Lesson 4

WOMEN IN THE BIBLE

(Illustrating Titus 2:3-5)

Lesson Four

Eve: Genesis 2:18 - 3:24
Rachel and Leah: Genesis 28:1-5; 29:1-35; 30:1-43

        Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may train the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. (Titus 2:3-5, NAS/NIV)

Pre-study question:

1. Consider Eve's role as the first wife in the world. List and discuss some advantages and disadvantages of being the only wife in the world.

EVE

Read Genesis 2:18 - 3:24

2. In Genesis 2:18, God recognized man's need for a wife. What did God do to help Adam to understand his need for a wife? (See 2:19 -20.)
   
   

3. Describe what Adam may have thought of Eve, knowing that she was actually made from a part of his own body.
   
   

4.  
   1. Can we fault Eve for wanting to "eat" her way to wisdom? (See 3:6)
      
      

   2. Can we fault her for wanting to share with her husband?

   
   

5. After feeling the shame of their sin (3:10-11), God questioned Adam & Eve about the cause of their shame.
   1. Who did Adam blame? (v. 12)
      
      

   2. Who did Eve blame? (v. 13)

   
   

6. Discuss the following problems that marriages still have today because of this one sin of Eve's:
   1. The blame game:
      
      

   2. Workaholic husbands/wives (materialism):
      
      

   3. Time-consuming activities to "keep the home" (i.e. gardening, cleaning, marketing, food preparation, etc.):

   
   

7. Obviously Eve had powerful influence over Adam by getting him to "eat" with her. Read I Peter 3:1 & 2. How can wives use this power in a more positive way?
   
   

8. In the truest sense, how were Adam and Eve the first homeless people?

RACHEL AND LEAH

Read Genesis 28:1-5 and chapters 29 & 30

Genesis 29:1-12

9. Tell about Jacob's first meeting of Rachel.
   
   

Genesis 29:15-19

10. What was Jacob's "proposal" to Laban?
    
    

Genesis 29:21-30

11. How did Jacob end up with two wives instead of just one?
    
    

Genesis 29:31-35

12. How did God bless Leah, although she was "unloved" by Jacob?
    
    

Genesis 30:1-24

13. The following are basic problems of some marriages today. Find & discuss these problems in the marriages of Rachel and Leah to Jacob from the text above.
    1. Jealousy:
       
       

    2. Unrealistic demands:
       
       

    3. Manipulation:
       
       

    4. Anger:
       
       

    5. Deception:
       
       

    6. Selfishness:

    
    

14.  
    1. How could focusing on Jacob's needs have improved the marriages of Leah and Rachel?
       
       

    2. How can focusing on the needs of our spouses improve marriages today?

REFLECTIONS: Choose at least one of the following to discuss in learning to love our husbands.

1. Read I Corinthians 13. List and discuss the characteristics of love from verses 4-8.
   
   

2. Consider the perfection of Eden. Discuss how we need to "be on guard" against Satan during good times.
   
   

3. It is obvious that Rachel was not content to have great beauty (Gen. 29:17) and the favor of her husband (Gen. 29:30). What gives lasting contentment?
   
   

4. What advantages do we have in being a wife in our own time rather than in the time of Eve, Rachel and Leah?

Women IN God's Service

Women in the Bible - lesson 4
Ladies Bible Class Lesson, 18 April 2000
West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, Arkansas