A Few Bible Thoughts For Your Day

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Date: Jul 04 2017 12:25 PM

Hey Everybody,

I hope you are having a very happy 4th. We are gearing up for our study on the book of Exodus that will be starting Wed. We'd love to see you there. For today, here are a few thoughts.

The Worth of a Woman … Within Herself

"Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them .... So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him." (Genesis 2:19,20)

"And the Lord God said, 'It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." (v.18)

"And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.'" (V. 21- 23)

"And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living." (Genesis 3:20)

Can we mentally turn back the centuries and imagine that first human couple? What was their relationship? Was the woman merely a servant to Adam, designed to fill his needs? In some cultures today that is the woman's role in life. But is this what God intended?

There is no record that in any other area of creation God took a part of one living being to form the basis of another. In this, Eve was unique. Concerning the creation of humanity itself, God had said, "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness .... " (Genesis 1:26) So Adam was made of the dust of the earth, but in the likeness of God, as God breathed the breath of life into his nostrils in order that he might become a living soul.

But woman was formed from a rib taken from the side of man. In this she was unique in all of creation: formed in the image of God as a living soul, yet also one flesh with Adam.

What was Eve's role? God pronounced her "comparable to man". She was the completion of Adam. Just as, physically, God placed part of the reproductive system in man and the other part in woman, even so, in every other way man and woman complete each other. The woman's gentleness and home-making qualities blend with man's strength and his drive to provide for the needs of his family. Man reaches out to form a working bond with the community; a woman at her best is in the home, forming strong family bonds from which will develop generations of emotionally stable families. Spiritually, the man leads the way in worship to God, while the woman in the home teaches the children the concepts of godly living, day by day.

Another word is used in the Bible to describe the role of woman: she is a helper. As a person capable of completing man, God intended that Eve form a willing partnership with Adam, helping him in whatever ways were possible. If women today cultivated this attitude toward their husbands, many common family problems would not arise. Our homes would be the places of peace and support God planned them to be.

At the same time, though, Eve realized that she was an independent soul with a direct relationship to God. When Cain was born, Eve said, "I have gotten a man from the Lord." (Genesis 4:1) The wording of her statement is a pattern for women of all time. She acknowledged that God Himself had given the gift - in this case, a son - and that she, herself, was the recipient. Between the Giver and the receiver was an open avenue of recognition. Eve realized her relationship and worth to God, as well as her role in the structure of the home. Women today, though far removed in time from our first mother, would do well to follow her example.

Have a great week!

Mitch Robison

Enon Church of Christ

1366 Enon Rd.

Webb, AL 36376

[email protected]

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