Once God had created the entire universe, he decided to take a well-deserved rest, so he blessed the seventh day, probably not realizing that, several millennia later, a group of Christians would found an entire sect on the idea that he meant Saturday and not Sunday. Of course, considering the book of Genesis was a Jewish holy book before it was a Christian one, that Jews honor the Sabbath on Saturday has me thinking the Adventists might be correct on this point.
More interesting, though, is the apparent contradiction between the creation stories in the first and second chapters. While I covered in my last blog that God created Adam on the sixth day, Genesis 2:5-7 states, "No no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground..." By my reading, this clearly places the creation of Adam squarely on the third day, but I'm willing to listen to differing views.
I was hoping, after Genesis 2:10-14, to be able to pinpoint the actual location of the Garden of Eden, but from the research I've done, this seems to be a more complex task than I would've thought. Apparently, I was given false hope by the fact that two of the rivers mentioned, Tigris and Euphrates, are still in existence, but evidently the other two are not, which makes pinpointing difficult at best. Most people agree that it was located in what is modern-day Iraq, though arguments have been made for Sumer, Iran, and even Jerusalem. The two most absurd prospects (I leave it to you to decide which wins that title), are The Isle of Lewis and Jackson County, Missouri.
Finally, I noticed that the Bible is already starting to lay the groundwork for what can only be described as a blatant contempt for women. It is only after Adam is unable to find a suitable "helper" (Genesis 2:18) from all of the beasts and birds, that God creates said helper, though out of one of the man's ribs. Adam is, of course, on board with this, and as it was his job to name all God's creatures, even this one, he calls her "Woman, because she was taken out of Man" (Genesis 2:23). I can see that we are, at some point, going to have a discussion of women's roles in ancient society, and I'm not looking forward to it. Suffice it to say that I've read ahead a little, and a lot of bad stuff gets blamed on this first woman. I, for one, think she may have gotten a bad rap.
Up next, Genesis Chapter 3, wherein things take a turn for the worse.
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Actually, many Catholic priests will acknowledge that the sabbath should most likely be observed on Saturday. But, tradition and dogma prevent them from switching over.
ReplyDeleteJon,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I would like to mention the "sabbath day" debate that has went on in America for years. You may already know that the reason we have a 2 day weekend is to honor both the Jewish and Christian sabbath. The sabbath is not a law for believers to obey, but instead a grace to enjoy. Jesus purposely lived in public view on the Sabbath in order to serve as a model of the Sabbath contrary to that given by legalistic (what you would call "religious rule makers" today) teachers. By Jesus healing (Matthew 12:1-14), teaching(Mark 6:1-2), and promoting evangelism (John 7:21-24) all on the Sabbath day, he demonstrated that the Sabbath is not be enforced legalistically but that it exists for worshipful fun and rest. Our true Sabbath is not found in a day, but ultimately in a saving relationship with Jesus, where we can rest from trying to earn our salvation and find rest in his finished work. Of course, most Christians go with Sunday because that's the day of the Resurrection of Jesus.
There is no contradiction between 1:27 and 2:5-7. In 1:26, God "created" and in 2:7 God "formed". Those two words in English and Hebrew have different meanings. "Formed" (Hebrew word "yatsar") conveys more of a meaning of "fashioning". When it says "breathes into his nostrils the breath of life", it is meaning life in the sense of physical, mental, and spiritual into the one that has already been created to bear God's image.
The way I understand 2:5 is simply that the plants had not grown yet. You can have seeds planted or created, but not grown. The text clearly suggest that the lack of growth is because man is not irrigating the land, because although man had been created, he did not have the physical capability yet.
Since only two of the rivers mentioned are still able to be located today, more than likely the Garden of Eden would have either been at the northern or southern extremes of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. And yes, the most absurd prospect for this would definitely the Mormons pick of Missouri.
Finally, keep in mind when discussing "women's role in ancient society", that the term "helper" doesn't imply that the one is stronger or weaker than the one who is helped. The Hebrew word for this, "'ezer" is one who supplies strength for in the areas lacking for the one who is "helped". To go along with some of what Paul says in 1st Corinthians 11, the term "fit for him" or "matching him" is not the same as "like him". A wife is not her husband's clone, but compliments him. Man is no greater than woman and woman is no greater than man...just made for different reasons.
I hope this helps and I've thoroughly enjoyed your first two chapters. I just hope they move a little quicker so you can be done before Jesus comes back...lol.
Chad
ReplyDelete"The sabbath is not a law for believers to obey, but instead a grace to enjoy."
Not to endorse the view of the believers but isn't observing the sabbath the 4th commandment?
And, in response to the idea the since Jesus did it, it's ok:
Matthew 5:17-18
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished”
This seems like a clear cut case of, "Do as I say, not as I do."
Fox,
ReplyDeleteI apologize for not communicating that appropiately. You are right, it is a commandment to have a "sabbath". The point I was trying to make was, it is not so important as to what day you take a sabbath as it is that you just have a day that you sit back and rest in the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
But, if we were to "argue for Sunday" as the Sabbath, the first time it is mentioned in the New Testament is not long after Jesus' death in Acts 20:7. Paul makes it clear here they were "gathered together on the first day of the week". 1st Corinthians 16:1-2 and Revelations 1:10 also show that Christians in the early church gathered for worship on "the first day of the week" to acknowledge the crucial importance of Christ's resurrection.
When Jesus says "but to fulfill them" in Mathew 5:17, he is simply pointing out that all of the Old Testament laws point to him, not only in specific predictions of a Messiah, but also in it's sacrificial system, which looked forward to his great sacrifice of himself, in many events in the history of Israel which foreshadowed his life as God's true Son, in the laws which ONLY HE perfectly obeyed, and in Wisdom Literature like Proverbs, which sets forth a behovorial pattern which only HE exemplified. His Gospel of the kingdom doesn't replace the Old Testament, but rather fulfills it as Jesus' life and ministry, coupled with his interpretation, completely clarify God's intent and meaning in the entire Old testament.
Jesus does command a Sabbath, but not necessarily on a Saturday. The point of me showing work he did on a Saturday is to show that Jesus is not challenging the Sabbath Law itself, but rather the Pharisee's interpretation of it. As you will see in the New Testament, the Pharisees had a bad habit of being religous, legalistic, and forgetting about the "big picture". Jesus continually tries to show them that although laws are important, advancing the kingdom and having true freedom in Christ's finished work on the cross is more important.
I hopefully made the Sabbath point a little easier to understand than originally written. Thanks for pointing out some things that needed clarification.
Chad
Chad,
ReplyDeleteYou can see where people might see that view as contradictory, though, right? I mean, they aren't the Ten "Suggestions;" they're "Commandments," and that indicates to me that it's an order. If the idea was for believers to set aside time to enjoy God's creation, then why isn't it "Remember A sabbath day, to keep THEM holy."? We can, and I'm sure we will, cover it more when I get to Exodus, but it sounds like there's a difference of opinion between those who take a more legalistic view of the Bible, and those who want it to be more about a "relationship with Jesus." Interesting.
Jon,
ReplyDeleteI definitely can see where it may come across contradictory. Although, in my opinion, there is a reason the "Old Testament" is called "Old" and the "New Testament" is called "New". The Bible makes it clear that a relationship with Jesus is the most important thing of all. That's simply because we could never even come close to "obeying" the laws without him. Even with him, we still fall short because of our sin nature, but He is still the only hope we have.