Lessons and examples of the story of Eve

Many people know who Eve is in the Bible. Eve is the first woman mentioned in the Bible. In Genesis, she is made from Adam’s rib as a companion and helper with him in the Garden of Eden. As Genesis 2:18 says “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Her name means “life giving” or “mother of all who have life.” She is also the one who is first tempted by the serpent. Is there more we can know about Eve and her story? There are lessons we can learn from her story. What can be learn from her sorrows and joy? What were her strengths and weaknesses?

Eve’s story begins in the Garden of Eden with Adam. There were no shadows, no disorder, and no discord or fear. Perfect harmony. She was in peace with God and her husband. She did not know the meaning of embarrassment, misunderstanding, pain, envy, bitterness, grief or guilt. Until one day, Satan disguised as the serpent (often depicted as a snake but was mostly likely a large lizard) came and she allowed doubt and desire to persuade her to eat from the forbidden tree. Suddenly, there was no more harmony in Eden and darkness and death entered the world. God punishes Eve and Adam with banishment. Eve is cursed with pain in childbirth and Adam is cursed with a lifetime of hard labor. After they leave the garden, Eve gives birth to a son, Cain, who would later murder his brother, Abel, with jealousy in his heart. When the Bible last speaks of Eve, she is a woman in anguish as she gives birth to another son, Seth (Genesis 4:25). Her death is not recorded in the Scriptures.

Her main sorrow was she and Adam were banished from Paradise and the presence of God. She would know anguish as her eldest son killed his younger brother in jealousy. But joy? What joy did Eve have? God promised that her offspring would eventually destroy her enemy. Genesis 3:15 says, “And I will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel.” Imbedded in this verse is the promise of a Redeemer, a Savior. This verse is a foreshadowing of Jesus as God reveals his plan to defeat Satan and offer salvation to the world. The phrase, “you will strike his heel,” refers to Satan’s repeated attempts to defeat Jesus during his lifetime and “he will crush your head” refers to Jesus’s defeat of Satan by rising from the dead. Even after their punishment, God still cared for them and formulated a plan to undo their sin. The lesson here is that despite our sin and our inevitable physical death, God’s grace and mercy are the most beautiful gifts. Despite being at our lowest, suffering from the consequences of our sin, God’s grace is still at work within us.

We know Eve’s strengths as the first female. The first wife and mother. She recognizes that life is in God’s control as she proclaims, “With the help of the Lord, I have brought forth a man” (Genesis 4:1). She had a relationship with God and with her husband as she had co-responsibility over creation with him. Unfortunately, she is better known for her mistakes. She allowed her contentment to be undermined. She was willing to accept Satan’s argument without checking with God. She ignored what she knew God had done and focused on what he withheld. Sound familiar? How often do we focus on what we don’t have and rail against God instead of focusing on praising Him for what He has provided? Our desires, the “I’ve got to have it now” feeling keeps us very manipulated and easily influenced by factors other than God. When confronted by God for her sin, she blamed others, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Genesis 3:13), rather than take responsibility for her actions. 

In conclusion, Eve is an example of how we can be deceived when we take our eyes off God and His promises. How much our lives can be misled when we turned to ourselves instead of turning to Him. She is also an example of the great promise God gave us in Jesus. A Redeemer to rid ourselves and the world of Satan’s deceptions. Eve is an example of when godly people do ungodly things. That despite knowing better, their desire, their lack of judgment or they let their emotions overrun their rational thought and they do things they knew they shouldn’t do. Eve is an example of what happens we let our guard down and let Satan whisper in our ears and hearts.

Satan and the Old Testament: who is he?

Recently I read on conversation on a message board where someone claimed that Satan does not appear in the Old Testament. A statement I knew was not true. Two conversations between Satan and God appears in Job 1:6-12 and Job 2:1-8. However, it peaked my interest: what was the origin of the word, Satan, and who is he in the Old Testament. In Hebrew, Satan is a noun from a verb meaning to obstruct or oppose as used in Numbers 22:22, 1 Samuel 29:4 and Psalm 109:6. Ha-Satan is translated as the accuser or the adversary. The definite article occurs in Job 1-2 ten times and three times in Zechariah 3:1-2. I also began to investigate who Satan was in Judaism and discovered something interesting: it depends on the different eras of Judaism.

First, Enochic Judaism occurred during the Second Temple period between 516 BCE to 70 CE. It taught that Satan is an opponent of God and a chiefly evil figure among demons. It is in the book of Enoch which references Satariel, an angel before the fall from Heaven. The second book of Enoch references a Grigori (Watcher) called Satanael who was cast out of heaven. Judaism and most of Christianity rejected the books of Enoch as canon due to the idea that angels sinned and rebelled against God as illustrated by Trypho the Jew while debating Justin Martyr (Dialogue 79). Although many Christian churches use the books for historical or theological interests. The only churches today who accept the books as canon are the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Church.

Second, Rabbinic Judaism has been practiced since the 6^th century CE and teaches that satan was Yetzer hara or evil inclination of humans. Genesis 6:5 says “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become; and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” Satan is personified in three places. In 1 Chronicles 21:1 as the seducer. In Job 2:1 as the heavenly persecutor and Zechariah 3:1-2 as the accuser. Satan is always subordinate to the power of God and has a role in the divine plan. However, during the Medieval era (5^th – 15^th century CE), the Enochic literary works were rejected and every attempt to root out any reference to rebel or fallen angels. Evil became viewed as abstract and the first two chapters of Job as a metaphor. These teachings can be seen in Modern Orthodox Judaism as the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism, is studied.

Third, Hasidic Judaism arose as a spiritual revival movement founded by Israel Baal Shem Tov in the 18^th century in what is today, modern Ukraine and spread across Eastern Europe. The story of his birth features Satan as a tester as an agent of God whose main function is to tempt one into sin and then report back to God. His parents, R’Eliezer and Sara, were known to bring in guests. Satan wanted to test R’Eliezer to see if he would take in a poor and dirty guest. The court of heaven agreed and Satan appeared at their home in dirty rags and behaved horribly for a guest. But his requests were met without complaint. When Satan returned to heaven, the court of heaven decided to reward R’Eliezer. Sara would soon give birth to a son in her extreme old age. A sin with a holy soul, the type of soul which only occurs once in a thousand years. These teaching that Satan as an agent of God can be seen in Modern Conservative Judaism as well.

Lastly, Modern Reform Judaism (also known as Progressive Judaism or Liberal Judaism) was founded on July 17, 1810 by Israel Jacobson in Germany. The reform movement came to American when German reformers immigrated here in the mid-1800s. According to their traditions, Satan is interpreted symbolically. He is the representation of innate human qualities to do evil and selfish desires. They reject any other representation or interpretation of Satan. He is not yetzer hara, an agent of God or a fallen angel. Their teachings tend to focus on learning, duty and obligation. Their teachings stress ethical responsibility both personal and social, including equality between the sexes as taught in the Torah. They focus on family devotion, private prayer and public worship as well as observance of the Sabbath and holy days.

In conclusion, the answer to who is Satan in Judaism is very complicated and has changed over time. The answer depends on the historical period and the beliefs of each individual sect. So to say that Satan doesn’t appear in the Old Testament is false. While researching this topic and reading about the different Jewish sects, I was reminded of the vast differences in Christian denominations too. Therefore, what I learned the most is, as always, it’s a good idea to avoid generalizations. I read a few articles that made statements about Christians that I, and others I know, do not ascribe to. Like Jews don’t believe in Satan and Christians believe he was a fallen angel. It may be true for some, however, not for all.  

Job: story of suffering, faith and trust in God

This month’s study is on the book of Job. It is an illustration of God’s sovereignty and the meaning of true faith. It addresses the question, “why do the righteous suffer?” A question that is still debated today. The book of Job is believed to have been written during the time of the patriarchs (approximately 2000-1800 BC) and the first book of the Bible to be written. It is the first poetic book of the Bible. The book of Job opens in the land of Uz where Job is living with his family among vast wealth. Job was “the greatest man among all the people of the East” (Job 1:3).

Satan approaches God in heaven and the discussion turns to Job. Satan believed that Job was a righteous man because he had everything and if it were taken from him, he would turn from God (Job 1:9-11). God gives Satan permission to take everything Job has but he could not physically harm him (Job 1:12). Soon, Job loses his children, his herds and still does nothing wrong. Job is given a second test in which God allows Satan to physical harm Job but he could not take his life (Job 2:6). There Job sits with every sign of his wealth taken and illness has claimed his body but Job still refused to turn from God (Job 2:10). Job discusses his sufferings with his friends who all give their view as to why he is suffering.

First, Job’s view about his suffering is “the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21) and “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:10). His attitude is that we should not give up on God simply because he allows bad experiences. Faith in God does not guarantee prosperity and a lack of faith does not guarantee troubles. Job was a man of faith, patience and endurance. As his friends claim that he is suffering for something he has done, he is willing to confess it if he knew what it was. He demands to be shown what sins he could have committed to deserve such punishment (Job 13: 23-24). Job wanted to know why and claimed he could bear the suffering if he could only know why (Job 23. It is a very human demand to know why we are suffering. Does understanding the reasons help the pain and suffering? If God were to answer why would it be easier to accept and bear the pain? The question why is the hardest to answer because you may get the reason but you may not like or accept such an answer.

Second, his friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, come to comfort him and offer advice. They soon turn to accuse Job of an unresolved sin in his life. Eliphaz’s view is simply that man is responsible for his own troubles for “those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it” (Job 4:8). Bildad claims that Job’s suffering is because he is unjust as God would not reject a blameless man (Job 8:20). When Zophar joins the discussion he adds that only does Job have sin in his life but his sin deserves more punishment that he already is suffering (Job 11). It is a sentiment the friends will repeat several times. It is also a sentiment repeated in churches today: “Oh you are dealing with financial issues because there’s sin in your life.” Or “You are in pain because you haven’t confessed a sin.” While God does allow the consequences of our sin and bad decisions to play out despite our confession, it does not mean that the bad circumstances are the result of your personal sin. Good and innocent people will suffer bad circumstances because people don’t always do what is right and innocent parties will suffer. Does this mean that you shall lose faith? No, because faith in the bad times shows a stronger character than faith in the good times.

Lastly, the Lord speaks to the group. He first addresses Job and demands to know why he speaks with knowledge (Job 38:1). The Lord rebukes Job for daring to demand an answer, to question God and the workings of the universe he couldn’t possibly understand. God uses His questions to Job to demonstrate how little he really knows (Job 38-39). Job acknowledges that he cannot understand what God understands (Job 40:4). In Job 42:2, Job says “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.” This is a concept that many believers must face and learn. There’s a Yiddish proverb which states, “Man plans and God laughs.” We can carefully plan but if it is against the will of God, it will not come to fruition. As believers, we must submit to the will of God in our lives. As it says in the Lord’s Prayer, “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). The Lord then addresses the three friends because they “have not spoken of me what is right” as Job has (Job 42:7). The Lord blesses Job’s life with far more than he had originally because he passed the test of faith.

In conclusion, the lessons learned from Job is bad circumstances are not always the result of sin and knowing the reason why isn’t the point. The point is our faith in God in times of prosperity and in times of troubles, especially in times of troubles. It may sound easier said than done and it is something I still struggle with from time to time. There has been other times when my faith was tested and it will continued to be tested for the rest of my life. There are times where I worry and I think “how am I going to do this?” And I forget to lean on my faith in Christ. However, there is always something that reminds me to trust in Him. It would be a whisper in my dreams, a voice of a friend, or a verse I read during my studies. Even in his anguish, Job never turned from God. And in mine, I won't either.