Rev. David Holwick Q Women of the Bible
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
May 8, 2016
Genesis 3:20, 4:1
EVE: THE MOTHER OF ALL LIVING
I. Today's passage has had a huge impact on Western civilization.
A. It establishes the roles and relationships of men and women.
1) Whether you believe in the divine inspiration of Genesis
or not, you have been molded by its principles.
2) Many of these principles are under attack today.
a) College professor Christopher Witcombe argues that our
negative attitude toward women derives from this text.
"Eve represents everything about a woman a man should
guard against.
In both form and symbol, Eve is woman, and because of
her, the prevalent belief in the West has been that
all women are by nature disobedient, guileless,
weak-willed, prone to temptation and evil, disloyal,
untrustworthy, deceitful, seductive, and motivated in
their thoughts and behaviour purely by self-interest.
"No matter what women might achieve in the world, the
message of Genesis warns men not to trust them, and
women not to trust themselves or each other."
#65208
b) Rather than a binary humanity (male and female) there
is a push to see us as a continuum with many
possibilities beyond just male and female.
3) The confused state of things is understandable.
a) All humans are warped, men as well as women.
b) We yearn to be whole, to reach our divine potential.
B. God's Word still stands.
1) To be truly happy and fulfilled, we should understand what
it says, and then put it into practice.
a) It is also important to understand what it DOESN'T say.
b) What we THINK it says has often been more influenced
by our culture than by the Bible.
2) It is very appropriate today to focus on what it says
about a very important person: Eve.
II. Eve was the first woman.
A. She was created to be equal to Adam.
1) Both are created in the image of God (not just the man).
Genesis 1:27
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
he created him; male and female he created them."
Genesis 5:2
"He created them male and female and blessed them.
And when they were created, he called them 'man.'" (adam)
2) Disparaging either sex will diminish what it means for us
to be truly human.
B. It is traditional to see Eve as being subservient to Adam.
1) Adam was formed first, which would give him priority.
2) However, Professor Phyllis Trible of Union Theological
Seminary in New York argues this approach would really
give the priority to animals because they were
created before Adam.
a) To Trible, Eve is not a secondary creation, but the
pinnacle of creation.
#65208
b) Any inequality between them is a result of the Fall
because of their disobedience.
1> In Eden they were equal.
Diane Sloane sent me an explanation of the real problem between
the sexes.
Adam was hanging around the Garden of Eden feeling very lonely.
So God asked him, "What's wrong with you?"
Adam said he didn't have anyone to talk to.
God said that he had a solution - he would make Adam a
companion and that it would be a woman.
God said, "She will be the most intelligent, sensitive, caring,
and beautiful creature I have ever created.
She will gather food for you, she will cook for you, and when
you discover clothing, she will wash it for you.
She will always agree with every decision you make and she
won't nag you and will always be the first to admit
she was wrong when you've had a disagreement.
She will bear your children and never ask you to get up in
the middle of the night to take care of them.
She will never have a headache and will freely give you love
and passion whenever you desire it."
Adam was really excited by this.
But then he asked God, "What will a woman like this cost?"
God replied, "She'll cost you your right arm, your right leg,
and an eye and ear of your choice."
Adam thought about it and said, "That's pretty steep. What
can I get for just a rib?"
So it is all his fault...
#17925
C. She was created to be in relationship with God.
1) Eve was a physical and spiritual being.
2) She did not need Adam to be complete, she needed God.
3) She, and Adam, were given moral responsibility and free will.
a) Both of them failed at this.
b) Yet both of them still maintained a relationship with
God.
III. Eve was the first wife.
A. She was created to be in relationship with Adam.
1) He was lonely without her.
a) People have been trying to cure loneliness ever since.
b) It is no secret that loneliness is unhealthy, physically
and emotionally.
Scientific studies followed 181,000 healthy people
for up to 21 years.
They found that people who didn't have strong social
ties were 29% more likely to have a heart attack
and 32% more likely to have a stroke. [1]
c) A good relationship can make a world of difference
in your life.
1> This is why we put so much focus on relationships
and dating and marriage.
2> When it is good, it is great; but when it is bad,
it is horrible.
2) He was incomplete without her.
a) She was taken out of him.
b) They belonged to each other.
c) They spent the rest of their lives with each other.
B. She was in a constant struggle with Adam.
1) Part of their curse for disobedience was a constant conflict
between desire and control.
a) Genesis 3:16 says,
"Your desire will be for your husband, and he will
rule over you."
b) One of my college professors interpreted this as
referring to women's unreciprocated longing for
intimacy with men.
c) He wrote: "The woman wants a mate and she gets a master;
she wants a lover and gets a lord; she wants a
husband and gets a heirarch."
#1186
2) The conflict has not diminished.
a) My appointment to visit a new attender this week was
thwarted when he was called to deal with a domestic
disturbance -- it lasted until 7:00 a.m.
b) Think about all the conflict that happens between the
sexes from generation to generation.
3) The conflict does not have to be the last word.
a) The New Testament speaks of a marriage where the
husband is the self-sacrificing servant of his wife.
b) As Ephesians 5:28 says, spouses are to love each other
as we love ourselves.
IV. Eve was the first mother.
A. Her name means "to breathe" or "to live."
1) Not only was she alive, but she gave birth to others.
2) It is an amazing event that we should all be thankful for.
B. She gives the credit for her child to God.
1) Genesis 4:1 - "With the help of the LORD I have brought
forth a man."
a) It is a mutual creative act, a supernatural event.
2) The miraculous nature of conception has been highlighted
by some new research at Northwestern University near
Chicago.
They found that human life begins in a bright flash of light
when the sperm meets the egg.
They actually captured the astonishing 'fireworks' on film.
An explosion of tiny sparks erupts from the egg at the
exact moment of conception."
#65205
C. She had several children.
1) Cain and Abel and Seth are the only ones named, but Gen. 5:4
mentions other sons and daughters.
2) All humans would trace back to her.
a) This may seem like a quaint myth, but it is a fact that
all humans have a common ancestor.
b) No one has had two mothers - at least until scientists
started tinkering with DNA.
1> We can expect a lot of grief to result from this.
V. Eve experienced what most women do.
A. She experienced joy.
1) Her relationship with Adam was often fulfilling.
2) She rejoiced at the birth of her children.
B. She experienced heartbreak.
1) Her firstborn son murdered his brother.
a) We are not told how Eve reacted, but it must have torn
her up.
b) Cain did something terrible, but he was still her son.
2) Nothing can break your heart like your own child.
C. She experienced salvation.
1) Genesis 3:15 contains what is considered to be the first
prophecy of the Messiah.
a) Even some early Jewish writers thought so.
2) God is speaking to the serpent, Satan, and he says:
"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."
a) On one level it might seem like it just speaks of
the spiritual struggle between humans and evil.
b) But notice the focus on an individual offspring who
will crush the serpent's head.
c) That individual is ultimately Jesus Christ.
1> Jesus was born to Eve as much as he was to Mary.
2> And through Jesus their sins were forgiven.
3) We can also experience something beyond this world.
a) Earthly joys and heartbreaks are only temporary.
b) Only God can give us a new birth...
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
1. "Health scare of the week: Loneliness hurts the heart," The Week
magazine, May 6, 2016.
# 1186 “Life After Eden,” Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen, Christianity Today
magazine, July 16, 1990, page 19.
#17925 “Discount Eve,” submitted by Diane Sloane, Ledgewood Baptist
Church, New Jersey, August 30, 2002.
#65205 “The Actual Spark of Life,” John Stonestreet, BreakPoint
Commentary, May 3, 2016. It draws upon information in the
article “Bright Flash of Light Marks Incredible Moment Life
Begins When Sperm Meets Egg,” Sarah Knapton, The Guardian
newspaper, April 26, 2016.
#65208 “All About Eve,” Dr. Christopher L. C. E. Witcombe, Sweet Briar
College, 2000, <http://witcombe.sbc.edu/eve-women/>.
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