Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.
Gal. 3:13 "Christ redeemed us from the curse"
Have you ever noticed that things in this world just don't work right? That things don't seem to be as they ought to be? We know that this is because of sin, that the world has been cursed because of our sin. We know that the sacrifice of the Lord washes us free of our sins and offers us entrance to eternal salvation, but did you realize that Jesus's sacrifice also corrects all that is wrong with this world? He not only removes from us the curse of damnation, but all aspects of the curse of sin in this world. Let me show you what I mean:
Gen. 11:1-9. The Tower of Babel. We all know this story. In the days after the Flood, when all the earth spoke one language the people gathered together and in their arrogance decided to build a city and a tower such that their name would live on forever. God decided to put a stop to this foolishness by confusing the languages of the people. Suddenly, the people were divided into many different groups based on the new languages they spoke and were scattered across the Earth. Compare that to the description God gives of His new kingdom in Zeph. 3:9-10. “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord. From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering." Some think that the "pure speech" refers to an end to vulgarity and profanity, but notice what this speech allows: ALL may call upon the Lord with ONE ACCORD. Instead of everyone speaking different languages and being divided, with this new speech all can come together to praise Him. Also, notice that His people are being called from the farthest reaches of the world. "Beyond the rivers of Cush" was literally off the map for the people of Judah. "Here be dragons." So, instead of being scattered across the earth by the confusion of Babel, the new language gathers His worshippers together to join in praising Him.
At least in one sense we have the fulfillment of this prophecy today. Every Sunday, in gathering places all over the world, and regardless of the language spoken, we join in using His language to proclaim His death. 1 Cor. 11:26 "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."
Another well-known story is found in Ex. 33:17-23. Moses asks to see God's face. He is told that he will be allowed to see the back of God, but not His face. Ex. 33:20 "But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” Notice how God says this. "Cannot . . . for man shall not". Not man cannot, but man shall not. This indicates a decision God has made rather than a statement of the nature of man. God has chosen that sinful man shall not see His face. Ex. 33:23 "my face shall not be seen.” This isn't the way things have always been. Gen. 3:8-9 "And they heard the sound of Jehovah God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah God amongst the trees of the garden. And Jehovah God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou?" It isn't a surprise to Adam and Eve that God came to walk with them. They were shamed at being caught in sin, but this is written as if it were a completely normal thing for them to take a stroll with God in the evening. Mankind used to regularly see God's face. Then Adam and Eve sinned and God stood before them one more time to pronounce judgment, and from that day forth "man shall not see me and live". Jesus's sacrifice corrects this, too. In Ezek. 20:35 when God prophesies about reconstituting the righteous remnant into His new kingdom He promises that He will judge them face-to-face. The beatitudes include the statement that pure in heart shall see God. Most telling is Rev. 22:4. As John describes the reward awaiting those saved in Christ he says, in part, "and they shall see his face; and his name shall be on their foreheads." In Christ we will again be able to stand in His presence and see His face. Evening walks with God will again become a possibility.
Perhaps the most egregious perversion of God's creation to me personally is the introduction of hard, sweaty toil as the means by which we survive. God never intended for man to be lazy. Gen. 2:15 tells us that Adam was put into the Garden to "dress and keep it." There was a task for Adam to complete, but it couldn't have been too hard. How much difficulty is entailed in keeping a Garden in which weeds don't grow, molds don't develop and thorns don't exist? Adam and Eve had enough to stay busy, but there was no hard labor. That all changed when they sinned, specifically with the sentence pronounced upon Adam. Gen. 3:17-19 "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." In toil shall you eat, in the sweat of thy face shall you eat. No more was there only enough light work to make life meaningful. Now it was toil, drudgery, pain, setbacks, and sweaty labor. Also, God says this toil continues until we die. Everyday work until you die.
This isn't what God intended. Through Christ this, too, can be corrected. In Deut. 12:8-10 Moses tells the people that rest was part of what made the Promised Land so wonderful, but God tells us in Ps. 95:10-11 "Forty years long was I grieved with that generation, And said, It is a people that do err in their heart, And they have not known my ways: Wherefore I sware in my wrath, That they should not enter into my rest." The writer of Hebrews makes much of this, concluding that if they hadn't entered into God's rest then "there remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God." Heb. 4:9. He goes on to say that just as Jesus had completed His tasks and rested, so there is a rest for us. In Christ, there will be rest from the constant toiling of this world. He fixed that issue, too.
The last problem we will discuss is our separation from the Tree of Life. Gen. 2:9 tells us that God put the Tree into the Garden and in vs. 16-17 He tells Adam that he could eat whatever he wanted except for the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That means that Adam could eat of the Tree of Life. After the Fall, God drove out Adam and Eve specifically to keep them from the Tree of Life: Gen. 3:22-24 "And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever--therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." And so death entered the world, as we see in the next two chapters. Cain kills Abel in chapter four, followed by a unique genealogy in chapter five. Each person's life is briefly described and capped with "and he died." Over and over, "and he died". Because of sin, death entered the world. Nobody escapes this sentence. As the cliche goes, the only things sure in this life are death and taxes. Jesus fixes this, too. Rev. 22:1-2 "And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the midst of the street thereof. And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." The Garden of Eden apparently had one Tree of Life. The Eternal Kingdom in Heaven will have a whole grove of Trees of Life encompassing a river flowing with the Water of Life. Through sin death entered the world. Through Christ we have access to life, and life eternal.
Jesus's sacrifice has or will correct all the things that sin has perverted in this world. Everything that sin made wrong, Christ will make right.
Rev. 22:3 "And there shall be no curse any more."
Lucas Ward
Gal. 3:13 "Christ redeemed us from the curse"
Have you ever noticed that things in this world just don't work right? That things don't seem to be as they ought to be? We know that this is because of sin, that the world has been cursed because of our sin. We know that the sacrifice of the Lord washes us free of our sins and offers us entrance to eternal salvation, but did you realize that Jesus's sacrifice also corrects all that is wrong with this world? He not only removes from us the curse of damnation, but all aspects of the curse of sin in this world. Let me show you what I mean:
Gen. 11:1-9. The Tower of Babel. We all know this story. In the days after the Flood, when all the earth spoke one language the people gathered together and in their arrogance decided to build a city and a tower such that their name would live on forever. God decided to put a stop to this foolishness by confusing the languages of the people. Suddenly, the people were divided into many different groups based on the new languages they spoke and were scattered across the Earth. Compare that to the description God gives of His new kingdom in Zeph. 3:9-10. “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord. From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering." Some think that the "pure speech" refers to an end to vulgarity and profanity, but notice what this speech allows: ALL may call upon the Lord with ONE ACCORD. Instead of everyone speaking different languages and being divided, with this new speech all can come together to praise Him. Also, notice that His people are being called from the farthest reaches of the world. "Beyond the rivers of Cush" was literally off the map for the people of Judah. "Here be dragons." So, instead of being scattered across the earth by the confusion of Babel, the new language gathers His worshippers together to join in praising Him.
At least in one sense we have the fulfillment of this prophecy today. Every Sunday, in gathering places all over the world, and regardless of the language spoken, we join in using His language to proclaim His death. 1 Cor. 11:26 "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."
Another well-known story is found in Ex. 33:17-23. Moses asks to see God's face. He is told that he will be allowed to see the back of God, but not His face. Ex. 33:20 "But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” Notice how God says this. "Cannot . . . for man shall not". Not man cannot, but man shall not. This indicates a decision God has made rather than a statement of the nature of man. God has chosen that sinful man shall not see His face. Ex. 33:23 "my face shall not be seen.” This isn't the way things have always been. Gen. 3:8-9 "And they heard the sound of Jehovah God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah God amongst the trees of the garden. And Jehovah God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou?" It isn't a surprise to Adam and Eve that God came to walk with them. They were shamed at being caught in sin, but this is written as if it were a completely normal thing for them to take a stroll with God in the evening. Mankind used to regularly see God's face. Then Adam and Eve sinned and God stood before them one more time to pronounce judgment, and from that day forth "man shall not see me and live". Jesus's sacrifice corrects this, too. In Ezek. 20:35 when God prophesies about reconstituting the righteous remnant into His new kingdom He promises that He will judge them face-to-face. The beatitudes include the statement that pure in heart shall see God. Most telling is Rev. 22:4. As John describes the reward awaiting those saved in Christ he says, in part, "and they shall see his face; and his name shall be on their foreheads." In Christ we will again be able to stand in His presence and see His face. Evening walks with God will again become a possibility.
Perhaps the most egregious perversion of God's creation to me personally is the introduction of hard, sweaty toil as the means by which we survive. God never intended for man to be lazy. Gen. 2:15 tells us that Adam was put into the Garden to "dress and keep it." There was a task for Adam to complete, but it couldn't have been too hard. How much difficulty is entailed in keeping a Garden in which weeds don't grow, molds don't develop and thorns don't exist? Adam and Eve had enough to stay busy, but there was no hard labor. That all changed when they sinned, specifically with the sentence pronounced upon Adam. Gen. 3:17-19 "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." In toil shall you eat, in the sweat of thy face shall you eat. No more was there only enough light work to make life meaningful. Now it was toil, drudgery, pain, setbacks, and sweaty labor. Also, God says this toil continues until we die. Everyday work until you die.
This isn't what God intended. Through Christ this, too, can be corrected. In Deut. 12:8-10 Moses tells the people that rest was part of what made the Promised Land so wonderful, but God tells us in Ps. 95:10-11 "Forty years long was I grieved with that generation, And said, It is a people that do err in their heart, And they have not known my ways: Wherefore I sware in my wrath, That they should not enter into my rest." The writer of Hebrews makes much of this, concluding that if they hadn't entered into God's rest then "there remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God." Heb. 4:9. He goes on to say that just as Jesus had completed His tasks and rested, so there is a rest for us. In Christ, there will be rest from the constant toiling of this world. He fixed that issue, too.
The last problem we will discuss is our separation from the Tree of Life. Gen. 2:9 tells us that God put the Tree into the Garden and in vs. 16-17 He tells Adam that he could eat whatever he wanted except for the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That means that Adam could eat of the Tree of Life. After the Fall, God drove out Adam and Eve specifically to keep them from the Tree of Life: Gen. 3:22-24 "And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever--therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." And so death entered the world, as we see in the next two chapters. Cain kills Abel in chapter four, followed by a unique genealogy in chapter five. Each person's life is briefly described and capped with "and he died." Over and over, "and he died". Because of sin, death entered the world. Nobody escapes this sentence. As the cliche goes, the only things sure in this life are death and taxes. Jesus fixes this, too. Rev. 22:1-2 "And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the midst of the street thereof. And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." The Garden of Eden apparently had one Tree of Life. The Eternal Kingdom in Heaven will have a whole grove of Trees of Life encompassing a river flowing with the Water of Life. Through sin death entered the world. Through Christ we have access to life, and life eternal.
Jesus's sacrifice has or will correct all the things that sin has perverted in this world. Everything that sin made wrong, Christ will make right.
Rev. 22:3 "And there shall be no curse any more."
Lucas Ward
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