GALATIANS # 2
HISTORY
An overview (1)
5/24/10

In preparing and presenting these studies, I try not to let any denominationalism, or my opinions creep in; my goal is to present the material accurately and completely unbiased. However, it is inevitable that some of my views will sneak in! To minimize the bias with which my prejudices might taint the study and in order to maintain some semblance of coherence in our study of Galatians we must acknowledge my world view and thus enable our establishing the parameters of the discussion.

So, for purposes of this study, let’s accept a “conservative” position and agree to agree, that:

1. The Scriptures (such as the King James Version) traditionally considered to be canonical by the Protestant churches, are “the breath of God”, and are thus inerrant and adequate, “sola scriptura"
a. Acknowledge that some interpretations are less true to the original writings than others, thus if necessary, we will rely on the KJV as the arbiter of conflicting interpretations.
b. All miracles mentioned literally happened, supernaturally, just as described.
c. The scriptures are historically correct.
d. They were written by the ones listed as the authors and generally at the earliest date normally accepted by conservative Christian Biblical scholars.
2. Christ is one aspect of the “Trinity”: is of identical substance as God the Father..
3. Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, came physically in the flesh, to dwell with mankind; God/man.
4. Mankind is guilty of , and condemned for “original sin”
5. Jesus suffering and death on the cross was the only means of “atoning" for mankind’s sins, “penal substitution”, which paid the penalty for the sins (including original sin) of anyone who will accept Him.
6. There is no salvation, but through Jesus Christ.
7. God is:
a. Omnipotent: absolutely powerful.
b. Omniscient: knows everything.
c. Omnipresent: is present everywhere at all times.

With that framework in place let’s see if we can keep the discussion within these boundaries:

Open your bible to the book of “beginnings”, Genesis, chapter 1, verse 1: “In the beginning God created….” From this we see that God existed before the beginning; before time! Why did He decide to create this universe? Turn to Revelations 4: 11…where we are told: it was for His pleasure. Not for our pleasure, not a random act issuing forth from His boredom: For His pleasure. Now back to Genesis 1: 26 – 31. At the conclusion of other days of creation, the scriptures record that God declares that day’s work as good: on completion of the crowning act, the creation of man, He declares creation to be “very good”. From this we see that not only did God create we humans, but he was pleased with the result; “very good”.

Since God is omniscient, He knew before He created man that man would rebel - yet He created him anyway, and declared all creation, including man, to be “very good”!Before Adam rebelled, the scriptures tell us God interacted on an intimate basis with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3: 8).

After the fall, man was saddled with “original sin” and was no longer allowed this close relationship: the revelation of the “Great Mystery” (Mark 4: 11) had begun (Genesis 1: 15)
As mankind increased, so did their rebellion, leading finally to such violence and debauchery that God had had enough and we read this astonishing statement in Genesis 6:6-7 :
And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
God then did destroy all, except by His grace, preserving mankind through Noah and his immediate family: even so the, “sin nature”, though not as rampant, was still alive and well, even after these miraculous events! Noah planted a vineyard, made some wine, got falling down drunk, and Ham committed some disgusting sin, the nature of which is uncertain...

From there mankind sunk back into their rebellious ways and set out to “build a tower to heaven” Gen. 11: 5-9 God broke this plot up by “confounded their tongues” and scattering “races” of men; He continued to be merciful, patient and, by His Grace, forgiving. On up through the centuries the scriptures continue to record man “wavering” or outright rebelling against God, even so, God remained steadfast, though justly dispensing punishment from time to time, yet ever remaining faithful to his promise to Eve: Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel , the promise of a savior who will conquer Satan.

Mankind again drifts away (always a “remnant” remaining faithful: Melchizedek Gen: 14: 18, etc). Remaining faithful to his promise, in spite of mans perversity, God takes the next step in revealing Himself, “choosing” Abram :
Genesis 12:1-3 ( KJV )
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

And His covenant with Abram:

Genesis 15:7-21 ( KJV )
And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Note that in verses 17 and 18 Abraham is in a trance and does not pass between the parts of the sacrifice, only God did, Hard Sayings of the Bible explores this intriguing chain of events:

Obedience, the Way to Blessing?

(Genesis 26:3-5) Did God grant his gracious gifts to Abraham on the basis of works? Are we to surmise that Old Testament men and women got salvation the old-fashioned Smith-Barney way: “They earned it”? It is the word because in Genesis 26:3-5 that causes us to raise our eyebrows and see this as a hard saying. There does appear to be a tension here between the free and unconditional offer of the promise to Abraham and the promise conditioned on Abraham’s keeping all God’s commands, decrees and laws. Surely law and grace are on a theological collision course. There are five key passages that are cited as demonstrating that the patriarch Abraham performed the requirements of God and in return God offered to him the everlasting covenant as a gift for his obedience: Genesis 12:1; 17:1, 9-14; 22:16; 26:3-5. Some have added additional commands to this list, but generally these are not as directly related to the promise-plan as the five already cited. The difficulty of this argument for conditionality and earning the promise is the stress the text makes on God’s actively conferring this covenant on Abraham. In one of the most dramatic scenes in the patriarch’s life, Genesis 15:12-21 depicts Abraham as being only a passive party to the formalization of the covenant, while the Lord, appearing as a “smoking firepot with a blazing torch,” passes between the pieces of the animals in the act of making a covenant with Abraham. It is well worth noting that only God passed between the pieces and therefore obligated himself. Had this been a bilateral covenant in which the covenant depended equally on both parties fulfilling their sides of the bargain, then both God and Abraham would have had to move between the pieces of the animals divided in half and thus say in effect, “May it happen to me what has happened to these animals if I do not uphold my side of the covenant.” So how shall we explain the disparity that now seems to intrude, requiring obedience from Abraham if the covenant is to be maintained? The answer will be this: promise and blessing still precede the command to obey and to keep the commands of God. Obedience is no more a condition for Abraham than it is for the church living under the command “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love” (Jn 15:10) or “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (Jn 14:15). The promise does not oppose God’s law, either in Abraham’s gift of the promise or in our gift of eternal life. The promise-giver who initiated the cove- nant with the patriarchs is the same one who gave the commandments, laws and statutes. Obedience, then, was not a condition for receiving the promise-blessing of God but was instead the evidence of real participation in that same promise. Because God was faithful, it was possible for these patriarchs to receive the promised blessings even if they themselves did not participate in them through their own belief. Even those who were not personal participants in the benefits of the covenant still had to pass on these benefits to those who followed in the line of the seed of the patriarchs. That belief was most easily demonstrated by the way in which individuals obeyed God—just as John puts it in his Gospel for the believing community of the New Testament. Therefore, the alleged conditional elements in the Abrahamic (and Davidic) covenant never threatened the constituent elements of the promise, nor did they add any stipulations to them. The matter of duty or obedience, which indeed is intimately bound up with the promise, is a matter of outcome and sequel rather than a prior condition to being a participant in its benefits by faith. The most remarkable text expressing the unconditional nature of the promise is Leviticus 26:44-45—“Yet in spite of this [the sins of disobedience],... I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them. But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors.” Surely that sounds as if it is indeed an unconditional covenant! See also comment on Leviticus 18:5; comment on Micah 6:6-8; comment on James 2:24. (QuickVerse)

This is a key passage: mankind, in their disbelief, has gone right to the brink of utter obliteration over and over, each time God has mercifully preserved a remnant, now here He further reveals Himself, and His plan of salvation for mankind reinforcing his promise of a coming Messiah (seed Gal 3: 16) even though we humans have failed over and over, unilaterally promising the inheritance to Abraham! There is nothing Abraham could pledge or promise, no work that he could do: it is entirely undeserved; entirely an act of Grace, unilaterally, solely on God’s part!

For a little more on this promise, let’s open our bibles to Galatians 3: 16 and read the insight the apostle Paul gives us.

As time goes by, Abraham (God changed his name Gen. 15: 17) wavers, even fails, from time to time, yet he never completely turns away from God; he continues to have “faith” in God, by which God counts him to be righteous (James 2: 21 – 23, etc.). One of Abraham’s failures leads to the birth of Ishmael by the slave woman, which we will consider a little later. The son of Sarah, “the son of promise” goes on to father Esau and his younger twin brother, Jacob.

As the eldest, Esau is the rightful heir of Abraham and God’s promise, however, through treachery and deceit Jacob steals their father’s blessing and the birthright.(Gen. 27 etc). Jacob then fathered twelve sons: the twelve tribes of Israel (God changed his name, Gen. 32: 28). the next to youngest of these boys (Joseph) was his father’s favorite, which caused his brothers to resent him and to finally decide to kill him! At the last moment they sold him to some itinerant slave traders and thought they were done with him, however, God wasn’t.

The slave traders took Joseph to Egypt and sold him to a high official in the pharaoh’s court, a series of miraculous events then unfold leading to Joseph becoming the second in command to the pharaoh.(Gen 41 etc). a famine struck all of that region and Joseph’s family came to Egypt for food and were reconciled with him, and so began the four hundred years God had told Abraham his children would be captive (Genesis 15:7-21, see above). In this vision God had also told Abraham his descendants would be delivered from this captivity after four hundred years.

A little over three hundred years later, God began preparing a man to lead them from this captivity: Moses, one of the two humans having the greatest positive influence and impact on mankind that ever lived (Jesus is God/man) the other being Saul of Tarsus – the Apostle Paul.

God’s requirement that Abraham and his descendants be circumcised (Gen 17: 7 – 14) set them apart physically and preserved them as God’s chosen people to some extent, even during their four hundred year Egyptian sojourn they remained a separate people. This outward physical sign, along with their belief in the God of Abraham and that they were His chosen people, along with their lowly social status as slaves, prevented their being completely absorbed by the Egyptian society in which they were immersed. However, not without suffering the syncretic infusion of some bits and pieces of the pagan religions in which they were immersed.

In spite of these shortcomings God remains merciful and patient and through Moses, frees the Israelites and sets in motion the events defining and ultimately providing the answer to the great “mystery” (mark 4: 11; Rom 16: 25 – 27)

DISCUSSION

1. Why did God create the universe?
2. Did God know that Satan and man were going to rebel before he created them?
3. What was the first time God promised a deliverer?
4. Why did God send the flood?
5. What happened to the people building the tower of Babel?
6. Who was Abram?
7. What were the two elements of the covenant God made to Abram/Abraham?
8. What was significant about how the covenant was made?
9. How did Jacob get his father’s blessing?
10. How did the Israelites wind up slaves in Egypt?