? The woman seems to run the house because she has succeeded at overpowering the man, or in harsher terms, exploited the man’s apparent passiveness. In
defense of this outcome, we could argue that “someone” has to take the reins! And the ladies did…
Men, we cannot be passive! Guess what? A certain man was passive in the Garden of Eden and didn’t step in to stop the serpent from tempting Eve with the fruit of the forbidden tree! You know, in Genesis 3 it reads, “She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” Adam, was there the whole time and just “let” Satan tempt Eve and break the one law God had put in place! Adam was passive! If Adam was to love his wife as Christ loved the Church, then Christ was surly NOT passive!
In the other scenario, often times the man becomes abusive. The man overpowers and subdues the woman. This action often happens emotionally and physically. Someone took charge, and the man did here…
What’s the problem? They are both unbiblical scenarios. We can try to justify one spouse “subduing and exploiting” another in a number of ways, but in the end, we are to be married and live as “one”.
Recall, in it’s entirety, that Paul writes in the New Testament that “women 
should submit (respect) their husbands, and husbands should love their wives as Christ loves the Church!” This scenario is peaceful and complementary to each spouse if applied in a biblical manner!
So, has your household fallen into the battle presented by God in Gen 3:16? Do you live as “one” or is the household being “ruled over” by one spouse?
Recognize the problem and seek to resolve it! One way is to submit your marriage to the authority of God. The next is to seek ways to enrich your marriage! Go to a Weekend to Remember conference or get away for a few days and talk about your marriage! Remember, the marriage you model will be the mold your children attempt to live.
God bless you!
Filed under: Challenge, Detailed Thoughts, Encouragement, Interesting Bible Insight, Life, Religion, Study | Tagged: Adam & Eve, desire, exploit, Genesis, marriage, overpower, rule over, subdue
Great insight! It’s been so long since I thought to ask for a better understanding of Gen 3:16b that I almost forgot the question. I appreciate you expounding on the verse.
Let me suggest another perspective. As it is written in Ephesians 5:22, 5:25, and 5:33, I understand these verses to be commands for action — be it “respect” to a husband or “love” to a wife. (By the way, a woman can certainly feel valued with her husband’s respect, and vice versa for the husband, but we can save that discussion for another time.)
So, how well are you both accordingly (and other couples can answer, too) fulfilling the commands for respect and love?
We took a marriage class at church a while back called “Love and Respect”, based on what you mentioned. Dr. Emerson Eggerichs is a great teacher.
http://www.loveandrespect.com
What do you believe caused this passiveness in men? I personally believe that the way that society’s making men look stupid is what’s done it. Men often feel like they have no worth and women, as you stated, due to the fall, are ready and willing to jump into that leadership vacuum.
I agree that society is playing a big roll. The last true father figure on TV that I’m aware of was Bill Cosby on The Cosby Show. Since then Homer Simpson has permeated the sitcom world. Seems like the sitcoms had to try and create a non-cartoon goof as the head of the family and things haven’t changed ever since.
So, what do you get? You get a society that thinks it’s “right” to belittle and disrespect dads, and a society that expects dads to be failures and nincompoops. Interesting how this flies in the face of the Biblical father figure. One of high stature and respect, one that leads and loves, one that teaches right from wrong and one that is the spiritual leader of the household.
So, is it any wonder that Satan would
1) Attack Genesis 1-3 and
2) Attack the basic family structure?
Tom & Jeff,
You may wish to check out this psychology article:
http://www.csulb.edu/~kmacd/361SEX.html
Near the middle of the chapter is this note:
“NOTE: Levels of testosterone are also influenced by the animal’s experience. Animals that have been repeatedly defeated in fighting have lowered testosterone, and winners have elevated testosterone as a result of their experience. This also occurs with humans: Winning an athletic event results in a surge in testosterone.”
Now certainly, the WHOLE chapter is quite an eye-opener — so if you start to read it, I encourage you to finish it. The writer suggests that surges of male and female hormones at particular points in the person’s life can have a significant impact on how boys & girls mature.
So, here’s a stab in the dark:
If boys today are given fewer outlets to express their aggressive behaviors, could this “lack of testosterone” in early childhood impact the mental development and maturation of boys? Could this contribute to the “passive men” you see today?
Brian
Hey B,
I don’t know if I even have to read the article to agree with the obvious possibility of this theory surrounding passiveness in boys today, BUT, I would add out of curiosity, that most boys today play video games where they win all the time. They quit and then start over till they win….etc
It’s seems to me that the study is even more valid considering “winning” in a video game doesn’t usually require any expenditure of energy as compared to a fight or a physical challenge…How do chemicals in the body react differently to these types of stimuli?
In the end we may never know. We can look back to Adam and see he didn’t “have” a childhood, nor brothers to wrestle with…was he passive partly due to these similar factors? Did God change the chemical reactions in our bodies somehow when we were cursed to no longer live forever? Intriguing things to consider.