Adam’s Responsibilities Genesis 3:17-24

“For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression” (1 Tim. 2:13-14, NASB).

In last week’s article we raised the issue of Eve’s temptation in the garden. Our goal was to challenge a belief that has been used throughout history. This belief is that women are weaker than men, and women should not be allowed to hold positions of authority and leadership over men; especially in the church. We discussed what took place in the garden. The serpent deceived the woman and she ate fruit from the forbidden tree, and she gave some of the fruit to the man (Gen. 3:6). As many have interpreted this text, it is the woman’s fault that the man sinned. It is believed that women are easily deceived, and they are not to be trusted. On the other hand, we have taken a different approach. We believe that the man did not uphold his responsibility and as a results God sends him from the garden to the world. Genesis 3 is not about blaming women and keeping them in their place. Rather, it is God telling the man to take responsibility just as he had been given responsibility at the beginning. Before we get into the Genesis text let me tell about a personal experience.

One day after school was dismissed my brother and I are walking down the country road toward home. We meet a boy, and he is smoking a cigarette. My brother and I express alarm that the boy is smoking. The boy laughs, and he offers the cigarette to me. I stand there and look at him. Immediately, he offers the cigarette to my brother that is three years younger than me. My brother looks at me. I know that my brother is asking me if he should smoke or not. I simply look at my brother. I do not say anything even though I know that my brother should not take the offer to smoke. The young man continues to encourage my brother and me. I want to smoke, but I know that it would be wrong. The boy continues to offer the cigarette to my brother, and he encourages my brother to smoke. Eventually, my brother takes the cigarette and takes a puff. In the meantime I say nothing to discourage my brother. I allow him to take a puff of the cigarette. So, this is the question. Should I have said something to my brother three years younger? Am I culpable because I did nothing to help my brother out? My brother is guilty of breaking the rules of our parents. He smokes, but I do not. What was my responsibility if any for stopping my younger brother from smoking?

In hindsight, I believe that I was culpable for my brother’s actions. Yes, I thought about taking the boy’s offer to smoke, but I knew that it would be the wrong thing to do. I was three years older than my brother. I was about thirteen and my brother about ten years old. Psychologist that specializes in child growth and development confirm that I had the mental capacity to make a better decision than my brother. In addition, our parents held me responsible for the safety and well being of my brother. Yes, my brother also knew that it was wrong to smoke, but my brother looked to me for a response, and I gave him none. My brother of his own free will gave in to his temptation and smoked. Yet, at the same time I should have said something to warn my brother; to dissuade him from smoking.

Now, as we look at the Genesis text we can see that the man is there when the serpent is talking to the woman. “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate” (3:6). Did you get that? The man is standing there and he does not intervene on the woman’s behalf. He says nothing. When he sees the woman eat, he joins her in eating the fruit.

Now when we read the text at the beginning of the article we should carefully consider what the apostle Paul is saying. Paul is not saying that men are to control women and boss them around. Paul himself promotes the woman’s rights and abilities to participate equally and fully in the ministry of the gospel. In Romans 16 he mentions Phoebe and several other women that are in leadership roles in the ministry. Paul mentions Euodia and Syntyche, two leading women in the church at Philippi. The gospels tell us that there were women that traveled with Jesus and the twelve disciples.

So, let us return to our primary focus for this article. What responsibilities did the Lord give to Adam? In Genesis 3:16 the Lord tells the woman, “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you” (NASB). So, obviously the man has the responsibility to rule over the woman. However, it is this word “rule” that has been misused over the centuries. The Hebrew word is mashal. It means to have dominion, to reign, and to be governor over something or someone. We must ask this question. What are the responsibilities of the one that rules? Over the centuries men have used their position as ruler and governor to subjugate women, abuse women and assign them to limited roles in society so that men can satisfy their greed and lustful desires. However, Jesus gives us a different perspective on the rights and responsibilities of those that rule.

As just stated Jesus gives us the role of the one that has rule over others. The twelve are seeking to be the greatest in Jesus’ kingdom. There is fierce competition among them. Jesus responds by telling them that they are going about things according to the ways of the world. The world’s ways are not the ways of the Kingdom of God. “Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, ‘You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. ‘But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. ‘For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many’” (Mark 10:42-45, NASB)

In Genesis the man is given rule over the woman. This means that he is responsible for the welfare of the woman. She is not less than he in any way. “”For this reason a man shall leave father and mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (2:24, NASB). The man is given the responsibility to cultivate the ground so that he can be a provider of food for the woman. Why is the man given the responsibility for providing for the woman? Adam knew the answer. “Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

Now it might be easy for a woman to be a provider for herself and her children in today’s world. However, this was not the case in Adam’s day. The Lord drives the man and his wife from the garden. In the field the woman will give birth to her children. There are no infant formulas so the woman necessarily must feed her children by giving suck to the baby. It is literally impossible for the man to provide milk for the baby. The man must protect the woman and the children from the wild beast and wicked men encountered in the world. There is a distinct physical difference between the woman and the man because the dominant hormone in males is testosterone and the dominant hormone in females is estrogen. These hormones help to make males and females different in their physical characteristics and abilities. Studies have shown that hormones effect how males and females function differently. Although we see some women with physical skills like men, generally speaking, men are larger and stronger than women. God is not holding women back and God is not making the man more important than the woman. Rather, God assigns roles based on their abilities to function in ways that will be most beneficial for the human race; and the family and the community.

Today, we live in a world in which advancements have been made in almost every area of life. However, some things have not changed. Without infant formulas it is the woman that must provide food for the infant because men do not have the ability to produce and provide milk. We still live in a violent world. We are seeing that men still have the physical ability to physically abuse; even kill women. The woman’s need to protect her own life and the life of her children compels her to subject herself to the control and abuse of the man in her life. Instead, the scriptures teach us that men are to love their wives as Christ loves the church and gave His life for it (Eph. 5:25-27). “So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body” (Eph. 5:28-30, NASB).

God did not give the man the right to control and use and abuse the woman to satisfy his sinful desires. God did not give the man rights that are denied to the woman.

In God’s kingdom, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus all human beings are restored to their original relationship to God and their relationship to all people. It is time for all Christian men to take their responsibilities that God gives to them.