the following is the first of a series of short bible studies i want to continue. it's based on the women of the bible; the first, of course, being Eve. basically what i did is read the passages of scripture that refer to her and jotted things down verse-by-verse.. things i gleaned from the story. then i wrote out more thoughts on where i felt i was being led by the passage read. these thoughts were also influenced by Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible, found on biblegateway.com. all quotes, unless associated with a specific scripture, are taken from this commentary. all emphasis is my own addition. but before all that, i'd encourage you to read the passage (there's a link below), first.
2:18-25 ---
- companion, helper, unique [created for this purpose]
- made from man's rib during his sleep
- presented to man [perhaps as a gift?]
- longed for [v. 23 "Finally!..."]
- man puts her above all other creatures; she is embraced
- deceived by the clever serpent when she is alone
- gave some of the fruit to Adam
- stripped of God's shelter from shame and evil
- had a relationship with God that she (with man) harmed
- protected by God from the serpent [v. 14-15 "...crush your head... bruise his heel"]...
- but still experiences consequences [v. 16]
- mother of all the living
- clothed by God
- protected from making another potential mistake [guarded from the Tree of Life]
- cast out and made to work the ground from which they'd been made
- banished from the garden
Satan tempted Eve, that by her he might tempt Adam. It is his policy to send temptations by hands we do not suspect, and by those who have the most influence upon us. Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible
Eve is trusted... God created man and woman to trust each other. it is Satan in serpent form that manipulates that trust and creates separation between man and the goodness intended for them.
Satan attempts to create doubt about the trueness of all the good things with which God sets us up in the beginning. "He teaches men first to doubt & then to deny." He tries to make us "discontented with [our] present state."
Satan was discontented and therefore "ruined" himself. he uses the same methods in which he ruined himself to ruin us. misery loves company.
when they realized they were naked "they saw the happiness they fell from and the misery they were fallen into." God's question "Where are you?" is rhetorical... actually making it even more clear to Adam and Eve what it is they've gotten themselves into. They are being made aware of the obvious - they have made their own beds & must now lie in them. they know in this moment that though they were deceived, God is not deceived. "Though [Satan] is the tempter, we are the sinners." it is up to us whether or not we buy into his tricks.
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these moments recorded in Genesis are what most refer to as the Fall of Man. before this deception, man and woman.. the whole earth.. was just as God had intended. however, a mistake, a mind game, a moment of loneliness brought Eve, the mother of all living, to doubt all the goodness that surrounded her. i imagine her thoughts, wondering if there were something better. i imagine her taking a bite of that fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden, the one God told them not to even touch, thinking there will be a great enlightenment. i imagine her convincing Adam to share with her in this experience and come to know all God knows. and indeed, their minds' eyes were opened. opened to a world of shame, of guilt, of separation and distrust.
my thoughts, when reflecting on this, brings me to ask some questions: "how often have i let Satan manipulate me into being blinded to the blessings of my life and lead me down a road that leads to an ultimate severing from all that is good?" "how many times have i allowed myself to be discontented instead of knowing that God is faithful?" "why do i find myself yearning for something more instead of trusting that the Almighty holds me in his hands?"
all those questions have to do with one thing: my choice to control my own thoughts and not to let them be tossed about like "wind-whipped waves" [James 1:5-8]. there is so much power in remembering that God is a Rock in this weary land we people have created for ourselves.
the serpent is, indeed, clever and knows us well. my prayer after this study is to resist his twisting of the truth; his manipulation of the mind which leads to a harrowing of the heart. and to know that though there's nothing i can do to change the way of man, to go back in time and prevent that first fall, He is faithful and He, through Christ, will let me rise.
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