O.P.E.N.; An acronym to remember for the rest of your life.
O.P.E.N.
Observe: What is happening? When? Where?
Process: What might this mean?
Engage: Discuss with others.
Note: Take notes on what you discover.
Remember to always stay open. Be open minded, and be prepared to listen to new theories, opinions, and personal beliefs.
Observe: What is happening? When? Where?
Process: What might this mean?
Engage: Discuss with others.
Note: Take notes on what you discover.
Remember to always stay open. Be open minded, and be prepared to listen to new theories, opinions, and personal beliefs.
God's Good Creation
The Beginning; The Garden; Where things grow from.
The first day God created light and divided it from the darkness. Another name for God is Eloheem meaning plural, this is refering to the trinity. In Genesis when the world is being created God even refers to himself as "let us". Heaven can be described as perfect, great, colorful, peace, light-filled, flowing with milk and honey. Heaven is good, but where is Heaven? Is it up? In the sky? A spirit realm? A 4th dimension? Is is even a geographical location? I don't know for sure, but what we do know is that Heaven is here; around us.
The second day God created the division of the atmosphere from the oceans.
The third day God created the division of the land from the waters and vegetation.
The fourth day God created the sun, moon, and stars to fill the sky.
The fifth day God created the creatures to fill the skies and waters.
The sixth day God created the creatures to fill the land and humans.
And finally, the seventh day God rested.
The second day God created the division of the atmosphere from the oceans.
The third day God created the division of the land from the waters and vegetation.
The fourth day God created the sun, moon, and stars to fill the sky.
The fifth day God created the creatures to fill the skies and waters.
The sixth day God created the creatures to fill the land and humans.
And finally, the seventh day God rested.
Two Trees In Eden
On the sixth day man and woman was created. These were Adam and Eve and they are what we call image bearers. They bear the image of God, as do all of us. Man was made from dirt, which poses the question of why dirt? Why not stone, or clay, or another organic material? Maybe for humility? What we do know is that mankind has the breath of God, as in He literally breathed life into man. Adam and Eve lived in Eden, which sounds to us like some sort of suburbia between Heaven and Earth, or maybe Heaven and Earth combined. We're not sure, but either way it sounds GREAT! In the garden Adam and Eve could do as they pleased except for eat from two of the trees; The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the tree of life. God told them that if they did, they would die. This leads us to the questions of were they real trees with real roots, and was God making a threat or giving a warning when he told them they would die? While in Eden, Adam and Eve were also naked, and not only were they naked, but they were naked AND not ashamed. Nowadays people not ashamed of public nudity are arrested! But this could bring us to the conclusion that man being made from dirt, combined with being naked, is to show that man is weak, lesser beings than God.
Darkness; The Lights Go Out
Now in the story enter: Satan. The Satan means the accuser. The definition of an accusation is a change or claim that someone has done something illegal or wrong. What we're all wondering now is whether or not the serpent lied to Adam and Eve. We say that on some counts yes he did in fact lie, but there was some truth to what the serpent was telling the couple. The lie is that God was scared we would become more like him, the truth is that they did not die from eating the fruit, physically that is. Now the question is whether the serpent is Satan, and if Satan should even be capitalized, but since Google puts a red line under Satan every time I don't make the "S" big, I'll capitalize it for now. Now let's revisit that not-physical death we were wondering about. What defines death? Separation, separation defines death. Separation from the world, from loved ones, from possessions, etc. defines death. And what defines sin? Well sin is a noun that means an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law. Put those two together and we now get that what God meant was that eating from those two trees would be a sin which would separate Adam and Eve from God, which in some ways, is dying.
Adam and Eve's eyes were opened at this point of the story, they ate from the tree and know they know they're naked. When trying to decipher the bible, a lot of it has to do with perception. Perception can be defined as the state of being or process of becoming aware of something through the senses. After Adam and Eve were made aware of the fact they were nude, the made loincloths from fig leaves. The loincloths of fig leaves could be symbolism representing anything we use to cover up our vulnerabilities. Granted this is a bad situation, disobeying God and all, I can't help but be grateful that they were made aware that they needed clothes. I'm grateful that we don't have to walk around naked, garden or no garden.
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Adam and Eve heard God in the garden after they disobeyed him and ate from the tree and ran to hide. This brings up some questions, like what were they running from, why? When God "finds" Adam and Eve, like you can hide from God, he asks them who had told them they were naked. Adam blamed Satan immediately. Between Adam and Satan there are blames and accusations. God then made the very first couple from "Naked and Afraid" clothes from animal skins. He didn't make them clothes because he was uncomfortable with their nakedness or didn't like it, but he did it as a kind gesture to us. After this God drove Adam out of the garden, and Eve followed, for part of her punishment was that her desire was for her husband. 1 Timothy 2:14; And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. Now cherubim angels guard the garden so no man can enter.
Darkness. Fear. Sin. Death. |
God's Plan of Redemption
At this point in the story, God's plan of redemption is enacted. The important of a correct diagnosis in this, and any other, situation is so that we can be healed and not punished. The question we know ask ourselves is, who has changed? This scene is so different from the beginning of the creation of the garden and Adam. Was it Adam who changed? Eve? It was everybody, except for God that is.
1st Corinthians 15: 21-22; For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. Sin. Sin is a noun, not a verb which is very important for our perspective and investigating of the Old Testament. Genesis 4: 6-7; Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Romans 5:12; Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned. Now back to our original inquiry of who changed, we've already answered that so now we want to know how they changed. Their perspective changed, there were three things that they saw differently. 1) Themselves; they felt shame which was an attack on their identity, they were now insecure. 2) Each other; they accused each other with blame, hid from one another, and treated each other as objects. 3) God; they were now scared of God and saw him as an absent and distant judge, they did not know God. These three changes in perspectives can also be used to investigate many crimes in today's society.
1st Corinthians 15: 21-22; For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. Sin. Sin is a noun, not a verb which is very important for our perspective and investigating of the Old Testament. Genesis 4: 6-7; Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Romans 5:12; Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned. Now back to our original inquiry of who changed, we've already answered that so now we want to know how they changed. Their perspective changed, there were three things that they saw differently. 1) Themselves; they felt shame which was an attack on their identity, they were now insecure. 2) Each other; they accused each other with blame, hid from one another, and treated each other as objects. 3) God; they were now scared of God and saw him as an absent and distant judge, they did not know God. These three changes in perspectives can also be used to investigate many crimes in today's society.
"Shame is a direct attack on your identity."
After being kicked out of the garden, Adam and Eve move east. To us this may symbolize moving from God and also moving towards the rising sun. Adam and Eve have two sons, Cain and Abel. God requests an offering from both brothers and, well, we know how that ends up; the first murder. Cain is very much like his father with the fact that they were both asked a question directly from God after sinning. Adam was asked where he was when he was hiding from God, and Cain was asked where his brother Abel was after Cain had killed him. God said Abel's blood was crying out for vengeance, he knew what Cain had done. Sin, in this scene changed Cain's perception. It changed how Cain saw God, himself, and finally his brother Abel.
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"When God asks a question it isn’t for his knowledge.
It is for our discovery."
Terah, more commonly known as Abraham's father, served many God's. Terah was also a strong advocate for animism; the appeasement of the gods through sacrifices. This is necessary background information for when Joshua told the people: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. (Joshua 24:2) These people lived in Ur, which was in Mesopotamia. Abram, A.K.A. Abraham, fathered three of the most prominent religions in today's society; Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Fathering in reference that he and his children, grandchildren, etc. heavily influenced them. Throughout the Bible everyone generally traveled west, which could symbolize a new chapter or a new day.
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Now onto Abram and Sarai, more commonly known as Abraham and Sarah, the parents of well known prophet Isaac. Abram means exalted father, and Abraham means father of multitudes. Sarai means my lady, and Sarah means mother of nations. These facts are very significant for the events of their story. Sarah and Abraham were very old , but God blessed them with a child. When their child was born he was named Isaac, meaning laughter for Sarah laughed when she first heard she would be a mother in her old age. A theme to this story, and most of the stories in the Bible, is that God provides.
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Abraham fathered Isaac and Isaac went on to father Jacob. A common name for God is Jehovah which means provide, this means everything in this story. God asks Isaac to sacrifice his son and Isaac does God's will, and because of Isaac's faith, Jacob was saved.
Genesis 22:15-18: The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” |
Onto The New Testament...
John the Baptist's parents were Zechariah and Elizabeth, whom both had priestly backgrounds. Now in this time you couldn't be a priest unless you came from a line of priests, which John did so this bodes well for the credibility of his teachings. So Elizabeth was barren and with Zechariah they were an older couple. Zechariah then had an encounter with an angel who tells him that he will have a child. Zechariah has doubts about this so his voice is taken from him until his child is born. With Zechariah not being able to talk, Elizabeth found out she was pregnant when she was with Mary (Jesus' mother Mary) and their babies move around in their separate wombs, feeling this action convinces Elizabeth that she is with child, naturally, it's either pregnancy or some major indigestion. After John is born and is old enough, he takes the Nazareth vow. Taking such a serious, life conforming vow leads him to living off of wild gone and locusts and wearing camel clothes. Around town John was known as a peculiar guy. He had a powerful message that resonated with many people though: "repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand."
Side notes:
1) Repent means to change your mind (In this instance).
2) John can be compared to a supernova. A supernova is a light or star which runs out of gas and explodes. This explosion creates more light than the start had before and it lights up the galaxy, but then disappears. A supernova can be used as a direct metaphor for John the Baptist's life.
Now back to the story: John catches the attention of many people, eventually even his cousin Jesus, who wasn't known as the savior yet, but John knew, so it was a pretty big deal. But John's life came to an untimely end when Herod (the at the time king)'s daughter requested John's head on a platter, to which Herod reluctantly agreed.
Side notes:
1) Repent means to change your mind (In this instance).
2) John can be compared to a supernova. A supernova is a light or star which runs out of gas and explodes. This explosion creates more light than the start had before and it lights up the galaxy, but then disappears. A supernova can be used as a direct metaphor for John the Baptist's life.
Now back to the story: John catches the attention of many people, eventually even his cousin Jesus, who wasn't known as the savior yet, but John knew, so it was a pretty big deal. But John's life came to an untimely end when Herod (the at the time king)'s daughter requested John's head on a platter, to which Herod reluctantly agreed.
Expecting the messiah, state of Israel, corruption, pharisees, Herod