Jesus has Broken the Curse

Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. — Hebrews 2:14-15 

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I love to read through the Bible from cover to cover. My goal is to do it every year, but honestly, it often takes more than a year. Life happens. A few weeks ago, I started a new Bible. I love to read a new version every time because it can open my eyes to new ways of seeing things. As I read through Genesis 3, a stark contrast between the weight of the curse and the promise of redemption popped out at me.  

Genesis 3 is the story of Eve talking to the serpent in the garden and falling for his arguments against God. Eve tells the serpent that God said they would die if they ate the fruit from the tree. 

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” (verses 4-5) 

Now, the best way to convince someone that a lie is the truth is to mix it with some truth. The lie was that they wouldn’t die, as God had told them explicitly. Also, there was an implied lie that they weren’t like God. God had made Adam and Eve in His image. They were already like God, but they wanted more. They already knew good. They wanted to know evil. And so, they got exactly what they wanted. Only too late did they realize they didn’t really want it after all. 

The serpent was cursed.  

He would crawl on his belly and one day, One would come who would crush his head. 

Eve was cursed. 

“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.” (verse 16) 

She desired to be like God, and the curse would be borne out in her own act of creation—bearing a child. In the act of creating life, she would experience good (the wonderful joy of a child) and evil (the pain of childbirth). Eve came from Adam’s body and her curse was related to her husband and to bringing life from the human body. 

Adam was cursed. 

“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree 

    whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, 

the ground is cursed because of you. 

    All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. 

It will grow thorns and thistles for you, 

    though you will eat of its grains. 

By the sweat of your brow 

    will you have food to eat 

until you return to the ground 

    from which you were made. 

For you were made from dust, 

    and to dust you will return.” (verses 17-19) 

He desired to be like God, and in his act of bringing forth life from the ground, the curse would be borne out. He would also toil, struggle, and strain to bring forth life. His curse was related to the ground from which God created him and to bringing life out of the ground. 

Do you struggle with believing that God’s plan for you is as good as your plan for yourself? I know I do. Some of my biggest struggles in surrendering to God are because I’m afraid His will is not the same as my own. There are still things I don’t understand, like why did my sweet, Jesus-loving cousin die of cancer? Why have I struggled with poor health? I could go on and on, but you get the picture. And I’m sure you have your own list.  

The walk of faith is to trust that God knows best. He knew that Adam and Even knowing evil was not going to be a good thing for them or the rest of humanity. He knows what’s best for each one of us. And the best news is, He has plans to make us all whole again. That’s why He sent Jesus to crush the power of the serpent, to break the chains that bound us to death. Jesus has broken the curse. Jesus has set us free! The whole book of Hebrews is about how Jesus came to see us free from this curse. If you are interested in learning more, check out my new Bible study on the book of Hebrews, Greater Than.

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Reflect 

• Do you ever feel like God is holding out on you? Do you feel that you deserve good things that He is not willing to give you and so you must go after them yourself? 

• What do you need to surrender to Jesus today? What will letting go look like for you?  

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Prayer: Lord, thank You that You know what is the very best for me. Please help me trust you with everything. Help me surrender to Your will for my life and the lives of my loved ones. Thank you, Jesus, for dying to break the power of the curse of death for me. Thank you for giving me life!