First of Twelve Extraordinary Women: Eve, Mother Of All Living

WHO IS WOMAN AND WHY WAS SHE CREATED?


She was the crown of God’s creation. The mother of all living.

Adam was refined dirt; Eve was a glorious refinement of humanity itself. She was a special gift to Adam. She was a necessary partner who finally made his existence complete-and whose own existence finally signaled the completion of all creation.” ~John MacArthur {Twelve Extraordinary Women}

Before Eve was created, God made Adam from the dust of the earth. He breathed life in him and gave him this commission:

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”ο»Ώ
Genesis 2:15-18

Woman was created to be Man’s helper. {This might offend some women at first, and might puff up a man’s pride, but please keep reading and you will see the intrinsic value of a helper!}


To say that the value of each gender has become muddied in our world is an understatement. The significance of God creating each of us in His image, as male or female according to His pleasure and purpose can not be weighed. If we don’t believe we are each a masterpiece fashioned by His loving hand, made with significance and purpose, we lose perspective and flounder in confusion through life.*


*This is not to say that one without a spouse is incomplete, because God completes us when we are single.

“Like a violin without a bow or a lock without a key, man was incomplete without woman.” ~Sharon Jaynes {What God Really Thinks About Women}

In working alongside my husband for years on remodeling projects and in parenting, there is no shadow of doubt that I have what he is missing and he has what I am missing. And together we make quite a team when we are not being selfish. πŸ™‚


The fact that God anesthetized Adam, and took a rib from his side to create Eve speaks of her “fundamental equality “with Adam. The relationship, the value of each gender is side-by-side. She was “in no way inferior, but a spiritual counterpart and intellectual co-equal and in every sense a perfect mate and companion to Adam”. ~J.M.

To know this enables us to embrace the plan God has for us in the roles He has called us to as women, to be helpers , life-givers and nurturers. To know this also enables men to appreciate and embrace theirs as protector, overseer and provider.


God desires for us to honor Him in who He has created us to be, trusting His wisdom and love, we can live out our lives in contentment.


Helper: The word holds a place of great honor. Ezer -It is derived from the Hebrew word used of God and the Holy Spirit. David wrote, “O Lord, my helper.” Psalm 30:10 and Moses wrote, “My father’s God was my helper.” Exodus 18:4


With that, who can diminish what we’ve been created for and what strength we have as women!?!


Think about this: Without women, there would be no children. Without children, life would cease to exist. I think that is why scripture says woman is the glory of man.  1 Corinthians 11:7

 

SATAN, TEMPTATION, SIN AND A CURSE:

We are all, whether we know it or not, influencers of others. We all impact people’s lives for generations. All of us.
I don’t know about you, but with a responsibility that heavy, I want to have an accurate compass!

For years I’ve struggled to gain an accurate picture of God. I’ve thought of Him sometimes as a stern Father, light on fun and heavy on perfection. Or a sly Teacher who held things just out of reach, like holding a carrot before the horse, but never letting it take a bite. In trials, I thought I had to find some kind of key to open the door of blessing.


Those wrong thoughts about God are precisely the lies Satan and Eve were dancing around together that day the devil slithered up to Eve to steal her innocence away. Like always, Satan came to Eve in disguise. Snakes were friendly before the fall. Eve didn’t have a reason to feel cautious at that time.

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. Genesis 3:1-7

HERE is what God REALLY said to Adam before Eve was made: 


“You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”


  • Satan suggested uncertainty to Eve. (Did God actually say…?)
  • Satan blatantly opposed God’s word. (You will not surely die!)
  • Satan twisted the meaning of scripture. (What God really means is He is holding out on you keeping something from you. He is stingy.)
  • Eve exaggerated the rigors of God’s one restriction. (and you must not touch it)
  • Eve softened God’s decided tone and the severity of His warning. (lest you die, instead of you will surely die)


Satan still uses the same tactics with us.


OUR DILEMMA AND GOD’S SOLUTION-A GREAT GIFT:


Satan’s name means “To Separate”. He came to sever relationships between us and God. In doing so, he severed relationships among us all. The result of sin is pain, strain, sickness, division, death, perversion and all manner of misery. Adam and Eve, in agreeing with Satan turned their back on God.


He appealed to man’s desire to be like God. (To be equal to God rather than being submitted to His authority as God) Satan succeeded in binding us all in chains of shame. You know the story: Eve gave the fruit to Adam, Adam ate, and afterward they were afraid, and hid, and sewed fig leaves to cover their shame.


Before Adam and Eve fell into temptation, there was no evil. No awareness of evil. It truly was all good.


Satan came between us and God. He separated us with sin.


Romans 5:18-19  As representative of all of humanity when God put him in charge of his creation, Adam is credited with original sin.


And humanity was left with a huge dilemma.


We’ve been separated from God and fig leaves are inadequate to redeem our relationship.
We need a sufficient covering in order to be near Him.


He is perfect. We are not. We need a new representative. One who will not sin, who will follow God to death if necessary.
And it was necessary. 
Hebrews 9:22
And He did. 
2 Corinthians 5:21
And that is the gospel-good news!
Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.
Our Redeemer Lives!


One thing I took away from this week’s study that was not addressed specifically, but I saw through the responsibility laid on Adam for our sin, even when Eve was the first one to take a bite, was the fact that everyone who is given authority by God will be giving an account before Him in the judgement when rewards are handed out. {2 Corinthians 5:10Matthew 16:27James 3:1Hebrews 13:17}


So when we embrace our role as helper, we are helping others stand before God on judgement day receiving their rewards if they lived to honor God. We also will give an account for our own obedience and those we’ve been entrusted with to oversee and will be rewarded according to how we helped and how we managed what God gave us to care for.


If you are reading along, I know this week’s lesson was packed full, but please leave a comment with one or two things you took away from this week’s study. And also how I could be praying for you. πŸ™‚


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