Blog Through The Bible IV: Genesis 1-21

I’m going to move along more quickly, otherwise we might take a few year blogging through the Bible at this pace. 🙂

Chapter Four: A few of the things I found interesting follow.

• Genesis 4:7 “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”  This brings up a number of responses. The picture I get is of dark forces crouching all around the doorstep waiting for us to walk into the trap they’ve set for us. But, we don’t have to do it. We can be aware of them and rule over the very thing that would draw us to them. If you do well, will you not be accepted?
• Genesis 4:10 “And He said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” GOD. DOESN’T. MISS. A. THING. He knows. That is an inescapable truth. He knew long before Cain killed Abel that the day would come. And still, even in Cain’s guilt God had mercy on him.
• After the birth of Seth’s son Enosh – Men began to call on the name of the Lord. I’m with Colleen here… And Adam and Eve Didn’t?

Chapter Five… Genealogy, Genealogy, Genealogy. Have you ever logged into Ancestry.com and started a family tree. Those little “hint” leaves crop up in your tree and you could literally spend days looking through the annuals of your family history and still there would be a hint toward one more relative. Thank you, Lord, His account is the highlights.

• Genesis 5:1-2: “This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man. He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.” – Mankind, not the human race.
• Tucked in chapter five are a few more tasty little nuggets to savor: 1) Seth was a son born in Adam’s own likeness, after his image; 2) The genealogies are important. They tell the stories in time by generation; 3) Enoch walked with God and was no more. What happened to him? I felt God smile when I asked this question afresh in my reading. Translated. Raptured. He did not die. Enoch simply was no more.
• Three generations after Enoch, Lamech brings forth Noah. Noah’s name means “this one will comfort us.” His name reflects rest from labor.

Chapter Six. The first story of redemption.

• At the opening of this chapter one thing jumps of the page as I read: Genesis 6:5 “The Lord saw the wickedness of man was great – EVERY. INTENT. OF. THE. THOUGHTS. OF. HIS. HEART. WAS. ONLY. EVIL. CONTINUALLY.” Empahsis mine.
• Genesis 6:6: The Lord experienced regret and grief over the wickedness of man, why? Verse 7 provides the answer – because regret brings destruction.
• Yet Noah, found grace, as a just man, blameless and having integrity before God. Can you picture Noah when God came to him with the idea about building a boat? WHAT? Noah lived differently from those around him.
• The sinfulness of man corrupts not only people but also the land, the environment and everything he touches. Corruption leads to violence.
• When God defines our purpose He is specific. He give you the details, not just the overview. When He told Noah about the specifications for the ARK – nothing was left to chance.
• Noah fulfilled his purpose. “Thus Noah did: according to all that God commanded him, so he did.” Genesis 6:22

God sees us – when we receive His grace – his favor and attention are upon us. He sees our  righteousness in His Son. God not only redeemed Mankind through Noah, but all the animals of His creation.

I noted that he brought seven animals of the clean variety. Seven-Sanctification. Not sure about that, but I wrote it just that way in my journal. [UPDATE: That would be CHAPTER SEVEN-Sanctification. Interesting.]

I also noticed it rained forty days and forty nights to purify the world from the wickedness of Mankind. ALL. THE. HIGH. HILLS. UNDER. THE.  WHOLE. HEAVEN. WERE. COVERED. Can you get a visual for that? It’s overwhelming. Isaiah 43 comes to mind. When you walk through the flood it will not wash over you….

Until next time…