Creator of Life. This truth has been repeated numerous times in the opening chapters of the Book of Genesis: God is the creator and giver of life. But it’s not just creation ex-nihilo that bears witness of that reality, so does procreation. Yes, there are complementary biological mechanisms that God instituted in men and women, but the creation of human beings transcends the material realm. Only God can see that a living being would have an eternal soul. Eve was right when she conceived, bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD” (4:1b). Adam and Eve did not “bring about for themselves” a son; rather, with the help of the creator of life (per NASB translation), they received a son. Subsequent revelation would bear witness to Eve’s exclamation – God sovereignly superintends the conception and formation of life (Gen. 20:18; 25:21; 30:2; 48:4; Ps. 113:9; 127:3; 139:13; Jer. 1:5).
Tag: faithful
In Judges 9 the usual cycle of apostasy, oppression, groaning, and deliverance is put on pause while judgment arises, not from outside of Israel, but from within. The previous judge, Gideon, had not finished well; and his sins appeared to forecast what was going to follow in Israel after he died. Although he turned down the offer of kingship, he nonetheless lived like a king, gathered a harem, accumulated wealth, and made a golden ephod that became a snare to him, his family, and Israel. Yep, that’s the same Gideon from Sunday school class. Ironically, the man who rejected the kingship named the son of his concubine in Shechem, Abimelech, which means ‘my father is king’. It’s no surprise, then, that Abimelech coveted a place of kingship as he grew older. You could imagine him thinking (based on his name), ‘If my father was king then someone has to be his successor, right?’
After a week’s intermission to consider the subject of the limitless knowledge of God we continue our Resource Friday study through 2 Samuel. It’s hard to communicate in a brief intro all the aspects of this text that are worthy of contemplation and meditation. But to highlight some: in this study you will see David demonstrate dependence on God and be reminded how the Son of God perfectly practiced such dependence; you will see why those who claim to live in Christ must not walk as Abner walked; and how, although the Christian life may feel like a series of marathons, and ‘waiting seasons’ may seem renewed over and over again, God is infinitely worthy of trust, and we, like David, should pursue being faithful to the commitments we’ve made and helpful to those around us while we wait.
