Saturday 30 September 2023

Psalm 127

Background

God is presented as needing to think through his options. In one sense what the serpent had promised (Genesis 3:5) had come true in terms of “knowing good and evil”, but whereas the temptation had been to become like God (v. 4) the reality in these verses is that the humans have not taken a step up towards God’s throne but a backward step, excluded from the garden. It is the attempt of human beings to act as though they can fulfil divine roles that is at issue.

In verse 24 God places the cherubim and a whirling sword to guard the garden’s entrance and prevent the humans by their own efforts from re-entering. The cherubim are angelic figures who only here in the Bible fulfil a policing role in God’s stead. Elsewhere they symbolise God’s presence, providing God with a means of locomotion (2 Samuel 22:11, Psalm 18:10) or a stationary throne (1 Samuel 4:4, Isaiah 37:16). Their role here is similar to that of the Levites (Numbers 1:53) who guarded the entrance to the Tabernacle tent which also had its entrance on the east side.

Traditionally Christian theologians refer to this event of being excluded from Paradise, or the means to attain Paradise, as 'the Fall'. An extension to it is the doctrine of original sin, meaning we all have sinned because we all are genetically descendants of the first couple who did so. The idea is based on the apostle Paul’s teaching in Romans 5:12-21.

The chapter as a whole is one in which intimacy with God, as portrayed in the previous chapter, becomes replaced with alienation from God as a result of sin. The chapter confirms that humans do possess the power of independent moral choice but also suggests that such choices should not be made in the interests of self with disregard for what God wants.

To Ponder:

•  Do you find the idea of being thrown out of the garden a helpful one to describe the consequences of sin (understood as choosing not to live by God’s directions)?
• Should we still talk about a Fall? What about original sin?
• Overall would you say that the story of what went wrong in the Garden of Eden helps or hinders understanding of ourselves in relation to God? 

Prayer

God of all grace, may no-one feel they have fallen beyond redemption, and if anyone feels there is no way back after mistakes they have made, show them the way forward. Amen.