Purposes of Work in Genesis

This post highlights the stories of a few men in Genesis, and the prominent purposes of their work.

Adam: Dominion and Food

Man was made to rule over the earth and the animals. We subdue the earth by working the ground. We rule over the animals by caring for them and directing them. Adam was commissioned not to keep the earth how God made it, but to subdue it. Eden was a uniquely fruitful place (Genesis 2:8–9), and Adam was put there to work it (Genesis 2:5). This would eventually mean the expansion of Eden to fill the whole world. It would involve digging up gold and precious stones (Genesis 2:12) and perhaps building something like the New Jerusalem. God man made in his own image so that he would look at God’s world and understand how to bring it to its full potential.

Working the ground would produce food for man (Genesis 1:29) and for the animals (Genesis 1:30). When the ground was cursed, this function remained, but became more difficult (Genesis 3:19). Man would work to prolong his life, but in the end he would die.

Cain: Worship, Security, and Culture

Cain fulfilled Adam’s calling to work the ground and produce fruit; and this allowed him to give an offering to God. Cain’s offering was not acceptable because of his sin (Genesis 4:7, 1 John 3:12), but if his heart had been in a better state then the offering would have been a good act of worship.

Cain built a city to protect his his family as they pursued creative endeavors. The invention of tents helped some rule over animals (Genesis 4:20), and metal instruments presumably helped others work the ground (Genesis 4:22). Musical instruments were created surprisingly early as an essential component of human culture (Genesis 4:21).

Jacob: Building a Household

Jacob did 20 years of hard labor for Laban, and left with a family and property. 14 years of this work was for the right to marry Laban’s two daughters. At least the first 7 years were a good deal for Jacob, because there was a shortage of God-fearing women, and he couldn’t start building a household without a wife. The next 7 were caused by Laban’s deceit and Jacob’s strong desire for Rachel. This kind of desire is a powerful motivation for young men to work, and it can make 7 years of labor feel like a few days (Genesis 29:20).

When the 14 years were finished, Jacob’s next step in building his household was to acquire wealth-producing assets (Genesis 30:30). God’s blessing turned a few sheep into many, which could provide clothing, milk, meat, and money to Jacob’s family.

Joseph: Using Resources Wisely

Jacob’s family was preserved not only by his own labor, but by Joseph’s wise administration in service of Pharaoh. Joseph managed available resources for the common good. He sold goods and negotiated prices, and this allowed resources to get to those in need.

Purposes of Marriage in Ruth

Rest

Naomi urges her daughters-in-law to return to Moab and prays that they will find rest, each in the house of her husband (Ruth 1:9). Like the Israelites found rest in Canaan after their jouney and war, Ruth and Orpah would find security and stability in marriage. As Ruth is laboring to provide for her, Naomi again seeks rest for Ruth in the house of Boaz (Ruth 3:1).

Protection

When Ruth comes to a foreign country with no husband, father, or brothers, she is at the mercy of the men of Bethlehem. Boaz commands his young men not to touch Ruth, and warns her not to go to other men’s fields. Even with this precaution, he warns her to stay close to his young women (Ruth 2:8–9). Naomi explains more directly that if Ruth works in another man’s field, she might be assaulted (Ruth 2:22). The death of Ruth’s husband makes Ruth unnaturally vulnerable, but by the grace of God she comes under Boaz’s protection.

Honor

Boaz is willing to marry Ruth because, literally, the gate knows she is a woman of strength, chayil (Ruth 3:11). Boaz has a reputation with the elders and the other men of the city who meet at the gate, and a woman of chayil brings honor to her husband (Proverbs 12:4). Proverbs 31:10–31 describes a woman of chayil, but begins by asking who can find one! Boaz has found one, and marrying her will bring him honor at the gate.

Name

Similarly, marriage allows a man to perpetuate his name (Ruth 4:5). By marrying Ruth, Boaz ensures that the name of Elimelech will not be cut off from the gate (Ruth 4:10). Just as Boaz is known at the gate, the names of Elimelech and Mahlon would continue to be known through the descendants of Ruth’s firstborn son. This would be their legacy on the earth, so that their lives would not be spent in vain.

The significance of this point is very hard to grasp for me, a modern American. I recently listened to Crime and Punishment, and my mind was blown when Svidrigailov said something to the effect that the last name Razumikhin indicates noble character. Was there really a time when a family name meant something? And wouldn’t this generational reputation be something worth laboring for? Even today, there is some truth to this: for example, it is not a coincidence that we have had two presidents with the last name Bush. A man should not only seek honor for himself, but a name that will mean something when he passes it onto his son.

Chayil

The very masculine transaction at the gate ends with a peculiarly masculine blessing for Boaz’s marriage. The translations of aseh chayil in Ruth 4:11 are all over the place: have standing (NIV), prosper (NLT), act worthily (ESV), achieve wealth (NASB), be powerful (HCSB), produce children (NRSV). All of these translations fit the context, and none of them are wrong. The elders wish for the descendants of Boaz and Ruth to be like the nation of Israel: great, numerous, powerful, prosperous, and honorable. The men at the gate have an interest in Boaz’s family becoming powerful and prosperous, because this will make Bethlehem powerful and prosperous. Boaz’s descendants will work the land, enforce justice, and fight battles. The elders have no idea to what extent God will answer their prayer through the family of David.

Provision in Old Age

When the baby is born, the women of Bethlehem praise God for taking care of Naomi in her old age, and she gladly nurtures the grandson she didn’t expect to have. A stable and prosperous family gives rest and joy to the elderly.

The Need for Positive Ethics

The current implosion of Western society reveals that we are great at criticizing cultures, but ill-equipped to present a positive vision of a good life. Philosophies like existentialism, Darwinism, postmodernism, Marxism, and critical theory can tear down ideas, but do not build anything in their place. They criticize the patriarchy and wonder where the fathers went. They criticize capitalists and wonder where the jobs went. They criticize the police and wonder why crime rises. They say there is no objective purpose to life and wonder why the youth commit suicide. They say humans are evolved animals and wonder why they rape and kill.

It may be objected that Marxism, for example, has a clear vision for the future. But Marxist eschatology is merely a daydream that Marxists have no power to actualize. Decades before Russia’s revolution, Dostoyevsky notes in The Brothers Karamazov that socialism isn’t just about labor, it’s an anti-God philosophy; they don’t believe that God will bring Heaven to Earth, so they try to do this by other means. But only God can bring about utopia by making people altruistic, and so Marxists attempt to do it by coersion. The twentieth century shows that this vision inspires more destruction than production.

The effects of these philosophies are beginning to catch up with us. My parents were divorced, their parents were divorced, my step-dad’s parents were divorced, and I never met either of my two step-moms’ parents. In environments like this, is it any wonder that millennials lack direction? I was told that I could be whatever I wanted to be, but I wasn’t told very clearly what a man should be. Public school taught me that I should go to college and get a good job, but it couldn’t possibly tell me why I should do this. When I began to ask these questions as a teenager, I was left with no foundation, and became depressed. I loved Ecclesiastes because of the ways it criticized things that other people cared about, but the only thought that positively gave me a sense of purpose was that the church and my relationship with God would last forever.

In hindsight I see three deficiencies in younger me’s view of Biblical ethics and purpose. First, I started with the end instead of the beginning. Faced with mortality and entropy, I only wanted to know what would last forever. I knew that God is the beginning as well as the end, but it didn’t cross my mind to build my life around a verse like Genesis 1:28. But if God has told us what to do, we don’t have to wonder how to live a meaningful life. When I realized that God doesn’t actually need my help to make disciples, I had to pivot from doing things because they will last forever to doing things because God told me to.

Second, my understanding of ethics was largely negative. I knew that I shouldn’t hate, covet, lie, be lazy, lust, and cheat. But what should I be doing instead? Sure I shouldn’t be lazy, but what should I be working toward? In a healthy culture, people would basically understand what humans are supposed to do, and these negative commands would keep them from going about it in the wrong way. But as the counter-culture becomes the mainstream culture, we need to build our system of ethics from the ground up, which requires a clear positive vision.

Third, my positive understanding of ethics was too vague. Modern Christians know that we should value the weighty things of the law like justice, mercy, and love. But what does this practically look like? Answering this question requires knowing what our neighbor needs, what God’s blessings look like, and the specific moral commands of God’s law. It requires a knowledge of what the good life is and the wisdom to achieve it.

When I started this ethics series, I didn’t realize how transformative it would be for me, and the reason is that I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the positive vision of Genesis 1:28. I’ve learned that a lot of my desires, both righteous and sinful, are explained by this verse, because it is a description of what man was made for. With a clear vision of what my life is supposed to look like, it is easier to turn down the counterfeits.

Today I meant to write on the positive vision of ethics taught in Malachi, and this post happened by accident. Maybe in a couple weeks.

What Does it Mean to Abide in Christ?

Today I was asked this question and I wasn’t sure what to say. It is a familiar phrase, and a powerful image, but what exactly did Jesus mean by it? I did give a sermon from John 15 about 8 years ago, but I don’t trust the exegesis of 20-year-old me, so I’m back to square one.

Abiding is passive.

It is no work for a branch to remain connected to the vine. The basic meaning of “abide” is to stay somewhere, like spending the night in a house. Jesus gives us no credit for attaching ourselves to him (John 15:3, 16), but just tells us to stay where we are.

Abiding is a salvation issue.

Any explanation of the vine metaphor has to go through trial by fire. What I mean is that whatever “abiding” means, if you don’t do it then you’ll be thrown into the fire and burned (John 15:6). So if you say, for example, that abiding in Christ means waking up early every day to pray, then you’re saying that anyone who doesn’t wake up early every day to pray will burn. The opposite of abiding is apostasy, so abiding means remaining in the faith.

Abiding means believing.

Jesus doesn’t need to explain “abiding” here, because he already explained it in John 6:56: “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” In context, feeding on Jesus’ flesh means believing in him, and leads to eternal life (John 6:35-40). This belief is not a one-time decision, but an intimate trust that endures forever. Just as we trust bread to keep us alive for another day, feeding on Jesus and abiding in Him means trusting Him to produce fruit in us and to keep us alive forever.

The fruit of abiding is righteousness.

In Isaiah 5:1-7, Israel is compared to a vineyard that doesn’t produce fruit. The “fruit” the Lord was looking for was justice, but what He found was bloodshed. Likewise, Jesus tells us to abide in his love by keeping his commandments (John 15:10). We do this by loving one another and laying down our lives for one another (John 15:12-13). Apparently, abiding in Jesus’ love is different than abiding in Jesus. It means being treated like the vineyard of Isaiah 27, and not like the vineyard of Isaiah 5. It means asking for blessings and receiving them (John 15:16).

Abide = Believe ==> Fruit = Righteousness = Love ==> Abide in His Love = Be Blessed

Abiding is mutual.

So how should I abide in Christ today?

If you believe in Jesus, then his gospel already dwells in you and makes you clean (John 15:3). You are in Christ, and the Spirit is in you, and so you are being conformed to the image of Jesus. Living waters of eternal life are flowing inside of you. Abiding in Christ is not work, it’s rest. Continue to receive these things in faith, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, and be fruitful and blessed, so Jesus’ joy will abide in you (John 15:11).

Having said that, the fruit of our abiding in Christ is love, which involves a lot of work. Abiding is rest, but abiding looks like work. It looks like worshipping God, encouraging the saints, studying the Bible, praying, loving your family, and working with your hands. When we abide in Christ, we live like Christ.

Fine, I’ll say it.

As much as I tried to avoid the stereotypical John 15 message, it all comes back to this: go to church, read your Bible, and pray. When we remind ourselves of God’s truth, study His law, and meet with His people, our faith is invigorated and the paths of righteousness are illuminated.

We may have ended with a cliche, but I hope you enjoyed the ride.

The Command is a Blessing

When God made man, He did not leave them to guess what they were supposed to do. He did not tell them to follow their heart and find their purpose. Man does not exist before he is defined. The individual human is not autonomous.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 1:28

In this one verse that I can’t seem to stop writing about, we have a summary of human purpose. It is a picture of the good life, and God commands us to make it happen. It is not a command for each individual to obey at the expense of his neighbor, but a command for mankind as a whole to flourish through work, families, and government.

In each of these three areas, there are counterfeit ways to “fill the earth and subdue it” as an individual while being counterproductive for mankind. A man might become powerful through theft, exploitation, and corruption; and he might have children through sexual immorality. A government might become powerful through unprovoked conquest and heavy taxation.

There are also counterfeit versions of Gen 1:28 that aren’t actually productive at all, but they make you feel like you’re being fruitful and powerful. Most kinds of sexual sin can’t produce children, but they make you feel like you’re doing what you were made to do. Completing all of the objectives in a videogame or cheering for a winning sports team might feel like accomplishments, but they aren’t productive. Expensive status symbols feel like wealth, but are often wasteful vanity.

God commands man to rule over the earth with justice and compassion, so all mankind can fill the earth and subdue it for the glory of God. This command isn’t a burden; it’s a blessing. The command is inseparable from “And God blessed them,” here and in Gen 9:1. God’s desire for man is that he receive the blessings of children, wealth, land, and power. He wishes for man the blessings he would promise to Abraham. He wills that man receive the blessings described in Deut 28:1-14. It is the blessing that Laban wishes for Rebekah (Gen 24:60). It is the blessing that Jacob lied to steal (Gen 27:28-29).

If the command is also a blessing, then it cannot be obeyed apart from the favor of God. Adam failed to fully obey Gen 1:28 precisely because he failed to obey Gen 2:17, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Adam’s mission and blessing were thwarted by the curses that came through disobedience. His work produced thorns, and he and his family were destined to be subdued by six feet of earth.

And so we cannot hope to obey Gen 1:28 and enjoy its blessing apart from right worship of God. Even if it’s possible to live a productive and compassionate life without loving God, that life is a ticking time bomb, waiting to unleash the wrath of God that undoes every blessing. But if we start with right worship, and then learn from God how to work, raise children, and do justice, then we will be blessed, and will help mankind to flourish in this age and in the age to come.

Isaiah 49-55 Fulfills Genesis 1:28

This post should be the climax of this project of laying a foundation for Christian ethics. I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the centrality of Genesis 1:28 to a proper understanding of human purpose. Today I’ll look at a chunk of Isaiah that describes the fulfillment of God’s purposes for Adam, for Abraham, for Israel, and for David. It is a poetic celebration of how God’s chosen servant would do what man was always meant to do. This post will team up with a future post for The Prophets Fulfilled series on how Isaiah 49-55 is fulfilled by Jesus. I’ll start by looking at how this passage describes the obstacles for man fulfilling his mission, then I’ll describe the passage’s solution to this problem, and finally I’ll look at the accomplishment of the mission.

The Problem: Sin

You are in constant dread all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, who has set himself to destroy.

Isaiah 51:13, HCSB

Even in the context of this verse, it is clear that oppressors are not Israel’s ultimate problem; but I want to start by acknowledging that they are a real problem. Assyria (who will be followed by Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome) brings “devastation and destruction, famine and sword” (Isa 51:19). How can Israel fill the earth and subdue it if they are being killed, enslaved, and oppressed? This is an illustration of how human sin works against man’s mission. Assyria breaks up families, steals, kills, and destroys, leaving devastation instead of fruitfulness.

Stand up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk the cup of His fury from the hand of the Lord.

Isaiah 51:17

The sin Israel really needed to worry about was their own, and the fury they needed to fear was the Lord’s. There was no man in Zion to answer the Lord’s call (Isa 50:2), so the Lord divorced Zion (Isa 50:1). When the Lord led the Israelites into the land, he told them how to be blessed and fulfill their misison. If they obeyed Him, they would be blessed with children, animals, crops, and security, to eventually become the greatest nation of the earth (Deut 28:1-14). If they did not obey him, the opposite would happen: futility, death, disease, oppression, famine, slavery, and exile (Deut 28:15-68). Instead of subduing the earth, they would be subdued. Instead of ruling the animals, they would be ruled over by the beasts of Daniel 7.

The Solution: Obedience, Teaching, and Atonement

The Lord God has opened My ear, and I was not rebellious; I did not turn back. I gave My back to those who beat Me, and my cheeks to those who tore out my beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spitting.

Isaiah 50:5-6

There was no man to answer the Lord’s call, until the Lord set apart his chosen servant from the womb (Isa 49:1). This servant would obey God in everything, even when it meant being beaten, mocked, and killed. His life may have looked futile, but because he obeyed God he would be vindicated in the end (Isa 49:4). Because he is the representative of all Israel (Isa 49:3), his obedience will bring blessings to all Israel.

Coastlands, listen to me; distant peoples, pay attention. The Lord called me before I was born. He named me while I was in my mother’s womb. He made my words like a sharp sword; He hid me in the shadow of His hand. He made me like a sharpened arrow; He hid me in His quiver.

Isaiah 49:1-2

The servant’s mission to bring Israel back from oppressive exile (Isa 49:5) isn’t accomplished with traditional weapons, but with words. He is instructed, so his words sustain the weary (Isa 50:4). He preaches good news, “saying to the prisoners: Come out, and to those who are in darkness: Show yourselves” (Isa 49:9). This gospel undoes the power of the oppressor to kill and enslave (Isa 51:13-14). The Lord’s words in the servant’s mouth plant a new heavens and earth, and establish a covenant (Isa 51:16).

But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds. We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:5-6

The Lord’s servant, as Israel’s representative, took Israel’s punishment. Just as Israel was oppressed because of God’s judgment, “He was taken away because of oppression and judgment” (Isa 53:8). It looks like futility, but it is wisdom (Isa 52:13) because it leads to the justification of many (Isa 53:11). The servant, after his death, is rewarded with children, long life (Isa 53:10), and power over rulers (53:12). In other words, he will fill the earth and subdue it, as man was always meant to do. This is the good news of the kingdom of God (Isa 52:7). Because of the servant’s atonement, God’s anger turns from Israel to her enemies:

“Look, I have removed the cup of staggering from your hand; that goblet, the cup of my fury. You will never drink it again. I will put it in the hands of your tormenters, who said to you: Lie down, so we can walk over you.”

Isaiah 51:22-23

Mission Accomplished: Fruitfulness and Dominion

“Rejoice, childless one, who did not give birth; burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the forsaken one will be more than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord. “Enlarge the site of your tent, and let your tent curtains be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your ropes, and drive your tent pegs deep. For you will spread out to the right and to the left, and your descendents will dispossess nations and inhabit the desolate cities.

Isaiah 54:1-3

The result of the servant’s obedience, teaching, and atonement is that Zion is taken back to be the Lord’s wife again (Isa 54:5-8). This union produces so many children that they cannot fit in the old borders of Israel (Isa 49:18-21). The kings of the earth give up Zion’s children and bow to her (Isa 49:22-23). Her children are righteous, prosperous, and safe forever (Isa 54:11-17). They multiply like Abraham’s children (Isa 51:2), and the land is as fruitful as Eden, which leads to worship and gratitude to the Lord (Isa 51:3). The Lord’s word produces fruit according to His good plan (Isa 55:10-11). Blessings depicted as water, bread, wine, milk, and rich food are available for free in David’s kingdom (Isa 55:1-3).

The servant’s work causes the kingdom of God to spread throughout the world. The nations find the Lord’s instruction, justice, and salvation (Isa 49:6-7, 51:4-5). The servant receives the promises of David, and gathers the nations into his kingdom and instruction (Isa 55:3-5). “Your God reigns!… all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God” (Isa 52:7, 10). The curse is undone, and creation glorifies God as it was always meant to (Isa 55:12-13).

Significance for Ethics

I think the next post will be a better time to discuss the direct relevance of the Kingdom of God to modern ethics. For now, I just want to note what is involved in the blessed life that man was always intended to live. When the command of Genesis 1:28 was given, there was only one family in the world. Multiplication was in the context of this one family, and subduing the earth meant working the ground and ruling the animals. These responsibilities of man remain, but the world is more complicated now.

As seen in this Isaiah passage, the purpose of a kingdom is to provide security and justice to its people. This is necessary because there are sinners inside and outside of the kingdom. Sin works against man’s mission, and good government gives some protection against this. Another thing to consider in light of sin is that obedience to God may look fruitless in this life because of oppression and injustice, but it ultimately leads to the only lasting fruit. A brief message to expansionist empires trying to fill the earth and subdue it: you will be accountable to God if you do this by unlawfully killing, stealing, and destroying. Finally, in a world where morality is disputed, men need to be instructed by God.

Stay tuned to see how Isaiah’s prophecies are fulfilled in the New Testament, and what it all means for you.

The Penultimate End of Man, Part 2

I am God almighty. Live in My presence and be blameless. I will establish my covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly… As for Me, My covenant is with you: you will become the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. I will keep My covenant between Me and you, and your future offspring throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant to be your God and the God of your offspring after you. And to you and your future offspring I will give the land where you are residing– all the land of Canaan– as an eternal possession, and I will be their God.

Gen 17:1-8, HCSB

As discussed in The Penultimate End of Man, Part 1, man was made to glorify God by working and raising kids. In a fallen world, people still work and raise kids, but there is something wrong with the way they do these things, so that they do not rightly glorify God and spread his kingdom. Outside of covenant with God, men build the city of man. When work is not done with justice, the world is subdued for Satan instead of God.

Through Abraham, God begins again to build His kingdom on Earth, and this time the mission will not get derailed. God’s kingdom is established by a covenant, received by Abraham’s faith (Gen 15:6), and demonstrated in circumcision (Gen 17:11) and justice (Gen 18:19). The blessings promised to Abraham are that he will multiply, fill the land of Canaan, and rule over it, and thereby bless every family in the world. The covenent and its blessing is passed to Isaac, then to Jacob, then to the nation of Israel, then through David to Jesus; and through Him it is passed to everyone who has faith like Abraham. This post is an overview of how God’s kingdom is built by faithful (but flawed) people working and raising godly children.

Abraham’s Family

Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the Lord will fulfill to Abraham what He promised him.

Gen 18:18-19

Abraham is a rich and powerful man who obeys God, and his greatest achievement is raising a son. Without a son, he would not care for anything else in the world God could give him (Gen 15:2). God creates a new people through the miraculous birth of Isaac. Abraham teaches Isaac to trust God, circumcizes him into the covenant, and leaves him a large inheritance. Isaac is blessed because of Abraham’s obedience (Gen 26:5). The purpose of Abraham’s military power is to protect his family and their possessions (Gen14:14-16).

One of the greatest demonstrations of Abraham’s faith is the way he goes about finding Isaac a wife. If Isaac marries a Canaanite he will likely be corrupted, but it is also unacceptable for Isaac to leave Canaan. So Abraham is confident that the Lord will give success to a servant sent on a nearly impossible mission to bring a woman from Abraham’s family to Isaac. By the rules Abraham sets up (Gen 24:2-8), if this servant fails, then Isaac will never get married, and what will come of God’s promises? So the Lord gives the servant success in his mission to bring Rebekah to Isaac.

Isaac sows and reaps, digs wells, and keeps livestock. Abraham had left his whole inheritance to Isaac because of God’s promise, but Isaac does not have this attitude when God chooses Jacob from the womb. Esau falls into the trap of marrying Canaanites, and Jacob has to flee Canaan. This seems to go against all of Abraham’s wishes, but through God’s blessing and 20 years of hard labor, Jacob comes back to Canaan with a large and prosperous family. The rest of Genesis describes how they multiply to 70 people, survive a famine because of Joseph’s work, and are given their own land in Egypt.

Israel

But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

Exod 1:7

Like Jacob, the Israelites take refuge outside of Canaan while they multiply. They pass the knowledge of God and his promises down to their children until the time comes for God to bring them back to their land. As slaves they are generally kept alive because of their labor, and even while Egypt kills their sons God makes them continue to multiply. When they leave Egypt, there is a shortage of faith, so God spends 40 years raising the next generation Himself, giving them food, water, discipline, and guidance.

The Lord gives each family in Israel (except the tribe of Levi) land. Each family would work their own land to provide for the family’s needs, and they would pass the land down to their descendents forever. They are called to teach their children to obey God and worship Him. Military force is often necessary to defend the land. The Old Testament wisdom literature gives instruction for being productive. Some of the produce grown on a family’s land would help take care of widows, orphans, immigrants, and Levites.

God’s promise to bless and multiply Israel is conditioned on them 1. loving Him and 2. treating their neighbor fairly. The Levites also work and raise children, for the purpose of leading the people to worship and obey God, and to receive His peace and forgiveness through sacrifices. This work preserves the nation, and the Levites are preserved by the nation’s offerings. In the end, idolatry and injustice bring God’s curses, which are the opposite of the blessings promised to Abraham.

The Church

So the preaching about God flourished, the number of the disciples multiplied greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.

Acts 6:7

Though the New Testament adds new meaning to the household, it does not forget the mission given to Adam, Noah, and Abraham. A concept taught sometimes in the Old Testament and more frequently in the New Testament is that marriage, fatherhood, and motherhood are pictures of God’s relationship to His covenant people. We are to perform our household roles not only for for the good of our family and to raise godly children, but also to give a picture of spiritual truths.

In the new covenant, God’s people multiply and bear fruit by the labor of preaching of the gospel. Paul, a single man, is more fruitful than many families, taking the roles of both mother and father to his young churches (1 Thess 2:7-12). The Spirit produces “fruit” in us as He sanctifies us (Gal 5:22-23). Jesus is appointed ruler over the earth, and we make his rule visible as we teach the world to obey him (Matt 28:18-20). Those who are spiritually circumcized by putting off the flesh (Col 2:11) are counted as sons of Abraham because they belong to Jesus (Gal 3:29) and share Abraham’s faith (Gal 3:6-7).

Obeying Jesus, for most Chistians, involves managing a household, physically working, showing hospitality, and raising children. Much of the ethical teaching in the New Testament revolves around these, because they are the basic good endeavors of humans. The household is the context where human needs are normally met, and most young Christians should plan to get married (1 Tim 5:14). Managing a household well can prepare a man to manage the household of God (1 Tim 3:4-5, 15).

Managing our own household is the bare minimum ethic, but Christians are also concerned with one another and with the world. Work and family are not our ultimate goal, but they are inherently good things that can also be used for the good of the church and the world. A stable household can be hospitable, share with widows and orphans, and preach the gospel. And it is the place where the next generation of Christians is taught to worship God, work, raise children, and preach the gospel.

The Penultimate End of Man, Part 1

Sure, the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, but how are we supposed to do that? The best way to find out is to see what God told man to do when He made him.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 1:28

Gen 1:28 in Eden

Genesis 2 explains how man was originally supposed to obey this command. He is put in the garden to work the ground (Gen 2:15) so the plants would grow (c.f. Gen 2:5). He was restricted from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:17), which (spoilers!) would involve ruling over the serpent. As ruler of the animals, his first task was to name them (Gen 2:19). The woman was made to help Adam fulfill his mission (Gen 2:18-22).

The original plan was to spread Eden throughout the world. Man would rule the earth as God’s representative, spreading God’s kingdom throughout the world. God would continue to walk with man in the garden (c.f. Gen 3:8). The difference between Eden and the rest of the world, besides God’s presence, is its fruitfulness. The surrounding wilderness would be conquered and subdued to meet the needs of man, for the glory of God.

Man was meant to glorify God by spreading His kingdom, both by working and by raising godly children. These two tasks are essential, and should not be put in opposition to one another. Feminists tend to think that work is more important than family, and Christians tend to think that family is more important than work. But ideally, these two tasks are mutually reinforcing. Work meets the needs of a family, allowing parents to raise godly children. Raising godly children means filling the earth with workers. Neither of these tasks are the ultimate end, but both work together to spread the kingdom of God for the good of man and the glory of God.

Genesis 3 explains how the mission gets derailed. God’s small kingdom has a clear hierarchy: God is the head of man, man is the head of woman, and together they rule the animals. The serpent completely subverted this hierarchy by deceiving the woman, who led the man into rebellion against God. The man was no longer welcome in God’s kingdom, so it did not spread throughout the earth.

Gen 1:28 East of Eden

In Genesis 4 man begins to multiply, and we see Adam’s sons at work. Cain works the ground, and Abel keeps sheep. They are continuing to do the work that Adam was made to do, and they use the fruits of their labor to worship God. In a sense this is how it was meant to be, except now God apparently requires the blood of sheep to atone for sin (Gen 4:3-5). Cain envies his brother, and is called to obey Gen 1:28 in the way his parents failed to do: rule over sin. He must rule over the serpent and not be subdued by him.

Cain fails to subdue the serpent, but he is allowed to live, multiply, and work. He builds a city (Gen 4:17), and his descendents begin new family trades to pass onto their descendents. Jabal’s family makes tents and keeps livestock (Gen 4:20). Jubal’s family makes musical instruments (Gen 4:21). Tubal-cain makes tools from bronze and iron (Gen 4:22).

Man is taking the materials God made, and bringing them to their potential, for the good of man. But is it for the glory of God? A sign pointing to “no” is Lamech, who brags to his two wives that his vengeance is more terrifying than that of God. The line of Seth provides some hope that man will glorify God (Gen 4:26), but they are corrupted by the sinful world (probably Gen 6:2). As man multiplies and fills the earth, he is not subduing it for God, but for Satan. Another way this has been said is that Cain built the city of man, not the city of God. The more man multiplies, the more sin multiplies. This leads to 40 days to slow the spread.

After the flood, we’re right back where we were in Genesis 4: one sinful family (according to Gen 8:21, no less sinful than before the flood). But for some reason, God allows man to continue in this state. God makes a covenant with the earth, promising to preserve the natural order of days and seasons. He renews his command to man: “be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it” (Gen 9:7). Despite sin, God has not given up on his intentions for man.

The entrance of death into the world brings two notable changes to the mission. First, animals fear us (Gen 9:2), and we eat them (Gen 9:3). Our rule over the animals necessarily involves violence. If we don’t want our house overrun by cockroaches, termites, and mice, we should be prepared to use lethal force. It is possible to survive without eating animals, but God explicitly allows us to eat meat. Second, God establishes the death penalty as the just retribution for murder. This demonstrates the need for governments in a fallen world, to justly punish criminals and to protect from foreign invaders.

While we’re on the subject of how sin changes the mission, I should mention that in a fallen world, charity is necessary. The source of this need is seen in the four groups who receive charity under the law of Moses: widows, orphans, immigrants, and Levites. Ideally, work meets the needs of the family; but widows and orphans do not have a man to provide for them, and immigrants and Levites do not have land to work. In our modern world, those with families, houses, land, and jobs should help take care of those who lack such blessings.

To Be Continued

I thought Abraham would be the final section of this post, but he deserves his own post. Here are some spoilers: With Abraham, Genesis 1:28 changes from a command to a promise. It begins to be fulfilled in Abraham’s family and in the nation of Israel, and it is finally fulfilled in the Kingdom of God under Jesus Christ. I’ll discuss what this all means for Christians and even for singles. Later posts in this Ethics From the Ground Up series will discuss work, family, charity, church, and politics in more detail.

What have we learned so far? Man was made to work and raise godly children. These two tasks are mutually reinforcing, and serve the ultimate end of glorifying God. Adam’s family works the ground, makes tents, keeps livestock, builds cities, makes music, and makes tools. In a sinful world, we must rule over our own sin, punish criminals, and provide for the needy.

The Fruit of Knowledge and the First Tablet

This is the first post in the series “Ethics From the Ground Up,” in which I apply foundational Biblical morals on an increasingly large scale. This post will examine our basic duties to God, which is the foundation of all other ethics.

God gave man life, and a good and fruitful world to enjoy. In light of this, man’s natural duty is to glorify God and thank Him (Romans 1:21, Revelation 4:11). In Genesis 2, this duty is expressed in an apparently arbitrary command to abstain from the fruit of a certain tree. The life God gave to man would be taken back if he would not honor Him by obedience.

The meaning of “the knowledge of good and evil” could be that Adam would have experiential knowledge of both good and evil if he ate from it. Beale (p. 35) argues that the meaning is not only that Adam was being tested, but that this tree is where he should have judged the serpent as evil. Gentry and Wellum (p. 91) argue that knowing good and evil means exercising moral autonomy instead of submitting to God.

Whatever the meaning of the tree, the command is very fitting. This command is a very concrete form of the abstract moral imperative to honor God above all else. Because it is arbitrary, the only reason to obey it is out of respect for God’s will. Because it is concrete, there could be no debate about whether Adam had kept it.

Honoring God as he deserves is expressed in the first four of the ten commandments. He should have no competition for our worship and love. We should never do anything to dishonor his name. If He arbitrarily chooses a day of the week to be set apart for worship and rest, that is well within his rights.

The old covenant is full of somewhat arbitrary, symbolic commands about holiness. These laws relate to temple service, diet, clothing , grooming, and farming. They demonstrate concretely that to be God’s holy people in a sinful world requires being different than the world. For God’s name to be properly hallowed, his people must be holy like Him. The new covenant people of God must also be separate from the world to properly honor God’s name (2 Corinthians 6:17).

The summary of our duty to God, of course, is that we should love him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This command is both simple and difficult because it is so comprehensive. Our whole life must be devoted to God. Whatever He wills, we must gladly do.

In future posts I will discuss what God wills in more detail, but for now consider the command that echoes throughout the gospel of John: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:29). God sent Jesus to tell us the truth and to restore the eternal life that we lost through Adam’s autonomy. It would be utterly disrespectful to our Creator if we did not believe Jesus and trust him with our whole life.