2 Biblical Women that God Loved Despite Their Big, Sinful Mistakes

August 19, 2024 Jenn Murray

Disclaimer: Despite what you may have been taught, Eve did not sin alone. In Genesis 3:6, it clearly states that Adam was “with her.” In other words, Adam was present when everything went down - and didn’t do anything to stop it.

In relation to that, there’s actually two kinds of sin: the sin of commission and the sin of omission. (Think of these as big bucket categories that can hold all of the other sins.)
A sin of commission is the type we most often hear about. It basically means that we do things that we aren’t supposed to do. For example, commit adultery.
A sin of omission is when we don’t do something that we’re supposed to do. For example, God tells us to specifically do something and we ignore Him. (Like with Jonah.)
In the case of Adam and Eve, both types are present.

Regardless, Eve’s sin was still pretty epic. Genesis 3 lays out what happened:

Satan showed up in the guise of a serpent.
Satan implemented one of his most popular methods, which is to make Eve (aka us) second guess God. Not just what He said, but His intentions. His character. (Does that tactic sound familiar?)

Genesis 3:1: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’? ”

It may seem like Eve responded truthfully in verses 2 and 3.
However, Eve added on something that God never actually said.
If you go back to verses 16 and 17 in Chapter 2, God never told them that they can’t touch the tree’s fruit. He said they couldn’t eat it.
So Eve, in her response to the serpent, is already off course herself.
She’s added something to God’s truth and His character that didn’t actually exist.
Then Satan replied by saying that God is a liar and that He’s keeping good things from Adam and Eve. (Further twisting the truth and God’s true character.)
Eve decided to stop trusting God, and to disobey His directive which was meant to protect them. (Because, as He said back in chapter 2, eating from the Three of Conscience would result in them knowing good and evil, right and wrong, and experiencing death).
Instead, she decided to eat the fruit. Adam - who is also present - joined her. And instantly, everything changed. For them and for us.
Sin entered the world. Death entered the world. And there’s a big rift in our relationship with God - aka sin.
A rift that God fixes by sending His only Son to die on the cross.

Now, if God required perfectionism to continue receiving His love, this moment in history would show that through His reaction.

God created a perfect garden. He had a perfect relationship with Adam and Eve whom He had made in His image. And they basically thumbed their nose at it all while also creating a hot mess for mankind.
Instead of trusting God, they decided they wanted to be like God.
Yet what did God do? He created clothes for them to cover their shame. He protected them from the Tree of Life - which would’ve given them eternal life. (Not a great thing to have with everything that just happened!)
And in verse 3:15, God is already talking about Jesus - who is going to defeat death and die for our sins.
Yes, there were consequences to their actions. And, like any good father, God talked to them about those. He confronted them about what had happened versus sweeping it under the rug or staying silent.
But He didn’t stop loving them. He didn’t throw up His hands and decide to abandon them or start over with someone else. He didn’t stop providing for them. (Notice that He made garments for them, covering their shame, after He’d talked to them about what happened.)
God was immediately on the ball, having the difficult discussion about the truth and their sin, but also continuing to love them. And their descendents.
One of those being Sarah.

Again, not solo. Because her husband Abraham decided to go along with things.
In Genesis 15, God tells Abraham (whose name is Abram at this point) that he will have a son. And not only that, his descendants will be as numerous as the stars!
In verse 6, it says, “And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
But then, Sarah decided to take things into her own hands.
Chapter 16 opens by saying that, because they had no children, Sarah gave her Egyptian maid, Hagar, to her husband to sleep with and get pregnant. Which is what happened.
However, this created friction between Hagar and Sarah because, in that culture, to be pregnant was a big deal.
Sarah got upset and blamed Abraham; Abraham was fine with Sarah dealing with Hagar as she saw fit; which resulted in Sarah beating Hagar and causing her to run away.

Now, let’s stop here for a second. There is a whole lot of sin going on here.

God never said that the son this couple would have was to come through another woman. The implication was that they would have a son.
But Sarah got impatient and decided to take matters into her own hands.
Naturally, her plan went awry.
This left poor Hagar out in the desert (as we see in 16:7). And what did God do? Did He throw up His hands in despair and just leave everybody involved to their own devices? No more love. No more support. No more hope?
No. God met Hagar in the desert and comforted her. He even gave her son a name that means “God has heard your woes.” He told her to return home, saying that He will “make [her] into a great nation.” (And to this point, some believe that her son Ishmael was the father of the Arabs.)
And what did God do with Sarah (and Abraham)? Did He take back His promise of a son because they were too imperfect? Or too sinful? Or because Sarah took things into her own hands, not believing God’s word about having a son?
No. God followed through on His promise.
Thirteen years later, in Genesis 17, God spoke to Abram again about becoming a mighty nation and changed his name to “Abraham” which means “father of nations.”
Then in Genesis 18:10, God again told Abraham that they will have a son by next year.

Nope! In verse 12 she laughed at God. Laughs. At. God.
God pronounced a miracle - a baby, and at their advanced age. Yet Sarah’s response was to scoff at the God who created her. Who stepped in and helped with the first mess she created in this area.
Again, what did God do? Did He remove His love? Break His promise? Keep Sarah from experiencing the joys of motherhood?
No. As we see in Genesis 21, God delivered on His promise.
And then in Genesis 21:6, we see Sarah finally come to terms with God’s plan. She’s now laughing from joy (from God’s blessing) rather than at Him.
So, friend, however you feel that you fall short… However you’ve been beating yourself up about not being perfect or “good enough” … it’s time to let that go. To lay it down.

God doesn’t want perfection. He just wants your presence. Learn to trust in Him and He will take care of the rest.