Word for Life in Love— Scripture Meditations By Stephen Brown
Isaiah 26:1-4
We have a strong city;
God makes salvation
its walls and ramparts.
2 Open the gates
that the righteous nation may enter,
the nation that keeps faith.
3 You will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind is steadfast,
because he trusts in you.
4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.
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Gen 13:14-17
14 The Lord said to Abram after
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As we move, we grow.
As we grow, we come to know.
As we come to know, He has more to show.
Matthew 25:37-40 NetBible
25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 25:38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 25:39 When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 25:40 And the king will answer them, ‘I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.’
I wonder if that which is within us is as vast as the universe outside ourselves, with unending beauty and delight awaiting discovery as we are able to see and comprehend the wonder that we are.
Could it be that what is visible could be compared to a grain of sand on the beach of our existence?
We only know in part, and I’m guessing it is a very small part indeed. Only His coming again will allow us fully partake of what God intends for us. It will be a surprise because it will be beyond what we can imagine. We will be revealed with Him and we will be like Him. Some might be surprised for different reasons. May our surprise be of the right kind.
Genesis 4:1-2
4 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man." 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. NIV
Adam named his wife Eve, which means life-giver. Isn’t it ironic that through this life-giver death entered into creation? Truly their eyes were opened when sin came into view. This was not the wisdom that Eve expected as she looked on the imagined promise of the forbidden fruit. You may have experienced the same sort of thing in your life. Have you ever been lured by something only to find in the end it was not what you had in mind?
Life is given to two sons, but it is life marred by disobedience to God. The result is not the fruit intended by God when He said multiply and be fruitful. The wages of sin continue when Cain strikes Abel, spilling the blood of his brother. Death appears in another form.
But God has provided a way out of this deathtrap. He brought forth His Son, begotten not created. Believing on His life and resurrection brings forth new life in Christ. A new life is born, to be resurrected just as He was. It is with His help we can echo Eve’s word of wonder, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.”, for a new man is created. It is the image of Jesus we take on, rather than the fallen image of Adam. We participate in the creation of life, a new man. It is our life we help to create, and those around us.
Genesis 4:8-13
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" And he replied, "I don't know! Am I my brother's guardian?" 10 But the Lord said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground! 11 So now, you are banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you try to cultivate the ground it will no longer yield its best for you. You will be a homeless wanderer on the earth."
(from The NET Bible®, Copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.,
In the New Testament there is a reference to the way of Cain. Instead of submitting to the Lord’s warning, he continued down the path of revenge and self will. That path only ends with loss and death.
His rebellion against the Lord is further revealed in his answer of “Am I my brother’s guardian?” There was no brotherly affection and love in his heart. There was only enough hate and anger that led him to spill his brother’s blood. His heart was not with God.
On that day two lives were lost, but in different ways. Abel no longer walked on this earth, but he walks with God. Cain’s loss was two-fold: eternal life with God and life he could have known on earth. That is the way of Cain.
Genesis 4:6-7
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? 7 Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it."
(from The NET Bible®, Copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.,
God does not refuse Cain’s offering without a word. He entreats Cain to do the right thing, which Cain knows. God warns of sin that will result in not doing what is right. Overcoming self leads to victory over sin. God encourages Cain to bring his desires under control. God made the earth and all that is in it for man to rule. That begins with the very clay from which he is made.
This plays out in each of our lives. Thankfully, we are not left on our own in that task. If we were, we would not make it. God provided His Son and the Holy Spirit to enable us to rise above our nature and to be in right standing with God. He has given everything we need to find the way. Getting it right is the most important thing we will do in this life.
Gen 4:1-5
4 Now the man had marital relations with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, "I have created a man just as the Lord did!" 2 Then she gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground.
3 At the designated time Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering to the Lord. 4 But Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock - even the fattest of them. And the Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering, 5 but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. So Cain became very angry, and his expression was downcast.
(from The NET Bible®, Copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.,
I used to wonder why Cain’s offering was not pleasing to the Lord in contrast to what Abel brought to the Lord. Was it the difference in that which came from the earth and that which had life in it? After all, the earth had fallen under a curse due to man’s disobedience. Was it because Cain didn’t know what would please the Lord? A few verses further, God reminds Cain that he knows what to bring, what is required.
The key is that Able brought his best to the Lord and Cain did not. He did bring something, but only some to the fruit. Cain’s heart is further revealed by his anger at God’s rejection. I guess he felt like God ought to be satisfied with whatever he brought, or could spare. Perhaps Cain felt that his opinion as to what was right or wrong was more important than what God saw as right and wrong. Cain placed himself before God.
Isn’t it easy step into that same place? We please God when we put Him first. We will see as we go further in the story the tragic results of Cain’s unwillingness to obey God.
Perhaps God commands that no image be made of Him because we are made in His image. We have trouble enough as it is with self worship. If we attempt this anyway, we can only make something far inferior to the real thing. The closest we could come would only be a variation of ourselves. No image we could make would capture Him. We don’t fully understand ourselves, much less God. How then could we be so bold as to think we would be able to define God?
If we have lost awe and wonder when we consider God, it might be time to make sure we haven’t been guilty of creating some image that we are comfortable with. We might have unknowingly placed ourselves at the feet of an idol of our own making.
He has given us the exact image of Himself in His Son Jesus. We are to strive to be like Him. His image is to become ours.
Genesis 6:11-13
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.
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The story of Noah speaks to us today of what God saw, judgment, and the provision He made for life. God commanded him to build an ark. Noah obeyed God in all things. God provided a way for life, that enables man to rise above the brokenness that came from disobedience.
I can’t help but think this story of the past applies today and tomorrow. How different is our world from the world described in this passage? The Bible speaks of a judgment to come. There will be a new world, made clean not by a flood of waters, but the light of God. People back then scoffed at the idea of a flood. People scoff today at the idea of a God that created the universe and will judge us by His standard, not ours. Only God’s sight counts. How do you see it?
17 And so I insist — and God backs me up on this — that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. 18 They've refused for so long to deal with God that they've lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. 19 They can't think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion.
(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
It can be so easy going along with the crowd drifting in the current of what feels good and the latest thing, but going with the flow often leads to a life adrift. The day will come when one wonders, how did I end up here?
Feeling pain is a necessary survival mechanism, telling us that something is wrong. Without it we could bleed to death from an unknown cut, or be attacked by unfelt tumor that grows a little each day into an unmanageable monster.
Unrecognized sin is like that. Being unaware or ignoring it can lead to death. Not being in touch with God removes us from reality itself. Any understanding or view that does not include God, does not contemplate the true reality. The more we look away from God and longer we live that way, the more out of touch we become.
Gen 2:1-3
2 The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them. 2 By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing. 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he ceased all the work that he had been doing in creation.
(from The NET Bible®, Copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.,
Seven in the Bible usually represents completeness and perfection. The seventh day is blessed and made holy because His work has been done. We are part of that blessed and holy day.
He continues His work today, inviting all who will listen to eternal life in a world restored to its perfection. The Holy Spirit continues the witness and call of Jesus; “Come to me and I will give you rest”. He does that within us and through us. We find a rest in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that gives us faith and hope in the rest that is to come.
…that is the rest of the story.
Genesis 1:24-31 NetBible
The sixth day is crowned with the creation of man. That is the point of creation. Not that we are center of the universe, but that we would find that center and be with Him- God. For this reason we are created in His image. This image is beyond the physical as indicated by being accomplished in both male and female. We are not made to merely crawl on the earth like other creatures, but to commune with God the Creator Himself.
All things are given to us, even that of God giving of Himself to redeem us who have gone astray. He did this when we did not seek Him. When we did not love Him, He loves us. The present tense of God’s love is used because His love has been and always is present, just as He is present and timeless. All else may change and fade, but He remains.
At the end of the day, God looks at all He had made. He blesses mankind and gives them everything- and it was very good!
Genesis 1 20-23 NetBible
On the fifth day living creatures are brought forth, filling the oceans and the air. Here we see the first mention of a blessing. It is bestowed on the creatures that are given life and able to move, except for those who live on the ground. That comes tomorrow, the sixth day.
The blessing is the word of God expressing His will that the life of these creatures is fulfilled to the full measure of His intention. Being fruitful is the first commandment God requires of life. It sounds pretty easy, unless you reach for the wrong tree.
These creatures do not fail to carry out this mission. We can see the effect of His blessing in the number and variety of those wonderful creatures. It should remind us that when we are blessed by God, we are blessed indeed.
Genesis 1 14-19 NetBible
1:14 God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs to indicate seasons and days and years, 1:15 and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so.
Creation is further addressed with attention given to day and night, light and darkness. A source of light is established for the earth, a greater and lesser light. The greater would remain constant, providing the source of light for the earth. The lesser light would wax and wane to mark time, not giving its own light, but reflecting that of the greater.
The lights are created for God’s purposes of life and revelation. They enable life, the reckoning of time, and bring order and rhythm to the earth. They speak to us of the great theme given voice through creation, that of light and darkness, of life and death. Their presence helps us to make sense of creation. They are part of this parable of life that would lead us to true life.
Each day in this account begins with the darkness of night and ends with the light of day. So is it is with our journey here on earth. God plans for all to come to know Him in this way. His Son Jesus came to be the light in the darkness, to bring forth those that would come out of the darkness into the everlasting light. It will come to pass that there will be no need for the lesser light, for all darkness will disappear. The greater light will remain.
Genesis 1 9-13 NetBible
1:9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear.” It was so.
Just as the waters were separated, now attention is turned to the water below. Water is gathered to one place revealing the ground which it had covered. The subsiding water of the flood of Noah echoes this act of creation. The land was created not for its own sake, but for a purpose. It was to bear life, yielding seed and bearing fruit according to their kinds.
Jesus used the analogy of seed and the bearing of fruit on several occasions to speak of the
Genesis 1:6-8 NetBible
1:6 God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water. 1:7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. It was so. 1:8 God called the expanse “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
One we see and one we don’t directly see, but we are able to see the evidence of its existence. Our feet might get wet from an early morning stroll or we seek shelter from an unexpected rain. Both come from something unseen. Life exists in the two, the seen and unseen.
So it is with us. Our body is in plain view, but the spirit is perceived indirectly. Just as heaven and earth speak of the whole of creation, the whole of who we are cannot be understood by focusing on the body alone. We are heaven and earth, spirit and body.
As newborns, we gradually become aware of our bodies. We grow in our awareness and use of this fragile, yet wondrous body. We take delight in many experiences and sensations.
As we mature, we become aware of the unseen part of our existence, that part of us that longs for something undefined, that makes itself known in whispers that are just beyond the natural.
The Word speaks to us, Spirit to spirit. That which we seek is brought forth from heaven and revealed to earth, to us. The two become one.
Gensis 1:2-5 NetBible
1:2 Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water. 1:3 God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light! 1:4 God saw that the light was good, so God separated the light from the darkness. 1:5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day.
Darkness was part of creation from the beginning. Would it be possible to understand darkness or light without both being present? Darkness allows us to see the light. Light exposes the darkness. Darkness harbors disorder and emptiness. Light brings peace and comfort.
God said “Let there be light”, as so it was. He separated light from darkness.
The beginning of the new creation started with Jesus, the light of the world, when He entered into the darkness of our habitation. We are separated from darkness and made children of the light. A new creation ensues. We are reborn in spirit. The curse of Adam has been lifted. Life is separated from death. All of creation will be restored when He returns. For now, the Spirit of God continues to move over the water, at work in this world. His light continues to shine forth, filling the empty heart and molding it in the shape on His perfect Son. Darkness is still with us, but we know the difference. There will come a time when darkness is vanquished forever.
