He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Genesis 3:10 (NIV)After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
Genesis 15:1 (NIV)
If you study it from the beginning, you’ll see that Genesis 15 is speaking directly to the things of Genesis 3.
These are the first two instances of this word “afraid” in scripture.
Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands.
Immediately after God blesses Noah and his sons in Genesis 9, we are given this strange and dark change: the animals of the world will view humanity with FEAR and DREAD.
In the Midrash, the rabbis note the change from Genesis 1, where humanity was blessed, told to be fruitful & increase and fill the earth, but were specifically given the authority/dominion over the animals. To RULE over them.
This authority to RULE appears to have been lost.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Genesis 1:28 (NIV)
This word “rule” (רָדָה, “radah”) is used a few more times in the Scriptures, but it isn’t shown to be restored or given back to humanity until Numbers 24, in the oddest way. It’s from Balaam, when he tries to CURSE Israel, and God turns the curse into a blessing:
“I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls of all the people of Sheth.
Edom will be conquered;
Seir, his enemy, will be conquered,
but Israel will grow strong.
A ruler will come out of Jacob
and destroy the survivors of the city.”
Numbers 24:17-19 (NIV)
The Christian sees Jesus in this, whereas some Jews point to King David or future Messiah.
In the Messiah interpretation, it points to a future when God’s own hand empowers a star to rise from Jacob’s bloodline with the scepter of authority. To rule RIGHTLY.
This Ruler will not rule creation with FEAR and DREAD the way humanity will wield it, as expressed in Genesis 9. The Ruler will rule creation the way God intended in Genesis 1.
Of course, someone will note that the Balaam prophecy looks a lot like “FEAR” and “DREAD” for the enemies of God’s people.
Yes. But the “enemies of God’s people” are spiritual things, not nations or tribes or people. This is a parable.
He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Genesis 3:10 (NIV)
Over and over again, we are told, “do not fear.”
Which is scarier? Being seen naked and vulnerable by someone else, or confronting your own nakedness and vulnerability?
I suppose the answer is different for different people.
“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.
Isaiah 28:16 (NIV)
The Good News is so simple, a child can understand it.