Life Lessons Learned from Eve

SERMON            GMT14-017

SERIES:              Topical – Special Days: Mother’s Day

SETTING:          North Kelso Baptist Church

SERVICE:          Sunday AM

SUBTITLE:        Life Lessons Learned from Eve

SCRIPTURE:     Selected Scriptures

SUBJ:                  Lessons learned from the Failure of Eve

SUMMARY:       that God has a very definite lesson for every believer in the failure of Eve that God holds us accountable to learn for your good and His glory.

SCHEME:           That the members of NKBC earnestly learn from the lessons gleaned from the sin of Eve

1A     Temptation to sin will come from the most unexpected circumstances

2A     Satan will constantly play on your flesh to persuade you to disobey God

3A     Failure and sin is the direct response of unfamiliarity with God & His Word

4A     You cannot hide from your sin

5A     Sin has consequences and hardships

6A     The Lord is merciful and gracious even when you sin

Life Lessons Learned From Eve

Selected Scriptures

INTRODUCTION

A.   The Humor of Eve

Before Eve was created, God had been talking with Adam. God said to Adam, “You really need a helper, don’t you?” And Adam answered, “Yeah, I really do.”

So God said, “What if I make a woman? She’ll be perfect for you. She’ll be beautiful. She’ll rub your back at night, & your feet in the morning. She’ll plop grapes into your mouth. She’ll prepare all your favorite meals without fail. She’ll clean up the kitchen & take care of the kids. You’ll never have to do a thing, just sit around & be the king of your household.”

Adam said, “Wow, that sounds great, but how much is this going to cost?” God said, “Well, it’s pretty expensive. It will cost you an arm & a leg.” Adam thought for a moment & then asked, “How much can I get for a rib?” 

B.   The History of Eve

Eve was the first woman on the earth. Eve was the first wife and she was the first mother. As a matter of fact she is known as “the mother of all the living.”  Even though she played such an important part in God’s plan for the human race there isn’t much written about her in Genesis or in the rest of the Scriptures.

We know that was Adam’s husband, his help-meet, his companion. She was created to complement Adam and share in Adam’s responsibilities. Eve was made in the image of God and as a result she displayed portions of God’s characteristics. With Adam, Eve was placed in the Garden of Eden to fulfill God’s purpose in creation.

[What do we really know about Eve?] 

1.     Her appellations (names) - Eve actually had three (3) names.

The first name given to Eve was given to her by God. It is the same name God gave to Adam. Together they are called Adam, which means man/mankind. They were created by God in order to be fruitful, to fill the earth, and to rule all living creation. (Gene 2:23)

Her second name was given to her by Adam, her husband. It was hawwa.

This word is derived from the Hebrew verb “to live.” “The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” (Gen 3:20)

Her third name was also given to her by Adam, he called her “issa,” which means ‘woman.” This was to indicate that she was made of the same bone and flesh as Adam and was able to be a partner with him. (Gen 2:23)

She was called hawa, issa, and Adam. Eve, woman, and mankind.

2.     Her accomplishments

First, she was made by God himself as a reflection of his image

Second, we have mentioned she is the mother of humankind.

Third, she was the first wife

Fourth, she was the first mother

3.     Her attributes

1.     Negative attributes

She acted independent of her husband and of God. She did not consult them or submitted to their authority or protection.

She was easily persuaded by a source that acted in opposition to her husband and to God

She failed to remember all that God said to both Adam and Eve which allowed her to focus on the one thing she was not to have

She acted impulsively

Although Eve shared a close relationship with both her husband and with God, she acted impulsively and independently of them both. Once she was entangled in sin, she invited her husband to sin with her.

2.     Positive Attributes

She was made in the image of God

She was made to be a helper, a help-meet or a complement to Adam

She was made to fulfill God’s purpose for creation to f ill the earth for people

Eve had a very vital role to play in the design of God. God created her perfectly and perfectly cable of fulfilling his role for her in his plans and purposes. She lacked nothing when it came to positive attributes.

C.   The Help from Eve

Regardless of a person’s behavior, we can learn something from their behavior. The events and the actions in a person’s life can teach us valuable life lessons.

Eve committed an egregious act of sin against God. Although it brought hardship on her, her family, the earth, and mankind we can certainly find valuable insight.

The story of the sin of Eve gives us valuable truth that can be applied and utilized in our own lives.

Our theme is:  Learning from the sin of others

Proposition:  This is a good reminder for all of us that God has a very definite lesson for every believer in the failure of Eve that God holds us accountable to learn for your good and His glory.

Interrogative Sentence:  How can we benefit from the sin of Eve?

Transitional Sentence:  Today’s topic suggests six (6) essentials lessons that God intends for us to learn for our good and his glory.

[So, without further delay, let’s look at the first lesson God intends for us to learn from Eve’s sin, and that is…]

1A     Temptation to sin will come from the most unexpected circumstances

First of all, I don’t think Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden for very long.

Some theistic evolutionists think that Adam and Eve lived in the garden for millions of years.

I read an account where someone believed they lived in the garden for 130 years. The reasoning is Seth was born when Adam was 130 and he was born outside of the Garden.

The Jews, based on information in a book called, The Book of Jubilees believe that Adam and Eve lived in the garden for seven years.

         

Michael Patton believes they lived in the Garden of Eden for all of 45 minutes. Although he is being humorous, using somewhat adult humor he believes that Adam being presented with a perfectly beautiful woman, and told to multiply with her that he wouldn’t have wasted much time.

Dr. Jonathan Sarfati makes three observations that provide a timeframe.

1.     Adam and Eve did not conceive any children prior to the Fall

2.     Eve would likely have become pregnant during her first menstrual cycle

3. Lucifer would have rebelled in the short time between Creation &the fall

He thinks they would have been expelled in the first week based on her cycle. 

Archbishop Ussher suggests that Adam sinned on the tenth day of the first month in Ussher’s chronology, which is the Day of Atonement.  The Day of Atonement presumably represents the first sacrifice, which God made by killing animals (from which He made coats of skins in Genesis 3:21) to cover Adam and Eve’s sin.

We don’t know how long Adam and Eve were in the garden before Eve was tempted. What we do know is that it came from a most unusual circumstance.

Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD god had made.”

The sudden and unexplained arrival and appearance of a serpent, a cunning or crafty serpent at that, presented a tremendous challenge to Eve.

This serpent, this talking serpent is suddenly introduced to us with almost no details. Nothing is mentioned about his origin, other than he is one of the beasts from the fields.

He is portrayed as God’s enemy. However, he is quiet and unassuming and seemingly very innocent. This was unusual and something not previously warned about or discussed.

The life lesson that we learn here is that we have to be constantly on our guard in every situation of our lives because we do not know when the enemy or our own flesh will present a powerful temptation to sin against God.

Ill.     A man and his wife were shopping at a mall kiosk, when a shapely young woman in a short, form-fitting dress strolled by. Hs eyes followed her.

Without looking up from the item she was examining, his wife asked, "Was it worth the trouble you're in?" Drew Anderson (Tucson, AZ), Reader's Digest

We can be anywhere and doing anything. We can be in church during worship and temptation can bombard us. Our spouses, our children, the most wonderful things to us can be used as a temptation by our flesh to sin.

Ill.     It was F.B. Meyer, I believe, who once said that when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are two things we do not know:

First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin.

And second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her. We also do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances. (Stephen Brown, Christianity Today, April 5, 1993, p. 17.)

So what are some unusual circumstances?

1.     From circumstances of opportunity or favorable conditions

Genesis 3:6 – “Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the LORD or the beautiful land of Egypt…Lot chose that land for himself.”

Of course we know what happened to Lot! He lost his wife, his sons-in law abandoned his daughters and himself, and then his two daughters convinced themselves to commit incest with him.

2.     From food or drink (which is necessary for life)

Genesis 25:30 – “Esau said to Jacob, ‘I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew you have made.’”

What did Esau do for that food? He was tempted to act rashly and he did because of his hunger he sinned by giving up his birthright.

3.     From the opposite sex

1 Kings 11:1 – “But King Solomon loved many strange women…when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was David his father.” 

4.     From ambition – where could be wrong with wanting to do well or get ahead?

Mark 10:35 – Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. ‘Teacher, they said, we want you to do us a favor.’ What is it? He asked. In your glorious kingdom, we want to sit in I places of honor next to you?

So, the first life lesson we learn from Eve is that temptation can come from the most unusual circumstances or the least likely place we would think. We must be on guard not only in times of hurt, or failure, or defeat, but in times of happiness, and success, and blessing.

[A second life lesson we can learn from Eve is…]

2A     Satan will constantly play on our flesh to persuade us to disobey God

If we are not careful, Satan’s subtle ways will be our downfall. Satan strives constantly to undo everything that God has determined. Satan is craft and very sly. He will tell us whatever we want or need to hear in order to get us to disobey God.

Genesis 3:1 – “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’”

We must know our enemy and we must know his tactics.

1 Peter 5:8-9 – “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith…”

Remember it is through the world system and the demonic hosts that Satan controls and runs rampant. (John 12:31; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; 6:12) We are constantly faced with the power and activity of Satan in more ways than we can possibly imagine.

Paul warns us , that our battle is not only with the flesh and blood, but with supernatural powers that are constantly in operation in the sons of disobedience and against the body of Christ (Eph. 2:1-3; 6:10-13f; 1 Pet. 5:8; Jam. 4:7).

When and where Satan can attack us he will and only God knows how much of what we face is the direct result of the devil’s onslaughts.

At the same time, much of our suffering is the direct result of our own self-induced misery, sometimes as a product of our ignorance, or unbelief, or indifference, or a combination of all of the above.

So Scripture tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us, to put on the whole armor of God, to be controlled by means of the Spirit, to have Word-filled lives, to walk circumspectly and in wisdom, and to be on alert because of the activity of Satan who is constantly on the prowl.

Our theme is:  Learning from the sin of others

Proposition:  This is a good reminder for all of us that God has a very definite lesson for every believer in the failure of Eve that God holds us accountable to learn for your good and His glory.

[The third life lesson we learn from Eve is that…]

3A     Failure and sin is the direct response of unfamiliarity with God & His Word

          If we are unfamiliar with God and his word we can be deceived into sin just as Eve was.

          Genesis 3:1, 4-5

          First of all Eve was unfamiliar with God. Even though she probably had direct contact with God, she didn’t really know him.

          The serpent stated – “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

          God had said in 2:17 “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.”

          If she was familiar with God and his character she would have known that God would not lie nor make things up. God said what he meant and he meant what he said.

          Galatians 6:7 - God is not mocked KJV – NLT – “Don’t be misled. Remember, that you can’t ignore God and get away with it.”

So many people enter into sin because they are ignorant of God’s character. Being ignorant of God’s character can be dangerous, just like the fellow who was driving the wrong way

Ill:     An older gentleman was driving home from work when his cell phone rang. His wife was on the line in a panic and said, "Honey, be careful driving. I just saw on the TV that some maniac is driving the wrong way on the interstate!"

The old man replies, "One? There's hundreds of them!"

Ill:     Our ignorance of who we are in Christ make us foolish and victim of enemy’s attack.

God is love, but don’t forget that God is a God of wrath. God is love, but God

hates sin. God hates the works of unrighteousness. God is patient and longsuffering but we are told not to test or tempt or try God.

Do not be ignorant of God’s character or his nature.

Our theme is:  Learning from the sin of others

Proposition:  This is a good reminder for all of us that God has a very definite lesson for every believer in the failure of Eve that God holds us accountable to learn for your good and His glory.

[The fourth life lesson we learn from Eve is that is…]         

4A     We cannot hide from our sin

          Genesis 3:8-9 – “Toward evening they heard the LORD God walking about in the garden, so they hid themselves among the trees. The LORD God called to Adam, ‘Where are you?’ He replied, ‘I heard you, so I hid.’”

          Adam and Eve tried to hide. They refused to face up to their sin. They tried to cover it up – “so they strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover themselves.

          First – they tried to cover up their sin. David tried that. When Bathsheba discovered she was pregnant, David tried to cover up his adultery by having her husband come home and spend the night with her. When that didn’t work he had Uriah placed in the thick of the battle in order to be killed.

          They tried to make a covering themselves from fig-leaves or tree branches.

          Second – they ran and hid, as if they could.

          Numbers 32:23 – “But if you fail to keep your word, then you have sinned against the LORD and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.”

          Ecc 12:14 – “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.

Running is the most common characteristic of man when he is in distress or trouble or just afraid.

Listen to the Psalmist: Ps 55:4-7 - 4 My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. 5 Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. 6 I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest--
7 I would flee far away and stay in the desert. (NIV)

          Elijah ran and hid but God found his hiding place

          Jonah ran and hid on a ship, was thrown overboard and then swallowed up by a large fish, but God found him there.

Listen - We deceive ourselves into thinking that we can get away with our own disobedience. Somehow God will overlook us because:

He is too busy with the big things of this world!
He allows us by His grace to let certain small acts of disobedience be overlooked.
We go on covering up those areas of disobedience!
We keep hiding them.

However if we continue on in unconfessed sin, that is not necessarily a sign of God's mercy but rather He may have given us over to our sin. The worst judgment and punishment in existence is to be allowed to do whatever you want to do by God.

Our theme is:  Learning from the sin of others

Proposition:  This is a good reminder for all of us that God has a very definite lesson for every believer in the failure of Eve that God holds us accountable to learn for your good and His glory.

[The fifth life lesson we learn from Eve is that…]

5A     Sin has consequences and hardships

          When Eve sinned against God she was no longer pure or sinless. She could no longer live in the presence of God in the Garden of Eden. She, along with her husband were thrown out of the Garden.

          Their perfect and unfettered fellowship with God was diminished. Now they need clothes, clothes that typified sacrifice and death. They needed offerings to come before God.

          We know the consequences and hardships they received:

·        The serpent was cursed to crawl on his belly in the dust no longer to walk or stand upright

·        There is hostility or bad blood between snakes and mankind

·        The pain of Childbirth is intensified or multiplied

·        There is an ongoing struggle for supremacy or control between a man and his wife

·        The ground was cursed and to eat from the ground is painful

·        Man must work under harsh conditions

·        Most importantly, they immediately died spiritually and they eventually died physically.

·        They were expelled from the Garden of Eden – the most perfect environment on earth

Ill:     What a painful reminder of the consequences of sin: "You cannot backslide without suffering."    -- D. Martyn Lloyd Jones, Romans, Vol. 2, p. 29.

Ill:     Do you think Achan would have taken the gold and clothing and hid it in under his tent floor if he knew the consequences would be the death of his wife and children and himself?

Our theme is:  Learning from the sin of others

Proposition:  This is a good reminder for all of us that God has a very definite lesson for every believer in the failure of Eve that God holds us accountable to learn for your good and His glory.

[The sixth life lesson we learn from Eve is that…]

6A     The Lord is merciful and gracious even when we sin

          “And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.”

          God still cares for Adam and Eve. He provides for them what they need. The need a covering. Their “nakedness” was covered by the death of another, an animal.

          Eve did not die right away. She was allowed to continue as Adam’s wife and helpmeet. She was given the privilege of having children and populating this earth.

          New Living Translation
But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. (Daniel 9:9)

English Standard Version
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. (Ps 145:8)

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide

What can avail to wash it away?

Look! There is flowing a crimson tide

Whiter than snow you may be today

(Julia H. Johnston & Daniel B. Towner)

1 John 1:9

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

So, we can learn a valuable lesson from this experience of Eve: God is compassionate and merciful. He will forgive us our sins.

Our theme is:  Learning from the sin of others

Proposition:  This is a good reminder for all of us that God has a very definite lesson for every believer in the failure of Eve that God holds us accountable to learn for your good and His glory.

 [What do you say we wrap this up?]

CONCLUSION

Eve was the first woman on the earth. Eve was the first wife and she was the first mother. As a matter of fact she is known as “the mother of all the living.”  She played a very important part in God’s plan for the human race.

Yet she sinned. Her sin is truly beyond the total comprehension of any of us. But God continued to love her and he provided a covering for her and he forgave her. God continued to use her and her husband in His eternal plan and purpose.

There are valuable lessons to be learned from her life. We mentioned just six.

·        Temptation to sin will come from the most unexpected circumstances

·        Satan will constantly play on your flesh to persuade you to disobey God

·        Failure and sin is the direct response of unfamiliarity with God & His Word

·        You cannot hide from your sin

·        Sin has consequences and hardships

·        The Lord is merciful and gracious even when you sin

Exhortation:  So, I exhort you to never forget that God has very definite lessons for you in the failure of Eve that God holds you accountable to learn for your good and His glory.

So, earnestly learn from the lessons gleaned from the sin of Eve

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:6 (ESV)

“…Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might no desire evil as they did.”

Let’s pray! J