Here’s a little recap to see where we have been, as well as how the story continues to unfold…
In part 2 of this Christ Had to Die series, I referenced a canvas that began with a most vivid and glorious scene of color and beauty and wonder. It was filled with joy, delight, blessing, and most of all a perceived fellowship between the pinnacle of God’s creation–humans–and their God. This canvas is massive in scale, and on it details the span of God’s narrative throughout history. The opening scene is of color and splendor that swiftly makes its way to a black and white picture of bleakness portrayed in acts of murder, betrayal, and deceit. The transition from wondrous color to bleakness was an outworking of this first man and woman’s disobedience, and it ushered in confusion and chaos and ultimately removal from the presence of God.
However, it was during the pronouncement of their removal from fellowship with their Creator that a promise appears: a Seed from woman will arise to crush the head of the seed of the snake–who instigated the human’s disobedience and abdication–but the serpent’s seed will bruise the Seed of woman’s heel. At this point, it’s indiscernible to know who this Seed is, but as the story continues to unfold it will become abundantly clear. Notwithstanding, this early picture on the canvas reveals the tragedy of humanity like never before: the corruption of the heart leads to the corruption and broken-heartedness that sadly passes on to all humanity–their descendants–with an immedicable diagnosis. And so, as would be expected, sin runs wild in the hearts of men, and they merely express what’s inside their broken hearts so that the scenes become more and more horrific until God intervenes in two ways, namely, (1) to judge and (2) to save.
The world and all its inhabitants are utterly destroyed except for selected animals, birds, and the like, as well as a man named Noah and 7 others belonging to his family. It is a tragedy of epoch proportions. Nothing can describe the scenes of terror and anguish as the waters begin to rise upon the earth with no hope of survival. It is here that a deep reflection moves beyond the question of why to what’s next? And so, this family endures the holy judgment through a vessel that they built, but no sooner do they escape that we see Noah’s rebellious and corrupt heart through his drunkenness and sin. And on and on sin goes until this rebooted humanity comes across a new technology–the brick–that they envision will be used to build a tower to provide access to the heavens and God. This plan–as the story unfolds–continues to reveal man’s rebellious heart, and as such God scatters the people through confusing their languages. In essence, they could no longer communicate with one another, because the various languages were instantly introduced in order to stay God’s judgment and to maintain His promise to humanity to refrain from utterly destroying it again in total annihilation. It is here that the mercy of God, the kindness of God, and the longsuffering of God are gloriously on display.
After a period of time, a character appears on the canvas who is called away from Ur of Chaldees in the region of Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) to chart a new path leading to the land of Canaan (modern day Israel). Abram departs with his family to this land–Canaan–that God promises to him and his family forever. It is from this man that the archetypal pattern of faith unto righteousness (being able to have right standing with God) is expressed in the midst of a pagan and corrupt culture. God makes a covenant with Abram that through him: (1) all the nations will be blessed, (2) a Seed will come, and (3) his family will possess the land of Canaan forever. And it is here–in the middle of a black and white bleak canvas–that a droplet of color–the most vivid and resplendent color–is portrayed on the canvas as the man, Abram, believes God and it is reckoned to him as righteousness. The next scene is one of promise and hope, where we see Abram offer a certain priest-king, Melchizedek, a tithe of 10% from the plunder he took back from those who sacked Sodom & Gomorrah. The significance of this seemingly small and trivial act will come in to play later in the story, but for now it serves to be a marker of utmost importance as the canvas continues to unfold the history of humanity.
The story of God–the biblical story of God’s rescue plan for a rebellious humanity–has many more stories of triumphs and tragedies, of heart-aches and heart-cries, and of true praise and covenant adultery, and this is the story of God–it’s His story–that reveals unique facets of God’s character and attributes. It is a story to be explored with great care and sensitivity, but may I encourage you with something so that these objective facts move from knowledge to life change? Consider deeply: where do you fit in to this narrative? Until next time…
— August 5, 2016