In the Beginning - Pt.3

If we imagine that we are still in the theatre that I pictured in Pt.2, then the opening chorus has now ended, and we may settle down to watch the hero of the play, and the heroine. We think of them as Adam and Eve. We move, now, into the main part of Genesis ch.2.

The first chapter of Genesis was what we might refer to as a cosmic, God's-eye view of the creation, with human beings, created in the image of the Creator, as the climax of the process. However, when we come to the second chapter, we find that the focus has shifted. This presentation of the Creation is down at ground level, with humanity at the centre. The account follows a repeated pattern of defining a need; providing an answer; and establishing a rule.

The first area that is dealt with is that of the earth itself. The need, here, is for cultivation: "In the day that YHWH Elohim made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up - for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground ..." (Gen 2:4-6). The answer to that need was to create man, who was intended to take care of the garden and the surrounding landscape. "... then YHWH Elohim formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. And YHWH Elohim planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there He put the man whom He had formed. ... ... YHWH Elohim took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it." (Gen 2:7-8, 15). 

However, there was a condition set! "And YHWH Elohim commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die." (Gen 2:16-17). That condition establishes a rule - "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" symbolises doing things our own way, and we are told that, instead, we are to trust and obey the words of Almighty God. One does not need to be a professional student of history to realise that being able to say (or sing!) "I did it my way", is a root cause for all of the trouble that has been, and is, experienced all over the world.

The second issue concerns man himself. The need that is recognised is that man needs a suitable helper: "Then YHWH Elohim said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.' " (Gen 2:18). The answer to that need is dealt with: "So YHWH Elohim caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib which YHWH Elohim had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man." (Gen 2:21-22). She is instantly recognised, by the man, as one who is "like himself" - as opposed to the various animals that he had named. In the first poetic passage in the Bible, he says: "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." (Gen 2:23). The record continues: "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh." (Gen 2:24).

So, what is the rule here? I would suggest that it is of a one-partner, life-long, relationship that we call "marriage". This does not mean that there is anything 'wrong' or 'incomplete' about those who are not married! It does mean that any physical, sexual relationship outwith marriage is wrong in the eyes of the Creator. There is also the rule of "equality". That great old commentator, Matthew Henry, writes: "The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved." The two genders, whether married or single, need one another as equal partners - but with different needs, abilities, strengths, and responsibilities - in every activity and community. 

It's a lovely picture that we see in those earliest days of the history of planet Earth and its people. How tragic it is that all was soon to be spoiled - but that is for next time!

Newsflash!

Good evening! We interrupt the series on "Beginnings" with news of a dramatic event outside the city of Jerusalem. Actually, the event occurred almost 2,000 years ago, but its effect is still felt throughout the world today. I refer, of course, to the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, who had been crucified, and entombed, just a couple of days earlier. This was stupendous news then; it is equally stupendous news now. Well, it is if it is true! But what if it is what would nowadays be termed "fake news"?

There have certainly been those who have made that claim, and offered alternaive "theories" for what happened at the time. For example, there are those who claim that Jesus didn't actually die. What really happened, they claim, is that He swooned and, in the cool atmosphere of the tomb, He revived, made His way out, and claimed that He had risen from the dead!

Well, it may sound reasonable - but let's look a little more closely. This is a man who, prior to His crucifixion, suffered beating and lashing. The latter consisted of a whip, like the (in)famous "cat o' nine tails" (the true origin, by the way, of the saying: "There isn't room to swing a cat" - nothing to do with cruel treatment of our feline friends!). However, the Roman equivalent had the pieces of bone, and of metal, tied into the thongs. These cut deeply into the back of the victim - and many died from that treatment alone. Jesus was then forced to carry the crossbeam od the very cross on which He would be crucified, to the place of the execution of the death penalty. He was already, in His physical body, so weak that He was stumbling, and the Roman soldiers - not renowned for the pouring out of "the milk of human kindness" - eventually forced an onlooker to carry it for Him. It certainly wouldn't do for the condemned Man to die before His time! At Golgotha, the crossbeam was attached to the vertical post; the victim was thrown down on to it (not gently laid!) and by the use of ropes and nails, fastened to it. The cross was then raised, dropped into a prepared hole (try to imagine the physical agony thus generated!), and made steady with heavy stones that were put into the hole. 

The victim was left hanging, naked (the loincloth which Jesus is usually portrayed as wearing is a matter of respect, not authenticity!), while the soldiers of the execution squad shared out the belongings among themselves. Death could take as much as three days - and two days were apparently common - but, because it was close to Shabbat (that commenced at sunset), the Jewish hierarchy asked that the Roman soldiers speed things up. This was done by the simple expedient of breaking the legs of the victims. which meant that the victims could no longer push themselves up, and allow themselves release from slow suffocation. However, it wasn't as easy to do as one might think and, when they came to Jesus, they realised that He was already dead. Of course, just to make sure, they stabbed Him with a spear. An eye-witness account states that "... when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water." (John 19:33-34). 

Now, I confess that, when I was a great deal younger, and much less knowledgeable, I pictured that as being similar to the Mr Softee Ice-cream Machine with a choice of vanilla flavour, strawberry flavour, or a combination that issued from the appropriate nozzle as a single flow that was half of each flavour. However, modern medical science indicates that what John saw - from a distance of several yards - was blood that had gathered in the space between the chest wall and the lung. This, in a dead body, would have separated with the heavier red blood cells at the bottom, and the lighter, clear, plasma above. The red cells would have issued first, followed by the plasma which would have looked (certainly to a 1st century fisherman!) just like water! The point is that, unwittingly, John provided irrefutable evidence that Jesus was dead!

There can be no doubt about it. The Jesus Whose wonderful resurrection we remember, in a special way, today, was dead when Hios body was laid in the tomb.

Tyere are a number of other theories offered - but not one of them stands up to inspection. This post is now quite long enough, so I shan't look at any others. However, I may manage, if the Rapture is delayed, and I am still alive and well, to look at another one (or two!) next year! For now, I end with the age-honoured  declaration: "Jesus is risen!" "He is risen indeed!". "Glory, Hallelujah!"

In the Beginning, Pt 2 ...!

In the previous post, we looked at the first 19 verses of the 1st chapter of the Book of Genesis (the Book of Beginnings). As we continue, let us imagine that we are an audience. We are in our seats. The Overture has finished, and the curtain has gone up to reveal the backdrop. Now, from "stage left" and "stage right"; from above, and below; the characters enter. First of all there is the crowd scene; then the heroes arrive on stage.

The Creator has made an environment that is capable of supporting life. Now, He lets loose a flurry of fin, feather, and fur  to fill it. Do notice that human beings don't get a creation day to themselves, being created on the sixth day with all of the other «beasts of the earth» (Gen.1:25) - the creatures that inhabited the land. From one perspective, we are a part pf the animal creation.

However, Almighty God planned a very special role for us in the world. «Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” ... And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”» (vs. 26, 28). He appointed us to be His agents, or stewards, to run the planet for Him. This is the work He has designed us to do. 

But that is not all. He also desires that we reflect His own character! «Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; ... So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.» (vs.26, 27). Being like God means treating the natural world both responsibly and constructively. Notice, too, that in spite of the claims of some in our contemporary world, there were, and are, only two genders - male and female. That is the Biblical position and, I would contend, the position of common sense and observation! What does it mean to be «created in His image»? That, too, is a subject on its own, and something to which I may return!

He also created us to rest with Him. «And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all His work which He had done in creation.» (2:2-3). God's "rest" is not idleness! He has finished a perfect job - «And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.» (1:31; emphasis added) - so there is no more creating to do. Of course, He has been busy ever since, with other work - sustaining, guiding, feeding, etc. He is not the "god who creates, and then ignores" that some propose! And we must never forget His great work of redemption through the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross at Calvary, and His glorious resurrection. But the Creator built into human nature the need to make one day of the week different - to break off from our daily work, to celebrate His work, and to turn to things for which there may be no time on other days.

Sadly, as we look around, we see much abuse of God's plan for the world. We see exploitation of the environment, and cruelty to animals. We see indignities to people who are made in His image, including man's dominance over women, rather than partnership with them. We see waste and misuse. We see some who have little or nothing, while others have far more than they need. How can this be? That is a question that the Book of Genesis answers shortly - but it is for another post!

In the beginning ...!

The title of this post, many will have instantly realised, is the opening words, in most English language translations, of Genesis - the Book of Beginnings. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters." (Gen 1:1-2). That is the Revised Standard Version (my personal favourite), but I checked more than fifty versions, and found less than five that had slightly different words! The first eleven chapters of that book show what Almghty God, the Creator, had in mind when He made us, and explains why we think and feel as we do. In a world of chaos, we have - whether, or not, we consciously recognise it - a deep instinct to get back to the order and harmony that God designed at the start. 

I am old enough to remember when, in the UK, there was "television" - just one channel, with a break every few hours. During those interludes, a number of items were used to fill the time, one of which was a potter at his wheel. Perhaps you have seen something similar! The potter starts with a shapeless lump of clay that is thrown on to the wheel. Then from what is an appalling-looking mess of clay and water, the fingers and hands of the potter fashion a beautiful container, or whatever. That is not a bad illustration of God at work in Genesis.

Almighty God made everything. "... the heavens and the earth ..." refers, in contemporary understanding, to the whole known universe. He started by making His raw material - ex nihilo ("from nothing"!). Before He spoke, it was chaotic, formless, empty, dark, and deep. But God's Spirit was hovering, like a mother-bird fluttering above her nest, stirring her young to fly, bringing what is incomplete to maturity.

Of course, before a play can be staged, there's a lot of work involved in designing, constructing, and painting the scenery. That is, in effect, what we see Almighty God doing next.

[If you have access to a copy of the Bible (and if you are reading this, then you must have access to at least an electronic version, or versions!), read Genesis 1:3-19.  Do so slowly, aloud, and carefully in order to "get a feel" for the rhythms, and for words that are repeated].

Many, sadly, get so caught-up with the length of the "days", that they miss out on the basic lesson - that the Creator has a well-planned 'working week' that sets a pattern, and a rhythm, for all of our work. For the record, by the way, I believe in six literal days for the Creation, but I would not make this, in itself, a major issue. What is more important, I would suggest, is that none of this happened just "by chance" - the only reason why the billions of years postulated by the evolutionist, are required! 

Read the passage again, and see how the heavenly Father, steadily and methodically, tackles the different elements of the chaos of the first two verses. On the first day, He puts darkness in its place, gives it a use, and creates light to control it. Then, on the second day, He parcels out the deep into sea and rain, with sky and space to keep them apart. So, we see that what was formless begins to take shape. To go back to our earlier picture, the lump of clay still requires a lot of work - but at least it is beginning to look like a pot rather than a plate!

On the third day, God starts filling what was empty - the sea with dry land, and the land with life-supporting vegetation. On the fourth, He works some more on the lighting. The darkness will be tamed, rather than total, and the two great lights are set to add rhythm and marker-posts to the orderly passage of time (itself, of course, a created entity!). God has now created the conditions in which animal, and human, life can exist.

But what has all of this to say to you and to me, living - at the very least - some 6,000 years later? Well, I wonder if you are going through a chaotic time in your life. We are certainly living in a chaotic world. May I recommend that you turn all such matters over to the One Who spoke, and it was so?! His timetable is different from ours, and a situation may appear not to change immediately. But He is working out His own purposes and, as we walk closely to, and with, Him, we will know that peace that only He can give. That, in itself, will help to bring order to our lives - and even to the lives of those around us.