January 3- The Problem with Exceptionalism

January 3, 2011

Scripture Readings:
Genesis 5-7:24; Matthew 3:7- 4:11;
Psalm 3:1-8; Proverbs 1:10-19

Exceptionalism: Uncommon, well above average, deviating widely from a norm, as of physical or mental ability.  ~The American Heritage Dictionary

Genesis 5 & 6

America from its founding has had individuals who believe that our country is exceptional.  The concept of America being a God-ordained country destined to be a model to the world was first introduced by a man named John Winthrop in the 1600's. Winthrop was the first governor in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  He was the first person to call America "a shining city on a hill."  While Winthrop's ideal was that America would be a religious model to the whole world, the modern concept of American Exceptionalism is that America is a political model of freedom and individual expression to the whole world.

America's self image has indeed been one of exceptionalism.  Our particular brand of government, culture, and religion promote excellence, independence, and a sense of well-being.  We Americans do tend to think we are exceptional, even when the facts do not support that conclusion.

Today in our reading in Genesis God reveals through the author Moses that ancient men and women who lived prior to the flood were, indeed, exceptional. They had legitimate reasons to think of themselves as exceptional.

Chapter 5 begins with a genealogy of ancient humans descended from Seth's line.  Remember from our prior reading that Seth is the promised righteous son through whom the Redeemer Child will come.  Perhaps you were amazed when you saw the ages associated with each person in the genealogy.  Well, I'm glad you were paying attention as you read today.  It is no mistake that the ages of these forefathers is given.  Let's review some of the highlights:

• Adam lived ..........930 years
• Seth lived ............912 years
• Enosh lived..........905 years
• Kenan lived..........910 years
• Mahaleh lived.......895 years
• Jared lived............962 years
• Enoch lived...........365 years   (note that he was taken up miraculously to be with God without dying)
• Methusaleh lived....969 years   (oldest man ever)
• Lamech lived.........777 years
• Noah lived.............950 years

God is giving you and me a picture of exceptionalism in the ancient world.  These original human beings were from a pure gene pool, were in an environmentally pure earth, were gifted with extremely long life, and were made and patterned after God.  Remember that in Genesis 1:27 God makes sure that we understand that his crowning creation in the Garden was patterned after His own image.

What does this mean about these ancient people?  It means they were exceptionally creative, brilliant, productive, and physically and mentally gifted.  One benefit of being human is that we are able to improve our situation by taking advantage of accumulated knowledge.  Every human being on earth today benefits from the accumulated knowledge of the past and the shared knowledge of the present. With the advent of the internet we have a virtual knowledge explosion on Earth.

Can you imagine the accumulated knowledge on earth if each person continued to live over 900 years like these people?  God's purpose was surely to populate the earth and expand human influence over the earth. He did this by allowing long and exceptional lives of the ancient people. There was one problem though.

The problem with the people in the ancient world was that they were also exceptionally evil.  As Genesis 6:5 states, "Now the Lord observed the extent of the people's wickedness, and he saw that all their thoughts were consistently and totally evil." (NLT)

The Bible describes the sons of God impregnating the daughters of men, resulting in a half-breed race of giants called the Nephilim. Who were these Nephilim? There are varying schools of thought about who the Nephilim were. Some commentators believe that they were the offspring of demonic angels who impregnated human women with the thought of circumventing the future advent of Jesus Christ. In a perverse attempt to thwart God’s plan of salvation for humanity, these offspring brought great evil to the earth and were one of the causes for God’s judgment on the earth through the Great Flood. (See the writings of Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum for more information on this.)

What we do know is that these giants (Genesis 6:1-2) were completely immoral, violent, and depraved.  It is interesting to note that in Genesis 6:3 God states that in the future He will only allow man to live to 120 years old.  Interestingly, modern man rarely gets to the age of 120 years.  So we see that ancient pre-flood man was exceptional, but he did not rely on God in his exceptionalism.

Lesson:  Exceptionalism without faith in God leads to disaster.

God's response to our sin is sorrow.  Ultimately, God will judge the wicked because He is just.

In the midst of this cesspool of exceptionalism we are introduced to a man who God calls righteous. That man is Noah. As a descendant of Adam and Seth, Noah is the man who will carry forth the seed that will produce the Redeemer Child.  At this point in the story Noah is 500 years old and has three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth.  Noah is told to build the ark, which is to be 450 ft. long, 75 ft. wide, and 45 ft. high.  In this large barge he is to bring pairs of all kinds of living creatures on earth. Chapter 6 of Genesis ends with Noah doing exactly what God commanded.  Noah is exceptional and obedient. Unlike those around him, Noah has exceptionalism and faith in God.

Please note that Noah is the first character in the bible to be an example of relentless and reckless obedience to God.  Without regard for what his fellow human beings would think of him, Noah prioritizes following God at all cost.  Our father Noah is a giant of the faith.

Genesis 7

Genesis chapter 7 provides one of the most well known stories on earth.  Flood stories are prevalent in many cultures.  It is not only the Judeo-Christian belief system that believes there was a worldwide flood.  There are more than 270 flood stories and historic records of the great flood found in many parts of the earth.  Some of the most well known are from China, Toltec (Mexico), and Babylonian records.  The Hawaiian culture also has a flood story.  Many aspects of these stories are different than the Biblical account, but one common theme is that a righteous man got on a boat with his family prior to a great deluge that covered the whole earth.

The bible states that Noah was 600 years old when he and his family got on the ark.  That would mean that Noah spent 100 years building the colossal boat and warning his fellow humans of impending disaster.  In the end only Noah's wife, Noah's sons, and their wives entered the boat with the animals. Noah's prophetic warnings to the exceptional people of the ancient world went unheeded.

God shut the door of the ark in Genesis 7:16  We are given detailed information about the deluge.  It occurred for 40 days and  40 nights, was a catastrophic event that included earthquakes, water from the deep coming up to flood the earth, and water from the sky pouring down also.  In the final analysis, Scripture tells us that the water was 22 ft. above the highest mountain peaks. Every living thing that had breathe died. Only Noah's family and the animals in the ark survived.

Noah's life is a picture to all of mankind in the future. Noah is a picture of salvation through righteousness found by faith in God alone.  Noah is a Christ-like figure, who points the way of salvation through obedience.  

Just as Noah was saved through his obedient faith and went from death (the flood representing death) to new life on earth, Jesus is our Savior, who gives us new life through His death and resurrection. Jesus is our ark/salvation as we face the flood waters of death and the God's judgment on sin. He takes us safely to eternal life, but we must rest in him.

What did you notice in the Flood story?

Matthew 3:7-4:11

Having just read the story of the Flood and God's judgment on the ancient world, it is interesting to now read the passionate warnings of John the Baptist to the religious leaders of his day. Like Noah of old, John is sent by God to warn people of impending judgment and encourage them to turn from their wicked ways by repenting of their sins and being baptized to God. 

Do you have anything you need from which to repent?

As he is preaching, his cousin Jesus comes to be obedient to what John is asking of people.  Jesus, the obedient son of God, comes to be baptized into his ministry. It should be noted that Jesus is not repenting of sin in this baptism.  He is fulfilling a prophecy.  In vs. 15 Jesus says, "It must be done, because we must fulfill all righteousness."  He is referring to fulfilling prophecy in the Old Testament.  Remember, this is what Matthew is proving.  After Christ's baptism, God reveals in a voice from heaven that this is His beloved Son.  Eve would have been thrilled to see that the Promised Child, who would redeem the world, is publicly introduced to the world. 

Jesus is then immediately sent into the wilderness, where he fasts for 40 days and 40 nights.  Anyone notice a pattern seen in the flood story?  Just as Noah floated in a wet wilderness as it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus experiences the same desperation that Noah must have felt.  Just as Noah was tested in a watery wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus was tested in a fiery wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights.

Who among us has not experienced a wilderness in their lives?  Jesus can relate to our wilderness experiences.  God puts Christ in a position of weakness in order to show God's strength through him.  Have you ever been put in a position of weakness, so that God can show His strength through you?

Jesus' subsequent temptation is a classic battle between good and evil.  Jesus is tempted with physical temptations, with pride temptations, and with power temptations.  He defeats all of these temptations by quoting the Word of God to the Devil.  By the way, we last saw the Devil in the Garden of Eden in the form of the Serpent.  Eve, in her lack of faith, was unable to fight the Serpent's deceptions.  

Here we see that the Redeemer Child that God promised to Eve is able to overcome the Devil's deceptions by using the TRUTH found only in Scripture.  Jesus is able to resist evil and the subtle untruths presented by Satan because he has an arsenal of truth available to him.  Jesus uses faith and the knowledge of God and His character to defeat evil.

Lesson:  It is only through God's Word that you and I can resist evil in our lives.  We must know the Bible in order to live out the TRUTH and resist evil.

What has been a wilderness experience in your life?  How did you handle it? Can you think of Bible principle and passages that help you fight temptation? 

Psalm 3

Many psalms can be categorized.  This could be considered a psalm of distress.  King David wrote this when he was fleeing from his son Absalom.  We will learn this story later. What is interesting, though, is that these psalms also picture emotions that Christ would have felt while on earth. 

This psalm reflects beautifully the words Christ could have used as he dealt with his time in the wilderness.

Lesson:  Use the words of the Psalms to cry out to God in your distress.  God understands and embraces our trials and temptations.  He provides a way out, if we remember to call upon Him.

Proverbs 1:10-19

Notice that the son is admonished to not let sinners entice him.  Today we saw that Jesus heeded the words of the Proverbs.  He did not let Satan drag him to the "pit of death."

Food for Thought:

1. In what ways are you like the ancient exceptional men and in what ways are you like Noah?
2. In what ways are you being relentlessly obedient to God like Noah?
3. What catastrophe has led you to rely on God even in what appears to be an impossible situation?
4. How have you repented of your sin in your life like John the Baptist was calling people to do?
5. What wilderness experience have you had?
6. Think about ways that you can resist temptation in your life.

Thanks for checking in.  Let me know what you learned today!

Blessings,

Jubilee Gal
Kathy Fullerton