Jan 7 - Eve

Today we started looking at the stories of some of the women in the Bible. Appropriately we began our new study by looking at Eve and the little bit we can tell about her from Genesis 1-3.

When the average person thinks of Eve we think of a beautiful young woman in the garden of Eden or of a sultry woman deliberately flaunting the rules by taking a bite of the forbidden fruit, causing the downfall of the human race. This is due to myths and artists' interpretations through the years. All we really know is that Eve was created to live in the Garden of Eden with Adam; to tend and care for it. From the little we are told she comes across as a contented young woman, intelligent enough to be aware of the rule surrounding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and ready to talk about it, even with a snake. When the snake started asking questions, Eve's inquiring mind started to wonder. She looked at the fruit and it didn't look evil or deadly but quite lovely and delicious - so with the assurances of the snake and the attraction of the juicy fruit, she decided to give it a try. Since it tasted pretty good she decided to give some to her husband, who took it without question and ate it. Then they discovered it hadn't been a great idea. They discovered shame and fear. They also had to pay the consequences of their decision to eat the fruit by being kicked out of the garden. They found out the hard way that it would have been better to obey.

Barbara J. Essex, in her book Bad Girls of the Bible, suggests that Eve was smart and curious and "bold, courageous and brilliant." She suggests that Eve was like a child, unaware of how to make good decisions or that bad ones would have long term consequences. She pushed the boundaries like any child testing a parent. She took a risk. She was not evil, she was not bad in any way - just innocent and unaware. It is interesting that Adam, who appears to have been right there, did nothing to stop her from talking to the snake or from taking the fruit. It was Adam who had the direct word of God against eating the fruit yet he did not resist. Adam also ate the fruit. It really seems that the disobedience of eating the fruit was a joint effort even if tradition has placed the blame firmly on Eve's shoulders.

Essex also suggests that the maturity that comes from experiencing the consequences of such a bad decision may also have been necessary for Adam and Eve to learn to consider before making other choices.  It could be what enables them to resist future temptations.  In other words she suggests that Eve needed to make this collossal mistake in order to make better decisions in her future. I suppose it could also be said that the story is there so we can learn, too, to make better decisions and not disobey.

We also need to be careful about jumping to conclusions. Many people have unfairly convicted Eve, and all womankind, because of an interpretation of one small section of the creation story. While both Adam and Eve disobeyed and had to pay the price, God still took care of them, clothed them and protected them from making another, similar mistake. The serpent was cursed, but Adam and Eve weren't. They made their lives more difficult by their decision to eat the forbidden fruit, but they did not forever change their value. Both men and women are God's creation, God's children, and both men and women make mistakes. God continues to value and look after all of us. Women are not forever condemned to be submissive to men or to have less value. Men and women were created to be partners in the caretaking of God's creation and it make sense that, while the task is more difficult now because of Adam and Eve's disobedience, it is still God's plan.

Reading the creation stories should remind us that we are made in God's image. Male and female, we exist because God breathed life into us. Like Adam and Eve, we may make mistakes, but, just as God clothed Adam and Eve when they realized they were naked, God cares for us and will give us what we need even when we mess up. When we struggle with our self esteem - when we feel we just can't measure up - we need to remember God created us this way and loves us even when we make mistakes. We just make it harder on ourselves.

So go forth - be curious, be courageous, make mistakes - but know through it all that you are the person God created you to be God can use you to do amazing things and will love you and care for you no matter what.