GENESIS 3
14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspringand her offspring;
he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be foryour husband,
and he shall rule over you.”17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it, ’cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
– Genesis 3:14-19
GENESIS 3 SUFFERING AS A RESULT OF SIN
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
The Lord God created humans to have a relationship with him
But the serpent thwarted that plan and enticed them to sin
Because God is righteous and loathes sin, he can’t condone it
There has to be a consequence to such acts of disobedience
Now, the creatures have to face the result of their rebellion
Suffering became that painful aftermath from such insurgence
They will no longer have the privilege of God’s presence
Each of them will experience a certain pain and anguish.
Many unbelievers ask the question “If your God is so good, why does he allow suffering?” Only those who believe and serve God will be able to accept that suffering is part of this world, where Adam and Eve were banished. They forfeited their perfect life being with God’s presence and the purity that came with it when they were created. They are now corrupted by sin and view God differently. The fact that they hid from God after the disobedience showed that “fear” came into their hearts. It was originally filled with love. As the book of John says, perfect love casts out fear. John also says that God is love so, when they sinned, they encountered fear and cannot see God. They hid because of shame for what they have done. They can no longer perfectly love the Lord because they now love themselves more than they loved God. As a result, they began to hide in shame and did the blame game, pointing at each other which one started it all. As an aftermath of that first sin, each of them received a certain form of suffering. The serpent has to crawl on his belly and eat dust and his head shall be bruised by the offspring of the woman. This refers to Mary giving birth to Jesus who will defeat him. To Eve, the curse was labor pains in childbearing and her desire to overpower her husband. To Adam, he will have to work the ground that is full of thorns and thistles to be able to find nourishment. They all suffered as a result of sin.
REFLECTION
- Name some kinds of suffering that results from sin. Is God right to punish such evil?







