Greg Ford - The Nation
I want to do a little bit of refreshing your memory on some of the things we’ve talked about in this series so far without overdoing it. We are currently in a series called «Cover to Cover.» We’re looking at the totality of the Bible: 66 books, two divisions- the Old Testament and the New Testament. There’s a lot in there, yet we’re really trying to examine the meta-narrative. We want to look at the big picture of the Bible so that at any point, when you’re in one of the many narratives of the Bible, you can attach it to the big picture and understand more fully.
We started talking about the idea that the Bible is, yes, God’s word, but it is also literature, history, and theology. If we don’t keep that in mind, we might not fully grasp the literature of the Bible, and in doing so, we might miss the point we’re supposed to get, which could have major collateral damage. We don’t want to do that, so we’re taking time to kind of bring ourselves up to speed. If you imagine going into Barnes & Noble, you walk around and see all these different sections labeled «Fiction,» «Non — Fiction,» «Poetry,» «Kids' Books,» and all these different things, you know that you don’t read each one of those books the same way. They are a little bit different. The Bible, in many ways, is like that. The more we understand that it is not just this archaic book, but rather a collection of old writings filled with literary artistry, the more we can derive meaning from it.
So we introduced two vocabulary words: the first is «exegesis,» and the second is «hermeneutics.» Exegesis is essentially looking at the literary and historical elements to ask ourselves, «How did the original audience hear this?» We need to do the best we can to tune our ears and minds to what they would have heard at that moment in time.
The second is what we call hermeneutics, which is the nature of interpretation. We’re looking at, «Okay, now that we’ve done our exegetical work of knowing what they would have heard, what should we hear? How does this now apply to us? Is this something we dismiss? Is it something we take action on? Should this form a belief that we build our lives around or not?» That’s kind of the process. If we don’t do this well, I will introduce another vocabulary word we should be cautious of: «isogesis.»
What is isogesis? Isogesis is a bad practice; it is the process of interpreting a text in such a way as to introduce one’s own presuppositions, agendas, or biases. It is commonly referred to as «reading into the text.» So I read the text and make it say what I want it to say because I’ve already decided what I believe. I’ve crystallized my beliefs, so I bring my culture, I bring myself, I bring what I want it to say, and I make it say what I want it to say. It is often done to «prove» a preconceived point of concern and to provide confirmation bias corresponding with that preordained interpretation. We don’t want to do this; this is a bad practice. You don’t want isogesis, as you’ll end up making Jesus into what you want him to be. You’ll end up with an image of Jesus that fits your narrative and worldview.
What you want to do as you’re reading any text is have the discipline to keep this question in front of yourself: «What is the point being made?» So if we were to sit around and wrestle with what is the point of this text, we would want to place that question in front of ourselves, and that’s important in approaching the Bible because the Bible is an Eastern document. Much of it was written in the ancient Near East, where the whole Eastern mindset is different from the Western mindset. They want questions. The Bible is written with much more ambiguity than any of us are comfortable with.
I hate to report that to you, but I’m here to tell you there are a lot of things in the Bible that are just not that clear. Often I hear people say, «You know, the Bible’s very clear that…» and then about nine out of 10 things they mention, the Bible is not nearly as clear about as they think it is. It’s written in a form that is designed to keep questions open and keep conversations alive.
There’s an age-old joke- it’s a rabbi joke. Now you’ll have a rabbi joke in your repertoire. The rabbi joke is: «If you have three rabbis and one scripture, how many interpretations do you have?» The answer is, «No less than 10.» The idea is they want to continue to look at interpretation and keep the conversation alive. In our Western mindset, we want to get the right answer every time and find the right interpretation. Answers tend to shut conversations down. This idea of keeping it open and alive, you’re going to have to get comfortable with it, because it is baked into the style of the writing, particularly in the Old Testament.
That being said, let’s get into it. Last week, I want to put this out there so we don’t forget about it. We looked at the meta-narrative of the Bible, which is outlined in the garden and laid over the whole Bible. It’s the idea of creation: when God created people and the world, He created it to be in right relationship- or what we might call Shalom- peace, wholeness, fulfillment, security, and safety with God, with self, and with each other.
To find security and peace in our relationship with God, to find security in your identity in yourself, and to have fulfillment, wholeness, and peace in our relationships. We see that demonstrated in creation. People are made in the image of God; they know who they are, and they are divinely affirmed. God says that they are very good; it reflects a healthy relationship. They complement one another, they do meaningful work in the world, they experience appropriate pleasure, and they are naked and unashamed; they are secure in their vulnerabilities.
So what happens? Fleshly free will decisions start being made that cause shame, insecurity, and disobedience. Our flesh has appetites and cravings and is prone to confusion. There are things I thought I was right about that I was wrong about. There are things I did for the right reason but acted in the wrong way- that’s part of the liability of the flesh. It is prone to fear; sometimes I’ve done things I thought were justified. I thought it was justice, but actually, I was afraid, and so I acted boldly and hurt people, causing collateral damage.
You have pain, shame, and fear, and now that starts to spill into the world. But we see grace all the way back in the garden- not even waiting until the cross. There was grace in the garden. God said, «If you eat this, you’ll die.» They ate it, and He didn’t kill them right there. He actually covered their shame and gave them a new opportunity in Genesis 4, outside the garden. New life, new opportunity, and restoration.
Alright, now we’re going to look at the first few chapters of Genesis 4, and we’re going to look at it from a literary-historical standpoint and then examine the point being made. Let’s start with this. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about this Cultural Study Bible. You have to get one! We’ve given three away; this is the last week I’m going to bring it up. I really want this for you. If you want to enter the free drawing for the Study Bible, text «Study Bible» to 97,000. We’ll send you a form you can sign up for. I think we had 2,000 people sign up last week, so you have a very slim chance. Just go to Amazon and buy it; it’s 27 bucks. It’s really not that big a deal- the best 27 bucks you’ll spend.
In this Study Bible, before you even get to Genesis 1 and start reading all that, you’re going to see timelines in the Bible, which is awesome because it helps you see the historical element. Here’s where this prophet fits in or how this event fits into the timeline.
The first events outlined in Genesis are creation, the fall, the flood, and the Tower of Babel. That takes us up to Genesis 11. Go ahead and bring this up — this is a screenshot from the timeline that has those four events, and the timing of that is a question mark. In other words, when we get to Abraham, we' ll start to have an idea historically of when this guy lived; there’s some historical documentation. However, in terms of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, and all this, we don’t know when those things took place.
I’m going to give you some ways to maybe make sense of that here in a moment. When you think about interpretation, then we need to consider how we would interpret or how we might handle quotation marks around dialogue or conversation that God has with these people. You have, you know, 3,400 years ago, Moses writing this stuff down, but these are things that have been passed down as oral history for thousands and thousands of years.
Moses wasn’t privy to- he wasn’t an eyewitness to the conversations so to speak between God and Noah or God and Cain and Abel. Therefore, with those quotations, are we supposed to take that as God speaking verbatim? Or are we taking a hermeneutic perspective, which is stepping back and asking, «What is the point being made?» That’s what I would encourage you to do- not to necessarily mince the words in Genesis, but to step back and look at what the big point is.
If we look at Genesis 4, we see the sons of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel. Let’s start reading verse 2: «Abel became a shepherd while Cain cultivated the ground.» Abel is introduced as a shepherd, and Cain cultivated the ground. What you’re going to see in chapter 4 is, at least one of the ways to interpret what the point of chapter 4 is that Moses is giving us a beautiful literary picture of what is really thousands of years of human development.
If you studied the history of mankind, you would see that at one point in human history, people were hunter-gatherers; in other words, they hadn’t really organized the land yet. They were opportunistic: if there was a tree with fruit, they would eat it. If seeds were in the ground, they found out they were edible; that’s how they survived. They hunted animals; you get the idea. From there, they became nomadic herders; they started to begin the process of organizing but were still nomads. Eventually, they became agriculturalists or farmers.
Think about that; that was a huge moment in human history about 12,000 years ago. Most historians would say about that time, people started to realize, «We don’t just have to wander around looking for trees. We can organize our land. We can take seeds and plow and start being proactive about this.» In doing this, they could store up food and have a surplus of food, which led to population booms. As the population boomed, humans began to form cities, and cities eventually evolved into empires.
So that’s the broad strokes- thousands of years of human history. Now, let’s look at this in relation to Genesis 4:2. «So Abel became a shepherd while Cain cultivated the ground.» We see both a shepherd and an agriculturalist. Between Genesis 4:2 and 4:12, there’s this tremendous conflict between the brothers where Cain ultimately murders his brother Abel.
Now, this is a story of two brothers, but it’s really a story of humanity because around that same time, there was a huge struggle- about 12,000 years ago — between these two particular social and economic patterns. It wasn’t just a smooth transition; it was like any social or economic transition: there was a lot of strife and pain.
So again, what’s the point being made? It seems like Moses is telling a story of human history — he’s telling a story of Cain and Abel. But it’s bigger than just about Cain and Abel; it’s about human history.
Now, he has told us about the disobedience in the garden and introduced the psychological and spiritual concept of shame. But now, through Cain and Abel, it’s getting worse. It’s not just that you took some fruit from a tree, but now murder and violence are starting to be introduced. There’s a consequence that God gives to Cain in Genesis 4:16.
It said, «So Cain left God’s presence and settled in the Land of Nod.» Back that up to verse 12. God says to Cain, «From now on, you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.» Now think about that: in verse 2, it talks about nomadic herders; agriculturalists; then in verse 12, God says, «You’ll be a homeless wanderer on the earth.»
In verse 16, it says, «So Cain left the Lord’s presence and settled in the Land of Nod.» If you had this Study Bible, like I’ve been encouraging you to get, you would see a footnote. You’d read that footnote at the bottom, and see that the name «Nod» is actually the word for «wanderer» or «wandering.»
Again, it’s a little literary tip of the cap that Moses puts in there: that God said, «You’re going to be a wanderer because of your sin,» and then he ends up going to a land called «Wanderer» east of Eden.
Then verse 17 — look at this- «Then Cain founded a city which he named Enoch after his son.» So what you have here is essentially thousands of years of human history summarized in this one family relationship. You have hunter-gatherers in the garden, nomadic herders, agriculturalists, farmers, and now city dwellers defined there.
Then through the genealogy, it starts to mention the descendants of Cain. Some of his descendants begin to raise livestock and live in tents, talking about creating habitats. You know, the idea of organizing a farm. He talks about how some of his descendants were the first to play the harp and the flute. Again, it’s not about these specific instruments; he’s talking about the creation of music and art in human history.
Then it says some became experts in forging tools of bronze and iron. Again, this is technology; technology making it so that we can make plows, and eventually, the same technology that they use to make plows would be used to create weapons that ultimately lead to empires.
If you keep flipping through, you’re going to get to a big genealogy in Genesis 5. The genealogy is significant; it’s something you’d probably want to study the genre of at some point. Genealogies help symbolize the passage of time; that’s one of their big elements.
We tend to take genealogies at face value, but their purpose is often not to give you accurate years. A lot of times, the numbers are symbolic, and it doesn’t necessarily mean this person begot that person. There may have been people in between, but it’s naming significant characters.
The point here is that Moses is giving a cosmology of the beginning of the world. This is how the cosmos was created by God: here’s the purpose, and then a broad stroke of human history. The fact that sin is beginning to enter the world is a big part of the point.
Genesis 6:5 says, «The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.» So what do we make of that? Is he saying that all these people on earth never had a good thought or did something good? No, he’s using hyperbole here to give us a vivid picture.
Throughout all these eras, as the population grew, cities developed, empires were formed, metal was forged to make plows, but they also made weapons. The fall was going wild! The flesh was running free, and people had fear, cravings, appetites, and impulses- it was a cascading issue.
So the more that cities and technology improved, actually, the more pain there was. It was inversely proportionate; it was actually getting worse. There’s more sin, more hurt, and more flesh in the world. That leads up to the flood, and then eventually we find the Tower of Babel in chapter 11, which again represents the rise of the empire.
So now, in 11 chapters of Genesis, we have a contrast between what God intended for the purpose of the world he created and humanity, which was to bring Shalom to the world: peace with God, peace with each other, and peace with ourselves- wholeness and fulfillment.
But what had it become? A place of tremendous brokenness. There was chaos, a lot of pain, and back to the meta-narrative. We see through those 11 chapters how deep the fall had become.
God- back to the meta-narrative of redemption- says, «I want to redeem the world.» In Genesis 12, this is the creation of the nation. Today’s message is really about the nation. God sets the nation, creates the nation of Israel, and sets them apart for a purpose.
Why is He doing it? His goal is to bring Shalom to the earth. So He has to do something in the midst of this chaos. In Genesis 12, this is God’s covenant with Abraham. He says in Genesis 12:2, «I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.»
In verse 3, He says, «I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt.» Don’t miss this; this is huge. He says, «All the families on earth will be blessed through you.» I’m going to set you apart, and you’re going to see a lot of things in the next couple of weeks that we talk about- God is setting them apart.
He says, «I’m pulling you out of the chaos, I’m pulling you out of the empire, I’m pulling you out of the fall. I want to do a redemptive work.» He says, «I’ll bless you, but I’ll bless through you. I want to bring Shalom to the earth.»
I haven’t given up hope; I love people because I love people. I want to be in a right relationship with them and for them to be in right relationship with me. I want them to know who they are and feel secure in themselves. I want them to be in a right relationship with each other. That doesn’t mean we don’t have conflict; that doesn’t mean that free wills won’t collide.
But I want them to find peace with each other, to live in that place of Shalom. So that’s God’s purpose for the nation. He says, «I’m going to set you apart, but understand I’m doing it to bring you out of this chaos, and I want to reestablish something in you.»
I’m going to give you a nation, land, and law, and all of this is not to make you a bigger empire and a better empire than everyone else. I’m actually making you fundamentally operate differently and demonstrate this in the world so that the brokenness around you will see that this is how it’s supposed to be- that’s how God intended it to be.
The idea behind separating them and pulling them out- «I’m going to bless the world through you.» What does it mean to bless the world through them? To bring Shalom- peace with God, peace with yourself, and peace with others- fulfillment, contentment, and security in those three areas.
Well, spoiler alert: it doesn’t go that smoothly. Over time, there’s so much humanity involved; there’s so much fall in the flesh. And yet God continues to be patient and faithful to redeem and restore.
I want to show you one important juncture. It’s in 1 Samuel 8. This is when the nation has come through the 450 years of judges, and they want a king. The elders of Israel go to Samuel and ask him for a king. I want you to pay close attention to this language. Based on everything we’ve talked about, look at this:
1 Samuel 8:5 says, «They demand, 'Now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.'» Think about that, based on God’s covenant with Abraham — «I’m making you a great nation to set you apart.»
But instead of looking to God for what He wants to do to set them apart, to be different from the world — to cause them to stand out from the world- the nation' s leaders looked around. They saw the prosperity, wealth, military power, and economic advancement of the other nations, and they said, «We want what they have! We want a king!»
In 1 Samuel 8:11, He warns them and says, «This is what a king who will reign over you will claim as his rights.» Now look at this Garden language — look at this Genesis language: «He will take.» This is what humans do in a fallen state: they take.
What did Adam and Eve do at the tree they weren’t supposed to eat from? They had all these trees. They had plenty to be content. They had good relationships and good work, but it wasn' t good enough. So they went and took the fruit and took matters into their own hands and did what was right in their own eyes.
He says, «If you do this, you’re going to give a king this power, and that power is going to inflame his flesh.» When he does, he will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses. They’ll run in front of his chariots. Instead of bringing Shalom to the earth, he’ll become a warmonger, and he’ll do it at your son’s expense.
He will put them on the front lines. Verse 12, «Some he will assign to commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties; others will plow his ground and reap his harvest; still others will make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.»
Look at this verse 13: «He will take-» how many times does it say «He will take?» — «He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.» Verse 14: «He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants.»
Verse 15: «He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants- your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use.» Verse 17: «He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.»
When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen. Verse 19: «But the people refused to listen to Samuel. No,» they said. «We want a king over us!» Then we will be like all the other nations — with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.
So what did they do? They took on the culture of the world around them and became hungry for conquest to be an empire, instead of ultimately bringing Shalom to the earth, which is why God made them a nation to begin with.
I want you to bring Shalom to the earth; I want you to bring fulfillment, security, and safety. And of course, they don’t listen. So what happens is, like anyone who just fights all the time, they’re constantly at war, constantly insecure, being passed from nation to nation.
Eventually, the prophets begin to prophesy a future day. They say someday — someday God is going to bring Shalom to the earth. You start to get symbols in the Old Testament like, «Someday the lion and the lamb will lie down together.» Someday, the weapons for war will be melted down and crafted into pruning hooks; they’ll be made into plows because we won’t need to fight.
He’s describing not a utopia, but Shalom — that there will be peace with God, peace with self, and peace with each other. Look at how Isaiah the prophet, when he ultimately prophesies Jesus, says: «For unto us, a child is born; to us, a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father- look at this- Prince of Shalom!»
So here’s what we make of this. We look at the covenant with the nation, the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 12, and we reach back into the garden to understand why God wanted to do this: because He was trying to bring the good world He created into good order, to restore and redeem it, and to bring Shalom to the earth.
God loves people. He has always loved people. He wants to be in right relationship with them, for them to be in right relationship with each other. Jesus, by the way, in the high priestly prayer before he goes to the cross, he prays, «Father, I pray that they may be one as you and I are one.»
He’s always loved people, and He wants them to be in right relationship- for them to be in right relationship with themselves and each other in their world. It prophesies ultimately to Jesus.
When Jesus comes to earth again, he begins talking about this in Matthew 5:9: «Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.» John 14:27 says, «Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.»
In John 16:33, he says, «I’ve told you these things so that in me you may find peace. In this world, you will have trouble.» This is a fallen world; there’s a lot of flesh out here, a lot of chaos, a lot of selfishness, confusion, and shortsightedness.
There’s a lot of attacking and pain and suffering. He says, «In the world, you will have trouble, but take heart; I’ve overcome the world.» In me, you find Shalom; you find peace.
So we reach back to the garden, we look through the nation, we examine Jesus, and the purpose of the church is to be the body of Christ, to demonstrate this in our world.
Now, at the same time, we maintain hope for something God’s going to do in the future.
Alright, let’s pray together. Lord, we come to you in Jesus' name. We thank you for the fact that you do love people, and we see that demonstrated from the beginning of time. We see it demonstrated poetically, in narrative form, and through a longing for Jesus — through the person and work of Jesus.
We’ve accepted that today for ourselves. In fact, if that’s you today, I just want to encourage you to take a moment to receive the love of God. Allow this awareness, this truth about Him, to give you grace right now- to receive His grace and His peace, His forgiveness, regardless of how far you’ve fallen.
Lord, it’s that restoration and redemption of our relationship with you that then impacts and informs how we think about ourselves and how we think about the people around us. It’s not hard for us to see how that would turn into a really healthy community, a healthy church built on Shalom.
So help us to do that, Lord-to demonstrate that in the world. Help us, Lord, to be proactive in the work we do here and at the same time, Lord, anticipating what you’re going to do in the future. We love you and praise you. In Jesus' name, everybody said, «Amen.»