Becky Austin

Eve: God’s Promises

4:00 PM

 

Throughout time and throughout the world, the story of Eve is known. Eve was a very special part of God’s creation for she was created to be the ultimate partner and helpmate to Adam. 

“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2:18‬ ‭


Adam and Eve were perfect partners and they were provided an amazing Earthly life. They were given everything they needed in the lush Garden of Eden and they enjoyed an intimate relationship with their Creator. They were loved by their Creator who wanted only the best for them. 

Perhaps when you read of her transgression you may wonder how could she have wanted more? Why did she doubt Her Creator? Why did she desire to be more than she was created to be?   


Whatever the reasons, I imagine that she fully regretted her foolish choices. She was the first to sin and suffer the consequences of sin. Not only was she removed from the Garden and God’s presence there but she also had to watch her sin impact all of mankind. Because of the first sin, we are all born with a sinful nature. As women, we also share in the consequences of being a woman in a fallen world:

“To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”” Genesis‬ ‭3:16‬ 


As disappointed and heartbroken as God was with Eve’s transgression, however, His love for her did not change. Her actions brought spiritual death but God’s love for humanity was so great that He was willing to provide a redemptive plan. Satan may have scored a small victory through tempting Eve but Eve was promised that through her seed, Satan would ultimately be defeated. He warned Satan:

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”” Genesis‬ ‭3:15‬ ‭NIV‬‬


That promise, the promise of a Savior, was made to redeem not only the sin of Adam and Eve but every sin that separates us from God as well. 

“For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Romans‬ ‭5:19-21‬ ‭


God gave Eve instructions and choices. God gives us instructions and choices as well. Love is not something forced. It is always a choice. Satan knows how to tempt us and he tries to deceive us just as He did Eve in the garden so long ago. Because of our sinful nature we are born enslaved to sin and spiritually dead. But, because of Jesus and His redemptive sacrifice that pays the price of our sins, we share in all the promises that come with accepting Him as our Savior. We all have a chance to one day know the wonder of Heaven and being restored to an eternity spent in the presence of our Creator. 


For Reflection:

Do you sometimes doubt God’s intentions and goodness? 

Do you ever feel like God’s instructions limit you from something you desire?

Do you notice that the consequences of your sins impact the lives of others?

Do you share in the promises of knowing Jesus as your Lord and Redeemer? 


Actions

Eve -- Our Choices Can Come With Far-reaching Consequences

10:00 AM

Eve is found in Genesis 2-3


 

Hi Girls!!

 I’m so excited to be back studying with you and I pray you are as well!! It has been my prayer from the beginning to come to know each of these women and you like family, for that is what we are, family!

 That being said, I feel I need to begin my post with a few misconceptions I discovered during my study on Eve:

  1. Eve is often linked to the beginnings of sin in the earliest mentions of her outside the Bible; however she is not called a sinner in Genesis 3. (I added the link here for you to go check all these facts out for yourself.) Eve and Adam, both disobeyed God no doubt, but the word, sin doesn’t appear in the Bible until the story of Cain and Abel.
  2. It’s often suggested that Eve tempts or seduces Adam, but in reality she merely took a piece of fruit—not an apple mind you—and handed it to Adam. Both had been warned not to eat of this particular fruit, yet they both did take a bite and ate it.
  3. It’s also important to note that Eve bit into the fruit first, thereby negating the theory that Eve was merely submitting to her husband.
  4. Finally, some believe God cursed both Eve and Adam, yet the text speaks only of cursing the serpent and the ground.

Pretty neat, huh? God’s word continues to amaze me, for no matter how many times I study it, I am always learning something new!

What I most want you to take away from this study today is that – our actions come with consequences, and sometimes those consequences can reach far into the future; impacting our children and grandchildren. (Deuteronomy 5:9)

 


In all fairness to Eve, she most likely didn't realize then that this one act would have reverberating consequences down through history, but we do now!

If Eve could come speak to us today, I wonder what she would most want us to remember...

Perhaps, she'd tell us:

  • Be content! Not only content with all you have at this moment, but be thankful! (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Having a continual attitude of gratitude is the perfect protection against longing for more bigger, better THINGS than you have at any moment.
  • Study, Meditate, Memorize and LIVE-OUT God's Word! Let it sink down deep into your psyche so that the enemy doesn't stand a chance when he comes to tempt you, and he will come after you. Knowing God's Word and prayer is our best weapons against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10-20)
  • Stand firm and never waiver! May the Holy Spirit step in to convict you the moment you begin to rationalize and justify something you know you shouldn't do. It could be as little as having that piece of chocolate cake to lying; calling in sick to avoid an appointment, an event, work, etc.
  • God sees and knows our hearts! We need to be open and honest with Him at all times. He knows the truth and chooses to love us far beyond what our minds can comprehend. 

  • Delight yourself in Him! If we truly love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and our entire being we will joyfully follow all of the above with gladdened hearts! (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)
And when we do miss the mark; mess up and falter, remember to be honest with Him then too. I think Paul said it best in Philippians 3:13-14, "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (emphasis mine)

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Authors' note: This post turned out much different than I planned when I sat down to write! My original thought was to write on the adverse affects our actions can have on our children and future generations, but The Lord must have wanted us to accentuate the positive, for if we focus on doing all the above we won't have to worry about averse consequences our actions will have on our future generations. 

If only Eve had known all this then...

Blessings, 

Sue

Adam and Eve

Punished But Not Forsaken - (Eve Genesis 2)

1:00 PM




We begin our study in the women of the Old Testament with Eve. In Genesis chapter 2, we are first introduced to God’s created helper to Adam. She is the first woman, wife, and mother of all the living. And even though she will forever be blamed for the fall of mankind, her story is also one of God’s mercy and new beginnings. For although God punished Eve, he never forsake her. 

The Story of Eve 

The sun was just beginning to rise as Eve strolled through the garden looking for something to eat. The morning dew glistened off the flower petals as the birds sang their good morning tune. Drinking in the fragrance of the air Eve thought, “What a perfectly glorious day!” Then, from the corner of her eye, she spied a very ripe and ruby colored pomegranate. And as she reached out to grab it, there was a rustle in the grass beside her.
 

Eve looked down and saw a serpent who had positioned himself on a rock to bask in the sunshine. Eyeing the fruit in her hand, with a low hiss the serpent asked, “Isn’t it true that God doesn’t want you eating from the trees of the garden?” “Not true at all!”, exclaimed Eve. “God allows us to eat freely of every fruit! Well…. except the fruit from that one,” she said pointing to a large tree in the middle of the garden. “But that’s God’s special tree. And not only can’t we eat from it, we can’t even touch it. Because if we do, we shall surely die!”
 

“Ha!”, cried the serpent. “You won’t die! God only tells you that to keep you away. Because He knows if you eat its fruit you’ll become like God Himself, knowing good and evil.” Eve rolled his wicked words around in her mind, and for the first time, she began to doubt the goodness of God. The fruit it so temptingly dangled truly was beautiful to behold, and Eve could almost taste its sweetness. Why would God withhold such a delight? Surely it must be good to eat, and wouldn’t her Father be pleased at her desire for wisdom? So Eve pulled the fruit from its branch, and ran back to her husband.
 

Finding Adam, she broke off a two pieces of the forbidden fruit. Handing one to her husband, Eve quickly gobbled up the other. The taste was like nothing she had experienced. But instead of the glorious sweetness she expected, the fruit filled her with the bitterness of shame and guilt. She felt dizzy, nauseous, and threw the remaining fruit on the ground. She looked at her husband in desperation and was horrified to see him staring back her with the same bewildered look. Both of them truly seeing each other’s nakedness for the first time, ran and hid amongst the trees. And gathering together a few fig leaves, they fashioned themselves some coverings.
 

While they were trying to process what was happening to them, they heard God walking in the garden. But instead of joyfully rushing into the arms of their Father as they usually did, they continued hiding. It was only when they heard God shout out, “Adam where are you?”, that her husband, afraid and ashamed, came, with Eve in tow, to face God and confess what they had done.
 

With her head hung in shame, Eve couldn’t bring herself to look at God. She knew the disappointment and sadness in His eyes were more than she could bear. Her Father had given her everything, and this was how she repaid Him. Oh how she wished she could turn back time and undo her great mistake. The sorrow in her heart filled her eyes with tears. And as they ran down her cheeks, Eve tasted for the first time, the salty bitterness of regret.
 

God’s punishment was swift and severe. They were banished from the garden. Forever banned from its life of ease, beauty, and perfect peace. There would be no more walks with God in the cool of the morning, nor shielding from the sting of death.
 

As Eve walked out the garden towards her new life of toil, she took one look back at the paradise lost to her forever. Even though there was pain and remorse in her heart, there was also hope. She turned and smiled gently at Adam. “What is there to smile about?” he asked his wife. Taking his hand and placing it on her belly where a new life was growing inside her Eve replied, “Because even though God has punished us, He hasn’t forsaken us.”

Eve

Women of the Bible ~ Eve ~ Scripture Saturday ~ John 1:16

11:00 PM




Welcome to Scripture Saturday! 


It is the first Saturday of our study of Old Testament Women! I am so excited to begin our scripture memorizing journey together!


Here at WitW we know the importance of memorizing scripture...


1. God's word instructs us to memorize scripture. (Colossians 3:16)

2. Memorizing scripture provides us with guidance and wisdom. (Psalm 119:105)

3. Memorizing scripture can keep us from sin and temptation. (Psalm 119:9-11)

4. Memorizing scripture helps us know the truth and can keep us from error. (Matt 22:29)

5. Memorizing scripture is our weapon against spiritual attacks. (Eph 6:13-17)

6. Memorizing scripture helps us explain the hope we have in us to others. (1 Peter 3:15)

7. Memorizing scripture increases our faith. (Romans 10:17)

(R. Sang, 2018)


So for these very reasons we will begin each week with a verse (or two) to meditate upon and memorize. It is my hope and prayer that the verse(s) chosen each week will prepare your heart for our study and will allow you to draw from His word when you need it the most.  


Our verse for this week is John 1:16..."For from His fullness we all have received, grace upon grace."


Throughout Scripture, God's grace is most beautifully evident within His judgements. In Eve's story, after He speaks to Eve about the consequence of her choice, God makes a promise to her and her future generations...you are 'the mother of all human beings' (Gen 3:20). So, although there was a consequence for the choice she made, her hope returned because one day her seed would crush the serpent.


So through Eve we learn that though there may be a consequence for something you have done against the One who loves you most, and as you are asking for His forgiveness, remember what His love also brings...grace upon grace.


Have a blessed week everyone!


Sandra