1Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 11 records the development of new technology that facilitated new design and building techniques. Wanting to make a name for themselves, men erected a great tower. Symbolically it reached up to God. Motivated by pride and ambition it was another sign of humanity’s rejection of God. Millennia ago, men and women had anticipated the 19th century atheist poet Algernon Charles Swinburne’s cry , “Glory to man in the highest.”
God responded in two ways. With an act of discipline, not judgment as in Noah’s day, God scattered the people and divided their language. In doing so he struck at one of the essential features of what it means to be human – the capacity for communication and with it, of personal relationships. From the moment of the events of Genesis 3 human co-operation would be more challenging than ever because of the break-down of relationship with God and with one another – socially and ethnically, sexually and culturally.
But, God also acted in mercy. Into this dark scene dominated by godlessness and self-interest, Genesis 12 tells us that God shone a ray of light. He spoke to one man and made three promises that would impact the whole of humanity. Abraham would become ‘great’; he would be blessed with family and land where there would be peace and prosperity. It would be the reversal of the events of Genesis 3. And through this family all the nations of the world would be blessed.
Abram, as he was then known, had a choice: he could trust God and ‘Go’, or he could stay where he was. God did not violate the human capacity for choice. Abraham obeyed and the epic story of God’s rescue of humanity was launched. Down through the ages, men and women who identified themselves with the God of Abraham would be blessed. Abraham’s greatest successor, Jesus, would say, ‘I have come to seek and to save the lost’ (Luke 19:10). Paul the Apostle would write: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise (Galatians 3:28, 29).
As someone has observed, it is no accident that when we turn to the Book of Revelation ‘we find Babel or Babylon re-appearing as a consumer-oriented, mercantile society that will dominate the last days – the time between Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension and his final return. It is no accident that it is the fall of Babylon that John, the writer of Revelation, sees as the immediate precursor of the return of Christ. Babel did not end thousands of years ago on the plain of Shinar. Metaphorically speaking, Babel features again and again throughout human history.’ Whenever men and women in their arrogance think that they can build something and make a name for themselves, ignoring the reality of God as their rightful king, getting power over others with no concern for true justice, there is Babel. The great news is that because God in his mercy set in motion three promises to one man, we can now look in hope to a very different city, a new Jerusalem. There we do not have to build a tower to reach to heaven, for God is in the midst of her and he invites us to walk with him one day in her streets.
Consider:
1. the details of the three promises God made; 2. the significance of the promise or promises for the nations; 3. the part that Abraham played and the role that we have today.
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves…
14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” 16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” 17 And to the man he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Genesis 1 and 2 reveal that God has given us extraordinary authority to be his managers over the world. In doing so he has given us the awesome capacity for choice and the amazing capacity for relationship. As someone has observed, Rule, responsibility and relationship are three qualities that mark us out in the whole of creation.
In Genesis 3 the hopes for humanity are dashed. Tragedy enters the scene of perfection and peace (see 3:1). Temptation comes from outside the woman (not from within her) and, ironically, it symbolically comes from the animal world – a world men and women were intended to rule.
The tempter’s first tactic was to sow doubt and discord, portraying God as the heavenly spoilsport: ‘Did God really say, “Any tree?” he asked. No, God hadn’t said that. The question was an overstatement. The tempter uses the same ploy today: ‘All those rules and regulations – how dull and boring.’
His second tactic was to appeal to pride (3:5). The tempter’s voice implied, ‘God knows that you have the potential to be greater than you are. Don’t be fooled – be courageously independent. You can do without him.’
His third tactic was to appeal to desires (3:6) – physical, aesthetic, intellectual. Self-fulfillment was the implication then as it has become the catch-cry today – ‘Indulge yourself. Why stop?’ is the voice of temptation.
His fourth tactic was to appeal to weakness (3:6). The woman had the authority and power to say ‘No’. The man also could have said, ‘No’. He didn’t even quote back to the tempter God’s true words – as Jesus would do. Both capitulated to the temptation to see themselves as ‘gods’ and challenge God’s rightful place in the universe and in their lives.
Shame and fear were the result. There were now ideas that made them blush. There was a lack of trust and a need for privacy. And, there was overwhelming guilt before God. Delight and innocent joy in their relationship with God, and with one another, were shattered.
Both began to make excuses. Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent. But the reality was they had made a choice, and they were responsible for that choice. They deserved to be judged and judged they were. Deep down all of us know how right such judgement is, not least in the choices we make that betray our loyalty to him and to one another.
Judgment (3:17ff). We notice immediately the disturbance in God’s good creation – in human relationships, in the world, in child-birth. The dread shadow of death now hovers over humanity as an angel was sent to guard the tree of life.
A Ray of Hope (3:15). The tempter will do his worst to deceive and deface the image-bearers of God; all men and women are now tainted for life with a predisposition to serve self – and not God. The consequences of this will emerge in varying ways and varying degrees. Men and women will display a strange and distorted capacity for both good and evil. But Genesis 3:15 introduces good news into this world of gloom and death. A descendant of the original couple will come to our rescue. In the midst of darkness and despair, a sign of God’s love emerges.
Consider:
1. the fact that temptation involved the tactic of misquotation and deception; men and women were tempted to feel ‘restricted’ by God’s command rather than rejoice in God’s good purposes for them; 2. the way in which the temptations appealed to doubt, pride, desire and weakness; 3. the fact that God’s justice is tempered by mercy (Adam and Eve did not die) and hope (3:15).
1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness…
24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to 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 wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” 27 So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 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.” 29 God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
True meaning and joy in life begin with the discovery that God likes us. It is sometimes said that in order to live life to the full we need to first learn to love and forgive ourselves. The Bible sees things very differently, as we discover in the first chapter of Genesis.
Confusion often exists over Genesis because, influenced by a culture of science, we come to it with the wrong question. Genesis does not set out to explain the ‘how’ of creation. It is interested in the ‘who’ and the ‘what’. The Bible epic begins by telling us that God created all things and therefore all things have their origin and meaning in him.
Day Six of the creation account is significant. Midway through the ‘sixth day’ of creation the style of the language changes and we sense a break between the creation of the animals and the creation of men and women. It is as though there was a pre-cosmic pause while a conversation took place in the Godhead where the question was discussed: ‘Will we do it?’ The language, ‘Let us’, implies the question, ‘Will we go ahead with this next and final part of creation? The cost will be great.’ (Philippians 2:6 provides another window on this pre-cosmic conversation: the second person of the Godhead made a personal choice to follow through the plan that had been set before creation. The incarnation and the crucifixion of Jesus were not Plan B but part of Plan A. But I rush ahead.)
The Glory of God’s Creation
Genesis 1:26ff tells us that God moved ahead with the final great act of creation – created in God’s image, men and women were the glory of his creating work. Unlike other ancient creation accounts, such as the Enuma Elish story, men and women are not a final emanation of the god(s), created to serve their needs and pleasures. Rather, the God of Genesis 1 has ordered everything in such a way that men and women have the responsibility and joy in overseeing it. We are God’s under-rulers, vicegerents – or as C.S. Lewis put it in his Narnia series, ‘kings and queens’ of the earth. As his vicegerents God calls on us to learn from him, to trust him and to find our meaning and purpose in him.
That God delighted in us is seen in the profound and uplifting words that close the chapter, God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. Everything was perfect, a joy to God. He could say that his handiwork, including men and women was good. It would be his delight to serve us as it should be our delight to serve him ! But as the biblical story unfolds God’s service of us would come at a very great price.
Consider:
1. the implication that God exists and in his wisdom and power created all things out of nothing;
2. what it means for us men and women to be the climax and glory of God’s creation;
3. the suggestion that in giving men and women dominion over aspects of creation God has given us the privilege and responsibility of a stewardship that is ultimately accountable to him.
Uncertain times give us pause and challenge us to ask questions. I don’t want to sound negative, but given the uncertain start to this year, economically and politically, not to speak of the rise of terrorism, many people are anxious about the future.
In times of uncertainty it is always helpful to consider what encouragements we can draw from a richer understanding of God, his interactions with men and women, and his expectations of those who trust him.
In recent weeks we have been identifying highlights of God’s promises to his people through the prophet Isaiah. More than one hundred years before it happened he prophesied the conquest of the southern kingdom Judah and the fall of Jerusalem. But Isaiah also had a message of comfort and hope for people who trusted God. This is his theme from chapter 40 onwards.
In Isaiah 49, we read of the emergence of a new figure, known as God’s ‘Servant’ whose task would be to restore God’s people. For Isaiah’s first readers, ‘restoration’ meant the restoration of God’s people to their land and their city. Against all odds this occurred from 520BC.
LIGHT
But in Isaiah 49 there is another layer to the meaning of God’s Servant: Isaiah is also speaking of the coming of Jesus Christ whose work would bring the light of God’s truth to his people and to the nations. Indeed this Servant of God – Jesus Christ – would provide the means of restoration for a broken humanity: “I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth”(Isaiah 49:6).
And there is more, for in Isaiah 49:7 there is a subtle but significant shift in the meaning of the word Israel. Israel reverts to its meaning as the people of God – not just an individual figure.
With this shift there are significant nuances. In 49:6, the ‘Servant’ is told the Lord would make him a light for the Gentiles. In 49:8 Israel is told that the Lord will not just make a covenant with them,but that they will be the means of bringing God’s light to the nations.
This is profound. Isaiah is saying that the rescue and restoration of God’s people, Israel, will be a sign of his commitment to bless the nations. As we view this through the lens of the New Testament we see this applies to the church today. God’s people who are now freed by God’s grace through Jesus Christ, from a life of captivity to sin and death, are to say to those who are still captive to their fears, ‘Come out’, and to those in darkness, be free’ (49:9).
FOCUS
As Isaiah 49 moves on, the focus is not so much on the return of the exiles from Babylon or even on their spiritual restoration, but on the mission of God’s people to the nations. Indeed, in Isaiah 49:13 there is a great shout of praise to God. It is the sound of God’s people rejoicing as people come from all nations into the light of God’s truth and salvation. It is one reason for joy in our churches today.
In this election year in the United States millions of dollars are being spent and many thousands of volunteers are involved in the election process. Consider the impact God’s people could have for good, if only one tenth of these resources of money and people were put to the mission of Jesus Christ. Yet too often we are caught up with our own concerns and anxieties rather than living as God’s light. What was it that Jesus said? “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world; a city set on a hill cannot be hidden…” (Matthew 5:13-14).
A paradox in life is that when we serve the needs of others we often find our own anxieties will fall away.
When the going gets tough in life it’s so easy to become fainthearted. We lose our energy and drive. Indeed the reality is that many situations in life challenge us to be tough-minded, and not fainthearted. As I considered this two quotes caught my attention – George Clooney’s, ’Growing old on screen is not for the faint of heart’; and Michael Douglas, ‘Capitalism is part of our system but it is not for the faint of heart’.
Two and a half millennia ago the Jewish people were faint of heart when in 586BC Babylonian forces had rampaged through their land, razing Jerusalem and its huge temple to the ground. Political obliteration seemed inevitable as the cream of the population was taken into exile in Babylon. Yet the extraordinary thing was this – Judah’s morale was not destroyed.
ISAIAH THE PROPHET
Isaiah, one of the prophets who had spoken of God’s impending judgment in the nation, had also sounded a voice of hope. It was his words that were the key to the people of Judah surviving.
His message of hope runs as a single thread from chapter 40:1 through the rest of his writing. He had begun by declaring God’s words to his people: “Comfort, comfort, my people” (40:1). And in the following chapters Isaiah went on to speak of a ‘Servant’ God would raise up – someone who would rescue and restore God’s people.
Isaiah had spoken of the way God would first raise up Cyrus, an insignificant prince from the north of Babylonia. Indeed, Cyrus became a great leader who crushed the Babylonians and paved the way for the Persian empire under Darius. Furthermore, Cyrus used his power in Babylon in 520BC to release of the Jewish exiles, permitting them to return to Jerusalem and restore their city. This actually happened.
A GLOBAL VISION
But that was not the end of the story. For when we turn to Isaiah 49 we see the rise of another unexpected figure – a Servant. ‘Who is this servant?’ we ask. Consider Isaiah’s first words in chapter 49: Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away!
This is strange. God’s people were crying out for forgiveness and a fresh start, but this new figure does not address them directly at all. His strident words are addressed to the world at large, the islands and distant nations. Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The mission of this man is not just to God’s people, but to the nations. His vision is global.
Yes, his work will involve restoration of the people of Judah – as we read in 49:5 – And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God has become my strength—
The role of this figure in Isaiah 49 is to bring God’s people back to him, so that their relationship with him is truly restored. But God’s people needed to know something else: there is a needy world out there waiting to hear the truth about God. In Isaiah 49:6, we read: He says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel…
DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTY
Too often we become faint-hearted because we fear the uncertainties of the future. We’re faint of heart because we focus too much on our own lives rather than on the needs and fears of others. The irony is that the healing of our own anxieties often begins when we stop thinking about ourselves and start looking outward to the world that God loves and that needs to know about him. Isaiah 49:6 continues, I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
As we consider Isaiah’s words through the lens of the New Testament we see that the Servant he was speaking about is Jesus Christ. Jesus not only brought light to the world through the clarity and depth of his teaching but he also served humanity in its deepest need by conquering the power of sin and death. The God of the Bible is committed to serve.
God now calls on us to join him in this work of service. But it is not for the faint-hearted. For he wants us to get involved in the conversation with others around us – about life, its meaning and the importance of sorting out our relationship with the God who is there. God calls us to serve ‘the city’ where we live with joy in our hearts. He gives us his grace and strength to do so.
