Tagged: first family
HELLO CAIN’S WIFE
When I read this verse with the intention of writing this post one question came to mind.
- She’s important because why??? (yes, that’s exactly how I thought it and how I wrote it in my notes…)
I continued to think about why she would even be mentioned.
Who was she really?
She is unnamed. Not significant enough to be named but the fact that she is mentioned at all tells me that there is something to be learned from her. She is mentioned in one line as if a passing comment.
Let’s start by listing some attributes:
- she had to have been a daughter
- she was a wife
- she was a mother
About her being a daughter:
There seems to be so much controversy around the question…. Where did Cain’s wife come from?
Here are some resources that helped me answer that question for myself.
- All the Women in the Bible – Cain’s Wife
- Cain’s Wife: It Really Does Matter!
- A Biblical Oldie, but Goodie: So Who Was Cain’s Wife?
- Cain’s Wife
The gist of the story is that Cain’s wife must have been his sister or niece. Apparently incest wasn’t considered incest yet. Actually there was nothing wrong with it for a few hundred years. I’m guessing that it started causing defects or something because it was happening all throughout Genesis and Exodus. Until one day in Leviticus (the third book of the Bible) God said “no, no, no, not in my house!!!” and a law was written against it. Leviticus 18 has a whole string of “Do not have sexual relations with…”
I know some people may find it far fetched… but either you believe the Bible to be true or you don’t… no gray area!
The thought occurred to me that Cain’s wife stayed with him even though he was a murdered. She stayed by his side in spite of the fact that he lost all favor before God. She stayed with him through exile. I imagine she had to leave her friends, her family, the people who raised her and loved her.
That makes me sad for her.
I wonder, what did she cling to? Did she continue loving God even though Cain turned his back on God?
Now, I am not a wife so I really have no authority to speak on this however I’m going to say it anyway.
I’ve often heard respectable women and men in ministry tell God fearing women married to non-believing men to continue loving, respecting, praying and living by example in their marriages. I truly believe that God will totally Show Up and Show Off. If you happen to be in that situation take heart! Hope on! Love your husband, respect your husband and most importantly pray for your husband! I believe that God will nudge his heart, remove the scales from his eyes and save his soul!
About her being a mother:
[Not to be confused with Enoch from Genesis 5 who was so close to the LORD that he was taken up to heaven.]
Cain built a city named after Enoch. I bet she was proud of this honor to her boy. After her one liner a list of generations is mentioned before the story pauses on Lamech and his two wives who we will be meeting next week. One commentary states that this information is included in the story to refer back to the beginnings of the Cainites. Loads of history that I’m not going to get into. Even still it shows that she is significant as the mother of that lineage. Read more on it here.
Towards the beginning I questioned Cain’s wife’s significance. I think that sometimes we as women question our own significance. I know I’ve dealt with identity issues. Who am I? Why am I? What am I for? The answer to all those questions… JESUS. I am the daughter of a KING! I am created with purpose to be of blessing and to glorify said KING. I am loved and honored by said KING. I am and so are you!
My Prayer for you:
Father God, how easy it is to feel like Cain’s wife. Like our lives are just one liners. Like we are a side comment that most people overlook without a second thought. How grateful I am that to you we are more than one liners. To you we are fearfully and wonderfully made. To you we are significant, cherished and delighted in. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for making our stories significant even if in a quiet way. We are still important to you! I pray that you may press that thought on our hearts daily. Please give us daily reminders of your love for us. Help us see how you pursue and romance each and every single one of us in such a way that is personal and unique to our individual spirits and hearts. In Jesus name, Amen.
Memory Verse: Isaiah 43:4a
Isaiah 43: 4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you.
HELLO EVE PART III
What can we learn from Eve…
(more than what I can fit in a three week series!!)
1. Temptation sometimes gets the best of us.
But gratefully Jesus said,
“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)
Let’s not throw stones!!! Let’s forgive and love instead!!!
2. Doubting will get us kicked out of paradise. (Genesis 3:23)
Eve doubted God’s goodness and faithfulness and it cost her everything!!!
James 1: 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
3. When you sin don’t hide from God! (Genesis 3:8)
Turn to Him instead!
*Side note* It’s interesting to me how immediate the guilt set in. As soon as they ate of the fruit Adam and Eve noticed their nakedness. They felt the repercussion of what they had done.
Recently someone shared with me,
“Guilt turns to shame in 3 days.”
My dear sister, DO NOT sit in your guilt! Repent! Ask God to forgive you. HE WILL!!! DO NOT allow the shame to drown you. That’s exactly what the enemy wants! Fight back! Take hold of your freedom in Christ!
Sometimes we lose a battle but the ultimate war is already won!!!! You have victory in Jesus!!! (1 Corinthians 15:57)
Tavo Quiros Original
Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Honestly, I feel bad for Eve! I mean let’s be real. How many of you in her situation would have been like, “Kick rocks, serpent!” And yet forever upon forever Eve has been blamed for all of the sin in the world. She may have been the first to sin but I guarantee she’s not the only one who would have chosen the fruit.
I can’t begin to imagine how delicious it looked. I bet it smelled better than any of the other fruit in the garden. And on top of looking and smelling amazing the thought of gaining WISDOM!
Curiosity killed the cat!!! No doubt about that!!!
But at what price? Was it worth it?
I wonder how much Eve regretted her poor decision. Just like Eve, I have been drawn in by the serpent’s craftiness. I have made bad choice after bad choice and woken up the next day to regret it. Like Eve I chose to hide and run away from God. To sew fig leaves together and cover up my sin.
Thank God, that Jesus, the Savior was the plan all along.
My prayer for you:
Heavenly Father, your grace is sufficient! I pray for every hurting heart. Every reader who is struggling with guilt or shame. I pray that you may embrace them in this moment. That as they read this they may feel your love and compassion. I thank you for your mercy which is new every morning. I thank you that you do not leave us in our sin to die but you stepped in and took the death in our place. Please show up and show out like only you can. Heal the hurting hearts. Ignite a passion in their spirits that they may know that their stories were not in vain. In Jesus’ healing name, Amen!
Memory Verse: Luke 1:45
Luke 1:45 “You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”
I hope you have enjoyed this 3 part series on Eve.
Check out part 1 and 2 below.
Come back on Monday for another Bonus Monday and next Friday we’ll be studying the next woman mentioned in Genesis chapter 4.
I can’t wait!!!
HELLO EVE PART II
Genesis 2:21-22 (MSG) God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.
Last week I talked about Eve being a solution to a problem and how womankind was created with a specific purpose. (Read it here.) Today I want to touch upon two revelations that a dear mentor of mine shared with me once.
1. Both Adam and Eve had alone time with God.
2. Eve was created whole and complete.
In Genesis 2:21 God gives Adam a forced nap time. Prior to this nap Adam had an opportunity to commune with God. One on one time. He then falls into a deep sleep, I love the imagery, it’s a deep sleep as opposed to a light sleep lest he woke up in the middle of woman’s creation.
In verses 22 God creates woman. During this formation process and until God presents the woman to Adam, they too have an opportunity for some much needed QT. I was blown away when it was presented to me this way.
I love that thought: God had alone time with Adam and Eve separately before bringing them together. Independent of each other.
This reminds me that as much as I long for a husband who will lead me and my family in chasing after God, it will always be of utmost importance that I have that same quality time with Jesus myself.
Ladies, communion with our King is key for point number 2.
Have you ever heard the expression, “God created a God sized hole in your heart that only He can fill.”? I happen to believe that to be true. I want to break the mindset that so many women have. A mentality that has been perpetuated by novels, fairy tales and movies.
LADIES, NO MAN CAN EVER EVER EVER COMPLETE YOU!!!!!
NO MAN CAN EVER SATISFY YOUR SOUL OR LOVE YOU TO YOUR CORE LIKE ONLY JESUS CHRIST CAN!!!!
I really cannot stress this point enough. Trust me as I type it I remind myself.
That second revelation that was shared with me is that woman was complete in the moment of her creation. I imagine her sitting there in Eden, feeling comfortable in her own skin, ready to be of service, confident in her ability, secure in her designer and creator.
She was COMPLETE!!!
She wasn’t boggled down by insecurities, lack of confidence or the pressures that we face today.
My dear sisters, I have good news!
You and I were created by the same God! We too were made complete in God’s own imagine! We too can experience the confidence and wholeness that blessed Eve’s spirit. Seek your King Jesus and ask Him to fill that God shaped hole in your soul. Chase after Him with reckless abandon and watch as He heals and satisfies you.
My prayer for you:
Heavenly Father, I know the pain of feeling incomplete, of chasing after the things of this world to satisfy the depths of me that only you can quench. I pray that as you have worked in me you may also move in the hearts and minds of every woman reading this now. That she may see the importance of spending time with you to allow you a chance to refresh her spirit. I pray that she may lean into you and find her satisfaction in you. I pray that every woman reading this today may know what it is to be confident and secure in her designer and creator. I thank you in advance for how you will move in their lives. In Jesus holy name, Amen!
Memory Verse Colossians 2:10 (ERV):
Colossians 2:10a And because you belong to Christ you are complete, having everything you need.
SUPERSTARNAT 