Tag Genesis

Sodom and Gomorrah’s Selfishness

Todd R 1 Comment

Fellow travelers,

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah from the book of Genesis is well-known even to many who aren’t religious.  Genesis 18 and 19 describe the two cities as extremely wicked, specifically mentioning homosexuality and rape.  The English term “sodomy” even comes from the name of the city of Sodom.  In the Genesis story, Lot and some of his family escape based on Abraham pleading with God for them, “Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven.  And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.”  (Genesis 19:24-25).  This is the most well-known part of the story, and some explanations of why the cities were destroyed found on the internet and elsewhere say Genesis has the “full account” of the story.  Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for their excessive sexual sins.

However, there is more.

Ezekiel, a prophet to Jews captive in Babylon centuries after Sodom was destroyed, said: “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.  They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.”  (Ezekiel 16:49-50). Ezekiel was describing the sins of Judah to explain why they had been sent into exile from their Promised Land and said they don’t compare favorably even to Sodom.  Surprisingly, Ezekiel doesn’t even mention any sexual sins in this description.  Not that these sins were irrelevant, but in Ezekiel’s view, Sodom would have been destroyed even without them.  Sodom’s other sins were also abominations.

What’s the point?  I can’t say it any better than the Life Application Study Bible, which notes on Ezekiel 16:49: “Sodom was destroyed because of its pride, laziness, gluttony, and unconcern for the poor and needy. It is easy to be selective in what we consider gross sin. If we do not commit such horrible sins as adultery, homosexuality, stealing, and murder, we may think we are living good enough lives.”

We can’t pick and choose which sins are more or less deserving of God’s judgement, because in His holiness and justice, He must and will judge all sin.  While “lifestyle” sins without repentance may be more dangerous to a church or congregation, even sins we may not consider extreme are dangerous as well.  Ezekiel’s point is that selfishness and a disregard for those in need should be repented of as much as any other sin.  Ezekiel wrote, “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.  They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it,” but he also wrote that Judah would be restored by a coming Messiah, the Christ.

That restoration comes through Christ’s sacrifice for all sins, and anyone can have salvation through faith, which drives us to confession and repentance.  As John wrote in 1 John 1:8-10, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

At the end of our journey, all of God’s people will be cleansed of all of their sins, not just the most noticeable ones, because “he is faithful.”  Not because any of us are less sinful than others.

Edom’s Grudge Match

Todd R 2 Comments

Does life seem unfair?  Have you ever lost a game to a cheater?  Or were passed over for a promotion by someone you consider unethical?  Or did someone you just don’t like get something you wanted?  There are many reasons we might hold a grudge.

Esau, son of Isaac and Rebekah, surely felt that way about his twin brother Jacob.  The rivalry of these boys began as early as their birth.  Esau was born first, but Jacob came right after, holding on to Esau’s heel.[1]  The name Jacob can mean “he takes by the heel,” but also it can mean “he cheats.”  The twins even had a rivalry over the favor of their parents: “Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.”[2]

Esau, as the firstborn (barely), was entitled to a double portion of inheritance, but he found that Jacob was still grasping at his heel, as told in Genesis 25:29-34 – 

“Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.  And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom[3].)  Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.”  Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?”  Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.  Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.”

Instead of a double inheritance, desperate Esau got only a meal of stew.  There’s more to this story, but the rivalry continued through centuries in a grudge held by Esau’s descendants (the nation of Edom) against Jacob’s descendants (the nation of Israel).  The one-chapter Old Testament book of Obadiah is a response to Edom’s schadenfreude[4] over Judah and Israel’s problems.

This short book is worth a read, but it is essentially a condemnation of Edom for their hate of Jacob’s descendants, summarized well in verse 10:

“Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob,
            shame shall cover you,
            and you shall be cut off forever.”

Photo by Hugo Fergusson on Unsplash

Under God’s judgement for a long-held grudge, the nation of Edom no longer existed by Jesus’ time.  Therefore, the message of Obadiah is that, even with all the reasons Esau may have had to justify it, his grudge was unjustified.  God’s favor is not a function of whether we deserve it, but a function of His mercy given to those who do not deserve it, and He expects us to treat others with the same love and mercy.  While God’s love for us is unconditional and purchased for us by Jesus on the cross, Jesus did say in Matthew 6:14 –

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Mercy is better than any grudge.

[1] Genesis 25:24-26
[2] Genesis 25:28
[3] The words for Edom and red are similar in Hebrew
[4] Enjoyment of someone else’s misfortune.

The Likeness of Christ

Todd R 1 Comment

As told in Genesis, Joseph served Pharaoh faithfully.  Even after being wrongly accused and imprisoned, he served while in prison and eventually rose again to prominence in Pharaoh’s kingdom.  When Pharaoh dreamed of famine, Joseph interpreted the dream, and under God’s direction, came up with a plan to survive it.  “And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” – Genesis 41:38

In the gospels, Peter and John began as uneducated fishermen, yet they were personally discipled by Jesus for 3 years.  In Acts chapter 4, these former fishermen forcefully proclaim the gospel, and about five thousand people came to faith in Christ.  “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” – Acts 4:13

Pharoah recognized the Spirit in Joseph and people noticed Peter and John were different – do people notice the Spirit in you?  Can they tell you’ve been with Jesus?

“A Christian should be a striking likeness of Jesus Christ.” – Charles Spurgeon

The First Orphans: Silent in the Trees

Todd R 2 Comments

Have you ever wondered what life was like for Adam and Eve during Genesis 3:7?  This verse, which happens between the moment they fell to temptation and the moment they next meet God, says “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.”  Since they were able to figure out how to make clothes for the first time, we can guess that the time frame within Genesis 3:7 was more than a few minutes.

The song “Trees” by the band twenty øne piløts may be a contemplation of that time, and if it is, the song imagines that Adam and Eve had some time to think about it.  Songwriter Tyler Joseph crafts lyrics that allow for religious and secular meanings, but also that sometimes also apply to multiple audiences.  In the song’s lyrics, “You” is sometimes capitalized, and sometimes not, and therefore I think the song has two intended audiences, God and the band’s fans.

Reading between the lines a bit, I’ll explain below what I get from this song, in each audience perspective.

You = the Father
The lyrics are relatively compact, with the repeated verse of:

I know where You stand, silent in the trees
And that’s where I am, silent in the trees
Why won’t You speak where I happen to be?
Silent in the trees, standing cowardly

Our first ancestors had lived a perfect life in fellowship with God in the garden of Eden, but the fall into temptation changed that relationship, and the verse imagines how.

  • First, the sense of togetherness was gone.  They were still in the garden, but the sense that God was also there was gone.
  • Second, although “the eyes of both were opened,” the voice of God guiding their activities had gone silent.  They had chosen to determine their own way but had not considered the consequences.  Wherever they were, He used to guide them, but now they were confused.
  • Third, instead of being comfortable in God’s presence, they were terribly afraid of Him.

And a repeated chorus of:

I can feel Your breath
I can feel my death
I want to know You, I want to see
I want to say
Hello, hello
Hello, oh, hello

In the original Hebrew Genesis was written in, the words for “breath” and “spirit” are sometimes the same word.  Therefore, the first two lines of this chorus mean that our ancestors could still feel God’s presence (His breath/spirit), but instead of it being a comfort, they now felt something they never felt before – their mortality.  This is a foreshadowing of their being cast away from access to the tree of life.

Also, instead of the constant conversation with God they had known their whole lives, now they wanted to speak with God and know Him again, but He was not responding.  In the context of the song, maybe it was then that “they knew that they were naked.”  They knew they had done wrong, were exposed, and thought judgement was what they should expect.  Adam and Eve went from perfectly hearing their Father’s and Master’s voice, to feeling like orphans and castaways from His family.

What came next?  Genesis 3:8 says, “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

You = The Fans
The “you” in the song is also the band’s fans – and Tyler sings out to them, in the trees.  Tyler says the song is also about a personal experience he had, which he doesn’t publicly explain, but He does publicly display tattoos of both the cross of Christ and of bands around his wrist, which likely represent rubber bands people wear to manage and prevent self-harm.  These tattoos are like permanent memorials – or Ebenezers – from his life, and his ongoing recovery from mental illness.  Many of the band’s fans are going through similar struggles and many feel left behind by the world.

Therefore, the “you” of the song is those who feel alone and silent in the trees, who feel ashamed before God, hiding themselves.  They expect God to show up in judgement, as Adam and Eve expected, and hid their nakedness.  Tyler could be calling out to them: God did not judge me, and neither will He judge you if you call out to Him.  God will speak to them, “where they happen to be.”  After all, Genesis 3:9 says: “But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”  It was God who desired and initiated reconciliation with His people.

The outro of the song has Tyler screaming HELLO over and over again, before the song ends with 12 seconds of intentional silence before the track ends.

What will be the answer?

When you find someone alone and silent in the trees, remember James 1:27 – “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

If you find yourself alone and silent in the trees, tell your Heavenly Father you want to say hello.  He wants to know you and He wants to see you.

Coda
For many years, “Trees” has been the last song played at every twenty øne piløts concert.  Why is this?  On the album “Vessel”, “Trees” was the next-to-last song and other parts of the album built to it.  The first song on “Vessel” describes demons and spiritual warfare, the second song is called “Holding On To You,” and the third song, “Migraine,” has the repeated line:

And I will say that we should take a moment and hold it
And keep it frozen and know that life has a hopeful undertone

It seems like from the beginning of the album, that moment to hold on to when you’re battling whatever demons you have was coming.  So, in each concert, the fans know that the moment to hold on to is coming.  The song is a moment you can remember when you’re down and know you’re not alone.  The song an Ebenezer in its own way, and a bold statement that the band is not going to ignore the problems of people left behind, the metaphorical widows and orphans of the world.  Also, if they pay close attention, those fans can find the message of Christ in the lyrics.  God doesn’t wait until our affliction is over and we make ourselves acceptable to come to us. He bridges the divide Himself.

Below is a video I took last year at a concert in Philadelphia.  Apologies for the video quality, especially when they fired massive amounts of confetti into the air, which fans collect to remember the moment later.  My phone camera just couldn’t keep up, but I offer it as a 5-minute moment you can take and hold and know that life has a hopeful undertone.

And what’s all this about widows and orphans? This post continues a series on James 1:27, which began here. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

Ebenezer in a Dream

Todd R 1 Comment

In the ESV Bible, the phrase “but God” appears in the narrative 43 times, changing the direction of the story.  Ebenezer the squirrel, the blog’s mascot, represents these memorials of God’s intervention in the world and in our lives.  As a squirrel can unexpectedly draw our attention, I write about these moments to draw our attention to God as a reminder that adding God to our circumstances can change everything.  One of the times the words “but God” appears is in Genesis 20:3, which says:

“But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, ‘Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.’”

This “but God” Ebenezer comes during Abraham’s sojourn in Gerar, where Abimelech was king.  Similar to an earlier story from Genesis 12, Abraham lies and says his wife Sarah is his sister in order to stay out of trouble.  In this case, Abraham explains his reason for lying as: “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’”[1]  Ironically, Abraham inadvertently here proved there was no fear of God in his own life at this moment, by prioritizing an assumption he had made about Abimelech’s character above the absolute knowledge of God’s character, who does not lie.  Be careful about what you’re certain of.  It might be wrong.

Just like each of us, even the heroes of our faith are not perfect and seek their own means of finding prosperity apart from God.  How God deals with them therefore reveals His grace with real people, and also has lessons we can learn from.  In response to this “but God” dream, Abimelech returns Sarah to Abraham to avoid sinning with her.  The dream revealed the power of God to Abimelech, who “took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him.”[2]  Abimelech even gave Abraham 1,000 pieces of silver and told Sarah it was “a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.”[3]

Ebenezer, the ‘but God’ squirrel, is behind more than you know.

Although Abraham ended up shamed by this situation, God ended up glorified.  God was always in control, even when Abraham was faithless.  Of this story, the Life Application Study Bible notes: “How many times has God done the same for us, holding us back from sin in ways we can’t even detect? We have no way of knowing—we just know from this story that he can. God works just as often in ways we can’t see as in ways we can.”  In other words, there are often many Ebenezers we are not even aware of.  We may benefit from “but God” moments in the lives of others, as Abraham did with Abimelech.  Therefore, next time you see a squirrel (or the next 100 times), thank God for His many mercies toward you that you haven’t even noticed.

“God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.” – John Piper

[1] Genesis 20:12
[2] Genesis 20:14
[3] Genesis 20:16