Exile

Hear the word of God as it is Recorded for us in the third chapter of Genesis

beginning at Verse 20 and reading through verse 24 And Adam called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all living also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin and clothed them And the Lord God said behold the man has become like one of us To know good at evil and now lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever Therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden To till the ground from which he was taken So he drove out the man and he placed Cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden and a flaming sword which turned every way To guard the way to the tree of life The word of the Lord Thanks be to God. Let us pray together

Father, please be with us As we consider your word you tell us that your word is living That it is active That is to say that it is powerful that it is sharper than any two-edged sword That is to say that it is discerning and able to cut through To the very core of our being And it is able to expose what is there and it is able to heal What is there So father take your word this word which you have given to us This word which you have preserved and by the power of your Holy Spirit promise to make effectual in our lives Take this word and do that work by your hearts Glad to receive it Will's engaged to do it For the honor of the name of Jesus In his name we pray Amen You may be seated

Here's a good word for your vocabulary good Good word for you to use at Conversation with folks. It's great word Malaprophism Malaprophism it's a great great word It's a word that means the ridiculous misuse of words The ridiculous misuse of words Yogi Berra's birthday was this last week and Yogi Berra was He was either incredibly witty or very very thick But all kinds of malaprophisms are associated with Yogi Berra Things like It feels like deja vu all over again or If people aren't going to come to the ballpark What are you going to do to stop them Or nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded

Or it isn't over till it's over Those are all malaprophisms things that people associate rightly As I understand it with Yogi Berra Memorable kinds of sayings not because they're particularly insightful but because they're humorous Because they sort of poke fun at the person who spoke them. I want to leave you with some phrases that I hope Are not malaprophisms not the horrible misuse of words But simple phrases that rise out of this last passage In Genesis chapter three these last two verses phrases that it seems to me rise naturally out of this particular text And which in many ways summarize what it means for us to be believers

Many ways summarize what it means for us to be believers The first of them is this as a believer as a Christian You live by faith You live by faith and not by sight You live on the basis of things you can't see Not on the basis of things you can see look at verse 20 This is really a striking Striking verse given what has just preceded it and Adam called his wife's name Eve because she was to become the mother of all the living the name Eve derives from the word for life And why is that such a startling statement? Well, if you consider what has just preceded it it stands in stark contrast particularly To what god has just said in verse 19 but the whole of the context is what makes this particular Statement in verse 20 so striking because the context of this is the fall the disobedience of the man and the woman And the pronouncements of judgment by god upon the serpent And upon the woman and upon the man and in summary What god pronounces is consistent with what god had promised And what god had promised was that if the man and the woman should violate his law And should eat of this particular tree which he prohibited them from eating of if they were to transgress that law And if they were to eat the fruit of that tree they would experience death and the general pronouncement of judgment leads to what god says in verse 19 of chapter 3 the last word that Adam hears is this you will turn to the ground Because out of the round you were taken you are dust and to dust you will go that's not what god had promised the man if he should obey If he should obey the man and the woman would not return to dust But they would know life and in fact if they were to if they had obeyed they would have been confirmed in life and death death never would have been a threat to them again The last words that Adam hears are these words ringing in his ears you are dust and to dust you will return Everything that he sees around him Everything that he has experienced his active disobedience screams loudly That what god had said would happen has in fact happened we talked about this last week Everything is fractured everything is broken everything is characterized not by life not by blessedness But by death and curse The man is separated from god the man is separated from his wife the man is separated from himself He's confused about who he is The man is separated from the ground everything is toil and struggle And rather than having a life characterized by security and stability his life is now characterized by fear and anxiety All of those things are simply synonyms and even symptoms synonyms for death and symptoms of death And here Adam in the face of everything that he sees in the midst of the wreckage that he sees He looks beyond that wreckage to what he cannot see and as an act of faith He names his wife he gives this particular name to his wife Eve he calls her Eve from life And it is an affirmation that death will not be the end And while what he sees everything that he sees with his eyes is characterized by death

In naming his wife he declares that death will not be the end

Death will not be the end, but she will be the mother of all of the living life will overcome death And there has to be in this some connection There has to have been in Adam's Adam's mind some connection back to the promise that god had made in verse 15 of chapter 3 When god promised That one would come the seed of the woman something living Something to come from the woman something living would prevail and would push the head of the serpent and would overcome and overturn All of the works of the serpent the man stands in the face of everything that he sees And says life will prevail the promise of god will overcome Everything that I see around me. How do you live today? How do you live moment by moment you live with your gaze fixed upon things that you can see Or in the midst of the wreckage that is described in Genesis chapter 3 and which characterizes our lives Do we stand against that wreckage and though we can't see the fulfillment declare just as Adam did that life will overcome death something Something will overturn All of that which we see this would have been very significant for Israel in the midst of the wilderness Everything that Israel could see Everything she could see with her eyes Tells her that life is barren That life is hot and oppressive in the daytime In the midst of a desert a wilderness wandering everything is cold and threatening in the nighttime And Israel is surrounded by enemies the amurites the Egyptians the Canaanites there are these real threats Constant threats Everything that Israel can see with her eyes as she heads towards the promised land Everything she sees Tells her that life is barren and threatening But Israel is being instructed to live not on the basis of what she sees But on the basis of what she can't see the promise of God that she will be led into a promised land filled filled with blessedness It's a constant theme in the scriptures What is Job declare what does he say in the midst of his suffering

Job 19 verses 25 to 27 I know that my redeemer lives And he shall stand at last on the earth Some of the commentators suggest that that phrase could be translated He shall stand at last on my grave

He shall stand at last my redeemer shall stand at last on my grave After my skin my flesh is destroyed this I know that in my flesh I shall see God who I shall see for myself And my eyes shall behold and not another How my heart yearns within me what did Job see as he looked around him He saw the sores in his flesh. He saw the foolishness of his friends He saw his wife rejecting him. He saw the graves of his children He saw his wealth taken away Everywhere there was threat but in the midst of what he could see What did he affirm he affirmed what he couldn't see I know that my redeemer lives and that he shall stand And in my flesh I will see God. What does Paul say? This is such a wonderful passage 2 Corinthians 4 verses 13 And following 16 and following therefore we do not lose heart We do not lose heart. Isn't it easy for you to lose heart?

Isn't it easy for you to lose heart? When you look at the things that you do see Or you look at the things that you don't see that you wish you could see that you wish were there but aren't there Isn't it easy for you to lose heart When relationships crumble when circumstances of your life whether financial or vocational Seem uncertain and crumble isn't it easy to look to lose heart

But we do not lose heart even though our outward man is perishing

The outward man the thing that you can see with your eyes It's perishing folks We can pretend otherwise, but it's perishing

Even though our outward man is perishing yet the inward man is being renewed day by day These light and momentary afflictions are working for us Light and momentary afflictions are working for us A far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory While we do not look at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporary The things which are not seen Are eternal What did Paul see? He saw with his eyes things that were perishing but like Adam He stood in the face of what he could see and declared his confidence in things that he could not see

It's living by faith It's living by faith Hebrews 11

Faith is the substance of things Hoped for the evidence of things not seen Is that striking how that language keeps showing up Joe? I know that I will see him Paul We look upon things not seen

The writer of this letter to the Hebrews Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence or the assurance of things not seen through the rest of that chapter

The writer of this letter illustrates his point by referring to person after person after person who lived by Faith by faith Not on the basis of things that could be seen But on the basis of things that cannot be seen the promise of God a promise which finds its consummate fulfillment In the one who has come the one who you do not see But the one who has come the one whom others have seen as John said and having seen Him he now declares that one to us and we've been leaving him The one who has come so how do you live as a Christian barb? Sometimes jokes with me and says you need to write down on a piece of paper everything it is that I believe So that if you die and you're not here to remind me of it. I'll have a record

You live by faith in things that you can't see

second You live by faith and folks you're clothed by God clothed By God there's a startling contrast Again in Genesis chapter 3 between what is said of the man and the woman in verse 7 And what God does for the man and the woman in verse 21 What is it that the man and the woman do After their act of disobedience verse 7 the eyes of both of them were open They knew they were naked that is they were aware of their guilt and shame and nakedness which had been their glory

And nakedness which had been their glory is now a nakedness which is their shame And they seek to cover their shame their guilt Their imperfection They seek to cover their shame By sowing leaves together and making themselves Coverings the word coverings is used other places of a belt A belt how much gets covered up With a belt not much the man and the woman make this foolish Insufficient attempt to cover their nakedness In verse 21 Adam and his wife have tunics of skin Made for them and with those tunics they are clothed that word describes a garment that is worn closest to the skin It's a garment that a priest would have worn and it covers the whole of the body down to the knees and even to the ankles The clothing that the man and the woman tried to provide for themselves was insufficient The clothing that God provided for the man and the woman Was sufficient to cover their guilt their shame their nakedness

We still engage in this kind of activity you know it's subtle but it's still there this Business of attempting to cover up our blemishes and our defects How do you dress when you come to worship on Sunday mornings it's mother's day It's mother's day happy mother's day to all of your mothers It's mother's day how do we dress When we come to worship on mother's day or any other day

We tend to put things on we tend to wear things that will make us look acceptable The uniform may change from generation to generation or from cultural context to cultural context if you worship in california you may see people in t-shirts and cargo shorts and flip flops, but it's a uniform and the uniform is put on So that we might make ourselves Acceptable before one another and presumably before God

We still engage in this business of covering up don't Most of the women I know still wear Makeup and when we wear makeup what are we doing? We're covering up the flaws. We're covering up the defects

We're trying to overcome the embarrassment of wrinkles or for the younger women blemishes pimples We still engage in this Genesis 3 describes this stark contrast between what is self-made and insufficient and what is God made and thoroughly sufficient

How do you stand before God? In fact, how do you stand before your brothers and sisters in Christ? There's one seeking to cover up

Weave together your own garments to try to hide the imperfections the indecencies and the blemishes

Or do you stand before God and do you stand before one another robed In the clothing which God alone can provide and there's another thing about this clothing which stands This clothing of God which stands in stark contrast to the clothing which the man and the woman tried to create for themselves And that is this leaves from a tree don't require a sacrifice

In fact, the leaves will grow back

But garments of skin will cost some being It's life sort of like the difference Between the chicken and the pig when it comes to breakfast Or the chicken there's involvement For the pig There's sacrifice and what Israel is to learn and understand Is that there will be a loss of life If our guilt and shame are to be covered animal skins require the sacrifice of the animal And to cover the shame of the man and the woman to cover your shame will cost some living being It's life. I trust you understand That the lamb slain before the foundation of the world is the fulfillment of this metaphor In verse 21 I trust you understand that the lamb slain before the foundation of the world Is the life sacrificed that you might be robed in a god-made garment that covers the whole of you You're guilt and you're shame I said before the service that's why these paramets During this season of Easter our white they point to the perfect complete and entire righteousness of Christ In which you his people Our road It's a great picture of this In the third chapter of Zechariah I don't know what else is going on in this passage I know that Zechariah stands before God and Beholds Joshua the high priest and so clearly there is priestly and liturgical imagery In this passage But it is such a wonderful picture Such a wonderful picture of the believer Zechariah 3 he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord And it is the angel of the Lord who frequently in the Old Testament speaks in behalf of the Lord himself He is the mouthpiece of God. He declares God's judgments He announces God's promises He goes before the people of God as the great champion and warrior of God and he is In many ways a prefiguring of Christ

Joshua the high priest stand before the angel of the Lord and Satan stands at his right hand And he opposes Opposes whom opposes Joshua The high priest opposes the angel of the Lord opposes the Lord himself. He opposes all of them

But then the Lord speaks The Lord speaks in response and says the Lord rebuke you Satan the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you And then it becomes clear Who it is that Satan is opposing who it is that Satan is standing against it becomes very specific because the Lord says is this not a brand plucked from the fire Who is the brand Joshua is the brand plucked out of the fire and God is rebuking Satan The great accuser of Joshua the high priest this one plucked and delivered from this fire And then verse three Joshua was clothed with filthy garments The high priest regaled in his priestly garments

He's viewed as robed and clothed in filthy garments And then he answered and spoke to those who stood before him saying who answered who spoke God spoke Whether it's the angel of the Lord or the Lord himself is not clear But it is clear that it is the Lord's message and so it is the Lord who speaks listen to this Listen to what the Lord says to Joshua

Take away the filthy garments from him Take them away, disrobed him strip away his garments And then to him to Joshua the God of heaven and earth says this see I have removed your iniquity from you and I will clothe you with rich robes

Rich robes the robes of the king the robes of a priest

I will put new clothes on you and then Zechariah who beholds this scene cries out as he understands what is transpiring that the God of heaven and earth Is taking the initiative and is taking away the guilt and the shame of Joshua Zechariah who knows himself To be a sinner clothed in his own guilt and shame The holds this spectacle the holds this glorious scene and he cries out Don't just put clean robes on him. Don't just put princely robes on him Don't just put priestly robes on him but put a turban on his head Clothe him from head to toe in what is perfect and spotless that's what God does God takes away your foolish clothing and he robes you he wraps you up In the very righteousness of Christ the pure perfect spotless Righteousness of Christ how do you live

You live by faith you live on the basis of things you can't see And you live as those who've been clothed by God you live as those who have had your dirty filthy garments strip the way You live as those who now wear the regal princely righteousness Jesus Christ. That's how you live and then last as you live by faith If you're clothed by God you also live and walk in hope Versus 22 to 24 The most terrifying words Arguably that could ever be spoken or written The man and the woman are sent away. They're banished from the presence of God They live as exiles and there are these angels with this flaming sword to protect access to the tree of life to the place of life There are these angels and this flaming sword that sort of spins in this whirling dervish sort of fashion Like lightning bolts crashing from heaven protecting the gate the access To the place of life When Israel was given instructions for constructing the tabernacle One of the features of the tabernacle was this thick veil that separated the holy place the holy of holies The place where the presence of God rested this thick veil as thick as a person's fist and woven into that veil We're figures of angels a reminder That angels protected access into the place of life the place where God dwells and angels sat above the arc of the covenant Cherubin sat above That precious thing that contained the rod and staff of Moses and the almond branch and the two tables of the covenant all of these things That symbolized God's love for his people But angels protected access to that and the glory of God dwelled in the midst of it

It would have seen these things and known and understood these things and yet And yet there is a way past the angels There is a way past that flaming sword There is a way into the place of life There is a way into the presence of God and that way is the way of the high priest Because you see every year the high priest would stand in the midst of the whole assembly of God's people You can read it in Leviticus 16 He would stand in the midst of the whole of the assembly of the people And he would put his hands upon the scapegoat and he would confess the sins of the people And the sins of the people would be transferred from the people through the high priest to the head of the scapegoat And then the scapegoat would be let out away from the assembly of God's people to die in the wilderness And then the high priest would go into the very presence of God In symbolic fashion leading the whole of the people of God into the place of life Where God dwells The man and the woman were exiled And the angels barred entrance to the place of life

And yet an access into that place has been made By the great high priest Jesus And so you who lived this wilderness experience who lived as exiles away from your home You live as those who walk in hope knowing that because the great high priest has gone before you into the heavenly places And has taken his seat at the right hand of the Father not only as a king but as a priest in the presence of God Because he has gone there you too will go there

And that is where you will dwell forever and forever How do we live Not with malaproposals Not with the ridiculous use of words but with these key phrases These phrases which we hang on to every moment of our existence We live by faith in things we can't see We live as those who lived in the perfect righteousness of Christ And we walk in hope that one day The tree of life will be ours To eat up and in eating of it We will enjoy eternal life

This table is here as a reminder It is seen things And it points to unseen realities and these are the realities to which this table points That you live by faith You're clothed by God And you walk in hope Let's pray together Father, thank you for your word and thank you That these things really are true and I pray that your people Would not grow weary, would not lose heart, would not become discouraged I pray that they would be stirred up And Father, I pray that just as you have given us your son Jesus And just as you Jesus together with your Father have poured out your spirit upon your church Would you again impart your spirit, give your spirit in all of his greatness And in all of his fullness To stir up faith in our hearts So that we might not grow weary So that we might not lose heart O Lord, as we come to this table Encourage our faith Strengthen us for the work that you have given us to do And now as we come to this table Hear us as together we confess our sins Let us pray