190512 Mother of All

Genesis 3:20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

It is very important that we accept the Genesis story as history. Often today, the biblical creation narrative is compared with myths. In order to deny the historical creation story we have to throw out everything related to the Garden of Eden. When we lose the Garden of Eden we lose the introduction of sin into the human race. If there was no original sin there is no need for the death of Jesus on the cross. The New Testament, especially Romans, clearly points out the connection between Adam and Jesus (Romans 5:12-14). Now, how is Eve mixed into the story?

The Bible tells the creation story. In it we find examples of the way God operated with regard to mankind. All of the rest of creation was brought into being in large numbers.. Speaking of the fifth creation day God tells us that he instructed the waters to swarm with swarms of living creatures. God let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens. God created great sea creatures and every living creature that moves.

It is hard for us to imagine what that world was really like. One example is the passenger pigeon. A flock of passenger pigeons reported in Ontario in 1866 was described as being a mile wide and 300 miles long and taking days to pass overhead. Or, the American bison, usually called “Buffalo”. When the Europeans arrived in North America there were uncounted tens of millions roaming all over North America. Between 20 and 30 million of them existed and roamed in herds that covered hundreds of miles of the great American prairies. Another example would be the fish stock in the oceans. A ship could be filled with fish quickly simply by dropping the net over the side anywhere in the ocean.

With all of that…

Adam was alone. Let’s look at Genesis 2:8. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

The man, Adam, was alone when he compared himself with all this other creation. I doubt that he was conscious of his aloneness in the beginning so God had all the animals brought to the man so we could name them. It must’ve been a revelation to him! Every specie that came by him was a male and female and probably, in some cases, little ones as well. Look at how the Bible describes it…

He ruled over the creation. Let’s read Genesis 2:19-20. Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.

God did not tell the man what the creature’s names were — he let the man join him in wildlife management! Imagine the scene! Examples of every beast and bird came before him. They did not fear him because the man was a vegetarian! (Genesis 1:29) He did not view the animals as food. For those of us who can’t imagine living without meat the problem was solved after the flood. At that time God gave mankind meat to eat! (Genesis 9:2-4)

At the end of the six days of creation the Bible tells us that “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) Between the initial creation and the temptation of Adam and Eve something changed!

It was not good. Let’s read Genesis 2:18. Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

Remember! After the identification of the animals came an observation “But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him” 2:20b

It Was obvious that the man now knew that he was alone. He has seen the ground animals and birds of the air in pairs. He did not have a mate who he could identify as the rest of him. Adam had just been warned by God that eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil would lead to certain death. Obviously, not immediate death but certain death! Even though Adam did not yet have a mate, looking back, we can observe that he could not die immediately because then there would be no humans on earth. There are people who think that would be a blessing for the earth because we are pretty messy in our occupation of the earth.

Today is Mother’s Day! So far we don’t even have a woman to be the mother. In our next reading we begin to see how Adam’s loneliness could be taken care of! We will see that Adam, after naming all the other animals, came to a place where…

He identified himself with the woman. Let’s read Genesis 2:21-24. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²² And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. ²³ Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” ²⁴ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

This turns history on its head. The first use of anesthesia did not happen in the last couple hundred years it happened in the Garden of Eden! So far as I know, most translations of the Bible into English uses the word “rib” for what God used to make Adam’s mate from. The word actually is “the side” of the man. The word translated rib is “tsela” and it usually is used in an architectural context. It’s a builder’s term and is used nowhere else to refer to human flesh. God used something from man’s side to build a woman.

I usually use this passage of Scripture as part of a wedding ceremony. I can visualize Adam shaking off his deep sleep and slowly focusing his eyes on what stood there. The Bible tells us that God brought the woman to man and and the man had little speech. It reads like a prepared statement. I have no proof but I believe that statement “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

What I’ve always imagined Adam saying would go something like this “Wow!” Then he might have gone on to use the prepared text. I am comfortable in saying that verse 24 certainly was not spoken at the time. Because, for Adam and Eve, there was no father and mother for Adam to leave. However, there certainly was a wife he could hold fast to. Now we have a wife to become a mother to honor on Mother’s Day. After looking her over and some period of time passed…

Then he named the woman. Let’s look ahead to Genesis 3:20-21. The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. ²¹ And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

After Eve, and then Adam, rebelled against God there were immediate bad consequences. First, almost out of place, we are told that he called her “Eve”! The word is related to Hebrew verb which may be translated “to live”. Adam called her Eve because she was the mother of all living. From her would come all life.

Then, almost as an afterthought, the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin. Now, we might think of this as leather. It was not the kind of leather we would wear.

I do not know that death had ever entered the garden. Or ever did enter the garden. In order to provide skin God, Himself, had to take the life of animals. I don’t know how many animals it takes to make a suit of clothes. Clothes made of skin are first taken from the animal, dried, softened and usually the hair is taken off. I hope this is not to gross for you. I believe these animals were killed stripped of their skin and the bloody hide was shaped for their bodies and put on them.

They could not avoid the idea that sin causes suffering and death. It seems to me that the animals who died were symbolic of Jesus. They died as a substitute for the man and woman. In a similar fashion Jesus died as a substitute for all mankind.

After they saw the negative consequences of their actions they were put out of the garden where they had been totally provided for. Now they had the responsibility of scratching food out of the ground.

Their food would be eaten in the sweat of their brow.

We do not know how much time these events took up. We read it in a few minutes but it certainly would have taken days, weeks or even months. I don’t think these events would have spread out over a number of years. They were not in the garden long enough to produce offspring so, I believe, only a few months passed leading up to their sin and only a few days between their sin and their separation. I hope you can understand that separating them from the garden was a blessing.

There were two special trees in the garden. They ate fruit from the tree of knowledge. They were separated from the tree of life. If they had eaten of the tree of life they would have lived forever in their sinful condition. Facing that kind of consequence death would be a blessing.

Now that we have a mother let’s see the results…

The “First Family” was dysfunctional. Let’s read Genesis 4:1-2. Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” ² And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.…; 8-10. Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰ And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.

We don’t know how much time passed after they left the garden before they had a son. Eve’s firstborn male child was named Cain. There doesn’t seem to be any clear agreement as to what the name meant. Eve saw that God had provided this son. After a reasonable period of time a second son was delivered. At least one daughter was given to them during this time. Time passed and these two sons became enemies. It may well be that Eve favored Abel increasing Cain’s jealousy. When they brought their sacrifices before the Lord. Abel’s offering pleased God.

One common reason for God’s favoring Abel’s sacrifice is that it was a lamb. When God gave Moses the law he made provision for both animal sacrifices and grain sacrifices. What was the difference? In Hebrews 11:4 the Bible tells us that Abel’s faith made the difference. Amazing! Cain thought he could kill his brother and get away with it. Unlike his parents Cain denied his sin. When Adam and Eve were confronted in the garden they readily confessed. When Cain was confronted he lied and even expressed resentment that he would be questioned about the death of his brother. Sibling rivalry and lying about responsibility is a common theme throughout the Old Testament.

Eve’s third son established worship. Let’s read Genesis 4:25-26. And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” ²⁶ To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.

130 years after Adam was created he fathered a son. The narrative in Genesis chapter 5 completely ignores Cain and Abel. Cain had killed Abel and took his wife and traveled to the east from Eden. No question in my mind that Cain’s wife was his sister.

That son was named Seth --a word that sounds like the Hebrew for “to put, or to place, or to set”. While Seth was growing up he was surrounded by other brothers and sisters. 105 years after his birth Seth fathered Enosh. And then people began to call upon the name of the Lord. For the first time Yahweh’s name is revealed. Many years later it will be given to Moses at the burning bush.

I think it’s interesting that calling upon the name of the Lord, Yahweh, happened with the birth of another link in the chain between Eve and Jesus. The birth of a child should cause worship.

We don’t know how long Adam was the sole representative of humanity. Apparently Adam was created as a mature person. He did not have to wait to grow up. We know that some period of time passed because he had to have time to name all the animals. His authority over all living creatures was established and yet, so far as human companionship was concerned, he was lonely. The only thing “not good”, in the original creation, was the absence of woman! Yet, she was the one who was deceived leading to sin and death. Following that, two sons and some daughters were born and grew up. The older son, Cain, was jealous of his brother, Abel, and killed him! Cain had to leave the first Homestead along with his sister-wife. With the birth of a third son, the godly line began to be established. The sin of Adam condemns us all. Jesus paid the debt. Surrender to his Lordship.

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton, Ill, Standard Bible Society.