GOD'S COMFORTING PROMISE

 

GOD’S COMFORTING PROMISE

“¹⁴ And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: ‘Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; ¹⁵ for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. ¹⁶ And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. ¹⁷ Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.’ ¹⁸ Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.” Genesis 13:14-18.

Introduction

“Wee, sleekit, cow’rin’, tim’rous beastie,

O what a panic’s in thy breastie!”

The Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote those words in 1785 after he had upturned a mouse and her nest while he was ploughing a field. He could see that the timid little mouse was in a troubled state. In the poem Burns then begins to look at things from the mouse’s point of view. And he runs a comparison between himself and the wee mouse. He ends his poem to the mouse by saying,

“Still thou art blest compar’d wi’ me!

The present only toucheth thee;

But oh! I backward cast my e’e

On prospects drear!

An’ forward tho’ I canna see,

I guess an’ fear!”

In the following I would like us as Christians to know that we don’t have to panic like a little mouse. Neither do we have to “guess an’ fear” about our future – or even the future of the planet earth. Why? Because our sovereign God is in control of all things. Just as He was in control of the plough with which Robert Burns upturned the little mouse’s house.

The general gist of the following is summed up in these words: The LORD comforts the compliant by confirming His Word to them.

Compliance

Genesis chapter 13 began by telling us Abram, after his escapade down in Egypt, is back on track. Chapter 13 ends by informing us that Abram is still on track. “Then Abram moved his tent [etc.] and built an altar there to the LORD” (Gen. 13:18). So it’s not without reason that Abram is called the father of the faithful. However, as we’ve already seen, and will no doubt see in the future, Abram is anything but perfect. For like the rest of us, Abram struggled at times to do the right thing by God. But here in this chapter we see that Abram is compliant with the will of the LORD. For, if you remember, Abram was told to get out of his country (Gen. 12:1).

This meant that he was to get out from his kindred – even from his father’s house. And you know Abram’s father Terah and his nephew Lot left Ur of the Chaldeans and came with him. But Abram’s father died back in a place called Haran. And we’ve already looked at the amicable separation between Abram and his nephew Lot. But for now, I want you to notice something that is all too often overlooked today.

            The thing too often overlooked is the sovereignty of God in world events. Be it a sparrow dropping from a tree or a hair from your head or bombs from a plane. Or be it the upturning of a mouse house with your plough-blade. Be it anything that comes to pass, all things comply with the secret or hidden will of God. That is, whatever things come to pass – come to pass because they have been ordained by God. And this of course is not to say men are not held accountable to God for their actions good or bad. But it is to say that God is still in control.

At no point has He lost control, either in the past, present or future. So, this means that when the Christian puts his head on his pillow at night, he can sleep. He can sleep because his heavenly Father is watching over him and every atom of the universe.

God is busy even as you sleep, working His purposes out. We’re not always privy to how He does this. Therefore, this we’ll call the ‘secret’ will of God. For instance, none of us knows the moment we’re going to die. Neither does anyone know when the Lord is going to return bodily. God has a secret or hidden will – His decretive will. It is secret or hidden from our view (cf. Deut. 29:29). But the Christian should be comforted knowing that God is in control – control of all things. There’s great comfort expressed in the words of the old hymn, “Whate’er my God ordains is right: His holy will abideth.”

But there is an even greater comfort to be had by being obedient to God. When you know what God would have you do and you do it, that is comfort to your soul. Take Abram and Lot for instance. Both were compliant to the secret or hidden will of God. However, only one of them was conscious he was doing the will of God, and that one was Abram. Abram let his nephew Lot choose where he wanted to live. If Lot went to the right Abram would go to the left and vice versa. Lot chose to go and dwell in the cities of the plain of Jordan – even as far as Sodom!

Now then, it has to be admitted that both Abram and Lot were compliant with the secret will of God. As we are reminded of the Proverb, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Prov. 16:33). But here’s the difference between Abram and Lot in this instance. Both were compliant with the secret will of God. But only Abram was compliant with God’s revealed will. Abram separated himself from Lot because of what God had already told him to do. Therefore, he was being obedient to the revealed will of God. However, Lot saw the whole thing as his opportunity to move from tent-life to city-life. But I want you to see that, though Lot wasn’t focused on the things of God, he was still complying with the will of God, albeit the secret will of God.

God had told Abram to get out from his kindred. The LORD had revealed this to Abram in Ur of the Chaldeans; this is the revealed will of God then. But Lot, as you know, was the last of Abram’s kindred. So when Abram asked Lot to choose where he wanted to go, Abram was complying with the revealed will of God, wasn’t he?

Both Abram and Lot got themselves entangled in all that nonsense when they went down to Egypt. Abram learned his lesson to “Come out from among them and be separate” (2 Cor. 6:17). But Lot? Well, he can’t wait to get back in among it all again. So he dashes off to dwell in the cities of the plain. And when he got there? Well, he’s like those today who seem to have no confidence in the sovereign power of God in all things. To put it bluntly, they’re too busy looking at the things of the world and not the things of God. Therefore, like Lot in Sodom, their hearts become troubled when they see evil around them. They forget the words of the Shepherd Psalm, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” They forget that Jesus says, “In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b). They forget that Jesus says, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” All authority over what? Over everything. Even every atom of the universe. Even you and me and the Devil. Therefore, since Christ has overcome the world and has all authority in heaven and on earth, Christians should find comfort in this knowledge.

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            But instead, we see Christian bookstores flooded with scary End-times books. However, the Lord hasn’t revealed the date of His return. It’s part of His secret will. You’ll know all about it after He returns like a thief in the night. So why all the scary books? The thing I find scary about these kinds of books is that some of them are written by Christians who claim that God has revealed His secret will in Scripture. They’ve been promoting the any-second rapture of the church for over two hundred years. So this means that they have been wrong for over the last two hundred years!

How long will it take for them to realise that what Jesus says is true, that no one knows the day or the hour of His return? And with regard to their supposed rapture of the church, Jesus prayed these words in John 17:15, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.” Does this sound like the entire believing Church of Jesus Christ is suddenly going to leave the planet earth to the unbelievers? Anyway, as Abram and Lot were compliant with the sovereign secret will of God, so are all other things. Therefore, there is great assurance to be had for the Christian in the knowledge that God has control of all things “Whate’er my God ordains is right: His holy will abideth!” But more than that, there is even greater comfort in knowing that you are doing the will of God.

Just before John Calvin died, his friends, noticing he was really sick, tried to get him to lie down in his bed. “What?” replied Calvin, “And have the Lord come for me and catch me idle!” Calvin knew the comfort that comes from consciously complying with the will of God! He was a doer of the Word.

Now, to be sure there’re many mysteries in the world, e.g., the date of Christ’s return, the suffering of the seeming innocent etc. But these and like mysteries are mysteries because God has a secret or hidden will. However, He also has a revealed will which is for our comfort. Look at Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

So the general idea then, is that we leave all the mysteries with God. What is a mystery to us makes sense to God, so we leave its secret with Him. But those things He has revealed to us in His Word we consciously seek to do. In the words of the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

That should be the constant prayer of the Christian. He ought to pray that the Lord’s will will be done on earth – beginning with himself. Therefore, every Christian should search the Scriptures to find out what is God’s revealed will – and then go and do it. And if this is the attitude of the Christian, he will find great comfort in the Word of God. Because obedience or conscious compliance with the revealed will of God brings comfort.

Comfort

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            First, we need to define what we mean by the word ‘comfort.’ Most of us, I’m sure, think of comfort as soft cushions and soft pillows. Most of us think that to comfort someone is to give them a soft shoulder to cry on. And no doubt the word comfort can be used in this way. But in the following we’re using the word comfort the way the Bible uses it, i.e., where comfort means to strengthen, or literally to fort-ify with or fortify together. E.g., the Comforter, the Holy Spirit is the One who strengthens us. He gets alongside us and strengthens us, as in the Lord’s Supper for example. Well, look what’s happening in our text.

Abram is being compliant to the Word of God which has already been revealed to him. “And the LORD said to Abram...” (Gen. 13:14). God spoke to Abram. So the LORD got alongside Abram and strengthened him with words of comfort. However, notice that the LORD did this after Abram had complied with what he’d been told to do. So Abram was a doer of the Word of God, and God continued to strengthen him.

And what exactly has Abram done? Well, he’s separated himself from Lot – his last kin. Abram now has no blood relatives left with him, no next-of-kin, unless of course you include Sarai. Technically Sarai was Abram’s half-sister, as well as his wife, and she also was barren (Gen. 11:30). But did the LORD tell Abram to divorce his half-sister who was his wife? No! This speaks volumes against those who believe in ongoing revelation, and claim God told them to leave their wife and become a missionary or whatever.

First off God has given us all His revealed will in the form of the Bible. And secondly, though God permits divorce because of the hardness of men’s hearts, He hates it. And what better example than Abram and Sarai? The LORD has told Abram to separate from his kindred. Isn’t Sarai Abram’s kindred and his wife? However, there’s no mention of the LORD telling Abram to dump his wife. In fact, don’t we hear echoes loud and clear here of what our Lord says in Matthew 19:4ff.? “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?’ So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matt. 19:4-6). And didn’t the Lord give Adam a wife in order to help him, even comfort, i.e., strengthen him? So wives, get alongside your husbands and strengthen them!

Look at this short excerpt from Malachi 2:14-16 which spells out the main purpose of marriage, “The LORD has been witness between you and the wife of your youth ... she is your companion and your wife by covenant ... Did He not make them one ... and why one? He seeks a godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. For the LORD God of Israel says that He hates divorce” (Mal. 2:14-16).

So, if we put it all together, the LORD wants a man to find a woman, make an unbreakable covenant with her, leaving his father and mother to raise godly offspring. Therefore God will comfort, strengthen those who are striving to be obedient to Him in marriage. Is this not what’s taking place as we see the LORD invisibly superintend the life of Abram?

Is it not a great comfort then, to know that God always complies with His own revealed will? God is telling Abram He’ll bless his marriage with as much offspring as dust on the earth (Gen. 13:16). God is reminding him of the promise already made that He’d make him into a great nation. By this, of course, is meant the church as Paul says, “Therefore know that only those who are faith are sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7). And some other time we’ll look more closely at this along with the fact that Christ is the ultimate Promised Seed of Abram (Gal. 3:16). But for now, we are strengthened in the knowledge that God never acts contrary to His own revealed will. However, look at what else is happening in our text: Abram did what the Lord had told him to do. He has now separated himself from his nephew Lot. This must have broken Abram’s heart. Abram loved his nephew Lot! But Abram complied with the revealed will of God. He obeyed the LORD. However, is the LORD oblivious to what Abram must be going through at this time? No, the LORD came and comforted him with words of encouragement.

So then, we need to ask: What are the words the LORD uses to encourage Abram? Well, all the LORD is doing here is reassuring Abram with what He has already said. In other words, the LORD is coming to Abram and confirming what He has already revealed to him. Thus, the LORD comforts the compliant by confirming His Promise to them.

Confirmation

Think back to what the LORD has already said to Abram as recorded in Genesis 12:1, “Now the LORD had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your kindred and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation [etc.]” Now look at what the Lord is saying to Abram in Genesis 13:14ff., “Lift your eyes now and look... for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth...[etc.]”

            Abram has complied with what God has already revealed to him. And now the Lord is comforting him by promising that he will be faithful to His own Word. The Lord does the same thing with us in the Lord’s Supper. He brings us comfort by confirming in the Supper that He will be faithful to His own Word. That’s the way it works.

In the Lord’s Supper the Communicant sees that he or she has a place in the will of God – if he or she has been striving to conform to and do the revealed will of God. If you or I do the right thing by God, we get to sleep at night. As Christians we should put our heads on our pillows at night and think about whether what we’re doing in life lines up with God’s revealed will, i.e., the Bible. The comfort comes with the confirmation that you are being compliant to the revealed will of God. But if the Christian discovers he’s done or is doing something in life contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture, then he is a troubled spirit. For example, look at Abram’s nephew Lot – and what Christian among us cannot relate to this man? We all tend to look at things through the eyes of Lot. He saw the well-watered plain of Jordan. Where Abram is content dwelling in a tent in the hills, Lot wants to go live in the cities of the plain.

Now, you’re going to see in a moment that it was God’s secret will that Lot go there. However, Lot, it would seem, went there for his own selfish reasons. Abram has learned his lesson from the time he went down into Egypt. But Lot, it would seem, is still attracted to the neon lights, the glitter and lifestyle of the city. It’s easy for us to look at things through the eyes of Lot. Lot followed the desire of his heart. But he wasn’t mindful of the things of God. So he became a troubled spirit. And the LORD would eventually have to send in two of His angels to deliver Lot from Sodom. However, looking through God’s eyes it’s not hard to see God’s grace in sending Lot into Sodom. Because like Noah before him, Jonah after him, Lot was a preacher of righteousness.

The Bible calls Lot a “righteous” man (2 Pet. 2:7-8). So, Lot was a Christian. He was a member of the Christian Church as the Church existed at the time of Abram. And is there anyone who would enjoy living in, say, San Francisco or King’s Cross Sydney, witnessing to people constantly involving themselves in the practice of sodomy? Well, that was the mission field Abram’s nephew Lot was sent into by the sovereign God. No! It wasn’t Lot’s intention to go to Sodom as a Christian missionary, but can you see that it was the secret will of our gracious God that Lot should go there? Lot had one thing in mind, but the LORD had another.

So, whatever it is that you’re planning to do, seek confirmation in the Word of God that it’s okay. Otherwise, it might just blow up in your face as it did with Lot. Robert Burns expresses this same idea in the same poem I referred to earlier. You’ve probably come across the words:      

The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men

Gang aft a-gley,

An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain

For promised joy.

By the way, there are Christians who take great joy in this type of work. But I’m sure you can see the difference between these Christians today and Lot back then. Whereas Lot tended toward self-service, Christians living among those who engage in unnatural sex (Rom. 1:24-27) are serving the LORD. And there’s the joy, the joy in doing the revealed will of God as confirmed by His Word. When these Christians put their heads on their pillows at night they can sleep. They know that they are there serving the LORD according to His revealed will. Both Lot and Abram, no doubt, knew beforehand that the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD (Gen. 13:13). No wonder the Apostle Peter says of Lot, “that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds” (2 Pet. 2:8).

So, we see then that Lot in Sodom was compliant to the hidden or secret will of God. Seen through the eyes of God, Lot went exactly where the LORD wanted him to go. But Lot didn’t enjoy one bit being the conscience of Sodom! He had a troubled spirit because he was not consciously complying to the revealed will of God. And neither was anyone else around him. In other words, if Lot had gone to Sodom with the intention of winning the Sodomites over to the God of Abram, he would have spared himself the torment of soul. So, to cut the long story short, Lot was a Christian troubled because he was too busy looking at his evil and wicked surroundings and not the kingdom of God like Abram.

So, as we begin to tie it all together, it’s not hard to see that we’re touching on a common problem in the Church at large today. Instead of getting on with what we’re supposed to, (i.e., witnessing to the LORD in an evil and wicked time) many are too busy looking at their surroundings. To look at the amount of End-Time books that are flooding the Christian bookstores, you’d think the devil was sovereign ruler of the world. We know that the devil, as Peter says, “Walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). However, James says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:7-8).

Conclusion

Abram was busy consciously complying to what God told him to do. And the word of the Lord came to him reinforcing what He had already promised him. So, Abram was happy to move his tent and build another altar and continue worshipping God. He trusted that God had everything under control and would come good with His promises. But Lot? He still had a lot to learn about the revealed will of God, never mind His secret will.

So how is it with you? Are you a “Wee, sleekit, cow’rin’, tim’rous beastie, O what a panic’s in thy breastie!” Or are you confident that God has everything under His sovereign control? Are you overly worried about the things around you or are you busy doing something about it, such as everything revealed in Scripture? Are you obedient to the revealed will of God at home, at work, at school, at play? Are you seeking to be obedient to God in your marriage, if you are married?  Are you striving to bring up a godly offspring?

Always remember that the LORD comforts the compliant by confirming His Promise to them.

SEEING JESUS IN THE MIST

 

Seeing Jesus in the Mist

We talk about seeing Jesus in Old Testament shadows: through prophecy (such as Messianic Psalms, Messianic predictions, etc.), typology (such as the tree of life, Adam, Noah’s ark, the rainbow, prophets, priests, kings, prefigurations, Theophanies/Christophanies, the Angel of the LORD, etc.). Jesus is the Word of God who is revealed in the Word of God, which includes the forty-nine books of the Old Testament. Jesus says of the Old Testament Scriptures, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life” (John 5:39-40).

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If we set our myopic proof-text hermeneutic to one side, and instead simply observe the Word interpreting His own Word, are we able to see the preincarnate Jesus in places, for example, such as the One who walked in the garden in the cool of the day? Or, how about the following, “Before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground” (Gen. 2:5-6). Are we able to see the Word of God, Jehovah Elohim, in the mist?

One has a picture in mind here of “Old Faithful” in Yellowstone National Park. Did the mist that went up come from a geyser? The NIV notes that the word “mist” can also be translated as “streams”, “but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground” (NIV). Is this what Jesus is referring to where He says, “The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him” (John 7:38, CSB). Is this view strengthened by Isaiah where he speaks of “a watered garden”, “The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail” (Isa, 58:11). Of course, it could also refer to the river flowing out of Eden. “Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads” Gen. 2:10). However, the point we are making is that we’re asking if it is possible to see Jesus in the mist or streams? Though both translations are acceptable, we prefer the word mist over streams.

Scottish novelists such as Sir Walter Scott and Nigel Tranter did much to romanticise the Clan McGregor as the “Children of the Mist.” One can picture Rob Roy McGregor disappearing into the mist with the redcoats in hot pursuit! However, are we able to see Jesus appearing in the mist?

Notice what the mist is about. It was to water “the whole face of the ground.” What for? It was to prepare the ground for the creation of a man, for up until then, there had been “no man to till the ground” (Gen. 2:5). “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Gen. 2:7). Adam is a true child of the mist! Do you now see the Word who was to become flesh beginning to appear in the mist? “And so it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45). So, we see that it is still all about Jesus.

All the plants and herbs of the field were in relation to Adam’s creation. They were to be his food supply. “And God said, ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food’” (Gen. 1:29). While he was obedient to God, life was easy. After his disobedience, “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life” (Gen. 3:17). With the plants and herbs of the field in mind, look at this reference to the last Adam, “For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground” (Isa. 53:2). Whereas with Adam, the ground becomes dry and dusty, with Jesus, “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.” (Isa. 35:1a, NIV).

The mist made the ground moist. The body weight of humans is a rough average of 55 to 60 percent water. Like a potter with wet clay, “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground.” It is little wonder that the last Adam, ICHTHYS, like the proverbial fish out of water, while gasping for air on the cross, said, “I thirst!” (John 19:28).

Seeing Jesus in the First Man

If we want to know what Adam looked like before the fall, then Jesus is our paradigm. “Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity … yet without sin” (Heb. 2:14a, NIV, 4:15b, NKJV). Indeed, it is because of our fall into sin that we need God’s written Word, like a shortsighted man needs his spectacles. Sin has entered into every aspect of our being, body and soul and spirit. Therefore, that is why we’ve to be using the Bible to be “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2a).

Luke traces Jesus’s genealogy all the way back to Adam. “…Adam, the son of God” (Luke 3:38b). When God looked into the face of Adam as He created him, He too was “looking unto Jesus.” For creation and the creation of man were in preparation for the future. E.g., “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, NIV).

Jesus is the One of whom the Father said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). The Father loves His Son, who is His perfect yet distinct image. The Father, the Creator, created creation for His own glory, yes, for His Son to dwell in with His bride. His Son is His glory. “Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world” (John 17:24, NIV). Thus, the first Adam was created in the image of the last Adam. With the mist in the garden in mind, “And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Mark 9:7). Therefore, in answer to our question what is man? We answer, Jesus!

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            Let’s not forget Israel fleeing the Egyptians in hot pursuit and the baptism of men, women, and children of Israel who crossed the Red Sea on dry land, “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Cor. 10:1-2). Yes, the “Children of the Mist” indeed!

Jesus is the LORD God of whom the writer to the Hebrews says, “You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands” (Heb. 1:10). “But one testified in a certain place, saying: ‘What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet.’ For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:6-9). Matthew Henry comments on these verses as they apply to Jesus

 

As applied to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the whole that is here said can be applied only to him, v. 8, 9. The moving cause of all the kindness God shows to men is the grace of God. The fruits of this free grace of God is that God crowned the human nature of Christ with glory and honour, in his being perfectly holy; that by his sufferings he might make satisfaction, tasting death for every man. As a reward of his humiliation in suffering death, he was crowned with glory and honour.[1]

It is noted that the Cultural Mandate is in view here and that it is presently gradually being fulfilled by Jesus through His disciples. His Church on earth consists of those believing men, women, and their children. Like those who were baptised in the cloud and the sea, these are to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 10:48).

The mist that made the ground moist from which God gave birth to Adam, is seen once more in the poured out or sprinkled water of baptism, representing rebirth, as in being born from above, which happens whenever the Spirit of Christ is pleased to come upon you to sprinkle you with the shed blood of Christ and to breathe the breath of everlasting life into you.

We see Jesus in the mist when we see that the mist was in preparation for the creation of Adam, who was the image of the Word, who says, “he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me” (John 12:45). When Adam opened his eyes upon his creation he saw Jesus clearly in the mist. May the Spirit of Jesus enable us to likewise see Him.    

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[1] Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary in One Volume, (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1961), 1912.

LOT'S LOTTERY

 LOT’S LOTTERY

“Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan.” Genesis 13:11a.

Introduction

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            Have you ever thought about how many decisions you have to make in a lifetime? What colour of socks to put on, what breakfast cereal to eat, which woman to marry. We must make literally millions of decisions over a lifetime. How do you know if your decision is a wise one or not? It’s especially hard to make a wise decision in those areas where God cuts you lots of slack. God doesn’t tell you which socks to put on, which cereal to eat. However, there are some decisions in life which clearly demand a bit more thought.

There is a major decision confronting Lot. So, it will do us good to investigate what’s going on here. There was a bit of strife happening between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s. So Abram, the father of the faithful, put a proposition to Lot. “Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me, if you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left” (Gen. 13:9).

“Okay Lot, my nephew”, says Abram. “Which hand do you want – left or right? It’s your decision.” Lot’s going to have to live with what he chooses. He is going to have to live with the consequences of his decision.

There they are in the Promised Land. The land is still full of false-god-worshipping, child-sacrificing, sodomizing non-Christians. Do you get the picture? So, you would think that Lot would seek wisdom as to what to do. It would seem that he was too quick to saddle up the horses and hitch up the wagon train. Think carefully before you make a life decision as you may live to regret it.

Choosing

“Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan.” Why did Lot choose what he chose? Well, first off let’s see if we can figure out how this situation arose. We need to know why Lot had to make his choice. We know that there was a bit of friction between Abram’s men and Lot’s men.  And we’re told back in Genesis 13:6 that the land was not able to support them. Both Abram and Lot had great possessions, we’re told. It’s like when you or I collect that much stuff that we’ve got nowhere to store it. So we need to get a bigger house for all our stuff.

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        When Dorothy and I were first married we bought a small house. I remember thinking to myself, as I drove the little rental removal van, “We don’t have very much stuff. Everything I possess can be packed into one tiny little van!” When we moved from Brisbane to Hobart, Tasmania we needed a much bigger van. And then when we moved back to Brisbane, we needed an even bigger van again. But Abram and Lot have got that much stuff that a huge tract of land is not able to support them.

So, what is really going on here, what’s at the back of all this? So what if there’s a bit of strife between Abram’s men and Lot’s men? Couldn’t they have just ordered their men to stop fighting or be fired? Couldn’t they have just got rid of some of their stuff so that the land could support them? What was really happening here? Well, sometimes we get so caught up in things that we forget to look at God. What did the LORD say to Abram as recorded in Genesis 12:1? “Get out of your country, from your kindred and from your father’s house to a land I will show you.” Abram bought his kindred with him, didn’t he? He brought his father who died back in Haran.  And he brought his nephew Lot. Kindred. Abram loved his nephew Lot a lot. He loved him enough to risk his own life for him. But how much did Lot love his uncle Abe?

At this time Abram wanted Lot to split. Do we hear Lot make a heart-rending plea to Abram like Ruth to Naomi? “Entreat me not to leave you or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go I will go and wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people and your God, my God. Where you die I will die and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts you and me” (Ruth 1:16-17). Is this how Lot felt about Abram? Lot and Abram had so much stuff that even the lush green land couldn’t support them. Ruth and Naomi had nothing. They were in a barren land in the middle of a severe famine. Ruth lifted her voice and wept. Did Lot lift up his voice and weep at the thought of being separated from his uncle? “And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go towards Zoar.”

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            Lot saw that the land was like the delta of Egypt, fertile as anything. “I’ll have that,” he said like one of those people on a game show, you know, where all this stuff is paraded before your eyes on a conveyer belt. “Gimme the fridge, the antique clock, the stereo, the TV!” The Price is Right or is it? It all might look pleasant to the eyes, but what about the soul – your soul? The heavy choices you make have to be made with your eternal soul in view, and we’re not talking about those neutral things like fridges and clocks and stereos. We’re talking about the mechanisms behind our decision making. We’re talking about the impulses in your soul which cause you to choose the things you choose.

So then, why did Lot choose what he chose?  What caused him to make the decision he made? Did the devil make him do it? Was he free to choose the left hand or the right? Of course he was. But does sin and our sinful nature have any bearing on our decisions?

When we lived in Canada, we used to get the odd postcard from Dorothy’s brother who lived in Brisbane. There I was digging through ten feet of snow so that the mailman could deliver to our house. We’d get these photographs of Dorothy’s brother on the Gold Coast or somewhere, sun, sand, surf, and palm trees! I’d like to say we came to Australia as missionaries or something. But instead, I have to say that I just wanted to come in out of the cold!

Was Australia noted for its exemplary ethics and moral behaviour? Was it a land that honoured the living God? Did I really care about these things? As the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was pleasant to the eyes, so the land of the Bronzed Emu and the Red Kangaroo was pleasant to my eyes. We flew south-west into the sunset. Lot journeyed east towards the sunrise. Lot chose what he chose to satisfy his flesh and not his soul. Lot was looking at the temporal and not the spiritual. He was looking after his own “felt needs.”

At the time of Christ, Jerusalem was crawling with men called Pharisees. Pharisees were the all-time experts at looking out for number one. Pharisees could take something spiritual, like God’s Moral Law, and use it for their own selfish gain. The Moral Law is the God-given guide on how to love God and your neighbour as yourself. The Pharisees used the Law as a back scratcher with which to pat themselves on the back. The Pharisees were oblivious to the spiritual nature of the Law. Their actions betrayed the deadness of their hearts. They didn’t even keep God’s Law outwardly, so you’ll have to look elsewhere for an example of that.

As Jesus said to the Pharisee Nicodemus, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” It stands to reason therefore that if one is born again one can see the kingdom of Satan. If you can see the kingdom of God in the world, by way of contrast, you can see the kingdom of Satan. But in order to see the kingdom of God you must look for it. You must seek it and its righteousness. Therefore, you have to look deep into things.

Lot just had a superficial look, “Looks good, let’s go!” Abram had his eyes on the kingdom of God. He let Lot do the choosing. He knew that whatever Lot chose would be fine with him. But more than that, Abram knew it would be fine with God. For Abram knows that, “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

By doing what he did, Abram was making his calling and election sure. As the Apostle Peter writes, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:10-11).

        Abram was getting the hang of it, but Lot, it would seem, had a lot more to learn. Take the Pharisees for instance. When the Pharisees looked at the Law of God, they saw only tablets of stone. Therefore, their hard-hearted actions betrayed what they saw. They weren’t looking at, nor could they see, the Spirit in the writing on the stone. “Looks good! Let’s go!” said the Pharisees, but their souls were like dried walnuts, and they had rocks in their heads, because that is all they saw. They weren’t looking at the kingdom of heaven. They needed the Spirit in their hearts in order to discern things of a spiritual nature, such as the Decalogue.

But just because you’re a Christian doesn’t mean you won’t have the odd rock rattling around in your head. Look at Lot! But it does mean that you can make choices with the Kingdom of Heaven in view. However, sometimes we get distracted with the things of the world like Lot, especially those things that are pleasant to the eyes, like the well-watered plains of the Jordan, like Tasmania or sunny Queensland! But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.

Beware of getting it the wrong way round, because it will affect all your decision-making, because you make all your choices according to what you see. You’ll always win in the end if you make your choices with the glory of God in mind. Because even your wrong decisions, those decisions that seemed so right at the time, those choices that brought you nothing but hardship, will have come from a pure heart. But know this, that in any resulting hardship, your conscience will be clear. Why? Because you made your choice with the glory of God in mind, the Kingdom of Heaven at heart. But if you make your decisions any other way you choose, then you lose. Because, as Jesus said when He rebuked Peter, “You are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (Matt. 16:23b).

So then, Lot is behaving a wee bit like a Pharisee might behave. As he gazed at the Jordan Valley, he saw only the temporal and not the spiritual. Do we see any indication that Lot put God and his neighbour, even his uncle, first? No. What about Abram? Did Abram put God and his neighbour first? Of course he did. But Lot was putting himself and his own wellbeing first, wasn’t he? The proverbial juicy carrot was dangled before him and he went for it. And in so doing he was playing a game of chance, a game of Lotto.

Losing.

           The choice was easy. It was a simple little choice. Choose which hand you want, the right hand or the left? Choose which tree you want, the tree of life, or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However, before you do, remember that you’ll be stuck with the consequences of your decision.

Lot played the game of Lotto and he lost. Why did he lose? It’s all to do with the LORD, isn’t it? It’s all to do with providence of God’s invisible hand. Lot wasn’t making a minor decision here, “Should I put on my blue socks, or just keep on the one’s I’ve got on?” Lot knew all about God calling Abram. He knew all about God appearing to Abram. He knew all about the famine God sent upon the Promised Land. He knew all about God plaguing Pharaoh’s house on account of Sarai. He knew all about God delivering Abram and Sarai out of the land of Egypt. So why didn’t Lot say to Abraham, “Let’s take this matter before the LORD”? Why didn’t he head toward the altar Abram had built and seek an audience with the LORD? Do you think that perhaps Lot was a spiritually dead man at this point? Well, you should note that Genesis 13:8 mentions the strife that was between Abram’s men and Lot’s men. Abram was head and representative of one house, and Lot was the head and representative of the other.  But there is no mention of any strife between Abram and Lot. In fact, if you look at the end of Genesis 13:8 you’ll see that Abram says to Lot, “We are brethren.”

Now, it’s quite possible that Abram was saying to Lot, “We are brothers, we are relatives, we are kindred, therefore let us not fight.” This would of course fit with what the LORD said to Abram in Genesis 12:1, “Get out of your country, from your kindred.” And, make no mistake, God is separating Abram from his flesh and blood kindred, i.e., Lot. But let it be known that Abram and Lot are also kindred in spirit. They both serve the same God, i.e., the LORD who called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldeans.

And we won’t get into a debate as to when Lot was converted. Second Peter 2:8 tells us that Lot was “a righteous man.” Therefore, it is God’s invisible hand that is sovereignly separating Abram and Lot. He is doing so for a purpose to which neither Abram nor Lot are privy. God is working all things together for good and yet Lot is getting to make a choice with which he has to live. So again, we see the sovereignty of God in all things, and we see the responsibility of man for his own actions. And clearly Abram had a grasp of these deeper things of God. Abram could just about have written the Proverb which says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but it’s every decision is from the LORD” (Prov. 16:33).

        “Okay, Lot, if you choose the left hand, I’ll get the right. And if you choose the right then I’ll get the left. But whatever one you choose will be fine with me. Why? Well, whether you choose heads or tails, I win. God has already taken care of the decision!”

The LORD has already told Abram to separate from his kindred in blood. Therefore, Abram is simply being obedient to the revealed will of God. This is why Abram isn’t running around like an Ecumenical trying to keep everyone together at any and all costs. This passage helps us understand why the LORD permits so many different denominations in the church at large. The LORD would eventually split the descendants of Abram into twelve tribes.

Abram and Lot serve the same God, but the LORD would have them split like a cell and multiply – (Abram in particular). The LORD would eventually split Abraham’s descendants into twelve tribes. And since the time of the Reformation, we’ve seen the same thing in the Church – cells splitting and multiplying. But if you think that there can be no unity in plurality then you need to look again at the triune God, the God who is multiple Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but one God: Plurality in Unity.

There are many different denominations around today. And there are even denominations who deny that they are a denomination. We have been separated because there is strife among the brethren. It is paradoxical, I know, but all these separations are for the sake of unity, and of course it complicates the issue, when some denominations are sectarian. It’s a complex issue. But as did Abram and Lot, so all serve one and the same Master, albeit to a greater or lesser extent, as the case may be. Lot was far from perfect in his understanding, and so are some denominations!

Which of the two denominations would you align yourself with: Abram’s or Lot’s? Well, what were the Corinthians like? “I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas, I am of Christ” (1 Cor. 3:4). Then Paul asks if Christ is divided? And we have to reply, certainly not! Were Abram and Lot not following the same LORD? If Abram and Lot followed the same LORD and yet were separated by the LORD, what is wrong with having different denominations? The whole idea is that we all should follow Christ. But truth be known, like Abram and Lot, some have their eyes on the LORD more than others. Therefore, if you were going to align yourself with either Abram or Lot, you’d choose Abram. Why? Because he’s focused on the kingdom of God and not his own felt needs.

When Lot had a major decision to make, he forgot to include the LORD, it would seem.  He saw the things he wanted, and he sought after them with gay abandon. How many times have we rushed in because the place just looked so inviting? “Oh it’s the house of my dreams.” So, you buy it only to find that termites love the house too! It all looks good on the surface but lean upon a wall and your hand will go through it. “Oh let’s go to Australia. It’s so sunny there!” Then you learn about the major skin cancer problem! And you’re afraid to let your little kids go out in it. We have to live with the results of a bad decision: For better or for worse in sickness and in health.

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        I was one of those people who’re converted from time to time just from reading the Bible. As a brand-new baby Christian, the first choice I had to make was, which church? Which denomination, (or non-denomination as some like to style themselves)? I’ll have you know that it’s a minefield out there. Choose the wrong one and you could be a loser for the rest of your Christian life! You cannot just close your eyes and put your fingers in your ears and hope for the best. If you do that, you are in danger of killing yourself spiritually. How many Christians do you know who are still playing around in the shallow end when they should be deep-sea diving? How many are still on milk when they should be chewing solid food, (on the meat of the Word). How many are still chasing after “signs and wonders” when they should be looking at Christ? As a brand-new Christian, I even found myself in the Kingdom Hall of the so-called Jehovah’s Witnesses one Sunday. Brand new Christians have not got a clue! I know because I used to be one. What price might I have paid for that choice? God is gracious.

What was the price that Lot would have to pay for his choice? Let’s see, the Apostle Peter refers to Lot living among the depravity and debauchery of Sodomites in Sodom. Peter in 2 Peter 2:8 says of Lot, “For that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds.” As well as having to live with his own tormented soul, Lot would get to see the whole plain he chose, destroyed by fire and brimstone pouring out of heaven. Lot would get to see his own wife become a pillar of salt. His own two daughters would think nothing of indecently assaulting him! O Lot, it might look like the Garden of Eden with its four riverheads, but there’s a venomous serpent hanging from EVERY tree in this garden!

Lot don’t treat life as a lottery. Consider what might be the consequences of your action. Life is not a game of chance. It’s not Lot’s Lotto. Life is not, “Yez spin the wheel and yez take yer chances!” No! You seek the will of God for those weightier decisions.

Conclusion

Dear reader, search the Scriptures, for only fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Lot should have sought counsel instead of “Looks good! Let’s go!” Remember the forbidden fruit in the Garden. What looks like a pineapple may actually be a grenade! To sum it all up in a verse of Scripture, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6).

Abram let Lot make the choice. He trusted in the LORD to make the right decision. Lot trusted his own understanding, and he lost out in the deal. Therefore, let us all think carefully before we make a life decision as we may live to regret it.

JESUS IN GENESIS - History

 

“This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground” Genesis 2:4-6.

Seeing Jesus in the History of Creation

        Christians delight in referring to history as His-story. Though the Father and the Spirit are involved in creating and sustaining creation, it is all in preparation for the Son “in the fulness of the time” to step into God’s creation as a man. As God used the dust of the earth to bring forth Adam, so God is going to use the dust of the earth in the form of a woman to bring forth the last Adam, Jesus. Yes, we have already looked at the ‘rebirth’ of Jesus when, just as the great fish “vomited” Jonah onto dry land, so the earth brought forth the resurrected Jesus. However, we are getting a little ahead of ourselves.

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        The history of creation week is all about Jesus. We now ask the question about when this took place. Should we presuppose that creation took place in accordance with ‘Big Bang’ cosmology or should we simply let the Word interpret His Word? Should we debate the age of the universe by introducing into the equation how long it might take light travelling from distant stars at the speed of light to reach the earth? This is what we mean be presuppositions. Should we listen to the Light of the World, Jesus, who was there in the beginning, or should we listen to the speculations of fallen human beings? The Word created light in the beginning. Therefore, He ought to know the history of creation week. The Word interprets His-story.

 

According to the Old Testament historian Alfred Edersheim, using the Biblical chronology, Bishop Ussher dates the year of creation (at least the creation of man) as 4004 BC. Therefore barely 6,000 years have passed since God formed man from the dust of the ground. Ussher’s chronology is the view held by Christian orthodoxy (to which we adhere).[1] 

Notice, in the following, that Jesus is referring to Genesis 1:27 and 5:2 where He says, “But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female’” (Mark 10:6). Also, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female’” (Matt. 19:4). Using the Word to interpret the Word, we see that human beings were created when creation began, albeit of the sixth day of formation. Thus, the first humans walked on Earth just over 6,000 years ago, when God brought creation into existence from nothing.

Some Christians and others work on the presupposition of “The Gap Theory” as they try to accommodate the presuppositions of the long ages needed by Evolutionary Science, which is simply Evolutionary Philosophy by another name. Whereas the Bible gives us the history of creation, Evolutionary Science presents hypotheticals. So, history or hypothesis?

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            The Gap Theory ought not to be confused with “the God of the Gaps” hypothesis used by Evolutionists to disparage and debunk the Bible. The God of the Gaps, like a silicone advertised as “no more gaps”, seeks to inject God into those so called gaps of human understanding where science, unlike Sherlock Holmes, is unable to supply a rational reason for a phenomenon. The “Big Bang Theory” would fit this bill. Instead of “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”, “Big Bang” ideology posits instead that “In the beginning there was nothing. This nothing exploded and became something.” Enter the silicone god and use it to fill in the blanks.

It can easily be seen that the followers of Jesus do not presuppose that there was nothing in the beginning. Rather, they presuppose that Jesus is the Truth. Therefore, they would rather trust the words of the One who was there in the beginning over the speculations of those who attempt to make Jesus out as a liar. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Say no to the God of the Gaps, as if the increase in scientific knowledge somehow is directly proportionate to the decrease of our need for God, as if it were not the Word who is “upholding all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3), as if it were not “in Him all things consist” (Col. 1:17).

Whereas Christians do science, any science, presupposing that God is, Evolutionary Science presupposes that God is not. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Rom. 1:20-21). However, as Christians, “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20).

At least the Gap Theory attempts to use the Bible to support its hypothesis, as opposed to ignoring the Biblical record. The Gap Theory uses word plays utilising “replenish” in the following verses of Genesis. Do you remember the Cultural Mandate? “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Gen. 1:28). Thus, mankind was to replenish the earth. Also, Genesis 5:1, “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Gen. 9:1).

In English, the prefix re- gives the idea of doing something over again as in restoring something that was lost to return it to its former state. However, the original Hebrew word is more to do with furnishing and filling as in fulfilling the Cultural Mandate than recovering something that was lost. This is why most Bible translations, unlike the 1611 KJV, use the word “fill” rather than the confusing word “replenish”. Keep in mind that there is no hint of any previous death and destruction in any of the days of creation. “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Gen. 1:31).

We’ve already touched on redemption above and therefore should easily see how the misapplied word “replenish” has more to do with redemption than the intention of fulfilling the Cultural Mandate. We learn about the need for redemption only when God says to Adam in Genesis 3, “Cursed is the ground for your sake.” The apostle refers to this where he says, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope” (Rom. 8:20). Our hope is in the One whom the history of creation is about, i.e., the Word who became also flesh, the One whom Job put his trust in, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me” (Job 19:25-27, KJV).

        Yes, like Job, we are happy with the word “resurrection”, (from re-, “again,” and surgere, “to rise”) but not so happy with the word “replenished” as it can be easily misunderstood and used to support the “Gap Theory”, which feeds right into the Theory of Evolution, indeed, so much so, that there are Christians who straddle both camps. These halfway house Christians are called Theistic Evolutionists. Yeah, “Mind the Gap”, with one foot on the train and the other on the platform when the doors are closing, it is best to make one’s mind up whether one is boarding or getting off. I saw Jesus on the train and waved the Theory of Evolution goodbye from the platform as I boarded.

Seeing Jesus in the History of Special Revelation

As Reformed, and as already mentioned, we do not subscribe to the Biblicist position. Therefore, we do not ignore and dismiss out of hand legitimate scientific findings. However, they need to be tested by the Word speaking in Scripture.

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        To change the analogy from a train to a plane, Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology are copilots. Whereas Systematic Theology organizes the teachings of Scripture into categories, Biblical Theology is about the progressive unfolding of God’s revelation. The thirty-three chapters of the Westminster Confession of Faith are a general example of the former. However, Biblical Theology “consists in the approbation of that supernatural process by which God has made Himself the object of our knowledge.”[2]

Whereas Evolutionist Theory operates outside of Biblical revelation, Theological Liberalism seeks to remove the supernatural from Scripture. Thus, both function in accordance with Atheistic assumptions. Their presuppositions deny the truth of Scripture. However, whereas Theological Liberalism sees the Bible as man searching for God, Biblical Theology views the Bible as the “History of Special Revelation”, as Geerhardus Vos preferred to call it.

When was the beginning of the history of special revelation? “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Therefore, Christians believe it as true history coming from God and not something fabricated by mankind, such as the Theory of Evolution. We are simply trying to see the Word in God’s revelation in the early chapters of Genesis.

Notice in the following verses that God reveals a little more of Himself to us. He is the LORD God.  “This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground” (Gen. 2:4-6).

The Authorised Version offers some help to us here with the “LORD God”, “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven” (Gen. 2:4, ASV). The Lexam English Bible too, “These are the generations of heaven and earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made earth and heaven” (Gen. 2:4, LEB). So, the LORD God is Yahweh God or the more familiar Jehovah God, which means the same. The name Jehovah makes us think of the old William Williams hymn, 

        Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,

        pilgrim through this barren land;
        I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
        hold me with Thy powerful hand;

        Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven,
        feed me till I want no more,
        feed me till I want no more.

Some versions changed the first line to, "Guide me, O my great Redeemer." Who is the great Redeemer? The LORD God, i.e., Jehovah Elohim! “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:13-14). Says Matthew Henry on Genesis 2:4,

 

Here is a name given to the Creator which we have not yet met with, and that is Jehovah – the LORD, in capital letters, which are constantly used in our English translation to intimate that in the original it is Jehovah. All along, in the first chapter, He is called Elohim – a God of power; but now Jehovah Elohim – a God of power and perfection, a finishing God. Jehovah is that great and incommunicable name of God which denotes His having His being of Himself, and His giving being to all things.

In the Greek New Testament Jesus is the same Jehovah Elohim as found in the Old Testament Hebrew. However, He is referred to as Kurios which is usually translated from the Greek as Lord. He is the Κύριος ὁ θεός, the Lord God, in the following verse, “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’” (Rev. 1:8, NIV). Therefore, because we are treating the Bible as the history of revelation, we are not misusing Biblical Theology to see Jesus in Genesis. Therefore, from the time history began, Jesus has been Jehovah. He is Jehovah Elohim, the LORD God.

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[1] Even if you challenge the total accuracy of Ussher, his chronological calculations at the very least demonstrate that the earth’s formation took place thousands, not billions or even millions, of years ago. Quoted from Neil Cullan McKinlay and D. Rudi Schwartz, The Unfaithful Bride and The Faithful Groom (Weemac Publishing, Queensland, 2023), 435.

[2] Geerhardus Vos, The Idea of Biblical Theology as a Science and as a Theological Discipline, 3.