The Curse on the Man, Part 1 B

Man was not cast immediately into death rather he was given life, but in that life never and God's plan to redeem sinners. He's titled it Genesis of the gospel. John, all of the series on Genesis 3 and I keep going back to your teaching on this because it answered so many of my questions. I think it away this series uniquely demonstrates why we as a ministry trust the Bible because you talking about a book written thousands of years ago and yet here we find clear and compelling answers to some of the most confounding problems that all of us ask, why does evil exist, why is there so much hatred and anger and conflict and how will God ultimately fix all of this injustice and just one chapter in the Bible, Genesis 3 has the answers to those questions. So Scripture really is timeless and it's relevant in any culture that it is really the testimony to the economy of words with which God can speak and say something that is so comprehensive just in the few verses of the curse you have the origins of everything that's wrong in the world but you also have embedded in that curse the promise of salvation right that though the seed of the woman would come and he would crush the serpent's head and the serpent would bruise his heel. And we know that Christ came to crush the serpent said and Satan bruised his heel bruised for our transgressions. Isaiah says so yes, Genesis is an astonishing book and be the origin of all that is wrong in the world is found there in the third chapter and the origin of all that is right and good is found embedded in that very curse as well you know it's been the ministry of grace to you to tell the truth to to tell the truth. From Genesis to Revelation. To tell the truth through all 66 books of the Bible.

That's what we do we give the bad news so we can give the good news. The word of God does all of that and we believe that no matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter what your circumstances, you are affected by the fall.

You are affected by the curse of we are all dying in a life is a terminal illness you're going to die and the wages of sin is death. The soul that sins shall die. The reason you're gonna dies because of sin. That is the bad news we want to give you the good news. That is why we bring divine truth telling. The bad news telling the good news revealing everything God has said in his holy word only divine truth can rightly inform you give you wisdom and bring you salvation, divine truth changes lives transforms families builds up communities changes nations gives hope for eternity. That's what we work to supply every single day and you support us financially make it possible.

Please know that when you give you help take the truth of God's word to all 50 states in the United States and all over the planet. You make sure that thousands of sermons are available to millions of people every month you supply free resources to everyone who asks, so thank you. Your generosity's overwhelming, it's a clear evidence of God is transformed you and thank you for your partnership on behalf of many, many grateful, and a growing number of listeners around the world. Thanks for helping us unleash God's truth one verse at a time.

That's right, friend. We could not do this without you. So thank you for all of your prayers and support. And now let's get to the teaching of God's word here again is John MacArthur I would encourage you to turn in your Bible to Genesis chapter 3 back to the beginning Genesis 3. The origin and impact of sin that is really the title for the whole chapter we find ourselves in verses 17 to 19 the divine curse on the man, as we look at these three verses 1789 19.

Just three things to think about the cause of this curse. The curse itself and the consequence of it to the cause of verse 17 eight to Adam he said, because you listen to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying you shall not eat from it, cursed is the next word and the reason is in the first part of verse 17 because you listen to the voice of your wife and you have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying you shall not eat from it. That's why you're cursed. This is the special effect, not the natural effect of his sin, the curse, then follows the because the curse in verse 17 and 18. Cursed is the ground because of you and toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you and you shall eat the plants of the field by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.

This is the curse now notice that the curse is interesting isn't particularly on the man personally. But it's on the sphere of the man, as in the case of the woman. The curse was in her relationship with her children and her husband, her realm and so it is with the man man the king of the earth becomes subordinate to dirt.

The ground feels nothing cursed is the ground. The ground is in going, oh woe is me, the ground is senseless, inanimate, doesn't know anything he doesn't feel anything but the man feels it. By the way, the word ground is odd.

Ama the man is on the ground is odd Ama because the man comes from the ground, dust to dust, and he has a relationship with the ground because it's out of the ground. That man draws his life.

Everything we eat comes out of the ground is not to say what what about chickens animals above the ground today survived by eating what comes out of the ground right ground is the source of food and food chain, even among the animals curse not directly on man, as it was not directly on woman, but it is indirectly on them both because it affects the sphere in which they live in the woman spheres the home in the man's spheres.

The field woman suffers the effect of the curse in the home the place of her life and labor. The man suffers the effects of the curse in the field. The place of his life and labor for her.

The pain comes in a relationship between her children and her husband for him.

Pain comes in his relationship with the ground as that is the battle for bread is waged woman engages in the battle for the holiness and the happiness of the family man engages in the battle for the food in support of the family.

Man's life is not going to be easy. Not only is he, personally, sinful prey fallen, decaying, and headed toward death but is going to have another problem he's going to find that the very ground, which provides for him his life and sustenance for himself and his family is not going to willfully submit to him. Life becomes for him, hard work, the joy of paradise is gone.

You know once when he was in the garden. There was just everything there, everything for him.

Delete back in chapter 2. It was all pleasing verse nine. It was all good for food, and he could just enjoy it. All he needed to do a little cultivating, but expended no energy. He just plucked its wondrous fruits.

Now all of a sudden, the ground becomes his enemy and he has to subdue it to become subordinate to the dirt. There is a permanent rupture in man's seizure relationship to the old to the life that God had originally given in paradise not help you understand what this means I can flip it over and what what a blessed earth be like turn to Deuteronomy chapter 33 it's good to kinda teach a little bit. By contrast, or Deuteronomy 33 verse 13 we get here a picture of a blessed earth.

Blessed ground.

This is what it would be like.

Deuteronomy 33 verse 13. Speaking of the blessing of God here on Joseph. It says blessed of the Lord be his land. And here's what it would be like if God really blessed the land choice things of heaven. The land would no do and from the deep lying beneath. In other words, it would be well watered. There would be water coming down from above there be water coming up from below and there would be a choice yield of the sun and there would be choice produce of the months. In other words, the seasons, the sun would create the growth that the water would support there would come. Verse 15 the best things of the ancient mountains and choice things of the everlasting Hills and verse 16 choice things of the earth and its fullness would be a will would be the blessed ground well watered that Fernald productively. I would be a blessed and I would be very much like Eden you remember back in chapter 2 of Genesis that the Eden was well watered. There were actually four rivers River flowing out of Eden and splitting into four parts of incredibly fertile land. It was productive and it was free from weeds free from thorns and thistles free from drought and all a man needed to do was just pickets its treasures and enjoy them without exerting himself a cursed ground is the opposite then lack of water problems with the soil problems with weeds, problems with the elements. Problems with the weather problems with the destructive animals problems with destructive birds. Problems with destructive organisms and insects. Those are all the problems that plague the ground the earth will yield enough that it'll yield its bounty. In fact, the earth will yield a rich and wonderful variety for man to enjoy.

But in order for that to happen. It's going to take a tremendous effort to get that bounty out of the ground.

Today for lunch.

My wife give me a little a stack of carrots munch on, and normally I just munch away. You know, but when I was eating those little carrots and a little small baby carrots, rounded off carrots. I had a new appreciation for them because I just went through the Bolthouse carrot plant in Bakersfield few days ago where they produce 9 million of those little bags a week.

This is a massive place and I learned about all of the issues that they go through to get that little thing on my once played staggering. The massive amount of land that has to be subdued massive amount of water that has to be piped in the very great care that's taken to protect the crop from insects organisms weeds and how carefully everything is done and I went over to the machine shop where they literally manufacture their own machinery to get those carrots out of the ground. They bill them from the ground up. The only thing they bring in is the engine the rest they build to make sure they get all of that out of the ground delicately and send it through a process and then once those carrots come into this massive plant where thousands of people are all lined up. They put those carrots through the kind of equipment to cut some into those nice little baby carrots and in the take all the rest that's left over in the make carrot juice and carrots sticks and carrot, diced for your little salads and on and on and on in the manufacturing was absolutely incredible and you know we at this end of the food chain just eat the little care but I had a new appreciation for this staggering effort that is behind this little carrot man has had to taxes mechanical ability is engineering ability is agricultural ability is scientific ability is chemical ability is relational ability to develop a team of workers it's it's a staggering thing you go to third world countries see the opposite of all that you see people with very primitive instruments in their hands out somewhere in a little piece of ground there fighting many cases in absolutely losing battle to get out of the ground. Something to feed their family. The earth can yield a great amount but it takes a massive effort needed to do the work or you pay the money for the people who do the work someday in the world is going to see an earth where the curse is been removed.

Look at them in Isaiah chapter 30 can look at all of the passages but Isaiah chapter 30 verse 23. This describes the coming kingdom. The millennial kingdom. When the curse is mitigated, and that it says then the Lord will give you rain for the seed which you will so in the ground bread from the yield of the ground, it will be rich and plenteous on that they are livestock will graze in a roomy pasture, oxen and donkeys which work the ground will eat salted fodder which is been winnowed with shovel and fork and on every lofty mountain and on every high hill. There will be streams running with the water on the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun which means every angle grow even in the night. The sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, as the Lord binds up the fracture of his people and heals the bruise he has inflicted. There's going to be at change in the earth and its productivity in the 32nd chapter of Isaiah in verse 15 it talks about the wilderness becoming a fertile field.

The fertile field will be considered like a forest. In other words, the crop will just grow and it will grow faster will grow tall and be like a forest because it'll be so profuse in Isaiah 41 the prophet has more to say about that in verse 18. I will open rivers on the bear Heights Springs in the midst of the valleys make the wilderness a pool of water. The dryland fountains of water output the Cedar in the wilderness. That is, trees will grow in the desert, the Acacian of the myrtle, the olive tree, place the Juniper in the desert, together with the box tree in the Cyprus over in chapter 43.

It goes on verse 19.

I will do something new, I'll make a roadway in the wilderness rivers in the desert again. The great need for water in the wilderness.

You see it again now. Just one more in the 55th chapter of Isaiah verse 12, you will go out with joy be led forth with peace, the mountains, the hills will break into shouts of joy before you, the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of a thorn push the Cyprus will come instead of the nettle the myrtle will come as a memorial to the Lord, the everlasting sign which will not be cut off. So there you get a little bit of a glimpse of what the earth is going to be like when the curse is removed that is the way the world will be when Christ takes the curse off. It'll be something like, although not exactly like it was in Eden. But until that time, let's go back to Genesis chapter 3. Until that time this ground is cursed. And man in order to get out of it what he needs to support his life, and feed his family is going to have to toil it says cursed is the ground because of you in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life toil as is sub on in Hebrew means misery.

It means sorrow, or it can be translated as here, toil, human labor is in view is not just agriculture it. It's more than that it's all the work in which man engages the ground is representative of man's sphere in that day. It was only agrarian work. Psalm 127 two says the bread of sorrows. The bread of anxious toil for us to eat for us to provide food place to live for our families calls out for a lifetime of work, toil effort, Proverbs 510 let strangers be filled with your strength and your hard earned goods go to the house of an alien. Again, goods are hard earned. It takes a lifetime of work in chapter 10 of Proverbs verse 22 we find that it is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich but everywhere else in Proverbs.

It is associated with hard work.

It says in that verse. It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and he adds no sorrow to it.

The work part has the sorrow built into it. God adds no sorrow to the things that he graciously gives us in Proverbs 24 verse 23.

Again, it's a similar thing and you find it in Isaiah 63.

So the realm of man's life is a place of toil, a place of sorrows. I love that Psalm 127 two he eats the bread of sorrow, men will eat and he will provide for his family.

Just as children and husbands will be a blessing to their wives and their mothers, but not without great effort and not without great toil and not without great pain. The earth yields but it yields only with in minutes effort, a worker's appetite. Proverbs 1626 and urges him on works for him because of his hunger if he wants to eat. Yes, the work that's the way it is in Proverbs 27 know well the conditions of your flocks, 21st, 23, pay attention to your herds, you better do that because we don't take care what you have your gonna lose it or we live in a life of work. Look at Ecclesiastes for a moment I want to just kind of fill out this picture for you. Ecclesiastes chapter 2.

This of course is a man looking at life and in verse 11 of Ecclesiastes 2 he says. Thus, I considered all my activities all my work which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted to behold, all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun. What am I doing my lab work work work work work and what is it lead me to more work if everybody died, it would never work as long as I keep feeding him. They stay alive working vicious circle or 17.

I hated life for the work which had been done under the sun is grievous to me because everything is futility and striving after wind so I hated all the fruit of my labor, for which I had labored under the sun but I must leave it to the man will come after me in the worst part is I done so I got all I want to leave it to somebody I don't even know verse 19.

If you be a wise man or a fool that he'll have control over all the fruit of my labor, for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity.

I don't like the whole idea.

I like the idea of working. I like the idea of working and succeeding in having to leave it to some fool who may waste verse 23 says all his days of labor are painful and grievous, and even at night.

His mind is a risk and unify that work all day to go home. He can go to sleep you got from the work you so because you got some problems in your job where you got some bad relationship so you might lose your job. He liked things the way they're going work work work work chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes verse nine. What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils you do it you do it you do it you do it for most people, they just do it because I have to do it not because they love to do it when you get out of it enough to keep yourself alive so you can keep doing to keep yourself alive saying keep doing to keep yourself alive in verse eight he says of chapter 4 in the middle.

Toward the end of the verse, for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure. Why am I doing this I could be dye could be having fun here. I'm working working working wife keeps having more babies, life toil and I go home it's conflict with her conflict of my kids doing the other hand I'm better off busy. Ecclesiastes 313.

Every man who eats and drinks is good and all his labor. It's a gift of God's true source of he didn't work is net sitting around staring at the wall not being productive is a gift from God to sinners, we need to keep our hands occupied or they'll get into things they shouldn't get into chapter 5 verse 19.

Again, he says, a man can learn to receive his reward.

You can learn to take your check and rejoice in your labor. This is the gift of God. It was to have been fine if we were sinless, and Adam didn't need to work he did need to expend energy to need to get into the cycle because it was perfect. And so you know the old adage right idle hands are the devil's plaything till it's better for sinful people to be working because if they're not too much idle time leaves too much time for iniquity, but frankly when you put it all together. It seems as though the writer of Ecclesiastes essay. I know it's a gift of God, but I still like it, and I mean I know you identify with that when you spend your time doing it work probably planning for the weekend and when you get down the years and you start to look ahead and you start to dream about your retirement and you started out thinking he was going to be at 65 and now you're thinking you'd like it. 45 you want to get as much money as fast as you cancer can stop working, you can bile toys and play well back to Genesis 3 men. We have been cursed to do this and toil were going to eat all the days of your life. So man I could live to be 70 or 80. Don't tell me your problem, Adam died at 930 give me a break. Your song doesn't make me sad 930 you are going to toil in the ground all the days of your life. Adam, how long you been doing is 900 years you want to retire at 45. Give me a break life. I work till I'm 75 AMI II can even II can even carry Adams pitchfork, the ultimate penalty will fall the ultimate penalty on men's death but man was not cast immediately into death rather he was given life, but in that life he would never be able to forget the impact of sin. Every man goes to work to provide for his family is living out the illustration of how painfully sin affected life God intended for us to have a permanent vacation at no cost with no effort and key box it up for the whole race. Another were all sinners, we need some dignity and some accomplishments and achievements. We make provision, and it is a gift from God, but it is also a reminder is of deadliness of sin and how it has corrupted you think you think the world's philosophers understand this, but I don't. The fury of the flurry of work around the planet's direct result. This is grace to you with John MacArthur. Thanks for being with us. John has been Gracie use featured speaker since 1969. He's also Chancellor of the Masters University and seminary's current study is titled Genesis of the gospel and our friend before the message today. John talked about how we can minister to God's people around the globe because of the support of listeners like you to help us take verse by verse Bible teaching to the nations, consider making a donation when you contact us today mail your tax-deductible gift to Grace to you.

Box 4000 panorama city, CA 91412 or you can call us toll-free at 855 grace, and you can make a one-time gift set up a recurring donation or find out how to remember Grace to you and your estate plans again.

Call us on the phone, 855 grace or go to our website TTY.org that GT why.org and thank you for praying for Grace to you. There's really no more in ministry to us. You can have it if John's teaching has strengthened you spiritually. If you been equipped and encouraged to tell others about Christ or if someone you know has come to salvation. Hearing God's word on this broadcast would love to hear that story you can send your email to letters@tty.org that's letters@tty.org or write to box 4000 panorama city, CA 91412 now for John MacArthur on Phil Johnson encouraging you to be here for tomorrow's broadcast. When John shows you how to honor the Lord at work no matter what you do for living that lesson is part of John's current study Genesis of the gospel.

Don't miss the next half hour unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on race team