Protect and Serve - session 8
Explore the Bible Winter 2018-19 • Sermon • Submitted
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Transcript
In His image
In His image
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
God is our creator
The word ‘create’ (bara’) is used 6 times in
The word is only used with only God as its subject in the Hebrew scriptures. God alone can create
Everything exists because God brought it into being
Did God create every human being?
Did God create anyone less human?
God chose to only create humanity in His image
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Repeated for emphasis
What is God’s image? Read page 85 highlight
What is God’s image?
What does this truth do for us?
How does this effect our relationships with others?
What does this teach us about the sacredness of life?
God created the genders, male and female
Man = a generic term for humanity
Male and female differentiate gender within society
To be protected
To be protected
So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.
“Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed;
For in the image of God
He made man.
And as for you, be fruitful and multiply;
Bring forth abundantly in the earth
And multiply in it.”
God’s blessing
So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
Read book page 86 highlight
God’s design is to repopulate the earth through Noah and his sons
The change in relationship between animals and people
And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.
A relationship where now the animals fear people
A relationship where people are in charge
The change in permissible diets
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
Genesis
No restrictions concerning what animals they were allowed to eat
Not sure if before the flood they were allowed to eat meat. No record of God saying they could not
Later Israel was forbidden to eat non-kosher (unclean) animals
The restriction of eating the blood
Similar to the one prohibition in and the Ten Commandments
The reason
‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’
“Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust; for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’
Leviticus 17:
Justice for a life being taken
Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.
“Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed;
For in the image of God
He made man.
Read page 87 highlight
The verb require is used 3 times in verse 5
Used in conjunction with God. This is God’s demand
Next in animals that take a human life
“If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be acquitted. But if the ox tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. If there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay to redeem his life, whatever is imposed on him. Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him. If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
Exodus
Thirdly, a person murdering another person
The command is based upon people being created in the image of God
Abortion
The punishment for murder is the life of the one who commited the act
It was part of the Law given to Moses
It was mentioned in the NT with our relationship to human governments
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.
Romans 13:1-
Read pages 87-88 highlight
Verse 1 repeated with the how to accomplish the command
And as for you, be fruitful and multiply;
Bring forth abundantly in the earth
And multiply in it.”
In action and attitude
In action and attitude
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
Knowing the scripture
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
The present generation heard what God said to past generation
Revealing the previous generations had correctly taught them the commands of God
Murder was the right word to use for the 6th commandment
Read book 88 highlight
A fuller understanding of the commandment
But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
Murder was more than the physical act
Murder involves our emotions and words as well
Anger without a cause (not in all manuscripts)
Not all anger is sinful
Jesus got angry
“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.
Ephesians
Insulting someone
Raca = derogatory quasi-swear word meaning stupid
Calling them a fool
We get the English word ‘moron’ from the Greek word used translated fool
Read page 89 highlight
The consequence for these crimes is:
Subject to judgment = guilty person punished
Subject to the court = Sanhedrian
Subject to hellfire = eternal punishment