Genesis Chapter 11

Bible Gateway Genesis Chapter 11 NIV link: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=1&chapter=11&version=31

Often it is asked why the tower of Babel was destroyed….. well let’s look at what was said:

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."

Let us……build ourselves……let us make a name for ourselves….Notice something missing here? God. There is no mention of building this structure for any other reason than self-glorification. Not surprising since it would appear that it was built during the time of Nimrod. All throughout the bible Old, and New Testament, pride is regarded as un-acceptable. Pride blinds us to the Glory of God; it also robs God of the honor that is deserved to him.

This put God in a difficult situation. He had flooded the earth not to long before, killing almost everyone, and now here are the humans at it again. Forgetting God, putting them first, more worried that their name is remembered through history, than God’s. So God in his mercy confuses the people with different languages. Now their fear has become a reality, and they do become scattered.

Many would say that we are at it again, pushing God to the back and raising humanity to a level above him. Many people today want God in their….as long as they can control the rules that God works with. As long as they get the benefit of God, without the true acknowledgement to God, It become sort of a don’t call me, I’ll call you relationship. Think of Oprah’s new religion that she has taken up, or “the secret”, these are good examples of taking God and pushing him to the back. Instead they place themselves in the throne, and give praise to themselves, only acknowledging the Lord as an after thought. I pray that we can all see though these types of empty promises, and recognize them for what they are; nothing more than a modern day version of the tower of Babel. In the days of space craft, and airplanes there is not need to try to “reach the heavens” yet there is always that desire in some to put themselves first.

Peace,

Brian

Genesis Chapter 10

 

 

 

Bible Gateway Genesis Chapter 10 NIV link: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=1&chapter=10&version=31

 

Out of the lineage found in this chapter Nimrod always jumps out at me. I do think it is important to point out here that while in verse 9 it says he was a mighty hunter before the Lord, the more exact translation would be A mighty hunter in opposition of the Lord. Nimrod started the first anti-God movement, he was also the first biblical tyrant. There is much written on weather Nimrod, was his actual name, or if it was used as a term to describe a person. Many will say that he was actually Gilgamesh.  There is much written on Gilgamesh, and some of it is quite interesting. I will not delve into that, but it does make for some interesting reading if you care to google him.

 

So the next obvious question is how did we go from Nimrod meaning rebel to nimrod meaning idiot?  If you look in the Dictionary: American Heritage Dictionary

nim·rod    Audio Help   (nĭm'rŏd')  Pronunciation Key  n.   also Nimrod A hunter. Informal A person regarded as silly, foolish, or stupid. [After Nimrod. Sense 2, probably from the phrase "poor little Nimrod," used by the cartoon character Bugs Bunny to mock the hapless hunter Elmer Fudd.]

 

 

 

So Bugs Bunny used the term to mock Elmer, and over a period of time, we all quit paying attention to the fact that Elmer was a hunter, and more attention to the fact that he was a……well a nimrod!

 

Peace,

Brian

Genesis Chapter 9

 

 

Bible Gateway Chapter 9 NIV link: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=1&chapter=9&version=31

 

A few important things that man was instructed not to do after the flood:

 

But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

God gave man dominion over all other living creatures, yet he still found it important to point out that the animal must be dead. The life force must be removed. I believe the reason behind this is that while God put man at the top of the list, He wanted to ensure that all things he created would be dealt with humanely. For us to eat flesh with the life still in it would mean that the animal would still be alive. This is the first indication that all creatures are protected by God, and torture, or brutality towards any creature would not be acceptable in the eyes of God.

 

 Perhaps one of the most important:

. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. 6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

 

 

Do not take the life of another human. If you live by the sword, you will die by the sword. We all are given free will by God; no man has dominion over another mans life. No one wants to be killed, it is one of the biggest fears that we carry with us, to be killed by another person. We all want to die of old age, in our beds, preferably in our sleep. That is the way God intended it. When we take another mans life, we are destroying the image of God. It cannot be justified, or excused. This brings forth many topics of discussion, war, the death sentence, one could even argue self-defense. I will not try to pick each one apart, but it should be a cause for some individual reflection, as we each monitor our own morality. We can rationalize many reasons to kill another man, and as we continue through the bible we will see many instances revealed where God even commands life to be taken. However we should all be careful when forming our personal viewpoints. I have found it to be a slippery slope, where justification comes much easier than forgiveness.

 

Peace,

Brian

Genesis Chapter 8

 

Bible Gateway Genesis Chapter 8 NIV link: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=1&chapter=8&version=31

As soon as Noah hit dry land he got out,  built an alter and gave thanks, and praise! Do we not see the same image even today? When a sailor comes home from a long time at sea, When people are rescued…no matter what the case they all seem to bend a knee, kiss the ground, then look up to the heavens. Giving thanks to God that they are back on “dry” ground. It must have been a great time for Noah. After surviving all that time, locked up with all of those animals….think about that…..then to hit dry land. TO see that he is once again a free man…. The first thing he did was built an alter. How often do we hear people say “ if the Lord will just get me through this then I’ll ________”  We are always ready to strike a deal, yet so few are ready to follow through. How many times has God delivered us, and we neglected to give thanks?  How many times can you think of that you can look back and see where you stumbled, and know that the Lord stepped in and saved you. Did you stop and build an alter? I think we all would do well to remember to take some time to build. Take some time to say thank you. The Lord has saved all of us, but he is coming for those that remember to build that alter!

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

Genesis Chapter 7

Bible Gateway Genesis Chapter 7 NIV link:  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=1&chapter=7&version=31

 

Here we see Noah gathering up his family and the animals and loading up into the Ark. This time has come and the rain is falling. Many people point to the fact that far more clean animals were taken than unclean. This only makes sense, first let me say that I am very thankful that is in fact how it went, because if the number of tigers, or lizards, or snakes matched the number of birds, cattle, or goats our would be a very different place. It is important to realize that there would of course be much more need for the “clean” animals not only for food, and use by man, but for sacrifice in the rituals as well.

 

Peace,

Brian

Genesis Chapter 6

Bible Gateway Genesis Chapter 6 NIV link: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=1&chapter=6&version=31

The Flood is on the way. The world is continuing to become ever more corrupt, and the fullness of time has come and the Lord will act. It is important to note that the Lord’s comment here is: ⁷ So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them."

He is grieved. He did not make a mistake, nor does He say that He wishes that He had not created them. He is grieved. God has a plan, it has been in effect since before He started creation. Man’s action is not a surprise, but that does not make the outcome any easier. I make this point often. Had God mad a mistake, had he wanted to start all over with a fresh clean slate, he would not of spared Noah. The Lord found favor with Noah, he selected Noah to take his family and carry the story of the flood, the story of God’s wrath on to generations to come. As Paul reminds us, these things happened so that we might learn from them.

Peace,

Brian

Genesis chapter 5

Bible Gateway Genesis chapter 5 NIV link:  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=1&chapter=5&version=31

 

Chapter 5 gives us lineage form Adam all the way to Noah, but the most fascinating aspect of the Chapter is Enoch. Out of all the men listed in this Chapter Enoch is the only one listed as he walked with God. He did not walk after God, he walked with God. To say a man walks with God is a huge statement. For we all walk after God, sometimes we feel like we might even be running to catch up to God, but the person who walks with God is saintly to say the least. If anything could be said about me when my time here expires, there could be no higher of praise than to say that “he walked with God” If you notice Enoch did not always walk with God, He did not walk with God until after he fathered Methuselah. I find this point interesting because it give us some insight that the man that Enoch had become is not the man the Enoch always was. Meaning that we all have a choice in our lives, the people that we have been are not the people that we have to continue to be. We too can start to walk with God.

 

The other important note is that Enoch did not die. He is the only person listed that did not die. Everyone else, no doubt about it. The lived, they fathered, and then they died. Enoch was taken by God. Not only did God take him, but he was taken at 365 years. That is only about half the time the others in this chapter lived. So Enoch was taken early. Where God took him and why we do not know.  You can bet it is on my list of questions I will be asking the Lord.

 

Peace,

Brian