Again, Isaiah prophesies about God’s judgment on sins, on what becomes idols, on the pride and arrogance of people (here it is on the latter ones, more specifically).
I will dwell on verse V, 21 – wise in their own eyes, And prudent in
their own sight!
– this is about the arrogance of people who rejected
the Lord, either explicitly or implicitly.
In fact, this also includes the condition of people who, instead of
revealing God’s will, say: We know in ourselves what is good and what
is bad, we do not want to, we will not say anything,
when they should
have said.
But someone will say: Isn’t the prophet, when he foretells great
things, the judgment of sinners, the same
wise in his own eyes”?.
But let’s see: he just isn’t! First, he does not mention his
intelligence anywhere. And the prophet is fully aware that he is not
revealing his wisdom or intelligence, but God’s revelation. And that the
prophets themselves often did not understand God’s will to an extent
which is desirable. And he does not hide God’s will from people, does
not keep it to himself in order to be wise in his own eyes
(to
increase self-esteem, as modern people would say).
Yesterday I wrote that Cain had descendants who
were important by God’s providence for the development of society. More
about that in yesterday’s post at the link:
07032023.html
Now I will dwell on the unexpected appearance
of other people,
except those mentioned by name. The question is really unclear and
mysterious, about the existence and certain necessity of which I wrote
earlier:
27022023.html
The general opinion on this matter is that Adam and Eve became the
progenitors of all people. This (generally accepted) also explains the
fact that all people have an original damage, which is often called
original sin
. For example, in Psalm 51, David says: Behold, I was
conceived in iniquity, and in sins my mother bore me
– although he was
conceived and born in the usual way (like the vast majority of people).
Iniquity
here is called impurity, which, according to the Law of
Moses, occurs during sexual relations. And mother’s sins
– David’s
mother sinned during 9 months of pregnancy and more than once.
David came from an environment
that was struck
(as by a disease)
with sin and iniquity. And this is the condition of almost all
people.
But let’s see, Jesus Christ was conceived without a man, there was no
iniquity. The Most Pure Mother, the Immaculate Virgin, although not
sinless, but Most Pure, She had no guilt before God. But Jesus accepted,
despite His purity and sinlessness, the damaged state of nature – and
with it the ability to suffer and die, which He did for us on the cross.
Hence the (not so obvious) conclusion: in order for the consequences of
the Fall to be transferred to people, they do not have to be conceived
and born in an environment affected by sin.
Another example: the state of creation after the Fall, except for
people themselves — it, according to the words of the Apostle Paul
mentioned yesterday, became subject to corruption
through human
(Romans VIII). But animals, not being fully free, not being persons,
also do not sin. But their condition has also changed.
Another example: Paul says: As in Adam all die, so in Christ all
will be made alive.
But the latter do not need to be born from Jesus,
to be His bodily offspring. It is logical that for the first one, for
the whole thought to be true, flesh (carnal) birth is not necessary from
Adam and Eve, like David, to die.
Another example: in order to be children of Abraham according to the
promise, heirs of the promise
, as the apostle Paul says, it is not
necessary to be the descendants of Abraham by flesh. But sharing his
faith, people, by the grace of God, also participate in God’s
promises.
Not necessary logically means that it cannot be said with certainty that Scripture and faith
require us to think that all men are direct descendants of Adam and Eve in order to bear all the consequences of the Fall (the translation is edited 2023-03-09 03:33 PM EET).
And yet, the idea that all men are really descendants of Adam and Eve according to the flesh is quite natural and cannot be denied on the basis of Scripture. An important argument is also that if there were any other people besides Adam and Eve and their immediate descendants, then they mutually exclusive:
OR would become participants in the world affected by the fall of Adam and Eve, although they themselves did not sin,
OR they also sinned (in parallel
, although perhaps not at the
same time), but this is not written,
OR they did not sin and become part of a corrupt world (but then where are they?).
Moreover, these people would somehow have to live outside of Paradise
from the beginning (otherwise they and Paradise would have had to be
spoken of separately), and if so, why should they have been deprived of
it, while Adam and Eve would have to have a privileged
position from
God to be settled in Paradise (?).
All these considerations (and there may be others that I have not been able to consider now) show that we do not know enough of the history of the world at that time.
Returning to today’s passage itself, I will say that Adam and Eve also gave birth, in addition to the three sons mentioned by name, to other sons and daughters (Genesis V, 4), and that among the faithful it is generally believed that the Lord at that time allowed sons and daughters to marry each other, since there was no other way of procreation, and at the same time, the Lord mysteriously protected them from possible genetic mutations and various physical diseases that occur when children are born from close relatives.
I will stop there, God willing, I will write a continuation later.
Solomon in the reading continues the theme
of faithfulness, see yesterday’s comments on the theme:
07032023.html
At the beginning of chapter 6, it is already about guarantee for a
friend
– another practical topic. Solomon teaches prudence and wisdom -
one should not think that one can easily vouch for the future, and
therefore also for someone, in particular for a friend.
To give a hand to the enemy
is actually to lose control over one’s
actions, and a person really, even if he is kind, honest, just, etc.,
cannot fully control his friends, cannot control the future, and
therefore must be extremely careful in such cases. And it is important
that if the word is given, then it is necessary to take care of its
fulfillment (verse 3).
(Malachi III, 1-3, 5-7, 12, 17-18; IV, 4-6)
(Wisdom of Solomon IV, 7,16-17,19-20; V, 1-7)
This reading in honour of the holy Prophet,
Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John (paremia), in which his whole
life is described in advance in images, also says a lot about his
ministry. All this in connection with tomorrow’s commemoration of the
1st and 2nd finding of his honest head.
Glory be to Thee, our God, glory be to Thee!