Thursday, November 29, 2012
Great Books for Cultivating Kingdom Theology
Monday, May 14, 2012
If God Can Find Just One Who is Righteous.
The text in this lesson, Genesis 6.1-8, is a short segue into the flood. Chapter five of Genesis lists all the descendants of Adam, and their family lineage, etc. These verses read like a string of one-liners, and have very little supporting material.It does not make for good teaching material, and people often skip those verses when reading, but these are important verses, and they tell us a great deal, in very few words, about what happened over the course of hundreds of years. To sum up Genesis 5 it should be noted that these ancient persons quickly became debased and self-destructive, and that their long lives exasperated their problems. Getting older did not make them wiser but made them more cunning and it gave them time for their evil thoughts to brew, ferment and they became drunk on their wicked ideas. On the heels of that chapter, the final straw for God seems to be these events of Genesis 6.1-8, when man seeks to once again become like God in power without being like God in character. These people even try to circumvent death through ambitious marriages, breeding outside of species, to produce immortal heirs who are godlike super-humans. To this end God will have no more of man, and is ready to blot out creation, but hope is held out because of one man. This is a theme often repeated throughout the Scriptures, of one man. It is one man who brings the fall to all, and through one man, shall all be saved. The message to all of us is that even when we stand alone, all it takes for God to intervene is for one man to stand up and do what is right. Therefore, even if the whole world is doing what is wrong, you can make a difference by doing what is right. The solution is never to give into evil just because everyone else is doing it.
Read Genesis 6.1-8: When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
We begin our analysis with the sons of God and the Daughters of men. Who are they?
There have been many suggestions over the years but three main theories capture all the commentaries on this subject. The first and oldest theory is that these sons of God are angelic beings, and that the daughters of men are human women.
The second theory put forth that sons of God is a reference to the the family line of Seth. This idea became popular in the second century AD among Jews who wanted to elevate the idea of Jews being superior to other humans, and to suggest that giving ones daughter to a Christian or someone who is not of Jewish descent was sinful and that God would judge them for it.
The third theory was that these were noblemen who were taking women from families against family wishes, proving that mankind was truly evil, and that family line of Seth, Noah, and eventually the Jews was noble and did not take advantage of their position.
The second and third interpretation are while wildly popular among post-enlightenment readers because they lack supernatural beings, but are hotly contested, and they are out-of-step with the larger context. These two explanations do not explain why God was so grieved, and they do not explain why the Nephilim are on the earth after the flood. Neither do they explain why the Nephilim would have been heroes or super human. It is interesting how a people who believe in the Virgin birth of Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and placed in the womb of Mary, would have difficulty believing that angels and human women could have relations, yet the other two theories continue to be put forth, especially in cessation circles, because they can’t believe that angles, who do not marry, and are not given in marriage, are able to have relations with humans.
In contrast, there are more than a few good reasons to believe that these are supernatural beings, engaging in inter-species relations with human women, which would explain why this event would be God’s last straw before resorting to the flood.
The first clue is that these relations are given as the explanation for who the Nephilim are, and why they are on the earth both before and after the flood, since the original Nephilim were wiped out in the flood. How could there be Nephilim after the flood? Unless angels, who were not destroyed in the flood, had relations with other daughters of men (descendants of Noah) after the flood? As well, Numbers 13.33 and the Apocryphal books of Baruch, Sirach and Wisdom all speak of the Nephilim in their days, which were after the flood. In every account, both before flood and after the flood, the Nephilim are said to be supermen, heroes, or mighty men. There is something about the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men that gave their offspring some kind of advantage. Even ancient pagan writings from among the Canaanites tell of times when angels had relations with human women and produced super-human offspring, like giants, who ruled Canaan.
Second, consider that in the bigger context of Genesis, beginning with Creation, the species each produce their own kind. Each animal gives birth according to its own kind, each plant yields its own kind. Even humans give birth to humankind. Inter-species relations are not spoken of at all, but it is notable that there is no suitable helper for Adam among the rest of creation, making it clear that he must have a mate that is human, not animal. When you look through the Biblical text, inter-species relations is forbidden, and punishable by death (Leviticus 20.16). In fact, they were told not to even cross-breed plants (Leviticus 19.19, Deuteronomy 22.9-11) because these things are a corruption of the created order. Such attempts are seen as a challenge to God’s authority. That being so, consider the challenge to God’s authority that the cross-breeding of angels and humans might be? The angels are eternal beings, and although they will face eternal damnation for their rebellion, they are do not die like humans. Might the humans have been grasping at eternal life after loosing the tree of life? Humans on the other hand, are more like God than the angles because they are uniquely created in the image and likeness of God. A human with the power of angles would be akin to a god on the earth. Also it should be noted that the New Testament writers, Jude and Peter, both speak of a time when some of the angels were cast into hell because they sought out human relations, and did not keep their place, which would seem to be a reference to this and or similar events.
Thirdly, consider the similarity to the fall. Just like in the fall, the first temptation is of the eyes. Eve saw the fruit was good for food and to make one wise. In this context, the sons of God see that the daughters of men are beautiful, and they desire them. Consider also, what young woman in those days married without fatherly consent? Presumably, good old dad would have given his consent, because the remarks about relations and marriage indicate that there was no rape, or forced marriage. Instead, and once again, the men are silent when it comes to sin, and allow their daughters (last time it was Adam's wife) to do what is forbidden. Or worse yet, maybe the men gave their hearty consent to what they were doing, something that even pagan religions taught was reprehensible. Thus their unnatural, and forbidden, relations become more than God is willing to bear, and God decides to wipe out man from the earth. God is convinced that all of man’s every thoughts are evil. It might be noted that the angels are also at fault also, and the question might be asked what happened to them. Well, rest assured that Jude and Peter both indicate that God dealt with them, but what grieves God about the human role is that we humans are made in God’s image, unlike the angels. This sin is like beasteality. God is brokenhearted, and the men, like Adam, is at the center of it again. Although not explicitly stated man always seems to be silent. The text tells us that God was so grieved that God wished he had not even made mankind. So even if you don't agree with those conclusions, it is clear that God is finished with mankind, and everything looks very hopeless.
Consider one last point about this being angels and humans; the judgment in this passage. Remember earlier in this lesson it was noted that angels live forever? Notice how God’s response fits that crime. Human life is reduced to 120 years. It has been that way every since. People often live less, but no one lives longer. There have been claims of people living beyond that, but no one has verified their claims, they cannot produce any proof. So when man reached beyond the tree of life, to the angels, to secure his/her grasp on living forever, God’s fitting response, was not only will do they die because they ate of the tree of good and evil, but they will die sooner rather than later because long life only seems to tempt them. But where God is, there is always hope.
Even in the midst of the greatest darkness, the light of hope still shines. Light and dark are opposites, but they are not equals. Even the smallest amount of light can dispel the greatest darkness. So in the midst of total depravity and darkness, the light of Noah is all that God needs to continue. When you think that what you do does not matter, think again. The world was full of people in sin, and God found one man, one person, who was willing to do what was right, and that was enough for God to bet the farm on him. God was willing to wipe out the whole world and start with just him and his family. It is still true, what you do matters to God!
As well, the sons of God and the daughters of men remind us that just because you can do something does not mean you should. Just because you want something does not mean it is good for you. Your wants and your desires, your abilities and proclivities, are not the measure of what is right or wrong. The retelling of these ancient people’s story, a story almost forgotten by time, people almost forgotten by time apart from these accounts, are a grim reminder of how their past actions have impacted the present. They speak from beyond the grave, and those living today feel the consequences of their actions. In contrast the faithful actions, of one man, Noah, standing against the tide of evil, tells the reader why the faithful walk with God regardless of the cost.
Two responses are needed. First, remove from your list of excuses, "that's what everyone else does." Second, do what is right in the face of great difficulty, because it may be your actions, your solitary convictions, that could save you, your family, a generation, or even the world. Not because you did something extraordinary in eyes of the world, but because you did something extraordinary in the eyes of God. If you remain faithful under trial, in the end, when all stand before the Creator and give an account, only God’s pronouncement will mater. Not your pastor, not your friends, not world leaders, just the words of God alone. What will it be? Well done good and faithful servant come into your master’s happiness? Or depart from me I never knew you, you worker of iniquity? One persons righteousness matters more than what everyone else may do.
Read Genesis 6.1-8: When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
We begin our analysis with the sons of God and the Daughters of men. Who are they?
There have been many suggestions over the years but three main theories capture all the commentaries on this subject. The first and oldest theory is that these sons of God are angelic beings, and that the daughters of men are human women.
The second theory put forth that sons of God is a reference to the the family line of Seth. This idea became popular in the second century AD among Jews who wanted to elevate the idea of Jews being superior to other humans, and to suggest that giving ones daughter to a Christian or someone who is not of Jewish descent was sinful and that God would judge them for it.
The third theory was that these were noblemen who were taking women from families against family wishes, proving that mankind was truly evil, and that family line of Seth, Noah, and eventually the Jews was noble and did not take advantage of their position.
The second and third interpretation are while wildly popular among post-enlightenment readers because they lack supernatural beings, but are hotly contested, and they are out-of-step with the larger context. These two explanations do not explain why God was so grieved, and they do not explain why the Nephilim are on the earth after the flood. Neither do they explain why the Nephilim would have been heroes or super human. It is interesting how a people who believe in the Virgin birth of Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and placed in the womb of Mary, would have difficulty believing that angels and human women could have relations, yet the other two theories continue to be put forth, especially in cessation circles, because they can’t believe that angles, who do not marry, and are not given in marriage, are able to have relations with humans.
In contrast, there are more than a few good reasons to believe that these are supernatural beings, engaging in inter-species relations with human women, which would explain why this event would be God’s last straw before resorting to the flood.
The first clue is that these relations are given as the explanation for who the Nephilim are, and why they are on the earth both before and after the flood, since the original Nephilim were wiped out in the flood. How could there be Nephilim after the flood? Unless angels, who were not destroyed in the flood, had relations with other daughters of men (descendants of Noah) after the flood? As well, Numbers 13.33 and the Apocryphal books of Baruch, Sirach and Wisdom all speak of the Nephilim in their days, which were after the flood. In every account, both before flood and after the flood, the Nephilim are said to be supermen, heroes, or mighty men. There is something about the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men that gave their offspring some kind of advantage. Even ancient pagan writings from among the Canaanites tell of times when angels had relations with human women and produced super-human offspring, like giants, who ruled Canaan.
Second, consider that in the bigger context of Genesis, beginning with Creation, the species each produce their own kind. Each animal gives birth according to its own kind, each plant yields its own kind. Even humans give birth to humankind. Inter-species relations are not spoken of at all, but it is notable that there is no suitable helper for Adam among the rest of creation, making it clear that he must have a mate that is human, not animal. When you look through the Biblical text, inter-species relations is forbidden, and punishable by death (Leviticus 20.16). In fact, they were told not to even cross-breed plants (Leviticus 19.19, Deuteronomy 22.9-11) because these things are a corruption of the created order. Such attempts are seen as a challenge to God’s authority. That being so, consider the challenge to God’s authority that the cross-breeding of angels and humans might be? The angels are eternal beings, and although they will face eternal damnation for their rebellion, they are do not die like humans. Might the humans have been grasping at eternal life after loosing the tree of life? Humans on the other hand, are more like God than the angles because they are uniquely created in the image and likeness of God. A human with the power of angles would be akin to a god on the earth. Also it should be noted that the New Testament writers, Jude and Peter, both speak of a time when some of the angels were cast into hell because they sought out human relations, and did not keep their place, which would seem to be a reference to this and or similar events.
Thirdly, consider the similarity to the fall. Just like in the fall, the first temptation is of the eyes. Eve saw the fruit was good for food and to make one wise. In this context, the sons of God see that the daughters of men are beautiful, and they desire them. Consider also, what young woman in those days married without fatherly consent? Presumably, good old dad would have given his consent, because the remarks about relations and marriage indicate that there was no rape, or forced marriage. Instead, and once again, the men are silent when it comes to sin, and allow their daughters (last time it was Adam's wife) to do what is forbidden. Or worse yet, maybe the men gave their hearty consent to what they were doing, something that even pagan religions taught was reprehensible. Thus their unnatural, and forbidden, relations become more than God is willing to bear, and God decides to wipe out man from the earth. God is convinced that all of man’s every thoughts are evil. It might be noted that the angels are also at fault also, and the question might be asked what happened to them. Well, rest assured that Jude and Peter both indicate that God dealt with them, but what grieves God about the human role is that we humans are made in God’s image, unlike the angels. This sin is like beasteality. God is brokenhearted, and the men, like Adam, is at the center of it again. Although not explicitly stated man always seems to be silent. The text tells us that God was so grieved that God wished he had not even made mankind. So even if you don't agree with those conclusions, it is clear that God is finished with mankind, and everything looks very hopeless.
Consider one last point about this being angels and humans; the judgment in this passage. Remember earlier in this lesson it was noted that angels live forever? Notice how God’s response fits that crime. Human life is reduced to 120 years. It has been that way every since. People often live less, but no one lives longer. There have been claims of people living beyond that, but no one has verified their claims, they cannot produce any proof. So when man reached beyond the tree of life, to the angels, to secure his/her grasp on living forever, God’s fitting response, was not only will do they die because they ate of the tree of good and evil, but they will die sooner rather than later because long life only seems to tempt them. But where God is, there is always hope.
Even in the midst of the greatest darkness, the light of hope still shines. Light and dark are opposites, but they are not equals. Even the smallest amount of light can dispel the greatest darkness. So in the midst of total depravity and darkness, the light of Noah is all that God needs to continue. When you think that what you do does not matter, think again. The world was full of people in sin, and God found one man, one person, who was willing to do what was right, and that was enough for God to bet the farm on him. God was willing to wipe out the whole world and start with just him and his family. It is still true, what you do matters to God!
As well, the sons of God and the daughters of men remind us that just because you can do something does not mean you should. Just because you want something does not mean it is good for you. Your wants and your desires, your abilities and proclivities, are not the measure of what is right or wrong. The retelling of these ancient people’s story, a story almost forgotten by time, people almost forgotten by time apart from these accounts, are a grim reminder of how their past actions have impacted the present. They speak from beyond the grave, and those living today feel the consequences of their actions. In contrast the faithful actions, of one man, Noah, standing against the tide of evil, tells the reader why the faithful walk with God regardless of the cost.
Two responses are needed. First, remove from your list of excuses, "that's what everyone else does." Second, do what is right in the face of great difficulty, because it may be your actions, your solitary convictions, that could save you, your family, a generation, or even the world. Not because you did something extraordinary in eyes of the world, but because you did something extraordinary in the eyes of God. If you remain faithful under trial, in the end, when all stand before the Creator and give an account, only God’s pronouncement will mater. Not your pastor, not your friends, not world leaders, just the words of God alone. What will it be? Well done good and faithful servant come into your master’s happiness? Or depart from me I never knew you, you worker of iniquity? One persons righteousness matters more than what everyone else may do.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Service, Sacrifice, Responsibility and Murder?
When talking about the murder of Abel, by his brother Cain. Even people not acquainted with the Bible make references to Cain and Abel’s conflict, or they quote Cain’s sarcastic response to God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Yet few really know the actual story. Something this lesson will help to rectify.
Second, like Christ, Abel was an innocent whose blood was unjustly shed by the guilty, but the difference was that when God came near the guilty Abel’s blood shouted out for justice, while Jesus’ blood shouted out for mercy. We already know we are guilty, but Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, put our guilt in context. It is not just to point out and identify our guilt but to point out that apart from God we would perish, all of us. Perish at each other’s hand, perish from our own evil, but perish nonetheless, and that it is not God’s fault. We can stop “blaming the gods.” We can stop blaming our neighbor, our wife, our brother.
Actually, this text is about much more than the murder of Abel, it tells us about worship, it tells about the heart of God and God’s mercy, and it hints to us things about creation that are not spelled out, but are helpful nonetheless.
Genesis 4.1-16
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
What then is an acceptable Sacrifice? The first people born into the fallen world are Cain and Abel. When they reached adulthood, whatever that age was to the early people, one cannot be sure since it is not spelled out, these two brothers went in different directions. One son became a rancher and the other a farmer. Then in the course of time each brought their own offering to the Lord. For whatever reason, unstated in the text, Cain’s offering was not accepted by the Lord, but in the dialogue between Cain and God it becomes clear that Cain actually knows why his offering is unacceptable.
It is a curious thing about us as human beings and the development of religion in the world, that people knew the Lord, and yet developed other religions, we see this even in the history of Israel. We see it in quasi-Christian cults as well, where people know what is right, and then depart from what they know to do whatever they want to do, and take an attitude toward God that says, God should like what he gets, and when people call that kind of thinking into question, those who ask the questions are then viewed as being narrow, mean-spirited, and intolerant. Never mind that it violates what God spelled out.
A few years ago a public service announcement ran in which a child wants a specific brand-name mp3 player (presumably an iPod) for Christmas but instead was given an old-school circa 1980‘s tape-player like a Sony Walkman and was told by the parent that it was the same thing. The child’s protests were highlighted as being given something that you do not want and compared the event to equal housing rights for those who want to choose their own housing rather than being told where they will live, and with whom. The ad reminds also that getting what you want is better than getting what someone gives you just to fulfill an obligation. This is also true in worship. Many people want God to accept their crumby imitation obligatory gift (like their left over, used Walkman) rather than give God what he wants which is worship from the heart.
So what makes an offering acceptable? Is it just that we do it? Is it like checking off the boxes, and saying I did it? Or is it an exchange, one of respect, love and admiration, that expresses from the heart of the worshiper, to God, that God is worthy of that affection?
Some have suggested that maybe it was because Cain’s offering was not an animal sacrifice, but the word for his offering, is that same word used for the grain or cereal offering in Leviticus, which was not just acceptable but commanded in the Old Testament. So it is not likely that the issue was one of meat or grain, because God is not asking for what we do not have, God always asks for us to give of what we do have. In contrast various world religions the worshiper must come up with huge material gifts, often very exotic, expensive, and extravagant but in the Bible, the worshiper is given many options, from large animals to small ones, from grain to cakes. As well, Jesus praised the widow for her two small coins in Mark 12 not because she gave out of her vast wealth, but she gave out of the little she did have. He said, that she gave all that she had, making her two small coins the finest gift of all. Even King David refused to offer a sacrifice from animals given him as a gift. Instead he paid for the animals to be sacrificed because he said it was inappropriate to give God something that was not his own. Because God does not need anything, God is not needing us to feed him, instead he feeds us. God does not need us but enjoys our company, and when God told Cain that his offering was not acceptable, God also reminded Cain that his offering would be acceptable if he offered it well, but God also warned Cain, that sin was crouching at the door waiting to dominate him. Obviously, Cain let sin dominate him, rather than make an acceptable offering.
In the New Testament we are given some insight as to why Cain’s offering was not acceptable. In Hebrews 11.4 we are told that Abel made his offering by faith. “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” (Hebrews 11.4) Second, we are told in 1 John 3.12 that Cain’s deeds were evil, “We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.” (1 John 3.12)
It does not say that his deeds were than ideal, but his deeds were evil, meaning that his offering flowed not out of misunderstanding, or even ignorance, but out of willful action to do what he wanted, regardless of what God wanted . In contrast, what made King David’s offering, and the widow’s coins acceptable, was that they brought God what God wanted, not so much the offering, but the heart of worship. Remember, God does not need anything, but God has made it clear from the very beginning that his desire above all else is our hearts, relationship, connection, love, and affection. God is love! The ultimate end of his plan is that we would love him freely, and that we would live and reign with him forever.
If you think about who God is, if you think about what you know of God from the Bible, you ought to know this intuitively. God isn’t about check lists. Even if Cain was never taught how to worship God, as a human being, he would know instinctively how to please those he loves. Children want to give Mommy what she wants. They want to express love. They want to give Mommy flowers. They want to tell Daddy that they admire him. The difference is that as children they give him a tie, and as an adult they give him something more meaningful, but both are given from the heart.
Does it really matter what Cain’s offering was? Isn’t it true that even if they had offered the same gift, that Cain’s offering wouldn’t be right even still? Do not miss the point in the jumble of details. An acceptable offering is the one that is from the heart, and in accord with God’s word. Do what the Word says, and do it with a joyful heart. Songs, money, service, sacrifice, whatever it is, seek to please God not just check off your list.
Next, then we must ask, “Why Do Humans Always Blame God and Others?” First, let’s begin with Cain’s anger at God. Notice how the kindness of the Lord is evident even in Cain’s anger. Do not let sin dominate you, you defeat it, but don’t let it get you. God is also clear, “your offering will be accepted if you do what is right.” Cain knows what the problem is. Cain can fix the problem, but it is easier, like his Daddy, Adam, to blame God. This time its not that tree you put here and that woman you gave me. Its you did not accept, and its that brother you put gave my folks, but Cain will not take the blame. Cain left the presence of God that day angry, unwilling to accept responsibility. Over the last three weeks, I do not know how many times I have pointed this out, but it is a theme that will not go away. Cain is a blamer who cannot accept that what he did was the issue. He feels the need to blame Able. Maybe he believes that if Able was not around that God would be forced to accept his offering.
On the heals of God’s instructions to Cain, he then goes out and kills his brother Abel. What is up with that? Cain knows what is lacking, and surely what he is lacking is not the fault of Abel. Really, how can Abel’s love for God be such a problem for Cain? Without agreeing with Cain, from a human perspective, as a fallen person, it is understandable, Cain’s blaming God, after all, it is God who rejects his offering. But why be mad at Cain? Its like being mad at the kid who loves school? Or like being mad at Tim Tebow for praying?
At the Chick-Fil-A Leader Cast Coach Urban Meyer, the former head coach of the University of Florida Gators spoke of his relationship with Tim Tebow. He said, that when he first met Tim he did not like him, then went on to say that, the reason people don’t like Tebow is that Tim makes them look inward at themselves. What they really do not like, is not about Tebow, but it is about what they don’t like in themselves. Maybe that is what Cain did not like about Abel? Maybe that is why people don’t like the smart kid, and feel the need to have bumper stickers that say their dog is smarter than my honor student. Maybe, when we don’t do well, we feel the need to blame those that do well because inherently our dislike is little more than projected self-hatred? Cain knew that his offering was less than acceptable, yet he was still jealous of Abel. So he killed him.
Regardless of the why, we see the pattern repeat, don’t we? Cain is like Adam. He blames the other person, he blames God, and in the end, he ends up cast from the presence of God because he cannot accept responsibility for himself, and he gives into sin, and destroys other people, so that he can do what he wants to do, which is nothing. Adam said nothing, Cain, does nothing. Cain only brings God what he absolutely must, but he neither offers it in faith, nor makes the effort to do what is righteous, but he acts out of evil. That has echoed through history as the nature of mankind. Rather than being the noble children of God made in God’s image, man's history has been the ignoble brats who have blamed everyone else and never owned up to anything. The Bible identifies that history, not to rub our nose in it, but speaks of it in the hope that humanity would recognize it, and seize the moment to escape, to become mature, to identify sin, to embrace what is noble, and then to do good for the glory of God, and for personal benefit.
Second, like Christ, Abel was an innocent whose blood was unjustly shed by the guilty, but the difference was that when God came near the guilty Abel’s blood shouted out for justice, while Jesus’ blood shouted out for mercy. We already know we are guilty, but Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, put our guilt in context. It is not just to point out and identify our guilt but to point out that apart from God we would perish, all of us. Perish at each other’s hand, perish from our own evil, but perish nonetheless, and that it is not God’s fault. We can stop “blaming the gods.” We can stop blaming our neighbor, our wife, our brother.
Actually, this text is about much more than the murder of Abel, it tells us about worship, it tells about the heart of God and God’s mercy, and it hints to us things about creation that are not spelled out, but are helpful nonetheless.
Genesis 4.1-16
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
What then is an acceptable Sacrifice? The first people born into the fallen world are Cain and Abel. When they reached adulthood, whatever that age was to the early people, one cannot be sure since it is not spelled out, these two brothers went in different directions. One son became a rancher and the other a farmer. Then in the course of time each brought their own offering to the Lord. For whatever reason, unstated in the text, Cain’s offering was not accepted by the Lord, but in the dialogue between Cain and God it becomes clear that Cain actually knows why his offering is unacceptable.
It is a curious thing about us as human beings and the development of religion in the world, that people knew the Lord, and yet developed other religions, we see this even in the history of Israel. We see it in quasi-Christian cults as well, where people know what is right, and then depart from what they know to do whatever they want to do, and take an attitude toward God that says, God should like what he gets, and when people call that kind of thinking into question, those who ask the questions are then viewed as being narrow, mean-spirited, and intolerant. Never mind that it violates what God spelled out.
A few years ago a public service announcement ran in which a child wants a specific brand-name mp3 player (presumably an iPod) for Christmas but instead was given an old-school circa 1980‘s tape-player like a Sony Walkman and was told by the parent that it was the same thing. The child’s protests were highlighted as being given something that you do not want and compared the event to equal housing rights for those who want to choose their own housing rather than being told where they will live, and with whom. The ad reminds also that getting what you want is better than getting what someone gives you just to fulfill an obligation. This is also true in worship. Many people want God to accept their crumby imitation obligatory gift (like their left over, used Walkman) rather than give God what he wants which is worship from the heart.
So what makes an offering acceptable? Is it just that we do it? Is it like checking off the boxes, and saying I did it? Or is it an exchange, one of respect, love and admiration, that expresses from the heart of the worshiper, to God, that God is worthy of that affection?
Some have suggested that maybe it was because Cain’s offering was not an animal sacrifice, but the word for his offering, is that same word used for the grain or cereal offering in Leviticus, which was not just acceptable but commanded in the Old Testament. So it is not likely that the issue was one of meat or grain, because God is not asking for what we do not have, God always asks for us to give of what we do have. In contrast various world religions the worshiper must come up with huge material gifts, often very exotic, expensive, and extravagant but in the Bible, the worshiper is given many options, from large animals to small ones, from grain to cakes. As well, Jesus praised the widow for her two small coins in Mark 12 not because she gave out of her vast wealth, but she gave out of the little she did have. He said, that she gave all that she had, making her two small coins the finest gift of all. Even King David refused to offer a sacrifice from animals given him as a gift. Instead he paid for the animals to be sacrificed because he said it was inappropriate to give God something that was not his own. Because God does not need anything, God is not needing us to feed him, instead he feeds us. God does not need us but enjoys our company, and when God told Cain that his offering was not acceptable, God also reminded Cain that his offering would be acceptable if he offered it well, but God also warned Cain, that sin was crouching at the door waiting to dominate him. Obviously, Cain let sin dominate him, rather than make an acceptable offering.
In the New Testament we are given some insight as to why Cain’s offering was not acceptable. In Hebrews 11.4 we are told that Abel made his offering by faith. “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” (Hebrews 11.4) Second, we are told in 1 John 3.12 that Cain’s deeds were evil, “We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.” (1 John 3.12)
It does not say that his deeds were than ideal, but his deeds were evil, meaning that his offering flowed not out of misunderstanding, or even ignorance, but out of willful action to do what he wanted, regardless of what God wanted . In contrast, what made King David’s offering, and the widow’s coins acceptable, was that they brought God what God wanted, not so much the offering, but the heart of worship. Remember, God does not need anything, but God has made it clear from the very beginning that his desire above all else is our hearts, relationship, connection, love, and affection. God is love! The ultimate end of his plan is that we would love him freely, and that we would live and reign with him forever.
If you think about who God is, if you think about what you know of God from the Bible, you ought to know this intuitively. God isn’t about check lists. Even if Cain was never taught how to worship God, as a human being, he would know instinctively how to please those he loves. Children want to give Mommy what she wants. They want to express love. They want to give Mommy flowers. They want to tell Daddy that they admire him. The difference is that as children they give him a tie, and as an adult they give him something more meaningful, but both are given from the heart.
Does it really matter what Cain’s offering was? Isn’t it true that even if they had offered the same gift, that Cain’s offering wouldn’t be right even still? Do not miss the point in the jumble of details. An acceptable offering is the one that is from the heart, and in accord with God’s word. Do what the Word says, and do it with a joyful heart. Songs, money, service, sacrifice, whatever it is, seek to please God not just check off your list.
Next, then we must ask, “Why Do Humans Always Blame God and Others?” First, let’s begin with Cain’s anger at God. Notice how the kindness of the Lord is evident even in Cain’s anger. Do not let sin dominate you, you defeat it, but don’t let it get you. God is also clear, “your offering will be accepted if you do what is right.” Cain knows what the problem is. Cain can fix the problem, but it is easier, like his Daddy, Adam, to blame God. This time its not that tree you put here and that woman you gave me. Its you did not accept, and its that brother you put gave my folks, but Cain will not take the blame. Cain left the presence of God that day angry, unwilling to accept responsibility. Over the last three weeks, I do not know how many times I have pointed this out, but it is a theme that will not go away. Cain is a blamer who cannot accept that what he did was the issue. He feels the need to blame Able. Maybe he believes that if Able was not around that God would be forced to accept his offering.
On the heals of God’s instructions to Cain, he then goes out and kills his brother Abel. What is up with that? Cain knows what is lacking, and surely what he is lacking is not the fault of Abel. Really, how can Abel’s love for God be such a problem for Cain? Without agreeing with Cain, from a human perspective, as a fallen person, it is understandable, Cain’s blaming God, after all, it is God who rejects his offering. But why be mad at Cain? Its like being mad at the kid who loves school? Or like being mad at Tim Tebow for praying?
At the Chick-Fil-A Leader Cast Coach Urban Meyer, the former head coach of the University of Florida Gators spoke of his relationship with Tim Tebow. He said, that when he first met Tim he did not like him, then went on to say that, the reason people don’t like Tebow is that Tim makes them look inward at themselves. What they really do not like, is not about Tebow, but it is about what they don’t like in themselves. Maybe that is what Cain did not like about Abel? Maybe that is why people don’t like the smart kid, and feel the need to have bumper stickers that say their dog is smarter than my honor student. Maybe, when we don’t do well, we feel the need to blame those that do well because inherently our dislike is little more than projected self-hatred? Cain knew that his offering was less than acceptable, yet he was still jealous of Abel. So he killed him.
Regardless of the why, we see the pattern repeat, don’t we? Cain is like Adam. He blames the other person, he blames God, and in the end, he ends up cast from the presence of God because he cannot accept responsibility for himself, and he gives into sin, and destroys other people, so that he can do what he wants to do, which is nothing. Adam said nothing, Cain, does nothing. Cain only brings God what he absolutely must, but he neither offers it in faith, nor makes the effort to do what is righteous, but he acts out of evil. That has echoed through history as the nature of mankind. Rather than being the noble children of God made in God’s image, man's history has been the ignoble brats who have blamed everyone else and never owned up to anything. The Bible identifies that history, not to rub our nose in it, but speaks of it in the hope that humanity would recognize it, and seize the moment to escape, to become mature, to identify sin, to embrace what is noble, and then to do good for the glory of God, and for personal benefit.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Fall and Rescue (Genesis 3)
This week we are going to look at what is commonly referred to as the Fall. That was when sin entered into the world via the actions of Adam and Eve. Throughout the history of God’s people, both in Jewish history and in Church history women have been blamed, but in the Bible, especially in the writings of Paul, the weight of the blame is placed squarely on Adam. It is clear in this text (as well as in 1 Tim 2.14) that Eve was deceived, and that Adam’s participation is willful, silent, and compliant. He does not defend his wife in her darkest hour, and even joins in the deception, making this man’s darkest hour, and creating a pattern by which men continually fail God. The good news throughout the story is that God, the giver of grace and mercy, of great compassion, and forgiveness came to them, and that even in God’s pronouncement of judgment that God provided hope, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and a plan to redeem everything that the humans lost. It is really a story of redemption and hows us the very character and nature of God, that from the beginning, as it is now, God has always been interested in us, loved us, and desired us. God has never been cruel, disaffected, or malevolent. Read Genesis 3 below:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Generally, the first question in everyone’s mind after reading this account is, who is the serpent? Is that Satan, is that the devil? Is that why the snake can talk? The answer is that the serpent is an adversary of God and man. One of the most misunderstood concepts in the Bible is Satan, or the devil, followed closely by the the anti-Christ, and the man of lawlessness. Most of these terms are not in reference to a single creature but a description of any creature who works against God to undue his works, or to oppose him. There are specific references to the Devil and his Angels in Revelation but here in this text the word satan never appears, but serpent is listed in Revelation 12.9 as one of the many names of the Dragon who is cast into hell, along with the names of ancient serpent. Satan and the devil. So to answer is that the serpent was just a serpent, but he did the bidding of the devil. Throughout the Bible, and the history of God’s people, the serpent has been assumed to be the personification of the devil. As far as the serpent talking, the Bible pictures both the Garden of Eden and heaven, as places where mankind and animals communicate. That the animals under the rule and reign of God, with man as the ruler of earth, that they give account to man, and are held accountable by man. It is only under the dark veil of sin that the relationship between man and the animals becomes adversarial, beginning with the curse upon the serpent, and God making Adam and Eve clothes out of animal hide, which also foreshadowed the temple ritual of animals dying for the sins of man, and God providing for the forgiveness of man and covering man’s shame. If you think about this passage it is loaded with foreshadowing, and layers of imagery for the mind to feast on. We don’t want to focus on that too much and distort the text, but it is pregnant with meaning.
Nonetheless, the serpent speaks to Eve, but it does not say why the serpent picks on her.
Why does the serpent choose Eve to pick-on? Is it because he wants to put division between woman and man? Is it because she did not learn about the prohibition from God but rather from the man, and she is a little fuzzy on the topic. I doubt that because she articulates the teaching well before she gives in to sin. Or is it because she more than Adam represents humanity, because she was made by man, she is supposed to be protected by the man, he is supposed to care for her like God loves his people (Jews or the church). And in deceiving her rather than Adam it sets up a false but powerful parallel that plays to our deepest fears, that God lets bad stuff happen, that he sits silent, that God does not defend us, that God does not care about us, and that when its done, he unjustly blames us.
What’s the first thing Adam does when he is confronted by God, he blames her, he blames God. That woman that you gave me. It is your fault God, you set me up to fail. You put the tree here, you gave me the woman, this is all your fault, and her fault. Let me tell you, WE are never more like Satan and less like God then when we blame others, unless it is when we keep silent and do nothing to defend those who are being destroyed by others. That is why the serpent picks on her, and secondly it is because the serpent wants to disrupt the relationship between man and woman. As God is explaining the consequences of the fall God tells the woman, that her husband will rule over her. Before that moment she was his perfect mate and she completed him, they were a team, each with his/her own role, and joyful in their relationship, but now the consequence of sin is that their relationship is jacked-up. Not that God is punishing them by jacking-up the relationship, but God is explaining the fall out of their fall.
Remember also, that in this text, not everything God says is judgment. He already told them that the judgment would be death. The judgment on sin is death, but the fall out of sin in the world is: disease, wars, deformity, tidal waves, earthquakes, floods, etc. When man let sin into the world, then sin let death into the world, and death employed destruction who turns loose a rampage and suffering of every sort. So, when someone tells you that there sin only hurts themselves, don’t you believe it. Their sin and ours, stirs the pot of death and destruction, and the wake, the fall-out, the repercussions of it all makes people suffer and doubt God, while daring to stand in judgment of God, and question his morality for “letting this happen.” Again with the blaming?
Remember too that the man is present when the woman eats. The man does not stop the woman from sinning, and then he joins her in the sin, but knowingly and willfully. Then their eyes are opened, and they realize they are naked. Guys, did you know that every problem in your sex life began with a man being silent, being passive, and letting sin destroy their relationship? Guys are notorious for this sin. Men, you cannot be silent and passive in your home. That one is for free guys.
The point is that sin has entered the picture, and it brings spiritual death, it brings death to the animals to make leather, it brings death because access to the tree of life is cut off, making us mortal. Spiritual death enters, because now our relationship with God is impure on our part, full of doubts, distrust, and unbelief.
Then, GOD COMES TO THE RESCUE.
This is not saying that God does not pass judgment; God is just, and all God’s ways are true, but it is important to see God’s role clearly here in this text. God not only comes as judge, but God comes in to rescue. Remember in the beginning God said, in the day that you eat of it you will surely die, but notice that after God gets the facts, God begins judgment with the serpent:
*You did this
*You are cursed
*Your fate is worse than any other animal
*On your belly you will be, eating dust.
*There will be distrust, strife, war between mankind and snakes. Man will not trust you.
**And a day is coming when a male seed of woman, will crush you, even though you strike him first, he will crush you. Here in lies our first hint of the gospel. The promise that humanity will be restored, and that our enemy will be destroyed. Note also that no where else in all of the Bible is seed, as reference to descendants, ever appear in female form. It is always male seed line, never female. But here it is the seed of woman. Then remember that Jesus was the seed of woman and God, not that of Joseph . . . Also be mindful that even the Apostle Paul made the connection when he said in Romans 16.20 that, “And the God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath our feet.”
Second, God turns to the woman. Note that God does not curse her. Instead God tells her how sin will disrupt her roles in life. First, God tells her that she will experience pain in childbirth, and bring forth children in pain, specifically the idea is more than just physical pain that childbirth brings. Although it never spells out what other kind of pain, it seems safe to fill in that blank with the any other pain associated with children and life (e.g. psychological, emotional, spiritual). Then God adds, “your desire will be for your husband.” The word her for desire is the same word used to describe how sin wanted to master, or subdue Cain (Genesis 4.7). It means that the result of sin is that now you will want to rule or subdue your husband and he will dominate, you. The point is that this is the beginning of the war between the sexes. Not as punishment but as fall out. It is never called a curse, she is just told that the result of this act has put this into their relationship. Before you wanted to be your husbands helpmate, you were happy to labor with him, but now you will want to dominate him, yet he will dominate you instead. That is the result of sin! This is important because in the restoration of all things, in the end, there is no marriage, we will be like the angles, neither male nor female, not given in marriage. There will be no more striving between the sexes when God is king.
Then God turns to the man. Again God does not curse the man, God curses the ground. It is fitting as a response to Adam eating the fruit, because both Adam and the tree come forth from the earth. Adam, the Hebrew word for man (a’dam), literally means, of the earth., while a’damah is the earth. So the ground, from which you came is cursed, and to earth one day you will return, meaning of course, you will die, just as God said you would when God first gave the prohibition, but God does not curse the man. He only spells out the consequences.
Then on the heels of the pronouncement sin's effect begins. The domination of the woman by the man is insinuated because Adam gives her a name, just like he did the animals. God clothes the man and woman with skin, both to rescue them and to cover them, but animals die because of their sin. God also rescues them by cutting them off from the tree of life, so that they would not remain in their sin forever.
Then the reader is left to wonder when God will rescue humanity as he said, with the seed of woman? When will that be completed? When will the “seed of woman” crush the head of the serpent, when will the serpent strike the heel of this seed?
From the vantage point of history the Bible tells us that the seed of woman is Jesus. Satan struck Jesus, he wounded Jesus on the cross, but Jesus rose again and he is returning to crush Satan and all of his works underneath our feet. Romans 5 tells us that the fall came through one man, Adam, and that it brought sin and death to bear on us all. Likewise we will be reconciled by the one man, Christ, the God-Man, and that through him we will not only be reconciled but we will also be given eternal life, and made to reign with him.
Second, it is clear that when people respect the differences between men and women as equal in the heart and mind of God, and value the opposite sex, then they are most like God. When people refuse to dominate, and belittle. When they stop blaming, and accept responsibility for their own actions. When they refuse to remain silent, and stand up for the oppressed. When they hate their own sin, rather than make trite excuses for it, then they are becoming most like God, and that is the point of this whole endeavor; for us all to be more like God. But pointing fingers at women, pointing fingers at the men, this will not solve anything. In fact, it will perpetuate fallen behavior, and make us more like the devil and less like God. It will cause us to doubt God more, and trust God less. Is that really what any of us really wants?
Third, we need to restore the good name of God on the earth. Don’t let those lies be perpetuated. Don’t let people accuse God of evil. Don’t accuse God of cursing you or punishing you every time life gets hard. Own your own stuff! Stupid is as stupid does. Life is not like a box of chocolates, its like a jar of jalapeños. What you do today may burn your butt tomorrow. Right?
The fall is much more than an explanation of our condition, because unlike sin, Genesis 3 points us toward God, toward the message of redemption, and toward the hope in the seed of woman, Jesus. Be of great joy, help has arrived . . .
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Generally, the first question in everyone’s mind after reading this account is, who is the serpent? Is that Satan, is that the devil? Is that why the snake can talk? The answer is that the serpent is an adversary of God and man. One of the most misunderstood concepts in the Bible is Satan, or the devil, followed closely by the the anti-Christ, and the man of lawlessness. Most of these terms are not in reference to a single creature but a description of any creature who works against God to undue his works, or to oppose him. There are specific references to the Devil and his Angels in Revelation but here in this text the word satan never appears, but serpent is listed in Revelation 12.9 as one of the many names of the Dragon who is cast into hell, along with the names of ancient serpent. Satan and the devil. So to answer is that the serpent was just a serpent, but he did the bidding of the devil. Throughout the Bible, and the history of God’s people, the serpent has been assumed to be the personification of the devil. As far as the serpent talking, the Bible pictures both the Garden of Eden and heaven, as places where mankind and animals communicate. That the animals under the rule and reign of God, with man as the ruler of earth, that they give account to man, and are held accountable by man. It is only under the dark veil of sin that the relationship between man and the animals becomes adversarial, beginning with the curse upon the serpent, and God making Adam and Eve clothes out of animal hide, which also foreshadowed the temple ritual of animals dying for the sins of man, and God providing for the forgiveness of man and covering man’s shame. If you think about this passage it is loaded with foreshadowing, and layers of imagery for the mind to feast on. We don’t want to focus on that too much and distort the text, but it is pregnant with meaning.
Nonetheless, the serpent speaks to Eve, but it does not say why the serpent picks on her.
Why does the serpent choose Eve to pick-on? Is it because he wants to put division between woman and man? Is it because she did not learn about the prohibition from God but rather from the man, and she is a little fuzzy on the topic. I doubt that because she articulates the teaching well before she gives in to sin. Or is it because she more than Adam represents humanity, because she was made by man, she is supposed to be protected by the man, he is supposed to care for her like God loves his people (Jews or the church). And in deceiving her rather than Adam it sets up a false but powerful parallel that plays to our deepest fears, that God lets bad stuff happen, that he sits silent, that God does not defend us, that God does not care about us, and that when its done, he unjustly blames us.
What’s the first thing Adam does when he is confronted by God, he blames her, he blames God. That woman that you gave me. It is your fault God, you set me up to fail. You put the tree here, you gave me the woman, this is all your fault, and her fault. Let me tell you, WE are never more like Satan and less like God then when we blame others, unless it is when we keep silent and do nothing to defend those who are being destroyed by others. That is why the serpent picks on her, and secondly it is because the serpent wants to disrupt the relationship between man and woman. As God is explaining the consequences of the fall God tells the woman, that her husband will rule over her. Before that moment she was his perfect mate and she completed him, they were a team, each with his/her own role, and joyful in their relationship, but now the consequence of sin is that their relationship is jacked-up. Not that God is punishing them by jacking-up the relationship, but God is explaining the fall out of their fall.
Remember also, that in this text, not everything God says is judgment. He already told them that the judgment would be death. The judgment on sin is death, but the fall out of sin in the world is: disease, wars, deformity, tidal waves, earthquakes, floods, etc. When man let sin into the world, then sin let death into the world, and death employed destruction who turns loose a rampage and suffering of every sort. So, when someone tells you that there sin only hurts themselves, don’t you believe it. Their sin and ours, stirs the pot of death and destruction, and the wake, the fall-out, the repercussions of it all makes people suffer and doubt God, while daring to stand in judgment of God, and question his morality for “letting this happen.” Again with the blaming?
Remember too that the man is present when the woman eats. The man does not stop the woman from sinning, and then he joins her in the sin, but knowingly and willfully. Then their eyes are opened, and they realize they are naked. Guys, did you know that every problem in your sex life began with a man being silent, being passive, and letting sin destroy their relationship? Guys are notorious for this sin. Men, you cannot be silent and passive in your home. That one is for free guys.
The point is that sin has entered the picture, and it brings spiritual death, it brings death to the animals to make leather, it brings death because access to the tree of life is cut off, making us mortal. Spiritual death enters, because now our relationship with God is impure on our part, full of doubts, distrust, and unbelief.
Then, GOD COMES TO THE RESCUE.
This is not saying that God does not pass judgment; God is just, and all God’s ways are true, but it is important to see God’s role clearly here in this text. God not only comes as judge, but God comes in to rescue. Remember in the beginning God said, in the day that you eat of it you will surely die, but notice that after God gets the facts, God begins judgment with the serpent:
*You did this
*You are cursed
*Your fate is worse than any other animal
*On your belly you will be, eating dust.
*There will be distrust, strife, war between mankind and snakes. Man will not trust you.
**And a day is coming when a male seed of woman, will crush you, even though you strike him first, he will crush you. Here in lies our first hint of the gospel. The promise that humanity will be restored, and that our enemy will be destroyed. Note also that no where else in all of the Bible is seed, as reference to descendants, ever appear in female form. It is always male seed line, never female. But here it is the seed of woman. Then remember that Jesus was the seed of woman and God, not that of Joseph . . . Also be mindful that even the Apostle Paul made the connection when he said in Romans 16.20 that, “And the God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath our feet.”
Second, God turns to the woman. Note that God does not curse her. Instead God tells her how sin will disrupt her roles in life. First, God tells her that she will experience pain in childbirth, and bring forth children in pain, specifically the idea is more than just physical pain that childbirth brings. Although it never spells out what other kind of pain, it seems safe to fill in that blank with the any other pain associated with children and life (e.g. psychological, emotional, spiritual). Then God adds, “your desire will be for your husband.” The word her for desire is the same word used to describe how sin wanted to master, or subdue Cain (Genesis 4.7). It means that the result of sin is that now you will want to rule or subdue your husband and he will dominate, you. The point is that this is the beginning of the war between the sexes. Not as punishment but as fall out. It is never called a curse, she is just told that the result of this act has put this into their relationship. Before you wanted to be your husbands helpmate, you were happy to labor with him, but now you will want to dominate him, yet he will dominate you instead. That is the result of sin! This is important because in the restoration of all things, in the end, there is no marriage, we will be like the angles, neither male nor female, not given in marriage. There will be no more striving between the sexes when God is king.
Then God turns to the man. Again God does not curse the man, God curses the ground. It is fitting as a response to Adam eating the fruit, because both Adam and the tree come forth from the earth. Adam, the Hebrew word for man (a’dam), literally means, of the earth., while a’damah is the earth. So the ground, from which you came is cursed, and to earth one day you will return, meaning of course, you will die, just as God said you would when God first gave the prohibition, but God does not curse the man. He only spells out the consequences.
Then on the heels of the pronouncement sin's effect begins. The domination of the woman by the man is insinuated because Adam gives her a name, just like he did the animals. God clothes the man and woman with skin, both to rescue them and to cover them, but animals die because of their sin. God also rescues them by cutting them off from the tree of life, so that they would not remain in their sin forever.
Then the reader is left to wonder when God will rescue humanity as he said, with the seed of woman? When will that be completed? When will the “seed of woman” crush the head of the serpent, when will the serpent strike the heel of this seed?
From the vantage point of history the Bible tells us that the seed of woman is Jesus. Satan struck Jesus, he wounded Jesus on the cross, but Jesus rose again and he is returning to crush Satan and all of his works underneath our feet. Romans 5 tells us that the fall came through one man, Adam, and that it brought sin and death to bear on us all. Likewise we will be reconciled by the one man, Christ, the God-Man, and that through him we will not only be reconciled but we will also be given eternal life, and made to reign with him.
Second, it is clear that when people respect the differences between men and women as equal in the heart and mind of God, and value the opposite sex, then they are most like God. When people refuse to dominate, and belittle. When they stop blaming, and accept responsibility for their own actions. When they refuse to remain silent, and stand up for the oppressed. When they hate their own sin, rather than make trite excuses for it, then they are becoming most like God, and that is the point of this whole endeavor; for us all to be more like God. But pointing fingers at women, pointing fingers at the men, this will not solve anything. In fact, it will perpetuate fallen behavior, and make us more like the devil and less like God. It will cause us to doubt God more, and trust God less. Is that really what any of us really wants?
Third, we need to restore the good name of God on the earth. Don’t let those lies be perpetuated. Don’t let people accuse God of evil. Don’t accuse God of cursing you or punishing you every time life gets hard. Own your own stuff! Stupid is as stupid does. Life is not like a box of chocolates, its like a jar of jalapeños. What you do today may burn your butt tomorrow. Right?
The fall is much more than an explanation of our condition, because unlike sin, Genesis 3 points us toward God, toward the message of redemption, and toward the hope in the seed of woman, Jesus. Be of great joy, help has arrived . . .
Monday, April 23, 2012
Inspired Revelation
“. . . then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” (Genesis 2.7)
One of the most notable differences between the creation account in Genesis 1.1-2.3 and Genesis 2.5-25 in that in the second creation account God uses the dust of the earth in the creation of man. Up to this point creation had been ‘ex nihilo’ meaning that God spoke it into existence out of nothing. In the creation of man God creates ‘ex partum’ he forms man out of that which is already created, out of the dust. Something else that God does different too is that God put his own breath into man. The symbolism is unmistakeable, man is god-breathed, the inspired revelation of God, about God. Inspiration is a word thrown around all too loosely these days, but it literally means the breath of God. When God said that he created man in his own image and likeness, he was already saying something about humanity’s unique status. So it should be of no surprise that we are uniquely the inspired revelation about God, that we uniquely reveal the character, heart, and nature of God in a way that nothing else in creation does. Even what we do has a way of making statements about God, even when those statements are wrong. For instance the classic, but poorly reasoned, cliche, “If God is so good how can there be so much evil in the world.” My response to my fellow image bearer is look in the mirror at yourself, as the jewel of creation, and ask yourself why do you do evil. When you figure that out, then you will know why there is evil in the world.
So then, as the inspired revelation of God, our lives either speak of God’s glory or our own fallen condition, either of which still point to God. Either because we are like him, or our lives declare our need for him. But what else might our lives say about God? If we continue through Genesis 2 we can read about our dominion over the earth and all the creatures within and we can certainly see how Psalm 82.6 might declare that as children of God we are like gods over the earth, and then we can look at our footprint on the earth and ask to what degree has God been glorified by our actions? Or not? We can read about the creation of woman, the implied intimacy of that relationship and ask to what ends has marriage declared the glory of God? And to what ends have we proved that the justice of God and the final judgment been provoked by the way we have treated others created in God’s image?
What does it mean for you and I as human beings to be the inspired revelation of God? What does it mean that we get to make known who God is? What are the implications of that? What are the implications of living in a way that does not glorify God, in a way that makes false statements about who God is? What does your life, your actions, your words, your family connections, and the treatment of your animals, possessions and spouse tell the world about God?
We are the most beautiful reflection of God, when we are most human. We are least like God when we run on animal urges and selfishly use, consume, and abuse everything that God has given us here in his creation, from resources, to animals, to other human beings. Why not be a great revelation?
One of the most notable differences between the creation account in Genesis 1.1-2.3 and Genesis 2.5-25 in that in the second creation account God uses the dust of the earth in the creation of man. Up to this point creation had been ‘ex nihilo’ meaning that God spoke it into existence out of nothing. In the creation of man God creates ‘ex partum’ he forms man out of that which is already created, out of the dust. Something else that God does different too is that God put his own breath into man. The symbolism is unmistakeable, man is god-breathed, the inspired revelation of God, about God. Inspiration is a word thrown around all too loosely these days, but it literally means the breath of God. When God said that he created man in his own image and likeness, he was already saying something about humanity’s unique status. So it should be of no surprise that we are uniquely the inspired revelation about God, that we uniquely reveal the character, heart, and nature of God in a way that nothing else in creation does. Even what we do has a way of making statements about God, even when those statements are wrong. For instance the classic, but poorly reasoned, cliche, “If God is so good how can there be so much evil in the world.” My response to my fellow image bearer is look in the mirror at yourself, as the jewel of creation, and ask yourself why do you do evil. When you figure that out, then you will know why there is evil in the world.
So then, as the inspired revelation of God, our lives either speak of God’s glory or our own fallen condition, either of which still point to God. Either because we are like him, or our lives declare our need for him. But what else might our lives say about God? If we continue through Genesis 2 we can read about our dominion over the earth and all the creatures within and we can certainly see how Psalm 82.6 might declare that as children of God we are like gods over the earth, and then we can look at our footprint on the earth and ask to what degree has God been glorified by our actions? Or not? We can read about the creation of woman, the implied intimacy of that relationship and ask to what ends has marriage declared the glory of God? And to what ends have we proved that the justice of God and the final judgment been provoked by the way we have treated others created in God’s image?
What does it mean for you and I as human beings to be the inspired revelation of God? What does it mean that we get to make known who God is? What are the implications of that? What are the implications of living in a way that does not glorify God, in a way that makes false statements about who God is? What does your life, your actions, your words, your family connections, and the treatment of your animals, possessions and spouse tell the world about God?
We are the most beautiful reflection of God, when we are most human. We are least like God when we run on animal urges and selfishly use, consume, and abuse everything that God has given us here in his creation, from resources, to animals, to other human beings. Why not be a great revelation?
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Incarnational or Relevant?
A friend of mine is reading John Drane’s book, After McDonaldization: Mission, Ministry, and Christian Discipleship in an Age of Uncertainty. In the process of reading the book he read a quote from the book and posed a question to all of us to ponder. He said, In the chapter on ministry he [Drane], makes the comment, '… our calling is not to be relevant, but to be incarnational.' What does that mean to you?" In my response to him I felt inspired to write a short blog post because I think the question is so relevant to all of us in the church today. Actually topic was an underlying thread of thought in my dissertation, because much of my own career in ministry had been a journey down the slippery slope of relevance that led to unfruitful ends.
Relevant and incarnational ministry look alike from the outside observer, but the two are wholly different. Relevance begins with culture and sets the culture as the standard and asks questions like, How do we speak to society? How do we minister in our social context? The goal is adapting the message to the culture in a way that we hope speaks to the culture.
In contrast, nothing was more relevant than the incarnation, yet it was not accommodating, instead it was transformational. Much like the difference in Romans 12.2 between transformation and conforming to this age. Conforming and transforming also look a great deal alike. Within American christendom there is a great deal of conforming to church norms and church culture. Most church goers accommodate the teachings of the church while being within the walls of the church, but there is very little transformation. In fact, most church people have learned to accommodate all the surroundings. So its the church on Sunday and then they accommodate the spirit of the age on Monday, without giving any thought to being consistent, let alone transformational.
In the same line of thought, relevance leads to conforming, and incarnational ministry leads to transformation. Incarnational ministry begins with the assumption that the good news is good news in any age, regardless of current social trappings. So from starting point of incarnational ministry, it is not that I set out to write cool, relevant songs for worship. Instead, I write music from the vantage point of one who has been transformed, yet still lives in this present age. Both approaches result in modern worship songs, but the message is not the same, at all.
Likewise, in preaching from the text, the incarnational word brings everything to the table that is needed to transform lives and speak a relevant message. When I preach God's Word it is I, the messenger, that will either put it into my current context, or teach it as irrelevant history. It is I who will relate and translate out of my being a contemporary with my listener. These two approaches may sound similar, and these two may look very much the same from the outside, but they are wholly different.
Those who seek to be relevant feel that we must make the message relevant, and assume the message is archaic. Those who seek to be incarnational assume that the message is relevant already, and preach a message to their contemporaries, as one among them in need of the gospel, and not as one teaching about the past. Those degrees of difference lead to destinations that are worlds apart.
I must note at this point that some will attach themselves to the idea of being incarnational, simply to hide behind their unwillingness to change, their complete irrelevance to their surroundings, and then argue that their worn-out, tired presentations, are in fact grounded in the transformational word, and thus relevant to all who will listen. I heard this excuse from many of my professors in Bible college who had developed a war chest of old sermons and had stopped growing as disciples of Jesus thirty-years prior to my conversion. That kind of ministry is not incarnational or relevant.
On the other hand, ministry that is truly incarnational will be relevant, while those who strive to be relevant will be neither incarnational nor truly relevant.
Relevant and incarnational ministry look alike from the outside observer, but the two are wholly different. Relevance begins with culture and sets the culture as the standard and asks questions like, How do we speak to society? How do we minister in our social context? The goal is adapting the message to the culture in a way that we hope speaks to the culture.
In contrast, nothing was more relevant than the incarnation, yet it was not accommodating, instead it was transformational. Much like the difference in Romans 12.2 between transformation and conforming to this age. Conforming and transforming also look a great deal alike. Within American christendom there is a great deal of conforming to church norms and church culture. Most church goers accommodate the teachings of the church while being within the walls of the church, but there is very little transformation. In fact, most church people have learned to accommodate all the surroundings. So its the church on Sunday and then they accommodate the spirit of the age on Monday, without giving any thought to being consistent, let alone transformational.
In the same line of thought, relevance leads to conforming, and incarnational ministry leads to transformation. Incarnational ministry begins with the assumption that the good news is good news in any age, regardless of current social trappings. So from starting point of incarnational ministry, it is not that I set out to write cool, relevant songs for worship. Instead, I write music from the vantage point of one who has been transformed, yet still lives in this present age. Both approaches result in modern worship songs, but the message is not the same, at all.
Likewise, in preaching from the text, the incarnational word brings everything to the table that is needed to transform lives and speak a relevant message. When I preach God's Word it is I, the messenger, that will either put it into my current context, or teach it as irrelevant history. It is I who will relate and translate out of my being a contemporary with my listener. These two approaches may sound similar, and these two may look very much the same from the outside, but they are wholly different.
Those who seek to be relevant feel that we must make the message relevant, and assume the message is archaic. Those who seek to be incarnational assume that the message is relevant already, and preach a message to their contemporaries, as one among them in need of the gospel, and not as one teaching about the past. Those degrees of difference lead to destinations that are worlds apart.
I must note at this point that some will attach themselves to the idea of being incarnational, simply to hide behind their unwillingness to change, their complete irrelevance to their surroundings, and then argue that their worn-out, tired presentations, are in fact grounded in the transformational word, and thus relevant to all who will listen. I heard this excuse from many of my professors in Bible college who had developed a war chest of old sermons and had stopped growing as disciples of Jesus thirty-years prior to my conversion. That kind of ministry is not incarnational or relevant.
On the other hand, ministry that is truly incarnational will be relevant, while those who strive to be relevant will be neither incarnational nor truly relevant.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Blessed Be His Name: When He Gives and When He Takes Away
A few years ago Matt Redman wrote a song entitled, Blessed Be the Name. The chorus of that song says, “He gives and takes away but blessed be his name.” That chorus reflects a foundational theology of the church, that God is good, but that we do not always understand why he does what he does. It also reflects that life is bitter-sweet, that the good and the bad are always right there together. I have been reflecting on that truth recently as I have been in the middle of getting this new church up and running.
This has been one of the most exciting church starts I have ever been a part of, and I really love all the people who are part of it. Every morning I awake with a sense of expectation and excitement about pastoring this church plant. In the midst of this excitement and joy, I have also been choking on a bitter pill, the demise of a church I planted about 15 years ago in Michigan. That Michigan church was once an exciting and vibrant church, it made the news paper many times for innovative outreaches, it was known in the community as an outward focused church, and it employed three full time pastors and several part time staff. Today, there are only 30-40 people, no staff, and the little group that remains want nothing to do with the vision that they began with. It is so sad . . .
As I look at both churches I am grateful for both of them. The lesson learned at the church in Michigan have shaped the church I am now planting in Florida. Many times I saw the Lord intervene on our behalf and I think of the faces, the names, and the events that led many people to salvation, to deeper walk with Christ, and the many healings, deliverances, and life changes that came through that ministry. The Lord gave those blessings full well knowing that one day that church would be in the state of health that it is now. Even now he is blessing this new church plant, and only he knows if it will be here in two years, fifteen years, or 100 years. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, but blessed be the name of the Lord. In the midst of both the success and the failure of two churches I have questioned what might I have done different, did I leave the one church too early, should I have intervened more after I left. No, I am certain that God told me whom to leave in charge, when to leave there and go to Mexico, and to come here to Florida rather than return to Michigan. I am certain he knows what he is doing. I am certain he gave me and my family to the church in Michigan, and it was him that led us away, even though it was very hard to leave. He gives and takes away, but blessed be his name.
Even so, I must admit that as I think about what has happened in Michigan I cannot help but be concerned for the other churches I have planted, or worked with, and even this plant now. I want to build with silver and gold, not hay, wood and stubble (1 Corinthians 3.12). How do I reconcile it all? I must own that which is my doing, but more over I must trust God in what he is doing. That he loves all those involved even more than I.
This has been one of the most exciting church starts I have ever been a part of, and I really love all the people who are part of it. Every morning I awake with a sense of expectation and excitement about pastoring this church plant. In the midst of this excitement and joy, I have also been choking on a bitter pill, the demise of a church I planted about 15 years ago in Michigan. That Michigan church was once an exciting and vibrant church, it made the news paper many times for innovative outreaches, it was known in the community as an outward focused church, and it employed three full time pastors and several part time staff. Today, there are only 30-40 people, no staff, and the little group that remains want nothing to do with the vision that they began with. It is so sad . . .
As I look at both churches I am grateful for both of them. The lesson learned at the church in Michigan have shaped the church I am now planting in Florida. Many times I saw the Lord intervene on our behalf and I think of the faces, the names, and the events that led many people to salvation, to deeper walk with Christ, and the many healings, deliverances, and life changes that came through that ministry. The Lord gave those blessings full well knowing that one day that church would be in the state of health that it is now. Even now he is blessing this new church plant, and only he knows if it will be here in two years, fifteen years, or 100 years. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, but blessed be the name of the Lord. In the midst of both the success and the failure of two churches I have questioned what might I have done different, did I leave the one church too early, should I have intervened more after I left. No, I am certain that God told me whom to leave in charge, when to leave there and go to Mexico, and to come here to Florida rather than return to Michigan. I am certain he knows what he is doing. I am certain he gave me and my family to the church in Michigan, and it was him that led us away, even though it was very hard to leave. He gives and takes away, but blessed be his name.
Even so, I must admit that as I think about what has happened in Michigan I cannot help but be concerned for the other churches I have planted, or worked with, and even this plant now. I want to build with silver and gold, not hay, wood and stubble (1 Corinthians 3.12). How do I reconcile it all? I must own that which is my doing, but more over I must trust God in what he is doing. That he loves all those involved even more than I.
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