Land of Confusion
Throughout the Genesis account of creation, the language is calm, measured and majestic. In sharp contrast with the gods of Egypt and Mesopotamia who emerged from some kind of primaeval slime, the God of Moses is eternal, non-contingent and all-powerful. Unlike the imaginary gods, He has no rivals, no consorts and no human-like frailties. With a series of commands, He calls into existence an orderly universe, perfectly suited to His plan.
Among other things, order involves recognising differences, making proper distinctions, and separating things that are not to be confused. So it is that God separates the light from darkness (Gen 1:6-8), day from night (Gen 1:14-19), the waters from above the expanse from those below (Gen 1:6-8), and the land from the seas (Gen 1:9-13). Commenting upon Genesis 1:12, Old Testament scholar Gordon Wenham writes: “The implication, though not stated, is clear: what God has distinguished and created to state, man ought not to confuse (Lev 19:19; Deut 22:9-11)” (Word Biblical Commentary Genesis 1-15)
When God created man in His image, He made them male and female (Gen 1:27) Clearly the Lord made a distinction between the sexes. Sadly in the west, we seem to be intent upon encouraging gender confusion whenever and wherever possible. Euphemisms like “gay lifestyle” cannot alter the fact that homosexuality is an “exceedingly grave” offence (Gen 18:20) which violates the natural (Rom 1:26,27) and defiles those who tolerate it (Lev 18:22,24). Of course, it’s frustrating to be constantly castigated as a homophobe, but Jesus warned: “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you” (Jn 15:18) We’re in good company! The church must not be silent about this because we will see confusion growing day by day. (Continued next month)
- Rex
0 Comments