Master of the Universe
For Adam and for his wife the Lord God made coats of skins, and clothed them. Genesis 3:21 Hebrew World Translation
Clothed – Marvel Comics reflects the true aspirations of our declining culture. Secretly, we all want to be superheroes. We want the power! We want to be in control of our destinies. We want the world to bend to our wishes. In fact, the more chaos, the more uncertainty, the more personal trauma we feel in our lives, the more readily we flock to celluloid representations of the triumph of power. I can’t wait to see the new film, Captain America. I’m sure it will make me feel that there is some justice in the world, even if it is only in comic books.
If you look deep inside yourself, do you find this same kind of longing? Do you find just a hint that, if you could have any wish at all, you would wish for the power to make things go your way? Don’t castigate yourself if you discover this troll hiding in an inner closet. He is a card-carrying union member of the Yetzer Ha-ra, local 217. He comes with the package called “being human.” But a great deal of his current appeal isn’t part of the biblical idea of Man in relation to the universe. In fact, this troll represents quite the opposite of the biblical paradigm, as we discover in the depths of this verse.
Most Christian theology concentrates on the fact that God provided a sacrifice in order to cover Adam and his wife. Of course, the verse doesn’t actually say that but it might be implied. Where else do coats of skins come from? The Hebrew word, ‘or, describes human and animal skins.* Thus, Christian theology sees a prefiguring of the death of the Messiah for the “covering” of sin. While such theological stretches are not unreasonable, it seems to me that there is another emphasis in this verse that has been ignored. Davidson pointed it out in his work, Flame of Yahweh. The verb lavash (to wear, to dress, to put on clothing) recalls the act of clothing Aaron as the high priest. This would have been obvious to the first audience of the Torah since they are the ones who were present when Aaron first put on his robes. The implications are just as powerful as the implied sacrifice. God establishes Adam and his wife as priest and priestess in the world after the Fall.
This is a radical paradigm shift. Man is not Master of the Universe. He is priest in the world. Man does not reign and rule. He serves as intercessor and steward. Man is not here to fulfill his own destiny. He is here to execute the orders of his Creator. His entire purpose is found within the concept of worship. That’s what a priest does. He worships in his work. There is no Captain America in the Bible. There are only human beings in the service of the King. By the way, this is also a radical theological shift. If God establishes Adam and his wife as priest and priestess after the Fall, then the concept of total depravity and sinful nature is wrong. You can think about that one for yourself.
So, are you Captain or Priest? Your behavior determines the answer.
Topical Index: priest, master, lavash, clothed, Genesis 3:21
* Some have suggested that Adam was originally a being covered in light and after the Fall God covered him in human skin. This idea might have begun with the phonetic similarity between the Hebrew words for light and skin (both sound like ‘or) but the two words are spelled differently. I see no textual justification for this explanation.
G-d provided coats of skins. Who did? G-d did. Did what? Provided. G-d provides. (What is His name?) – Genesis 22.4- Abraham called the name of that place -what? “The LORD provides..-” Oh, really? What did the LORD provide? Selah, selah, selah. Stop and think about it. (PLease..) Does G-d still provide today? He did then, does He know? My friends- “Providence” occurs- daily. Our daily bread. Our daily breath. “Only”- “all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” -“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from where?”
G-d provided coats of skins. Cotton would have been more comfortable- don’t you think? Or silk? Eve would have looked ravishing I’m sure. But coats of skins? Why? Yes, why did YHVH provide a Ram caught by His horns in the thicket. A male sheep. A Lamb from G-d. Why did G-d provide a covering anyway? Were these two in need of an (atoning) covering? And what about us- (Hello all Adams!) -Do we need a covering when we strut into the presence of the Almighty?
Oh, please-oh please-oh please- “cover me.” This is my prayer to the G-d who provides (daily)- Cover me with atonement. Cover me with the blood that was shed for me on Calvary’s tree.- We don’t seem to talk much about this atoning blood – do we? More like- everything but.. I wonder why? Why do we not mention the tslav?- the execution stake? Does History itself revolve around the cross of Christ? -Yes. It does. Does my life (here and now) depend upon this atoning Sacrifice that given so freely, but at such great cost? I guarantee it does. – How dare I even think to “practice the Presence of YHVH” without this “covering.” “Cover me”- Amein.
“Ask, and you will receive..”- Who said that? What if, -what if- I ask for this “covering?” What if I ask for this atoning, propitiating, sin-cleasing Sacrifice of the Savior (Master and Commander) of the world (to the Jew first and also to the Greek) to be “reckoned” to my account? If I ask forgiveness- will I receive? If I ask for mercy- will I receive? If I ask for my sins to be covered and cleansed- will I be “whiter than snow?”
Oh, the blood that gives me strength- from day to day..- it will never lose it’s power!
It reaches to the highest mountain
And it flows to the lowest valley
The blood that gives me strength
From day to day
It will never lose its power.
It soothes my doubts and calms my fears
And it dries all my tears
The blood that gives me strength
From day to day
It will never lose its power.
Selah.
What can wash away my sin? – nothing but..-“________________” What can make me whole again? -nothing but __________________. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me “white as snow,”- no other ‘fount I know- nothing but- _______________.
Why did Messiah die? What was the purpose of the crucified Christ? For the cross upon which Jesus died- is a shelter in which we can hide- and it’s grace (so free..) is sufficient for me, and deep is it’s fountain- as wide as the sea..
I am really taken with the re-framing of Adam and Eve’s clothing to being the priest and preistess. It resonates with me. The further suggestion that this is the role of mankind today also makes sense. I am not to Lord it over others but to function as a go-between, assisting mankind to find him/her self. That seems to me is what I do when I am involved in Biblical Counseling. Now I have a name for it. Thanks, Skip.
Roy,
I agree with you. This picture of Adam and Eve as priests who despite their failure still serve with intercession and stewardship is profoundly rich. YHWH’s plan for the pair did not change because of their misdeeds.
YHWH still had a mission for the two…. and despite our misdeeds, His agenda is still the same for us. May we be found faithful to the task that YHWH has initiated from the beginning and Yeshua lived out fully and still calls us to today to come and follow. Shabbat shalom!
Bingo! Thank you Skip! In reference to your post script, I had also read the theory of man being clothed in G_d’s light before the fall and had a brief visual of Adam and Eve walking around in the garden looking like human laser beems…it left a lot of questions
Ex. 19:6 “and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
Thanks for this thought Skip. Interesting connection to man as priest. Reinforced in God’s dealing with Israel — the whole nation as priests, not just Aaron and his family. Aaron had certain exclusivity on a limited range of functions, but God’s people — men and women — were to be priests.
Man as priest (also prophet and king) has a long and often neglected history. And the reason for the neglect is the “brick wall” that is placed between the Old and New Testaments.
I couldn’t agree more. Time for the wall to come tumbling down. Man as priest has an entirely different view of humanity than man as master.
Maybe there’s a place for what could be called “Humpty Dumpty Theology” — and get that tumbling on the move. 🙂
Yes – God intended for Israel to be a Kingdom of Priests – priests to the whole world, to teach the world of His name and His ways. Unfortunately, because of their hardness of heart (it took only a few days to get out of Egypt, but it took 40 years to get Egypt out of the people) they became a nation with priests.
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to G-d, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2.9)
If I’m jumping forward to another post, forgive me please.
Isn’t the true “ruler”, as given dominion by YHWH, to be the greatest servent, ie. in the service of YHWH and man?
The current concept of dominian as portrayed by “modern christianity” ( I don’t mean that term as a derogatory one) seems to be that one is “in charge” and bends circumstances to his own will. While the biblical view would be contrasted by knowing YHWH is in charge of all circumstances and we get to direct everything TOWARD His purposes.
The other thought in this post in regards to longing to have it my way, brings to mind the conversation we had about the second coming of Yeshua, to which you responded that it would be the end of the time of grace.
I weigh in my heart at times the contrast of the kingdom of God instituted in this world ( ruling with a rod of iron) and the present prevailing system, and the massive damage done to our world and the people on it. This system has brought only destruction and enslavement, while the Kingdom of the Messiah brings rest, freedom and prosperity.
Mic 4:4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make [them] afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken [it].
And I say; even so LORD. come!
“Lord God made coats of skins, and “clothed” them”
Hi Skip,
I remember the first time you presented that interpretation a few hundred lessons ago
And I responded by saying that it sounded a bit far fetched to me, to say the least, because Adam was a fool
But now it makes sense to me on a personal level, because the first priest that I ever knew was named Father O’Toole
(a very fine man)
And for me everything tends to connect to The Scarlet Letter A
Where the andogynous female hero, Hester Prynne, is portrayed as the American Adam
The mystical Adam Kadmon
(Mother Divine)
WOW Michael, you really are impressed by or stuck on or indwelt with this “Scarlet Letter A” thing/prop.
“Where the andogynous female hero, Hester Prynne, is portrayed as the American Adam” ????
The mystical Adam Kadmon
(Mother Divine)
THAT ABOVE IS ALL WAY OVER MY LITTLE BRAIN/HEAD – BUT HAVE HUGE LOVING CONSECRATED HEART – SORTA GLAD I DON’T HAVE TO SIFT THROUGH ALL THAT TO GET TO THE TRUTH – SURE WOULD MAKE IT HARD TO SWIM WITHOUT SINKING FOR SURE… ♥
LET ME/US KNOW IF YOU NEED A LIFE PRESERVER THROWN… ♥
http://www.flickr.com/photos/flygirljc/2397776402/in/set-72157603347626523
Hi Jan,
It is not really very difficult, the subtext is 19th Century American Romanticism
And so most folks don’t read about that stuff in our busy world
It means a lot to me, but not to most folks I know 🙂
Mike, I didn’t mean to make light of your passion/obsession of “The Scarlet Letter A” but i truly don’t get what is so wonderful about it -wish i could & wish i could empathize with you about it – more or less just to understand it & you. I barely remember reading The Scarlet Letter” & went over the synopsis on Wikipedia when you mentioned it the first time & am not “yet” able to grasp the meaning of “andogynous female hero” – what i perceive that to be is someone that represents male & female (being a female in this instance but could be a male being like female) & i don’t see anything really wrong about that to a certain extent.
I just thought about someone in classic literature & a heroine that was man like & that is Joan of Arc but she wasn’t married & didn’t have child out of wedlock & two men/lovers in her life & wearing a symbol on her person/life that was detrimental to her but her rode/ride was not easy either – just wouldn’t go so far as to liken her to Adam in the Bible or a Mother Divine…
Adam Kadmon – too much cabala & new age for me…
jan
“make light of your passion/obsession of “The Scarlet Letter A” but i truly don’t get what is so wonderful about it”
Hi Jan,
I understand, The Scarlet Letter is too allegorical for modern taste and not great literature
But it is an important part of American culture and history and for me it is a kind of “key”
A key that opened a lot of doors for me intellectually and spiritually speaking
And Hawthorne’s values no doubt had a very big impact on how I see the world
My interpretation of The Scarlet Letter was very different with the A as a symbol of the Androgynous Soul
At college, I did not know about the Kabbalah, or much about the Androgynous Soul
But MH Abram’s Natural Supernaturalism (1971) alluded to Adam Kadmon
And I was very impressed with his scholarship in literature, which is second to none IMO
And a professor of mine mentioned the Androgynous Soul in conjunction with Hawthorne
The concept attracted me for some reason and on my path in life
Glimpses of this vision have appeared to me in many permutations; for example:
Genesis 1:27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Hawthorne contrasts this Androgynous image of Hester’s wholeness with the “Alienation” of her adversaries
By the 20th century, “alienation” had become the very essence of Modern Man, so I figured Hawthorne must have been on to something significant
I grew up in the 50’s with parents like John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara
And heroes like Wyatt Earp (Burt Lancaster), Doc Holiday (Kirk Douglas), Hombre (Paul Newman), and the revolutionary, Jesus Raza (jack Palance)
But by the 70’s my heroes had come to look more like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Herbert Marcuse, Fredric Jameson, MH Abrams, Jean Paul Sartre, and Sigmund Freud
Their passion was for literature, philosophy, and art (the good, the true, and the beautiful)
For my real father, the “father figures” above were not “real men;” they did not have real jobs in business, and worse, they never played football
I guess on some psychological level, these contradictory experiences and impressions of childhood
Probably influenced my desire for some sort of reconciliation of the masculine and feminine parts of my psyche
And can explain to some extent my attraction to the concept of the Androgynous Soul
Mike,
Thank you for explaining further your intense identification with the “A” in life. I appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me & others here. I grew up in the same time frame as you being 58 years young & was very familiar with those you mentioned in the 50’s era but not the 70’s era – 76 was when i came back to the Lord Jesus Christ for a real relationship & most everything was about Him so I was not introduced to much except Christian literature & the Bible which was of my own choosing – just too hungry for Him & His Word(s) & anything else i could learn about HIM.
“But by the 70′s my heroes had come to look more like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Herbert Marcuse, Fredric Jameson, MH Abrams, Jean Paul Sartre, and Sigmund Freud” OF THESE – THE ONLY ONE I HAVE EVEN HEARD OF & KNEW SOMETHING ABOUT WAS FREUD & OF COURSE BOB DYLAN…
You know, i have found in life a few men that have not got past the little boy within them & the hurts they received from their father(s) – of not being accepted for who they really were – not an athlete but a musician, a poet, an author, a lover & not a fighter. I pray that God in His infinite mercy continue healing your heart & that someday soon you will feel totally accepted in your Heavenly Fathers love for you & can therefore accept & forgive your earthly father for not knowing any better or having good parenting skills.
I have an only child – a son & i wanted him to be a JOC/athletic & he played a few sports when he was a child but he really didn’t like it & one day we took him to soccer practice & he wouldn’t get out of the car & started crying & we asked him what was wrong & he told us that if he didn’t play sports that we would not love him. It broke our hearts & from that day forward i never ever pushed him to play sports again & he didn’t – oh, maybe a few times in school & one T-ball team but only because he wanted to not because we wanted him too. He is a geek/computer techno man, musician, poet & writer of music & he loves watching football & basketball & shooting hoops ever now & then but he is not a jock. His initials are JOC & he is so not that – and that stands for Jeremy (short for Jeremiah) Obadiah Carver & he is probably more a prophet like his namesakes than anything else (imagine that)… ♥
SO – all that being said – i do understand much more now than before & thank you for opening your heart to us here…
jan
“thank you for opening your heart to us here”
Hi Jan,
My pleasure, I would just add that I rarely come into contact with anyone who knows or cares much about Herbert Marcuse, Fredric Jameson, MH Abrams, Jean Paul Sartre, or Sigmund Freud 🙂
But my sense is that they had the same affect on me that Jesus had on you; not something I chose as much as something I was given, or something that was “put on my path.”
A means to an end (God).
Mike, the only one that i have ever really been interested in reading about is Freud & sometimes he gets a little boring & over my head… I will check the others out & at least Wicki them & find something out about them…
well, if they brought you on the path to God then so be it – seems all things in life are trying to nudge us onto the path that was made for us…♥
jano
“seems all things in life are trying to nudge us onto the path that was made for us”
Hi Jan,
Yes I was also making your point above
The “academics” who influenced me were often questioning the existence of God
But for me “critical thinking” or a “negative dialectic” often allows me to see more clearly
And in my view there is definitely a relationship between Freud’s “unconscious mind” and God