From time to time as we read through the Bible we will come upon chapters that are almost entirely genealogy. If you thought Genesis 9 had quite a bit then fasten your seat belt. I am not an expert in Hebrew names but many of these will at least be somewhat familiar if you know anything at all about cities, nations and empires in the Old Testament. If you have been with us for a few chapters then hopefully you have developed a routine of some sort. So open your Bible (or app, or web browser, what have you) and let’s read some names I can barely pronounce.
At the end of Genesis 8, God said in his heart he would never again destroy all flesh. In chapter 9 he establishes a covenant with Noah and his sons, with all flesh including the animal kingdoms as a matter of fact, that he will never again destroy all flesh and there will never again be such a flood. He places his sign, the rainbow, in the clouds as a reminder.
Genesis 8 contains one of my most favorite verses in all of scripture. It should encourage us that we are never alone in this world. God can see, God can hear, his arm is not shortened so that he cannot save. God is near. As the flood waters subside, God makes a promise to himself to never again curse the ground and destroy all living things.
I posted yesterday about why the Old Testament uses The LORD as the name for God. If you are subscribed via email or follow The Master’s Table on Facebook you probably saw that but here is a link just in case.
The flood story takes place across three chapters. In Genesis 6, God gives Noah instructions to build the ark and Noah does according to all the LORD commands. In chapter 7 Noah and his family, with at least two of every animal enter the ark, and the flood comes. It rains for 40 days and 40 nights but the flood lasts much longer than that. That’s where we will leave our brave hero today but join us tomorrow for Genesis 8 and one of my favorite verses in the entire scripture.
I am trying to do a better job at having a professional sound but I live in the real world. I do not have a recording studio with sound proof walls, I live in a house with other people and pets. I don’t know if you can hear dogs bark outside, or the clicky clack of their feet on the floor, or cars passing or the train; but I can and it drives me nuts.
Look on the bright side; anything you do for God, anything you do that will help people find God, learn more about him or seek his will, the devil will be opposed to. So I might be talking out my head here but if the enemy is opposing me then maybe I’m doing something right. Let’s look at Genesis 6, talk about the issues, and identify what we can know for sure about Noah, his family, and what he did in response to God’s instructions.
Genesis 5 looks like genealogy, and it is, but there are three interesting things we will note in this chapter; and only two of them are in the list of genealogy.
*Note: in the audio recording I claim that Noah only lived to be 950 years old. That is wrong; Noah only lived 930 years. I made the recording without my laptop. That’s where the music file is saved and where I had taken a few notes. I hope I have learned my lesson.
**Note: I apologize for all of the noises, the sliding around, bumping, etc. I was looking for a more controlled environment than my house full of family members and pets. This was recorded at church, at the same podium I preach from on Sunday morning. I was standing instead of sitting and apparently cannot keep my hands still. I need to do three things: Obtain a decent podcast mic, sit at my desk or dinning room table and at the very least use a basic editing software. Let’s see how long it takes knowing better to turn into doing better.
The Bible will not answer all our questions, and that is never more obvious than when looking at the first few chapters of Genesis. The Bible gives us a huge amount of information; some people set ambitious goals of reading through the entire Bible in one year. Many fail while others have never even tried. Our goal is to see what the Bible is saying to us and trust that it is enough. We have what God means for us to have.
It is still hard to read a selection such as Genesis 4 and wonder “Who told they guys to build altars? Why are they sacrificing anything?” We know there were occasions that God spoke to human beings. Presumably everything he said did not get written down. He could have easily communicated instructions that are not recorded. We have a certain understanding of what the historical record should be based on Western Civilization from around the time of Philip and his son Alexander, circa 300 B.C. or so. That is the beginning of the modern era; ancient historians, of Eastern civilizations at that, did not think about creating a complete historical record the way we do.
Let’s look at what scripture tells us of Cain and Abel. The ancient text may not stand up to our modern literary criticism but there is nothing we can do about that.
When the Old Testament of the Bible was written, there were no books, paper had not been invented, the Hebrew language had no characters for vowels and the text was not divided into chapters and verses. The Bibles we have today are modern forms of ancient documents. God gave us his Word because he meant for us to have it. The scripture has been not only translated into new languages that did not exist in antiquity but God’s message has been preserved through the ages.
Chapter and verse divisions are a recent innovation, when we think about the whole timeline of human history. The archbishop of Canterbury added chapter division in the 13th Century (there were still no verses for another 300 years). If it were up to me, the first three verses of Genesis 2 might have appeared at the end of chapter 1. No one asked me. God finished his creation work and rested on the seventh day. Beginning at Gen. 2:4, we are given a more detailed description of the creation of man and woman.
This is the first post in a new series, an ambitious project to read one chapter of the Bible each day for the next 1,189 days. Realistically we will probably miss a day here or there. Some chapters are incredibly long; so we may add a few days by splitting them up but it would also be possible to read more than one of the shorter chapters to make that time up. It will take a little over three years in either case. The point is, we are not in a hurry.
Before starting the player I recommend opening a Bible to Genesis 1 and following along. Bible Gateway is an excellent resource online offering several English translations. Youversion is a popular Bible app or, hear me out, maybe open an actual Bible. What version will I be reading? Well… for the purposes of publishing this blog/podcast I need to read something in the public domain, such as the KJV or ASV. The Bible says what the Bible says but I am basically reading from the KJV text while updating a bit of archaic language. Thee and thine becomes you and your. In Genesis 1, most modern translations use expanse rather than firmament. If there is ever an issue where the translations offer a different meaning, we will discuss the differences and the thought process that led to divergent texts.
Let’s get to it. After the first couple of posts there will be less introduction and explanation. The Bible was written with a purpose. Our goal is simple: to read the Bible and see what God has to say.
I have been physically ill for much of this week and there hasn’t been a new post since Monday. I’ve been digging in the archives and to be honest probably don’t post “reruns” often enough. It’s been six years since this post was published. There is constant turnover online as blogs disappear and new ones are created. I certainly have many more friends and followers today than way back when. And of course some things are worth repeating. From July 2008, here is Lessons from the Garden of Eden.
7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. -Gen. 2:7-9
Lesson 1: We are special to God. Human beings are made in God’s image and likeness (Gen 1:26-27). What does that mean exactly? I’m not even sure. People will tell you what it means, but truthfully, we don’t really know for sure. We do that no other being in creation is described this way. Continue reading →
The Master's Table 