Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50453

Thorns, Sweat, and Pain in the Garden of Eden

Readers of Genesis may be forgiven for assuming that the ‘curse’ in Genesis 3 introduced all forms of discomfort, pain, and trouble that exist within the created order. The woman would experience birth pains and the man would sweat while trying to uproot thorns from the ground. Reading back from the curses of Genesis 3 leads one to imagine a Garden of Eden full of blissful perfection. Adam and Eve waltzed through the garden effortlessly plucking fruit off (the right) trees and plucking roses from thornless bushes.