Genesis 12-15 Fulfilling covenant obligations

From Genesis 12-15

Introduction to Bible in a year series

Overview

Gen 12.1-3; Story; God makes covenant promises to Abraham

Gen 12.4-9; Story; Abram heads toward the land the LORD promised him

Gen 12.10-20; Story; Abram and Sarai pretend to be siblings, God protects them and they get found out

Gen 13.1-13; Story; Abram and Lot separate because of the size of their flocks. Lot goes to Sodom.

Gen 13.14-18; Story; The LORD reaffirms his promises to Abram

Gen 14.1-12; Story; Kings of the land battle one another and in the process capture Lot

Gen 14.13-16; Story; Abram and 318 trained men defeat the victor of the previous battle and rescue Lot

Gen 14.17-18; Story; The rescued king of Sodom and Melchizedek king of Salem meet Abram.

Gen 14.19-20; Story; Abram is blessed by and tithes to Melchizedek

Gen 14.21-24; Story; Abram and the king of Sodom negotiate what they took back

Gen 15.1-6; Story; The LORD reaffirms his promises to Abram. Abram believed God and his belief in the promise is counted as righteousness by the LORD.

Gen 15.7-21; Story; The LORD ratified the covenant and the promises he has made to Abram

Passage and comments

This is one of the more important sections of the bible and it regards the promises of God. I thought it would be helpful to list them;

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to

1) the land that I will show you. And

2) I will make of you a great nation, and

3) I will bless you and

4) make your name great, so that

5) you will be a blessing.

6) I will bless those who bless you, and

7) him who dishonors you I will curse, and

8) in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen 12:1-3)

Depending on what we are to consider promises there is about eight different promises listed here. Do any strike you are particularly interesting? One in particular is recalled by Paul in Gal 3.8. This I have labelled promise 8.

Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “

To your offspring  (2)

I will give this land.” (1)

So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. (Gen 12:7)

Arguably these promises are reaffirmations of promises 2 and then 1. These promises in particular are important for the rest of Genesis (for 2) and the rest of the Torah / Pentateuch / Gen - Deut (for 1).

The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” (Gen 13:14-17)

Again as I noted, promises 1 and 2 are repeated again. This next section has incredible importance for Paul’s faith - works arguments in Romans and Galatians.

[5] And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” [6] And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. [7] And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” (Gen 15:5-7)

So what we see here is God reaffirming his promise of offspring to Abraham. Abram believed God. God knows Abram believes and counts or regards Abrams belief as righteousness. If we read further on.

[18] On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, [19] the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, [20] the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, [21] the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” (Gen 15:18-21)

God, the promises of God, Abram and his belief in the promises of God are understood within a covenant context. Abrams belief in God’s promise is regarded by God as righteousness according to the covenant agreement. What that means is that Abram is seen as upholding his end of the covenant obligations by believing God.

Story of Jesus

The same applies to Jesus. When people hear the Gospel narrative of Jesus life, death and resurrection and come to believe he is the promised messiah of God and that they too will be raised from the dead. They connect themselves to Abram as their father because they have the same kind of faith. Faith in Jesus as the risen Christ is identifies people as part of the Abrams spiritual family. Where do you stand on believing that Jesus is the risen Christ of God? Do you believe God will honour his promise to you to raise you from the dead?

Genesis 8-11 Fire can only burn a patch once

From Genesis 8-11

Introduction to Bible in a year series

Overview

Gen 8.1; Story; God remembers Noah and all the animals with him. God subsides the waters.

Gen 8.2-5; Story; The waters continue to drop and they can eventually see mountains again

Gen 8.6-12; Story; Noah sends out birds to see if the waters had subsided.

Gen 8.13-19; Story; The earth is now dry and God commands Noah and everyone else to leave the ark.

Gen 8.20-22; Story; Noah offers burnt offerings on an altar. The LORD smells the aroma and vows never again to curse the ground (Adam's curse) and never again to strike down every living creature (Noah's flood)

Gen 9.1-17; Story; God blesses, commands and warns Noah and his sons. God makes a rainbow covenant with Noah.

Gen 9.18-28; Story; Noah drinks and gets naked. Noah's sons respond differently and are judged accordingly.

Gen 10.1-32; Story; The generations of Noah from which the nations spread over the earth after the flood.

Gen 11.1-9; Story; The people of the earth build a city and a tower and the LORD descends and scatters them.

Gen 11.10-26; Story; Shem's descendants reaching to Terah and Abram.

Gen 11.27-32; Story; The generations of Terah introducing Abram and Lot.

Passage and comments

There are a few interesting tidbits in this passage below;

[20] Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. [21] And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. [22] While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” (Gen 8.20-22)

The first is the burnt offering Noah offered. How did Noah know what a burnt offering was? He probably picked it up from the people he just left behind. Otherwise perhaps the LORD told him? But why would the LORD impose a levitical law on him? There are other possibilities I won’t go into know.

Perhaps as a result of the pleasing aroma the LORD vows three things.

He will never again curse the ground. This harks back to Genesis 3 where God cursed the ground, or is there another curse? What does it mean for God to have cursed the ground since it may now be no longer cursed? We have another reference to the intentions of mans heart being evil. This time from youth.

The second vow is that the LORD will never again strike down every living creature.

The third is while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease. While the earth remains. Interesting way of putting things.

Story of Jesus

Where a fire has burned it cannot burn again. I suspect this is much like what we have read here regarding Noah and the flood. The LORD promises never to do it again. Jesus death is the same. It was a one time act, never again to be repeated. Jesus took the punishment we deserve. So if we do sin again. We know that Jesus death on the cross has already paid for this sin as well. When Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, he removed from his people the possibility they would experience the punishment of God. Once saved, always saved. That’s what we call assurance.

Genesis 4-7 The favour of the LORD

From Genesis 4-7

Introduction to Bible in a year series

Overview

Gen 4.1-2 Story; Adam and Eve have children Cain and Abel

Gen 4.3-16 Story; Cain and Abel's offerings, Cain kills Abel, God punishes and protects Cain

Gen 4.17-24 Story; Cain's generations and Lamech

Gen 4.25-26 Story; Adam and Eve gave birth to Seth and people begin to call on the name of the LORD

Gen 5.1-3 Story; The generations of Adam. Adam fathers a son in his own likeness.

Gen 5.4-32 Story; Adams line, including Seth, Enoch and Noah

Gen 6.1-4 Story; The sons of God take wives and the LORD limits the time his Spirit abides in humanity

Gen 6.5-9 Story; The LORD is grieved at evil humanity, but Noah finds favour

Gen 6.9-10 Story; Noah's generations. Noah is righteous man. He is blameless and walks with God. He has three sons.

Gen 6.11-22 Story; The LORD unveils his plans to destroy corrupt humanity and save Noah and his family

Gen 7.1 Story; The LORD instructs Noah to go into the ark, because he sees Noah as righteous

Gen 7.2-16 Story; Noah, his family and all the animals go into the ark. The LORD shuts them inside.

Gen 7.17-24 Story; The flood comes and everything dies.

Passage and comments

This kind of passage stands out to me because of the contrast in people displayed. This is the introduction to the story of Noah and the flood.

[5] The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. [6] And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. [7] So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” [8] But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Gen 6.5-8))

One group of people are described as having the thoughts of their hearts continually evil. Noah on the other hand is described as finding favour with the LORD. The passage continues;

[9] These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. [10] And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Gen 6.9-10)

What strikes me in this passage is the name given to and the positive portrayal of God’s people. Yes at times they do the wrong thing, but the authors of scripture seem often willing to focus on the faithfulness of God’s people rather than their sin. The passage continues;

[11] Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. [12] And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. [13] And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. (Gen 6:11-13)

And God sets in motion his plan to save Noah and his family from the coming destruction. Noah found favour in the eyes of the LORD.

Story of Israel

Moving forward, there is a bit of ground to cover before we get to the story of Israel. Soon God will call Abraham and from him will come his offspring. God also has a plan to save them, we will see this through various covenants and the promises associated with them. But sadly they don’t always measure up to Noah’s example. They too need someone to save them - from themselves!

Story of Jesus

If we zoom further forward and have a look at Jesus. We find it in Jesus’ mission is to save sinners. Once he brings them into his kingdom they are occasionally called ‘righteous’ just as Noah was. In part because they are expected to live in accordance with their new identity and with Jesus as their king.

Genesis 1-3 In the beginning, God created

From Genesis 1-3

Introduction to Bible in a year series

Introduction

As its name implies, Genesis is about beginnings. Genesis tells us that God created everything that exists. It shows that God is both the Creator and the Ruler of all creation. But it also tells of humanity’s tragic fall into sin and death, and of God’s unfolding plan of redemption through his covenant with Abraham and his descendants. Genesis includes some of the most memorable stories in the Bible, beginning with Adam and Eve (chs. 1-4), continuing through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and ending with the life of Joseph (chs. 37-50), who died before 1600 b.c. Traditionally, Jews and Christians have recognized Moses as the author, writing after the Exodus from Egypt, commonly dated around 1440 b.c. though some prefer a date around 1260 b.c.

(The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Gen). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.)

Overview

Gen 1.1 Story; God creates the heavens and the earth.

Gen 1.2 Story; The earth was without form and void, darkness over the deep, God hovered over waters

Gen 1.3-2.3 Story; The seven days of God speaking, naming and allocating tasks

Gen 2.4 Story; The generations of the heavens and the earth

Gen 2.5-20 Story; Creation story repeated, the LORD created Adam

Gen 2.21-25 Story; The LORD gives Adam a woman as a helper

Gen 3.1-7 Sin-Story; Adam and Eve are tempted by the serpent and disobey God

Gen 3.8-13 Story; The LORD God questions Adam and Eve on their actions

Gen 3.14-15 Story; The LORD curses the Serpent

Gen 3.16 Story; The LORD curses the Woman

Gen 3.17-19 Story; The LORD curses the Man

Gen 3.20-24 Story; The LORD makes garments for Adam and Eve and exiles them from the garden

Passage and comments

It seems appropriate to start the blog focusing on God’s first act - Creation. The Old Testament starts with;

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen 1.1)

In the beginning there was God. He existed in the beginning. We know from other scriptures that God is eternal. What I mean by that is He has no beginning and no end. The alpha and omega.

God created the heavens and the earth. I realise creation is a sensitive subject for some, so I might recommend a book I read that tries to explain a common meaning of ‘created’ in the Old Testament. The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate, by John H. Walton. His idea is that ‘create’ can be used in the sense of ordering existing elements. A bit like forming a new company out of things like people, buildings and items.

The text continues stating the existence of the earth before it has been made into anything.

2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (Gen 1.2)

So what is clear from this text is that the earth already existed, it was ‘without form and void’. The ‘deep’ already existed and the ‘waters’ already existed. This imagery is common to ancient near eastern creation accounts. Not to say Moses cut and pasted these accounts, rather he used their language and concepts to communicate his worldview. What is his worldview?

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (Gen 1.3-5)

The Hebrew God is the one who created. God continues bringing order out of chaos forming the world in which he will inhabit. Like a temple.

Story of Israel

Within the history of Israel, the temple represented the place where God dwelt amongst his people. The sad story of Genesis 1-3 and Israel is that in both cases the people God brought to himself were kicked out. Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden, Israel was kicked out of the promised land. Throughout the Old Testament we will see sin, judgment and exile. But that is not all. God promises to restore. It takes a long time for these promises to manifest themselves. But the start of the Gospel of John creates a link between creation and the restoration promised throughout the scriptures.

Story of Jesus

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

...

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (Jn 1.1-5,14)

The word became flesh. His name is Jesus.