The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. Said to have been written by King Solomon in his youth when he was full of passion. Commentators, uncomfortable with the sexual content of this book, have downplayed the sexual overtones of this book and said that the love described in this book is that of God and His people. Certainly, that is one way of interpreting the text, but I don't think you can say that God loves His people the same way the lover and beloved love each other.
This book is traditionally read during Passover. There is a reference to the chariots of Pharaoh (1:9). But more than that, God showed great love to Israel in redeeming Israel from slavery in Egypt. And the obvious passion between the lover and the beloved in this book is but a shadow of the great love God has for His people.
More to follow.... (hopefully) :)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Mercy and Judgment continued
The first part of verse 23 says that God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. The next part says, "to work the land." However, this does not mean that work is a curse placed upon Adam and Eve and all succeeding generations for disobeying God. Before they ate from the Tree of Knowledge, God had placed Adam in the Garden to work the land. Work preceded sin.
The difference here is that working the land will be much harder. Thorns and thistles and earning your food by the sweat of your brow.
After banishing Adam and Eve, God placed cherubim on the east side of the Garden and a flashing sword, guarding the way to the Tree of Life.
Cherubim-angels. Not naked babies with wings and halos. Cherubim are fearsome creatures. The great sphinx in Egypt is an approximation of a cherub. Cherubim appear again in the Wilderness wanderings. God commands that cherubim be crafted and placed on top of the chest of testimony (ark of the covenant) that resided in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle.
What can we learn from the relationship between the cherubim and the flashing sword and the Tree of Life? The Torah is likened to a tree of life (Proverbs 3). The cherub faced each other with their faces over the ark of the covenant which contained the tablets of stone on which were inscribed the Ten Commandments. The cherubim guarded the way to the Tree of Life, or Torah. The flaming sword....hrmmm....I dunno. But Paul says that part of the armor of God is the sword of truth. To get to the Tree of Life, you must use the truth and pursue it. Cut through all the bs using the sword of Truth. Many and varied will be the distractions and temptations to block your way. Fight them off with the sword of truth.
Be ye well,
Leo
The difference here is that working the land will be much harder. Thorns and thistles and earning your food by the sweat of your brow.
After banishing Adam and Eve, God placed cherubim on the east side of the Garden and a flashing sword, guarding the way to the Tree of Life.
Cherubim-angels. Not naked babies with wings and halos. Cherubim are fearsome creatures. The great sphinx in Egypt is an approximation of a cherub. Cherubim appear again in the Wilderness wanderings. God commands that cherubim be crafted and placed on top of the chest of testimony (ark of the covenant) that resided in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle.
What can we learn from the relationship between the cherubim and the flashing sword and the Tree of Life? The Torah is likened to a tree of life (Proverbs 3). The cherub faced each other with their faces over the ark of the covenant which contained the tablets of stone on which were inscribed the Ten Commandments. The cherubim guarded the way to the Tree of Life, or Torah. The flaming sword....hrmmm....I dunno. But Paul says that part of the armor of God is the sword of truth. To get to the Tree of Life, you must use the truth and pursue it. Cut through all the bs using the sword of Truth. Many and varied will be the distractions and temptations to block your way. Fight them off with the sword of truth.
Be ye well,
Leo
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Mercy and Judgment (Gen 3:21-24)
21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Gen 3:21-24
garments of skin The first sacrifice in the Bible is done by God Himself. The fig coverings were not sufficient to cover Adam and Eve. If the wages of sin be death, then death was necessary. God said that in the day that Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge of good and bad that they would die. They ate but did not die that day. Something else died in their place. What animals were slain to provide the skins for Adam and Eve? Scripture does not say. It's a small point though I'm sure there's lots of speculation about it. But the point is that blood was shed to cover over their sin. Blood atoned for their sin. Their sins were covered over. And their wearing of the animal skins served as a reminder that a living being was sacrificed so that they didn't have to die. What mercy God showed for Adam and Eve.
And the Lord God said... like one of us Who is this "us"? God has said "us" before in creating mankind and will say it again when men make the Tower of Babel. There are several theories as to who the "us" refers to. Christians see this as a reference to the Trinity. Others have said that the us is like a "Royal we". For example the Queen may say "we are not amused" when referring to herself. Some have said that the us refers to angels. I confess to not knowing. Those who like to argue for a triune God use this verse as a prooftext. However, as interesting as this trail may be, it can get us sidetracked very easily.
knowing good and evil. Before they ate from the Tree of Knowledge, what knowledge of good and evil did Adam and Eve have? Was there any distinction? Was everything all good? I think the presumption is that Eden was a paradise. Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) is a mystical paradise in rabbinic literature. It's all goodness and light and joy and happiness. With wisdom, however, comes heartache. Like God, mankind now knows that there is evil. There is wickedness and sin and shame and guilt. And like God, mankind will have to make distinctions between what is good and what is bad, between sacred and ordinary, between clean and unclean. And this will no longer be done in the Garden of Eden.
tree of life God would not allow Adam and Eve to reach out and eat from the tree of life and live forever. Why not? Again, an act of mercy. Mercy? Aye. And I learned the following from me mother in law (z'l) For if man stretched forth his hand and ate from the tree of life, he'd be forever in a state of sin. But I think that the fact that God clothed Adam and Eve in animal skins signifies that their sin was atoned for and forgiven.
To be continued...
garments of skin The first sacrifice in the Bible is done by God Himself. The fig coverings were not sufficient to cover Adam and Eve. If the wages of sin be death, then death was necessary. God said that in the day that Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge of good and bad that they would die. They ate but did not die that day. Something else died in their place. What animals were slain to provide the skins for Adam and Eve? Scripture does not say. It's a small point though I'm sure there's lots of speculation about it. But the point is that blood was shed to cover over their sin. Blood atoned for their sin. Their sins were covered over. And their wearing of the animal skins served as a reminder that a living being was sacrificed so that they didn't have to die. What mercy God showed for Adam and Eve.
And the Lord God said... like one of us Who is this "us"? God has said "us" before in creating mankind and will say it again when men make the Tower of Babel. There are several theories as to who the "us" refers to. Christians see this as a reference to the Trinity. Others have said that the us is like a "Royal we". For example the Queen may say "we are not amused" when referring to herself. Some have said that the us refers to angels. I confess to not knowing. Those who like to argue for a triune God use this verse as a prooftext. However, as interesting as this trail may be, it can get us sidetracked very easily.
knowing good and evil. Before they ate from the Tree of Knowledge, what knowledge of good and evil did Adam and Eve have? Was there any distinction? Was everything all good? I think the presumption is that Eden was a paradise. Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) is a mystical paradise in rabbinic literature. It's all goodness and light and joy and happiness. With wisdom, however, comes heartache. Like God, mankind now knows that there is evil. There is wickedness and sin and shame and guilt. And like God, mankind will have to make distinctions between what is good and what is bad, between sacred and ordinary, between clean and unclean. And this will no longer be done in the Garden of Eden.
tree of life God would not allow Adam and Eve to reach out and eat from the tree of life and live forever. Why not? Again, an act of mercy. Mercy? Aye. And I learned the following from me mother in law (z'l) For if man stretched forth his hand and ate from the tree of life, he'd be forever in a state of sin. But I think that the fact that God clothed Adam and Eve in animal skins signifies that their sin was atoned for and forgiven.
To be continued...
Friday, May 1, 2009
Chava Gen 3:20
Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. Gen 3:20 (NIV)
In Hebrew, her name is Chava, which is related to chai (life).
The living, not the dead. The curse is pronounced upon the serpent and the ground. Please take note of that. No curse is pronounced upon Adam and Eve. This does not mean that they go unpunished, far from it. But the idea of humanity being cursed for all generations because Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge has no Biblical basis.
Eve, her name means life. She is mother of us all. The world's first mother. She is the progenitor of all the generations of humanity. Rather than shame her memory by saying we are cursed because of her sin, let us acclaim her life giving quality.
Praise the Lord, Who, in His great mercy and loving kindness, did not immediately put to death Adam and Eve for their sins but allowed them to beget the human race.
In Hebrew, her name is Chava, which is related to chai (life).
The living, not the dead. The curse is pronounced upon the serpent and the ground. Please take note of that. No curse is pronounced upon Adam and Eve. This does not mean that they go unpunished, far from it. But the idea of humanity being cursed for all generations because Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge has no Biblical basis.
Eve, her name means life. She is mother of us all. The world's first mother. She is the progenitor of all the generations of humanity. Rather than shame her memory by saying we are cursed because of her sin, let us acclaim her life giving quality.
Praise the Lord, Who, in His great mercy and loving kindness, did not immediately put to death Adam and Eve for their sins but allowed them to beget the human race.
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