When it comes to Mother’s Day, I must confess that I have been shortsighted.
Ideally, I try to do more than merely acknowledge the special women in my life. I try to show love and appreciation for my mother and, of course, my wife by giving them special attention on Mother’s Day.
I like to think that I have covered all the necessary categories.
However, there are certain categories I have definitely neglected.
Those categories were brought to my attention by the late Erma Bombeck. Erma was quite a writer back in the day. She was clever, warm, and often able to make you laugh right before she made you think.
In one of her articles, she described the “all-stars” and unsung heroes of motherhood. She wrote about stepmothers, single mothers, adoptive mothers, biological mothers, young women wondering if they could make it in the “big leagues,” grandmothers pulled back into parenting, mothers who placed children in the arms of others to raise, and mothers carrying burdens few people ever see.
Well, certainly those ladies qualify as all-stars in the world of motherhood. Many of them have played their positions well, often with unique roles, deep sacrifices, and hidden pain.
But today I would like to draw your attention to one particular woman.
She is certainly an all-star in the role of motherhood.
The mother I have in mind is Eve.
Of course, we all know Eve was the first woman. What you may not know is that her name appears only four times in the entire Bible. That is it. She really does not get much ink in Scripture.
Her name appears in Genesis 3:20 and Genesis 4:1. It appears again in 2 Corinthians 11:3 and 1 Timothy 2:13.
Let’s begin with that first reference in Genesis 3:20:
“Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.”
Eve’s name means living, life, or life-producer.
And as the mother of all the living, Eve began the propagation of the entire human race. She fulfilled a unique purpose. She was fruitful. She multiplied. She carried out a role no other woman before her had ever carried out.
Well, when it comes to Eve, there are three unique trademarks I would like to draw to your attention.
We need to consider her origin, her offense, and her offspring.
And as we look at each one, I want us to think carefully about what it means for our lives today.
Eve’s Origin Shows Us God’s Design
What do you know about Eve’s origin?
Maybe you have heard the old joke about Adam asking God why he made Eve so beautiful, so soft, so sweet, and so kind. God answers each question. Then Adam finally asks why God made Eve so incredibly foolish, and God says, “So that she would love you.”
Poor Adam and Eve.
They have been getting a bad rap for a long, long time.
But what do we really know about Eve’s origin, other than the fact that she may not have had a navel?
That is right.
She may have been belly-buttonless.
Well, certainly there is far more to Eve’s origin than whether she had an innie or an outie.
What we do know is that Eve was created to be a helper.
Genesis 2:18 says:
“Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.’”
And just a couple of verses later, after Adam names the animals, Genesis 2:20 says:
“But for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.”
That word helper is not a demeaning term.
Eve was not a second-class citizen.
In fact, did you know that the word helper is also used as a designation for God himself?
Psalm 54:4 says:
“Behold, God is my helper;
The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.”
The Hebrew word translated helper is ezer. It comes from a root that means to surround, protect, or aid.
That is important.
If helper were a demeaning term, then it would be a problem to use that term for God. But Scripture does use that kind of language for God. In Hebrews 13:6, we are told:
“The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.
What will man do to me?”
So just as the title helper is not derogatory when used of God, it is not derogatory when used of Eve.
Eve was to be to Adam what God is to us — a helper.
Now, even though Eve was designed by God to be a helper for Adam, God also designed Eve to be equal to Adam.
Just like Adam, Eve was crafted by the hand of God.
Just like Adam, Eve was gifted with reason and understanding.
Just like Adam, Eve was blessed with a personal relationship with the Lord.
And just like Adam, Eve was given a very special mission — to fill the earth and subdue it.
So even though Eve was a helper, she was not inferior.
Let me challenge you to dismiss any notion of chauvinism.
Chauvinism is not taught or encouraged anywhere in Scripture. Women are not second-class citizens.
In fact, it was not until after God created both the man and the woman that God pronounced humanity to be good.
Eve’s Origin Also Reminds Us Not to Live in the Past
When we think about Eve’s origin, we also need to consider this: Eve must have had nostalgic feelings when she thought about the past.
Other than Adam, Eve was the only human being who ever lived and experienced the purity and perfection of paradise.
Based on what Eve saw with her own eyes, she must have been captivated by perfection all around her.
The air she breathed had no smog.
The water she drank was clear, clean, sparkling, and delicious.
The animals lived in perfect harmony.
Nature itself was brand new and pristine.
And if that were not enough, even her husband was perfect.
Think about that.
At least for a time, Eve enjoyed a perfect marriage. Her time with Adam was joy and bliss. Can you imagine being married to the perfect man?
That would be something else.
But after Eve fell in the garden and sinned, all she had left were memories of the way it was.
She must have longed for her pre-fall life. She must have remembered paradise. She must have thought about what once was.
Maybe you have been feeling nostalgic recently when you think about your past.
Maybe you can think of a time you long for — a better time, an easier time. Maybe you remember the people who were in your life during those moments, and it was as close to paradise as you can imagine.
But while that may be true, you cannot go back there.
The past has passed.
So do yourself a favor. Do not trade today for a yesterday you can never get back.
You need to move forward.
Eve’s Offense Shows Us the Damage of Sin
The second trademark of Eve’s life has to do with her offense.
Her defection against God is obvious to us because her sin stands out in our minds when we think about her.
Someone once said, “The way of a transgressor is hard, especially for other people.”
And because Eve was punished with pain in childbearing, and because women have experienced pain in childbirth ever since, Eve’s transgression is often uppermost in the minds of women who are ready to give birth.
Earlier, I mentioned that when Eve thought about her origin, she must have felt nostalgic.
But when it came to her offense, no doubt she felt remorse.
She must have been deeply disappointed in herself.
Everything changed for the worse. Her life went south after that point. And she noticed all sorts of things changing.
Her relationship with Adam changed.
Before the fall, there was comfort and openness. After the fall, there was awkward vulnerability. Adam and Eve literally began hiding things from each other.
Carole King captured something of that kind of relational shift in her song “It’s Too Late,” where she sang about a relationship that used to feel easy and light but had become unhappy and strained.
Adam and Eve no longer had a light and breezy relationship after they fell in the garden.
They were hiding.
And beyond her relationship with Adam, Eve’s relationship with God also changed.
She had enjoyed intimacy with God before the fall. But after her sin, that relationship was broken. Eve felt dirty and unclean before her Maker.
Instead of becoming like God, as the serpent had promised, she became afraid of God and felt the need to flee from him.
Her surroundings changed too.
Not only did Eve notice that the exquisite garden of Eden was now cursed, but the entire world was cursed. The animal kingdom was overturned. And ugly things began to creep up from the ground — thorns and weeds.
Eve had to learn what all of us have had to learn.
There are consequences to sin.
Eve’s Offense Warns Us About Deception
Now that we have considered the remorse Eve must have experienced, let’s consider the exact nature of her sin.
In 2 Corinthians 11:3, Paul writes:
“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”
And 1 Timothy 2:14 says:
“And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.”
So deception was clearly part of Eve’s fall.
You might say, “Well, how could this all-star mom possibly have been deceived?”
She was deceived by not recognizing that Satan was disguised right before her.
She was deceived by not recognizing that God’s Word was being doubted and denied.
She was deceived by not recognizing that God’s love was being distrusted.
Satan’s attack on God’s Word should have warned Eve not to listen to the enemy. But by listening to the enemy, Satan took advantage of her. He moved in like a flood with an opportunity to deceive.
Eve not only listened to the enemy, but she answered him.
And as she became entangled in that web of confusion and deception, she came to the point where she felt she had no choice but to take the fruit.
She could not stop herself.
She just had to take it.
Also, think about this. Like Satan, Eve twisted the Word of God.
In Genesis 3:3, Eve says that God said, “You shall not eat from it or touch it.”
But God had not said anything about not touching the fruit. He said not to eat it.
That is an important distinction.
Eve added to what God said.
And after Eve was deceived, she became a deceiver. She implicated her husband in her sin.
How about you?
Think for a few moments about a time recently when you blew it royally in your relationship with God.
Maybe you sinned in some area of your life. Maybe you went around gossiping and shared information you never should have shared. Maybe you lied to someone. Maybe you have been harboring bitterness or a critical spirit toward another person.
Let me encourage you to deal with that sin right away.
Do not ensnare your husband, wife, son, daughter, parent, or anyone else by involving them in your sin.
Deal with it.
Go directly to God and confess it.
Eve’s Offspring Shows Us the Pain of a Broken Family
The third trademark of Eve’s life has to do with her offspring.
As you know, Eve had more than one child.
When I think about my childhood, I think about how accident-prone I was. I had stitches from head to toe to prove it. My forehead, chin, and knee were seemingly always getting gashed, and I continually needed to be rushed to the emergency room.
They knew me practically on a first-name basis.
Then there was the time I was playing tackle football on concrete, and a guy twice my size tackled me and broke one of my front teeth.
On two separate occasions, I took a bottle of berry-flavored children’s aspirin and downed the whole bottle. Both times, I had to have my stomach pumped.
And that is not all.
There was the time I was working as a busboy at the Velvet Turtle, a fancy white-tablecloth restaurant, and I lacerated the palm of my hand, severed a tendon and a vein, and had to have surgery.
Yes, I was very accident-prone as a kid.
Needless to say, every one of those injuries caused my mother to freak out. When she first saw me after one of my accidents, she would say, “Jeffrey, what did you do to yourself? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
It is uncanny how children have a way of pressing the right buttons and stirring all sorts of emotions in their parents.
That is something I did.
And I am sure Eve experienced all sorts of emotions as a mother. Some of those emotions were no doubt quite painful.
Genesis 4:1 says:
“Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, ‘I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord.’”
When it came to the birthing process, it must have been a difficult experience for Eve.
Being the only woman in existence, she had no mother, no sister, no aunt, and no other woman she could go to who had experienced the same thing.
She had no female friend who could relate to her.
No one she could turn to for advice.
And of course, Adam was clueless. He had no idea how he could possibly help her.
How strange it must have been for Eve to become a mom.
After all, what does a child look like? What do you do with a child? There had never been a child up to that point.
It must have been a mind-blowing experience.
And when Eve gave birth to her firstborn child, she may have thought she was giving birth to the Messiah. No doubt she was familiar with Genesis 3:15, the promise of someone special who would come from the seed of the woman.
But instead of giving birth to the Messiah, Eve gave birth to a murderer.
Wow.
Incredible.
And as you would imagine, think about how Eve must have felt knowing that her firstborn son murdered her secondborn son.
How do you think she felt?
No doubt she felt the way you would feel if one of your children killed another one of your children.
She was crushed.
She had to cope with the fact that her son was a murderer and that she would never see her other son again.
When You Are Carrying the Pain of a Wayward Child
It could be that in your situation, you are living in the wake of a devastating decision made by your son or daughter.
You never dreamed that the child you brought into the world, fed, clothed, educated, and cared for would turn out the way he or she did.
Maybe you are carrying the pain of a wayward child.
Let me suggest that you fully give that situation to God.
Come to grips with the fact that nothing less than divine intervention from God himself is going to change your son or daughter.
Eve is an example of a parent who no doubt experienced a good measure of pain. She needed relief — the kind of relief that could only come from God.
Maybe that is where you are today.
You are in need of serious relief.
You are hurting deep down inside. There is an ache. There is pain. There is sadness. There is disappointment.
And it will require God to move in like a flood and make a difference for you.
The Scripture tells us:
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
— Psalm 34:18
God is available for you, my friend.
What Eve Teaches Us
Well, today we have considered three trademarks of Eve.
First, we considered her origin. Eve was created by God as a helper, and that role was not demeaning. It was strong, purposeful, and rooted in God’s design.
Second, we considered her offense. Eve was deceived, she sinned, and she learned that sin always brings consequences.
Third, we considered her offspring. Eve experienced motherhood in a way no one else ever had, and she also experienced the heartbreak of a broken family.
So what does Eve teach us?
She teaches us that women are not second-class citizens.
She teaches us that the past cannot be recovered.
She teaches us that sin must be confessed quickly.
She teaches us that deception often begins when we listen to the wrong voice.
And she teaches us that a parent’s deepest pain still belongs in the hands of God.
Before You Go
Maybe as you have been reading, you realize that you need serious relief.
You are hurting deep down inside. There is an ache. There is pain. There is sadness. There is disappointment.
And maybe you do not yet know the One who can carry that burden.
Listen to these wonderful words from Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30:
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Jesus is saying to you, “Come to Me. Let Me take that burden. Let Me take that heartache. Let Me take that pain.”
He paid for your sins.
He rose from the grave to give you eternal life.
Be willing to repent and trust in Christ, and you will become his child today.
If you have never received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, let this be the day you come to him.
Let this be the moment you stop carrying your sin, your pain, and your heartache by yourself.
Come to Christ.
He is gentle and humble in heart, and he will give you rest.
Who was Eve in the Bible?
Eve was the first woman and the wife of Adam. Genesis 3:20 says Adam named her Eve because she was “the mother of all the living.”
What does Eve’s name mean?
Eve’s name is connected to life or living. In the transcript, Jeff explains that her name carries the idea of being a life-producer because she became the mother of the human race.
Was Eve inferior because she was called a helper?
No. The word helper is not demeaning. Scripture uses helper language for God himself, which shows that Eve’s role was strong, purposeful, and honorable.
What can Christians learn from Eve?
Christians can learn from Eve’s origin, offense, and offspring. Her life teaches us about God’s design, the danger of deception, the consequences of sin, and the need to bring deep family pain to God.
