Monday reflections...and a professor friend

I want to give full credit to what I write today so therefore I will even post the picture of the one I am referring to.  This is Rev. Dr. Gregory K. Beale (PhD, Cambridge) who holds the J. Gresham Machen chair of New Testament and is research professor of New Testament and biblical interpretation at Westminster Theological Seminary.

Before coming to Maine, I was accepted to Belhaven University to take an online masters course of Biblical and Theological Studies.  I knew this would be pushing me with a full interim pastoring schedule but I thought the extra education would help me in the long haul.  I ordered the prescribed books and one of them as "God Dwells Among Us" co-written by the man pictured above.  The subtitle is "Expanding Eden to the Ends of the Earth."

In preparations for coming to this assignment, I was combing the internet to learn as much about Machias Valley Baptist Church and the area as I could.  The church website brought up the name of this man.  Same one?  Yes, and he actually spoke a few times from the pulpit.  I found out after arriving that he and his wife summers in this area.  Small world, right?

Not only did I get to meet Professor Beale, as I call him, but I was able to be in a couple of Bible study sessions with him and others before his departure back to Westminster Theological Seminary.  I was setting at the same table with the one who wrote the book that I would be reading in the near future for my online class.  His name also came up in the ZOOM conferencing class session and I was able to share with the class that I had met "the man" and "shaken his hand."  

Monday Reflections lately has been a time for me to share some of what I have been learning in this class and specifically to push me to apply it to the local church and my life.  All that to say that what I am about to share comes from Professor Beale's book.  I will share his insights and teaching points on a couple specific passages of Scripture and then attempt to give some application principles.  Here we go.

The first passage to be compared to the second is Genesis chapter 2 and verses 16 and 17.  These are God's words to Adam in the garden of Eden.  The italics, boldness, numbers and underline are added to help with the points that will follow.

And the (1)LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from (2)any tree of the garden, but you must (3)not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you (4)will certainly die.”

The second passage is Genesis chapter 3 and verses 2 and 3.  These are Eve's words in response to the serpent (Satan).  Again, the italics, boldness, numbers, and underline are added to help with the points that will follow.

The woman said to the serpent, “We may (2)eat the fruit from the trees in the garden.  But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, (1)God said, ‘You must not eat it (3)or touch it, or (4)you will die.’”

1.  There is a change from "Yahweh" (LORD God) to "Elohim" (God).

God uses the more personal name for Himself when giving this command.  He is the God who walks in the garden with Adam.  He is the One who speaks with Adam over the affairs of what he is to do.  Eve uses the more impersonal name for God that emphasizes His strength.  It is taken as an order from above.  "The boss said so."

2.  There is a change from "any tree of the garden" to a focus on "the fruit of the trees."

God's permission is minimized.  God wants Adam and Eve to see all the trees of the garden while Eve focuses just on the fruit of the trees.  The "any" is missing in her relaying of the message.

3.  There is an addition to "you must not eat" by God to "or touch it" by Eve.  God's prohibition is maximized.

Eve is our first "legalist" who takes what God has said and adds a little more.  Maybe this is her way of disciplining herself by setting up another standard or guardrail before ever getting the fruit to her mouth.  She would have to touch it first but now these words and standard seem to be what God has said.

4.  There is a change from God saying "will certainly die" to Eve saying "you will die" or "lest you die."  The "certainly" is gone.  The consequences of sin are minimized.  

God's word is final but Eve's rendition seems to give some wiggle room.  "I'm saying it but not believing it."  

Let us head into the application of these 4 teaching points and observations from Professor Beale.

1.  Isn't it easier to point a finger at "big ole' bad God" up there rather than picture Him as the One who is in an intimate covenant with us like the marriage covenant I have with my wife who I sleep with each night and rise in the morning too?  The more distance I can put between myself and God, the greater likeliness of me listening to the voice of Satan.  What is my view of God?

2.  It is also our default position to look at what we don't have or the little that we have rather than see all that God has provided for us to enjoy.  Instead of seeing the whole tree and all the trees of the garden, we zero in on just the fruit that happens to be on trees.  Taking this route makes our God smaller than He really is.  We end up not taking advantage of or exploring all the possibilities available to us through our all providing God.

3.  In the effort to protect ourselves with additional fences and guardrails, we tend to elevate ourselves over others who don't hold to our man made rules.  We take God's rules, make our rules for keeping His rules, and then make them seem like God's rules.  Our "protections" can not only cause others to live to "our" standards but give a false impression of what God has really said.

4.  In our "fair and loving" world we have created a God that would respond the way we would rather than what He has said.  We impose our current and cultural values on the God who created us.  We have switched roles and created a god in our image rather than being the one following God who created us in His image.

So what happens if I make God impersonal, minimize God's provision; maximize God's prohibition; and minimize the consequence of sin?  I will most likely do the same thing that Eve did in the garden.  I'm setting myself up for a fall.

So let us flip it over.  What happens if I keep God personal as in covenant with me; I stay amazed at all that He has provided; I read diligently what He has actually said; and I take those words to be obeyed because God has set the standard for me of what is right and wrong?  I will most likely make a God honoring decision.  

One more run at it.  If I make my God distance then I am going to think less of what He has provided.  I will move to find my worth in what I say rather than just what God says and I will reduce His words about sins to suit me.  All this is coming from the very first book in the Bible.  How relevant is that?

Thank you Professor Beale for helping us to dig deeper into the words of God so that we can live more fully in the presence of God.

Adam

p.s.  I will send a link of this blog post to Professor Beale, not only my professor but thankful to call him my friend and brother in Christ.