The Symbolism of the Curse
an experiment with scripture
This is a continuation of an experiment to see if the curse in Genesis may mean more than what meets the eye. In this blog, I’ll examine possible literal and metaphorical meanings for the curse. In case, you didn’t read the blog before this, here’s a link.
What if the curse not only told Adam and Eve about how difficult their lives would be but also has a message for God’s people throughout history? What if men, women, snakes, difficult ground, childbearing, and thistles also serve as a prophecy about Israel, Christ, and the church? After all, the curse is poetic.
Does that idea make you squirm? Why?
We have no problem seeing the prophetic symbolism of the serpent crawling on its belly and eating dust. We don’t believe this to mean that snakes have lost their legs and now literally eat dust. We understand this to mean that Satan and sin will have limited movement and/or will be earthbound. We also have no problem seeing the woman’s offspring crushing the head of the serpent metaphorically. We know it’s talking about Christ conquering chaos, sin, and death through His suffering, death, and resurrection. Likewise we understand that thistles and thorns don’t just mean literal thorns and thistles but the consequences of sin in earthly hardships.
If we understand these parts of the curse as symbols, why then do we take other parts of the curse so literally? We believe the rest of the curse is merely saying that childbearing hurts, men rule women, and the ground is a hard place to work. Could it be that while God meant the curse to mean something literally for Eve and Israel, it may symbolize spiritual realities for the Church?
Biblical Symbolism
To see what the curse might symbolize for the Church, let’s think like poets. Let’s see how the Bible uses the symbols of serpents, men, women, childbearing, thistles, and the ground in other places?
In the Bible, the serpent is used to describe Satan, the powers of darkness, &/or chaos (Rev. 12:9, Luke 10:19). I’m going to try using it to mean chaos, sin and death.
Women are frequently used to symbolize God’s people, i.e. Israel and the Church (Ezekiel 16, Jer 2:2, Eph 5:26, Rev 12:17; 21:2). Women are also symbolic of wisdom and folly, but if you try putting those meanings into the curse, it doesn’t make sense.
Head could mean leader/authority, origin, source, or family representative. (See Biblical genealogies, Isaiah 7:8-9, Ezekiel 16:25, Ezekiel 21:21, Col 1:18, 2:10, 2:19, Eph 4:15, Eph 5:23, 1 Cor 11:3). I believe the Greek word for “head” may mean something different than the Hebrew word for “head.” I think either definition works in understanding the meaning of the curse, but I’m going to use authority in this case.
Heel was tricky for me. Heel is used when talking about running away or stomping on something. So maybe it symbolizes the part of us that crushes the serpent or the last part of us to leave (Judges 5:15, Job 18:11, Hab. 3:5, John 13:18).
Childbearing is used to describe how we are reborn as children of God (Romans 8:18-23, John 3:3).
Man is often synonymous with all mankind, human strength, or the temporariness of human existence (Psalm 8:3-4, Jer 17:5, 1 Cor 16:13, Psalm 1:4, Psalm 103:15).
The ground is used to describe both the conditions of our hearts and the conditions of the world in receiving the Word of God.
Thorns and thistles might be unbelievers or the works of the flesh (Isaiah 27:2-5; Matthew 24:1-8, 24-30, 36-43).
Bread is used to symbolize our daily food or in this case, Christ (Mat 26:26, John 6:35).
Garments are used to symbolize the righteousness of the Church (Rev 19:7-8).
Let’s plug these definitions into the curse like it’s an algebraic equation and see if it works. “Sigh” I love math.
Genesis 3:14-19 NIV
So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
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.”
To the woman he said,
“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit 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 to dust you will return.”
Possible Symbolism
The Serpent will crawl on its belly and eat dust = Chaos, Satan, and sin will have limited movement and existence. Chaos, Satan, and sin will be earthbound.
Enmity between the serpent and the woman = There will be a continuous conflict between Satan/chaos/sin and Israel.
Enmity between serpent’s offspring and woman’s offspring = More conflict between the generational effects of Satan/chaos/sin and the offspring of God’s people, i.e., the Church. Consider how the New Testament calls us Abraham’s children.
He will crush the Serpent’s head; he will strike his heel = Jesus will crush the authority of chaos/sin/death. But by crushing chaos/sin/death, Jesus will suffer chaos/sin/death as he departs this world to return to the Father. (See Luke 10:18-19)
The next part of the curse is addressed specifically to the woman, I.e., Eve, Israel, or the Church.
Childbearing labor increases = The work to be born again into God’s kingdom will be painful. I think Eve and Israel wouldn’t be able to understand this part of the curse metaphorically. They’d have to take it literally. I think we can take it both literally and figuratively.
Your desire will be for your husband, but he will rule over you = Wouldn’t you like to know what this means? Sorry, my explanation became too long, so I put it in the next blog. Find the link at the end.
God addresses this next part of the curse to man, i.e., all humanity, temporary human existence, or human strength:
The Ground becomes hard to work = Human hearts are hard at receiving the gospel. The world also is a difficult place for the Church to work and grow. The lower-case “c” church is also a difficult place to work and grow. Also nuclear families are difficult places to work and grow.
The ground produces thorns and thistles = Thorns and thistles could represent unbelievers, enemies of God, &/or the works of the flesh. Thus the places worked by human strength produce unbelievers, enemies of God, and works of the flesh.
Man will live off the plants of the field = whatever we sow, we will reap and live off that. Sorry, that was using a metaphor to explain a metaphor. If we live by the flesh, we produce works of the flesh and survive by the flesh. If we live by the spirit, we produce works of the spirit and survive by the fruit of the spirit.
By the sweat of your brow, mankind will eat bread = Maybe through this difficult work, we will eat the bread of life, i.e. Christ in us.
Man will return to dust = What is fleshly will have a physical death.
Dust you came; to dust you will return = Our fleshly bodies and sin natures must return to the dust because that’s where they came from.
After the curse, Adam names Eve the mother of all living things = Okay, this is a shot in the dark. Over time, maybe mankind will discover God’s people have the source of eternal life.
Finally, Adam and Eve are sentenced out of the garden where God makes man and woman garments = We are sentenced to this painful life apart from God while God uses this painful life to dress us up with Christ. Christ being manifested in us covers our shame and makes us fit for God’s presence once more.
Put it All Together
Let me put it all together for you now minus the part about men ruling women.
Chaos, Satan, and sin will be earthbound. God’s people will constantly be in a battle against Satan, chaos, and sin. Jesus will crush the authority of chaos/sin/death. But by crushing chaos/sin/death, Jesus will suffer chaos/sin/death on his way out of this world.
The work to be born again into God’s kingdom will be painful. [Women will desire their husband but he will rule over her]
Human hearts are hard at receiving the gospel. The world, our hearts, churches, and families are difficult places to work and grow. If mankind lives by the flesh, they produce works of the flesh. If they live by the spirit, they produce works of the spirit. Eventually, through this suffering to produce something, we will eat Christ body. Eventually, what is fleshly will have a physical death. The works of the flesh will die because fleshly bodies and sinful natures are earthbound.
Over time, humans will discover God’s people have the source of eternal life. This time of being on earth—cast out of God’s presence—is the time when God clothes us in His righteousness. Christ being manifested in us covers our shame and makes us fit for God’s presence once more.
Fascinating, isn’t it? This turns the curse into a prophecy of hope rather than words of doom and gloom. Wanna read more?
To read about the symbolism of “He will rule over you,” click the link below after 12/17 week.
Interesting thoughts