“Yahweh Elohim Covers Our Sins with His Blood-shed Covering”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord [Amen.]
“Our fatal will to equal Thee,
Our rebel will wrought death and night.
We seized and used in prideful spite
Thy wondrous gift of liberty.
We housed us in this house of doom,
Where death had royal scope and room,
Until Thy servant, Prince of Peace,
Breached all its walls for our release.”
“Thou camest to our hall of death,
O Christ, to breathe our poisoned air,
To drink for us the dark despair
That strangled our reluctant breath.
How beautiful the feet that trod
The road that leads us back to God!
How beautiful the feet that ran
To bring the great good news to man!”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
834:2-3)
Old Testament
Reading...............................................................
Genesis 3:1-21 (esp. 21)
“And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and
clothed them.”
Prologue: Well, like I did a few weeks ago, I have to start this
sermon with an apologetic disclaimer. At the risk of again being overly
academic please bear with me as I explain the first two words (actually
names) in my sermon title because they’re very meaningful and significant.
“Elohim” is the first word for God that’s used in the Old
Testament, where it appears at least 2,550 times. It’s a peculiar word that’s
plural but has a singular meaning. As such, it indicates the presence of
the triune God—“three distinct persons in one divine being” (Luther’s Small
Catechism with Explanation. Copyright © 1986, 1991 Concordia Publishing
House, St. Louis, MO. Page 56.)—at the beginning of time, Himself having
been eternally existent even before time began. It’s a word that comes
“from a verb meaning ‘to fear.’ The God who existed from all eternity and
who at one point created time and space is awesome and deserves to be held
in reverence by his creatures.” (John G. Jeske in People’s Bible Commentary:
Genesis. Copyright © 1992 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page
10.) In fact, “God’s omnipotence outshines all other attributes in this
account. Omnipotence rouses man’s reverence and holy fear rather than his
love.” (H. C. Leupold in Exposition of Genesis. Copyright © 1942 The
Wartburg Press/Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI. Page 40.) By the way,
its first appearance is in Genesis chapter 1, verse 1, “In the beginning,
[Elohim] created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen 1:1 ESV)
“Yahweh” is what many English-language Bibles translate with
“Lord” in all upper case letters and appears over 6,820 times. However,
some translations, such as the New International Version, wrongly render it
as “Sovereign God or Lord.” An accurate translation is “Covenant God or
Lord” … the God who promised the Messiah.
You see, “Throughout the Old Testament, this is the name that
distinguishes the God of Israel from the idols of surrounding nations.” In
fact, “In a conversation with Moses at Mount Sinai centuries later, God
explained the meaning of the name Yahweh. Here was his explanation: ‘The
Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding
in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving
wickedness, rebellion and sin’ (Exodus 34:6, 7).” As such, it’s “the
special name of Israel’s covenant God. It’s God’s Old Testament Savior
name.” (John G. Jeske. Pages 33f.) By the way, its first appearance is in
Genesis chapter 2, verse 4, “These are the generations of the heavens and
the earth when they were created, in the day that [Yahweh Elohim] made the
earth and the heavens.” (Gen 2:4 ESV)
The two words are used in combination some 385 times and
communicates the triune God, who would reveal Himself to mankind in the
person and work of Jesus Christ. That was especially significant for Adam
and Eve after they had sinfully rebelled against God, who had created them
in His own image, that is, they “truly knew God as He wishes to be known and
were perfectly happy in Him [and] they were righteous and holy, doing God’s
will.” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. Page 115.) In addition,
He had given them all they needed for a glorious existence in the Garden of
Eden. God then demonstrated His merciful and gracious love for them … and
us … when He sought them out and provided them with animal-skin clothing to
cover their shame-laden nakedness. That animal-skin clothing involved the
shedding of blood through the slaughter of animals … the first account of
blood sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins. Such was the blessed gift God
gave Adam and Eve which today reminds us that …
“Yahweh Elohim Covers Our Sins with His Blood-shed Covering.”
Lent is the 40-day season of penitential preparation for the grand
and glorious celebration on Easter Sunday of our Savior’s resurrection from
the dead. It’s a time for us to review and rehearse repentance even as we
did during Advent preceding Christmas. As such, we first of all realize
about ourselves what was true about our first parents, namely, that …
I. Satan Led Adam and Eve into Sin. (1-7)
1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the
Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree
in the garden’?” 2And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the
fruit of the trees in the garden, 3but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the
fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you
touch it, lest you die.’” 4But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not
surely die. 5For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be
opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6So when the
woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the
eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its
fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and
he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were
naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
The basic element of repentance is recognizing sin as sin and the
fact that we are sinful and unclean … that we sin daily in thoughts,
desires, words, and deeds. Satan, also known as the devil, is one of the
unholy trio consisting of himself, the world in which we live, and our own
sinful selves, all of whom are constantly trying to seduce us to sin.
In a devotion entitled “Keep Your Eyes Open” the Reverend Mark
Jeske gave the following description of the devil’s mode of operation: “A
serpent was Satan’s chosen vehicle for his deadly assault on the human race.
Once a pure and glorious angel, Satan is now a fallen, hate-filled, wretched
spirit. He struck back at God by attacking God’s children. But that attack
was a sneak attack. Satan did his damage by planting doubt, lies, fear, and
ego in the hearts of God’s two children.
“He lied. Human rebellion against a holy God brought the triple curse:
human pain, certain death, and eternity in hell.
“You have a fearsome enemy who is coming at you like a snake—quiet,
hate-filled, patient, deadly, serious.” (Mark Jeske in Time of Grace: A
Devotional Companion. Copyright 2010 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis,
MO. Page 321.)
Jesus Himself told some Jews who had believed in Him that Satan
“has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When
he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father
of lies.” (St John 8:42 ESV) He’s practicing that methodology to a great
degree in today’s America as he’s convincing many people that same-sex
activities and relationships, living and sexing together before being
married, killing unborn babies as well as older or decrepit adults who seem
to have no more productive use for society, and general disregard for His
rules are all okay. He’s led many people to believe that there are no
boundaries for decent, ethical, and moral living.
The bottom line is that he has severely damaged and, in many
cases, even destroyed recognition of divine authority … that Yahweh Elohim
is real, is truly God, has instituted rules for living that honor Him and
preserve humanity, and “threatens to punish all who break [His]
commandments. Therefore, we should fear His wrath and not do anything
against them.” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. Pages 14 & 93.)
As reported in today’s Gospel Reading, Satan unsuccessfully tried his
deceitful trickery on Jesus when in the wilderness he tempted Him three
times with the sly statements: “If you are the Son of God, command these
stones to become loaves of bread.” “If you are the Son of God, throw
yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning
you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot
against a stone.’” And, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down
and worship me.” (St Matt 4:3, 6, 9 ESV) Notice his effort to instill doubt
by using that large two-letter word “if” and, in all three attempts, Jesus
successfully battled back by correctly using God’s Holy Word after which
“the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.”
(St. Matt 4:11 ESV)
Now, here’s the good news that applies to us as well.
II. Yahweh Elohim Rescued Adam and Eve
from Sin. (8-20)
8And 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. 9But the Lord God called to the man
and said to him, “Where are you?” 10And he said, “I heard the sound of you
in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
11He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of
which I commanded you not to eat?” 12The man said, “The woman whom you gave
to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13Then the Lord
God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said,
“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
15I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
16To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.”
17And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”
20The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all
living.
Although God pronounced consequential punishments upon Adam and
Eve, He lowered the biggest boom on Satan. In the Lutheran Hour Ministries
Daily Devotion for December 8, 2012, the author stated that “The desire to
be like God has been part of our race's sinful search since our first
ancestors rebelled in the Garden of Eden.
“In recent years there has been a new twist to man’s disobedience.
Today many people have come to believe we don’t need a God at all. In the
18th century, William Henley, a British poet, wrote the poem ‘Invictus.’ In
that poem, Henley boasted: ‘It matters not how strait the gate, How charged
with punishment the scroll. I am the master of my fate! I am the captain
of my soul!’
“All this sounded very independent to the 18th century mind ... and to
the many millions of today who think they can declare their independence
from God. Such folks would do well to look not just at the words, but at
the life of the man who claimed to be both master and captain.
“When death took Henley’s 6-year-old daughter, Margaret, he was
broken-hearted. His subsequent suicide proclaimed that he was neither
master of his fate, nor captain of his soul. All too late, Henley
discovered two great truths of life: there is a God, and William Henley wasn’t
God.
“The most tragic part of the story is that Henley, along with so many
others, never realized how much God loves us; how much He wants to save us.”
(“Neither Master Nor Commander.” LHM Daily Devotions Ref:
LHM0021694A-0018222#. 1997-2012 Lutheran Hour Ministries. St. Louis, MO.)
Thanks be to Yahweh Elohim that, like He did with Adam and Eve, so
also He speaks to us His good news of salvation by grace through faith in
Jesus Christ, Who was the fulfillment of the promise Yahweh Elohim spoke to
them. We heard that good news in today’s Epistle Reading: “But the free
gift is not like the trespass. For … much more have the grace of God and
the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
And the free gift … following many trespasses brought justification.
Therefore, … one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for
all men. For … by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”
(Rom 5:15-16, 18-19 ESV)
Today’s Introit Antiphon gave added reassurance of that good news
with the following words: “When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be
with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will
satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (Ps 91:15-16 ESV) We receive the
certain comfort of that good news that Jesus fully atoned for the sins of
all people with His holy life, innocent suffering, inhumane crucifixion
death on Calvary’s cross, and majestic resurrection from the dead when we
read and hear God’s Holy Word, revel in the security of Holy Baptism, hear
the declaration of Holy Absolution, and properly partake of the Lord’s Holy
Supper.
In conclusion, therefore, let’s keep today’s Collect on our hearts
and minds, namely, “O Lord God, Guide the people of Your Church that
following our Savior we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward
the glory of the world to come.” Let’s do so knowing and firmly trusting
that …
“Yahweh Elohim Covers Our Sins with His Blood-shed Covering.”
As we contemplate and celebrate that glorious gospel message, let’s
rejoice and give thanks that, although …
I. Satan Led Adam and Eve into Sin. (1-7)
nevertheless, …
II. Yahweh Elohim Rescued Adam and Eve from Sin. (8-20)
In response to such let’s heed the advice of today’s Gradual,
namely, “[O come, let us fix our eyes on] Jesus, the founder and perfecter
of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
(Heb 12:2 ESV)
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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