The Divine Mandates. Morris A. Inch
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="#ulink_41a5abda-6341-5be2-9f73-449ed8a563af">7. Clorfene and Togalsky, The Path of the Righteous Gentile, 8.
8. Ibid., 74.
9. Hoffmeier, “Abortion and the Old Testament Law,” 53.
10. Hartley, Genesis, 63.
11. Clorfene and Rogalsky, The Path of the Righteous Gentile, 98.
Prophetic Times
From the beginning. Scripture begins with the solemn affirmation, “In the beginning God” (Gen. 1:1). We are thus alerted to the fact that at the outset God stands alone in solitary splendor. There is no rival. No, not one!
The religious pantheon was a later addition, meant to serve human caprice. Along the line of human fiction
Initially, the earth was formless and void. Resembling the amorphous clay cast by a potter, before fashioning a vessel—both functional and aesthetically pleasing. It was a barren landscape, lacking life. Now the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters, in anticipation of the task that lay ahead.
“Let there be light,” God declared, “and there was light.” And God was that it was good. Then in other regards, concluding with the observation: “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”
“By way of implications, man was born free, with the intent that he should remain free. Not free from obligation, which is license, but free to cultivate a relationship with God and one another.”12 So things would have remained had he abided by God’s instructions.
Instead, he ate from the forbidden fruit. Our choices either open new opportunities, or further restrict those we previously enjoyed. This proved to be no exception. Life took a decided turn for the worse, for the original couple and their posterity. For instance, Adam was informed: “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life” (Gen. 3:17).
Worthy of note, even small changes in original conditions are calculated to have disproportionate results. Moreover, this was a defection of major proportions. Leaving the impression that Life was radically altered.
By way of a reality check, Eve gave birth to two sons: Cain and Abel. In the course of time, Abel offered fat portions from the firstborn of his flock to the Lord, as one would honor a distinguished guest. While Cain offered a token alternative. Consequently, God Looked with favor on Abel’s offering, but with manifest disfavor on his brother’s sacrifice.
“Why are you angry?” the Lord inquired of Cain. “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it” (Gen. 4:6–7). Sin is thus depicted as a predatory animal, waiting to devour its victim. If not vanquished, it will succeed.
Cain nonetheless proposed to his brother, “Let’s go out to the field.” Arriving at a secluded place, he attacked and killed Abel. And then refused to assume responsibility for his despicable behavior.
“What have you done?” God exclaimed. “Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” “It was believed that uncovered human blood cried out for vengeance against the murderer. If no one heard the cry, God was obligated to redress the wrong.”13
Some time later, Lamech informed his wives: “I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times” (Gen. 4:23–24). Thus revealing the swift progress of sin, by way of contrasting the impulsive behavior of Cain with the calculated retaliation of his vengeful successor.
Matters continued to deteriorate. Now the Lord saw how great the wickedness of man had become, how “that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time” (Gen. 6:15). One could hardly imagine a more scathing indictment.
So the Lord determined to bring a flood upon the earth, as if to cleanse it from its contamination. As might a potter, when he sees that his work in progress I compromised, starts over. With the prospect of better success.
Even so, Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. He “was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” So the Lord warned him of the impending disaster, and instructed him to build an ark for the deliverance of his family and perpetuation of the human race.
In retrospect, “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith” (Heb. 11:7). As illustrative of the thesis, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (v 1).
Once the waters had receded, God covenanted with Noah. Recalling the earlier discussion of its features. By way of exploring the character of the divine mandates.
Now the whole world had a common language. As men moved eastward, they found an inviting plain in Shinar and settled there. “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly,” they admonished one another. “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (Gen. 11:3–4)
“The elements of the story are timelessly characteristic of the spirit of the world. The project is typically grandiose; men describe it excitedly to one another as if it were the ultimate achievement—very much as modern man glorifies in his space projects.”14 Their expressed purpose being to make a name for ourselves, and provide security within the confines of their habitation.
Appraising the situation, the Lord decided to confuse their language, so as to discourage their presumption. This resulted in their aborting the effort, and being scattered throughout the world. Recalling the observation, “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth, and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26–27).
With the patriarchs. It was said of the patriarchs that while they were men of faith, they were not always faithful. It is perhaps for this reason that it seems so easy to identify with them. In any case, they constituted a new phase in salvation history.
The Lord instructed Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” (Gen. 12:1). The prospect was not inviting on two counts. First, he was to take leave of familiar surroundings, and the security and sense of belonging associated wit his people and father’s household. Second, he would be thrust into an alien environ, along with uncertainties and potential risks these involved.
Conversely, “I will make you a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” He would be blessed in the process, protected from his adversaries, and become the means of universal blessing.
“So Abram left,” in obedience to God’s directive. He “traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.”