Monday, June 30, 2008

Literal Truth vs. Literary Truth

“And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.” - Genesis 1:6-8 (ESV)

Dear Friends,

If you recall from an earlier devotional, in the first verse of Genesis it said that God created the “heavens” and that in the Hebrew tradition there were three heavens; the sky, outer space and Heaven.  Here, on day two of creation, God creates a great expanse which He names “heaven,” which I believe most likely refers to the atmosphere around the earth or as the NIV puts it, the sky.

Most Bible translations use “heaven” in the singular and after much consideration, I agree with this for a two reasons.  First and most importantly is the context.  God is preparing the earth for life.  It is reasonable that the focus would then be the atmosphere around the earth that allows us to live and not outer space or Heaven.  Second, on day five, we will read that in the heavens is where the birds fly.  Certainly, the birds do not fly into outer space.

One could argue that the meaning should include outer space as well.  After all, on day three God puts the stars and moon and sun in the heavens.  Certainly these celestial bodies are in outer space.  But I would say this description is a literary device called phenomenological language.

Phenomenological language is a big term to describe events in nature as they appear to be, yet not as they truly are.  From our perspective on the earth, the sun and moon and stars appear to be in the sky, yet this is not true they are further out in space.  But before you dismiss the author of Genesis as being uneducated and the Bible as being in error, realize that we use phenomenological language today.  Does the sun really come up?  Are the streaks in the night sky really falling stars?  No, but that’s what we say.  It’s phenomenological language.

Which leads us to another challenging concept in these verses. We are told that by the power of His divine word, God separates one body of water under the sky from a second body of water that is above the sky.  What are we to make of this second body of water above the sky?  What could it possibly be?

One answer is the “Canopy Theory.”  This theory presumes that there was in fact a body of water surrounding the earth above the atmosphere.  It was held in place by God’s will and this explanation suggests that the shielding effects from solar radiation and the increased atmospheric pressure could account for the extremely long lives of the people who lived in the earliest times - for example, Adam lived to be 930 years old.  This canopy of water is also the explanation for all the water needed to flood the earth during the days of Noah.  Because the water fell to the earth to cause the flood is why the water canopy is no longer there.

But there are a number of issues with the Canopy Theory and I see it as being too literal.  Personally, I prefer a simpler answer.  That the waters above are simply atmospheric moisture, the clouds, and the water below is the oceans and seas.  Or, it could be phenomenological language.  From the perspective of the earth, does the clear blue sky look like the ocean to you?  Could it simply have been the author’s perspective?

What I hope you will take away from this discussion is the understanding that interpreting the Bible means we must decide where literal truth is presented, as when the term day means a 24 hour period instead of billions of years, and where literary truth is presented, as in the use of phenomenological language.  Both are true.  Our goal in studying the Bible should be to correctly distinguish between the two and to discern the truth that God is revealing to us in His word.

In Christ,

David

Posted by David at 09:10:56 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Monday, June 23, 2008

Read It for What It Is

“God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” – Genesis 1:5

Dear Friends,

When we study the Bible, we should strive to understand what the author intended and what the original readers or hearers understood was being said.     If you were a Jewish person in ancient Israel hearing the creation story for the first time, you would have heard this verse and understood that the “first day” was a day, a 24-hour period.

The Hebrew word for day is “yom.”  It is used throughout the Old Testament and in the vast majority of cases, it means a day, a 24-hour period.   But most importantly, as we read through the creation account, we see the passing of day and night repeatedly for six complete days until the Sabbath, the day of rest.  This is the best indication that the author intended a 24-hour period –    remember, in literary studies context is king.

However, many people today will read Genesis and instead of trying to understand what the original author and readers understood to be true, they will attempt to impress their own worldview into the story.  Unfortunately, when someone does this, they distort the true meaning of the text.

That’s not to say that an individual has to believe everything thing that they read.  If I were to read a passage from the Quran, I could read it and understand    what the author intended, yet not necessarily agree with it.  But it would be wrong for me to impress my Christian worldview into that text.

Yet people do this all the time with Genesis.  They want to reconcile their belief that the world developed over millions or billions of years, so they claim that “yom” in this instance means many years, possibly the billions of years they are trying to jam into the story.  They will even use other Scripture - out of context mind you – to “prove” their interpretation.  They may quote 2 Peter 3:8, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”

But in this passage, Peter is arguing against those who claim the promise of Christ’s return isn’t true.  As their evidence, they say it has been a long time    and He still hasn’t appeared.  Peter is trying to help them understand that while from their human perspective it has been a long time, from God’s perspective it hasn’t been long at all because God is eternal.

In the end, it comes down to one thing, the authority of the Bible.  Either you believe the Bible is authoritative and when it is in conflict with outside sources you still trust it or you believe outside sources are authoritative over the Bible and when there is a conflict you trust them.  This is how Jesus handled the question of divorce in Matthew 19.  The Mosaic Law allowed for divorce, but that was not the way God intended it.  Jesus said, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard, but it was not this way from the beginnning."  In the context, Jesus is referring to the creation account and using the authority of Scripture over man's understanding.  We should do the same.

In Christ,

David

Posted by David at 06:12:36 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Monday, June 16, 2008

Walk in the Light

“God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.” – Genesis 1:4
 

Dear Friends,

 

When we read Genesis 1:3, we saw that it is the power of God’s word that brings light into the world.  But as we conjure a mental picture in our minds of this event, we may subconsciously think to ourselves that the source of the light is the sun or the stars or some other naturally occurring phenomenon.  But neither the sun nor the stars nor any other celestial body have yet to be created.  As we try to imagine this light, we must remember this important aspect of it; that it has no source other than God Himself.

 

Light is the very nature of God.  Much of the Scripture speaks to this fact that God is light and in the opening verses of the Gospel of John, which is written in parallel to the opening verses of Genesis, John proclaims that Jesus Christ is the Word and the Light, which gives further evidence to the divine source and nature of the light. 

 

Being the very nature of God, the light is completely and perfectly aligned with His will, it is pleasing to Him and affirmed by Him and this is how we should understand the meaning of the word good in this context.  Also because the light is the very essence of God, it is holy.  If you recall my discussion some months ago about holiness, you will recall that the word holy means to be set apart.  So it is no surprise that when God floods the universe with His light, He immediately separates His holy light from the darkness. 

 

When Christ told his followers that they are the light of the world, I believe it was an indication to them that they were to demonstrate these same characteristics of goodness and holiness.  They were to live their lives in complete and perfect alignment with the will of God, being pleasing to Him in all that they do and striving for God’s affirmation.  And they are to be holy, to separate themselves from all that is not aligned with the will of God, not pleasing to Him and not worthy of his affirmation.

 

And this holds true for us as believers today.  As we examine ourselves in God’s light against the backdrop of His divine nature, we should ask ourselves if our goals and aspirations are aligned with God’s intentions for ourselves and not with our own, if our actions and thoughts are pleasing to God, if we are striving for God’s affirmation and if we have separated ourselves from the darkness of this world?  This is our call, to be the light of the world and to walk in the light as He is in the light.

 

In Christ,

 

David

 
Further study: I encourage you to read The Gospel of John chapter 1 and 1 John chapter one.
Posted by David at 10:45:51 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Monday, June 09, 2008

The Power of God's Word

“And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.” – Genesis 1:3

Dear Friends,

For the first time in recorded history, God speaks.  And when He does, the   very power of His verbal command is great enough to bring forth light.  Previously, all was in darkness, but God sets the stage for His work by lighting up the universe.

The word light carries great meaning throughout the Bible, but I want to start    by considering this verse for what the writer was saying to his audience.  And before I do that, let me touch on who I believe the original author was and who the original audience was.

As for the author, the common belief is that Moses recorded the first five   books of the Hebrew Bible from which we get the first five books of the Old Testament, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  Of   course this was done under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  I agree with this.  However, before Genesis was put on paper (papyrus),   I believe that the stories within it were handed down from generation to   generation beginning with Adam passing it on to Seth (the son who carried on the line after Abel was murdered) and building upon each successive generation continuing all the way until the days of Moses.

But why was this done?  Was this story meant only to be an ancient people’s explanation of how the world came to be and an account of the birth of the Hebrew people?  I strongly suggest that it is not, and I believe it is much, much more.

I’m confident that I won’t ruin the ending for you when I say that Adam and   Eve sin and are expelled from the Garden of Eden.  But during that expulsion, God makes the promise of redemption through the seed (offspring) of Eve.  Adam knew he was in a fallen state, separated from God, but he held to the promise of God for redemption and he looked forward to it.  He passed this    on to Seth, who passed it on to his son, Enosh and down the line.

And this I believe is the message of this verse, that God’s word is powerful, powerful enough to bring light into the world, powerful enough to redeem fallen mankind, powerful enough to fulfill the promise.   Without light, there is no life, neither physically nor spiritually.  And the spoken word of God is light and it is the Gospel, the Good News of redemption; at the time of Adam, a promise; in our day, the revelation in Jesus Christ.  It is the power of God for the salvation   of everyone who believes.

In Christ,

David

Posted by David at 09:07:44 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Monday, June 02, 2008

Born of Water and Spirit

“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.” – Genesis 1:2

Dear Friends,

The first verse of Genesis was the headline, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”   Now, in verse two, we begin with the actual story.

The first observation I make is that God begins with the earth.  God didn’t first make the sun or moon or some other celestial body, but instead started the creative process with the earth.  Why?  At this point we are not given an      answer though I would suggest the earth is the stage where God will unfold redemptive history. Earth is the focal point of God’s plan for the universe.

Now, some would say that because men wrote the story, they are speaking     only of what they know and that is why the story starts with the earth.  It is man-centered.   But for those of us who believe that God is the true author of Scripture, we are right to observe that the earth is where God starts creation by His own will.  Our perspective is God-centered.  Remember, presupposition is the foundation of interpretation.

The rest of the verse has two primary characters, the water and the Spirit.  When I think of the water and the Spirit, I am reminded of Jesus’ discussion     with Nicodemus.  "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5).  I understand this verse to say that while water signifies the birth of the natural man, the Spirit signifies the birth of the supernatural man.  You must have both to be born-again.

The same is true with creation.  The waters are naturally formless, empty and dark.  Apart from the Spirit of God, it has no meaning, no substance and no light, very much like all of us before we are born-again of the Spirit.

Yet the Spirit is present, hovering over the waters, over the surface of the deep.  There is hope in His presence.  Very shortly, we are going to see the Spirit of God take what is formless, empty and dark and by His own power and will bring it into a coherent system and fill it with life and light.

The same is true in our personal salvation.  God is the one who acts first to     save us.  It is not by men’s actions that the process of salvation begins, but by God’s effectual call.  Before His call, we too are formless and empty and dark.  Shortly, we will see God speak light into the world just as He speaks light into the hearts of men and women when He calls them to be reconciled to Himself.

In Christ,

David
Posted by David at 06:17:22 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |