The Hope of Eve

The Hope of
Eve
This is a narrative
lesson based on the
events recorded in
Genesis 3.
The Hope of Eve
She had everything: spiritual peace, eternal
security within an intimate relationship with
God, the perfect husband, good health – perfect
health – a beautiful home, all her needs
provided for.
The Hope of Eve
She had everything.
The Hope of Eve
What did she lack?
Was there something
else out there,
anything else?
With the lying hiss of
the serpent, our
mother, Eve, was
deceived.
She thought she had
found the only thing
she lacked.
The Hope of Eve
God knew
something she
didn’t; perhaps it
was the best thing
to know.
God hadn’t been
entirely honest
with her…
...or so she thought.
The Hope of Eve
With one bite
she would
achieve...
...fulfillment!
Completion!
Wisdom!
Deception!?!

Death!!!
The Hope of Eve
She looked into her
husband’s eyes that
before reflected back
only the innocence of
pure love untainted
with evil, but now, for
the first time, and to
her horror, she saw
someone she did not
know.
The Hope of Eve
For the first time
she felt weakness,
want, mortality,
strife, vulnerability,
nakedness – fear.
Suddenly, the
dread of God came
upon her.
The Hope of Eve
She and Adam tried vainly
to cover their nakedness.
They hid from God.
Now the garden paradise
seemed dark, foreboding,
anything but secure.
In time, she felt her heart
skip a beat with the
sound of each step of God
coming closer, nearer –
…and then His voice.
The Hope of Eve
“Where are you?”
Adam answered, “I
heard the sound of
You in the garden,
and I was afraid,
because I was
naked, and I hid
myself.”
The Hope of Eve
God said, “Who told
you that you were
naked?”
“Have you eaten of
the tree of which I
commanded you
not to eat?”
The Hope of Eve
“The man said,
‘The woman
whom You gave
to be with me,
she gave me fruit
of the tree, and I
ate.’”
The Hope of Eve
Her husband’s
words cut to her
heart like a dagger.
Exposed!
Blamed!
Guilty!
Her head swam.
The Hope of Eve
“Then the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What
is this that you have done?’
“Why have you done that which I
commanded you not to do?”
The Hope of Eve
She said, “The serpent
deceived me, and I ate.”
“The LORD God said to
the serpent, ‘Because
you have done this,
cursed are you above
all livestock and above
all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall
go, and dust you shall
eat all the days of your
life.’”
The Hope of Eve
“I will put enmity
between you and
the woman, and
between your
offspring and her
offspring; He shall
bruise your head,
and you shall bruise
His heel.”
The Hope of Eve
To the woman He said,
“I will surely multiply
your pain in
childbearing; in pain
you shall bring forth
children.
“Your desire shall be
for your husband, and
he shall rule over
you.”
The Hope of Eve
And to Adam He said,
“Because you have
listened to the voice
of your wife and have
eaten of the tree of
which I commanded
you, you shall not eat
of it, cursed is the
ground because of
you;…”
The Hope of Eve
“...in pain you shall
eat of it all the days
of your life; thorns
and thistles it shall
bring forth for you;
and you shall eat
the plants of the
field. “
The Hope of Eve
“By the sweat of
your brow you shall
eat bread, till you
return to the
ground, for out of it
you were taken; for
you are dust, and to
dust you shall
return.”
The Hope of Eve
The man called his
wife's name Eve,
because she was the
mother of all living.
And the LORD God
made for Adam and for
his wife garments of
skins and clothed
them.
The Hope of Eve
It was the first time,
of many, that their
sin would require
bloodshed.
Eve hung her head in
shame.
There was
something she had
been missing:
Sin.
The Hope of Eve
Now she ached in the
marrow of every
bone in her body to
be free of it again; to
return to the sweet
innocence of her
former bliss, now
lost forever, or…
offspring?
Yes!
The Hope of Eve
The Lord promised.
It was not all
punishment for her.
“My offspring will
overturn the work of
this serpent,” she
thought.
At that moment Eve’s
hope was born.
The Hope of Eve
It would be many,
many years before the
birth of the One in
whose power the hope
truly relied, but she
didn’t know it, and at
that moment it did not
matter.
Hope was born, or
rather was to be born.
The Hope of Eve
“Then the LORD God
said, ‘Behold, the man
has become like one
of Us in knowing good
and evil.
“Now, lest he reach out
his hand and take also
of the tree of life and
eat, and live forever.…’
Expulsion from the Garden of Eden!
The Hope of Eve
“Therefore the LORD God
sent him out from the
Garden of Eden to work
the ground from which he
was taken.
“He drove out the man,
and at the east of the
Garden of Eden He placed
the cherubim and a
flaming sword that turned
every way to guard the
way to the tree of life.”
The Hope of Eve
The choices Eve made would have
dramatic consequences…sin and
death had now entered into the
world!
Oh, if only she could take back that
moment!
The Triumph of Death Due to Sin!
The Hope of Eve
That angel’s presence
was terrifying.
There was no way back to
Eden.
Eve followed her
husband through a weary
life.
Her dreams of seeing the
promised Deliverer were
dashed when she
became aware that Cain
was not the one.
The Hope of Eve
Then Cain…broke her
heart.
Oh Abel, whom she
had carried in her
womb, nursed, and
cradled!
How she longed for
her sons.
God gave her another.
God is so merciful!
The Hope of Eve
The serpent hissed as
Eve witnessed
countless children,
grandchildren, great-
grandchildren…
...go astray.
She died longing for
her offspring….
The Hope of Eve
This morning I want to highlight the lofty
role that God has given womankind in His
great work of human redemption.
I hope to encourage us all, especially those
of you mothers who are godly, to share in
the hope promised to Eve, which is the only
hope for all the sons of Adam and
daughters of Eve.
The Hope of Eve
By doing so we can
know that there is
hope for us and for
our children, and
that it is not
“vanity,” as Eve
named “Abel,” to
bring children into
this world.
The Hope of Eve
There is hope of
returning to the
Edenic paradise, of
once again walking
with God in the cool of
the day.
Our hope is in the
offspring of the
woman, Jesus the
Christ.
The Triumph of Jesus over Death!
It is in Him that we all
must live, and in Him
we must raise our
children.
He is the greatest gift
ever given to mothers
– to any of us.
Jesus has come, and
He is coming again.
 The Hope
Until the Christ
of Eve
entered the world
bringing His life-
imparting doctrine,
women were second
class citizens.
They were often
viewed as the slaves
of their husbands
and sometimes
treated like property.
The Hope of Eve
Woman’s one The saddest among
redeeming quality mankind before those
was her womb, days were those
through which she women with barren
hoped to offer wombs.
something of One such sad woman
surpassing value to was named Hannah.
her husband – She was one of two
children. wives of an Israelite
named Elkanah.
The Hope of Eve
You can read her story Every year the ancient
in detail in the book of family traveled to
1 Samuel, chapters 1 Shiloh, to the place
and 2. where God’s tent of
Peninnah, her rival, worship was set, and
had borne Elkanah worshipped.
several children, and One year, grieved in
though Hannah was her pain of the lack of
preferred by him, she childbearing, she
was barren. poured out her soul to
God in faithful prayer.
The Hope of Eve
Weeping, she said, “...then I will give him
“O LORD of hosts, if You to the LORD all the
will indeed look on the days of his life….” (1
affliction of Your Samuel 1:11 ESV)
servant and God heard her prayer,
remember me and not granted her petition,
forget Your servant, and Samuel was born.
but will give to Your Hannah kept her word.
servant a son,
The Hope of Eve
She let her son go at
about the tender age
of three to serve the
Lord for life.
Having been so
blessed by God to bear
a son that would be
his servant, Hannah
prayed,
The Hope of Eve
“My heart exults in
the LORD; my
strength is exalted
in the LORD.
“My mouth derides
my enemies,
because I rejoice
in Your salvation.
The Hope of Eve
“There is none holy
like the LORD; there is
none besides You;
there is no Rock like
our God.
“The LORD kills and
brings to life; He
brings down to Sheol
and raises up.
The Hope of Eve
“The LORD makes poor
and makes rich; He
brings low and He
exalts.
“He raises up the poor
from the dust; He lifts
the needy from the
ash heap to make
them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of
honor.
The Hope of Eve
“The LORD will judge
the ends of the earth;
He will give strength
to His king and exalt
the power of His
anointed.” (Portions of
1 Samuel 2:1-10 ESV)
The Hope of Eve We learn from
I don’t think Hannah Hannah’s story the
knew who was the power that God is
Lord’s anointed. willing to shower on
Yet, she shared in the mothers and their
hope of Eve. children when
mothers pray for them,
She longed for a
and are willing to let
promised Deliverer to
go of them and give
bruise the head of the
them over to God,
serpent.
trusting in Him.
The Hope of Eve
The highest honor
a mother can hope
to attain is to raise
children so that
they can be handed
over to God fit and
ready for spiritual
service.
 The Hope
Few among
mankind have
of Eve
known the honor
that was given to a
young woman
named Mary.
No doubt she was
like many Jewish
girls, excited about
the prospects
ahead, engaged to
a handsome man, a
carpenter named
Joseph.
The Hope of Eve
She had kept herself
chaste and pure, and
was favored in the
eyes of God.
One day she
experienced
something that was
quite unexpected.
Luke 1 contains the
account.
The Hope of Eve
Someone appeared
to her, speaking to
her, an angel,
Gabriel, who said,
“Greetings, O
favored one, the
Lord is with you!”
The Hope of Eve
Mary was startled, and The angel continued,
not a little troubled, “Do not be afraid,
and the gears turned Mary, for you have
in her head as she found favor with God.
tried to understand “And behold, you will
what was happening. conceive in your
What could this womb and bear a Son,
messenger of God and you shall call His
mean? name Jesus.
 The Hope
of Eve
“He will be great and
will be called the Son
of the Most High.
“And the Lord God will
give to Him the throne
of His father David,
and He will reign over
the house of Jacob
forever, and of His
kingdom there will be
no end.”
The Hope of Eve
Somehow Mary understood the immediacy
of the angel’s word, but it only served to
further puzzle her.
There was no way she could possibly be
pregnant.
She was a virgin!
She asked, “How will this be, since I am a
virgin?”
The Hope of Eve
The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and the power of the
Most High will overshadow you; therefore
the child to be born will be called holy – the
Son of God.”
Mary listened as Gabriel talked of her
relative, Elizabeth, who had been barren
into her old age, how she would also bear a
son.
The Hope of Eve
It all seemed
impossible.
The angel finished
with the words, “For
nothing will be
impossible with
God.”
Mary accepted the
word and believed.
The Hope of Eve
She said, “Behold, I
am the servant of
the Lord; let it be to
me according to
your word.”
And the angel
departed from her.
The Hope of Eve
Living in a time when Israel was looking for
her promised King, Mary must have
understood something about this blessed
offspring that now grew in her womb.
He was the promised Messiah, the
promised “offspring” who would deal the
winning blow against the head of the devil
and undo all his wretched evil among
mankind.
The Hope of Eve
Months later, Mary found herself on a
miserable journey to the city of Bethlehem,
her ancestral home and that of her
husband, Joseph.
She was pregnant, and as the couple
arrived in the city she was ready to give
birth.
The Hope of Eve
In a manger, in a barn,
rising above the
bleating of the sheep,
a cry was heard, the
voice of a Child like no
other.
A promise that had
been made more than
four thousand years
earlier, was satisfied.
The Hope of Eve
Mary gave birth to the
promised offspring,
the hope of Eve.
In the heart of every
Christian mother, the
words echo, “I will
surely multiply your
pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring
forth children.
The Hope of Eve
“Your desire shall be for your husband, and he
shall rule over you.”
Womanhood, wifehood, motherhood – there is
pain in the marriage relationship when husbands
and wives sin against one another.
There is the physical pain of birthing children
which is considerable, but the emotional pain of
raising them, letting them go, and too often
watching them hurt themselves far outweighs any
physical pain.
The Hope of Eve
How many mothers have raised Cain?
The cost of rebellion today is the
overwhelming throng of single, unwed
mothers whose neglected children are the
most pitiable beings in all Creation.
Where does it end?
Wherein does hope lie?
The Hope of Eve
My sisters in Christ,
with joy I can
announce that there is
hope for mothers, for
the fruit of their
wombs, for all
mankind.
It is the same hope
that Eve was promised
thousands of years
ago.
The Hope of Eve

That offspring has been born!

In a manger in the city of Bethlehem as
prophesied a woman nursed her offspring.
The Hope of Eve
The angels announced, “’Fear not, for behold, I
bring you good news of a great joy that will be for
all the people.
The Hope of Eve

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a

Savior, Who is Christ the Lord.
“And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby
wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a
manger.’”
The Hope of Eve
“And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God and
saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace among those with whom He is pleased!’”
(Luke 2:10-14 ESV)
The Hope of Eve
God gave a mother
a very honorable
role in the
accomplishing of
His great plan to
glorify His own holy
name, and redeem
His beloved world.
But, there’s more.
The Hope of Eve
This offspring,
some thirty years
later said, “Who
are My mother
and My brothers?
“And looking
about at those
who sat around
Him, He said, ‘Here
are My mother
and My brothers!
The Hope of Eve
“Whoever does
the will of God, he
is My brother and
sister and
mother.” (Mark
3:33-35 ESV)
The Hope of Eve
Are you Jesus’ brother?
Are you His sister?
Mothers, are you His mother?
Do you treat your children like you would
Jesus?
Children, do you treat your mothers like Jesus
did His?
He loved and honored His mother to the end,
making provision for her care even as He
suffered on the cross. (John 19:26-27)
The Hope of Eve
God made mothers to bear fruit to their
husbands, and ultimately to Himself, that He
might show them great deeds of love and
kindness.
The purpose of motherhood today is the same
as ever: to bear and raise up children to the
Lord.
For Jesus’ mothers, any pain that comes from
childbearing, whether physical or emotional,
will one day evaporate into the joy of restored
perfect fellowship in the presence of God.
The Hope of Eve
And so, understanding why God made mothers,
what is the hope and goal of motherhood, and
understanding that it is all entwined with the
hope of Eve, today we honor mothers indeed.
But let us all with one accord recognize Him to
whom all honor is due: Jesus Christ, the
promised offspring, the hope of Eve, and of all
her children, who, in rising from the dead,
utterly defeated Satan and wields all power to
fully deliver anyone from his evil power.
The HopeIt isof Eve
not to our
mothers that today
we should turn, but
to Him who is able to
nourish us, to
nurture us, and to
give us the new birth
that precedes
eternal life in the
new Eden that is to
come.
The Ascended Savior!
It is our belief in and
obedience to the
resurrected Savior
that gives His
followers hope.
It is that same hope
that began with Eve
those thousands of
years ago:
Our hope of a risen,
ascended Savior!