Week 29, Day 5: The descendants of Noah
Today’s Reading: Genesis 10:1-32
Some thoughts from the reading…
Chapter 10 tells us about the descendants of Noah. Here begins the multiplying and replentishing of the earth. I want to point out that the descendants of Ham were those who lived in the promised land. Canaan was his son and Sidon was Ham’s grandson. I do not know if the city Sidon is named after this grandson but it would not be suprising to find that this is so. From Ham came the Jebusites (lived in Jerusalem) the Amorites, Girgashites, and Hivites. These names should be familiar to us because they were the people living in the promised land that were to be destroyed and driven out of the promised land by Israel. It is interesting to be reminded that all of these people were distant relations to each other.
The only other thought I want to share with you today is that seeing this record of Noah’s descendants makes me think about how important it is for us to be diligent to instill godliness in our children. They will take what we teach and pass that on to their kids. I am impressed by the impact we can have on the future by thinking about how much good can come when we instill godliness in those who will then take and spread that on. One person can pass their faith on to so many future generations. Next time you are at a funeral and they tell how many children and grandchildren the person had, think about this thought. We often wonder how we can have a good impact on the world around us, one way is to make sure we are setting the foundation of a good faith in our children.
Week 29, Day 4: The Covenant
Today’s Reading: Genesis 9:1-28
Some thoughts from the reading…
Noah and his sons are to now go forth and be fruitful and multiply. The Lord repeats some principles to them before they set out. Man is to be master over all the creatures of the earth. The animals will fear man and be food for him. God also reminds Noah that they are not to eat the animal with its life (its blood). It has been pointed out before that it is impossible to remove every drop of blood from meat. I do not believe this prohibition prohibits eating meat that might have a few drops of blood in it, but rather the that blood is to be drained from the body (Lev 17:13, Acts 15:20).
Here we have the first reference to the blood being refered to as the “life” of the animal. This concept is an important one and will be restated under the law of Moses. Long before man understood the workings of the body and the function for blood, Noah was told that the “life” is in the blood.
We can see here that God gave Noah instructions for how to be pleasing to Him and what He expected from them.
Another principle stated is to not shed man’s blood. Killing another person is prohibited because they have been made in the image of God. Man is not just another animal who just happens to have evolved further along. Rather, man was created with a uniqueness. This quality makes him different and deserves a level of respect from all mankind. It is unfortunate and sad that much of our society no longer values human life or considers the taking of a life as evil. Today it is called a “woman’s choice” to destroy her child. On the other hand we see that the destruction of eagle eggs is a federal offense punishable by severe penalties. Why would destroying an eagle’s egg, an unborn eagle, be so bad if it is nothing more than just a growth and not really a living thing? Because people recognize what will become of that eagle egg and therefore protect such things very aggressively, more so than they do the baby that has been made in the image of God. How sad!
Chapter 9 is where God gives a sign of the covenant between God, man and every creature that He will not destroy the earth again with flooding. The sign is the rainbow. Each time we see the rainbow let it be a remider to us that God keeps His promises. He has kept this promise for over 4,000 years now and will continue to be true to all the things He has promised us.
Week 29, Day 3: The new beginning
Today’s Reading: Genesis 8:1-22
Some thoughts from the reading…
God remembered Noah and caused a wind to pass over the earth and the water to subside. After a good length of time the ark comes to rest on Mount Ararat (thought to be in modern Turkey). What I think is interesting is how long of a process it took from the time Noah entered the ark to when it was okay to go back out. 7:11 told us that in Noah’s 600th year on the 17th day of the 2nd month the flooding began. 8:13-14 tells us that the erath wasn’t dry until his 601st year on the 27th day of the 2nd month. That is a year and 10 days. Wow, that’s a long time from start to finish. We are taught as children about the 40 days and 40 nights of rain but just imagine being in this boat that long.
Notice that Noah waited until God told him to go out of the ark before he left it, 8:15-16. Noah demonstrated respect for God by waiting for Him to tell Noah it was okay to go out. He further showed his devotion to God by offering the burnt offerings on the altar as soon as he had gone out. God had delivered him through the torential waters. We are not told details about the sacrificial system during this time (when God told them to do this or how they were to do it) but it is clear that sacrificing burnt offerings were a part of worshipping and serving God from the earliest part of history (remember Cain and Abel offered of their flock and first fruits in sacrifice to God).
It impresses me how much we forget about the Bible and how much we can gain from reminding ourselves of these accounts by rereading them on a regular basis.
Week 29, Day 2: The World is Flooded
Today’s Reading: Genesis 7:1-24
Some thoughts from the reading…
Noah is told by God to go into the ark. The time has come to destroy the earth with a great flood. Vs. 16 tells us that once Noah, his family and all the animals entered the ark the Lord closed the door behind them. This emphasizes the way in which God was actively caring for and watch out for Noah. God had instructed Noah how to be saved, He told Noah when to go into the ark and we will see the continued guidance by God in chapter 8.
It is hard to see how more plainly the scriptures could state that this was a world wide flood. Every creature on the face of the earth was to be destroyed, vs 21. The water rose 22 feet above the mountains, vs. 19-20. There can be no doubt that when the top of the mountains were covered by water, that the entire earth was completely under water. Only righteous Noah and his family were preserved.
It is impressive to see what God did because of the wickedness of the earth and how He planned to begin anew through this righteous man. It makes me marvel at how long suffering God is with our world today. How it must grieve the Lord to see the wickedness of man today and it makes me wonder at times how much longer do we have. The Lord will not delay punishment forever. But certainly those who obey the Lord’s instructions will be saved, He has promised this to us.
Week 29, Day 1: The Great Flood
Today’s Reading: Genesis 6:1-22
Some thoughts from the reading…
It did not take man long to turn his thoughts to doing evil. And man did evil to the extent that it grieved God that He had ever made man. But there was one man who “walked with God”. Can you imagine seeing everyone around you following after their corrupt desires. You alone stand upright and blameless. People just think they have it tough today! And yet Noah found a way to remain comitted to God. Our faithfulness to God does not depend necessarily upon those around us or circumstances. Let us stand up for what is right no matter how crooked things get or even if we must stand alone.
God tells Noah to build the ark. This is a good example of someone obeying God fully. There is no indication that there were rain storms back then like we know them today. As far as we know flooding was not something that they were accustomed to nor had to worry about. And yet here Noah is told to build a boat, and not just any boat but a BIG boat. The ark was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. The boat’s length was equal to a football field and a half = Massive. We also do not know what kind of tools Noah had to make this boat with but for certain it would have taken lots of work and persistence. All the while I imagine that Noah would have been receiving quite a bit of attention from those around him. What did they have to say about this? Did they ridicule Noah? Was Noah the talk of the town, thought of as being crazy? And yet Noah did all that God had commanded him – he didn’t change any of it and completed the task given him to do.
We are also told that God was going to send the animals to Noah. “…two of every kind will come to you” vs. 20. Some skeptics have scoffed at the thought of Noah filling the ark with all of these animals. Noah didn’t have to go chase anything down, they came to him. God sent them to him and aided him in completing his task. God did not command something impossible of Noah. Some have challenged the feasability of Noah being able to house all of the animals in his ark. We are not told how it all happened. I have sometimes wondered if the animals that came were very young. For example; baby elephants coming instead of their massive parents. And it would not be beyond God’s power to cause the animals to hibernate while onboard the ark. The fact is that when people scoff at what the Bible says they simply do not believe that with God all things are possible. The Bible does not give us every detail specifying how things happened. But we know that God’s word is true and when it tells us that these things happened, we can know that they did. Let us not be led into doubt or disarray by the nay sayers.
Week 28, Day 5: Walking With God
Today’s Reading: Genesis 5:1-32
Some thoughts from the reading…
I think many people, when coming to a chapter like Genesis 5, skip over to the next chapter. Often, genealogy chapters are thought of as being difficult to read, and maybe even boring. But, often, these chapters serve a particular purpose, and have some very interesting gems of information. For example, Genesis chapter 5 serves the purpose of spanning two periods of time: the time of Adam and the time of Noah. There is not much information given in the period of time in between, but the time is covered by the genealogy so that we can know the general time frame that has been covered. We are given a couple of interesting notes from this period of time.
We are told about Enoch, who was a man who “walked with God.” We are told that he was one of only two men who did not have to die a physical death, because God took him (the other being Elijah). Enoch only has a couple of verses penned about him, but what is written is an amazing testimony. If you could have just one thing written about you in the Bible, this would be a good choice! Enoch has enough written in these four verses (Genesis 5:21-24) to tell us what kind of character he had. The testimony that God gives to his faithfulness is greater than what any man could have given! We can have the same testimony if we will just be faithful to God. It will be wonderful, when this life is over, to have the testimony that we have walked with God! John uses this imagery extensively in his epistles, as he writes about our need to “walk in the light”. And Paul uses a similar image in Ephesians 5:1-2, where he tells us to be imitators of God as dear children.
Another interesting man is Enoch’s son, Methuselah. Methuselah lived to be 969 years old. He is the oldest recorded man in the Bible. Perhaps there were men who lived to be older, but we are not told about them. One interesting thing about Methuselah is that if you do the calculations, you will find that he most likely died in the same year as the flood. We are not told if he died in the flood, or just happened to die in the same year.
There are many other interesting characters in this chapter. Who stands out to you?
Week 28, Day 4: Doing Well…
Today’s Reading: Genesis 4:1-26
Some thoughts from the reading…
In Genesis chapter 4, we have the well known account of Cain taking his brother’s life. Cain became angry when his offering was not accepted by God. There has been much discussion about what exactly Cain did that made his offering unacceptable, but it doesn’t really matter. The important thing to notice is that God did not accept it because it was not what God commanded him to do! When God spoke to Cain, He asked him (Genesis 4:7) the question: “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” God followed that with the statement, “And if you do well, sin lies at the door.” This is the really the basis of all the instructions and commands of the Bible. That which God commands or instructs constitutes that which is “doing well.” If we will do what He has told us to do, then we will be accepted by Him! But, if we do not do those things, then “sin lies at the door.”
People today seem to try to make as many excuses as they can to avoid what God has said to do. They think they can come up with a better way, and that they don’t have to do just what God said to be pleasing to Him. Like we mentioned yesterday, it is very clear that men in general have not changed! This is exactly what Cain was doing. He obviously thought that he didn’t have to do just what God told him to do. We aren’t told why he came to that conclusion, but obviously he did, since his offering was not accepted by God. So, whatever he changed, it was not acceptable, and therefore was not better than God’s original instructions to him.
We need to learn the lesson of Cain. God gives instructions because He expects them to be followed.We have no right to change anything about His instructions. We cannot think that He is just giving us some general suggestions. We have to follow exactly what He has told us to do. If we do that, then we will do well, and we will be accepted. But if not, sin lies in wait for us. When we stray away from what has been commanded, we enter into the realm of sin. We end up serving Satan instead of God, and Satan is very happy to have us serve him when we think we are serving God. He doesn’t need for us to declare allegiance to him!
So, do not allow sin to lie in wait for you. Do well, so that you may be accepted by God!
Week 28, Day 3: One Simple Command…
Today’s Reading: Genesis 3:1-24
Some thoughts from the reading…
In this chapter, Eve is confronted by Satan, who tempts her to violate the command that God had given. Notice that Eve fully understood the command, and was able to communicate it to Satan. But, Satan, in his conniving way, was able to deceive her into not believing the consequences that God had expressed to her. In Genesis 3:3, Eve clearly shows that she knew she was not to eat of the tree, or even to touch it. I find it interesting that she seemed to know that the command God gave to her was not that difficult to keep. In Genesis 3:1, Satan asked if God had told her that she was not to eat of “every tree of the garden”, which implies that they weren’t allowed to eat from any tree at all. But, God’s command was not difficult. They could eat of every tree, except one. Surely that was not asking too much! But, Satan convinced Eve that God was holding something back from them. He convinced her that she was missing out on something by not eating from that one tree. She was convinced to eat of the tree, and to share it with her husband so that he too would eat. In the violation of that one simple command, we see the down fall of mankind, and the need for a redemptive plan, which God would provide
As we read this chapter, it becomes painfully obvious that things do not change in this world. We can learn several lessons from the chapter; certainly more than what we will examine here. But, we can make a couple of observations.
First, notice that Satan’s ploys are the same as they were in the Garden of Eden. He convinced Eve that God was holding out on her, that He was just trying to keep her from having fun. The same thing is true today. People act as if God’s commands are there just to keep them from having fun. This is a very immature way of looking at God’s instructions. It is much like the child who thinks his parents just don’t want him to have fun because they tell him he can’t ride his bicycle in the street. He doesn’t know there is a great danger in his actions, and so he thinks his parents are just being unfair. But, God gives commands that are best for us. His commands are not “burdensome” (1 John 5:3). He doesn’t tell us not to participate in things just because He wants to keep us from having fun!
Second, notice that temptations have not changed. John, in 1 John 2:16, summarized all temptations as being either the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes or the pride of life. In Genesis 3:6, Eve looked on the fruit and was tempted in all three ways! She saw it was good for food: the lust of the flesh. Se saw that it was pleasant to the eyes: Lust of the eyes. She saw that it was a tree desirable to make one wise: The pride of life. Temptations today are the same as they were at the beginning, and the same as they were in the first century. We face the same types of temptations every day!
Third, we need to realize that sin brings consequences. Satan will tell us that the consequences don’t exist, or that they are not that bad, or that they won’t apply to us. But, sin always has consequences. God did just as He promised He would with Adam and Eve. They had to bear the consequences of violating the will of God. We too will bear the consequences of disobedience. There are some consequences that we will face in the present time. But, even if we are not “caught” in our sin, we will face the consequences of it in the judgment to come (Numbers 32:23)!
There are many more lessons that we can learn from this chapter. What is one lesson that you take from it? Share your thoughts!
Week 28, Day 2: The Garden of Eden
Today’s Reading: Genesis 2:1-25
Some thoughts from the reading…
I like to garden. I live in a small house in the middle of town, with not much space in the yard, but I still plant a small garden. We have a few vegetables in there, which do better some years than others. I am constantly learning, trying to make my garden produce better than it has in the past. I have to put a lot of work into the garden if it is going to grow. Often, when I am in the garden, I think of what it must have been like to be in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis chapter 1, we saw how everything that God made was good. Everything grew, everything produced. Adam and Eve had the perfect environment. Conditions had to be perfect! I am sure that they didn’t have lime their soil to get their garden to produce better. They didn’t have to make sure that they had the right amount of fertilizer, and they didn’t have to make sure that they watered everything properly. Don’t forget that God did give Adam instruction on how to “tend and keep” the garden, so Adam had to work. But, it had to be a much different environment than what we have today. I know that I don’t keep the weeds out of my garden like I should. I had to dig out huge rocks from the soil to be able to till it up and grow crops. I wonder how perfectly deep brown (almost black, perhaps?) the soil was when Adam and Eve were in Eden?
And yet, with all the perfection given to them, Adam and Eve still were disobedient to God! We are getting a bit ahead of ourselves, and we will talk about this more later, but I think it is important for us to realize what they had available to them when they were disobedient to God. This seems to indicate that people are always looking for something better, no matter what they have! Adam and Eve had perfection in the Garden of Eden. It doesn’t get any better than that! And yet, they were willing to walk away from it all on the promise of something that they perceived to be greater.
Not only was there perfection in the Garden, but there was innocence. This concept is conveyed in Genesis 2:25. Adam and Eve were naked, but they were not ashamed. It was not until their innocence was taken away by their sins that they were embarrassed by their nakedness. They had the only opportunity to live in a sin free world. The world will never be as perfect as it was in those first few days following the creation. But, that perfection (and far greater) will be realized when we are able to make it to heaven and enjoy the reward that God has prepared for us!
We see in our reading (Genesis 2:16-17) one of the first commands given by God to man. As we progress our study into chapter 3, we will see that this is the beginning of the downfall of man into sin. The rest of the Bible story will be the redemption of mankind from the results of his disobedience. Sin enters the world, and God spends much time and effort to redeem man from that sin. Tomorrow, we will discuss in further detail the sin of Adam and Eve.
Week 28, Day 1: In the Beginning…
Today’s Reading: Genesis 1:1-31
Some thoughts from the reading…
Genesis 1:1 is a passage, at the very beginning of the Bible, that sets the stage for the rest of the Bible. Notice that the passage does not make an argument for the existence of God, but rather states simply that God created the heavens and the earth. The Bible presents evidence that should convince the open mind that God does indeed exist, and the He did indeed create all that we see around us in the natural world. This chapter also does not try to prove God’s role in the creation of the world. There is no need to offer that proof. Think about these first 6 days, and the creation process. Everything that is studied today can only address what happened after the point of creation. Evolution, and the rest of the scientific endeavors, address everything after the moment of existence. There is, for example, the “Big Bang Theory”, but even that addresses only information concerning matter that was already in existence…where did that matter come from? The only logical answer for where matter came from is that there must be a higher, intelligent being that brought that matter into existence. That being is God! If God was the being to bring matter into existence, then we must trust His account of how He accomplished it! No one else was present to see the creation, there were no eye witnesses. Only God could give the true account of what happened.
God’s account of the creation in Genesis 1 gives a day by day account of what He did. We certainly could not comprehend how God performed His miraculous act. It is most certainly a display of His great power. In six 24 hour days, God created the natural world. What could be more powerful? From day 1, God was making things good for mankind. We will shortly see in our study, the downfall of mankind. But, even after that, God worked for the good of mankind, culminating in the sacrifice of His own Son for the forgiveness of sins.
It will be very interesting to watch how God works for the good of mankind. God created all the earth. And, it was good.