I apologize for this hiatus, but I’ve been having trouble keeping up with the blog as of late so I will not be regularly updating for a while. I do not know when I will begin again. Thank you for reading my blog.
Genesis 3:1-13
The next passage concerning women, and the reason that we struggle with Biblical Womanhood in the first place, is the fall of man in Genesis 3. Since there is a lot to cover, this chapter will be split into two parts. The first covers the fall and the second covers God’s judgment.
1: Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
We later understand the serpent to be the devil. He first questions what God has told Eve about His commandment. This is important for us to note because we often find ourselves today questioning “did God really say that?” We have His Word right in front of us, but often we find ourselves questioning if that’s what He really said, especially if it is something that we don’t like or a sin that we want to condone. One thing to note is that he doesn’t specify a specific tree, but instead insinuates that they cannot eat from any tree in the garden.
2-3: And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'”
Eve said that they were actually able to eat from any tree except for one specific tree. That was true , but she added an extra stipulation to God’s command which was that was that they shouldn’t touch that specific tree as well. Adding that extra bit may be helpful in keeping away from sin, but it isn’t actually what God commanded. Sometimes putting up boundaries is important in keeping us from sin, especially if we know where our weakness lies. For example, if I make chocolate chip cookies, I know that I’m inclined to eat way too many so I only bake a dozen and freeze the rest of the dough to cook at a later time. But it can also add extra rules to follow, such as the many rules that the Pharisees and Sadducees added to their laws.
4-5: But the serpent said to the woman, “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.”
This is in reference to Genesis 2:16 “and the Lord commanded the man saying, “you may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 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.'” The devil took the original meaning and twisted it to a similar meaning. God was speaking of the death innocence and the entering in of sin and spiritual death whereas the devil spoke of physical death.
6: So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
The woman decided to obtain wisdom from the world rather than from the One who created the world. It is easy for us to be deceived by the “wisdom” of this world and miss the true wisdom that God will freely bestow upon those who ask (James 1:5). Also note how the husband was with her, yet he said nothing and ate as well. It was a joint fall.
7: Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
The first thing that they noticed was their nakedness. It refers back to Genesis 2:25 which said that “the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” The first thing that the wisdom of the world brought to them was shame.
8: And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking into the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
I find it interesting that they tried to hide from God. They knew Him well and walked with Him in the garden before, so they knew that they couldn’t hide, but they still tried.
9: But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
God knew where they were and gave them a chance to come and repent.
10: And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.”
He skipped over the eating of the forbidden fruit and jumped straight to the reason for hiding.
11: He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree which I commanded you not to eat?”
God knew what had happened and is asking again, specifically this time, in order to give Adam and Eve a chance to repent.
12: The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
Wrong answer. This is the first recording of the blame game that is still played to this day. However, as women we should note how we can influence our husbands to sin and should strive to influence them towards righteousness instead.
13: Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.
Better, but still the wrong answer. How so? She still pushes the blame onto the serpent. It is the same as the man’s, yet more subtle. She is not repenting and saying “forgive me for I have sinned,” and is instead saying “the serpent tricked me into eating so it’s his fault and I’m only responsible because I was tricked.” Yes she was tricked, but she is fully responsible for her actions. She knew what God had told her, and her husband with her, yet they both still disobeyed. This is the reason that we should constantly be studying God’s Word. It is easy to be deceived by teachings that sound pretty, but are poison disguised as sweets.
What have we learned about Biblical Womanhood from this chapter?
- God commanded the men to lead. Adam was to teach Eve God’s law. We can see this through God speaking to Adam His command before Eve had been created. As women, we should listen to those in headship over us.
- We should also study God’s Word so that when we are tempted, we can come out victorious.
- We should remember that we can influence our husbands to sin, or we can influence them in righteousness.
- We should remember that we need to own up to our mistakes and as God for forgiveness, as well as any others that we may have sinned against.
Next week we will cover the curses that God bestowed on them, but we will also see God’s promise for a Savoir.
Happy New Year!!
The Year 2021 is here! For many, this is a great reprieve from the trials that came in 2020. For others, this year brings more dread with not knowing what is to come. We can continue to rest in the loving arms of our Savior and know that He is in control. If the year seems to be a horrible year, we can remember that we are one year closer to meeting our great God. We can remember that no matter how bad the day is, God’s mercies are new each morning. This may be another tough year for most, but instead of wishing for a new year to take away our troubles, we should turn to the One who has taken away our sins for eternity. God does not promise us an easy life, but He does promise that He will be with us all the way. I hope and pray that you all enjoy your new year and are able to focus on God’s mercy and love in the midst of any trial that may come your way!
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.”
– Lamentations 3:22-23
Merry Christmas!
“For unto us a child is born,
unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
– Isaiah 9:6
Our Savior humbled Himself and came to Earth as a man. Born of a virgin in a lowly manger our Savior came. Knowing that He would later die a painful death on the cross to atone for our sins, He came anyway. Thank you Lord for your great love that You spared not your Son in Your great plan of redemption for Your rebellious people!
Merry Christmas everyone!!
Genesis 2:18-25
The first passage that I wish to study on Biblical Womanhood is the creation of Eve, the first woman. Her creation is mentioned in Genesis 1:27, but the in depth story is found in Genesis chapter two.
Before this passage, God has created man and has given him dominion over the garden and all that resides within it and was to work and keep the garden. He also commands Adam to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or he will surely die.
18: Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
God’s original plan (before sin entered in) was for man to have a helper. God knew that His creation was not meant to be alone because He created man. Woman was created to be man’s helper, not the other way around. Although, man should help woman as well, that is not his primary function.
19: Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.
This verse gives a little more detail about the fifth and sixth days of creation and shows that God had put man in charge over the rest of His creation.
20: The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.
I find it interesting that God had him go and name all the animals before He made a helper for Adam. Often times we need to be shown that we need help before we are willing to accept a helper. Plus, we are shown that Adam’s duties are foremost important.
21: So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
I’ve heard it said that God took not from the head, so that woman is above man, nor from the feet so that woman is below man, but from the side so that woman is beside man. I also think it is nice that God closed the place that He had removed the rib with flesh as well as put the man to sleep before removing it. God in His almighty power could’ve just spoke woman into existence, but this symbolism shows how woman is not separate from man, but a helper to man.
22: And the rib that the Lord God had take from the man He made into a woman and brought her to the man.
Man was made from dust and woman from a rib bone. It is also nice to note how God didn’t make Adam complete and epic quest to find his woman, but instead brought her to him. (Funny story: when I was young, I used to think that all men had one less rib because God made Eve from Adam’s rib. I laugh at that now, but had really thought it to be true for a while.)
23: Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
The Hebrew word for man is Adam and for woman is Adamah (I’m not sure how to import the Hebrew writing.) I mention this because I find the poetry in the naming of woman beautiful. It also shows up in the English writing of Man and Woman.
24: Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
This is often understood to be a commentary by Moses when he later wrote these events down to form the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible.) I find it interesting that it states a man shall leave his father and mother when we often see the women leaving their families in Scripture. The point, however, is that the man and woman are to join together as one flesh meaning that they are two parts of a whole. They are to work together, not apart.
25: And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Before sin entered the world, there was no need for coverings because there was nothing to hide. No sin, no guilt, no fear, just love for each other and their God.
What we’ve learned from this passage is that woman was created to be a helper to man. She was created to be at his side, not to be his master or servant. Woman was created to become one flesh with her spouse so that they would be joined together in earthly calling with the woman helping the man. Her calling is to help while his is to tend the garden.
Sin, however, messed this all up. There is no longer a garden of Eden to tend to and the oneness of spouses is often desecrated by adultery and fornication. Men often lord over women and women can be seen doing the same. The question is; how do we take those truths and apply them to our lives today? What is man’s duty and how is the woman supposed to help? What if the woman also feels called to do something? How do these callings work together? I hope that the answers to these questions become more clear as we work our way through Scripture, but through our everyday lives we should be seeking to honor and glorify God in everything that we say and do, no matter how hard.
Extra:
These are the questions listed in Nancy DeMoss’ booklet that I reviewed last week for Genesis 2:18
- Have I embraced my God-created design to be a helper to the man?
- Am I willing to sacrifice my own ambitions and aspirations in order to fulfill my primary role and calling as a helper to my husband?
- Am I providing companionship for my husband?
- Am I completing and complementing my husband rather than competing with him?
- How could I better help my husband fulfill God’s purpose for his life?
- What kinds of words, actions, and attitudes on my part will help Christian men around me become all God wants them to be?
- Am I promoting healthy, godly marriages in the ways that I relate and respond to other women’s husbands?
- Am I maintaining the kinds of boundaries in my relationships with men that promote biblical standards of purity?
These questions are good to mull over whether you agree with them or not.
Here’s the Amazon link if you wish to purchase the booklet.
As an Amazon Associate, I can earn from qualifying purchases.
Biblical Portrait of Womanhood Review
The first book on my study of womanhood is a little booklet by Nancy DeMoss titled “Biblical Portrait of Womanhood: Discovering and Living Out God’s Plan for Our Lives.” It’s a cute little booklet of 29 pages plus a few blank ones to write in. It reminds me of a short Bible Study.
DeMoss begins by explaining who this booklet is for. On page four, she states “the purpose of this booklet is to help us discover the path to that abundant life and to examine our lives in light of God’s design and plan.” She encourages the reader to focus on one verse a day and provides reflection questions under each verse. You could also reflect on one question per day if you wish, although that will take a lot longer. There are a total of 70 questions and 28 verses. I will admit that some of the questions that she gives are quite convicting. There are other questions that I’m don’t fully see coming from the passage, but they’re still good questions.
The second section of the book contains more reflections along the lines of: Do my _____ build up or tear down? And the three categories are attitudes, words, and actions. There are questions that go with each category. The options are detailed so you may not fully fit into one option or the other, but it does get us to question our true motives behind our actions rather than what we claim is our motive.
Overall, I enjoyed this little booklet and plan to review it again at a slower pace. I do wish that it explained some of her reasonings behind her questions, but again this is a short 29 page booklet so there isn’t too much detail. I do like how she bases all of her questions off of Bible verses so we can easily look up those verses and study the full passages by ourselves to get the full context.
How has this booklet helped me in my study of Biblical Womanhood? Well, it has given me good questions to ponder and a list of verses to study. Although I may not fully agree with every little question she puts out, I do think that this booklet is helpful in presenting a Biblical understanding of Womanhood. She unashamedly presents what she understands the passage to say in spite of what the culture today may present. One of the questions under Genesis 2:18 (The Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”) is: “Am I completing and complementing my husband rather than competing with him?” This booklet helps us to look at Biblical Womanhood through the lens of Scripture rather than the lens of the world. It’s tough, but good.
I plan to continue my study through Biblical Womanhood because I want an in depth understanding of what God has made woman to be. I have goals and a calling on my life as well as my husband on his and I desire to see how to view these things in a God honoring way.
Here is the Amazon link if you wish to purchase the booklet.
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Update
It’s been a long year. Anyone paying attention can probably agree with that. 2020 has had its ups and downs and definitely represents when God reroutes our plans. In this past year, the pandemic started, I had a second child, and I stopped working outside of the home. You’d think that I would have more time at home, but with two kids, it has been a whirlwind of to do’s, joyful moments, and trying times.
Although 2020 has been a tough year, I’ve been thankful for the blessings that God has provided during this time. This is beginning to sound like an end of the year post. Anyway, I’m hoping to get back into blogging again, but it won’t be very often during this period of time in my life. I’m aiming for once a week, but as the business of the holidays are coming, it might only be a couple of times a month.
This year has also shown me some things that I have known about myself, but haven’t really delved into. I struggle with being a housewife. I can’t keep things in order the way that I want to and I struggle with reconciling my desire for working and pursuing higher education with being a wife and mother and keeper of the house. Therefore I’ve decided to study Biblical Womanhood as my next segment. I think studying this subject will encompass my duties and desires as well as help me to refocus on what is important: God. It is pretty easy to get caught up in the daily duties and forget to praise the Creator for all He has done for me. I have a list of books that I wish to read through while studying this subject as well as to take a journey through the Bible and look at instances of womanhood and how it is presented (both good and bad.)
I hope that all of you are doing well during this time and are able to focus more on God amidst all the struggles that this year has brought. Our hope is not in this world, because it will fade away. Our hope is in the unchanging God who has created us and prepared a place for us with Him in heaven.
“Sing to the Lord, you His faithful ones
and praise His holy name.
For His anger lasts only a moment,
but His favor, a lifetime.
Weeping may stay overnight,
but there is joy in the morning.”
– Psalm 30:4-5
1 Thessalonians Day 33
5:23-28
23: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise be to God that He who has started a great work in us will complete it! We cannot achieve blamelessness on our own, but Jesus has covered us with His white robes so that God sees us as righteous!
24: He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.
God will help us to accomplish whatever He has called us to.
25: Brothers, pray for us.
It is good to ask for prayer.
26: Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
Although in some cultures it is okay to kiss people in greeting, in the United States we generally shake hands. Does this mean that we should kiss instead? No because this specific form of greeting is relevant to that time frame and culture. Instead we should greet others with a holy handshake (I know, it sounds a little cheesy) which basically means to greet others in Christ. Whatever form of greeting your culture uses should be used to greet fellow believers in love.
27:I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
It is beneficial to have the Word read to us and Paul understood that.
28: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Paul ends his letter with a request for the grace of Jesus to be with the believers.
1 Thessalonians Day 32
5:15-22
15: See that non one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
Not only are we to seek to do good among our brothers and sisters in the faith, but we are also to seek to do good among everyone, and that includes the unbelievers.
16: Rejoice always
“Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice” – Philippians 4:4
17: pray without ceasing
This does not mean to be constantly praying and doing nothing else, but rather it means that in all things we pray. We pray when we wake up, we pray before we eat, we pray when we drive, at work, at the store, we pray as struggles arise, we pray as praises arise. We pray in everything.
18: give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Everything happens for a purpose. There is a purpose for the pain that we go through and for all the trials that we face. There is a purpose for all the joys that we are given. We are to rejoice not because it is easy, but because God is with us through it all and will use all that happens to us for His glory and our benefit.
19: Do not quench the Spirit
The Holy Spirit was given to us to guide us and help us to recall God’s Word as well as to have the words to speak in prayer. Do not hinder it and ignore it.
20-21: Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good
God has given us prophecies in His Word. Another understanding of prophecies is when someone speaks God’s word (from the Bible) to you regarding an issue that you are facing. The reason that I emphasize “from the Bible” is because there are no “new revelations” and all that we need to know is in Scripture. God’s Word speaks to us to this day.
22: Abstain from every form of evil.
Evil lurks in the corners. There are many things that by themselves are good. For example, my husband and I were recently discussing how we have been on our phones a lot lately and how that affects what gets done around the house as well as our own personal goals. Although phones can be used for good, such as being able to reach family, they can also be used for evil when we pay attention to them so much that we neglect our duties and what God desires for us to accomplish.
Love others. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in everything. Listen to the Spirit. Listen to God’s Word. Hold fast to the good. Abstain from evil.
1 Thessalonians Day 31
5:12-14
12-13: We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.
We are to respect those whom God has put over us. In this passage, Paul is specifically referring to those in the faith who are in charge over us. We are to also respect those who are not believers who are in charge, but not to the extent as mentioned above.
14: And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
Patience is hard, especially when dealing with other people. Patience, however, is one of the fruits of the Spirit and Paul encourages us to be patient with our fellow believers. We are to help the weak whether it be those who are physically weak, mentally weak, or weaker in the faith. We are to encourage those who are weary and to warn or reprimand those who are lazy.
Rerouted 