Medicinal Punishment in the Book of Genesis The book of Genesis contains multiple examples of God applying medicinal punishment to humanity. Many divine punishments are considered medicinal because the purpose of these punishments is not God simply taking out his frustration on people, but rather an attempt by God to apply justice in a way that helps human beings to become better. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay An example of medicinal punishment is God's reaction when Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:6-7) from which God prohibited them from harvesting. fruit (Genesis 2:17). By eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and disobeying God's commandments, Adam and Eve wreaked havoc on the "system" of the world. In response to their disobedience, God imposes punishment on Adam and Eve. For Eve, God “intensified [the] work of procreation” and established a gender inequality where “Eve's desire will be for [her] husband, and he will have dominion over [her]” (Genesis 3:16 ). For Adam, God cursed the ground, forced him to work the earth to eat, and ultimately face death where he would "return to the ground from which [he was] taken" (Genesis 3:17-18). . . At first glance, these punishments seem harsh and certainly do not correspond to the actions of a good God. However, upon closer inspection, we realize that these punishments are, in reality, a call from God to humanity to work to correct the disorder. By increasing the pain associated with pregnancy, humans are called upon to develop drugs and techniques to alleviate the pain and counteract it. By cursing the earth, humans are called to develop agricultural techniques and bring order to a way of farming. By having Adam and Eve face and endure disorder, God teaches them the pain and cost of disorder while calling them to be part of the solution and not the problem. God is like the good parent who wants his children to know what is good and the value of good. God punishes them so that humanity will be motivated to bring order to the world and not to bring more disorder to it. Another example of medicinal punishment is God banishing Cain from the ground and forcing him to be a wanderer after murdering his brother Abel. God said to Abel, “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!” Now you are banished from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. If you cultivate the land, it will no longer give you its products. You will become a constant wanderer on the earth” (Genesis 4:10-12). God's punishment of Cain for the murder of his brother appears to be a death sentence when Cain says, "My punishment is too great to bear...Anyone can kill me at any time." view” (Genesis 4:13-14). But God “marked Cain so that no one would kill him on sight” (Genesis 4:15). By marking Cain and protecting him, God makes it clear that He still cares about Cain's well-being. If God had wanted to apply “an eye for an eye” or “a tooth for a tooth” justice, God would have simply let Cain be killed. But God cares for Cain and the punishment is a reflection of that care. God wants Cain to “learn his lesson” and more specifically, to learn the value of life. God who destroys agriculture is God who demonstrates once again the cost of disorder in the world. In this case, the killing of another human being, one of the most serious forms of creating disorder, creates a ripple effect on other living beings. The ground, soaked in Abel's murdered blood, is also affected..