I noticed that you quoted from Matthew Henry's Commentary
Woman was made from the side of man, not from the skull for her to rule over him not from the foot to trodden in by him bit his side. Neat his arm to protect her and near his heart to be beloved
Hey, I appreciate you bringing that up. You’re right about that picture of the woman coming from Adam’s side (not his head to rule, not his feet to be trampled, but from his side near his heart) was made famous by Matthew Henry.
I didn’t copy his exact words, but no doubt that imagery has shaped how I’ve thought about the passage. It’s one of those classic insights that’s been preached and paraphrased for generations. I just tried to express it in my own way and voice.
I went ahead and reworded that section to make the connection to Matthew Henry’s insight clearer. It’s a beautiful image, and I wanted to honor it well while staying true to my voice.
I love the parallels you pointed out between Eve being taken from Adams side so they could become one and Jesus being pierced in His side as part of making the church one with Jesus. I also like seeing the living tree in Genesis leading to death, but the dead tree (cross) in the Gospels leading to life. I love how the Old Testament, but especially Genesis, foreshadows the New Testament showing how it was God's plan all along.
Simply breathtaking. I woke this morning unexpectedly blessing our God for my many years of illness, for my many accumulated disabilities, and my constant pain. This was no decision of mine, it was just a spontaneous disposition in which I woke immersed. I realized that because of these, and for over a decade or so now, there had been nothing anymore, no business, no schedule, no project deadlines to attend to because, even if I still had the desire, my capacity for these has long since fled from my abilities. For some time there has been little to impede or distract singular attendance to our God, What a Gift. The only capacity that remains to me is not just contemplation of the incalculable blessings in which I am awash that are continuously bestowed upon me by our Triune God, but of the unfathomable gift that our Father has made of Himself to me even before my creation when we existed as only an insatiable yearning in Him. I woke immersed in singular contemplative awareness that I share not only kinship and but nature with my Creator and my Savior and for that alone gratitude to and for our God has filed my heart even as I slept. I think the personal trials that beset our lives are allowed and intended to be transformed and redeemed to become instead blessings that guide us into participation in our intended Sainthood, even as in my case where my own sin has been involved in many of these. God knows our past, our present, and our future, and He certainly has used my past and present to his advantage and mine. Our unique road to Heaven does not divert in deference to our sin but in deference to the blood of our Savior and our subsequent participation in His Sonship with respect to our Father. Our sufferings and tragedies tend to slow us down a bit, direct us, and finally confront those who are willing with the compulsion to gaze directly into the eyes of God while meeting His own as I often take my now unimpeded opportunity to do. I feel compelled, not just to become aware of the multitudes ofour God's blessings, but to finally consider and deliberate the utterly magnificent nature of each one, wrapped neatly within the gift of our God of Himself to us. Thank you Pastor for this little journey through our past and present. What a fitting addition to my prayerful deliberations this morning.
I noticed that you quoted from Matthew Henry's Commentary
Woman was made from the side of man, not from the skull for her to rule over him not from the foot to trodden in by him bit his side. Neat his arm to protect her and near his heart to be beloved
Hey, I appreciate you bringing that up. You’re right about that picture of the woman coming from Adam’s side (not his head to rule, not his feet to be trampled, but from his side near his heart) was made famous by Matthew Henry.
I didn’t copy his exact words, but no doubt that imagery has shaped how I’ve thought about the passage. It’s one of those classic insights that’s been preached and paraphrased for generations. I just tried to express it in my own way and voice.
I went ahead and reworded that section to make the connection to Matthew Henry’s insight clearer. It’s a beautiful image, and I wanted to honor it well while staying true to my voice.
Thanks again for pointing it out.
Beautiful!
Thank you for reading!
What an amazing picture of the wonderful greatness of our God!!✝️❤️🙏🩸
I love the parallels you pointed out between Eve being taken from Adams side so they could become one and Jesus being pierced in His side as part of making the church one with Jesus. I also like seeing the living tree in Genesis leading to death, but the dead tree (cross) in the Gospels leading to life. I love how the Old Testament, but especially Genesis, foreshadows the New Testament showing how it was God's plan all along.
Simply breathtaking. I woke this morning unexpectedly blessing our God for my many years of illness, for my many accumulated disabilities, and my constant pain. This was no decision of mine, it was just a spontaneous disposition in which I woke immersed. I realized that because of these, and for over a decade or so now, there had been nothing anymore, no business, no schedule, no project deadlines to attend to because, even if I still had the desire, my capacity for these has long since fled from my abilities. For some time there has been little to impede or distract singular attendance to our God, What a Gift. The only capacity that remains to me is not just contemplation of the incalculable blessings in which I am awash that are continuously bestowed upon me by our Triune God, but of the unfathomable gift that our Father has made of Himself to me even before my creation when we existed as only an insatiable yearning in Him. I woke immersed in singular contemplative awareness that I share not only kinship and but nature with my Creator and my Savior and for that alone gratitude to and for our God has filed my heart even as I slept. I think the personal trials that beset our lives are allowed and intended to be transformed and redeemed to become instead blessings that guide us into participation in our intended Sainthood, even as in my case where my own sin has been involved in many of these. God knows our past, our present, and our future, and He certainly has used my past and present to his advantage and mine. Our unique road to Heaven does not divert in deference to our sin but in deference to the blood of our Savior and our subsequent participation in His Sonship with respect to our Father. Our sufferings and tragedies tend to slow us down a bit, direct us, and finally confront those who are willing with the compulsion to gaze directly into the eyes of God while meeting His own as I often take my now unimpeded opportunity to do. I feel compelled, not just to become aware of the multitudes ofour God's blessings, but to finally consider and deliberate the utterly magnificent nature of each one, wrapped neatly within the gift of our God of Himself to us. Thank you Pastor for this little journey through our past and present. What a fitting addition to my prayerful deliberations this morning.
Why we stay restless….. I woul love to hear more about that. Thank you for your writing! 🙏
Yes of course. It was said in paraphrase. And of course you highlighted the passage from Henry's commentary