Month: May 2017

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 10 (day four)

On first reading, chapter 10 is just a list of the descendants of Noah.  God’s initial command to man, in the Garden of Eden, was to be fruitful and multiply.  Now…following the flood…He gives the same command…fill the earth.  When we read this list, we are watching God’s history with the world unfold.  The nations of the earth are being established.  The value of this chapter exceeds just a redundant list of people.  We see fulfilled prophecy as the nations are scattered and we can confirm the truth of Scripture as God lays the groundwork for the nations.

From the days of beginnings, God has made provision for the salvation of man…the ultimate salvation from the curse of sin.  Jesus, in Matthew 28, commands us to take this message of salvation to the nations.  We are truly one people across the nations of the world.  To share the good news to the utter parts of the earth is to share it with our relatives.  Take a moment to thank God for His great love and wisdom toward us.

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 10 (day three)

“From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.”  Why is there something rather than nothing?  This question has intrigued and vexed men for centuries.  It has intrigued because of the mystery surrounding the origins of the universe.  It has vexed because a materialistic worldview cannot allow a why question.  The Bible deals with both the intrigue and the vexed-ness.  It reveals the mystery of origins: “In the beginning God created.”  And it anticipates the dead end of materialism: “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.”  God’s word was there as the nations populated the earth.  It still speaks as the nations rage.  Explanations come and go, but revelation remains.  Bring your questions to the Bible.

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 10 (day two) One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. Psalm 145:4

Both the world and the church were now again reduced to a family, the family of Noah…of which we are the more concerned to take cognizance because from this family we are all descendants. Matthew Henry

Isn’t it incredible that the great God of the universe is also supremely involved and concerned with our individual lives? Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Through individuals and families God spoke truth, declared justice, and gave hope. It was then incumbent on those people to tell their children. It became their task to share their knowledge of the Lord and to display their trust in the almighty. The role of the parent to demonstrate and instruct their children in faith cannot be underscored. Ultimately these families led to the one individual who did indeed change everything. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise to redeem. God still uses individuals, he still uses families. Your testimony matters.

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 10 (day one)

“These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth.”–v 1.

It is a mystery, isn’t it?  Three sons.  Same family.  Same instruction.  They saw the same examples of faith.  Two of them gradually drift away from God.  Get busy with life.  Achieve success –but not with the Creator.

The other brother takes a different road.  He stays close to the long legacy of faith in His father’s family.  Adam, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, SHEM, and eventually Abraham.  One generation after another, learning and living the life/traditions of faith.

Even now, whenever we talk about Anti-Semitism (Shem) or Hebrews (Eber) we are remembering and respecting this family.  As they walked with God, they kept His story alive and changed the world!

“My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you. . .then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God.”–Proverbs 2:2

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 9:1-17 (day seven)

It was NOT a NEW rule.  (There were some significant changes in this new chapter, but this was not one of them.)  After the flood, God gave Noah the SAME assignment He gave Adam.  “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”–v 1.

For all the damage and danger of sin (still infecting the heart of Noah and his sons like a virus–see chapter 10) life was, nevertheless, still good!  Still part of God’s plan.  Still worthy of God’s protection. Babies and families and cities and progress and farms and hospitals. . . the steps that men would take to fill and subdue this earth were, in the eyes of the Creator, still good.

It is a life-affirming perspective.  Courage giving.  Hope inspiring.  God is pro-life!  He is pro-your life!  Calls you to be fruitful.  Commands you to be human and in the truest sense of the word.

We still have a world to build.

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 9:1-17 (day six)

After wiping out all living things save those on the Ark, God demonstrates his mercy by promising never to destroy humanity and all living creatures with a flood again. Objects of wrath have become objects of mercy. Paul wrote in Romans 9:23, “…what if he [God] is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory…” Noah, nor his sons, nor any future generation have not changed the condition of humanity; they had not (nor us) become worthy of God’s mercy, or any less worthy of his wrath. That much becomes clear in the later half of Genesis 9! So what is the point? Glory! “To make known the wealth of his glory.” Make no mistake, God was glorified in his display of his wrath in the flood, but “the wealth of his glory” is made known in his mercy!

His patience, or mercy (the display of his glory) is a kindness that ought to lead us to repentance! (Romans 2:4)

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 9:1-17 (day five)

The flood doesn’t change God’s purpose for man. John Piper says, “God created man in his image and aims for man to fill the earth with God’s glory reflected in man’s faith and righteousness”. Noah gets the same marching orders that Adam did. “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”. See Genesis 1:28, 9:1, 9:7. Only difference is that Noah is not in the garden. There are real threats. Sin still exists. The human heart (even after the flood) is wicked (see 8:21).

Yet, God makes a covenant. He sends a sign. He reminds the human race of His faithfulness and grace. Man can find hope in the promises and grace of God. Noah found favor (grace) with God. He found hope and courage. The covenant sign (rainbow) was a reminder of God’s faithfulness and man’s opportunity to live in relationship with Him through grace. The sign still reminds us today and will in the future. Revelation 4:3 -And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. God’s grace can save us!!

 

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 9:1-17 (day four)

It was a new day!  The earth had been cleansed by the flood.  Only Noah and his family remained…but some things were changed.  Before the flood, God had given man the green plants for food.  Now, He gave all the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky to man for food.  The animals had always walked in harmony with man, but God placed a fear of man in their hearts.  The results of sin had shaken the whole earth.

Forgiveness can turn our world upside down.  When we enter a covenant relationship with God and receive His forgiveness of our sin…it is a new day for us.  We are cleansed of sin and walk in newness of life!  Our relationship with God through the Holy Spirit has all new rules.  Reasoning by the world’s principles does not take into account the intervention of the Spirit.  Live in obedience and follow the Holy Spirit…btw, you’ll find a lot of what He has to say in Scripture!

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 9:1-17 (day three)  

“Spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”  It seems that more than mere sexual function lies at the heart of this mandate.  We are not only biological, but also intellectual and spiritual and social beings.  God did not say, “Love everybody”, but rather, “Love your neighbor”.  God did not say, “Honor a person on the other side of the world”, but rather, “Honor your father and your mother.”  We find it easy to love the idea of people, but hard to love actual people.  It’s how we live with people close by that will make ours a flourishing society—or not. God commands us to grow more than just the population.  Servanthood and reconciliation and patience and humility must also increase. And that only happens over short distances.

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 9:1-17 (day two)  

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” vs. 1

120 years, can you imagine? Some 120 years after the original instructions were given, Noah steps off the arc and begins to walk in the dawn of the covenant promise of God. Noah remembers God by sacrificing the clean animals, and then God blesses him and his his family. Noah got ‘job well done’ pat on the back from God for seeing this work through. God does not forget us. He wants to show us his favor and shower his blessings upon us, but have we been faithful with what he has given us to merit a blessing? Our families, our jobs, our lives, do they speak of the sovereign grace of our Lord? He will not forget us, we should not forget him.