Introduction

Last week we looked at Rahab, a woman whom God had snatched out of the fires of Jericho. Today we will look at the opposite - a woman whom Satan snatched out of Paradise - and thankfully, a woman whom God snatched right back. I believe that Eve is a helpful example to us in both situations - in Paradise and outside Paradise. As the only perfect woman in human history God set her up to be the perfect role model for women in the rest of history. Of course, she herself didn't follow the model that God had set up for her, but God's intentions still give us a rather full picture for women. And as God's first convert out of a sinful state, she is a role model of how a woman can bounce back from a disastrous decision.

Eve as a model before the fall into sin (Gen. 1-2)

Implications of Gen. 2:22

But let's start our examination of Eve by looking at her unique creation. Genesis 2:22 doesn't give us much detail about the first conscious realizations that Eve would have had. It says simply, "Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man." It's a very simple statement, but there are some rather profound conclusions that we can deduce from that verse.

____________ is the first person she saw. Give some implications.

The first indisputable fact is that God was the first person that she saw. God in a theophany had made her, and God in a theophany took her by the hand and brought her to Adam. After the fall, he will appear in a theophany one more time. A theophany is simply a visible appearance of the invisible God. When she awoke, He was the first thing she would see and be able to interact with. This theophany was such a wonderful condescension of God to this newly created woman, Eve.

But let's think about the first moments when she wakes up. Like Adam, her first consciousness would have been the joy of knowing her Creator. We aren't told if God said anything to her, but it is inconceivable to me that Eve did not excitedly talk, and wonder, and be filled with questions when she was brought into this world. And I would think (at a minimum) that since marriage is called a covenant by God, and since covenants must be knowledgeably and willingly enter into (or they wouldn't be covenants at all), that God would have given her a bit of instruction about her imminent marriage and the gift of Adam that He was about to give to her. Now, you may question my theory of whether there was prior communication between God and the woman on marriage (to me it is a certainty). But whether you buy that or not, the text does imply that her first consciousness was of the God who made her. We'll just stick with that fact.

Why is that significant? To me this signals a very important fact for every girl, woman, or wife - God must be your first priority in life. Now obviously Paul will later much more clearly state that same truth, but I think it can be deduced from this text itself. Before Eve had opportunity to busy herself in Martha-type service for her husband, she spent some time enjoying Mary-type devotion with her Creator. This is not by accident - this is God's intention for all of us - for Adam, for Eve, and for you and me.

When I engage in premarital counseling, one of the diagrams that I draw for the couple is the diagram near the top of your outlines - a triangle with God at the top and the couple at the bottom.

I point out that the two of them are at opposite sides of the base of that triangle. They are not yet united. They are trying to understand each other, trying to get closer to each other, and trying to grow in unity. How do they successfully draw closer and closer in their betrothal and even over the course of their marriage? Well, I point out that the top of the triangle is God. He should be their focus and they need to listen to His directions for their relationship. The key to growing closer to each other is to grow closer to God. The higher up the triangle they get, the closer they will be with each other, whereas the further away from God that they get on the triangle of life, the further from each other that they will drift. Counselors have seen this work out over and over again. And we see it instantly being true with Adam and Eve the moment they fall into sin. Their alienation from God instantly brings alienation with each other and blaming of each other.

So the top of the triangle speaks of Mary-like devotion. You know the story of Mary and Martha, right? Mary sat at Jesus feet soaking up His teaching, while Martha was distracted with many things. That devotion to God actually strengthens the unity in the marriage. God designed it that way. So God was the first Person she woke up to after her creation. He was to be her priority in life. He was to be her joy. He was to be the One who captivated her heart. That is the key to a good marriage.

God b_______________ her from the rib of Adam.

But before we get to the gift of joyous marriage with Adam, I want you to look in the margins of your Bible at the alternative translation of "made a woman" in verse 22. The literal rendering for "He made a woman" is that God "built a woman." The idea is that God took great care in her construction. Adam was made with care from the dust, whereas Eve was built or constructed from Adam's rib. Every bit of her (soul and body) was derived from Adam. When Adam awoke, he said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." He felt connected to her on a deep level.

Name three implications given by Matthew Henry. Extra points for any other implications that Pastor Kayser gave.

The Puritan writer, Matthew Henry, summarizes three lessons that can be deduced from this literal rib. He says,

...the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.¹

Equal, protected, and near his heart. Where does Matthew Henry get those ideas? You could say that he just sentimentally made those up. But the rib's symbolism is explicitly laid out in the context of chapters 1-2.

First, having Eve's body and soul made from Adam's body and soul shows that she shares Adam's nature. There is some sameness - what later Scriptures will speak of as equality before God in her essence. But chapter 1 had already spoken of that when both were said to be made in God's image. Let's read chapter 1, verses 26-27.

Gen. 1:26   Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

So it does indicate that Adam was the first to be made in God's image, but Eve was derivatively also made in God's image. This is why Genesis 9 will later say that murder of any human being (male or female) is an attack upon God's image because He made mankind in His image. Every descendant of Adam and Eve is made in the image of God. So Matthew Henry is not making up this idea of equality before God.

But Matthew Henry also says that this creation out of the rib implies some pretty radical differences as well. She was not a clone. That's obvious. Eve was different in many ways so as to complement Adam. Something was lacking in Adam by himself that made God say much earlier in the day: "it is not good for Adam to be alone." She was intended to complement Adam, not duplicate Adam. This speaks to division of labor and specialization - both of which are essential to good economics. But there is a whole lot more than economics going on. She complemented him emotionally, physically, socially, sexually, relationally, and economically. There are important differences on all of those levels. This complementarianism makes her essential to the dominion mandate. She has things that Adam does not, and those things are essential for Adam to be able to carry out the Dominion Mandate. She is different emotionally, physically, socially, sexually, relationally, and economically

Of course, these first two ideas of equality and difference were already spelled out quite clearly in verses 18 and 20, both of which mention that Eve was a "helper comparable to him." She was designed to help Adam in his dominion. This phrase shows both the equality of the woman and the fact that she complements and fills out the man in a subordinate fashion. The King James translates it as a helpmeet. The Hebrew term for “meet” or “suitable” (NASB) means literally “comparable” (NKJV). As to essence, the woman is the husband’s equal; she is comparable to Adam spiritually and intellectually. But where “meet” deals with equality of essence, “help” deals with inequality of function. There is a functional subordination and a functional difference. Her function and her calling is to help or assist the husband in his function and calling. The man’s success is dependent in large measure on her love and support and loyalty. In discussing role relationships Paul said, "Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man" (1 Cor. 11:9). When women embrace their unique roles and do it with energy and joy, Proverbs 31:11-12 says that it produces great blessing for both him and herself. It says,

11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.

All of these differences are implied in Genesis 2, according to Paul.

But here is another reason why it is such a blessing to emphasize both the equality and the difference - a clone would not have made her essential. And in her book, Let Me Be A Woman, Elizabeth Elliott points out that Feminists actually demean the status of a woman when they make her compete in a husband's role. Likewise, when husbands micromanage their wives (trying to be involved in absolutely everything the wife does), they are failing to take advantage of this specialization and division of labor. There should be a synergy of efforts that makes the two of them far more productive together than each one separate. So value the equality (caught in the word "image") and value the differences and subordinate status (caught in the word "helper"). Value the differences between the sexes.

But I want to also point to a second area of joy and fulfillment that Eve was able to have before getting married. Let's move back to the moment she woke up. If her first memory was God, her next experience would be taking in the wonderful world all around her. After all, she was brought into a paradise - a paradise designed by God to fill all five senses with joy. God intends for us to enjoy His world. Singles can find great delight in God and they can find great delight and fulfillment in this world. What a beautiful gift God had made for Eve in this Paradise garden with its paradise smells, and sounds, and tastes, and textures, and sights. She could find fulfillment even before she was married. Next week I want to look at Mary and Martha and how this balance can be seen in even a single's life. If a woman can be fulfilled as a single, she can also be fulfilled in marriage. If she cannot find fulfillment as a single, she may struggle with finding fulfillment with an imperfect husband - and since the Fall, all husbands are imperfect.

But having made that little side note, God did indeed make marriage to be the norm, with singleness being the exception that God calls some to. So if God was her first joy, and the Garden was her second joy, her third joy was Adam. By the end of verse 22 God has introduced Eve to Adam. Adam was no doubt looking at her with absolute delight and anticipation and she was looking at him with no intimidation whatsoever, since God would only give her what was good. And after the marriage, at the end of day six, God declared everything that He had made to now be "very good." Gift after gift from the generous hand of the Creator.

But I do want to pick up on good leadership and good followership. That too is implied in these last verses of chapter 2. The first words out of Adam's mouth when God brings her to him are these: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Adam is taking the leadership that God created Him to have and instructed him to have. Just as Adam had named the animals and birds to show his dominion authority over creation, the very act of naming Eve in these verses we just read (which was his last act of naming anything on day six) was a recognition by both Adam and Eve that he was going to be her authority and head from here on in. So Adam was ish, she was named isha. In Hebrew thought, to name something is to show authority over it.²

Now of course, what is just implied by this act of naming is explicitly stated earlier in the chapter. Let's tease that apart. God had already given Adam a bunch of instruction as the head of the household. Those instructions are given in the first half of chapter 2. Those earlier verses indicate that God had made Adam several hours before He made Eve. We also know from the relationship of verses 7-8 that Adam was created before the Garden was created. He was out there in the wilderness looking at God making the Garden. When God had finished modeling dominion to Adam by planting this gorgeous Paradise, verses 8 and 15 say that God "put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it." He was outside, and now he is put in. But this is all hours before Eve is even created. All of this indicates that Adam was the primary dominion creature and Eve was made as his assistant. And all through that time the text implies that Adam was looking for the bride that God had already told him about. He was very active in all of those ventures. And even in that he stands as a model for the differences between male and female in courtship. Yes, both are involved, but he takes the lead just as in the English Country dancing the man takes the lead, but both are needed for the dance to work out. So even in Genesis 1-2 it is clear that Adam was the leader and initiator; Eve was the responder and complement.

And so there is absolutely no basis for feminists to claim that Paul is reading into the text things that are not there when Paul says in1 Corinthians 11,

1Cor. 11:8 For man is not from woman, but woman from man. 9 Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. 10 For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

Why is she under authority? Paul’s first two reasons are: Because Adam was made first and secondly Eve was made for the man. God did that to establish role relationships for all time. They were a pattern. Male headship was intended by God before there was a fall into sin. That headship was later marred by the fall, but that headship is the ideal to which God's grace is gradually restoring us. All of that is implied in the text of Genesis 2.

But notice in verse 22 that the woman is brought to the man and given to the man. Though Adam has been actively seeking, Eve is brought. And God is the father who gives away the bride. And the next verse indicates that this is a pattern for parents in the future. Romance should ordinarily involve the parents, with the man being the leader and the woman voluntarily joining the dance of relationship and the parents guiding, approving, and eventually relinquishing both the son and the daughter into a new nuclear family.

None of this seemed odd to Eve. She was made for it. She had no sin to cloud her judgment or to make her rebel against God's design. Instead, this would be her third great delight - the gift of marriage and the delight of being placed under the man's headship. It should be pure delight. It's God's dance of Paradise. It was part of the all "very good" statement of God.

What about Matthew Henry's last comment that she was taken from his side to symbolize that he should protect her? Doesn't the word "protect" imply that there is something bad that might happen? How could there be bad in a perfect world? But let me show how God was already anticipating the need for the woman to be protected and for the Garden to be protected. He knows the future. Look at verses 15-17.

Gen. 2:15   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.”

So God mentions evil and death as a possible future that needed to be guarded against. In fact, if you look again at verse 15, I want to point out that the Hebrew that is translated as "to tend and keep it" is literally "to tend and guard it." It's a clear proof for Matthew Henry's comments on Adam's need to protect and guard Eve. The same word for "guard" is used in chapter 3:24, which speaks of the angel who guards (there's the same Hebrew word - who guards) the garden from anyone entering into it. Genesis 3:24 says,

So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Adam was supposed to guard the garden against any potential evil and death. Of course, there was no evil or death in the universe yet because Satan didn't fall until after the sixth day was finished. We know that from the end of chapter 1 - it was all very good at the end of the sixth day. There was no evil in the universe at that point. But the fact is that Adam was supposed to guard against anyone eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil shows that guarding was a function against even potential evil. This will factor hugely into Adam's failure to kick Satan out of the garden in chapter 3. So on every level, I think Matthew Henry nailed the symbolism when he said,

...the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.

Compare 2:22 with 2:18 and try to write down what unmet expectation Adam had. Did Eve experience this?

But at this point, Eve knows nothing of evil, danger, or future invasion when God brings her to Adam in chapter 2:22. That burden had been placed upon Adam's shoulders, and it would be up to Adam to instruct and wash his wife with the water of the Word. There are hints that he did so in chapter 3:2 - maybe not perfectly, but he did so. This means that so far there has been no disappointment or missed expectation for the woman, Eve, as there had been for Adam.

Where do I get the idea of disappointment or at least unfulfilled expectation for Adam? In verse 18, God had said (and He appears to be saying these words right in front of Adam - right after he is finished talking to Adam), "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." You can bet that Adam is going to be keeping his eye out for this spouse that God has promised. But a whole day has gone by, and God has not brought a spouse yet. Instead, God brought a whole series of beasts, birds, and cattle for Adam to name them. This means that Adam sees numerous pairs of animals and birds, but there is no pair of humans. So after several hours of waiting for God to drop the surprise, verse 20 says, "But..." That "But" shows a contrast with the pairs of animals. "But, for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him." The word "found" again indicates active seeking throughout that time.

Comparing verse 20 with verse 18 it is legitimate to say that it is still not good for Adam to be alone. If it is still not good, and if Adam has been waiting for this good, I think it is not going too far to read into that "But" a bit of disappointment - or at least expectation not yet met. He had a yearning for something that was missing, and hour after hour that yearning had not been fulfilled. Eve never had that experience. She immediately found joy and fulfillment and every expectation perfectly met in God's gift of Adam. God only made that burden of unmet expectations for the leader at this point.

When did the words of Gen. 1:28-31 get stated? Give one implication.

And then God brings Eve. All the words given to this couple in chapter 1 are words that would have been given during wedding ceremony in chapter 2:22-24. Keep in mind that chapter 2 is going back in time to fill out the picture of the sixth day. So, since all the words given to this couple in chapter 1 are words that would have been given during wedding ceremony in chapter 2:22-24, it appears that God gives a fair bit of instruction during this wedding. This is, after all, a covenant ceremony.

And this is a marriage made in heaven. They are a perfect match. There is not a flaw or disappointment to mar this marriage - yet. And when the sixth day is ended with the words, "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good" (1:31), we can conclude that marriage is complete, perfect, and good even before children arrive. Children are an added blessing, but not needed for everything to be declared "very good." The "not good" is not replaced by the declaration of "very good" when children came along. Those words were uttered the moment the marriage had happened. Now, Adam and Eve were commanded to add children. And Paul told Timothy that having children continues to be a mandate. But I’m just making the point here of when the declaration of “very good” was made. It was made before the children came.

This means that husbands and wives should not make their children their first priority. Children will come and go from the home, but the primary relationship of husband and wife will continue long after all the children are grown and married themselves. A child-centered home is not "very good." It's not good for the parents and it's not good for the children. Especially in a day and age when divorce is so common, children are increasingly insecure in homes where the spouses do not see each other as more primary than the children. And when a child-centered home has the children leave, the husband and wife themselves have a hard time adjusting. God intended Adam and Eve's first priority to be God, then each other, and then the children. These are all things that are embedded in the text of Genesis 1-2 and amplified upon in later Scripture.

When was Eve created? What is one implication?

But let's do a bit of thinking about the timing of all of this. It would have been tough for Adam to squeeze the naming of all the birds, beasts, and cattle into one working day. But he had a mind unaffected by the fall, so I'm assuming that it could think very very quickly. But the events of the day included God's creation of Adam, then His creation of the Garden, then putting Adam into the Garden, then instructing Adam inside that Garden, then having him name all these creatures. With all that going on it has made many conclude that Eve was not made until the very end of the sixth day. And even the connection between chapters 1 and 2 implies that. It seems that as soon as God’s declaration happened after the marriage, it is the seventh day, and God blesses that seventh day.

This means that mankind's first Evening-Morning sequence was God's seventh day - a Sabbath. God ended His week with a Sabbath ; they began their week with a Sabbath - especially Eve. In Jewish time the day starts at 6pm - at evening. So Eve started her week by resting in the Sabbath. And how appropriate that they consummated their marriage on God's day of blessing, joy, and rest. Eve's first hours are hours of bliss. Bliss at the memory of such a great Creator. Bliss at the gift of life. Bliss at the beauty of His creation and beautiful garden. Bliss at the beauty of a sunset. Bliss at the gift of marriage. And Adam and Eve enjoyed their first night of existence glowing in it all and rejoicing in each other. No wonder the Sabbath is blessed by God and is declared to be a day of blessing. Healthy marriages should value the Sabbath.

Eve as a model after the fall into sin (Gen. 3:1-4:1)

I've cut a ton of stuff about Eve out from chapter 1. But I think I've given enough to be able to move on to chapter 3. Chapter 3 shows everything that God had established being turned upside down. I won't take a lot of time to go over this chapter, though it is absolutely jam-packed with instruction for our lives.

How far did the fall reach? List some of the negative impacts of the fall.

Verse 1 speaks of the cunning of Satan, who possessed a serpent. And cunning he was. I have a handout at the office that shows 27 sales techniques that Satan brilliantly used to deceive the woman into buying his product. That same handout shows 27 ways that Eve and Adam should have resisted that temptation - but they didn't. Adam was supposed to protect, but though he was right there when the devil was tempting Eve, he did nothing to protect her. He was passive. Eve was supposed to check with her husband, but she plowed ahead without consultation. And in verses 9-16 we see the blame game going on. In verse 8, when they heard the sound of the theophany of God walking through the Garden, they hid and covered their shame with fig leaves. But God pursues them, finds them, and starts questioning them. In verse 11 God asks,

"Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"

And in verse 12 Adam blames his wife, and ultimately blames God for giving him Eve.

Gen. 3:12   Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

For the moment God ignores his excuse making and turns to the woman, asking her, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." This is another example of blameshifting rather than true repentance. Sin had entered the human race and instantly began skewing every aspect of Adam and Eve's being and behavior. Alienation between Adam and Eve set in.

On the back of your outlines I give a chart that you can take home and discuss at some point. It shows 15 areas of life that were immediately and very negatively impacted by the fall of Adam and Eve into sin. We can't cover all of these this morning, but let me briefly outline the pervasive effects of the fall upon mankind.

Spiritually both Adam and Eve ran from God, were fearful of God, no longer had an open relationship with God but rather engaged in self-justification. Adam and Eve died spiritually and were alienated from God spiritually.

Physically their bodies were also separated from God. Biblically death refers to separation from God, not cessation of being. And this physical separation from God and alienation is shown in that they lost their glory covering and suddenly recognize that they are naked. God was no longer covering them with His glory. Verses 16-19 speak of the pain, discomfort, and eventual death and returning to the dust that would happen to them.

Mentally they begin to reason independently of God, find themselves rationalizing, deceiving themselves and others, and defending and glorifying self rather than God. This means that their minds were tainted.

Emotionally they experience fear for the first time. And as you move through Genesis you see anxiety, depression, bitterness, anger, covetousness, and other emotional turmoil.

Volitionally their will is now captive to sin so that they act independently of God, become corrupted in their dominion (as is seen in verse 7), rebel against God's authority, rebel against human authority (as is seen in God's prophecy of Eve rebelling against Adam in verse 16), etc. Their wills become hostile to God's law.

Religiously they invent false coverings in verse 7 and false religion in chapter 4:3.

Psychologically they experience shame for the first time, loss of confidence, alienation, a bad conscience, and their motivations begin to be turned to idols rather than to God.

You can see that these are all things that will destroy a marriage and will destroy the effectiveness of our dominion. And as you go down through that chart you realize that there is no part of Adam and Eve's existence that was not negatively affect by sin. Their goals became self-serving, their sense of justice was perverted, their social relationships were alienated, their ego became idolatrous, their environment was cursed, and the effects of sin were felt generationally and cosmically. No aspect of human existence is unaffected by the fall and rebellion of Adam and Eve. And I would encourage you to take time to go through that chart and first of all determine ways in which your life is still characterized by those things, and then discussing ways of reversing each of those areas by God's grace.

Paul makes the point that Eve was deceived and Adam willfully sinned, deciding he didn't want to lose her. But this hurled the world ruled by Adam into a world ruled by Satan.

But the story doesn't end on that sad note. God curses the serpent, provides redemption for Adam and Eve, and begins the process of restoration by grace of what was lost.

How did God's grace reverse the effects of the fall?

So God curses the serpent in verses 14-15. And I want to pick up at verse 15 to describe God's process of rescuing Eve from her mess and by grace beginning to restore what was lost. God tells the serpent,

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

Note that Eve had been running from God, not running back to God. In Romans 3:11 Paul will make the point that "There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God." If Adam and Eve are to be saved, God must seek them and save them. And that is what He is doing in these verses. God tells Satan, "I will put enmity between you and the woman..." God did that. Adam and Eve made friends with Satan, and God sovereignly rescued them and turned Adam and Eve into enemies of Satan. And God makes His election run through generational lines, where there will be elect saved in every generation up to the cross. One of the descendants of Eve will be Jesus, whom Satan would bruise in the heel (painful, but not annihilated), but in the process whose head Jesus would crush under His feet. This is a marvelous Gospel promise of redemption that I have preached on before, so I won’t park on it today. But the point is, if God had not pursued her, Eve would have continued to flee and would have remained God's enemy. It is sovereign grace alone that brings salvation.

But God does point out that the curse would still negatively impact them both even in the midst of blessing and grace. The fruitfulness that had previously been blessed, would now find the curse affecting it. Verse 16 says,

To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;

Multiplying the conception was a curse just like multiplying the sorrow was. Both would get worse. And I will just give you one way in which conception got worse. Prior to the fall God's DNA code for the human was to have no conception while breastfeeding, and if breastfeeding for three years, there would be no additional children for three years. But the curse would mess that up, giving far more children than the kind of fruitfulness God had originally planned. But the cursing went further.

In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”

Pain was not originally part of the process of giving birth. Now it would be. The curse would inject rebellion and chauvinism into the equation. And then in verses 17-19 God pronounces a curse upon Adam - which would also affect Eve. God would not make dominion of the earth impossible, but He would make it difficult. And eventually they would die.

But one of the encouraging things in this section is that Adam renames his wife from isha to Eve, which means "the living one," and sees her as the mother of all living. That's remarkable, given that God had pronounced a death sentence upon them. To me this shows that Adam had faith in God's promise of grace in verse 15 that the woman would indeed have children and that God would provide a suffering Savior in the future to atone for their sins. Unlike A. W. Pink, I see Adam as having been saved and displaying faith in this statement.

Giving her a new name also shows his continued authority over her. Grace restores what was lost. And as a symbol of that grace that both had found, God clothes them both in animal skins - which shows that God sacrificed the animals on behalf of both. These are all indicators that both were saved. This was the first act of atonement looking forward to the shed blood of Jesus. These skins would also provide utility in their dominion work, but would also be a constant reminder of what they lost and (as Paul worded it) that "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:23).

But as an act of discipline, God kicks them both out of the Garden in verses 22-24 and puts an angel with a fiery sword to prevent anyone's reentry into the garden. It would only be as a result of the cross of Christ that paradise would be restored.

But in the meantime, Adam was still responsible to fulfill the dominion mandate - but instead of starting his week by resting on the Sabbath in God's finished work, he would rest at the end of the week in anticipation of the fact that the future Messiah would provide redemption. And from the time of the Messiah on, God would restore the Sabbath to the beginning of the week so that once again we can start our weeks of dominion by first resting in what He provided and submitting to His restorative word. So that is in a nutshell the story of Eve.

Give three applications of Genesis 4:1

But I want to end by giving three more applications from Genesis 4:1. This verse is a brief encapsulation of how grace restored a measure of the first three things that were lost to Adam and Eve.

Genesis 4:1 says, "Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD." Three things to note:

First, she uses the covenant name, Yehowah, on her lips, indicating that she is in covenant with God. All capital letters for the word “Lord” indicate that this is the covenant name Yehowah. She has a restored relationship. Life does not have to be only about Martha-like service. There is that, but grace restores us to the sweet fellowship that Mary experienced with Jesus. She praises God; she adores God for this child. The first point of devotion to God is being restored by grace.

Second, Eve's relationship with God was not pie-in-the-sky-by-and-by pietism that escapes from the world. She knows that God is the only One who can bless sexual relations, fertility, conception, and successful birth. Grace restored the sense of God in her day-to-day life. Where the fall had excluded God from those decisions, Eve now sees God as foundational to child-birth and life itself. So the second great joy that Eve had when she was first created (the joy of seeing the world around her as a gift from God) has now in part been restored by grace.

Third, Eve's relationship to Adam was restored. Though the triangle of relationships with God at the top is never a perfectly restored triangle, it is certainly something that grace can enable us to achieve to a high degree in this life. The word for "know" is the Hebrew word yada'. It is the same word that is used by David in Psalm 139:23, when David said, "Search me, O God, and know my heart." It speaks to a deep longing for connection and to be intimate. God designed sex to be a deep knowing, caring, and intimate relationship with your husband or your wife. Sex is not just about release. It obviously has that function too, but God intended it to be one tool of bringing husbands and wives into deeper and deeper union and communion. That's implied in the word yada. God's grace restores to sex His intention of deep fellowship, caring, and knowing of each others heart, soul, mind, and body. And it is important to pray that God's grace would restore more and more of what was lost in the fall.

But brings us back to the first point, doesn’t it?- knowing God as your primary love, then letting God transform your world into His world and His gift to you - that's what gives this world special delight. Then letting God transform your marriage by making Him primary in your marriage.

The point is that God can turn marriages from wilderness into paradise. Adam and Eve are exhibit A. Did they have their squabbles? I'm sure they did. Did they have hurt feelings and times of alienation? I'm sure. But by constantly returning to the source of grace at the top of the triangle, they were able to restore their relationship with each other and know each other for hundreds of years, with numerous children in tow.

Believe it or not, I have barely touched on the life of Eve. If you read Cornelius Van Til's comments about her you realize that there is so much more. But I think I have given enough to assure you that she does stand as a model for women today in both her state of innocence and in her state of redemption. She is the world's first tribute to grace, and the world's first model of faith that any of us can follow. May we do so. Amen.