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Cursed!, January 12
Genesis 3:14-19
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy
conception; ... and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule
over thee. And unto Adam he said, ... cursed is the ground for thy sake; in
sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.
Genesis 3:16, 17
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Eve was told of the sorrow and pain that must henceforth be her portion.... In
the creation God had made her the equal of Adam. Had they remained obedient
to God—in harmony with His great law of love—they would ever have been in
harmony with each other; but sin had brought discord, and now their union could
be maintained and harmony preserved only by submission on the part of the
one or the other. Eve had been the first in transgression; and she had fallen into
temptation by separating from her companion, contrary to the divine direction. It
was by her solicitation that Adam sinned, and she was now placed in subjection
to her husband....
Eve had been perfectly happy by her husband’s side in her Eden home; but,
like restless modern Eves, she was flattered with the hope of entering a higher
sphere than that which God had assigned her. In attempting to rise above her
original position, she fell far below it. A similar result will be reached by all who
are unwilling to take up cheerfully their life duties in accordance with God’s
plan. In their efforts to reach positions for which He has not fitted them, many
are leaving vacant the place where they might be a blessing....
When God made man, He made him ruler over the earth and all living crea-
tures. So long as Adam remained loyal to Heaven, all nature was in subjection
to him. But when he rebelled against the divine law, the inferior creatures were
in rebellion against his rule. Thus the Lord, in His great mercy, would show men
the sacredness of His law, and lead them, by their own experience, to see the
danger of setting it aside, even in the slightest degree.
And the life of toil and care which was henceforth to be man’s lot was
appointed in love. It was a discipline rendered needful by his sin, to place a
check upon the indulgence of appetite and passion, to develop habits of self-
control. It was a part of God’s great plan for man’s recovery from the ruin and
degradation of sin
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16
Patriarchs and Prophets, 58-60
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