Think from your experiences of responding to bad situations. What did you do? What choices did you make?
Sometimes there are adverse situations that go back to bad choices. This happened in Genesis 3:1-7, after Eve got into a conversation with a serpent. God was cast as an object of suspicion, and eventually she gave in, consuming the forbidden fruit. Her husband went right along with it, and they both were alienated from God. This alienation was depicted by Adam and Eve hiding from God (in 3:8-10). Before this, there had been nothing but positive interactions between God and humanity (especially in 2:18-23.) But now there was this estrangement – climaxing in God’s confrontation and sentencing (in 3:11-19). Sometimes in life you’re forced to live with the consequences of other people’s bad choices – and sometimes it’s your own choices that bring it on. But either way, choices do have consequences. And while you can’t always choose your circumstances, you can choose how you respond. All this serves to introduce the great contrast between God and humanity. In 3:20 the man responds first by giving the woman her name. In the Hebrew language “Eve” sounds like the word for “living.” This can be understood from more than one angle.
But fortunately it’s different with God. God is light; in Him there’s no darkness at all (I John 1:5). The contrast is seen in Genesis 3:20 going into 3:21, where God responds by giving the people skin garments. These replaced the fig leaves that had been used before (from 3:7). God has His ways of meeting our needs. Think of how you feel when you’re nicely dressed. It makes you feel good about yourself, doesn’t it? This is especially true in light of the issue of shame (which also comes up in 2:25 and 3:10). The world tends to engage in public shaming rituals, but God in His grace moves beyond all that. Some people have seen the skin garments as a precursor for the Old Testament sacrificial system – which is a hard part of the Old Testament to relate to. But consider this: Jesus concluded it all, once and for all in His sacrificial death on the cross (Romans 6:10). So we can let all our bad choices from the past be nailed to the cross forever, and then focus on God’s future for all of us – with His Holy Spirit guiding us as we respond to our circumstances, be they good or bad. God bless you. Andrew McHenry, Pastor First Congregational Church
0 Comments
|
Andrew McHenryI am a husband, a Congregational pastor, and a native Kansan currently living in Thermalito, California. In the past I have also been a prison chaplain and a youth pastor. Interests include reading, railroads, prog rock, KU, and the KC Royals. Archives
March 2024
Categories |