Learning how to view the Bible as more than "just stories"....

Many view the Books of the Bible as “just stories” – but when you actually take your time and read and THINK about each verse, you begin to see the Bible in a different light. For instance, have you ever noticed that God’s very first command to living beings was NOT given to man, but to the sea creatures and birds? It’s true – take a look: 

Genesis 1: 21 And Elohim created great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters teemed, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good. 22 And Elohim blessed them, saying, “Bear fruit and increase, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”

Before that, He commanded the Light to come to be (Gen. 1:3), and then in Genesis 1:6 He said, “Let an expanse come to be in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And then He said all the following, which “came to be” as well. (All scripture references were borrowed from the ISR.) 

Genesis 1:7 And Elohim made the expanse, and separated the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse. And it came to be so. 8 And Elohim called the expanse ‘heavens.’ And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the second day. 

9 And Elohim said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it came to be so. 10 And Elohim called the dry land ‘earth,’ and the collection of the waters He called ‘seas.’ And Elohim saw that it was good.

11 And Elohim said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the plant that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth.” And it came to be so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the plant that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good.

13 And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, the third day. 14 And Elohim said, “Let lights come to be in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and appointed times, and for days and years, 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth.” And it came to be so.

16 And Elohim made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars. 17 And Elohim set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And Elohim saw that it was good. 

Isn’t amazing that EVERYTHING in the universe obeyed YHWH, and is still obeying Him today – EXCEPT FOR MAN! At first mankind was obedient (Genesis 1:26 through Gen 3:24); but then along came Eve who had a tete-a-tete with the serpent, and BAM! – everything fell apart!

But hey, before we put ALL the blame on Eve, let’s remember that, in those days, Adam and Eve were “equals”.  It’s true!  She was his wife and his helpmate.  Nothing says Adam was Eve’s boss UNTIL after they sinned.  See for yourself:

Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said, “I greatly increase your sorrow and your conception – bring forth children in pain. And your desire is for your husband, and he does rule over you.” 17 And to the man He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘Do not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground because of you, in toil you are to eat of it all the days of your life, 18 and the ground shall bring forth thorns and thistles for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 “By the sweat of your face you are to eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are, and to dust you return.”

YHWH gave them both brains!  Once the “serpent” opened Eve’s eyes to the possibility that she and Adam could “be like God” (Gen 3:5), it was a grand awakening of something she had never known before … and typical to human nature, that “something” took over! You see, until then, neither Adam nor Eve had ever known a stern word from God; and it’s doubtful that either of them ever thought about the grave consequences of disobedience.

Once they tasted that “fruit”, however, YHWH opened their eyes to all sorts of truths – truths concerning the chasm between “good and evil” that reverberates into OUR lives today….

The good news is, despite the fact that we are “fallen creatures,” YHWH has always reached out to mankind to show us how to get back into His good graces. In the beginning He showed man that the life of innocent animals would atone for sin (Leviticus 17:11); then He created a Tribe of Priests (Levites) who worked strictly for Him, sacrificing animals for the people, thus removing the need for every man to kill his own animal (Deuteronomy 18:2; Numbers 18:14; Jeremiah 33:21).

And ultimately, He gave us His Divine Son whose blood makes atonement for our PAST sins from the moment we accept Him as our Final Sin Sacrifice/Offering” (Hebrews 10:1-18), thereby alleviating the need for the blood of animals!

In the meantime, YHWH has amply warned us about the consequences of sin, and He has consistently reached out to us to show us HOW to remain holy/set apart so that we may be found worthy to spend eternity with Him.

What more could we possibly expect from our Creator?