Eve: Mother of all Living
Scripture: Genesis 2:20-4:2; 5:1-4
Lesson: Importance of knowing God’s Word

Her Story – Summary: 
Eve was the first woman, first wife, and first mother in history. She was a trailblazer, but it wasn’t always easy. She was the only woman in history to experience a pure, intimate relationship with God unhindered by sin, but being the first woman also meant she would be the first to experience temptation, the first to commit sin, the first to experience the pain of childbirth, and the first mother to grieve as she witnessed the first death standing at the grave of her beloved son. 

Her husband Adam named her Eve, which sounds like the Hebrew word for life-giver, resembling the word for living, and is usually acknowledged to mean mother of all living.

She was mother to Cain, Abel, and Seth. Although Genesis 5 does not mention Eve specifically, we read Adam would also father other sons and daughters. It is presumed Eve is the mother of these children as well.

Eve is the beginning of a long thread of women that weaves through history leading to the birth of Jesus the Savior. 

What Eve Teaches Us About the Importance of Knowing God’s Word

From the very beginning of time, God has set healthy, necessary boundaries for mankind. Specifically, He had commanded Adam and the woman not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which was for their eternal good. 

However, the serpent approached the woman and began to cause her to question God’s goodness in setting those boundaries. Because he was crafty, he weaved a web of doubt and deception in the woman’s heart and mind to entice her to partake of the fruit of the tree. 

It is the same technique he uses today, slightly tweaking God’s Word, often using a different meaning than what God intended, to cause confusion and doubt in the mind of His children.

Although we would like to think we wouldn’t fall prey to this tactic, the reality is that deception is not always obvious. It often happens with small, subtle shifts causing us to question the meaning of God’s intentions in the Scriptures. 

The only way to combat the temptation to believe this alternate understanding of God’s words is to be familiar with His voice. 

How can we know God’s voice, especially when we don’t have the advantage of being able to speak with Him like Adam and Eve? We must read His Word – the Bible. When we know what He says, we are able to combat the temptation to follow anything that doesn’t sound like Him. 

As Eve listened to the serpent that day, she chose not to follow the voice of her Creator, which resulted in disobedience, bringing sin into the world.

But let’s not only remember Eve as the first sinner, or as a lost cause, rather she is the first woman in the history of all women, giving birth to the lineage of Jesus, the One who would come to redeem us, the children of Eve.

Study Questions/Journal Prompts

1: What did you learn about Eve? What is unique to her story?
2: What lesson is God teaching you? What is His message through Eve’s story? 
3: How can you apply the lessons from her story to your life? 

---

Stephanie K Adams is the founding Director of Real Women Ministries, where she equips women with resources for Bible Study and prayer. She is passionate about helping women find time for God’s Word in the midst of their busy lives. 

Stephanie is a Board Certified Advanced Christian Life Coach and author of In the Shadow of the Cross: Following Jesus Through His Last Days and is a contributing author to Bearing Fruit: Living Rooted in Christ.