GENESIS 1 - 11v 26 - Terry Gilpin
GENESIS – THE BOOK OF BEGINNINGS
The Genesis story is an epic, a drama on a grand scale. It takes us back to the very beginning when God made an absolutely perfect world, with man, the apex of a creation that He could declare was “very good.”
Genesis divides clearly into two sections:
a) Chapters 1-11:
Four outstanding EVENTS: Creation – Fall – Flood – Babel
b) Chapters 12-50:
Four outstanding PERSONS: Abraham – Isaac – Jacob – Joseph
1. ITS IMPORTANCE
a) It is Foundational
The Bible is a compilation of many books, and has influenced the world more than any other book. Right at the foundation of the Bible is Genesis, making it one of the most important books ever written.
b) It is Factual
There are over 100 references from chapters 1 – 11 in the N.T. The Lord Jesus and many other N.T. writers quoted from them frequently, and all viewed Genesis as literal, true, and historical.
Today many do away with these same chapters, describing them as “unscientific” and “mythological.” We need to be careful! By tampering with Genesis we tamper with the authority of the whole Bible! e.g.
* If Genesis is not true, nor may the prophets and Christ who quoted from and referred to it.
* If sin’s origin is a myth, so is man’s need of redemption!
* If the first Adam is allegorical, so may be the last Adam!
If the CREATION story is not reliable, the SALVATION story may not be accurate either!
2. ITS SIGNIFICANCE
“Genesis” means “origin”, and the book gives the only reliable account of the origins of all that we see about us. e.g.:-
a) Origin of the Universe
Only Genesis gives an account of the ultimate origin of matter, space, and time, which constitutes our physical universe, and it does so in specific terms of creation.
b) Origin of Life
No one has every explained how non-living chemicals could have given rise to living systems.
Evolutionists inform us that life arose by spontaneous generation about 3,500 million years ago, when gases in the atmosphere were acted upon by lightening to form amino acids. These were nurtured in an ocean rich in organic compounds – the so-called “primeval soup.” Eventually a self-replicating molecule was produced, and evolution was on the way.
In 1953 Dr Stanley Miller attempted in an experiment to simulate conditions on the early earth. He designed an apparatus containing methane, ammonia, hydrogen, and water vapour – representing the primeval atmosphere, and passed an electrical current through this mixture. Some amino acids were produced, and the result was proclaimed as proof that life could have arisen spontaneously.
But even non-believing scientists realise that this simplistic view is impossible. Life with its complex genetic systems is infinitely more complicated than that! It is akin to suggesting that producing a pile of building blocks proves than a sky-scraper could assemble itself. Biochemist George Wald of Harvard University conceded that “spontaneous generation of a living organism is impossible. Yet here we are – as a result, I believe, of spontaneous generation.” Hardly an objective scientific statement!
c) Origin of Marriage
The universal institution of marriage and the home is described in Genesis. Other aberrations such as polygamy, promiscuity, divorce, abortion, homosexuality, all came later.
d) Origin of Sin
Significantly the story of the Fall comes directly after creation. Had sin not entered, there would have been no need for any of the Bible following the story.
e) Origin of Salvation
As soon as man fell and deserved eternal death, God inaugurated His plan of salvation. The seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head (3:15).
f) Origin of Culture
Chapter 4 describes the beginning of urbanization, agriculture, animal husbandry, metal work and music.
g) Origin of Language and Nations
Only Genesis tells how distinct nations and races could develop if all men were originally of one race and one language.
h) Origin of God’s Special People, Israel
The enigma of Israel is answered only in terms of the Genesis account. The nation was called through Abraham, and through this people God brought His written Word (Bible) and the Living Word (Christ).
“IN THE BEGINNING…”
Genesis 1
This chapter is one of the most God-centred chapters in the Bible. God is referred to 43 times in 31 verses. Hence on the first page of Scripture the Holy Spirit brings us into the presence of God, and keeps us there. No wonder Satan hates this chapter!
The Genesis account of Creation stands unique in all literature, science, and philosophy. The first verse parts company from every other system of cosmogony (be it that of ancient philosopher or modern scientist). Every other system of cosmogony starts with eternal matter and energy in some form from which other entities were supposedly derived.
1. HOW DID GOD CREATE?
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (1:1). This is the foundational verse in the Bible. If a person believes Genesis 1:1 he will have no problem with the rest.
See how this verse refutes man’s philosophies:-
* “In the beginning GOD…” – denies Atheism
* “…God CREATED…” – denies Evolutionism
* “…the heaven & the earth.” – denies Materialism
All these philosophies express the same basic belief:-
* reality is to be found in the material cosmos itself
* development of the universe is dependant on its own innate properties
* there is thus no need for a personal God;
All these “-isms” are arranged against the marvellously simple statement – “In the beginning God created…” Note that this verse teaches:
a) The PRE-EXISTENCE of God
“In the beginning God…” The Greek uses the same phrase in Jn 1:1 “In the beginning was the word.”
Although the universe had a beginning, God, the Word, was already there.
b) The Person Of God
“…God…” The name of God here is ELOHIM, a title in this chapter associated with
* the majesty of God in creation
* the mystery of God His name. The name is plural, indicating that the Trinity was fully involved in the act of creation.
c) The Power Of God
“God created…” Note the word used here, BARA. This word is only used of the work of God. Only He can create.
Heb 11:3 “By faith we believe that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen are not made of things which do appear.”
Rom 4:17 “He calleth those things which be not as though they were.”
This was ex nihilo creation – out of nothing!
There are also other words used in the chapter – ASAH, “to make”, and YATSA, “to form.” These refer to reorganizing of existing materials into more complex systems. Man can “make” or “form” things, and God also worked in this way in the first week.
2. WHEN DID GOD CREATE?
How long ago was the earth created? This question has led to a sharp confrontation between science & the Bible.
a) Bible
The Bible states bluntly that the work of creation was completed in 6 days. Exodus 20:11 “For in 6 days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day.”
This puts the date of creation a few thousand years ago. Usher worked it out at 4004 B.C., but this may not be accurate because of unknown gaps in the generations of chap 11. But at most it stretches back to 10,000 B.C.
b) Science
Science laughs now at such apparent naivety! Science measures the rate of change taking place uniformly on the earth, and calculates back to the starting date. Earth, we are told, is thus 2 billion years old, with 3/4 of geological time gone before geologists fine adequate evidence of life in the Cambrian rocks.
How do we reconcile the Bible & Science?
The disparity seems so great that many Christians have felt that they must come up with some other explanation for the creation story. Must we commit intellectual suicide! After all, “the Bible is not a scientific textbook.” Perhaps God was speaking in a kind of allegory.
Hence a number of theories have been proposed to harmonize the conclusions of science and the Bible record.
a) The Gap Theory
This sees a “gap” between verses 1 and 2. It says verse 1 refers to an earlier creation which was ruined because of Lucifer’s fall from heaven. A great cataclysm occurred on earth with the result that it “BECAME without form and void” in verse 2.
Hence there is a large gap between these verses which accommodates all the time required by scientists for fossils development, radio-carbon dating, rock structure, and all the other apparently very old features of the universe.
Supposed Biblical support for this theory comes from:
(i) Isa 45:18 “he created it not in vain.” i.e. God did not make the earth waste and void. The word “void” (TOHU) in Isa means “empty.” God here is drawing a parallel between what He did in creation and what He is going to do with Israel. His purpose for both was not that they should be “void” or “empty” and uninhabited. Genesis 1 tells of the steps by which He brought form to the unformed earth, and living inhabitants to its empty surface.
(ii) Jer 4:23-28 “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form and void, and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled.” Jeremiah here refers to a future time. He refers to mountains, but there were no mountains in Gen 1:2. Hence this passage cannot be applied to creation; the context is future judgment.
(iii) 2 Cor 4:6 “God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Problems with the Gap Theory
(i) Scientifically impossible. The geological age system depends on the evolutionary succession of fossils preserved in the sedimentary rocks of the earth’s crust.
A cataclysm of such dimensions as to leave the earth covered with water, with darkness covering the face of the deep would obliterate all evidence of the “geological ages.”
(ii) Theologically impossible. By accepting the Gap Theory, we accept the fossil record which identifies with these “ages.” But fossils are DEAD things – BEFORE Adam! But Rom 5:12 says “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin…”
Also the Gap Theory requires the existence of pre-Adamic man to explain the fossils of people who apparently lived before Adam. But 1 Cor 15:45 says “The FIRST man Adam was made a living soul.”
Exodus 20:11 sys “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and earth, the sea, and all that in them is.” Here verse 1 is included in the “six days.”
Note that verses one and two connected by “and” – hardly an indication of a “gap” of 4 – 5 billion years!
b) The Day-Age Theory
This also attempts to fit long geological ages into the Bible account by making the “days” of Gen 1 long ages. We know “The day of the Lord” does not refer to a literal day, and “a day with the Lord is as a thousand years.” Hence might not these days also be long indefinite periods of time?
The word “YOM” may mean indefinite time periods. But…
* When used in plural as “in six days…” it always refers to 24 hour period (700 occurrences)
* When “yom” is used with a number (“first day, etc) it always refers to a 24 hour day.
* The days of Gen 1 are bounded by “evening and morning” i.e. literal days.
Problems with the Day-Age Theory
(i) The days of Gen 1 do not tally with the fossil record.
(ii) Fossils speak of death, and as the geological ages are tied to the fossil record, it implies the existence of death before sin, contradicting Rom 5:12.
What about the apparent evidences of old age?
e.g. The stars being so many light years away; the fossil records; the great canyons and gorges which took millions of years to gouge out.
Our estimation of the AGE of the world must take two things into account:
a) God Created a dynamic, functioning system
When God brought the stars into existence he created a dynamic, functioning system. In the same way as Adam was created an adult, so the universe was created “full-grown” from the beginning, with light trails from the stars already in transit.
b) The Effects of the world-wide Flood
(i) The Fossil Record. Why are no fossils being formed in the world today? Animals dying today do not fossilize; they decompose or are scavenged. But in the past an enormous amount of fossilization occurred. Museums are filled with fossils.
And what about coal? Millions of tons of vegetation, much of it perfectly preserved, have been buried all over the world in the form of coal. Each foot of coal represents many feet of compressed plant remains. But nowhere in the world is coal being formed today! n some areas there are large tree trunks turned into coal penetrating through several layers of sedimentary strata. No tree could have remained upright while sediments built up round it for missions of years!
(ii) Great Canyons and Gorges . The formation of fossils and the topographic features of the world around us, with its canyons, gorges and mountains relate to the Flood which came upon and destroyed the world of Noah’s time.
The layers of sedimentary rocks, the deposition of fossils, the ice age, the formation of glaciers are all far more explicable on the basis of a universal Flood. This was far more that a local heavy rain. 2 Peter 3:6 “The world that then was, being overflowed with a flood, perished.” This was so great an event that it is compared to the future day of judgement in which “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
3. WHAT DID GOD CREATE?
God’s creation programme was divided into six days
DAY 1 – Time, Space, Matter, Energy
a) Creation of Time – “In the beginning…”
Here is the creation of TIME.
b) Creation of Space – “…the heaven…”
This does not mean the stars which were created on 4th day. Means the “space” of universe.
c) Creation of Matter – “…and the earth…”
At the time of creation there were no other planets, stars, or other bodies in the universe. The earth had no form to it; so this verse speaks essentially of the creation of the basic elements of matter, which were thereafter to be structured into other material bodies.
d) Creation of Light – “And God said, Let there be light, and there was light” (1:3). Visible light is clearly meant here, since it is set in contrast to darkness. But light involves the whole electromagnetic spectrum. Thus the creation of light resulted in the energizing of the physical cosmos
The darkness was not completely removed, only separated. The “light” is called “day, and the “darkness” He called “night”.
“The evening and the morning were the first day” (1:5). This same formula is used at the conclusion of each of the six days, hence each “day” had distinct boundaries, and the duration of the first day was the same as the following six days.
Such a cyclical light/darkness arrangement means that earth was now rotating on its axis, with a light source on one side of the earth corresponding to the sun (although not yet made).
When light was created, it was not centred on the planets as today. This did not occur till the fourth day. We cannot think of light without the sun, moon, and stars, yet this original light must have existed apart from the sun, yet positioned so as to produce darkness. God does not tell us the nature of this light source, but it would be easily produced by God who is light.
DAY TWO – Division of the Waters
“And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters” (1:5).
On the first day the earth was a totally covered by water. Now God “divided” the waters, placing some of them high above the rotating globe, with a great “expanse” (NIV), or “firmament”, separating them from the waters below.
a) “The waters which were under the firmament”
These lower waters would provide the water base for life on earth.
b) “The waters which were above the firmament”
These waters seem to have formed a transparent water vapour canopy which controlled local temperatures and humidity allowing daily evaporation and condensation. Things were different before the flood, as there was no “rain upon the earth” (2:5), nor any “bow in the cloud” (9:13). Separated by this “expanse”, or atmosphere, the two bodies of water were ready for their future functions of sustaining life on earth.
DAY THREE – Land & Sea Separated, Creation of Plants
a) Separation of land from sea
“And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so” (1:9).
The waters covered the entire earth at this stage. But now surfaces of solid earth appeared above the waters, and an intricate network of channels and reservoirs opened up in the crust to receive the waters draining off the rising continents.
“And God called the dry land Earth.” This name Earth is the same as used in 1:1,2, indicating that the formless matter originally created in verse 1 is the same matter as used in the finally constituted solid ground.
b) Creation of Flora
“And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so” (1:11).
Not only had rocks and minerals been formed, but so had a blanket of fertile soil. Now as God speaks, chemical elements of the earth are organized into complex systems. Note that plants were made, not as seeds, but as full-grown plants, whose seed was in itself.
“seed…kind.” Implanted in each organism was a “seed” programmed to enable the continuing replication of that type of organism. Modern understanding of the complexities of the DNA molecule and the genetic code contained in it has reinforced the Biblical teaching of the stability of “kinds”.
N.B. complex fruit trees were created before animal life. This contradicts evolution which has both vertebrates and invertebrates evolving long before fruit trees and other higher plants. Also many plants require pollination by insects which were not created till the 6th day. Hence there was no “theistic evolution”!
DAY FOUR – Creation of Sun, Moon, & Stars
“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divided the day from the night…and God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night” (1:14-16).
In the first three days light impinged on the earth as it rotated on its axis during the first three days. We do not know the nature of this light source, but it was apparently the same intensity and direction as that which would later come from the sun and moon.
“Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven” (1:14). This was not the same firmament as that which was formed on the second day. The word “firmament” just means “space”, and can apply to any particular “space” as determined by the context.
Modern theories of Stellar & Galactic Evolution
All modern theories are at best only interesting speculation. None is generally accepted, and all have major objections. No one has ever SEEN a star of galaxy evolve or change at all.
The Accuracy of the Record
The Bible is not a handbook of science or astrology; yet each time it refers to a subject which can be scientifically investigated it does so with unerring accuracy.
E.g. How did Moses know that the sun was :”Greater” than the moon? Many ancients thought that the moon was created, that it was bigger, and only gave less light and heat because it was further away. We now know that the sun is so great it could contain 6 million moons!
“He made the stars also!”
What brevity! And what a perspective of truth. The Bible takes 50 chapters to discuss the construction and significance of the Tabernacle, yet it was only a very temporary tabernacle. 50 chapters about the tabernacle; 5 words about the stars!
This is because the Bible is a handbook of Redemption. To create He only had to speak. To redeem He had to suffer.
How much we would have written about the stars! There are a billion stars in our galaxy, and some 100 million galaxies in known space. Scientists postulate that known space is only 1 billionth of theoretical space! Sir James Jeans tells us there are more stars in space than all the grains of sand on the seashore.
Yet God dismisses it all with “He made the stars also.” Our God is more interested in people than planets, and in souls than stars.
DAY FIVE – Creation of Fish and Bird
“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of the heaven” (1:20).
“Let the waters bring forth” is better translated “Let the waters teem with living creatures.”
“..creatures that hath life.” The word “life” occurs for the first time in this verse. It is the word NEPHESH, the word for “soul”, and is used to refer to the “soul” of man and the life of animals. “And God created…every living creature” (1:21). “Living creature” is the same as “living soul” (2:7).
“After Its Kind”
The reproductive systems of both plants and animals are programmed to assure the fixity of the species. The DNA molecule for each kind is programmed to allow for a wide variation within the species, but will not allow change across the species border.
“…and God blessed them”
Animals and birds are also objects of His concern and love. Not even a sparrow falls to the ground without his noticing (Matt 10:29).
Note the anti-evolution order
Evolution says marine animals came first, the plants, then birds. The Bible says plant life came first, then marine animals, then birds.
DAY SIX – Creation of Animals & Man
a) Creation of Animals
“And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so” (1:24).
Note that God “made” (ASAH) these land animals; whereas he was said to have “created” (BARA) the air and sea animals (1:21). The reason may be that the act of creation (1:21) was that of “every living soul”, not only of sea and air creatures.
Perhaps the formation of land creatures merely involved the organization of materials already in existence, including the NEPHESH, the soul principle, as well as the physical elements.
Note the Anti-evolutionary evidence
(i) Birds were made on Day 4, reptiles and insects on Day 5
(ii) There was no evolutionary struggle for the “survival of the fittest.” Instead, “God saw that it was good.”
(iii) All these land animals were made “after his kind.”
b) The Creation of Man
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (1:26). God created man as a tri-unity of body, soul, and spirit.
(i) His Body. Verse 26 says man was “made” (ASAH), i.e. he was “made” as were the animals of 1:25. His body was formed in the same way as the bodies of animals. It was formed from the dust of the ground (2:5), indicating his lowly origin and essential frailty. Perhaps even in his innocence man had to be dependent on God.
God took great care in the construction of man’s body. It was to be the noblest of God’s works. It was to contain immortality – man’s never dying spirit, and was itself to live for ever.
(ii) His Soul. Both man and animals have a soul. (1:24;2:7). The “soul” refers to the self-conscious principle in a person (as distinguished from plants). But man’s soul has greater content than the animals. It is the seat of his intellect, will, emotions, desires, affections. It is his “heart”, the real “him.”
(iii) His Spirit. This is man’s spiritual component, his “inner man” (Eph 3:16,17). It is in the realm of the spirit that God communicates with man, and seeks to control his body and soul. “The spirit of a man is the candle of the Lord” (Prov 20:27), i.e. the spirit is God’s abode in a man.
God was not making a top-of-the-range highly organized animal. He was making a new creation, something similar to the animals, yet essentially very different, for man was to be created (BARA) “in the image of God.”
It is being made “in the image of God” which makes man totally different. It is this that entails those aspects of human nature not shared by animals – moral consciousness, abstract thought, aesthetic appreciation, and the ability to appreciate God.
When describing the creation of man, God does not begin with his body and relate man to the beasts. He begins with man’s moral and spiritual nature and relates him to God! Reference to the creation of his body is only made at the end of the creation story (2:7).
4. WHY DID GOD CREATE?
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over…every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (1:28).
God made man “crowned with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hand. Thou hast put all things under his feet” (Heb 2:7,8).
Man was made for God:
* To reflect Him(1:26)
* To enjoy (have fellowship with) Him (3:8)
* To serve Him (1:28)
* To obey Him (1:17) – as a free agent
Sadly the plan was marred. “But now we see not all things put under him” (Heb 2:9). Because of sin man lost his high privilege and calling. He lost his God-likeness, and ceased to have fellowship with Him. The world around us today is sad testimony to effects of the Fall.
This is the Gospel story, and the rest of the Bible is taken up with the story of Redemption, and how we can regain the likeness of God. This is what happens when a person is made a “new creature” in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 5:17). Note Eph 4:24 “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
This is the regenerated man, made in God’s image because he is partaker of the divine nature. He is “renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Col 3:10). Thus the believer is a new man, created in the image of God.
“MAN THE CROWN”
Genesis 2
This chapter is the natural sequel to the creation story of chapter 1, and focuses on Man as the crown and climax of the God’s perfect Creation.
It not only tells us how God created man, but also gives rich insight into why. In doing so it sets the scene for the tragic events of chapter 3.
1. GOD THE CREATOR RESTING (2:1-3)
The Sabbath indicated:
a) A Completed Programme
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them” (2:1). Four times over it is emphasized that God finished His work. It was complete. Perfect! This is in contrast to evolutionists who claim that the cosmos continues to evolve as part of an on-going uniformitarian system. Any change taking place in the cosmos today is not evolutionary, but devolutionary as the universe runs down in accordance with the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
b) A Contented Providence
“And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made” (2:3). God “rested” on the Sabbath. How strange! Does God grow tired? Of course not!
The word “rest” means “ceased.” “Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?” (Isa 40:28). He ceased His work because it was finished. It was the rest of satisfaction and contentment.
The more we understand the nature of the physical universe, the more we see that God is a God of boundless energy. Each material object in the universe is composed of atoms, each atom being a bundle of pure energy. A God who can create more universes than man can count, and who can lock up in the breast of an atom enough energy to obliterate an island cannot grow tired!
c) A Continuing Principle
Here is a principle initiated by God long before Moses gave the law. The Sabbath was to be “sanctified”, i.e.
(i) Separated FROM, i.e. different from the six previous days.
(ii) Separated TO restful enjoyment of God. God and man rejoicing in each other, the creature reflecting God’s glory.
Later, it was extended to Israel as part of God’s covenant with them. But instead of being a day of rest, the Jews encrusted it with such enormous coverings of tradition, that the day became an intolerable burden.
The principle of one day in seven separated from the other days, and set aside for restful enjoyment of God still applies to us, although we have no obligation to keep the Sabbath as part of the Law given to Israel.
2. MAN THE CROWN REIGNING (2:4-25)
“These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens” (2:4). This verse brings before us:
a) A Pedigree
“These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created.” Genesis can be divided up according to the occurrence of the phrase “These are the generations”, as it deals with different individuals and groups of people.
The word “generation” means “family history.” In Genesis we have the family histories of Adam, Noah, the sons of Noah, Terah, Ishmael, Isaac, Esau, sons of Esau, and Jacob.
But first we have the “family history of the heavens and the earth. i.e. the family history of the old creation which ran on until everything was ruined by the Fall. Adam is linked to that Family History. He shared the same unique pedigree.
Matthew’s Gospel introduces us to a new Family History, “the book of the generation of Jesus Christ” (Matt 1:1). We move from an old Family History wrecked by sin to a new Family History from which sin is banished. We belong to “the generation of Jesus Christ.” Our names are included in that pedigree.
b) A Person
“…in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.” In Genesis 1 the name ELOHIM is used. This name is linked with God as Creator. It has the thought of mystery and majesty.
In Genesis 2 we are introduced to the name JEHOVAH. This name views Him in covenant relation with His people.
* As ELOHIM He tossed the worlds into space
* As JEHOVAH He comes into close relation with His creature. It is this name used so frequently in chapter 3 as He deals so firmly yet so graciously with His sinning people.
Here we see:
a) Man’s Formation (2:4-7)
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (2:7).
(i) Man’s Material Being. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground.” Dust! How frail and dependent man is! Earth’s basic elements were also the basic elements of man’s composition. “The first man is of the earth, earthy” (1 Cor 15:47).
Rocks seem different to human flesh, but the basic chemical elements are essentially the same! Dr Mayo of the Mayo Clinic used to say we need enough:
* fat for 7 bars of soap
* iron for one large nail
* sulphur to delouse a dog
* lime to whitewash a chicken coup
* magnesia for 1 dose of medicine
* phosphorous for 1 box of matches
The total purchase would not fill more than 2 grocery bags. The only problem is with the instructions! It is so complex that we cannot put it together. God took that “dust”, those odds and ends of things, and “formed” (implies craftsmanship) them into man.
(ii) Man’s Non-material Being. “God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (2:7). God energized man’s inanimate body by breathing directly into him “the breath of life.” This is shared in common with animals (Gen 7:22), and is thus not the “spiritual” part of man.
It refers to man being made alive, “a living soul.” It refers to his emotional, intellectual, and volitional capacities. Animals have these same capabilities to a lesser degree, but God was not making a top-of-the-range animal. He was making a totally new and different creature for Himself.
b) Man’s Habitation (2:8-17)
The whole world was placed under man’s dominion and was good in every way. But a special spot, called Eden (“Delight”) was to be his home. This garden was filled with beautiful trees of every kind. Adam’s first knowledge of his Creator was of One who loved and carefully provided for him.
God’s purpose for Adam was that he should:-
(i) Enjoy His Habitation. Everything God gave was Beautiful – “pleasant to the sight” and Useful – “good for food.”
(ii) Explore His Habitation. Eden was the centre, but verses 10-14 tell of rivers and lands filled with treasures to explore. God had a dynamic programme all lined up for him, which was to take him to the ends of the earth. His purpose for Adam was that he should exercise his powers of discernment and discovery.
This takes us to Rev 22:3 where we read “His servants shall serve him.” In the eternal state God will continue where he left off. We need to be sure we will be part of that programme!
(iii) Look After His Habitation. Even in a perfect world, work was necessary for man’s good. “to dress it and to keep it.” The word “keep” means “to guard.” It has the thought of loving and careful stewardship, keeping it beautiful and orderly.
c) Man’s Probation (2:16-17)
Adam had been created in the image of God and was to be given dominion over the entire physical and biological creation. God gave him full liberty, but tested his loyalty by placing him on probation with respect to one specific instruction.
Here we see:-
(i) The Purpose of Man’s Probation. God made man because He loved him. Everything God does is related to His love. But He did not create a robot, and man’s love in return must be genuine and voluntary. This single restraint would be the acid test of man’s love for God.
Thus Adam was free to love God, but also free not to love Him. If he could make the right moral choice, he could also make the wrong moral choice. God’s creation of morally free spiritual beings must run the risk of having them reject Him and His love. It must allow them a free decision.
(ii) The Nature of Man’s Probation. “of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it” (2:17). Man already had a knowledge of “good.” All he had known was “good.” Now rejection of God’s word would convey a knowledge of evil to him. “Evil” is merely a rejection of God’s will. Disobedience to His will is thus participation in evil, and experimental knowledge of it.
The issue was not whether he would know good from evil, but whether he would choose to experience evil, or choose to continue to experience good. Man chose evil, and had an experiential knowledge of evil. Now he fully knew evil.
(iii) The Consequences of Man’s Probation. “in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (2:17). Adam should have obeyed God as an expression of his love. But God gave him further incentive by warning him of the consequences of disobedience. Death would enter.
This “death” was both physical and spiritual. The moment Adam sinned, the principle of decay began to operate in his body, and he would finally return to dust. Even though he continued to function biologically for 900 years, he died both spiritually and (in principle) physically the day he rejected God.
What is death? It is a separation.
* Physically – separation of body and spirit
* Spiritually – separation of spirit from God
Man did not die physically just them but the seeds of decay set in and he died later. But spiritual death was immediate. Man’s fellowship with God was severed. Because of Adam’s sin, a sin nature resulting in death is passed to each descendant. “Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin…” (Rom 5:12). Since Adam, when a person is born he is spiritually “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1). “It is appointed unto men once to die” (Heb 9:27). We cannot escape.
But we can be made alive, “even when we were dead in sins, hath he quickened us together in Christ” (2:4,5). A spiritually dead person can be made alive by receiving Christ as Saviour.
d) Man’s Companion (2:18-25)
This story of the first marriage is vitally important, as it brings before us:
* God’s perfect pattern – for marriage.
* God’s perfect picture – of Christ and the Church
The O.T. is full of types of Christ – His person and His work. Here, on almost the first page of Scripture we have a beautiful type of His person and work in the formation of Eve from Adam.
Adam and Christ
(i) A Contrast. Adam is usually contrasted with Christ, his disobedience, his fall, his failure, etc.
(ii) A Comparison. In this connection he is compared with Christ. Rom 5:14 reminds us that he was “a figure of Him that was to come.”
So this story brings a beautiful type, while Eph 5:30 presents the equally beautiful antitype: “We are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones.” This is direct reference to Gen 2:23. It is highly significant that God has chosen this first marriage relationship to be a picture and pattern of the relation of Christ to His church.
(i) The Reason. “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a help meet for him” (2:18). “…not good.” This does not mean that God created something imperfect. Rather it was unfinished. All the animals had been made both male and female. Only man had no such companion and was “incomplete.” So in some mysterious way which we cannot understand, the Church is described as “the fullness of him that filleth all in all” (Eph 1:23).
(ii) The Operation. “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof” (2:21). It would have been easy for Him to form Eve as He had done Adam. But God was about to do something special, and had great spiritual lessons to teach in the method He used:
* The Sleep. We think of this in terms of pain relief for a surgical operation. But this was at a time when there was no suffering, i.e. the meaning is deeper than mere pain relief. It seems as though Adam “died” when as yet there was no death in the world, in order to obtain a bride. It speaks of Christ in His sleep of death for three days and three nights.
* The Wound. Adam’s side was opened and a “rib” taken. So we remember the “wounded side” and the water and blood which flowed from it. Here is the first proclamation of the everlasting Gospel. Perhaps he had a permanent scar.
* The “rib.” The word “rib” is better translated “side.” Matt Henry says Eve was not taken from Adam’s head (superiority), or his feet (inferiority), but from his side (equality and companionship). She was taken from his side, near his heart. Indicates fellowship, affection, intimacy, equality.
(iii) The Presentation. “and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man” (2:21,22). There seems to have been a period between the operation and the presentation. The word “made” is “built.” God took the rib and “built” woman. When the “building” was complete “the Lord God…brought her unto the man” (2:22).
For 2000 years God has been “building” His Church, forming a bride for His Son. When the work is finished, God will present his Bride to Him, “a glorious church without spot or wrinkle.”
(iv) The Union. “And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh” (2:23,24). This is the classical passage establishing marriage. It was meant to be:
* exclusive – one man and one woman
* permanent – Man has since made many variations on this theme – polygamy, adultery, promiscuity, etc, – but the Lord said “From the beginning it was not so.”
* intimate – “and they shall be one flesh.” Here is the most intimate of all unions which brings two people so close together that they become “one flesh.”
* innocent – “And the were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (2:25). They were alone and innocent. There was not need for their physical union to be associated with feelings of guilt.
Sex today is a dirty word that has been smeared over almost every product advertised in the market place, to say nothing of the pornography and promiscuity on every hand.
But the Biblical view of its value and virtue has not changed. Hebrews 13:4 sums it up: “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”
* * * * * *
Where no shade nor stain can enter,
Nor the gold grow dim;
In that holiness unsullied
I shall walk with Him.
Meet companion, then, for Jesus,
From Him, for Him, made;
Glory of God’s grace for ever
There in me displayed.
He and I in that bright glory
One deep joy shall share;
Mine, to be for every with Him,
His that I am there.
– Paul Gerhardt
THE FALL
Genesis 3:1-9
What a world it was! No suffering, no disease, no sin, and, above all, no death. No wonder God said it was “very good” (1:31). But this world “very good” no longer. Everywhere we look there is hate, crime, war, pollution, and corruption. What has gone wrong?
For centuries philosophers and theologians have debated the problem of the existence of evil. Why does an omnipotent, holy, and, above all, a loving God permit such things?
Genesis 3 takes us to the root of the problem as it leads us step by step through the events leading to Man’s Fall (3:1-9), and then looks at what was to be Man’s Future (3:10-24).
1. THE STRATEGY (3:1-5)
“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made” (3:1).
3 chapters in from the beginning of the Bible Satan is seen for the first time. Three chapters in from the end of the Bible he is seen for the last time. The results of his work are seen on every page in between.
“The serpent was more subtle…” There is much more to this than a talking snake! Satan used the serpent, a beautiful and upright creature, to dazzle and deceive the woman.
Satan’s subtle strategy involved an attack on:-
a) God’s Order
Satan’s objective was Adam. He, not Eve, was the head of the race. Satan attacked Adam by deceiving Eve, and persuading her to persuade her husband to sin. This inverted God’s order of Adam as the head of the family, and made Eve the “decision maker.”
b) God’s Word
Eve’s only defence was the Word of God, and Satan knew it. Hence he sowed seeds of:
(i) Doubt. “Yea, hath God said…” (3:1). Eve should have known God’s Word is final. But she entertained the doubts Satan infiltrated into her mind. Eve had the Word of God. All Satan’s craft and cunning could have availed nothing if Eve had responded “Thus saith the Lord.”
Today many respect the Bible as a fine book with great literary value, but they have no firm assurance that it really is the Word of God. Consequently they have no firm foundation against evil.
(ii) Denial. “Ye shall not surely die” (3:4). Once doubt gets a foothold, it is a short distance to denial. And once we deny it, there is no obligation to do it!
(iii) Delusion. “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (3:5). Satan deceived Eve with a promise of enlightenment which was to become true only in a most grotesque sense.
(iv) Disobedience. “she took…and did eat” (3:6). This was Satan’s final step. In the last analysis, it is the decision to disobey which sends a man to hell.
c) God’s LOVE
Satan persuaded her to question the very nature of God and his goodness. He suggested that God is:-
(i) Unkind. “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden” (3:1). He questioned God’s goodness. “If God really loves me, why does prevent me from doing this?”
(ii) Unreal. “Ye shall not surely die” (3:4). God cannot mean what He says. “How can a God of love send anyone to hell?” We forget that people go to hell because they reject Him.
(iii) Unjust. “God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (3:5). God is selfish! Satan wanted Eve to think God did not love her, and thus boxed her in.
2. THE SIN
a) Why Eve Sinned
Eve sinned because she misused her only defence, the Word of God. In her reply she misquoted the Word of God three times:
(i) She Misquoted God’s Permission. “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden” (3:2) God had said “of EVERY tree of the garden thou mayest FREELY eat” (2:16). Already she forgot she could FREELY eat of ALL the other trees, and was subconsciously agreeing that God was restrictive.
(ii) She Misquoted God’s Prohibition. “God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, NEITHER SHALL YE TOUCH IT, lest ye die” (3:3). She added to what God had said in 2:17.
(iii) She Misquoted God’s Penalty. She exchanged God’s strong “Thou shalt surely die” (2:17), for the watered down “lest ye die” (3:3)
b) How Eve Sinned
Eve’s act is summed up in one brief clause: “she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (3:6). Only two or three lines in our Bibles, but this act flicked the switch that turned out the lights for the whole human race.
When Eve sinned she allowed Satan to turn:
(i) Look into Lust. Eve’s eyes were directed to the forbidden fruit. Temptation often starts with what we see. Satan entered by her senses, ear and eye, and ended with her will.
(ii) Desire into Decision. Satan can persuade, but cannot push. Neither does God. Our will has the final word. It was a factor in the Fall, and is equally a factor in salvation.
(iii) Choice into a Chain. All she did was “eat”, but “Whosever committeth sin is the servant (slave) of sin” (Jn 8:34). This “one off” event, held her chained for ever after.
(iv) The Sinner into a Seducer. “she gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” There is nothing as infectious as sin. We cannot keep it to ourselves, as its effects control ourselves and contaminate others. It was not long before she ensnared her husband also.
Note the details of Eve’s decision (3:6):-
(i) “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food.” It was appealing to the physical appetite. The Bible describes it as “the lust of the flesh.”
(ii) “it was pleasant to the eyes.” It looked good and appealed to the emotions and aesthetic senses. This was “the lust of the eyes.”
(iii) “a tree to be desired to make one wise.” Here was a direct appeal to what the Bible calls “the pride of life.”
Three important N.T. applications:
a) The Example of John
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of live, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 Jn 2:16).
b) The Example of Jesus
Satan tempted the Lord in exactly the same way.
* “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” This corresponds to “when the woman saw that the tree was good for food” – the lust of the flesh.
* “The devil shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.” This corresponds to “it was pleasant to the eyes” – the lust of the eyes.
* The devil set him on a pinnacle of the temple and “saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee.” This would have been a spectacular, sensational thing to do, and would have evoked the awe and wonder of the crowd below. It corresponds to “a tree to be desired to make one wise” – the pride of life.
c) The Example of James
How accurate the commentary of James 1:14,15: “Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
Satan captured Eve’s:-
a) Ear. She listened to what he had to say, and consequently entertained doubts as to God and His goodness.
b) Eye. She began to look on the object of temptation and be “drawn away of her own lust.” It led to an inner desire to take of the forbidden fruit.
c) Will. A clear choice faced her – to obey or disobey She permitted her desire to run away with her will. Lust “conceived” and brought forth open sin, which led to death.
3. THE SEQUEL
A number of immediate consequences followed:
a) Opened Eyes
“And the eyes of them both were opened” (3:7). Satan’s promise that their eyes would be opened came hideously true! What an “eye-opener” and “knowing” it was! Their eyes were opened to the awfulness of what they had done. They would know:
* good – without having the power to do it.
* evil – without having the power to avoid it
b) Lost Innocence
“they knew that they were naked” (3:7). This was the “knowledge” for which they had sold themselves, their place in paradise, and their fellowship with God.
Some suggest that before the Fall Adam and Eve were covered with light, as God covers Himself with light as with a garment (Ps 104:2). The moment they sinned the light went out, and they stood exposed in all the shame of their nakedness.
“and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” (3:7). Today people cover their sin by self-efforts. But the basic problem was not OUTER physical nakedness, but INNER spiritual nakedness.
c) Awakened Conscience
As a result of the Fall conscience began to be active. This was a tragic inward change in comparison with what they had known before. They had then known only love, joy, and peace. Now conscience brought terror, as they fled from God, and “hid themselves.”
“Conscience doth make cowards of us all.” Once faith is gone, fear steps in Never underestimate conscience! It goes with a person into hell. The Rich Man of Luke 16 remembered his sin and his brothers.
(i) God uses the conscience to CONVICT a person of his sin, and so drive him to find mercy.
(ii) Satan uses the conscience to CONDEMN a person, and so drive him further from God, thus increasing his bondage to Satan.
d) Broken Fellowship
“Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the Garden” (3:8). What was wrong? “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” The offhand way this is stated indicates it was a normal occurrence. Their time of quiet fellowship with God suddenly became a time of terror.
“They hid themselves.” His conscience was at work. He knew he was a sinner, and since he could not stand naked or exposed before God he fled.
This reminds us of Rev 6:15-17, which tells of a time when, in the Great Tribulation “The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and HIDE US from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand”
e) Certain Death
This singe act of disobedience brought death into the world. The moment he sinned Adam died spiritually, and began to die physically. The death principle operates in our lives because we are sinners:
(i) By Nature. As Adam’s descendants, we have inherited Adam’s sinful nature. We begin to die the moment we are born. We never have to teach a child sin. The natural tendency makes itself felt soon enough.
(ii) By Practice. We can’t blame Adam! It is not Adam’s sin that sends a person to hell. It is our own sin. “…so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom 5:12).
4. THE SEQUEL
“Where art thou?” (3:9). The most burning question in the Bible! The question reveals two things:
a) Man’s Ruin
Man was lost! Adam and Eve stand hiding, condemned by their conscience, and naked before omnipotent deity. In what way was man “lost”? Not in the sense that God did not know where he was, but in the sense that his sin had separated him from his God.
b) God’s Remedy
The moment man sinned God came down to seek him! “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk 19:10). God seeks out Adam not only to face him with his sin, but to reveal his amazing mercy and grace. He wanted to bring him from his hiding place in the trees, so that he might by faith find his hiding place in God.
An absolutely holy God seeking a totally corrupt sinner. “There is none that seeketh after God” (Rom 3:11). Yet here is God seeking man!
“Where Art Thou?”
A question of:
a) Divine Justice. God cannot overlook sin. God was saying they would have to appear before Him to answer for it.
b) Divine Sorrow. God grieves over the sinner and his ways.
c) Divine Grace. God offers redemption and a way back to Him.
The question still rings out. “Where art thou?” There are only two possible answers: “In Adam.” – the natural state. As such, a person is condemned. Or “In Christ.” (Jn 5:24; 2 Cor 5:17).
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now I’m found,
Was blind but now I see.
– John Newton
THE FALL
Genesis 3:10-24
The first section of chapter 3 deal with Man’s Fall, and closes with the searching question “Where art thou?”
The rest of the chapter is taken up with Man’s Future as a direct consequence of his action. Gone were the days of blessed fellowship, to be replaced by sorrow, suffering, expulsion from God’s presence, and eventual death.
Yet against the dark background of these prophecies there sparkle some of the richest promises in all Scripture.
1. MAN SEARCHED (3:9-13)
Its not my fault! When challenged by God, Adam and Eve frantically looked around for excuses and alibis. I heard! I was afraid! I hid myself!
Who is this shifty devious creature of chapter 3? Where is the bright honest upright man of chapter 2? Here is the first fallen man giving the universe its first demonstration that the human heart is “deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jer 17:9).
Don’t blame me! Note Job 32:33 “If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom.” Instead of honestly and openly confessing their sin, they covered it by blaming:-
a) Circumstances
“I was naked and I hid myself” (3:10). If only my circumstances had been different! He forgot that the shame of his nakedness was the effect, not the cause, of his sin.
Often circumstances can made a big difference. Where would we be if our background was one of deprivation and depression? But the Bible is clear that sin is sin regardless of circumstances.
b) Others
“The woman…she gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (3:12). Adam was just obeying orders! See how sin wrecks relationships; even between the first husband and wife. In chapter 2 she was “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (2:23). Now she has been reduced to “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me”!
c) The Devil.
“The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat” (3:13). How often we blame the devil for sin that is our fault.
d) God.
“The woman whom thou gavest to be with me” (3:12). If only God had not given Eve to Adam! How quick we are to say, If only God had done this or prevented that….
The Bible has much to say about excuses. Remember the parable in Lk 14 “The all with one consent began to make excuse” (Lk 14:18). Rom 1:20 warns that God has left us without excuse, and one day we will stand before God, when “every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God” (Rom 3:19).
The problem of sin is rooted in man’s disobedience, and can only be rectified by open-hearted confession. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9).
2. MAN SENTENCED (3:14-19)
The sentence was in three parts:
a) The Serpent – War (3:14-15)
(i) Degradation to the Dust. “And the Lord God said unto the serpent, because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly thou shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” The serpent was cursed and degraded to the dust. It would appear that before the Fall the serpent was a bright and dazzling creature, one of the “very good” creatures of God’s creation. Ever since, men have looked on it with loathing and fear.
(ii) Declaration of Defeat. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (3:15). The curse went beyond the serpent to Satan himself, as God declared war on him and announced his defeat.
In that declaration Adam and Eve heard the Gospel for the first time. Here is the first prophecy and first promise in the Bible; the “protevangelicum” – the “first Gospel.” It involved:
* A Continuing Struggle. “And I will put enmity between…thy seed and her seed.” Ever since then the history of the world has been the history of one Satanic attempt after another to prevent God from working out his purposes of salvation.
* A Coming Seed. “And I will put enmity between…thy seed and her seed.” The woman was the door by which sin entered. She was also to be the door by which the Saviour entered. Note that it was “her seed” which was promised. There was no word of man’s seed. It was to be a virgin birth.
* A Conquering Saviour. There was no doubt as to the total and eventual victory. Note what was to be “bruised”:-
– The Saviour’s Heel. “thou shalt bruise his heel.” The road to victory would drive through Calvary. He would be “…wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities…”(Is 53:5). Only out of the suffering of the Cross could there be total victory.
– The Serpent’s Head. “It shall bruise thy head.” When was Satan bruised?
– The Temptation.
– The Cross -”that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb 2:14).
– The Resurrection – “Death could not keep its prey, Jesus my Saviour! He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!”
– The Final Execution. “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone” (Rev 22:10).
b) The Woman – Woe (3:16)
(i) Sorrow. “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children.” A special burden was to be placed on Eve in relation to the area of her greatest fulfilment, the bringing forth and the bringing up of children.
(ii) Subservience. “Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” The headship of man, ordained by God in creation, would be replaced by tyranny
The long sad record of history has confirmed the accuracy of this judgement. Woman’s lot has been one of pain and sorrow – physical, mental, spiritual. Man has often subjugated woman for his own uses, with little regard for her own personal feelings and needs.
c) The Man – Work (3:17-19)
The full force of the curse fell on Adam, but this embraced also his entire dominion, and the “whole creation.”
(i) Unrewarding Toil. “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life” (3:17). The earth which had previously cooperated readily as Adam “dressed it” and “kept it” (3:15), was now reluctant to yield her food. Instead it yielded thorns and weeds, requiring toil and sweat before man could eat of it.
These changes affected both flora and fauna. The beautiful garden plants developed into thorns and thistles. Animals behaviour that allowed a lion to lie down with the lamb, suddenly changed, and the rule of tooth and claw took over. Parasites developed, also disease, pathogenic bacteria and viruses. We do not know the details, but these changes, either gradual or sudden, had their origin in the events of this chapter.
In fact the entire “creation was made subject to vanity” (Rom 8:20). Since that time, “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Rom 8:22).
(ii) Unrelenting Terror. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return” (3:17). Finally, in spite of his struggle, death would claim man’s body which would return to the dust from when it was taken. From that very day the spectre of death has haunted the planet. Men may mock it, and surround it with flowers. But it is still the king of terrors, the last enemy, the ultimate wages of sin.
The Curse And The Cross
a) The Curse Foretold in Eden
Here in Genesis 3 we have sorrow, thorns, sweat, pain, and death.
b) The Curse Fulfilled at Calvary
In the N.T. we see that “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Gal 3:13). Christ bore:-
* Sorrow – “Man of sorrows”
* Thorns – Crown of Thorns
* Sweat – as it were great drops of blood
* Pain – Psalm 22 tells of his suffering
* Death & Separation – “my God, My God…”
3. MAN SAVED (3:20-24)
The best part of the story!
a) God’s Grace (3:20-21)
Salvation is always through grace. Adam had discovered that the fig leaves of his own self- effort would not do in the presence of God. Standing condemned before Him, all depended on God’s grace. Note:
(i) Adam’s Confession. “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living” (3:20). This statement indicated Adam’s faith in God. He had just heard God pronounce sentence of death upon the race, but had also heard Him declare that the woman’s seed would bring life and salvation. In naming his wife “Eve”, which means “life”, and calling her “the mother of all living” (instead of “dying”), he reached out by faith for the life offered and promised by God.
Since true faith is always preceded by repentance, it is evident that Adam’s attitude had changed both towards Satan and to God. Here was the sinner throwing himself on God’s mercy and willing to trust Him.
(ii) Adam’s covering. “Unto Adam also and unto his wife did the Lord God make coats of skin, and clothed them” (3:21). There in Eden blood was shed for the first time. Perhaps they watched as God selected two sheep and shed the innocent blood before their eyes. Its covering was made theirs. It was the first dramatic illustration of the ultimate cost of Calvary, and of the horror of sin. “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission” (Heb 9:22).
b) God’s Government (3:22-24)
To rescue the guilty pair God not only acted in grace, He acted in government. He drove them out of the garden. In the garden still stood the tree of life. If they had eaten of the tree in their fallen condition, they would have lived for ever in their sins, with no hope of redemption. To make sure they were kept away, an armed guard of cherubim with flaming sword was mounted at the entrance “to keep the way of the tree of life” (3:24).
They had forfeited communion with God and a place in His presence. Sin always brings separation. “Your sins have separated between you and your God, and your sins have his face from you that he will not hear” (Is 59:2).
Thank God there is “a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us” (Heb 10:20). Christ Himself is the way (Jn 14:6).
Because of the work of Christ all the aspects of Adam’s punishment and curse have been reversed. This is beautifully illustrated in Rom 8:-
(i) Guilt. “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies” (Rom *:33).
(ii) Condemnation. “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Rom 8:34).
(iii) Separation. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Rom 8:35). No wonder Paul could exclaim “If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things” (Rom 8:32).
There’s a way back to God from the dark paths of sin.
There’s a door that is open, and you may go in!
At Calvary’s cross is where you begin,
When you come as a sinner to J
CAIN AND ABEL
Genesis 4
The consequences of Adam and Eve’s single sin affected not only themselves as individuals, but flowed out to affect their family (4:1-16), and eventually the whole of society (4:17-26).
In the great prophecy of Genesis 3:15, the Lord spoke of a coming conflict between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. This conflict is vividly illustrated in the events of chapter 4, firstly in the story of Cain and Abel, and then in the tantalizing description of the first civilization.
Cain and Abel. It is important for us to grasp what these two individuals represent:
* Cain represents the “natural man”, approaching God on his own terms.
* Abel represents the “spiritual man”, acknowledging his guilt and approaching God on the grounds of sacrifice.
A: THE WAY OF CAIN (4:1-16)
Cain is a very important Bible character, who is referred to several times in the N.T. Jude 11 sums up his attitude to God and to the world as “the way of Cain.” What was this “way”?
1. THE SETTING (4:1,2)
“And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel” (4:1,2).
a) Their Education
Cain and Abel were raised in a godly home where the Word of God was both preached and practiced. When Cain was born Eve exclaimed “I have gotten a man from the Lord” (4:1), indicating her praise and thankfulness to the Lord.
The phrase “in the process of time” (4:3) means “at the end of the days”, perhaps indicating that this was not the first offering offered. It may well have been a regular practice, with this being some special occasion.
Abel knew to bring “the firstlings of the flock” (4:4). He even knew that “the fat thereof” was specially for the Lord long before Leviticus 3:16 stated it.
b) Their Occupation
“And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground” (4:2). Cain went farming, while Abel became a shepherd. Both were noble occupations. So far so good!
c) Their Condition
Both were sinners. Both had inherited a sinful nature, and needed a spiritual rebirth. Spiritually there was “no difference” between them (Rom 3:23).
2. THE SACRIFICE (4:3-5)
“And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof” (4:3,4).
It is here that the clear contrast between them stands out:
* Physically they were brothers, sharing the same genes, even sleeping in the same bed. They had so much in common.
* Spiritually they were as different as day and night.
a) Abel’s Offering – “the firstling of his flock”
Three things characterized Abel’s offering.
(i) Repentance. Abel agreed with God. He knew even then that the wages of sin is death and he deserved to die. We can imagine Abel bringing the carefully chosen perfect lamb perhaps to the gate of Eden. He builds an altar, places wood on it, and commences a fire. Then with a sob in his soul he plunges his knife into the neck of the innocent animal, and places the lifeless form in the flames. It was a dreadful way to approach God, but then Abel was beginning to learn that sin is a dreadful thing.
(ii) Obedience. Abel obeyed God. “Abel…brought of the firstlings of his flock” (4:4). Abel knew what God had said. He knew that any other way would be wrong.
(iii) Assurance. Abel believed God. Heb 11:4 tells us “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” Abel reached out to God in faith, and had the assurance that God would accept him. Abel didn’t know it, but he was looking away to Calvary. What he did was imputed to him for righteousness.
b) Cain’s Offering – “the fruit of the ground”
“But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect” (4:5). What had gone wrong? Was God being capricious?
* Outwardly – he was indistinguishable from Abel – a religious man apparently approaching God.
* Inwardly – he was far away from God, and he knew it. “his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous” (1 Jn 3:12).
Where did Cain go wrong? He worked hard in the preparation of his offering. A man cannot do better than his best, and this was the best Cain could do. J.B. Phillips reminds that true salvation revolves around three focal points: the Word of God, the Work of Christ, the Witness of the Spirit.
Cain’s religion found a substitute for all three:
(i) A Purely Human Scheme. It was not according to the Word of God. Cain substituted human reasoning for divine revelation. He brought of the fruit of his labour, confident that salvation could be purchased at the cost of toil and effort.
(ii) A Purely Human Sacrifice. It was likely costly and beautiful, but it focused on what he himself had done and ignored the work of Christ. Abel’s offering had pointed away to Calvary and to Christ. Cain’s offering had pointed to his own works, and his own ideas, his own rituals. The millions who hurry down Cain’s path perpetuate his errors. Their pious thoughts, good works, religious rituals and social actions, are all valueless apart from Christ’s finished work.
(iii) A Purely Human Satisfaction. Cain could stand back and survey his offering with pride. But it was a purely human satisfaction that lacked divine approval. What a divine satisfaction to come to God His way. When we are born again, His Spirit witnesses with our spirits that we are born of God.
3. THE SEQUEL (4:6-16)
a) God’s Reluctance to Condemn
(i) God’s Gentle Patience. In spite of Cain’s bitter anger, God promised him he would yet be accepted if he would only “do well”, i.e. obey His Word. God was saying “Change your attitude, come with a right offering, and you will be accepted.”
How often man interprets God’s patient waiting as weakness. “The Lord…is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pe 3:9).
(ii) God’s Gracious Provision. “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door” (4:7). The same word for “sin” can mean “sin offering.” God was telling Cain there was a Sin Offering at his door which he could offer and thus be accepted.
b) Cain’s Reluctance to Confess
Note Cain’s response to God:
(i) His Refusal – to admit his sin. When God asked “Where is Abel thy brother?” Cain arrogantly replied, “I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (4:9). God was speaking to Cain, not as a judge, but as one wanting to bring him to Himself. Sadly Cain was like those of whom the Lord said “Ye will not come to me that ye might have life” (Jn 5:40).
(ii) His Rebellion – against God. This was marked by:
* Falsehood. Cain lied in the very face of God. “I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (4:9). There was no sense of the holiness, righteousness, and omniscience of God.
* Futility. It was futile for Cain to deny his sin, and God exposed him for what he had done. “What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground” (4:10).
* Fear. “And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear…every one that findeth me shall slay me” (4:13,14). No repentance, just resentment against God. He feared what man might do, but did not care that God’s hand was against him.
* A Fugitive. “And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden” (4:16). Cain turned his back on the only place where there was a sacrifice which could have given forgiveness.
B: THE LINE OF CAIN
Verses 17-26 give a tantalizing picture of the world before the Flood. Long before Cain died there was a large population on the earth, and by the time of the Flood, about 1600 years after creation, there were at least 7 billion people.
There was not only a population explosion, but also a cultural and technological explosion. Metal tools and implements were available, while musical instruments were invented to provide the best in entertainment.
Chapters 4 & 5 tell us of “the days of Noah.” The Lord referred to these (Mat 24:27), so they should have a special interest for us.
Two distinct lines are in view:
* the godless line of Cain in chapter 4
* the godly line of Seth in chapter 5
The writer pauses along each line with the seventh from Adam, to throw a straw in the wind, to give a view of how things were developing.
a) He pauses with Lamech in Cain’s line, to show the final ripening of the tares.
b) He pauses with Enoch in Seth’s line to show the final ripening of the wheat.
Note here:-
a) Cain’s Wife.
“And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch” (4:17). Where did she come from? Obviously he must have married his sister. We disapprove of the idea, but in those early days the genetic problems we associate with such close marriages were not a problem. The genetic systems were still relatively pure, so it was quite permissible and reasonable for him to marry is sister.
b) Cain’s City.
“and he built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch” (4:17). Enoch was the first city in the Bible, and it grew up from a man who deliberately set out to go against God’s curse on him. He defied:
(i) God’s Purpose. Cain was to be a “wanderer” in the earth. It was not God’s purpose that he should dwell in one place.
(ii) God’s Protection. God gave Cain a mark to protect him, but he said “I’ll protect myself. I will build a city. I will surround myself with all I need.
(iii) God’s Place. He refused to give God first place. He “called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch” (4:17). He did this because he wanted his name to live on. Note the contrast with Seth’s line, where “men began to call upon the name of the Lord” (4:26).
The First Cities. We live in the age of the city. Men are proud of them, great centres of civilization, culture and community. Politics, commerce, and religion are all controlled from cities. It is instructive to look at the first cities in the Bible:
a) Enoch (4:17)
– built by Cain
– destroyed by the flood
– the world materialistically, with its scientific, commercial, and industrial achievements
b) Babel (10:6)
– built by Nimrod
– abandoned when people scattered
– the world religiously
(iii) Sodom (13:10)
– built by Canaanites
– destroyed by fire
– the world morally
All were founded by rebels. All ended in destruction by God.
c) Cain’s Sons
The story of Cain’s family in verses 16 – 24 is one of moral and spiritual degeneration. At first there was still an acknowledgement of God. Several of the names of Cain’s line contain “El” (e.g. Mahujael, Methusael). But eventually even this disappeared.
The growing independence of God came to a head in Lamech’s family. A new age dawned in which science, philosophy and religion took a giant step forward, but it climaxed in rebellion against God. It was a new age of:
(i) Moral disorder. “And Lamech took unto him two wives” (4:19). God’s law of marriage was discarded in favour of moral freedom and polygamy. See the names of his wives, chosen because of their physical attractiveness
* Adah means “ornamental”
* Zillah means “shade” or “seductress.”
(ii) Marvelous Discovery (4:20-22). Three of Lamech’s sons rose to prominence:
* Jabal. “he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and [of such as have] cattle” (4:20). The word for “cattle” literally means “possessions”, and comes from the word “to acquire.” Materialism and prosperity are nothing new. Jabal introduced prosperity.
* Jubal. “he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ” (4:21). The new world had its entertainment with the development of stringed and wind instruments. Jubal introduced pleasure.
* Tubal-cain. “an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron:” (4:22). This literally translates as “the forger of every cutting instrument of brass and iron.” Here was the first arms industry. Tubal-cain introduced power.
(iii) Militant Defiance (4:23,24). The first song in Scripture – “The Song of the Sword”, and it glorifies human power, independence, and vengefulness. It was the song of militant man, arrogantly asserting he could look after himself, independently of God.
A new age had dawned which had no need for God! This was the world which God eventually judged, and which so dangerously reflects our own age (2 Peter 3:3-6).
B: THE GODLY LINE OF SETH (4:25,26)
“And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth” (4:25). Note the change of emphasis. No longer are human accomplishment and boasting highlighted. Instead we find men calling upon the name of the Lord (4:26).
a) Their Mode of Living.
Nothing is said about the Sethites’ achievements, wealth, art, science, etc. Not that they never succeeded in any of these things, but they did not live for them as did the Cainites, and they are thus not recorded.
b) Their Spirit of Worship.
They “called on the name of Jehovah” (4:26). To the Cainites the things of the world were most important. To the Sethites the most important thing was a right relationship with God.
They “called on the name of Jehovah” (4:26). This covenant name of God emphasizes his relationship with His people. They were concerned about having a close relationship with God. He was not an impersonal Elohim “out there.” They knew him intimately.
c) The Character of their Posterity.
The seventh from Adam in the two lines is very telling:
* Lamech – a polygamist and murderer
* Enoch – he walked with God
As far as the world was concerned Seth’s descendants in chapter 5 accomplished nothing and contributed little to the “new age.” They lived simply for God. All that is recorded of them is that they “lived” and “died”.
(i) They “lived.” It is recorded of most of them twice. This is not said of the Cainites, who thought that they lived. In fact they were dead in trespasses and in sins. But the Sethites had real life, God’s life. “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:10).
(ii) They “died.” The narrative says nothing about the death of the Cainites. Heaven had no interest in their deaths. But of the Sethites it is recorded over and over again “and he died.” Death for them was not the end, but the beginning. They had not lived for the world below, but for a heaven above.
WALKING WITH GOD
Genesis 5
At first glance Genesis 5 seems like one of those chapters it is best to skip over. It seems little more than a list of people who lived, had children, and died. Not much seems to be said about any of them. How wrong can we be!
In fact, it is a vitally important link chapter, spanning more than 1500 years, and connecting the early events of Adam’s time with the days preceding the Flood of chapter 6.
Genesis 4 was a depressing chapter, dealing mainly with the story of Cain and his line of descendants who followed their father in moving further and further away from God.
Genesis 5 (and the last 2 verses of chapter 4), on the other hand, tell the story of Adam’s other son Seth and his line of descendants who followed their father in calling on God, knowing God, and even walking with Him.
Thus chapter 4 tells of the line of Cain. Chapter 5 tells of the line of Seth.
A: THE GODLESS LINE OF CAIN (4:17-24)
The descendants of Cain were great men who made their mark on the world. They lived in an age of:-
a) Marvelous Discovery
Great technological and cultural advances meant that the hallmarks of the day were prosperity, pleasure, and power.
b) Moral Disorder
God’s law of marriage was discarded in favour of moral freedom and polygamy.
c) Militant Defiance
Verses 23 & 24 tell of the first song in Scripture – “The Song of the Sword”, glorifying man’s power, independence, and vengefulness
In all these verses there is no mention of God. A new age had dawned in which man could live without Him!
B: THE GODLY LINE OF SETH (4:25,26)
In vivid contrast, the end of chapter 4 and all chapter 5 introduce us to a totally new line, the line of Seth.
1. THE NEW LINE COMMENCED (4:25-5:5)
Two things are presented to us as this new line is introduced:
a) A New Birth
“And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth” (4:25). The features of this line are described for us in chapter 5.
(i) Their Relationship with God. They “called on the name of Jehovah” (4:26). To the Cainites the things of the world were most important. To the Sethites the most important thing was a right relationship with God.
The keynote of the new line was salvation by faith, as men began “to call upon the name of the LORD.” Down through the centuries God’s Word has always promised that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom 10:13).
Note that they “called upon the name of JEHOVAH.” i.e. the covenant-keeping God of personal relationships. Their deepest desire was to know God in a warm, personal and living way.
(ii) Their Relationship with the World. Nothing is recorded of these Sethites’ accomplishments. Did they never invent anything? Did they contribute nothing to the arts or science? Doubtless they did, but the Bible only records what they lived for. They were also bound up in a multitude of daily activities, but they did not live for these things! They lived simply for God. All that is recorded of them is that they “lived” and “died.” but even this is significant:
* They “lived.” It is recorded of most of them twice. This is not said of the Cainites, who thought that they lived. In fact they were dead in trespasses and in sins. But the Sethites had real life, God’s life. “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:10).
* They “died.” The narrative says nothing about the death of the Cainites. Heaven had no interest in their deaths. But of the Sethites it is recorded over and over again “and he died.” Death for them was not the end, but the beginning. They had not lived for the world below, but for a heaven above.
b) A New Book (5:1-5)
Verse 1 introduces us to the “the book of the generations of Adam” (5:1). Actually this refers to the section which has just been completed (2:4-4:26). The phrase “these are the generations of…” is a dividing marker occurring throughout Genesis. e.g.
(i) The first section of Genesis ended in chapter 2:4 with the statement “These are] the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created.” That concluded the “official” history of the creation story.
(ii) The second section now ends with the first phrase of chapter 5 “This is the book of the generations of Adam.” This whole section summarizes the “official” history of Adam.
(iii) The third section is the “official” history of Noah. It begins in chapter 5:1 and ends in chapter 6:9 with the phrase “These are the generations of Noah.”
The book goes right back to Adam, and carefully traces the line of promise from Adam, through Seth, and on to Noah.
The Contents of this New Book:
(i) The Features of Adam’s Family. The preface to the book tells us of Seth’s birth, “And Adam…begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth” (5:3). Note that Seth was not born in the image and likeness of God, as Adam had been created. Adam’s children born were born in the image and likeness of poor, fallen Adam. Adam lost the glory of the original likeness of God, and his corrupted nature was passed on to Seth. Thus Seth was born a sinner.
Everyone since Adam has been born wrong – in sin, and needing a spiritual rebirth, as Jesus told Nicodemus. “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:7).
Note that John 3:18 says “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Hence a man is born in sin and “condemned already”.
(ii) The Fact of Adam’s Funeral. Adam lived a long life of 930 years (5:5). It took a long time for the death sentence of Eden to catch up with him. When he died his great-great-great-great grandson, Enoch, was already 306 years old, and had been walking with God for nearly two and one-half centuries.
(iii) The Fruits of Adam’s Fall. As this book unfolds into chapter 6 we see the fearful corruption and depravity of a pleasure-mad world, which resulted in the Flood.
2. THE NEW LINE CONTINUED (5:6-32)
The rest of chapter 5 seems a long list of uninteresting names. We are told:
– their names
– their ages at the birth of those sons who were in the line of promise
– the fact that they had sons and daughters
– their ages at death. Note their longevity – an average of 912 years (apart from Enoch). After the Flood life spans declined sharply, suggesting they may have been associated with climatological and environmental conditions then existing.
There is no reason to assume any “gaps” in the record, and there were thus 1656 years from Creation to the Flood. These names are repeated in 1 Chr 1:1-4 and Lk 3:36-38. Hence they were accepted as historical by both Old and New Testament writers.
There are 9 names running from Seth to Noah, from the Fall to the Flood.
a) Patriarchs (5:6-20)
The first 5 names are of Patriarchs.
(i) Seth. “Appointed one”, to take the place of Abel
(ii) Enos. “Mortal frailty”, a reminder that for all his achievements, man is still frail.
(iii) Cainan. “Their smith”, perhaps a protest against the materialism and militarism of the Cainite world.
(iv) Mahalaleel. “God be praised”.
(v) Jared. “Descent”, a reminder that God’s purposes were continuing in the line of descent.
These names thus indicate the basic dependence upon and love for God – so different from the line of Cain. These were God’s people, living for Him in a world filled with its rowdy music and militant materialism.
b) Prophets (5:21-32)
With Enoch began a line of four prophets. We are introduced to:
(i) Enoch (5:21-24) – Witnessed to the Presence of God. The great feature of this first prophet was that “Enoch walked with God”.
(ii) Methuselah (5:25,27) – Witnessed to the Patience of God. It seems as if at the time of Methuselah’s birth his father Enoch had a special revelation of the coming judgement of the great Flood, for he embedded one of his prophecies in Methuselah’s name – “When he dies it shall be sent.” Methuselah lived 969 years, longer than any other human being. As long as he lived God withheld held His hand of judgement. This long life pointed to the great patience of God, who is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9). 1 Peter 3:20 says “the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah,.” Sadly the antediluvians took God’s inaction as proof of His indifference or non-existence.
(iii) Lamech (5:28-31) – Witnessed to the Peace of God. Lamech’s name means “powerful”, and it would seem he became a power for God on the earth. His faith and relationship with God are seen in the name he gave to his son. He called him Noah, meaning “rest” or “consolation”, saying “This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed” (5:29). This may be translated “This shall give us rest from the grievous toil and trouble.”
The evil environment around him was on his mind as he spoke, and he knew that things could not go on much longer before God fulfilled His purposes. In that Lamech rested and found peace. Whatever others might think, and whatever he might have to endure, Lamech found his rest in God, knowing He was in complete control.
(iv) Noah (5:32) – Witnessed to the Purposes of God. The New Testament tells us two important things about Noah:
* what he said – he was a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Pe 2:5)
* what he did – he was a “preparer” – “he prepared an ark to the saving of his house” (Heb 11:7)
Thus by life and by lip Noah testified to the purposes of God in coming judgement.
This, then, was the godly line of Seth. It was a noble line of men who live amidst all kinds of violence and vice, but who went forward quietly with God, living in separation from the ungodly all about them, and handing on the torch of testimony from one to another.
* * * * * * *
ENOCH – THE MAN WHO WALKED WITH GOD
Just as Genesis 4 gives insight into the evil character of Lamech (the 7th from Adam along the line of Cain), so Genesis 5 gives insight into the godly character of Enoch (the 7th from Adam along the line of Seth).
The great outstanding feature of Enoch’s life was that “he walked with God.” Adam, of course, had walked with God literally in Genesis 3, but Enoch’s walk was “by faith” (Heb 11:5).
Sometimes we see believers who, although ill or with many problems, are surrounded by a kind of Unseen Presence. Such do not live on the spiritual poverty line. Instead, they are holy, vital, and Christ like. Such are those who “walk with God.”
The Scriptures tell us little about Enoch, yet they clearly mark him out as someone very special. He was one of only two men who:-
a) “walked with God”
b) God took without dying
c) “pleased God” (the other was the Lord Himself, who even in this has the pre-eminence – “I do ALWAYS those things that please the Father” (John 8:29).
What was his spiritual secret? To find the answer, we must cull from Genesis 5, Hebrews 11, and Jude 14,15. When these references are collated we find a number of influences were at work in his life.
1. HIS PARENTS
The name “Enoch” means “dedicated.” It seems Godly parents took him and dedicated him to God.
How thankful we should be for those who prayed for us, guided us, introduced us to God and His Word. We ignore at our peril the influence of godly parents.
2. HIS SON
When he was 65 years old, Enoch’s wife presented him with a son, and Enoch was never the same again. It was at this time that he began to walk with God.
The secret of what happened is in the name he gave his son -Methuselah, “when he dies it shall be sent.” God had spoken to Enoch of coming judgement. As he watch his son grow up and turn into manhood, every year was a reminder that the cosmic catastrophe was coming closer.
He was so impressed by the implications of this name that life could never be the same again. He saw the roaring markets, and heard the raucous music of the godless world about him. How empty it all was without God! The world was perishing. What value prosperity!
3. HIS WALK
For 300 years Enoch walked with God. What an epitaph! What intimacy, fellowship, and warm companionship!
Perhaps we may think it was easier then than now.
To walk with God – is this some dreamer’s dream
Reserved for ancient men of different caste
Than me? For men of slowly moving years?
And must I think such holy joy is past?
No! See Jude’s fourfold description of the “ungodly” conditions of those days. It was just as difficult for Enoch then as it is for us now.
Walking with God means:
a) Going in the same direction. We must bring our wills into line with His
b) Moving at the same pace. Not ahead or behind.
c) Keeping the same distance – close to Him. John tells us to “keep ourselves in the love of God”(Jude 1:21).
d) Agreeing with the same mind – “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). God and Enoch as they walked together and talked together must have shared many agreeable topics.
O walk with Jesus, wouldst thou know
How deep, how wide, His love can flow?
They only fail His love to prove
Who in the way of sinners rove.
Walk thou with Him, that way is light.
All other pathways end in night.
Walk thou with Him, that way is rest.
All other pathways are unblest.
– Edwin Paxton Hood
4. HIS TRANSLATION
The thrilling fact about his translation is its relation to his conviction “that God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb 11:6). Enoch spent his life seeking God. His feet were on the ground, but his mind roamed the heavenlies.
Hebrews 11:5 says “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him.”
“Translated” means to “carry over”, as though at death’s dark banks he was carried over instead of going through the waters. G. Campbell Morgan says that Enoch went for walks with God. One day they walked on and on, till eventually God said, “Enoch, you are a long way from home. You had better come and stay with me!”
Note the two shadows here:
a) Rapture
Enoch’s translation is a most graphic shadow of things to come, and answers to the events of 1 Thes 4. Note that Enoch “was not found” (Heb 11:5). So shall it be with the Rapture. They looked for him, because they missed him and his influence among them.
b) Release – in death
Enoch’s translation was basically a change of location, not of company. So when a believer dies, we say “the Lord took him.” For such it is merely a change of location, not of company, as they go to be “with Christ”
5. HIS CHALLENGE
Although at the beginning of the Bible, the story of Enoch packs a 20th century message.
a) The Privileges are the same – many of us have godly parents and other influences in our lives.
b) The Conditions are the same – polluted and corrupt, in accurate fulfilment of 2 Peter 3.
c) The Challenges are the same – to walk with God in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation.
d) The Promises of God are the same – to believe that “he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
It costs to obey God and let things go. But as we set out to walk with Him, so He will walk with us, and our hearts will burn within us as he talks with us by the way.
To walk with God- ‘tis not too late to join
That holy band who soared above the sod
Of transient things, of weights, besetting sins,
And feel the mighty pulse of Life with God.
“RIPE FOR JUDGEMENT”
Genesis 6
The first age of human history culminated in global corruption which required a global cleansing. The sin-disease which began like a little pimple when Eve was first doubted God’s Word, finally developed into an overwhelming moral abscess in the days of Noah. During this time God graciously warned and waited, but eventually the line between God’s patience and His wrath was crossed. Judgement was inevitable.
Chapter 6 is both history and prophecy:
a) History. Moses, Isaiah, and Ezekiel all referred to the story of Noah as historical fact, as did the Lord Himself.
b) Prophecy. Matthew, Luke, and Peter, all mark the close parallel between the days of Noah, and the days of the coming of the Son of Man (Mat 24:38). When the disciples asked, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (Mat 24:3), the Lord reply replied “as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Mat 24:37). This chapter packs a very modern message!
The twin themes of the chapter are clearly those of Man’s Ruin and God’s Remedy. As such the chapter is a beautiful presentation of the gospel.
A: MAN’S RUIN (6:1-7)
1. Days of Great Apostasy (6:1-3)
Verses 1-3 tell of the dark threads of wickedness that formed the background on the tapestry of those times. They tell of:
a) Earth’s Pollution (6:1-2)
Those times were characterized by:
(i) Population Explosion. “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them”(6:1) The entire human race was multiplying rapidly (6:1).
(ii) Physical Attraction. “The daughters of men…were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose” (6:2). The emphasis was on outward beauty and attractiveness, and with that went the free association which permitted each to take of all which he chose.
(iii) Failure of “the Sons of God.” (6:2). These “sons of God” were the godly descendants of Seth who for centuries had walked with God and called upon His name (chapter 5). In Noah’s time they lost their separate distinctiveness, mixing with and becoming like the godless descendants of Cain. For centuries theologians have argued over these “sons of God.” Who were they? Commentators suggest two possibilities:
* Angels. Many commentators compare this passage with that of Job 1:6 and 2;:1, where angels are referred to as the “sons of God.”
* Sethites. The Cainites in chapter 4 had openly rebelled against God, living only for themselves. In contrast, the Sethites in chapter 5 called on the name of the Lord and walked with God. Only by remaining separate from the Cainites could the Sethites please God, and for centuries these two lines were distinct.
Chapter 6 reveals that the 2 streams of humanity began to converge and commingle. Vital distinctions were obliterated as “the sons of God (Sethites) saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose” (6:2).
b) Heaven’s Patience
“And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” (6:3).
(i) God Warning. “My Spirit shall not always strive with man.” It has always been the ministry of the Holy Spirit to convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement (John 16:8). Thank God that He still strives with us.
(ii) God Waiting. “yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” 120 short years of…
– warning as Noah preached
– witness as the Ark was built
– waiting patiently by God who was not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:)
– wasted opportunity by man, like sand running through a glass.
Unconcerned and unrepentant, their days were spent with their back towards God. “For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark…And knew not until the flood came and took them all away” (Mat 24:38,39).
2. Days of Godless Activity (6:5-7)
In verse 5 the viewpoint shifts from earth to heaven.
a) God’s Discernment.
“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth” (6:5). God silently discerned every wicked thought and deed. Even “every imagination.” How foolish to think we can hide things from God!
The word “imagination” is from a Hebrew root related to pottery. It means “to fashion as a potter.” Man imagined wicked philosophies and made high fashion out of the vilest abominations. So today we have the peddlers of pornography, homosexuality, and licentiousness, all deliberately attempting to reshape society, so that abnormality and vice become accepted as the norm.
b) God’s Disappointment
“And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart” (6:6). How does God repent? Does He change His mind? It is not so much changing His mind, as altering course because man has changed his mind. When man repents he changes his attitudes and his actions. When God repents, no change of attitude is involved, but He may change his actions.
c) God’s Distress
“it grieved him at his heart” (6:6). “Grieve” is a love-word revealing God’s heartache over man’s rebellion. Built-into all God’s actions in this chapter are patience, longsuffering, grace, love and real heart-felt grief. That is the kind of God we have!
d) God’s Decision
“And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created” (6:7). Year after year things continued to spiral downwards with evil men and seducers waxing worse and worse (2 Tim 3:13). Eventually the die was cast. The fatal line between God’s mercy and His wrath was forever crossed. The machinery of the universe was set in motion so that, on a given day and hour the fountains of the deep would burst apart, and the windows of heaven break open. The Flood would come!
B: GOD’S REMEDY (6:8-22)
1. A MAN (6:8-13)
The more degenerate the times, the more definite the witness. God always has His witness – a Moses, an Elijah, a Daniel, a John. Noah here stands as a spiritual giant in the Scriptures. Ezekiel 14:14 links him with Job and Daniel as one of the most righteous men of all history. Hebrews 11:7 mentions him as one of the greatest heroes of faith.
Such people seem “special”, almost a different species. But Noah lived under enormous godless pressures in a society which the Bible says was very similar to our own. The only things “special” about him was his response to God. It was a response of faith. In Hebrews 11 he is the only hero whose life summary begins and ends with “faith”.
a) What God Did For Noah (6:8-10)
(i) He Was Forgiven. “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (6:8). Did God chose Noah because of his righteous life? Not so! Grace is unmerited favour, and it is a timeless principle that man never comes into right relationship with God by his own works.
Noah was reared in a believing family, and knew God’s truth. But he still had to find grace for himself. Two things brought Noah into right relationship with God: his personal faith (Heb 11:7), and God’s overflowing grace. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8). Times have changed, but God’s Word hasn’t. 5000 years later sinners are still saved only by the combination of God’s grace and man’s faith.
Because of this Noah was declared to be “a just man” (6:9). Hebrews 11:7 opens up the meaning of how he became “just. “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet…” Noah’s faith was based on “being warned of God.” Faith came by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom 10:17).
(ii) He Was Faithful. “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God” (6:9). See the full-orbed character of this godly man:
* “a just man” – his standing before God.
* “perfect in his generations.” “Perfect” does not mean sinless, but “completeness.” It emphasizes his moral integrity. This was his standing before the world, his peers, “his generations”
* “and Noah walked with God.” No wonder Noah was separate from the world – he stayed close to God. “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Gal 5:16).
(iii) He Was Fruitful. “And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth” (6:10). Three sons. This does not look like much fruit, yet from those three sons, every man, woman and child has descended.
b) What God Said To Noah (6:11-13)
(i) His Review Of Earth. “And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth” (6:12). What a contrast to Genesis 1:31: “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” God was moving towards a climax. The earth had forgotten Him, but God saw that man’s cup of sin was full, and about to overflow into judgement.
(ii) His Revelation Of Judgement. “The end of all flesh is come before me…behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (6:13). 120 years had past since God had warned that His Spirit would not always strive with man. Now the end had come. God’s day of grace and man’s day of opportunity were over.
c) What God Says To Us.
When the Lord referred to what conditions will be like when he returns to earth, he alluded to the days of Noah – “But as the days of Noe, were so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Mat 24:37). Note the close parallels:
(i) Population Explosion. Today this is one of the world’s major concerns.
(ii) Widespread Violence & Corruption. “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence” (6:11). Read any of today’s newspapers. The philosophy of “survival of the fittest” spills over into everyday life.
(iii) Preoccupation With Sex.
(iv) Uniformitarian Philosophy. This says everything has evolved in a uniform manner, and will continue to do so. “all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Peter 3:4). This is the theory of evolution.
(v) Crass Materialism. In Noah’s day people concentrated on eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. They lived for material things they could see and feel.
There can thus be no doubt we are living in the “last days.” The sins that produced the Flood have risen again and are fast reaching towards heaven. God says “The end of all flesh is come before me” (6:13). “The end…” The word comes from a root meaning “to cut off.” God’s cut-off point had arrived. His period of grace had ended, but he revealed the fact to Noah, so that man might have a way of escape and salvation. Even in His wrath God remembered mercy.
2. A PLAN (6:14-22)
God’s plan of salvation was to be offered to all. God gave to Noah instructions regarding the Ark, His Safe Provision, and assured him with a Sure Promise.
a) God’s Safe Provision – the Ark (6:14-16)
(i) Its Physical Construction
* Its Dimensions. The Ark was huge: 146m long, 17m wide, 15m high. The total capacity was almost 500,000 sq metres. This is equivalent to 522 livestock rail trucks able to hold 125,000 sheep.
* Its Design. It was designed for capacity and stability rather than navigability. Modern Naval architects, with their computer generated drawings, have confirmed that the Ark’s design was perfect for stability. It would have been almost impossible to capsize, even in a sea of gigantic waves.
* Its Details.
– “Rooms” – It was to have three stories, each 10 metres high, and each “deck” was to be divided into “rooms” (lit. “nests”, apparently each of appropriate size for individual animals)
– “Gopher wood” – the exact nature is unknown.
– “Pitch” – likely some resinous material covering the Ark inside and out to make it totally waterproof.
– “a Window.” The word means “an opening for daylight”, likely a kind of skylight once cubit high running right round the top, providing light and ventilation.
– “a Door” – only one.
(ii) Its Spiritual Instruction. The Ark is a perfect picture of Christ’s finished work. Here was a judgement-proof vehicle, designed by God to save all who were willing to turn their backs to the world, and make their way through the single door.
– “pitch” – this word is from the Hebrew word for a “covering”, and is the regular work for “atonement” as in Leviticus 17:11 “it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” The pitch kept out the waters of judgement, just as the blood of the Lamb provides a perfect atonement and covering for the soul.
– “a door” – Only ONE! All must enter by the same door. This is a clear type of Christ. “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved” (John 10:9). Once inside, there was nowhere to go but further in!
b) God’s Sure Promise (6:17-22)
(i) Shelter (6:18). God reassures Noah, and pledges to save him. “But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark” (6:18). So Christ pledges Himself to be a shelter in a time of storm. The can be no condemnation to those who are “in Christ” (Romans 8:1).
(ii) Sustenance (6:21). The Ark also provided sustenance for all who were inside. Every need was anticipated and provided for. Christ not only saves – He satisfies, sustains, and meets every spiritual need. So the believer is promised “all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).
THE FLOOD
Genesis 7
Nearly 100 years had passed since God spoke to Noah giving instructions about the Ark. There had been no further work from heaven, but Noah had proceeded faithfully, believing and obeying God’s word without question.
Now the Ark was completed and the animals were assembling. Significantly, old Methuselah, Noah’s grandfather, then in his 969th year, was dying. Then, after a century of silence, God spoke once again.
1. THE DELIVERANCE OF THE GODLY (7:1-9)
The ark was ready. The last tree felled, the last nail driven home, the last pail of pitch applied. Now God called for the living cargo to enter.
a) Noah’s Full Commitment (7:1)
“And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark” (7:1). “Come thou…” These words sum up the great Gospel invitation. An Ark was provided, and a full, free salvation offered to all who would “come.”
Then, as now, the only possible response was one of full commitment. Such commitment involved:
(i) Faith. Noah must have looked at the Ark sitting there with its gangplank, and then looked at the solid earth round about him. God was asking him to forsake all this! What can make a man take such a decision? Only an unshakable belief that God spoken meant what He said.
When God said judgement was coming, Noah listened and believed what God was saying. Faith still comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).
(ii) Obedience. Salvation is a Command Performance. This was no “take it or leave it” invitation requiring a R.S.V.P. “God now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30).
(iii) Repentance. In order to walk into the ark, Noah had to turn his back on the world. He could hardly walk backwards up the gangplank! What is “repentance”? It is a change of attitude that results in a change of action; a complete turn-around. “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).
Going into the Ark was a one way commitment. There was no turning back. In fact, once through the door, the only place to go was further into the Ark.
b) Noah’s Final Commission (7:2-4)
Noah was instructed regarding the animals:
(i) Their Variety. Noah was to take 7 pairs of “clean” beasts – perhaps for sacrifice, and in anticipation of the new rule that after the Flood man should eat meat. Also 2 pairs of “unclean” beasts. In total he probably had some 30 or 40,000 animals ranging in size from tiny insects to large elephant, tall giraffes, and even mammoths and dinosaurs.
(ii) Their Assembly. God caused the animals to come to Noah (6:20). It would have been impossible for Noah and his family to gather such a vast number of animals. This was in itself a miracle, and a major sign.
A film producer in Italy, a few miles south of Rome, attempted to depict the story of the Ark. He tried to train a few zoo animals to walk two by two up a ramp into a model of the Ark. When the time came for the filming, however, “a water buffalo charged up the gangway, crashed through the ark and headed for Rome at full snort.” After that the jungle’s rougher embarkees were filmed behind glass!
Today we have signs which are just as clear. Matthew 24:32,33 “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Compare the sign of the Fig Tree on May 14 1948 when Israel became a nation.
c) Noah’s Faithful Compliance (7:5-9)
We are repeatedly told that Noah “did according unto all that the LORD commanded him” (7:5). Clearly Noah knew his God! Only unshakable faith in God’s Word could lead to such implicit obedience.
So the animals went into the Ark. Noah went in. His family went in. The rest of the world yawned in the face of God. Only eight persons were saved. The vast and costly work of salvation was all in vain as far as the majority was concerned.
2. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE GODLESS (7:10-24)
God had witnessed to that age in two ways:
(i) Faithful Preaching. Noah was “a preacher of righteousness”, and he must have preached his heart out. Yet his witness was in vain.
(ii) Fulfilled Prophecy. Methuselah is not mentioned now. His name means “When he dies, it shall come.” Methuselah’s death was an ominous sign to that generation.
The last grains of the sands of time were running through. There would be no more signs or sermons. Large clouds of judgement were gathering thick and fast, invisible to the careless world which continued scoffing in wilful ignorance (2 Peter 3:3-5) of the coming catastrophe.
a) Its Date (7:10-16)
No other biblical event is so comprehensively dated by God as is the Flood. There are some 18 repeated references to days, months, and years. It is as though Noah kept a diary in which he noted, day by day, and month by month, the passing events of that monumental catastrophe.
(i) The Further Delay (7:10). “And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth” (7:10). Noah and his family went into the Ark, and for a full week nothing happened. That extra week was God’s long-suffering, and man’s last opportunity. Instead, they used it to treasure up for themselves the inescapable wrath of God. “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” (Rom 2:4-5).
(ii) The Final Dawning (7:11-16). “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month” (7:11). The exact date is given. On that day all the fountains of the deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Did that day dawn as bright and sunny as any that had gone before? Or were the people woken by a loud thunderclap, and a sudden terrifying downpour of rain? We are not told. We only know time had run out.
b) Its Dimensions
How extensive was the Flood?
(i) Its Depth. “Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered” (7:20). It is likely that the 15 cubits refers to the Ark which had a draft of about 15 cubits, or half its height.
(ii) Its Extent. Some commentators suggest it was a local flood, but verse 19 says “all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.” i.e. it was a universal flood.
In the context of early Genesis, sin with its depravity was universal, and a universal judgement was required.
c) Its Devastation (7:17-24)
We can hardly imagine the devastation caused by the Flood.
(i) Its Cause. “…the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened” (7:11). It is vital to understand these terms.
* “The Windows of heaven.” On the second day of creation the waters were separated into the “waters above the firmament” and the “waters below the firmament” (the “firmament” = the atmospheric heavens). “The waters above the firmament” formed a vast vapour canopy separated from the earth by a “firmament” or atmosphere, and maintaining the earth as a beautiful greenhouse, preventing extreme temperatures. Because it was vapour it was invisible and transparent, but nevertheless contained vast quantities of water, extending far into space.
“The rain was upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights” (7:12). This can refer to nothing less than the collapse of a stupendous transparent vapour canopy, for it required six weeks for this water to pour down on the earth. By contrast, if all the water presently in the atmosphere at any given time were suddenly deposited on the earth, it would cover the planet to a depth of only a centimetre or so.
* “The fountains of the great deep” – “the waters below the firmament”, became “the great deep”, and included the seas and rivers. These rivers were not produced by run off rainfall, but by springs and fountains from subterranean reservoirs. Such reservoirs were apparently interconnected with each other, as well as the surface seas into which the rivers drained, so that the entire complex constituted one “great deep.” See Psalm 33:7 “He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap, he layeth up the depth in storehouses.” This refers to the great subterranean reservoirs
All that was required was to bring these two water sources together again. The waters above the firmament (“the windows of heaven”) were condensed and precipitated, and the waters below the crust (“the fountains of the great deep”) must burst their bounds and escape again to the surface.
How did God do this? We do not know. The breaking up of “all the fountains of the great deep” is mentioned first, and was the initial action which triggered the rest. There was likely a rapid build up and surge of intense pressure throughout the underground system, with water bursting through the crust. There may have been volcanic eruptions, with huge quantities of volcanic dust blown skyward, along with gigantic sprays of water.
(ii) Its Effect. The effect is summed up in 2 Peter 3:6 “the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” And what of humanity? The waters came hurrying after a fleeing race, driving men to ever higher ground until even the mountain peaks were submerged to a depth of 15 cubits. Then the planet spun on through space awash from sea to sea, with only eight people left alive, tossed here and there upon the rolling deep.
What tragedy! God had given 969 years of opportunity, which included the 120 years, during which Noah preached righteousness and prepared the Ark. Even the animals moving to the Ark were a sign to unbelievers.
We do not know when the door of opportunity will close. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God’s judgement is being withheld because of His long-suffering.
Matthew 24:39 says they “knew not until the flood came, and took them all away.” Note the word “until.” They disregarded God’s warning “until” it was too late. “So also shall the coming of the Son of man be” (Mat 24:39).
They had shut God out of their lives. Now God shuts them out of His life.
d) Its Deliverance (7:23)
“Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.” Water covered the earth, gradually rising to destroy it. But the waters of death and judgement were also the waters of deliverance.
So we are also safe “in Christ,” “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). This promise is to those who are “IN Christ Jesus.”
Noah was safe because:
a) God was the designer.
The Ark was made according to God’s plan, and covered inside and out with “pitch.” This word means “to cover”, and is commonly translated “make atonement.” It is a picture of blood atonement, protecting the believer from judgement.
b) God was on board.
He had told Noah to “Come” (not “Go”) into the Ark. Not like the absent Captain of the Oceanus who hopped off at the first opportunity!.
c) God was in charge.
He had closed the door and kept it. One of the doors of the Oceanus fell off. Also the Princess Victoria’s doors were not properly fastened, and burst open leading to great loss of life. The same thing happened with the “Herald of Free Enterprise.” He was directing operations. Not like the magician on the bridge!
d) God was faithful.
He had promised to bring Noah through. Noah had no qualms about entering the Ark. “And the Lord (Jehovah) shut him in” (7:16). Note it was “Elohim” who said He would bring judgement on the world (6:13), but it is “Jehovah”, the personal God of relationships, who shuts Noah in. All were secure. God Himself closed the door. No wonder Noah felt safe!
Safety First!
What it meant for Noah to be safe “in the ark” is what it means for us to be safe “in Christ” today. Between Noah and the storm lay the judgement-proof timbers of the ark. Between the believer and God’s wrath is Christ. He bore the storm for all who obey the command to “Come!” and find their safety in Him.
NOAH’S NEW WORLD
Genesis 8:1-9:17
The catastrophe which covered the earth resulted in global eruptions and downpours. Across the world incredible hydrodynamic forces eroded and completely changed the earth’s surface. Noah eventually emerged from the Ark into a new world drastically changed from the old one he had known a year before.
The destructive power of moving water is enormous. In November 1971, a 25 foot tidal wave rolled into Bangladesh from the Bay of Bengal, driven by winds of up to 150 m.p.h. It swept over the overcrowded lowlands of the Ganges-Bramaputra delta, leaving 500,000 dead, and 3,5 million homeless. Modern rivers in flood have carried boulders weighing hundreds of tons for great distances in a matter of hours.
A number of special testimonies to the catastrophic reformation of the earth’s curst:
a) The Sedimentary Processes
These processes formed the rocks. Geologists today believe that the sedimentary layers were formed by rapid depositional processes. Each individual stratum is a distinct sedimentary unit, and in most cases, can be shown to have been formed in a few minutes time. Also, it can be shown that each consequent stratum began to be deposited immediately after the preceding one.
Thus each unit in the geological column was formed rapidly, and since each unit was immediately followed by another unit above, the whole column was formed rapidly. Hence geological evidence demands a catastrophic rather than a uniformitarianism explanation.
e.g. How was the Oribi Gorge formed? Was it, as uniformatarianists claim, by numerous environmental changes, with regional subsidences and uplifts? In this case each layer represents millions of years of river deposits in a vast shallow sea, which gradually sank as deposits accumulated. Or was if formed rapidly in Noah’s time, as water cut through not yet consolidated material that had been deposited in the flood?
b) Fossils.
The existence of fossils in these sedimentary deposits is further evidence they were formed rapidly. These sediments, became the death beds of many life forms, which were rapidly petrified.
Fossils form the chief means of assigning a geologic “age” to a given formation, as deduced from the presumed “stage of evolution” of the fossil content. However, in order for fossils to be formed they must be buried rapidly, to avoid being destroyed by decay or scavengers.
The fossils so preserved were deposited in a certain stratified order, from more simple marine invertebrate organisms at the bottom to complex land vertebrates at the top. This is the order of:
(i) Increasing elevation of natural habitat. i.e. fossils were buried in association with the same ecological communities in which they had lived.
(ii) Increasing ability to flee the approaching flood waters.
(iii) Increasing resistance to hydrodynamic forces, hence transporting further and depositing more slowly.
However, geologists interpret this to indicate a gradual evolution of life through long geological ages, and made them a corner stone of evolutionary theory.
Significantly, no fossilization occurs today. But in the past unbelievable fossilization has occurred. Museums are filled with them. They could not have been formed by processes observable in the world today. Also, fossils speak of death, hence they must have been deposited after Adam’s fall.
c) Mammoths
4 to 5 million mammoths and other large animals were once destroyed in the northern polar regions. These animals required hundreds of pound of food daily to survive in this region where little vegetation grown today. They were frozen instantly, requiring temperatures of up to -150 degrees. Such conditions could have existed in the higher latitudes at the early stage of the collapse of the antediluvian vapour canopy. These mammals died suddenly, instantly frozen. Their stomachs were full, food still in their mouths.
d) Coal
Millions of tons of vegetation, much of it perfectly preserved, have been buried all over the world in the form of coal. Each foot of coal represents many feet of compressed plant remains. But today nowhere in the world is coal being formed. In some cases we see large tree trunks standing turned into coal standing upright penetrating through several layers of sedimentary rock. No tree could have remained upright while sediment built up round it for millions of years.
e) Oil
Evolutionists believe oil was formed gradually more than 25 million years ago. But the great pressures in deep oil wells around the world would make this impossible. Also, “to maintain them for periods greater than 10,000 to 100,000 years is apparently impossible under the observed permeabilities of the oil reservoir.” The heat generated by compression and friction of the earth’s crustal thrusting caused by the tremendous cataclysmic movements which occurred at the time of the Flood would have caused the temperature to rise sufficiently to initiate the exothermic reaction.
NOAH’S NEW WORLD (8:1-9:17)
Noah and those in the Ark emerged into a new world which was quite different from the old one they had known a year previously. The world was not annihilated, but was drastically changed. Some of the physical changes were:
a) Oceans were more extensive. They now contained all the waters that were “above the firmament”, plus the reservoirs of the “great deep.”
b) Land areas were less extensive for the same reason.
c) The thermal vapour blanket had been disintegrated, so that strong temperature differentials were inaugurated, leading to build up of snow and ice in the polar latitudes.
d) Mountain ranges uplifted after the Flood emphasized the more rugged topography, with many regions uninhabitable.
e) Winds, storms, and rains were possible now, making the environment more difficult.
f) Great glaciers, rivers, and lakes existed for a time, with the world only gradually approaching its present state of semi-aridity.
As both animals and man radiated out from Mount Ararat, they found open country ahead. They could move east into Asia, west into Europe, south in Africa. Some found a land bridge across the Bering straights into the Americas. Others found a similar land bridge down the Malaysian straights into New Guinea and perhaps Australia. Such land bridges existed during the Ice Age, when the water was lower, due to water stored in great ice sheets.
Since the environment was so different after the Flood, many animals could not adjust, e.g. the dinosaurs. Many of these extinctions took place during the Ice Age.
The Ice Age
Sharp temperature changes occurred after the Flood, as the “greenhouse effect” was lost. This led to a build up of thick snow in the polar regions, and radiating out in the form of tremendous ice sheets covering northern Europe and America. The Ice Age likely lasted several hundred years, or a thousand years, and had a profound effect on earth’s animals.
1. NOAH TARRYING (8:1-5)
After the Flood had “prevailed” for 150 days, utterly destroying the “world than then was” (2 Peter 3:6), God began to bring it to a termination. All around was a dead silent world shrouded from north to south, from east to west, as far as the eye could see, by a watery waste.
As Noah patiently waited in the Ark we read:
a) God Remembered (8:1-2)
“And God remembered Noah” (8:1). As though God could ever forget! This is a figure of speech attributing human feelings to God. It is a touching way to bring before us God’s concern and tender care for His servant.
b) The Flood Receded (8:3)
For 150 days the waters of judgement slowly ebbed away. Where did the water go? Evaporation would account for a mere fraction of the lowering of the water level.
Psalm 104:6-8 says God changed the earth’s topography so that the flood waters would subside and the dry land appear.
Verse 6 tells of the flood, “Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.”
Verse 7 tells of the waters subsiding. “At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.”
Verse 8 tells how this was possible. “They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.” Literally: “The mountains rose up; the valleys sank down to the place which thou didst establish for them.”
As the “mountains rose up” and the “valleys sank down”, the waters drained off, scouring out great canyons in the process. The drastic rearrangement of topography resulted in continental land masses arising from the waters, and ocean basins deepening and widening to receive the water draining off the lands.
As the earth’s crust moved underneath the flood waters, so the waters would scour out great canyons, depositing alluvial deposits in their lower courses. Thus rivers everywhere show that they once carried greater quantities of water and sediment than at present.
Uniformitarians say it took millions, or billions of years for mountains to rise as they are today, and for the ocean floors to sink. However, the Hebrew expression in verse 3 “And the waters returned from off the earth continually” indicates rapid action.
c) The Ark Rested (8:4,5)
“And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat” (8:4).
(i) A Day of Rest. “The ark rested.” This is the second mention of “rest” in the Scriptures. God first “rested” when He finished His work of creation (2:2). Just as the Ark “rested”, having finished its work of salvation, so Christ “sat down” following His finished work of salvation (Heb 10:12).
(ii) A Day of Resurrection. Note the significant date: “in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month” (8:4). This is the day on which the Lord rose from the dead. The Passover was slain on the 14th day of the 7th month, according to the civil calendar (Exodus 12:2). Three days later, on the 17th day, the Lord rose from the dead.
Hence the Ark rested on the resurrection day. Having passed through the waters of judgement Noah stood on resurrection ground upon the earth.
2. NOAH TESTING (8:6-14)
Securely anchored on Ararat, Noah had to wait another seven months. Two and a half months passed before the tops of the mountains were visible. Then, after another 40 days, Noah opened the window and released two birds, a raven and a dove (8:7,8).
The scavenging raven found plenty to rest and feed on, and did not return. But the clean dove did. It was of a different nature, and could find “no rest for the sole of her foot” (8:9). A week later the dove was sent out again, and this time brought back an olive leaf. With what joy those in the Ark must have passed this living token from hand to hand. It was indication that life was beginning again on the mountain side, and the earth returning to fruitfulness.
One more week of waiting, and patient Noah tried again. This time the dove did not come back.
A Spiritual Analogy
The two birds are pictures of two kinds of people:
a) The Raven
The raven has an unclean nature and a carnal mind. It feeds on unclean things, and finds complete satisfaction in the place of death. The olive leaf, which meant so much to the dove, meant nothing to the raven.
The raven has no joy in new things, and is like the carnal mind, which has no joy in the new life of the believer. The “raven mind” is taken up with attractions of the world. “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh” (Romans 8:5,8).
b) The Dove
The dove is like the believer who finds true satisfaction only in the new creation. He rests in the salvation God has provided, even as the dove was content to rest in the ark until the new life appeared without.
The believer should love “things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God” (Col 3:1-4). He should “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph 4:24).
3. NOAH TRUSTING (8:15-9:17)
Eventually Noah removed the covering and found that the ground was dry (8:13). But for another 56 days the door remained firmly shut. But Noah could afford to wait, God was with Him in the Ark. It was not a question of making the best of it, but of making the most of it! It was not a moment too long!
a) God’s Command to Noah (8:15-19)
At last the great day came when the door of the Ark was to be opened. The new experience began with the Lord’s command to Noah. “And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee” (8:15,16).
The first thing Noah did was to build an altar. “And Noah built an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar” (8:20). This act of sacrifice was perhaps the highlight of Noah’s life. It was:-
(i) Spontaneous. He wasn’t told to do it. They were burnt offerings, not sin offerings. This was the overflow of his heart for God’s full and free salvation.
(ii) Generous. Noah had very limited resources. The clean domesticated animals were desperately needed to repopulate the world. They had to go round his sons, and could not be wasted on religious exercises! An unbeliever looking on would have been aghast. What waste! But God was well pleased.
b) God’s Covenant with Noah (8:20-9:17)
“And the Lord smelled a sweet savour.” God was pleased with Noah’s sacrifice, and in response He revealed a number of important things to him. In this passage we have:-
(i) God Speaking To Himself (8:20-22)
* What He Would Not do (8:21). Only divine grace could prevent a further curse (as in Genesis 3:17) or another flood of judgement. Hence God said:
– “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake” (8:21). This refers to the curse of Genesis 3:17. God would not remove the curse at this time, but neither would there be an additional curse.
– “neither will I smite any more every living thing, as I have done” (8:21). i.e. there would not be another flood judgement.
Note the peculiar reason for this! “…for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (8:21). This seems more like justification for smiting the earth rather than sparing it – except for the great paradox of God’s love and grace. Here is vivid testimony to man’s original sin, and also God’s redeeming mercy.
Poor man! He is totally depraved. His very thoughts are only evil continually. The only thing in the universe which can help him is God’s amazing grace. Thus for the very reason that he cannot save himself, God saves him!
* What He Would Do (8:22). Two significant things are referred to in this verse.
– Future Catastrophe. “while the earth remaineth.” The duration of God’s promise to Noah would be “while the earth remaineth.” One day the day of the Lord will come, and at that time “the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (II Peter 3:10).
– Present Continuity. “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (8:22). Until that future day, uniformity in physical processes can be counted upon. Earth’s physical features had been greatly changed by the flood, and its physical processes modified. The present hydrological cycle was established. God promised that there would be a regular order of nature, with fixed seasons. These seasons were also present before the flood (1:14), but after the Flood the environmental changes greatly varied the seasons.
(ii) God Speaking To His Servant (9:1-17). God now spoke to Noah in response to his sacrifice after leaving the Ark. These words contain the basic provision for human government among men, exercised on God’s behalf. They also contain the great Noahic covenant with post-Flood man which is still in effect thousands of years later. A new economy was introduced, which will last from the Flood until Christ returns to establish His Kingdom. What God said included:
* A Command regarding:
– Dominion (9:1-2). Significantly although Noah was told to be fruitful and fill the earth, the specific command to Adam to “have dominion over the earth and subdue it” (1:28) is omitted. Man’s dominion had been forfeited by sin, and Satan was now in dominion on the earth (1 John 5:19). Man could no longer exercise direct authority as previously. He would rule by “fear” and “dread”, rather than by direct obedience and understanding.
– Diet (9:3-4). “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you” (9:3). This is the first time we find animals used as food, but a restriction accompanied the permission, as “flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat” (9:4). Flesh was permitted for food, but the blood had to be drained first.
– Discipline (9:5-7). Just as the blood of animals represented their life and was sacred (9:4), so man’s blood represented his life, and was especially sacred, for “in the image of God made he man” (9:6).
Here was a direct command demanding the capital penalty for capital offenses. This, in essence, was nothing less than the establishment of a system of formal human government.
The authority to execute is thus delegated to man. The anarchistic conditions before the flood were not permitted to recur. Then each person had lived independently of all restraints, except those of conscience of self-interest. To prevent a similar situation after the Flood, God instituted a system of human government, including specifically the authority for capital punishment.
The authority for capital punishment implies also the authority to establish laws regulating other human activities, e.g. robbery, adultery, etc. Thus this simple instruction to Noah is the basis for all human legal and governmental institutions.
Note that the instruction does not refer to vengeance. The emphasis is on justice. This divine principle has not been done away in our Christian era. The N.T. reaffirms the authority of Governments to apply capital punishment. “…he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil” (Romans 13:4).
When human lawmakers set aside capital punishment, they claim to be wiser than the God who instituted it. True there are problems with capital punishment. There is the debateable deterrent factor, and the factor of human error with the horrifying possibility of executing the wrong man. But these are not adequate reasons for overriding such a clearly stated and basic divine principle.
* A Covenant (9:8-17). God had already made a covenant with Unfallen Man (1:28-30), with Fallen Man (3:14-19). He now makes a new covenant with Noah, a marvellous token of His grace and mercy. Note that it was to be:
– Unconditional. God pledged Himself to keep His promises regardless even of man’s behaviour. It was all God’s doing.
– Perpetual (9:16). It was to be valid to “perpetual generations” (9:12).
– Personal. God said it was peculiarly “MY bow.”
– Merciful. Note the other references to rainbows in the Bible. In Ezekiel 1:28 God’s rainbow is seen surrounding God’s throne as He prepares to visit judgement on His people Israel. In Revelation 4:3 the rainbow is again seen surrounding God’s throne just prior to the Great Tribulation. The scenes in both passages refer to imminent judgement and suffering, but the presence of the rainbow reminds that, even in times of judgement, God’s mercy and faithfulness reign supreme.
“NOAH’S LAST DAYS”
Genesis 9:18-29
We have already seen that Genesis is the Book of Origins – of the universe, of life, of marriage, of sin, of salvation, and of culture. Later in chapter 12 we will see the origin of God’s special people, Israel, and realise that the enigma of that nation is answered only in the Genesis account.
Now in chapters 9, 10, & 11, we have the origins of the world’s nations, races, and languages. Today there is great diversity among mankind spread over the globe. There are several major “races”, and 150 or so nations of significance, as well as over 3000 tribal languages.
The origin of races and nations is still a mystery to most scientists, determined as they are to explain man and his culture in an evolutionary framework. Anthropologists and ethnologists have come up with many contradictory theories, but the only fully reliable record of true origins is found in Genesis 9 – 11.
Eight grateful people had alighted from the ark under the umbrella of a new covenant. Behind them was the dark judgement of the Flood. Before them was a new, cleansed world. It seemed as though nothing could go wrong….
a) Noah’s Downfall (9:18-24)
b) Noah’s Descendants (9:25-29)
1. NOAH’S DOWNFALL (9:18-24)
a) Noah as a Father (9:18-19).
“These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread” (9:20). The Bible teaches that all men are descended from Noah through his three sons (Gen 10:32; Acts 17:26).
Today many nations have their own identifiable physical and temperamental characteristics as a result of centuries of genetic variation and recombination. But all these are traceable back to the genetic constitution of Noah’s three sons and their wives.
It is interesting that, although always mentioned in that order, Gen 10:21 tells us that Japheth was the eldest, and it may be that Shem was the younger. But Shem represented the line through which the Lord would come, and hence he assumes priority.
b) Noah as a Farmer (9:20)
“And Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard.” The following verses depict Noah’s fall. Significantly this occurred in the course of his daily occupation. Noah was a husbandman, a man of the soil, a perfectly legitimate occupation. Even legitimate occupations can become the occasions of wrongdoing.
c) Noah as a Failure (9:21-23)
“And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent” (9:21). These verses introduce to us one of the saddest incidents in the O.T. A new start had been made after the Flood. A new covenant had been given, backed up with beautiful promises of God’s never failing faithfulness. Now the tragic story of Noah’s drunkenness provides graphic evidence that, despite the cleansing judgement of the Floor, man was still a sinner, and Satan was still “the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Eph 2:2).
The full details of what exactly happened are obscure, but some facts are clear:
(i) What Noah did. Noah was drunk and lying naked within his tent (9:21). Perhaps his robe had fallen off exposing his nakedness, or perhaps his drunkenness had tended towards sensuality, as drunkenness does, when Ham chanced to enter the tent. Then, as now, these two sins of drunkenness and immodesty are often associated.
(ii) What Ham did is stated without detail or explanation. It is only recorded that “Ham saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without” (9:22). There were two aspects to Ham’s sin, both of which revealed the nature of his mind and heart:
* He “saw.” The word means he “gazed at” with satisfaction. This was not a mere accidental slip. It was a deliberate act of the will, rejoicing and savouring what he saw.
* He “told.” The word means “told with delight.” Instead of sorrowing about what he saw, Ham delighted in it, and gossiped about it.
Ham’s actions indicate an attitude of rebellion against his father, and probably against his father’s God. Instead of turning away from what he saw, he dwelt on it. Instead of covering it he exposed it.
(iii) What Shem and Japheth did:
* They refused to look at their father’s shame, even walking in backwards to avoid looking.
* They refused to gossip about it. Instead, they showed their love by their desire to cover their father’s sin, rather than expose it. Their actions were quite different from those of Ham. To them, “Love covereth a multitude of sins” (1 Pe 4:8).
Lessons to be Learned
a) The Divine Inspiration of the Bible.
Bible characters and heroes are faithfully depicted, “warts and all”, and the sins of even the most mighty and godly men are frankly recorded. Human records often gloss over human failings. Not so God’s Word!
b) The Total Depravity of Man.
In his sparkling new environment and with God’s blessing upon him, Noah had everything he needed to govern the new world. Sadly, his problem was his failure to govern himself. What a reminder of man’s essential evil and depravity!
c) The Dangers of Wine.
This is the first mention of wine in the Bible, and it is associated with drunkenness, shame, and a curse. True…
– the Bible does not forbid drinking wine
– moderation is the major lesson
– the Lord Himself drank wine and taught about it
– Timothy was told to take “a little wine for thy stomach’s sake”
But the other side of the coin is that “wine is a mocker; strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise” (Prov 20:1).
d) The Need of Watchfulness.
For 600 years Noah had withstood the temptations of the world. Surely Noah’s age and character are adequate protection and against falling! No experience of God’s mercies in the past can protect us from Satan’s temptations in the future. “Be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pe 5:8).
Significantly, nothing, save his death, is recorded about Noah after this terrible episode. The last 300 years of his life are a blank! No wonder the Psalmist prayed, “Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust” (Ps 16:10).
2. NOAH’S DESCENDANTS (9:25-29)
With the deepest hearts of his own sons laid bare before him, Noah made the great prophetic declaration of verses 25-27. As with Jacob’s “blessings” of chapter 49, the insights given into the future, are based on insights into the characters of his sons.
Noah pronounced a curse and two blessings.
a) The Curse
“And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brethren” (9:25). The curse of verse 25 came on Ham’s youngest son, Canaan, as a result of Ham’s sin against his father. It is not clear why Noah passed over Ham and his other sons, and focused on Canaan. Perhaps it was that:
– having blessed Him (9:1) he could not now curse him.
– the father was being punished in the son, according to the outworking of divine law (Ex 20:5).
– Canaan in some way not recorded was a partaker of his father’s evil delight in Noah’s shame. Significantly the Canaanites, who did come from Canaan, were known for their excesses of sensuality.
Some believe that the Black races are reflected in this curse, and reason that because Ham’s descendants went to Africa, the cause of Africans being black is that Ham was cursed. However, Canaan, who received the curse, never went to Africa! True Cush, Phut, and Mizraim went there, but they were not cursed. Canaan, the progenitor of the Canaanites was the one cursed.
b) The Blessings
(i) Shem’s Blessing. “And he said, blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant” (9:26). The height of this blessing was that Jehovah would be the God of Shem. Shem knew the Lord personally, in His covenant relationship, and by His name Jehovah.
The Semitic peoples would be those through whom God would channel to men both His revelations and His redemption. Thus Abraham was chosen to head God’s special people, Israel, and even more so when, in due time, Christ was born of the same line.
“and Canaan shall be his servant.” This perhaps refers to the later conquest of Canaan by Shem’s posterity as the Israelites drove out the Canaanites. Joshua, David, and Solomon all put them to tribute.
(ii) Japheth’s Blessing. “God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant” (9:27). Japheth’s descendants became the empire builders, and eventually spread out to occupy the whole earth apart from the Middle East of the Shemites, and Africa of the Hamites.
The Persian, Greek, Roman, and European nations which have ruled the world all came from Japheth. Nebuchadnezzar was from Shem’s line, but from the night on which he was slain, the descendants of Japheth have ruled the world. No Semitic or Hamitic race has succeeded in breaking their supremacy.
However, spiritually, he would “dwell in the tents of Shem.” This means he would “have fellowship with” Shem. He would come to share in Shem’s spiritual inheritance and blessings. He would depend on what God would do through Shem.
Points To Note
a) There is no mention of colour in any of these prophecies. Clearly a particular colour was not the result of the curse on Canaan. The distinctive physical characteristics (e.g. skin colour, height, hair texture, facial features, etc) of the various families resulted from genetic changes and inbreeding resulting from the dispersion of chapter 11.
b) In Moses’ day Noah’s prophecy must have seemed absurdly inaccurate!
– The Sons of Shem were slaves
– The Sons of Canaan were masters of the world
– The Sons of Japheth were unimportant
c) Today, however, the accuracy of the prophecy is established.
– Japheth was promised dominion in earth, and so it has come to pass.
– Shem was promised the glory of the coming Redeemer.
– Canaan was doomed to poverty and servitude.
d) The N.T. church knows no such family or tribal boundaries. Acts chapters 8, 9, & 10 tell of the conversions of an Ethiopian (descended from Ham), Paul (descended from Shem), and Cornelius (descended from Japheth). All found true unity and blessing in the Saviour.
GOD AND THE NATIONS
Genesis 10:1 – 11:9
Genesis 10 & 11 provide the historical links connecting the days of Noah with the days of Abraham. In them we can trace the fulfilment of Noah’s prophecy, and see the origins of the world’s nations and languages.
The story of the Tower of Babel is much more than interesting history. It is a dark prophetic shadow of a future empire and its ruler, who will one day bring to an awful climax the system commenced 4000 years ago in chapter 11.
The events of chapter 11 precedes chronologically the Table of Nations of chapter 10. Chapter 10 tells of the completeness of the Dispersion. Chapter 11 tells of its causes.
1. THE COMPLETENESS OF MAN’S DISPERSAL (10:1-32)
a) A Table of Nations
“Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and unto them were sons born after flood” (10:1).
Genesis 10 has been generally acknowledged as “standing absolutely alone in ancient literature, without a remote parallel…an astonishingly accurate document.”
Some 70 families and tribes are identified as having descended from Noah’s sons. Each tribe is identified with the city or country established by his descendants.
(i) The Japhetic tribes (10:1-5). Japheth was Noah’s oldest son, and is thus mentioned first. His descendants moved north from whence they spread westward into Europe and eastward into India. We can trace most of these names, and recognise them as ancestors of the Indo-European peoples.
(ii) The Hamitic tribes (10:6-20). “And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan” (10:6). Greater detail is given regarding these tribes. Amongst others, we see here the Egyptians, Canaanites, and Africans. These nations generally moved south into Arabia and Africa. In the early dawn of history they were the vigorous, aggressive people, the early empire builders, the controllers of human destiny.
– “Cush” is the same in the Bible as “Ethiopia”, and is usually so translated. The Cushites apparently migrated south into Arabia, and then crossed the Red Sea into present Ethiopia. The Bible depicts the Cushites as being black (Jer 13:23). However, one of Cush’s sons, Nimrod, settled in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley, where he established a kingdom and built a city called Babel. “And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel” (10:10).
– “Mizraim” founded Egypt, and is the customary name for Egypt in the Bible. Egypt is also called the “land of Ham” (Ps 105:23).
– “Phut” founded the nation of Libya on the N. African coast.
– “Canaan” was the ancestor of the Canaanites, and gave his name to the land of Canaan.
(iii) The Shemite (Semitic) tribes (10:21-32) occupied the central area, Israel later occupying the most central land of all. The record notes the separation of the Shemites from the other descendants of Noah, and pays special attention to the Messianic line, which led to Abraham. Several notable features are recorded here:
– “Eber” (10:21) – this is the root of the term “Hebrew”.
– “Aram” (10:22) was the father of the Arameans, the same as the Syrians.
– “Peleg” “…in his days was the earth divided” (10:25). This refers to the division of the people at the Tower of Babel, and thus dates this event.
b) A Series of Lessons
Several clear principles lie behind the scenes in this chapter.
(i) All Nations have One Origin. The chapter underlines the ultimate relationship of all people. Because of our education, or culture, or upbringing, it is tempting to feel that we are in some way “superior” to others. Not so! Anything we have we owe to God’s grace. Here is the true teaching about the brotherhood of man.
(ii) All Nations have One Destiny – Eternity! The whole Bible, and particularly Revelation makes it clear that ALL men must find their eternal destiny in one of two places; either heaven or hell.
(iii) All Nations have One Need. The thought of sin is right through this chapter. Every race experiences sin. “There is no difference, for all have sinned” (Rom 3:22,23). It may present in different ways. It may be the sinful superstitions of primitive people, or the sophisticated sins of modern society. But the root need is the same, because the heart of man is the same.
(iv) All Nations have One Way of Salvation. Because of sin, all nations have a single need. Because of the Saviour, all nations have a single way back to God. But just as nations are composed of individuals, so it is individuals, not nations, who respond. There is no such thing as a “Christian nation.” When the judgement day comes, people will not be able to stand behind their national policy and blame their leaders. They may blame them for inflation, taxes, sanctions, even the weather. But we may not blame them for our refusal to accept Christ!
2. THE CAUSES OF MAN’S DISPERSAL (11:1-9)
Three times over in chapter 10 we are told that the nations were divided and dispersed on the earth. In chapter 10 we saw the completeness of this dispersion. Now chapter 11 takes us back to its cause.
This passage from chapter 11 is of fundamental importance, as it brings before us the city of Babylon. However, Babylon is not just a city. It is a system which down through the ages has been characterized by total Satanic opposition to God. From Genesis 10 through to Revelation 18 (where Babylon the Great is destroyed) the city represents a system constantly hostile to God, and to anyone or anything representing God.
Chapter 11 focuses on a person, a purpose, a project, and the punishment applied by God.
a) The Person
Chap 10:10 tells us that the one shadowy figure behind the building of the Tower was Nimrod.
We first read about him in chapter 10:8,9 “And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.”
(i) His Ability – “a mighty hunter.” He was a man of outstanding ability and courage. Three times he is referred to as “mighty”.
(ii) His Authority – he was clearly a great leader of men, as shown by his ability to unite the whole world politically and religiously.
(iii) His Antagonism – his name, “Nimrod”, means “rebel.” The phrase “before the Lord” is rendered “against the Lord.” Some have even translated it “a mighty tyrant in the face of Lord.” The whole tenor of his life was one of antagonism and rebellion against God.
Nimrod’s subsequent history
When the empire reached its peak, Nimrod was killed while hunting a boar. Semiramis his wife later had a son, Tammuz, whom she claimed was the reincarnation of Nimrod. The whole religion of Babylon was centred on the worship of a mother, known as the “Queen of Heaven”, with a babe in her arms.
Tammuz grew up to be a hunter, and according to legend, died being torn to pieces. Semiramis then said that Tammuz would come to life again. Expectantly she established the feast of Ishtar in the springtime, which comes into our language as Easter with its symbol the egg. She proclaimed 40 days of weeping for Tammuz, which is now observed in the religious calendar as Lent.
This idolatry went into all cultural systems in the earth.:
* Egypt – Isis and Horus
* Assyria – Astarte and Ninus
* Rome – Venus and Cupid
* Greece – Aphrodite and Bacchus
* Tibet, India, etc
This is the origin of the Roman Catholic cult of the Mother and Child.
The symbol “T” for Tammuz became the mystic “Tau” of the Egyptians and Chaldeans. The same symbol has become Christianized as the Christian cross.
Babylon was established by Nimrod as “The Gate of God.” The people, although scattered, retained the religious thinking of Nimrod and his wife. Hence the basic similarity of all non-Christian religions. The religious system established there was apparently carried into all the nations by those who were scattered from it. Hence astrology and pantheism became the established religions of the ancient world.
Nimrod as a picture of Antichrist
There is here a complete typical picture of the antichrist – his person, his work, and his destruction.
* His desire for fame
* His mighty power he wielded
* His ruthless methods – also brutal, suggested by the word “hunter”
* His blatant defiance of God
* His founding of the Kingdom of Babylon, “The Gate of God”, thus taking to himself divine honours.
* His destruction, expressed in “Let us go down…” This foreshadows the descent of Christ to vanquish the Antichrist.
b) The Purpose
“And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there” (10:1,2). As time went on, it was clear there was wide divergence between God’s purpose and man’s.
(i) God’s purpose for mankind was stated in his commandment to Noah and his family to “replenish (fill) the earth” (9:1). His purpose was for the families to move out over the world, separating one from the other.
(ii) Man’s purpose was very different. Under Nimrod the people looked for a way to avoid being scattered. The purpose of the city was to keep the people together. The building of Babel thus signified the unity of the race. There was to be “one world”, and one “United Nations.” Note that the world’s first federation of nations epitomized the last, for human history begins and ends at Babel (Rev 18). As there was a great rebellion behind the first Babel, so there will be a great rebellion behind the last one. As the first United Nations Organization cantered everything in a cultural, political, and religious unity, so will the last.
c) The Project
Man’s rebellion and godless ambition united in an attempt to build a society from which God was to be excluded. The result was a huge symbol of independence – the Tower of Babel.
(i) Their Materials. “And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar” (10:2).
* Bricks. “And they had brick for stone.” Man builds with brick, but God builds with stone. Brick is merely hardened clay; a fitting symbol for mankind. Nothing really lasting can be made out of hardened clay. What a contrast to God’s building materials. He uses living stones. “Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house (1 Pe 2:5). See also the precious stones of the heavenly city (Rev 21:19) which transmit the light of God’s glory
* Slime. “And slime had they for mortar.” The “slime” was a tarry, bituminous substance, likely from the abundant asphalt pits in the Euphrates valley. The slime is just as symbolic as the clay. Strong bonds cemented the people together, just as they will in the last Gentile world empire under the coming Beast. Not for nothing is he called “the man of sin.” He will unite men in wickedness and bind them together in a godless union. See the types of “slime” used to bind people together:
– cultural slime – same language
– political slime – attempts to bind people together in empire
– religious slime – Babel’s religion
Culturally, politically, and religiously, the scenario of Genesis 11 will be duplicated in the coming empire of the Beast. Even now we can see how mass communication regiments the thinking of men. It will not be difficult to brainwash the whole world. In China a short time ago 800 million people were glued together culturally and politically, with everyone shouting slogans from the same red book. What a contrast to the spiritual unity the believer has in Christ. It is “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” from which nothing can ever separate him.
(ii) Their Method. “And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven” (11:4). They decided to build two things
* “A City” – to symbolize their political unity. Dwelling in one place would keep the people together.
* “A Tower” – to symbolize their religious unity. A great tower would dominate the city as a symbol of unity and strength. “Whose top may reach unto heaven.” The words “may reach” are not in the original. They wanted to build a “tower unto heaven.” i.e. “whose top may be a representation of the heavens.” It would be topped by the heavens – the twelve zodiac signs. Both astrological and astronomical data were to be associated with that tower. Twelve constellations marking the paths of the sun, moon, and stars through the sky, formed a background map on the top of the tower. Stargazing and occultism were main features of the religious system. In recent years Babylonian writings and garments have been unearthed which have this kind of pattern on them. Aachan’s “babylonish garment” had the hidden knowledge of the ancients on it.
(iii) Their Motive. “Let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth” (11:4). Two major motives governed their thinking:
* “let us make us a name” – here was naked pride parading in independence of God. God did not even enter their thoughts. They neither needed nor wanted Him.
* “lest we be scattered” – here was raw defiance of God’s command that they should replenish the earth. Instead they planned to bind men together in a permanent political and religious union.
(iv) Their Mistake. Their mistake was that of reckoning without God. “And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men built” (11:5). God is present everywhere, and knows all things. It was not necessary for Him to “come down” to know what was happening. He came down to interfere with man’s objective.
How often God is still left out of man’s thinking. God has created man with tremendous God-given ability to gain much knowledge of his environment. In a sense, man has built a tower to the moon, and even greater towers are in the planning stages. But the shame of it is that man refuses to recognize God as the One who enable him to do so! In fact, one of man’s chief objectives in exploring the moon has been to learn of the origin of the universe.
Even an atheist can discover the principles God has established in the universe, and make mind-shattering discoveries. But when he refuses to give glory to God for the things he has accomplished, he is creating another tower of Babel.
The result of such refusal to either seek or acknowledge God is clearly seen in Romans 1:24-32, where God gives such up to all kinds of uncleanness. There is in this passage an emphasis on degrading sex, with homosexuality and lesbianism explicitly mentioned. No wonder God “came down”, as man accelerated way from His word and His will.
d) The Punishment
“Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech” (11:7). The kings of the earth had set themselves, and the rulers had taken counsel together against the Lord (Psalm 2:2), but the Lord would have them in derision. In one of the most far-reaching miracles in history, God punished man by confounding his speech.
In the establishment of Nimrod’s kingdom, the key to success was man’s ability to communicate and cooperate. “The people is one, and they have all one language” (11:6). It is significant that the antichrist is coming in an age of mass communication.
The Lord did two things:
(i) He confounded their language. “Therefore is the name of it called Babel: because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth” (11:9). It is from the Hebrew word “confound” that the word “Babel” is derived. We can imagine the surprised confusion! A foreman irritated by his workers not understanding. The workers thinking the foreman was making sport of them. Loud incoherent arguments would be heard all over the city leading to chaos everywhere. Presumably individual family members could understand each other, but otherwise everyone else was talking nonsense!
(ii) He scattered them abroad. “So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city” (11:8). Lack of communication led to lack of cooperation, hence they stopped building.
Eventually each family became a tribe and moved away from Babel to work out its own manner of life as God intended. Stronger nations who were more industrious soon became great nations. Weaker nations were pushed further and further away from the great centres of civilization, being forced to colonize and establish their cultures in new regions.
Cultural Characteristics. Cultural development did not require long ages. Rather, the entire world was inhabited within a few generations. Increasingly in recent years archaeology has confirmed the appearance of civilizations more or less contemporaneously in all parts of the world, only a few millennia ago. The “Stone Ages” “Bronze Ages”, and “Iron Ages” of the archaeologists merely represent temporary situations existing when tribes moved into a new area and before the various materials were discovered in that region.
Physical Characteristics. Since they could not communicate with other families, they could not marry outside the family. Through time, aided by the inevitable inbreeding, each family and tribal unit developed distinct physical and biological characteristics. Hence in a few generations of inbreeding, distinctive characteristics of skin colour, height, hair texture, facial features, temperament, etc, could become associated with particular tribes and nations.
God’s Purposes
Multiplicity of tongues was not God’s original purpose. He has promised that in a future day when all nations will follow His will, “Then will I turn to the people (lit. “the peoples” i.e. the nations) a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent” (Zeph 3:9). God is able to use even various languages to glorify himself. e.g.
a) In Genesis 11 tongues were an expression of His judgement.
b) In Acts 2 God gave various languages as an expression of His grace.
c) In Revelation 5 is a delightful scene of people from all languages, with one voice praising God. “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Rev 5:9).