Week 2 – Day 1

“A BRIEF HISTORY OF WITH GOD”

Last week we learned about making Jesus our North Star by treasuring our relationship with him above all else and designing our lives around following Him.

This week, I will prove that North Star isn’t something I came up with because I needed a hobby. It’s a fundamental reality of scripture. God has always wanted to be with us.

Over the next four days, we will journey through the entire Bible. Along the way, we’ll get an overview of the story of scripture and discover the primary theme: God with us. 

North Star isn’t something I came up with because I needed a hobby. It’s a fundamental reality of scripture.

(I learned that the primary theme of the Bible is “God with us” from Matt Chandler. He unpacks the idea in his teaching “A Foundation of Fire”.)

A BRIEF HISTORY OF “WITH GOD”

Many of us feel that the Bible is intimidating to approach. 

  • It is a collection of 66 books
  • Written over 1500 years on 3 continents 
  • Dozens of authors
  • Diverse audiences 
  • Different genres (poetry, history, prophecy, etc) 

Flipping through the pages, it can be easy to get lost in the weeds.

The Bible is one story: God’s rescue mission to save humanity and dwell with them for His glory.

Despite its diversity, the Bible is one story: God’s rescue mission to save humanity and dwell with them for His glory. There is no plan B. God has always wanted to dwell with His people.

This week, we will learn the story of the scripture, so that we can read with confidence.

HOW THE STORY OF EVERYTHING BEGINS (GENESIS 1-2)

The story of scripture starts with the main character: God. He creates a vast universe and places a perfect world within it. Then, God hand-crafts human beings and invites them to partner with him to rule and reign over the planet.

Today, we see the fractured remnants of God’s original design. In the first two chapters of the Bible (Genesis 1-2), we see God’s plan in all its perfection. 

There is no plan B. God has always wanted to dwell with His people.

The creation story shows us God’s perfect design for:

  • The value of human life
  • The beauty of the physical earth
  • The purpose of work
  • The design of gender, marriage, sex, and community
  • God’s intent for us to live without shame or fear

LIFE IN THE GARDEN

But within the story of creation, we discover a key text: 

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8 ESV)

This verse occurs immediately after Adam and Eve commit the original sin. They disobeyed God and ate from the only forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. This act of sin led to sickness, broken relationships, and death for the rest of us. (Thanks, guys.)

They worked, ate good food, laughed together, made love, and took care of the garden. But then, every evening, they took a walk with God. 

We can learn three things from the verse above.

First, a perfect creation was not complete without God’s presence. 

Adam and Eve lived in the garden. It would have been most people’s vision of the good life: A perfect job, a beautiful spouse, enjoying creation, making a difference in the world, no fear or anxiety.

I imagine Adam and Even enjoyed every perfect moment in the garden. They worked, ate good food, laughed together, made love, and took care of the garden. But then, every evening, they took a walk with God. 

Even a perfect world was incomplete if God wasn’t walking with his people.

God created a perfect and beautiful world. But he did not intend for humans to experience that beauty alone. Even a perfect world was incomplete if God wasn’t walking with his people.

Second, we learn that we were designed to walk with God. Notice that Adam and Eve heard the sound of God walking in the garden. This means they knew what he sounded like. They hid from him. In other words, knew where he was walking.

WALKING WITH GOD

In today’s church world, we have a phrase: “Walking with God.” I’ve used it while writing the North Star journey, and I’ve preached it many times. 

When we say, “Walking with God,” we mean praying, reading scripture, and enjoying our life with God through faith. 

Adam and Eve actually took walks with God. Like you would walk through your neighborhood.

When Adam and Eve walked with God, it meant something altogether different. They actually took walks with him. Like you would walk through your neighborhood. They had conversations with God. He was their friend.

They enjoyed an intimacy with God that we can only imagine.

THE FALL AND THE FALLOUT (GENESIS 3)

Finally, we learn that sin always separates us from God. 

Unfortunately, perfection was short-lived. Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit (see Genesis 3). This act fractured their relationship with God and had devastating consequences. They were banished from the garden of Eden, banished from the presence of God. 

The punishment was immediate, but we’ve been experiencing fallout from sin since that day. Each of God’s beautiful gifts was damaged in the aftermath of sin. Work, creation, human life, marriage, family, community, and most importantly our relationships with God are all cursed by sin.

Perfection was short-lived.

After they sinned, Adam and Eve hid from God. God will spend the rest of the story of scripture working to close the gap caused by our sin. Sin always separates. But God was far from done.

As the drama unfolds, we will discover that God specializes in redemption. He will stop at nothing to extend grace to his people and bring the hope of renewal to the story.

NEXT STEPS

1: Read Romans 5:12-21.
2: Spend 10 minutes practicing Solitude, meditating on the passage above. Write down 1 thing that God showed you from this passage.
3: Text one friend one thing that you learned.
BONUS: Read Genesis 1-3 to discover the first part of the story of everything. 

Tomorrow: Week 2, Day 2 – “Tabernacle”