Genesis 3:14-21 And the LORD God said
unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon
thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and
the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16 Unto the
woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire
shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice
of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground
for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth
to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return
unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 20 And Adam called his
wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God
make coats of skins, and clothed them.
The Covenant with Adam is the general or universal
covenant. It could be called the covenant with mankind, for it sets forth the conditions which will hold sway
until the curse of sin is lifted (Isaiah 11:6-10 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie
down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD,
as the waters cover the sea. 10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the
people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.; Romans 8:18-23 For I reckon that
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19
For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was
made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature
itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22
For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves
also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit,
the redemption of our body. ). According to the covenant, the conditions which will prevail are:
a. The serpent, the tool used by Satan to effect the fall
of man, is cursed. The curse affects not only the instrument, the serpent, but also the indwelling energizer, Satan.
Great physical changes took place in the serpent. Apparently it was upright; now it will go on its belly (v.14).
It was the most desirable animal of the animal creation; now it is the most loathsome. The sight or thought of a snake
should be an effective reminder of the devastating effects of sin.
b. Satan is judged--he will enjoy limited success ("thou
shalt bruise his heel," v 15), but ultimately he will be judged ("it shall bruise thy head," v. 15).
c. The first prophecy of the coming of Messiah is given
(v.15).
d. There will be a multiplication of conception, necessitated
by the introduction of death into the human race (v. 16).
e. There will be pain in childbirth (v. 16).
f. The woman is made subject to her husband (v. 16).
g. The ground is cursed and will bring forth weeds among
the food which man must eat for his existence (vv. 17-19).
i. In sinning, man dies spiritually, and ultimately will
die physically. His flesh will decay until it returns to dust from which it was originally taken (v. 19).
