Friday: Further Thought – Stewards After Eden
Further Thought: The word translated as “steward” in a few Old Testament texts comes, not from a single word but from a phrase: asher al bayt, the “one who is on or over a house.” For example, Genesis 43:19 can be translated: “When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house” (NKJV).
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
If one considers that the family that resides in the house is part of the house itself, then what is more valuable to a person than their own home? Hence, a steward is someone being entrusted with something very valuable that, nevertheless, does not belong to him. In many ways, that makes the responsibility even greater than it would be if the steward were in charge of his or her own possessions.
This same idea is continued in the New Testament as well. “The NT takes OT ideas and joins them with first-century ideas, concepts, and words, thus enriching and enlarging the biblical teaching on stewardship. The most common Greek words used in relationship with stewardship are derived from oikos and oikia, ‘house.’ The oikonomos is one who keeps the house: the steward or manager. Oikonomiais the abstract noun, ‘management of the house,’ the meaning of which is often much broader.” – Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2000), p. 653.
Discussion Questions:
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Discussion Question #1 is very interesting....As Adam did by throwing Eve under the bus, Adam actually was blaming God all for his wrong choice.
Now David sums up the remedy for all of our confusion, defeat in our character.
In Psalms 51 is what Adam and Eve could have said but they were fearful..
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
verses 1-4
David recognized his sin against Uriah and Bath-sheba but acknowledged his ultimate guilt against God.
So the same we have to stop blaming and throwing other human being under the bus, because we are good at that..
but do what David did!!!