Origins: The Beginning (Genesis 1–11)Sample

By Danny Saavedra

“Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, ‘With the Lord’s help, I have produced a man!’ Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground.” Genesis 4:1–2 (NLT)

I have discovered that the miracle of life/birth is pretty much unparalleled in this world. As a dad, I have been front and center for two of them, and I’m still in awe of the whole thing. From conception to birth to watching them grow and develop personalities, it’s truly a wondrous and amazing miracle. 

Here in today’s passage, Eve observes something similar. She says, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced a man!” The Hebrew word used here for man is ish, more accurately defined as “a being.” I believe what we’re reading is the amazement of Eve over this miracle—the creation of life. God used her as a vessel to usher in the next generation of humanity. He brought another person into existence: a person with his own unique personality, quirks, likes, dislikes, hopes, and dreams, and yet a person who is part of Adam and Eve, bearing their image and likeness. 

Isn’t that amazing how two people can make a person who is all-at-once so similar and yet so different to them? This is further seen in the unique differences between Cain and his brother Abel.

The birth of a human being is truly a miracle, but it’s one that points to an even greater miracle. Charles Ellicott posited, “It has been said that Eve, in the birth of this child, saw the remedy for death. Death might slay the individual, but the existence of the race was secured. Her words therefore might be paraphrased: ‘I have gained a man, who is the pledge of future existence.’ Mankind is thus that which shall exist.” What a profound moment this must have been, especially in light of the fall and expulsion from the Garden of Eden and the curse of death they had brought upon this once perfect universe. 

You see, in Genesis 3, God tells Eve that she—and by extension all women—will experience pain and labor as they bring new life into the world; but new life will come. And one day, the One who would crush the head of the serpent would be born in order to give humanity the chance to be born again and restore in us the beautiful and intimate fellowship that Adam and Eve experienced in the Garden of Eden.

DIG: Why was the birth of Cain such a monumental thing for Eve?

DISCOVER: How does the miracle of life impact the way you view the Lord?

DO: Thank the Lord today for the miracle of rebirth/regeneration we have in Christ.