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Episode 5
Models of Grace
In the Scripture, we find examples of God’s grace and people who model his grace. I will highlight a few of them.
Genesis 1-11
Grace begins as early as the first eleven chapters of Genesis. Genesis 1-11 comprise five basic plot lines with genealogies: 1) The Creation 1:1-2:4a; 2) Adam and Eve in 2:4b-3:24; 3) Cain and Abel 4:1-16; 4) Noah and the Flood in 6:1-9:28; and 5) The Tower of Babel in 11:1-9. Included are the genealogies in 4:17-5:32, 10:1-32 and 11:10-32. How did God display his grace in the five stories?
Creation Story
In the creation story (1:1-2:4a), God created the world out of nothing and humanity out of dust. He did it not because he had to but because he wanted to (for his own pleasure). Neither did God create the world and humanity because he was lonely. This is a common misconception. Why should God be lonely when within the Trinity there is intra and inter-communication with other created celestial beings? Human beings, and not celestial beings, are the apex of God’s creation. God created the world out of his goodness and greatness. The world came into existence because of his grace. No more, no less.
Adam and Eve
In the story of Adam and Eve (2:4b-3:24), God placed man and woman in the Garden of Eden and permitted them to eat from any of the fruit trees in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The dire consequences of disobedience would be immediate death. However, through the temptation of the serpent, the couple fell into sin and ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Instead of an immediate death sentence, they were given a reprieve. They were driven out of the Garden of Eden. It was definitely a display of God’s grace that they did not die an instant death. What baffles me is that in spite of their disobedience, God still took the time to make clothes for them to cover their nakedness. Was that not grace? In addition, outside the garden, Adam and Eve still had access to God. That too was grace.
God drove the couple out of the garden after their act of disobedience. This could be seen as an act of grace because if he did not, they would have lived forever but with all the defects and corruption that accompanied the fall. (cf Gen 4:1).
Cain and Abel
In the story of Cain and Abel (4:1-16), Cain rejected God’s warning and killed Abel in cold blood. Yet God spared his life. God even protected Cain by putting a mark on him with the warning that if any one were to touch him, sevenfold vengeance would be meted out. Cain was blessed with a family that became quite renowned. After Abel died, God’s grace enabled Eve to bear another child.
Noah and the Flood
In the story of Noah and the flood (6:1-9:28), God, instead of destroying everyone, spared Noah and his family. Noah became a drunk but he was not punished. Grace preserved the human race through Noah.
Tower of Babel
In the story of the Tower of Babel (11:1-1), God did not destroy human beings for their godlike ambition. Instead, he chose to disperse them. God could have said ‘Come let us go down there with lightning and thunder to destroy them’ but he did not. Instead, he said ‘Come let us go down there and confuse their language…’ (11:7).
Grace in Action
We see the grace of God in the gift of children to Adam and Eve, the protection of Cain and the rescue of Noah and the animals. We also see God exercising his grace in the renewal of creation after the flood. The breakup of a united community resulted in dispersion rather than destruction.
These stories climax in the call of Abraham (progenitor of Israel) by God with this promise: ‘I shall make you a great nation; I shall bless you and make your name so great that it will be used in blessings…All the people on earth will wish to be blessed as you are blessed’ (Gen 12:2-3).
The theme of ‘grace in the midst of judgment’ is seen when there is a spread of sin on man’s part, there is a corresponding spread of grace on God’s part. Significantly, God always intervenes amidst the act of sin and the act of punishment. God’s judgment is meted not according to the measure of the sin. Where a community is concerned, judgment is undifferentiated although for individuals it is different (eg Adam, Eve, Cain and the Babelites).
From Eden to Babel (Adam, Eve, Cain, Lamech and sons of gods) there is an avalanche of sin and a widening of the chasm between man and God. For disobedience, murder, lust, total corruption, violence and disruption of humanity, God metes out punishment (just and strict but not overwhelming). No matter how drastic human sin becomes, even to the point of destroying creation and what God has made good, God’s grace always comes to the rescue. God’s grace preserves and saves humankind from the full consequences of sin. God gives the people a second chance (Adam, Eve, Cain and others).
The theme of grace in the midst of judgment culminates in the Tower of Babel. Had it not been for grace, the Babelites could have been destroyed. Dispersal of the nation can be understood positively as fulfilling the command of God in Gen 1:28 ’be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth…’ We encounter the generation section of Shem again (once again it suggests hope for humankind) and this climaxes with the family of Abraham becoming the promised seed.
This theme of grace in the midst of judgment continues in the remainder of the books of the Pentateuch. The chosen nation Israel comes only later in the Pentateuch. In the latter part of the Old Testament, Israel seeks to be a community in the midst of other communities. Moses and Israel are also recipients of God’s grace although their sin and rebellion caused the nation of Israel a forty-year delay in reaching the Promised Land. Nevertheless, the new generation finally enters the Promised Land under Joshua. When things seem hopeless, there is a light from God. The grace of God is always at work. In spite of human wickedness, God has chosen to work with humans instead of destroying us. The world breathes and families procreate because God’s grace is real and amazing.
Although human sinfulness spreads, the grace of God spreads too. There is always ‘grace in the midst of judgment’. The justice of God is the ground of punishment but the mercy of God is the ground of his grace. Both justice and grace are innate character traits of God. Like two sides of a coin, you cannot have one without the other. Both qualities are ‘in sync’. God cannot be God if we eliminate one of them.
Joseph (Gen 37-50)
Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Jacob. His father loved him more than any of his brothers and made him a long robe with sleeves (Gen 37:3). Joseph’s brothers became jealous and hated him. Joseph antagonized the brothers when he shared about his dream in the field where he saw ‘his sheaf rose and stood upright while the rest of the sheaves gathered round and pay homage to his sheaf’ (37:7). He later narrated another dream where the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed before him (37:10). The brothers were incensed and hated him. They threw him into a pit and sold him as a slave to Egypt. Later Joseph rose in rank and riches.
When Joseph was falsely accused, he was imprisoned for two years. In no time God raised him up to the highest position below the Pharaoh in Egypt in order to save the people from the prolonged famine.
Years later Joseph’s brothers met him again. When they recalled what they had done to him, they became so fearful that they volunteered to be his slaves. Joseph could have been vengeful and given them a taste of their own medicine. Instead, he forgave them, embraced them and took good care of them. He practised grace on them. He gave them what they needed but not what they deserved.
Discussion Questions
stories took place?