Waiting on the Manger: Day 1
Eve
When I thought about who I should start this journey with, I honestly do not remember if I had anybody else in mind for Day 1 aside from Eve. To tell you the truth, this study came together seamlessly. Eve being the first person felt so fitting—Eve, the mother of all living.
So, what do we know about Eve? She is the first woman, formed from Adam’s rib. Most importantly, she is blamed for the fall of man. And honestly, fair enough! Eve played a significant part in the fall, but let us not forget that she was not alone.
As someone who is such a consequential figure in Biblical history, it is fascinating how little we know about Eve, with only a few verses mentioning her. Eve’s time in the Bible is contained in Genesis 2-4. Yet, from the little we know about her, there is enough treasure to glean what the promise of the Christ meant to her. We are going to walk through Bible verses here, so stick with me, please.
In Genesis 2, after God “placed [the man] in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it,” (verse 15) God “caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while [the man] slept, [God] took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh. And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman and brought her to him. And the man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called “woman,” for out of man she was taken.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (verses 21-24).
After the woman was created and presented to the man, he embraced her fully, declaring that she was “bone of [his] bones and flesh of [his] flesh.” Adam proclaimed to her that she was a part of him, essentially one flesh.
Then enters the serpent, described as “more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made.” (Genesis 3:1)The serpent deceived Eve into taking the fruit and eating it. Genesis 3:6 says that “she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.”
Fast forward to God issuing the consequences for their actions. To the serpent, God says, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15). This is the first messianic prophecy: God promised that the woman’s Seed would defeat their enemy by crushing his head.
After receiving these judgments, Genesis 3:20 says, “And Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living.” Contrast this with Adam’s first proclamation that Eve was “bone of [his] bones and flesh of [his] flesh.” Adam’s view of his wife changed after the fall. He no longer saw her as one flesh with him. Imagine her pain.
She was no longer viewed as part of him or part of his being. He reduced her to a function—childbirth. Adam reduced her to that function and named her Eve, citing her role to bring forth life to the world.
In Genesis 4:1, we see that “Adam had relations with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. ‘With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,’ she said. Later, she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel.” After the death of Abel and the banishment of Cain, “Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, ‘God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.’” (Genesis 4:25).
Through these words, we see what her children meant to her. They represented the seed promised by God, the seed that would lead to victory for her—vindication from her enemy. Perhaps even possible restoration to her husband? After Adam answered God in Genesis 3:12, we never hear from him again. The only clue the reader has of Adam’s presence is when the text says, “Adam had relations with his wife.” The diction and tone employed in that phrase beckon readers to lean in. What is this text saying? What does the writer want you to glean from this? Those words appear in the text as emotionless, devoid of feeling, sterile, clinical.
It is as if Adam lay with his wife out of duty and function—not as a loving act but simply to make “his contribution” to the conception of their children. Bolstering this point further, in the naming of the children—a task Adam previously performed in the Garden—Eve alone is recorded as performing this task.
Now, I am not going into the story of Cain and Abel because we all know what happened there. But let us discuss the consequences of that event on Eve and how she viewed the promise of Christ. When Eve heard the news of Abel’s death and Cain’s banishment, did she feel despair? Did she feel hopeless? Did she wonder if the promise would ever come to pass, wondering how her seed could possibly crush the head of the enemy if one of her seed was killed and the other was banished?
I picture Eve wondering if she would ever experience the promise fulfilled, wondering if she would always have to live with the memory and consequence of her mistake. How did it feel to carry that burden and live in that shame? Was it lonely? Or did she rest in the fact that God is a provider? When God gave her Seth, did she watch him closely every day, waiting for the promise to be fulfilled? Or did she know that Seth was not the Promised One?
Did Adam and Eve ever experience reconciliation? I wonder if Adam ever got that feeling again—the feeling of being one flesh—or did Eve live the rest of her days at odds with the one she was created for? With the one she was created from?
Lastly, I wonder how Eve would celebrate the birth of Jesus—her Seed who was promised. I think she would view it with awe, with gratitude, and with celebration. Because for Eve, the promise of Jesus meant restoration.