Genesis is about beginnings. Not the beginning of God. God has always been and always will be. God is outside and God is other. Yet God is the center-most. All else finds its design and purpose in relation to God for God is Creator not created.
Genesis sets in motion the story that will follow; not answering every question, but pointing to God as the one who desires relationship with the people he created. Throughout Genesis God shows himself to be relational; connected to people in the midst of their messy, sinful lives. He calls, he intervenes, he judges, he rescues. He is not aloof and far away, but rather he enters in and meets us where he finds us.
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Poor Adam, the guy is so undone by Eve he starts writing poetry (Gen 1:23)! I feel for you man…
So much in those first two chapters! I love how God calls the sun the “greater light” and the moon the “lesser light” (Gen 1:16) — because in that time most people looked at the sun and moon as gods. Yet the one true God identifies them as inanimate objects, nothing more, nothing less.
By the way, a couple years ago I gave talks at both the men’s and women’s gathering at Holy Cross, one of which was recorded, on the seven historical interpretations of the days of creation that include the young earth theory, the day age theory, the gap theory, theistic evolution, among others. It may be fun to listen to the version available on the web if interested. if you click here: http://holycross.net/index.cfm?section=2&page=37 — it was January 17, 2011.
Blessings!
Brent, notice that Rahab was a prostitute and Ruth was a “foreigner” (a Moabitess) – see how God uses everyone in His plan for salvation. Susan
Sorry – that should have been a comment on Matthew.
Thanks for posting the link to the audio for that talk, Brent. As I was reading the Genesis passage, I thought back to what an interesting presentation you gave on creation!
God’s Compassion: I was thinking today about how deeply compassionate it was to banish Adam and Eve (and their offspring) from the garden of Eden and to post an angel with a flaming sword on guard (Gen 3: 22-24) to prevent access to the tree of life — because after “the fall” living in separation from God, they would be eternally separated from God with access to that tree. Then, to reverse the fall, God makes a way to regain access to eternal life, Jesus Christ. Jesus says, “I am the way” in John 14:6!
Any idea who Cain’s wife was in Genesis 4:17? (Must have been his sister….ooooooh) So the deeper question is was incest, and all its malformaties that it produces today, different at that time?
Interesting question, Brent, regarding who Cain’s wife was? I have been reading from the “Quest” Bible (Bible for dummies with crib notes;), and it tells me that yes, it indeed could have been a sister. However, it also mentions that God may have created other people, or races, and Cain’s wife may have come from that line of people. Interesting that God doesn’t really answer this one for us in the Bible.
Long Life: In Gen 5 we see an account of some seriously aged folks; Adam lived 930 years, Seth 912 years, etc. Then in next chapter the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever for he is mortal ; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
I’ve heard people argue that the calendar year may have been shorter for the old geezers in Gen. 5 so they really may have been much younger in terms of our years today. But that same calendar seems to be accurate in the 120 year cap (Gen 6:3). i.e. the two are not proportional. It seems reasonable that God could allow people to live much longer lives.
We read that the backdrop and source of the flood described in the subsequent chapters was “man’s wickedness” (Gen 6:5) in terms of idolatry, rebellion, etc.
Any thoughts on the long lives described in Gen 5?
Bad-made-Good Heart: I had a thought on post-flood statement by God when He said, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.” (Gen 8:21) This is the reality, unfortunately, apart from Christ (e.g. echoed in the NT in Rom 3:10-23).
Yet check out what the prophet Ezekiel said, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezek. 36:26-27)
Oh, this is such good news when I think of the alternative! So the take home here is that if we proclaim Jesus as Christ and Lord of our lives we have a good heart, Amen! I needed that, I hope you did too…
Brent, I think your question regarding the calendar in the Bible is answered for us in the story of Noah. We are told that he enters the arc on the 17th day of the second month (Genesis 7:11) and on the 17th day of the seventh month the arc comes to rest on the mountains (Genesis 8:4). Genesis also refers specifically to 150 day time frame of flooding in this same passage. As we utilize a typical 30 day calendar, 150 days equals 5 months. The second month to the seventh month is also 5 months, so this timeline adds up and is consistent with the calendar as we know it.
I never knew that the Bible gave such specific time details as it does in Genesis. Amazing!
As Brian and I have calculated it based on the information given to us in Genesis, Noah and his family were on the arc for about 320 days.
The story of Noah and the flood is fascinating on so many counts! It often seems so hard for us “adults” to believe it really happened (kids don’t have a problem with it) and yet the bible gives the account as straight up history. No flowery language, not one poetical device. It is an incident within the history of redemption. Evil had grown rampant. It threatened to destroy all that was good. As it says, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness had become and that every inclination of the thoughts of people’s hearts were only evil all the time” (gen 6:5). “The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain,” (gen 6:6). What a heart wrenching statement! Oh how wickedness pain’s God’s heart! Only one righteous man remained, Noah. Sometimes when I have considered the flood, I have found myself focusing on the destruction and wondering how God could do that. Then it occurred to me: God sent the flood to restore good to the earth. This is part of redemptive history. This is the first step God makes in moving toward the chosen nation. God is separating the righteous and the wicked. The history of redemption is moving forward not backward….But it isn’t like God just wiped everything out without warning. Noah had preached the need for repentance for 120 years while he built the ark. The ark itself served as a testimony of what was to come. Yet people mocked it. I’m sure they said Noah was a nut job. Don’t take religion/faith so seriously, Noah. Moderation… don’t look like a fool for Christ. After all, what will people say/think? I’m not sure much has changed in that regard… Oh, to be like Noah, willing to believe God regardless of what others think…
I found the lineage of Canaan, the grandson of Noah, and son of Ham (Gen 9:18) to be fascinating. Canaan’s line is cursed (Gen 9:25) and Shem’s line is blessed (Gen 9:26), and the offspring of Canaan include the “ites” that Isreal later fought in battle (i.e. Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, etc. …Gen. 10:15). Many of these tribes were observed when the 12 spies, Joshua and Caleb among them, scoped out the promised land (i.e. Canaan) and were shaking in their boots, devoid Joshua and Caleb (Num 13:29). These tribes were “larger and stronger” than Israel, yet the Lord said Israel “must destroy them totally….do not intermarry with them…break down their alters, smash their sacred stones…burn their idols” (Deut 7:1-6). Were these actions consequence of the curse in Gen 9:25?
There are quiet a few adversaries to the God’s chosen people that stem from the lines of the early people in Genesis. For example, two that immediately come to mind are Ishmael (Isaac’s half brother born of Hagar the concubine, becoming the line of Islam), and Esau (Jacob’s fraternal twin brother) and the line of Edom. Much later Jesus calls the lost and broken, “many more underdogs” into His church…At least when I say I like to root for the underdog I’m rooting with God as an ally!
We see Abram (Abraham after Gen 17:5) referenced in the both the OT and the NT as a faithful man, which is accredited as righteousness. That is, he wasn’t righteous other than by his demonstration of faith. I see his story told in Genesis is one of redemption, because he fails to believe in God’s promise — i.e. Hagar and Ishmael in Gen 16 — and is given a second chance when God (of course!) follows through on His promise. Unfortunately his lack of faith on his first go-around was not without consequence, and clearly Abram loves is son Ishmael, as Ishmael becomes a “wild donkey of a man; his hand against everyone” (Gen 16:12) and we have conflict extending today. The offspring of Ishmael are Islam.
A “new name,” as promised in Rev 2:17, is given to Abram as he becomes a father of many…thus beginning a tradition carried out through today. Think of others in the Scriptures: Jacob-Israel, Simon-Peter, John-Mark, Saul-Paul…to name a few. (I don’t think Hadassa-Esther counts since Mordecai gave her the name. Nor to Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego). Anyway, through the “new” name God often deeply heals. Check out Ezek 36:26, and 2 Cor 5:17, and Rev 21:5…I”m getting excited!
Whenever I read about Sodom and Gomorrah I get rattled….I guess because it is so clear what is occurring (Gen 19:5), the behavior is so unnatural, the “sin is so grievous” and “wicked” (Gen 18:20; Gen 19:7). I found it interesting that the parallel readings in Matthew 10 and 11 both cited Sodom and Gomorrah as sort of a lower bound for comparison (Matt 10:15; 11:23). Something like even the wretched places of Sodom and Gomorrah would have repented had they seen such miracles… in some delicate and honest way I think this is offering hope for those caught in the grip of those places that redemption is available through repentance.
Hey Brent – Chris here – I tried to post this yesterday but somehow lost it… ugh. Anyway, I used to be amazed by the catastrophic judgment until I started asking myself what else is there to see. It was easy for me to avoid “the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah”. However, as I pondered it I began to see that it was not quite as easy to avoid Lot’s sin (and the sin of the family). Does it seem strange to anyone else as to how hard it was to get Lot and family to take hold of the grace being offered (deliverance) and to leave given the clear command that destruction was coming (judgment)? The answer, I think, is that the mentality of Sodom was in Lot and his family.
I found something one of my OT profs, Dr. Allan Ross, wrote as a character sketch of Lot. I think it is a character sketch of many Christians in our day and sadly, too often, of me. Please read this meditatively and pay attention to nuance. He writes: “Genuine faith is often hard to detect. Here (in Lot) was an upright citizen, hospitable and generous, a leader of the community who was a judge — meaning that he would screen out wickedness from his town and advise on good living. He knew truth and justice, righteousness and evil. Yet, in spite of his denunciation of the lifestyle of his people, he preferred the “good life” of their society. He preferred living comfortably in the city to living in the hills, where there might be no filthy living — but no “good life” either.
The hour of truth came when the Lord interrupted his life. His true loyalty was revealed as godly – but in the process his past hypocrisy was uncovered. The Saint had pitched his tent near the evil city, but the evil city had controlled his life. Oh, he was moral. He knew great, great evil when he saw it — he opposed sodomy and homosexuality. Ironically though, he would sacrifice his daughters’ virginity to fend off the vice of evil men.. He would escape judgment by the grace of God, but his heart had become part of this world. His wife was just too attached to the city to follow the call of grace, and his daughters were not uncomfortable with immorality with their father.
Hypocrisy was revealed by the visitation from on high. As long as the Lord left him alone, he would hold to his faith but live contentedly in Sodom. Ultimately, he could not have both, Sodom would destroy him if the Lord did not destroy Sodom.”
Thoughts?
Chris again — Genesis 23 used to confuse me to no end. I used to think this was totally incoherent and it made me question the reliability of the bible…What is going on here? Seems like lots of double talk. As a brief reminder refer to the “Bible Basics” menu above and both options: “the Nature of Scripture” and “How to Interpret”. Now, are you closer to understanding what is happening in Gen 23?
What I think is happening in Gen 23 is Abraham claiming the land that God promised him in Gen 17:8. God gave Abraham the land of Canaan where God says Abraham lives as a foreigner. Gen 23 is “completing” this promise from God. Am I seeing this correctly or am I way off?
I found it very intriguing that the servant was able to put “human” qualifiers on his prayer to find a wife for Issac. In Genesis 24: 12-14 he says that he will know who God intends for the woman to be because: “I will ask her for a drink. If she gives me a drink and then offers to go some water for my camels, I’ll know that she is the one you have chosen”. While I have seen other Christian’s pray in this respect, I honestly thought….what a bunch of hooey, YOU don’t get to put those types of qualifiers on HIM, in YOUR own time and way! I need to ponder over this one for a while!
Chris here — I think you are seeing it right. And even though God has given it to him, he pays for the burial site. The process Abraham walks through in purchasing it is no mere doubletalk, but is instead a very middle eastern way of relational bargaining. If you go to the middle east today, you can still complete transactions in the open markets similarly. What is happening is that Abraham is staking his claim in the promised land as his home. Normally, in their culture, when someone died, you would take them back to your ancestral home for burial (in Ab’s case this would be Haran or even Ur). Instead, he shows that he now claims the Promised Land as his ancestral home (and it will be the ancestral home for his descendants).
In the bigger picture, what continues to unfold is God’s large purpose and this is too big to be fulfilled completely in Abraham’s lifetime. So, Abraham, in faith, is preparing for the future.By way of application, the same reality he faced often faces us. Our lives and experiences and our griefs/losses, can cause us to wonder what has become of God’s promised blessings to us. Abraham sees by faith that God’s promises are not exhausted in this lifetime.
chris here — It seems like God’s people are susceptible to spiritual decline when things are going well – when we are satisfied and fulfilled. Once we have moved beyond a crisis that has caused us to have to trust God, or once we have attained some spiritual “milestone” we have been seeking, or when a spiritual “goal” has been attained, there is an inevitable letdown. In those times, complacency often sets in and commitments made to the Lord are easily forgotten. It’s in these times of relaxation that drift and decay set in and zealousness ebbs. If not careful, sin soon follows. You see this in King David prior to his sin with Bathsheba (“At the time when kings go out to war, David having woken from his nap, was strolling about on the roof of his palace,” 2Sam 11). So too, you see something similar here with Jacob in Genesis 35.
Jacob is back in his homeland following his fearful flight from his angry brother, the years of toil under the crooked taskmaster Laban, and the wary return to his native soil. Through it all God proved faithful – protecting him, appearing to him, blessing him. Now that he has come back home with his large family and his considerable wealth, he is slow to obey his commitment to God and he has allowed spiritual corruption to emerge in his home. Remember that God had instructed him to go back to Bethel in Gen 31:3, but perhaps as a result of the lack of crisis or due to the comfort he is experiencing, Jacob has been slow to comply. I wonder how often I am like that – God’s grace has been evident and palpable in the midst of hardship, in sheer desperation I live committed and close to him, blessing follows, and then I become slow and dull of heart toward the Lord and his ways. Has this ever happened to you?
Thankfully, Jacob does obey and fulfills his commitment to God. In the process of making his family holy in preparation for worshipping God at Bethel, they are intentional in discarding the idols they had received into their lives. In a sense, they were revived. And they discovered more grace than they could have imagined. So I ask you today, where are you in this spiritual life process? Are you walking with God in the crisis? Experiencing the blessing? Becoming complacent and satisfied with the life you are living in a good land? Or perhaps repenting and returning to the Lord for a renewal of his grace?