According to my Bing search engine, “Hermeneutics is the field of study concerned with how we interpret the Bible. Exegesis is the actual interpretation of the Bible by drawing the meaning out of the Biblical text.” (my emphasis).

It seems how we interpret the Bible (literally or figuratively) may affect the actual interpretation. At least, it leaves room for discussion. Which brings me to the chapters in Genesis about Eve and the apple.

Speaking of food…

However we did it, we offended God big time with our disobedience. In our fallen nature, we don’t realize how offensive sin is to a perfect, holy God. Or how, in His perfect nature, He is all just and can’t ignore our sin. As a result, sin, death, and the devil infected us and our world.

Which brings me to food. When my husband and I were engaged, we threw a party in his bachelor pad. I knew nothing about cooking, but concocted some goodies which I placed under the broiler…and then joined the party.

It wasn’t long before the smell of smoke filled the room. I rushed into the kitchen, grabbed potholders, pulled the tray with the charred mess from the oven, opened the door, and threw the tray into the snow in the backyard. I then returned to the party.

“I can’t believe you just did that,” said one guest. (I was young and may not have been totally sober.) Anyway, I couldn’t un-burn the goodies, and at least the hot tray was cooling far from the house, where it couldn’t hurt anything.

But God…

Why didn’t God just throw us out and make a new, improved species after we set ourselves on fire with sin? Ditching the tray in the snow worked for me. Why wouldn’t it work for God?

I suspect it’s because God, unlike me, could “unburn” His creatures through the sacrifice of his Son on the Cross. Instead of an easy delete and replace, He chose to repair and remold us back into the image He had for us in the first place. Jesus will create a new heaven and new earth, and will keep His original, now uncharred, species.

Simplistic exegesis…

I once met a delightful older gentleman who carved amazing wooden toys. He had a booth in an arts and crafts venue he named “Grandpa-did-it.”

Maybe the Bible is a “God-did-it” account of how He created and redeemed us — of how we got burned in the first place, but He didn’t throw us into the cold. Instead, He refashioned a people for Himself out of which came our Savior who will make all things, and us, new.

Perhaps the Bible only provides a limited understanding of God and His nature, offering just a glimpse of what we can comprehend at this time.

I just know that, for now, God is a far better cook than I’ll ever be.