Creation, Part 1

Hey, It was exciting that I got to go lead Bible study this week at Evenglow after all these weeks of medical leave.  We studied Genesis 1:1-2:4 (the first of two Creation Stories).


Before I get into the scripture.  I need to explain how the ancient Hebrew people understood the order and structure of the cosmos:

Image found at:  http://www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/103/aristotle.htm

They believed there was a God which separated the waters above and the waters below with a firmament.  Now, before you dismiss it as something "primitive," keep in mind these early people were trying to explain the world as they experienced it.  The heavens sometimes broke forth with rain (The waters above came down), for instance.  So keep the image (above) of how the ancient Hebrew people saw the cosmos.


This image of the world brings up some problems.  Look at the picture again.  What does this mean for the Ancient Near Eastern people?

1. What happens if the firmament breaks?
2. How do the people see the shape of the earth?
3. What do the sides of the dome mean for the people living on the earth?
4. What dangers do you see in this world?
5. Are there any advantages to looking at the world in this way???

Image found at:  http://www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/103/aristotle.htm

Now as we prepare to read the scripture, imagine that you are in the ancient Hebrew world and living in a tribal society.  This fragmented people must have felt alone and vulnerable.  I mean, they lived in a world where an angry God could just let the firmament fail and leave them drowned and dead.  They live in a world where earthquakes can swallow up cities.  but the Hebrew people had a God that was faithful and steadfast and kept them safe in a crazy world of hurricanes, floods, and roving dangerous bands.


Okay, so let's take a look at the scripture, Genesis 1:1-2:4.  It was meant to be performed for others, so we'll be reading a paraphrase from "The Message" by Eugene Peterson and I hope that you will read it out loud and, perhaps even, dramatically:

Genesis Chapter 1 

1-2 First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don't see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss. 

3-5 God spoke: "Light!" And light appeared. God saw that light was good and separated light from dark. God named the light Day,God named the dark Night.It was evening, it was morning—Day One. 

6-8 God spoke: "Sky! In the middle of the waters; separate water from water!" God made sky. He separated the water under sky from the water above sky. And there it was:God named sky the Heavens; It was evening, it was morning—Day Two. 

9-10 God spoke: "Separate! Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place; Land, appear!" And there it was. God named the land Earth.God named the pooled water Ocean. God saw that it was good. 

11-13 God spoke: "Earth, green up! Grow all varieties of seed-bearing plants, Every sort of fruit-bearing tree."And there it was.Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
all varieties, And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts. God saw that it was good. It was evening, it was morning— Day Three. 

14-15 God spoke: "Lights! Come out!
Shine in Heaven's sky! Separate Day from Night.
Mark seasons and days and years, Lights in Heaven's sky to give light to Earth.”And there it was. 

16-19 God made two big lights, the larger to take charge of Day,The smaller to be in charge of Night; and God made the stars. God placed them in the heavenly sky to light up Earth And oversee Day and Night,
to separate light and dark. God saw that it was good. It was evening, it was morning— Day Four.  

20-23 God spoke: "Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life! Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!"God created the huge whales, all the swarm of life in the waters, And every kind and species of flying birds. God saw that it was good. God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean! Birds, reproduce on Earth!" It was evening, it was morning— Day Five. 

24-25 God spoke: "Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind: cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds." And there it was: wild animals of every kind, Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug. God saw that it was good.  

26-28 God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth." God created human beings; God created them godlike, Reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them:"Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth." 

29-30 Then God said, "I've given you
every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
given them to you for food. To all animals and all birds, everything that moves and breathes, I give whatever grows out of the ground for food."And there it was.31 God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning— Day Six. 

Genesis Chapter 2 

Heaven and Earth were finished, down to the last detail. 

2-4 By the seventh day God had finished the work. On the seventh day God rested from work. God blessed the seventh day and made it a Holy Day.Because on that day he rested from work:
all the creating God had done. This is the story of how it all started, of Heaven and Earth when they were created.

Did you read it aloud and with enthusiasm?  Were you able to pay attention to what was happening in the story?  Here are a few questions for you to consider about this text before I talk with you:

1. When people heard this account of creation, what did they get from it?
2. What is it important that the writer talked about day and night and light and dark?
3. What is the role of God in this account?
4. What is the role of human beings?

This week you'll notice a new trend with my video.  I'm trying to keep it very short :-)

Relying on God: The Healing of Naaman

Today is our first-ever Video Bible Study at Evenglow Lodge.  Even though I can't be with the Evenglow residents today, I am still able to share through the miracle of technology.  Not only can I engage in Bible Study with residents of Evenglow, but anyone at First United Methodist Church in Pontiac, or, really, anyone in the world can take part in this ministry with us.  How cool is that?

First, Carrie and I wanted to share a couple of updates.  First, you are invited to click here to read a blog with the latest update on my tumor; written by my wife, Carrie.  Secondly, we would like to share a video from last Sunday with an update about my recovery, a testimony from my mother, and an update from my wife:

The scripture for Bible Study, today, comes from 2 Kings 5 and is the story of Naaman being healed by Elisha.  As you read along with me be on the look-out for expectations.  As we read about each character ask yourself, "how does this character look at the world?" and "What outcome does this character expect?"

2 Kings 5:1-14 

 ¹ Naaman, a general for the king of Aram, was a great man and highly regarded by his master, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. This man was a mighty warrior, but he had a skin disease. ²Now Aramean raiding parties had gone out and captured a young girl from the land of Israel. She served Naaman’s wife.  ³ She said to her mistress, “I wish that my master could come before the prophet who lives in Samaria. He would cure him of his skin disease.” ⁴ So Naaman went and told his master what the young girl from the land of Israel had said.
 ⁵ Then Aram’s king said, “Go ahead. I will send a letter to Israel’s king.”
   So Naaman left. He took along ten kikkars of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. ⁶ He brought the letter to Israel’s king. It read, “Along with this letter I’m sending you my servant Naaman so you can cure him of his skin disease.”
 ⁷ When the king of Israel read the letter, he ripped his clothes. He said, “What? Am I God to hand out death and life? But this king writes me, asking me to cure someone of his skin disease! You must realize that he wants to start a fight with me.”
 ⁸ When Elisha the man of God heard that Israel’s king had ripped his clothes, he sent word to the king: “Why did you rip your clothes? Let the man come to me. Then he’ll know that there’s a prophet in Israel.”
 ⁹ Naaman arrived with his horses and chariots. He stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ Elisha sent out a messenger who said, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored and become clean.”
 ¹¹ But Naaman went away in anger. He said, “I thought for sure that he’d come out, stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the bad spot, and cure the skin disease. ¹² Aren’t the rivers in Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all Israel’s waters? Couldn’t I wash in them and get clean?” So he turned away and proceeded to leave in anger.
 ¹³ Naaman’s servants came up to him and spoke to him: “Our father, if the prophet had told you to do something difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? All he said to you was, ‘Wash and become clean.’” ¹⁴ So Naaman went down and bathed in the Jordan seven times, just as the man of God had said. His skin was restored like that of a young boy, and he became clean. 

Scott's Thoughts

And, now, if you haven't fallen asleep yet, click on this video to hear some reflections on this intriguing scripture:

Getting Started with 2 Kings

Before my new Video Bible Study goes live tomorrow afternoon, I thought I'd give you all a little bit of a head-start on 2 Kings.  Sorry I drone on a bit.  Next time I'll try to be better.  Remember, this is my first try at on-line Bible Teaching.  In the meantime, I hope you learn a little something about this fascinating book of the Bible.

Rich Woman of Shunem

I wanted to offer you a taste of what we will be discussing in Bible Study on Tuesday with another scripture from 2 Kings.  Our theme on Tuesday will be:  What it means when we can't do things for ourselves.  So between now and then, you are invited to read the scripture below and a few words from me.

2 Kings 4:8-17
(commonenglishbible.org)

One day Elisha went to Shunem. A rich woman lived there. She urged him to eat something, so whenever he passed by, he would stop in to eat some food.  She said to her husband, “Look, I know that he is a holy man of God and he passes by regularly. Let’s make a small room on the roof. We’ll set up a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp for him there. Then when he comes to us, he can stay there.”

So one day Elisha came there, headed to the room on the roof, and lay down.  He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite woman.” Gehazi called her, and she stood before him. Elisha then said to Gehazi, “Say to her, ‘Look, you’ve gone to all this trouble for us. What can I do for you? Is there anything I can say on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’”

She said, “I’m content to live at home with my own people.”

Elisha asked, “So what can be done for her?”

Gehazi said, “Well, she doesn’t have a son, and her husband is old.”

Elisha said, “Call her.” So Gehazi called her, and she stood at the door. Elisha said, “About this time next year, you will be holding a son in your arms.”

But she said, “No, man of God, sir; don’t lie to your servant.”

But the woman conceived and gave birth to a son at about the same time the next year. This was what Elisha had promised her.

Scott's Thoughts

Elisha comes by and, just on his own accord, wants to help her.  He seems to want to "pay her back" for her hospitality, but the woman won't hear of it.  She tells Elisha (who is also often referred to as 'the man of God') that she needs no more wealth or power.  Apparently she has all that she needs.  Elisha keeps 'sniffing around,' though, doesn't he?  He wants to do something nice and realizes that he could use his powers to give them the gift of a child.

If you read my journal entry (online we call it a 'blog'),  you will know that I've been struggling with what it means to have physical limitations. I think that many of us can relate to this woman of Shunem.  I think that, young or old, many of us find times in our lives when we become painfully aware that our bodies, minds or spirits just won't let us do the things that we would really like most.

In fact, how does this woman respond to Elisha when he tells her of the gift he has planned?

She replies, "No, my Lord, O man of God; do not deceive your servant."

This is a woman who is resigned to her fate of having no male heir.  She is a woman who is very aware of her bodily limitations and those of her husband.  If you are a resident of Evenglow reading this in preparation for Tuesday, then I have no doubt that you would respond the very same way to such a bizarre promise, wouldn't you?

The funny thing about us humans is that we often don't want to talk about our own limitations, even when we are convinced of them.  We want to ignore that there are things we can't do for ourselves.  I don't know if it is pride, hope, or simply stubbornness.  For my part:  the other night I tried to get up and go to the bathroom without my walker because I thought, "I can do this and I don't need help from Carrie," but instead found myself fallen on the floor, still waking her up, because I physically couldn't do it on my own.

The woman of this story is well aware of her problems.  She probably didn't appreciate having them thrown in her face, especially since she doesn't really believe Elisha is going to be able to follow through.  She tells him that the last thing she needs is to get a false sense of hope!  She knows that she and her husband's physical bodies are not capable of producing a son.  She is aware and resigned.

Yet, it is about one year later that she conceived and bore a son just as Elisha has declared.  Sometimes we are reluctant to talk about our problems.  Sometimes we are reluctant to accept offers of help.  Most often, we simply don't believe that there is help available to us.

Now, I don't know about you, but I'm not a messiah and I'm certainly no Elisha, but I don't think it takes the supernatural force of a great prophet or the physical presence of Jesus in sandals to do Holy works in this world.

When God formed communities of Hebrew peoples; when Christ commissioned and sent out the disciples; when the Holy Spirit came upon the new Christian-Jews at Pentecost something happened with humanity.  I believe that God does touch and heal in very real ways today.  This week as we prepare for Bible Study, let us be pondering a couple of questions:

1. When have I needed something that I couldn't do for myself? 
2. How do I respond when people offer me help?  
3. Do I have people around me who may be waiting for my help --or waiting for me to accept their help?

Tuesday Bible Study
(Evenglow Lodge Chapel)

Join Us In-Person

For Bible Study at the Evenglow Chapel

Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012 at 1:30 p.m!

We will look at 2 Kings chapter 5 as we discuss
another person who needed help from Elisha!

• Click here for the scripture we will be studying on Tuesday at 1:30 pm in the Evenglow Chapel. 

• If you have time:  here is another journal that may wish to read before Bible Study on Tuesday.