Through the Whole Bible: Genesis 10

Here's another chapter that derails people on their "Read through the Bible plan." It's another long list of names, but this time it's not just a genealogy. Rather, what Genesis 10 (Link) contains is the words to put on a map. The descriptions, while containing some lists of ancestors and successors, contains where the different families of the descendants of Noah moved off to after the Flood.

If this were an interactive class, I would photocopy maps and hand them out to you, and we'd label locations. I'd advise you to grab a good study Bible and look up the area.

The names here do not have many that need highlighting. Nimrod shows up, and his legend outside of the Bible is bigger than this text supports. He is counted as "A Mighty Hunter"  but that's not really a positive. The idea is that he went overboard with his hunting: he possibly is the father of bag limits. He's the guy with the chariot with the big buck strapped to the hood, that type of thing.

He also forms a kingdom which is found in the same region the later Babylonian Empire exists. In turn, he tends to be blamed for lots of bad things, and there's nothing really to prove he was or wasn't responsible.

Yet what can we see in the rest of this? We see, partly, the spread of humanity. If you turn it backwards, we see that humanity comes from a small group of people and spreads from there. Which is not only theoretically possible, but something that even evolutionary science supports.

In all, though, what starts happening now with the narrative of Scripture is a focusing. The story moves from 'the world this' and 'the world that' into a more personal story. Even the story of the Nation of Israel is related through individual people in most cases.

What does that matter? It matters because of this: you're an individual person. 

Because God works through individual people. Because the Kingdom of God is made up not of earthly kingdoms of men but of people like you and like me and together we are here to obey the Word of God. The idea is not that we should get one nation or another to obey God through the law but that we should challenge all people to obey God through the Spirit. In turn, the laws would reflect godliness in general.

Note: that's not to say one does not try to restrain evil through the law. That's really what good earthly law is: restraining evil. Law can never make a man good but it can stop his evil actions.

That's all for now…Genesis 11 coming up!

Doug

Through the Whole Bible: Genesis 9

I know, I’m rapidly becoming the “evening edition” around here. Sorry.

Genesis 9: (LINK) Rainbows and Ruins. At least that ought to be the subheading here. The Flood ends. Noah and family come out of the Ark, animals come out of the Ark, and life starts afresh in a very different environment.

Oh, and God sees that man will be so violent that instituting the death penalty for murder is necessary and Noah gets drunk and passes out unclothed in his tent. There’s that, too.

What do we do with this?

Let’s work the opposite question first: what do we not do with this?

1: We do NOT take Genesis 9:25-27 as justifying slavery, racism, or any other ethnocentric nonsense. Seriously, I have respect for many of Baptist forbears and men and women of other branches of Christianity that went before me, but that part was dumb. I do wonder what part of mine will be counted just plain dumb by my great grandchildren, but I digress. That Canaan was cursed by Noah does not mean you get to curse someone you think is descended from Canaan.

Got that?

Good. Keep in mind, there’s really only two kinds of people in the world: those who need the Gospel and those who need the Gospel. Well, the difference is those who have responded to the Gospel and those who have not. So,you’re not better than anyone because of your skin color and you’re not worse. Your culture may be different and there may be points of difference to discuss but we’re all the same before God: sinners in need of the Savior.

2: We do NOT simply write off the rainbow portion as mythic nonsense. Of all the reasons man would invent for the rainbow, we’d make up that it’s God’s sign there won’t be a worldwide flood? For that to be the invented reason, mankind must have a common memory of a worldwide flood. So…

3. We do NOT take the provision of capital punishment as the right to take our own revenge. There’s more here than just a simple vengeance principle and it’s also not a definite command to execute murderers. I think it is a Biblically acceptable practice when guilt is exceedingly clear, but that’s another discussion. The purpose of the statement in Genesis 9:6 is to establish the value of human life: we are higher than the animals and are not to be killed just for hunting. (Hear that, Slitheen? Good.)

4. We do NOT get drunk and pass out unclothed in our homes. Or elsewhere.

Now, what DO we do?

1. Trust God: imagine the terror of storms. It’s easy, really, when you have seen tornadoes and hurricanes. Now, amplify that terror by adding some big survivor guilt. Yet the reassurance of seeing rainbows as a sign that God will preserve a remnant. When you see stress coming, trust God. Seek His Word.

2. Value human life: all human life. From the moment of conception through death, all human life is precious. That means seeking the good of all people—not just the convenient ones. So, what can we do about that? Lots, and we need to work on it.

3. Take care of the earth: we’re suppose to fill it (and we haven’t, you neo-Malthusian folks) and populate it. That means live here. Your house may be your house, but you don’t just fill it with trash and leave the heat blasting, do you? Seriously, I like the term “Creation Care” better than “Environmentalism” but many of the goals are the same: keep this place fit to live on.

And I think we should do it because God told us to, not because we’ll miss the whales and polar bears.

4. Consider the effects of our actions when we respond to sin: do we desire only to embarrass the sinner or do we seek redemption? Want to be Ham or Shem?

That’s that, then.

Doug

Through the Whole Bible: Genesis 8

Note: I apologize for the delay with today’s posting. Hopefully I’ll get a few days ahead soon and be on the mornings consistently.

Moving ahead: Genesis 8. (LINK) We’re still in the Flood. Actually, we start the chapter while the water is still upon the Earth. There’s lots of water at this particular point—over the tops of the mountains. There are additional sources to discuss the physical possibilities on this one.

The application angle I want to look is this: take a look Genesis 8:13 and compare to Genesis 7:11. The flood has taken a year.

Now, consider this: the purpose of the flood was to bring judgment on sinful humanity by destroying most of the human race. This is in response to the sinfulness of humanity: it is not an arbitrary judgment or undeserved one.

How long do you think that really needed? Channeling my best Bill Cosby as he does his old Noah routine: “How long can you tread water?” It didn’t need a year to accomplish that. There are reasons one can guess for why the flood took that long to happen and then subside. The general idea is that more was at stake than just purging the first post-Edenic world. Maybe there were cities or buildings to destroy. Perhaps this was a time that saw continents formed or deformed. The answer is: we just don’t know.

Had Noah been the one to make the decision, he probably would have spent about a month in the ark, come out, and gone on with life. After all, who wants to stay locked in a boat with a bunch of animals?

We would make decisions differently. Faster, for one thing. Without the extra time surrounded by smelly critters for another. We want life to move and work at our pace.

Yet  it does not happen that way. Very rarely does anything take place as quickly as we want. Whether it’s building success or growing a garden, more time is necessary than we want.

When God is working to move us from dead sinfulness, it’s the same way. It is an instant in which our dead spiritual life is raised by the power of God in conversion. Yet we’re not instantly holy on the outside. It takes time. Continual effort, sustained patience. Time.

More than we want it to take. All the while, we have to keep going. While we wonder how long it will take—while Noah wonders when the water will go down, he keeps feeding animals, keeps shoveling out the bottom of the ark, and keeps going.

That is the key for us: keep going. Some days, all we see is the flood water.

But eventually, the water recedes and we go forward. We keep going.

God is not finished working in our lives—and we’re not done with what we’re supposed to be doing for Him.