What's the Problem?

Problem 1: The Fall

What does God want with humanity? What is His plan? Genesis 1:26-31

Genesis 1:26–30 LEB

26 And God said, “Let us make humankind in our image and according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of heaven, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every moving thing that moves upon the earth.” 27 So God created humankind in his image, in the likeness of God he created him, male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven, and over every animal that moves upon the earth.” 29 And God said, “Look—I am giving to you every plant that bears seed which is on the face of the whole earth, and every kind of tree that bears fruit. They shall be yours as food.” 30 And to every kind of animal of the earth and to every bird of heaven, and to everything that moves upon the earth in which there is life I am giving every green plant as food.” And it was so.

God (YHWH) wants a human family.

Genesis 3:1–7 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God indeed say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but from the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die’.” But the serpent said to the woman, “You shall not surely die. For God knows that on the day you both eat from it, then your eyes will be opened and you both shall be like gods, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise, then she took from its fruit and she ate. And she gave it also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed together fig leaves and they made for themselves coverings.”

Problem 2: The proliferation of evil

Genesis 6:4–5 LEB

4 The Nephilim were upon the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God went into the daughters of humankind, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty warriors that were from ancient times, men of renown. 5 And Yahweh saw that the evil of humankind was great upon the earth, and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was always only evil.

1 Enoch 8: 1-2 “Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made know to them the metals of the earth and the craft of working them, and bracelets and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all coloring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness...”

Problem 3:

Genesis 11:4–8 LEB

4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top reaches to the heavens. And let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” 5 Then Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower that humankind was building. 6 And Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people with one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. So now nothing that they intend to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand each other’s language.” 8 So Yahweh scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city.

Deuteronomy 32:8–9 LEB

8 When the Most High apportioned the nations, at his dividing up of the sons of humankind, he fixed the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the sons of God. 9 For Yahweh’s portion was his people, Jacob the share of his inheritance.

Psalm 82 LEB

A psalm of Asaph. 1 God stands in the divine assembly; he administers judgment in the midst of the gods. 2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show favoritism to the wicked? Selah 3 Judge on behalf of the helpless and the orphan; provide justice to the afflicted and the poor. 4 Rescue the helpless and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” 5 They do not know or consider. They go about in the darkness, so that all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 I have said, “You are gods, and sons of the Most High, all of you. 7 However, you will die like men, and you will fall like one of the princes.” 8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, because you shall inherit all the nations.

The Fallout: