Thought of the Day: Mercy in Scripture: Creation
Mercy in Scripture
A.
Creation
Man
had received a two-fold grace in creation: the grace of life as a creature and
the grace of shared life with God as his adopted son. Man's response to these
love gifts was non love or the absence of love, sin. God's response was justice
and mercy.
1.
Justice, the
consequences of sin:
a) separation from God, expressed
twofold:
1) they hid themselves from God: Genesis
3:8 "And when they had heard the voice of the Lord God taking a walk in
Paradise in the afternoon breeze, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the
face of the Lord God in the midst of the trees of Paradise."
2) God put them outside the Garden of
Paradise. Genesis 3:23 "And so the
Lord God sent him away from the Paradise of enjoyment, in order to work the
earth from which he was taken."
of their nakedness, expressed twofold:
1)
they clothed
themselves: Genesis 3:7 "And the
eyes of them both were opened. And when they realized themselves to be naked, they joined together
fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.
2) Adam accused Eve: Genesis 3:12
"And Adam
said, ‘The
woman, whom you gave to me as a
companion, gave to me from the tree, and I ate.'"
c) separation from creation:
1) Eve accused the serpent-tempter: Genesis 3:13 "And the Lord God said to the woman, 'Why have you
done this?' And she responded, 'The serpent deceived
me, and I ate.'"
2) new difficulties of human life in relationship to nature:
Genesis 3:16 "To the woman,
he also said: ' I will multiply your labors and your conceptions. In pain shall
you give birth to sons, and you shall be under your
husband’s power, and he shall have dominion over
you.'" Genesis 3:19 To Adam God said, "By the sweat
of your face shall you eat bread, until you return to the
earth from which you were taken. For dust you are, and
unto dust you shall return.”
woman what they deserved, eternal alienation
from
him, but what they did not deserve, the promise of a
future restoration by
a future Savior who would be born
of a woman and who would defeat the
pseudo-power of
Satan over creation and restore their descendants back
to God
as an adopted sons
and daughters. Genesis
3:15 “I will put enmity between
you and the woman, and
between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your
head, while you strike at his heel.”
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