God With Us

 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
Matthew 1:22-23

I love the idea that God desires to be with us. I especially love how this is not a new idea or development, but rather an idea that has been there from the beginning. The Bible tells the story not of people searching for God, but rather of God searching for people. This post will be dedicated to exploring the biblical evidence of God’s desire to be with us!

Beginning at the Beginning

What better place to begin than at the very beginning of the Bible?

The Bible is an incredible book, and it could have begun in any number of ways. The first words of a book are crucial, they set the tone for everything that follows. God chose to begin not with a set of rules, or a list of do’s and don’ts, but rather with a description of God creating a perfect world. Genesis introduces God as a loving God, who is intentionally organizing and creating life. (For a whole post (and audio) on creation check out In The Beginning.)

The entire Bible testifies to God as our Creator, and that is the main reason why we worship God!

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Psalm 95:6 NKJV

“You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.”
Revelation 4:11 NKJV

Worship is a big deal in the Bible. Satan even tempted Jesus to worship him.

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
- Matthew 4:8-10 NKJV (bold mine)

Jesus makes it clear that we must worship God and God alone. Satan is still trying to get people to worship him, offering us some version of “the kingdoms of the world and their glory.” The book of Revelation has quite a bit to say about worship as well.

Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”
- Revelation 14:6-7 NKJV (bold mine)

Revelation 14 and the 3 Angels’message describes events that must take place just before the second coming of Jesus. The gospel is a message of salvation in the context of judgment just prior to the second coming of Jesus. The gospel is also about worship, the worship of God. But what if someone does not know God or worships many gods, how can anyone know which god is the true God? How can anyone know which God they should worship? We are told to worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.

The Creator

The main danger that I see with doing away with the creation account found in Genesis is losing sight of Who is our Creator. Once you re-interpret Genesis to mean something else than it says, perhaps in an attempt to accommodate certain scientific theories and interpretations, you begin to weaken the Bible’s testimony of who God is.

Allow me to go on a tangent for a little while.

Creation as seven literal days?

Many don’t seem to have a problem with interpreting the creation account not as seven consecutive days but rather as long periods of time, or epochs. This way we can have some creation and some evolution and everyone can be happy correct? Seems harmless. Until you think about verses like,

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Romans 6:23 NKJV

For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:21 NKJV

If God created through some form of macroevolution that took place over thousands of years then death is part of God’s plan and not a result of our disobedience. If God means for us to evolve and death is meant to weed out the weak, why would Jesus need to come and save us? Should we not continue to evolve until we save ourselves? What is the problem with sin if it does not cause death?

Also, what does this approach do to the character of God? God goes from being a good and powerful creator to someone who does things halfway and allows suffering and death over millions of years to occur as life struggles to push on. Suddenly God did not create a perfect world, but rather some form of life and then left it to evolve. This God does not seem very interested in the wellbeing of His creatures. This would also do away with the humans being made in the image of God.

Jesus’ view on creation

Whenever I am in doubt I turn to Jesus and seek clarification. If you believe that Jesus is God then the words of Jesus should be of great value and authority. Look at how Jesus answers a question regarding marriage.

But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
- Mark 10:6-9 NKJV

Jesus is quoting from Genesis 2:24. It seems to me like the basic definition of marriage is taken straight from the creation account. I would argue that the creation account in Genesis gives us God’s ideal for life. By the end of the creation account, we witness a perfect world, everything is very good, there is no death, and marriage and the family are established.

God seeking us?

But this post is all about God’s desire to be with us. I see that in the creation account. God is careful and very intentional with providing us with everything we need and carefully making us in His image (Genesis 1:26-31; 2:7,21-24). According to the Biblical creation account, Adam and Eve were created on the sixth day. However, the creation week is 7 days long. There is one more day, the seventh day is the climax of the creation week. On the seventh day, God is done creating and organizing the physical planet and now creates time, holy time. God sets apart one day to rest. This is an interesting idea since the Bible says that God never gets tired.

Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
- Isaiah 40:28 NKJV

Adam and Eve would not be tired since they were one day old. Why does God then create, bless, and sanctify the seventh day?

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
- Genesis 2:1-3 NKJV

There is no physical need for this day. No one is tired, nothing physical is being created. I can think of a few reasons for God to create holy time. God created time for relationships to flourish. On the seventh day of the week, God can fellowship with Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve can enjoy each other’s company and enjoy nature, and the presence of God. I understand the seventh day of creation to be the goal of creation, God wants to spend time enjoying a close relationship with His creation. The Sabbath rest was established before sin, before there were Jews, before there was any need for a sacrificial system, it was part of God’s original plan, a part of God’s perfect creation, the climax of God’s ideal for all of creation. Before sin entered the world, God had created holy time for us to enjoy His presence. In other words, the seventh day Sabbath reminds us of God’s desire to be with us.

The Fall

After the fall we see even more evidence of God seeking us. (For more on the fall check out Paradise Lost and someOne is coming)

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
- Genesis 3:8-9 NKJV

Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
- Genesis 3:21 NJV

So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
- Genesis 4:6 NKJV

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Genesis 4:9 NKJV

(For more on Cain and Abel check out The Heart of the Worshiper and My Brother’s Keeper)

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
[…]And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Genesis 6:8,13 NKJV

For more on the flood check out Judgment and Grace and Mabbuwl - The Great Flood.

We see this trend throughout scriptures where God shows up and reveals Himself to humanity. God will come down to intervene in the building of the tower of Babel (United for All the Wrong Reasons). God will also call Abraham (Called by God) and will send numerous prophets and judges and leaders. God even sends unwilling prophets to preach to the enemies of Israel (Jonah).

Relationships

Love and relationships cannot be forced. A forced relationship is not healthy and love by definition must be freely expressed. We see evidence throughout the Bible of God seeking us, is there anything that we can do to show our love for Him? The Bible is clear that nothing can separate us from His love.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Romans 8:38-39 NKJV

But how do we show our love and appreciation for God?

Here is what Jesus says about this.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
- John 14:15 NKJV

I understand that to mean not worshipping any other gods, not bowing down to images, not taking God’s name in vain. God also cares about how I treat others, so I show my love for God by honoring my parents, not committing murder or adultery. By not stealing, by being honest, and by not coveting what belongs to someone else.

What do you think of that list? Does it make sense?

Do you agree that my relationship with God should shape my actions and even my thoughts? Jesus talks about this in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).

Oh, I almost forgot, there is one more thing that God doesn't want us to forget. I almost forgot it, and many often do.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
- Exodus 20:8-11 NKJV

I find it amazing how so many people agree that we should not worship other gods or commit murder or adultery but they are fine with forgetting the Sabbath day. We should be consistent right? Unless there is a very good reason for removing one of the ten commandments that were written by the finger of God in tablets of stone.

The Sabbath reminds us that God is our creator, therefore He deserves our worship. The Sabbath also reminds us that God desires to be with us, to spend time with us, to strengthen our relationship.

So as we think about the birth of baby Jesus, as we think of God’s desire to be with us, let us honor Him by making spending time with Him a priority. Let us seek God daily through prayer and the study of His word. Let us live out our lives in accordance with His will. Also, each week, on the seventh day Sabbath, let us celebrate a God who loves us and wants to be with us. Let us joyfully set aside this day to invest in our relationship with God, by avoiding anything that would distract us form Him. We have six days to work and go to school and to focus on our career, business, etc. On the Sabbath let us focus on God, let us spend time with Him, with the members of our family. It is good to do good on the Sabbath, to visit the sick, to reach out to others and show love towards them. This is not a burden, this ought to be a joy, to spend holy time doing the types of things that Jesus did while here on earth. Each week, during the Sabbath, you get to practice what life will be like in heaven, a time of love and joy and focus on God and on others.