Paradise Lost And Promised

Worldview is the comprehensive perception of reality, right?

We try to figure out how humanity relates to the rest of the world.

And every worldview has to answer three fundamental questions.

One is, how are things supposed to be?

What's the ideal state?

And secondly, what is the main problem with the way things are?

And thirdly, what is the solution and how can it be reached?

For example, Plato and much of Greek thought that the main problem with the world was the body, the material things.

And so they encouraged philosophy and the cultivation of virtue as a way to transcend the material universe.

Karl Marx blames unjust economic systems and class struggles for the world's ills.

And so to him, the solution was the communist state.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the romanticists thought that the problem in society was industrialization, technology.

And so their solution was to return to art, to nature, and to primitive freedom.

And nowadays, what's popular is it's the worldview of the Silicon Valley,

who believes that the power of technology, they believe in the power of technology to solve all social ills.

But philosopher Leslie Stevenson, who teaches in the UK, in his classic introduction to the Western worldviews,

entitled Seven Theories of Human Nature, makes a really insightful observation that sets Christianity apart from the other worldviews.

And he writes,

So then in locating the fundamental problem of humanity in the relationship with God,

the disruption of our relationship with God,

and offering a solution not by just what we can do to solve it,

but what God has done, the initiative he has taken to solve it,

Christianity, the Bible, offers an answer that's unique to those three questions.

And we found out the answer to the first question,

how are things supposed to be, what's the ideal state, last week.

We were created for worship, which entails our work, and for relationship with God.

And then now today we find here in this passage the answers to the second and third questions.

What is the main problem with the way things are, and what is the solution, and how can it be realized?

And Genesis 3 teaches us the world is disordered by our sinful rebellion.

And we can reorder our worship of God and relationship with the world only by believing in Jesus Christ.

And so you're going to talk about that in three phases.

We'll talk about first the character of sin, then the consequences of sin,

and third the cure for sin, the character, consequences, and the cure.

Verse 1 begins ominously.

Now, the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

I'll explain the identity of the serpent more clearly later,

but for now it's important to note that it's an actual serpent.

It's a snake.

That's why it says the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

So this is a serpent, a snake that the Lord God had made.

And this crafted serpent approaches the woman and says to her,

Did God actually say, You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?

But there's a, it seems like an innocent question at first,

but there's sinister intent there, right?

Because what God actually said in chapter 2, 16, 17 was,

You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,

but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,

for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

But the serpent, you know, shrewdly and subversively phrases that question

in a way that makes God look stingy and, you know, stringent, right?

He says, Did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?

And as the Bible commentator Gordon Wenham puts it,

it's a total travesty of God's original generous permission.

He said, Here's all of it.

You can have it all, except for that one thing.

But Satan makes it seem like, No, he told you not to have anything.

And so, not only that, and serpent uses a word for God.

So, previous to this, all the references to God in chapter 2

refer to God as the Lord God.

So, not just the generic God, but the Lord God,

referring to his covenant name, which points to his relationship,

covenant relationship with Adam and Eve.

But the serpent surely avoids that reference

and simply calls him God, the generic God,

the distant God, the creator that doesn't really care about you,

that God, he says.

So, the God, did God actually say to you,

You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?

And in verses 2 to 3, Eve does correct the serpent,

but not precisely and not fully.

She says, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,

but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree

that is in the midst of the garden,

neither shall you touch it, lest you die.

So, first, God had said,

You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,

but Eve kind of waters down that emphatically generous provision of God.

So, she doesn't mention that God said,

Surely eat of every tree.

And secondly, Eve adapts the serpent's distant way of referring to God.

She doesn't say, Lord God.

She says, God.

And then third, there is a troubling ambiguity in Eve's summary of God's prohibition.

Because she says that God told them not to eat of the fruit of the tree

that is in the midst of the garden.

But in chapter 2, verse 9,

he told us that both the tree of life

and the tree of knowledge of good and evil

are in the midst of the garden.

So, which tree is she talking about?

Maybe she thinks God prohibited both of them,

everything, all the tree in the garden, from them.

And then fourth,

and this is the most alarming of everything that Eve changes in this passage,

she adds an additional element to God's prohibition.

It says,

Neither shall you touch it, lest you die.

God had mentioned nothing about touching the tree.

There's no problem with touching the tree.

He just said to don't eat of it.

But Eve adds to God's law,

and in doing so, actually subtracts from it.

And you can see that in saying that,

she's already adopting the serpent's attitude,

thinking that God's harsh, repressive, stringent.

Instead of acknowledging his generosity,

oh, this distant God, he says,

you can't even touch it.

Don't even touch the tree.

So, you can kind of anticipate what's going to happen after Eve's response.

And so, having definitely shifted Eve's attention from appreciating God's provision

to doubting his provision,

he goes directly to impugn God's motives in verse 4.

But the serpent said to the woman,

You will not surely die,

for God knows that when you eat of it,

your eyes will be opened,

and you will be like God,

knowing good and evil.

God said,

you will surely die when you do this.

And the serpent says,

you will not surely die.

And the implication, of course,

is that God's, you know,

kind of selfish.

He's thinking about himself.

He's maybe even jealous.

He doesn't.

He wants to make sure he withholds this good thing from Adam and Eve.

So, you know what's really going on, Eve?

It's not that there's anything bad about eating from this tree.

In fact, it's going to make you more like God and open your eyes.

God just doesn't want that for you.

He's trying to withhold that from you.

So let's ask at this point,

what exactly is the tree of knowledge, good and evil?

Because sometimes people think about it as an apple tree.

It doesn't actually say that it's an apple tree.

It comes from the Latin word for apple,

which means also,

it's also the same word for evil.

That's why that was used to represent the tree of knowledge,

good and evil in the past.

But what in fact was a tree,

it was a poisonous tree.

Like what's going on?

Why does it cause death?

And why does God forbid it?

And since tree of life,

according to verse 22,

gives life,

eternal life,

it seems that the tree of knowledge of good and evil

should give knowledge of good and evil.

Right?

That'd be a fair assumption.

And if that's the case,

then why does God withhold it from Adam and Eve?

Isn't knowledge a good thing?

Right?

In fact,

isn't the whole book of Proverbs

pointed to,

you know,

given to us to discern good from good and evil?

Isn't the whole point of the book of Proverbs

to pursue knowledge and wisdom?

Right?

In fact,

Psalm 19,

7 to 8,

teaches that the law of the Lord

makes wise the simple

and gives light to the eyes.

Sounds a lot like the tree of knowledge,

good and evil.

So verse 5,

serpent promises Eve,

your eyes will be opened.

And then it says in verse 6

that the woman saw

that the tree was to be desired

to make one wise.

So they seek that,

seek wisdom,

seek that.

But why doesn't God want this wisdom

for Adam and Eve?

And the reason is this,

right?

Because though the Psalms

often praise the law of God

and the Proverbs

enjoin us to pursue His wisdom,

the law and the wisdom

that we pursue

is always in reference to God.

It's the wisdom and knowledge

that's from God,

not knowledge and wisdom

that's apart from God.

So Proverbs 1, 7 says,

the fear of the Lord

is the beginning of knowledge.

Proverbs 21, 30 says,

no wisdom,

no understanding,

no counsel

can avail against the Lord.

There's wisdom and knowledge

that's God's unique prerogative.

And we ought to pursue wisdom

and knowledge

in submission to Him

and not in rebellion against Him.

We're supposed to get wisdom

and knowledge from Him,

not apart from Him.

So what Eve's doing here

is not just seeking moral knowledge,

she's seeking moral autonomy.

She wants to know for herself

and to decide for herself

what is right and wrong,

not to get it from the Lord God

who created her

and designed her

to live for Him.

And it's not that Adam and Eve,

if you think about it,

didn't know at all

what was good and evil, right?

I mean, they did know to a degree

because the Lord God said,

you may surely eat

of every tree of the garden.

That's good.

You can do that.

But then He says specifically

of the tree of knowledge

of good and evil,

you shall not eat

for in the day you eat of it,

you shall surely die.

That was not good.

And they knew that.

They knew in that sense

what was good and what was evil,

what was right and what was wrong

because they knew

what God had told them,

what He had told them not to do.

But by taking the fruit,

the serpent is cunningly

manipulating Eve

to be the arbiter of goodness

and evil herself,

to decide for herself

what is good and what is evil.

Jenny once told me about this,

actually,

and I confirmed it

in a Harvard Gazette article.

It was actually written

two years ago today

about a Harvard seal.

If you guys have seen it,

it's three books,

open books,

has the word veritas in it,

which is the Latin word

for truth.

And it's not,

that's not the original design.

The 17th century design

that the Puritans had,

the first two books were open,

but the third book was closed.

It's not open.

And it was to suggest

that the first two books

are God's revelation,

scripture,

the Old and the New Testaments.

And the third book

was supposed to represent

the fact that there is

knowledge and wisdom

that is reserved for God alone.

Compared to that

profound theological truth,

the new seal looks

a little shallow,

doesn't it?

Now we think,

yeah,

we can attain all knowledge

for ourselves.

Human autonomy,

that's really what's going on

with Eve's sin,

right here.

It's the essence

of human hubris

to think that we can be

the masters of our own faith,

to think that we can attain

all knowledge

and be totally autonomous

apart from God

and live without reference

to God.

The part of root

of every sin is,

that's why it's pride

and unbelief.

Those two things,

they're flips,

two sides of the same coin,

pride and unbelief

are at the root

of every single sin.

It's an act of treason,

really.

Ultimate rebellion,

disbelieving God

and then believing

that they can be like God,

believing that we can be

like God.

And notice how the serpent

never makes

a direct suggestion to Eve,

you know,

you should really eat

of the tree of the knowledge

of good and evil.

He doesn't do that.

He understands

the art of seduction.

He simply presents

an alternative

to God's command

and makes it seem

like it's more desirable.

Sin looks attractive

in this picture.

You see this in verse 6.

Read that with me.

So when the woman saw

that the tree

was good for food

and that it was

a delight to the eyes

and that the tree

was to be desired

to make one wise,

she took of its fruit

and ate

and she also gave some

to her husband

who was with her

and he ate.

It was good,

delightful,

desirable,

sin looks attractive,

looks good.

Vices,

sins,

have to masquerade

as virtues

in order to be

appealing to us.

You see this everywhere.

Lust masquerades

as love.

Selfishness masquerades

as self-love

or self-esteem.

Abuse masquerades

as discipline.

Slutfulness masquerades

as being relaxed

and laid back.

Pride masquerades

as being confident.

Selfish ambition

masquerades

as drive

and industriousness.

Envy masquerades

as righteous indignation.

Lack of faith

masquerades

as reasonableness.

And cynicism

masquerades

as wisdom.

Licentiousness

masquerades

as progressiveness.

Fear of man

masquerades

as humility.

Mockery

and scorn

masquerades

as witticism.

Gossip

masquerades

as concern.

Permissiveness

masquerades

as tolerance.

Isn't that true?

Sin always looks good.

It's attractive.

We do it

because we want

to do it.

And that's

why sin

is ultimately

so grievous

to God.

Not only

because we're

pridefully

declaring

that we know

better than God

does,

but because

we're also

faithlessly

denying

God's

generous

provision

for us,

His goodness

toward us.

We're doing

exactly what

Eve did

in thinking

that God

is stringent.

He's withholding

something from us.

He's being

wicked toward us.

He's not being

good and generous

toward us.

That's why

sin is grievous.

Because God's

heart toward

His openness

is generous

and good.

He gives us

all that is

good and provides

for us.

Yet we think

of Him

and we think

of the sins,

the other things

that attract us

and we see

those things

and say,

no,

that's better.

God's withholding

something from me.

This is better.

That's so grievous

to God.

He's a generous

Father.

He's our

loving creator.

And so Eve

takes the fruit

and eats

and gives it

also to her husband.

And now we come

to verses 6 to 8

which is the

climactic moment

of this whole narrative.

Chapters 2 and 3

is just really

artistically structured.

It's the whole thing

is structured

as a chiasm

or it's symmetrically

structured

so that there's

an element

in the beginning

that corresponds

to an element

in the end

and they kind of

come together

to highlight

what's in the middle.

So that's what's

going on.

So first,

let me show you

in chapter 2

verses 5 to 17

God plants

the Garden of Eden

and then brings

the tree of life

in the midst of it

and then forms man

from the dust

of the ground

and then puts him

there to work it

and keep it.

So that's what happens

in that first section.

And in the corresponding

section at the end

it's God banishes

Adam and Eve

from the Garden of Eden

and then

so that they may

not eat

from the tree of life

and then instead

of working the garden

now Adam must

work the ground

from which he was taken

and the keeping duty

that was given

to Adam

is now given

to the cherubim

to keep Adam

from coming

into the garden.

You see all the

stuff that happens.

So this structure

intentionally highlights

the consequences

of sin.

So after that

is the second element

chapter 2

verses 18 to 25

it conveys

the original ideal

of creation.

man rules

over the earth

and its animals

along with the woman

his perfect helpmate

and then the scene

ends with how

the man and wife

will procreate together

and how they were

naked but unashamed.

And then the

corresponding section

in chapter 3

is verses 14 to 21

that's the fallen

reality of creation.

There is perpetual

enmity now

between the woman

and the servant

and between the man

and the woman

and the scene

also ends

with the mention

of procreation

and this time

instead of

being naked

and unashamed

God clothes Adam

and Eve

in garments of skin.

So again

that corresponding

element

the consequences

of sin.

And then the

third element

is chapter 3

Isaiah 3:1–5

verses 1 to 5

which says

that the crafty

serpent tempts

Eve to eat

from the tree

of knowledge

of good and evil

by saying three

things about the tree.

And then later

in verses 9 to 13

after eating

from the tree

of knowledge

of good and evil

Adam and Eve

discover that

they are naked.

The word naked

is a word play

on the word crafty.

They look exactly

the same.

Almost exactly

the same.

And then God

poses three questions

to Adam and Eve.

You guys see

the structure

I'm talking about?

And now all this

is intended

to highlight

the element

in the middle

which is where

we are.

Verses 6 to 8

Man and woman

are standing alone

in the middle

of the garden

and the woman

listens to the serpent

and the man

listens to the woman

and God

is not listened

to by the man.

So that's

it points out

the hierarchy

that gets broken

and subverted

here.

And even the way

the verses 6 to 8

are phrased

really highlight

the fact that

Adam and Eve

really is usurping

God's rights

as a creator.

So if you look

at verse 6 to 8

it's just staccato pace

rapid pace

there's a lot of action

the woman saw

she took

and ate

and she also gave

some to her husband

and he ate.

And all of these

things are things

that previously

were attributed

to God

God's action

right?

If you remember

in creation

God saw

that it was good

right?

But now it's the woman

that sees

that the fruit

is good

right?

And then it says

that you know

God took

the rift

from Adam

and formed Eve

with it

and then God

brought Eve

to Adam

but now it says

the woman

took of the fruit

and ate it

right?

And then

so that

God's taking

the rift

from Adam

but also

God taking

the man

and putting

him in the

garden of Eden

now eats

the woman

that takes

of the fruit

and eats.

And then

third

making

right?

Up to this point

it was God

who had done

all the making

to provide

for the man's

need

but now

after their sin

they themselves

make for

themselves

loincloths

to clothe themselves.

God's not

providing for them

in that scene

after sin

they have to

provide for themselves

because they

have usurped

the creator's rights.

So then

in these

three verses

verses 6 to 8

the creators

the created order

the divinely

instituted order

in creation

is inverted

it's turned

upside down.

God as the creator

of the heavens

and the earth

rules over it all

and then he formed

man to rule

over the earth

as his representative

and then he gave

Eve to him

as his helper

and gave him

the responsibility

to lead her

and to represent her

and then

together

men and women

were to rule

over the earth

which included

all the animals

right?

So the creational

order was

God

man

woman

animals

but in

verses 6 to 8

the woman

listens to the serpent

which she's supposed

to rule over

and the man

listens to the woman

whom he's supposed

to lead

and take responsibility

for

and then

they both

together

disobey

and rebel

against God

so the whole

thing

is inverted

and notice

in verse 6

it says

she gave some

to her husband

who was

with her

right?

Adam's there

all along

right?

So people think

sometimes

oh it's Eve's fault

she's the one

that took it

Adam's right there

and you know what

he's the one

that heard

God's command

to not take

from the tree

of the knowledge

of good and evil

Eve wasn't there

he is the one

that God gave the charge

to take responsibility

for his wife

instead he is

you know

classically passive

just letting the woman

do what she wants

and just following

her lead

forsaking his responsibility

and sins

against

God

and what happens

now we turn to

the consequences

of sin

verse 7

to 8

verse 7

it says

then the eyes

of both

were opened

now this part

the serpent

got right

but if the devil

tells you the truth

it's always a half truth

intended to deceive

right?

so their eyes

were opened

but instead of

gaining great knowledge

and wisdom

the rest of the verse

says that they knew

they were naked

that's ironic

it's really tragic

because I told you

about the word play

between crafty

and naked

while this great

knowledge you gained

from following

the crafty serpent

you discover

that you're naked

that's it

now verse 8

continues

and they heard

the sound

of the Lord God

walking in the garden

in the cool of the day

and the man

and his wife

hid themselves

from the presence

of the Lord God

among the trees

of the garden

so not only

are Adam and Eve

ashamed of their

own nakedness

with each other

now they're hiding

from the Lord God

their creator also

now instead of

intimacy

and complete openness

that they used to enjoy

now there's fear

and shame

in humanity

and isn't it interesting

that human beings

are the only

creatures of the world

that wear clothes

animals don't wear clothes

parallel wears clothes

only because Ray and Carolyn

put it on

right

it's because of the shame

that we experience

due to sin

due to our loss

of innocence

now that doesn't mean

that we should embrace

our primal nakedness

and then go skinny dipping

somewhere

right

to return to

Eden's bliss

immodest exposure

and public nudity

are acts of denial

and defiance

of the moral reality

that we are fallen

from where we were

that something is wrong

in this world

so every time

we put on clothes

in the morning

it's a reminder

for us

that we are sinners

in need

of God's gracious

covering

that's the real purpose

of clothes

so when God comes

it is said

in verse 8

that he was walking

in the garden

in the cool

of the day

and the word

translated here

as cool

is the same word

translated spirit

or wind

or breath

elsewhere

so the wind

of the day

the breath

of the day

it's referring

to the cool

wind

in the early

evening

that drives

away

the heat

of the day

right

so it's that

time of day

and God

is in the garden

and the wind

is because

it's referenced

often to the spirit

right

so just like

in Genesis 1

to 2

the spirit

of God

was hovering

over the face

of the waters

so just as

the spirit

of God

was hovering

over the face

of the waters

in the act

of creation

now in God's

act of redemption

the spirit

of God

is also

in the garden

looking for

his covenant

subjects

and once again

the narrative

restores God's name

it's not God

anymore

it's Lord God

again

because the Lord

God has come

for a reckoning

to address

the subjects

who have rebelled

against him

and so naturally

they hide

but of course

it's God

you can't hide

from him

he asks him

verse 9

a rhetorical question

really where are you

and implicit

within the question

is why are you

hiding from me

and they respond

Adam responds

I heard

the sound

of you

in the garden

and I was afraid

because I was naked

and I hid myself

it's such an illuminating tale

just because

you see the classic

human response

to wrongdoing

and guilt

and all throughout this

right

because that's a classic

tactic

he's basically avoiding

eye contact

and diverting attention

he's like

oh no

I'm naked

that's why I hid

but that's not the point

right

I mean

God knows

what's going on

so he asks

who told you

that you were naked

have you eaten

of the tree

of which I commanded

you not to eat

and then

another classic

defense mechanism

blame shifting

I mean

you guys laughed

out loud

because it really

is funny

what happens

the man said

the woman

whom you gave me

the woman

whom you gave

to be with me

she gave me

fruit of the tree

and I ate

I mean

he's not just

blaming

his wife

he's accusing

God

the woman

you gave me

you thought

it was a grand

old idea

oh man

that was a mistake

and so Eve

was designed

to be Adam's helper

instead of

helping hindered him

and so

and Adam

who's not supposed

to take responsibility

for Eve

and to represent her

just abdicates

completely

and blames her

lays all the

responsibility on her

and then the woman

follows suit

by shifting her

blame as well

verse 13

the serpent

deceived me

and I ate

the serpent

mind you

according to verse 1

the Lord God

had made

the serpent

you made

the peace

and harmony

that characterized

the garden of Eden

is now shattered

sin

sin

has alienated

man from God

and woman

from man

and animals

from humanity

and notice how

the Lord God

comes to reestablish

that created order

even though the woman

was the leading

protagonist

in the preceding

narrative

he first comes

to man

because he's

holding him

responsible

because he had

appointed him

as head

that's why in Romans 5

it teaches that sin

and death

enter humanity

through Adam

not Eve

because Adam

was the federal head

the representative head

in his marriage

and of humanity

at large

and then after

addressing Adam

that God

addresses

Eve

and then interestingly

God

doesn't

even give the serpent

a chance to speak

right

though the serpent

sought to

to be the man's

superior

and advisor

God doesn't even

deign to speak

to him

because Adam

and Eve

not the serpent

are his covenant

subjects

created in his image

and he holds

them responsible

and then God

utters a series

of curses

over creation

as consequences

of sin

and this is tragic

because if you remember

from Genesis 1

after each successive

act of God's creation

what does he do?

He blesses

and now because of sin

he curses

his creation

verses 14

read with me

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

and on your belly

you shall go

and thus you shall eat

all the days

of your life

now

the serpent

was more crafty

but now he is

more cursed

than all the beasts

of the field

and Leviticus 11

and Deuteronomy 14

describe that animals

that go on their belly

are detestable

and unfit

for consumption

and unfit

to be offered

for sacrifice

and so here

the serpent

is cursed

to go on its belly

in fact the serpent

violates all the normal

classifications

of animals

according to the Old Testament

doesn't fit neatly

into any of the God's

created categories

it swarms

and it rides

and so it makes it

the perfect

kind of a symbol

of everything

that is anti-God

anti-order of creation

so that's why

the serpent

I think is so fitting

that's used here

so this is

and the punishment

is true

on both literal

and figurative levels

right

because literally

the serpent slithers

on the ground

on the dust of the earth

so it's really

eating dust

all day long

but more importantly

figuratively

eating dust

represents

abject humiliation

complete humiliation

that's what you do

to your enemies

after you conquer them

if you look at

the Old Testament

see Psalm 72

9

Solomon writes

that God's enemies

will lick the dust

so the serpent

then will face

ultimate humiliation

and defeat

that's what that

punishment implies

and God's curse

continues in verse 25

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

I'll explain

the theological

importance of this

later

but for now

this is literally true

the curse is still

very true

I read earlier this year

I think it was in January

in the Washington Post

they ran a story

about how Florida

is losing its battle

against snakes

the Everglades

are being over

you know

just overrun

by Burmese pythons

they're destroying

the wildlife

in fact

they're driving

some of them

near extinction

and so they had

to hire special

snake hunters

from India

to come over

and find them

and it's still

a losing battle

this is still going on

women

their offspring

humanity

versus snakes

it's still going on

and of course

the favorite way

to kill a snake

is to smash the head

right

I mean that's still

that's what's in view here

and then God turns

to the woman

in verse 16

and says

I will surely

multiply your pain

and childbearing

in pain

you shall bring forth

children

and notice

how merciful

God is here

I never noticed

this until

I was preparing

for this sermon

this week

is that

God

he curses

his creation

but he never

curses

his

man and a woman

he doesn't curse

the man and a woman

he curses

the serpent

and he curses

the ground

but he doesn't

curse man

and a woman

because they're

still his

covenant people

because he still

loves them

right

what happens

instead

is that

their spheres

are disrupted

their responsibilities

are now going to

come with more

difficulty

and pain

pain

is the word

that's used

to describe

them

but curse

is not used

of them

it's only

used

of the serpent

and the ground

and here

God

addresses

the woman's

childbearing

and later

the man's

work

not because

the two

spheres

never overlap

or because

they ought

to be

strictly

separate

but because

they are

the woman

and the man's

primary spheres

the woman's

primary orientation

is toward

home

and toward

her children

note well

that here

childbearing

itself

is not

a curse

there's not

pain in

childbearing

but childbearing

is not

a curse

and pain

of childbearing

before epidural

was one of the

bitterest pains

known to humanity

frequently led

to death

and if you

look at

Genesis 2

18

and 2

23

to 24

being a man's

helper

and the mother

of children

constitute

a unique

role of woman

and that's why

it's highlighted

here and singled

out as

woman's

sphere

and giving

birth to

children

is seen

as

imitating

God

as his

image bearers

that's why

in Genesis

5

3

it says

Adam fathered

a son

in his

own likeness

after his

image

and named

him Seth

does sound

familiar to you

to procreate

procreation

is described

in exactly

the same

terms

as God's

creation

of man

and woman

in Genesis

1

26

to 27

and of course

the fact that

childbearing is

uniquely the

woman's

prerogative

is hardly a

striking insight

but many

women lose

sight of this

in a world

where gender

distinctions are

blurred

and women are

encouraged to do

the same things

that men do

right

and the

late

Elizabeth

Fox

Genevieve

who is a

feminist

historian

who directed

the women's

studies

department

at Emory

University

she writes

this in one

of her

books

she says

so long

as women

bear children

they will

not be

identical

to men

and hence

not equal

to them

in the end

the best

explanation

for their

economic

inequality

remains

women's

ability

to bear

children

the inequality

that no

amount of

social policy

can erase

social policy

can erase

the consequences

of that

inequality

but it is

unlikely to

accomplish

even that

much until

we replace

the feminist

quest for

an illusory

equality

with compassionate

attention to

the lives

most women

actually live

the unique

ability of the

woman to

bear children

should be

celebrated

not deprecated

and more

recently

in a New

York Times

article

it was

Judith

Shulovic

she's also a

feminist author

writes

it's entitled

How to Fix

Feminism

she writes

that Hillary

Clinton's

generation

aimed to

free women

from domestic

prisons

but work

is a prison

too

she writes

that most

feminist

policy makers

have often

focused on

benefits for

wage earning

women

but then she

asked

what about

the women

who want

to get out

of the

workplace

at least

for a while

and then

points to

the bill

that

representative

Nita

Lowy

apparently

introduced

in New

York

which would

give

social security

credit to

caregivers

who left

the labor

market

to cut

back on

hours

a public

nod to

the reality

that care

is work

and caregivers

merit the same

benefits as

other workers

mothering is

real work

mothering is

hard work

mothering is

significant work

and this is

especially appropriate

on Mother's Day

mothers should

be honored

not just

on Mother's

Day

but every

day

for their

invaluable

contribution

and irreplaceable

contribution

to society

and even

more importantly

for their

irreplaceable

contribution

to fulfilling

God's

intention

for humanity

having children

being a parent

is uniformly

seen as a

blessing

throughout

scripture

consider

psalm 127

3

behold

children

are a

heritage

from the

Lord

the fruit

of the

womb

of reward

but unfortunately

this is

we have

in our

culture

have an

ambivalent

view of

children

on the

one hand

most couples

still want

to have

children

are disappointed

when their

attempts

fail

but on the

other hand

many couples

also delay

having children

for as long

as possible

in order to

pursue

their careers

and attain

financial stability

now there is

no strong

scriptural case

against

postponing

having children

sometimes

delaying

can help

a couple

to focus

on their

new relationship

especially during

their early

difficult years

of marriage

for some

but with that

said I can't

say that the

bible recommends

such a delay

either

and we have

to examine

our hearts

to see

if our

attitudes

to see

if there

isn't an

unbiblical

devaluation

of children

and nowadays

even the

people who

want children

often see them

as a burden

right

I saw

a meme

recently

and yes

Steve

I do know

what a

meme is

it has a

drawing of

a baby

on it

and it

reads

sometimes

when I get

sad about

not having

kids

I sleep

until noon

don't cook

or do

laundry

for a

week

watch

everything

but cartoons

and buy

myself

a gift

yeah

it's funny

right

but it's

also selfish

isn't it

and even

childish

right

our parents

or someone

else

made all

those sacrifices

to raise

us

but we're

not willing

to make

those sacrifices

for our

children

so what

if we can't

sleep until

noon

you don't get

to watch

any of your

favorite tv

shows

and you

have to

cook

and do

laundry

all the

time

so that

so what

if you

have to

give up

being able

to eat

out

all the

time

because

you have

to take

care

of your

kid

or to

provide

for your

kid

what if

we have

to give

up personal

downtime

so that

we have

time to

play with

our

children

we're

raising

up

another

human

being

made

in the

image

of

God

they

will

either

live

forever

with

God

or

perish

without

him

is that

not

a

worthy

weighty

task