Bible'N Me

A Sacrifice For Sin

• Devin Birdsong • Episode 13

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0:00 | 31:47
SPEAKER_00

Welcome back to the Bible and Me podcast. My name is Devin Birdsong. I've got Brother Brad Cottrell and Brother Brett Cottrell here today. We've been in the Genesis study. We are almost to the end of chapter three. We've got, what is it, five verses left in chapter number three. And it feels like we've came through a world of territory. It's been amazing to be able to sit down and talk about these verses and the big reflections that we've had. I just want to start off by just asking if you guys want to share anything about your own personal experience with this so far. And you know, we're approaching the middle part of the year and just just talk about that. What what's been your experience with these verses?

SPEAKER_02

I've learned something new every time that we've we've met and and studied this out, and it's every time we have, it's something that I can take home and and my private devotion. And something just in the last few episodes, uh, something that really probably one of the biggest things that through all of this was God forming man the way that he did from the ground up. Seeing that picture of him forming man standing up, of how specifically that he made and molded us. Yeah. That's really stuck out to me. It's great.

SPEAKER_00

Um been wonderful. So when you go back to read these texts, they come alive and more alive and more alive. Yeah. Full disclosure, I have notes that I've made months ago on these texts. I've taken classes on these passages in the Bible, but it's been amazing to me to be able to go through this with you guys, and what you see in the scripture has opened up things in my life that I've never saw before. But then when I go back to reread those, it's your voice in my mind and your experience in my mind. And it's it's awesome to think about that.

SPEAKER_02

I've done the same thing. The other day I was listening to audio, audio Bible, and it was starting back in Genesis. It was actually chapter three. And I when I was listening to it, I just found myself just just hearing it for what I always thought it was, and I stopped and started it over and listen and you know, go through it again, just try to read it how we've been going through this.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, it's awesome. This whole exercise, and I I I don't remember when we started this, when we recorded the first, was it before Christmas?

SPEAKER_00

December. Yeah, we recorded first and back in December of last year.

SPEAKER_03

So I I've started this year again trying to read the Bible through. And uh based upon our introduction episode about this podcast, um, as I've started obviously in Genesis, it's just really shaped how I've how I've read. Okay. And trying to see God for how he was trying to reveal himself to these to these people, and then trying to apply that in my life of how do I see God? Do I see God of how he truly is, or just kind of what I've thought him to be? Kind of what we've talked in uh about do I see God as just the judge waiting to kick me out immediately? Do I see God as just the overlooking of everything? Kind of as the current church world would try to to portray God. Um it's just really honestly, the one word that I've really thought about the most is just trust. Yeah. Is learning. And that's a I I'm not I'm not there yet. I understand. I understand it's a lot. So convicting of my lack of trust in God and going far beyond. I I think what I've always just brought it down to is oh yeah, I trust that God can heal, God can do this and that. It's I think I've oversimplified it or whatever to just that kind of stuff of trusting God, of just trusting that everything is gonna turn out good. That's not really what trusting God is about. No, it's also trusting what God's commands are, that even when it don't feel right, oh man, even when it goes against my desires or my wants, or even sometimes it there's some things that kind of go against some of our just common sense in everyday life. It's like, God, that just seems unfair.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

But God just he's just asking, you just gotta trust me. And then now seeing all the the times that man has taken God's commands and then went about it his own way to try to find and we see what happens. I've seen it in my own life. The times that I've known what God said and thought, oh, I I know a better way. This this way is gonna be better. And every time it leads to failure.

SPEAKER_00

So hearing you talk put me my mind in the garden of Gethsemane with Christ knelt down before his father and saying, Father, if it be possible, let this cut pass for me. So there are times when our humanity can't put together that this is God's will. Things go dark, and we say, if there's any way around this, this is all I want is just a way around it. But where he succeeded was nevertheless not what I want, but what you want. Where Adam failed, Christ succeeded even in the dark, even in the darkest time of his life. So man, what a what a challenge that is for us to trust God and take him at his word.

SPEAKER_03

I've also been thinking a lot about trust being more than just a thought and it being an action. Oh, yeah. Of saying, God, I trust you. Yes, but then say, and you know, there's been a few, there has been times in my life where I look at certain situations and I say, God, I I prayed about this not too long ago. Lord, you know my heart. You know what I want. This is what I want to happen. Yeah. But I trust you.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. And it's always tied to the action.

SPEAKER_03

And I think it's okay, maybe that's some of that reasoning with God of just talking it out of this is what my heart wants. But I trust you enough to do what you say.

SPEAKER_00

What else is prayer, though? When we get down and get honest before God, prayer is less about God bending to our wishes and also about our will being conformed into the will of God. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I'm trying as well not to pat myself on the back so much when I go God's way.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Does that make sense? Yeah. You know, sometimes when we say, like, I want this so bad, or whatever it is. And then when we when God's will doesn't align with what we want and we go God's way, we're like, You are such a good Christian.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

You are suffering for Christ. Yeah, self-righteousness. And I've thought that in myself before. I think we've all been given. Yeah. And so just since this study, it's that kind of stuff has really been highlighted in my mind.

SPEAKER_00

I appreciate y'all sharing your thoughts on that because that's been my experience over the last two or three years going through these texts and even sitting down again today. Man, they're brand new. And it's like, oh my goodness, there's more in here than what I ever imagined. Sure. And the strength that you get from sitting down with you two, we've we've talked about this until it's probably nauseating to our audience, but man, there's such strength, strength in sitting down and visiting about these texts. Yes. So we're going to go to Genesis chapter three, verse number twenty. God has just given his judgments against the serpent, against the woman, and against the man. And now's Adam's response to all that. And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them. And the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become as one of us to know good and evil, now lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever. Therefore the Lord 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 cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life. Verse 20. Anything odd there? I don't know. I need to be asking that I need to be asking the question in a different way. I'm not looking for odd things in the Bible every time, but is there anything that strikes you there? It does strike me that we're just getting to her name. Yeah. She's not been called Eve. Right. So I I this has puzzled me. This is something I've mowed over that I haven't got a good answer for. But as we read in the last sec session about God saying in verse number 15 about the seed of the woman bruising or crushing the head of the seed of the serpent, um, is that a they hadn't had children up until now. Right. Is that Adam by faith saying I'm gonna call you uh Eve because uh I think I've got it written down here what Eve means.

SPEAKER_02

To live living.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, yes, life giver. That's what the name Eve means. So if God's promised you that you're gonna bring forth life, then I'm gonna call you the life giver.

SPEAKER_02

Which is amazing, right after in this order for that to be the next verse.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, um, we might would say if it was in and you know, just in the order of what's just happened, no, you're the deathbringer.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, true.

SPEAKER_00

There's no blame being placed now. No, it's not pointing fingers now. As a matter of fact, I find that pretty amazing. You don't find Adam and Eve pointing fingers at each other after they're standing there talking with God in the garden. It's like this is the result of our mutual responsibility, but I'm the one that God held responsible.

SPEAKER_03

Is that almost a realization of Adam of God's mercy at that time? I think so, yes. Because what I was told was that we eat of this tree, we'll die. Yes. And then after God speaks to them and tells them of you know the consequences of their sin, and there's more.

SPEAKER_00

He calls her a life giver.

SPEAKER_03

He calls her life giver. So there's a belief of life is going to go on from this and we're going to fulfill the purpose of multiplying.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

They have to think that the easy answer is just don't have kids. There won't be that sorrow. Let's just stop this. Yeah. You know, but has a faith in God that He does have the He does have the answer.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

That's amazing, isn't it? The sequence here is amazing. How that's his response right after they get the news of their the fallout of their sin, as he calls her life giver. And unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them. He covered them. They had already tried to cover themselves to blend in with their surroundings, right? But what they made was an inadequate covering for their sin. So God had to cover them. We've talked about explicit things said in the text and implicit things said in the text. Where did God get the coats of skins? It had to come from some other form of life.

SPEAKER_03

So the same way I thought of God just magically pulling a rib from Adam and creating Eve, where actually you read it, he surgically removed that from him, if you will. I've always just thought, poof. Oh, here's I found these hanging. Yeah, these were in the closet. No, I here's your fur coats. Yeah, he took the life in his hands. He had to take an animal, extinguish its life, and create.

SPEAKER_00

Here's something else that we can't even conceive of because there's been enmity between man and animals. That did not come until after Noah. There was not odds between man and animal. Right. So imagine this something that you're at perfect peace with, something that you have had the dominion over and even given their name.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Here again, I don't think it's right to try to fill in a lot of things, but let's do an experiment here and let's listen to God talk to one of the creatures and call them by the name that Adam has just called them by. Call them over something you gave them their name.

SPEAKER_03

And even at one point considered them to be what would bring deliverance. Yes. Right? Or look at least looked in. Looked in that direction. Yes. Yeah, that could have possibly been.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. There wasn't found a deliverer among that group for Adam. He's searching, he's looking for how this problem's going to be taken care of. But the one that you're at perfect peace with now, I mean, it's implicit that God is taking the life of this animal in front of them. Yeah. Now think about that. In front of them. They're shedding their blood because of your sin. They did nothing to deserve this.

SPEAKER_03

And to think it's because of you, but also for you.

SPEAKER_00

Man, take that forward to God's lamb that He provided. And because of you, He's dying, but also for you, He's dying. It's one of the most powerful concepts I've ever even considered in the Bible. Under Adam also and to his wife, it's two coats. There's at least two animals that's died, and they're at perfect peace with these animals. I mean, it doesn't matter to me what the animals were. I mean, some people will die on the hill that it was lambs that he that he slew. I have no idea. The Bible doesn't say, so I'm not trying to add to that, even though we did the thought experiment of what's going on, what's said here. It's such a skeletal uh you know way of writing. There's just a little bit there, but what is there? Oh my word, has such weight behind it.

SPEAKER_03

And don't you think we we spoke several episodes ago about the emotion of God? And although the animals whose lives were taken were not redeemable, don't you think it still had to hurt God? Absolutely. Part of his creation take the life of his creation.

SPEAKER_00

And it also had to hurt Adam and his wife. Yeah. Life giver is now life taker.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Deliverer is now having to be delivered. Yeah, it's amazing. I mean, these two verses so far, verse 20 and 21, are amazing verses in this chapter. Here again, you do not get this unless you stop and think about what's being said and talk about what's being said. What in the world is going on here? God is providing a substitute, and this is the pattern for redemption from chapter three on. The way God deals with man's sin is he always has a substitute. Now Israel standing at Mount Sinai, getting this for the first time, and finding out at the time after their greatest sin, God doesn't declare his name until after they had sinned. And God has Moses go down from the mountain, and Moses is like, Aaron's betrayed me, the whole, the whole nation's backslid. What am I supposed to do now? And God says, I'm gonna put you in the cleft of that rock, I'm gonna walk by you, and I'm gonna declare my nature to you. And Exodus 34, 6 and 7, he starts saying, The Lord, the Lord God, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, with committed loyal love. He's so long-suffering that he's not willing that any perish, and he's gonna go to the greatest lengths to make sure that your sin is covered. God revealed his nature in a greater way to Adam and Eve, right here than what he had before. And he did the same thing with Israel when they sinned their greatest sin. Yeah, they knew God they'd already agreed to be in a covenant relationship with him. And as soon as they agreed to that, within 40 days, they're gone. And God comes to them and chooses to reveal more about himself in that moment. It is so awesome to me to think that God wants to reveal himself in a greater way to us after we've sinned. He is not willing that any perish.

SPEAKER_03

No, that that really drives John 3 16 home. Yeah, it does. It's it's the foundation of it.

SPEAKER_00

What's awesome to me is what he says. He made coats of skin and clothed them. What they had now was sufficient to cover their sin. Yeah. He's not looking at their sin anymore. He's looking at the covering. God is right. They were trying to hide from God. Now they can be in the space, though it's not perfect, where they can actually be there without dying immediately. God seeing this covering instead of their sin.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And it all again is pointing forward to a place where they God can see the covering of skin, animal skins. What about the tabernacle? That's what the tabernacle is made of. It was covered in animal skins, and it's all about the representation of this sacrifice that's brought in place of the sin. These are foundational theological statements being made right here.

SPEAKER_03

And even going back earlier when Adam and Eve makes themselves aprons of fig leaves, is that kind of a pointing to works? Yeah. Completely in their own weaken. This is what I can do to make myself whole appear holy. Yes. But it it truly takes it takes God.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it takes God to make man holy. That's great. And the Lord 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 forever. It's like, what happens then? He now knows good and evil. He knows he knows what it's like to eat of that tree. What about the other tree? There wasn't a prohibition on that other tree before, it doesn't seem like.

SPEAKER_02

No.

SPEAKER_00

But this one now comes with a consequence of a banishment from that other tree. And this is God's great act of mercy.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

If they were to eat of the tree of life in a sinful state, man would be stuck in sin forever. And so God put cherubims, and the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. He's going outside.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

You're going to have to work out here now. There's no more coming back in here because this is where my tree of life is. So he drove out the man and placed at the east of the Garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life. This is the first introduction of cherubims. This is also the first introduction of the direction that man goes after sin. On the east end of the garden, it was already mentioned that there was a tree of life in chapter two, verse number eight. I'm sorry, the garden was on the east end of Eden. But now when man sins, he's sent out toward the east. That's going to become hugely significant in the biblical storyline because the next chapter you're going to find that Cain and Abel, when Cain sins, he goes further east. So in the biblical imagination, east is the direction that man goes away from God deeper into sin. So God sends him forth. This is something that I've wondered in verse number 23. How did Adam and Eve react to that? Was that something that they had to be coaxed to do? He sends them forth. You've got to walk away. No, I don't want to go away from you. We've been together since the beginning. No, you've got to walk away. That wasn't an easy walk. No.

SPEAKER_03

No.

SPEAKER_00

This is our this is where we meet. This is where we have walkabouts. No, no, you've got to go away. God sends them forth. You made the choice. Now you've got to walk away because you can't survive in this space anymore. Me and you can't be together anymore. Can you imagine the heartbreak on both sides? Yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_03

I don't know that I've ever, I know I have never considered the heartbreak on God's on God's part.

SPEAKER_00

He was grieved. He was grieved. Yeah, we read this like, oh, well, God's kind of the computer calculating on what he does next. How do I react to this? You know, how do I solve this problem? He he definitely is going to solve the problem. Sure. But he's not up there calculating. He's grieved. His heart's broke. This is the crowning of his creation. This is something we don't often consider when we willingly walk away from God. What that does to God. It's amazing to think about. God's heartbroken. This is the way it's gotta be with Adam and Eve. But through Christ, we're joined back to God, and you're gonna choose to walk away from Christ. My sacrifice that I gave to cover your sin. I know these are these are you know discussions way forward in the Bible, but can you imagine what that felt like for them to God saying, Look, you've got to go. God sends them forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. Go back to the place. Can you imagine that? Yeah, he's gotta work the land, realizing. I mean, did he know this right? Here's the general region, region where God was when I first became conscious, and God breathed into my nostrils the breath of this is right where it happened, right here. Yeah. Imagine walking by that place and realizing that God don't come to me anymore like that. He's inside that boundary. And if I were to want to go back, there's no way I could because there are two cherubims that are guarding the way, the doorway in, because they're guarding the way to the tree of life, which is where God's presence is.

SPEAKER_03

Something that just in verse 22 that really stuck out to me here, hearkening back to when the serpent was speaking to Eve, was that part of what he said was true. And that one of the the greatest lies has a semblance of truth in it. Because I mean, because God repeats that behold, the man is become as one of us. That's exactly what Satan told her that would happen. But yet he told her beforehand, he shall not surely there was the lie, but he shall not surely die.

SPEAKER_00

You're gonna experience the evil like you never have, and the good that you wanted is gonna be out of reach now. Yeah. It's this weird paradox. Yeah. You have experienced good and evil, and you have it without measure, but the good that you want is out of reach now. Um, later on in the uh biblical storyline, cherubims become very important in Israel's imagination for sure. Yes. They are a multi-dimensional creature, divine creature or angelic creature being. Uh, they represent, it's like a morph of all of creation. They can be seen as it's the same thing that was holding up the mobile throne platform that Ezekiel saw. They would have some of them have human features, animal features, multi-winged. That's the same thing that's right here. It's like a it's like a complete representation of all of God's created order in one being. So there's two of those standing. Heaven and earth coming together. Yes, 100%. This is a heaven and earth meeting spot. So there's two of those that's guarding the way to the presence of God, which is the tree of life. Israel knows this full well because when God gives them the tabernacle, on the tabernacle tent flaps, yes, there's two cherubims. That's the way back into the presence of God. Yeah. Later on when Solomon built the temple, the doors of the temple, the doors into the holy place was this place that had these two cherubims etched into the doors. Also, inside the tabernacle and the temple, when you get inside there and you look up, there's pomegranates, there's all these fruit trees. Yes. It's an Eden-like place. So that's what you're supposed to think of when you think about these cherubims on the east side of the garden. They're guarding the way back into the presence of God. And if you think you could get by them, they've got a sword that's twirling all the time that's going to take you out. It's on fire and it's it immediately kill you. The presence of God and sinful humanity cannot coexist. You immediately die. The first week that the tabernacle is set up, Aaron's the high priest, his two sons go into that very space. Yes, and they go in in an unauthorized manner. They offered something that God wasn't wanting, and they find out that the twirling sword, the flaming sword of God's presence is still very much at play. They didn't get slew with a sword or cut, but God's divine presence takes them out and they have to pull them out of the tabernacle. It's an amazing story, but the Israelites for sure have this on their mind when they think about the way back into God's presence. You encounter these two heavenly heaven and earth creatures, if you will. Your thoughts?

SPEAKER_03

I do think that's that's a striking thought to look at the the uh tabernacle, the tenth flaps, and see that. Yes, and then to have the story revealed and to realize where that yeah the foundation of that was so to be banished from the presence of God. Right.

SPEAKER_00

The tabernacle and the t and the uh temple are both set up on an east to west continuum. So going back toward the presence of God is going west. So when the psalmist writes and says that his sins and transgressions are separated him from him as far as the east is from the west, the priests are working on this east to west continuum to remove sin from Israel.

SPEAKER_03

I've never thought of that. Yeah. I've just thought of it in our the globe. Right. Which has a beautiful context to it. Sure, oh yeah, in itself. That's fine. But yeah.

SPEAKER_00

When you when you think about God's presence moving and working on man's sin, it's amazing that that he's working on an east to west continuum and it's calling back to what's happening in Genesis chapter number three. There's a little things that I never really paid much attention to. Something else that's kind of cool. When the day of Pentecost happens and there's all those territories mentioned mentioned, um if you read, I think it's the way that the cities are listed out, it's from uh from the east to the west to the uttermost part of the earth. So when Pentecost happens and sin, uh all of humanity's sin is dealt with, it's not just Jews that are going to receive the Spirit. These Jews from the disbursement are back in Jerusalem and they're here, and everybody speaking their own native tongues. Right. They're gonna go back to their places and they're gonna go back from east to west to the uttermost part of the earth, and they're gonna tell the good news that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. It's God's signal of I'm dealing with what happened in the beginning.

unknown

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

That's awesome. It is it's amazing. Well, I've I've uh I don't know. We're we're at the end of chapter three. I don't know if this is a right thing to say, but I've enjoyed this because it's really been soul searching. And we're gonna we're gonna go into chapter four next and we're gonna talk about what the next generation did. And sadly, it's not a story back, but it's a story way further down. Yeah um, but until then, there's always way more we can do, and I want to tell the people that are watching and listening, get your Bible out, go and have a Bible study with your friends, look into these texts, talk about some of the things we've talked about, and then I challenge you as well to listen to others and see how they experience the text themselves and see if they don't hear something different or see something different in the text. God bless you.

SPEAKER_01

Um this narrow road I've been traveling, and it gives me a purpose for my life. Jesus is my treasure, he's the reason that I'm still living. He's gonna be my reason when I die. He's gonna be my reason when I die.