A Kick in the Pants

גרשׁ

By Chad Bird

Therefore the LORD God sent [Adam] out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man. Genesis 3:23–24a

The Hebrew verb for “drive out” is גרשׁ (garash). You don’t smile and politely ask someone to leave when you garash them. You kick ’em in the pants. You shove them out, push them away, as Sarah told Abraham to do to Hagar (Gen. 21:10), Pharaoh did to Israel (Exod. 11:1), and the Lord did to the Canaanites (23:28–30). When Solomon “expelled” Abiathar from being a priest, he garash him (1 Kings 2:27). It’s a kind of violent expulsion, like a bar’s bouncer tossing an unruly customer into the street.

How surprising, then, that when Mark wrote about the temptation of Jesus, he chose a Greek word that’s the counterpart to garash. He said, “The Spirit immediately drove [Jesus] out into the wilderness” (1:12). Indeed, the Greek verb that Mark chose, ekballo, is used to translate garash in the Greek version of Genesis 3:24. Why? It’s Mark’s subtle way of telling us that Jesus is Adam #2. He’s come to relive Adam’s expulsion, to be driven east of the Jordan. There he will be tempted but resist, succeed where Adam #1 failed, and finally return us to the good graces of the Father, who will never drive us away. Drive out from us, Holy Spirit, all that is contrary to you, and bring us to the Father.

Bird , Chad . Unveiling Mercy: 365 Daily Devotions Based on Insights from Old Testament Hebrew (p. 16). 1517 Publishing. 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

 – Pastor Darrin Sheek