With that said, I invite you to open your bibles to Genesis, Chapter 3, verses 17-29. We're going to be continuing our devotional series on the topic of the Lord. So, as we find this spot, all we're going to do is read Genesis, Chapter 3, verses 17-29. And that probably isn't all that surprising. I mean, I'm sure all of us can think of a point in our lives where we can maybe relate to that feeling. Even now, maybe we wouldn't go as far as to say that we're miserable, but I'm sure all of us can think of a few things about work that we find to be unpleasant. But how are we supposed to reconcile that feeling with what we've already seen from these other people? I think I was good and perfect at teaching, but it's so clearly wrong. So what's wrong? as we try to glimpse the message of this passage together. So we're going to discover that the curse of work ought to remind us of our fallen condition, and so drive us to mercy. To do that, we're going to walk through this passage in three steps. In this passage, God is speaking to Adam, and the first thing that he says to him is he gives him the reason for the curse. And, of course, the reason is disobedience. It's sin. You'll remember from Genesis 1 and 2, when God created the world, he created the first man, Adam, Genesis 317 tells us it wasn't because he was deceived. It wasn't because he was ignorant. It wasn't because he was confused. Genesis 317 says it was because he listened to, or some of your translations might say he obeyed the voice of his wife. You see, Adam had a clear word from God. He knew exactly what was But, and yet, because he valued the voice of his wife over the voice of God, he willfully and intentionally ate of the very fruit that God said he could not have. He followed the example of Eve's disobedience rather than leading by example himself. Now, in light of this, I think there are a few lessons that we ought to pull from this verse. One of those lessons, because this is a devotional series on worship, work from God to steward and care for those who are under you? And you, too, have received a clear word from God. In fact, we all have the full word of God to train us in righteousness so that we might be equipped for every good work. And I just wonder, how highly do we value that word of God to be by example and to teach those who are to love and pursue your wife. So what do you do when it feels like your wife is pushing you away? Do you retaliate and pull away, or do you continue to pursue her in love? Those of you who are managers, the Bible tells us to work unto the Lord, but how likely are you to lower your standards or maybe even cut some corners if everyone else is on board? Parents. I know that so many of you have that good desire to raise your children in the fear of the Lord. But if your child comes to you and says, I need to skip church because of school, because of these applications that are coming up, because of sports, whatever else, does your decision show that you prioritize the things of God? Elders, and those of you who teach at the church, whether that be Sunday school, God had the responsibility to lead and protect his life, but he forfeited that authority, and he disobeyed God. And this is the reason that God cursed the ground. Listen, this curse is not natural. It's a supernatural punishment for our sin. And as a punishment, it's placed upon man as a reminder that he disobeyed God, and to remind him the severity of sin. So that's the reason for the curse. and a reminder for our sin. But there's a second thing that we need to see from this passage, and that is the result, the result of the curse. Look with me at the rest of our passage. That's where it says, Cursed is the ground because of you. In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return Adam and Eve ate for pleasure and worked for pleasure. Now they have to eat for necessity, and they have to work to be able to eat. And there are specifically four results that I want to quickly highlight from these verses. If you'll look with me, first there's pain. There will be hurt and suffering in work. Specifically, this language of thorns and thistles, the ground is actively working against them. It pricks them and it pokes them Second, there's sweat. The idea is now that work is laborious. It's difficult. It takes a lot of physical and emotional energy, and a man has to put his blood, sweat, and tears to toil against the earth. Third, there's death. So, you return to the ground. Every person who has eventually died is a violent survivor. It's kind of the big picture result of the curse. As it's been said, man was taken from dust. He will return to dust. In the meantime, he's just kind of digging around in the dust. Man will spend his entire life toiling in pain against the earth just so that he can eat, just so that he can have energy to toil some more, just so that he can eat, and over and over and over again. Now, to answer that, I think it's worth asking another question that might sound like this. Why didn't God just immediately put Adam to death? He had every right to. But rather, from this language in this text, until you return to the ground, there's almost a sort of provision that there's going to be some time before he dies. Why did God immediately kill Adam? It's because God is a God of grace and of patience, and that patience is meant to be for repentance. So can you see that death was delayed because in God's patience and grace, this curse is in fact meant to be for repentance? Remember, this curse was to remind man of his sinful condition. pain, and sweat, and sorrow, and he would remember what he had lost and he would remember And so my thoughts. and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. No longer will there be any curse of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the minute, and His servants will serve Him forever. There will be a complete reversal of the curse for the people of God, for they will be blessed forever and ever. If you are a Christian, you will be a citizen That will be your work. And you will be blessed and satisfied and filled with the unending, everlasting blessing, righteousness, joy, glory, delight that comes from being in the presence of God forever and ever and ever. But before we can get there, He suffered, and he swept drops of blood, and he wore the crown of thorns, and he was beaten and mocked and crucified to a cross. But that suffering could not compare to the greatest, most infinite pain imaginable that he had to suffer at the wrath of God. became a curse for his people by taking on the sins of his people, so that those who believed in him might be saved. Then he resurrected from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father, offering new life and meaning and purpose to all those who come to him, so that now that you've been redeemed, and this is what we'll see in the coming weeks, now that you've been redeemed, you can redeem your work. will be pain and suffering, for they will not be worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed to us through redemption of our bodies. And so you can seize every moment and work for Christ, not in misery, but with joy and in hope, singing with the saints of old the words of Isaac Larson. No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. Father, we come before you now to confess that we are sinners. We see this world around us and know that there's a hostility between us and our environment because of our sin. So we thank you, Father, that in your patience and your grace, you sent your Son to suffer and die at our hands. We thank you that by his blood, you will restore not only our relationship with this world, but more importantly, that you'll restore our relationship to you. And so we pray, Father, that we will always remember what God has done for us. or what crisis not for us today that motivated us to seize every moment to work for change.