Notice first that the punishment is only here on earth, as with the man’s. After death, if one trusts in Jesus Christ as Savior, there is no more curse. Indeed, there is no condemnation at all to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1), but that speaks of eternal condemnation. The consequences for sin on earth must still exist. It is not just for the sins we commit that Christ had to die, but for our very sin nature, that He suffered, died, and rose victirously, having gotten the victory over death. This world has problems, but Jesus has conquered the great foe called death, and we can be conquerors of it, too, by trusting in Jesus Christ to save us. Thus, the second death has no power on Christians.
God speaks to the woman next. First, he tells her that her sorrow and conception would be greatly multiplied. This has a few different meanings.
First, since there was no pain or suffering before the fall, there would be no pain in childbirth, either. This term may refer to pregnancy in general, as well as the actual conception of a baby. This ties in with God’s promise that women would bring forth children in sorrow. Indeed, while the birth at the end is joyful, the labor pains and problems beforehand are tremendous. Oh, there might have been some discomfort from carrying a baby for nine months, but it would have just been like normal work for the man. Carrying a baby would have been as easy as caring for the garden, like Adam had been told to do in the beginning.
Add to this the problem of stillbirths and young children dying. Infant mortality rates were enormous at times, and childhood diseases claimed many lives, before modern medicine. The average life expectancy – the average age at which people died - among just the nobility in England in the mid-1300s was below 20! And they were often much better off than peasants! This doesn’t mean people only lived to that age, it means that children died so often, it totally skewed the averages. Of course, it was a little better at other times, but not out of the 20s in most places in the Middle Ages.
All this adds up to a very sobering picture. Because sin had been brought into the world, the incredible discomfort of child bearing, and the possibility that she, too, would die in childbirth, entered the world.
The possibility of death is there, too, if we take each of these statements individually. A woman’s sorrow is noteworthy, first, because of the problem of death, which entered into the world because of sin. Indeed, years later, when Cain killed Abel, Eve suffered the terrible fate of having to bury a son. It’s a fate no woman should have to face. It’s an expected part of life that parents will die before their children, after they have lived long and productive lives. Seeing one’s child sick, hurting, or dead is something no mother wants to think about.
There was another problem, too, though. Her son Cain was a murderer. Even thus became the first woman to second guess herself constantly. What had she done wrong in raising that boy? What could she have done differently? Could she have prevented it? And, how did she handle the conflict between wanting her son to get help, and yet wanting justice to be served because Abel had been killed? It is sorrow that has come upon every mother whose child is in trouble, whose child has rebelled.
Sorrow, too, over relationships was increased. Because God provided for woman to be the better nurturers (though because of sin there are vast differences at time), they also seem to care more deeply on the outside. Since your author is legally blind and has trouble reading people anyway, though, it’s hard to say how much of that is true, and how much is that men just don't' let it show, except in more hidden cues. I leave it up to those who have made great study of this part to go into this more.
Her conception was also multiplied. Even would have many children – some speculate they already had a lot by the time Cain killed Abel. But, others would also have more, because the danger of children dying so young meant more needed to be born. Of course, that tradition had continued in some areas even with modern medicine.
Whether this meant that her pregnancy was meant to only last a short time is not cler, but hat is doubtful. God could make baby humans more completely in a faster time in the womb if He chose. However, as noted above, Adam’s job was the care for the garden, anyway. Therefore, it is quite likely that this would have simply been a nine month job that, again, would have been much less work.
Next, God says that the woman’s desires shall be to thy husband. As with the above, and many verses in the Bible, this has several aspects.
First, her desires would be to please him. Simply wanting to please people, and nto God, is a problem that we all have. This is made worse when the devil – the father of lies (John 8:44) – distorts the command to honor those in authority and makes people think that people are to be placed above God. In fact, God’s Word says the opposite – we ought to obey God, rather than man. (Acts 5:29) We should obey authority in all areas that do not conflict with God’s rules. However, When God’s rules say something different from what people say, God is the one to be followed.
Great examples of this are found in the Book of Daniel. Shadrach, Mechach, and Abed-Nego, and then Daniel himself, show perfect what God expects. We should never bow down to idols. We should always pray. It’s okay for authority to say that prayer out loud at a certain place is disruptive, such as in the middle of a court session. But, nobody had the right to forbid Daniel from praying privately to God.
Because we want to please others, however, get caught in the trap of forgetting about God. This casues us to commit other sins at times, too. Most lies, for instance come out of a desire to please someone else in some way.
Those desires toward her husband also cause Eve – and all since – to have more sensual desires, too. This means men and women can be drawn away by their own desires. However, this isn’t the final point of this verse.
Not only were the woman’s desires to please the man, but this verse is often read to mean that her desires would be supplanted by his desires. This means that she would feel things she never should have had to feel.
Look back at where we talked about the problems that knowing good and eveil would cause. One of those problems was that selfish communication and desires would take the place of selfless communication. In other words, because Adam and Eve ate of the tree, they suddenly knew how to be selfish, and not care about others.
So, instead of always being the man’s soulmate, a woman now must be careful that she marry the right person. Because, if she takes someone who is not that perfect match, she might wind up in a much worse distuation. It could be with a husband who is cold and uncaring, or who has no time for the family, or something else bad. Instead of the man being the spiritual leader, the man may lead the woman down the wrong path, and the woman will be along for a very bumby ride.
This is nto to say, of course, that such a woman can’t make it trying to follow God as the spiritual leader with a husband who is absent. The Shumannite woman in 2 Kings 4:8-37 is a perfect example. But, she has two huge advantages that most woman don’t. First, her husband isn’t fighting her over her suggestion to build a prophet’s chamber and serve the man of God, Elisha. Rather, her husband is apathetic. We don’t know why, but we do know wha the Bible says. God, in 2 Kings 4:8, calls her a great woman. She had the determination that not a lot of women have.
As we close the discussion on this verse, it should be noted that the Shumannite women never boasts. She also never complains about her husband’s mental absence. Instead, she gives all the credit and glory to God, and all her focus is on Him. This is where it should be for men and women. However, God wants us to have an easier life. He didn’t want the Shumannite woman to have to work that hard to serve Him. He wanted the husband to do it because he was to be the spiritual head. The wife was supposed to have it easier. Many things were made harder, however, because of Eve’s choice.
And, harsh consequences were handed down to Adam, as well.
