Genesis-In the Beginning27 Oct
Genesis is one of the most familiar books of the Old Testament because we start to read here, because we are interested in our origins, because there is are intriguing stories. This book has come under fire in the past 200 years, from scholars who have tried to undermine it’s authority, and scientists who find Genesis incompatible with their research. For the former group, much of their scholarship has been overturned through archeological evidence that demonstrates the existence of nations mentioned, the common struggles with infertility mentioned, the prevalence of writing in the ancient world, and a universality of the flood story across cultures. This changes our questions about the text from “Were these historical events?” to “What is being said about those historical events, so that we can know God better?” The latter group, the scientists, who struggle with the creation narrative, and the age of the earth, and the genealogical lists need to focus on the whys of it all. Why did God create us? Why did the flood come? Why were languages confused? Why did God call a people unto himself?
For your reading, note God’s great love for humankind, but his desire for moral purity that is expressed in his judgments upon sinners. It explains the actual events of one of the most debated subjects of our current day…the origin of life. Genesis describes God, who is infinite and all-powerful, creating everything that exists, by the power of His spoken Word, out of nothing. He essentially creates material matter out of non-material nothing.
See the constant reminder that God has called us into relationship with himself.
59 Responses to “Genesis-In the Beginning”
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As I’ve been reading through Genesis, I am so struck by the genuineness of the text, how the flaws of the fathers of the nation are not glossed over. Nor how politically incorrect God seems. I think that if I were to write a fictional document about my ancestry, I’d paint a better picture
God can be totally honest because He has nothing to hide. He is te truth, and eternal. We learn that we are mere moral, and as I can atest, not nearly perfect. I can’t make it through a day without sin. Reading the Bible with all the aids from this computer age products will make this trip a blessing for sure.
Looks as if all is working from this site.
Genesis is a pretty huge book… i’m excited to be able to go through it quickly… it’s too easy to get hung up on small details.
Pastor Steve and DHEFC-
Thank you for starting this! It’s exciting to be involved with my Dix Hills Family in something with this much promise. I have been looking for something that would get me excited about daily scripture reading and you’ve answered my prayers with this. I Know that GOD will Bless this ministry because it certainly is HIS Will.
I also am excited to connect with old friends and to share the blessing of others insights into the daily readings.
Steve, I still remember being with the youth and you speaking on Psalm 1. Reading it today brought me back.
An insight on today’s readings: Interestingly GOD formed Adam pretty late in the week of Creation, outside of the Garden and brought him into it. That answers as many questions(?) as it raises.
I didn’t realize that God told man to “fill the earth and subdue it” while man was still in Eden before the Fall. God never intended us to live the American Dream of relaxing and taking it easy with all our stuff and comforts. We were charged with a huge task from the start.
Great website guys. It is awesome to have so much in one spot.
Question– Gen 1:27 God created man both male and female, Eve does not show up until end of ch 2, how does this fit?
Hi Rebekah,
I’ll take a stab at answering your question. Both Gn. chapter 1 and 2 tell the story of the same event, the creation of the world and all this encompasses. However, where Gn.1 may be likened to an overview of creation, Gn. 2 is more specific in detail, specifically the creation of man and woman. The “male and female” created in Gn.1:27 are the very same Adam and Eve spoken of in Gn.2:22. Essentially the story is being retold in order to fill in very important details. Details that will set the stage for chapter 3. Hope this helps.
I beleive both accounts of creation are told to teach different things and getting hung up on trying to envisage literal details will cause a lot of problems. Did Eve come after all the other animals? Was Eve a clone with the same DNA as Adam’s rib bone? Did the carnivore’s whole digestive system alter after the fall? Such questions are irrelevant. Nothing in creation should be worshipped as the pagan faiths do-all were made by God. Both male and female are created in God’s image to help each other and be companions etc. The “very important details” are the lessons we are to learn from each account.
Where did evil originate? God allowed for the possibility of evil to allow for free choice to obey Him, right? Gen2:9 “The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the midst of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” There was the possibility to know evil, which Eve and Adam persued in chapter 3.
We had this same discussion…a long one…at our Thursday men’s study a few weeks back. Yes, evil originates as a possibility within the creation of a creature that is free to disobey the perfect will of God. Some people get hung up on the “creation of evil” but God did not create evil…he created freedom.
I really like the discussions on this board. I feel so connected by reading & then “listening” to the discussions here. Great job with the site!
First I’d like to say that I love this site – it makes the reading SO easy! Sometimes I read, sometimes I listen, sometimes I read it while I listen, then I glance back over it all to catch what I might have missed and look at the headings as a review. It feels “do-able” because you only see what you have to read today, which is much less daunting than seeing an entire Bible ahead of you – kind of like focusing on moving a few buckets of sand instead of seeing a mountain of sand that needs to be moved.
What I noticed for the first time is that God tells Adam not to eat of the tree BEFORE Eve is created. I’m not making an excuse for her because she obviously knew they weren’t to eat of it (she tells the serpent as much). I’m just curious if God repeated His command to her or did Adam pass along God’s instruction to her? It’s funny I never noticed that even though I’ve probably read the first chapters of Genesis more than any other portion of the Bible. Is this our first glimpse that wives really need to listen to their husbands? Uh oh!
I’m with you Laura, I’m noticing things I never saw before. It’s great that we’re doing this all together. I tend to think in verse/poetry and this is what came to mind as I’ve been thinking about Genesis 3. Sometimes I’m a little nervous to write, because I want to make sure what I say matches the Bible. So if I’m off, please forgive me.
The Tree of Life
Driven out, sin exposed
Separation and strife
The old way is closed
To the Tree of Life
No entrance now
A flaming sword
Blocks mankind
From the Lord
From His paradise
Beauty, joy, work and rest
Lost the bliss of His best
The New Way is open
At a high price
Take up the death tree
To gain eternal life
We lift our crosses
Every day
Through the blood of Jesus
New and Living Way
Someday we’ll see
The Tree of Life again
We’ll eat from its bounty
Without end
It will bring healing
The curse will be undone
Worship kneeling
The Lamb will be our sun
Genesis 3:22 Then the LORD God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” 23 So the LORD God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. 24 After sending them out, the LORD God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Hebrews 10:19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.
Luke 9:23Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?
Revelation 22:1 Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. 3 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
Audra, you think in verse like that? That is incredible!! What a perfect poem that is our story in a nutshell.
Yeah, we really need to find some music to sing that poem to… on it lol
When ya get a chance.
I liked your poem.
Hey Guys,
How cool! I love the idea of reading and studying through scripture with you guys from across the country.
I have been teaching through Genesis with our community group monday nights. After 2 and a half months we have just gotten to Genesis 3 and I am stoked!
It is absolutely nuts when we take a step back to get a larger/more complete view of what God is doing through creation. Just the fact that God has had a plan and purpose from before time in creating is an awesome thought. The fact that at the point that man messed up God was not shocked, but immediately laid the foundation for His plan to reconcile creation to Himself (Gen 3:15). The woman’s offspring would CRUSH the serpent’s (Satan’s) head. The perfect plan is set into action.
Scripture then tells the story of how God will reconcile creation and God gives the standard for how His people should live while separated from Him. Then we get to the last three chapters of Revelation where it is revealed to John just how it will end. In the First 3 chapters of Scripture God dwells with and is in right relationship with man, and in the last 3 chapters God seals the deal and man is again reconciled to right relationship with God, where God literally dwells with His people!!! DANG!
This is exciting!
Topher,
Welcome aboard!
I’m with Audra — wondering when “evil” entered into the picture. For the first time I realized that the serpent was only called the serpent, not Satan, or the devil. Obviously he is opposing God, but how did evil come to take over that animal. Also, I’m frustrated over Genesis 3:22-23. God seems to drive Adam out of Eden because he was coming close to attaining the ability to live forever. How was this possible, or why would God have made it possible to happen. It seems these verses “weaken” God and I don’t like that.
These are some heavy questions!!
The Serpent – we know a few things:
1. The serpent was cursed along with humanity as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve.
2. It is believed that Satan was some sort of archangel who was at the height of God’s order – the most beautiful and powerful creature in existence. Apparently angelic beings have free will as well, and Satan turned on God because he desired to be like him and/or above him. See Isaiah 14:12-15. This is apparently one of those passages of scripture where the meaning goes far beyond what the author understood as he wrote, and it is widely accepted that this passage is referring to the origins of Satan himself. The word translated “morning star” is Lucifer by the way.
3. So apparently Satan had the ability to either possess a snake or take on the form of a snake, and then tempted Adam with the same temptation he himself had fallen prey to, the same kind of temptation he would tempt Jesus with in the desert 4,000 years or so later.
I have read (and come to agree with the notion) that God introducing death into the world is a function of his loving mercy for mankind. Without death we would be stuck in a state of seperation from God, in flawed bodies, in a world in decline in every way. Death was God’s way of taking the consequences of sin and making them temporary. Adam had turned his back on God, and he could live forever with the horrible consequences (like Lucifer), or he could die at some point and have those consequences be temporary. The book Phantastes by George McDonald helped me grasp this on a heart level – it’s one of the best books I have ever read. My favorite line from the book: “I was dead, and right content.”
That evil question has been floating around in my mind for this past semester also. God looks back at all that He had created at the end of the Sixth day and puts His stamp of approval on it as being very good. Coming from a perfect God, that means a lot more than our definition of very good. I would be so bold as to guess that at this point in the narrative there is not a divine struggle for power where God casts one third of the angels from heaven and then turns around and says, “Don’t worry. It’s all good. It’s very good.” It just doesn’t seem to fit. And obviously by the time Satan appears on the earth evil is present, even in the point that God created the tree of the knowledge to differentiate between good and evil. By this point Satan has done his Isaiah chapter 14 verse 12 and on thing (also Ez. 28:12-19). By going against what God purposed, Satan created this schism and separation between good and evil. Evil in this view can be understood as the absence of goodness or direct rejection of the divine standard of good.
We know that it is Satan in Genesis chapter 3 because we have a fuller picture than Adam and Eve did. Revelation chapter 20 refers to “that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan”. Does that mean that Satan disguised himself as a serpent or took the form of a serpent? I’m not totally sure. Interesting though, now that I think about it there have been angels that appeared as men in the Old Testament and who is to say that their former appearance resembled man at all. It seems that this is not the only case where a heavenly being crashes the party dressed as someone or something else.
Also, I wonder how much of the dialogue between the members of the Godhead in Genesis are meant to put divine actions and intentions into more simple, temporal, human terms. Was God racing against the clock in kicking Adam out or is this just the best way to explain on our level why God did what He did in the manner that he did it. The more I study this I find that these narratives, however limited they may seem, do not reflect divine limitations, but human limitations of insight into some of the mystery of the gospel (Isa. 55:9).
The fact that God employs heavenly and earthly messengers to bring about His will might also seem limiting at first glance. It is important to realize that God is the creator and standard for truth and rightness. It goes without saying that He therefore has the right to work in ways that we do not understand. Using the weak to lead the strong, making a Shepherd into a King, and making a King to be a sacrificial servant offering to show grace and mercy to a world of self-worshipers; these would seem foolish to most people. That is why I’m not God.
So I’m just catching up since I haven’t been with you guys from day 1, and am noticing that day 3′s reading in Genesis has some pretty heavy points that might be fun to hit. I do not have time to comment on them, but I figured it would be good to point them out and get some discussion going here.
1) There is some debate on who these Nephilim are here in Chapter 6. Any ideas? Hannah wrote a paper on these guys. Anyway, not a huge deal or something to get hung up on, but I was wondering if anyone had studied these guys or had any thoughts on them before we breeze over these guys.
2) Genesis 6:7- Divine repentance? How does that work?
3) You got guys that are living 900+ years and all of a sudden God decides to wipe everyone out and flood the earth with rain and now the age cap is 120 years? Is there a connection between the life span and the flood or is it simply because God said that they wouldn’t live that long anymore? Think about the Genesis 2 account of how the earth was watered and the Genesis 1 account of the bodies of water. Is it possible that there was at that time a protective body of water encircling the earth as a shield kind of like a super O-zone? Is this the first time that it rains from the sky? Hmmmm….
Topher – One thing is clear: the pre-flood world was completely different from the post-flood world. It would make sense that the fundmentals of the environment of the earth were changed afterwards. Those believing in a young earth (which i tend to believe) point to this as the time when many of the “ancient” fossils were created through massive and sudden pressure, the extinction of dinosaurs began, and the humidity level on the earth was drastically altered. The first 900+ years of history are filled with close relatives breeding with God’s blessing. Adam and Eve started with a perfect gene pool that was then marred by “the fall” (as was all of creation), then you have this massive catstrophic event that changes the living conditions permanently and perhaps introduces new germs and diseases (remember the earth would have been filled with dead things). I guess what I am saying is that I think the answer to “Is there a connection between the life span and the flood or is it simply because God said that they wouldn’t live that long anymore?” is that God makes decrees and arranges the world according to his decrees. I don’t think it’s either/or.
Hey Dave!
Couldn’t agree more. Those are some cool insights. Never thought about the fact that the earth would have been full of once living, now dead creatures.
The point of that last post was to create discussion, not so much set up my view. I’ve always thought that it was interesting though that in chapter 1 God separates the waters above from the waters below and waters the ground with a mist coming up from the earth (“for the LORD had not caused it to rain on the land”) in chapter 2 and then in 7:11 is the first mention of rain, unless I missed something.
Does anyone have any thoughts on 6:7?
As far as the paper on the Nephilim goes, Hannah will look for it. It’s been a while.
Topher, Just a little physical science. Dew is formed when the ground temp is lower than the air temp. Depending on the relative humidity, the temperature will vary at what piont water will condense on the ground.
Does Mrs. Kris Mannale feel like sharing her paper?, we’d be glad to post it… and really anything that sheds some light on those guys would be nice
I soooo love this book…re-reading it I am struck again by the way in which God makes Himself known to man continually before the flood – even though the time span between chapter 3 & 7 is about 1500 years it still goes to show How much He desired to dwell among His creation, His People even after they sinned….It was while they were STILL within the garden of Eden that God promises a redeemer in 3:15 and it is afterward with Cain how He personally corrects, and exhorts Cain to make it right…how after He killed His brother, God still showed up on the scene personally, then with Enoch and Noah – personally making himself known in very tangible ways, with clear directions and loving instructions…..
Our God is a very Personal God….
Yesterday, the reading made me LOL so many times! Whenever it said how long these guys lived I just cracked up. I was reading it aloud to Austin. Of course, he thought I was crazy. Imagine being 800. I don’t think my wrinkle cream could handle that.
[...] Noah and well… Mrs. Noah. This family is going to get it right! This time (as Dave notes in his comments on Genesis) there are a few differences in God’s instruction, including the eating of meat, and the [...]
DID YOU GUYS KNOW THAT NOAH WAS STILL ALIVE WHEN ABRAHAM WAS AROUND?! As a matter of fact, Noah died just a few years before God told Abram to go to Canaan. Can you imagine the conversations they must of shared together?
I LOVE THIS!!! Pastor Steve and Pastor Sam, you guys TOTALLY ROCK! This website and series is AMAZING and exactly the blessing that I need in my daily life! The addition of the comments option is like being in a group bible study every single day! LOVE IT!!! What I also love about this is the Pastors’ insights page (the home page) on the readings. It helps clarify things in the passages that I didn’t quite understand (Noah’s nakedness thing with his sons). THANK YOU for taking the time to create this and enrich our lives, and the lives of our families!!!
Wow Grace that’s cool – I never thought about that, but people sure did live a long time back in the day.
I’m amazed at how specific God’s intentions are for us. It started so long ago, but is still so tangible for me (in my own life). Thanks for the opportunity to spend some great time walking through the Bible with you. This is a truly awesome resource, and your use of the web/FB are very helpful. I mean, the Bible was always there, but this fresh new way to study, discuss, and grow together is surely a blessing we will keep within us for a long time to come. Thanks Pastor Steve & Pastor Sam.
P.S. God Bless your little niece, Sam..
In Genesis Ch.11, The tower of Babel, is this referring to the expression “speaking in tongues” or am I way off?
Actually the gift of tongues is a reversal of Babel. The fact that the Holy Spirit made it possible for various people groups to understand the gospel all at the same time as the apostles spoke in languages that they had not learned appeared as confusion to the local Jews, but it was clarity to the foreign hearers. Because it was God’s initiative of salvation “coming down” instead of the humanly inspired, “Let’s build a stairway to heaven” God allows his message to migrate through cultures through the gift of tongues.
This view would support tongues as known languages for the unification of the body of Christ, as opposed to the a heavenly language that no one understands without the gift of interpretation.
I was touch by today’s reading in Genesis because this chapter revealed for the first time Abram’s personal relationship with God. We see Abram praising God and calling God LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. Conversing with God about his concern of childless but nevertheless believing God and calling Him “Sovereign LORD”.
Gen 14:13 “…Abram the Hebrew” mentioned for the first time. Wondering where that came from.
Hmm…. good observation Grace. That is an odd phrase for two reasons 1) It’s really early – obviously before and Israelite/Hebrew Nation 2) “Hebrew” isn’t generally a name that the Jews called themselves – even when it starts showing up in the story, it’s a name that foreigners called the Jewish.
From JPS:
Abram the Hebrew The origin and meaning of the term ʿivri is unknown, and its use here is a riddle. Three suggestions are to be found in Genesis Rabba 42:13. One connects it with Eber, grandson of Noah, who is mentioned in 10:24 and 11:14; another derives it from Hebrew ʿever, “beyond,” that is, “the one from beyond [the river Euphrates]”; the third is homiletical and alludes to Abram’s religious nonconformism: “All the world was on one side (ʿever) and he on the other side.” Sarna, N. M. (1989). The JPS Torah commentary (107).
[...] American news every day. In a way the conflict between the Arab world and Israel started simply by Sarai and Abraham not believing God’s promise. Early Jewish readers read this account as a near repeat of the Fall [...]
When Abram was sitting at his tent door Gen 18, why was he able to see the Lord and the two others? In Exodus 19 the Lord came to Moses in a fire as hot as a furnace, and to gaze upon it, you would perish. What is the diference in the two apperances? Was it the Lord’s anger?
Why is Lot willing to give his own daughters over to perverts and protect the Lord’s visitors? I guess he valued the Lord’s messengers more than his own children but it’s one of those instances when i read the Bible and am shocked. I know God spared the daughters anyhow. In Matthew we read that we should choose God over our parents, kids, etc. We see that over and over in the Bible where God requires those who love Him to choose Himself over even those they may love the most on earth. I think I answered my own question.
Venessa, It is unlikely that Lot understood who these visitors were until after they revealed themselves through demonstration of their power and their prophetic message. Knowing the evil that the men of Sodom were capable of, Lot insisted that the men stay under his roof rather than out in the street where he suspected they would be violated. He was actually following the social customs of hospitality common to that part of the world even today. Once they had agreed to be his guests, he was bound by custom to protect them. To allow them to be harmed would have been a great dishonor. Lot’s choice to offer his own daughters as an alternative to satiate their perversion can in no way be condoned. Rather it may best be viewed as his desperate attempt to protect his guests once diplomacy had failed. None the less, it was a bad idea. It has also been suggested that Lot, though a righteous man, had himself become tainted by the repeated and prevalent sin of the people of Sodom. (Bad company corrupts good character) Therefore his decision making ability was compromised. (If he had been wise, he never would have stayed in Sodom with his family) Thankfully, despite Lot’s best/worst intentions, God prevented harm to the daughters through the quick and decisive action of the angels. Again, I don’t believe the scriptures are condoning Lot’s decision, nor do I think the passage you alluded to from Matthew would apply in this situation. In that passage, Jesus is calling us to choose devotion/allegiance to HIM over all including our closest loved ones. This was not the situation Lot was facing.
Thanks, Bob. I appreciate your response and think I better try to sit in on your discussion groups @ church!!
Genesis 22 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. In the ‘Firm Foundations’ class I’ve taught one of things we look at is understanding the concept of atonement in the Bible and tracing it through the scriptures. We talk about how God killed an animal to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve (a blood sacrifice to cover their sin), and how Abel’s animal sacrifice was acceptable to God, but Cain’s sacrifice of things he’d grown was not, and how God had made clear to them what comprised an acceptable sacrifice. Then we go to this chapter, Genesis 22. For many many centuries God was preparing people for the sacrifice of Christ, showing them that an acceptable sacrifice had to be:
1. Unblemished aka “flawless”
2. a blood sacrifice.
3. Ultimately, provided by God himself.
We see all of this orchestrated in Genesis 22. A ram caught in a thicket (i.e. stickerbush) would probably get caught by it’s wool, but that would have left the ram blodied and “blemished”. This ram was caught in a stickerbush, yet it was in perfect condition. No explanation needed on the “lamb led to slaughter” as a blood sacrifice that is a type of Christ. And god provided the lamb, as Abraham said he would. This whole scene is a phenomonal, explicit picture of the sacrifice of Christ that would come many years later!
That is amazing analogy! I never thought about the ram if caught by the wool would have been blemished but it wasn’t and provided the perfect sacrifice. It is amazing to see the gospel of Christ portrayed since the beginning of time.
I have 2 questions so far on the Genesis readings
1) what and who exactly are concubines? Are these similar to simply servants or do they also act as mistresses? It seems lots of these guys can get with these concubines pretty easily, and they seem to serve very little purpose besides this.
2) Why is it that on 3 separate occasions OT men of God (I think so far it’s been Abraham and Isaac, correct me if I’m wrong) have lied to superiors about their beautiful wives being their sisters? They themselves say it is because they want to protect themselves from being killed; so the rationale goes “if I say you are my wife, they will kill me to have you, but if I say you are my sister they will not kill me.” But as we’ve seen on all occasions they have been discovered and rebuked for lying, because God’s Law says that they would be committing adultery and would be therefore punished by God… so why do these guys bother with this lie? If anything, I’m surprised they weren’t killed for lying and have their wives taken anyway. Furthermore, wouldn’t it make sense that by saying the woman is your wife PROTECT you from men taking her? I mean, if any red-blooded single guy saw a beautiful woman with another guy and the guy said ‘yea she’s my sister’ wouldn’t the single guy be like ‘well, is she taken? How can I get with her?’ Is there some type of metaphorical reason for this happening on 3 separate occasions and it not working out on all three? Or is this simple silly ignorance on their part?
From the Holman Bible Dictionary: CONCUBINE- A wife of lower status (usually a slave) than a primary wife. Taking of concubines dates back at least to the patriarchal period. Both Abraham and Nahor had concubines (Gen. 22:24; 25:6; 1 Chron. 1:32). Tribal chiefs, kings, and other wealthy men generally took concubines.
The concubines (and wives) of chiefs and kings were symbols of their virility and power. Having intercourse with the concubine of the ruler was an act of rebellion. When Absalom revolted against his father David, he “went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel” (2 Sam. 16:22 NASB) on the palace roof. When David returned to the palace, the 10 concubines involved were sent away to live the rest of their lives in isolation (2 Sam. 20:3).
A concubine, whether purchased (Exod. 21:7–11; Lev. 25:44–46) or won in battle (Num. 31:18), was entitled to some legal protection (Exod. 21:7–12; Deut. 21:10–14) but was her husband’s property. A barren woman might offer her maid to her husband hoping she would conceive (Gen. 16:1–3; 30:1–4).
Although the taking of concubines was not explicitly prohibited, monogamous marriage was set forth as the biblical pattern (Gen. 2:24; Mark 10:6–9).
Could one of the pastors comment on the constant deceitfulness of Jacob (especially the speckled goats). Why was God so willing to use Jacob inspite of this characteristic.
Hey MCB – I’ll make two points about this – there’s a lot to be said about this, but I’ll try and limit myself to two.
1) the speckled goats – we had a good discussion in Sunday School about this. – We’re with you – the multiplication of the goats was God blessing Jacob, obviously it doesn’t work… and a nation of sheep-herders would have figured that out pretty quickly – so it seems that God is blessing despite rather than because of Jacob’s Methods.
2) Why is God so willing to use Jacob? – Obviously NOT because he kept the law. – I think it was because (and maybe only because) Jacob is the recipient of the promises of Abraham. Remember – Genesis is a sermon in a way given to the Israelites in the wilderness. I think they’d be asking over and over how dedicated is YHWH to us? We disobey – will God stay committed to his promises? The story of the of the original “Israel” shows that God is a keeper of promises. This also raises the question of salvation for the OT. – Obviously it’s not salvation by legalism in the way we think of it in the NT. God is inflexibly committed to his promises and graciously forgiving of those within his covenant.
vs 22-32… Huh? Who is this “man” and are they physically or figuratively wrestling? I’m thinking that the “man” was an angel or something because the title of that chunk of verses is entitled “Jacob Wrestles with God.” I just can’t grasp what is really going on here…
Here’s my take on it…
In verse 30 Jacob says, “He saw God face to face.” So it appears that Jacob was encountering God or an angel of God or some other representative of God.
Jacob was in between his struggle with Laban and the upcoming struggle with Esau, and what seems to be an ongoing struggle with God. God wanted to change Jacob’s heart and to yield fully to Him.
In verse 27, the man asks Jacob his name. The last time he was asked, he lied and said he was Esau and stole his brother’s blessing, which, although he received the desired blessing it cost him in many ways. Here he is asking for blessing once again, but this time answers correctly that he is Jacob. And since he acknowledged who he really was, God knew that he had been changed and so changed his name to Israel, the one who struggles with God and man and overcomes.
Simeon and Levi get the “you’re my hero award” for this reading. The brothers are keepin it real and real safe in the hood.
Frank and I just listened to today’s OT reading – which was all names of descendants of Esau/Edom? We looked at each other and said “OK, what did you get from that?” I used to really pay attention to each name and try to think about where else we may come across them, then I began to notice that many times different people have the same name (without last names it’s really hard to keep anyone straight). If anyone has an idea how to get something out of these types of passages, please pass it along – I know more are coming!
Dude! Never saw this before…that Anah was the Father of the HOT TUB! check out 36:24:
“he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father.”
And to complete this picture of a fun-loving guy who hung out in the hot springs, sipping his drink instead of feeding the donkeys, he also named his daughter Oholibamah. I wonder if Esau met her at Anah’s Hot Tub.
Steve – I saw this yesterday but didn’t know that it really answered my question.
Well, there is not much you can get from the names themselves unless they can be found to be in relationship to other people in another passsage, or unless they have a little extra verbage with them, like Anah does. I guess that’s why people made such a big deal over the prayer of Jabez a couple of years ago, because it said that he prayed for some things. As a whole it demonstrates the value of the family lines, and the value of individuals to the Lord, and maybe a glimpse in some cases to the Lamb’s book of life and how cool it is to have your name written there…but as to a “what did you get from that?”…not much.
No comments on Judah and Tamar today?
Deception and immorality on both their parts. But, Tamar showed foresight in asking for Judah’s identification seal, cord, and walking stick. And, of the two, she acted more in the spirit of the law than he did.
While reading Gen 49:9 and following…I’m starting to get emotional. Ok, so what’s the deal? Then I keep reading and realize “here it is again”. Whenever I read about Jesus mentioned in the OT – I get so overwhelmed and choked up. Every time, it surprises me and then I realize my reaction is always from the mention of Jesus whether He is the Lion of Judah or the Angel of the Lord. Unconsciously I know its Jesus before I consciously do. Very cool.