Genesis Chapter 18 ~ A Hearing God Who Is Just in His Judgment

Genesis Chapter 18

The Lord appeared to Abraham here for the third time (first in Gen. 12:7; then 17:1; and now 18:1), and this time it was by the Oaks of Mamre (or “terebinths”). Abraham was sitting in the heat of the day just outside his door when men were standing right in front of him as he looked up. When he saw them he ran to them and bowed before them. They must have seemed to be worthy of reverence, but this also shows how hospitable God’s chosen should be as they serve the LORD. Abraham spoke to them and said:

“O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” (Gen. 18:3-5)

The LORD seems to have been one of the three men in the form of the Angel of the Lord (Gen. 19:1 makes it clear the other two men were “angels”), which was referred to in Genesis chapter 16 (specifically verses 7, 9, 10, and 11). This is a little confusing because it appears that the three told Abraham to go right ahead, as if the plural, three angels, were answering in the singular on behalf of God. It’s less confusing after we see that one of the three was the LORD and the other two were angels. It appears that the LORD was speaking on behalf of the three. The LORD told Abraham that he could get water, and food to let them rest and wash up. He summoned his household to make a fine meal and then he gave it to them and stood by them under a tree while they ate. You can’t help but think that this might be a passage that the author of Hebrews had in mind when writing about Christian hospitality to believers and believers in prison, “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Heb. 13:1-2)

He asked Abraham where his wife Sarah was, and told him that the same time next year she would have a son. Sarah was eavesdropping at the door. Abraham and Sarah were old and the passage says that, “the way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.” (Gen. 18:11) This basically means she was beyond the years that women have a menstrual cycle. By all natural indicators she was beyond childbearing years. She laughed, and said, “After I am worn out, and my lord [i.e. her husband, Abraham] is old, shall I have pleasure?” (Gen. 18:12) Namely, the pleasure of having and enjoying children. This is not unlike Abraham’s first response of falling over in laughter (Gen. 17:17). Sarah’s response of laughter elicits a response from God as if something is too hard for the LORD (probably the combination of Abraham and Sarah’s laughter elicits God’s response), and then God reaffirms that she will have a child by this time next year. After all of this she denies that she laughed. This is just like something we would do. Our sinful hearts are prone to doubt the LORD’s wisdom, and even though He knows all things we still lie to His face like Sarah did about her laughter. God corrected her and said, “No, but you did laugh.” (Gen. 18:16) God will correct His us in the midst of our sin.

Then the men (actually only two of them as we see in Gen. 19:1) left toward Sodom where Lot was living, and as they left, Abraham still stood there before the LORD (Gen. 18:22). This chapter makes it sound like the three men are speaking with the same voice of the singular LORD at times, but in verse 22 it seems that the LORD is actually only one of the men/angels among them. Verses 17 through 21 seem to be an inner-dialogue in the LORD’s mind, not between the three men/angels. It is tempting to look for the Trinity in this passage, but it’s not clear that this passage is alluding to the Trinity. This dialogue between the LORD (Gen. 18:17) and the LORD (Gen. 18:20) could be between the persons of the Trinity (not the three men/angels but the triune One who stays behind with Abraham), but it could also be the LORD expressing this thought process out loud for Abraham to hear so that Abraham knows how to advocate wisely or justly for or against Sodom in the debate that follows (I lean toward this second interpretation). However we read this it doesn’t seem that this is being expressed by the three men as a group because of the distinction between them and the LORD seen in verse 22 (although verse 22 doesn’t specify that only two went down toward Sodom so this passage is a little vague at times).

God is revealing this inner conversation, not because He cannot decide what to do, but in order that Abraham might step into the role as a prophet with wisdom in what follows. By God’s grace Abraham is listening in on God’s thought process, which only underscores the veracity and trustworthiness of the covenant promise He made back in Genesis 12. What would transpire next would show how Abraham’s doing of righteousness and justice might bless the nations in fulfillment of God’s promise. God is helping Abraham see the thought process behind justice and righteousness. God intends for Abraham to learn what righteousness and justice is by letting him hear this soliloquy.

So in verse 21 the LORD goes to Sodom to see if what He has heard about their injustice and wickedness was true. If the outcry against Sodom is untrue the LORD will know (Gen. 18:21).

The two men/angels then went to Sodom as Abraham stayed and stood before the LORD. Somehow, Abraham knew that the LORD would destroy Sodom and his heart and mind seems to conclude that God’s judgment on the people would be unjust if all are judged on account of the wickedness of a few. So Abraham actually speaks with God, almost bartering and debating with Him. He asks God if He would destroy Sodom if there were fifty, then forty-five, then thirty, then twenty, and lastly ten righteous people. Five times God says that He will relent from destroying Sodom, first (1) for the sake of the fifty, (2) then the forty-five, (3) then the thirty, (4) then the twenty, and (5) then the ten righteous people. It’s almost as if Abraham knows that when the two men/angels reach Sodom God’s judgment will fall, so he asks if He will relent for the sake of the fifty, and God says He will. But Abraham is uneasy because the men/angels keep approaching the city, and Abraham says, “No, no, Lord stop...what about forty-five.” The Lord promises, “No, for the sake of the forty-five.” But then the men/angels keep moving toward the city, and they do this all the way down to ten people. Then they departed company and the LORD went His way when the LORD was finished talking with Abraham, and Abraham went back home.

Abraham is assuming the role of a prophet/priest by interceding with God on behalf of the people in Sodom, specifically for the righteous people. Notice here that Abraham is not asking God to relent from meting out judgment on those who deserve it, but for the sake of those who bear the righteousness of God, those who are chosen of God. Abraham knows that if God destroys those whom the LORD has set His name upon it doesn’t speak well of the LORD’s name, and it seems to say that God is inconsistent in His own nature. The amazing thing here is that God seems to hear Abraham again, not unlike how He heard Abraham when he was begging for God to bless Ishmael. God is responsive to the prayers and requests of His chosen ones (see Gen. 17:20 “I have heard you”). It must be noted though that while God heard Abraham regarding Ishmael, he didn’t grant Abraham’s desire to include Ishmael in the covenant, but chose to give a four-fold blessing (see the post from yesterday). Similarly here, God hears and interacts with Abraham regarding Sodom, but that doesn’t mean that God will relent (as we will see there were less than 10 who were righteous there). We don’t always get what we ask for, but we can know that God hears and will take the pleas of His covenant children into account. In the end He will do what is right, good, just, and best.

Further, God is omniscient. In other words, He knows everything in the past, present and future (Isa. 46:10; 1 John 3:20; Heb. 4:13). When the text says He will, “go down to see whether [Sodom has] done altogether according to the outcry that has come to [Him]. And if not, [He] will know,” (Gen. 18:21) that doesn’t mean that He doesn’t know what’s going on in Sodom prior to going there. He’s going to examine the evidence of what He knows to be true of Sodom. He’s showing that He doesn’t judge and destroy without full knowledge of the offense. He is in essence showing that He is just in His investigation and judgment. The LORD is being kind to let Abraham, and us as readers, see that God is indeed just and righteous. The Lord would not be guilty of injustice if He gave no reason for destroying Sodom. However, if the LORD destroyed Sodom without going there first we would not come to see the wickedness of Sodom that will be displayed in the coming chapter. Further, if the LORD destroyed Sodom without going there first we might be sinfully inclined not to trust Him because we don’t have evidence of His just consideration and investigation of every crime with perceptible first hand knowledge. We can be assured in the knowledge that God will right every wrong and judge every sin partly because of His kindness to show us precedence for this aspect of His character in here Scripture. God doesn’t need to show precedence. He has authority to do what He wants when He wants, here and now, yet he is kind to cater to our fallen doubts by giving us examples of His past faithfulness to His covenant people and how He is perfectly just in His judgments. This passage isn’t showing a limitation on God’s knowledge, it is showing His condescension to show us more of what wickedness is, that He is just and righteous, that He will in fact judge the wicked according to what they deserve. He’s doing all of this in a way that we can understand so that we can trust Him and know even a little more about Him.

I’ve alluded to the answer already (and in fact Moses gave us a footnote in Genesis 13:10 that Sodom would be destroyed, so we know what’s coming), but we are left at the end of this chapter thinking, “What’s going to happen? Will God relent because of ten righteous people? What about Lot, doesn’t he live in Sodom? (Gen. 13:12) In light of the fact that Moses told us Sodom and Gomorrah would be destroyed, is this the time that it will be destroyed? How is God going to do this?” We’re left hanging in the air. We’ll have to see what happens tomorrow.

Genesis Chapter 17 ~ New Names & Circumcision

Genesis Chapter 17

God had a different plan than Sarai or Abram could have conceived of when they tried to take matters into their own hands in trying to fulfill God’s promise that they would have children from chapter 15 by having children through Hagar. It turns out that the continuance of the lineage of Eve’s offspring through which a messiah would come to bruise Satan’s head would not be through the line of Ishmael, but a son born to Abram through Sarai. In this chapter God is reaffirming His covenant with Abram from chapter 15.

Abram was 99 years old, and the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” (Gen. 17:1-2)

Abram was humbled and fell on his face, then God said:

“Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” (Gen. 17:4-8)

God’s covenant promise entails two things: (1) multitude of offspring and (2) the land of Canaan, which will be fulfilled (Neh. 9:7-8). Notice that along with the covenant of God that here God gives Abram a new name, Abraham. This is the first time in Scripture when God changes someone’s name in connection with a covenant. What’s going on here? Well, the Hebrew meaning of Abram is “ab” or father combined with “ram” or to be high. This spoke of Abram’s noble God, his noble ancestry, or his own highness. The Hebrew meaning of Abraham is thought to be “ab” or father combined with “raham” likely derived from “hamon” meaning crowd. This etymology would seem to be a stretch, but this is the meaning of his name as God defines it, “for I have made you a father of a multitude of nations.” (see Bruce Waltke, 259-60 and Victor Hamilton, 464). His new name marks off a new identity. Man no longer defines him, and Abraham himself is not the author of his own destiny. In essence, God is saying, “You are mine, and your life will now be defined by me...your life is now defined by the promise and commission I have given you to become the father of many nations.”

It turns out that God’s covenant with Abram wasn’t only for Abram but for his offspring as well. God continued to speak:

“As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” (Gen. 17:9-14)

Offerings and sacrifices of grain and animals were used in the worship of God up until this time, but not by the direct command of God (at least from what Scripture tells us up to this point). Beyond merely offering animal sacrifices as a means of worshipping God it seems that here God requires more, the very blood of men in circumcision. God made a covenant with Abram in Genesis 15, and Abram was completely passive in that covenant. However, here Abraham is being called to an active participation in the covenant through circumcision. To be in covenant with God sacrifice not only of material possessions is required, but also personal physical mutilation is required for males. Is this for the sake of cleanliness? Well, that may be an affect, but circumcision doesn’t seem to be merely a pragmatic command in order to prevent infection and disease. God’s people are to be marked off in some way. They are different. Circumcision is the outward sign of what should be an inward reality, a life consecrated to God in one’s heart, mind, and strength.

God further constitutes the covenant He is making with Abraham, and his wife. Sarai, is now to be called Sarah. Sarai and Sarah are just older and newer ways of saying princess (see Derek Kidner, 141). Then God specifically outlines His plan:

“I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” (Gen. 17:16)

What’s Abraham’s response? He falls over, but not in humility this time like in verse 3, rather he falls over in laughter questioning God’s plan. After this he asks God to use Ishmael in this way, but God said ,"No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac," which means “he laughs” almost as if God is playing off of Abraham’s (Gen. 17:17) and later Sarah’s laughter (18:12-15). God then told Abraham that he was going to further establish His covenant with Isaac (Gen. 17:19). God told Abraham that He heard him regarding Ishmael and promised that He would (1) bless Ishmael, (2) give him many descendants, (3) that 12 princes would come from him (Gen. 17:20; 25:12-18), and (4) that from Ishmael would come a great nation. It’s clear that God is choosing to bless Isaac’s line in a uniquely covenantal way, not Ishmael’s. There is promise of blessing here for Ishmael, but no covenant. Then God told Abraham Isaac would be born in the next year.

After this conversation with God Abraham took all in his household and had them circumcised the same day. So Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised, and Ishmael was 13 years old. Circumcision from here forward became the physical sign of the covenant of God. God is determined to bless the nations through Abraham, and we see that the specific plan will be through Isaac. God chose to maintain or further establish His covenant through Isaac’s lineage and not Ishmael’s. Isaac is God’s chosen one, not Ishmael (despite what Islam teaches). This is the line through which God would bless the nations through Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:2; Luke 3:34). The one true and living God is Yahweh, who is often described as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; not, Abraham, Ishmael, and Nebaioth (Gen. 25:13). This doesn’t mean that Ishmael was not part of the sign of the covenant through Abraham’s family, but it does mean that unless Ishmael and his offspring would follow God along with Isaac’s offspring (which never happened) that they would be cut off. Isaac is elect and Ishmael is not. God is progressively revealing Himself through His covenant with His people.

Genesis Chapter 16 ~ Surrogate Pregnancy: Hagar and Ishmael

Genesis Chapter 16

Sarai had a maidservant named Hagar, and she told Abram to lay with Hagar so he could have children. Abram listened and had Hagar as a wife (vs. 3) and she conceived. As soon as Hagar conceived she looked at Sarai with contempt toward her. And Sarai blamed Abram. Abram told Sarai to deal with Hagar however she pleased, so she was harsh with her and Hagar fled.

The angel of the LORD found Hagar in the wilderness by a well (Beer-lahai-roi which means, "well of the Living One who sees me.") and told her to return to Sarai and He will surely multiply her offspring so that they cannot be numbered. The angel of the LORD told her to name her son Ishmael and that he would be a wild donkey of a man, and he will be against everyone. So Hagar bore Ishmael when Abram was 86.

Sarai and Abram appear to have good intentions here, but they are mixed with sinful actions. Marriage was set up to be between one man and one woman, and to lay with someone outside of marriage not only causes conflict between the women, but it is a false witness to the relationship God has between His people. There is only one God, no others. Therefore a marriage is with one other person, not many others. When it says, "Abram...had Hagar as a wife," it doesn't mean she was his wife, but that he behaved with her in a manner that a man should only behave with his wife. This distrust that God would fulfill his promise to give Abram children through His divine means led to sin, and then to a generation through Ishmael who caused strife and unbelief among the nations that we even feel the effects of to this day. After all, this is where Islam claims a heritage from. Islam falsely believes that Ishmael was God’s chosen line to bless the nations. This seemingly small decision has had ramifications on people throughout the history of the world, and until Jesus returns it probably will continue.

Genesis Chapter 15 ~ God's Covenant with Abram, Part 2

Genesis Chapter 15

The Word of the LORD then came to Abram in a vision that God is Abram’s shield and his reward will be great. Abram responds how this can’t be because he is childless. The Word of the LORD came again saying that Abram will have a son. God took him outside and told him his offspring will be as numerous as the stars. Abram then believed the LORD and the LORD counted/credited it to him as righteousness.

Abram asked how he was to believe that the LORD would give this promise to him. God told him to bring a heifer a female goat a ram a turtledove and a young pigeon, and Abram did. Abram cut them all in half and laid each of them against each other (he didn’t cut the birds in half).

As the sun was going down a deep sleep came upon Abram and a dreadful darkness fell upon him. God told him that Abam’s people will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs for 400 years (prophesying about being in Egypt from Joseph to Moses!). God promised judgment on the nation they will be in though. He told him his offspring would come back to Canaan in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. What does this phrase mean? Well, as I noted yesterday, the Amorites are from Noah's son Ham (Gen. 10:16), and you'll remember Canaan, Ham's son, was cursed by God through Noah's prophesying. This is a foreshadow of God's judgment that will come on the nations listed in Genesis 15:19-21. He won't drive these nations out only because He has made a promise to Abram, but also as an act of judgment on them because of their sin. This is kind of like saying God is relenting from pouring out His wrath until the time is right to show Himself in perfectly just judgment/punishment. Their morality and sin would be so terrible that it merits God's just wrath. This is a foreshadow of God's final endless punishment of those who reject Him as well. This begins setting the scene for when Joshua would lead Israel into the promised land, Canaan. This passage is the beginning of establishing that Israel's conquering of Canaan would be just, not merely senseless brutality and attack.

Then after the sun had gone down a smoking fire pot and flaming torch passed between the pieces of the animals. And on this day the LORD made a covenant with Abram saying he would give Canaan to his offspring.

This is an absolutely incredible passage. God tells Abram the future, promises Abram offspring, and makes a promise in a self-maledictory fashion that if God would ever break His covenant with Abram that what has happened to these animals should then happen to Him (see Jeremiah 34:17-22 for another example of this). This is a testimony to the fact that God is making a promise that He will not break! Similar to us God is a promise maker, but unlike us God is always a promise keeper! In fact, Jesus Christ was pierced, not because God broke His end of the covenant, but because we broke our end of the covenant. This is absolutely staggering that this God would condescend to us in such a way.

Genesis Chapter 14 ~ The Priest Melchizedek & The Introduction of the Tithe

Genesis Chapter 14

4 kings:

(1) Amraphel of Shinar
(2) Arioch of Ellasar
(3) Chedorlaomer of Elam
(4) Tidal of Goiim

made war with 5 kings:

(1) Bera of Sodom
(2) Birsha of Gomorrah
(3) Shinab of Admah
(4) Shemeber of Zeboiim
(5) Bela of Zoar

They fought in the valley of Siddim of the Salt Sea. They had served Chedorlaomer but then rebelled. So those with Chedorlaomer began defeating all of the areas including the country of the Amalekites (unknown origin) and the Amorites (from Noah's son, Ham's, lineage through Canaan).

Then the 5 kings who rebelled fought with the 4 kings in the Valley of Siddim. As the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled some fell into bitumin pits. The 4 kings then took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah including Lot. One escaped and told Abram the Hebrew (first time this word "Hebrew"appears in Scripture) and his allies. Abram led his men in pursuit of the 4 kings and they defeated them and brought back all the possessions and Lot.

The king of Sodom went out to meet Abram at the Valley of Shaveh, and Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine and he blessed Abram. There Abram gave Melchizedek a 10th of everything. The king of Sodom told Abram to take the possessions but Abram refused.

In this chapter we see the introduction of the concept of giving a tithe or a tenth (10th) of all one has to a priest of God Most High! This is the first that the name Melchizedek is mentioned in the Bible. He is a priest without description of Yahweh. He has no beginning and no end, this is the priesthood that Jesus Christ would come in the order of (Hebrews 5-7). Jesus would be the great intercessor and priest who’s priesthood has no beginning and no end, and who is able to make a way for people to come before God clothed in His righteousness.

Genesis Chapter 13 ~ Abram in Canaan & Lot in Sodom

Genesis Chapter 13

Abram moved then to the Negeb. He journeyed on to Bethel where he was before and he called upon the name of the LORD. Lot also had many resources and the land couldn’t support Abram and Lot, so they separated. Lot saw the Jordan Valley and liked what he saw, so he chose it for himself and settled in Sodom. Abram then settled in the land of Canaan.

Then God made a promise to Abram that all the land he saw would be for him and his offspring forever. Also, He promised He would make Abram’s offspring as the dust of the earth so that there would be so many that they could not be counted. Abram then settled by the oaks of Mamre which was at Hebron and there he built an altar to the LORD.

This shows that there is wisdom in separating to keep peace between kinsmen and others; but, this passage is primarily meant to show that God is making promises to Abram as the head of a people. God promises to give the land of Canaan to Abram’s offspring. Now we know the family line, but also the geography of where God is going to play out His purposes to save a people through His only Son, Jesus Christ.

Genesis Chapter 12 ~ God's Covenant with Abram

Genesis Chapter 12

God said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen. 12:1-3) This is the beginning of Israel! This is the beginning of God's particular covenant with an elect people.

Abram obeyed God, and when he went he took Sarai and his nephew Lot with him and set out for Canaan (he was 75). When they arrived he passed through Shechem to the oak of Moreh and God said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” (Gen. 12:7). Here Abram built an altar to the LORD. Then he moved to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built another altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the LORD. Then he journeyed toward the Negeb.

A famine came upon the land, so he went to Egypt to sojourn there. He thought the Egyptians would kill him because Sarai was beautiful, so he told her to say she was his sister so that they’d live and it would go well with them. Sure enough they thought she was beautiful and she was taken into Pharoah’s house. Abram then became wealthy with many resources. The LORD afflicted Pharoah though with plagues because of Sarai. Somehow, because of the plagues, Pharoah knew she was Abram’s wife, so he called Abram and asked him why he did this. Pharoah then gave her back to Abram and ordered his men to send them away with all their possessions.

This is the fourth covenant we see God making so far in Scripture. It's often called the Abrahamic covenant. In this chapter we see God’s great blessing of choosing a nation through Abram, yet we see the sinfulness of Abram seeking to deceive mankind for his benefit or at least his self-preservation. It’s as if Abram is seeking to live to fulfill the promise that God made to him by himself, “Then they will kill me, but they will let you live.” (Gen. 12:12) In the process of seeking to fulfill God’s promise through his means he sins against God, his wife Sarai, and Pharoah. God is fulfilling His promise, however, to make Abram a great nation and sustains him even when his intentions are found out. Further, in the process Abram amasses resources and wealth and then is sent away with all of this. God is working even through sinful intentions to fulfill his promise to make him a great nation.

Genesis Chapters 10-11 ~ The Noah Tree

I was reading Jim Hamilton's blog earlier today, and as God's providence would have it he put this great graphic up illustrating Noah's family tree from Genesis 10 through 11. Thanks to Jim and to Jerod Harper for this great illustration to go along with what we've been meditating on about the lineage of Jesus Christ through the seed of Eve from Genesis! Check out the picture below (just click the picture to go to a website where you zoom in):

Genesis Chapter 11 ~ Terah to Abram

Genesis Chapter 11

At this time the whole earth had one language, and the people said to build a city and a tower to reach the heavens in order to make a name for themselves. God again refers to himself in the first person plural “us” (see also Gen. 1:20, 26; 3:22) and says, “Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” (11:7) Then the Lord dispersed the people all over the earth. The city wasn’t finished and it was called “Babel” because the LORD confused their language there.

Shem’s descendents are then listed out. Shem (500 years); (1) Arpachshad (403 years); (2) Shelah (403 years); (3) Eber (430 years); (4) Peleg (209 years); (5) Reu (207 years); (6) Serug (200 years); (7) Nahor (119); (8) Terah (205 years).

When Terah was 70 years he fathered (1) Abram, (2) Nahor, and (3) Haran.

Then Terah’s descendents are listed out:
Terah: (1) Abram, (2) Nahor, (3) Haran

Haran: (1) Lot, (2) Milcah (daughter), (3) Iscah (probably a daughter too). [Haran died in his father’s land, Ur of the Chaldeans]
Abram: Took Sarai as his wife (she was barren).
Nahor: Took his niece Milcah as his wife.

Terah then took Abram and Sarai, and Lot and they went away from the Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But they settled in when they came to Haran.

This chapter again goes through a genealogy, but begins to settle on the next man who God would make a covenant with, Abram. Abram’s family is the generation that God will again make his glory visible by further extending His promise that through the seed of Eve the head of the serpent, Satan, will be crushed (Gen. 3:15).

Genesis Chapter 10 ~ The Generations after Noah

Genesis Chapter 10

Today we come to the fountainhead of the expansion of the human race after Noah. It is through this people that God will continue to show his glory in being gracious to mankind. It is through one of these family lines that a messiah will come.

This chapter outlines the generations of Noah’s sons. From these came the nations of the earth:

Territory: Coastland Peoples

Japheth: (1) Gomer, (2) Magog, (3) Madai, (4) Javan, (5) Tubal, (6) Meshech,
and (7) Tiras.
Gomer: (1) Ashkenaz, (2) Riphath, and (3) Togarmah.
Javan: (1) Elishah, (2) Tarshish, (3) Kittim, and (4) Dodanim.

Territory: Sidon to Gaza toward
Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Lasha.

Ham: (1) Cush, (2) Egypt, (3) Put, and (4) Canaan.
Cush: (1) Seba, (2) Havilah, (3) Sabtah, (4) Raamah, (5) Sabteca,

(6) Nimrod

Raamah: (1) Sheba and (2) Dedan.
Nimrod: First mighty man. His kingdom was: (1) Babel,

(2) Erech, (3) Accad, and (4) Calneh (in the land of Shinar).

He went into (5) Assyria and built (a) Nineveh, (b) Rehoboth-Ir,

(c) Calah, and (d) Resen.

Egypt: (1) Ludim, (2) Anamim, (3) Lehabim, (4) Naphtuhim,

(5) Pathrusim, (6) Casluhim, and (7) Caphtorim.
Casluhim: The Philistines came from him.
Canaan: (1) Heth, (2) Sidon, (3) Jebusites, (4) Amorites,

(5) Girgashites, (6) Hivites, (7) Arkites, (8) Sinites, (9) Arvadites,

(10) Zemarites, and the (11) Hamathites.

Territory: Mesha to Sephar

to the hill country of the east.

Shem: All the children of (1) Eber (elder brother of Japheth), (2) Elam, (3) Asshur, (4) Arpachshad, (5) Lud, and (6) Aram.
Aram: (1) Uz, (2) Hul, (3) Gether, and (3) Mash.
Arpachshad: (1) Shelah
Shelah: (1) Eber
Eber: (1) Peleg, (2) Joktan
Joktan: (1) Almodad, (2) Sheleph, (3) Hazarmaveth,

(4) Jerah, (5) Hadoram, (6) Uzal, (7) Diklah, (8) Obal,

(9) Abimael, (10) Sheba, (11) Ophir, (12) Havilah, and

(13) Jobab.

Genesis Chapter 9 ~ Noah: Covenant, Sin, Children, Death

Genesis Chapter 9

God re-established the command with mankind to be fruitful and multiply and to rule the creation through Noah’s family. They could eat anything but blood, because it is the “life of the flesh”. God reaffirms that men killing men is a sin against Him because He has put His image in mankind, and He institutes capital punishment (Gen. 9:5-6).

Then God established a covenant with Noah, mankind, the animals, and the earth. A flood will never come to kill all flesh again and destroy the earth, and the sign of the covenant is a rainbow in the sky.

This chapter then lists the generations that follow Noah that are the fathers of all mankind:

(1) Shem, (2) Ham, and (3) Japheth.

Ham was the father of (1) Canaan.

Then Noah became a farmer, planted a vineyard and became drunk and lay naked in his tent. Ham came in and saw him naked and told his brothers. Shem and Japheth took a garment and walked backwards into the tent to cover him and they didn’t see him naked. When Noah woke up, he knew what Ham had done and he cursed his son. Here is what Noah said:

Ham: Cursed be Canaan, a servant to his brothers servants.
Shem: Blessed be the Lord of Shem, let Canaan be his servant.
Japheth: May God enlarge Japheth and let him dwell in tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.

Noah lived to be 950 years and he died.

Here again we see that God is establishing a covenant with Noah, and we see also that Noah is not the the messiah that would come in Eve's line that would save mankind from Satan, sin, and death. Here we see the covenant sign, the bow/rainbow that God set in the sky as a reminder that until the end of time He will not inflict His wrath to destroy all men all over the earth. We still see natural calamity in floods, famines, earthquakes, cyclones, and tsunamis. We still see terrible loss of life in plane accidents, lost pregnancies, the collapse of bridges, unexpected/untimely death, etc. Yet, in the face of all these things God still will not wipe every man from the earth until the very end. How should we think about these things in this life? First, we should be humbled and repent from our sin, because we may lose our life at any moment, and we must be prepared to meet God and give an account for how we are living. We also see the sacrifice that Noah offered (in Gen. 8:21) as a foreshadow of the sacrificial system to come. We know here that Noah is not God's final promised messiah. He is an instrument of saving, but not the one who would come to finally save us. However, in God's preservation of Noah we see that the beat goes on, and there is still hope because the covenant is also extended to Noah's children.

One question this passage raises in my mind is, "What did Ham do that was so bad?" It seems that he accidentally walked in and saw his dad naked, after he passed out from drunkenness. It seems that if anyone was in the wrong it was Noah for getting drunk on wine. Scripture looks favorably on wine (Deut. 14:26 and Psalm 104:15) but warns of it's danger, and drunkenness is definitely a danger and is warned against (Eph. 5:18). So what of Ham's seeing his father's nakedness? Well, the Hebrew word for this is ra'a meaning, "to look at (searchingly)." (See Bruce Waltke, 149) Some liken this to Habakkuk 2:15, "Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink - you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!" This is more of a perverted voyeurism, then he went about and told his brothers as if inviting them to join in. This is a foreshadow of the sin of the people who would come from Ham, Canaan. This seems to be an incestual homosexual tendency that is being shown to be wicked in the cursing of Canaan. Obviously, the sins of Canaan will be more than incest and homosexuality, but Scripture here doesn't seem to make it any less. This is the first time that we've seen God's intolerance of homosexual sin (albeit this includes incest and as we'll see the second includes intent to rape). The fact that this instance (and as we'll see of the second in Gen. 19) of a homosexual desire includes something else that doesn't mean that consensual homosexuality is endorsed by God, we just haven't arrived at passages that clearly state this yet (Lev. 18:22; Rom. 126-27: ;1 Cor. 6:9; 1 Tim. 1:10; etc.). Also, this is the first time that we have seen the sinful effects of drunkenness.

This leads to another question in my mind, "So was Ham a beneficiary of the covenant?" Well, he may have been, notice that Noah cursed Canaan. It's hard to know for certain without more information though. The giving of the covenant to Noah and his children here is not nearly as precise as the beneficiaries of the new covenant. Further, every human being after came from Noah, just as before they all came from Adam. This doesn't mean God's covenant of election was for all people who would come from Noah, the rest of Scripture will make that clear as we move along. As I mentioned yesterday, this is primarily a covenant of common grace whereby God is making public His relenting of his final wrath until the very end. In a sense this is a covenant with all people in the earth, but at the same time a special elective covenant of a chosen people will come from Noah, but that is yet to be seen. God is going to continue to bear with the human race and He is still going to bring a messiah to rescue mankind, He hasn't forgotten His promise. This aspect of the covenant of redemption is being sustained even in God's covenant with Noah and his family.

The lingering question, then, is, "Who's next? Will the next generation have the messiah?," and, "Who's life will God continue to display His plan of redemption to and through?"

Genesis Chapter 8 ~ 377 Days Flood and the Noahic Covenant

Genesis Chapter 8

God remembered Noah and everyone and everything on the ark. The rain stopped, and after 150 days the waters began to recede and the tops of the mountains were seen. At the end of the 40 days Noah sent out a raven. Then he sent a dove, and she returned. Then he waited 7 days and sent her out again and she came back with a freshly plucked olive leaf. Then after 7 more days he sent her out and she didn’t return. The land became dry and God spoke to Noah to go out from the ark and they did.

Noah then built an altar and made burnt offerings to the LORD and the LORD was pleased and said in His heart He would never again curse the ground because of man, and God established the natural cycle of the seasons to be set up.

We usually hear about the flood lasting 40 days and 40 nights. That's true, as far as how long the rain came down. The flood actually lasted much longer. Here's a helpful chart of the timing of everything that John Walton put together on page 14 of his book Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament (Zondervan, 1994). Just click on the picture to make it bigger:

So the flood wasn't just for 40 days and 40 nights. If you count the days from the time Noah's family entered the ark to the time that they left it, it was all over after 377 days!

Normally we think about Noah's ark as children are playing with toys (e.g. Fisher Price's toy "Noah's Ark"). The context that most people think about Noah's ark is when their kids are playing with these toys in the bath tub. I'm not advocating that we shouldn't buy the toys, they actually could be helpful in teaching kids about the story. Too often though, we miss the point of the story. We think about the dove, and the animals, the big boat, torrential rain, the massive waters, landing on the mountains of Ararat. We think about rainbows, and seasons. Now, that's not all terrible, but we often miss the point of all of this. God's wrath! God is pouring out His unmitigated wrath on humanity, and also the animals that live on the land. Don't miss this. However, don't miss God's grace in this either. The text says that God remembered Noah, his family, and the animals in the ark. In the midst of God's wrath there is safety and shelter if we take refuge in God's provision of a rescuer. He remembers His people! Here the rescue plan is Noah, but His ultimate rescue plan is Jesus Christ. Don't lose the forest for the trees. Don't lose God's wrath and His grace in this as you consider the details.

Another quick thing to comment on is the covenant God made with Noah in Genesis 8:20-22. As mentioned a few days ago, this is the third covenant God made in Scripture: (1) the Covenant of Creation (Gen. 2:15-17), (2) the Covenant of Redemption (Gen. 3:15), and now (3) the Noahic Covenant (Gen. 6:18-22; 8:20-22). In the Bible when it says, "made a covenant" the literal Hebrew reads, "cut a covenant". Disobedience of the first covenant's commands resulted in the shedding of blood, namely Adam and Eve's death (and all humanity's death), and after the fall all of God's covenants have been accompanied with the shedding of blood. In the covenant of redemption we see that animals were sacrificed by God to clothe Adam and Eve, but it is ultimately fulfilled in the shedding of Jesus Christ's blood on the cross for the sins of those who will repent and believe. So here, God's covenant with Noah is accompanied by the shedding of blood. We see here that Noah made an offering, and in another sense, the blood of every creature on the land was shed in making this covenant with Noah (we'll see a bit more about this covenant in chapter 9 tomorrow). Covenants were accompanied with promises as well, and we see here that in this covenant God's promise to Noah is that He will never again curse the ground because of man, or strike down every living creature, and that He will set up the seasons. Further, He put a bow or rainbow in the sky as a reminder that He would fulfill this covenant. This covenant is accompanied with a sign to both remind God and Noah and all who would come after Noah about it. Lastly, this covenant is not only with God's chosen people, but for all people who would come after Noah while the earth is in existence in its current fallen state. This is known as a covenant of common grace, because in God's common grace it applies to all people. This is an amazing act of God. In essence in this covenant He is saying, that He will hold back His wrath. In essence He is delaying His wrath in order to work out His greater covenant of redemption by providing salvation through a messiah from Eve's seed (Gen. 3:15), namely Jesus Christ.

Genesis Chapter 7 ~ The Flood!

Genesis Chapter 7

God told Noah to get his family and himself in the ark. God told him he would send rain for 40 days and 40 nights to kill every living thing on the earth. When the floods came Noah was 600 years old. 2 of every animal on earth loaded onto the ark, and the floods took 7 days to come on the earth. The Lord shut them in the ark, and everything God said would happen happened. The water was so high that even all the mountains of the earth were covered by water. God blotted out every living thing that was on the dry ground. The waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.

This is a foreshadow of God’s final judgment. God hates sin, and this is only a glimpse of how He judges sin. To appease God, blood must be shed (Heb. 9:22). This also is a foreshadow of how God would later make a way for people to be saved through His only Son, Jesus Christ. If by repentance and faith we enter the ark of Jesus Christ's body we will safely navigate the waters of His terrible, just, good wrath at the end of days.

Genesis 6:6 & the Impassibility of God

Genesis 6:6 & the Impassibility of God

In today’s post you’ll notice I spent a lot of time trying to explain how Genesis 6:6 does not indicate any change in God’s mind or nature. Just read the passage, it doesn’t seem to be introducing a new characteristic of God’s character that is contradictory to any of His other attributes. This issue boils down to at least two aspects of the doctrine of God or how we understand God’s nature from Scripture.

The first doctrine is that of God’s immutability. Immutability is a big word that basically means He is unchanging in His nature, knowledge, and existence (see point three below in the excerpt “The Anatomy of Theism” by J. I. Packer).

The second doctrine is that of God’s impassibility. Impassibility is a big word that basically means no one can inflict suffering, pain, or distress upon God (see point seven below in the excerpt “The Anatomy of Theism” by J. I. Packer).

Insofar as God seems to be described as undergoing change in relenting or repenting, we have to make a categorical distinction between our emotions and God’s. Why? Well, consider these passages of Scripture:

"God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?" (Num. 23:19)

"And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret." (1 Sam. 15:29)

"The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.'" (Psalm 110:4)

So how are we supposed to think of God regretting or being sorry here in Genesis 6:6? Well, first if God is sorry, repents, grieves, etc. it is does not happen in the same way that men are sorry, repent, or grieve. Many will say it’s a human (or anthropomorphic) way of describing the actions of God in a way that men can understand it. I think this is true, but it’s more than this. God is being described as dynamic. He is affected in some way by the way people act toward or away from Him. His being sorry is described with the word usually translated “repent”, and it’s used elsewhere when a family member is lost in death. God is feeling deeply here. He is deeply relational, but somehow differently than the way men are. He is repentant without experiencing change of thought, heart, or being. He is meticulously involved with His creation and yet is not subject to being a victim or passively suffering pain. The excerpt below from D. A. Carson’s book The Gagging of God will hopefully clarify how to think about God’s impassibility. The second excerpt below “The Anatomy of Theism” will hopefully clarify an orthodox approach to how to think about the character of God from a biblical perspective. I was blessed for be pointed to these excerpts from footnote 33 on page 118 of Bruce Waltke’s commentary on Genesis.[1] I hope this post will be helpful to your understanding of this aspect of God’s nature.

Excerpt 1: The Gagging of God, Christianity Confronts Pluralism by D. A. Carson (pp. 236-7).[2]

As for God’s impassibility, a number of theologians have studied that subject a great deal during the past half-century or so. Certainly the influence of Greek thought has sometimes treated God as completely emotionless, dismissing the countless instances of the ascription of emotion to God in the Bible as cases of anthropopathy [meaning ascribing human passions on non-humans]. I cannot agree. Where theology has taken that turn it needs to be corrected by the text of Scripture. The profound problem with that stance is that it runs the risk of depersonalizing God; the problem with abandoning every conceivable understanding of impassibility is that it runs the risk of de-absolutizing him. I am inclined to be sympathetic to some such articulation of the doctrine as this:

God is impassible, which means that no one can inflict suffering, pain, or any sort of distress upon him. Insofar as God enters into experience of that kind, it is by empathy for his creature and according to his own deliberate decision, not as his creatures’ victim. The words “of that kind” are important, for this impassibility has never been taken by Christian mainstreamers to mean that God is a stranger to joy and delight; it has, rather, been construed as an assertion of the permanence of God’s joy, which no pain clouds. How the formula applies to the atoning sufferings of the incarnate Son is a special and open question, on which different views have been, and are, maintained. . . . The historical answer [to the question of what impassibility means] is: not impassivity, unconcern, and impersonal detachment in face of the creation; not insensitivity and indifference to the distresses of a fallen world; not inability or unwillingness to empathize with human pain and grief; but simply that God’s experiences do not come upon him as ours come upon us, for his are foreknown, willed and chosen by himself, and are not involuntary surprises forced on him from outside, apart from his own decision, in the way that ours regularly are. In other words, he is never in reality the victim whom man makes to suffer: even the Son on his cross, where “a victime led, thy blood was shed,” was suffering by his and the Father’s conscious foreknowledge and choice, and those who made him suffer, however free and guilty their action, were real if unwitting tools of divine wisdom and agents of the divine plan (cf. Acts 2:23; 1 Pet 1:20).

Excerpt 2: “The Anatomy of Theism” from J. I. Packer’s chapter Theism for Our Time from the book God Who Is Rich in Mercy: Essays Presented to Dr. D. B. Knox, ed. P. T. O’Brien and D. G. Peterson (pp. 6-8)[3]

It will now help us forward if we review the ingredients that make up mainstream Christian theism. Expositors differ on the details, but here is a check-list of the usual items, expressed in as simple a way as the thoughts themselves allow.

(1) Trinity - God is personal and triune. Tritheism and Sabellianism (modalism) are both untrue, and God is as truly three personal centres in a sustained relationship of mutual love and harmony as he is a single personal deity. The three persons of the Godhead are individuated in relation to each other without ever being separated from each other; they are consciously three while yet ontologically as well as cooperatively one.

(2) Self-Existent/Self-Sufficient - God is self-existent and self-sufficient; in Thomist jargon, his existence (being) is identical with his essence (nature), and is necessary in the sense that he does not have it in him, either in purpose or in power, to stop existing. God exists necessarily, inasmuch as he cannot not-be. The answer to the child’s question, who made God? is that God did not need to be made, since he was always there. This quality of God is called aseity: a word meaning that he draws his existence, his life and vitality, a se (from himself). He depends on nothing outside himself, but is at every point self-sustaining.

(3) Simplicity/Perfection/Immutability - God is simple, perfect, and immutable: that is to say, he is wholly and totally involved in everything that he is and does, and his nature, goals, plans and ways of acting do not change, either for the better (for, being perfect, he cannot become better than he is) or for the worse (for it is not in his nature to become worse). Simplicity, perfection, and immutability together are the basis of that glorious divine integrity, fidelity, and constancy which Scripture sees as being worthy of endless praise.

(4) Infinity/Incorporeality/Immensity - God is infinite, incorporeal, immense (“measureless,” as the hymn puts it), omnipresent, omniscient, and eternal: which means that he is not bound by any of the limitations of space or time that apply to us, his creatures, in our body-anchored existence. Instead, he is always present everywhere, really though invisibly and imperceptibly, and is at every moment cognizant of everything that ever was, or shall be, or now is.

(5) Omnipotent - God is purposeful and omnipotent: he has a plan for the history of the universe he made, and in executing it he governs and controls all created realities. Without violating the nature of things or, under ordinary circumstances, the ongoing of natural processes, and without at any stage infringing upon the self-determined, spontaneous, creative, and morally repsonsible quality of human behaviour (the things that we do “of our own free will,” as we phrase it), God acts in, with, and through his creatures to do everything that he wishes to do exactly as he wishes to do it, and by this sovereign action he achieves His goals.

(6) Transcendent and Immanent - God is both transcendent and immanent in his world. On the one hand he is distinct from the world, does not need it, and exceeds the grasp of any created intelligence that is found in it, yet on the other hand he permeates it in sustaining and new-creating power, shaping and steering it in a way that keeps it on its planned course in a steady and stable state.

(7) Impassibility - God is impassible, which means that no one can inflict suffering, pain, or any sort of distress upon him. Insofar as God enters into experience of that kind, it is by empathy for his creatures and according to his own deliberate decision, not as his creatures’ victim. The words “of that kind” are important, for this impassibility has never been taken by Christian mainstreamers to mean that God is a stranger to joy and delight; it has, rather, been construed as an assertion of the permanence of God’s joy, which no pain clouds. How the formula applies to the atoning sufferings of the incarnate Son is a special and open question, on which different views have been, and are, maintained.

(8) Love - God is love: that is to say, giving out of goodwill, for the recipient’s benefit, is the abiding quality both of ongoing relationships within the Godhead and of God’s primary outgoings in creation and to his creatures. This love is qualified by holiness (purity), a further facet of God’s character that finds expression in his abhorrence and rejection of moral evil; towards resolute non-worshippers and wrongdoers God shows the hostility of righteous retributive judgment. Nonetheless, both we and they must acknowledge that their creation, as such, was an act of love, and it is basically the spurning of that love in thankless unconcern that brings them under the judgment whereby God rejects them. This rejection is, in fact, precisely an endorsing and ratifying of their rejection of him.

(9) Relationship to Man - God’s ways with mankind, as set forth in Scripture, show him to be both awesome and adorable by reason of his truthfulness, faithfulness, grace, mercy, patience, constancy, wisdom, justice, goodness, and generosity. For these supremely admirable qualities God is eternally worthy of our praise, loyalty, and love, and the ultimate purpose of human life is to render him that multiform worship and service in which both he and we find our fullness of joy.

(10) Gracious Condescension in Language - God uses his gift to mankind of language to tell us things directly in and through the words of his spokesmen – prophets, apostles, the incarnate Son, the writers of Holy Scripture, and those who preach the Bible. God’s messages all come to us as good news of grace, whatever they may contain by way of particular commands, prohibitions, threats or warnings, for the fact that God addresses us at all is an expression of his goodwill and an invitation of fellowship. And the central message of Scripture, the hub of the wheel whose spokes are the various truths about God that the Bible teaches, is and always will be God’s free gift of salvation, freely offered to us in and by Jesus Christ.

---

[1] Waltke, Bruce K. Genesis, A Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 118.

[2] Carson, D. A. The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), 236-7.

[3] Packer, J. I. God Who Is Rich In Mercy: Essays Presented to Dr. D. B. Knox, Theism for Our Time Ed. P. T. O’Brien and D. G. Peterson (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1986), 6-8. I edited this for clarity by bolding and putting parenthesis around points and putting it in block paragraph form. Also, I added headings for clarity.

Genesis Chapter 6 ~ Warning of Wrath and the Promise of Another Covenant

Genesis Chapter 6

The last chapter ended with Noah and his sons, and this chapter begins by describing the cultural condition of the world they lived in.

The daughters of man were attractive to the “sons of God” and they took them as their wives. This was wicked in the eyes of God because He then limited the human lifespan to 120 years. The daughters bore children to the “sons of God” and they were mighty men of old. We don't really know who or what these "sons of God" were. The context here in Genesis makes it sound like it may mean something different than in Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7 and Daniel 3:25 to me, but scholars debate about these things. I'm fairly certain of one thing, they weren't aliens flying in spaceships like E.T. I'm inclined to see the "sons of God" as the sons from the line of Cain taking the daughters of the line of Seth, but it's hard to be dogmatic. The debates of scholars don't effect the main point. Somehow the "sons of God" sinned in the way they took the daughters of man (it seems to be a sexual sin or at the very least a sin committed in sexually lustful way). Like most sexual sin, they took something that wasn't theirs to have (even if it was consensual). They even married the daughters of man, but something in their intent and approach was off. Marriage doesn't justify sin, and just because sin of a sexual nature occurs, this doesn't mean marriage should be forced (that said, it may be the wise. See discussions about Exod. 22:16-17 and 1 Cor. 7:1-5 to think this through more). This was wicked in God's sight, and the culture was saturated with this kind of wickedness. Sin, and more specifically sin of a sexual bent and a re-defining of a proper approach/existence of marriage, was inescapable in the culture. A new narrative is being written by men in this fallen world drawing a distinction between the goodness of God's creation and the evil of the culture that man has created. The refrain of this new narrative where the creation is almost being uncreated could easily read, "and God saw the wickedness of man's heart and creation, He called it sin, and He saw that it was bad."

The Nephilim were also around in these days. They seem to be a different people than the "sons of God". If these Nephilim are the same people referred to in Numbers 13:32-33 then they also appear to be giants. Because of the closeness to the intermingling of the "sons of God" and the daughters of man some think that the Nephilim were their offspring. This doesn't appear to be what the text is saying, it just says that they were on earth in those days. This is kind of like saying, "Guys those were the days when dinosaurs were all over." We'd think, "Wow, that was a long time ago." I don't think this is necessarily saying anything about the origins of the Nephilim. Mankind was wicked and the intentions of their hearts were always evil. God was sorry He made man and was grieved (Gen. 6:6, 7). In fact, as further judgment for sin God determined to limit man's days to 120 years. The long lifespans that we saw yesterday in Genesis 5 are going to eventually decrease dramatically. Because of sin God decided to shorten man's lifespan and blot mankind out, but Noah found favor in God’s eyes. There is hope in Noah.

Noah was righteous, and blameless. God told Noah that He was going to kill mankind, so Noah should make an ark (a boat). God gave Noah instructions of exactly how to build the ark too. Then He told Noah His plans; He would bring a flood on the earth. Yet, He will establish a covenant with Noah, he and his sons and their wives should come on the ark. Also, two of every living creature (male and female) should also be on the ark. Noah did as God commanded him.

This chapter is instructive. First, the sin of mankind is disgusting to God, and in God’s justice He must snuff out wickedness. The unexpectedness of the flood foreshadows the way Christ will return at the end of time to enact the just wrath of God in the final judgment (Matt. 24:37-38; Luke 17:26-27; 1 Peter. 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5). People were going about their business marrying and giving in marriage, and probably buying and trading. It seemed that everything was going to happen according to the “laws” of nature, and that every day will go on as the day before. This is not so. All will change in the blink of an eye. God is giving us only a small glimpse in the flood of what His final end time wrath will look like. This reminds me of the Lord of the Rings. Every culture of Middle Earth was living out their days as they had the days and years before. Nothing seemed to ever change, and yet these stories that were a vague memory in the minds of men started to reveal themselves to be true as soon as the “One ring to rule them all” popped up. The days often seem repetitive and long (kind of like Bill Murray’s character in the movie Groundhog Day). We live in the same family, go to the same stores, work the same jobs, buy the same products, go to the same church, etc. There is coming a time when everything will change. Are you prepared for this? The days and years seem long. People live a full life and die, but this won't always be the case. God will fulfill His promise to judge the living and the dead. As we look back over the millennia of His delaying of wrath and giving of full blessing we should not think of Him as slow, "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) He is delaying for our repentance, so that there is time for us to flee His wrath to come (Matt. 3:7; Luke 3:7).

Second, God is gracious to save through one man, one family. Noah is a remnant of faith. Here’s what the hall of faith in Hebrews says about Noah: “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” (Heb. 11:7) Similar to how later Abraham’s faith would be credited to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:1-10), so it is here with Noah. God even made a covenant with Noah to save him and his family from this flood. Noah’s faith is also instructive. He trusted His God and obeyed His commandment to him. This prefigures Jesus Christ as well. Jesus Christ is the ark upon which we must board if we would safely pass the flood waters of God’s wrath. We must approach and obey God the Father in reverent fear, like Noah, through Jesus Christ.

Third, and lastly, we learn something more about God. We see sin provokes God to wrath. This is nothing different than what we’ve already learned about God, but this passage only further proves that this is the case. But further than that, when we sin God is sorry that He made us, and we grieve God. God is dynamic and interactive with His people, not as a victim of emotions that He is passively affected by, but by His full foreknowledge and choice. Various translations translate the first word "sorry" (ESV, NKJV, NASB, RSV) as (1) regretted (NIV, HCSB) and (2) repented (KJV, ASV). These are an attempt at an English translation of the Hebrew word naham which normally means "repent". Context is king for determining the meaning of a word though, so this word is probably translated best as sorry, or regretted. Why do I say this? Well, look at the phrase that follows, "and it grieved Him to His heart." (Gen. 6:6) The stinging pain of sin that came into the world through Adam and Eve is felt among humanity, but here it is shown to be experienced by God as well, but this doesn't mean God turned from one thing to another, or that He changed course from what He planned. The passage doesn't give any indication of change in God, but a sorrow in God because of the sin in men. The change that causes sorrow or regret here is not a change in the character of God but a change in the character of men. He's sorry He made men, not because He changed, but because men have fallen and rebelled against God. A few other things to notice are, first, this passage is not speaking about God's logic in making a decision. The passage isn't detailing that God is changing in any way. He's not changing His mind, or His course of action. The passage doesn't say anything about the limitation of God's knowledge of what is going on. In fact it does the opposite. He sees all, He knows all the wickedness of all men, and because of that He is sorrowful. Further, He is involved with His people in real time while not being bound to the events or time. His foreknowledge and knowledge of all things is not limited here. This is just illustrating that He is a relationally dynamic God. Second, the passage is not saying that God made a mistake by creating mankind. He doesn't regret that, rather He regrets that those whom He has made to reflect His glory and to love Him have actually rejected Him and are misrepresenting His image, which has been given to them. By their actions they are speaking lies about God, and this brings God sadness. God is sorry He made man, not because mankind was not a good creation, but because of the sin mankind has chosen. He's not changing His mind, or doubting His past actions here.

As Moses wrote this passage it seems that he was illustrating something through three main words in Genesis 6:6 expressing God's grief and the source of it: (1)"sorrow/regret/repentance" (Hebrew is naham), (2) "made" (Hebrew is 'asa), and (3)"pain/grief/troubled" (Hebrew is 'asab). God is sorry he made man and He is grieved. What was Moses doing with these words? Well, he seems to be using these three words as a literary device, an ironic word-play on three descriptors that Noah's father, Lamech (not the Lamech from Cain's lineage), spoke about Noah in Genesis 5:29: "[O]ne shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands." What's the connection? (1) The word for "relief" or "comfort" is the same as for "sorry" (naham). (2) The root for "work" is the same as for "made" ('asa). And (3) the word for "painful toil" is the same as for "pain/grief/troubled" ('asab). If we read this passage in Hebrew we'd see that there's a connection between the prophecy regarding Noah and God's sorrow over the wickedness of man. It's as if we're given a key in Genesis 5 and then God reveals the keyhole that the key fits into in Genesis 6. Noah is the one that God is choosing to be the vessel of relief from His sorrow caused by the wickedness of men, the work of His hands and the cause of grief or painful toil. Only now, we must await the coming flood and see exactly how God will find comfort and provide comfort for the nations from the sin of men through saving Noah and his family.

Genesis Chapter 5 ~ Ten Generations of Adam & The Introduction of Noah's Family

Geness Chapter 5

Here we see the generations of Adam. Again, it says that man is created in the likeness of God: (1) Adam 930, (2) Seth 912, (3) Enosh 905, (4) Kenan 910, (5) Mahalalel 895, (6) Jared 962, (7) Enoch 365 [God took him], (8) Methuselah 969, (9) Lamech 777, and (10) Noah.

The names of Noah’s sons were: (1) Shem, (2) Ham, and (3) Japheth.

A few things to consider from this passage are first the noticeably long life spans of these men. Did they really live to be hundreds of years old? The answer seems to be “yes”. The Bible doesn't appear to be uncomfortable with this. This is difficult to wrap our minds around, but it seems to be the plain meaning of the text.

A second thing to consider is how Enoch’s life is described differently. He didn’t taste death. He walked with God and then God took him. The New Testament even includes Enoch in the hall of faith saying, "By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God." (Heb. 11:5) Jude 1:14-15 tells us a little more about Enoch as well, "It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, 'Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against [the Lord].'" What does this tell us about Enoch? Well, Jude (the half-brother of Jesus) was writing to encourage a local church or even a number of churches (possibly as a circular letter which was meant to be passed from church to church) to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints (Jude 3). He seems to be writing in the face of false teaching (Jude 4, 18-19). He gives three proofs seeking to encourage believers to contend for the faith once for all entrusted to the saints by illustrating God's destruction of the wicked: (1) the first proof is the destruction of unbelieving Egypt, and Sodom and Gomorrah (Jude 5-7); (2) the second is that the false teachers are following the way Cain and Balaam, etc. (Jude 11-12); and (3) the third is Enoch's prophesy against false teachers and the wicked (Jude 14-16). Enoch is the third proof outlining how God will judge the wicked who are enemies of the, "faith once for all entrusted to the faith," and ultimately enemies of God. Enoch was a prophet warning of the judgment of God even in the seventh generation from Adam! Enoch was a prophet of the one true and living God. Not unlike how God took Elijah in a whirlwind before he could die a natural death (2 Kings 2:9-12), God took Enoch because He was pleased with him.

Third, every name matters to God. These lists of generations become an important part of God's revealing of His plan of redemption (see the book of Numbers!). They trace Eve's seed to show that God will fulfill His promise to bring a messiah in fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. Beyond that, we also see that these lists show that each person is known to God. God is a God of detail, and every name is retained and given account for. I wonder if you ever think, "Out of the billions who have ever lived, how could God regard, remember, or even know anything about me?" I've felt that way in a city before thinking, "What does it matter what I look like, or do, and who cares what other people think about this or that. No one here is ever going to see me again anyway." Well, first of all, these thoughts are patently false. You might see those folks again. I'm not advocating for a life lived in light of the fear of man. It depends what you're justifying. Is it a bad hair day, or is it going on a cussing tirade, flirting with lust, or commiting some other kind of sin? A bad hair day, really, who cares? But sins which accrue the wrath of God against us; friend, flee it. Second, God knows everything meticulously. Don't think that just because there have been billions of people that you'll just be lost in the mix. Everything you do and think is known and seen by God. Quite the sobering thought.

Fourth and lastly, we arrive at the end of this chapter at a new headwater for another generation, namely that of Noah and his sons. The question that stands before us is if they will walk in a wicked way in the description of the generations of Cain, or if they will stand upright and glorify God? Will Noah or his three sons be the seed who will crush Satan, sin, and death?

Genesis Chapter 4 ~ The Affects of Sin and the Offspring of Eve

Genesis Chapter 4

Here we are at chapter four, and we are anticipating the seed of Eve that was promised to crush the head of Satan, and by God's grace Eve conceives and has a child. Her firstborn is Cain, and you can almost hear the anticipation in her voice of expecting a messiah or savior: "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD." (Gen. 4:1) Could this be the messiah promised to save them?

Well, Cain was a farmer, and Abel was a shepherd. They were Adam and Eve’s first children. Both Cain and Abel brought offerings to God from the produce of their trades, but God regarded Abel’s offering and not Cain’s, but it's not because Cain brought grain and Abel brought sheep. Something else was at hand. Something was wrong with the intentions of Cain's heart. God told Cain that sin was crouching at his door, and it’s desire was for him, but he must rule over it (Gen. 4:7). Cain sadly gave in and didn't rule over it. He was talking to Abel one day and he came against him and killed him. Because he killed Abel, God cursed Cain to no longer be successful in working the ground, and he would be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. God also promised that no one should kill him, lest they receive a 7-fold punishment. Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in Nod.

Cain’s generations are (1) Enoch, then (2) Irad, then (3) Mehujael, then (4) Methshael, then (5) Lamech.

The fifth son from Cain's progeny was the first to distort the marriage covenant through polygamy. Lamech took 2 wives (1) Adah and (2) Zillah, and he boasted of killing a man who struck him and said, “If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.” (Gen. 4:24) It appears that he is boasting that if anyone would come against him God would take revenge on that person 77-fold because of Cain's self-perceived (and self-deceived) great worth. This is brute arrogance.

Adam knew Eve again and they had a son named Seth. Seth also had a son, Enosh. This chapter ends saying, “At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.” (Gen. 4:26)

In this chapter we begin to see the how a fallen humanity will choose to live. God chooses or elects some, and others are outside of His pleasure. Humanity owes something to God, namely offerings and sacrifices, but not just any kind of sacrifice. The offerings and sacrifices that mankind owes to God are the ones that are by faith from a humble repentant heart (Psalm 51:6, 17; Heb. 11:4), ultimately presenting our lives as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1). Other than God slaughtering the animals to clothe Adam and Eve, here we see the proto-type of the sacrificial system, which is the only means by which man may engage with God. He is pleased by some things, and not pleased by others. He is a particular God. We will see more glimpses of the sacrificial system in Genesis, and it eventually becomes the systematic and perpetual command for Israel to participate in it. Ultimately, it points to the need for Christ’s shed blood for His people (just read the book of Hebrews).

We also see the nature of sin here. It is crouching at our door and its desire is for people, and too often we are quick to give in and submit to its bloodthirstiness. We see arrogance in Lamech, but we also see hope in the birth of Seth and in the fact that many were beginning to call upon the name of the LORD. Eve's hopes that the messiah was there in her first son Cain were dashed, and yet she conceives again and there is still hope that God will provide a messiah, only now through the line of Seth. God is preserving a heritage in the lineage of Seth, which is the hope of the nations.

Gleanings from Genesis Chapters 1-3

A Few More Reflections on Genesis 1-3

1. Adam and Eve Are Real People
First, just read the text. Adam and Eve seem to be referred to as real people, not a group of people, or a mythical reference to the first man and woman. Scripture just talks about them as real people, so we should too. Further, when Adam and Eve fell into sin they brought all who would come after them into sin as well (Rom. 5:12). We are all by nature sinners (Rom. 3:23) because of Adam and Eve's sin. Those who read this as a good morality tale that inspires us to live better lives need to realize that this isn't the implication of this text. This text has something to say about you and me. This text is saying that all humanity is in rebellion against God, because of Adam and Eve. So for the person who asks the question, "What does this story about two random people in the creation have to do with me?" you need to realize that this has everything to do with you. It explains why you aren't 100% pleased with life. It explains why you have done bad things (i.e. lying, cheating, putting others down, etc.). It explains why misery and pain often are seemingly ever present. Our worst fear isn't reputation and fear of man, but that we have the Omnipotent God as an enemy because of our sin.

2. The Human Race
Second, race. Mankind was not made with references to different races. There is one race, the human race. Technically speaking when we talk about “racism” these days we’re really talking about “skin-colorism” or “ethnicism” not racism in the sense that the Bible applies race to humanity. There is no room for prioritizing skin-color or ethnicity as we’ll see upon reflection of all of Scripture.

3. God’s Relationship and Self-Revelation to Man
Third, the pre-eminence of the importance of man’s relationship to God. The Bible isn't just a collection of stories. It's about God and His interaction with real people. Ultimately, it's about God and you! God is high and lifted up. He is totally separate and other in His holiness, perfections, and aseity or independence. He has attributes that we could never have in and of ourselves (often called God’s “incommunicable attributes”). Yet, He has determined to make Himself known. As an expression of His pleasure He created the earth out of nothing. Not out of any need He had. He was perfectly happy in eternity past in the fellowship of the Trinity. And yet, He desired to create us in this world for His pleasure and our good. Don’t miss this. This God who is unknowable and inexhaustible has condescended to make Himself known, and these three chapters are only the start of the many ways He will reveal Himself. Further, He makes Himself most clearly known in the incarnation of the second person of the Godhead, Jesus Christ. Read these two passages:

Colossians 1:15-20 [1]

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Hebrews 1:1-4

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Praise God for this revelation of God in Christ. We can't miss this though, because of the fact that He is our Creator He has full rights to our lives. What He says goes. There's no room for rebellious questioning. We can fight to understand His ways more clearly, but an atheistic bent in questioning His ways in a derogatory way is not a proper manner in which we can approach Him. His ways are past finding out (Isa. 55:8-9; Rom. 11:33-35) and they are good and best even if what we experience is suffering (Jas. 1:17). Therefore, when we think we see discrepancy or contradiction in His character, instead of arrogantly writing Him off as irrelevant in our pride, we must see if there is any way in which they can be harmonized (i.e. His attributes of love and wrath, mercy and justice, unchangeableness and the way He reacts in relation to His chosen people, etc.). His ways are past finding out, and yet, there are things we can know about Him through His self-revelation in His Word. You'll find that while there is mystery in God's ways He is not self-contradictory. We must always remember that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb. 10:31), so we must tread these waters with reverence and care. By His grace we can know things about Him!

4. Creation and Fall of Marriage and Family Relationships
Have you ever noticed that marriage and family relationships can be difficult? That leads to the fourth and last gleaning from Genesis 1-3. The creation and fall of the marriage covenant and familial relationships. Marriage was created as good and remains good, but in the “fall” not only was each human affected in their relationship to God, but they were also affected in their two most blessed earthly relationships: (1) a mother and father’s relationship with children (and children to parents), and (2) a man and woman's relationship with each other in marriage. These are the two most important relationships other than man’s relationship with God, and they have been twisted by the fall. This means that what comes “natural” after the fall in regard to our desires as parents and children, or as covenantal and sexual beings is not necessarily good and right. We shouldn't be asking people what they think, rather we should be asking what does God think. Well, it appears He has designed things this way for a purpose, and we’ll see that unfold in how He hates divorce, homosexual relations, dishonoring of parents, murder, etc. Similar to the point above, we should recognize that God ordained things this way, and we should fight against our desires to destroy His good designs. Also, it's amazing He didn't just snuff us out when Adam and Eve fell. He determined to continue to bless humanity by allowing life, marriage, and families to populate the earth. How kind of God to bless us all in these ways.

[1] These passages are both from the ESV.