18 January 2010 Devotion for Today

Monday, January 18, 2010

9:34 AM

^{15 And I will put enmity}

      Between you and the woman,

      And between your seed and her Seed;

      He shall bruise your head,

      And you shall bruise His heel."

^{16 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 3:15-16)

 
 

 
 

David Shepherd is a biology professor at Southeastern Louisiana University. In an experiment he conducted, he put rubber reptiles on or near reads and watched how 22,000 motorists reacted to them. They put fake snakes and turtles in places where the drivers would hit them if they kept driving straight; they also put the rubber reptiles where drivers had to go out of their way to hit them.

His conclusion: "There are apparently very few animals hit accidentally on the highway.�

A couple of examples Shepherd witnessed: A policeman crushed one of the snakes with his tires, then stopped and pulled his gun. One woman saw the snake in the road and swerved to kill it, then turned around and ran over it five more times. (Sermon Central)

 
 

What brought on this unreasonable fear of snakes and other reptiles to the point of wanting to kill one each time we see one? This fear was instilled into us as one of our last memories of Eden. At times the fear is irrational. Many farmers where I live don't like for residents to kill snakes because snakes feast on mice, rodents and other pests that destroy their crops. Yet, because they have fangs and will bite to defend themselves, "we'll shoot first and ask questions later," as to their venomous abilities. I've killed many snakes here in this region known as the Dismal Swamp. But relatively few have been poisonous. The reason for it is found in verse 15. However, for the remainder of the passage, it is difficult to know exactly of whom God is speaking in the narrative- the man or the snake. The snake is also symbolic of the breakdown of the original relationship man and woman had in the Garden. Because not only is there a rivalry (enmity) between the woman and the snake, but there is also an enmity between the woman and the man. Where first they were partners in the garden and supporters of one another, now there is a breakdown in their relationship and trust. The desire of the woman which God is not only for the man to protect her, but she also desires her husband's role as leader of the relationship and the home. The husband repels this desire by dominating her into submission in order to maintain his role- a role which he did not do very well in the earlier chapter for had he done that, Eve would not have been tempted by the serpent. Breakdowns in communication, hurt feelings, resentfulness, bitterness and hateful words all stem from this original split in the relationship of Adam and Eve.

 
 

The pain in this relationship is compared to the pain of childbirth, which is also mentioned here. God gives us the idea that it was possible for them to have had children in the Garden before the fall. But because of sin, the pain of childbirth would increase. Who knows how much easier it might have been had not sin entered the world. But the pain of childbirth would also carry over into the pain experienced in this new relationship between Adam and Eve after the Fall. It would never been like it was before.

 
 

If you are having difficulty in your relationship with your spouse, it may help to know where it came from, but it must not just end there. The pain in the relationship may never be completely reversed, but it can be managed by love and respect each for the other. The woman does not especially enjoy having to strive with the man to get him to do what she wants: protection, love, respect and consideration. The harder the husband works to give these things, the less the wife feels the need to compete with him. And the harder the wife works to cooperate with her husband and honor him (whether he deserves this or not!) the more responsive he will be to meet his wife's needs. This is a delicate line upon which to treat, and it is easily disrupted. But another element, prayer, will help strengthen and encourage the relationship to be as good as it can be when there are two sinful natures prone to compete with one another rather than encourage one another.

 
 

Prayer: Dear God, forgive me for my lack of consideration for my mate today. Thank you for reminding me of how precious he or she is to me. May my desire be not to compete with him/her, but to love and to support him/her all that I can today. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

 
 

Have a blessed day!