The Transformation of Themes in the Pattern of Judgments, Part II
Continuing to look at how the primary themes introduced in Genesis 1-3 are transformed as we progress through the Bible
Introduction
Hopefully you have read the first ten articles in this series and have seen how the Pattern of Judgments repeats itself many times in the Bible. Essentially, Genesis 1-3 contains a group of sixteen themes/events1 which combine to form a particular pattern that is repeated numerous times throughout the Bible. I call this the Pattern of Judgments. The Genesis 1-3 thematic pattern always starts with Adonai (the Lord) initiating some form of new creation, and ends with Him meting out judgment upon those who have transgressed His commandments in some egregious manner. The first example of this cycle can be seen in Genesis 1–7, where Adonai initiated the cycle with the creation of the heavens and earth (Genesis 1:1-2), and then the cycle was brought to an end with the judgment of Noah’s flood (Genesis 7). Thus, Genesis 1–7 is what I term a major cycle of this pattern of judgments. Chapter 8 then starts a new major cycle with a “new creation” of the earth out of the chaotic waters of Noah’s flood.
As noted previously, the key to 1) understanding how the pattern repeats itself, and 2) how to perceive this pattern when/as it occurs, is to always thematically connect the events in the Biblical narratives back to the sixteen foundational themes established in Genesis 1–3. When you do that, you’ll see how the pattern repeats itself numerous times in Scripture.
As you review the sixteen themes you may be wondering if they are only applicable in the Tanakh (Old Testament). For example, you may think, “How are some of the
themes relevant to what I read in the Apostolic writings?” Themes such as:
Genesis 1:26-28—Man, God’s Image-Bearer, Commissioned to Exercise Dominion Over Creation
Genesis 1:29-31—Man’s Diet
Genesis 2:1-3—The Sign of the Sabbath
Genesis 2:4-9—Man’s Work in His Ancestral Plot of Land
Genesis 2:18-25—A Virginal Bride for the Man
Genesis 3:15—Enmity of the Seed
Genesis 3:17-19—Curse on the Land
In actuality, these themes weave their way throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation! The problem is that the themes take on different characteristics as you progress through Scripture. In other words, the sixteen themes undergo transformations, and we need to be aware of these changes. The next two articles will trace these themes through the Bible and we will learn how they are transformed, yet remain true to their basic thematic underpinnings presented in Genesis 1–3.
Genesis 3:8-13—Investigation/Conviction of Sin
As you will recall, Adonai’s chosen representative typically falls into sin and fails in some egregious manner. Once this happens, there is typically an investigation by Adonai to determine guilt. As an example, let’s review what happened after Adonai’s first representative (Adam) sinned.
Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13 And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Genesis 3:9-13).
These actions are repeated in the instance of Cain’s sin against Abel.
Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. 11 So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth” (Genesis 4:8-12).
This same pattern occurred before Noah’s flood, the first major enactment of a judgment after Adam and Eve’s sin. As with Adam and Cain, so with the generation of the flood! With Adam and Cain, it seems that Adonai Himself was present to do the investigation. However, pertaining to the generation of the flood, we do not see similar language indicating that Adonai literally came down from heaven to determine guilt. Nonetheless, the Scripture clearly indicates that Adonai made Himself aware of the failings of humanity.
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth (Genesis 6:5-6, 11-12).
The next major sin committed by mankind was his rebellion at the Tower of Babel, where people refused to fill the earth as commanded in Genesis 1:28:
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.”
And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4).
Once again, Adonai personally visited His antagonists to assess their doings, thus firmly establishing this thematic pattern of visitations upon the ungodly.
But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the LORD said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech” (Genesis 11:5-7).
One of the primary purposes for these divine visitations is for Adonai to gather information to justify His condemnation and punishments. In other words, Adonai went to be an eyewitness to humanity’s atrocities. As stated in the introduction, the sixteen primary themes found in Genesis 1-3 take on different aspects and shades as we progress through the narratives of the Bible, so much so that by the time we work our way through the Tanakh (Old Testament) into the Apostolic writings, it sometimes may be difficult to discern these original themes. Therefore, the purpose of these latest articles is to show how an original theme found in Genesis 1-3 undergoes transformations into different manifestations as we progress through the pages of Scripture. Such is the case at hand when we examine our next story, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In this story, instead of Adonai personally going to be a witness to Sodom’s sins, He sent two angels to observe vicariously!
At first, it seems that Adonai is going to witness events for Himself as He has in the past.
I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know” (Genesis 18:21).
However, as we continue to read, we notice that the two angels take His place as witnesses.
Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place! 13 For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it” (Genesis 19:12-13).
The two angels, having witnessed enough, proceeded to destroy the twin cities, the just recompense for their sins. At this point, our theme has transformed itself from Adonai personally coming down to be a witness, to Adonai sending two witnesses to act on His behalf! This is not to say that Adonai never again takes it upon Himself to come down to be a witness before issuing punishment. It’s simply to note that sometimes He will send witnesses on His behalf. For example, Adonai came to witness the brutality of the Egyptians upon His people Israel:
So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped (Exodus 4:31).
Furthermore, we read of Adonai being a swift witness against the ungodly in Malachi 3:5:
And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers,
against adulterers, against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, and against those who turn away an alien—because they do not fear Me,” says the LORD of hosts.
However, we should also understand the newly-established transformation of the Genesis 3:8-13—Investigation/Conviction of Sin theme to include the sending of multiple witnesses (typically two). When Adonai brought judgment upon Egypt, it began with Moses and Aaron, two witnesses. Before He judged the children of Israel for forty years, He relied upon the testimony of two witnesses, Joshua and Caleb. This principle of two witnesses is taken from Deuteronomy 17:6:
Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness.
The point here is that before the death penalty, there must be testimony of two or more witnesses. Actually, we can also see this principle (concerning the necessity of two witnesses) regarding Noah’s flood. Adonai used two witnesses to warn the pre-diluvian world of the inescapable judgment that would soon come to take them away. All we need to do is look to the Apostolic writings, which speak of two individuals who were sent as witnesses to the wicked generation of Noah’s time. Those two individuals were Noah and Enoch.
For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly (2 Peter 2:4-5).
Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 1:14-15).
2 Peter 2:4-5 informs us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Therefore, we should immediately understand that he preached repentance to the sinners of his day, yet to no avail. Furthermore, Jude 1:14-15 invites us to see that Enoch spoke prophetically to the pre-diluvian world, warning them of Adonai’s promise of judgment upon the ungodly. Actually, in context, Enoch prophesied of the return of the Lord! So, we see that between these two men, the generation of Noah heard a message of repentance and were warned of the day of the Lord, the day of his judgment upon the ungodly!
So, we should not think it strange that once again, Adonai will use two witnesses (Revelation 11) before unleashing His devastating punishments upon humanity as recorded in the book of Revelation. Thus, the destruction of the world by water prophetically teaches us about the punishment of the world as recorded in the book of Revelation, and unites the old and new through a common thread.
Genesis 3:14—The Curse on the Serpent
So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.”
Genesis 3:14 records how Adonai cursed the serpent for his role in the fall of mankind. This was the first curse of a living, breathing being. Thematically, I think it’s important to take note of who was cursed. The serpent was cursed, and the serpent is the enemy of the man Adam who Adonai crowned with authority and dominion to rule under His authority. Therefore, when the serpent set himself against the man to oppose him, he was also opposing Adonai!
The next person to be cursed was Cain.
So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand (Genesis 4:11).
Interestingly, we can easily thematically connect Cain to the serpent. We’ve seen in previous articles that Cain is the first in the “lineage” of the seed of the serpent! In other words, the Bible paints the picture of Cain as the offspring of the serpent. It does this in two unmistakably important ways. First of all, Scripture emphatically states that Cain was the serpent’s offspring.
For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous (1 John 3:11-12).
In Genesis 3:15, we learn that there will be two seeds in the earth. The seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. Furthermore, we learn that they will forever be at war with one another.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).
So, how does the Bible identify these two seeds? Revelation 12:17 informs us that the seed of the woman is comprised of those who obey Adonai’s commandments and have the testimony of Yeshua. Therefore, the seed of the serpent are those who do not keep Adonai’s commandments and those who do not have the testimony of Yeshua, i.e., unbelievers. So, we can thematically connect the cursing of the serpent and the cursing of Cain, because they both comprise the serpent and his seed, who are both acting in opposition to Adonai and His plan of salvation for mankind. Making this connection helps us to see that from the beginning Adonai has set in motion a theme that He will curse those who oppose Him and His representative in the earth.
In a previous article, we noted how the seed of the serpent passed through Cain and his descendants, and landed upon Ham, whereupon Canaan was specifically cursed.
Then he said: “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants he shall be to his brethren” (Genesis 9:25).
More importantly, we noted how almost all of Israel’s most dreaded enemies (the Philistines, Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, etc.) descended from Ham! In other words, when Adonai cursed Canaan, He was cursing the peoples that would eventually be Israel’s most menacing antagonists, thus continuing to propagate the enmity of the two seeds, a theme that weaves its way throughout the Scriptures. This can also be seen in the cursing of those who would oppose Abraham, who, as we’ve seen before, was also chosen as Adonai’s representative in the earth.
I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
Again, the main point here is that Adonai has reserved a curse for all those who would oppose His will and the one He has chosen as His representative on earth.
As you can see, our first curse was leveled against the serpent. At first glance, this may not have seemed to be too important. But, because we have been able to thematically connect this event to other curses, we’ve learned that the significance of these curses is that they apply to those who oppose Adonai and His representative(s) on the earth.
Genesis 3:15—Enmity of the Seed
The previous theme concerning the curse helps to set the stage for the present theme regarding the enmity of the seed. We now know there are two seeds that will continually be at war. Furthermore, we understand the basis for their enmity. The serpent is the aggressor who wants to oppose Adonai and those Adonai chooses to exercise His authority in the earth. It all began with the serpent, a beast of the field, opposing the one to whom Adonai had granted authority and dominion. This enmity played out in Cain’s murder of Abel. In many instances, the seed of the serpent identifies in some manner with the original serpent who was a beast of the field. The serpent was cursed and told that he would eat dust all the days of his life.
So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life (Genesis 3:14).
Not surprisingly, Cain is called a tiller of the ground, as if hinting at a connection between him and the serpent who was destined to eat the dust of the ground forever.
Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground (Genesis 4:2).
This enmity extended to Noah and those beings called giants who were beast-like in their super human form, being the offspring of the forbidden union between angels and humans.
Abraham was anointed by Adonai and endowed with authority and the promise that he and his descendants would be a source of blessing to the entire world. It is not surprising then that the Pharaoh of Egypt (of the seed of Ham) would oppose Abram, trying to thwart the plan of salvation by taking Sarai into his harem, hoping to defile her. His opposition to Abram was actually an opposition to Adonai and His divine purpose and plan for the chosen family to bring forth the seed of Messiah.
Abraham’s blessing was to pass to Isaac, his son born to him through Sarah. However, Ishmael, who represents the seed of the serpent, expressed enmity against Isaac.
So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. 9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac” (Genesis 21:8-10).
Interestingly, Ishmael is spoken of as a beast when it is said that he would grow up to become a wild ass of a man.
12 He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against every man and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen” (Genesis 16:12, RSV).
Esau also represented the seed of the serpent, his enmity with Jacob beginning in the womb!
Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:21-23).
Esau, as the seed of the serpent, was also spoken of as a beast, identifying spiritually with his ancestor, the serpent of the garden. At his birth, Esau came out hairy, like a beast!
And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau (Genesis 25:25).
Also, Esau, like his spiritual father the serpent, and like so many of his other spiritual ancestors such as Cain and Lamech, desired greatly to murder his brother.
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44).
Later, Adonai chose the twelve tribes of Israel to exercise His dominion in the earth. Thus, when the nations of Canaan opposed Israel, they did so fulfilling their role as the seed of the serpent, opposing Adonai’s plan for the salvation of mankind. The enmity of the seed is easily seen in the story of David and Goliath, where David represented the seed of the woman and Goliath represented the seed of the serpent. Again, we should notice that Goliath, the seed of the serpent, is beast-like in his genetics and appearance. There was a second outbreak of the angels going into the daughters of men and it was localized in the area of Canaan.
There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown (Genesis 6:4).
These forbidden sexual unions resulted in humans of enormous stature, of which Goliath was surely one. Furthermore, Goliath is described in terms of a scaly serpent, for we read that he was clothed with scaled body armor!
And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore scale-armor which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze (1 Samuel 17:5, NASB).
The battle between David and Goliath was a prophetic battle pitting David, the messianic figure (and seed of the woman), against Goliath, a type of the serpent. And true to the prophetic picture painted in Genesis 3:15, David, the seed of the woman, crushed the head of Goliath.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).
Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled (1 Samuel 17:51).
The battles between Israel as the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent have continued for centuries. Haman tried to exterminate the Jews as recorded in the book of Esther. Yeshua, the seed of the woman, was directly confronted by hasatan during His temptations in the wilderness. Furthermore, the Pharisees opposed Yeshua at every turn. They walked in the spiritual lineage of their father, the devil. As mentioned earlier, many times the seed of the serpent is cast as a beast, invoking their status as the seed of the serpent. Thus, the Pharisees were referred to as a brood of vipers by John the Baptist and as children of the devil by Yeshua!
Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Luke 3:7).
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44).
King Herod also tried to destroy Yeshua as a young child. Again, we are supposed to see this as the enmity of the seed of Genesis 3:15 with Herod fulfilling the role of a beast at war with the seed of the woman. Note how he is referred to in a beast-like fashion.
And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected’ (Luke 13:32).
Lastly, we see the culmination of the battle between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman in Revelation 12! Notice how the dragon will lay in wait to destroy the man child, the seed of the woman, as soon as it is born!
Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. 2 Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. 5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne (Revelation 12:1-5).
This scene should look familiar, should it not? Did not the seed of the serpent named Pharaoh try to destroy Moses at birth? Also, didn’t the seed of the serpent named Herod try to destroy the young child, Yeshua? All of these instances of the seed of the serpent trying to destroy the seed of the woman are fulfillments of the prophetic declaration of Genesis 3:15. In each instance, the seed of the serpent represents those who are opposed to Adonai’s plan for the salvation of mankind.
Here is a list of the 16 themes:
Genesis 1:1-25 – New Creation of the Universe
Genesis 1:26-28 – Man, God’s Image-Bearer, Commissioned to Exercise Dominion Over Creation
Genesis 1:29-31 – Man’s Diet
Genesis 2:1-3 – The Sign of the Sabbath
Genesis 2:4-9 – Man’s Work in His Ancestral Plot of Land
Genesis 2:10-14 – Natural Riches of the Creation
Genesis 2:15-17 – The Choice Between Life and Death
Genesis 2:18-25 – A Virginal Bride for the Man
Genesis 3:1-7 – Fall into Sin
Genesis 3:8-13 – Adonai Investigating Sin
Genesis 3:14 – The Curse on the Serpent
Genesis 3:15 – Enmity of the Seed
Genesis 3:16 – Pain in Childbirth
Genesis 3:17-19 – Curse on the Land
Genesis 3:20-21 – Acts of Redemption
Genesis 3:22-24 – Judgment
Shabbat Shalom Aike!!! Thank you for reading! May Adonai bless you and yours :)
Excellent teachings. Shabbat shalom from the islands of the sea, Philippines.