Violence

Readings for today: Genesis 8-9, Psalms 12

It’s striking to me how similar the language of Genesis 9 is to the language of Genesis 1 and yet it’s not exactly the same. I find myself pondering why that might be this morning. I imagine what I am seeing is the impact of the Fall. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever but His creation has suffered a mortal wound. The creature He made in His image – humanity – refuses to submit to His will, rejects the relationship God offers, and goes her own way. The results speak for themselves - “the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth…” (Genesis 8:21) How does this evil manifest itself? Violence. Fear. Dread. These things were not present initially when God entrusted creation into our hands. In the beginning, humanity lived in harmony with all God had made. Yes, they were called to “subdue the earth” and “have dominion” but one doesn’t get the sense that it was coercive or forced. God renews His call to Noah after the flood but the differences are stark. The creation mandate remains – “Be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth” but then the reality of the brokenness of sin settles in. Noah and his family will subdue the earth and exercise dominion but it will be through fear and dread. The animals of the earth, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea will all run from them. They will resist even as they are given into their hands. The reality of violence is acknowledged as is the first mention of the principle of lex talionis or proportional justice. God seeking to restrain the violent impulses that drove humanity pre-flood into chaos. The flood was an act of re-creation. God turning loose the waters that existed at the beginning of time to reshape all He had originally made. The Garden is gone. Paradise is lost. The world is now a hostile, violent, dangerous place full of fear and dread. Noah and his family will have to fight to survive. 

So little has changed in the thousands of years since Noah first stepped off the ark. The world is still full of violence and fear and dread. It is full of hate and rage and greed. Humanity has made incredible progress technologically but has remained morally deficient. Human history provides plenty of empirical evidence for the doctrine of original sin and total depravity. Shoot, my own life provides the same! We just don’t want to submit. We refuse to humble ourselves before God. We will not relinquish our selfish hold on this world. Thankfully, God has not left us in our broken condition. He will not leave us in our fallen estate. I love how the Apostle Paul puts it in Ephesians 2, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility…and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” (Ephesians 2:13-14, 16) Jesus Christ left His home in heaven to come to the “far country” of this world to reclaim those who were lost. His desire was to draw us close. Draw us into His loving embrace. He is so faithful, He will pursue every human being. He will chase down every lost soul. He will leave no one behind. How did humanity respond? The way we always do. We rejected Christ. We killed the Lord of glory rather than submit to His embrace. Jesus became a victim of violence. A victim of humanity’s fear and dread. A victim of humanity’s hostility to the will of God. And yet through His death, God brought an end to sin. He broke the power of death. He set us free from bondage to evil. He made a way back to Him. 

Readings for tomorrow: Genesis 10-11

Ruin

Readings for today: Genesis 6-7

I had lunch with a friend the other day. He is struggling with grief over the loss of a relationship. He spent so much time and energy and effort pouring into the person he loved. He dedicated so much of his life to them. He was hoping it would go somewhere special. But then he made a significant mistake and it cost him. The person left him. And now he feels like he is sitting in the ruins of what once was and might have been. It’s extremely painful and heartbreaking. A few months back, I had a similar experience with a business owner. He has spent a lifetime building his business. He believes it can help so many people. He is passionate about his product. He has given so much time and energy and attention into making it grow. But it all has come crumbling down. He’s at the point of bankruptcy. He feels like he’s sitting in the ruins of what once was and might have been. Over the years, I’ve spoken to many pastors. Friends and colleagues who give themselves to their churches and communities. They pour themselves out for others, sacrificing time and energy and attention to helping navigate one crisis after another. But then something happens. Betrayal. Conflict. Key members of the church leave. Growth is stagnant. The budget gets harder to make with each passing year. They can feel their once vibrant ministry crumbling all around them and it feels like their sitting in the ruins of what once was and might have been.

God knows the feeling. The Creator looks down on His creation and what does He see? “The earth was ruined in the sight of God; the earth was filled with violence. God saw the earth, and indeed it was ruined, for all living creatures on the earth were sinful.” (Genesis‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NET‬‬) I can’t imagine the grief God must have felt as He looked out over all He had made. As He thought about what once was and what might have been. This was not His plan. This was not His will. The last thing He wanted was for sin to enter the world and corrupt everything. God loves His world and He loves everything in His world and I cannot begin to fathom the pain He must have felt as He contemplated flooding the earth and starting over. He sees the human creature, made in His image, engaging in all kinds of evil. The inclination of their hearts seemingly addicted to violence. They have strayed so far from their original purpose. They have all followed in the footsteps of Cain rather than Abel. Called to steward all of creation under God’s wise and loving hand, they choose destruction. Called to cultivate and build and engage in all kinds of creative acts, they uproot and tear down and kill one another with impunity. The result is devastation and ruin.

Thankfully, there is one who is blameless. One who walks with God. His name is Noah. Noah and his family are the chosen instruments God will use to bring about re-creation and restoration. Noah and his family will become a new Adam and new Eve for the human race. They will reset the clock as God seeks to redeem what He has made and bring an end to sin and death and violence and suffering and pain. The famous evangelist, DL Moody, once said, “The world has not yet seen what God can do with a person fully consecrated to Him…and by God’s grace I will be that person.” This is how God works, friends, through His people. Through people fully consecrated and fully devoted to Him. He did it with Noah. He did it with Moody. He can do it with you. Endeavor today, by God’s grace, to be that person!

Readings for tomorrow: Genesis 8-9, Psalms 12