Genesis 2
Genesis 1:14-18 – 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.
God created man and gave them an awesome responsibility. They were charged to:
- be fruitful
- multiply
- replenish the earth
- subdue the earth
- have dominion over the fish, fowl, and every living thing that moves on the earth
Psalm 37:4 – Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
To delight in something is to be happy about it; take exquisite delight; to make merry over, or make sport of.1 Within this writing, we take notice to the delight that is in the Lord, but there is another ‘delight’ that affects the hearts and souls of men as well.
There are but two delights a person can place their hearts upon. To witness the first delight, we can go to the beginning with Adam and Eve. The Lord created the heavens and earth. They had been dressed and arrayed according to His good pleasure. The man was created out of the dust of the ground and the woman out of one of his ribs. She was to be a help meet to share a common purpose: to 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 ever living thing that moves upon the earth (Genesis 2:29).
Genesis 2:24 – Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Two become one flesh…
This is what the Lord explained to Adam after the woman God made from his rib was brought to him. Adam said, And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man (Genesis 2:23). Though we are two people, in the eyes of God we are one flesh.
Very often today, many people in ministry are giving themselves over to lustful desires. Where much of this is based upon the lack of self-control and obedience to the Lord (James 1:13-15), there are also means from which those in ministry can and should protect themselves. Therefore, foundational principles should be established for those that are married (in ministry).
Genesis 2:1-2 – 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 his 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.
After creating the heavens and the earth, God ended his work and rested on the seventh day. He blessed the seventh day and sanctified it for He rested all all His work.
Typically, when we speak of resting on the seventh day, many automatically go to the Sabbath in the Law of Moses and take a side for or against (as we are no longer under the Law of Moses). However, if we read Genesis, God sanctified the seventh day of rest long before the giving of His commandments to the people of Israel. The blessing of the seventh day was incorporated in the beginning.
July 28, 2008
God’s Moral Purity vs. His Love
This journal entry was originally submitted as a college course assignment.
How can God, who is moral pure (and exercises justice/judgment) also be loving? There seems to be some ‘tension’ between His moral purity and love…
At first glance, it can seem there is tension between God’s moral purity and His love. But when researching the issue further, we would discover a different outcome. When God spoke to Adam and explained the consequences of eating the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:16-17), He gave one of His first ‘commandments’ on how Adam and Eve were to live. He established a baseline for His moral purity as disobedience to His instruction would bring death (and eternal separation). When Adam disobeyed God and brought death (and sin) to mankind, God drew a line of where His moral purity began (and ended).
Throughout the Scriptures, we gain additional insight to the boundaries of God’s moral purity and the frame of our own before Him. We discover the things He hates (Proverbs 6:16-19) and learn who can stand within His holy place (Psalm 24:3-5). We also learn how righteousness and justice are the habitation of His throne, while mercy, loving-kindness, and truth goes before His face (Psalm 89:14).
How can this be? Even as our iniquities have separated us from Him – like the Israelites (Isaiah 59:2), we experience His mercy, loving-kindness, and truth. We deserve the penalty of death brought through the disobedience of Adam, yet God’s love made a way for us to live in eternal fellowship once again (Romans 6:23).
As a loving parent, God established His moral standard, yet His love abounded. His standard of moral purity has not diminished. The penalty of sin hasn’t changed. The penalty remains for those that choose not place their belief and faith in His Son, Jesus. But it was God who loved us so much that He sent His only Son (John 3:16). It was God who looked upon His creation and provided a way for the penalty to be paid – through His Son.
Throughout the Biblical record, the greatest message is God’s love for the world. In spite of our continued wickedness and sin, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). In the midst of our ‘best’ actions which seem as filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6), God’s love abounded.
To those that say there is tension, I would respectfully disagree. There is only tension for those that choose not to believe and accept God’s ability to provide appropriation for our sinful acts. Jesus is the bridge from His moral purity and the extension of His love toward mankind. God’s moral purity and love are capsulated in Jesus Christ. God sent His only Son to be born and die for people that deserved to die. That is a pure and awesome love…how can we fathom its depth and breath?
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