Bible Study 1: Genesis 1 (10/21-10/27)

[fifteenth]

God started the rescue mission by starting small, with Abraham

Exactly...a man and wife too old to have kids and with a "dead womb." God starts his family not through human procreation, but through the power of his Word and promise. Same with Jesus, no worldly father, but the Word and promise and Spirit of God brings Jesus into the world. Me having kids doesn't produce THE family (as you put it), it is only the Word of God that can do that. So whether we have kids or not, we must humbly surrender to that reality.

yes! Really good stuff! Just thinking off the top of my head about the times God worked through barrenness, and the promises given to the barren in the scriptures, makes me want to trace that topic all the way through. 

I don't personally come with the baggage of having ever believed the silliness that we must produce children (physical) to be spiritual, or to please God, or follow God, so when I see Gen 1 I can note that God tells humanity to produce children and fill the earth without falling into the trap of thinking that being married and having children is somehow more spiritual than being single. BUT!! ...

Two things:

1. I know some folks believe that kind of thing so I'm really glad you brought it up.

2. I absolutely believe that the word "fruitful" in the Gen 1 means more than producing physical offspring. Genesis 1 is a masterfully written, multi-layered treasure trove that's packed full of meaning that takes a thousand years of literature of the written word to fully unpack, the depths of which still have not been fully delved these multi-thousands of years later. 

So great stuff Kam. Now, not only do I want to trace the concept of "barrenness" through the scriptures, I want to trace "fruit" all the way through the scriptures.