37 min
Genesis #6: Water and Dust Teaching & News From Eastgate PCB
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- Christianity
Robbie and I were watching a movie some time ago. It was a popular film based on an equally popular novel called “Water for Elephants”. When it was over, Robbie quietly said, “I didn’t like that movie. They never gave that elephant water even once!”
“So you felt misled?” I asked between chortles.
“Yes!” she said, “I waited through that whole movie for them to give that elephant water and they never did, they only gave it whiskey!”
“Hmmm, you have a point. Maybe they should’ve titled it ‘Whiskey for Elephants’, or ‘The Pickled Pachyderm'”?
It really illustrates the point that the expectations we have when watching or reading something really play a huge role in informing our understanding of the work. Robbie has very literal expectations based on the title of that film – but the film had other intentions in mind. That’s the real struggle for us when it comes to Scripture as well. It’s very difficult to set our expectations or pre-loaded assumptions about its meaning aside and let the text say what it wants to say. That is never more true than it is for the first book of the Bible, the Book of Beginnings.
This Sunday we’ll be continuing our study in the opening of Genesis, and we’ll be reading chapter 2:4-7.
Verse four is a “hinge” verse – it concludes the happy picture of chapter 1 and opens the story of chapter 2. You’ll notice a reversal of the order of the subject matter half way through the verse. Take a moment to consider why that might be.
In the opening passage (v5-7) we are presented with a new creation narrative. It begins with disorder – but something is different from chapter 1:2 – in both accounts there is a state of disorder, but in chapter one there’s too much of something and in chapter 2 there’s not enough. What is it, and what might be significant about that?
We’ll dig in to why there seems to be two different creation accounts between chapter 1 and 2.
When we come to the formation of Adam (Hebrew for man or human), we really have to work hard at setting aside all the children’s books we’ve read and pictures we’ve seen represent this, and really meditate on what the text is saying.
We’ll contemplate the nature of humanity, based on this text. We’ll consider God’s activity and motives – and I think we’ll find it very encouraging and challenging as well.
I hope you can join us this Sunday as we take a deep dive into the ancient realm of Genesis!
Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.
Robbie and I were watching a movie some time ago. It was a popular film based on an equally popular novel called “Water for Elephants”. When it was over, Robbie quietly said, “I didn’t like that movie. They never gave that elephant water even once!”
“So you felt misled?” I asked between chortles.
“Yes!” she said, “I waited through that whole movie for them to give that elephant water and they never did, they only gave it whiskey!”
“Hmmm, you have a point. Maybe they should’ve titled it ‘Whiskey for Elephants’, or ‘The Pickled Pachyderm'”?
It really illustrates the point that the expectations we have when watching or reading something really play a huge role in informing our understanding of the work. Robbie has very literal expectations based on the title of that film – but the film had other intentions in mind. That’s the real struggle for us when it comes to Scripture as well. It’s very difficult to set our expectations or pre-loaded assumptions about its meaning aside and let the text say what it wants to say. That is never more true than it is for the first book of the Bible, the Book of Beginnings.
This Sunday we’ll be continuing our study in the opening of Genesis, and we’ll be reading chapter 2:4-7.
Verse four is a “hinge” verse – it concludes the happy picture of chapter 1 and opens the story of chapter 2. You’ll notice a reversal of the order of the subject matter half way through the verse. Take a moment to consider why that might be.
In the opening passage (v5-7) we are presented with a new creation narrative. It begins with disorder – but something is different from chapter 1:2 – in both accounts there is a state of disorder, but in chapter one there’s too much of something and in chapter 2 there’s not enough. What is it, and what might be significant about that?
We’ll dig in to why there seems to be two different creation accounts between chapter 1 and 2.
When we come to the formation of Adam (Hebrew for man or human), we really have to work hard at setting aside all the children’s books we’ve read and pictures we’ve seen represent this, and really meditate on what the text is saying.
We’ll contemplate the nature of humanity, based on this text. We’ll consider God’s activity and motives – and I think we’ll find it very encouraging and challenging as well.
I hope you can join us this Sunday as we take a deep dive into the ancient realm of Genesis!
Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.
37 min