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.” 20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. 22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:17-24

In verses 17–19, we see God’s curse on Adam. What was meant to be a good gift from God is now cursed. Work was originally intended to be easy and enjoyable, but because of sin, it is now riddled with weeds, thorns and the challenge of cultivation. And all this came “because you have listened to the voice of your wife…” (v. 17).

Ladies, did you know that your husbands aren’t always supposed to listen to you? I know, right? That’s a tough pill to swallow. But God didn’t give us a voice so our men would follow our commands. He gave us a voice to encourage and lift them up.

Adam could have chosen to obey God and not partake of the fruit, but instead, he followed Eve’s lead. It was the beginning of disobedience. Adam remained silent rather than standing up, leading and acting as the man God created him to be.

Imagine if, when the serpent approached them in the garden, Adam had used his unique gift of leading and cultivating and Eve had used her unique gift of helping and encouraging. If both had followed God’s will, united in their roles as husband and wife, we probably wouldn’t be in this sinful mess right now. We would still be in Eden—crushing it. No painful childbirth, no hard work.

But here we are. And whether we like it or not, life is hard. Everything it offers —work, home and everything in between requires effort.

In verses 20–21, Adam names his wife Eve, the mother of all living, and God makes garments of skins and clothes them. This is an early glimpse at the gospel. God looked at Adam and Eve, and even though they deserved death—and God deserved a total humanity do-over, He showed them mercy.

Even though they single-handedly and completely ruined all of humanity, God said I am going to redeem this. First, he paid for their sin by sacrificing animals, and then he covered them with garments made from that sacrifice.

For God to do this, death had to occur and blood had to be shed. Up to this point, no blood had ever been shed. This was the beginning of death—our death. Before this, we were created to live eternally with God, immortal souls. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and took that first bite, our clocks started ticking.

In verse 23, God cast Adam and Eve out of the garden, knowing that, because of their sinful nature, they would be too tempted to stay away from the tree of life. If they had eaten its fruit, they would have lived forever condemned, with no hope of a second chance. It was out of God’s kindness and mercy that He separated Adam and Eve from that tree by casting them out of Eden. He protected the garden gates with cherubim and flaming swords so that no one could enter. What seemed like a death sentence was, in reality, God’s love, protection and mercy toward Adam and Eve.

In Genesis 3, we see four key elements: In verse 8, we observe God’s desire for a relationship with us as He calls out Adam and Eve by name in the garden. In verses 14–19, we witness His firm and just rule and judgment over us. In verses 20–21, we see His sacrifice for us and in verses 22–24, we recognize His kindness and mercy toward us.

God desires a relationship with us. He is firm and just with us. He sacrificed everything for us. And He is kind and merciful to us.

Can you recall a moment when it felt as though God was punishing or abandoning you, but now you recognize the kindness and mercy He was showing you? Just as Romans 2:4 reminds us, it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance—not His judgment.

A relationship with our heavenly Father outweighs every other relationship. From the beginning, it has always been God’s design to be in relationship with us—to walk through life with our Lord and Savior by our side. God has given us the redemptive gift of His Son, Jesus, so that we can have a “do-over” and live with Him for eternity.

Believe that today, ladies, and walk in the knowledge that He desires a relationship with you—His daughter. Amen