Foreign Policy Without God

     Several weeks ago Thomas Friedman wrote an op-ed column for the New York Times entitled: Obama on the World.

     Mr. Friedman had interviewed the president and shared many significant direct quotes from the president.

     Several words or phrases dominated the president’s discourse which characterizes his mindset.  He used the word ‘compromise’ five times in the interview; the word ‘maximalist’ four times; the phrase ‘no victor/no vanquished’ three times; and the personal pronoun ‘I’ more times than the others combined.

       The major players/issues discussed focused on Middle Eastern nations; the Israeli/Palestinian conflict; and Russia and Ukraine.

     Mr. Friedman gave his impression of president Obama’s wisdom of world players and events.  “It’s clear that the president has a take on the world, born of many lessons over the last six years…”  Mr. Friedman is implying that six years in office was sufficient to give the president an insightful worldview of geopolitical issues. 

     One word not used by the president in the interview was God.  Either he doesn’t believe that God is involved in foreign policy issues, or he chooses to ignore God’s participation in, or sovereignty over, such issues.

     The prophet Jeremiah, King Solomon, and King David were intimately aware of and addressed the issue of God’s omnipresence.

     “‘Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?’ says the LORD.  ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the LORD.”  Jeremiah 23:24

     “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”  Proverbs 15:3

     “Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from Your presence?   If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there…”  Psalm 139:7-8

     The presence of God is everywhere at all times; therefore, to leave Him out of foreign policy issues would have to be done with conscious effort. 

     To attempt to devise foreign policy without God could be likened to navigating Times Square in a taxi without a driver.

     President Obama’s overriding philosophy relative to foreign policy is that everyone should be able to co-exist and simply get along peacefully. 

     First of all he believes that all parties should compromise.  Inasmuch as ‘compromise’ is not found in the Bible, we’ll need to consult Webster where compromise is defined as ‘to settle by mutual concession’.

     The president used the term ‘maximalist’ in a negative sense as one who holds extreme political views and is not willing to compromise.

     To support his philosophy the president injected the phrase ‘no victor/no vanquished’ several times.  Webster defines vanquished as to be overcome in battle where there is an obvious victor.  It means to be conquered; to be defeated; to be subdued; for one to gain mastery over another.

     And while the president believes in no victor/no vanquished, the Bible repeatedly tells of the opposite, especially as relates to His chosen nation Israel.  Consider the following example where King David extolled God as the victor.

     “Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel…Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and You are exalted as head over all.”  1 Chronicles 29:10-11

     Some might surmise that since David wrote a millennium before Christ was born, God’s sovereignty over the nations is no longer relevant.

     Consider the Apostle Paul addressing Grecian philosophers during the early days of the church.

     “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and had determined their pre-appointed (appointed) times and the boundaries of their dwellings.”  Acts 17:26

     The Greek for nation in the present context means the whole race of mankind.

     The Greek for ‘determine’ means to ‘mark out definitely’.  Synonyms include setting off by boundary, and/or apportioning.

     Appointed means ‘to cause to do or be’ while boundaries means ‘a setting of bounds or a limit’.

     In the coming weeks we’ll examine in more detail president Obama’s ‘take’ on foreign policy, especially as it relates to Israel and the Middle East and compare his thinking with Biblical wisdom.

    

    

The Couple that had Everything

     Adam and Eve were created in the very image of God.  They lived in a wonderful place in the very presence of God.  They had been given stewardship over every living creature on land, air, and sea.  They were created to live forever.  They could want for nothing.

     Inasmuch as God created them, He had complete authority to set any conditions He deemed necessary for their benefit and protection.  And there was only one condition He set to measure their obedience.

     “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”  Genesis 2:15-17

     The single condition was very basic and straight forward.  They could partake of all trees in the garden including the tree of life, but not of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Not only was this a test of their obedience, there was no reason for them to know ‘evil’.

     The Hebrew for ‘die’ in the present context means physical death.  Synonyms include kill and slay.  Physical death was a major consequence of the curse directed towards Adam, i.e. “and to dust you shall return.”  The writers of Hebrews confirmed such death, “And it is appointed for men to die once…”

     Now Satan was well aware of God’s requirement on Adam and Eve.  He had just one opportunity to disrupt the perfect plan and he took full advantage of that opportunity.

     “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field, which the LORD God had made.  And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’”  Genesis 3:1

     The term ‘serpent’ does indeed mean snake; however, the serpent appeared as one to shed light on God’s command.  Eve didn’t recognize the serpent for who he really was.

     Recall that the instruction not to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was originally given to Adam.  Adam in turn had relayed the command to Eve.  The serpent approached Eve, who as Adam’s helper, was more susceptible to being deceived.

     The Hebrew for ‘cunning’ means subtle, sly, and/or crafty.  The serpent’s subtlety exceeded that of any other of God’s created beasts on the earth.

     Eve responded to the serpent’s question.

     “And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden,’ God has said ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

Genesis 3:2-3

     The serpent responded with ‘logic’ that there was no reason for God to place any restrictions on their freedom in the garden.  The serpent convinced Eve that she would actually benefit from eating the fruit.

     And so it was.

     “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.  She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”  Genesis 3:6

     Eve saw only the perceived benefits of eating the forbidden fruit.  A key term in the above passage is ‘desirable’.  It is the Hebrew chamadh which is translated ‘covet’.  It means to long for.  It represents an inordinate, ungoverned, selfish desire.  The same Hebrew word is the basis of the 10^th Commandment, i.e. ‘You shall not covet…’

     One of the results of their disobedience was their recognition of their sinful state.  They attempted to cover their nakedness by clothing themselves with fig leaves.

     No disobedience to God’s instructions escapes Him and because of His holiness all disobedience must be dealt with.  When He confronted Adam, he pointed to Eve.  Eve in turn blamed the disobedience on the serpent.

     “The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’”  Genesis 3:13b

     The consequences would be devastating.

Introducing God's Steward for the Earth

     We’ve seen that man was created in God’s image to have dominion over the earth and all other life on the earth.  What makes man unique with respect to other living creatures?

     “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”  Genesis 2:7

     There are three terms used relative to Adam’s origin.  It was stated previously that Adam was created in the image of God.  ‘Created’ means to be brought into existence from nothing, i.e. to be initiated which can only be done by an act of God.   ‘Made’ means to construct, build, fulfill for a purpose while ‘formed’ similarly means to fashion for a predestined purpose.

     Recall that God looked on His work on earth after He created Adam and described it as ‘very good’.  ‘Very’ does mean exceedingly as previously stated, but other synonyms include utterly and wholly.  The term ‘good’ means excellent, fruitful, and righteous.

     Jesus expounded on the term ‘good’ in His teachings while addressing the rich young ruler.

     “So Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is God.’”  Luke 18:19

     Therefore, Adam was created, made, and formed with Godlike attributes.

     In Genesis 2:7 above it states that God formed man…and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life so that Adam became a living being.

     The Hebrew for ‘breath’ means the Spirit of God including wisdom and divine inspiration.  ‘Life’ in the phrase ‘breath of life’ means to live forever and fresh running water.  In the King James Version the term ‘soul’ is used instead of life with meanings including soul, spirit, and mind.  Death occurs when the soul or ‘life’ departs.

     The term ‘life’ in the phrase ‘tree of life’ is from the same Hebrew base used in ‘breath of life’ in Genesis 2:7.  In other words, the tree of life was meant to sustain Adam and his descendants with life as defined above forever.

     Adam was endowed with more than the imagination could ever dream of. 

 

     In His infinite wisdom God observed in His timing that while Adam named and had dominion over all other living creatures, he had no mate comparable to himself.  The terminology in the KJV is ‘but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him.’

     The word ‘help’ in the above means ‘aid’.

     The phrase ‘meet for him’ in the Hebrew means ‘part opposite’, specifically a ‘counterpart’ or ‘mate’.

     Adam was provided a perfectly suited mate. 

     “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.  Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman…”  Genesis 2:21-22

     When God brought the woman to Adam, he said:

     “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh…”  Genesis 2:23

     The woman, subsequently named Eve, was of the exact species of Adam. She was, however, the counterpart of Adam.  A proper definition of counterpart is ‘something that fits another perfectly; something that completes; one remarkably similar to another’.  While Adam was a man Eve was a woman.  Adam was a male and Eve was a female. 

     Eve was to be a helper to Adam.  Eve was weaker than Adam and was to be cooperatively submissive to him.  Adam was to be the stronger and protector.  That relationship of order defines marriage and is to remain throughout the current age of the church. 

     “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  Genesis 2:24

     That was/is God’s plan for man to ‘be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth, and subdue it...’

     God’s perfect plan and perfect relationship for Adam and Eve had begun.  They were placed in perfect surroundings and in fact were in the very presence of God Himself.  It couldn’t have been any better.

     Next we’ll examine what initiated the odyssey of change and the reasons for disobeying God’s instructions.

God's Plan for Earth and Man Takes Shape

     God’s ageless plan for the earth and its future overseer takes on physical form.  It began with light which revealed the very presence of the Creator.  Next, God spoke three layers into existence, i.e. the waters in the atmosphere, the waters covering the earth, and the layer in between.  Then He caused dry land to appear in the midst of the waters which defined the continents and the water separating them He called ‘Seas’.

     On the dry land He caused foliage to appear which would yield fruit to sustain the life which He was about to create.

     Then God created the solar and lunar systems which would provide a means for future man to measure time and thereby understand history which God was about to write before it actually unfolded.

     Next God created life to fill the seas, the land, and the layer above the earth’s surface for the birds.

  And then the capstone of God’s creation: God created man in His own image to have dominion over all other life on the earth.

     “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply,’ fill the earth and subdue it.’ Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”  Genesis 1:27-28

     And very significantly, God looked over the newly prepared earth and its inhabitants with great satisfaction, knowing His purpose for man had begun.

     “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good…”  Genesis 1:31

     The Hebrew for ‘very’ means exceedingly.

     The second chapter of Genesis provides more detail about earth’s preparation for life and man.

     The chapter begins by stating that His creative work for earth and man was completed.

     “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.”  Genesis 2:1-2

     There were seven ‘days’ in God’s work to prepare the earth and its inhabitants to fulfill God’s purpose for them.  It will be seen that God will use the number seven and its multiples to explain the mysteries of pre-written history.

     It should also be noted that every living animal, bird, or fish was created and would multiply after ‘its own kind’.  That Biblical truth would hopefully dispel the confidence in the school of thought commonly termed ‘evolution’.

     Up to this point in history, rain had not yet been provided, rather ‘a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.’  Also ‘there was no man to till the ground.’ 

     God had chosen a particular place on the earth where He would place His ultimate creation.

     “The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden…and out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.  The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”  Genesis 2:8-9

     God provided flowing rivers to water the garden which contained the tree of life.  The location of the Garden would subsequently be called Babylon in the land of Shinar.  The location is presently called Iraq.

     There were four rivers that provided water for the Garden, two of which were the Tigris and Euphrates.

     The next step in the sequence was to place His highest creation in the midst of the garden to ‘tend and keep’ it.  In other words man would be given the responsibility to assist in the earth’s productivity to fulfill the purpose which God had determined before time began.

     Man’s journey would soon begin with a simple, single instruction to test his obedience. 

     Next, we’ll examine in more detail man’s origin and purpose on the earth.  We’ll also begin to learn of God’s absolute sovereignty, longsuffering, and justice.

   

    

How Long Will the Earth Last?

     According to Genesis 1:1, the earth was created in the ‘beginning’ or in the ageless past.  The earth was subsequently made fit to sustain man and life as we know it beginning in Genesis 1:2.  Many wonder how long the earth will last.  According to our president, if we don’t decrease our carbon footprint, the earth is doomed in the near future.  Perhaps he knows something beyond Biblical teachings.

     First, let’s confirm the purpose of the earth.

     “The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s; but the earth He has given to the children of men.”  Psalm 115:16

     The term ‘children’ above is the same Hebrew word used for ‘sons’ in the following referring to the object of wisdom’s delight.

     “…rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men.”  Proverbs 8:31

     Sons (children) of men differentiate mankind from angels which are referred to as ‘sons of God’.

    Several times the Psalmists confirmed the relationship of man to the earth.

     “Who is the man that fears the LORD? ...his descendants shall inherit the earth.”  Psalm 25:13

     “…but those who wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth…But the meek shall inherit the earth.”  Psalm 37:9, 11

     The Hebrew for ‘inherit’ means to take possession, occupy, or to be an heir.  The Hebrew for ‘meek’ means gentle, humble, and/lowly.

     And in the New Testament Jesus, once again, confirmed Old Testament truths in His opening statements on His famous Sermon on the Mount.

     “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”  Matthew 5:5

     It has been established that man will never cease to be, but how about planet earth?

     “Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven…You established the earth, and it abides.”  Psalm 119:89-90

     The word ‘abides’ means stands or remain.

     Perhaps the wisest man in the world said it best:

     “One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever.”  Ecclesiastes 1:4

     Therefore, both mankind and the earth will forever remain.  However, both will undergo drastic renewal.

     All mankind will be changed at their respective resurrections and the earth will undergo tremendous changes when it is renewed.

     Isaiah referred to the changes to the earth as the ‘new earth’.

     “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.”  Isaiah 65:17

     “For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me…”  Isaiah 66:22

     Once again these profound Scripture passages are confirmed in the New Testament; this time taught by Peter.

     “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”  2 Peter 3:13

     The Greek meaning of the word ‘new’ means new in quality, or basically renewal of the same physical object.

     The Apostle John was also given a vision of the future of the earth.

     “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…”  Revelation 21:1

     Recall the two concepts of ‘light’ found in the first chapter of Genesis.  Light as referenced in Genesis 1:3 meant enlightenment. The light provided by the sun in Genesis 1:14 referred to a luminous body or lamp.

     The same two sources of light are referenced in the final chapter of the Bible.

     “There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, but the Lord God gives them light.  And they shall reign forever and ever.”  Revelation 22:5

     Therefore, mankind, the earth, and light shall never cease to be.

     While speaking at the European Space Agency recently renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking offered his take on the subject.

     “Our planet is an old world, threatened with an ever-expanding population and finite resources.  We must anticipate these threats and have a plan B.  If our species is to survive the next hundred years, let alone a thousand, it is imperative we voyage out into the blackness of space to colonize new worlds across the cosmos.”

     The two opposing views of the future are quite different.

     Everyone has the freedom to choose their own perspective.