This week’s “Wednesday Word” is a summary of an exposition of Psalm 24 by student teacher, David Schrock, from Sunday July 7, 2008.

The tension of a dual kingship runs throughout the psalter and specifically here in Psalm 24. Though David rules over Israel as king, he only does so on the basis that he has been established as such by Israel’s true king, the Lord God himself. As David writes, he is clearly aware of the source of his own seat of power.

In verses 1 and 2, David harkens back to the beginning of time, recalling the words of Moses from Genesis 1 in order to celebrate the Lord God as the creator of all that exists. This creation theme is picked up throughout the rest of the psalter, acknowledging that God will redeem that which he has created (Psalm 89:8).

In verse 3 the psalm shifts from the ends of the earth to the focal point of Mt. Zion. David asks, “Who shall ascend the Hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his Holy Place?” The answer is clear: only he who has clean hands and a pure heart. Clearly, if one seeks to travel this path, his life must be marked with obedience. Indeed, all of humanity will fail to achieve this righteous standard. Only in Christ is the type of perfect obedience sought after here in Psalm 24 made possible. King Jesus will ascend the hill of the Lord, and by his grace a trail of his captives will follow behind him (Ps 68:18).

The psalm closes remembering the Exodus, the deliverance of the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by the mighty hand of the Yahweh. In the past, He has proved himself faithful to deliver his people, and on this basis, all of humanity shall anticipate his future deliverance. This King of Glory who has created all that exists, who has redeemed his people in the past, will assuredly redeem the rest of humanity and the rest of his creation.

Audio from this week’s lesson: Psalm 24

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This week’s “Wednesday Word” is a summary of an exposition of Genesis 37-50 by Dr. Wellum from Sunday June 8, 2008.

Before turning from this study of Genesis toward the book of Psalms next week, we conclude the closing 13 chapters (37-50) with a brief summary and analysis of the life of Joseph, a key figure in the history of Israel and in the fulfilling of God’s promises to Abraham.

After telling his brothers of a dream he had in which all of their sheaves bowed down to his sheave, his brothers began to hate him (37:7). A similar dream involving his parents would lead to a rebuke by his father (37:9). The animosity that these events developed resulted in Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery to Midianite traders who would eventually turn Joseph over to Potiphar (37:46). Once in Potiphar’s hands the Lord would prove to be with Joseph as he found favor in the eyes of this new master, eventually setting him in charge of his entire estate (39:3). His success with Potiphar would not last long, however, after the wife of Potiphar lied in regards to Joseph’s ill-treatment of her (39:17). The lies of his wife would lead Potiphar to having Joseph thrown in jail. Now in captivity a second time, the Lord would prove to be with Joseph yet again, allowing him to find favor in the eyes of the chief jailer, and eventually in the eyes of Pharaoh himself. With the favor of Pharaoh, Joseph was set in charge of the entire land of Egypt (41:41). A famine in the land would eventually place Joseph’s brothers at his service, marking the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams envisioned in chapter 37. However, Joseph would not subject them to the same treatment with which they had subjected him when they sold him to slavery; rather, he would show them mercy (Gen 50:19-20).

Gen 50:20 serves as a crucial text in the unfolding plan of God. In the person of Joseph exists an individual who had been sold into slavery, slandered, and imprisoned; however, none of these evil events would prove to be his end. Instead, according to Joseph, all that has happened to him, including the evil committed against him by his brothers, was completely in line with the sovereign purposes of the Lord: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (50:20) Joseph’s rise to power now meant that the nation of Israel would be sustained even through a severe famine in the land. In this closing chapter of Genesis, indeed, it would have been evident to the original hearers that the Lord God alone is responsible for the perseverance of their nation and would serve as a guarantee that He would bring about his promises to Abraham. To us, as well, we who find our identity in Jesus Christ may rest in knowing that the God of the patriarchs is our God as well. The faithfulness he has shown to these of old, he shows all the more today to those who find themselves heirs of Abraham in Christ Jesus.

Audio from this week’s lesson: Genesis 37-50.

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This week’s “Wednesday Word” is a summary of an exposition of Genesis 25-28 by Dr. Wellum from Sunday May 25, 2008.

The account of Jacob and Esau found in Genesis 25-36 puts on display the sovereign grace of the Lord. Just as God chose Isaac over Ishmael as the son of the promise, his sovereign hand will carry through his promises through Jacob instead of Esau. Indeed, it is God who provides, moving his promise forward by his own sovereign hand.

Where as the older son was most commonly the natural recipient of the father’s inheritance, God makes it clear that in the case of Jacob and Esau, the order will be reversed (25:23). When Paul seeks to answer the question as to why Israel had rejected Jesus as the Messiah in Romans 9, it is clear that God’s sovereign choice of Jacob over Esau had nothing to do with Jacob’s winning the Lord’s favor. Instead, before either one of them had done anything good or bad, “in order that God’s purpose according to His choice might stand, not because of works, but because of Him who calls, it was said to [Rebekah], ‘The older will serve the younger’” (Rom 9:10-11). God’s grace alone is seen as being solely responsible for the moving forward of his promise to Abraham. Given the apparently corrupt nature of both Jacob and Esau, it may be said that this promise is moving forward in spite of the moral quality of its recipients—for it is only through Jacob’s deception that he persuades Esau into giving him his birthright, and it is only through Jacob’s deception that he receives the blessing of his father Isaac.

In Chapter 26, the parallels between Isaac and his father Abraham are apparent. Both suffer through a famine in the land (26:1), both deal with King Abimelech (20:2; 26:1), and both lie about their wives in order to protect themselves (20:2, 26:7). Yet, despite all of their difficult circumstances and tendencies toward corrupt behavior, God works in them and through them—all the while protecting them—in order that his promise will be carried forward. God in his grace will accomplish that which he has pledged he will do, and he will do so through an unpredictable and volatile group of people.

As God navigates his promise through these difficult circumstances in Genesis, we are reminded that God’s salvation to us has been accomplished in us by his grace alone apart from any work of our own. Furthermore, as the recipients of the promises of Abraham struggle with disobedience, we are reminded that God can and will accomplish all that he desires despite our own shortcomings and sinful tendencies. Indeed, our only hope is to rejoice together with the apostle Paul, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom 7:25-25).

Audio from this week’s lesson: Genesis 25-28.~TDG

This week’s “Wednesday Word” is a summary of Dr. Wellum’s exposition of Genesis 22 from Sunday May 4, 2008.

Prior to Genesis 22, the birth of Isaac appears to have been the climactic moment in the fulfilling of God’s promise to Abraham. It would seem that everything would now come easily after the arrival of the promised son. However, Genesis 22 presents a major conflict in the unfolding of God’s promise to Abraham: “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 of which I shall tell you” (v. 2)

Abraham, fully aware that the death of Isaac would mean the death of the promised son, immediately set off to obey the command of the Lord (v. 3). However, as the texts implies, Abraham trusting that the Lord will be faithful to carry out his promises, believes that somehow he and Isaac will both return from the mountain (22:5, 8). The author of Hebrews picks this up as well: “He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back” (Heb 11:18).

As, Abraham raised the knife to take the life of his son, he fully illustrated his willingness to follow through in obedience to the Lord. However, an angel appeared saying, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me” (v. 12). Abraham was found completely willing to obey the command of the Lord, even if it meant the death of his son. In this, we are reminded, to trust and obey the Lord just as Abraham did, even if we are uncertain of the path before us.

Furthermore, we are reminded that just as it is with the rest of covenants, there is a need for an obedient son. The original readers would have been alarmed by the sacrificial imagery being conveyed within the narrative. Indeed, they would have recalled the substitutionary nature of the firstborn son from Numbers 3. Isaac, as the firstborn son, stands in the place of the rest of the nation; however, it would be going too far to say that Isaac is a type of Christ in this regard—for a substitution is made on behalf of Isaac (22:13).

Paul in Romans 8 quite possibly alludes to this account of Abraham and Isaac as he seeks to illustrate the faithfulness of God; and in doing so, he reminds us that under the New Covenant, God has provided a substitution on behalf of his people through the giving of his Son, Jesus Christ: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:32). Indeed, only on this ground, may we truly say that we are heirs of the promise (Rom 8:17).

Audio from this week’s lesson: Genesis 22.

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This week’s “Wednesday Word” is a summary of Dr. Wellum’s exposition of Genesis 17 from Sunday April 13, 2008.

Genesis 17 has served as the source of much debate throughout the history of the church with paedobaptists (those holding to infant baptism) and credobaptists (those holding to believer’s baptism) understanding the new covenant implications of the text with significant differences between them. As those who believe that the sign of the new covenant should only be exerted by individuals who have become its members through faith in Jesus Christ, this text is of crucial importance.

Infant Baptists argue that their case is made clear here with the giving of the sign of the old covenant, noting that the sign of circumcision was incumbent not only upon Abraham, but upon each of his descendents as well, believing and non-believing alike. With baptism having replaced circumcision in the new covenant, then, the sign is to be extended to infants born within the new covenant just as Abraham and his descendants were commanded to undergo circumcision under the old.

Up against this understanding, a clear statement is needed from those of us holding to believer’s baptism. We acknowledge that the sign of the covenant was incumbent upon all of Abraham’s descendants; however, amongst these descendants some distinctions were made (17:19). Furthermore, we acknowledge that the sign of the covenant all along has been awaiting Abraham’s true seed, Jesus Christ (Gal 3:16). Under the new covenant, then, where national distinctions are set aside, one only becomes a legitimate descendant of Abraham through faith in Christ as the true seed of Abraham (Rom 4:16).

Circumcision is rightly understood as serving at least three purposes: (1) to mark the descendants of Abraham through a physical sign, (2) to anticipate the true seed Jesus Christ, and (3) to point to the greater need within the individual for circumcision of the heart (Jer. 4:4; Rom 2:9). In Christ, the long awaited, true descendant of Abraham has arrived, eliminating the divide between Jew and Gentile (Gal 3:28) and, therefore, removing the need for the distinctive mark of circumcision. Distinction is now judged only by one’s response to Jesus Christ whereby the individual is brought into the New Covenant. Upon entry into this covenant, the sign of baptism is administered, celebrating the believer’s now “circumcised heart” and his unity with Abraham’s true seed.

Audio from this week’s lesson: Genesis 17.

~TDG

This week’s “Wednesday Word” is a summary of Dr. Wellum’s exposition of Genesis 12 from Sunday March 16, 2008.

In Noah, God preserved the human race; however, the idolatry of Babel would lead to the confusion of languages and the creation of many nations.  In Abraham, God plucks out one man from the now dispersed human race and purposes through him a means of blessing to all the nations.  Abraham is called by God to leave his idolatrous kindred and his homeland and go to the land which God would reveal to him (12:1).  It is here in the context of this calling that God first reveals his covenant with Abraham and assures him of his plans to make him a great nation, bless him, and make his name great that he might be a blessing to all the nations (12:2). 

This Abrahamic Covenant, initiated here in chapter 12, is picked up three more times throughout the course of Genesis.  Chapter 15 speaks of the inauguration of this covenant between God and Abraham where Abraham envisions a fiery torch passing through the pieces of the animals, signifying that it is God alone who will sustain the covenant.   In chapter 17, circumcision is established as the sign of the covenant between God and his people.  And finally, in chapter 22, Abraham is tested and found faithful, resulting in God’s recollection of the covenant, “‘And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.’”   

There is clear tension between the unconditional nature of the covenant’s inauguration in chapter 15 and its depiction as being based on Abraham’s obedience in chapter 22.  Is the covenant carried out on the basis of God’s faithfulness alone, or is the covenant’s future subject to the level of obedience of those who find themselves within it?  Abraham, together with the rest of Israel’s most faithful, though they will have much success within the covenant, ultimately will fall short of God’s standard for obedience.  Clearly, then, the only hope for God’s promise to Abraham is that it is sustained and upheld by God alone.   However, the need for obedience still remains.  How then will God justly keep his word? 

The pattern of disobedience will remain unbroken until the arrival of the one man, Jesus Christ, who will obey on behalf of all those who find their faith in him.   In Jesus Christ, God passes through the animal pieces and upholds his covenant with Abraham.  Only those who find themselves united with this perfectly obedient son will receive the blessings promised to Abraham.
 
“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory” (1 Cor 1:20).

Audio from this week’s lesson: Genesis 12.

~TDG

Regardless of one’s interpretation of some of the key elements of Genesis 6:1-8, it is clear that the events being depicted here by Moses serve as the grounding for God’s judgment against humanity in the flood. Before getting to the flood, then, it is essential to have an understanding of this introductory section.

Throughout the history of the church, much attention has been given to the identity of the “sons of God” who intermarried with the “daughters of man,” a clear abomination in the eyes of the Lord (6:1-2). While the traditional interpretation understands a reference to angles to be in view here, there have been several attempts to interpret the passage differently, perhaps in order to avoid the problems that come along with the traditional view, problems such as squaring this text with what is known of angels from New Testament passages such Matthew 22:30 and Hebrews 1:7. Some, as a result, have suggested that the flow of the opening chapters of Genesis set the context for understanding “sons of God” as referring to the godly line of Seth. The major problem with this interpretation lies in the very words, “sons of God,” which clearly refer to angels elsewhere in the Old Testament (Job 1, 2, 38). Others, however, have suggested the possibility that Moses has in mind mighty kings who have fallen sway to demonic forces. Both interpretations, however, have immense difficulty squaring themselves with two key New Testament texts which almost undoubtedly refer to these early chapters of Genesis.

In 2 Peter 2:4, Peter mentions God’s judgment of angels together with Noah’s flood and God’s rescuing of Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah (2 Pet 2:4). Similarly Jude appears to allude to this same section of Scripture, mentioning Sodom and Gomorrah together with God’s judgment of angels on the last day due to their refusing to stay in their “own position of authority” and leaving their “proper dwelling” (Jud 6). Therefore, any interpretation that takes “sons of God” to refer to anything other than angels, must understand these New Testament passages as not referring directly to Genesis 6. Based on these apparent New Testament references to Genesis, together with the aforementioned Old Testament usage of “sons of God,” the traditional interpretation of angels seems to best fit the biblical data.

As the text moves forward to the flood, the increasing prominence of evil becomes clear. God reduces the number of years man will live on the earth to 120 years (6:3). The Nephilim are said to inhabit the earth, indicative of their posing a challenge to the people of the land (6:4). The entire human race is depicted as being consumed with evil all the time (6:6). As a result, the Lord becomes sorry that he made man (6:6) and, therefore, resolves to blot him out from the face of the earth together with all the animals (6:7). At this point, all seems to be lost and bound to God’s decisive and final judgment; however, the text veers away from this pending annihilation and offers hope: “But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord” (6:8). The answer to Lamech’s prayer has come in the person of Noah, “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands” (5:29).

The stage is now set for the flood. This one who has found God’s favor will become the hope for humanity’s continued existence, but as the story unfolds, he too, like Seth, will be shown as falling short of the promised seed who will deliver the decisive, crushing blow to the serpent—a void which will remain unfilled until the incarnation of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

Audio from this week’s lesson: Genesis 6:1-8

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In verse 7 and following, the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin are made known. It is evident that the rest they once enjoyed in the garden has been profoundly compromised. Instead of finding themselves freely enjoying the presence of God, they now find themselves fearing him, hiding from him as he approaches (v.8), shirking their responsibility for their actions, and shifting the blame to one another (v. 12) and to the serpent (v. 13). They now find themselves standing with the serpent on the receiving end of God’s judgment, instead of with God on the receiving end of his blessing.

To the serpent, God sends him to his belly and to the eating of dust for the rest of his days (v . 14). Enmity is placed between him and the woman, and between their respective offspring (v. 14). Notably, however, in this curse of the serpent there lies a glimmer of hope for humanity. God declares that the power of the serpent is temporary and that his doom is sure, as he awaits the crushing of his head by the heel of the woman’s seed (v. 15).

God then turns his judgment toward the man and the woman. To the woman, he increases her pain in child bearing (v. 16) and informs her that her “desire” will now be for her husband (v.16). There has been much debate surrounding the implications of the word “desire” and its use within this text; however, from the context it seems clear that the term is employed with a negative sense, possibly denoting that she will now somehow harbor an improper desire to usurp the authority of her husband and will attempt to assume his role as leader (cf. 4:7). Furthermore, there now exists within the original authority structure a tendency within the man to rule harshly over the woman, setting the stage for a constant struggle between the man and the woman within the marriage union: as she seeks to rule over him, he will carry out his authority over her ruthlessly. To the man, God provides two reasons for his judgment against him: he listened to the voice of his wife (v. 17a) and disobeyed the commandment of God (v. 17b). As a result, man will be forced to toil and labor over the thorns and thistles of the now cursed ground (v. 17-18). He will only eat by the product of his labor and the sweat of his brow, only to be relieved when he returns to the ground from which he was created (v.19).

Despite this clear judgment of God, hope for humanity still remains. The human race will not end with the death of Adam and Eve (v. 20) and God will remain the source of their provision (v. 21). All would seem to be lost, however, in their banishment from the garden of Eden (v.23), as Cherubim and a flaming sword now stand in the way of their access to the tree of life, a clear symbol of their now broken communion and fellowship with God (v. 24). Nevertheless, as the biblical storyline of the Old Testament progresses, God will continue to provide in a limited fashion a way back to the rest that humanity once enjoyed in Eden. This, then, sets the stage for the coming of Jesus Christ who will provide a way back in an unlimited fashion. Even with his arrival, however, the consummation of all things awaits its full realization to be effected at his second coming. This age to come, the book of Revelation describes, will be a time when we will once again see the tree of life and enjoy perfect communion with God anew.

Sin and suffering remind us that there is something to be awaited, that creation groans together with us in anticipation of its restoration, and as we reside in this fallen world, let us find our assurance not in those things which are merely momentary and fleeting, but in the One who is eternal, who will one day usher in his kingdom, and who presently awaits all his enemies to be relegated to their final destination: his footstool (Heb 1:13).

Audio from this week’s lesson: Genesis 3:7-24.

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Nearly all worldview clashes can be directly traced back to the issue to origins. For this reason, only a return to the very beginnings of humanity will bring to the fore the divinely intended purpose for our marriages in the face of an anti-Christian culture that has effectively robbed the term of its meaning.

The idea that both man and woman simultaneously share the image of God has previously been established in the opening chapter of Genesis (1:27). It is at this point in the creation narrative that Genesis 2 breaks-in and highlights the significance of the distinction in sexualities and the established order of the relationship between the two. Isolation is clearly not the purpose for which man has been created; rather, he is called to carry out the divine mandate in community and fellowship with another human being, one that Genesis 2 depicts is like him, but not like him, one who bears the image of God together with him, but complements the purpose of humanity in a way that he alone could not achieve on his own (2:18). The text carefully establishes the woman as being of the same essence of the man, and thus, does not relegate her existence to a manner of insignificance (2:21). However, there is a clear order that is to exist within the relationship as they carry out their purpose of ruling over creation. Man will do so as her leader, she will do so as his follower, and both will do so in submission to God. Only within God’s intended order do their differences align in a complementarity that prevents them from existing in antithesis. This leadership-followership structure is carefully articulated throughout the chapter: woman is “taken out of man” (2:24), named by man (2:24), and created for the purpose of being his “helper” (2:18).

The text is not clear as to when this first marriage actually takes place. Whether it was from the onset of woman’s creation or man’s acceptance of her in v. 23, it is clear from the text that present in these two first human beings exists the first marriage: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (2:24). They become a new unit within the community; more so, they now share the closest relationship possible amongst two human beings, closer than a father and a son or a mother and a daughter.

As the biblical storyline unfolds, this theme of marriage begins to be picked up as a way of describing God’s relationship to his people (Jer 2:2-3; Isa 62:5). For this reason, the New Testament very naturally appeals to this institution as a means of describing the relationship that exists between Christ and his church. (Eph 5:30-35, Rev 19:7-9). Marriage’s purpose, then, from the vantage point of all of Scripture, is to reflect this heavenly reality. It is not merely marriage that is displayed in the Gospel; but rather, it is the Gospel which is to be on display in our marriages. Just as the first man and woman were members of the same body after their union, so it is with Christ and his bride, the church.

Let us, therefore, appeal to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus as we interact with each other within our marriages, remembering we reflect the reality that exists between Christ and his bride, namely that he “gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph 5:26-27).

Audio from this week’s lesson: Genesis 2:4-25.

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Similar to the way in which each individual instrument in an orchestra contributes to the overall sound of a symphony, each book of the canon of Scripture has its role in orchestrating the biblical storyline. The book of Genesis plays an especially significant role, as it establishes the God of Israel as the creator of all that exists and the one who has set into motion history. This new series on the book of Genesis, introduced in class on Sunday, will expose us to some of the most foundational elements of the Christian Worldview and allow us to see the glorious beginnings of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus.

As Moses begins his account of God’s dealing with Israel, he begins with creation, and in doing so, establishes the God who delivered them out of the hand of Pharaoh as God alone. The very one who redeemed them was none other than one who spoke into existence the heavens and the earth. This assertion would have been in total opposition to the worldview of the day, as it boldly affirmed that the God of Israel is God alone, and any tendency toward service of another god should be considered absurd. It is for this reason that the book of Genesis often finds itself on the receiving end of attack, for if creation can be proven a myth, so too may the audacity of believing that all human beings everywhere are accountable to a Creator. On the other hand, if indeed God has created, then he alone is creation’s rightful owner, ruler and judge, and all are accountable to him.

The debate surrounding Creation and Evolution is often framed as a debate against faith and reason. The assertion is that science is an unbiased, impartial interpreter of the data, while the bias of religion prevents such impartiality. However, as we consider the creation account in Genesis, it is essential that we remember that those who hold to a completely impersonal view of the origin of the universe do so from the vantage point of a worldview that denies the existence of God. The debate is not fundamentally a debate against reason and faith, but against opposing worldviews, essentially, opposing “religions.” Therefore, when we hold to the biblical creation account, we should do so without reservation, remembering that we are aligning ourselves with the worldview Moses was seeking to instill in Israel, that he who has delivered us is he who has spoken into being the cosmos.

Audio from this week’s lesson: Introduction to Genesis

Text for this coming Sunday: Genesis 1

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