05-08-20 Mothers (Not part of the Midnight Bible Stories)

 The Mothers of Christ Jesus (Eve highlighted)

In the first chapter of MATTHEW 1:1-6 we find five women in the lineage of Christ Jesus. These five women are Thamar (Tamar), Rachab (Rahab), Ruth, Bathsheba (not listed by name here, but noted to be the mother of Solomon by her relationship with David the king when she was still the wife of Urias (MATTHEW 1:6), and Mary the mother of Jesus. Why were these five women listed in this chapter? Remember five is the number of GRACE. By studying the backgrounds of these five women in the line of Christ we are revealed much about grace, the immeasurable grace of God. At least three of these women were Gentiles. Two were Canaanites, and one was a Moabite!

Good Bible students know that the lineage presented in MATTHEW is Joseph's, and the lineage found in LUKE 3:23-38 is that of Mary. And from David on back to Adam the lineage is the same. In LUKE 3:31 we find ...Nathan, the son of David... who according to 1 CHRONICLES was one of four children David had with Bathsheba. No women are found listed by name in the lineage found in LUKE 3:23-38, but the five women mentioned in MATTHEW were also in the lineage of Mary. Our Pastor Jesse O'Dorisio discussed Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba in his Wednesday night Gentile Brides study series, which you can review from the web site.

The five women in the lineage of Christ Jesus presented in MATTHEW only go back to Abraham. Luke takes the lineage of Christ back to Adam listing no women, only the men in the lineage of Christ. Seventy-four generations are found in LUKE from Mary back to Adam. And obviously all of the men in the lineage of Christ in these seventy-four generations had mothers, all of whom were grandmothers in the lineage of Jesus. And as we noted above we know the names of five women in the lineage of Christ Jesus by studying MATTHEW 1:1-6. The list of grandmothers in the lineage of Christ Jesus grows exponentially. For example, Mary would have had two grandmothers, four great grandmothers, eight great-great grandmothers etc. back to Noah, and narrows down to one mother, Eve. Each one of us is a descendant of Eve, and each one of us is also a descendant of Noah's wife also.

We are going to spend some time discussing Eve shortly, but before we do consider the following. What was Noah's wife's name? Scripture doesn't tell us her name, but she too was one of the grandmothers of Jesus, and one of your grandmothers also. In GENESIS 10 we find the genealogy of the sons of Noah, and in GENESIS 11 we find the lineage of Seth, one of Noah's sons, from whom came both Abraham and Lot. We know Jesus came from the line of Noah, through Seth, through Abraham, and his wife Sarah, and you can track this down by studying LUKE 3, and the lineage of Christ Jesus found there. So, Sarah was one of the mothers in the lineage of Christ, who is not found named in the lineage of Christ in MATTHEW 1 or LUKE 3. In total there are five (GRACE) women, (whose names we know}, that are grandmothers of Jesus, whose names are not found in MATTHEW's or LUKE's lineage. Here are their five names: Eve, Sarah, Milcah, Rebekah, and Leah.

Now Lot's wife, whose name we are not told in scripture, is also one of the grandmothers of Jesus. In LUKE 17:32 we read: Remember Lot's wife. Jesus spoke these words, why? Not because He was pointing out in particular one of His grandmothers, but because Lot's wife is a monument of grace. We find a note concerning Lot's wife in five scriptures. {GENESIS 14:16; 19:15; 19:16; 19:26 and LUKE 17:32}. Five is the number of GRACE, and as we ...remember Lot's wife... we are to remember the GRACE of God. TITUS 2:11-15 tells us some facts concerning the GRACE of God stating: For thegrace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. The GRACE of God saved Lot's wife from the destruction of Sodom, but the pull of the world represented by Sodom was too great for her, and she couldn't resist looking back, and in so doing she became a pillar of salt, {GENESIS 19:26}. When Jesus stated "Remember Lot's wife..." inLUKE 17:32 He was encouraging the hearer to learn a lesson from Lot's wife, and not follow her example. Lot's wife did not want to follow the leading of the Lord. or heed His instructions, (GENESIS 19:17 ...Escape/or thy life; look not behindthee...), the world had to great a pull on her, just like a lot of Christians today. Paul stated it like this in ROMANS 12:2 And benot conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. "Remember Lot's wife..." for this reason also. Where was her heart? Was it not in Sodom? LUKE 12:34 tells us: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. JEREMIAH 17:10 I the LORDsearch the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Lot's heart also was in Sodom, and after leaving there he wanted to dwell in another city like Sodom, but in the end, Lot ended up a cave man, living in isolation, afraid of the world he so much wanted to be a part of, having lost all that he had in thedestruction of wicked Sodom.

So, Lot's wife became one of the grandmothers of Christ Jesus, and so did one of Lot's two unnamed daughters. You can read for yourself this part of the story in GENESIS 19:29-38, but the short version is this. Lot's two daughters got their father drunk on consecutive nights, and conceived children by him. Though the daughter’s names are not revealed in scripture, the names of their two sons that they bore are told us. The eldest of Lot's daughters had a son named Moab, who is the father of the Moabites, and the younger daughter also had a son named Benamni, who was the father of the children of Ammon. The Moabites, and the children of Ammon were enemies of the children of Israel. The daughter of Lot who bore him Moab was one of the grandmothers of Ruth the Moabitess, who is mentioned in the lineage of Jesus Christ in MATTHEW 1:5.

Before we discuss the very first mother in the linage of Christ Jesus, who is Eve, consider this: Jesus was the only man who could have picked His mother, and His lineage. And we have just pointed out some of the skeletons in His closet, so to speak. But the bottom line is this: ROMANS 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. No matter how proud of your bloodline you might be, remember you were conceived in sin, and shapen in iniquity as is stated in PSALMS 51:5. Brother Hill used to make this statement: "God can not look on sin with the least degree of allowance." This is a true statement, yet not a direct quote from scripture. However, HABAKKUK 1:13 makes a similar statement concerning the Lord God, stating in part: Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: Yet on the cross of Calvary, Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, was made sin for us, as explained in 2 CORINTHIANS 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us,who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. While Jesus was on the cross we find that there was a three-hour span when darkness was over the land. MATTHEW 27:45 & 46 states it like this: Now from the sixth hourthere was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying,Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It was during this time span ofdarkness when Jesus was made sin for us that the face of God was turned away from our Saviour, for in fact "God can not look on sin with the least degree of allowance." ROMANS 5:8 reads: But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while wewere yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

Now to Eve the first mother in the lineage of Christ, and you. Eve was the first woman. Eve was the first wife. Eve was the first sinner. Eve was the first mother. Eve means: "life," or "living," or "life-giving." Eve is mentioned by name in four scriptures: Four being the number that has to do with: HUMAN WEAKNESS; MAN'S WEAKNESS; CREATION; and is anEARTHLY NUMBER.

Let's read where Eve came from.  GENESIS 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and heslept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had takenfrom man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. Notice that the woman wasn't made from the whole man Adam, but rather only a small rib portion from the closest to Adam's heart was taken as he slept, and made a joint-heir wife for Adam!

Take a close look at GENESIS 2:23 And 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.     and see the word "Woman," and the word "Man" here are capitalized. This is not a mistake. The Holy Ghost wanted it recorded in scripture this way so that we could better see a little more into the depths of the marriage relationship that The Man Christ Jesus will have with His Woman, the Bride of Christ! This is the only time in the Old Testament where the word "Woman" is capitalized. Why? Because Adam and Eve are on display here a sinless couple. Their sinless condition didn't last long however, for only a few verses later did sin enter into the world. Paul teaches in 1 CORINTHIANS 15:45 The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. The last Adam is a reference to Christ.  ROMANS 5:14 further tells that Adam is the figure of him that was to come.

"...Him that was to come..." references Christ. In GENESIS 2:23 Adam and his Woman, Eve, as a sinless couple they picture Christ and His Bride; The Man married to His Woman. Truly Eve as she was presented unto Adam was the joy that was set before him, just like the Bride of Christ was " the joy that was set before..." Christ in HEBREWS 12:2! The fact that Adam and Eve were married by God is told in GENESIS2:24 & 25 -- Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall beone flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. GENESIS 2:24 is quoted by both Jesus and Paul (study MARK 10:7 and EPHESIANS 5:31). Before we leave these verses in GENESIS 2, and this is important to note, Eve wasn't yet called Eve, and she wasn't named Eve until GENESIS 3:20. Just hold that thought for a few minutes.

One more thing to take note of here takes us to EPHESIANS 5 where we also find a picture of Christ and His Bride; The Man married to His Woman. EPHESIANS 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head ofthe church:...  Now let's read 1 CORINTHIANS 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; andthe head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Why take note that the head of the woman is the man? Because had Eve done this she wouldn't have got into the mess that is told us in GENESIS 3 where Eve became the firstsinner!

We are going to read a few verses in GENESIS 3, and realize that we could literally spend hours in this chapter, but you can do that on your own. GENESIS 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORDGod had made. And he said unto the woman. Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And thewoman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in themidst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. The serpent we know from REVELATION 12:9 and 20:2 is the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. Eve's first down fall is found in verse2 where she fails to point out the serpent to her husband Adam, which was her head as we noted above in EPHESIANS 5:23 & 1 CORINTHIANS 11:3. Eve then enters into a discussion with the serpent, and reveals that she does indeed know the word of the Lord that was given unto her, and Adam: We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the treewhich is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. Here we find that Eve well knew the one and only commandment that God had given Adam and her to follow. She had with her own ears heard this command. She knew it well. She innocently repeated this command unto the serpent for she had memorized God's instructions. She could recite God's commandment given her and Adam to follow; she had listened unto these instructions; she had heard this command; she well knew this law given of God, but did she believe in her heart this command of the LORD God? In other words, did Eve believe the word of God? The answer we find in scripture is that no, Eve did not believe the word of God at this early point in time in her life. Unbelief is the opposite of faith. ROMANS 14:23 states: ...forwhatsoever is not of faith is sin. So, we find in the next verses of GENESIS 3 that Eve gave in to the reasoning of the Satan inspired serpent. Brother Hill used to mention that ''you are going to believe something," (which is a true statement if you think about it), and Eve we will find believed the words of the serpent more than the word of God.

Let's read on GENESIS 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth knowthat in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And whenthe 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 onewise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat…, Let's pause in our reading here for a moment, for in the original Hebrew manuscripts I have read that there was a long pause here, which we will understand to be true shortly. We pause to note here that Eve, our great, great, hundreds of times over great grandmother, became the first sinner. And with this one event of unbelief ROMAN 5:12 became scripture: ROMANS 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death bysin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Eve got the death sentence for her sin, ...and so deathpassed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Imagine the death penalty for eating fruit. But it was God's forbidden fruit, andagain "God can not look on sin with the least degree of allowance."

What about Adam, where was he, and what roll did he have in this tragedy among tragedies? Adam, we find in 1 TIMOTHY 2:14 ...was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Adam now had a choice to make, to eat of the forbidden fruit, like his wife Eve just did, and face death; or go back to living alone. Before Eve was formed, Adam had lived alone, and Adam, like no one ever since, knew what it was like being the only person on earth; he knew the empty lonely of it, and Adam knew this with emphasis, it wasn't good to be alone. God had even said in GENESIS 2:18 ...It is not good that the man should be alone; Adam was created a very intelligent man; a perfect man with the ability to think, and reason. Adam had named all the animals before Eve ever came on the scene, and we read this about Adam in the days before Eve was created: ...but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him... GENESIS 2:20. Think of it like this, before Eve, Adam didn't have a sugkleronomos joint-heir wife to share his every thing with, nor no one here on earth to help him. When God made Adam his wife Eve, Adam was no longer alone, for again God knew that ...It is not good that the man should be alone; Adamand Eve were a happy, fully satisfied couple in the garden of Eden before the time frame of GENESIS 3. However now that Eve had sinned here in GENESIS 3:6 the first man Adam had a choice to make; to live alone again, or eat of the forbidden fruit, like his wife Eve did, and face death. Adam wanted to live with his bride, the love of his life, the joy that was set before him, so with his eyes fully opened to the consequences, and with time to think about it, Adam willingly did eat. The whole of GENESIS 3:6 reads: And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and atree 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.

Here in type Adam pictures Christ, for 2 CORINTHIANS 5:21 tells us: For he (God the Father) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Jesus too wants to forever live with His Bride, but in order to do so He, who knew no sin, willingly had to be made sin for us. Christ's Bride was the joy that was set before Him as He endured the cross for her, for us. Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:... 1 JOHN 3:1, but the only way to become one of the sons of God is to believe what is said in ROMANS 5:6 that ...Christ died for  the  ungodly. ROMANS 5:8 goes on to state: But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

We have shown how Eve was the first woman, and Eve was the first wife, and that Eve was the first sinner, now let's discuss Eve as the first mother. And keep in mind Eve wasn’t even given a name yet as we read the following.  GENESIS 3:13 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. 14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16 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. The seed of a woman is emphasized in verse 15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. "Enmity" speaks of enemies of God and His people, and is defined in Webster's Dictionary as: hatred between bitter enemies. Of course, this speaks to Satan. God in this prophecy emphasizes the seed of a woman, and how the Lord Jesus Christ will come from the seed of a woman.  GALATIANS 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, ...

The Seed of a woman references Jesus Christ. We see that Jesus Christ was made of the seed of a woman, and that this Seed shall bruise the serpent's head, while the serpent shall bruise His heel. Sister Bodie notes that the seed of the serpent bruised the heel of the Seed of the woman on Calvary. REVELATION 20:IO describes the fate of the serpent showing that he will at the end of the millennium be cast for ever into the lake of fire and brimstone. REVELATION 20:IO And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Eve was named Eve by Adam in GENESIS 3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the motherof all living. This was a statement of faith by Adam, for Eve was not yet a mother, nor Adam a father! This goes back to what God said in GENESIS 1:27 & 28 -- So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; maleand female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. So, we find that Adam believed God and called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living... believing that she would indeed be the mother of all living.

GENESIS 3:21 shows that there had to be a sacrifice for Adam, and Eve's sin. HEBREWS 9:22 in part tells us ...without shedding of blood is no remission... (for sin). GENESIS 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. ISAIAH 61:10 is a great commentary on this, and says: I will greatly rejoice in theLORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation. he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. There was blood shed to make these coats of skins. Were Adam and Eve saved? Some of the most popular preachers on TVteach that they weren't, however these scriptures tell otherwise.

The last words recorded of Eve are found in GENESIS 4:1 where she said: I have gotten a man from the LORD. The excitement of this statement shows she understood the prophecy concerning the promised seed through whom redemption was to come, that being Jesus Christ, but her first born son was not the one through whom redemption came.

We will conclude this study with the following thoughts. GENESIS 5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; 2 Male and female created he them: and blessed them. and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. Remember what was said in GENESIS 2:24? GENESIS 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And God called their name Adam. Our last scripture tonight takes us back to the genealogy of Christ found in LUKE 3.LUKE 3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.When Jesus is called the Son of God in scripture, the word Son is always capitalized. Here in LUKE 3:38 the "son" isnot capitalized, and references the first man Adam, (Adam and Eve), who are of the earth, earthy, and they are called the sons of God because they believed God, study JOHN 1:12.

I JOHN 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Genealogy Adam to Jesus 

• Adam wife Eve (women's names highlighted and underlined)
• Seth
• Enos
• Cainan
• Mahalaleel
• Jared
• Enoch
• Methuselah
• Lamech
• Noah
• Shem
• Arphaxad
• Salah
• Eber
• Peleg
• Reu
• Serug
• Nahor
• Terah
• Abraham wife Sarah mother of lsaac. (20) Abraham's brother Nahor wife

Milcah. Milcah's grand daughter Rebekah wife of Isaac.

• Isaac wife Rebekah (21) Bethuel, Nahor's son, daughter

Rebekah wife of Isaac.

• Jacob (Israel) wife Leah
• Judah daughter-in-law Tamar
• Pharez
• Hezron
• Ram
• Amminadab
• Nahshon
• Salmon wife Rahab
• Boaz wife Ruth
• Obed
• Jesse
• David wife Bathsheba
• Nathan
• Mattatha
• Menan
• Melea
• Eliakim
• Jonan
• Joseph
• Juda
• Simeon
• Cosam
• Addi
• Melchi
• Neri
• Salathiel
• Zorobabel
• Rhesa
• Joanna
• Juda
• Joseph
• Semei
• Mattathias
• Maath
• Nagge
• Esli
• Naum
• Amos
• Mattathias
• Joseph
• Janna
• Melchi
• Levi

(43) Levi

• Matthat
• Jorim

(46)  Eliezer

• Jose
• Er
• Elmodam
• Matthat
• Heli whose daughter was Mary the Mother of Jesus

Sermon Topics: Mothers