Wasn Eves subordination to Adam in Gen. 3:16 a part of the curse, which Christ came to take away?
In the Bible, neither blessings nor curses are arbitrary, but are directly determined by one’s relationship to God’s law. “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, . . . and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God” (Deut. 11:26-28). The same commands bring a blessing if followed, or a curse if violated. The curse is the law’s application to a rebellious heart. Christ takes away the rebellion from the heart, so that we may realize the blessing of obedience. What we often call a curse in Gen. 3:16, “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you,” is part of a broader description of the results of their rebellion on the man and woman’s pre-fall functions. For example, God had commanded them to “be fruitful and multiply.” Now, after sin, Eve’s part in that function would be by pain and labor (Gen. 3:16). Likewise Adam had been placed in the garden “to till it an
