From Eden to Eternity - Part 1

God's desire and design for women throughout scripture

*This is Part 1 of a three-part series for Mother's Day. Click here to read Part 2 and Part 3.

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One of my favorite pieces of art is this one titled, “Mary Consoles Eve” or “The Ladies.” It was created by a nun named Sister Grace Remington. 

She drew the image with crayon and colored pencils over the course of just a couple of afternoons, and said that when she drew it, she was thinking of how Mary would have had compassion on Eve in her sin.

She said, “Mary knows the gift she is carrying (Jesus) is for Eve as much as it is for herself. She doesn’t need Eve to get herself together, or to even drop the apple before inviting her in and showing compassion to her."

It is a beautiful, moving and thought-provoking image I revisit time and time again, and to me, it is a beautiful reminder of God's intentional creation and redemption of women throughout time.

Purposeful Creation:

Genesis 1 & 2 — Understanding the relationship between God and humanity in God’s ideal world

“Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it ...'"

— Genesis 1:26-28

In these verses in Genesis chapter one, we see that the fundamental story of creation, the Big Picture, sets up a beautiful mutuality between men and women in relationship with God and his creation. God purposefully creates men and women to live and work together with Him. 

In Genesis chapter two, we get to see more detail about the creation story. God creates man from the dust and breathes life into him. And then, in Genesis 2 verse 18, it says:

“Then God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone.'”

As he’s been creating the world, God has finished each part by saying, “It is good.” 

Light and dark - good.

Earth and sky - good. 

Animals and plants - good. 

But when he gets to Adam being alone he says it’s not good. And so God says, “I will make a helper suitable for him.” 

So God brings all the animals to Adam to name, and Adam can’t find his match. He can’t find a creature suitable to be his “helper”. So God puts Adam to sleep, takes one of his ribs, and makes a woman, Eve, to be that “helper”.

Now, there are some interesting things about this word “helper” in Genesis. In Hebrew—the original language the Old Testament was written in—this word “helper” is Ezer.  And Ezer is used in other places throughout the Bible to actually describe God himself (read more verses here).

So we see, this woman God creates was not a second-class or off-brand version of Adam. She carried qualities directly attributable to God, just like Adam, and was created purposefully to complete him—to complete humanity—and Genesis one says God created both the man and the woman in his image. 

It wouldn’t have been enough to have had any other animal or creation in the Garden as Adam’s mate. It didn’t work. It had to be someone also created in the very image of God, sharing in his humanity—and that was Eve. So both man and woman were purposefully created to bear the image of God and to go into the world being “like God”.

And then, only after woman is created, does God say everything is finally, not just good, but very good.

So the creation story fundamentally shows us how we can understand the relationship between God and humanity in God’s ideal world. A relationship of beautiful mutuality—living, working, cultivating and creating together. 

But we know what happens next, right? The serpent comes and deceives Eve. She eats the fruit from the tree and gives some to Adam, who was right there with her, and sin breaks their relationship. Their relationship with each other and with God. Adam and Eve believed the lie that being created in the image of God, being the only living creature to bear his image, wasn’t enough. They desired to be a god themselves. 

And how often is that a part of our story? 

We aren’t satisfied with being made in the very image of God, so we seek out other things, whether good or destructive, that we think will satisfy us. And this breaks our relationships.  Blame, shame, guilt, and consequences. We see all this play out in Genesis chapter three with Adam and Eve. 

We see the consequences of their actions and the brokenness that follows—pain, disordered relationships and death.

But, aren’t we so thankful the story didn’t end there? 

Head to Part 2

—Whitney

*This post is adapted from a 2025 Mother's Day sermon I preached at Restore Church in Brookland, Ark.