Kruse Kronicle

Reprise: Genesis 12-50 and Illusions

I have been writing about “illusion” for the last six weeks within the context of the book of Genesis. I have more Bible study to share later, though maybe not as in depth as I have been doing with Genesis. Having reached the end of the book I thought I would suggest some of the themes I have seen as I have studied the book. You will find a link to my posts on this topic at the end of this post. I conclude at least the following.

* God created us to be in loving relationship with him.

* There are evil forces at work that want to destroy that relationship.

* The primary means of destroying the loving relationship is to trap humanity into seeing a false image of God and flaming the passion within us to be our own gods. We become deluded in our minds.

* Apart from God there is no meaning and purpose for existence. We either can not find God because we are cut off from him or we chose not to find God because of the implications it would have for us. We are between a rock and hard place.

* Our solution to our dilemma is to create a powerful enough illusion to reinforce our delusions of autonomy. The illusion will also characterize God as someone other than who he is. The most symbolic representation of this illusion project is the city. Enoch and Babel being the most significant examples in Genesis.

* God reaches “down” to us with a promise to restore the relationship between humanity and him. (i.e., Jacob’s ladder)

* The plans of God can not be thwarted as evidenced over and over again in the stories of Genesis. God is sovereign.

* While not fully revealed in Genesis, the first signs are present about God’s intended means of returning humanity to himself: Disillusion. He will dispel human illusions so we may see him for who he is and how much he desires to be in relationship with us.

Are there others? I hope this study has been meaningful so far.

Here is a link to the post dealing with Genesis 12-50:

Tale of Two Cities
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Magical City
Going West
Melchizedek
Inconceivable!
God Will Provide
Isaac’s Failing Vision
God Gets the Last Laugh
Stairway to Earth
Jacob's Prayer
Jacob or Israel
Jacob's "Safe" Option
Jacob Returns
Joseph

For links to posts dealing with the first eleven chapters of Genesis:

Reprise

Joseph

My illusion posts have carried through the first 35 chapters of Genesis. The remaining Genesis chapters tell the story of Joseph. It is a very rich and multi-layered story. I am not going to probe this story but I do want to make two observations.

The scheming, deception, and mind games in the story are ….. well …. of biblical proportions. The key verses in the whole saga for me is 50:19-20. Joseph’s brothers, upon the death of their father, are fearful of what Joseph might do to them. Joseph assures them.

Gen 50:19-20 NRSV

19 But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? 20 Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.

Joseph began as a cocky spoiled brat. God gave him a dream of the future where he would be in authority. You have to wonder if Joseph would have been so thrilled about the dream if he knew what he would go through on the way to the dreams fulfillment. At the end of the journey he could look back and see God’s involvement in every aspect. It appears that as he matured he was disillusioned from his youthful arrogance and found his identity in God.

Finally, back in Genesis 10, we counted seventy nations that had filled the earth. Seven and ten were perfect numbers and seven multiplied by ten signified a large perfect number. In Genesis 46, we find the following:

Gen 46:27 NRSV

27 The children of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two; all the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy.

Scholars believe that “seventy persons” refers back to the seventy nations in Genesis 10. Israel was to become a symbol, a microcosm of what God intended for the whole world. The seventy people represented the seventy nations and Gods plan to bless them all. Symbolically, the whole world had become refugees from their home (symbolized by Israel entering Egypt.) But one day God would miraculously bring them home to a place he had promised (From Egypt to Canaan through the Red Sea.) A foreshadowing of things to come?

Jacob Returns

Gen 35:1-7 NRSV

1 God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau." 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes; 3 then come, let us go up to Bethel, that I may make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone." 4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak that was near Shechem.

5 As they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities all around them, so that no one pursued them. 6 Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, 7 and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.

Jacob retuned to Bethel both physically and spiritually. This had been Jacob’s destination all along until fear gripped him and diverted his journey. He decided to play it “safe.” The “safety” nearly destroyed his family as they were seduced by foreign Gods and lifestyles. Instead of being peaceful shepherds in the land they became feared aggressors. God called to Jacob once again in the midst of the disaster. God called him back to where it started.

Jacob began with repentance. The narrator foreshadows rituals found in the Mosaic Law. Jacob required the clan to put away their foreign gods literally and figuratively. The people responded. Jacob disposed of the idols and thereby resumed his role of authority. They put on clean clothes symbolizing a life of purity. Having repented (turned around) Jacob headed to Bethel.

Jacob built an altar upon arrival and named the place El-Bethel. I wrote earlier that Bethel meant “house of God.” The new name essentially meant “God of the house of God.” Jacob had come to the realization that God was not confined to a place. No shrine or temple could contain him.

Jacob had departed from God’s call out of fear. The fear created a delusion in his own mind that it would be safer to go other then where God was leading. He bought into the illusion of safety even as family was being lured to spiritual death by embracing foreign gods and lifestyles. So numbed was Jacob that he had become indifferent to the horrifying assault on his daughter. God apparently used the vengeful wrath of his Jacob’s sons to snap the spell Jacob was under. God disillusioned him. God called Jacob on to the reality he had in store. Jacob repented and followed. He realized it was the only “safe” thing to do.

Jacob's "Safe" Option

The next scene in Jacob’s life was his encounter with Esau. He was relieved that Esau had welcomed him but he resisted Esau’s attempts to hurry Jacob along the journey home and declined an offer of men to help in the journey. Jacob was now free to continue his journey. He could fulfill his vow to return to Bethel and then on to his father’s home. But after Esau left, we read:

Gen 33:16-20 NRSV

16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 17 But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house, and made booths for his cattle; therefore the place is called Succoth.

18 Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram; and he camped before the city. 19 And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, he bought for one hundred pieces of money the plot of land on which he had pitched his tent. 20 There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

Succoth was a short distance from Penuel and where Jacob encountered Esau. It was still east of the Jordan River. Jacob evidently stayed there a period of time since a built a home and shelters for his livestock. Finally, he moved but he went due west across the Jordan to Shechem instead of south and west toward Bethel and his Father. He bought land that was within the sight of the city. Jacob apparently thought this was a safer option.

Sometime after settling at Shechem (maybe a decade) we encounter a disturbing story. Jacob’s daughter Dinah ventured out to meet some of the Canaanite women. (A young woman traveling alone was dangerous. Where was Jacob’s oversight?) She was raped by Shechem, son of Hamor, who decided he wanted her for his wife. Hamor and Shechem showed no sense of shame. Jacob’s sons were incensed but Jacob showed a stunning degree of indifference and just wanted to smooth things over.

Jacob’s sons devised a treaty that required the men of Shechem to become circumcised. When the men of Shechem obliged, Jacob’s sons Simeon and Levi attacked the incapacitated men in the town and killed them all, including Hamor and Shechem, and plundered the city. It was reminiscent of Lamech’s “Seven fold Vengeance.”

It is significant that Jacob did not follow God’s leading and proceed to the appointed destination. He lapsed into passive emotional numbness seeking safety by avoiding Easu and his father. Jacob failed to give direction and leadership. His family was becoming polluted by their surrounding environment. His daughter had been violated and his sons had become bloodthirsty killers. Safety? The events at Shechem were a wake up call.

Jacob or Israel

The same night as Jacob’s prayer at Penuel, Jacob had yet another encounter with God.

Gen 32:22-32 NRSV

22 The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. 24 Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." 27 So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." 28 Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed." 29 Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved." 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket, because he struck Jacob on the hip socket at the thigh muscle.

There are many different takes on this story. What we do know is that Jacob was born clutching Esau's heel. Jacob struggled with Esau and prevailed. Then Jacob struggled with Laban and won. At the time of this encounter, he had just sent everyone on ahead of him and was standing alone. It was then that he was confronted a mysterious opponent who wrestled with him through the night. Some have suggested that this was Esau and others an angel of God. The passages itself seems to indicate God himself in some limited human form.

Jacob wrestled through the night, demonstrating his perseverance and stamina. These were worthy traits that had served him well. Yet with one touch, God injured his hip joint, the key point of strength for a wrestler. God took away his strength, both physically and metaphorically. Immediately Jacob initiated a verbal struggle with God as he grabbed hold of God and demanded a blessing. Jacob’s perseverance went from reliance on his own abilities to boldness in weakness. He saw the face of God and lived.

The name Jacob means “supplanter” or “deceiver.” Jacob had been under the illusion he could always prevail by using his cunning and skill. God removed the illusion. God said his new name was Israel which means “wrestles with God” (and wins His blessing.) Jacob now recognized true victory was through bold reliance on God. The illusion of self-reliance was gone. For his physical and spiritual descendants, there has been an endless struggle over which name to claim: Jacob or Israel.

Jacob's Prayer

Yesterday I wrote of Jacob’s encounter with God at Penuel. Jacob proceeded from there to the home of his uncle Laban. Laban and Jacob ended up in a game deception in which Jacob prevailed. After one last deception Jacob fled in anticipation of Laban’s anger. Laban pursued Jacob but no harm came as the two made a covenant.

At this point Jacob could no longer return to Laban and his hostile brother Esau was ahead of him. Jacob learned he had reason to be alarmed because Esau was indeed coming out to meet him with a large party. At the Jabbok River, during the night, Jacob decided to send gifts ahead, send family ahead, and then he would follow behind. But he also prayed the following:

Gen 32:9-12 NRSV

9 And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, and I will do you good,' 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan; and now I have become two companies. 11 Deliver me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him; he may come and kill us all, the mothers with the children. 12 Yet you have said, 'I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted because of their number.'"

Jacob invoked God. He acknowledged his own failing. He asked for God’s intervention based on the promise God had given him. Finally, he expressed his confidence and hope in God. Jacob transcended what seemed from a human perspective to be a hopeless situation. He chose to believe God.

This was the first and only prayer of real substance recorded in the Genesis and it symbolizes the growing awareness by Jacob that he has a relationship with God. But the night had just begun for Jacob.

Stairway to Earth

Gen 28:10-22 NRSV

10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And the LORD stood beside him and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14 and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 15 Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place -- and I did not know it!" 17 And he was afraid, and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you."

Esau was not pleased about being duped out of his blessing. Isaac blessed Jacob again and sent him to Paddan Aram (and away from Esau) to find a wife. It was on this journey that Jacob had an amazing encounter with God at the royal Canaanite city of Luz.

I wrote about the attempt to build a tower to heaven at Babel (Gate of God) in earlier posts. They intended to name themselves and take authority over their own lives. The word translated “ladder” here is a little obscure in its meaning and could mean “stairway.” Indeed, a common image in Mesopotamia was of people ascending a stairway from the netherworld up to heaven. (Where do you think Led Zeppelin got the idea for their song “Stairway to Heaven?”) This also relates to ziggurat (temple of stairways) built at Babel.

Key to the dream is verse 12 where it says the “ladder was set up on earth,” which has the clear connotation that it was placed on the earth from heaven. God was reaching down to humanity! The angels moving up and down the ladder symbolized the pre-fall exchange between God and humanity. It is in the midst of this dream that Jacob learns that all of humanity is to be blessed through him. But there is more.

Jacob was in the middle of the city of Luz. He was on the run with Esau behind him and uncertain prospects in front of him. His life to this point had been one of scheming, conflict, and struggle. To his astonishment, God broke in and revealed Jacob's true location both geographically and within God’s story. Babel was Babylonian for “Gate of God,” but it was a gate humanity was building to bring down God. Jacob calls Bethel the “Gate of God” because he saw it as the place where God was breaking through to reach down to humanity. Jacob was called out of the human “eternal present” into the future God had in store.

God disillusioned Jacob about his plight and called Jacob into a divine plan. The illusion had been exposed.

God Gets the Last Laugh

I have friends who live on the Arabian Peninsula. I got to spend some time with them awhile back. The told me of rather ironic thing happening in the Mid-East. Last year, Mel Gibson released his movie The Passion of the Christ. As you will recall, much of the press leading up to the movie chastised Gibson for his “anti-Semitic” portrayal of the events. Arab and Muslim leaders approved the showing of the movie based on the assumption that this would be the case. A cottage industry pirating copies of the movie sprung up everywhere.

My friends tell me that many Muslims are captivated by the movie and it has sparked more sincere discussions about Jesus than anything else they have seen. Personally, I thought the film was good but not exceptional. But it was hardly anti-Semitic. I conclude that many who objected on the movies release in the US had political agendas that had little to do with movie. Yet their opposition and attempts to censor the movie actually resulted in millions of Muslims seeing the movie who otherwise would not have seen it. Once the movie was out there was no way to bring back under wraps. A God thing? It wouldn’t be the first time less-than-noble human efforts were incorporated into God’s plans.

Yesterday I wrote about Jacob receiving Isaac’s blessing through deception. Think about the key players in that story. First there is Esau who sells his birthright for a meal and latter marries Hittite women. (Hittite women were known to bring their household gods into a marriage while Aramean women adopted the gods of their husbands. Esau was not to marry a Hittite.) Second, there is the “wonderful” relationship between Rebekah and Isaac that prompts her to scheme behind his back. Third, there is Jacob who steals Esau’s birthright and then unabashedly lies to his father to get the blessing. Fourth, there is Isaac who knows what Esau has done and tries to bless him anyway. No one comes off smelling like a rose in this story. Yet God accomplishes his plan.

God’s vision can not be thwarted. The name "Isaac" means laughter but in this case it is God who got the last laugh. It gives me courage to know that even when I mess up and see the Church acting dysfunctional that it can not stop God’s plan.

Isaac’s Failing Vision

Gen 27:18-29 NRSV

18 So he [Jacob] went in to his father, and said, "My father"; and he said, "Here I am; who are you, my son?" 19 Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless me." 20 But Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" He answered, "Because the LORD your God granted me success." 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not." 22 So Jacob went up to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 23 He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him. 24 He said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He answered, "I am." 25 Then he said, "Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son's game and bless you." So he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near and kiss me, my son." 27 So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said,

"Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed. 28 May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. 29 Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!"

Isaac had a promising beginning. First there was his miraculous birth to Sarah. Then came his obedience in the face of death. Later was his marriage to Rebekah by divine guidance. Still later, came his trust in God to deliver Rebekah from her bareness. (Once again the God of the inconceivable brought about what barren humanity could not.) Finally, there was the transmission of Abraham’s blessing to Isaac. But something went wrong.

Genesis 27:1 says “When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, …” Apparently it wasn’t only his physical vision that had faded. As the oldest son, Esau it was assumed that it would be through him that God would fulfill his promise. Esau was a great hunter and Genesis 25:28 says, “Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.” But what of Esau’s character?

First, we know that Esau despised his birthright by selling to Jacob for a meal. Second, we know from Genesis 26:34-35, “When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite; and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.” The promised line was to come only through the parentage of Abraham’s tribe. Knowing all of this, Isaac still planned to bless Esau.

Isaac had deluded himself in to believing he could bless Esau. Isaac was confronted with an illusion of Jacob impersonating Esau that complemented Isaac’s delusion. If the blessing was meant for Esau, could God not have stopped the charade? Not only did Isaac loose his physical sight but he lost sight of God’s vision. Nevertheless God's plan prevailed.

God Will Provide

Gen 22:1-18 NRSV

1 After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you." 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you." 6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, "Father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8 Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.

9 When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 12 He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." 13 And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."

15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, "By myself I have sworn, says the LORD: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies, 18 and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice."

There are so many rich aspects to this story. The foreshadowing of God sacrificing his son as a substitute for our sin is especially powerful. Isaac, the one through whom all Israel will descend and all the nations of the earth will blessed, receives a death sentence. But God intervenes and provides a substitute, just as the nation and the world are sentenced to death through sin and God provides his son as the substitute.

The key point I want to emphasize is Abraham’s action. Cain, as well as the people at Babel , sought to create a civilization. The wanted a sense of immortality apart from God. In contrast, Abraham followed where God led. He circumcised his people. He waited patiently for his son Isaac, the child of promise. He finally had his son Isaac. Sacrificing Isaac was not just giving up a son. From a human perspective, it was giving up Abraham’s hope of immortality. Yes he had Ishmael, but Isaac was the one who would make him “immortal.” For one trapped in the “eternal present” mirage of human culture, God was asking the unthinkable.

There is no evidence that Abraham ever flinched. He did not tell Sarah and he did not tell his servants what he is up to when they reached the place of sacrifice. It seems likely they would have given opposition. Isaac did not resist upon discovery of his fate, apparently sensing that it was all of God.

The choice Abraham had was between the gift and the giver. Cain and Babel chose the gift and rebelled against the giver. They created illusions to justify their behavior. Abraham chose the giver and opted to believe that his human knowledge was illusion. He trusted God would do what he promised and in spite of the illusions.

So Abraham called that place "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."

Inconceivable!

One of my favorite movie quotes is when Vizzini in the Princess Bride keeps exclaiming, “Inconceivable!” One thing after the other happened that was counter to his expectation. His mind was too barren to conceive of the possibilities.

God made his intention clear that he intended to make a great nation of Abraham’s descendants (Gen. 15-18). However, his wife Sarah, barren all her life, is well advanced in years and beyond child bearing age.

Gen 18:9-15 NRSV

9 They [the messengers] said to him, "Where is your wife Sarah?" And he said, "There, in the tent." 10 Then one said, "I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?" 13 The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' 14 Is anything too wonderful for the LORD? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son." 15 But Sarah denied, saying, "I did not laugh"; for she was afraid. He said, "Oh yes, you did laugh."

The idea that Sarah could give birth was laughable. Thus the name “Isaac” which means laughter. It was inconceivable both biologically and conceptually.

Who could have imagined that Sarah would have a child? All evidence of the past and all understanding of biology would have said it was impossible for this old barren woman to give birth. In the same way, who could imagine that anything would change for humanity? All evidence was to the contrary. The present was what always had been and seemed always would be. Humanity was barren of true life. It was the illusion of the eternal present. But then God entered the picture and God is the God of the inconceivable.

Melchizedek

Gen 14:17-24 NRSV

17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). 18 And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. 19 He blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!"

And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything. 21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself." 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have sworn to the LORD, God Most High, maker of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, 'I have made Abram rich.' 24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me -- Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share."

Chedorlaomer one was of a group of Kings that raided Canaan. Among his partners was Amraphel, King of Shinar. They took Abraham’s Nephew Lot captive, along with all his relatives and servants. Abraham went in pursuit, defeated the raiders, and brought back Lot with all his people and possessions. Upon returning, the local kings turned out to greet him but there was one king of particular interest.

Melchizedek was the priest-king “of the most high God” from Salem, the region neighboring the area where the raid took place. Melchizedek blessed Abraham and Abraham acknowledged this priest-king’s authority by giving an offering. No one really knows much about Melchizedek except for what we are told in Hebrews 7. There are many intriguing aspects about Melchizedek but there is one issue in particular I want to emphasize here.

Melchizedek was outside the Christian Covenant and the Jewish Covenant, and yet he was considered a priest of the “most high God.” He was so important a priest, that Abraham, the father of the Jewish Covenant, paid homage to him. How many other Melchizedek’s were there at the time? How many followers were there? What was the nature of their priesthood and relationship to God?

The story of Scripture, as we soon will see, is God attempting to disillusion people so they may come into relationship with Him. As a Christian, I believe the normative way individuals come to God is by disciples of Jesus introducing others to Jesus. But clearly the Jews before Christ came to God based only on the promise that God would provide a way without ever knowing Jesus by name.

This passage (and later others) suggest that there were others who were in relationship with God outside the Jewish Covenant. As a Christian, I believe it is only by the grace of God, through the work of Jesus Christ, that anyone (all inclusive) comes into relationship with God. But I am doubtful that some who know God, know Jesus by name, or what Jesus has done for them. It was true in the Old Testament and there is no reason to believe it is otherwise today.

This issue of how God transforms us raises two potential dangers for me. The first is to believe that only those who know Jesus by name can be redeemed. Combined with this is the seductive idea that because I know Jesus, I have no illusions. Conversely, those that don’t know Jesus live totally in illusions.

The second danger is to believe that Jesus is irrelevant to human redemption and disillusionment. God preserved the Testaments for a reason. They allow us to know how to enter the story. We are to invite others to abandon human illusions and join in the story. As we share the story with others who haven’t heard, Gods light may shine through them to teach us about illusions we harbor. We need confidence in revelation combined with humility about possible illusions of our own we have yet to confront. God may have much work to do in us as we share the story with others.

Going West

Gen 11:31-12:7 NRSV

11:31 Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 The days of Terah were two hundred five years; and Terah died in Haran.

12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother's son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

Many people are aware that Abraham was the father of the Jews. What many don’t know is where Abraham came from. The city of Ur was in Chaldea, in Shinar, now in the southern part of modern day Iraq. Ur was the major commercial and worship center of the time. The people of Ur worshiped the moon-god Sin.

The city of Haran was located in what is now southeast Turkey, just north of the Syrian border. The people of Haran also worshiped Sin, which may explain why Terah stopped there, since Haran was the only other city known to have worshiped this deity. It is implied that Terah and the clan were called by God to go to Canaan since it says that is where they were headed before Abraham was given instruction by God to continue the journey.

Three things. First, God called Abraham out of “the city” into the land of Canaan. Second, God didn’t call Abraham out of just any city. God called him out of a preeminent political and commercial city in Shinar in Abraham’s day. Third, God called Abraham from out of the east toward the west, possibly signifying a move of humanity toward fulfillment.

Magical City

I loved magicians when I was a kid. I remember watching Blackstone on television. Later David Copperfield came along. I remember seeing magicians at parties and events. It was always fun to watch. But then in high school I met a guy who did magic tricks. He showed me how a few tricks were done. I always knew that magic wasn’t real (at least that is my story and I am sticking to it), but there is something both eye opening and disappointing when the trick is exposed. The illusion no longer works. You can't go back to the illusion.

I learned from my magician friend that the key to being a good magician is to divert the audience’s attention from what you are really doing by attracting their attention elsewhere. It is also helpful if the audience wants to see an illusion. They want the illusions to work. That is why it is often helpful to build rapport with crowd so they will willingly follow where you are leading.

The city, symbolic of human culture, is the same. Diversion from reality must be achieved at all cost. The dilemma between being unable to enter God’s presence and the futility of living without God’s presence must not become known. Therefore, an illusion of orderliness and safety is created. Institutions, rituals, myths, and philosophies develop that reinforce the validity of the illusion. Work, no matter how degrading or inhumane, is the unquestioned duty demanded by the city for the order it brings.

It is not necessary the illusion be effective with everyone or with every person all the time. It is sufficient that the great majority buy the illusion most of the time. Ultimately, the city must keep the community in an "eternal present" for to suggest that there is an alternate reality in the future would call into the legitimacy of the city today. Whatever future change there will be, must defined as an extension and expansion of the city’s values. Therefore, talk of alternate futures, instilling hope in alternate futures, is deeply subversive. It could bring the illusion crumbling to the ground and release people from their numbing complicity in the illusion. Those that talk of alternate futures most be isolated as insane. If they can not be so isolated they must be defined as evil and repressed.

I have said that God’s plan is to redeem the city and make it his. This enterprise has at least three aspects to it. First, is the revelation that the door to God is not closed. The dilemma so fearfully being avoided is really no dilemma at all. There is a way home. Second, destruction of the illusion and exposure of those who perpetuate the illusion because of the privilege and power they receive from it. Third, freedom from the delusion in the hearts of individuals that keeps them fearful and rebellious, wanting to embrace the illusion.

God is on a mission. He begins in a place called Ur of the Chaldees.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time; and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." William Shakespeare--From Macbeth (V, v, 19)

Is this not the description of life apart from God? Life under these circumstances would be unbearable and unsustainable. The despair and futility would be too much. This leaves us in a dilemma. We could return to the truth or we can manufacture our own gods. Either way, there are insurmountable problems.

First, how can we possibly return to God? We have defiantly rejected God and there is no way for us to make amends. Even if we could find a way into God’s presence, we may find ourselves before a being so powerful that merely looking at his face destroys us.

Second, any god we chose to create is a fiction. It is an illusion. To the degree we wholeheartedly buy into the illusion we are deluded. To the degree we disengage from illusion we come to Shakespeare’s realization that life “…is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Humanity is truly between Scylla and Charybdis, a rock and a hard place. Woody Allen once said, "More than any time in history, mankind now faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly." So what shall we do?

We will build Babel. We will delude ourselves by building a powerful illusion that will divert our attention from the rock and the hard place.

Tale of Two Cities

The first eleven chapters in Genesis tell us about two important cities. Enoch was built by Cain and Babel by Nimrod. Both were cities built as shelters by cursed people who had been wandering the earth. Cities throughout most places and times have been places not only of shelter but of power and worship. They have been the pinnacle of human existence. The cities provide order amidst chaos and meaning amidst futility. Cities have also been the ultimate expression of rebellion and defiance toward God.

Names of cities often tell us much as we have seen with Enoch and Babel. The city itself becomes a symbol. One of the first widely regarded sociological studies was Elementary Forms of Religious Life written by Emile Durkheim in 1912. Durkheim described how ancient cultures identified something in nature as symbolic of their values. For example, a lion might stand for strength, or an eagle for freedom. Images of these symbols were carved in stone and wood. These symbols, or totems, become objects of worship. Some cultures created super human entities (ex. Greeks and Romans) that represented their values and worshiped them. In reality, what each culture was ultimately worshiping was themselves, their order and their safety. As the Apostle Paul wrote about humanity, “Claiming to be wise, they became fools; and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.” (Rom 1:22-23 NRSV)

There was a tribe that lived in land of Cannan before Abraham’s arrival. The object they chose was as their idol was Venus, the evening star. The appearance of the evening star symbolized completeness and fulfillment because it signified the end of a day. They called Venus “Shalem.”

Eventually a city emerged from this culture. Egyptian texts dating from about 1850 BCE reference the city as “Urushalim,” or “city of completeness and fulfillment.” Sometime around 1000 BCE, when King David set up his throne in this city, the name changed to Jerushalim. The first syllable from the name “Jehovah” was apparently taken and added to the front of the name, thereby making it “Jehovah’s city of completeness and fulfillment.” The symbolism is astonishing.

How does God describe human habitation when the Earth is made new? The New Jesrusalem! God takes that which humanity created in defiance of God, adds his name to it, and redeems it. God loves the city. God reveals that he intends to redeem the most formidable tool of rebellious humanity and make it his dwelling.

However, we presently live in the midst of two cities. We all live in both Urushalim (or Babel) and in New Jerusalem. The story of Scripture is about a predatory humanity struggling for autonomy doing battle with a passionate, loving God who will not give up on bringing humanity into loving relationship. Scripture is tale of two cities.

Reprise

As I was thinking about this blog entry, a quote came to mind that I simultaneously read on Tim Keel’s blog. Spooky. From the Princess Bride, "Let me e'splain...no, there iz too much: let me...sum up."

I wrote a post a couple of weeks ago that envisioned Scripture as a six act play. (Missing Pages) Here is a recap of how that play might look:

* Act One is the creation.
* Act Two is human rebellion against God.
* Act Three is God’s creation of a holy people through Abraham as his witness in the world.
* Act Four is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
* Act Five, Scene One, is the
* Acts of the Early Church.Act Five, Scene Two is being written right now.
* Act Six is not written but we have enough notes.

Act One

God Created the heavens and earth (i.e., “All that is.”) God created humanity. He intended for Adam and Eve to expand and fill the earth. (That is, Adam and Eve were to have lots kids; not physically expand themselves to fill the earth … but I suspect you figured that out.) He intended for them to be in communion with Him and co-creators with him.

Act Two

The Serpent cast an illusion that God was cruel. This led Adam and Eve into a delusion that they were deprived. Adam and Eve sheepishly deflect blame and are sent east of Eden. going east symbolized regression into chaos he intended for them to be in communion with Him and co-creators with him..

Adam and Eve’s oldest son Cain has only a token regard for God. He did not bring his first fruits to God as a sacrifice. Moreover, having taken the role of farmer, he may have been more interested in settling down than filling the earth. Cain becomes jealous of Abel’s acceptance by God. Cain kills Abel. Cain has no remorse when confronted. God exiles him to the east, to the land of Nod, the “land of wandering.” Cain starts a family and builds a city in a vain effort to give purpose to his absurd existence. Soon violence escalates and the earth is not filled.

Humanity degenerates to a point where Noah’s family is considered to be the only righteous family left. God destroys rebellious humanity in a flood. Once again, he gives the instructions to multiply and fill the earth.

Noah’s youngest son Ham, does something dishonorable to Noah and his descendants are cursed for it. One of these descendants was Nimrod, a mighty predatory warrior, who went east and was responsible for the city civilizations on the plains of Shinar. Just like Cain, these cursed descendants, attempt to build illusory civilizations that will give purpose to their existence apart from God. They even scheme to build a temple up to the heavens and dethrone God. God confuses and scatters them. Now, rather than being united in one illusion, they splinter into factions and develop their own illusions. We noted the word “church” comes from the Greek ecclesia which means the gathered. Babel was a church (gathering) against God. God broke the Church up into many smaller churches spread across the known world.

Genesis 10 tells us of seventy nations when Genesis 10 was written. Seventy signified a large complete number. The “earth” is now filled but humanity has rebelled against God. God disrupted the plan for unified opposition but rebellion is still the hallmark of the countless tribes and nations. God has spread people across the earth but they are not in relationship with Him. God has been framed as a tyrant that should be dethroned and marginalized.

How will God expose the illusions and free people from their delusions?

Act Three - Coming Soon

Index on the Illusion posts so far.

Soon Forgotten
Rolling to My Death in Kansas… Or Not
Will the Real Illusion Please Stand Up?
The First Illusion
And God Created the Serpent
Grand Illusion
Cain's Choice
Cain's Journey Into Darkness
Cain's New World
Cain's Cancer and Radical Therapy
Starting Over
Cain Returns
Church of Babel

Church of Babel

Our English word “Church” comes from the Greek word ecclesia, which means “the gathered.” Genesis 11:1-9 tells about another ecclesia, or gathering. The church of Babel.

Gen 11:1-9 NRSV

1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as they migrated from the east,* they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. (*Most new translations say “as they migrated eastward.” NRSV has a note that says this is an alternate understanding.)

The cursed and rebellious descendants of Ham had moved eastward. Again, the move east symbolized a regression toward chaos. They came to the plains of Shinar to build their cities. These cities become the home to some of the most formidable empires ever known including Assyria and Babylon.

4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."

The mission God gave to Adam and Eve, and again to Noah, was to multiply and fill the earth. Cain rebelled and was cursed to settle in the east in Nod, “the land of being unsettled.” Cain’s answer to his dilemma was to start a family and build a city. The city would give illusory meaning to his life. It would give shelter to him and his posterity from the absurdity of their existence.

The rebellious descendants of Ham built cities in the east, just as Cain had. They gathered to create an illusory meaning for their existence, just as Cain had. However, their vision was now bolder. These people were led by powerful hunter-warrior kings. Not only did they build cities, but they envisioned conquering all other peoples and gathering them under there domain. The envisioned conquering the very heavens themselves.

The phrase “..let us make a name for ourselves” carries the idea of achieving renown. But that is not the central issue. To name someone or something in ancient culture was a way demonstrating authority over that someone or something. The effort here was to name themselves. They would be their own authority. They would build a tower to the heavens and bring God down. God had expelled Cain, and God had expelled them, making them wanderers on the earth. Now they would gather, dethrone God, and expel God from creation. Yahweh could then be relegated to myth and legend while they enjoyed their delusions and illusions in peace. A more virulent strain of the Cain virus was back.

5 The LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. 6 And the LORD said, "Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech."

Verse 5 belittles the Babel project by noting that the Lord “came down to see the city and the tower,” suggesting the tower was not so great. But the project was exceedingly dangerous. The people had become completely united in there deluded effort to dethrone God and establish an illusion of autonomy. Scripture does not say that they were given different languages. It does say that they could no longer understand one another. It is unclear exactly how this happened but whatever the case, they splintered apart into confusion and the project ended.

8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

God accomplished his plan of spreading people across the earth (at least the known earth to the author of Genesis 11.) There were seventy people groups listed in the table of nations and, as noted in the previous post, this represented a large perfect number. But there was a virulent Cain virus among the nations. The Akkadian Babilu was the name given to the city by its builders and it meant “Gate of God.” In a Hebrew word play, the name became Babel which means “confusion.” God broke up the unified gathering of humanity against him and it became the project of countless factions to create their own illusions of purpose and existence. In place of one gathering, many gatherings sprang up. Instead of one church, many denominations emerged.

Make no mistake about the creation of "the city," and by extension civilizations. It was, and is, a religious project.

Cain Returns

Genesis 10 follows the story of Noah and the flood. It possibly one the most "scintillating" chapters in the Bible, complete with Hittites, Hamathites, Girgashites, and Mosquitobites (Okay. I made up the last one.) Actually, when reading the Bible through, I always considered chapter 10 to be one of those canonical speed bumps on the way to the good stuff. As turns out, there is a lot more in this little passage than I realized.

Chapter 10 is called the “Table of Nations.” It gives an account of the origins of each of the peoples known to the Israelites at the time Genesis was authored. Each origin is traced back one of Noah’s three sons, Japheth, Ham and Shem. There are a total of seventy different people groups listed. This is significant because the numbers seven and ten signified completeness. Seven multiplied by ten signified a large complete number. The number seven is used in a variety of ways in this passage.

In addition to the genealogy, there is a very important side note:

Gen 10:8-12

8 Cush became the father of Nimrod; he was the first on earth to become a mighty warrior. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD." 10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, and Accad, all of them in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went into Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-ir, Calah, and 12 Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.
NRSV

The literal meaning of the name Nimrod is “We shall rebel.” Nimrod was a descendant of Ham through Cush. At the end of Chapter 9 we learn that Ham’s brothers Shem and Japheth were blessed. Ham’s youngest son Cannan was cursed and no blessing is given to Hams other sons. The curse was, in effect, a curse upon Ham’s entire line. Cannan was mentioned in symbolic connection between Ham and Cannan as youngest sons. Nimrod is among the cursed.

When verse 9 talks about “mighty hunter” it is not talking about his deer hunting abilities. It means the Nimrod was a predatory conqueror. The phrase “before the Lord” is a superlative to emphasize that so great was Nimrod’s prowess that it could not escape the Lord’s attention.

Where the rest of the genealogy is given in terms of people groups that were established, Nimrod’s accomplishment is given in terms of the great cities he built on the plains of Shinar (modern day Iraq.) These cities were not simply places of economic commerce. These cities were more like mystical temples. For instance, the name Babili, Babylonian for Babel, means “Gate of God.” It was referred to also as the “seat of life.”

Cain was cursed, went into the east to the land of Nod (wandering) and settled. (Moving east symbolized regression since the sun rose in the east and set in the west.) He started a family and a city to initiate his life apart from God. He sought to create an illusion that would reinforce his delusion of autonomy and power. Likewise Nimrod was cursed and migrated east to the plains of Shinar. He was the impetus behind the creation of the first great cities with their cultic life. He too, was about creating illusions to reinforce his delusions but with even greater audacity. The Spirit of Cain was back.

Starting Over

Gen 8:20-9:17

20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the LORD smelled the pleasing odor, the LORD said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.

22 As long as the earth endures,

seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,

summer and winter, day and night,

shall not cease."

1 God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4 Only, you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 For your own lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning: from every animal I will require it and from human beings, each one for the blood of another, I will require a reckoning for human life.

6 Whoever sheds the blood of a human,

by a human shall that person's blood be shed;

for in his own image

God made humankind.

7 And you, be fruitful and multiply, abound on the earth and multiply in it."

8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 "As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." 12 God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." 17 God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth." NRSV

So here we are. Back where we started in verse 1, “Be fruitful multiply and fill the earth.” Then repeated again in v. 7 “…be fruitful and multiply, abound on the earth and multiply in it.” God renews his original call for humanity to fill the earth. God states his provision for humanity again, although this time he includes the consumption of meat. The animals will fear humanity and humans will rule over them.

The prohibition against eating blood symbolizes the divine mystery of life. Eating blood would show disrespect for life. Furthermore, God makes clear that there is to be a reckoning for any one who takes another's life. It will be a life for a life. This has the double impact of emphasizing God’s value of life but it also stands against the destructive sevenfold vengeance. (i.e., Life for life versus seven lives for life.)

God also makes a covenant with Noah that he will never again destroy humanity, “as long as the earth endures.” God intends to abide with humanity. The rainbow was not created at the time of the flood, but God declares it to be a symbol of his abiding faithfulness and love. Stars in the shape of a bow in the sky were a sign of war and of the god’s hostility in antiquity. But a bow facing away from the earth would have been considered a sign of reconciliation. God wants to disillusion humanity from the delusion that he is against them.

Recapping, God eliminated the evil folks from the earth, destroying their cities and cultures of defiance along with them. God promised to destroy humnanity again. He reinstituted his plan for filling the earth with people he could lavish his love upon. He sent humanity out to fulfill this mission. He shortened the human life span to reduce the time in which evil people would have to perfect evil. He educated Noah and humanity about the value he places on human life and effectively placed limits on killing.

Sounds good! What could go wrong!

Cain's Cancer and Radical Therapy

The Genesis narrative is sketchy from the time of Cain up to Noah. What information is given is bizarre by our standards. Things like the “sons of God” married the “daughters of men” in Genesis 6:1-2 are written. Then there is a reference to the Nephilim, who “were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown,” according to verse 4. I am convinced that there is a SciFi Channel movie in this mix somewhere. No one really knows what these verses are about but in the midst of these X-Files like passages are some important pieces to the narrative we have been following.

At the end of Chapter 4, we learn that Adam and Eve have another son named Seth, who in turn had a son named Enosh. It says that in his day people began to “call upon the name of the Lord.” What exactly would this mean? Some scholars suggest that up to this time it had been God who always initiated the conversation. This passage indicated that humanity had now matured to a point that they were capable of initiating contact conversation with God. Whatever the case, something about the nature of the relationship changed and apparently for the better among Seths descendants

The flip side of this story is increasing violence. This catchy little ditty by Lamech is in Chapter 4:

"Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for striking me.
If Cain is avenged sevenfold,
truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold."
Gen 4:23-24 NRSV

There appears to be an escalating level of violence and destruction. Not only are the people not “filling the earth” as God commanded but they are murdering each other with such cavalier indifference that it would make Al Qaeda blush. It seems certain that this unchecked violence would eventually kill off or engulf the godliest folks. Genesis 6:11 says about Noah’s time, “Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence.” Apparently Noah and his family, descendants of Seth, were the only godly people left. Righteous humanity was at the verge of extinction.

Another key verse is 6:3 where it is recorded that God will limit the life span of people to 120 years. The centuries long life spans apparently had the effect of allowing those who were evil to get really good at being evil. Shorten their days and you limit the damage they can do and how evil they can become. The point is that the impending flood was not so much the act of a wrathful God as it was radical intervention to prevent his precious creation from self-destructive extinction. God had not given up on his plan for humanity.

Two side notes. I know some of the thoughts reading this right now. “People living hundreds of years? Global flood? Come on!” Okay. But let us rewind 100 years to describe any of a number of our present quantum physics discoveries and see how many of those would have generated the same response. The evidence for how people might have lived for centuries is not conclusive but it is scientifically plausible. Check out the work of Hugh Ross for some interesting reflection. As to the flood, the Bible says it covered the “earth.” Only Moderns would read back into the passage the idea of a globe covered in water. For the ancients, the idea of earth simply connoted “the place where humanity lives.” If the Bible is true about humanity refusing to spread, they would still be concentrated in the area of Mesopotamia. The entire region is believed to have completely flooded more than once in past eons.

I am an old earth creationist. If you want to learn more about such a perspective I highly recommend the Reasons to Believe website and Hugh Ross’s book The Genesis Question. My concern here is not to get bogged down in debate about the accurate historicity of these events. I am reviewing these events as elements of a story being told in Scripture to point us to God’s character and plan. And the story is about to take a familiar turn.

Cain's New World

Gen 4:16-18

16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 17 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he built a city, and named it Enoch after his son Enoch.
NRSV

In addition to exile from Gods presence, verse 16 tells us about two very important facets of Cain’s new circumstances. First, we are told that Cain “settled in the land of Nod.” This is an oxymoron. Nod literally means “place of wandering.” How does one settle in the land of wandering? It can’t be done but this is Cain’s new mission

Second, Genesis also locates Cain’s new home as east of Eden. When you and I look at a map, how do we commonly orient ourselves? We find a legend that tells us which way is north. Not so with ancient people. For the Jews, and many other ancient cultures, everything was oriented toward the east. The east was the where the sun rose. It was the place of beginning. The sun set in the west. The west was the place of completion and fulfillment. To be sent eastward (just as Adam and Eve were from the garden) symbolized regression. It was descent in to chaos.

So Cain left the presence of God to settle in a land where he could not be settled and he descended into chaos. The tiller who planted himself, and would not embrace God’s mission to fill the earth, was cursed by loosing his ability to be a tiller and by being forced to wander. Cain was stripped of both his relationship with God and his illusion. So what was Cain’s response? Time for a new illusion.

Verse 17 says that Cain, had a son, built a city, and named both of them Enoch. The name “Enoch” means “initiate.” Cain was confronted with his own mortality and the meaninglessness of his existence. One way to achieve a kind of immortality was to create a lineage that we would carry on his name and values. So part of Cain’s plan was to “initiate” a life apart from God, was to start a family. Is it possible that his idolatry of questing for immortality is part of what led to the debasement of women in ancient culture? Rather than living as the fully complimentary beings God created in his image, did women become a means to the idolatry of immortality through family? Was this the flower of the curse “your desire shall be for your husband and she rule over you?”

But Cain also built a city. The word in Hebrew literally means a “fortified encampment.” The contrast to God’s plan can not be more striking. God created the earth with the intent that it be filled with humankind. They would be a race of beings in a loving relationship with God and participating in creation as overseers and co-creators with God. Instead we have humanity holed up in a city, out of relationship with God, and hiding behind defenses to protect a pathetic and deluded existence. The city in ancient times was the center of culture and Genesis is telling us that not only did Cain personally sin but he manufactured an illusion (human culture) that would perpetuate his delusions and hide him from the absurdity that had become his life. Humanity went from glorious co-regents of creation to defiant, pathetic and deluded fools.

Welcome to Cain’s "brave" new world. Welcome to human existence.

Cain's Journey Into Darkness

Gen 4:8-16

8 Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out to the field." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" 10 And the LORD said, "What have you done? Listen; your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground! 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." 13 Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear! 14 Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me." 15 Then the LORD said to him, "Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance." And the LORD put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him.
NRSV

God left Cain with an option to repent or risk being consumed by his sinful delusions. Cain will not listen. Abel must surely have been an ever present reminder to Cain of God’s displeasure with him. So Cain set to work creating his own reality. He would eliminate Abel and be left to pursue his delusion in peace.

Murder is always horrible but some types of murder are more disturbing than others. In our day, the murder that seems to create the greatest shock and revulsion is spousal murder. It is the ultimate violation of what should be the ultimately intimacy. Not so for ancient culture

Households in Greco-Roman culture were ruled by the Father. Marriage was mostly a contractual arrangement to provide offspring to perpetuate the Father’s lineage. The primary relationship of true caring and equality was between siblings. Even married women gave their ultimate allegiance to their brothers' households. The most horrifying stories in Roman culture were of siblings at odds with each other. We have our O. J. and Nicole Simpsons or Scott and Lacey Petersons. The Romans had epic tragedy’s about brothers like Romulus and Remus. The same would have been true for the ancients. Not only did Cain commit the first murder, but he murdered his brother, violating the most intimate of all relationships.

Unlike the sheepish admittance of his parent’s when they sinned, Cain become bold in his delusion. He believed he could even trick God with his lies and illusions. When God called him on it, did Cain repent? No. By implication, Cain’s fear of being killed suggests that his conscience knew the just penalty for what he had done: Death. Remember that murder had never happened before. Did this awareness drive him to repentance? No. Instead Cain complained about the severity of his punishment.

What did Cain find unbearable? Was it that he would be apart from God? No. Is it that he had killed his brother? No. God had told Cain to be about “filling the earth” but Cain instead put down roots. Cain created an illusion of control and comfort in defiance of God. God told Cain that his punishment for killing Abel was to be uprooted from his illusion and made a wanderer on the face of the earth. What is unbearable for Cain is that he has lost the safety and control of his illusions. It was not that he had lost God!

God places a mark on Cain to protect Cain, but do we see any remorse from Cain? Do we see any thanks for Gods protection? None. Cain’s sinful delusions have utterly blinded him to reality.

But Cain’s delusion is not over yet.

Cain's Choice

Genesis 4:1-7

1 Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have produced a man with the help of the LORD." 2 Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it."
NRSV

What was it that made God so displeased with Cain? The most common explanation is that Abel gave his first firstlings while Cain brought an offering of fruit and grain, not necessarily first fruits. Therefore, God was displeased with the offering. Clearly this is a possibility, although it is not obvious from the text. But there may be another way of seeing this passage.

The only clear distinction we find between Cain and Abel is, “Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground.” So why would this have any significance? Shepherds are nomadic and tillers are settled. What is the one mission God had given to humanity?

God blessed them [Adam and Eve], and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." Gen 1:28 NRSV

Based on their lifestyles, which of these two brothers was more likely to move about the earth and expand the inhabited area? Is it possible that God was displeased with Cain because Cain’s offering was symbolic of Cain’s refusal to “fill the earth?” Instead, Cain chose to put down roots (literally) and remain planted where he was. “If you do well…” God asks. Do well at what? Following the mission God gave to fill the earth.

Cain created an illusion of control, comfort and self-reliance. He came to rely upon his own efforts to control his environment and not upon God’s provisional care as he lived out God’s mission. God disillusioned Cain. Cain was left to confront his delusion of human autonomy and selfishness. Was it Cain’s failure to offer legitimate sacrifice or was it the very nature of the work Cain was doing? Either way, Cain was confronted with a choice. Cain could turnaround from his delusion and enter authentic relationship with God, or Cain could redouble his efforts to manufacture illusions that gave him comfort in his delusion.

But this is not just the stuff of Old Testament stories. It is the very existence of the Church today. Several millennia after Cain and Abel, God stepped into the world in a personal way. He told his followers to go to their home towns, to Judea, to Samaria and to the utter most parts of the earth, and fill the earth with his disciples.

Instead we have decided to set down roots and plant crops that leave us comfortable and in control. We will not make the sacrifice God expects of us. Instead of expanding out into our communities and the world, we have become angry and resist anything that threatens our comforting illusions. We protect our delusions at all costs.

But God is disillusioning us to see his authenticity. As the institutions that have gave our delusions illusionary support crumble around us, like Cain, we have a choice. And if you listen closely, in congregations all across the land you will hear these words reverberate:

"Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it."

Grand Illusion

I was slow getting around to dinner last night but eventually I heated up something in the microwave. Then I clicked on the tube to watch something while I ate. With a couple of clicks, I stumbled upon the 1956 movie Forbidden Planet starring Leslie Nielson. Great movie! I think it was Nielson’s second film. It was cutting edge for its day and still is quite entertaining (Although I keep half expecting Lt. Frank Drebin to inadvertently lean on a ray gun and blow up the planet or something.)

An evil invisible monster from Id is confronted in the movie. We only get a good look at him when he is caught in some kind of electrical current. The special effects are almost hokey by today’s standards. Certainly not Star Wars or Lord of the Rings caliber. Still, I’ll bet they were “swell” in their day.

What I remember as a kid were the IMAX adventures. I still go to see them today. Sitting in front of that enormous screen, you are right their in the cockpit of the fighter plane, or in the drivers seat of the race car, or flying the spaceship to the moon. If you pull your eyes away from the picture long enough and look at others in the audience, you can see people lean hard one direction to get the right body English as the car rounds the turn, or push back in their seats as the rocket thrusts into space. The illusion is so big that it is overpowering. It is hard to watch and not enter in to it.

But there is one thing I have noticed about IMAX productions. I have never seen one advertised about lawn mowing, or sitting in rush our traffic, or doing laundry. It makes sense of course. We do that stuff everyday. Why would we want to go watch an illusion of that happening? We want illusions that touch our passions and dreams. Illusions that intoxicate. Illusions that remove us from our present reality and deliver us to some magical place.

So it occurs to me, that apart from the good technical effects, an illusion most have at least two qualities. It must be big, …really big, …in your face can’t look away big. And the illusion must touch some core desire so deeply that we will delude ourselves from looking at the authentic.

The serpent in the Garden apparently understood this. He painted a grand illusion. God is a selfish ogre who begrudges you your rightful place as a god, “knowing good and evil.” Just think. We could become like gods. And a delusion is born, fueled by the intoxicating idea of autonomy and power. It is the Satanic delusion.

Illusion calls us to delusion. Delusion requires illusions that reinforce our absurdities as authentic. We become pathetic fools. As Dick Keyes has noted, the great irony is that in seeking to become God we have become less than human. This is our present existence. Life under a grand illusion.

And God Created the Serpent

The first two chapters of Genesis paint a picture of a loving God creating human beings who he could lavish his love upon. The only prohibition is that they may not eat from the fruit of one tree in the garden. No one really knows what the significance of the tree is except that it is the only tree they could not eat from.

Enter the serpent. “Did God say you shall not eat from any tree in the garden?” The illusion is cast. He has painted a false picture in Eve’s mind that she had not previously seen. She rejects that picture but even so, the question has become about what God has denied, rather than what God has given. Eve seems to embellish God’s instruction, by saying that God told them they were not even to touch it. Is this the first delusion?

The serpent now sets up a delusion. “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Having successfully cast the illusion of God’s stinginess, he know traps Eve in a delusion. "God was lying to her. God was merely trying to trick her into not taking what is rightfully hers." So now, based on this delusion about God’s character, Eve sins. Adam goes right along with her. Their eyes are opened and they come to see that they are the ones deluded not God. Their response? Hide.

God calls Adam out on the question of the fruit from the tree. Adam tries to delude God into believing that it was Eve’s fault: "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." Adam was helpless to resist? God turns to Eve and she blames the serpent: "The serpent tricked me, and I ate." What was so tricky about not eating a piece of fruit? Author Os Guinness has suggested that there was yet on more inquiry. God asked the serpent if what Eve said was true. To which the serpent replied, “Yes I did. And you created me!” The blame comes full circle back to God.

The First Illusion

Illusion - something that deceives the senses or mind, for example, by appearing to exist when it does not or appearing to be one thing when it is in fact another.

Delusion – a false or mistaken belief or idea about something. psychology - a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence, especially as a symptom of psychiatric disorder.

Gen 2:15-17

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."
NRSV

Gen 3:1-14

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'" 4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die; 5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
8 They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." 11 He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12 The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."
NRSV

Will the Real Illusion Please Stand Up?

A while back, I gave my friend Dave a copy of one of my favorite books. It is called, “The Genesis Question: Scientific Advances and the Accuracy of Genesis,” by Hugh Ross. Last week we had lunch at our weekly hang out, Rumi’s, a Sufi themed Mid-Eastern cuisine Restaurant.

Dave told me how much he enjoyed the book. What struck him the most was the utter expansiveness of God in both time and space. He had not really reflected before on just how enormous God is and how seemingly insignificant we are. I grinned really big. That was precisely the impact it had on me years ago.

When you think about the billions of years matter has existed and about a universe that is ever expanding, human beings are a notch below “next to nothing” and only slightly higher than nothing. The rumor is that this God of the universe stepped in to our space and time continuum, become one of us, and allowed himself to be treated like scum, just to be in relationship with us. That is insane! But that is the gospel. If the rumor is true it means that we are far from insignificant. Because the God of all creation values us we are of inestimable worth. This would be the most amazing story ever told!

So I ask you, is it true that we are of immense value to a powerful and passionate God? If so, do we feel like we are among the most significant beings in the known universe? Do we see ourselves and others as being of inestimable value? I don’t think we do. Sure, as a race, we occasionally talk a good line about being masters of our destinies. We elevate ourselves to heights of glory. But ever present is our personal mortality and even our potential mortality as a species. The final words of the last song from Pink Floyd’s “Final Cut” album, a song about the last thoughts of man just as he is being annihilated by a nuclear explosion at the end of the world, are “Finally, I understand the feelings of the few. Ashes and diamonds. Foe and friend. We were all equal in the end.” Still, most of us, most of the time, cannot bring ourselves to live with the logical implications of what this means.

So which is the illusion? If a cold heartless universe is the truth, then why does every human culture ever known seem to hold out the hope of some enduring future or purpose? If the story of a passionate and powerful God is true, then why does so little of our existence seem to connect with such a reality? One is an illusion and one is authentic. We need to be disillusioned.

Rolling to My Death in Kansas… Or Not

Yesterday I asked if Bill Shakespeare was right. Is life “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing?” How do you know?

Not long ago, I came to a stop at a red light at 31st Street and Southwest Trafficway in Kansas City, MO, just three blocks from my house. Going east like I was, the intersection is at the crest of a half mile long hill called Signal Hill. (I already know what many are thinking. Yes, Kansas City has hills. The city itself was built on what was originally a 100 ft. bluff overlooking the Missouri River. You see, several million years ago there were certain geological events… but I digress.)

While waiting at the light and tapping fingers to some innocuous CD, I immediately sensed something was wrong. My car was slowly rolling backwards. My foot went down harder on the brake but there was no response. My foot was now practically pushing the brake pedal through the floor board. I began to have visions of steering an ever accelerating car backwards down a hill into Kansas. (The state line is at the bottom of the hill.) My eyes shifted to my right as I reached to grab the emergency brake. As my eye caught the scene out the side window I became really confused.

The sign post out the right side of my car was either perfectly still or sliding down the hill with me. I was inclined to reject that second possibility as it has been my experience that sign posts are usually quite stationary. My head whipped back to the left when suddenly all became clear. I wasn’t moving at all! The SUV beside me was inching slowly forward into the intersection. My eyes deceived me. They told me the SUV was standing still and I was rolling backwards. Good thing the double-take exposed the illusion. I would have looked pretty silly bailing out of a stationary car at one of Kansas City’s busiest intersections.

But back to Bill’s question. Are we living the purposeless driven life and brother Warren is just an illusion? There is an old philosophy question that asks, “If I have a dream about being a butterfly, how do I know that at this moment I am not a butterfly dreaming I am a man?” Or maybe Rick Warren is really a butterfly dreaming he is a pastor? If so, how did he manage to type the book with little butterfly feet? (Now my head hurts.) All I know is, I don’t want to roll backward down a hill to certain death in Kansas. Nor do I want to live a life that is an illusion.

Speaking of illusions, try clicking on this thing below:

Soon Forgotten

Weekend canoe trips were a part of my childhood growing up in Kansas City. Whether with family, friends or youth groups, I frequently made the trek to the Ozark region of southwest Missouri which is filled with ideal canoeing rivers. Establishments renting canoes, gear, and offering portage services dot the area.

One place I remember patronizing for canoeing supplies was a little general store along Highway 181 in Dora, Missouri. Dora’s total population was at most a few dozen souls. It was near the White River, a tame but scenic river, which made it a great place for amateurs like me. I have fond memories of canoe trips there but I never really thought much about Dora itself. A few years ago, that changed.

About ten years ago, I became intrigued with family origins. My father’s side of the family was known to me but my mother’s roots were more mysterious. My maternal grandmother died more than a decade before I was born and my grandfather died just shy of my fifth birthday. My mother didn’t know much about her parent’s lives so I begin to do a little digging at the library. Using census records I was able to establish my grandfather’s whereabouts in 1910 at the age of three. He lived at Dora, Ozark County, Missouri!

Further research established that my great-great-grandfather had moved the family to the area of Dora in the early 1880s. My great-grandfather was a child when they moved to Dora and he lived there until moving on in search of work about 1915. My grandfather was born and spent the first eight years of his life there. A variety of records show numerous cousins, second cousins, and other relatives living all around the town of Dora. Less than two miles west of the general store where we rented the canoes are the gravestones of two great-great-grandfathers, a great-great-grandmother and other relatives. All the time we had been going canoeing at this out-of-the-way location, I had been walking in the footsteps of my ancestors and I didn’t know it.

Stories like these stir a mixture of emotions. For me, there was an increased sense of being rooted in the past. It is intriguing to imagine what my ancestors lives might have been like as I walk where they walked. But stories like these also suggest something quite disturbing. They remind me of something most of us would rather not reflect on.

One day we will die and, before long, even our blood relations will have no memory of us. Yes, there will be photos, recordings, and various other remnants from our lives. But the substance of our personhood, which can only be appreciated by authentic human relationships, will be no more. Someday some descendant may walk where we walked and speculate about our existence but it will be just speculation. Within very few generations it is entirely possible no one will remember our existence. It is possible that our entire culture will have died out and us along with it. Looking at the longer view of millennia, it is conceivable that the whole human race could disappear.

Shakespeare wrote:

"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time; and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." William Shakespeare--From Macbeth (V, v, 19)

Was he right?