Part 4 of a 5-Part Series Bible Talk with Sister Deb: Mistakes, Grace, and Forward Motion: Insights from Eve, Noah's Wife, and Gomer

This episode highlights the inspiring stories of three incredible women in the Bible: Eve, Noah's wife, and Gomer. We discuss their experiences, choices, and the profound lessons we can extract from their lives.

• Story of Eve: Choices leading to consequences 
• Life of Noah's Wife: Strength in silent support 
• Gomer’s unfaithfulness and the theme of redemption 
• Exploring the shared human experiences of these women 
• Learning about grace and forgiveness through their stories 
• The impact of these women's stories on our lives today 

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Biblical Women
• 10:00 The Story of Eve: Choices and Consequences
• 29:30 The Strength of Noah's Wife
• 45:15 Gomer: A Tale of Unfaithfulness and Redemption
• 1:02:30 Lessons Learned from These Women
• 1:15:00 Closing Thoughts and Prayer

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:20

Hey, welcome, you're listening to Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osborne. Hey, welcome, you're listening to Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osborne. You can now listen to her show on WIC 88.1, christian Radio Station every Sunday at 5 pm. You can also listen to Bible Talk and much more in the 421 podcast. You can find that streaming on Apple, spotify or whatever platform you're choosing. If you'd like to contact Sister Deb, you can email her at OsborneDevorK at gmailcom. If you'd like to support the show, you can support it through PayPal slash HOR421, or you go through the website at HOR421showbuzzsproutcom. All shows are recorded live, no post editing Recorded at the 421 studio. For contact information for all of your studio needs, you can email at HOR421ministries at gmailcom. Phone number is 239-849-1502. Now we give you your host, sister Deb.

Speaker 2: 1:19

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. I'm so glad to be here, so glad to be doing this today Got some stuff in my throat, so y'all bear with me. I want to say again that I have had such a good time with this series. I've just had such a good time hunting stuff and Googling stuff and getting information and I've learned so much, especially some stuff in the Old Testament that I hadn't been in. I'm like wow, but I didn't know that. I didn't know that I never heard the header. So I'm just having a ball with this and I hope you guys have enjoyed yourselves.

Speaker 2: 2:00

This is part four of a five-part series. Lord's willing, we'll have one next week, and I want to talk about two ladies today. I have three ladies lined up, but I may only have time for two, but anyway. So the ladies that I want to talk about today you know the first one. Her name actually means Mother of All Living, and so I felt that I should say a few things about her.

Speaker 2: 2:31

In the Old Testament, in Genesis 2 and 18, it says and the Bible says and the Lord God said it is not good that a man should be alone, and I will make a helpmate for him. So the Lord said I'm going to make someone who's suitable for him, for his needs. And so God made a woman and he called her Eve, mother of all living. Now I'm sure you know the story of Adam and Eve and how they lived in perfect paradise that God built for them. You know the Garden of Eden and you know and God had given them only one rule don't eat from the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden or you will surely die. And we all know the story, seeing, of course, enter the garden and Satan, posing as a serpent, targeted Eve and he persuaded her that God wouldn't punish her for eating that fruit. And he told her was telling her evidently by eating it, you know you'd become like God himself. You know you're going to know good from evil, and blah, blah, blah.

Speaker 2: 3:35

So Eve has gone down in history as the woman who made the monumental, mind-blowing affects everybody forever mistake. And she's never lived it down. Now you know the lies of the serpent caused her to throw everything away and defy the God that had created her. Now her sin changed everything. It set off a chain reaction that affected her, her children, her children's children and every generation since, right on down to us today, but and I'm probably going to make people mad about this, but let's be honest here people Would you or have I and I have done any better. You know the reality of all of it is we all make mistakes and the Bible reminds us in Romans 3 and 23 that for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Yes, we all sin and sometimes we have to live with the consequences of those sins. And you better believe me, eve did every single day of it.

Speaker 2: 4:36

None of us are perfect, not even close, and Eve was as close to perfect as anyone will ever be, and she still fell short. But the good news is, just like with Eve and just like with us today, when we are at our worst, god is at his best. Praise the Lord. Yes, eve experienced the consequences from her sin, but she also experienced God's matchless grace. You know, god had told him you'll surely die, but you know, I guess he changed his mind because Eve, you know, god actually made a sacrifice on Eve's behalf and he made them clothes for her and Adam out of animal skin.

Speaker 2: 5:20

And so you know, the best thing that any of us can do when we mess up and when we blow it and sometimes we do, and I'm not going to say that I don't, because I do is to confess our faults and our failures to God and embrace His wonderful forgiveness and keep on moving forward. You know, I really believe that if Eve were here today telling us this, if this were Eve on this microphone today, I really believe she would tell us that I made a mistake, a big mistake. I blew it. Okay, embrace the wonderful God, embrace his forgiveness and move on.

Speaker 2: 5:54

I do believe she would tell us that, and so so we. What goes on is God? You know, he puts Adam and Eve, of course, out of the garden. And after this, after he put them out of the garden, life got pretty hard for Eve. She got pregnant and she gave birth to two bouncing baby boys.

Speaker 2: 6:15

We all know that, cain and Abel. And we all know that when they grew up, abel became a shepherd and Cain became a farmer a shepherd and Cain became a farmer. Now, one day, you know, they went to worship the Lord and Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to God and Abel presented his best portion of his firstborn lambs from his flock. Now, god accepted Abel's and his gift, but not Cain's. I don't understand that. But you know, god's ways aren't our ways. But you know, he became very, very angry and jealous. And Genesis 4, it tells us that Cain actually ended up attacking Abel and killing him. So you know, the sad thing is, is it right there? In that point in time, eve became the first mom to have to bury her child. That is sad, you know, that's really sad. And the thing about it is, in the midst of all of her heartache. God gave her another son and he gave her hope and Eve became pregnant again and she gave birth to another son. His name was Seth. Now, no woman could take the place of Abel, of course, but Eve experienced love and joy again in her new baby boy, seth, and she praised God for him. And Eve had a lot of ups and downs and she went from. You know, if you think about it, eve went from paradise to grand punishment, to a parent and to a pallbearer having to bury her child, to a praise-filled life. You know, friends, like Eve, we all sin, but thankfully we can all experience salvation Because of Jesus Christ. We can all know God personally and worship Him personally.

Speaker 2: 8:06

Now, if you read Genesis 3.12, when God asked them about it, adam was quick to throw Eve under the bus. I mean, how perfect is he? But that's probably the most unloving thing he could have ever done to her. But when the Lord asked Eve about it in Genesis 3, 13, I believe it is when he asked Eve about it she said you know, the serpent deceived me and I ate of it. Now Adam says it. She said you know, the serpent deceived me and I ate of it. You know. Now adam says that woman you gave me, she gave me the tree to eat and I did eat. I mean, wow, thanks for having eve's back. You know what I'm saying. But the thing about it is, is eve owned up to what she done. She couldn't deny it anyway. And but the thing is, you know, really she didn didn't really put Adam in a headlock or nothing and force him to eat, but he did.

Speaker 2: 8:59

You know, and of course you know, life went on and on and it's right up to this day and time, but we're told nothing about Eve pretty much after that. We're not told much about her death. Genesis 5-3 tells us that, we're told that she was, I believe it says, 130 years old when Seth was born. I mean, wow, that's old. But we know in Genesis 5, we know she had other sons and daughters.

Speaker 2: 9:25

And you know, the thing about Eve is and it's a sad thing because you know she was the first woman that God made and she could have been proud of that. You know what I'm saying. But she has to live with being the first person to fall prey to Satan's deceptions. You know she fell prey to Satan and that was her legacy. You know that was her legacy all through time, right up until this day, when you mention Eve, it's the first thing people say is yeah, you know, she gave Adam and did this, you know. But you know, because of her children, we know that she went on to do her work and to glorify God and people.

Speaker 2: 10:00

The thing about Eve is we need to learn from Eve's big mistake. She made a big mistake and she fell prey, you know, and she, you know, did things that the Lord told her not to do. And we all have disobeyed the Lord before. I'm not going to say that I haven't, but, people, we do need to learn from her big mistake and we do need to remember not to imitate it. Now, are we going to be tempted by the devil? Yep, every day of our lives, every day of our Christian lives. But see, we can call out to God and rebuke Him and use the name of Jesus Christ against Him and he will flee from us.

Speaker 2: 10:45

Now, did Eve think about that? I don't know. I don't know if she did or not, but the thing about it is is she paid for her price? She paid her price for her sin all through history. She's not only known as the first woman God made. Her legacy is I ate the apple and I gave it to Adam. That was her legacy and always will be there ain't nothing we can do to change it, but we can. When we fall prey to Satan like that, we can get down on our knees and go to our Lord in prayer and we can rebuke him in the name of Jesus Christ and we can gain our power over Satan. So I like that little bitty story about Eve. I didn't go into a whole lot of grave detail about her, but it's just really sad about losing her sons and stuff.

Speaker 2: 11:40

But anyway, the second lady, I'm going to move on to another lady in the Old Testament. Now, this lady that I want to talk about. She wasn't named. We never got a name from her. She wasn't named in the Bible and that is Noah's wife.

Speaker 2: 11:54

And we know that she played a very crucial role in the story of the ark. She had to leave behind her home, her family, her friends to enter this ark and that was a significant sacrifice, showing her deep commitment to God's plan. And can you ask yourself, can you imagine the challenges of living in a world where everybody around you is mocked and made fun of Noah's actions? You know, noah's wife had to stand strong in her belief even when she was faced with all that pressure you know from society. Now her role on the ark, it must have had to extend far beyond just being present. She would have to have been responsible for caring for the animals and managing supplies and trying to maintain order within that confined space. She must have had a strong faith in God. I believe that would have got on my nerves after a while.

Speaker 2: 12:59

But if it were me and my husband, if I'd have had one, and he had said, hey, you know what the Lord told me, to build an ark, I built a big boat and loaded up with animals and float around for a year or so, I would have probably been a little skeptical too. I would have wondered, you know. I would have wondered, you know, did she, did Mrs Noah also hear from God? You know, did the Lord talk to her the way he talked to Noah, or was it all through Noah? You know she showed a great faith in her husband and the Lord. I know I would want a big voice from heaven or a burning bush or something I mean Scripture doesn't say, but I would want the Lord to talk to me about that. If I was going to be on a boat for a year with a bunch of animals, I would really love for the Lord to talk to me.

Speaker 2: 13:50

But anyway, we can say that Noah's wife must have been a very righteous lady. She raised her sons to trust God and to serve Him. God also chose her sons and their wives to be saved on the ark, so we can presume that she and Noah did their parental duties and they raised their sons well. And how did Noah's wife stand strong in the many years it took to build the ark, you know, and endure the flood and then, of course, rebuild their home? You know, we can only guess, but the Bible says that Noah walked with God and that he found grace in the eyes of God, in the eyes of the Lord.

Speaker 2: 14:35

That's Genesis 6, 8, 9. And I guess the same goes for Noah. That was Noah's courage. God gave Noah the courage to preach to the evil people, so I guess he also gave grace to Noah's wife as well. Now, Miss Noah probably had to endure those ridicule of friends and neighbors as they watched Noah build the ark, but she never let her faith, or her faith in God or Noah waver. I can imagine the people sitting there while he's building the ark and, you know, laughing and cutting up and who knows? You know, I can imagine, especially in the world today. But what the Bible doesn't tell us her name, but her story is a very powerful reminder that true faith is not about grand gestures, but it often lies in unseen acts of courage and commitment and unwavering support for God's plan. You know, the first thing that they'd done when they left the ark was they built an altar and they worshiped God. You know, even though we don't know her name, there's a lot to learn from this lady. You know she was supportive, she enabled Noah to fulfill his call and all of us are affected because of that today and we have to really thank God for this nameless lady. I mean, you know, Miss Noah was one of the most important and influential women in the history of the world because she, like Eve, was also the mother of the human race, because it was through her that all the nations of the earth after the flood were born. And there is a lot of lessons to learn here about Mrs Noah. In her unquestioned faith in God, she fully believed in God's warning about the flood and she trusted the building of the ark. She knew it was the right thing to do and she trusted the building. She trusted God's word and she trusted her husband and that's awesome. That's an husband. And you know, that's awesome. That's awesome little story. I loved reading that. You know, we may not think that there's lessons to be learned in some of these ladies when we listen to their stories. And there's another lady here I've got a few minutes left that I can talk about. There's another lady here that I want to talk to people about Now.

Speaker 2: 16:57

Some women are, you know, essentially a part of God's story and we know he certainly doesn't discriminate when choosing the type of women to use to further His message. They come from all walks of life. Some are from royal families, while others are the daughters of shepherds. We know some are prostitutes We've talked about that already but now others are unfaithful wives and in the Old Testament God chooses a woman named Gomer to share a message. But who is Gomer and what does her story teach us?

Speaker 2: 17:29

We first meet Gomer in the Old Testament book of Hosea, and in chapter 1, God tells the prophet Hosea to marry an adulterous wife and he marries the lady named Gomer. Now there isn't much known about this woman. We can't conclude. Of course she was an unfaithful woman, but we know Gomer for what she does. What we know of Gomer from what she does is when she marries Hosea. Scripture says that she married him and bore three children during their marriage. Now Gomer is very unfaithful to Hosea. She bears three children and the Bible actually tells those names and why they were named that. I can't pronounce some of it, so I left it out. So that's something that you can go and read. I really, really say you should go read it. But Gomer is unfaithful to Hosea and she continues to have affairs.

Speaker 2: 18:19

Hosea was one of the 12 minor prophets in Scripture and he was called by God to deliver a message to the northern kingdom of Israel during a time of idolatry and moral decline. So God's instructions to Hosea were really unusual. He instructed him to marry Gomer, who would become unfaithful to him. He knew it going into it. His marriage was intended to symbolize God's relationship with Israel, and the story of Hosea and Gomer is one of the most powerful depictions of love, redemption and an awesome grace of God. You know, their relationship mirrors the unfaithfulness of Israel towards God and it also reveals the depth of God's love and His willingness to redeem His people, no matter how far they stray. So Gomer's unfaithfulness was not a one-time thing, but it was a pattern of sexual immoral behavior. And just as she strayed from her husband, the people of Israel had strayed from God by turning to idols and foreign gods like Baal. But despite Gomer's infidelity, which brought him heartbreak and shame, God commanded Hosea to take her back and her infidelity eventually leads her to a life of slavery. And Hosea, in an exceptional act of love, buys her back, paying a price of 15 shackles of silver and barley. That's in Hosea 3.

Speaker 2: 19:47

Hosea's love for Gomer mirrors the steadfast love that God shows toward Israel, despite their spiritual adultery, if you will. So the relationship between Hosea and Gomer is a living parable. Hosea represents God, faithful and patient. Gomer represents Israel, often wayward and, of course, unfaithful. Yet this living parable shows this message of hope and redemption that, no matter how far Gomer strayed, Hosea's love for her persisted, just as God's love for his people never wavers. It's a powerful reminder that, no matter how far we wander from God people, redemption is always possible, no matter where you go and what you do. Despite her being unfaithfulness, she's redeemed by Hosea when he buys her back from a life of bondage, and this act mimics and mirrors the concept of redemption and friends.

Speaker 2: 20:47

Redemption is not just a biblical concept. It's something that we can experience in our daily lives. Every day you know whether we have made mistakes in our relationships, our careers, our personal choices. The story of Gomer shows that there's always a way back and just as Hosea purchased Gomer out of her situation, God is ready to redeem us and offer us a fresh start. And this story offers us a vivid portrayal of God's boundless love and his desire to redeem us, no matter where we've wandered or how far away we've wandered. You know, through my friends, brothers and sisters, through Hosea's marriage, God conveyed a message to the all believers to trust in God's redemptive power and to embrace his unconditional love and even to practice forgiveness in our own lives. You know, it's also about forgiving, and that's what Hosea did. You know he forgave her no matter what, no matter where she went and what she done, knowing she had been with different men. He forgave her just as God forgives us, and that is the moral of that story. That's an awesome story in the book. I'll say you should go read it.

Speaker 2: 22:21

There's probably more to it that I didn't touch on, but we can know people, that women in the Bible have played influential roles for centuries, Although many of the stories haven't been widely shared. These people that we've talked about, these women, they are incredible women who've followed God with courage, boldness and conviction. Now, you know, Hosea started out not so holiness, you know, but you know the Lord got her. He got a hold of her, just like he does us, and we need to see these lives of these people as examples of how we need to continue and follow God with strength and boldness. You know boldness, you know, and many times we can think of the men and women of the Bible. We think that they were super talented or that they had super faith or that they were just brilliant people that God used, but people. The truth of the matter is they were just like you and me, ordinary people living lives day to day as best as they could. And, just like you and me, they surrendered to an extraordinary God, and that's what we've all done and that's why he's brought us out of the stuff that he's brought us out of Now. I invite you so to learn and be inspired by these women in the Bible who never wavered in their commitment to following God, and I so appreciate everybody for listening.

Speaker 2: 24:00

I'm going to close with a prayer, but I do hope and pray that this has blessed you as much as it's blessed me to bring it to you. I hope I got it out clearly and you understood what I'm saying. I was trying not to be too fast. I so love what I'm doing here and it so blesses me to bring this to you, but anyway, I'm going to end this in a prayer. I hope to see you guys next week on Bible Talk. Thank you very much.

Speaker 2: 24:28

So, our Father in Heaven, we thank you. We thank you for the information that we just heard. We thank you for the things that we've heard and learned, whether we learn from Gomer, whether we learn from Eve, whether we learn from Noah's wife. Lord, we ask you to help us, Lord, to understand these ladies and where they come from and the things they went through, and help us to live our lives, Lord, in the way that you need us to, that you want us to. Help us to turn to you, Lord, when all seems hopeless and all seems lost. Help us to give all of our problems and our troubles to you.

Speaker 2: 25:01

I pray that everybody out there today understood, Lord, what this meant, and let this message and these words about these ladies go to the ears that need to hear it. Bless each and every one of them listening and let them have the ears to hear and let them have the understanding to know, Lord, to understand, and maybe even go further and read other things about these ladies. Let them understand it, though, Lord. We thank you, Lord, for everything. We thank you for each and every blessing that you give us. We praise you and we honor you, and we ask these and all things in Jesus' holy, sweet name. Amen and amen, God bless everybody.

Speaker 1: 25:45

Hey, you was listening to Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osborne, Remember? You can find her show on WUIC 88.1 Christian radio station every Sunday at 5 pm. You can also listen to Bible Talk and much more on the 421 podcast. You can stream that on Apple, Spotify, whatever platform you're choosing. If you'd like to contact Sister Deb, you can email her at OsborneDebraK at gmailcom. If you'd like to support the show, you can support it through PayPal slash HOR421, or you go through our website at HOR421.buzzsproutcom. Bye.