There is a sizeable difference between the relationship
between Noah and the animal kingdom and that of Adam. Adam had dominion but with Noah there is now
fear and dread by the animals. It was on
account of man that the earth was flooded and all other life extinguished. Even though Noah was responsible for the salvation
of the animals which repopulated the earth, there was now an uneasy
relationship, even animal nature was changed.
Animals became food for man at this time. Noah and his family are given the commandment
and blessing to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and a covenant is
made between God and all creatures, the whole earth, a covenant not to destroy
the earth and its inhabitants by flood ever again. The rainbow is the sign yet the word isn't
rainbow, it is simply "bow" and could refer to a battle bow. The Lord is not at odds with His image.
Not only is God not at war with His image, He sent His Son
to take on flesh, not to condemn the world but that through Him and His
sacrifice to save the world, to redeem it.
What we make of Jesus is all that matters. Either He is the incarnate Son of God or He
is not. Either He gave His life as a
willing sacrifice for sin or He did not.
Either the Father accepted that sacrifice as sufficient for our sins or
He did not. Either we have life eternal
through Him or we do not. He gave us one
standard, belief in Him, by which we might be saved. Life in His Name means something more than
just belief, it means we are different in every way, our ways are changed. We are no longer to be doers of wickedness,
those things are to no longer characterize us.
Is His image being restored in us?
The writer speaks as though we can learn to discern good and
evil. Where have we seen those two
things together in Scripture? In Jesus
we have not only salvation at the end of our lives, we have the life of the
Spirit now. The Spirit is given, at
least in part, to help us discern these things.
To live by the Spirit is to know the difference between good and evil and
to choose the good because it is the good.
Knowing evil means fear and dread while knowing good is a compelling
thing, it attracts us. Jesus is the
ultimate good, the only one who has ever lived who is truly good, everything
and everyone else pales in comparison, no matter what the world's judgment
might be. If we see Him in that way then
we can say we believe. If we see that
truth, we have a measuring stick for all else.
Fear is gone because His perfect love is made manifest.
No comments:
Post a Comment