Why Eve?

Why did Satan temp Eve instead of Adam?

Satan will look for weakness to exploit to bring about failure.

It could be that Eve was questioning why they could not eat of the tree, and Satan took advantage of that. Adam simply chose to leave it alone—because God said so.

It could be that God allowed Eve but not Adam to be tempted, because if Eve made the fatal choice, Adam could have taken responsibility and reversed it. I know that sounds bizarre, but there is the authority that the Husband and father have over the wife and daughter. We read about that in Numbers chapter 30, in which, if a daughter makes a vow and the father hears it, he can choose to negate it, but if he hears it and says nothing, then the vow stands. The same with a wife and her husband. Adam could have refused to eat the fruit, and maybe God would have reversed the consequence.

I read in Genesis that it wasn't until Adam ate of the fruit that their eyes were opened. We are told in Scripture that the head of woman is man, and so it may have been that the consequence of disobeying God did not result until Adam ate of the fruit. We are told that sin entered through Adam. When their eyes were opened, there was an awareness that they did not have before. Something changed within their consciousness that I believe amounts to a new inclination of inordinate desire and they saw things differently than before.

It could be that Satan just chose Eve first because he saw opportunity, and she was more vulnerable. But the idea that Adam could have negated it is an interesting possibility. We just don't have enough revelation to explain all that was going on.

“...if a woman makes a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father's house in her youth, ⁴ and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁵ But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the LORD will release her, because her father overruled her. ⁶ "If indeed she takes a husband, while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself, ⁷ and her husband hears it, and makes no response to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her agreements by which she bound herself shall stand. ⁸ But if her husband overrules her on the day that he hears it, he shall make void her vow which she took and what she uttered with her lips, by which she bound herself, and the LORD will release her.” Numbers 30:3-8

^“3 But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” 1 Corinthians 11:3

^“6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” Genesis 3:6-7

^“12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—“ Romans 5:12

Holy Spirit Blasphemed

 Jesus said blaspheme of the Holy Spirit would never be forgiven, and this seems comparable to taking the mark of the beast, if the non-forgiveness is a salvation issue, for those who take the mark are destined for forever torment: “⁹ Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." Revelation 14:9-11

This would suggest that the blaspheme, like the Mark, involve a “point of no return.” If one has opportunity to come to saving faith in Christ until death, how could ones fate be sealed like this? It would seem that they have reached a certain degree of hardness of heart that nothing will change their mind or turn them around.

If we say that the blaspheme is unbelief, we can only say it is a certain degree of unbelief, because non-believers can have a change of mind later.

One other option is that the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit could result in a consequence that one is not forgiven. This does not have to be about that kind of forgiveness that keeps on out of hell. Forgiveness involves being released from consequence. The consequence of this blaspheme may not be about going to hell. If the blaspheme is about resisting what the Holy Spirit reveals or convicts you about, it could be that the non-forgiveness of this particular resistance involves a consequence that is not about going to Hell. It could be like Moses who was not forgiven of his disobedience to speak to the rock, and so he was not allowed to enter Canaan—God would not forgive him. Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit and God killed them—this doesn't mean they went to Hell but lost their lives early.

Understanding the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit must not mean that salvation from hell depends on our perfect obedience to the work of the Holy Spirit. A person can resist the Holy Spirit at one point in their life and obey him later in life. It could be about reaching a point of no return by the hardness of the heart, or it could be that there is a consequence that is not about going to hell, but there is no escaping the consequence.

Image of God

I believe at being created in the image of God means that God gave man dominion over the earth. The text in Genesis puts the dominion over the earth by man in the same reference to being created in the image of God. This sets man apart from the animals.

A while back, I was reading a book by Michael Heiser called “The Unseen Realm” that made the same claim. He would refer to man as God's Imagers.

I am presently reading a book by Michael Svigel called “The Fathers of the Future,” and he says that same thing. He says that to be created in the image of God means we have dominion over the earth.

After the flood, God said that whoever sheds man's blood shall have his blood shed because man is created in the image of God. This is capital punishment—the death penalty—for someone who takes the life of another unjustly. The reason is because man is created in the image of God: to take one's life is to violate his dominion.

^“26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." ²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:26-27

⁶ "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.” Genesis 9:6