More Than Medicine
More Than Medicine
DWDP: Genesis 2; 4-7 What about the Cavemen?
Discover the unique perspectives of Adam in the early chapters of Genesis as we unravel the mysteries of creation through his eyes. The Earth was nourished by mist instead of rain before Noah's flood. Join us as we explore this age-old concept and its parallels to modern weather cycles found in Job 36. We also reflect on the profound connection between humanity and the earth, contemplating the elemental origins of human life and the spiritual breath that animates us, echoed in the timeless phrase "ashes to ashes, dust to dust."
But that's not all—extend your spiritual journey with Devotions with Dr. Papa, where spiritual insights are shared to enrich your faith. We invite you to be part of this community, sharing our message with loved ones, and diving deeper into faith-based teachings with More Than Medicine. Stay connected with the Jackson Family Ministry, and explore opportunities to engage through our social media channels and official webpage. Together, let's navigate the rich intersection of faith and life, finding inspiration and wisdom along the way.
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Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, Dr Robert Jackson.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Papa, can you tell me a story? Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotions with Dr Papa. Gather around, grab your Bibles and let's look together into the written Word, which reveals to us the living Word which is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Well, today in our Bible study, we are at Genesis, chapter 2, verses 4b through chapter 5. I'm sorry. Well, we're going to read down to verses 7 and maybe a little bit more. We'll see how far we go. Now I want us to understand that in Genesis 2, 4 through chapter 5, this whole section was probably written by Adam and it represents his perspective on creation and the first events of human history. It's interesting that Adam, as the author, uses the divine name Lord, god, jehovah, elohim, instead of God, just Elohim, until you get to chapter 4, when Adam, as the author, uses the name Lord or Jehovah. Now, let's just kind of keep that in mind and we're going to go now to Genesis, chapter 2, verses 4b through verse 5.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Let me read that to you Genesis, chapter 2, 4b. In the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven, no shrub of the field was yet in the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprouted. For the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth and there was no man to cultivate the ground, but a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. All right, so what the scripture is telling us here was first, there's a repeat or a reiteration of the third day and a description of how the mist used to rise from the earth to water the vegetation each day. And this was before the rains came in Noah's day. So the whole earth was like a giant greenhouse. There was no rain like we experience today, but there was a mist that would rise from the earth every day to water the vegetation. The whole earth was like a tropical paradise. It was lush, there was lots of vegetation and it was just a giant garden, so to speak.
Dr. Robert Jackson:And the present cycle that we experience today is described very beautifully in the book of Job, in chapter 36. Let me read that to you and you'll see what I mean. In fact, the cycle that we see today is described in multiple places in the Bible, in the book of Psalms, book of Ecclesiastes, but Job 36, verse 26 to 29 describes it very well. All right, here, pay attention. Behold, god is exalted and we do not know him. The number of his years is unsearchable, for he draws up the drops of water, then distills rain from the mist, which the clouds pour down. They drip upon man abundantly. Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, the thundering of his pavilion? Behold, he spreads his lightning about him and he covers the depths of the sea. So that describes very accurately the rain cycle, the condensation of the water up to the clouds and then the pouring down of the rain. And even in Job's day and Job is understood to be one of the water up to the clouds and then the pouring down of the rain. And even in Job's day and Job is understood to be one of the oldest books in the Bible even in Job's day they understood the cycle of condensation and evaporation and the clouds holding the water and the rain falling down. But that cycle only started after Noah's day. Before that, as Adam describes in Adam's day, there was a mist that rose from the earth. It was only after Noah that the present cycle of rain and evaporation and condensation. All of that started much later.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Now let's look at verse 7, all the way back in Genesis, chapter 2. Verse 7 says Then the Lord, god, formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. Now let's stop there for a moment. So Adam is the author. He kind of skips over day four and five of the creation week and he goes directly to day six, to the creation of man himself, a description of the formation and energizing of his body. And the statement is formed man of the dust of the earth, in other words, the smallest particles of which the earth is made. Now here's the translation man is made from the basic elements of life, which include nitrogen, calcium, oxygen, potassium, magnesium. You see, these are the things that I measure every day in my medical clinic, in my laboratory, when I evaluate my patient's health status the elements of life, the elements of which my patient's physical body is composed. Now get this In 1 Corinthians 15, verse 47, the Bible tells us the first man talking about Adam, the first man, is of the earth, earthy Now it's not apparent to look at you and me walking around, but a cremated human body is mostly combined of or composed of, calcium, nitrogen, magnesium, iron and a few other elements.
Dr. Robert Jackson:And if you combine those cremated elements the value of it is only about $2.47. And it's basically, it's just the dust of the earth. Now what does the pastor say at a funeral? Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. From earth he has come and to the earth he shall return. That's what the Bible says. The first man is of the earth, earthy. The elements of the earth is what the physical body is composed.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Now, the scripture then says then breathe into his nostrils the breath of life. You see, his physical body was perfectly formed, with all the apparatus necessary for life and function, but it was as lifeless as a mannequin. It had to be energized in order for the lungs to breathe, the heart to pump, the brain to think, the individual cells to metabolize. Life can only come from life. The universe received its energy from the life-giving energy of the triune God in Genesis, chapter 1 and verse 1. He who is life and light spoke light into the darkness, and the living God is the only self-existent being capable of breathing life into this shell of a man. Life must ultimately come from him.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Please understand that there is a unique relationship between God and man that does not exist between God and animals. And it is by this verse that informs us that God created one unique man, not a swarm of men, like he created the swarms of sea creatures and an abundance of birds that flew in the air, but he created just one man and directly imparted life and breath to this one man. It is true that the animals share the breath of life, but God spoke life to them from a distance, so to speak, whereas with Adam he intimately and directly breathed life and breath into his physical body breathe life and breath into his physical body. At this point Adam became a living soul, much more complex physically and emotionally and mentally than the animals, and this required God's direct energizing influence. And just so you will know, the Bible tells us in no uncertain terms that Adam was the first man. In 1 Corinthians 15, 45, the Bible says the first man. Adam was made a living soul. Adam was the first man and he received his soul from God and he had no animal ancestry and there was no pre-Adamite, prehistoric man.
Dr. Robert Jackson:But wait, wait. What about the cavemen? What about the Neanderthal man? What about the Cro-Magnon man? Well, I'm glad you asked that. I knew you were thinking about that.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Well, let's back up and ask a few questions. What exactly is a caveman? Well, a caveman is just somebody who lives temporarily in a cave. You know, there are Bible characters who live temporarily in caves. Elijah lived in a cave temporarily. King David lived in a cave temporarily. Abraham buried his wife Sarah in a cave at Machphalah. So just because people lived in caves temporarily doesn't mean they're cave men. So there are even people today who live in caves, some permanently, some temporarily but that doesn't mean they're prehistoric brutes. So let's talk about that Now. I know that when we use the term cavemen, we think of prehistoric people who work with primitive tools and hunt the woolly mammoth, point and grunt rather than use language and draw on the walls of their caves. But listen, because of DNA testing, archaeologists no longer consider them less than human or ape creatures or pre-humans, and we now realize that they lived outside of their caves more often as not and usually use their caves to bury their dead and store their tools and their treasures. Now let's discuss just two supposedly prehistoric cave men the Neanderthals and the Cro-Magnon. Let me just read to you part of an essay from the Answers in Genesis book, book number four. This is a paragraph about the Neanderthals. Book number four this is a paragraph about the Neanderthals.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Neanderthals may be the most well known of the five groups, with hundreds of individuals to study After they serve times as a separate hominid. That word means human-like species. According to evolutionary scientists, dna testing in particular has significantly trimmed their distance from Homo sapiens. This shouldn't surprise us, considering the overwhelming evidence of their humanity. In dozens of caves and rock shelters, for instance, we find evidence of bodies that have been carefully buried with all the care you might expect from a modern funeral. Neanderthal remains have also been unearthed with mammoths and other big game, bearing bone marks and other indications that these animals were hunted and butchered in complex community activities. And everywhere Neanderthals are found not always in caves, they have complex axes and other stone tools. In fact, the title of mere caveman may be in jeopardy, as researchers recently unearthed a complex dwelling made from mammoth bones which wasn't even in a cave at all.
Dr. Robert Jackson:With all the similarities, however, neanderthals weren't exactly like us. Their physical characteristics, such as larger brows in adults and wide nasal cavities, would certainly make them stand out today. Now what about the Cro-Magnon man? On the other hand, early Homo sapiens, often called Cro-Magnon man, would fit right in nowadays, though perhaps more likely on a North American football team than in an office building. The robust build, larger brain on average and DNA differentiate the European Cro-Magnon from modern humans. However, they show a clear affinity with us.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Everything you might expect to find from the settlements of any non-industrialized people is found with Cro-Magnons. For instance, the can't pronounce this. The Drudzuana cave in the country of Georgia contained wild flax fibers that suggest those early travelers sewed garments or wove baskets, and the Lascaux caves in France long hid colorful cave paintings that may relate to phases of the moon. Site after site reveals thousands of small, beautifully made javelin arrows and ornate artifacts, often with carvings and designs on them, such as the ivory pendant made from mammoth tusk that was found with the so-called Red Lady who turned out actually to be a male in South Wales, and the recent discovery of a buried dog skull in Predmosty. The Czech Republic suggests the Cro-Magnon man enjoyed the company of man's best friend.
Dr. Robert Jackson:In light of these finds, the idea that these particular post-Babel humans were some mysterious other loses its punch. So we see that the Cro-Magnon and the Neanderthals were very much like us Now. Let me just tell you a couple of other things before we leave this. God doesn't define our humanness in terms of physical characteristics. We aren't human because we have two arms or legs or skulls of a certain shape or size. Our Creator, who is Spirit, made us in His spiritual image. The book of Genesis reveals aspects of what this implies. Our early ancestors made musical instruments and tools, farmed, built cities and otherwise represented God as stewards of his creation. When we get to Genesis, chapter 4, you'll see that All those we call cavemen probably much of a misnomer show the same characteristics as the first humans that we see in the Bible.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Neanderthals buried their dead and may have worn jewelry. Homo erectus seems to have divided up jobs to prepare food and sail the high seas jobs to prepare food and sail the high seas. Even with little to go on, we can be fairly certain that the Denesaphans, which is another prehistoric group, they wore jewelry, and much-aligned hobbits left tools useful for dicing up lunch All uniquely human traits, traits that show creatures made in the image of God. Our relatives may have looked different, but they weren't bumbling brutes. They had the very human and God-given ability to discover creative solutions in a dangerous, sin-cursed world, and they were all rebels from God and in need of His grace.
Dr. Robert Jackson:Now here's the interesting thing. Let's talk about genetics a little bit. When the first draft of the Neanderthal DNA was published, the researchers concluded that it was 99.7% identical to modern human DNA. They also found that approximately 1 to 4% of DNA specific to Neanderthals can also be found in modern Eurasians.
Dr. Robert Jackson:You see, the Neanderthals were not different from us at all. They were thought to be prehistoric ape men, but their DNA confirms that they're pretty much just like you and me. They're not ape men. They're just folks that were a little bit different in their physical characteristics, and yet evolutionists want us to believe that they were prehistoric ape creatures. Well, what about cavemen? They're not ape men. They're not prehistoric people. They're just a little bit different physically from you and me, and some of the time they lived in caves. But people live in caves today. Does that make them prehistoric ape creatures? No, it doesn't at all.
Dr. Robert Jackson:So all I'm telling you is that God created all of us and he created us in his image, and what makes us special is that God breathed into Adam the breath of life, and he breathes into you and me the breath of life and that all of us are special because we bear the image of God, and that means that every last one of us needs to be treated in a special way, from the little baby in the mother's womb to the little child in her mother's arms, to your elderly parents in their latter years.
Dr. Robert Jackson:We should all be treated special. All of our lives should be guarded and honored. Why? Because we're human, because we're created in the image of God and because God loves every last one of us and because he redeemed us. He redeemed us with the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Redeemed us with the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, not with gold or silver or precious stones, but with precious blood, with the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that's worth remembering. Brothers and sisters, well, you're listening to Devotions with Dr Papa and if you like what you hear, I appreciate it. If you tell your friends If you'd like it, share it or download it, and remember that we'll be back again in between now and then. I pray that the Lord would bless you real good.
Closing:Thank you for listening to this edition of More Than Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry, Dr Jackson's books, or to schedule a speaking engagement, go to their Facebook page, instagram or their webpage at jacksonfamilyministry. com. This podcast is produced by Bob Slone Audio Production at bobslone. com.
