...but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Gen. 2:17
O - What I found interesting was the use of "when". It looks as if God knew Eve (or Adam) was going to eat from the tree, but set it up as a test. But if he knew they would eat it, why did he get so angry at them? Was it to show them that he will also forgive?
I'm listening through the Bible on mp3 this time around and it's helping me notice certain things I didn't before...
1. Ancient middle eastern culture apparently was much like Korea in it's face saving obsession. It's actually quite humorous some times. Some examples: Abraham talking to God before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, Abraham talking to the Hittites about Sarah's grave, Isaac talking to Abimelek about the wells (this one is hilariously over the top), Jacob bowing "to the ground seven times" before Esau, etc.
2. There are quite a few mentions of divination in Genesis. I'm not sure if it's a theme, comparison or incidental detail...
3. Sometimes characters refer to God as "the LORD my god" and then at other times as "the LORD your god" or the "the LORD, the god of (name)". I wonder if this has something to do with a polytheistic assumption that there are many gods...? Jacob uses both phrases...
4. There is a lot of firstborn/second-born role reversal in Genesis: Cain/Able, Isaac/Ishmael, Jacob/Esau, Rebekah/Leah, Joseph/his brothers and Manasseh/Ephraim. Joseph seems to recognize this and purposely blesses the second born. Again, I don't know what the significance of this is....
5. I'm noticing time words like "some time later", "1 month later", "it came to pass", etc. Everything in Genesis seems represent a VERY condensed story, so whatever is included must be significant. Even with this in mind, to me, there's so much that seems "random" or "unnecessary". But this has really piqued my curiosity as to why certain events were included. Makes me want to go over it again...
Jip I also noticed the whole role reversal thing and wondered about that! Thanks for bringing it up...Loved reading your comments and hoping someone with answers ;) will comment on them too hahaha I didn't even notice the different ways how people were refering to God and am now wondering about this.. I am sure I'll be reading the Bible again and again since everytime I see something new!It's awesome :)
1. So true! Living in a shame-based culture has opened up so much more understanding of narrative details!
2. In the NIV, I find two occasions of "divination". One is with Laban (Gen 30:27). The contrast of Laban who uses divination and has idols with the favor of God on Jacob so that even those around him are blessed on his account shows the relationship of blessing and call has passed from Abraham, Issac, and now Jacob, but not to the other descendants of Abraham's father, even as it did not pass to Ishmael or Esau.
The other is with Joseph (Gen 44:5, 15). He is playing the part of a powerful Egyptian lord until he is ready to reveal his identity to his brothers. Divination would have been an expected ability of such a man. Joseph's real means of knowledge is directly from the Lord, not witchcraft - even as he testifies before Pharaoh when interpreting dreams.
3. Similar to the last point, Moses (as author) is constructing the story to draw a contrast between those who are called by God and those who are not. It is a story of covenant relationship between God and his chosen people, and the line of the Seed which is to come (Christ). God is the God of all creation and all people - but these titles point out the special relationships he has made. God even uses this format saying things like "I am the God of _______," or "The God who called you", or "The God of your father." God is emphasizing his special relationship with them as the chosen.
Also in a lesser way, it is probably a point of practicality since other Gods had names, but God had not yet revealed his. "I serve God. What God? Dagon? No. The God of Abraham."
4. This stuck out to me for the first time also. Especially in the case of the two sets of twins Jacob and Esau as well as Perez and Zerah(Gen 38). Perez and Zerah actually fought for first place in the birth canal! with Zerah being out first with a string put around his wrist, but pulled back in and his brother "broke out" and stole the birthright. Again we see the choice of God as he selects the path of the promised Seed. The whole story of Judah and Tamar is God removing all the sons of the Canaanite woman who would not be fit as ancestors of the Christ and starting new sons for Judah even from his daughter in law!
I'm not sure - but I think the first/second struggle is a type of Jesus' teaching on "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first" meaning the Gentiles enter the kingdom of heaven before Israel in God's divine program because of Israel's rejection of the Christ. The gentiles are born much later into God's program, but receive the gospel first and so become the first co-heirs with Christ.
"I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26And so all Israel will be saved" -Romans 11:25-26
“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” -Luke 13:28-30
5. Indeed everything has a place and everything belongs.
Looked into Divination more, and I believe you are correct in calling it a theme. It is brought to a point in Deut 18:14-19
14The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. 15The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me [Moses speaking of Jesus] from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”
17The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. 18I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. 20But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.”
So divination is a contrast between those whom God does not speak to and those whom he does speak to; and the contrast culminates in the great prophet, Jesus Christ, who would lead people to God like Moses typified and prophesied.
First question :)
ReplyDelete...but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Gen. 2:17
O - What I found interesting was the use of "when". It looks as if God knew Eve (or Adam) was going to eat from the tree, but set it up as a test. But if he knew they would eat it, why did he get so angry at them? Was it to show them that he will also forgive?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your questions. I adapted your question a bit to these:
ReplyDeleteDid God know Adam and Eve would sin? If yes, then why did he let it happen?
Your original question of why did he get so angry is included in the scope of the answer to these questions. (hint Romans 9:19-20)
My reply was too large for this comment field so I posted it publicly to my facebook here: www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=356227824403576
I'm listening through the Bible on mp3 this time around and it's helping me notice certain things I didn't before...
ReplyDelete1. Ancient middle eastern culture apparently was much like Korea in it's face saving obsession. It's actually quite humorous some times. Some examples: Abraham talking to God before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, Abraham talking to the Hittites about Sarah's grave, Isaac talking to Abimelek about the wells (this one is hilariously over the top), Jacob bowing "to the ground seven times" before Esau, etc.
2. There are quite a few mentions of divination in Genesis. I'm not sure if it's a theme, comparison or incidental detail...
3. Sometimes characters refer to God as "the LORD my god" and then at other times as "the LORD your god" or the "the LORD, the god of (name)". I wonder if this has something to do with a polytheistic assumption that there are many gods...? Jacob uses both phrases...
4. There is a lot of firstborn/second-born role reversal in Genesis: Cain/Able, Isaac/Ishmael, Jacob/Esau, Rebekah/Leah, Joseph/his brothers and Manasseh/Ephraim. Joseph seems to recognize this and purposely blesses the second born. Again, I don't know what the significance of this is....
5. I'm noticing time words like "some time later", "1 month later", "it came to pass", etc. Everything in Genesis seems represent a VERY condensed story, so whatever is included must be significant. Even with this in mind, to me, there's so much that seems "random" or "unnecessary". But this has really piqued my curiosity as to why certain events were included. Makes me want to go over it again...
Jip I also noticed the whole role reversal thing and wondered about that! Thanks for bringing it up...Loved reading your comments and hoping someone with answers ;) will comment on them too hahaha
DeleteI didn't even notice the different ways how people were refering to God and am now wondering about this..
I am sure I'll be reading the Bible again and again since everytime I see something new!It's awesome :)
1. So true! Living in a shame-based culture has opened up so much more understanding of narrative details!
Delete2. In the NIV, I find two occasions of "divination". One is with Laban (Gen 30:27). The contrast of Laban who uses divination and has idols with the favor of God on Jacob so that even those around him are blessed on his account shows the relationship of blessing and call has passed from Abraham, Issac, and now Jacob, but not to the other descendants of Abraham's father, even as it did not pass to Ishmael or Esau.
The other is with Joseph (Gen 44:5, 15). He is playing the part of a powerful Egyptian lord until he is ready to reveal his identity to his brothers. Divination would have been an expected ability of such a man. Joseph's real means of knowledge is directly from the Lord, not witchcraft - even as he testifies before Pharaoh when interpreting dreams.
3. Similar to the last point, Moses (as author) is constructing the story to draw a contrast between those who are called by God and those who are not. It is a story of covenant relationship between God and his chosen people, and the line of the Seed which is to come (Christ). God is the God of all creation and all people - but these titles point out the special relationships he has made. God even uses this format saying things like "I am the God of _______," or "The God who called you", or "The God of your father." God is emphasizing his special relationship with them as the chosen.
Also in a lesser way, it is probably a point of practicality since other Gods had names, but God had not yet revealed his. "I serve God. What God? Dagon? No. The God of Abraham."
4. This stuck out to me for the first time also. Especially in the case of the two sets of twins Jacob and Esau as well as Perez and Zerah(Gen 38). Perez and Zerah actually fought for first place in the birth canal! with Zerah being out first with a string put around his wrist, but pulled back in and his brother "broke out" and stole the birthright. Again we see the choice of God as he selects the path of the promised Seed. The whole story of Judah and Tamar is God removing all the sons of the Canaanite woman who would not be fit as ancestors of the Christ and starting new sons for Judah even from his daughter in law!
I'm not sure - but I think the first/second struggle is a type of Jesus' teaching on "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first" meaning the Gentiles enter the kingdom of heaven before Israel in God's divine program because of Israel's rejection of the Christ. The gentiles are born much later into God's program, but receive the gospel first and so become the first co-heirs with Christ.
"I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26And so all Israel will be saved" -Romans 11:25-26
“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” -Luke 13:28-30
5. Indeed everything has a place and everything belongs.
Looked into Divination more, and I believe you are correct in calling it a theme. It is brought to a point in Deut 18:14-19
Delete14The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. 15The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me [Moses speaking of Jesus] from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”
17The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. 18I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. 20But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.”
So divination is a contrast between those whom God does not speak to and those whom he does speak to; and the contrast culminates in the great prophet, Jesus Christ, who would lead people to God like Moses typified and prophesied.