E-Book, Englisch, 200 Seiten
E-Book, Englisch, 200 Seiten
Reihe: Essential Studies in Biblical Theology
ISBN: 978-0-8308-5544-5
Verlag: InterVarsity Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
Benjamin L. Gladd received a PhD in Biblical and Theological studies from Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, and previously served as an adjunct faculty member at Wheaton College, teaching New Testament exegesis and interpretation, Greek, and introductory courses on the Old and New Testaments. Gladd is the author of Revealing the Mysterion and lives with his wife and two children.
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Chapter One
THE CREATION OF ADAM
IT WAS WEDNESDAY, December 2, 2009, and I was teaching Greek 101 to a group of undergrad students at Wheaton College. My phone rang. While I typically do not keep my phone on while I teach, this time was different. My wife was nine months pregnant with our first, and she was ready to pop. “I think it’s happening!” she exclaimed. I darted off, picked her up, and drove to the hospital in record time. Fast-forward twelve hours, and it was game time. My wife and I had taken a Lamaze class together and had heard countless stories from our friends, but nothing prepared us for the real thing. It was three in the morning, and I was about to meet Judah Benjamin for the first time.
His hair was dark brown, and his baby skin was tan. He had his mother’s dark brown eyes, but there was no doubt about it—he was my son. Growing up, we look up to our parents to determine our resemblances. But when we have children, we look down. For the first time in my life, someone was in my “image” and “likeness” at some level.
For us to understand what it means to be part of the people of God, we must begin with the creation of Adam and Eve in the divine image. This project begins with the creation of the cosmos and humanity’s role within it. The task before us in this chapter is straightforward: sketch the nature of Adam and Eve’s being created in the divine image and how the first couple relates to God and the world around them. What does it mean that Adam and Eve are in God’s likeness, and what are his expectations for them? As we will discover below, humanity is fashioned to dwell in God’s presence and tasked with the responsibility to bring his glory to the ends of the earth.
THE COSMOS AS GOD’S TEMPLE
A careful reading of Genesis 1–2 reveals God creating a vast cosmic temple, wherein he dwells and sovereignly rules. Parallels between the creation account in Genesis 1–2 and the construction of the tabernacle in the book of Exodus are many, and several scholars argue that God is indeed fashioning a cosmic temple in Genesis 1–2.1 Elsewhere in the Old Testament, the cosmos is compared to Israel’s temple:
He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever. (Psalm 78:69;
cf. 1 Chronicles 28:2; Isaiah 66:1-2)
Moshe Weinfeld, for example, astutely juxtaposes God creating the cosmos and Moses establishing the tabernacle, as shown in table 1.1.2
The parallels between these two accounts are difficult to ignore, especially when we consider them in light of the Pentateuch’s unity. Exodus is meant to be read in light of Genesis 1–3.
Even the layout of Israel’s temple symbolically depicts the order of the cosmos. The outer courtyard of the temple contained the washbasin and the altar, symbolizing the sea and the land (1 Kings 7:23-25; Ezekiel 43:14-16). Moving a step closer to God’s presence, the second section of the temple, or the holy place, symbolized the visible heavens and was lined with gold, containing the altar of incense (1 Kings 6:20), the bread of the Presence resting on a table (1 Kings 7:48), and ten lampstands fashioned out of gold (1 Kings 7:49). The final and most sacred section of the temple was the holy of holies, which symbolized the invisible heavens, where God dwells. This partition, separated by an embroidered curtain, was also lined with gold and housed the ark of the covenant. Above the ark, two cherubim faced one another, symbolizing the throne of God in heaven, which is also surrounded by cherubim (Psalm 80:1; 99:1; cf. Isaiah 6). In summary, the connections between the cosmos and Israel’s temple are overwhelming. Michael Morales rightly concludes, “The cosmos was understood as a large temple and the temple as a small cosmos.”3
| GENESIS 1–2 | EXODUS 39–40 |
| “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) | “Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the LORD had commanded.” (Exodus 39:43) |
| “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.” (Genesis 2:1) | “So all the work on the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed.” (Exodus 39:32) |
| “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing.” (Genesis 2:2) | “And so Moses finished the work.” (Exodus 40:33) |
| “Then God blessed the seventh day.” (Genesis 2:3) | “So Moses blessed them.” (Exodus 39:43) |
| “Then God . . . made it holy.” (Genesis 2:3) | “Anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings.” (Exodus 40:9) |
Table 1.1
Israel’s tabernacle and temple are just models of something greater—the entire cosmos. The earthly temple corresponds to something greater—the cosmic temple over which God rules. As an illustration, my kids and I enjoy playing with Legos, and one of our favorite sets is the Millennium Falcon. This thousand-piece set includes all sorts of details that are found in the Star Wars films, even a detailed hyperdrive system! Not for a second, though, do my kids and I believe that the Lego set is the real Millennium Falcon. It’s just a model.
Another important detail found in Genesis 1 is the creation of lights. On day one, God creates light (Genesis 1:3), whereas on day four God fills the heavens with lights: “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night’ ” (Genesis 1:14). The word “lights” here in the creation narrative is noteworthy, as the same term is applied to the lampstand in Israel’s tabernacle: “the lampstand that is for light with its accessories, lamps and oil for the light” (Exodus 35:14; cf. Exodus 39:37; Numbers 4:9). The lampstand in the tabernacle and Israel’s temple illuminated the holy place, symbolizing God’s presence among his people. The lights strewn about the cosmos function as cultic luminaries that burn brightly throughout God’s cosmic temple. In this vein, the seven lights affixed to the lampstand in Israel’s temple probably symbolized the seven lights of the visible sky (sun, moon, and five planets).4 These lights “mark sacred times, and days and years” (Genesis 1:14). Creation follows a fixed calendar that calls to mind God’s purpose in creating all things. That is, the lights set the rhythm of the created order, so that all of creation may be oriented toward God and reminded to worship him.5
When God finished creating the cosmos, he rested from the creative process, but this resting is unlike our modern conception of rest. I often associate resting with watching football with my kids on Sunday afternoons, but resting in the Old Testament is quite different. God resting after six days entails his climactic enthronement as King over the cosmos (Genesis 2:2; cf. 2 Chronicles 6:41; Isaiah 66:1). Perhaps an illustration would help here. One of my favorite hobbies is woodworking on the weekends. I enjoy working with wood—measuring (twice!), cutting, sanding, and finishing. Some time ago, I built a table for our dining room. To use the language of Genesis 1, in six days I created the table, and on the seventh day, I “rested,” when I moved the table inside my house and dined on it. God resting on the Sabbath occurs when he executes his sovereign rule over his creation.
So why did God graciously construct a cosmic temple? Why does the creation of the cosmos parallel the construction of the tabernacle? Simply put, God built a cosmic house to occupy. Much like an individual constructing a large estate on a plot of land, where the owner desires to move in and manage the property, God desires to rule the created order and fill it with his resplendent presence. Quite simply, the universe is designed to house the veritable glory of God.
EDEN AS A TEMPLE
An additional detail we glean from Genesis 1–2 is the depiction of Eden as a sanctuary resting on a mountain. Though God dwells in all his fullness in the invisible heavens, his presence has partially descended in the Garden of Eden. Just as Israel’s temple comprises three tiers, so also does the earth.
Eden is the center of God’s activity on the earth, where God dwells and gives Adam and Eve his law and instructs them how they are to honor him. Much like Sinai, Eden ought to be understood as a mountain that houses God’s glory. Genesis 2:10-14 adds several...
