Civilization

We have all heard the saying “All roads lead to Rome” and It’s true the Roman highway system is some ways was unparalleled even when compared to our own modern highway systems. Many of these road sections, which were constructed in the third and fourth centuries BC, are still in existence, surviving over 2000 years of wind, rain and sun not to mention all that foot traffic. These civil road projects began in and around Rome itself and slowly spread out to neighboring cities and states. Eventually, these roads reached around the entire Mediterranean world of that day from Africa counterclockwise all the way to the present day United Kingdom. It was the way the Roman government was able to mobilize her military troops, collect taxes and increase the import-export of goods and commodities. All roads indeed led to Rome.

As we travel through the book of Genesis the first 6 chapters detail how the entire earth was populated. The genealogy in this section, while not being exhaustive or in any way complete, was inspired by God to illuminate or illustrate through which family line the Messiah would be born. God promised the world, as He spoke to Satan in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” Right here in chapter three of the first book of the bible is the first mention and promise of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.

As God sees sinfulness, wickedness and violence increase He decides to start over with only 8 people in the gene pool. He commands Noah to build an ark out of Gopher wood and causes the great expanse in the heavens and the floodgates under the sea to be opened. The earth is completely flooded, killing everything that walks on the earth or flies in the air.  One conservative estimate is that over one billion people died that day with only Noah, Noah’s wife, their three sons and wives escaping the global deluge. Two of each unclean animal and seven of each clean animal were also brought on board, along with all the food and water necessary to sustain all life on board. One quick aside here, how did Noah know what was clean and unclean?  God would not give the dietary laws to Moses for another 2100 years. The answer must be that the law had been demonstrated by God in the Garden of Eden.

The rains stop, a rainbow appears in the sky and eight people walk out from the protection of the ark and into a brand new world. As these families begin to grow, the post flood genealogy continues and the new world is populated by Noah and his three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth. Out of Adam’s three sons God chooses the family of Shem to continue the Messianic line. As we follow the family’s line the Messianic thread continues via Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his twelve sons. In Jacob’s twelve sons we see the birth of the twelve tribes of Israel.  

We watch in total amazement as God further narrows down the 12 tribes of Israel to the one tribe of Judah. Now within this tribe, God further slices it down to the single family clan of King David.  God reveals the “Line of David” through the “Root of Jesse” the Bethlehemite and establishes the Messiah’s royal ancestry. Keep in mind this was all prophesied and planned out by God thousands of years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

King David’s life was full of so many victories as well as many failures. He triumphs over the giant Goliath and is anointed king of Israel by God through the prophet Samuel. Just as in Noah, God saw something in David’s heart that caused Him to have grace and mercy on this ruddy young man. Even when this great king has a moment of weakness with Bathsheba, God uses their sons Solomon and Nathan to eventually arrive at the home of Joseph and Mary, the father and mother of Jesus.  

 

It’s hard to explain the wonder of this intricate plan in an 800 word column; just how precisely the Old Testament genealogy comes to a climax in the fulfillment of the Messiah, Jesus Christ in the New Testament. So Just as all roads led back to Rome in the ancient world, the selected family line that started with Adam and Eve in Genesis can be traced straight through to the fulfillment of God’s promise in Genesis 3:15. A Messianic crescendo can be heard as Jesus takes His last breath from the cross; where an omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent Creator gives Himself as The Lamb to be slain for the sin of the world. And what started in Eden with the death of two lambs to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve, ended on a wooden cross on Calvary. Behold Jesus, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

Tunics of Skin

A cat is playing with a baby mouse she has discovered. She paws at the lifeless fur ball, which by the way is playing possum, encouraging it to run for its life. The mouse is stunned and injured but the cat allows it a glimmer of hope that it might be able to escape. The rodent suffers as the cat finds pleasure in a game of cat and mouse. Death is a reality of life; it’s a certain end that each one of us will face at our own appointed time. There is no escape from death; it is the cost of original sin and all the money in the world won’t buy you a reprieve.  Most of us don’t like to think about our demise. The possibility that we could be lost forever is an awesome thought for a being that is self-aware.

If you take the time to make a record of all the ages of the patriarchs in the bible, a trend will emerge. Adam lived 930 years, Seth lived 912 years, Methuselah lived 969 years and Noah lived 950 years. But while all these men lived very long lives, they all eventually came face to face with death. After the catastrophic worldwide flood, there was a steady decline in the ages of Noah’s sons and grandsons. One very likely answer is that the protective water canopy that was once in the expanse of heaven before the flood is now no longer there.  Noah’s son Shem died after the great flood at the age of 600.  Terah, who was the father of Abraham, died at the age of 525 years. Abraham died at the age of 460, Isaac died at 180 and Jacob at 147. In the book of Hebrews 9:27 we read, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.”

Before leaving the Garden of Eden and following civilization out into a new world let’s retrace our footprints back to Adam and Eve as they are sitting in the cool of the garden. After disobeying God’s command not to eat the fruit from the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil their eyes were opened. They now understood that they had done something wrong and tried to hide themselves from God. They attempted to cover up the shame and guilt they felt by sewing fig leaves together to cover their nakedness. This scene, by the way, was the very first religious service staged on planet earth. Here we have the first man and woman doing something in an attempt to smooth things over with God. Needless to say, God was not impressed or satisfied with their offering and gives Adam and Eve a lesson in tough love.

In Genesis 2:21 it says, “Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” Now, remember what Adam was doing before God made Eve; Adam was naming all the animals that God brought before him. These animals would have been Adam’s only source of comfort, companionship and joy. Adam must have bonded with God’s creation in a very special way that we don’t fully appreciate or understand. So now the Father God in a wonderful demonstration of his loving kindness, slaughters two lambs in order to cover Adam and Eve with tunics of skin. We are beginning to see that being in rebellion to God will cost something.

 Adam and Eve watched in horror as these innocent animals were slaughtered for their skins. They had never seen anything die before now and, as they gazed upon the lambs’ skinned and lifeless bodies, a feeling of remorse must have overwhelmed them both. You can almost picture Adam, Eve and the two motionless carcasses as they lay out on the ground for all the other creatures to see. So God established the sacrificial law that day in Eden; without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness from sin.

The fear of death is one of the sharpest arrows in our enemy’s quiver. It’s one of his most awesome weapons which he uses to get us doubting God. When the fear of death raises its ugly head it squeezes our hearts with gripping anxiety. Some nights I have lain in bed paralyzed with fear as I pondered my own mortality. But God has not given us a spirit of fear but, through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, we can come boldly into His presence! 

No one born on this earth is going to escape death; it’s just a matter of time until we all pass on into the spiritual realm. But take heart for God has spent thousands of years carefully planning, always pointing to His solution in the coming Messiah. God loves us so much that He entered the world as a helpless baby and dwelt among us, Emmanuel. At the appointed time, Jesus Christ became our spotless Lamb and died in order that He might clothe us in eternal life.  Hallelujah!     

Making Choices

We all make choices everyday of our lives. Some can be as simple as choosing a color to paint the trim boards on our houses or as complex as what to do about an unplanned pregnancy. The ability to choose is what makes us different from all other life on earth. Choice is a measuring stick that demonstrates to God what things are really important to us. All God really wanted from the very beginning was to have a loving relationship with us where we would choose to love Him. He never wanted pre-programmed robots who submitted to His authority because of a particular line of code that was written into their programs.

Thus God provided two trees in the garden that were different from all the rest; the Tree of Life and the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. God had instructed Adam not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and that death would be the ultimate result. On the seventh day of creation God rested from all His work not because He was exhausted but rather His creation was complete and perfect (Gen 2:2,3). He blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it. It was almost like God took a deep breath and sighed, a dramatic pause or like the calm before a huge approaching storm. But for now, man is still innocent, everything is working the way it should and there is fellowship between man and God as they walked together in the Garden of Eden.

The Hebrew word translated “serpent” in Genesis 3:1 could also be translated “shinning one”. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he writes “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14) also in the book of Revelation we read “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev. 12:9).

Satan’s plan from the beginning has been to cast doubt on what God has instructed us to do. His main weapon is his ability to muddy the waters, to blend white and black pigments thus blurring the lines between what is good and evil.  His battle plan is to discourage us at every turn and get us to doubt our faith in God and His Divine provisions for our lives. If we would all just have the strength David had as he writes in the 23^rd psalm “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4) It’s in those truly dark times in our lives that God is really working on developing our character. Buts it’s up to us to surrender our wills and choose to obey Him.

It’s interesting that Satan was one of God’s most beautiful cherubs ever created. And through his own pride he desired to be like “The Most High”. God casts him out of heaven to the earth where in the garden he begins to influence Adam and Eve. When we fail to follow God’s instructions, we sin or fall short of His perfect plan for our lives. There is always a cost associated with making incorrect decisions. And we ultimately reap what we have sown in our lives which usually results in some sort of catastrophe.

There is much responsibility that goes along with choice and having “Freewill”. When confronted by God after disobeying, both Adam and Eve shucked off their responsibility for their sin. It is of the utmost importance that we all take full responsibility for our actions and decisions in our lives. If you find yourself blaming God for your situation in life, don’t! Instead, seek Him through His word to find the answers. He loves us all so very much that He provided a plan of redemption before the creation of the world. At every turn He has tried to save us from our own wicked hearts, thoughts and desires.

So the first step in our journey to walk with God is to first acknowledge Him as the almighty Creator that He is. We also need to communicate with Him through prayer and begin to choose to make good decisions based on the truths found in His living word, the bible. As a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, death became a frightening reality to these eternal beings who were once allowed to eat freely from the Tree of Life. God, the Father, in His perfect wisdom places cherubim and a flaming sword to guard the way to the Tree of Life.  As we are already beginning to see the extent of God’s grace and mercy as He introduces death into this new fallen world. Because without death, all humanity would have been condemned to live forever, eternally in a state of sin, separated from a loving God. I hope you will continue to follow along with us as we discover the depth of God’s love for us as He willing pays our debt through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ!

Memories of Mom!

Mother’s Day is right around the corner and just where we would be without our mothers?  Mine is no longer here on the earth with me but I can still remember her pleasant voice, fragrant perfume and her warm, wonderful smile. It’s funny how even just the slightest stimulus can trigger a memory of mom. For me it’s the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, as air currents carry their inviting smell from cooling rack to the screen door welcoming me home again. It’s also the smell of laundry, freshly pressed, folded and neatly laid on my bed. Our dresser drawers were always full of clean socks paired up and tucked in upon themselves waiting for two young feet to slip in. Moms are really quite amazing and indispensible.

One day a year to celebrate Mom is not a fine enough tribute to the one who brought us into this world under great pain and duress. She never abandoned us for another, forgot our birthday or failed to mail us a card when we got older and moved away. Mom was a fine woman with a lovely knitted sweater that felt as soft as rabbit fur. And even when we stayed out too late in the rain and caught cold, she was always there with a soft Kleenex, ready to wipe our runny noses. It was like our moms could see into the future.  When something unforeseen would happen, there she would be waiting with a dry shirt, shoes and pants and of course a smile. She always traveled with a very large bag which was completely stocked up prepared for anything that life could throw at her. She was a rare cross between Mary Poppins, Chuck Norris and a pit bull.  God help the poor soul who managed to get between her and the little ones!

Twelve red roses arranged in a vase is not a great enough sentiment for the woman who lived to grab our hand and pull us out of harm’s way. Mom would always go to bat for us in a pinch even if it meant a trip to the principals’ office; she always had our backs and never gave up! When tragedy struck our favorite pet and he had to be put to sleep, mom bravely found the leash and carried him to the already running car. Afterwards, we could always cry on her shoulder. She would wipe away the tears and hustle back home in time to prepare dinner for our fathers. She was an incredibly driven soul who kept the house clean even when she should have been in bed from a bad case of the flu. She always clipped coupons before shopping for the groceries and cooked mash potatoes, gravy and fried chicken every Friday night.

There’s no medal of honor that is priceless enough to be pinned on the chests of our mothers who fed us and nourished us in the first few months of life. Her shoulder became our head rest as she paced back and forth night after night when we were sick. Mom barely slept; it was as if she was a watchman always alert and on guard waiting for our enemies. Just the slightest squeak, muffled cry or even a peep from our cribs would bring her up bounding up out of a dead night sleep. She always had an extra identical binky in her purse. Oh yea, moms are great warriors too and I wouldn’t hesitate to fight back to back with any mom at any time. Marines only wish they had the endurance our mothers had.

A cheap, drug store bought card hastily filled out would bring tears to her eyes. Slowly reading every printed word she would cherish them as if we had thoughtfully penned every line ourselves. When falsely accused, it was our moms who became advocates. And when we were not within her reach, our mother’s faithful prayers would continually rise up to God’s throne room. She made sure her faithful petitions for our well being and safety found their way into the Lord’s presence. In fact, not a night would go by when we were not reminded by our mothers to say our prayers before we went to bed. When our first day of school came, it was mom who encouraged us to take a step of faith and get into the huge, bright yellow school bus. And when it turned out to be the worst day of our lives, it was mom who had fresh cookies and milk waiting for us when we came home. Nothing melted our countenance quicker than her homemade cookies and ice cold milk.

 All the gold in the world would not come close to covering the worth of our moms. Later on, mom took on an additional roll as our children’s grandmother and faithfully managed to show our kids the exact same kindness she showed to us. It’s a mystery of the universe how God made moms so sweet, kind and caring and so very full of love. I know for certain there is a special place in heaven for moms, a place where they will be rewarded for all the good they did in their lives and just maybe when their children arrive to be with her, then the family will once again be reunited to sing her praise.

There really are no presents precious enough for our moms. Not enough gold or silver anywhere in the universe, but you know she would be happy just to get a hug from us, to see us smile as we left the house or even just to get a phone call when we moved far away. We were her treasure, the one she so lovingly poured her life into and raised us to adulthood. Thank you God for every mother you created. Happy Mother’s Day!