Male Chauvinism, Liberal Feminism, and Genesis 3
"To the woman He said: 'I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.'"
-Genesis 3:16
If you have been a believer and regular church attender for a reasonable amount of time, you've likely heard a sermon or two on creation and the Fall of mankind. Genesis 3 should be a familiar chapter to most Christians as it records when everything was drastically changed.
Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit after giving into the temptation and 'Word twisting' of Satan, thus plunging all of mankind into the abyss of the sin nature. Everything was affected - man, animals, nature, the universe. Everything from physical health, to mental health, to natural and cosmic order became subject to the fallen nature and the curse of God for sin.
I've heard this passage preached many times in my life and I've also read it many times. As I have grown older and more aware of Scripture as a whole, I started to ask the question of Genesis 3:16 - "How is it a curse that women will 'desire' their husbands?" This sounds like a good thing! For the longest time, I was under the impression that this meant women would, generally speaking, have a physical and sexual desire for their husband, so much so, that they would not necessarily struggle with lusting after others, as many men do, and that they would be far less susceptible to 'cheating', adultery, etc. In other words, I thought this taught that women would be far superior then men when it came to being dedicated to a relationship. But, all it took was a little bit more digging into the issue, along with some grammatical study, to determine that this indeed was a curse after all - a curse so prevalent today that it was mind boggling how I missed it all these years.
One of the major clues into this curse is found in what is said just after "Your desire shall be for your husband..." The rest of that verse states, "and he (your husband) shall rule over you." At this point, we are left with the realization that this curse must have something to do with leadership roles and there being an issue in that realm. At this point, I will leave this passage here.
Upon further investigation into this word "desire," the Bible student is led only a chapter over to Genesis 4:7. In this passage, we have met Cain and Abel, the children of Adam and Eve, and Cain has murdered his brother in the field out of jealousy and rage. After the brothers had offered offerings to God, we are told that God accepted Abel's but He rejected Cain's, thus Cain's horrid actions. Within the context of Genesis 4 and what is revealed of Abel's faith in Hebrews 11, we gather that Abel's was accepted because He obeyed whatever parameters God had given them for offerings (although not recorded for us in Genesis.) Cain, on the other hand, simply brought what he felt like bringing. Perhaps God had already made it clear that with any offerings brought to Him, they must be the first fruits or the best. How else would Abel have known to do that? Abel brought the "first fruits" of his ranching animals while Cain simply brought "some" of his crop from farming. Abel's was accepted while Cain's was rejected.
I point us to this passage in helping us to interpret Genesis 3:16 because in 4:7 God tells Cain, "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it." God is calling Cain to live rightly and to obey Him. If Cain so chooses to not obey, sin is there at the door of his heart and sin's "desire" is to rule over Cain, but Cain should, instead, be the one to rule over his sin. The same wording and structure are used here as in Genesis 3:16. "Desire" is connected to being ruled over or seeking authority over another.
For all intents and purposes, grammatically speaking in the Hebrew, "desire for" is תְּשׁוּקָה ("tĕshuwqah"), a phrase used in BOTH 3:16 and 4:7.
In bringing this full circle and inserting the context and understanding of the term "desire for" in the Genesis 3:16 curse, we get the idea that from that point forward (including into today), this cursed world will include a broken relationship between men and women. Women will desire to have authority over men, including the desire to be what a man is and do what a man does. The natural, created order is totally disrupted. In turn, and as part of the curse, men are given the authority over women by God, and women will fight against this idea until sin is done away with and the world is made new.
We must, however, understand the original intent before sin: Man and woman were created as partners, companions. Man was created first, then woman was created to be his helpmate. Man was not the authoritative figure over the woman in the sense of a dictator or boss. Eve was created from Adam's side, showing that they were co-equals in status, however each was given a specific role. Man has a role and woman has a role. There is perfect harmony and balance when man acts like a man and woman acts like a woman.
Of course, we need not make this sound like we are piling upon women here.
God also continues His pronouncement of the curse in 3:17 and He calls out Adam in his fault: "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree....Cursed..." Adam was created first and therefore was divinely given the leadership role. Again, Adam was not Eve's boss or dictator, but he was given the role of spiritual and moral leader and protector in the family unit. When Adam failed in that role, both were culpable in the Fall due to both failing in their roles and ultimately disobeying God together (1 Tim. 2:13-14). Adam did not originally fail in that he was duped into eating the fruit first, rather, Adam failed to protect and lead Eve in that whole situation with the serpent, allowing Eve to take over his role, and the Fall came. In other words, Adam failed to step up and be a man! (This sounds all too familiar in our world today) Adam was originally called to take the moral and spiritual lead, yet he greatly failed (in 1 simple test!). Dr. John MacArthur states this another way: "Ultimately, the responsibility for the Fall still rests with Adam, since he chose to disobey God apart from being deceived."
What does all this mean for us today and for the purpose of this writing?
The Fall and subsequent curse given in Genesis 3, and particularly in verses 16-17, make clear for us several things:
1) Male chauvinism, sexual misconduct towards women, mistreatment of women, disparity and inequality with women (although not in terms of gender roles), mental/emotional/physical abuse of women, and the sexual objectifying of women all stem from the Fall and curse. Men "will rule over you (women)" and sinful man will regularly abuse that. It is a sad and disgusting reality that men abuse, misuse, mistreat, and objectify women, many men viewing women as nothing more than subservient objects of their own sexual pleasure. The heinous acts of reported groping, rape, "hush money" scams, etc. are all an unfortunate and grotesque bi-product of the Fall.
2) Feminism (NOT the fight for women's rights and equality), but the liberal feminist agenda, is a direct assault on the created order of God. The Feminist agenda has existed since the Fall and we have several examples throughout history as to what this movement does - it only destroys and causes chaos. In the Greco-Roman world during NT times, one of the many sexual deviations was a strong Feminist movement. Many women essentially wanted to be men. Women would go so far as to dress like men, endure weight training and wrestling-type sports with other men to match men in strength, practice transvestism, regularly practice divorce unashamedly (some were recorded of having as many as 25 husbands in a lifetime), openly practice prostitution, completely denying men altogether and turning to lesbianism, etc. Liberal feminism is also a product of the Fall.
3) The infamous 'Battle of the Sexes' stems from the Fall and curse in Genesis 3:16-17. Simply put, this is why husbands and wives don't always sing cumbaya (sp?) and get along. This is why marriages often have disagreements and sometimes heated debates and arguments. This is why we have in-house competition and 'one-upsmanship' in our homes between husband and wife. This is why, many times, couples divorce. It also needs to be mentioned that the whole mantra which we so often joke about, "Momma wears the pants in this family," is actually a skewed view of what God calls the marriage relationship and family unit to be. It actually is no joke but a sinful attitude to be under the impression that the husband must submit and be ruled by his wife, or she will throw a fit. On the other end of this spectrum, it is a sinful and misguided belief that the husband is to rule the household with an iron fist. The husband is not the dictator and his wife and kids should not live in a home of fear. The balance is found in love and servant-leadership. Both husband and wife are one together in submission and service to the other while the husband is to lead morally and spiritually in the home (Eph. 5).
How is this remedied in a fallen world?
a) Love Jesus and make Him the center of our marriages - a couple pursuing Christ together will end up growing in service and love for the other.
b) Be an active and regular repenter of wrong attitudes toward the opposite sex
c) Know your Bible. God's Word will direct your paths and change your thinking when it comes to how you are to view men/women, husband/wife (Ps. 119:105; Rom. 12:1-2).
d) CHURCHES - We cannot be afraid to preach God's truth about all of this. Call out male chauvinism and all the disgusting sin that comes with it. Call out the liberal feminism that exists today which is wreaking havoc on God's order and roles for man/woman and His roles for men/women in our churches. Preach clearly what a biblical, Christian family is to look and operate like. Get specific about what a husband is to do and what a wife is to do. Pastors, you may get blow back from the culture and from some in the church, but our job is to preach the whole counsel of God. In the End, we must answer to Him.
-Genesis 3:16
If you have been a believer and regular church attender for a reasonable amount of time, you've likely heard a sermon or two on creation and the Fall of mankind. Genesis 3 should be a familiar chapter to most Christians as it records when everything was drastically changed.
Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit after giving into the temptation and 'Word twisting' of Satan, thus plunging all of mankind into the abyss of the sin nature. Everything was affected - man, animals, nature, the universe. Everything from physical health, to mental health, to natural and cosmic order became subject to the fallen nature and the curse of God for sin.
I've heard this passage preached many times in my life and I've also read it many times. As I have grown older and more aware of Scripture as a whole, I started to ask the question of Genesis 3:16 - "How is it a curse that women will 'desire' their husbands?" This sounds like a good thing! For the longest time, I was under the impression that this meant women would, generally speaking, have a physical and sexual desire for their husband, so much so, that they would not necessarily struggle with lusting after others, as many men do, and that they would be far less susceptible to 'cheating', adultery, etc. In other words, I thought this taught that women would be far superior then men when it came to being dedicated to a relationship. But, all it took was a little bit more digging into the issue, along with some grammatical study, to determine that this indeed was a curse after all - a curse so prevalent today that it was mind boggling how I missed it all these years.
One of the major clues into this curse is found in what is said just after "Your desire shall be for your husband..." The rest of that verse states, "and he (your husband) shall rule over you." At this point, we are left with the realization that this curse must have something to do with leadership roles and there being an issue in that realm. At this point, I will leave this passage here.
Upon further investigation into this word "desire," the Bible student is led only a chapter over to Genesis 4:7. In this passage, we have met Cain and Abel, the children of Adam and Eve, and Cain has murdered his brother in the field out of jealousy and rage. After the brothers had offered offerings to God, we are told that God accepted Abel's but He rejected Cain's, thus Cain's horrid actions. Within the context of Genesis 4 and what is revealed of Abel's faith in Hebrews 11, we gather that Abel's was accepted because He obeyed whatever parameters God had given them for offerings (although not recorded for us in Genesis.) Cain, on the other hand, simply brought what he felt like bringing. Perhaps God had already made it clear that with any offerings brought to Him, they must be the first fruits or the best. How else would Abel have known to do that? Abel brought the "first fruits" of his ranching animals while Cain simply brought "some" of his crop from farming. Abel's was accepted while Cain's was rejected.
I point us to this passage in helping us to interpret Genesis 3:16 because in 4:7 God tells Cain, "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it." God is calling Cain to live rightly and to obey Him. If Cain so chooses to not obey, sin is there at the door of his heart and sin's "desire" is to rule over Cain, but Cain should, instead, be the one to rule over his sin. The same wording and structure are used here as in Genesis 3:16. "Desire" is connected to being ruled over or seeking authority over another.
For all intents and purposes, grammatically speaking in the Hebrew, "desire for" is תְּשׁוּקָה ("tĕshuwqah"), a phrase used in BOTH 3:16 and 4:7.
In bringing this full circle and inserting the context and understanding of the term "desire for" in the Genesis 3:16 curse, we get the idea that from that point forward (including into today), this cursed world will include a broken relationship between men and women. Women will desire to have authority over men, including the desire to be what a man is and do what a man does. The natural, created order is totally disrupted. In turn, and as part of the curse, men are given the authority over women by God, and women will fight against this idea until sin is done away with and the world is made new.
We must, however, understand the original intent before sin: Man and woman were created as partners, companions. Man was created first, then woman was created to be his helpmate. Man was not the authoritative figure over the woman in the sense of a dictator or boss. Eve was created from Adam's side, showing that they were co-equals in status, however each was given a specific role. Man has a role and woman has a role. There is perfect harmony and balance when man acts like a man and woman acts like a woman.
Of course, we need not make this sound like we are piling upon women here.
God also continues His pronouncement of the curse in 3:17 and He calls out Adam in his fault: "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree....Cursed..." Adam was created first and therefore was divinely given the leadership role. Again, Adam was not Eve's boss or dictator, but he was given the role of spiritual and moral leader and protector in the family unit. When Adam failed in that role, both were culpable in the Fall due to both failing in their roles and ultimately disobeying God together (1 Tim. 2:13-14). Adam did not originally fail in that he was duped into eating the fruit first, rather, Adam failed to protect and lead Eve in that whole situation with the serpent, allowing Eve to take over his role, and the Fall came. In other words, Adam failed to step up and be a man! (This sounds all too familiar in our world today) Adam was originally called to take the moral and spiritual lead, yet he greatly failed (in 1 simple test!). Dr. John MacArthur states this another way: "Ultimately, the responsibility for the Fall still rests with Adam, since he chose to disobey God apart from being deceived."
What does all this mean for us today and for the purpose of this writing?
The Fall and subsequent curse given in Genesis 3, and particularly in verses 16-17, make clear for us several things:
1) Male chauvinism, sexual misconduct towards women, mistreatment of women, disparity and inequality with women (although not in terms of gender roles), mental/emotional/physical abuse of women, and the sexual objectifying of women all stem from the Fall and curse. Men "will rule over you (women)" and sinful man will regularly abuse that. It is a sad and disgusting reality that men abuse, misuse, mistreat, and objectify women, many men viewing women as nothing more than subservient objects of their own sexual pleasure. The heinous acts of reported groping, rape, "hush money" scams, etc. are all an unfortunate and grotesque bi-product of the Fall.
2) Feminism (NOT the fight for women's rights and equality), but the liberal feminist agenda, is a direct assault on the created order of God. The Feminist agenda has existed since the Fall and we have several examples throughout history as to what this movement does - it only destroys and causes chaos. In the Greco-Roman world during NT times, one of the many sexual deviations was a strong Feminist movement. Many women essentially wanted to be men. Women would go so far as to dress like men, endure weight training and wrestling-type sports with other men to match men in strength, practice transvestism, regularly practice divorce unashamedly (some were recorded of having as many as 25 husbands in a lifetime), openly practice prostitution, completely denying men altogether and turning to lesbianism, etc. Liberal feminism is also a product of the Fall.
3) The infamous 'Battle of the Sexes' stems from the Fall and curse in Genesis 3:16-17. Simply put, this is why husbands and wives don't always sing cumbaya (sp?) and get along. This is why marriages often have disagreements and sometimes heated debates and arguments. This is why we have in-house competition and 'one-upsmanship' in our homes between husband and wife. This is why, many times, couples divorce. It also needs to be mentioned that the whole mantra which we so often joke about, "Momma wears the pants in this family," is actually a skewed view of what God calls the marriage relationship and family unit to be. It actually is no joke but a sinful attitude to be under the impression that the husband must submit and be ruled by his wife, or she will throw a fit. On the other end of this spectrum, it is a sinful and misguided belief that the husband is to rule the household with an iron fist. The husband is not the dictator and his wife and kids should not live in a home of fear. The balance is found in love and servant-leadership. Both husband and wife are one together in submission and service to the other while the husband is to lead morally and spiritually in the home (Eph. 5).
How is this remedied in a fallen world?
a) Love Jesus and make Him the center of our marriages - a couple pursuing Christ together will end up growing in service and love for the other.
b) Be an active and regular repenter of wrong attitudes toward the opposite sex
c) Know your Bible. God's Word will direct your paths and change your thinking when it comes to how you are to view men/women, husband/wife (Ps. 119:105; Rom. 12:1-2).
d) CHURCHES - We cannot be afraid to preach God's truth about all of this. Call out male chauvinism and all the disgusting sin that comes with it. Call out the liberal feminism that exists today which is wreaking havoc on God's order and roles for man/woman and His roles for men/women in our churches. Preach clearly what a biblical, Christian family is to look and operate like. Get specific about what a husband is to do and what a wife is to do. Pastors, you may get blow back from the culture and from some in the church, but our job is to preach the whole counsel of God. In the End, we must answer to Him.
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