3-4-21 Today in the Word

EVE - DRIVING THE WEDGE Our family often enjoys an evening walk around our neighborhood. We like to call our route the “McHenry Loop.” We wander through the park, along the river, and back via our quaint downtown. The Bible tells us in Genesis 3:8 that God walked in the garden “in the cool of the day.” Adam and Eve were hiding, but they heard Him. God’s walk was not a leisurely after-dinner stroll. The word for “day” can mean “storm.” I wonder if Adam and Eve heard Him howl in a mighty gale. In verse 7, the couple covered themselves with leaves because they recognized their defilement. They hid because they knew God could not tolerate their sin. More tragic than personal corruption and shame was their lost access to God. When God called, Adam gave a half-truth. “I was afraid because I was naked.” He failed to mention his sin. When God persisted, Adam blamed Eve—now driving in an interpersonal wedge. He pointed to her, and—in effect—also to God. “It was the woman you put here with me” (v. 12). Eve blamed the serpent. And God cursed all three. Since our focus is on the female characters, let’s look closely at verse 16. God would “make your pains in childbearing very severe.” This word for “childbearing” is concerned with conception, and the word for “pain” is mental anguish—not physical. The second clause seems to repeat the first. (“With painful labor you will give birth to children.”) However, this word for “pain” refers to strenuous physical work. Together, these clauses describe the entirety of the child-bearing process. Women experience anxiety and pain throughout. Adam gave Eve her name. “Mother of all the living” (v. 20). In spite of their judgment life would continue. And as another act of grace and continued care, God made them clothes before He banished them from the Garden. >> We experience the consequences of sin every day. How do you respond to God about your sin? Is it similar to Adam and Eve’s response? PRAY WITH US Generations later, we are still drawn to sin, just like Adam and Eve. We evade the truth, make excuses, and lay the blame on others. Teach us to confess our sins and repent on a daily basis.