Did God Curse The Earth?
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:17-19 (NKJV)
Most people read this passage and say that God cursed the earth. We blame God for the fallen state of the earth and everything in it. But pay close attention when you read, because it actually says, “cursed is the ground FOR YOUR SAKE.” The New Living Translation phrases it, “the ground is cursed because of you.” Adam’s sin was responsible for the curse. Sin and rebellion released the curse. God didn’t do it. In case you aren’t convinced, let’s investigate further.
Like the sparrow in her wandering, like the swallow in her flying, So the curse without cause does not come and alight [on the undeserving]. Proverbs 26:2 (Amplified Bible, AMP)
A curse does not come without just cause. It doesn’t just happen for no reason. There must always be a cause or reason for a curse to be in operation. We read in Genesis 1:27-28 that God blessed Adam and Eve. This means that God is the Source of the blessing. Adam disobeyed and rebelled. His sin brought death, which is separation from God. If God is the Source of the blessing and Adam became separated from Him, then Adam was separated from the blessing. And in the absence of the blessing is where you find the curse.
Adam severed his ties to the blessing, and that released the curse on the earth and everything in the earth. When God was telling Adam that the ground was cursed, He was simply explaining the catastrophic results of Adam’s decision to commit high treason. Our decisions have ramifications. Adam’s choice opened the door wide to the curse and it continues in the earth today. We see it in nature, pollution, man’s inhumanity to man, etc. We choose blessing or cursing.
This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. Deuteronomy 30:19 (New International Version, NIV)
When we receive Jesus as our Savior, we reject the curse, and we are rejoined to the Source of the blessing. So, even though we live in a fallen world, we can walk in the blessing of God. And one day, when time has come to an end, this earth will be fully rennovated by fire, and the effects of the curse will be forever erased. Praise God forevermore!
