Background – who were her
parents, husband, children, siblings?
Eve was the only woman made by God Himself. After calling everything "very good," in Genesis 2:18 God said, "It is not good that man should be alone." There was just one thing missing in creation - a helpmeet for Adam.
We know that Adam and Eve had at least three sons (Cain, Able, and Seth) and an unknown number of daughters (Genesis 5:4) We don't know how long she lived. Possibly more than 900 years like Adam? I wonder what she looked like when she was 300 years old!
Eve was the only woman made by God Himself. After calling everything "very good," in Genesis 2:18 God said, "It is not good that man should be alone." There was just one thing missing in creation - a helpmeet for Adam.
We know that Adam and Eve had at least three sons (Cain, Able, and Seth) and an unknown number of daughters (Genesis 5:4) We don't know how long she lived. Possibly more than 900 years like Adam? I wonder what she looked like when she was 300 years old!
What is she most known for? Victories? Defeats? How can I be like her? How can I avoid being like her?
Eve will always be known for listening to the voice of Satan and partaking of the fruit that led to the fall of man. Forget "the devil made me do it." I've said more than once "It's all Eve's fault!"
It's easy from where we sit to think "she just had to obey ONE rule!" All it takes is breaking one rule and we are in the same situation. God is a holy God. Isaiah 59:2 says, "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."
Eve's greatest defeat came at not knowing what God said. We are bombarded with messages that tell us we can live how we want, that God doesn't mean what He says. The only way we can defend our beliefs is if we know what we believe. We must know what the Word of God says.
Several months ago Les was going to be teaching our Sunday school class on the subject of deception. He asked me, "How do you know when you've been deceived?" You don't. The only way we can keep from being deceived is by staying in the Word.
It's easy from where we sit to think "she just had to obey ONE rule!" All it takes is breaking one rule and we are in the same situation. God is a holy God. Isaiah 59:2 says, "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."
Eve's greatest defeat came at not knowing what God said. We are bombarded with messages that tell us we can live how we want, that God doesn't mean what He says. The only way we can defend our beliefs is if we know what we believe. We must know what the Word of God says.
Several months ago Les was going to be teaching our Sunday school class on the subject of deception. He asked me, "How do you know when you've been deceived?" You don't. The only way we can keep from being deceived is by staying in the Word.
Did she
reach a place when she needed to reset?
Did she reset? Was it for good or evil?
I want to point out two times that Eve reached a point of reset. She failed the first test. After eating the fruit and giving it to Adam, their eyes were opened. They knew they were in trouble. They sewed fig leaves and hid from the voice of God. When God called to them, He knew where they were, but He was giving them an opportunity to confess. Instead of confessing they started pointing fingers. We will never know how things might have gone if they had humbly confessed, but instead they were cursed and forced from the garden. And mankind has lived under the curse of sin everyday since.
The second time Eve had to reset was after the death of Able. Along with the curse was the promise that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15.) When Cain was born, Eve said, "I have gotten a man from the Lord." There was hope for humanity again. Though they were removed from Eden and physically separated from God, His promises were still in her mind and heart and Eve believed them.
Suddenly she is faced with the loss of both sons - one from death, the other by his own sin. Her firstborn was a murderer and cursed from the earth. How much guilt did she carry? Did she blame herself? Children that are raised in godly homes can still go astray and mothers hearts break. They often die without God and there really is no consolation.
How many mothers have faced the loss of a child? Losing a child through miscarriage, infant death, or at anytime in their life is one of the greatest pains a mother can face. No child is replaceable. It is possible that there were already other children (Cain's wife is mentioned in Genesis 4:17) but it seems Eve's hopes were in Cain and Able. Surely one of them was the promised seed and now they are both gone from her life.
Eve is faced with a hard question. Will her next child be a murderer? Can this mother's heart trust that this child will walk in the ways of God? Will this seed bruise the serpent's head? I believe Eve did reset. Genesis 4:25 says, "And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew."
It was Eve who named the baby Seth. It was Eve who said God has appointed another seed. One commentary pointed out the use of the word "seed" here instead of "son" or "child." She didn't give up on the promise of God when it seemed the promise died. That verse contains the final recorded words of Eve. A woman who had been cursed and banished, trusted in a merciful God to provide the promised seed. And God did just that, in the man Christ Jesus.
I want to point out two times that Eve reached a point of reset. She failed the first test. After eating the fruit and giving it to Adam, their eyes were opened. They knew they were in trouble. They sewed fig leaves and hid from the voice of God. When God called to them, He knew where they were, but He was giving them an opportunity to confess. Instead of confessing they started pointing fingers. We will never know how things might have gone if they had humbly confessed, but instead they were cursed and forced from the garden. And mankind has lived under the curse of sin everyday since.
The second time Eve had to reset was after the death of Able. Along with the curse was the promise that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15.) When Cain was born, Eve said, "I have gotten a man from the Lord." There was hope for humanity again. Though they were removed from Eden and physically separated from God, His promises were still in her mind and heart and Eve believed them.
Suddenly she is faced with the loss of both sons - one from death, the other by his own sin. Her firstborn was a murderer and cursed from the earth. How much guilt did she carry? Did she blame herself? Children that are raised in godly homes can still go astray and mothers hearts break. They often die without God and there really is no consolation.
How many mothers have faced the loss of a child? Losing a child through miscarriage, infant death, or at anytime in their life is one of the greatest pains a mother can face. No child is replaceable. It is possible that there were already other children (Cain's wife is mentioned in Genesis 4:17) but it seems Eve's hopes were in Cain and Able. Surely one of them was the promised seed and now they are both gone from her life.
Eve is faced with a hard question. Will her next child be a murderer? Can this mother's heart trust that this child will walk in the ways of God? Will this seed bruise the serpent's head? I believe Eve did reset. Genesis 4:25 says, "And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew."
It was Eve who named the baby Seth. It was Eve who said God has appointed another seed. One commentary pointed out the use of the word "seed" here instead of "son" or "child." She didn't give up on the promise of God when it seemed the promise died. That verse contains the final recorded words of Eve. A woman who had been cursed and banished, trusted in a merciful God to provide the promised seed. And God did just that, in the man Christ Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment