Adam and Eve had the perfect marriage union before they disobeyed the direct command of God. While Adam was busy naming all of the animals, he kept looking for a helper, but there wasn’t one “just right for him.” So God made a woman out of a rib taken from Adam and brought her to the man. “At last!” Adam exclaimed. He recognized in Eve someone just like himself, yet different in ways that would make her the perfect complement and companion.
When blessing became curse because the couple ate forbidden fruit, God punished all of the participants. The serpent (Satan in disguise) became a despised creature, had to slither along on the ground, and would ultimately be conquered by woman’s Offspring (Jesus). The man’s efforts to make the earth--his work, in general--productive became much more difficult and sometimes even futile; eventually, he would die and return to the earth from which he came. (This would be true of all the human race, women as well as men.) The woman would endure pain in bearing children, and then God said to her, “And though you will have desire for your husband, he will rule over you.” (Genesis 3:16 margin)
This cannot, I am sure, be the beginning of human desire for one another. God had already written procreation into His plan, and He had already had “the talk” with the human beings telling them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.” So what is different now that sin has entered the picture? She will always want more than her husband is able to give. I do not see at all that this verse delegates Adam to take authority over Eve or for her to be subject to him in the sense of being controlled. She simply would have to accept the fact that she couldn’t make Adam be something that he was not able to be on his own. Now that they were out of touch with the Creator, what she wanted was going to be “overruled” by the sinful person she had to live with.
Although cultural norms in ancient days—and as recently as the last century in our own country—put women under the control of men, I do not believe this is taught in Scripture. (See my posts on authority and submission.) But just as Eve’s desires were overruled by Adam, there is no husband today who can ever be enough to satisfy the deepest yearnings of the woman to whom he is married. No matter how perfect the marriage, no matter how full of love and respect the relationship is, there is a need in them both that the other cannot fill. It was true for Adam and Eve; they needed God. They needed to walk with Him in the garden when the cool evening breezes blew. They needed to talk with Him, share their plans, and share His plans. If Adam and Eve in their perfect world found they needed more than just each other, how much more we in our troubled society need more than human intimacy!
But what if one sincerely believes that this “rule” over the woman does indeed mean she is to be obedient and submissive? Then consider the fact that this stipulation was the result of wrongdoing. It was not the original Divine intention. Wouldn’t it seem then that the more fully we give ourselves to following Jesus, the closer we could approach the ideal—harmony in our marriages and unbroken fellowship with God?
MaryMartha
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Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
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