Titus 2 Men And Women

Eve
By Teddi Neevel

Scripture: Genesis 2:1-25

Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

Isn’t it interesting that the Bible tells us all about creation…about the order in which God created…about the perfection of the Garden of Eden…about making man in His own image and yet there is not one word about what Adam or Eve looked like? No indication of their sizes, shapes or coloring…apparently God doesn’t consider those things to be important. There has been a great deal of speculation about how they would physically compare with the ages of people today. While we don’t know their chronological age or physical description we do know that Adam was pleased with what he saw when he first Eve. Our English translation of the Bible reads, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man.” (Genesis 2:23) but in the Hebrew language this is actually written in poetic free verse. The first poem, love song or perhaps Hallmark card was voiced in Genesis chapter 2.

This, this at last is bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh:
This shall be called Wo-man,
For from man was she taken!

God called both Adam and his wife “Adam” which means the man or reddish tint. Adam named his wife “Eve” which means life. I find that interesting because she was the first mother…human giver of life…and because so many men still refer to their wife as their life when they are faced with a crisis. Genesis 3:20 “And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.”

Many Bible scholars have blamed Eve for sinning…for the ground being cursed…and childbirth being painful and while all of those things are true, it might be better to blame Eve for being too trusting and daring. The Bible does not record Adam trying to stop Eve nor did he refuse the fruit once he saw she had not died or become immediately ill. It is possible that Adam was off talking to a kangaroo but I doubt it. Mr. and Mrs. Adam were on their honeymoon; Adam was not likely to be far from Eve’s side. While they had never seen evil and were living in innocence, once they disobeyed God and ate of the tree of good and evil they immediately recognized evil. God records that they now had knowledge to discern good and evil and had to take them out of the presence of the tree of life. “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:” (Genesis 3:22)

Just as the sin nature passed on to all future generations so did the ability to recognize evil. (Romans 5:12, Romans 1:18-25) Every culture has its own set of taboos. Many of those taboos remain consistent from one culture to another. When a very young child gets into the cookies (steals) no one has to teach that child to lie. Even as a toddler, children recognize when they do wrong. (Recognition of evil)

Satan used a subtle seed of temptation with Eve. He began by questioning what was already known, and then indirectly reflected on the goodness of God.
Genesis 3:1-5 “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be
as gods, knowing good and evil.”

Can’t you just hear Satan in a crooning soft voice questioning Eve…? “Hath God said?” Following her reply with a small tolerant smile and a nod of his head. I believe I hear him now, “God is so marvelous and such a great creator, surely He wants you to know all that He knows. You must have misunderstood what He meant. God has given you this garden, He certainly wants you to have it all.”

Satan knew how to reach Eve with his temptation. She was living in a perfect place, with her husband who had never sinned. She didn’t have to wonder about his past and there were no other women around to seduce him or for him to compare her to. Everyday, Adam and Eve walked and talked with God. There were no financial concerns…never a bill collector or telemarketer. No sibling rivalry or worry about health or happiness. We could easily believe that if we lived in a perfect place in sinlessness we would have been stronger than Eve. So, just how did Satan tempt her? He still uses the same three temptations that are recorded in Genesis 3:6 when he tempts us today:
Physical Appetite was tempted “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food…” I can resist over eating until I decide to get just one piece of dessert at a pot luck. Then Satan tempts me and suddenly my plate is holding 4 kinds of dessert and I leave the building having over eaten. It may be a specific food, personal comfort or many other reasons but gluttony and its opposite, anorexia is still sin. Lack of self-control is yielding to the temptation that Satan so subtly uses to entice us.
Sensuous nature was tempted “that it was pleasant to the eyes…” Women are often on a quest to gather stuff. A bigger diamond, a newer car, the latest toy that the advertising industry tells us we want, need, or deserve.
Spiritual desire was tempted “a tree to be desired to make one wise…” An education without common sense is a very dangerous thing. We easily buy into the “You have a great mind” philosophy. I don’t believe God is opposed to our learning since He answered Solomon’s prayer for wisdom, however, knowledge without Godly wisdom will draw us away from Christ.

Paul recognized that Satan is still using the same tactics that he did in the Garden of Eden. Satan is following the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. He knows what has worked in the past will continue to work until Jesus returns. It is our job to be prepared to face Satan’s temptations by allowing God’s word to dwell in us and by choosing to do God’s will at all times. Just as salvation is based on simple faith and acceptance of the gift, living victoriously is simply standing firmly where God stands on the issues of live.

2Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

God had only told Adam and Eve one thing that they were to leave untouched and they failed to obey. God has given us His word which contains many specific rules because with Adam’s and Eve’s sin the ability in mankind to recognize good and evil. Yet we still are being tempted by Satan in the same manner, “Hath God said?” Let’s look at a few things that God says and our society tells us are too rigid or archaic.

The temptation of Eve should make us all want to know what God’s word says about right and wrong. As you look at these opinions that our society considers to be out-dated take a few minutes to study the scriptures and challenge yourself to see if you agree with society or God.

• It’s OK for a Christian to date, marry or go into business with a unbeliever because maybe the other person will get saved later. It is just too narrow-minded to limit dating to Christians. 2Corinthians 6:14

• Life begins at birth or some point after conception. From conception until birth it is just a mass of cells. Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:16

• Shedding innocent blood is a justifiable choice. A woman has the right to choose whether she wants a baby or not. If she is very young, was raped, or it isn’t convenient to have a baby now she should be able to have the mass of cells removed by a doctor. Deuteronomy 21:9, Psalm 106:38

• Sexual purity is silly. You really need to live with someone before you decide to marry him or her. You wouldn’t buy a car with out test driving it so why would you want to make a life commitment to marriage without seeing if you can live together and still get along. Matthew 5:28, Deuteronomy 22, Leviticus 18

• The Bible says that Jesus changed water into wine, and we know they didn’t have refrigeration or pasteurizing in Bible times so fruit juices would naturally have turned into wine. Besides much of the water was unsafe to drink. So there is nothing wrong with drinking or serving wine (alcoholic beverages). Proverbs 23:31, Habakkuk 2:15

• Fortune telling, seances, horoscopes, palm reading, taro cards, Quiji board, etc. are just fun games to play at a party. Of course knowing my horoscope and sign can guide my life and keep me from making really bad mistakes. Deuteronomy 18:10-12

• Situation ethics are necessary, white lies protect people’s feelings, and nothing is black and white there are all those gray areas we need to consider. James 5:12, Romans 3:4

• I need someone to co-sign a loan or they need me to co-sign, that’s no big deal. Almost all financial institutions require a co-signer when you’re just starting out. It’s really no big deal because the bank will always collect their payments from the person who gets the loan. Proverbs 6:1-2

• Religion is just a crutch for people who are too weak to live their life without seeking someone else’s opinion. Church attendance isn’t important. Hebrews 10:25? The homosexual lifestyle is acceptable because God made them that way. Genesis 18:20-21, Genesis 19:5 & 24, Romans 1:26-27

• We can’t do anything about the problems in our country. The government needs to take more control and do more to provide for everyone. Proverbs 14:34, 2Chronicles 7:14-15

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