" But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River."... Exodus 2:3
As a mom, this story is hard to read. Moses's mom was put in one of the toughest situations that a new mom could face: watch my child die by a soldiers sword or put him in a basket to float to who knows where in the river. Both is those are terrible and hear wrenching options in my opinion, but if there was one to choose, it would be the latter. What a brave and tough thing. What trust in her God that Moses's mom had to have in order to bring herself to the above actions. I try to imagine what guts this would take, and put myself in her situation.
Imagine if our Oklahoma government decided that no family was allowed to have any more children, and you had just had another baby. You could watch the government take your baby away, or you could bundle them up in their carrier seat and take them downtown and put them on the train, so be sent to safety who knows where. AND you send your little girl with the baby to watch over him! Your little girl returns to you later that evening to say that the governor's daughter found your baby on the bus and wants you to nurse him until he is old enough to be weened and then you need to give him to HER for forever to be HER child. Ahh! Heart wrenching! Moses's mom was a different kind of woman.
Her trust and resolve and bravery is amazing to me, and I can only marvel at it and try to learn from it. And we all know that her bravery paid off, because her son, HER son became one of the most admired men of faith in the Bible. The apple did not fall far from the tree. Moses himself took on some very impressive heroics, but he would have never even had had the chance if it was not for his momma.
What a different kind of woman Moses's mother was. Lord please help me to be brave like her. Help me to trust you above all my circumstances, especially when it comes to my children. You have entrusted me as my children's mother, and trusting You with them can be one of the hardest things to do, not because I do not think that You are trustworthy, but honestly I just have a hard time giving up control. Help me to see the bravery in Moses's mom and when You ask me to trust in You to take care of my children, and to loosen what I think is my control. I am their mother, but You are their God. I trust you, please continue to give me grace to Trust You and be brave.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
A Different Kind of Woman... Rebekah... Genesis 24:15-20
"15 Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah. 16 Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again. 17 Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.”
18 “Yes, my lord,” she answered, “have a drink.” And she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink. 19 When she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough to drink.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw water for all his camels."
Rebekah is my woman of the day. I only read the first part of this story, and could not get past just a few simple things that make a big impression on me as a seeker and reader. So, let us dive into what we can learn from Rebekah about being a different kind of woman...
Someone was praying for Rebekah. They did not know who Rebekah was, they were just praying that the Lord would bring a wife to Isaac. And Rebekah seems to be the one that the Lord had chosen for Isaac. I love all of this so far. I think I am more of a romantic than I would claim to be, but not a romantic as the world sees it, romance set up and blessed by God! That kind of romance is very exciting to me. Probably because it is the kind that I believe that the Lord gave to me when He set up me and my husband to meet. Rebekah found herself, and had no idea, in the middle of being a very clear answer to prayer.
I find it so interesting though that Rebekah had an action that she had to take in order to appear to be this answer to prayer. She was not simply to walk out to the well, this servant of Abraham had prayed specifically that the woman take a certain action of servanthood, to give him AND his camel a drink. Now, I have no idea if offering the camel a drink was a common occurrence, but it seemed quite over and above to me! Where do I go over and above my call to servanthood?
This really hits home with me. As a wife, and mom of three kids most of my time is committed to serving in some capacity. But, what would "over and above" look like on a daily basis? Would that make me a different kind of woman? And to have the seemingly VERY willing attitude of Rebekah as the cherry on top? Well, let me just look at it practically... Giving Abraham's servant was the easy job, the somewhat clean job, but then she chose to continue to the not so clean, and probably not so easy job of giving the camel a drink. What do I do that is somewhat easy and clean? (Laundry, dishes, all those house chores) What could I be doing "over and above" that is not so easy?Maybe...doing all of the chores with a cheerful heart, treating my kids with kindness as much as possible (I imagine that trying to get a camel to drink is probably about as much as biting my tongue during the day would be when it comes to my children :)
Rebekah was a "over and above" different kind of woman. And for that she was blessed beyond what she probably ever imagined for herself. The Lord used her to be an "answer to prayer" for Isaac and Abraham, AND that servant! How can we look at our every day situations and choose to be a different kind of woman and go over and above the normal call of duty...
Lord, please help me to see the opportunities in my day as a chance to be a different kind of woman for Your glory. To go over and above what You are asking of me so that I may be an "answer to prayer" to someone hurting, seeking You, or just needing some encouragement. May it be so in me Father, may it be so.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
"A DIFFERENT KIND OF WOMAN" Genesis 21... Sarah's promise fulfilled.
1 Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac[a] to the son Sarah bore him. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6 Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” 7 And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Genesis 21: 1-7
This first verse of this passage just makes me smile. The Lord DID for Sarah what He has PROMISED. As a woman we judge our worth sometimes on how people come through for us. If the people in our lives keep their word with us that means that we were worth it to them. If they do not, we get the message that we are not worth their effort. The showed Sarah that she was worth it. He was going to keep his promise to her to give her a son, even though the circumstances were not ideal.
God can seriously do anything. He made a promise to Sarah to bless her and her husband with an inheritance of children. But they were old! How could this really happen? Sarah was completely aware of her limitations. She has a grasp on the reality of the situation. Circumstances were not favorable for her having a child! That was obvious to her and everyone around her. But, I think she still trusted in her God to keep His promise. God blessed Sarah with a son, and she was over the moon excited! I love what she says about the situation...
6 Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.”
I understand why people pay money to go to comedy clubs. At the end of a long week, just laughing sounds like the most amazing activity in the world. When you are laughing you are not stressed or worried or thinking about anything else but how hilarious and joyful that thing that made you laugh is! Laughter is an amazing and wonderful gift, and God gave that gift to Sarah. I think that Sarah's laughter came from a place or awe, joy, fulfillment, amazement, stunnedness, and maybe even a bit of comedy. I love that Sarah had a good laugh. I am happy for her. :)
What I learn from this passage about God gifting Sarah with a fulfilled promise and laughing, is to look for these things in my own life. I believe that wants to fulfill his promises to all of his women and give us laughter, but sometimes I miss the chance to receive it because of my lack of seeking Him. I want to seek the Lord more about every little thing in my life so that I can see His promises fulfilled in my life so that my joy can be complete like Sarah's and I can LAUGH! Darn it! I LOVE laughing! What does a different kind of woman look like? She looks confident in knowing that her God will fulfill every promise He has made her, and when He does (and even in the mean time) she will laugh because of her joy being completely full.
Friday, March 16, 2012
"A DIFFERENT KIND OF WOMAN" Genesis 20... Sarah and Abraham, at it again.
As I continue my study on what it means to be a "different kind of woman" I find myself in Genesis 20. Here is a small part to let you know what is going on...
Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
Genesis 20: 1-3
Abraham is at it again with his little narrative. It saved them last time, why not try it again with this king! Even though Abraham's narrative about being Sarah's brother is the same, how is all plays out is quite different. God spoke to the king Abimelek in a dream to warn him not to lay a hand on Sarah. This leads me to believe that Abimelek's heart may have been a bit softer to the Lord than Mr. Pharaoh. But, let's move on to what we can learn about being a woman from this particular story.
14 Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”
16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels[a] of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”
17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the LORD had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah. Genesis 20:14-18
The tone of this chapter is very different to me than the tone of Genesis 12 that we talked about in the last blog. From the passage above I just get a sense that Abraham and Sarah are more one unit. The Lord is protecting them both, and taking care of them as a couple. And there is even more of a focus on Sarah here. The passage says that the LORD kept all the women in Abimelek's household from conceiving because of Abraham's wife Sarah. I don't know whether this was for Sarah's protection or as more of a curse on Abimelek's house because of him taking Sarah as a potential wife. But, God acted on behalf of Sarah, that much is clear.
This makes complete sense to me based on what happens in Genesis chapter 17...
15 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Genesis 17: 15,16
16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels[a] of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”
17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the LORD had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah. Genesis 20:14-18
The tone of this chapter is very different to me than the tone of Genesis 12 that we talked about in the last blog. From the passage above I just get a sense that Abraham and Sarah are more one unit. The Lord is protecting them both, and taking care of them as a couple. And there is even more of a focus on Sarah here. The passage says that the LORD kept all the women in Abimelek's household from conceiving because of Abraham's wife Sarah. I don't know whether this was for Sarah's protection or as more of a curse on Abimelek's house because of him taking Sarah as a potential wife. But, God acted on behalf of Sarah, that much is clear.
This makes complete sense to me based on what happens in Genesis chapter 17...
15 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Genesis 17: 15,16
God officially blesses Abraham's life, and his wife's! He even changes her name from Sarai to Sarah! What a beautiful and personal thing for the Lord to do for woman. He is saying, "You are mine, you are now DIFFERENT. Your life will never be what it once was because you belong to me, and I am your God, and you can count on me." And in Chapter 20, the Lord proves that He meant what He said.
What can I learn here about being a "different kind of woman"? When the Lord calls us women to follow after Him, and we choose Him, we are officially different. Sarah got a different name, and sometimes I think it would be beneficial to us to rename our own selves, or to at least think of ourselves as completely different than the women we were yesterday. If we are seeking the Lord and following hard after Him, He is changing us, protecting us, and blessing us daily. We are extremely important to Him, and He will go to great lengths to make sure that we know that, and that the world around us knows that we belong to Him.
Thanks for reading. Be different today you beautiful women, be different.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
"A DIFFERENT KIND OF WOMAN" Genesis 12... Sarai
Today I am continuing my study of what the Bible tells me about being "A DIFFERENT KIND OF WOMAN". My method is simply to go through scripture and seek out every passage that holds the word "woman." Study those verses, and ask the Lord to reveal to me what I need to learn about being a woman from that particular passage.
Today I am in Genesis chapter 12. The story is about Abraham heading into Egypt to get some food because of a famine. He has all of his possessions with him, including his wife Sarai. Sarai was beautiful, the Bible says. So beautiful that Abraham thought that Pharaoh kill him just to have her! Now, THAT is some beautifulness right there. She must have been obviously good looking. These leads me to these thoughts...
I wonder what "beautiful" looked like back then. I think maybe it would fallen under the category that we have in our culture of "natural beauty" of some sort anyways, or maybe not at all. I also think that it is so interesting that beauty has been acknowledged for so, so long. I think that speaks to the fact that beauty itself was created by God. Beauty is not something that comes from us. Not from our fashion, makeup, surgeries, salon visits, ANYTHING. (Some of you just rolled your eyes, but seriously. Just think about that for a minute.) This lady, Sarai was so stunning that her husband thought that when they stepped foot into this new country that surely word of how stunningly beautiful she was would reach the Pharaoh and Pharaoh would want her so bad that he would kill Abraham. Abraham was just excepting this as absolute FACT! She was BEAUTIFUL. And do you think that Sarai had purchased her beauty from any of the above sources that I named? What her make up simply that awesome? Or don't you think that it is safe to assume that she just WAS beautiful? A gift from her Creator. She was made beautiful enough to make her hubs fear for his wife to be stolen and himself to be killed off. God creates beauty, and He had created it, clearly, in Sarai.
So, Abraham decides that if he poses as Sarai's BROTHER that everything would be cool. He might even get some free swag bag out of the deal...
"14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
17 But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had."
Genesis 12:14-20
So, Abraham lies to the Pharaoh in Egypt which keeps Abraham safe, sends his wife into the palace to become another man's wife, so the Lord punishes Pharaoh because of all of this.
When I first read this, I was a bit confused. My inner "right and wrong" monitor was telling me that there is something not quite right about all of this. Abraham lied, should he not be punished for that? And he put his wife through some stuff too, I mean, she seemed at first to me to be "used" by Abraham. But then I asked the Lord to show me what I should learn from this story. And I felt Him saying for me to look up into the first part of this chapter...
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”[b]
Genesis 12: 2-3
I believe that the "moral to the story" so to speak is that God took care of Abraham. He promised that He would just 12 verses earlier, and God does not break His promises.
So,what am I to learn about being a woman from this story? Sarai trusted her husband Abraham to make that tough, and scary decision to even go into Egypt, and then to lie about her being his wife. She trusted him, said nothing, (that we can see anyways) showed her husband that she was going to be by his side, even if that meant that she would not LITERALLY be for awhile. Sarai didn't know that the lie would work, or that even SHE would not be killed herself! But she let her husband be the leader of her home, like God intended, and in the end, the Lord took care of them both. Man, I would have had a HARD time going along with THAT plan. Hats off to you Sarai.
What does this mean for me as a woman? in my own story? This just reminds me to honor the position that the Lord has put my husband in, in the big things as well as the small. How many of our husbands have outlandish plans and schemes like Abraham? Um, all of them do! If you have yet to experience one, you just have not been married long enough, don't worry, it will come. And when it does come, know that the Lord has placed your husband over you, as the leader of your home. That is simply the structure that God has created. And it is your awesome chance as a woman to let your husband HAVE that role. He has it, but we do not always, as wives, honor it, or even allow it.
I pray for my husband, that he will be blessed by the Lord just like Abraham, and I believe that he will be. And there may be times when I am asked, as his wife, to trust in what my husband believes to be the right thing to do, and what I learned from Sarai today is that it is my amazing responsibility to support his decision.
As a believer in Christ, I am different than what the world perceives a woman to be. And this is one very obviously different belief that sets me apart as a believer in my God. A different kind of woman.
Today I am in Genesis chapter 12. The story is about Abraham heading into Egypt to get some food because of a famine. He has all of his possessions with him, including his wife Sarai. Sarai was beautiful, the Bible says. So beautiful that Abraham thought that Pharaoh kill him just to have her! Now, THAT is some beautifulness right there. She must have been obviously good looking. These leads me to these thoughts...
I wonder what "beautiful" looked like back then. I think maybe it would fallen under the category that we have in our culture of "natural beauty" of some sort anyways, or maybe not at all. I also think that it is so interesting that beauty has been acknowledged for so, so long. I think that speaks to the fact that beauty itself was created by God. Beauty is not something that comes from us. Not from our fashion, makeup, surgeries, salon visits, ANYTHING. (Some of you just rolled your eyes, but seriously. Just think about that for a minute.) This lady, Sarai was so stunning that her husband thought that when they stepped foot into this new country that surely word of how stunningly beautiful she was would reach the Pharaoh and Pharaoh would want her so bad that he would kill Abraham. Abraham was just excepting this as absolute FACT! She was BEAUTIFUL. And do you think that Sarai had purchased her beauty from any of the above sources that I named? What her make up simply that awesome? Or don't you think that it is safe to assume that she just WAS beautiful? A gift from her Creator. She was made beautiful enough to make her hubs fear for his wife to be stolen and himself to be killed off. God creates beauty, and He had created it, clearly, in Sarai.
So, Abraham decides that if he poses as Sarai's BROTHER that everything would be cool. He might even get some free swag bag out of the deal...
"14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
17 But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had."
Genesis 12:14-20
So, Abraham lies to the Pharaoh in Egypt which keeps Abraham safe, sends his wife into the palace to become another man's wife, so the Lord punishes Pharaoh because of all of this.
When I first read this, I was a bit confused. My inner "right and wrong" monitor was telling me that there is something not quite right about all of this. Abraham lied, should he not be punished for that? And he put his wife through some stuff too, I mean, she seemed at first to me to be "used" by Abraham. But then I asked the Lord to show me what I should learn from this story. And I felt Him saying for me to look up into the first part of this chapter...
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”[b]
Genesis 12: 2-3
I believe that the "moral to the story" so to speak is that God took care of Abraham. He promised that He would just 12 verses earlier, and God does not break His promises.
So,what am I to learn about being a woman from this story? Sarai trusted her husband Abraham to make that tough, and scary decision to even go into Egypt, and then to lie about her being his wife. She trusted him, said nothing, (that we can see anyways) showed her husband that she was going to be by his side, even if that meant that she would not LITERALLY be for awhile. Sarai didn't know that the lie would work, or that even SHE would not be killed herself! But she let her husband be the leader of her home, like God intended, and in the end, the Lord took care of them both. Man, I would have had a HARD time going along with THAT plan. Hats off to you Sarai.
What does this mean for me as a woman? in my own story? This just reminds me to honor the position that the Lord has put my husband in, in the big things as well as the small. How many of our husbands have outlandish plans and schemes like Abraham? Um, all of them do! If you have yet to experience one, you just have not been married long enough, don't worry, it will come. And when it does come, know that the Lord has placed your husband over you, as the leader of your home. That is simply the structure that God has created. And it is your awesome chance as a woman to let your husband HAVE that role. He has it, but we do not always, as wives, honor it, or even allow it.
I pray for my husband, that he will be blessed by the Lord just like Abraham, and I believe that he will be. And there may be times when I am asked, as his wife, to trust in what my husband believes to be the right thing to do, and what I learned from Sarai today is that it is my amazing responsibility to support his decision.
As a believer in Christ, I am different than what the world perceives a woman to be. And this is one very obviously different belief that sets me apart as a believer in my God. A different kind of woman.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
" A DIFFERENT KIND OF WOMAN" The First... Eve
For this study of the first woman, Eve, I have simply gone through the first few chapters of Genesis and read through the passages that talk about the woman, and wrote down my thoughts about those passages. So, here we go...
"Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man."
Woman was so simply, yet so complexly made. It was not some spectacle, yet it was. You know? There was no smoke and lights and fireworks, but there was this amazing creation out of a small piece of bone. After God crafted this new creation, the woman, she was then offered, presented, brought to the man.
Genesis 2:23
“At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’”
I love the first two words that Adam cried out here... "AT LAST!" Really? At last? How long have you even been here? Really? Needless to say, Adam was excited about what God was presenting to him. I originally thought that Adam was so excited about the woman because she meant that he would not be the only one like him forever... but on second thought, Adam may not have even had the ability to think like that, he did not know anything else but being the only one like him. But, then at the same time, by his exclamation of "AT LAST!" you would think that there was something in him that yearned for someone else. And then the woman was presented to him. Someone like him, yet taken from him and made from him. An equal, yet not. Woman, no matter how much our culture tells us that we are equal or even that we are better than man, if you believe the Bible to be true, then you believe that we are made from him, we were second, and I believe that that was not a mistake.
Genesis 3:1
[ The Man and Woman Sin ] The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
I could write all day long about this passage, but I need to look at what I am wanting to learn here. What can I learn about women from this passage? The woman was being asked a question, she was being questioned. And what a cunning and deceitful question! The serpent puts the woman on the defense automatically with this question. He knows the answer, he is trying to get her to filter what God told her through a different lens. "Well, of course I can eat fruit from the trees, how else am I supposed to eat?" Why would the serpent ask her this random, and general question?
Genesis 3:2
“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied.
SO, how does the woman answer the serpents random and general and obvious question? With a straight forward answer, with a little bit of a "DUH!" tone to it.
Genesis 3:6
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.
This passage is heavy for me to read. There was a fight between the woman and the serpent and the serpent won the round, no way around it. "The woman was convinced." In that moment the beautifulness of the tree, the desire for something that Eve did not have (the wisdom it would give her), and the silky lies of the serpent were enough for the woman to choose to forget the only truth that she knew in her life, the Truth Himself, and the Truth's one rule. Then all you know what just broke loose after she ate...
I wonder with all of me what Eve's thought process was when she gave the fruit to her husband. Was she oblivious? or had she caught some of that cunningness from the serpent? She may have been thinking: "If I go down, he is coming with me!"
This part breaks my heart... well it all does, but this is the part that gets to me most- "Then she gave some to her husband, WHO WAS WITH HER, and he ate it too." Wait, he was WITH HER? Like the whole time? My heart cries out, "Why did you not STOP her?" The passiveness pains me. Part of me really believes that the minute that fruit reached Eve's mouth, it was her choice as well as his choice not to stop her.
Gosh, there is so much more to think and say about this whole thing, but the truth is it was done. The choice was made. And here we all are as a result, living in a fallen world. And as a woman, maybe that burden that we carry of always feeling responsible for everything bad that happens around us is somewhat of a result of our first woman's choice.
Genesis 3:12
The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
Woman and God are being blamed here by Adam for his choice. He admits that he ate it, but says very clearly that it was the woman who gave it to him.
The woman here is she were me if feeling run over by a truck.
Genesis 3:13
Then the LORD God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”
I believe her. I don't think that she wanted to eat just to be rebellious. I believe that she chose to be rebellious. But, she did answers "What have you done?" with "Why she did it." Excuses. I have plenty of those myself. From the beginning it seems to be in us that when we are put in the hot seat our first reaction is to tell why and give our reasoning, but it still was her choice to eat. I feel when I read this first that Eve is almost more ashamed that she believed the serpent than she is that she ate. She says that first. I have been lied to and I believed it, even though I felt in me that it was wrong.
Genesis 3:15And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”
This verse says to me that our enemy has been established, forever. But, we win. There will be a struggle our whole lives with him, but in the end we win. Because of our God, we win.
Genesis 3:16
Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you. ”
So, because of the first woman's choice we now have an evil enemy, and a daily punishment reminder. The first punishment listed is the most common talked about, and while pain during childbirth is hard thing to endure, the second punishment listed I believe is the hardest to endure. "You will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you." Hello feminism? This is why there is an epic struggle for women to rule! It is our punishment for the first sin, a desire to rule! But, we never will! What God has been into place will never go away, women will always to rule, but we never will to the extent that we intend! But, I believe that the desire will always be there. That is our punishment.
The first woman. Quite the story. Her life set into motion the motion of all of our lives. How did Eve define being a woman? She was created for intimacy with her Creator, a beautiful creation, not shameful of her form, and free to just live. Her choice defines her now. Her one choice defines her as a woman, and I believe every woman after her is defined by her choice as well. We are born into sin. How was Eve a different kind of woman? Well, she was the first and only woman for awhile. All she knew was to be her. She had no expectations on herself. She was just she. I kinda like the idea of that, and I think maybe that is how God wants us to see ourselves. All as originals with no expectation. How freeing is that? God created each one of us just as He created Eve. We were knit together in our mother's, and she was created from bone, but both were created by the hands of God. Would you say that God wanted Eve to think she was beautiful and original? Of course you would! Why would be think that anything is any different with us today? God made you! And you are a original and you are beautiful. You are also fallen, and bearing the punishment of the first woman. Learning to live in grace is the only way to balance those two extremes. So grace to you fellow woman. Feel beautiful today, because of grace. And be ever aware of your mortal enemy, and resist him through grace. Grace to you.
"Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man."
Woman was so simply, yet so complexly made. It was not some spectacle, yet it was. You know? There was no smoke and lights and fireworks, but there was this amazing creation out of a small piece of bone. After God crafted this new creation, the woman, she was then offered, presented, brought to the man.
Genesis 2:23
“At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’”
I love the first two words that Adam cried out here... "AT LAST!" Really? At last? How long have you even been here? Really? Needless to say, Adam was excited about what God was presenting to him. I originally thought that Adam was so excited about the woman because she meant that he would not be the only one like him forever... but on second thought, Adam may not have even had the ability to think like that, he did not know anything else but being the only one like him. But, then at the same time, by his exclamation of "AT LAST!" you would think that there was something in him that yearned for someone else. And then the woman was presented to him. Someone like him, yet taken from him and made from him. An equal, yet not. Woman, no matter how much our culture tells us that we are equal or even that we are better than man, if you believe the Bible to be true, then you believe that we are made from him, we were second, and I believe that that was not a mistake.
Genesis 3:1
[ The Man and Woman Sin ] The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
I could write all day long about this passage, but I need to look at what I am wanting to learn here. What can I learn about women from this passage? The woman was being asked a question, she was being questioned. And what a cunning and deceitful question! The serpent puts the woman on the defense automatically with this question. He knows the answer, he is trying to get her to filter what God told her through a different lens. "Well, of course I can eat fruit from the trees, how else am I supposed to eat?" Why would the serpent ask her this random, and general question?
Genesis 3:2
“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied.
SO, how does the woman answer the serpents random and general and obvious question? With a straight forward answer, with a little bit of a "DUH!" tone to it.
Genesis 3:6
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.
This passage is heavy for me to read. There was a fight between the woman and the serpent and the serpent won the round, no way around it. "The woman was convinced." In that moment the beautifulness of the tree, the desire for something that Eve did not have (the wisdom it would give her), and the silky lies of the serpent were enough for the woman to choose to forget the only truth that she knew in her life, the Truth Himself, and the Truth's one rule. Then all you know what just broke loose after she ate...
I wonder with all of me what Eve's thought process was when she gave the fruit to her husband. Was she oblivious? or had she caught some of that cunningness from the serpent? She may have been thinking: "If I go down, he is coming with me!"
This part breaks my heart... well it all does, but this is the part that gets to me most- "Then she gave some to her husband, WHO WAS WITH HER, and he ate it too." Wait, he was WITH HER? Like the whole time? My heart cries out, "Why did you not STOP her?" The passiveness pains me. Part of me really believes that the minute that fruit reached Eve's mouth, it was her choice as well as his choice not to stop her.
Gosh, there is so much more to think and say about this whole thing, but the truth is it was done. The choice was made. And here we all are as a result, living in a fallen world. And as a woman, maybe that burden that we carry of always feeling responsible for everything bad that happens around us is somewhat of a result of our first woman's choice.
Genesis 3:12
The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
Woman and God are being blamed here by Adam for his choice. He admits that he ate it, but says very clearly that it was the woman who gave it to him.
The woman here is she were me if feeling run over by a truck.
Genesis 3:13
Then the LORD God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”
I believe her. I don't think that she wanted to eat just to be rebellious. I believe that she chose to be rebellious. But, she did answers "What have you done?" with "Why she did it." Excuses. I have plenty of those myself. From the beginning it seems to be in us that when we are put in the hot seat our first reaction is to tell why and give our reasoning, but it still was her choice to eat. I feel when I read this first that Eve is almost more ashamed that she believed the serpent than she is that she ate. She says that first. I have been lied to and I believed it, even though I felt in me that it was wrong.
Genesis 3:15And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”
This verse says to me that our enemy has been established, forever. But, we win. There will be a struggle our whole lives with him, but in the end we win. Because of our God, we win.
Genesis 3:16
Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you. ”
So, because of the first woman's choice we now have an evil enemy, and a daily punishment reminder. The first punishment listed is the most common talked about, and while pain during childbirth is hard thing to endure, the second punishment listed I believe is the hardest to endure. "You will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you." Hello feminism? This is why there is an epic struggle for women to rule! It is our punishment for the first sin, a desire to rule! But, we never will! What God has been into place will never go away, women will always to rule, but we never will to the extent that we intend! But, I believe that the desire will always be there. That is our punishment.
The first woman. Quite the story. Her life set into motion the motion of all of our lives. How did Eve define being a woman? She was created for intimacy with her Creator, a beautiful creation, not shameful of her form, and free to just live. Her choice defines her now. Her one choice defines her as a woman, and I believe every woman after her is defined by her choice as well. We are born into sin. How was Eve a different kind of woman? Well, she was the first and only woman for awhile. All she knew was to be her. She had no expectations on herself. She was just she. I kinda like the idea of that, and I think maybe that is how God wants us to see ourselves. All as originals with no expectation. How freeing is that? God created each one of us just as He created Eve. We were knit together in our mother's, and she was created from bone, but both were created by the hands of God. Would you say that God wanted Eve to think she was beautiful and original? Of course you would! Why would be think that anything is any different with us today? God made you! And you are a original and you are beautiful. You are also fallen, and bearing the punishment of the first woman. Learning to live in grace is the only way to balance those two extremes. So grace to you fellow woman. Feel beautiful today, because of grace. And be ever aware of your mortal enemy, and resist him through grace. Grace to you.
Monday, February 27, 2012
" A DIFFERENT KIND OF WOMAN" A Study on... Women.
There are a million definitions and examples of what a woman is. I choose to believe some and dismiss others usually. I believe that everything that the Bible says about women is true, just because I choose to believe that the Bible itself is true. But, the truth be told, I am not sure what all the Bible says about women. I know the word "woman" is in the Bible, a whole lot, but I decided that I needed to study this. I have felt challenged recently in my personal life to start studying the Bible, specifically what the Bible says about women, how the Bible defines us.
I want to blog about it, because I would hope that someone else could learn from my studying, and I want to be able to go back and read what I have learned later after life happens and I forget. My hope is that this study will completely change how I define being a woman. On a very personal note, I have just heard in my spirit over the last few weeks this phrase: "Be a different kind of woman." I am not sure what all that means, but I am challenged by it, and I kinda like being challenged.
So, here we go... A study of women. What better place to start than... "The First."
I want to blog about it, because I would hope that someone else could learn from my studying, and I want to be able to go back and read what I have learned later after life happens and I forget. My hope is that this study will completely change how I define being a woman. On a very personal note, I have just heard in my spirit over the last few weeks this phrase: "Be a different kind of woman." I am not sure what all that means, but I am challenged by it, and I kinda like being challenged.
So, here we go... A study of women. What better place to start than... "The First."
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