Sermon Tone Analysis

Genesis 2:7

Dust and Glory

 

/The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being/.

| *F* |

*orasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God of his great mercy to take unto himself the soul of our dear brother here departed, we therefore commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be like unto his glorious body, according to the mighty working, whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself*.[1]

Those words are no doubt familiar to numerous Canadians, especially those who are familiar with the Anglican Communion.

In the midst of that collect are the words: *earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust*.

These words surely are familiar to all English speaking peoples.

Dust to dust reminds us of our humble origins; but these words isolated as they are fail to speak of the glorious possibilities which God has prepared for man.

No verse of the Word of God presents this contrast as succinctly as does the text for this message.

The profundity of *Genesis 2:7* is that it describes man as a combination of what is low and what is high.

On the one hand man is described as being formed from the dust of the ground.

This is an image which is lowly though it is not evil, as the Greeks thought, for even the dust of the ground was made by God and is thus good because He made it.

Contrasted to this humble image is the thought that man has received life directly from God.  God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life, and thus we are presented an image which is glorious.

It is man’s unique role to combine both dust and glory.

Man’s Humble Origins — If you were planning to conduct a word study of some word found within the pages of the Bible, and you wished that study to hold the prospect of holding your interest, you wouldn’t think /dust/ would be such a word.

However, I suggest to you that a study of the word will prove far more interesting than you might imagine.

Throughout the Word of God /dust/ is a symbol of that which is of *little worth* because it speaks of that which is of low or humble origin.

As an example consider the occasion of Abraham pleading with God for Sodom and Gomorrah.

As he petitions God for mercy he emphasises his own insignificance to engage in such pleading.

/Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty/ [*Genesis 18:27, 28*]?

Likewise, Hannah, as she rejoices in God’s goodness to her in giving her a son, says:

 

/He raises the poor from the dust /

/and lifts the needy from the ash heap; /

/he seats them with princes /

/   and has them inherit a throne of honour/.

[*1 Samuel 2:8*; cf.

*Psalm 113:7*]

Jehu, son of Hanani, the prophet of God pronounced this frightful prophecy against Baasha, King of Israel.

/I lifted you up from the dust and made you leader of my people Israel, but you walked in the ways of Jeroboam and caused my people Israel to sin and to provoke me to anger by their sins.

So I am about to consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat.

Dogs will eat those belonging to Baasha who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country/ [*1 Kings 16:2-4*].

The king neither obeyed God nor honoured Him and was again brought down to the dust.

Dust is sometimes employed as *a symbol of the total defeat of an enemy*.

The Arameans destroyed Israel’s army and /made them like the dust at threshing time/ [*2 Kings 13:7*].

David speaks of the defeat of his enemies in similar terms.

In the Psalms we read this passage describing David’s victories.

/I pursued my enemies and overtook them; /

/I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

/

/I crushed them so that they could not rise; /

/they fell beneath my feet.

/

/You armed me with strength for battle; /

/you made my adversaries bow at my feet.

/

/You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, /

/and I destroyed my foes.

/

/They cried for help, but there was no one to save them— /

/to the LORD, but he did not answer.

/

/I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind; /

/   I poured them out like mud in the streets/.

[*Psalm 18:37-42*]

 

Of Solomon we read that God will bless in powerful fashion.

/He will rule from sea to sea /

/and from the River to the ends of the earth.

/

/The desert tribes will bow before him /

/and his enemies will lick the dust/.

[*Psalm 72:8, 9*]

Dust is sometimes seen as *a sign of mourning*.

When Achan’s sin had caused sorrow in the tents of Israel, /Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD, remaining there till evening.

The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads/ [*Joshua 7:6*].

Job uses the word /dust/ frequently to illustrate the insignificance of man.

In a classic passage near the end of the book, the suffering saint declares,

 

/My ears had heard of you /

/but now my eyes have seen you.

/

/Therefore I despise myself /

/   and repent in dust and ashes/.

[*Job 42:5, 6*]

Dust is not evil, nor can you consider it to be nothing; but it is next to nothing.

Mathew Henry makes this observation on the issue of man being formed from the dust.

*He was not made of gold dust, powder of pearl, or diamond dust, but common dust, dust of the ground.

Hence he is said to be of the earth,* coi>kov"—*dusty*/,/ [*1 Corinthians 15:47*].[2]

We must believe that Moses wished to stress man’s humble origin by his choice of the word /dust/.

Man may only aspire to glory by the grace of God his Creator.

There is a further image which the word /dust/ conveys: it symbolises *frustration*.

God’s curse pronounced on Satan was in part that /you will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life/ [*Genesis 3:14*].

This does not mean that snakes eat dust nor even that God or Moses thought so.

Dust in the mouth is a figure for defeat and humiliation.

Satan was created to be a beautiful and powerful being who served our God.

In the midst of a prophecy concerning Tyre, Ezekiel turns attention to the Devil.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

 

/You were the model of perfection, /

/full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

/

/You were in Eden, /

/the garden of God; /

/every precious stone adorned you: /

/ruby, topaz and emerald, /

/chrysolite, onyx and jasper, /

/sapphire, turquoise and beryl.

/

/Your settings and mountings were made of gold; /

/on the day you were created they were prepared.

/

/You were anointed as a guardian cherub, /

/for so I ordained you.

/

/You were on the holy mount of God; /

/you walked among the fiery stones.

/

/You were blameless in your ways /

/from the day you were created /

/till wickedness was found in you/.

[*Ezekiel 28:12-15*].

At some point this intelligent and mighty being, chief of all the angels, began to think that he could get along without God.

According to *Isaiah 14:13,14* he said in his heart,

 

/I will ascend to heaven; /