Sing Eve!

The day I was told I needed glasses was one of the happiest days of my life. This is strange isn’t it? Were you not one of those investigative kids who tried your parents or grandparents glasses, thinking it was fun to wear, excited at the wonder of magnified words blurred to oblivion? As we got older and needed to borrow someone’s glasses to read, we would remember headaches, double vision, dizziness, eye strain, nausea, and the list goes on because they were too strong or the wrong prescription. Did we have the wisdom to understand the damage it would cause our eyes?

Correcting my vision because of a weak left eye taught me that blurred vision was a real thing. It wasn’t fun and games anymore. Focal crutches with medicine strong enough to correct my vision were an absolute need. As the years went by the prescription changed from regular lenses to the dreaded bi-focal level. I was frustrated but I needed something more powerful to give me the ability to see more clearly. Having the three views of one thing helped me to understand the importance of having the proper lens or view of a situation because three people (eyes, single lens, bi-focal) can see different realities and bring three different conclusions. They all are sincere and think to be correct, but there is only one view that is clear. Clarity of vision matters. How we see and what lens we are looking through makes the difference with our conclusion and mindset, leaving us hopeless or joyfully hopeful.

That’s when I decided to wear the huge and fashionable frames. The only challenge I faced was my children teasing me about my frames being so large that I could see beyond the borders of the US into the Caribbean. It’s ok if you find that funny, I do too. Unfortunately even though my glasses help me see better, I cannot read the very small print, so I need extra powerful and magnifying support to see. My support is the good ole faithful magnifying glass with a field of view no less than .5 and the magnification no less than 10x. I use them because many times the most important information to complete the picture of the larger print is in the fine print. Simply put, I need to see what needs to be seen, and crystal clear.

The training to explore above, beneath, and through scriptures has translated to me looking at life a different way. With the counsel and guidance of the Holy Spirit, He shows me that when we think we are at a dead end, God’s view of our situations are just a continuum of the journey He has us on. With God, human endings don’t exist. The end comes when God says “The end.” Satan works 24/7 to blur our vision about the events in Genesis 3. Specifically for the woman Eve, the inhumane conclusions about this chapter have been passed down through the centuries. Women were forced into silence, suffered demeaning treatment, disregarded, suffered violent punishment and a resounding message of unworthiness has been interwoven in many of our minds. More saddening is that subservient messages have left us susceptible to transmissible Genetic predisposition. Some examples of weaponized scriptures include Genesis 16, Genesis 38, 2 Samuel 13, Judges 19, 1 Timothy 2:11-15,1 Corinthians 14:34-35, Titus 2:3-5.

The sad truth is that these passages are taught from a biased single lens of patriarchy, bias, and misogyny which desperately wants to make the woman a subservient asset. Thankfully as the Holy Spirit unfolds truths and fact checks the voice of Christian Dome, God’s clarifying and magnifying lenses are freeing and giving bold asseverations to the contextual truth about the voice of women from those same Biblical accounts. As you read, we will take a journey back into the lens by which women were and still are viewed and treated by society and by taking a look at the life of Eve, we will see clearly though minutia lens and Eagle’s eye view, this unanswerable truth: God’s daughters have always had their voices irrespective of whether it was muted, muzzled, heard or blurred.

The threat of physical, mental, vocational, spiritual and societal danger to women has had God to make an avowal of His voice to reiterate that daughters have always had their voices irrespective of whether it was muted, muzzled, or heard, their voices were ordained would still in different ways, proclaim the power of God. Software Developer Marc Klynhans answers this question, “Why can I still hear my speaker when it is muted?”

“Because the amplifier output is never cut. Mute turns the volume as low as possible, whether it’s analog or digital…Many discrete amplifiers will simply turn the volume to 0. The internal connection between input and amplifier is never broken…mute cuts the input but not the output…the true answer to this question lies with what amplifier it is, and how it is implemented.”

This was powerful! My takeaway from this audio conversation is that modern day discovery reiterates the centralized and immutable voice of God. The source of my voice is the breath of God therefore circumstances and people may think that they have muted us but God has many other channels built in us to sound His voice. Speaking about voice and communication for people groups including the deaf in the research paper Attitudes to Emotions in Deaf Culture, Lindsey Townsend states,

“In Deaf culture, the use of physical manifestations to convey emotions is extremely common given that ASL, its primary means of communication, is “spoken” through gestures, body language, and facial manipulations. It appears that as a whole, emotional expression is not just encouraged in Deaf culture, but integral to it, which results in a method of communication that is extremely direct, and representative of an individual’s thoughts.”

My Biblical focal point for one of God’s vehicles of communicating His character is the woman, her womb and childbirth. I just love this quote by Marcin Chrostowski speaking of a woman’s womb, “a woman’s womb is the place of God’s action and creation!” It reminds me that I can be the host of the creative genius of God because women have been the chosen mirror of God’s womb. Through the miracle and danger of childbirth, women are the embodiment of the creative life force of God giving voice in three different avenues: from the mother, sign language and facial expression of the mute, the child invitro, and the sound of a newborn. The cries, laughter, gestures, and screams during and after birth, make an audacious declaration that no matter what, only God (Elohim) has the copyrights, creative rights for life and its voice. And that God is the only bestower, benefactor, and donor of the song of His magnificence which His daughters sing!

I cannot stress enough about the importance of how someone is introduced to God, especially about His Kingdom principle of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in His workspace of saving souls. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) refer to the practices and initiatives that aim to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace, where individuals from different backgrounds and experiences are treated with respect and fairness…DEI is increasingly being recognized as an important aspect of a healthy and successful workplace, as it has been shown to have a positive impact on morale, productivity, and innovation. National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA).

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DEI) of God is the Pink Elephant In the room, seated in the front for all to see but in many cases, it is the largest sign ignored. Kingdom DEI is God’s vein by which the blood of Jesus is carried. God’s diversity didn’t start here on earth. Many Christians find themselves confused and in the grey area of this fundamental understanding of God. God is diverse, Three people on one mission and even though each member had roles assigned a function. If we refute the concept of Kingdom DEI:

The Godhead – In the beginning, God (Elohim) created the universe. 2 When the earth was as yet unformed and desolate, with the surface of the ocean depths shrouded[ in darkness, and while the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters, 3 God said, “Let there be light!” So there was light. Genesis 1: 1-3
Found in the diversity of how He created/made creation such are the kinds of animals, their mates, their homes and the creation of man and woman. Genesis 1, 2
After God spoke to each other in the Godhead, the Triune Diverse God they were “very good.” The stamp of approval equally for both men and women. Genesis 1:31
The Triune God is in the seat of Heaven rendering Judgement in the midst of other gods. Psalm 82
Found in the pictured scenes of Heaven. Revelation 21

Eve’s Validation!

This Advent season, I have been thinking a lot about the women in Jesus’ lineage and their voices which thunder the powerful praise and worship of the greatest girl-Dad a female could ask for. The view of God sits contrary to what patriarchal bulwarks have falsely said to eclipse our worth, placement and sound of our God given voice. The problem was, like those glasses I used as a child, I spiritually viewed some of these women through the single patriarchal lens of those leadership bulwarks, instead of through spiritual and cultural lens. The Spiritual lens of God takes us deeply into the stratified Word of God. It enables us to, closely and panoramically understand that God not man gave and ordained the prophetic and at times exclusive voice of His daughters to be heard.

In this excerpt from the upcoming book Sing Daughters of God we will take a microscopic view of the life of God’s first daughter, Eve (Hebrew hawwah) and her song of forgiveness, affirmation and redemption. When God brought His two fearfully created gems, images of Himself to meet each other they understood that His breath sustained their lives giving credence to the fact that they carried the breath of God. They were also given the most powerful gift of choice; listen to God’s voice or listen to Satan’s voice. Whether it is God or Satan who has our ear means “they have the attention of a person in power, who listens carefully to your opinions and often follows your advice on important issues.

I honestly can stay in her life for extended periods of time because Eve holds immeasurable codes to the value of women’s relationship with God. Unfortunately, as the first daughter of God came with the utmost expectation. In so much so, her very first mistake earned her top place on the blacklist journal and a “bad wrap” for centuries. Growing up and still now, I hear the most catastrophic and unbearable character assassination about her. The way in which the picture of God is painted to someone, will in their minds give birth to the cloudy processing lens by which they will view women. If they are first introduced to Eve standing under the Tree of Good and Evil; weak in voice, having no brains and emotional intelligence, easily seduced, gaslit, and gullible to any wind of word which blows her way, then;

They could never attempt to start her story before Genesis 3 because of the poised lens by which we humans operate. We surely love the juicy tea about someone and will leave them there to consume the gossip and slander even if that person has changed. They could never acknowledge Eve without any sin therefore leaving them unable to see the redeemed eve. After thousands of years many have left her standing in the hall of shamed at that life altering moment for both her and Adam
They could never see Eve as the “good enough” first carrier of human life created by God.
They would or could never stand in agreement that God doesn’t make mistakes.
They would struggle with stepping outside of God’s lane relinquishing any fight for His wisdom.
They want to see her blurred so that it will give both men and women the arguments to keep women silenced. The evidence for them is after all it was her mouth opened which convicted Adam to sin

God created the woman to be an equal partner with Adam and assigned them to both be in partnership with Him. Investopia’s article, Types of Partnerships gives clear parameters for identifying a Partnership.

A partnership is an arrangement between two or more people to oversee business operations and share its profits and liabilities.
In a general partnership company, all members share both profits and liabilities.
In other partnership structures, some partners may share a smaller percentage of the profits but not assume any liability for the business.
Professionals like doctors and lawyers often form a limited liability partnership.
There may be tax benefits to forming a partnership instead of a corporation.

Adam had his sole responsibilities which are still today dutifully acknowledged and praised by both men and women. But Eve’s discourse is different among the same groups. There is a sharp divide and argument about the woman’s worth post the Fall. This is true even today! Genesis 3 has the full account of this dialogue and judgment between God, the Serpent and Adam and the woman. Though God handed down His judgement for their sin with a beautifully impenetrable boundary curse on Lucifer “The Shining One.” Speaking to the Serpent

“…as long as you live. 15 “I’ll place hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He’ll strike you on the head, and you’ll strike him on the heel.”

There was a limit to the access Lucifer thought he had to humanity and that curse would end in his total demise for what he did to Adam and the woman. Where many make the mud murky and blurr God’s words, is in the assignment of the two curses. Only the serpent and the ground were cursed in God’s judgement. Speaking to Adam God said

17 “…cursed is the ground because of you. You’ll eat from it through pain-filled labor for the rest of your life.

Both Adam and his wife’s consequences dealt with the payment for their sins which was death, in addition to the suffering they both would endure in their assignments; to bring forth, care for, raise, and nurture life respectfully. Adam would suffer in his job of caring for the earth and provide food for both humans and creation. Eve would suffer in the role of being the womb of the Life Giver. But there is a giant BUT. Many of us would say that the insertion of blessings in this day of reckoning could have only occurred because of the redeeming power of God.

As I studied cases while obtaining my degree in Criminal Justice, I have changed my lens to one which brings more clarity to Bible stories. We learned that evidence is the only truth because even though you swear to tell the truth, your truth may be limited to what only you saw or how you processed it. So the same case can have multiple eyewitnesses who give different testimonies. The blessing in having this dialogue is that all falsified accounts can be thrown out or dismissed. Adam and his wife were going to suffer the consequences of sin and that was to now live in a world where they will experience and know both good and evil. They will have the satisfaction and joy of life and the heart wrenching sorrow over the same things dying. In one word, God gave them the gift of grief so that they would understand what God experienced now that they know. God speaking to Himself (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) in Genesis 3:22

22 Later, the Lord God said, “Look! The man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, so he won’t reach out, also take from the tree of life, eat, and then live forever—”

Curses and Blessings

God handed down curses and blessings in one conversation and this has been the life we all have been living. Blessings and curses, life and death, joy and grief. We spoke about grief. Here are the joys to temper the grief, giving them hope, trust, and faith to stay in relationship with God. I may argue that this chapter contained more handing down of blessings to override the sting and bitterness of what came next. Some may call that punishment, I would say that God placed strong boundaries in order to make sure that humanity would be able to be in a relationship with God. All of these blessings we have today.

Genesis 3: Relational Blessings – Keeping Communication Intact but with Boundaries.

God still called and searched for them even when they hid. 8 When they heard the voice of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden during the breeze of the day, the man and his wife concealed themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 So the Lord God called out to the man, asking him, “Where are you?”
God wants to have effective communication with us 10 “I heard your voice in the garden,” the man answered, “and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid from you.”
God wants clarity about our choices in order to correct how we see the situation 11 “Who told you that you are naked?” God asked. “Did you eat fruit from the tree that I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man answered, “The woman whom you provided for me gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate some of it.”
God is fair in His moderating of a situation 13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What did you do?” “The Shining One misled me,” the woman answered, “so I ate.”

Genesis 3: Blessings Through Punishment.

He made sure that the Serpent could never tempt anyone that same way again. He would have to change his tactics 14 The Lord God told the Shining One, “Because you have done this, you are more cursed than all the livestock, and more than all the earth’s animals. You’ll crawl on your belly and eat dust as long as you live.
He made clear enemy lines between Him and humanity against Lucifer so that we would differentiate between the forces of good and evil trying to dissuade us from trusting God. 15 “I’ll place hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring.
He gave them the gift of salvation and redemption. 15 “…He’ll strike you on the head, and you’ll strike him on the heel.”

A Sacred Trust!

Genesis 3: Creation, Identity, and Partnership Blessings.

Eve was given her own name by Adam. But the meaning of her name was a reminder to him of her own identity in God; and her role which Adam not only needed to survive but also he could not strip, demote or remove her from that place God gave her.
God did not remove the gift of life giver from Eve. She would not suffer in the gift and learn to find joy in that gift. I also believe that the retention of the gift was to remind Eve that God did not abandon her or demote her partnership. She would continue to be a viable partner with Him. 16 He told the woman, “I’ll greatly increase the pain of your labor during childbirth. It will be painful for you to bear children, “since your trust is turning toward your husband, and he will dominate you.”
God maintained and affirmed the gift and partnership of marriage. I believe the marital challenges would remind them that in order for their marriage to live, God had to live in it. 17 He told the man, “Because you have listened to what your wife said, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You are not to not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground because of you. You’ll eat from it through pain-filled labor for the rest of your life. Also a humble reminder that if we don’t take care of our jobs, we don’t see a harvest. Their example was in God. He worked a plan for salvation in oder for them to eat the goodness of salvation. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you and you’ll eat the plants from the meadows. 19 You will eat food by the sweat of your brow until you’re buried in the ground, because you were taken from it. You’re made from dust and you’ll return to dust.” 20 Now Adam had named his wife “Eve,” because she was to become the mother of everyone who was living.
God thought about their mental health after the fall and moving forward in their relationship. I could imagine that within their marriage, Adam and the woman were best friends and trusted partners in every aspect of their lives. I also see protective barriers for the woman and man to ensure that the rise of sin and depth of grief in their hearts would not perpetuate a vicious cycle of blaming and punishment between the two of them. This enormous physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual loss could have sent them both into rage and killed the relationship or themselves. But here is what I see God did to begin their healing and put relational protective boundaries for their relationship.
- They needed each other to have the right mindset and outlook of the situation to survive
- They had to learn, understand, and practice forgiveness
- God did not put 100% self-sufficiency in just one of them, they would lessen their chances of survival alone.
- Each had their share of the blame. It took two for the completion of their Fall. Remember they were declared as one from God. But they both had to receive the peace of God assurance to give their guilt so that they could holistically heal.
- I also see a bigger picture with counsel for men and women seeking partnership and child bearing. The redemption plan included the Godhead but it would be through their offspring. God has designed that the miracle of life only comes from God through the union of man and woman. God needed them to protect and cover each other for literally their lives.
- The family institution w/children consists of:
  - Husband (God’s gift to his wife and children) – covering, provider, own identity, full and sacrificial representation of the character of Jesus
  - Wife (God’s gift to her husband and children) – Live giver, partner, own identity, full and present representation of the character of the Holy Spirit
  - Child/Children (birth, or through adoption)(God’s gift to their mother and father) – Carriers of the family’s name, own identity, legacy, and vehicles for the continuum of the family’s (Father’s name and mother’s instillment of values) covenant with God.

According to how God dealt with the situation, Adam saw that it’s through her life giving gifts Adam would be saved! The second Adam would come from His seed and her egg and protective womb. The redemption plan included the Godhead but it would be through their offspring. Offspring only comes through the union of man and woman. There is a protection component for the relationship dynamics between men and women. If one breaches those protective components and becomes the danger to the other, God’s plan for harmony and peace is at risk.

That’s why it is so hard to see men mistreat women and not protect the ones who give them life, keep them alive, give them legacy, are a partner in their work, and the continuation of their name. Husbands not loving the gift that was given to them to literally keep their seed alive is sin against God’s plan. What men carry is half of the code of the designated image of the authority of God. It is top secret and in the wrong hands, men farming their seed creates an uncheckable number of offspring which he may not have 100% of the time for, causing dissension in the relationship with the children’s mothers. The breakdown of parental presence is a threat to the security for humans of the redemption plan. And women as well, not caring and carefully making the gift accessible to only who God gives as the recipient, risks her offspring being susceptible to Satan’s ploys to have them cancel their purpose for the legacy of their family and the name of God in their home. We can’t just give God’s eggs and His womb to any man who whistles to us. What we carry is classified and top secret, and in the wrong hands, a sure threat to the security for humans of the redemption plan.

One of the outcomes for sin in our time is the Domestic Violence Court. All states need one to give extra protection to mostly women and men from the violence God knew would come when sin grows in relationships. For example, here is the description of the function of a Domestic Violence Court in Kansas City;

“The Kansas City, Missouri Municipal Court, Division 203, has exclusive jurisdiction over all domestic violence ordinance violations that are filed within the Kansas City limits. These cases are criminal in nature and carry a range of punishment of up to six months in jail. The cases include intimate partner violence, child abuse, child endangerment, violations of protective orders, stalking, and violence between family members.” Domestic Violence Court | CITY OF KANSAS CITY | OFFICIAL WEBSITE. Kansas City Domestic Violence Court: Assessing Risk, Addressing Needs. Areas of focus- Gender and Family Justice

Eve’s Song- The Song of the Womb!

Genesis 3: Blessings through boundaries and loss | Blessing of a Savior

20 The plan to restore face to face communion and the return to Eden. 21 The Lord God fashioned garments from animal skins for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. 23 therefore the Lord God expelled the man from the garden of Eden so he would work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he had expelled the man, the Lord God placed winged angels at the eastern end of the garden of Eden, along with a fiery, turning sword, to prevent access to the tree of life.

One thing is this, none of us can have a rebuttal for determining what the value of Eve’s life is. It was God’s wisdom to assess risk and yet still choose her to be the first human female. But God also gave Eve her own name, sole responsibilities, kept her in His plans for her to prosper, bring life to the earth, and to give her the same redemption and restoration which Adam received. Despite the grief of losing closeness with God and her first home, newly named Eve would go on to be:

The first woman to be the vehicle to carry life in the restraint of a calendar
The first woman to be an incubator partnering with God to protect the unborn via His womb as the woman’s womb.
The first human daughter of God…making Him an official “Girl Dad”
The first daughter of God to have her sins removed and her relationship restored“…for through the Messiah, God was reconciling the world to himself by not counting their sins against them. He has committed his message of reconciliation to us.” 2 Corinthians 5:19
Through the embodiment of the creative life force of God. Through our role as life giver, proclaiming through biological or creative birth, God still sits on His throne. And only God (Elohim) has the copyrights for creative rights for life.

The Bible gives no direct account of Eve’s song however, I believe that there is no way that the weight of separation from God didn’t cause an outburst of relief and gratitude when they realized that God still wanted a relationship with them. I believe God’s first human daughter sang the unrestraint redeeming song of salvation to her boys, telling the story of what could’ve, should’ve been but what Her Father personally did instead for her and Adam. I believe in her songs to her boys, she instilled in them the care and honor which they must have for their wives to ensure their wombs carrying the life of God for humanity, stays safe. AS SHE SHOULD!

I believe that Eve’s song painted a symphonic picture of the wonder and awe of a loving and redeeming God, who still WANTED her, who still COVERED her, and BLED for her EVEn though she was guilty. Hers and every daughter of hers carries in them the wombs of her legacy. They carried the birthing lineage of the New Adam. This is a powerful message and mandate us women, to reclaim our voices and to proclaim the Good News of our Savior, like only God’s daughters can do. This copyright belongs to all God’s daughters. And as Eve’ to sing like Hannah, singing the same redemptive ode to God, inspired by the same Holy Spirit about the same redemptive power in Jesus the Son of God, and about the same victory of God over His and our enemies.

Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving | 1 Samuel 2:1-4 (A portion)

Then Hannah prayed and said,

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;

My horn is exalted in the Lord,

My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies,

Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

There is no one holy like the Lord,

Indeed, there is no one besides You,

Nor is there any rock like our God.

Do not go on boasting so very proudly,

Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;

For the Lord is a God of knowledge,

And with Him actions are weighed.

The bows of the mighty are broken to pieces,

But those who have stumbled strap on strength.

Eve may have suffered in childbirth and challenges of marriage, but her grief and sorrow was always broken up by the sound of her laugh and praises to God. Eve and her husband were given new lenses and a magnifying glass called the sacrifice of the lamb, in order to see the love freely given for them and humanity to be saved and come back home. Eve’s prayers, and praises with tears about her story was a powerful first inspired song on behalf of all the females who would be silenced, blacklisted, and demoralized, in this world. …Listen and understand! It is not what goes into the mouth that makes a person unclean. It is what comes out of the mouth that makes a person unclean.” Matthew 15:10-12

God, the source of where all sound comes from is never cut. Muting us may turn the volume as low as possible, whether it’s singing, talking, painting or writing! Our blessing is that God never turns our volume to zero. The internal connection, the covenant between God and us is never broken. The muting of women may cut what is poured into us but not the words of power poured out from us because the sound of God is like rushing waters springing up from the inside. Therefore. the true answer to the question of whether women have a voice, lies within her God’s Spirit moving within her and then pours out from her. Daughters of God, on the day when the world celebrates the ‎The Magnificat and then labored wailing of Mary and the communicable cry of a baby, we remember that their sounds announced that Eve’s promise is here! We women will be singing the song of victory for our families through the gift of the womb forever.