We begin to see a fulfilling of the instruction that God undoubtedly gave them as a part of what we see there in Genesis 2:16-17 - which I am sure is just an encapsulation of all of the other instruction that He also gave them. What we see in chapter 3 is an unfolding of the result that takes place whenever lawbreaking occurs. And we see again the reaction of the supreme Governor of everything; and He shows us, then, another function of government in the way that He reacts.
The Governor - the Government - reacts by making a judgment and issuing a sentence. So we see here that another purpose, or responsibility, of government is to enforce its rules. We also see the warning that, because of law , the process toward disorganization will be sped up. That is what we begin to see, especially in those things regarding the curse that came upon Eve and then Adam. Especially the one with Adam - cursed is the ground for your sake.
We are beginning to see the fruit of disobedience to government - the process of disintegration, of disorganization. The movement toward chaos will be increased incrementally by the disobedience of the government, let us say, that is in power. Now, in chapter 4, we see a similar occurrence. We will not go through that, because it is very similar to chapter 3. But I want you to note that what we have here is a very clear record in regard to government, and we are only in the fourth chapter of this most important of all books.