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Light
from the Sidra |
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The first chapters of the Bible are the most important for they lay the foundation of all that follows. Without the revelation of the nature and character of God in Genesis 1 we could not distinguish the true God from the countless idols worshipped by the nations. Without the Genesis account of the creation of man we would have no answer to King David’s question in Psalm 8, “What is man?” Apart from the third chapter of Genesis, the origin of evil would be an enigma to us forever. The meaning of
life, the origin of the universe, the problem of evil — issues that
philosophers, religious thinkers and scientists have grappled with
throughout the ages — are unfolded, not in the crass mythological
language of ancient Egyptian and Babylonian texts, but in dignified,
restrained prose. “In the
beginning God...” When astronomer
Carl Sagan commenced his classic TV series Cosmos with the words, “The Cosmos
is all there is, all there has been and all there will ever be”, he was
wrong. Before the cosmos existed there was God. The universe did not
begin with a Big Bang. It began with a Divine Decree. It began with God. The Bible does not begin with man and his problems. It begins with God; and the first chapter of Genesis reveals who God is. In the beginning all was “very good” because all began with God. The Torah begins with God, “I am Yahweh your God...”1 Redemption begins with God: “I am the God of your father ... I have surely seen the oppression of my people...”2. All that is good begins with God, “Always put God first, if you wish to be in harmonious relationship to God and to the world which he created.”3 God was before
“the beginning”; he is uncreated and without beginning or end. He is
almighty, capable of creating the universe by a word of command. He
transcends the universe he created, yet is close enough to oversee the
whole of his works from the largest galaxy to the smallest sub-atomic
particle. He is the God who rules, who speaks, who judges and blesses
his creatures. Little wonder that in the Haftarah,
this majestic God says he will not give his glory to another or his
praise to graven images.4 “What is man?” Man is not a
“naked ape” who evolved from a common ancestry with the primates. Made
in the image of his Creator, there is a huge chasm in the created order
between man and the rest of creation. There are similarities between
humans and some other creatures but the “image of God” in man means
that the resemblances can never be more than superficial. Regardless of
age, colour, social group, physical characteristics or intellect, human
beings bear the image of their Creator. They, above all other
creatures, are capable of abstract reasoning, creativity, dominion and
the enjoyment of fellowship with their Creator. But great
privilege carries great responsibility. The Satanic
Verses In the Garden of
Eden there were not 613 commandments. There were not even ten, or
seven. The Torah consisted of but one commandment, “Of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat”5.
Though the first man and woman were perfect, made in the image of God,
and though Eve fenced the Torah (she added the stipulation that they
were not to “touch” the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, though
God had forbidden them only to eat), when temptation presented itself
she and her husband failed to be obedient and they died. The temptation
was threefold: the serpent incited Eve to doubt the truth of God’s
word, to seek forbidden knowledge and to grasp at equality with God. The temptation
has a modern ring to it. The serpent promised, “You shall be as God”.
Eve and her husband were already “as God”; they had been created in his
image. The fruit of the tree, they were told, would enable them to know
right from wrong without reference
to God; it would provide them with the power of
self-determination. Before she ever bit into the fruit Eve had sinned.
The moment she “fenced the law” by adding to it, she had effectively
decided that she knew better than her Creator. Her eyes would be
opened, the serpent promised, and she would know good and evil. Her
eyes were opened, only to
discover she was naked. Contrary to
popular opinion, death is not “the end”. God declared that Adam and Eve
would “die” on the day they ate the forbidden fruit, nevertheless they
continued to live for hundreds of years after their transgression.
Death, therefore, must be far more than cessation of being. On the day
that the first man and woman ate of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil they truly died: their relationship with their Creator, the
source of all life was severed and they died spiritually. A Tale of Two
Humanities The great irony
of the cosmos is that everything God called into being obeyed him
except the crown of his creation, man. After the sin of Adam, nothing
could be the same again. There would be two types of human beings: the
“seed of the woman” and the “seed of the serpent”, the godly and the
ungodly, the people of God and the people of the evil one6.
Beginning with Adam, humanity found itself on a downward slide: from
Cain killing his brother over religion7
to Lamech, the seventh from Cain, boasting of his ability to avenge any
insult to himself sevenfold8.
Finally, the stage is reached where “every intent of the thoughts of
[man’s] heart was only evil continually”9. Yet there is
hope, for in Genesis God promises a Saviour who will overcome the
serpent and, in the Haftarah he calls a Servant
“in righteousness” to be “a light to the nations”. Some of Israel’s
most respected rabbis recognised in the promise of the “seed of the
woman” a reference to the Messiah10. A Future and a
Hope The God who
created the universe is the creator of Israel, says the prophet11.
When the universe was completed it declared the glory of its creator.
It was “very good”12.
In the same way, God formed the people of Israel for his glory13,
to be his witnesses14,
to declare his praise15.
Yet, in the life of the nation whom God chose, history repeated itself
and, just as Adam rejected his maker, so Israel refused to be obedient
to his Torah and suffered the consequences16. The consequences
of Adam’s disobedience were disastrous for the whole created order17.
But even as God pronounced curses upon Adam and his descendants, he
uttered a word of hope and consolation. From woman would come a “seed”
that would undo all the evil of the serpent. The “seed of the woman”
would crush the head of the serpent, in the process of which the
serpent would strike his heel. Throughout the rest of biblical history
this promise of a redeemer would be developed and clarified,
particularly in the prophecy of Isaiah, where the seed of the woman is
“God with us”18
and “the mighty God” who will “establish judgement and justice”19.
In Isaiah 42 he is the righteous servant who will restore Israel and be
a light to the Gentiles. Through this righteous servant God’s
redemption will extend to all nations. The plan of God is to bring the
whole of creation back into harmony by “the seed of the woman” who is
“the servant of Jehovah”. Pause for
Thought ·
How does my
concept of God match his description in Genesis 1? Do I give his glory
to a graven image? Do I worship and serve the true God in whose image I
am made, or have I made a god in my own image? ·
I am created by
God. As he looks at my life, what is his judgement about me? Can he
declare me “good”? ·
If all mankind is
divided into the people of God and the people of the evil one, in which
group am I? ·
Do I know enough
about the righteous servant of God to be able to recognise him when he
comes? 1. Exodus 20:1 3. Milton B. Lindberg, Redemption According to Moses and the
Prophets, page 9. 10. “As Thou
wentest forth for
the salvation of Thy people by the hand of the Messiah, the Son of David, who shall wound Satan, the head,
the king and prince of the house of the wicked.” (Rabbi David Kimchi). Rabbi Tanchuma said in the name
of Rabbi Samuel, "Eve had respect to that Seed
which is coming from another place. And who is this? This is the Messiah, the King.”
(Midrash Rabbah) |
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