God is Looking for a Man
A perfect man was in His mind when He created Adam the first man. Just because Adam chose to rebel does not mean that God gave up on His plan, we are going to learn from three men in the Bible and uncover the flaw they all share and discover God's solution for man.
Adam was created and designed to be the pattern for all men, the pattern for mankind. If you want to catch up and find out what the conversation has been here on raising the standard, you're going to want to go back and listen to the last two episodes:
In these shows/blogs we get into the design of man, specifically looking at Adam as the first created man and the prototype for what was to be God's creation, made in His image and his likeness.
Adam massively fails when he rebels against his creator by violating God's commands, the original plan for man was dominion, partnership and this amazing relationship walking in the garden with our creator, knowing God on such a level, that there is friendship, there's stewardship and there's responsibility.
Adam was designed for dominion, literally naming all of the animals, creating the world through his words, empowered by God's commands. What an amazing picture of the way we were created and the original intent and design for all of mankind. We have examined how man is made in the image and the likeness of God. Each word in the original Hebrew has a genitive to it, that means that word is either masculine or feminine. When we look at the word ‘image’, it is masculine, it speaks to the masculinity of God that's placed with an Adam.
We also see this word ‘likeness’ and this word likeness has a female component to it. We know that Eve is within Adam, hidden in his side to be pulled out when Adam falls into sleep. So we have an awesome picture of being made in His image and likeness, male and female hidden within the rib of Adam, which is later pulled out and God creates Eve out of Adam’s side. We also can see a picture of the church within Jesus. In Colossians, the apostle Paul states that we are hidden with Christ in God. We are hidden in Christ and we have a similar picture of the church being within the side of Jesus as Eve is hidden within the side of Adam. This is amazing typology and shadow found in Genesis that becomes a New Testament reality.
Man was made in the image and likeness of God. However, after Adam sins, something happens with the offspring of Adam and we can read about it in Genesis chapter five.
“This is the book of the generations of Adam. And the day when God created, man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and he blessed them and name them man. In the day they were created verse three, when Adam had lived 130 years, he became the father of the son in his own likeness, according to his image and named him Seth.”
Genesis 5:1-3
These verses state that Adam became a father of a son in his own likeness and in his own image, we're talking about the image of Adam is no longer is Adam's offspring, no longer in the human race, embodying the image and likeness and character of God.
We learn we are now patterned after fallen Adam because Seth, his son was born in his own likeness, in Adam's likeness and according to Adam's image, this is a fallen image and a fallen likeness. So Adam's children are not made in God's image, but Adam's image and the image and likeness of fallen man. Ever since the fall man departed God's plan and is no longer created in God's likeness and image. This is the Adamic sinful nature the human race now inherits from Adam. This nature is all also known as our natural man. As we look throughout scripture, we're going to see the ‘flesh’ and ‘the natural man.’ This is inherited from the nature of Adam, that fallen condition that is a result of man rebelling against God.
From the very beginning God has been after this thing called manhood, He has been committed to this perfect idea of manhood and what a man should be. Ever since the creation account God has been looking for a man. He was looking for a man in the garden, He creates Adam and his image and likeness. and ever since that time, despite Adam's fallen nature, God continues through the pages of history to look for a man. His eyes are roaming to and fro throughout the Old Testament searching and seeking for a man. We are going to examine three examples of men from the pages of the Old Testament. We are going to look at something they all have in common.
Moses
The first person we will look at is Moses. We see in the Exodus account that he is the mighty deliverer. Let's go over a couple highlights from the life of Moses. He's educated in the courts of Egypt for 40 years and then he spends 40 years in the wilderness, this serves as a formation period where he's getting God's character. There is a breaking and there is a making of this man called Moses. The 40 years following his time spent in the desert will be spent leading the children of Israel through the wilderness. Moses also wrote five books of the Bible, known as the Torah, this was penned by Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Moses met with God mountain. He delivered the law. He saw God's physical and visible glory as He passed by however, despite all these accomplishments and everything that Moses was permitted to do, he fails to bring Israel into the promised land. In Deuteronomy 32 it states:
“because you broke faith with me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel for you shall see the land at a distance, but you shall not go there into the land, which I am giving the sons of Israel.”
This is the Lord speaking to Moses saying you did all these things well. However, because you lost your temper and because you sinned, you will not see the fulfillment. You will not walk into the promised land, we have this picture of Moses falling short. So despite the call on the life of Moses, he was incomplete. He was imperfect.
God is still looking for a man
Samson
Let’s fast forward to a biblical character I'm sure you're familiar with, Samson. An angel shows up at Samson's birth to his mother who cannot have children and the angel ordains his birth and calls him consecrated as a Nazarite, which means to be separated, to be devoted and to be consecrated unto the Lord. And as a boy, the Spirit of the Lord begins to stir Samson, the Spirit of Lord comes upon him mightily.
When he tears the lion apart with his bare hands, this man is empowered and endued with supernatural, physical strength, endowed with a supernatural gift, connected to the vow he made to the Lord from when he was young. When he slayed the Philistines and wrestled with the lion, the Bible says the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson. The Lord specifically anointed him for this purpose and for this calling. And I just want to insert right now, there is a calling and there is a purpose on your life. All men have a call on their life. If you want to go back and review this in Does God want Me To Be Successful? I dropped the concept that there is a mountain for every man, that's you right now, wherever you are reading this, that is a call for you. There is a mountain for you to step into it and this show is going to be about guiding you and laying down biblical principles and kingdom frameworks so you can step into your purpose.
Now what we see as we look at the life of Samson is that God's raising up and using Samson to showcase strength, being related to his consecration of being set apart for the purposes of God. However, in this story, like many men Sampson falls, he falls for a harlot and then he marries a woman who he was told not to marry. In this marriage, he gives up his secret and violates his vow and this story ends tragically. We see that Samson left a legacy. However, he falls short in other areas. Let me read you this powerful verse in judges, 16 about Samson:
“but he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. And they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains. And he was a grinder in the prison.”
Samson's got a call on his life. He does amazing things. He leaves a partial legacy, but he is like Moses, incomplete and imperfect.
God is still looking for a man.
David
The last man I want to highlight right now is David. David is the shepherd boy that becomes the warrior king. He was also known as a man after God's own heart. If you know the story, when the prophet comes to David's father's house and says, one of your sons will be named the next king. David is overlooked, he's not even in the lineup with his brother. They have to go get him from the field.
When the prophet sees him, he says, “this is the one” and anoints him King. David has quite the journey and promotional pathway through the kingdom of Israel, he fights the Philistine and cuts off the head of the giant. He goes through a process and formation of character on his way to the throne himself. At one point, he even has a chance to take out Saul, the king, who is dealing with him unjustly, but David decides I will not touch him because he is still the Lord's anointed, even though it's spoken over David's life that he is to ascend to the very throne that Saul is on right now. David's also known as a man after God's own heart, but David falls and David fails. He lusts after Bathsheba, another man's wife, he gets her pregnant and then he kills her husband. This is what the scripture says in 2nd Samuel
“But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.”
David is interesting because he's got so many elements and aspects and character attributes of biblical masculinity. We see that he's got this character attribute that God's attracted to, but at the same time, David like Moses and like Samson is incomplete and imperfect. God is still looking for a man throughout the Old Testament.
If we fast forward to Hebrews chapter 11, also known as the hall of faith, we read about many powerful biblical examples. Abel Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph Moses, and Joshua Samson and David and they each have an attribute and characteristics of manhood, but they fall short with the fullness that God wanted to bring into the earth. They fall short from meeting the standard that God had originally designed man for, none were complete. They failed in certain areas and they left us a legacy with other characteristics that can be highlighted, studied, and certainly attracted the favor of God in their life. But they were incomplete and imperfect pictures of what you and I are called to be as biblical men. In Isaiah chapter 59, there's a powerful verse. That is speaking about God.
He saw that there was no man and was astonished that there was no one to intercede. Then his arm brought salvation to him and his righteousness upheld him.
What we have here is a prophetic picture that no man can live up. There is no man that can fulfill that picture of biblical manhood, that picture of a man, that level and standard for manhood that we, you and I were originally called to live up to. After the close of the old Testament, we see a period of 400 years of silence. God is no longer speaking. And when He does decide to speak again and when the book is open and we pick up in the New Testament in Matthew chapter one, verse one, we are going to get to see the unfolding and the next level in this drama of God's story, God revealing and unveiling Jesus as the standard for manhood.
God is looking for a man
He's looking for a man and man has been searching for that missing part ever since Adam sinned in the garden. In the next blog we are going to get into how Jesus sets the standard for men.
