I keep coming back to the question that Mike Ovey frequently asked his students at Oak Hill, “Will you let God disagree with you through his word?” The point he would make was that we can tell the difference between an imaginary friend and a real friend by whether or not the friend disagreed with… Continue reading Abandoned? How do we square the difficult bits of Song of Songs?
Category: Bible Study
Shameless
Genesis 2:25 says Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. The point of nakedness is that it is now associated with embarrassment and vulnerability. The point about shame is that it is something which causes us to hide, either ourselves of the thing that causes shame. In the Garden of Eden,… Continue reading Shameless
Not alone
Last time, we saw that God had made the man, Adam and placed him in Eden with the duty of caring for the garden and guarding it. God had commanded him to abstain from the fruit of one specific tree. Against this backdrop, God identifies that it isn’t good for him to be alone. This… Continue reading Not alone
When Scripture asks the questions
Steve Kneale has written helpfully here about what to do when a Bible passage doesn’t seem to be answering your questions. As Steve observes, it can often be the case that the passage simply isn’t intended to answer the question that you and me are asking. Indeed, it may well also be the case that… Continue reading When Scripture asks the questions
Worship and work
Read Genesis 2:15-18 So, now God takes the man, Adam and places him in the Garden. There he gives him work to do. He is to look after the garden, to tend/till and to guard/keep. Notice three things here. First, we see again that he has purpose, secondly we see that he is now the… Continue reading Worship and work
Two Trees: Two Ways To Live
I believe that there is a single choice running through Scripture. It’s the choice that we find here in Genesis 2-3, it’s offered to the people of Israel at the end of Deuteronomy, it’s the choice that Christ makes at Calvary and we too are called to make that choice in response to the Gospel.… Continue reading Two Trees: Two Ways To Live
Sex as God’s Good Gift
In the Louvre a few years back I saw a bizarre sight, a girl with a digital SLR camera, she was taking selfies! Amongst all the art and sculptures, she only had eyes for herself. Shocking! Augustine and Martin Luther both talked about sin in terms of the mind curved in on itself as selfishness.… Continue reading Sex as God’s Good Gift
The Garden
We’ve seen the big picture of creation. Now, it’s time to focus in on the detail. As we do, we begin to see something about God’s providential care for us. Read Genesis 2:4-14 The phrase often translated as “These are the generations” punctuates Genesis and marks the beginning of different stories within the subplot. It… Continue reading The Garden
Applying the trickier aspects of Song of Songs
Applying Song of Songs isn’t so neat and straight forward, whichever way we take it, either as practical wisdom about relationships or as a metaphor for Christ and the Church. Have a read through the book and spot these things. The lead female character is someone who appears vulnerable, taken advantage of, at risk. She… Continue reading Applying the trickier aspects of Song of Songs
Day Seven
The Old Testament Law rooted its command to set apart the seventh day as a sabbath in the creation account. Read Genesis 2:1-3 God has created the world, he has formed it and filled it. He has named things and ordered them. H has blessed his creation. Now, having blessed his creation, he blesses time,… Continue reading Day Seven
