The Way of Christ

Genesis 3:21 tells us that after Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden they were cast out of the garden and that as God showed them the door he "made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them."

I don't believe that this is a literal story. I don't believe a man named Adam and a woman named Eve ever existed in the way that Genesis describes. I don't believe there was a talking snake, and I don't believe that there was a Garden of Eden somewhere in the land of Persia(?). I know a lot of people look at this as a literal story, but I have a hard time believing that an Israelite sitting in Babylonian captivity wrote down this story some 2500-ish years ago in an effort to give us a historical analysis of how God created the universe **.

(** Some scholars say Genesis 1-11 was written or at least compiled during Israel’s exile in Babylon somewhere in the 500’s BC … so we’ll assume that’s correct for the sake of this post 😀)

Right?

I mean, sitting in captivity with all hope being lost ... I would think that the writer would have more pressing things to pass along to his readers.

“Hey guys, I know that the Babylonians have massacred us and have destroyed everything we ever knew, but I thought this would be a cool time to tell ya’ll about how God created the universe.”

I don’t know, seems doubtful to me.

And so I wonder if part of what the writer wanted to show his readers was that, really, the Israelites and all the people of the world had become no different than animals, symbolized by God clothing these 2 humans in animal skins.

Think about it.

God could have made anything to clothe Adam and Eve, but the writer says that God made them garments of skin - he took skin off of animals and put it onto the humans so that these humans became human beings walking around in the skin of animals.

Bears?

Lions?

Tigers?

Apes?

We're not told and it really doesn't matter because all of these animals are typically concerned with one thing more than any other thing: DOMINANCE.

Have you ever watched a National Geographic video of a single lion taking on loads of other animals, and coming out victorious? It’s sort of nauseating and yet somewhat fascinating all at the same time because …

Although the lion might be beat up.

And although it might be bloody.

And although it might even have a few broken bones.

… By the end of the video he has achieves his goal of dominance, status, and power. 

And so maybe the writer of Genesis was painting a picture of the human condition - that we have somehow become not much more than humans covered in the skin of animals, striving to dominate other humans and prove our own status and power as greater than someone else's. 

The Babylonians exerted their dominance over the Israelites - crushed their homeland, stripped them of their dignity, and all but destroyed their very existence.

Israel did this to its enemies at one point too as Joshua led them into the Promised Land to destroy the Canaanites and King David led them into victorious battle after battle.

In 2019 the United States spent 720,000,000,000 on military, to exert our dominance and power in the world. 

Have you ever watched or heard of an executive in a company try to climb the ladder of success so that he can outdo and prove his dominance and status and power over that of his co-workers?

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God they found themselves clothed in the garments of a striking metaphor - clothed in the skins of animals that are wired to prove their dominance over other animals because they too (Adam and Eve) would give birth to and populate the entire world with human beings who would be wired to do the same. 

And so I wonder today …

Is there a way for us to live our lives in such a way that we live in our pre-animal-garment-states?

Is there a way for us to live our lives as something other than the animals we have been clothed to become?

Is there a way to get back to a human state that is so fully alive that we mirror that which Adam and Eve were before they ate from the tree and were cast out of the Garden and into the world? 

I believe there is - I believe it's found in the way of Christ, the way that Jesus taught us to live.

The way of love.

The way of grace.

The way of inclusion.

Instead of trying to exert his dominance over the Roman Empire by calling upon legions of angels to come and save him, Christ laid his life down and let himself be dominated.

He wasn't interested in dominating the other.

He wasn't interested in exerting his power.

He wasn't interested in status.

As we leave behind 2020 and walk into 2021 may we aim to live the same - may we aim to strip ourselves or our animal skins and clothe ourselves in the light of the Christ.

Peace.

—

WAS THIS POST HELPFUL? Consider making a ONE TIME contribution at BUY ME A COFFEE 🎉☕️👏 .