Adapted from, She, Volume 2, p 17-18
Read: Genesis 2 and 3
Eve, “The woman who was instrumental in sin entering the world and from whom we can learn “what not to do”. She was the first woman created by God from Adam’s rib, placed in the Garden of Eden as a helpmate to her husband. Given the privilege of God’s company, of knowing His goodness, and the beauty of His creation prior to sin entering the world. She could be the poster child for Peter’s warning to be self-controlled and alert, because our enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion (or in Eve’s case, like a serpent) looking for someone to devour.1
The study guide for our journey focuses first on the creation of Eve:
- She was taken out of the man (Gen. 2:22).
- She was created in the image of God, (Gen. 1:27).
- She was created with purpose, (Gen. 2:18).
In these truths, we see Eve as “the first woman“, who “serves as an example that God creates each woman with purpose and has a unique plan for her life.“
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
23 And Adam said:
“This is now 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 mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Genesis 2:15-20
And then our attention is turned to her conversation with the serpent and her subsequent fall.
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 (And the woman said to the serpent), “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
Genesis 3:1-3
- Eve not only entered into conversation with the serpent, she also embellished what God said, using the words, “nor shall you touch it.” These words were not part of the original command, and they are confirmed nowhere else in the Bible (Genesis 2:16-17).
- ‘Oh, be careful, little mouth, what you say.’
But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (If you eat) its fruit, you are sure to die.” Genesis 2:16-17
- She desired what the tree had to offer (Genesis 3:6).
- So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, (Genesis 3:6a)
- ‘Oh, be careful little eyes what you see.‘
- So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, (Genesis 3:6a)
The verse reveals Eve’s three motivations for crossing that line: The tree’s fruit could satisfy her body’s appetite for food, the tree was visually attractive, and the tree could make her wise. Those motivations line up closely with the Apostle John’s description of the things which still drive the world as we know it today: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16).
Bibleref.com
- She was deceived.
- ‘Oh, be careful, little ears, what you hear; and be careful, little mind, what you think.’
- She knew what God had told Adam, and yet she added to His words and justified her desire
- ‘Oh, be careful, little ears, what you hear; and be careful, little mind, what you think.’
- She had a choice to make...
- she took of its fruit and ate… (Genesis 3:6b)
- She gave it to her husband, and he ate it too… (Genesis 3:6c)
- ‘Oh, be careful little hands what you do.‘
- She gave it to her husband, and he ate it too… (Genesis 3:6c)
- she took of its fruit and ate… (Genesis 3:6b)
Friend, if you’re wondering what good can come from focusing on Eve’s fall, I encourage you to consider these truths- one is an important warning and the other is life-changing encouragement:
- Sin will take you farther than you want to go, and cost you more than you want to pay.
- He can use us despite our sin and fulfill His will through us if we will simply yield to Him.
Me From the Inside Out 