Men in the Bible: Adam – A Man with A Large Heart
And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. – Genesis 3:20
After the displeasure and rebuke of God to Adam, his wife and the serpent, an experience that must have been so terrifying for them and left them with regrets and sorrows, the first account we read about the couple was Adam naming his wife. He called her Eve, which means ‘life’ or ‘living’. He named her so because she would be the mother of all living.
This singular act on Adam’s part tells us a lot about his character. He was large-hearted and forgiving. Although he might have been displeased with his wife for landing him in trouble with God in the first place, he did not dwell on that for too long. He accepted his fate and moved on from his mistakes rather than dwelling therein.
Moreso, and quite interestingly, when he was to christen the woman whom some might have labeled his nemesis, he named her in line with her future potential and not according to her past mishaps. He christened her Eve (life, living) because she would become the mother of all life. He did not call her “Error” because she was the downfall of man. This speaks volumes about Adam’s character and maturity as a person.
Someone less mature would have kept blaming the woman for bringing so much misfortune on him at every opportunity. In case it did not occur to you, Adam was the one most hard done by on account of their disobedience, as the verdict God handed him was arguably the harshest of the lot:
“Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”
– Genesis 3:17-19
Imagine someone just hearing himself cursed this way and then dismissed with a matching insult as a man of gutter, as that was what the statement “For dust you are, And to dust you shall return” means.
Imagine hearing such a demeaning statement and then going on to label the person who led him to commit such a monumental mistake with a good name. There was no chivalry greater than that. For this, Adam deserved much respect.
Selah!
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