Genesis Session 8: The Flood

Again, these are my notes from session 8 with Jen Wilkin for Genesis.  Please use with your small group or just individually for study.  

We are looking at the story of Noah in the context of what has come before.  Jen says, never read a story in the Bible independent of what has come before and what is going to come after.

If we believe something like this happened, we should expect that it's recorded not just by one culture but by several cultures. There are literally hundreds of recorded tales, Jen says, about a flood that happened.  These stories have been gathered by scholars and analyzed.  There's a lot of debate out there of whether the flood was global or local, she says.

The only way the flood stays in orthodox belief is to say it was regional; it wiped out all human kind except the 8 people preserved. Why? Because the whole point of the story is that God is cleansing the earth of all its wicked inhabitants.  Because of the doctrine of original sin that says we're all born with a bent towards sin, it makes sense, Jen says, that even if the flood was regional, all human kind not on the ark would have had to be swept away.

Original Sin
Because Adam messed up, we have to walk around from our earliest days wanting to commit sin.  The God of the universe orchestrated this original sin and made Adam our representative.  One of the most difficult pieces of coming to terms with the flood narrative, says Jen, is that it's only a temporary solution.

Genesis 6:1-10
Notice that the text is mentioning Shem, Ham and Japheth.  This should raise our awareness and look for those names to occur again.

What do we see here?

• Noah was a righteous man
• He's the great-great-grandson of Enoch who walked with God
• And Noah also walked with God following in the line of his ancestors

Noah is dwelling in a time when wickedness is pervasive.  The NT refers to him as a preacher of righteousness.  He will be given a task of building the ark which will be difficult because of the era he is living in of wickedness.

Genesis 6:11-13

Notice the word "corrupt" used three times.  Notice how blame has been established:

• The people have corrupted the earth
• Violence because of the people

He says in verse 13, He will destroy both them and the earth.  The root word for destroy  is corrupt.

Genesis 6:14-22

When you hear verse 22, does it sound familiar to you?  What Moses will do when he writes his narrative throughout Genesis, is he employs the same patterns of language, Jen says.  Why is this? Because he wants his listeners to be able to remember, so he's giving them listening and memory tools.

Look at verse 13:  "God said."  Look at verse 22: "Noah did."  Do you feel the rhythm of the creation account here?  But rather than God being the one who accomplishes the work, Noah is brought in as a partner to the process.  This is a good picture of our sanctification.  In the process of sanctification by the power of the Holy Spirit, we work through grace-driven effort to grow in holiness.  We see that here in a typology that it's God who gives the command to create and Noah carries it out.

God has specifics.  He has an exact plan.  He wants Noah to know what it is and be able to carry it out.  God tells Noah exactly what's going to happen.

In verse 18, a word is introduced in the Bible for the first time: covenant.  The first mention of God making a promise with humans.  It's not the first time we've seen the concept though.  We saw a covenant implied back in the garden after the first sin - when God slays the animals and clothes Adam and Eve and promises the seed will come from the woman.

They were to bring two of every kind, male and female.  This too is an echo of the creation narrative of Adam and Eve to symbolize the completeness of the pair.  

We need to know how Noah heard this command.  Where does Noah live?  In the desert.  This command is: 

• ludicrous (what if Noah fails?)
• laborious (100 years)
• protracted (lasting a long time)
• expensive (great financial sacrifice)

But "Noah did this."

Genesis 7:1-5

We see here again "God said" and "It was so" - Noah did. Notice 7 pairs of animals clean and a pair of unclean (we will see why in the next session).

Genesis 7:6-10

He spends 7 days waiting for rain (the first period of time).  The next interval is 40 days and nights of rain.

Genesis 7:11-12

In these verses, it's just as God had said in the previous verses.

Genesis 7:13-16

First we have this litany which feels like to us a needless repetition.  But what is it?  It's "God said" and "Noah did", and it happened just as God said.  We then have this statement "and the Lord shut him in."  Think about this: 7 days of waiting before the Lord shut the door.  He shuts the door.  Why?  Because their safety will rely wholly on Him.

We see three things regarding this:

1) we see the perfect security that is found being in the ark.  Look at Revelation 3:7b .... "what He opens no one can shut and what He shuts no one can open."  Noah's ark corresponds to the NT regarding baptism (I Peter 3:20-22).  Just as Noah and his family are sealed in the ark and pass through waters of death and raised to life on the other side of the flood, so also we are buried with Christ, pass through death and are raised to life as He is raised from the dead.  The door being shut and sealed corresponds to us being sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).

2) God's grace.  We see that God is slow and waits.  When all of the preparations have taken place, and nothing else left to be done, the last thing that happens is the door is closed.  Up to that point, the door of salvation remained open to anyone who would come.  Noah preached for about 120 years about the coming judgment.

3) There is an end to grace.  A word of warning here.  The most significant parellel here is John 10:9 "I am the door.  If anyone enters by me, he will be saved."  So we as believers in Christ, sealed with the Holy Spirit can know that we will, as well, persevere and be safe in Him.

Genesis 7:17-24

The third time interval in the flood account - 150 days the waters prevailed.

Genesis 8:1-5

"God remembered Noah."  What we take from this phrase and where we see it elsewhere in the scriptures is that God remembered His promise to Noah.  It was time to bring it to pass.  God sent a wind over the earth and the waters receded.  The word for wind is Ruach.  Do you remember that from Genesis 1?  The Spirit hovering over the waters.  What do we see here again?  We see Ruach hovering over the waters.  We see the earth in the flood has been returned to its primordial state.  This is a de-creation narrative.  The earth is now the way it was in Gensis chapter 1 when the Spirit hovered waiting for the sign from God to speak and have light come in play, to separate the waters from the waters, and the waters from the dry land.  We're going to see the same things happen now.  We begin to see dry land separate from water in verse 5.

Genesis 8:6-7

The seas are returning to their proper boundaries and the dry land is now emerging.  He sends out a raven.

Genesis 8:8-9

Forty days the waters are receding and a dove is sent out.  Now we will have 7 days waiting for the waters to recede and the dove returns.

Genesis 8:10-12

The symbol for peace is the dove with the olive branch because God's covenant is being made with Noah.  When the dove does not return, Noah knows there is enough dry ground that they now can leave the ark.  This last period of 7 days when the dove does not return, is a total of 6 different increments of time.  Why do you suppose that is?  Because in the creation account of Genesis chapter 1, we had 6 intervals of time to describe creation.  So now what would correspond to the 7th day, the day of Sabbath.  What happens?

Genesis 8:13-17

This correlates with Genesis 1:24 (read this).

Genesis 8:18-19

God said and it was so, like the creation account.  Now here we have Noah and his family and all the animals to go forth and fulfill the cultural mandate again.

Notice that Noah doesn't walk out of the ark for himself; God called him.  Does this remind you of any NT story?  Lazerus (John 11).  Jesus walks up to a sealed door and calls a dead man to life.  Why doesn't Noah exit on his own?  Because it is God who speaks us into life.  This scene is a re-enactment of John 11.  Passing from death to life.  The flood marks the psyche of Israel and also all who believe.

Closing

In closing, Jen reads Psalm 29.  Our God sits enthroned above the flood.  He brings us safely through and meets us on the other side with an olive branch and a call to life.

Next: Session 9 "God's Covenant with Noah"

Genesis Session 7: Named and Known

These are my notes for session 7 of the DVD series by Jen Wilkin titled "God of Creation - Genesis."  You may use these notes for your own study or in a group study.

In our last session, we had all the high drama. 

In this chapter, we're reading lists of names.  Notice that there are two contrasting geneologies:

• The unrighteous line of Cain
• The righteous line of Seth

We have said that when a historical narrative is written by the Biblical authors, they are choosing what they are going to leave out.  So when we have a geneology of Cain that is 6 names long, that's significant.  It's the number of man.  The geneology of Seth is 10 names long, which in the scriptures, is a sign of completeness.

Every name included in the geneology is there to communicate what the text wants to tell us.

Do you know who cares about geneologies?  God.  These would have been very important lists for those who had wandered in the desert - now going into a foreign land.  They didn't have the first five of the books to carry around, so they needed to remember their roots and where they came from.  These lists were designed for them to remember and carry with them.

Something we can carry away here is that God cares about individuals.  He knows us by name.  Our names are written down in the Lamb's Book of Life.

These geneologies will also continue to show us the progression of sin and death, show us the continued faithfulness of God to accomplish the promise that He made to being the seed.

Genesis 4:17. Cain married his sister.  Notice what Cain is doing in this verse:  he's building a city.  Interesting.  What did God say was his sentence?  That he would be a wanderer.  Yet Cain, in his first act, puts down roots and builds a city.

Genesis 4:18. Lamech is 7th in the line of Adam (remember this). His name also means brought low. 

Genesis 4:19a. We learn something here as well about Lamech.  Back in Genesis 2 when God presents Eve to Adam, it says "the two shall become one flesh."  God has already made it clear that marriage is between one man and one woman.  So when Lamech takes two wives what do we know?  No concern for God's law.  Keep this in mind because elsewhere in scripture you will see heros of the faith taking multiple wives.  Because we're afraid to ask questions of the text, we sometimes assume that it's okay.  It is never okay.  God can work through this, but those family situations never look anything like you would want your home to look like.

Genesis 4:19b-22a. First, let's look at these three sons.  One is into music, one into iron working, and one into livestock.  This is the unrighteous line.  What's happening here is that art and beauty are being created; functional things being created by people who don't call on the name of the Lord.  

This is also what we see today.  Note that God is able to bring about beauty even when it comes from the hands of the wicked.

Women In The List. 
This will tell us something about the culture Cain is breeding:

Adah: pleasure, ornament or beauty

Zillah: shade, as in the covering of long luxurious hair

Naamah: loveliness

So what do we learn women are valued for in this culture?  The way they look.  When we see the way that he speaks to his wives, we learn more about the way women are esteemed in this culture.

Post Fall Poem
Genesis 4:23-24. We have now our first post-fall poem and guess what it's about?  Murder.  We moved from just committing murder and doing bold sin to now actually writing poetry to celebrate it.  Who is this song of violence addressed to?  His wives (Lamech).

Remember back in the garden when things go south, it was said her desire will be to control him, his desire will be to control her?  We see here how this is already happening.  What do you think the women in this culture used to leverage power?  

• Sexuality
• Beauty
• Attractiveness

What do men use?

• Physical strength
• Prowness

What is Lamech communicating by this poem? Since it's directed at his wives, he saying "don't mess with me."  He's singing a poem where he has administered a punishment that far exceeds the crime.  Then, he wraps it up by saying in verse 24...."if Cain's revenge is 7-fold, then Lamech's is 77 fold."  God's protection of Lamech is nothing compared to Lamech's protection of Lamech is what he's saying.

Numbers
Numbers come into play here as well.  77 fold.  Seven indicates completeness and 77 fold takes that number 7 and number 10 and combines them to say utterly complete. 

In Matthew 18:12-22, Jesus' listeners would have thought about this when He says how many times were to forgive others - "70 times 7."  This is not literal.  Seventy times 7 is completeness, completeness, completeness - forgive to the uttermost.

Lamech, 7th in line sings this song of boasting.  It is hard-hearted, cruel and self-reliant.  It objectifies and terrorizes women.  Truly the line is "brought low" in Lamech.  Between verses 24 and 25 notice the empty space there.  We will come back to this later.

The Contrasting Line of Seth

Genesis 4:25a.  Seth means appointed or set in place of.  What does this tell you?  Eve now sees Seth as a replacement for Abel whom she has lost.  She's probably hoping that Seth will be the one who will crush the head of the serpent.  Is she right?  Yes and no.

No, she's not right that Seth will be the one, but yes that it will be through the line of Seth.

Genesis 4:26. The name Enosh means frail, mortal. So a growing awareness of the fragility of life.  Verse 26b "at that time people began to call on the name of the Lord."  Hope begins to be breathed into the narrative.

Why?  Until now, God has called upon man - that's what He did in the garden, that's what He did with Cain.  He comes and inquires and tries to bring the person to repentance, but what do we see now?  As times grow dark, as the consequences of sin become more apparent, people begin to call upon the Lord.

Genesis 5:1. You will hear a phrase that occurs a total of 11 times in the book of Genesis - this is the second time: "this is the book of the generations of Adam."  We first saw the generations of the heaven and the earth in chapter two.  This is the introduction of the line of Adam through Seth.

Genesis 5:1b-3. There's an interesting shift in language in verse 3.  It doesn't say he fathered a son in the image of God, but in his "own image."  Even though Seth was born in the image of God, he also looks a whole lot like his father Adam and so do we.  The work of sanctification is for us to be restored to the image of God as born out in the person of Christ and to have Adam's image scraped off of us one sin pattern at a time.

Genesis 5:4-5. We have this introductory section to the geneology, and then were going to move through them starting with Adam and see now a rhythmic approach to how geneology is laid out.  The last time we saw a rhythmic approach was the creation narrative.

Genesis 5:6-12. "Kenan's" name in verse 10 means sorrow.  In verse 12, the name "Mahalalel" means praised.  Even in the midst of these names that are swirling toward things getting darker and worse, we see a glimpse of hope.

Genesis 5:13-15. "Jared" in verse 15 means shall come down. It sounds like there's something expectant now in this list.

Genesis 5:16-20. "Enoch's" name in verse 18 means dedicated or disciplined. Why does the author keep saying "and he died" over and over?  Because like the tolling of the bell, he calls out the lie of the serpent which is "you shall not surely die."

Genesis 5:21-22.  Now remember Enoch is #7 in this geneology.  We are intended to see him in comparison to #7 in the geneology of Cain who was Lamech.  God took Enoch.  What happened to our rhythm?  Broken.  Do you remember when we talked about the creation account that anytime a rhythm is occurring and it's broken, we should perk up our ears and ask "why is this in here and why is it different?"

Enoch lives less years (365 years).  This sounds like how many days there are in a year - another one of those numbers that signifies completeness.  Even though his life is the briefest, it is probably the most righteous life we find in the whole list.

Notice verse 22:  "after he fathered Methuselah."  Something about Methuselah's birth impacts him so he becomes someone who walks with God - with complete righteousness.  What does "and was not" mean?  Look at Hebrews 11:5b.  On the other side of the fall we have Enoch, who is so in step with God that God spares him from physical death.  Enoch's "walking buddy" was the one True God.

Jude verses 14 and 15 talks about Enoch.  Enoch didn't just walk with God but he proclaimed the impending justice of God upon a wicked generation.  It seems from these verses that Enoch thought there was a judgment to come.  It was a conclusion he reached after the birth of Methuselah.

What Do We Know About Methuselah?
Look at verse 25.  He fathered Lamech (Noah's father) and Methuselah lived longest (969 years).  Verse 28 - Noah's name means comfort and rest.

How do we make sense of what is happening in verses 25-32?

The name Methuselah means on his death it shall come.  The child born to Enoch (Methuselah) is a prophecy.

Methuselah Math
When he was 187 years old, he has Lamech.  He lived 782 years more.  Lamech is 182 years old when Noah is born.  Add 187 and 182 together - 369 years.

We know that the flood occurred (Gen. 7:6) in the 600th year of Noah's life.  So what is 600 plus 369?  969 years.  From the time Methuselah is born until he dies, and on the day of his death, or shortly thereafter, God comes with 10,000 of his holy ones, the heavens open, and it reigns down a flood of the holy justice of God.  Because of this, Enoch becomes someone who walks in righteousness.  Who else was described as walking with God? Noah.

What We Can Pull From This
The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  Methuselah ages and ages and God tarries in pouring His wrath out.  Methuselah is for us a symbol of the long-suffering nature of God.

Genesis 6:1-4. The word "nephilim" means giant. There are all these strange ideas that have been placed on this text about what is really going on.  Because we are reading this text in context, we can read with a clear-sightedness.  We've just seen two geneologies that show there is a righteous line and an unrighteous line.  So when we get to this passage in verse 2, it makes sense from a continuity point that we would read that the sons from the righteous line looked at the daughters from the unrighteous line and thought to marry them.  Would God recommend this?  No.  What do we see as they intermarry?  An unholy alliance resulting in a dangerous offspring.

What does the statement in verse 3 mean?  Possibly it means it would be 120 years until the flood would come.

Genesis 6:5. Do you hear all the absolutes?  "Every."

Genesis 6:6-8. There's an important contrast happening here.  This is an antithetical picture of God holding all that He has done in the 6 days of creation and pronouncing it "good", now looking down on creation fragmented by sin and saying "it's not good." He's going to de-create that which He created.  

Look at verse 7: "I will blot out man whom I have created."  Man was created on day six with animals and creeping things created before man.  When were the birds created?  Right before the land animals.  God is backing out of the creation narrative.  "But Noah found favor."  The Lord set His favor upon Noah.

Why does this horrify us?  Because we're not adequately horrified by the severity of sin.  We think God is harsh, but God always contends for His holiness.

White Space in Genesis 4:24-25
What would you hear in that white space if you held your Bible to your ear?  Rising water, the flood washing the unrighteous line of Cain.  It is never heard of again.

God is willing to do whatever is necessary to put sin to death.  We have the enemy of sin that fights against us.  We are called to put it to death.

Another List of Names
Why does Adam not show up in the geneology of Cain?  Luke 3 is the geneology of Jesus.  We move all the way back to Joseph's line and then move through familiar OT names (verses 32-38).  

God cares about names.  The name that He cares about more than any other is His own.

May we be those who call upon the name of the Lord.

The plan was in place stretching all the way back to Adam - a Savior would come, a deliverer would come.

Next: Session 8

Genesis Session 6: "Cain and Abel"

These are my notes from Jen Wilkins Genesis Bible study.  You are free to print out and free to share with others.

The ones before the cross, the patriarchs, would have known about this promise at the end of Chapter 3 that the seed would come through the woman.

In today's text, place yourself in the place of Adam and Eve.  They heard this prophecy spoken, and in their minds, maybe they are thinking it's a great prophecy but it won't be fulfilled for thousands of years.  We're going to see today that they had a more immediate thought for the fulfillment of the prophecy.

In Genesis 4, we find them starting a family.  What we will see in this chapter is man's sin against man not just against God.  This is a story we must examine closely because it's going to teach us something about ourselves, and the nature and progression of sin in our own lives.

Genesis 4:1 - 5a
The statement by Eve at the birth of Cain "I have obtained a man (baby boy) with the help of the Lord."  

In 1 Corinthians 11:11-12 it talks about this reciprocity that man and woman depend on one another.  In the creation account, we see Eve being taken out of the man.  We now see a man being taken out of a woman. 

J. M. Boyce, a commentary writer, says a better translation is: "I have gotten a man, even the deliverer." Do you get that?

She gives birth to a man, and what is her first thought?  "This is the one."  She places her hope on this first son of her womb.  Heartbreaking.  She has instead given birth to the first murderer.  She later gives birth to Abel meaning "a mist or a vapor" - seeing here the fleeting nature of life.

Cain is a worker of the ground.  Abel is a keeper of sheep.

Even though the fall has happened, and original sin will taint everything onward, the cultural mandate is still going forward.

Cain and Abel have some understanding that a sacrifice is required, even though that law has not been established yet, and be given in a particular way.  Abel brings what is expected since he keeps sheep.  His offering is accepted.  Cain brings the fruit of the ground since he is a worker of the ground.  Why do you think God rejected Cain's offering? Is it because Abel brought a blood sacrifice?

We know later on when we know the laws are given regarding sacrifices.  There were all kinds of sacrifices that were acceptable.  So that's probably not it.  What is it that makes a sacrifice acceptable to the Lord?

Look at Genesis 4:5 which says "but for Cain and his offering, He had no regard." God always only wants an offering that comes from a pure motive.

One of the hints we see here in the text is that Abel brings the first born of his flock, but Cain it says brought some of his fruit from the ground - doesn't say "first fruits."  It's possible Cain was holding back the best and the first for himself.  This is Cain's first offense against God - his offering.

He has made an outward show of righteousness with an inward resistance.  This is call "legalism."  What do we see happening with sin only one generation removed from Adam and Eve, a more sophisticated form of sin has already taken place.  When murder enters in, we also see that sin is getting bolder.

In Psalm 51:16-17 it describes the sacrifice God is pleased with:
A broken spirit and a contrite heart. 

Cain's Response To God Rejecting His Sacrifice
Verse 5-6 says "he was angry and his face fell." We see in verses 6 and 7 God doing what God is good doing - He's giving Cain an opportunity for repentance.  God is basically saying "Cain, you know what was required but you have chosen to do otherwise."  God in verse 7 is giving Cain the opportunity to repent and slay his anger, but Cain will slay his brother instead.  His brother's righteousness will incur his wrath.

For Us
We treat sin in our life as if it's not a big deal.  We say "I can handle this.  It's just a small sin."  But sin always grows bigger.  Sooner or later it will consume us.  So when God pricks us regarding something in our life, we should be so quick not to get angry but to repent.

Let's See What Happens
Verses 8-12 the unspeakable happens - Cain kills Abel.  What does God do?  Does He immediately strike him down?  Again, God is slow to anger and patient.  He engages Cain in dialogue once again.  But what is Cain's response?  "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"

He responds with:

• Blame shifting (like Adam and Eve)
• Evasiveness (like Adam and Eve)
• Anger
• Sarcasm

His heart is hard, but we see God:

• Pursuing Cain
• Initiating diaglogue with him
• Warning of impending danger
• Questioning Cain
• Giving him opportunity to repent
• Assigning a punishment for sin

The Punishment

Genesis 4:11-12 gives the punishment.  Even though the ground has been cursed, Cain enjoys some amount of success working the ground, but now, he will have zero success.  He will also be a fugitive and a wanderer.  How is this an appropriate punishment for someone like Cain?  Have you ever tried to grow a garden as a fugitive and a wanderer?  This is the worst punishment.

Cain's Response To His Punishment

Genesis 4:13 - this is "greater than I can bear." There is no ownership of what he's done.  Only further anger, further rejection towards God's decrees.  Further in verses 13-14 there is no repentance from Cain.

In Genesis 4:15-16, Cain settled in the land of "Nod" which means wandering. Notice it says that Cain "went away from the presence of the Lord." In contrast, Adam and Eve were driven out.

What was the Mark on Cain?  We don't know.  Why did God do it?  Three reasons are possible:

• God means it when He says "vengance is mine"
• To show God's generosity for the sinner
• To serve as a living warning to others

What was Cain's main concern?  Himself.

Hebrew 11:4 speaks of Abel.  What's interesting in this verse is that when it says "he still speaks", Abel never spoke in Genesis.  But he still continues to speak because of his faithfulness to God.  Abel is mentioned again in Hebrews 12:22-24 - "blood of Abel". What does verse 24 mean? What did the blood of Abel cry out for from the ground?  It cried out for justice.

What did the blood of Christ cry out for?  Mercy.

The cross speaks a better word.

Worship

What kind of worship are we offering?  Abel understood his offering was unto God.  Cain understood his offering was a master of his domain.  

What Can We Learn From This Story?

• God is gracious
• God is wise
• God is just
• God is gracious in the midst of His justice
• God is longsuffering

This story is instructive to us about how we should regard the nature of sin and how we should regard the grace of God.  

We should identify with Abel as a breath and a vapor. 

Look up: Psalm 39:5.  Psalm 144:4.  Isaiah 2:22.

Next: Session 7 "Named and Known"

Genesis: God of Creation: Session 5 - Paradise Lost

(These are my notes from Session 5, per Jen Wilkin)

Look at Genesis Chapter 3 in light of what we have seen in Chapters 1 and 2.

We've seen some big questions get answered:

• We can tell where everything came from
• We know that man was created to bring glory to God and announce the glory of God
• We've answered some "what-if" questions of who we are and why we're here

This session, we will answer another fundamental question: why is there sin and suffering.  What Chapter 3 is going to answer for us is how did everything get to be so broken.  

For the believer, there is another layer to this that is even more personal: why does our God allow sin and suffering?  There are important things to keep in mind as we consder this question:

• We do not mean to say, knowing that God has allowed evil, that evil is good.  In the sum total of things, it must be for God's good and our good or evil would not exist.  Let's place this in an eternal perspective so we can say "I don't understand how this can be something for God's glory, but"....
• We can trust God.  If God is who He says He is that His creation is good, we need to trust that it is good because He is good.  When we speak of a Sovreign God who allows evil and suffering, we have to always hold it in the tension of knowing that He is infinitely good.  This is not a question we can answer satisfactoritly at this time.  But because we trust God and affirm that He is good, one day we will look back on all of this and say "I see it now."

Take A Look at Genesis 3

Verse 1: God is referred to as Elohim, a personal God and a transcendent God. The serpent is meant to be understood as the devil (John 8:44) - "deceiving from the beginning".  

Let's pull apart what's going on in these verses.  Notice how the serpent makes his approach in verse 1:  "actually say" - in our venacular we would say "seriously? Are you kidding me right now?"

"Any tree": is this what God said?

What's the serpent doing here?  He's casting doubt on the truthfulness of God.  He's appealing to something he hopes is in the woman.

Verse 2: She brings it back around to what God really said "we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden."

Verse 3: Look what Eve does.  She said they should not touch the tree that is in the center of the garden.  Did God say this?  No.  What does this remind you of?  Eve is easing herself towards the forbidden thing with her words.  She overstates.  She adds to the words of God.  What next?  She said "don't touch it lest you die."  Did God say this?  No.  He said "lest you surely die."  

So first, she adds to what God has said and then diminishes what God has said.

Verse 4: "You shall not surely die."  The serpent knew.  He echoed the actual words of God.  What do we see here so far?

• Adding to the truth (Eve)
• Diminishing the truth (Eve)
• Flatly contradicting the truth (Serpent)

He waits until Eve has moved down this progression and comes out to say the opposite "you will not surely die."

Verse 5: The enemy is good at deception.  Is this statement true?  Will they become like God?  Well, sort of.  They are going to have an awareness of their own sin.  They are going to understand good and evil in a way they didn't before.  But, will they become like God?  No, because they're limited.

"For God knows" - what does the serpent imply?  He implies that God is withholding something good.  He plants seeds of doubt. 

What is Eve's response?  We will see this in verse 6.

Verse 6: Eve moves through what is for us as well a familiar process.  First she saw (eyes), desired, took, and then gave to eat.  We see here the common pattern of sin:

• I see it
• I want it
• I take it
• I eat it 

Notice how this works: it is an outside to inside pattern.  This is an anti-gospel.  We want to believe the lie that the external things can fix the internal us.  The gospel says the opposite.  The fruit is:

• Practical
• Beautiful
• Beneficial

These are the three highly desirable qualities of the fruit.  What's the problem?

• It is not necessary
• It is not allowed for her

Where did the problem begin?  When she looked at it (saw).  Eve did not start by wanting the fruit.  She started by looking at the fruit.  Desire is inflamed by seeing.  So, fix our eyes on worthier things.

What's Next

Not only does Eve reach for the fruit and eat it, but she's like "hey, Adam, try some."  This is what we do as well.  We spread our sin.  We recruit others to our sin pattern so we don't have to be alone.

Why is it when Eve hands Adam the fruit he doesn't say "God said we will surely die."  But, he takes it instead and eats it.  Because he watches Eve take the fruit, she bites it and she doesn't die. 

God is a liar, but is He? Because as soon as she takes the fruit, she is surely dying. Adam joins Eve in her sin.

Verse 7: It says that "immediately" they knew they were naked - shame comes walking into the garden.  What was the solution to their nakedness?  They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin clothes.

How do we cover our shame?  We sin, we feel the shame, we construct for ourselves flimsy garments of outward righteousness.

Verse 8: This is a tragic verse.  When they hear the "sound", they immediately know it's the Lord God.  The garden was the place that the Lord God was with them.  There's another meaning for this word "garden" - sanctuary.  The Lord God comes to walk in the sanctuary.  He is "God with them."  Their reponse now?  Hide.

Verse 9: Notice that when they hear God in the garden, they do not call to Him.  God initiates the dialogue by saying "where are you?"  Hold on, omniscient God already knows.  What is He doing?  He's drawing man into the dialogue for the purpose of drawing him to repentance.

This is His kindness.  He does the same thing with you.  When God gives us the opportunity to confess, let's meet Him with honesty.  

Verse 10:  Adam has learned from the serpent how to twist language in this verse.  

Verses 11-12:  "Who told you that you were naked?"  Look what Adam says in verse 12.  It looks like, at first, he is blaming Eve, but at closer glance, he is really blaming God "whom you gave to me."  James 1:13 tells us though that God does not tempt.

Verse 13: Eve blames the serpent.  Why doesn't the woman blame Adam?  Because she looks at the man and for the first time, she fears him.

Verses 14-15: There's no redemption for the serpent, no dialogue.  The serpent is doomed to the dust.  The dust where Adam came from.  "And dust you shall eat" literally means "you shall bite the dust."  The serpent is condemned to a life of humiliation and despair.  To eat dust is to know defeat.  Also says "I will put".  Where have we heard this elsewhere?  "Let there be".... God is actually creating something again here in the midst of this tragic scene.

There was already enmity coming from the serpent to the woman, but what is the new thing?  It's the enemity the woman will feel towards the serpent.  She will do everything she can to yield an offspring that will be his demise.  The gospel right here!  This is a prophecy of Christ.  It will be through the woman that the chosen seed comes.  Someone will be brought forth who will crush the serpent (satan).  This is called protoevangelium - the first gosepl. 

Verse 16: What He says to the woman is about so much more than pain in childbearing.  She is going to give birth to the first murderer.  To be a mother is to experience separations and agonies.

Where it was commanded that the two shall become one flesh, now her desire will be for her husband and he will rule over her.  They were created to co-labor; now there will be competition - adversarial relationship.

Verses 17-19: The problem is Adam listened to someone (Eve) instead of God.  He should have listened to the words of God.  His ability to joyfully work and keep the garden will now be subverted.

He came from dust, works the dust, and will return to the dust - pretty dismal.  

Verse 20: Look at Adam's response in this verse.  He then calls his wife "Eve" which means "life-giver", because she was the mother of all living.  What sticks in Adam's mind after all this?  That there is hope.  This woman is a life-giver and from her will come the One who will crush the head of the serpent.  He speaks a prophetic word of hope over Eve in the name he gives to her.

Verse 21: Where did these "garments of skin" come from?  Animals had to die.  Sacrifice of an innocent animal to cover the shame.  It is God who provides the first sacrifice, as it is God who will provide the final one.

Verse 22: God doesn't finish the sentence in this verse.  There's this pause where you can fill in the blank.  What is implied here?  Let him not be frozen in his current state by eating from the Tree of Life.  Let him not be trapped eternally in a state of sin.

Verse 23:  God sent Adam out from the garden (sanctuary) of Eden.  The sanctuary where there was peace and "God with us."

Verse 24: Heartbreaking that Adam and Eve must be driven from the garden.  What do we understand that they must be driven from the garden?  They understand exactly what they're losing.

God defends His holiness by having the Tree of Life guarded.  So a sanctuary guarded by Cherubim with flaming swords.  Does it sound like anything you have heard anywhere else?

When a tabernacle is commanded to be built in the desert, it is commanded that on the Eastern gate, Cherubim be worked into the curtains.  Also, in the curtain that separates the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, Cherubim again on the thick veil between them to shield them from the Shekinah glory *of God.

So what does Christ do when He comes?

"New Adam".
The NT speaks of Him in Romans 5:12-18 as the  one who comes to do what the first Adam could not do.

The first Adam gives physical life to the human race.  The second Adam gives eternal life to the human race.

The first Adam was given dominion over the earth.  The second Adam is given dominion over all things.

The first Adam is given a bride after being put into a deep sleep and brought back to wakefulness.  The second Adam is laid in the ground with a sleep of death and is raised to life and given the bride of the Church.

The first Adam endures a piviotal testing and he fails.  The second Adam endures a pivotal testing and is perfectly obedient to death on a cross.

In Both Stories

We see a Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  For surely at no other place and time was the knowledge of good and evil more purely displayed than on a hill on a cross.

It was the tree that separated us from the presence of God, and it is a tree that restores us to the presence of God.

The curtain is torn at the second Adam's death (Jesus) - top to bottom.  The Cherubim no longer guard the way to the presence of God.  We are ushered once again into the presence of God.  

Revelation 22:1-3 shows us a picture of the new heavens and new earth.  John is being given a tour by an angel.

The gates of the New Jerusalem are being thrown wide to us because of the finished work of Christ.  We live in the "already but not yet".  We already enjoy some of the fruits of being made whole by the Holy Spirit and also knowing that we still war with sin.

Think About This
The first Adam inhales the breath of God.  The NT tells us that the second Adam (Jesus) exhales the Spirit of God.  The Spirit now dwells in us because with His dying breath He made that possible.

We should live with an eye toward Eden returning to earth.  With an eye toward once again inhabiting the sanctuary that Adam and Eve only know to value as they were being driven from it.

*Shekinah Glory

Shekinah glory is a visible manifestation of God on earth whose presence is portrayed through a natural occurrence.  The Shekinah is a Hebrew name meaning - dwelling or who dwells.  Shekinah glory means "He caused to dwell", referring to the Divine presence of God.

Next Session:  Session 6 Cain and Abel

Genesis: God of Creation: Session 4 "Created in the Image of God

(These are my notes from this session)

From last week in session 3, it was said that the creation account was trying to answer two questions for us:

• Who created
• Why did God create

It was said that God created all things for His glory.  We saw last week at the end of Day 6, the man and woman being created - created in the image of God.

This was a new thing in relation to everything else God had created.  To be created in the image of God is to reflect who God is.  How do we reflect who God is?  In the way that we interact with the rest of creation, we interact with it the way God would have if He were here.

In the person of Christ, God did enter into creation in a body; so when we speak of being image bearers, what we are saying is we should look like Christ.

Three Things in Genesis 1 Creation Account

Regarding the man and the woman, there were three things to see:

• When God created them, He gave dominion to both the man and the woman.  They bore equal responsibility
• They are also equal image bearers.  It means that both man and woman are necessary for the image of God to be demonstrated to the world.  They are both necessary for dominion to occur.
• God gives equal blessing to the man and the woman

What's Next? Chapter 2

In Genesis 2:4 we sort of get a deja vu here.  What's happening?  The clue in the text is this "these are the generations."  This now introduces a new section of the text.

Moses starting with this phrase means he's going to tell you something in addition to or to follow up on what he's told you before.  This is "what's next."

A good student of the Bible should ask: "how do I connect what came before to where I am now?"  These texts take on deeper meaning when we read them in the context of what we've already seen in the chapter that's preceded.

Is he actually repeating in Chapter 2 what he told us in Chapter 1?  No.  It's a much more narrow focus.  He has zoomed in.  We're going to get a close up of a particular aspect of the creation narrative.

The focus here in Chapter 2 shifts to humans, although the focus is also still on God.  It's less poetic and less repetitive.

What We Can Learn

The first thing we need to see is in verse 4.  God is referred to in a way He was not referred to in Chapter 1.  In Chapter 1, He was simply called "Elohim" - God Almighty.  In Chapter 2, He's now called "LORD God" - Yahweh (personal title). 

God now is seen for us not just as a transcendent God on high (Chapter 1) but now as the God who is near and personal.

Matthew 6:9 the Lord's Prayer "our Father who art in heaven", encapsulates this idea.  It's important for us to remember:

• God is both transcendent and
• Personal

We have to see Him as both and we need Him as both.  The God we meet in Chapter 2 is the God on high and also a personal God.

Verse 5-6

It's a time reference.  Rain is not a thing at this point.

Verse 7

Man is created from the dust whereas in Chapter 1 it says he was created in the image of God (a more exalted view).  Man is combination of that which is sacred and that which is low.  The word for man is "Adam."  The word for dust is "adamah".  The word for breath is "ruah".  The same word used in Chapter 1 for "Spirit of God was hovering."

Jen asked us to look at the picture here:

• Man formed out of the dust - what is common and low
• God then Himself breathes into his nostrils

We see the gesture here of giving life that is so intimate.  God could have spoke life into man, but He didn't.  He exhaled into man and brought life.

Verses 8-9

Notice where the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil are placed:  in the middle.  These names are typological.  Why? Because they demonstrate God's Sovereign right to decree who has life and to decree what is right and what is wrong.  God determines morality and gives life as He chooses.

They are set at the center of the garden because they should be the central consideration of the garden's inhabitants.

Notice: "The Lord God planted a garden in Eden" (verse 8).  Garden here translates to "protected area."  The word Eden means "delight."  

So, the LORD God plants a protected area of delight.  He planted it in the East - relative to where Mt. Siani is.  How does this transmit to Moses' original audience? They had been in the desert for 40 years, breathing in sand, wondering when provision would come etc.  This was something they were longing for.

More Specifics - Verses 10-14

When we hear these rivers, Jen said we get a bit thrown off.  Moses is telling them locations that are familiar to them.  Why?  Because he wants them to understand - this is a real place.  This did happen.

Verses 15-17

Remember these words - "you shall surely die."  This will be important when we get into our chapter next week.  He tells them:

• Don't eat of the tree
• A certainty will occur to you
• You will die

So man is:

• In a protected garden
• He is to work and keep it (understand that Eden was a place where work was given to man as in Gen. 1:28
• Be fruitful
• Multiply
• Subdue
• Have dominion

Verse 18

What did we see last week?  "It was good" over and over again.  All of a sudden we have introduced "not good."  The word helper here means "necessary, alli, indespensable".  This word helper is used elsewhere in the OT speaking of God Himself helping His people in times of great need.  What the woman is going to bring to the table will be essential and indespensable.

Verses 19-20

Wouldn't you think that in verse 19 God would then put the man to sleep, take the rib and make woman?  But that's not what He does.

What does He do instead?  

He brought the animals to Adam to name them.  What is He doing?

• He is bringing order out of chaos
• He is fulfilling the cultural mandate
• He is exercising dominion

What do you think is the subtext that is running through Adam's mind at this point?  "Not like me."  "There was not found a helper fit for him." 

Verses 21-22

What happens?  Woman is made.

Verse 23

Look at Adam's response.  The word "woman" (E-sha) - because she was taken out of man (E-shish).  Sounds relatively the same.  He's saying "this is at last same of my same.  She shall be called like me because she came from me."  Men and women share so many things in common.

The first thing Adam had to say was "this one's like me."  When we begin to separate men and women, there comes this contempt that lives between us.  Our sacred text is saying something extremely different.  It says: men and women are created in the image of God, by the same God, in the garden.

Note

When Adam says "she shall be called woman", he is doing what he's done elsewhere - he's classifying her, placing her in the same "class" as himself.

Verses 24-25

Think about the significance of verse 24: "they shall become one flesh."  Why is this an important idea to hold on to?  Look at Ephesians 5:22-23 where it talks about the relationship between Christ and the Church - it draws an analogy to marriage.  Christ cares for the spiritual body of the Church, and He then parallels how husbands are to interact with their wives: care for them as their own bodies - or flesh, nourish and cherish it.

The husband is to regard his wife as his own flesh - "flesh of my flesh; bone of my bone."  

Another important thing there happens in verse 25 - naked and not ashamed.  A picture of:

• Innocence
• Vulnerability

We have a Bible that starts with Genesis chapters 1 and 2 and says this is how it should have been and this is how it will be one day (Revelation 21).

For Us

As believers, we are inviting "Eden" into our current experience and saying to others "there was once a protected area of delight and let me just give you a snapshot of what it might be like."

We go forward everyday doing our work and knowing that whatever we do, we work at it as unto the Lord.

All work is good work when it's done to the glory of God.

Next Session: Session 5 "Paradise Lost"

Wives: Five Essential Ingredients for Your Marriage

Whether you are thinking about marriage, engaged, just married or have been married for some time, these 5 ingredients are essential.

I had a young women say to me recemtly, "but he's not doing what I expected when we got married.  We went through pre-marital counseling and agreed on these things", and then verbally listing those things to me.  I listened to her vent and cry.  In this situation, you don't want to list things back to her that she should be doing as well.  You just listen at this point - that's what a woman wants.  Don't try to fix it.

After the venting and crying, she said she felt better and like a weight had been lifted off of her.  I said this "affirm him in what he's already doing."

You see, marriage is two unlike people coming together from different backgrounds, life experiences, and upbringing.  A marrying together of these things does take work - add into that mix a male and female (which I believe marriage should be as in Genesis) which are two different "cultures" in themselves with regard to communication, emotions and thinking, you have a work in progress.

Here are my 5 top things:

Let go of your expectations.  Who he was before you married him will be who he is when you marry him.  Only God has the right to change your mate - not you.  If you lay down a list of expectations after you're married, look for him to pull back, get defensive and not communicate with you.  If he's not taking charge of something, seems to lack motivation in certain areas, agreed to things before you were married but now has no follow-through, affirm what he is already doing.  

Give him affirmation.  In the case of this young woman, she hadn't thought of doing that.  She is a task-oriented woman.  Follow-through is important to her.  Lists are important to her.  She's been a single mom for over 5 years and had to follow-through, make lists, take all responsibility for herself and her daughter.  He had been single, never married, no children.  He's still working on being a husband and a dad too.  Guys need to be emotionally supported and encouraged.  They need you to recognize what they have done.  This goes a long way. Sincerely do this.  My advice was: do for him what you want him to do for you. "You go first" is what I'm saying.  Hmmm...seems like that's somewhere in the Bible right?

Learn your husband.  What does that mean?  Study him.  Learn his dislikes, likes, moods, body language, the way he communicates.  My husband and I did this with our girls but also between us.  It's not too late even if you've been married for a while.  You might say "that's too much work".  Yes, it is work.  Marriage is work.  Successful and healthy marriages don't just happen.

Don't make "to-do" lists for him. What?  I did this with my husband.  Guess what?  Didn't like it.  He felt like a servant doing his master's bidding.  If there are things you want done, sit down with your husband and make a list together.  Did you notice the words "with" and "together?"  That's the key.  This is what we do now.  I also have my to-do list just for what I need to do on my own. My husband loves to make a big deal of checking jobs off his list that we made together.  I enjoy making the list together.

Step into your husband's world.  As women, we can be quite selfish.  We want our husband to understand us and communicate like we do.  We want them to always step into our "women world" but have we ever stepped into theirs?  Men do not communicate like women.  We share all of our emotions in a matter of minutes - highs and lows. Men do not. They open up while doing something, so do something with him: walk, work on a project together, take a drive and explore, do what interests him.  You'll be surprised!

That's my five.  There is a lot more to be sure.  This is what I have discovered in my 42 years of marriage.

Genesis: God of Creation: Session 3 "Six Days and a Rest"

These are my notes from Session 3 of "God of Creation" by Jen Wilkin.

If you haven't purchased the workbook, you need to.  So much is explained further in the workbook that accompanies this series.

Notes:

The account was primarily concerned with asking two questions, Jen says:

• Who created
• Why He created

The question that we usually ask though is: the how.  Jen's purpose is to honor the text and what the text is saying to us, and to answer the questions the text is wanting us to ask.

We saw:

• That God alone created
• He created for His glory
• His creation was an orderly work

Why do you think Moses spent so much time repeating the formula found in Genesis 1:3-31?

We find there is:

• Command ("let there be")
• Report (of what was created)
• Assessment ("and it was good")
• A statement of dominion
• A time marker

These are some of the repetitive statements Jen gives us:

• And God said, let there be
• And it was so
• And it was good
• And God called

To answer the previous questions, Jen says we need to look at the original audience.  They did not have a copy of the text like we do today.

"It's going to be read to a group of people who need to remember it", Jen states.

Another reason for the high-level of repetition, she says, is "because of what the text is trying to say: trying to give us order in which everything was done."  This text has a very specific shape.  God is the subject of the creation narrative 35 times.

In Genesis 1:2, the NIV reads that it was "formless and empty."  These two things are remedied in this creation account.  God is going to bring:

• Form
• And fullness

Jen asks this: "why is the spirit hovering?"  "The spirit is eagerly anticipating, waiting for the signal, waiting for God to speak, so the spirit can do what the spirit does."

The spirit gives life.

So the "spirit hovering is waiting to breathe life into God's created act."

Day 1 Genesis 1:3-5

The repetition we will continue to see is "and it was good."  What is that truly saying - this pronouncement of goodness on every day of creation?  Jen says it means perfect, complete.  With human creativity, Jen states, there's a sense in us that it's never done, never complete, never good enough.  When God speaks that it's good over His creation, then it is exactly as He had intended.  It's complete.

In verse 4, we see that God is a God who separates.  This is His first act of separation.

Going on to verse 5, He "called".  When He calls, He is exercising dominion over it, taking responsbility for it.  Think about the order of this - God creating order out of chaos (He is good at that).

Another question Jen asks is "why does Moses say evening first before morning?  Because the audience is Jews - because their day begins at sundown.

Day 2 Genesis 1:6-8

What is going on in these verses?  Moses is talking about the atmosphere being established - the clouds:

• Water is in the sky
• Water is in the ocean

The heaven used here is not the heaven where God dwells - it means the sky.

Day 3 Genesis 1:9-13

Once again, an act of separation - separating water from land.  God gives form to the earth and vegetation on day 3.

Day 4 Genesis 1:14-19

There is another act of separation.  The question Jen asks is: "why doesn't Moses just say "the sun" (greater light) and "moon" (lesser light) in this passage?  Think about the original audience.  They had just come out of Egypt where the principle deities are the sun god and the moon goddess.  He's making a statement about who is truly God.  

Why were the son and moon worshiped?  They were believed to bring about fertility in the harvest cycle.

The way this is laid out is saying "my people who follow me, listen, the Egyptians gods work for me". This is a statement against idolatry regarding the sun and moon (God owns it).

In summary, regarding what God has given form to is:

• The heavens - light
• The seas, sky
• The earth

Now, He's going to give fullness to those particular kingdoms mentioned above.  To the heavens by populating the heavens (light) with the luminaries (sun, moon, stars).

Day 5 Genesis 1:20-23

God gives fullness by populating the sea and the expanse with birds and fish.

Day 6 Genesis 1:24-26

What just happened?  There has been a rhythmic, repetitive text all along until day 6 and the pattern breaks.  The rhythm shifts.  Pay attention because something new is happening.

It changes from "God said" and "let there be" to "and let us" make man in our image.  Jen states that nothing given the creation account has been given this level of attention.  "It's still talking about God and how humans are created in some unique way to reflect God" - nothing else in creation does.

They are to be given dominion (responsibility) as well over all that's been created - a call to stewardship, Jen states.

In verse 27, it breaks into poetry (you can read this).  This is in triade form - saying the same thing three different ways.

Read Genesis 1:28-31

God grants fullness by populating the earth with land animals and humans.  Jen asks us to look at the shape of the text.  It makes a picture:

• Three days of giving form
• Three days of giving corresponding fullness

Day 7 Genesis 2:1-2

He then separates a day of creation for a day of rest.  Notice the word "finished" (also read Matthew 11:28-29).  The question posed was this "when does Jesus Christ establish soul rest for you and me?"  When He hangs on the cross and says "it is finished" (John 19:30).

Read Genesis 2:2b-3

God does not grow weary.  He didn't need to rest.  So why the day of rest?  Look at the 10 commandments (Exodus 20:8-11).  The commandment having to do with sabbath is much longer.  God set up this pattern.  Why?  Because that is the way we worship God.  We cease from working to remind us who is in charge - it's not us!

Sabbath rest is the "ceasing of labor for the purpose of actively devoting ourselves to the joyful task of worship - our true calling."

We are to remember the sabbath as well (4th commandment).  Why?  Because we are prone to forget.

Jen states that there's more going on here than "the cosmos coming to be."

Look at 2 Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."  Paul uses new creation specifically.  We looked at 1 Peter 2:9-10 where it says "we were called out of darkness (formless) into His marvelous light (fullness)."

Jen gave many scriptures in the NT relating back to Genesis with words such as new creation, separate, fruitfulness, multiplying, being created in His image, ruling and subduing, finding rest" (all related to the creation story).

Notice on day 7 that the text does not end "and there was evening and there was morning" because the sabbath rest for us will go on into eternity.  It will not end.

Lastly, "just as God finished the work of the first creation, He will finish the work of the new creation."

He will be faithful to finish the good work He began in us (Philippians 1:6).

Next: Session 4 "Created in the Image of God" Genesis 2:4-25