From Cain to Noah and in Between

This post is going to cover 4 different marriages. Since none of the wives’ are named, we can only imagine from their husbands what kind of marriages they had. Lets start with Cain. 

If you remember right, Adam and Eve had Cain. Cain decided that he would kill his brother Abel. God was NOT happy about this, so He drove Cain away telling him he will be a wanderer.  So he settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived. (Genesis 4:17) Now there is a lot of speculation on where Cain found his wife. Some say since Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters, she was his sister. But given the longevity of the time, I think she was probably his sister or possibly a close relative. 

Cain and his wife had Enoch which means initiative. This shows that God was still present in their lives. Then Cain built a city east of Eden and named it Enoch after his son. This is pretty much all we have Biblically on their marriage. But it makes me wonder, were they married when Cain killed his brother? Did she grieve the loss of her brother in law? Or did they meet when God drove Cain out and made him a wanderer? Did Cain have anger issues all of his life? When she was pregnant, did she thank God over and over for redeeming them for Cain’s sin? Oh how I would love to sit down, learn Cain’s wife’s name and share a cup of coffee! 

Ok, so because Cain killed his brother Abel. God gave Adam and Eve a baby boy and they named him Seth. Seth was Adam and Eve’s godly son, who the seed of redemption would come through aka Jesus! Even though Seth’s wife is not named in the Bible, I would love to think she was devoted to God just like Seth. Because she has a key role in how the lineage of Christ happened too! Anyway, Seth and his wife had Enosh. Then men began to call upon the Lord, we do know that worship already existed, Genesis 4:26 implies that men were beginning to address God formally in prayer and thanksgiving around the time of Enosh’s birth. Maybe this is the first “fellowship” with other believers/couples around this time? Did Seth’s wife make a great food spread while everyone came to tell how God was speaking to them? I love this! 

So let’s fast forward a little bit. Enosh had Kenan, who had Mahahel(say that name 10 times fast!), who in turn had Jared, who welcomed into the world Enoch. (Genesis 5:6-24) Another Enoch? I’m thinking this name was pretty popular! 

This Enoch was married to….his wife! His “no named” bride welcomed into the world Methuselah.  The really neat thing about Enoch was, he was spared death all together. One day he was walking with God on earth, the next day he was gone. Disappeared. Never to be seen again. Put this one on your list of questions to ask God when you get to heaven. He was so intimate with God, was God like “I want you in heaven pronto!”? And was his wife still living? Did she search for days for her husband? Or did she see him disappear? Did he rise up to heaven like Jesus did? Or did he just vanish? Did she send a search team to look for him or did God speak to her quietly and tell her? Was she just so proud to call Enoch her husband, seeing firsthand his walk with God? Was her husband an inspiration to her in her own closeness and walk with God? I could go on and on with the questions..but lets keep going. 

Enoch’s son Methuselah had Lamech, and Lamech had Noah. Have you heard that name before? (if you haven't you might have heard of his ark and God’s flood….oh yes, rings a bell now! :)) 

Noah had God’s favor, he was righteous, blameless and walked with God. God, at this point, was extremely upset in the actions of man. He said the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of their hearts was only evil continually. God was sorry that He made man on the earth, and was very grieved in His heart. (Genesis 6:5-6) I would like to think that since Noah had God’s favor, that his wife walked with God as well. And that they together lived righteous before the Lord. However, that is not mentioned in the Bible. God’s plan was to blot out man and animals(from creeping things to birds of the sky) via flood. Since Noah had God’s favor, God told Noah His plan and gave him instructions to build the ark and bring two of every animal(male and female). Side note: I love how God said “try to keep them alive” in verse 19. Like you have a big responsibility, please make sure they are all alive when they come back to actual ground!  God made a covenant with Noah and his family, Noah and his wife had 3 sons at this time: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. His covenant made sure that Noah’s wife, sons and their wives were safe from the flood. This makes me think that Noah’s wife was close to the Lord as well. We as one flesh with our husbands, should have the same interests as each other. I wonder how the conversation went: “Hey hun, just got done with God’s ark. Yes, I followed His instructions! The animals are about to arrive. Can you please run out and get enough food for all of us? And we need to be thinking of where to put everyone, call our daughters in law they can decorate. Yes, yes, Shem is helping. No, Ham won’t forget the bedding. Oops, yeah I will make sure Japheth brings clean clothes.”  After the flood, God promised US that He would never blot out man like that again. Also, after the flood Noah retired to farming and planting a vineyard. Now, we don't know if his wife was still living. But I like to think they had a wonderful retirement, embracing God’s beauty. 

Abram, who we will be studying next, was married to Sarai.(YAY! We have a named WIFE!) Abram is a descendent from Shem, Noah’s son. If you want to jump ahead to all of the wonderful things we will learn from Abram and Sarai, later known as Abraham and Sarah, their story starts at the end of Genesis 11 and goes through to Genesis 25. 

There is however, a part of Genesis 6 that needs to be covered. If you have been following along in Genesis, I do not want anyone to get this confused or want to get into a theology debate, but I feel the need to “touch” on this. Verse 2 states: The sons of God saw that the daughter’s of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whoever they chose. This was in the heightened time of wickedness. The sons of God in this verse do not mean humans, it puts emphasis on angelic vs. human contrast. We do know that our struggles here on earth are not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12, paraphrased) These fallen angels(Job 1:6; 2:1) were violating the God-ordained order of human marriage. Now, before you get upset and/or scared, if you have salvation in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit(Ephesians 4:30) meaning this cannot happen to you..EVER! Also, verse 4 states the Nephilim were on the earth in those days. They are not the offspring of the fallen angels and beautiful daughters. They were strong men(some say giants) that were overpowering. The word Nephilim actually means to fall, indicating that they were strong men who fell on others in the sense of overpowering them. If you would like more information on any of this Biblically or questions on how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please comment or email me at enthralledbyjill@gmail.com. 

Until next time, thank you so much for reading! I love every minute of this! To God be the Glory!

The First Marriage

Why did I think studying Adam and Eve was going to be easy? We all have heard the story: God created Adam, made Eve out of his rib, Eve ate an apple from the snake and they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. Read my words: This isn't even half of their story, let alone their marriage!  So lets digest them separately, and then put the pieces of their marriage together. 

Adam lived toward the East in Eden, where God planted a garden. In this garden was the Tree of Life which was an antidote for a life without disease and bodily decay. And the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, designed as a test of obedience. The reasoning behind God placing Adam on earth was to cultivate it and keep it. He did however, warn Adam upfront that he could eat from any tree freely except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (Keyword: EAT…don’t EAT…remember this!) Now God formed all the living creatures, but there wasn't one suitable(mentally, sexually, emotionally…you get it) for Adam.  One thing I love is God said “it is not good for man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”(Genesis 2:18, paraphrased) Moving along, God caused Adam to go into a deep sleep taking his rib (closest to a man’s heart)  and closed up his flesh. 

So with this rib, God made Eve and fashioned into her the rib He took from Adam. God was already thinking fashion when He made the first woman! (Literally! Look it up-Genesis 2:22)  The woman was also created in God’s image but, instead of being made out of material in the earth, she was created with material from the man. Eve’s genetic structure was derived from and therefore perfectly harmonious with Adam’s. * 

Here is married life, both are naked in their beautiful garden and out of love for Eve, 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. For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the Man, and his Wife were both naked and not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:23-25, emphasis mine) 

How beautiful that God intends for intimate sexual joys only to be fulfilled with in the bonds of holy matrimony and without shame! When Adam says one flesh, he is meaning complete unity of parts making a whole. Such a beautiful example of complete gratification in their joy of their one union and service to God. But with this comes the kicker: with no inward principle of evil/sin for them to be aware of, the solicitation of sin had to come from outside their marriage, and it sure does. 

It is said that the serpent picked Eve to deceive because Adam wasn't by her side at the time to protect her. What we do know is she was alone and don't know is where someone decided the forbidden fruit was an apple! Enter: a manifestation of satan in the form of a serpent. The serpent asks Eve if she could not eat from any tree in the garden. Eve’s response is just sooo like us women at times, over-talking, “We can eat from any trees in the garden except the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat from it OR TOUCH IT, lest you die.”(Genesis 3:2-3, paraphrased, emphasis mine) Remember our keyword from Adam’s detail: EAT…DON’T EAT…..well Eve decided to put some words into God’s mouth.  Some commentaries imply that Eve was beginning to feel God’s restriction was too harsh so she decided to add harshness to it. I am not sure I agree with that since she had no reason to feel like God would be harsh to them in any way. 

Sidenote: God doesn't like it when we add words to His own. He is very clear to us throughout the Bible in how to be His disciple. Proverbs 30:6 says Do not add to His words lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar. Gulp.

Well, she ate the fruit. Her deception took 3 forms- good, pleasant, desirable. (Genesis 3:6) When she ate the fruit: her physical, emotional, and desirable appetite was awoken. Isn't this what deception always does, in the moment we feel some sort of physical, emotional and/or desirable fixation? Beware of this. As Paul said, “But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3)  We could go on and on about this…but we are focusing on marriage-so let’s get back to it!

Like all of us wives, she gave to her husband and of course he ate it. (Men or at least my man, do NOT pass up food!)  With this Adam committed sin without any form of deception. What an example of man’s inclination to follow women’s impulsiveness-Eve led, Adam followed. I think this is a big lesson we can learn in our own marriages. How to set the example and lead our husbands into the Light not sin. Then BOOM: they realized they were as naked as a jaybird! In order to cover their sin, cough cough, I mean bodies they decided to make a nice ensemble of fig leaves. You see their eyes were now open to a whole new realm of sin. Their innocence as a married couple, as the first man and first woman was replaced with guilt and shame. 

Oh hello God walking in His garden in the cool of day….how I would love to see this! (Only this part, not the sinning and serpent slithering around parts)  Adam and Eve heard Him walking because He was walking in a visible form, and then they went into hiding. Together, teamwork right? You may or may not know this, or even realize it BUT no guilt or shame in your life can EVER be hidden from God, not even for your teammate…partner in crime…you get it. God wanting them to confess why they were hiding asked “Where are you?”-once again there was no place for them to hide from Him.  Adam confessing he was naked is not the kind of confession that God wanted, so once again God asked questions to get the confession out. Nope, not happening for Adam. No confession there, lets just rationalize and blame God saying it was because He gave him Eve. Also lets blame Eve because she gave it to him. Great idea! Goodbye, teamwork. Goodbye, accountability. Hello, Eve’s honesty “the serpent deceived me and I ate.” Although she was honest, she would have consequences for her distrust and disobedience toward God. Let’s look at their consequences, because we are still dealing with them today.

• Eve’s Consequences: 
• greatly multiply your pain in childbirth: reminder that women gave birth to sin and genetically passes it to her children BUT you can be delivered by raising godly children(1 Timothy 2:15)
• your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you: man and woman will face struggles in their own relationship and will need God’s help to get along 

• Adam’s Consequences:
• cursed is the ground because of you: hard work, condemned to a life of labor
• by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground: he was changed and subject to all the miseries of life

Next, God made them garments of skin to clothe them. 

“This was a graphic object lesson showing that only God can provide suitable covering for sin, and that the shedding of blood is a necessary part of the process.(Hebrews 9:22) The first physical deaths should of been the man and his wife, but it was an animal-a shadow of the reality that God would someday kill a substitute to redeem sinners.” * (paraphrased, emphasis mine)

Then, they were removed from the Garden of Eden.  And now its time for some babies! 

Welcome to the world, Cain and Abel. Both of their children had acceptable occupations. When Cain was born, Eve was estatic. She said, “I have gotten a man child with the help of the Lord!” She realized that God gave her a son, which shows us she knew who ruled her life, God. Cain was a tiller of the ground and Abel was the keeper of flocks. But unfortunately, he was murdered by Cain out of jealousy. 

Recap of their marriage: Paradise with God walking amongst them, deception, abandonment, hard work, labor pains, dealing with a child with anger problems, their firstborn murders their second born son thus becoming a wanderer. This is what we can get out of Adam and Eve’s marriage: center your marriage on God, alone. Let no amount of temptation/deception make one or both of you fall. If you do, openly confess it immediately. God made you one flesh for a reason. You were made to compliment each other- sexually, emotionally…in all walks of life together. 

Though it is not detailed in the Bible, we can assume that their marriage was full of anxieties, heartaches, and torments due to their children. Which is an example for future generations going through the same. What we do know is, they stuck it out TOGETHER.  Cain eventually married and they became grandparents. When Adam was 130 years old, Eve bore him the son Seth. Seth was the “godly son through whom the seed of redemption would be passed all the way to Jesus.” (Luke 3:58) They also had other sons and daughters. 

Yes, their marriage started out wonderful and perfect, then they hit very hard bumps in the road. Did they turn away from each other? Did they turn away from God? No. They learned how to deal with the hardships and stuck it out, together.  They didn't let their transgressions remove them from a life with God, even after the Garden of Eden.  And they sure as heck didn't get divorced because “life was too tough” for them. Jesus mentioned Adam and Eve once, when being questioned about divorce. His response? “What God has joined together, let no one put asunder.” (Matthew 19:6, paraphrased) 

Out of all of this, their greatest blessing came-their son whom carried the lineage to our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Dear Reader: Whether you are married, single, divorced- God has the perfect mate for you. If you are single, don't settle. If you are divorced, don't be weary. God has a plan, He has His will for your life. Oh, I am just so excited that this is just the beginning of our study on what God says about marriage! It has been such a delight to me personally. I pray over you and your marriage, that you are as inspired by God and His Word as I am! I read this quote out of the book Adam, Eve, and the Serpent and agree whole heartedly:

Yet those who seriously confront the Bible will realize that genuine interpretation has always required that the reader actively and imaginatively engage the texts. Through the process of interpretation, the reader's living experience comes to be woven into ancient texts, so that what was "dead letter" again comes to life. (Page xxviii)

Oh I pray His Word comes to life for you!!! 

*Excerpts taken from the MacArthur Bible Commentary by John MacArthur

Please note: all Scripture is taken from the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, NASB

You are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made!

After much prayer and research, I feel as though we need to look into how God created each and every one of us. See I don't know if you realize this but God created you and me from the ground. He got down to our level and carved the human being into His likeness. You were skillfully crafted in your mother's womb by the Creator. And I feel like an in depth look into how humans were first created needs to start off this study.

In Genesis 1:26, God says Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, meaning He had a distinct purpose.(The name for God in this verse is Elohim and is a plural version of El, meaning the Godhead-Father, Son, Holy Spirit.) Our image, likeness is described as establishing a personal relationship between God and man that does not exist with any other aspect of creation.*

He had a goal for us, right from the very beginning. The Lord explained this purpose in Genesis 11:6, He said "Behold they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them." This was His goal in crafting together man. So what did He do? He created man in His own image, male and female He created them. Wow! Dear friend, do you realize that God created YOU in His image? He designed you with a specific goal in mind and personal relationship with Him. He knew from the very beginning exactly His purpose for YOU.

I love how the MacArthur Bible Commentary puts this: It explains why the Bible places so much stress on God's hands-on creation of Adam. He fashioned this creature in a special way-to bear the stamp of His own likeness. It suggests that God was, in essence, the pattern for personhood of man. The image of God is personhood, and personhood can function only in the context of relationships. Man's capacity for intimate, personal relationships needed fulfillment. Most important, man was designed to have personal relationship with God. It is impossible to divorce this truth from the fact that man is an ethical creature. (emphasis mine)

We were designed to have a personal relationship with God.  I can't get enough of this. God fashioned us in a special way to bear the stamp of His likeness! Let me say WOW again! Wow!

Not only that but we are God's representative in ruling over creation. While God shared His image with both man and woman, they were designed by God to accomplish His goal to multiply. Neither one could reproduce without the other. (Gen. 1:27) While we are studying all of the marriages of the Bible, we need to always remember: God created male AND female in His likeness. He created us to have a personal relationship with Him, fellowship with one another and reproduce to multiply the earth. 

Moving on to Genesis 2:5, "Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth; and there was no man to cultivate the ground. Verse 7-"Then the Lord God, formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

So here we are, God has decided to create man in His image, according to His likeness so He formed man of dust from the ground. The word dust used in this verse figuratively signifies abundance. Genesis 13:6 says And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. The word ground used in this verse signifies the earth or clay God used to form man-Adam, both came from the ground and was assigned the task of tending the ground. 

Stick with me here, God formed man abundantly from clay of the earth and then breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. The meaning for nostrils here means face-to bow one's face to the ground. (Gen. 3:19; 19:1; 1 Sam. 24:8[9]) Here is God, bowing man's face to the ground and breathing into his nostrils- he was made from dirt but his physical components were made with such perfect precision and quality from the Master Craftsman! God gave him life! He gave him a living soul.

I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery]. Psalm 139: 14,15 AMP

When man became a living being, his body and soul became alive. He received an inner being with thoughts and emotions.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thess. 5:23

This is my prayer for you as we start this study into the marriages of the Bible. I pray that you realize how much the Master Craftsman intricately put you together for His diving purpose here on earth. Thank you for being a part of this journey with me!

See you next time! "For it was Adam who was created, then Eve." (1 Timothy 2:13) 

*The MacArthur Bible Commentary
**All scripture was taken from the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, NASB version-unless otherwise noted.