Keeper of the Garden

"And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good an devil thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:15-17)

The first verse in this passage gives evidence of yet another intimate link between God and man, and that link is part of God's creation: earth and all that is in it. God created a world, called it "good", made man in His own image, and then set man in the world to "keep" it.

I believe God intended man to "keep" it as He Himself would have done; to cherish and care for, as He Himself would have done, the soil, and the trees, and the plants, and the animals.

But the link is not just between God and man; for as we go on in Genesis we will see that there is a link between man and the earth. For what happens to man, happens to the earth and all that is on it as well, doesn't it?

And that would be so because man was created from the "dust of the ground"…God linked man and earth at the creation of man. So that as man is blessed so is the earth, and as man is cursed, so is the earth.

The question here is: What does that mean for us? And what aspect of God are we seeing in this "linking" between God and man and between man and the earth. For we know the Bible "reveals" God to us.

What is it we are seeing here?

Let this be our food for thought over the weekend. Monday we'll see what we've come up with and we'll also address the second part of the verse, especially "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

 

Finding Eden

"And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same it is that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates." (Genesis 2:10-14)

Our quest for today is to attempt to "find" the location of the Eden in which the Lord God made a garden (I say "attempt" because even the biblical scholars cannot agree on its location.) And as we ourselves are not biblical scholars, we will rely on the research of those who are; for example, 1) Strong's Concordance, 2) Holman's Bible Dictionary, 3) The Works of Josephus (not really scholarly as much as historical), and 4) Genesius's Lexicon, all of which might help us first identify the lands names in the passages above, and thus more easily identify the rivers, in the midst of which was located the Garden.

For example, Havilah has been determined by these scholars to be India. There are nine major rivers or river systems in India; but the two that scholars seem focused on in these passages are the Ganga (or Ganges) and the Indus. Scholars do not agree unanimously, but of these two the Indus seems to be most preferred as it is located furthest north in India giving it the closest proximity to the Garden of Eden area, as well as closet proximity to the area that the Hebrew nation inhabited. The Pison (or Pishon) was a river that "went out of Eden," perhaps denoting that its source was in the midst of the garden somewhere.

Before we go on to the next river however, we might note that in this area of India the bible states there was gold, bdellium (which scholars believe to be pearls) and onyx. I found it very interesting to discover that India does in fact have its own gold mines, but still it must import most of its gold as it is the highest consumer and importer of gold in the world. What a sad and telling contrast! Millions of people live in garbage heaps in India, while millions of others are busy buying gold, mostly of it as jewelry.

Moving on to Gihon, the name in Hebrew means "bursting forth," possibly denoting fountains or springs as a source. The location of the Gihon is easily established since Ethiopia is still known as Ethiopia today, and while scholars are not in unity on this, it might be what we know as the Nile.

The third river, Hiddekel, means "rapid" in Hebrew. Assyria (or Asshur) was a land that included Babylonia and Mesopotamia. Assyria and the Persian empire are linked biblically, and this area would include parts of modern Iran and Iraq. It is believed then that the river is the Tigres.

The fourth river is the Euphrates in Syria, and is the largest and longest river of western Asia. It rises from two chief sources in the Armenian mountains and flows into the Persian Gulf. Its name denotes "sweet water" or pleasant tasting water.

So, now that we (possibly) have the rivers identified and the land that is enclosed in the midst of them, where is the Garden of Eden? Well, it appears that it could be in Turkey, or Iran or Iraq, or that it emcompassed parts of all three.

But, the truth is that while we know it was here on earth at one point, it is no longer here, at least not as it once was. Yet we will see as we get further into Genesis that God did not destroy Eden.

When we get to that point in Genesis where we see the "closing" of the Garden of Eden, we will add further information to this subject and see what conclusions we arrive at.

 

 

 

From the Dust of the Ground

Going back for a moment to Genesis 2:7 – "Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life, and man became a living being." (Amplified Version)

My Amplified bible note says this: "The same essential chemical elements are found in man and animal life that are in the soil. This scientific fact was not known to man until recent times, but God was displaying it here."

In other words, the writer of the book of Genesis, generally agreed to be Moses, had no way of knowing (when he wrote this odd thing about man being made "from the dust of the ground") that centuries later scientists would confirm the very thing that he was writing. We know, of course, that what he was writing was truth, because we know that it was written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God Himself; therefore it would have to be true. Thus the confirmation of the chemical composition of man being equal to that of the dust of the ground comes as no surprise to Christians who understand the truths that this Book holds and where they come from. Yet, it is always delightful to have it confirmed…for the sake of those who don't yet believe.

I thought that was an interesting side note.

But of greater importance really, is the section of the passage that says "breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life." This evokes for me a sense of intimacy from the beginning; intimacy between the Creator and His creation. Such closeness is involved in order to breathe into a person's nostrils.

Then compare this scripture passage to that in John 3:8 when Jesus is explaining the need to be "born-again" to Nicodemus:

"The wind [pneuma] blows [pnei] where it wills…but you do not know from where it comes…so is everyone who is born of the Spirit [ek tou pneumatos]."

I have included the Greek words for "wind", "blows" and "of the Spirit" so that we can see they are tied together by a common root word: pneuma which means wind, breath, or a movement of air as in a gentle blast.

Here we see that just as in the beginning, when the Spirit of God gave man life, now after the Fall, the Spirit restores or creates new life once more in those who are "born-again." Sin brought death to us, but the Spirit of God (through Jesus Christ who conquered death) gives us life again.

As it was then, the breath of a Holy God being intimately transferred to man, so it is now….to those who would receive it.

Knowledge of Good and Evil

Often, because we know the future events surrounding "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," we have a tendency to think of the tree itself as being evil. That perhaps the fruit of this particular tree is bad for human consumption, whether physically or spiritually

Yet we know that nothing that the Lord made was bad. He proclaimed it all to be "good!" So it can't be that the fruit of that tree was bad.

So, let's look at only the tree itself, or the fruit of the tree, at this point.

If we go back to the name given to the "tree of life" and understand by its name that it "gives" life; then the same practice could be applied to this tree. Its name being "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" seems to tell us that it also "gives" knowledge of good and evil.

Again, the tree of life we understand gives life as in "immortality." That was clear from the other scriptures that refer to the tree of life. It doesn't seem to indicate that there is life given and that eventually that life will end in death. It indicates life everlasting; as God Himself is everlasting, having no beginning and no end.

Well, then the other tree must "give" knowledge that never ceases as well. It is clear to us that God Himself has such everlasting knowledge that does not cease, of both good and evil.

But we should also pay careful attention to the fact that the knowledge given by this tree is of BOTH good AND evil; not just of evil. Why is that important to note?

I think it is because just as we understand darkness as being the absence of light, we must first understand what light is or we would never understand that the darkness is lacking in light. Do you see?

So to understand what evil is one must also understand what good is. And I would think that this knowledge carries a burden of weight or responsibility with it. At least it does, in comparison to a new-born infant who has no knowledge of either.

The infant cannot discern that "oh this diaper is warm and dry and therefore it is good". Versus "this diaper is damp and mushy and therefore it is bad". The infant only knows what it's sensory perceptions tell it; the infant's mind is not developed enough to "label" it good or evil. Perhaps this is what "innocence" is.

But now add "knowledge" to that infant's mind, and things change; innocence is lost. And everything then becomes "labeled" either good or evil. And once that process begins it cannot stop….at least not without divine intervention.

How do you think our Father intended for us to be: innocent as new-born infants, or having knowledge of good AND evil? How did He create us to be originally?

Well, there's something to think about until we get further into Genesis.

Symbol of Paradise Lost and Regained

Very little is said in Genesis about the Tree of Life; it is mentioned only three times in Genesis 2 and 3. We are told it "stood in the midst of the garden." And we are told that after Adam and Eve sinned, God made sure that neither of them were able to get to and eat of the Tree of Life. In fact, He banished them from the Garden, specifically because of the Tree of Life. The question is why?

And the answer is simply "lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever." (Gen. 3:22) God did not want man to live forever in his fallen condition.

But there are several biblical references that use "a" tree of life as an analogy:

• Wisdom "is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her" (Proverbs 3:18);
  
• "the fruit of righteousness is a tree of life" (Proverbs 11:30);
  
• "a gentle tongue is a tree of life" (Proverbs 15:4)
  

And there are the references to "the" Tree of Life in Revelation:

• "to him who overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." (Revelation 2:7);
  
• "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:1-2);
  
• "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." (Revelation 22:14).
  

It doesn't quite seem as though "the" Tree of Life is one tree. For Revelation 22:1-2 describes the tree of life being on either side of the river which I take to mean "both" sides of the river. It could be that the Tree of Life is the name of a species of tree, the fruit of which causes one to live forever, and the leaves of which are medicinal, or healing; possibly, but not limited to, spiritual healing. It is clearly a tree that bears fruit each and every month, no matter the season.

Jesus is "the way, the truth and the life." (John 14:6) "In Him was life" (John 1:4). The Tree of Life could be symbolic of Jesus who declared Himself to be "living water" to the woman at the well, or as the same scripture in Revelation 22:1-2 describes "a pure river of life."

The Tree of Life is a reminder of Paradise Lost in Genesis, and is the hope of Paradise Regained in Revelation….hope possible only through the One who is the Life: Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

Plantings in the Mist

"These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth, when they were created in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, and every plant of the field before it was in the earth and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to til the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil." (Genesis 2:4-9)

 It turns out that these particular passages seem to present a lot of trouble for some folks. They have found a way to "interpret" these to indicate that there was a second creation. I don't believe this to be the case at all; in fact, I think it takes quite a stretch of imagination to read that into these verses. I believe it is false teaching and so we won't delve into it here.

The same folks seem to have an issue with the fact that elsewhere God created everything by speaking it into existence, yet here He "forms" man out dust. Those same folks perhaps need to read Genesis 1 over again, only this time more slowly and more carefully.

"God said" and "it was so" happened with 1) light, 2) the gathering of the waters, 3) the grass, herb-yielding seed, and fruit trees, and 4) the lights in the heavens. The things God "made" or "created" (indicating that some effort other than just speaking them into existence occurred) were 1) the firmament, 2) the sun and moon, 3) the creatures of the sea, 4) the living creatures of the earth, 5) and man. Not to say that God could not have spoken these into existence if He so chose, just that it is stated differently in the scriptures. And if we just take the Word at its Word, it appears these things were created a bit differently, for purposes that God alone understands.

Thus, rather than come up with some weird second creation story, the simpler way to read these verses is to say that the author of the book of Genesis gave a quick accounting of creation in Genesis 1, and went into more detail in Genesis 2. We often do this ourselves when relating a story…we give the important highlights and then go into more detail if time allows.

But the other trouble here (or so "they" say) is that the verses declare that every plant and herb was created "before" they were IN the earth and "before" they grew. I still don't know how that relates to a second creation. All it tells me is that God created the plants BEFORE He put them in the ground. Not impossible for Him. Perhaps He didn't want to start from seed. Who knows?

Sometimes, we get a little TOO deep into things, when it's just not necessary.

Oh, but then there's the troublesome "mist." But then God HAD just "divided the waters," hadn't He? Couldn't mist have been formed from all that was involved in that process? Couldn't there have been enough mist to last a while, until He decided to bring rain (the first account of which is at the flood?) Or could it also be that there was rain in between the mist and the flood, but it just wasn't mentioned?

Well, let's end this discussion with another theory:

"The Chumash, a Jewish commentary, has a very simple and quaint approach to the origin of plants and Genesis 2:5-6. It says that when God created the plants in Genesis 1, they were waiting under the surface of the earth. They were waiting for man. When Adam came and prayed for food, and was ready to work the ground, God sent water, and the plants sprung up." – quote taken from GoBible.org

Tomorrow we'll tackle the "tree of life" and the "tree of knowledge of good and evil."

Come and Rest with Me

Biblical "rest" can mean many different things while still meaning only one thing: a relinquishing of all human self-assertion and trusting in God alone.

Rest on the seventh day (the Sabbath for the Israelites and modern day Jews; Sunday for Christians) meant freedom from work. Even in the wilderness, the work of gathering "manna" for food was not done on the Sabbath. In fact, any who tried to do so, found their manna to be full of worms and inedible anyway. They soon learned that what God said, He meant.

It wasn't only the man of the household who got to stay home from work on the Sabbath and rest; also commanded to rest were the wife, the children, the servants, and even the animals. It was designed to be, in the words of Exodus 23:12, a time when all "may be refreshed." And as we saw earlier it was a time set apart (consecrated, dedicated) to the worship of God with grateful hearts for His provision.

Rest was not intended only for the Sabbath. Times of needed "refreshing" were utilized by Jesus, when He took time from the busyness of his short yet intense three and a half year ministry to retreat into the hills alone, mostly to pray. (Mark 6:45-47; Luke 6:12, Luke 9:28).

He taught the disciples to take necessary time away telling them to "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest awhile." (Mark 6:31 RSV) Such rest reorients a person's values, taking attention off the workday preoccupation with getting and spending, and onto God and spiritual realities.

In the bible willingness to engage in such rest is nothing less than a covenant sign between God and his people; but not only for the Israelites, but for us today.

The bible also describes rest as a form of freedom, such as the freedom of the Israelites from their 400 year bondage to Egypt (Deut. 5:15). Divine rest is freedom from bondage to many thing besides slavery: it frees us from anything that addicts, it frees us from anything that would want to consume our time and deflect us from considering God in all that we do; it frees us to enter into right relationships with one another as God designed us to do; it frees us from worldly preoccupation; it frees us from our own self-striving. Our willingness to heed the divine command to rest is a sign of our commitment to God; a sign of our willingness to trust Him more than we do ourselves.

Rest is a sign of salvation itself; it is a sign of accepting Jesus' invitation that says "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

 Unbelief causes us to be unable to enter into this divine rest as the author of the book of Hebrews tells us happened to those Israelites who died in the wilderness because of their sin and rebellion, never reaching the Promised Land:

"And to whom sware He that they should not enter into His rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." (Hebrews 3:18-19)

"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." (Hebrews 4:9-11)

 For those of us who keep busy ministering to others, this is a timely word; for often ministry begins as a service to God, but, as the busyness begins to overwhelm, becomes something much less: our own striving to eradicate sin and evil, versus resting in the Lord as we trust Him to work His good works in others. I have been guilty of such, as recently as yesterday. Yet I thank the Lord that through Jesus Christ alone, I can still "come boldly into the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)

Jesus is our rest from striving for righteousness.  He is our rest from striving against bondage of those idols we've established in our lives.  He is our rest from ourselves.  He knew divine rest better than any of us, and in Him, we can find perfect rest.  This rest is one that lifts us above our circumstances: lifts us up out of the muck and mire of our sin, lifts us up out of the pain of diseased and failing bodies, lifts us up out of the sorrow of personal loss.  His rest sets us free from fear of death.

Those who don't know Jesus Christ personally run from Him in fear of the great burden of "Christianity" being placed upon them.  They have no idea that His "yoke is easy" and His "burden is light." 

They have no idea that the perfect life they are seeking can be found only in Him who is Perfect.

The Seventh Day

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day, God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all the work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made." (Genesis 2:1-3)

I get a picture, from these passages, of God sitting back and admiring His handiwork. I get a picture of a day that has a hint of celebration in it; perhaps I get that because of the fact that God "sanctified" that day, which seems to make it a special day above all the previous six before it.

All of this tells us a bit more about our Creator. It tells us that He likes to work hard, and it tells us that He enjoys His rest. We are similar in that; thus another clue as to what being made "in His image" entails. We, who are made in His image, are bidden by Him to also rest on the seventh day. We are to work, but then we are to rest. As God rested from all of the work of His own hands, so He commands us, His creation, to also rest from the work of our own hands. For He has made the seventh day holy, set apart, for His own purposes. So are we to do likewise. Only it has not been set apart for our own purposes, but His.

Centuries later, when God chose a people to be called by His name, one of the things that identified them as belonging to HIM, was their observance of this sanctified seventh day. This, among other things, set them apart from all the other people in the land. They themselves were to be sanctified even as this day was sanctified; holy even as He is holy. What, then, does being sanctified mean?

The Hebrew word "qadash" is translated as: to consecrate, to set apart, to make holy, to dedicate, to be hallowed; to regard or treat as sacred or holy. God sanctified the seventh day and made it holy as He is holy; He set that day apart, made it distinct from the previous six, and made it a day in which He rested. Thus He sanctified it for His own use; for His own purposes.

Thus, on the seventh day, people who have been called by His name, who have been set apart for His purpose, observe His desires above their own, and are obedient to not only rest, but to give thanks for His provision, both of work and of rest. They are obedient to keep "holy" the seventh day. Thus, we are identified as worshipping Him as He desires that we worship Him: with our obedience.

Man sometimes wants to take the things of God and turn them into legalities; so that when men gather to worship God on Sundays they do it with a sense of obligation, or of "appearing" to be holy, rather than observing that day in obedience to God with a heart filled with thankfulness and worship. We are to guard against that hypocrisy, for God knows our hearts. He knows in what manner we are gathered together. He calls us to worship Him "in Spirit and in Truth." Anything else is false and unacceptable to God.

But, when our hearts are right, and when we have understanding and knowledge about God, as gathered in bible studies such as this, we understand that the reason we gather has nothing to do with pleasing man, but only with pleasing our GOD.

There is so much to be said about the seventh day, and also about rest. We will consider the word "rest" tomorrow.

The Image of Unity

There is unity in God that is stated in these excerpts from Genesis 1:26 and 27 that we must be careful not to miss: "….And God said Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness…So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
 The unity is shown by the use of the words "us" and "our" as well as by the use of the words "male and female". This unity is a special characteristic that is important for us to consider when pondering the ways in which man was made in the "image" of God.

Firstly, the terms "us" and "our" reflect a unique unity that is GOD. These words give a hint or foreshadowing of what would be later confirmed and revealed by Jesus Himself, and the disciples after him: and that is that God is "triune" or three in one – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This unity is also displayed in the creation of male and female: two individual and different creations, yet formed to become one…a "oneness" that was never meant to be divided by other men or other women…for it is a "oneness" designed by God Himself, meant for the joining of one man to one woman, displaying even in this thing called marriage the perfect unity of God; through which God's command to "be fruitful and multiply" is designed to happen. In all of this, we see that God intended that He also be a distinct part of that relationship between man and woman, as their Creator and the One who continues His acts of creation through them, and as the one and only God that they worship.

No wonder then that the world at large, the world that does not know God, is working so hard to distort and pervert that which God ordained. It is merely confirmation of the prophetic words that Jesus spoke when the disciples asked Him to tell them about the signs of the end of the world in which He told them that one sign (of many signs) would be that "iniquity [sin or rebellion towards God] will abound" (read the entire account in the 24^th and 25^th chapter of Matthew). How deep that iniquity goes when it seeks to destroy the unity of God in His creation:

"Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female. And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain [two] shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain [two] but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." (The words of Jesus Christ as recorded in Matthew 19:4-6)

 But it is not only the unity of male and female that God ordained for mankind, but unity with God Himself – Who Himself is united: three Persons in One. The four Gospels speak so much of the unity of God and His desire to be one with man – redeemed man, that is:

John 1:1-14: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made….and the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory), the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (The "beloved" disciple John speaking of Jesus Christ who is the Word of God made flesh and by whom ALL things were created….showing that Jesus in pre-incarnate form was present with God in creation as told in Genesis 1. How do you reconcile the fact that "God spoke" and it happened, with the fact that Jesus is the WORD of God, who was WITH God and WAS God, and through whom all things were made at the time of creation?)

Mark 1:9-11: "And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in the Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he [John] saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him [Jesus]: and there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased."

John 14:6-7: "Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him and have seen Him."

 John 14:15-21: "If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever: Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me; because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."

 John 15:23: "He that hateth me hateth my Father also."

 John 16:27-28: "For the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father."

 John 17:20-21: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one: as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."

 Oneness or unity between God and man is what Jesus came to restore. Returning to our scripture from yesterday's posting:

"God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24)

We see then from all of these scriptures that Jesus is the WORD of GOD, therefore He is the TRUTH, for nothing God ever speaks is a lie. We see that the Holy Spirit of GOD is the Comforter. And we see that Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, both come from (or are in unity with or a part of) GOD.

Finally, we see that we MUST worship God in Spirit [through the Holy Spirit who comes to live in us] and in TRUTH [through Jesus Christ who is the TRUTH whom we believe in and love because of the love He first displayed for us when He went willingly to the cross to take the punishment for OUR sin]. This is the FULLNESS of God without which it is impossible to worship God in the way which HE, the Sovereign God, has chosen that He be worshiped by His creation.

I believe this blessed UNITY is central to understanding the image of God in which we were created.

Images of God

The question, and it is not a simple one, is this: what is meant when God said "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (Genesis 1:26) and "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Genesis 1:27)?

Well, I can begin this answer but it might take many of us to add to it; yet I don't think we will even then have a "complete" idea or understanding of the thing in question. To know something about how we are made, it seems to me that we must know something about the One in whose image we have been made. No better place to know about God than by His own Word. So, using only His Word, let's begin to explore what He tells us about Himself, which should tell us something about us as well.

He is eternal. God speaking through the prophet Isaiah to King Hezekiah said: "To whom then will ye liken me, or [with whom] shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Hast thou not known that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?" (Isaiah 40:25-28)

He is almighty. God said to Abraham: "I am the Almighty God, walk before me and be thou perfect." (Genesis 17:1)

He is holy. God spoke this to the Israelites: "Be holy, for I the Lord thy God, am holy." (Leviticus 19:12 NIV)

He is perfect. Jesus said this about God in his sermon on the mount: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)

He is just and fair. Peter said "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him." (Acts 10:35)

He is faithful to keep His Word. Joshua said this of God after following Him the wilderness for many years and even after they entered into the Promised Land: "There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass." (Joshua 21:45)

While this is not a complete list, let's stop there for a moment and reflect upon all of God's attributes that we have discovered thus far and compare them to our own. Personally, I find little here that resembles me. I am not almighty (more powerful than anyone else). I am not holy (I make terrible mistakes – called sin - and I often hurt people, even when I don't intend to at all.) I am not perfect (ask anyone who knows me, beginning with my spouse!) While I would like to think that I am just and fair, I find instead that I can be unjust and unfair, especially if I am being motivated by anger or seeking vengeance. As far as being faithful to keep my Word…..always? Not even close, even though I have been known to say that I "pride" myself on keeping my word. And I am faithful to my word a lot of the time…but not always. Things interfere, circumstances change. That God is able to fulfill ALL that He says He will fulfill, tells me He is in much more in control of things than I am.

Perhaps we should look more closely at the word "image" in the Hebrew. Strong's Concordance says it is: "from a root word meaning "to shade" (shadow), a "phantom", "illusion", "resemblance." The word means "image" in the sense of essential nature, rather than an exact duplicate."

So, if I am a "shadow" of God's image, rather than an "exact replica", there will be much lacking in me still, at least in comparison to God, for whom there truly is NO comparison; for there is only ONE TRUE GOD. Contrary to new age philosophies we are not "little gods" (although we often act as though we think we are!) But there is one other scripture we should look at for today:

"God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24)

Let's consider that scripture and continue tomorrow.

Genesis 1:20-31

"And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day." (Genesis 1:20-23)

In one day God created all the life that exists in the oceans and all the birds (flying fowl) of the air. Further along in the books of Moses, we will learn which of these the Israelites were allowed to eat and which were not…at least until Jesus came to provide a new and better covenant. But at this point in the Bible, the animals and fowls of the air were not created as part of a food chain; they did not live in fear of man or each other. That came later after the Fall.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree-yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

It's interesting that God created animals and man, both, in one day, the sixth; rather than a separate day for each. I don't know His reason for this, but I suspect there is a very good reason.

We have discussed before the dominion that man was given over animals; dominion which he still has in some degree as man is the predator of all animals, and fish, and fowl. But I'm fairly certain that the dominion man was given prior to the Fall is not what it is now after the Fall, for man fears some animals, and fear is not a part of the kingdom of God – other than the proper respectful fear of God Himself.

[Note: "the Fall" is the rebellion and sin of Adam and Eve in the garden – sin which visits each and every one of us as a result of the disobedience to God by Adam and Eve. This is a warning to all parents who might believe that the sins they commit have effect only upon themselves rather than being visited on their own children and their children's children; an error in thinking proved to be false in Exodus 20:5: "For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." In other words, don't be foolish enough to believe that what you are doing when you sin is hurting yourself only…it is not. What is being tested here is not only whether you love God more than your own selfish desires, but whether, as is so often claimed, you love your children more than yourself. When parents sin, when ANY of us sin, we are proving that the love of self is much greater than the love of God or anyone else. Do not continue to be deceived by your own rationalizations and the reasonings of the world around you who do not know God.]

But back to dominion, we will see further on that Adam was given the privilege of "naming" the animals that he was given dominion over. And, of course, all of those creatures lived on herbs and grasses and things that God provided for them. The food chain was NOT an active part of the Garden of Eden; the food chain arrived after the Fall. Fear entered in when death entered in. Death entered in when sin entered in. Where sin is abolished, so also is death abolished, and so also is fear. That removal of sin and the sin nature comes only through Jesus Christ: the WAY (to righteousness and holiness – death to the sin rather than death to the sinner - and the way to a relationship with God the Father), the TRUTH (versus the deception of sin and the fear that drives us to it), and the LIFE (everlasting life versus death that leads to everlasting torment). John 14:6

Now, something to consider until tomorrow's posting: What does the Bible mean when it says we are made in God's image?

The Cosmic Sea

Here are a few last thoughts about the "firmament" (which obviously still holds my attention for some reason), before we move on tomorrow to the final three days of creation.

One of my bible study resources refers to the waters above and below the "firmament" as the "cosmic sea" and indicates that the Israelites believed "God formed the firmament to enclose the atmosphere and hold back the sea from above, from which water drops through apertures in the firmament above as rain and snow, even providing water for the great flood."

We do have the sense of being "contained" on our earth, held down by gravity. Perhaps gravity figures into this firmament that is the supporting base of the heavens. Regardless, just as the Garden of Eden (which we will soon study) is depicted as being enclosed or within walls of some sort, so also our world seems to be enclosed in such as way as to provide protection for us from that "cosmic sea" above that, if not held back by divinely established borders might press in and crush us.

This once more shows the character of God to be one of a "loving protector" of all that He has created, especially man.

My Key Word Study Bible reminds us that "Genesis was written in a prescientific age and was not meant to be a scientific document. Consequently, only divine inspiration can account for the perfect accuracy of its technical information." It is amazing then, to see how well these things of nature and science are so poetically described and in such detail, without the benefit of the knowledge of science that we have today. I believe it is indeed proof that God inspired man to write down these things.

One more note about the "sea":

After the ultimate defeat of Satan and the beast, heaven and earth are recreated, but interestingly "there is no longer any sea" (Revelation 21:1) I wonder why? The only thing then that resembles the "deep" is the "lake of fire", a place of eternal torment for the beast and those who remained rebellious towards God, whether angels or men.

Thankfully, our Loving Protector, the Most High God Himself, our Creator and Father, has provided a way for men to be reconciled to him, turning them from their rebellious ways as they surrender their wills to His own.

And on that note, I am off to get ready for church...not the building we call church, but to that gathering of people with like hearts, minds and spirit, who have received that gift of reconciliation with grateful hearts, and who gather together each Sunday to thank God with unashamed praise; to worship our loving Father who provided THE WAY to salvation, to worship Jesus Christ who IS THE WAY, the ONLY WAY to heaven, and to worship the Holy Spirit who fills us with the power to overcome sin and teaches us to walk in THE WAY, in obedience to God our Father and Creator, rather than to walk in our own ways that lead to death and destruction.

There is a lot to be thankful for, and those who realize it, who truly understand it, whose hearts are truly changed…..can't wait to gather together in one Spirit to worship our Creator…for Sunday is a great day of celebration to those who know they have been saved from the lake of fire, have already crossed over from death to life, and have already begun the experience of life everlastingly in the presence of God!

AMEN!

The Firmament of Heaven

Continuing on yesterday's quest to better understand the terms "firmament" and "heaven" as used in Genesis, I have found several scriptures that might help us in this regard (there are over 400 scriptures pertaining to heaven or the firmament). Beginning in the first chapter of Ezekiel:

"Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God…"

"…and also out of the midst I saw four living creatures…and the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creatures was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above."

"And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other…"

"…and there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads…."

"…and above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it…"

The first verse listed here, defines for us that visions of God (and God Himself upon the throne) dwell in the heavens. The next three verses speak of the firmament being "above" the creatures Ezekiel is being shown in these visions. The second and last verses give us an idea of the colors involved in the firmament: 1) the terrible crystal, and 2) the sapphire stone (which actually describes the throne, not necessarily the firmament itself).

If you live out away from the lights of the city as I do, a clear night sky could be described as a "terrible crystal": the sky is solid black but sparkling with the millions of stars we can see with our own eyes, a sort of black crystal. But if that darkness were lit by the light of God on His throne, it might turn a deep blue as our pictures of outer space appear to be the deepest blue when a source of light is nearby. The light that is God Himself would turn the throne into that deep but brilliant sapphire blue.

Perhaps the thing to remember here is that the firmament is defined as an expanse; and very outer space (those depths of space still unexplored by mankind) is certainly such an expanse. The firmament is also considered a foundation or a supporting base. God calls the firmament heaven, but that firmament also supports or is the foundation of the higher heaven, where God Himself dwells, and that firmament is itself heaven as well; just as the foundation of the building is not considered a separate thing from the building, but is called a part of the building itself.

Deuteronomy 10:14 says: "Behold the heavens and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God…"

Perhaps a more important thing to remember is that God created the "firmament" and then gave it a name: "And God said let there be a firmament…and God called the firmament heaven." (Genesis 1:6-8) Yet, God Himself is not created; He did not have a beginning, as all created things have a beginning. HE IS THE BEGINNING; AND HE IS THE END. HE IS THEREFORE INFINITE.

And, because of the many scripture references about heaven, we ascribe to God a dwelling place that was created by Him – a place we call heaven because He called it heaven; a place we call His dwelling place because His Word tells us that is where He dwells. If God has chosen to inhabit heaven or the highest heaven above the heavens, He has chosen to do so, just as He once chose to dwell in a tabernacle (a tent) in the wilderness with His chosen people, the Israelites. But as King Solomon, given the gift of wisdom, so correctly states during his dedication of the majestic temple he built by God's direction to be a dwelling place for God:

"But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have built?" (2 Chronicles 6:18)

Solomon knew that God was bigger than heaven and earth and all that lies beyond it; and that God is GOD, ultimate and absolute divinity [beyond His own creation for He was not part of creation but THE CREATOR of all creation.]

My conclusion, therefore, is that we must always remember that when we are speaking about God, we must not get bogged down for too long a time pondering things which must, by virtue of His divine nature, remain for the moment beyond our comprehension. We must, instead, receive from the Holy Spirit that light that He gives us to illuminate the scripture, giving thanks for it, and continue on seeking more of God in other areas of scripture; being careful always not to try to force-fit the supernatural things of God into this physical realm where we ourselves reside for the moment.

 

The Firmament and the Waters

"And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:2b)

"And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." (Genesis 1:6)

"And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so." (Genesis 1: 7)

"And God called the firmament Heaven." (Genesis 1:8)

"And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so." (Genesis 1:9)

"And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas…" (Genesis 1:11)

It is very easy to read through the first chapter of Genesis and mentally skip over a lot of this. We can easily understand that the earth was formed and we can easily understand that there are oceans or seas on the earth. We can even see that there is sky and assume that God means the sky when he says heaven, especially as we believe that heaven is up above us somewhere. In an inaccurate quick glance, we might determine that the firmament (which sounds like something firm, like ground) would be the earth, but the firmament actually refers to "heaven" or "the heaven".

So let's take a moment here to study this a bit more by getting the meaning of some of the Hebrew words used here.

1. Firmament - Raqiya: Strong's concordance says this is "1) an extended surface (solid), an expanse, a firmament; considered by Hebrews as solid and "supporting" waters above".
   
2. Heaven - Shamayim: Strong's concordance says Hebrew word can be used as heaven, heavens or sky and can refer to the visible heavens or sky, as well as to the abode of God (Heaven).
   

Personally, I'm not sure that helped me a lot.

In pondering this, I decided to check out what we know today about earth's atmosphere or hemisphere. I found that there are several layers of "spheres". Extending from the earth upward or outward the first layer is the Troposphere, second is the Stratosphere, third is the Mesosphere, fourth is the Thermosphere, and lastly there is the Exosphere. Clouds form in the Troposphere or first layer. Water vapor becomes frozen in the Mesosphere which is the third layer. The fifth layer is composed of hydrogen and helium, particles that are "so far apart from each other that they can travel hundreds of kilometers without colliding with one another. Since the particles rarely collide, the atmosphere no longer behaves like a fluid." (quoted from Wikipedia)

That gives me more understanding of the "expanse" that is above the earth and I see that there is water in that expanse. But I still seem to be missing something here.

"God divided the waters which were UNDER the firmament from the waters which were ABOVE the firmament."

The waters UNDER the firmament are described as the seas. That part is clear. And perhaps the waters ABOVE the firmament are the layers where water vapor is stored (all the layers that surround the earth). But where exactly is the firmament; where is the heaven or Heaven? It sounds like it should be between earth and the layers of atmosphere, or in simpler terms, between the earth and the sky. To further complicate this, I recall the words of Paul when he described being "caught up into the third heaven".

I am sure someone has studied this out better than myself. But I'd really like to understand what is being described here in Genesis. So if anyone has some information that will help me to see that, please add it in the comments below. Until then, I'll try to see what else the Bible contributes to this in other passages outside of Genesis.

 

 

The Revelation of Creation

Genesis speaks to us of so much that we are not even past the first 19 verses and yet we still have so much to meditate upon and explore the depths of. There are treasures to be found when we are not just doing a quick daily reading, but really meditating and considering all that His living Word is providing to us. This is why Jesus said "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4 & Luke 4:4). Are we Christians gobbling His Word up in a gluttonous fashion like some cheap and non-nutritious fast food, or are we taking our time and savoring it like the more costly yet much more healthy "real" food that it is? We first have to come to His banqueting table with a grateful heart and a desire to know more of Him, rather than with a desire for the" appearance" of being spiritually disciplined.

One of the treasures of these verses is in the way that the manner of God's creation, and creation itself, reveals so much of God to us.

"And God saw that it was good." (verse 12)

Creation was not a "job" to God: something that just needed to be done and got over with. He took delight in His creation acts. The finished product pleased Him. What does that tell us about Him? What sensitivity and artistry is involved in His character? What care and forethought was included in the process? How can our God then be a cold hard being void of feelings? He is not. As we also were not created to be who were made in His image. The Bible is full of descriptives of God. Anyone with the least amount of understanding can glean from passages all through the Bible that He is a being of great emotion and feeling and sensitivity and wisdom. The results of His creation (that which we marvel at every day) speaks volumes about His artistry, and yet all the functionality of all that He created, even as seen in these first few verses, demonstrates unimaginable intelligence and wisdom. All of this is so clearly demonstrated that Paul declares that none of us have any excuses to not believe in God's existence and His power and His right to govern over us, His creation. Paul says that there will be no excuses for us when we receive God's judgment for our lack of belief, by virtue of God's creation on display before us. (Romans 1:18-21)

Revelation 4:11 tells us that God "created all things, and for His pleasure they are and were created."

Listen to how David, whom God called "a man after my own heart", describes creation and the Creator in Psalm 104:

"Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain" (verse 2), "who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever" (verse 5)," thou coverest [the earth] with the deep [oceans] as with a garment" (verse 6); "He watereth the hills from His chambers" (verse 13).

David understood the tenderness as well as the precision with which God created all that He created, and how God continues to care for it.

Now listen to God's own words to Job about His creation:

"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Declare to Me, if you have and know understanding. Who determined the measure of the earth, if you know? Or who stretched the measuring line upon it? Upon what were the foundations of it fastened, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut up the sea with doors when it broke forth and issued out of the womb? When I made the clouds the garment of it and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, and marked for it My appointed boundary and set bars and doors, and said, Thus far shall you come and no farther; and here shall your proud waves be stayed? Have you commanded the morning since your days began and caused the dawn to know its place, so that [light] may get hold of the corners of the earth and shake the wickedness [of night] out of it?" (Job 38:4-13 Amplified Version)

Here is God Himself providing Job (and us) with great understanding of the caring and loving tenderness that He put into His creation; here is God describing His creation using metaphors that speak of birthing a child, and of setting boundaries for it as a parent would a child. I have always thought "earth-lovers" go overboard (and I still believe they do if they love the earth more than they love God); but I cannot refuse to understand that if I love God, I will also love and cherish His creation as He does: not to the extent that I love it more than God or care more for it and animals than I do for man, but still with the understanding of being a faithful steward to certainly not carelessly destroy that which God cherishes.

But what I say to you now is this: if God cares this much for His creation of earth and sea and sky and heavens; how much more does He care for man who was created in His own image?

And how much then does He care about how we treat each other?

Perhaps we should meditate on this for awhile and hopefully we will come to understand a little of the impact that increasing our knowledge of God Himself will have on our lives and the lives of those around us.

 

 

 

 

Light Conquering the Darkness

We are studying Genesis 1:1-19, and I have to say that these first few verses seem to mean more to me almost every time that I read them. They say so much about God and His knowledge of good and evil, versus our own. The separating of light from darkness, day from night, is so rich in the symbolism of what He did for us through His Son Jesus Christ, the One who overcame death and darkness, the one Who is the Light of the world (John 1).

This is what our entire Christian walk is about, as was the walk of Jesus Christ in His time here on earth: light conquering darkness; the power of God bringing chaos into order, even in the lives of such frail and sin-sick beings as we are. How can we not marvel at such richness of symbolism found here in Genesis? How can we not marvel at the One who gave us His Word to cling to and trust in?

Yet, we cannot take this only as symbolism. For these verses also describe for us the power of the God we serve, describing creation power that no one but God could possibly have. No matter how brilliant the scientist might be, he can only strive to "mimic" what God has done. He can never accomplish creation of something from nothing. Man can never only "speak" (using no tools, contraptions, computers, etc.) and see something come into existence. There is only One Who can do that…and that is our God.

His Word is as powerful today as it was in the beginning; it is His voice that speaks "new life" into us even today…because He is our God. There is none like Him.

Some people, even some believers, disagree among themselves about the "absoluteness" of these first few verses of scripture. They argue about whether or not the "day" described is a 24-hour day or whether it is a "day" that spans thousands of years. Part of this is due to an attempt to reconcile what scientists have discovered in terms of fossils using their theory of carbon-dating. The other part of the argument is due to unbelief in the power of God.

The God whom the scriptures talks of, whose character is shown to us across centuries of time by this written Word, is absolutely capable of creating the heaven and the earth in one 24-hour day. In fact, I don't know that it says that it took the whole 24-hours to create….for He just spoke and it happened. How long exactly did it take for light to come into existence? Was it one second or one minute or one hour or the entire day? The God who created life into existence merely by His Word, is capable of using time itself for His own purposes, for He is the Creator of all things, even time itself. The bible shows us that He is able to control time, to stop it, to turn it back. But you see, more important than the amount of time it took for God to create, is the fact that God created by merely speaking a word….and what He spoke came into existence.

Trouble always comes when we try to wrap our limited minds around what God does. Instead of taking Him at His Word, we try to "justify" His Word. How dare we do that to such a God as He? What arrogance is necessary in us to cause us to question or doubt that He did exactly as He says He did?

Some would say I am not being "logical" in my thinking here. But they miss the point that our "logic" cannot be applied to God. He is much higher than OUR "logic":

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9)

This does not mean that being logical is some sort of evil or sin (although it can lead us to sin); it just means that we cannot apply to God what we ourselves use as understanding or knowledge: the thing we call logic or reason. He is beyond that….just as miracles are beyond our understanding; they are beyond our knowledge; there appears to be nothing logical happening in a true miracle. But scientists cannot be happy until they have formed some logical "theory" about how such miracles came to be. We see this all the time in articles where some scientist explains "how" the Red Sea parted for the Israelites, and other such miracles of God. They cannot rest until they have proven that God was unnecessary to the miracles. But all they have are "theories".

The definition of a theory is: speculation, an unproved assumption, analysis of a set of facts (i.e. the fact is that the Red Sea parted, now let's analyze this and see if we can determine how that happened), a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomenon (the key here is that it must be "generally acceptable to scientists"…there is no absolute truth involved.)

Returning back to our study verses, we should realize that just as it took GOD to bring order out of the cosmic chaos, it will also be God who returns the earth to waste and void when He comes
to judge those whose dependence upon "logic" rather than God has caused them to sin against God:

"For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge." (Jeremiah 4:22)

"I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and lo, the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger." (Jeremiah 4:23-26)

As we begin this study in Genesis, let us agree together that we will honor God by accepting Him at His Word. Let us set all of our "theories" on the back burner, until the day that He explains it all to us. Let us strive together to know God as He desires us to know Him, not according to our own opinions or imaginations, but according to His Word which is Truth.

Lord willing, we will continue our study of these same verses tomorrow as there is just too much to "unpack" in one posting.

Book of Beginnings

The first day of the year is an appropriate time to begin our biblical study of the Book of Beginnings, otherwise known as Genesis.  Perhaps you have already read this book in its entirety; perhaps you have read bits and pieces but don’t know for sure if you’ve read the complete book.  I belong to the latter group.  In more than thirty years of Bible study (although not always consistently, I am afraid) I cannot say for sure that I have read every word of the Bible.  My study of the Bible has been more topical in nature, which causes one to skip all over the Bible following the thread of the topic. 

Thus, I believe this is a good time to begin studying the Bible from the beginning and eventually end up at the end.    This could be accomplished in one year, I am told, if there is only reading involved with no in-depth study involved, but anyone who knows me probably knows that will not be the case.  I love to explore the Word of God, to prayerfully consider it from all angles, until I am satisfied that I have received from it what the Holy Spirit has intended that I should receive.  The end result is always life-changing, making it an incredibly fulfilling and eventful quest and one that I could never tire of.

Genesis itself is a book filled with quests:  the quest for new homelands, the quest for the fulfillment of the promises of God, and the quest to please and obey God.  It is a book about journeys, on land and on sea.

Genesis is a book about “firsts”: the first garden, the first human, the first couple, the first son, the first sin, the first reconciliation, the first flood, the first rainbow, the first fratricide.  It is the original Crime and Punishment.

Genesis is a book filled with dysfunctional humans and their waywardness.  It is a book filled with God’s goodness and mercy.  It is a book of restorations.

We will begin “In the beginning” -  at the origin of the world, at the beginning of human history, and at the beginning of the history of the salvation of man as provided by a merciful and loving God. 

Even though most of you have your own Bibles to read, making it unnecessary for me to reprint the scriptures here, I feel strongly led to print them anyway, just in case, somewhere in the world, someone has access to a computer and to this site, but no access to a Bible.  While computers are seldom considered to be illegal anywhere in the world, there are many countries where Bibles are considered illegal and distribution of Bibles is prohibited, resulting in imprisonment or worse for those who are found with Bibles in their possession.  So, please bear with me as I re-type the scriptures on this blogsite.

Genesis 1:1-19 – The First Four Days of Creation

“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.  And the evening and the morning were the first day.

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.  And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.  And God called the firmament Heaven.  And the evening and the morning were the second day. 

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.  And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  And the evening and the morning were the third day.

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.  And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.  And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.  And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.”

After careful reading of these verses above, we will begin tomorrow to study them in-depth.

Meanwhile, have a blessed day and a blessed new year of 2011 through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.