Chapter 2: What Does God Want?

God Still Wanted a Family | Meditation on a Book | What Does God Want? Series | Jesus Christ | Christianity

Oct 01, 2023

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God Still Wanted a Family

Chapter 2 emphasizes that although Yahweh has a family in the heavenly realm that He created, God also wanted a human family. He created Adam and Eve, His image bearers, to enjoy His company in the Garden of Eden and partner with Him in caring for Eden and the Earth. The chapter also reminds us that God created all of His family members, heavenly and earthly, with His attribute of free will.

God was aware of the potential consequences of sharing this attribute of free will with His created family: Rebellion. Disobedience. He was willing to take the risk so His created ones would freely love Him and enjoy relationship with Him.

Consequently, rebellion entered the heavenly realm among some members of God’s supernatural family. Rebellion also entered the humans’ world, leading to Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience against the loving God who made them. Their disobedience resulted in sin and death in the human’s world, and—sadly—eternal separation from the holy, sinless God who loved them and made them.

At this point, some of you dear readers may be thinking: “Yea, I know this already; what’s the point?”

Thank you for continuing to read. The point is there were three rebellions that broke God’s heart. My prayer is that our understanding of them may better inform us of the depth of God’s incredible love for us, His human family, and help us to help Him get His family back. All I know is my refreshed understanding has changed me in a good way regarding the Great Commission. And I wanted to share that with you through this Meditation on a Book series. Thank you for bearing with me as we continue, as this post is longer than others.

The Three Rebellions

Humanity’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden was bad enough, but it was only one of three rebellions that God had to deal with—and the fallout, the consequences—that affected humanity for millennia. In this brief post and it’s limited word count, I’ll provide a high-level overview to lay a foundation on which the book’s subsequent chapters build upon.

First Rebellion

Genesis 3:1-7 (ESV)
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience against the loving God who made them resulted in sin and death in the human’s world, and—sadly—eternal separation from the holy, sinless God who loved them and made them. This is heart breaking to ponder, especially when I consider what happened as one of the biggest, and most awful, con jobs in the universe. Years of biblical scholarship suggest the serpent wasn’t a talking reptile but one of God’s created supernatural (heavenly) beings who accompanied Him in Eden along with other supernatural beings. This means Eve and Adam were familiar with the serpent, considered him one of God’s allies, and so they weren’t afraid of him [emphasis mine]. Think about that. Eve and Adam knew they were being addressed by one of God’s heavenly family members, thinking he was an ally. What treason! What deception! What lies! This riles me up. But, let’s end on a happy note.

Revelation 20:10 (ESV)
10 Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Sometimes it’s hard to be patient, dear readers, as we see so much evil in the world. But, keep in mind what we can look forward to: God’s final judgment and the torment of our enemy. With this in mind, pray to the Lord of the harvest to help you, while you still have breath, to love on and pray for the lost sons and daughters of Adam who need to be rescued from this horrible enemy. God wants them back in His family and not condemned to eternal separation from His presence. You may only plant seeds and not see the harvest, but that’s okay. Plant the seeds in love now and you may see the harvest at God’s heavenly wedding feast.

Luke 10:2 (NLT)
2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.

Second Rebellion

The Genesis 6:1-4 verses recount the second rebellion, and I’m so grateful brave biblical scholars address this passage. I’ve been around pastors and Bible teachers over the decades who said: “We’ll just skip this section.” Gee, I wonder why, Lol!

Genesis 6:1-4 (ESV)
6 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

So, who were these sons of God and what did they have to do with the second rebellion?

6:2 This Hebrew phrase, bene ha’elohim, and similar phrasings (bene elohim and bene elim) are used elsewhere in the OT only of heavenly beings (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Pss 89:6; 82:6; see Deut 32:8). Thus, bene ha’elohim could refer to spiritual beings who are members of God’s council—the divine council.

John D. Barry, Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Michael S. Heiser, Miles Custis, Elliot Ritzema, Matthew M. Whitehead, Michael R. Grigoni, and David Bomar, Faithlife Study Bible, (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Ge 6:2.

And…

Prior to the end of the fourth century AD, ancient interpreters considered the “sons of God” to be heavenly beings based primarily on the influence of this perspective in Second Temple Jewish literature and early Christian texts (e.g., 1 Enoch 6–11; Jubilees 4–5; 2 Pet 2:4–5; Jude 6).

The supernatural (and created) members of God’s family who rebelled against Him despised God’s love for His human family and His plans for His human image bearers. I think of them as extremely jealous “siblings” who thought way too highly of themselves, to the point that they tried to “imitate” Yahweh by making beings in their own image. (Yikes!) Can rebellious spiritual beings do that? You’ll need to take time to research it for yourself, as I had struggled with this for a while during my research. Sadly this second rebellion against Almighty God resulted in hybrid humans, a perversion. God had to deal with this as well, His heart already broken by The Fall in Eden.

What else does Genesis chapter 6 tell us? Right after verse 4, we read:

Genesis 6:5-6 (ESV)
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

This rebellion took the effects of sin to another level, accelerating human self-destruction. God felt deep remorse over the way things had turned out. Humanity had been permanently damaged.

Dr. Michael S. Heiser, Chapter 2, “What Does God Want?”

Notice that God wasn’t angry, He was devastated, heart broken. What was the solution to humanity’s great wickedness and hearts that were evil continually? God wouldn’t remove the attribute of free will as they would no longer be His beloved image bearers in a mutual and loving relationship. God had to “start over”. The solution? Noah and the great flood.

Continuing on in Genesis chapter 6:

Genesis 6:7-9 (NLT)
7 And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” 8 But Noah found favor with the Lord. 9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.

Righteous and blameless Noah walked with God, similar to his ancestor Enoch (Genesis 5:23-24). Noah’s righteousness and blamelessness alludes to one extremely important topic: the lineage of the Messiah, the incarnate Son of God. Biblical scholars suggest that Noah’s inclusion in the genealogy of the incarnate Son of God (Luke 3:36-38) confirms that the holy baby born in Bethlehem had no other supernatural lineage but of the One, Almighty Elohim, the God of Israel, creator of heaven and Earth. Any lineage to any created bene elohim was absolutely ruled out.

The sad thing about the second rebellion: Humanity had 120 years to repent of their evil and return to Yahweh, for that’s approximately how long it took for Noah and his family to build the ark. God in His love and mercy gave humanity a very clear sign (the ark) and many years to reject the rebellious evil ones and come back to Him. They did not.

Again, God’s heart was grieved. Broken. He deeply loved His human family. It’s hard for me to imagine God watching as the flood waters rose, wiping out the human image bearers He had created, who were first given His breath of life in the beautiful Garden of Eden long ago. God still wanted a family, and I’m grateful for blameless and righteous Noah, who walked with God.

Third Rebellion

In Genesis chapter 11, we read about the Tower of Babel, the site of the third rebellion. After the great flood, Yahweh made a promise (a covenant) to Noah and his descendants (Genesis 9:8-17). In this “start over” opportunity, He also encouraged them to be fruitful and multiply across the Earth, just as He had said to Adam and Eve. But, humanity continued its spiral downward into evil disobedience by choosing their own way instead of God’s blessing:

Gen. 11:4 (NET)
4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise we will be scattered across the face of the entire earth.”

And, they built an ancient Near Eastern ziggurat, which had a temple at the very top. The Bible doesn’t indicate who is worshiped, but clearly they’re not worshiping Yahweh. Their sin of pride is evident in their construction of the tower. What does Yahweh do?

God couldn’t kick humanity out of his house. He had done that already back in Eden. He had promised not to destroy humanity after the flood (Gen. 9:11), so there would be no repeat of that disaster. So what else could he do? He essentially said, “Enough! If you don’t want me to be your God, I’ll assign you to some of my heavenly assistants.”

Dr. Michael S. Heiser, chapter 2, “What Does God Want?”

Deuteronomy 32:8-9 (NLT)
8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
when he divided mankind,
he fixed the borders of the peoples
according to the number of the sons of God.
9 But the Lord's portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted heritage.

God divided humanity by language and by geography, and placed them under bene elohim (created and supernatural sons of God), but not the ones referred to in Genesis chapter 6. These sons of God in the verses directly above eventually became corrupt (Psalm 82:1-8). But, for Yahweh it’s not the end of humanity’s story. The next significant event is God’s covenant with Abraham, and the creation of the Lord’s portion, His people, “Jacob his allotted heritage”. And, that event is for a future post, dear readers.

Meditations on Chapter 2

There’s much to digest in Chapter 2, however I found myself meditating on these key thoughts:

Fierceness of our enemy: Satan and all the rebellious spiritual beings (fallen angels, as some call them) are relentless, fiercely focused on destroying us, God’s beloved humanity. They are the true enemy, not our fellow sons and daughters of Adam. They will do anything (lie, deceive, steal, kill, destroy) to keep humanity from God’s eternal and loving presence.
God’s Heart: Yahweh, the unique creator Elohim, Lord of Lords, the Almighty God of Israel responds to each of the three rebellions with a broken heart! He’s not roaring in rage-filled, thunderous anger. Sure, He’s angry. But, He’s deeply grieved and that’s how He responds. Yes, there’s punishment for rebellion. And yet, He reaches out from His broken heart and gives disobedient humanity another chance to come home. Each and every time.
Fellow Sons and Daughters of Adam: We all begin at the same place in life: We have stood condemned by our sins before a holy and perfect God. Some of us Jesus has rescued (by God’s grace through faith!). God still wants His human family, and He’s counting on us, the redeemed, to help Him rescue the sons and daughters of Adam, the not-yet believers (pagans). The Wiccan priestess or the transgender individual who work at a local store are God’s beloved humans, our fellow siblings of Adam, and not our enemies. God’s pattern of a loving and broken heart in the face of rebellion can inform us on how to relate with our fellow siblings of Adam and work with Him to help humanity come home.

God wants His family back from the realm of the enemy.

Your Turn

You made it to the end, thank you! May the Holy Spirit guide you in your own meditation of Chapter 2’s topics.

If you’re a new believer, or a not-yet-believer, pray and ask God to reveal His heart to you, how He thinks of you, and what His purpose is for you.

Soli Deo Gloria!

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Discussion about this post

James Mangano

Oct 1, 2023Edited

Thank you, Jenise, for a very concise and insightful letter. May our LORD use your writings to bless many. Here's my humble meditation in response.

"We live in a fallen world devoid of the knowledge of GOD. Why?"

"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6 NIV

Because mankind turned its back on the LORD their GOD, their desire to know Him became unimportant. The once cherished close communion with their Creator was lost. Consequently, their understanding of good and evil became darkened.

"Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold" Matthew 24:12 NIV.

"A World Upside Down"

"The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Genesis 6:5 ESV

Fallen and deprived, mankind no longer would use his GOD as a reference point for what was good.

"You are Good and do only good; teach me Your decrees." Psalm 119:68 NLT

But instead, mankind chose to use itself, a fallen and sinful race, for the standard of righteousness. Humanity became wise in their eyes and clever in their own sight, deceived and void of understanding, and over time, the world around them turned upside down. A world where they called evil good and good evil.

"Woe to those who call evil good

and good evil,

who put darkness for light

and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet

and sweet for bitter.

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes

and clever in their own sight." Isaiah 5:20-21 NIV

As we look at our present world, GOD's Word, the Bible, becomes more relevant today than ever. We can understand the "why" because mankind took GOD out of the picture entirely, and as a tragic result, they can no longer discern between good and evil. By eliminating GOD altogether, they destroyed the only reference point for good, which is only (GOD.) Without understanding their fallen condition, they will persist in their blindness and eventually suffer the consequences for their actions, being eternally condemned to hell in the final judgment.

"And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the Book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of life was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:12-15 NIV

"Turn back to the LORD. And be restored."

The LORD is calling all those Christian believers who have fallen into sin to return to Him and be restored, forgiven, and made new, having their sins removed from them as far as the East is from the West. The LORD also calls all those who have never known Him to come. To be saved and given a new life, to be born again, leaving your sins behind and looking forward, with new hope and a glorious future in His Kingdom.

"God wants His family back from the realm of the enemy."

"You may only plant seeds and not see the harvest, but that’s okay. Plant the seeds in love now, and you may see the harvest at God’s heavenly wedding feast."

Now let us pray,

Thank You, LORD, because of Your great Salvation and love toward us, we boldly come before You now with our prayers. We ask that You enable us to do what's right in Your sight, to use us to plant those seeds of life in the hearts of those around us who need Your powerful touch upon their lives. Help us to speak Your truth when the time is right. Not to be timid, but bold, sharing the good news of Your Salvation, the gospel with everyone. Encouraging those people everywhere. Those who already know You and all who don't yet know You. Inviting them all to change their ways and Come to You and be saved. In JESUS Mighty Name, we pray. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3ebMDmbCpQ

Psalm 51:1-19 NLT "Have mercy on me, O God,

because of your unfailing love.

Because of your great compassion,

blot out the stain of my sins.

Wash me clean from my guilt.

Purify me from my sin.

For I recognize my rebellion,

it haunts me day and night.

Against you, and you alone, have I sinned,

I have done what is evil in your sight.

You will be proved right in what you say,

and your judgment against me is just.

For I was born a sinner—

yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

But you desire honesty from the womb,

teaching me wisdom even there.

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean,

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Oh, give me back my joy again,

you have broken me—

now let me rejoice.

Don’t keep looking at my sins.

Remove the stain of my guilt.

Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Do not banish me from your presence,

and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your Salvation,

and make me willing to obey you.

Then I will teach your ways to rebels,

and they will return to you.

Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves,

then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.

Unseal my lips, O Lord,

that my mouth may praise you.

You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.

You do not want a burnt offering.

The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.

You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

Look with favor on Zion and help her,

rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—

with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.

Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3ebMDmbCpQ

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