January 12, 2016

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” Genesis 1:1-5

In the beginning of everything G-d spoke existence into being – if G-d spoke it, it happened. This is our teaching about the beginning of things, all things. I am not going to spend time debating the creation story as either history or theology, G-d created all things and how G-d accomplished that is only known by G-d. Debating evolution vs. creationism is not my thing – G-d’s Word is my thing. So, one of the questions that might be swimming around in your mind as you read G-d’s word might be something like this: “If I am to believe G-d’s word, that it abides above all things and still speaks to our world today, then don’t I have to accept it all just as it appears in the “Good Book”?

Let’s begin to unravel this mystery by thinking about all writing. Any book, including the bible, written by the human hand, is compromised by the sterility of the moment in time it was written. If a 17th century novel speaks to the world view, it speaks to a 17th century understanding of that world view. The bible is no exception to this understanding. In their world view, G-d controlled the weather, the seas were inhabited by evil of all kinds, and disabilities and calamities were divinely caused. In trying to understand the world around them, they used the oral and eventually written form of “story” to help explain who they were, from whence they came, and how G-d was present in their lives.

As you continue to read the bible there will be questions that crop up in your minds – questions like “Did donkeys actually talk 3000 years ago?” and “If Adam and Eve only had three sons, who did they marry to procreate the earth?”

This is one of the reasons that beginnings are so exciting – because you never know what is coming next, and you better have a highlighter and a pen and paper next to you as you read so you can mark up verses and list your questions. You just cannot fathom the things you will read as you continue your bible reading. You see, I believe the bible is still a book of truth, same as it was yesterday, it is today, and it will be tomorrow. The words in this book still speak to the capacities and incapacities of human existence and behavior. For example, read the story about the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah:

“By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.” (Genesis 19:23)

Which is true: “G-d sent fire and burning sulfur to rain down from the sky to destroy it because it was a depraved city”…or, “Fire and sulfur rained down from the sky, and because no one could determine why this happened, the story was embellished to explain their destruction, and it just so happened there was sexual depravity practiced in their cities, and wouldn’t G-d frown on this behavior?”

In other words, if fire and rocks rained down on a city somewhere in the world today, we could see the meteor or question why someone would live at the foot of a volcano. And yet, some would still blame it on divine retribution. But the depravity of the sexual crimes against a visitor or visitors, which we still see rape used as an act of war around the world today, still shock and disgust us. So the use of sex acts as a means of torture, of humiliation, and depravity were frowned upon in the bible, and we still frown upon them today.

So, as you begin to encounter such stories in the bible, listen for the truth that stands in front, or behind, the story. Time will expand our horizons – but the truth that G-d intends for all to hear are timeless.

Pastor Dave