And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. (Gen. 2:21-22)
God made woman to be a companion for Adam. Eve was made from Adam, and for Adam, all reasons for the humility, modesty, silence, and submissiveness of a woman in general, particularly the subjection which wives owe to their husbands. Man was made last of all the creatures and was the most excellent, yet woman was made after him, and out of him, which puts a special honor on woman, as she is the glory of a man.
Adam slept a deep sleep while God made Eve for him. He had no concern in the world, as someone who casts all his cares on God, knowing that God will handle all his affairs. Similarly men who seek wives, should not worry or concern themselves because God will bring them their companion according to his will and providence.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (Gen. 3:6)
Eve is induced to sin and being deceived by the tempter was ringleader in the transgression. In her eye, she saw no harm in the tree because it was pleasant to the sight. We are often betrayed into snares by a desire to please our senses.
And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. (Gen. 3:13)
God knows all our sins, but requires a confession from us. Eve’s confession however is not penitent in nature, but rather aggravating the sin with an excuse and laying the blame on another.
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. (Gen. 3:16)
God passes sentence on the woman for her sin and condemns her to a state of sorrow, and a state of subjection. The pains of child-baring are multiplied and the wife is put under the dominion of her husband.
But God is loving and kind, and his mercy is intertwined with his wrath in the sentence upon Eve. Although she shall have sorrow, she will immediately forget once the baby is born. “A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world” (John 16:21). She shall be subject, but towards her own husband who loves her, not to an enemy, or a stranger: the sentence was not a curse, to bring her to ruin, but a chastisement, to bring her to repentance.
- Summary and Excerpts from Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Old Testament
- Image Contributed by Sweet Publishing
Chrism 