Dear Young People,

Curse in Marriage
In the garden of Eden, when our first parents sinned, God cursed Adam first, Eve second, and the serpent third. In this lesson, let us see what God said to Eve.

Gen 3:16 . . . “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.”

There is no ambiguity about the husbands role in the curse—he rules over the wife. But the wife’s role—having a desire for her husband—is not so clear. What could possibly be wrong or cursed about having a desire for one’s husband?

This doubt becomes clear to us only when we understand that the idea of ‘desire’ used in this instance is something very different. The desire that this scripture talks about is the desire to control. It is the same word used to describe sin’s desire to control Cain. Notice what God said to Cain.

Gen 4:7 “. . . sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

Can you see the parallel?

Fill in the blanks to make sure that you have understood what we have said so far.

  • The wife desires to _______________ her husband.
  • The husband _____________ over his wife.

So the curse almost guaranteed that marriage is filled with strife and unhappiness. Only in Christ can we hope to experience the joy that God originally intended for us in marriage.

Hope in Marriage
“Cinderella and the young prince lived happily ever after.”

This is a typical fairytale ending. In reality, there is no fairytale marriage. Because of the flesh and the worldly environment, it is not possible to have a marriage where everything is blissfully perfect. Also, the world today has moved far away from what God intended marriage to be. However, by following Biblical principles you can have a satisfying and good marriage.

It is to share these important Biblical principles of marriage, that we are doing this series on Marriage in Youth Corner. This is the fifth lesson on marriage and we will have some more too. So pay close attention.

(Nahomi Dhinakar; Published in Youth Column of Dhyanamlar Nov 2004) Click here for other Youth Column articles