Personal God


Genesis 2:4–9 (ESV) These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:18 (ESV) Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”


The recent scholarship of the Bible has gone one of two directions:
1. Conservative - adhering to age-old understandings that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible and so on...
2. Critical - trying to rewrite accepted history for generations and suggest multiple authors so as to possibly question the validity of the scriptures as a whole.

You don't have to get far in the Bible for the critique to begin from the Critical camp. Genesis 2 is often suggested as being written by someone else because the name for God is suddenly changed from Elohim to Jehovah.

To make such claims is to ignore the beauty of the scriptures. EVERY word of God's Word is important. If Jehovah is being used, it is for a reason... to show us something about God... not to make us question the authorship and critique it.

How funny it is that when "scholars" want to keep God a arms length and dissect Him, they will totally ignore such wonderful revelation.

You see, Genesis 1 is the big-picture of God. The God of creation and order... Who is above and beyond the stars and the galaxies. He is owner and originator of every beautiful and wondrous aspect of this universe! He is majestic!

But Genesis 2 is the intimate God! The God of covenant - "YHWH" being God's Covenantal name with Israel as He swore to be with them and guide and lead them.

We see Jehovah (YHWH) creating space for He and man to dwell in perfect lush abundance. The picture of a garden to a Palestinian desert wanderer was especially appealing. Life with God is full of all we could ever want and need.

We see the LORD forming (as if with His hands) the man, and later the woman from the man. We see Jehovah bending down to breath into the nostrils of the man. We see the the LORD providing for every need - even the most important - relational intimacy with others as He creates a woman for the man. It's a beautiful picture of God, the Lord who cares for and is intimately involved with mankind. The God who wants to be WITH US.

This is the story of the Bible. But you have to stop keeping God at arms length to understand it and experience Him! He wants to be WITH you. You do not have to be alone. The are the longest aches in the human heart: to be in fellowship with our creator; to have our needs met in abundance; and to have peace-filled fellowship with one another. This is what God wants for you and me.

No wonder Jesus would say,
John 10:10 (ESV) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Revelation 3:20 (ESV) Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

This is the story of the Bible.
And it's beautiful.

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