The Woman with Three Names

How many names do you have? They probably include a name given at birth and maybe a married name or nick name. Some of your "names" may be titles or description such as, "Mom" or "Honey." Often only a certain group or individual will use a particular name. This woman had three names and deserved them all.

Her first name was what God called her. This private name was evidently something only God used. He called her, "Adam." [1] It was almost as though God regarded the humans as two halves making one whole, so he only needed one name for them both.

Her second name was given by her husband on the day they met. He had named all the animals on earth but when God approached him leading this new creature, he instantly recognized a vital, intimate connection not found anywhere else. This one was "bone of my bones" and "flesh of my flesh." She was the companion that reflected and completed him, so Adam picked up his own name and added a prefix to indicate "taken out of." Saying, "She shall be called, Woman because she was taken out of Man."

However, it is the third name we most often remember. We call her, Eve. But, do you recall when she was given that name and by whom?

It was after the world fell apart; after sin and after they had been cast out of the beautiful garden. The two stood facing a world of weeds, problems, pain and death. There was no way back to yesterday. Then, Adam "called his wife's name, Eve." [2] A word that meant, "Life."

It would be romantic to assume he chose the name because she was the center of his world, the source of his life, his total happiness. But, that's not true. No doubt he loved her dearly, but he called her "life" because of her ability to give birth. [2] Eve would reproduce other humans. They would be fallen and scarred-like their parents-but eventually Christ, the God / Man, would come. It was a hope to which they both desperately clung.

When we think of Eve's motherhood, it is too easy to see it through our own experience. Since only three sons are named, we assume the boys were her only family. Yet, the Bible clearly states Adam and Eve had many "sons and daughters." [3]

Adam lived to be 930. Assuming Eve lived no longer and was biologically able to bear children only 2/3 of that time, and if she had one child every five years, she would give birth to over 124 children. Since the human gene pool of that time would have been rich with options, brothers marrying sisters was not a problem. This freedom coupled with long life spans would have created a veritable population explosion.

Before she died, Eve would have seen a city built, [4] and watched huge advancements in commerce, industry and the arts. [5] Yet, for all the astounding changes, her daily life must have been very similar to ours. Each one of her offspring would need the same care as children today. Eve cooked supper, washed dishes, cleaned the newest baby and talked with Adam in the cool of the evening. She dreamed, struggled with frustration, laughed, and kissed her husband goodbye when he left for work in the fields each day. She also watched him grow older.

Adam called her "life," and Eve indeed deserved the name because she was the first to nurture life in the young. Baby after baby was placed in her hands, nursed at her breast, guided into adulthood and launched into a fresh, new world. Yet, Eve saw something else, too. Something that put her life-giving abilities into perspective. She saw death.

When her son, Cain, killed his brother, Abel, she lost her first born. And although it is impossible to tell all that was in her mind, she apparently lost hope, also. There was something special about Abel. Something connected with God's promise that he would one day use her son to crush the head of the Serpent. Perhaps she understood the concept of Messiah. Perhaps she hoped Eden would one day be restored.

All we know for sure is her lost hope was restored when God once again gave her a baby boy. Seth may have been born the year after Abel died or three hundred years later, but when she saw him, she knew. Here was another "seed" [6] another "blood line" through which God would keep his promise of redemption. She didn't know how, she didn't know when, but it would happen. Her name may have been "life" but all she could give were bodies destined to die. Through Seth, a son would be born who would give Life that would never decayed [7] Someone powerful enough to set the world right again.

Eve had hope that the grave would not be the end. It was a hope she passed to all who would listen and one that echoed through generations of time, cultures, languages and change. A message of hope assuring even us today that the physical life we've received is only the beginning. Because of Jesus the life Eve handed us can be changed to Life that is eternal. [8]

[1] Genesis 5:2."

[2] Genesis 3:20

[3] Genesis 5:4

[4] Genesis 4:17

[5] Genesis 4:21-22

[6] Genesis 4:25-26

[7] John 10:10

Anna: Luke 2:36-38

Did the Old Woman Sing?

She was a healthy Jewish girl who kept the traditions, attended synagogue and sang psalms as she worked around the house. In other words, she was just like thousands of other girls between the age of sixteen and eighteen. But to one special man she was more. We don't know his name, but he chose, loved, and married the girl named Anna.

Then tragedy struck.

When Anna was in her mid-twenties, her husband's life was cut short. All her neighbors and relatives would have agreed the loss was a tragedy, but they also regarded it as a judgment from God and believed Anna's lack of children after seven years of marriage supported their conclusion. [1] Alone and grieving, she felt the sting.

The normal thing would have been to return to the house of her father. Maybe she could start life again. Surely there was a widower or other suitable man looking for a wife. However, remarriage was not what Anna wanted. The decision could be forced on her by others, but in her heart she dreamed of something else.

The Bible doesn't pick up Anna's story until she is eighty-four years old and the entire tale occupies only three verses. We are told she was a prophetess and she, "departed not from the temple but served with fastings and prayers night and day.

Have you ever wondered how that might work in practical terms? How did she make a living? Where did she sleep? We can't be sure, but other verses and history give some possibilities.

Drawings of the temple most often focus only on the stately central building, courtyards, and burning alters for sacrifice. But the full temple complex was much more. There were also storage facilities [2], apartments, [3] meeting rooms [4] and even rooms that served as temporary isolation chambers. [5] Imagine the space and number of laborers necessary when Solomon offered 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep in a seven day feast that fed a gathering of all the tribes of Israel! [6] Even the daily functioning of the temple was huge. There was teaching, sacrifices, people, music, eating, counseling, prayer, praise, reading of the scriptures and much more activity swirling at all hours and although the vast majority of work was done by men, women were also employed.

When Anna became a widow, her heart's desire was to spend her life in service to God, and against all odds the Lord apparently honored her dream.

We are not told many specifics about Anna's life, but one way women served in the temple was by singing. [7] And, when singing was done to God and was about God, it was considered prophecy. [8] David had commissioned temple praise to be given continually and because the music was offered day and night, apartments in the temple complex were provided for the singers. [9]

Did Anna sing? Was this one way she prophesied? We don't know for sure. But, if she did, her music, like her prayers and fastings would have been offered repeatedly, but not continually. Much of her time would be spent in the court of the women where she taught, prayed for and counseled with women of every description from all over the world. Hearing their concerns, bearing their burdens, her prayer list would have grown large and diverse.

But the thing Anna likely prayed for most was the coming of Messiah. This promised event was the heart of Judaism. As prophetess, she was part of a long line stretching back through centuries whose duty and passion was to keep the promise alive in the heart of a nation. For sixty years she called on God to keep His promise then one afternoon it all came true.

Anna was crossing the temple grounds when she saw Simeon in the distance. She knew the old man for he, too, spent much time praying at the temple, but as she approached, she noticed a baby in his arms and a young couple looking up at him expectantly. She heard him praise. She looked at the child. She talked with the parents. And, she knew the promise had come true at last.

It is fair to say that one of the first Christian missionaries was eighty-four years old for when Anna discovered the promise was fulfilled, she told the good news to all who would listen. After sixty plus years of singing, her song had a new note. Messiah had come.

[1] John 9:1-2; Luke 1:24-25

[3] Malachi 3:10; I Chronicles 26:20-27

[4] I Kings 6:5-10; Ezekiel 42:8-13

[5] Jeremiah 35:1-2

[6] Leviticus 13:4-6

[7] I Kings 8:62-65

[8] I Chronicles 25:5-6; Ezra 2:65, Nehemiah 7:67

[9] I Chronicles 25:1; I Samuel 10:5

[10] I Chronicles 9:33; Psalm 134:1

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Phoebe: Romans 16:1-2 (also spelled Phebe)

When the Book Jumped the Wall

The beating he had taken was severe. He was accustomed to blows, but these put him down for a while and for fear that it might happen again, friends spirited him past the double wall and into Cenchrea for recovery.

Paul had come from Athens to Corinth a little over eighteen months before and quickly found employment with two new friends. He worked many hours every week for Aquila and his wife helping make tents, but a different passion drove him and soon preaching, individual counseling, study and prayer were added to the packed schedule. When spare moments and lamp light would allow he was also dictating a new book to Tertius. Then, suddenly, the well ordered days came to an end. The government changed and Paul found himself unprotected from some very old and very aggressive enemies.

By the time of the beating, he had been busily planting gospel seeds for months. They were seeds that sprouted and threaded deep roots into the surrounding area. Several churches were scattered nearby and one in particular would risk keeping both him and his precious book safe as he regained strength. The church on the other side of the wall.

Corinth was sandwiched between two seaports. To the west, Lechalum opened toward Italy and to the east, Cenchera faced Asia with Corinth squeezed between them providing a social, banking, and government base for Rome. Though cramped for space, the three cities were determined to keep their own identity so each surrounded itself with a wall. They were so close together that for much of the way the structure became a double wall with occasional mismatched gates providing passage. [1] Moving from Corinth to Cenchera, friends helped the injured Paul thread his way through the walls toward the sea, bringing along his few belongings and the book he had worked on for so long.

Paul and his precious book stayed hidden with various church members for a number of days while finishing lines were written and his injuries healed. Then the real question arose. How to get the book to its intended recipients six hundred miles away? The answer: a woman who had reason to travel, means enough to do so and would never be suspected by either the Romans or the Jews of doing anything seditious. Her name was Phoebe and in future centuries the scroll she carried would be called, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans.  

Phoebe had been named for the goddess of the moon and was a citizen of Greece. Some might wonder about such strange linage, but Paul called her a sister in the faith and found no problem with the fact that she never "Christianized" her name. He trusted her implicitly and when he left for Ephesus, laid his precious scroll in her capable hands.

He also included a brief introduction of the lady and added it to the book's closing remarks. From these brief comments we learn three things about Phoebe: she was a "servant" of the church at Cenchrea, she was a benefactor [2] to many-including Paul-and she had business connections that took her to Rome.

How did she "benefit" Paul? We don't' know, but the same grace had been extended to "many" others before he came along. The exact word he used to describe her actions was "prostatis" which literally means "one who stands by in case of need." In a classical sense it described a trainer in the Olympic Games who stood by athletes seeing they were properly trained, correctly fed and ready for the starting line. She was like a advocate or coach who stood up for others offering guidance and help.

Paul also identified her as a "servant"[3] of the church-a choice of words that has created much controversy. The precise Greek word is "diakonos" which translates into English as "deaconess." Denominations acknowledging the role of deaconess as an office of the church point to this scripture for support. Other denominations who feel no office is allowed for females, point out that "diakon" could be used for any kind of servant.

But, if Phoebe were here today, I suspect she would dismiss the entire debate as unimportant. After all, any Christian woman who had courage enough to keep her pagan name and travel half-way across the then known world on business would never be bothered by details of semantics. Phoebe was too busy being a first class "prostatis" to worry whether her role as "diakonos" was officially recognized or not.

[1] Pfeiffer, Charles F. ed., baker's bible atlas. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979.

[2] KJV describes her assistance as "succor." Strong's Concordance translates the Greek word as "patroness."

[3] ASV; NKJV and KJV translate "diakonos" as "servant." NIV translates it "deaconess.' The Message says, "Key representative" and CEV render it "Leader."

Woman Taken in Adultery: John 8:1-11

The Victim Was Guilty

It was October in Jerusalem. The feast celebrating that year's harvest was drawing to a close, [1] and the air had cooled with a hint of approaching winter. It was a time for settling in; a time of softening and slowing from the busy activity of summer. But in the Temple, heat that had been building for almost three years was coming to a boil. Jesus was turning the religious world on its head.

Every division of Judaism had tried their hand at tripping up the Teacher-Pharisees, lawyers, Sadducees, scribes and priest-nothing worked. The debate swirled with charges and counter charges until now the ruling body itself was split on how to manage the threat. [2] Then someone-the Bible doesn't identify who-came up with what they thought would be a sure-fire plan. All they needed was a woman. When Jesus came to the temple grounds the next morning, they would be ready.

Jesus arrived early (probably just after sunrise) and immediately the crowds pressed wanting to know more about God and this "kingdom" of which he so often spoke. Jesus took a seat, indicating he was ready to be their teacher, and the people stood all around showing their willingness to be his students.

He had only been teaching a short while when an angry crowd arrived shoving a frightened woman before them like a surging tide casting about a twig. Shouting they had caught her in the very act of adultery, they threw her at his feet.

Strange. Adultery is usually a private, secret sin. Not many announce the location of a planned tryst or send invitations. Yet, others must have been watching, waiting for the best moment to pounce. I wonder if the man was paid for his role in the conspiracy. I wonder how long it took for her to realize she had been betrayed. I wonder if they gave her time to dress before dragging her into the street. Against her will and faster than a blink, she went from resting in her lover's arms to exposed before an angry mob.

As she rolled to the feet of the still seated Jesus, there was silence. Then, slowly, the Master bent over and began to write in the dust. From his seated position as Teacher, he had something to say but the words were silent. Did he write about the law? About holiness? About the judgment of God on all sinners? We don't know.

Whatever he wrote, it was unsatisfying to those crying out for blood. They could feel the itch of success. He was trapped. There was no more way out for Jesus than the adulteress. If he sided with the law and took part in stoning her, his kingdom was no different than that of Moses. Eye for eye. Tooth for tooth. The prostitutes and tax collectors, publicans and sinners who flocked to him for hope were out of luck. They would leave in droves. On the other hand, if he offered hope to someone so badly fallen, he made a mockery of righteousness and showed disdain for the Law of God. His silence irritated them and they shouted louder.

Then, Jesus looked up and the crowd quieted once more. With deliberate movements, he rose. No longer the teacher, he moved and stood to become one of the crowd-Jesus the man. Finally, he spoke. "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." Then, for a second time, He stooped and wrote in the sand. Maybe he noted the sins of those who stood around weighing stones in their hands. Did he write about grace? Did he record something about forgiveness? For a second time, the Bible is silent.

We have no idea what Jesus wrote. But, they knew. And, hearing his challenge, seeing the words in the dust, they began to walk away. From the oldest to the youngest, they moved. The curious bystanders left. The angry accusers left. The students who thought they knew this Jesus-one by one they all walked away.

Still quivering in the dirt, waiting for the stones, the woman listened as silence settle all around and at last he spoke. "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?"

Lifting her head she looked around. Then, in dazed amazement, replied, "No one, Lord."

It was then that Jesus uttered those sweet words which have comforted for two thousand years and brought hope to millions. Words that even today echo peace. "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

[1] John 7:37

[2] John 7:50-52

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