Praise the Lord, you his servants;
praise the name of the Lord.
2 Let the name of the Lord be praised,
both now and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 The Lord is exalted over all the nations,
his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
the One who sits enthroned on high,
6 who stoops down to look
on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
8 he seats them with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He settles the childless woman in her home
as a happy mother of children.
Praise the Lord. Psalm 113
Last month my husband and I were blessed to become grandparents of a beautiful baby girl. Born on my birthday, the Lord blessed me even more with giving me the gift of being with my daughter as she went into labor and then holding this precious baby just hours after she entered the world! With two daughters of our own I still find myself amazed by the gift of life — how God creates us, weaves us so intricately in a mother’s womb.
A couple of friends and I are doing an advent study and we were tasked during the first week to go back to the book of Genesis. On day 4, we read Genesis 3:14-24 and were asked to list the consequences of Adam, Eve’s and the serpent’s sins. We were also to identify God’s mercy in this passage. Awhile back I heard a lesson about this section of Genesis. On how God gave Adam and Eve both curses and blessings. When you view this text in this way you discover something different that the usual reading. Here’s what He said to Eve:
“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.” Genesis 3:16.
We all answered that God cursed her with painful childbirth and that her husband would be “the boss.” If we take this verse as a stand alone that’s what we get, done. However, in the context of the whole creation story, let me point out two blessings.
- The only way beings had been created until that time was by God’s miraculous actions. Breathing life into Adam and then taking a piece of Adam and creating Eve. Now Eve will be blessed with herself creating new life. She will be God’s vessel for all humanity. What an incredible gift!
- When God created Eve, she was a companion, a helper, so that Adam wouldn’t be alone. With God’s speech to Eve He has introduced love and desire. A marriage, rather than just a friendship. A lifelong covenant with another human being!
Without this curse/blessing for Eve we wouldn’t have the long line of woman who, even in their old and seemingly barren years, gave birth to the line of the future King. And then, of course we come to Mary, Jesus’ mother. Her womb holds the special place of Jesus’ first earthly home. With God’s DNA and that of Joseph and Mary’s woven together to create the God/Man. What a beautiful and glorious gift to all women-kind!
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name. Luke 1: 46-49
Although Mary was Jesus’ first earthly abode where God did His glorious weaving work, here’s the message I heard preached today: “The Holy Spirit, who lives in us, is leveraging the glory of God to weave our frayed hearts back together.”
Isn’t that a wonderful promise? A gift from Jesus as He left this earthly home to join His father in heaven, the Holy Spirit lives in all who say “I believe.” The glory of God is living in our wombs, in our hearts, in our very souls. Our pastor stated, “He takes the promise of peace and calms our hearts.” He is the God who never leaves us because He has brought His glory to dwell inside us! Oh mighty God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords thank you for this gift of life, this gift of your ever presence.
"To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27
Thanks be to God for the blessings He bestowed on Eve that day. And may all Glory, Honor and Power be given to Him alone. Amen
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