Scripture: Psalm 8, Genesis 9-10, Ephesians 5
I have so far, very much enjoyed the connections that have come from the reading. Today’s was a bit of surprise, one I didn’t see coming. “He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and he lay uncovered in his tent.” (Genesis 9:21) “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18) There is so much happening in Genesis 9 and revealed in Ephesians as well, that to dwell on this connection seems foolish. But there it is, and on deeper reflection, it is the crux of all of the chapters we’ve read today. In Genesis 9, the flood is over, a covenant is made between God and humankind. God places the bow in the sky, what we’ve commonly accepted as a reference to the rainbow, as a reminder that God will never again deal with the depravity of humankind through a global flood. God continually establishes a means of protecting His creation, and the next way He does that is protect life. In the opening 8 verses of Gen. 9, we see a protection of life. There is an accounting of blood for humankind, but also for animal life as well. All creation is to be protected and cared for by humankind. The level to which we understand this is how we come up with a bevy of diets to protect life. At the heart of this text, is an understanding and perspective about God and creation. He loves it deeply and His desire appears to be to keep there from being bloodshed and disregard for life, be it plant life, human life or animal life. All life, all of creation is of deep importance to God. In comes then, the fall of Noah, after the promise of God to protect the earth, Noah gets drunk with wine. Noah painfully reveals once again that while there are protections in place on creation, and commitment from God to deal with sin differently, sin is still present amidst creation. The brokenness of the world is still there, still wreaking havoc on families, friends, neighbors and creation. The accounting of life from the blood then, comes into play in the book of Ephesians: Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” We are brought near the shedding of Jesus’ blood. Genesis 9 and the accounting of blood, becomes the means of our redemption. More will come into play, as we explore the books of Leviticus and Exodus. What we know is the blood of the Lamb of Jesus, the life blood in Him through the Grace of God, becomes our life. So, we are encouraged, to leave the life of the flesh, the darkness and evil of the world. Leave debauchery behind and be filled with the Spirit. We are called to leave drunkenness behind, the abuse of something good, and called to be filled overflowing in the goodness of God. Something new is happening in Jesus Christ. The flood may have started the creation over with a reset. But sin was still very much there, real and problematic. Today, there is forgiveness of our sins, and new life made possible through the blood of Jesus. A flood of mercy pours out at the cross. Sin is forgiven, and new life is ours. Be filled with the Spirit! Jordan
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AuthorJordan Ickes, Minister of Etna Green Church of Christ. Archives
December 2022
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