Honouring the First Mother
Genesis 2 and 3
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
14 March, 2010
AM Mother’s
Day in
I.
Introduction (Genesis 3:20)
A.
People are pretty convinced today that the Bible is a book of myths and fables.
They make fun of Noah’s
B.
And
yet, absolutely everyone you have ever met has lived their entire life trying to
get BACK to that Garden
1.
Trying to mould and shape perfect bodies
2.
Trying to find the perfect mate that just loved them as they were
3.
Trying to retire earlier and earlier and not work anymore, but just relax, and
eat and sleep and have fun out in a “garden” paradise somewhere
4.
Trying to live without guilt and shame – so they spend thousands of Euros a year
on “counselling” and Prozac and Vallium
C.
Modern Science has such a sad, foolish, unscientific theory to try to explain
how we all got here – it is called Darwinian Evolution
1.
That
we all just accidently burped out of some protoplasmic soup onto the rocks
2.
And
from that moment began to crawl, and reach for the stars, discovering fire and
tools, and then bows and arrows, and then canons and rockets.
3.
After billions of years of struggle and death and accidents and failures, ta da!
HERE WE ALL STAND!
4.
What
a JOKE!
D.
God
says we are the product of a supernatural creative moment, 6,000 years ago,
formed by the hands of a loving God, who moulded and shaped us for His purpose,
and for His glory!
E.
So
when you read Genesis 1,2 and 3, you are looking at our beginning – how we got
here
1.
But
we are looking more importantly at what we lost because of sin
2.
But
thankfully, we are looking at what we CAN be because of Jesus
3.
So
this morning, being Mother’s Day, let’s take a look back at the beginning, and
see what we all have lost, and discover what every home can have once again
because of a Lamb!
4.
The
first Mother, Eve, sets the pace for mothers throughout history
5.
Eve
will explain why it hurts so much to be a Mom, but also, how to just be a Mom!
F.
Let’s take a look at why Adam looked at his wife, and honoured her, in spite of
all the disaster she had caused!
II.
Message
A.
The Background of Eve
(Gen 1:26-28; 2:7-25; 3:1-19)
1.
Eve
was not an afterthought.
a.
Not
a patch-up job after God made Adam.
b.
Eve
was part of the plan from the beginning. Male AND female.
c.
It’s
just, Adam didn’t know that yet!
2.
The
Setting
a.
Adam
was created first – from the Dust (2:7)
1)
Not
from gold, or platinum, but from common moist dust
2)
God
brought Adam into a specially created garden in
3)
And
the two of them shared every moment together – in sweet fellowship
b.
Adam
was created Incomplete
1)
As
time went by, Adam began to notice something was wrong (2:18)
a)
How
could that be possible?
b)
Everything that God had created had been “good” (1:31)
c)
But
the fact was there: Adam was “alone”
d)
Adam
had God, he had purpose, he had health, he had a home, he had fun, but he had no
one around to share his life with
2)
God
brought thousands of different animals to Adam to see what he thought they
should be named (2:19-20). And Adam had fun naming the animals. But none of the
animals were like him
a)
You
see, God had made angels, but they were not like Him
b)
God
had made galaxies, and nebulas and black holes, and star clusters, but none of
them were like HIM
c)
That’s why God made man!
d)
And
now Adam is having a moment where he doesn’t know what he is looking for, but he
just knows that he hasn’t found it yet
c.
So
God brings to Adam one more creature (2:21-22)
1)
God
performed the first surgery (Gen 2:21,22)
2)
Caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam
a)
Dr
Sir James Simpson in just 1847 read this passage and saw that God put people to
sleep when he did an operation, so he figured a way to do the same!! Used
chloroform
b)
Adam’s sleep is a type of “death” to produce his wife (see John 11:11; 1Thes
4:14)
3)
He
took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof
a)
Fifth rib was the place to KILL a man (2Sam 2:23; 4:6; 10:10)
b)
Christ had a spear forced into His SIDE
4)
And
the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman
a)
A
Rib - A Bone
b)
Source of Blood is from the marrow of the bone
c)
A
protecting bone – that covers the vital organs, especially the heart
d)
A
man is a HE-man, and a woman is a SHE-man – both are mankind!
e)
Womb-man contracted in English
5)
And
God brought her unto the man.
a)
A
tremendous ceremony
b)
A
surprise to the man who probably had given up looking for what he didn’t know
what to look for
6)
When
the Lord brought the woman to Adam he didn’t say, “Wow, where did she come
from?” or “who’s she?” No. He knew exactly what had happened.
7)
He
knew that she was HIS counterpart – the other half of himself that was missing
BY DESIGN (2:23)
8)
And
boy were they delighted with each other (2:24)
d.
The first wedding ceremony
(Gen 2:18-25)
1)
Adam and Eve became the
example for all time of a Godly marriage
2)
To meet the need of two people
who want to live for God better
3)
God brought the two together
a)
Part of God’s plan – not a
guess, or stab in the dark – the perfect will of God
b)
Adam did not go out and try
and FIND his Eve
c)
God brought her to him
d)
We need to know that when we
get impatient, we are not trusting the Lord (Ps 27:14)!
4)
Adam recognized the other
person as:
a)
A gift from God – not a
possession to be conquered
b)
A match for him – his equal –
not his servant, or a lower class animal as the Koran teaches
c)
A woman – not a man (so, don’t
dress like one, act like one, or expect to be treated like one)!
5)
The two were to BECOME one
flesh – their marriage enabled their union. The union of two flesh did not make
the marriage
a)
The union of two flesh made
for fornication and or adultery
b)
The honourable marriage of two
people allowed for their union of two flesh
6)
The two would from that moment
on CLEAVE – cling, STICK together – be bound until death
7)
Totally honourable – without
any shame, or taint of sin – they could stand their NAKED looking at each other
and not be ashamed of anything!
8)
Here
is Eve…
a)
The
first Woman
b)
The
first Wife
c)
The
first Mother
d)
Ah,
but the story doesn’t end with, “And they lived happily ever after!”
3.
The Serpent (3:1) -
This is still all background to Eve getting her name!
a.
Now,
God had commanded Adam saying, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of
every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)
b.
Subtle
1)
You
know the story. A serpent who was described as being “more subtle, cunning than
any beast of the field which the Lord God had made,” came into the garden and
created doubt about what God had command concerning the “tree of the knowledge
of good and evil.”
a)
More
subtle than any other animal – sneaky, deceptive, even beautiful. Not totally
truthful, or holding things back, sly, cunning, crafty, wily (Eph 6:11)
b)
Refers clearly to Satan
c)
He
appears as a snake. Satan always appears in mask – never appears as he really
is! He is a liar!
d)
Christ says the Pharisees were of their father the devil – a generation
(descendants) of vipers
e)
This
serpent is different to all the other animals – he SPEAKS!
f)
Rev
12:9 tells us that this creature is
actually “the great dragon…, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan,
which deceiveth the whole world.”
c.
Suspicious
1)
Satan asks, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
2)
The
woman came back with, “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.” (3:2,3)
d.
Scoffs
1)
The
serpent responds confidently, “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.”
2)
The most satanic work today is not promotion of abortion, or politics, or
oppression – it is questioning and correcting the word of God!
e.
Sows
Discord - Satan then plants ENVY and BITTERNESS in the woman in (3:5)
1)
That
God is actually holding you back, and limiting you from being “gods” just like
Him
2)
That
God was being SELFISH and not sharing His powerful position:
a)
Which was what he convinced Miriam and Aaron to believe (Num 12:1,2)
b)
And
Satan convinced Korah and Dathan and Abiram to believe this also about Moses
(Num 16:3)
3)
This
was Satan’s problem (Isa 14:14), and he was spreading HIS own bitterness around!
4)
Satan puts the idea in Eve’s mind that her eyes were really closed to all this
and that “he” was just being a true friend and HELPING her out with all this
information
5)
Satan implies that knowing good and evil was safe, and enlightening, and
liberating
6)
THAT’S WHY the liberals in government and in universities and in religions work
so hard at forcing the teaching of sex education, and the homosexual agenda
4.
The
Sin
a.
Then
Satan let’s SIN do its work (3:6)
1)
James 1:14,15
a)
Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
b)
Then
when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin
c)
And
sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
2)
1John 2:16 For all that is in the
world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world.
a)
The
lust of the flesh, “when the woman saw that the tree was good for food”
b)
The
lust of the eyes, “it was pleasant to the eyes”
c)
The
pride of life, “tree to be desired to make one wise”
3)
Satan cannot force you to sin, but he can make it very attractive, or very pushy
and constraining
a)
She
took of the fruit thereof, and did eat
b)
And
gave also unto her husband; and he did eat.
b.
Eve
experiments with sin
1)
Eve
touched the fruit, and didn’t die – handled it
2)
Eve
then ate of the fruit and didn’t die
3)
Eve
now was convinced by her own experiences that God had lied to her, and that the
Serpent was right, and that neither she nor her husband needed God anymore!
c.
It
was at THAT moment, when she ATE, that she disobeyed God and died inside!
1)
There was no sin in being tempted – Jesus was tempted
2)
There was no sin in debating
3)
There was no sin in struggling
4)
But
when you ACT in defiance, in disobedience, KNOWING the consequences, then you
have sinned!
5)
Even
though she was tricked and deceived, she was doomed under the wrath of God
d.
Probably, Eve feared losing her husband, and he getting another wife after her
death, so she determined to cause him to disobey God so he could die with her!
5.
The
Side-Effects! So what were the results?
a.
Well, earlier in the story, in chapter 2, God brings the woman to Adam. They
were both naked and were not ashamed. Now watch what happens after they have
disobeyed God by eating the fruit from the tree that was forbidden.
1)
The
eyes of both of them were opened (3:7)
a)
When
I know that I have done wrong there is no denying, reasoning,
or rationalizing. I know that I have done wrong. I have sinned. My eyes
are open.
b)
My eyes have been so OPEN TO
SIN – I now want my eyes open to God, His Spirit, His blessings, His Word
2)
They
tried to cover it up (nakedness, sin, shame) (3:7)
a)
My
first instinct is to cover it up. Not necessarily from God, but, from people.
And there is certain sin in my life that only God knows about because I am too
ashamed to reveal it. I keep it covered up.
3)
They
hid from God (3:8)
a)
When
I have committed sin, especially ones that I consider my worst, I don’t want to
be around the people of God. I don’t want to hear or read the Word of God. I
don’t want to hear music singing His praises. It is not because I my feelings
about Him have changed. It is because I feel naked, I feel ashamed. I feel
unworthy and unclean. And yes, I feel afraid like Adam and Eve and hide from His
presence.
4)
They
were afraid (3:9)
a)
Of
facing Almighty God
b)
Of
dying
c)
Some
things we all STILL fear to this very day! Or at least we ought to!
5)
They
No longer cared about each other – only about protecting themselves – they began
to pass the blame around!
b.
So,
The Consequences of Sin are…
1)
Fellowship with God is broken
2)
Fellowship with each other is broken – passing blame
3)
Curses came upon them and their world
a)
Upon
child bearing – much pain
b)
Upon
child rearing – much sorrow
c)
Upon
the ground – lots of bugs, and little harvest
d)
Death passed upon them and their descendants
4)
Driven from the Garden – no longer going to live in paradise
5)
Death would win in the end
6.
So,
Why Is She The Mother Of All Living? We’re getting there. I promise.
B.
The Praise of That Name – Eve
(3:20)
1.
Adam
turns and faces his wife, and instead of seeing the woman who brought death into
the world, and would one day die herself, Adam looks at her, and confidently
calls her a new name – Eve!
a.
He
calls her “The Mother”
b.
Not
a sinner, not a killer, not his downfall, but part of his hope!
c.
Adam
and Eve had gotten some hope from somewhere !
d.
He
looked forward to children, and what God would do in spite of their own failures
and sins!
2.
Hey!
It is a high honour to be a Mom – to be like Eve!
a.
Not
just a baby birther, but a MOM!
b.
It
is great to be a sister, but awesome to be a mother! Gen 24:60 “And they blessed
Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands
of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.”
c.
God
says protect Moms and honour them!
d.
Epitaph on a tombstone in a churchyard, inscribed by a husband after 60 years of
wedded life: “She always made home happy!”
C.
The Price of That Name
– It cost something to give her that name
1.
That
name was no flippant word.
a.
“Woman” was her scientific designation
b.
Wife
was her occupation
c.
But
Eve, Mother, was her Name!
2.
God’s Promise of a Fight (Gen 3:15)
a.
Look
at verse 15. What is the Lord is doing? “And I will put enmity between thee and
the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise his heel.”
b.
This
is the first Gospel Message of the Bible!!!
1)
I
will put enmity (warfare, conflict) between SATAN and the woman
2)
I
will put enmity between SATAN’S seed and her seed
3)
Eve’s seed shall bruise SATAN’S head, and Satan shalt bruise the Messiah’s heel.
c.
This
is this why women have suffered so many cruel injustices throughout history!
This why they have been treated as 2nd class citizens. Enmity between the devil
and the woman. Satan is behind all that women have suffered throughout history.
Why? Read the last part of the verse: ..between you and the woman, and between
your seed and her Seed.. This is understood to be a prophecy of the Messiah,
Jesus.
d.
Ever
since that moment there has been warfare between Satan and anyone who tried to
live for God!
e.
But,
through a virgin a perfect Son would be born who would finish the fight!
f.
It
was not through the seed of man that the Messiah would come. If you know your
biology you know that a woman does not produce a seed. She receives seed from a
man. So how can this verse be fulfilled, and, a woman produce the Messiah?
3.
God
promised a Lamb (Gen 3:21)
a.
God then provided a SUBSTITUTIONARY DEATH
in the place Adam and Eve
1)
Someone HAD to die (Gen 2:17; Rom 6:23a)
2)
God
killed two large lambs right in front of Adam and Eve
3)
Skinned those animals – blood everywhere
4)
Made
COATS (not apron sized) out of those skins
5)
Helped Adam and Eve put on those coats
6)
They
would wear those coats as a reminder of the cost of sin
b.
NOTE: Salvation only follows awareness of condemnation
1)
Whether from our own conscience
2)
Or
from the law of God in His word
4.
Real
Repentance
a.
Shame and Repentance – at seeing the blood pour out
b.
To
be saved from the wrath of God, a person MUST understand and accept the fact
that they are lost and condemned and without hope without God intervening!
5.
Adam
and Eve just needed real faith:
a.
Confident Faith
b.
Accepting the free gift that has been offered by God
1)
God
made…
2)
God
clothed…
3)
All
they could do was drop their own flimsy leafs, and RECEIVE it!
D.
The Pattern of That Name - Eve
1.
She was a Gift to Adam,
not a Burden
a.
She
was GOD’S gift to Adam – not an accident (Mt 19:4-6) God brought you together
b.
And
believe me, Adam needed Eve
c.
It
is not good for a man to be alone (2:18)
1)
Not
just alone, but alone without a wife
2)
Man
was made incomplete – designed that way
3)
Man
was made with some deficiencies!
d.
Adam
was not created self-sufficient, but designed to need a wife
e.
So
God supplied Adam’s need – and He will do so for you too! If you’ll patiently
trust Him!
f.
So
Mom’s be that gift again to your husband!
2.
She was an Help
a.
What
a needed truth today!
b.
She was a help to Adam –
meeting his needs, not being a hindrance
1)
But,
more than a helper, a sustainer
2)
And,
more than a companion, a friend
3)
Eve
was a HELP to Adam
4)
1Co
11:8,9 For the man is not of the
woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but
the woman for the man.
5)
Modern concept of 50/50. Joke: “At my house we share fifty-fifty. I tell my wife
what to do, and she tells me where to go”
6)
The
perfect Help is described in Prov 31
7)
A
helper is never a hinderer, and a helper is never BOSS – at least not in any job
I’ve ever worked at
8)
The
wisest man who ever lived said, it was better to live in the corner of a house
top our in a tent in the wilderness than with a brawling, angry, contentious
woman (Pr 21:9; 25:24)!
3.
She was an Equal
a.
She was meet for Adam meaning
fitting to Adam specifically
1)
Someone who is MEET or fit for him – just right for his needs
2)
Not
a lesser being than Adam, but his match, his equal
3)
Aren’t you glad that God knew
just the person who would best fit with Adam?
4)
You should not just “marry”
anybody ladies or gentlemen!
5)
They need to be God’s choice
so that you get the right one for your needs
b.
The
two had become one
c.
So,
Gentlemen,
1)
Honour your wife!
a)
Like
honouring your parents
b)
Listening to, considering – you better have a very good reason to disregard
c)
Verbally honouring her, and publically honouring her
2)
Prefer your wife: Above your hobbies, work, career, friends
d.
Mom’s!
1)
Live
as an equal, not as a rug!
2)
Yes
you are to submit, and yield, but Godly submission guides your husband as
someone who is desperately needed by your husband to make right choices!
4.
She was Different
a.
She
was SUPPOSED to be different than Adam
1)
Notice that one is made MALE
2)
And
the other is made FEMALE
b.
She
was Special for Adam, not like anything else in the world
c.
God
brought all the animals before Adam so he could see that only God’s supply was
right. Adam could have sought companionship out of any thing in creation, but
found nothing that was like him!
d.
Adam’s naming of the animal kingdom allowed Adam to evaluate every creature and
see what it offered the world, but none offered what HE needed – an equal
e.
If
God had just made Eve at the same time as Adam, he would have just seen her as
part of creation, separate from him, but Eve needed to be seen as PART OF
HIMSELF!
f.
Ladies, look and dress like a woman please – not like a man!
g.
Be
different – talk different than a man! Love different than a man!
5.
She was Costly
a.
Eve
cost Adam
b.
Eve
didn’t come from the ground as he had
c.
Adam
had to lose something to gain her
d.
You
say, only a rib
e.
Surgery, removing a RIB is very dangerous, very bloody, VERY vulnerable. Adam
now was more vulnerable
f.
Realise that you are priceless! I hate how the devil constantly downgrades
women’s view of themselves! It is wicked!
1)
If
you are a women, you are more important than a man! Example of Women and
children first!
2)
If
you are a wife, you are more important than your husband! We men need to get
back to living that way!
3)
And
if you are a mother, you are the most important person in the world!
6.
She was Beautiful
a.
The
bride approaches the husband, brought by her father
b.
What
a presentation! This is how a wedding is performed!
c.
As
it still is today – SIDE-BY-SIDE at the altar
d.
Adam
likes what he sees!
1)
There is nothing wrong with a woman’s body!
2)
But
you should not “see” it until marriage
3)
Men
like seeing women! It is wired into us!
e.
Eve
is soft, and gentle, meek and quiet
1)
Not
loud and obnoxious
2)
Not
bitter and angry
f.
Hey
Moms: are you STILL soft and meek and gentle towards your husband? The first
Mother was, and because of Jesus Christ governing your life, you can be too!
7.
She was Flawed Too!
a.
She, just as Adam, needed God!
b.
She was not more spiritual
than Adam, and did not need God’s word, and God’s direction in her life!
c.
Sin took root in her a whole
lot easier than it actually had in Adam’s heart!
d.
Don’t forget ladies, that you
need to have that quiet time with God, and firm dependency upon His word and His
strength!
e.
Why? because the devil is very
subtle, and very good at lying!
8.
Sin
has tainted all the above, but Jesus Christ has the power to restore it all
III.
Conclusion
A.
The
one MOST attacked person in the world today, is the mother
B.
The
woman who seeks to be like Eve
C.
Oh,
she may fall, and mess up, and succumb to the lies around her, but a woman who
sets her course to be a Mother is going to face hell on earth because the
serpent STILL rages against such a treasure!
D.
So
when you read Genesis 1,2 and 3, you are looking at our beginning – how we got
here
1.
But
we are looking more importantly at what we lost because of sin
2.
But
thankfully, we are looking at what we CAN be because of Jesus
3.
So
this morning, being Mother’s Day, let’s take a look back at the beginning, and
see what we all have lost, and discover what every home can have once again
because of a Lamb!
4.
The
first Mother, Eve, sets the pace for mothers throughout history
5.
Eve
will explain why it hurts so much to be a Mom, but also, how to just be a Mom!
E.
Adam
was able to at his wife, and honour her, in spite of all the disaster she had
caused!
F.
Moms! Please take Eve as your example!