Message 36 of the Life-Study of Genesis covers the fourth fall of man. This fall occurred at Babel when man built a city and a tower. Behind each of the four falls there was one common source – Satan. First, man fell from God’s presence to man’s conscience. Second, man fell from man’s conscience to others’ control. Third, man fell from human government to Satan’s instigation. Finally, in man’s fourth fall, man rose up collectively to rebel against God. The process of this rebellion involved man conspiring to rebel against God, making bricks with the earth by human labor, building a city to have a manmade and godless life, building a tower to declare the renouncing of God, and making a name to deny God’s name. It is significant that the tower was made with bricks and not with stones. Bricks are man-made, but stones are God-made. The tower at Babel was made with bricks (Gen. 11:3) and the treasure cities in Egypt were built with bricks (Exo. 1:11, 14a), but the New Jerusalem will be built with precious stones (Rev. 21:18-20). The result of man’s fourth fall was that mankind was scattered in living and confounded in language. In contrast, the church today is not scattered, but is spreading. Also, in the church life today, we have the blessing because we have one mind and one mouth.
Message 37 covers the significance of God’s calling. The book of Genesis is mainly composed of three sections: God’s creation (revealing God’s purpose and procedure), man’s fall (through Satan’s corruption), and Jehovah’s calling (fulfilling God’s purpose by God’s procedure). In this message we come to the most wonderful section of the book of Genesis, the section on God’s calling. God’s calling means a new beginning. The man whom God created for Himself fell and forsook Him, so God came in to call man that He might have a new beginning with fallen man. This new beginning is a transfer of race. We have been transferred from the old created race to the new called race. We also need an inner transfer of life. The transfer of race is a transfer of position, but there also must be the transfer of life within us. We all have had some transfer of life, but we are also still in the process. The transfer of life in Abraham took many years. Abraham first relied upon Eliezer to be his heir, but God rejected him. Abraham then begot Ishmael by the strength of his flesh. After these failures, he experienced his name being changed and his flesh being circumcised. Eventually Abraham brought fourth Isaac by the strength of God’s grace. This experience of the transfer of life can also be seen with Isaac, with Jacob, and with the believers today.
Message 38 covers the background and origin of God’s calling and the experience of the called. When God appeared to Abraham, he was in the darkest background. Man had forsaken God, built a tower to exalt himself, denied God’s right over His creation, and turned from God to serve idols. This dark situation is the same today. But, hallelujah, God called us! This calling did not originate with Abraham, but with God. God appeared to Abraham in a strong way. Many of us have experienced the same thing. We were deeply fallen, and light and loose preaching would never have worked in our case. We needed the living God, the God of glory, to pay us a visit. God actually appeared to Abraham twice. Because Abraham hesitated in following God, God had to appear to him the second time. God not only appeared to Abraham twice, but He called him twice. These appearings and callings of God show that God was the origin of God’s calling. Regarding the experience of the called, we need to see that the experience of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the experience of one corporate man. All of them needed the others in order to have the completion of God’s calling. According to experience, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not individuals but three members of the whole Body. Likewise, we are members one of another (Rom. 12:5) and, in certain aspects of life, we need to depend on each other. After seeing such a thing, we shall be humbled and realize that the whole experience of the corporate called one is too much for us to have individually. At present we are all in the process of this experience of God’s called ones. Some of us are Abrahams, some are Isaacs, and others are Jacobs.
Links:
To read online: Living Stream Ministry
To purchase the Life-Study of Genesis: (Nook) (Kobo) (iBooks) (Kindle) (Print)
To listen to the corresponding radio broadcasts with commentary: LSM Radio