Male and Female

According to the Hebrew Scriptures, the One who exists separate from time and space created two people the same in some ways and different in others. God created them male and female

In the beginning of recorded time, God created everything else before creating humankind. Scientists say earth could not sustain human life without the entire universe coming into existence first. According to the ancient written account in Genesis, God created the universe to sustain human life before creating human life. Thus scientists validated what was written over 4000 years ago.

Both the Hebrew Scriptures and most scientists agree the universe was not an accident but designed for a purpose. All designs demand a designer. This Designer created the universe before creating human beings. This Designer created human beings as male and female;  different but complimentary.

Scientists used DNA to trace humanity back to a small group of individuals in Africa. DNA shows gender differentiation by chromosomes. DNA traces humanity to a mother, yet researchers give good reasons for a father being present. Isn’t it amazing that over 2000 years ago in a one time event, God chose a woman to incarnate Himself into a human being? Only once did the One who created man become one through a woman.

In the beginning of recorded time, God created male and female as co heirs. Later God used the same coupling (Mary and Joseph) to be the stable family in which God would voluntarily insert Himself. Thus God continued to define the family as a triad of mother, father and child when God could have used other ways.

Adam and Eve sinned before a child was conceived. And the sin of this perfectly designed couple created a backlash of murder and mayhem when, in spite of God’s plea, their first child murdered his younger brother. From there, sin became rampant and families divided by hate, war, and pestilence.

The overarching story of the Hebrew Scriptures is “humankind needs a supernatural intervention.” We cannot cure ourselves from selfishness, deceit, anger, or greed. We need God.

Human beings, made in the likeness of God, tried to fulfill the complex role of mother and father. Yet in spite of God’s intervention time after time, each family created their own tragedy by their own tainted actions (Abraham and Sarah; Isaac and Rebecca; Jacob and Leah and Rachel). Each one refused to follow God’s plan. And each one failed.

After God’s chosen people suffered as slaves for four hundred years in a community that did not love God, God rescued them. Yehweh gave them specific rules to help them live well. However, they did not follow these instructions. This Law or standard only served to showcased their unrepentant heart.

Though the One who created us shows us how to live, we do not cooperate. As a result, dire consequences follow. When we do not cooperate with the One who created us, we are lost. The manufacturer knows what works best for what he or she has manufactured (Deuteronomy 12:28).

In the beginning of recorded time, Adam and Eve were given the same instructions. Together they were to “be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the earth” (Genesis 1:26-31).

Though the two were the same in their humanity, they were different in their gender. And because of their difference in gender, they were able to follow God’s instructions to multiply.

The two became “one flesh” which also describes the unique intimacy crafted by their Creator. Another term for this intimacy of mind, soul, and body was described in ancient Scriptures by a word we translate as “to know.” Yet humans are limited. We can guess the other person’s thoughts some of the time but not all the time. And even when we communicate our thoughts, we are not always understood. Thus, God is the only one who can completely know us. And as God, Jesus has this same ability.

Back in the beginning of recorded time, both Adam and Eve were made in the image of God. No other being can claim this distinction. Human beings are the pinnacle of Creation. We were created similar to the mammals (eyes, ears, noses) but different in capability. God created Adam and Eve united in His image but separate in function. Only one contributes sperm to create a new human being. The other contributes an egg. And only one is able to manufacture milk to sustain life.

In the beginning of recorded time, God created human beings separate from the animals. The two had dominion over the animals but not over each other. Some want to connect humans with animals through a theory of evolution, but humans retain a spiritual component that has no equal. Animals do not have a complex spoken and written language. Humans do. Human capacities go far beyond any ability to evolve. Animals act according to instinct. Human beings plan and decide how to act.

Regardless of how humans redefine the family, God gave humans a particular matrix for a reason. Are we willing to be obedient to God or do we insist on eating the forbidden fruit? Do we choose to live by God’s rules or create our own?

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” Genesis‬ ‭3:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” 1 John‬ ‭2:16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In the beginning of recorded time, God created the entire universe to sustain two human beings as co-heirs. These two were instructed to be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the earth but not over each other. By creating the two in His image or likeness, God required they exhibit His attributes. When they tainted that image through sin, they separated from the only One who truly knew them and loved them.

As created beings we are limited in our knowledge but God is not. May we trust God to know what we do not know. May we follow God’s plan and not our own tainted ideas as to what it means to be male and female.

Amen

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