3:14
The root cause of the sin was the snake and he is the first to receive judgement. In Matt 18:6 Jesus says the consequences will be very severe for anyone who causes someone else to stumble. The same principle is operating here. Note that this does not remove the guilt of the man or woman. We are talking about a snake here, and some of things apply to it as a snake, but they also have a much deeper application, namely in 3:15. The animal is cursed and does send all its life crawling in the dust.
3:15
The first part has a natural application. No one, but possibly especially women, like snakes. Well, very few people like them, there are a few oddballs (including people I know!). So there is a natural hatred of snakes. However, this is also often referred to as the “protoevangelium”, the first gospel. The devil would cause problems, but ultimately he would be crushed. The offspring refers primarily to Jesus and on the cross He crushed Satan, but we will also share in that victory through Christ. It is notable that it is the offspring of the woman who will crush Satan. Sometimes people “complain” that the Bible blames the woman, and that Paul blames the woman. There are two things to say about this. The first is that the Bible holds both the man and woman responsible, and if anything I would say the man bears the greater responsibility. Secondly, we have here the woman associated with the victory.
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