It has really been fun to write about great women of faith and we hope that you are enjoying this series as much as we are! Ruth and Naomi were such strong and important women in the bible and their narrative has inspired so many, we were glad to share a little about each of them last week. This week I am going to go in a little bit of a different direction. I’m taking it back to the “OG” lady of the bible, Eve. Now Eve may not be the first woman that pops into your mind as a great woman of faith but just hang on and keep reading.
"While Eve isn't the most upstanding woman in the Bible, she's certainly one of the most influential. By giving into evil, she reminds the world that while God is good, Satan's temptations are not." -Woman’s Day
The name Eve comes from the Hebrew word “chawah” which means “to breathe.” Often, Eve is translated to mean “life” or “life-giving”. Which is fitting because we know her as the first mother. What is interesting to note from scripture is that Eve was created as a helper to Adam. She was created from Adam’s rib, not his head, not his foot, but his side. She was created as more of an equal than someone inferior. Now, most of us probably know the story of the first sin, you know, the one with the very tempting apple and the serpent. And I think we can all agree that Eve messed up. BIG TIME. But honestly who hasn’t? We all trip up and make mistakes. What’s amazing is that we are not forsaken for making those mistakes! God doesn’t turn his head and forget about us. What’s even more amazing is God already knows you are going to make mistakes just like he knew beforehand what Adam and Eve would do, he granted them the ability to do as they chose. He grants us that ability too. Sure he totally gets angry when we chose the wrong path, just like he was angry with Adam and Eve, but he doesn’t give up on us. God could have easily given up on them and just started over, but he didn’t!
I think it is important to study Eve because she teaches us a very valuable lesson “by giving into evil, she reminds the world that while God is good, Satan's temptations are not.” Satan is tricky and deceitful, he’s not there to help you. He wants you to fail and when you do he is there to laugh at you. Whereas God is there to pick you back up. Eve shows us that we aren’t perfect, we fall short, we give into sin, and there are consequences. God uses those that aren’t perfect, he uses the broken. Eve is the perfect metaphor for God’s grace and forgiveness. “Although shamed, Eve kept her hope alive and persevered in faith. God’s grace allowed Eve to avoid complete destruction and bear children. She rejoiced because of God’s compassion and forgiveness.” It sure is beautiful to have such a promise of grace and forgiveness!
"Eve kept her hope alive and persevered in faith."
If that doesn't show what a great woman of faith Eve was, I'm not sure what will!
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