This week we dove into Genesis 2 and some of our group's takeaways included:
Sabbath • The 7th Day
The realization that the change of the Sabbath day originated unofficially in the Church of Laodicea and then officially instituted by Constantine in the 4th Century.
Although many Protestant congregations will deny this or attempt to point to vague scriptures that use circular reasoning to define "The Lord's Day" as Sunday, the Catholic Church is quite proud of this change and we have to thank them for their careful and consistent documentation throughout the centuries.
This also led to a discussion around what paganism is, and why does it matter?
The definition of the word today is quite different than the origin of the term. The contextual definition in the scriptures simply meant belief in any other god than the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. Since the God of Israel was a single religion that worshipped only one God, the default opposite would also mean polytheism.
These pagan gods and their holy days were incorporated and "mixed" with the Appointed Times being observed by the early followers of Yeshua. Those who refused to observe these changes in the calendar and appointed times were either cut off from the community, persecuted, or killed for failing to renounce them. Sunday itself is named for the worship of The Sun god, for example, Thursday, Thor's Day, etc.
שבת
Looking deeper at the word Shabbat (To Cease), as opposed to Noach (To Rest), helps us to further understand the purpose of this commandment. Although much more of what Sabbath is intended to be and give to humanity will be revealed later, in Genesis we are meant to understand that this is the first thing on record being called Holy, or Set Apart by God.
Shabbat is sanctified and deemed Holy at the creation of the world to All of Creation, not just Jewish people. It is also a specific day of the week (the 7th) and the only one given a name (Shabbat) by God Himself.
We also noticed that The Garden of Eden and Eden itself are two different things and that the concept of "The East" is also a concept that holds a Holy or Set Apart symbolism.
The First Commandment
What is the first recorded sin of humanity? Eating that which was forbidden.
How was it done? The Serpent twisted the Word given to Hava (Eve) as she was not the one given it first-hand. She was given the word from Adam. The serpent took existing instruction and sowed doubt and deception. I plan to revisit this topic more in Genesis 3 next week. There is a clear pattern here where the enemy will always go after one who has received the Word second-hand, and always when the person who received it directly is removed. The twisting of scripture to get mankind to believe they can eat things that God has forbidden is something we have yet to overcome.
Why have Christians spent so much time trying to understand the symbolism of the fruit and what it represents?
My answer: Because it keeps us from the simplicity of the literal lesson:
God is the ruler and authority over us, he is the author of our bodies.
Therefore, He knows what is and what is not suitable for food and consumption.
We must believe and obey Him at the literal, which preserves and protects us, gives us life, and reveals that we are trustworthy enough to have the deeper meaning revealed to us.
If we are not willing to allow the author of our bodies to have sovereignty over what those bodies should and should not consume, then we simply are not ready to submit to God as authority and ruler over our heart, mind, and soul.
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