The Elements of Hierarchy In the Garden of Eden

      Genesis chapters 1-3 deal with many things, not least of which are the elements of hierarchy in the early days of Creation. When God created man, He gave him a task to do – naming all of the animals – and when he had finished, God gave him a helper "meet" or fit for him: the woman, whom God created out of the man's rib. In the original perfect Creation, Adam and Eve worked together tending to the Garden of Eden and following God's commands. Prior to the Fall, this was a perfect arrangement – the man as the head of the family, the woman as his fit and equal helper, and both man and woman glorifying God in their work.

      After the Fall, this arrangement changed. When God decreed the punishments of Adam, Eve and the serpent, the roles were fundamentally the same and yet were no longer perfect. Adam was still head of his family, but his relationship to God had been corrupted because of his sin, as had his relationship to his wife. Eve was decreed that "your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you" (Genesis 3:16) – her position in the family was the same, but corrupted; likewise her own relationship to God was no longer as pure as it had been. Finally the serpent, who had tempted Adam and Eve to sin, was cursed for all his days. God said, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:15) The serpent's position was to be one of utter destruction, below Adam and Eve, and he would eventually be destroyed by the "seed" of Eve – Jesus Christ.