The Floodwaters Recede

Read Genesis Chapter Eight

God sent a wind to blow across the earth and the underground waters stopped flowing as the rains stopped.

So the entire earth was covered with water. It must have been very quiet over the top of the waters. While under the waves cities had toppled, homes broken away from their foundations drifted for miles under strong currents. And bodies, thousands of bodies lifeless and floating away. I wonder what it was like at the north and south Poles? Were they covered with ice? And it must have been dark, noisy and stinky down inside the ship.

After  150 days, the Bible says “exactly five months from the time the flood began” the boat came to rest in the mountains of Ararat. Then two and a half months later other mountain tops began to appear as the water dried up. So they didn’t land in a nice green valley but on top of mountains.

They had not left the ark yet. Forty days later Noah released a Raven and a Dove. The Dove returned and seven days later he released it again and this time it returned with an olive leaf in its beak. Noah released the Dove again seven days later and it did not return.

Noah and his family spent over one year on the ark and then God told them to leave the boat and to let all the animals out of the boat so they could “be fruitful and multiply throughout the earth.”

Noah built an altar and sacrificed the animals and the Lord was pleased.

God makes a promisee that he will never again destroy all living things as long as the earth remains. Even though everything humans may think or imagine is bent on evil.

I don’t know about you, but this is not a happy story. This, first eight chapters of the Bible do not make me happy about life — but I really think at this point things seem pretty hopeless for mankind.

And for those of us who have heard these stories in our childhood and sung fun songs about it, I just don’t see the joy in the situation. Now Noah and his family are alone on the earth. Where is the rainbow? I remember this story having a rainbow and sunshine? And were there Unicorns on the ark?

The Flood Covers the Earth

Read Genesis Chapter Seven

The first thing I notice about this chapter is that there are a lot of numbers, which seems to be an ongoing pattern.

There were seven pairs of animals that are “clean” or approved for eating and sacrifice–and every pair is one male and one female.

There is one pair of each other type of (unclean) animal and bird.

God gave Noah a warning saying “seven days from now I will make the rains pour down on the earth.” He tells him it will rain for forty days and forty nights.

Noah was 600 years old so according to the genealogy in Chapter five the earth was 2,156 years old when this happened. So right now, in our time, we are only 139 years from the year 2156 AD. That should give some perspective. Look at the technology we have created and the mysteries of science humankind has uncovered in the last 2000 years and imagine, again, people living hundreds of years during that time.

So Noah, his wife and their three sons, Shem, Ham, Japheth, and their wives enter the ark. The Bible does not say that they had children. It specifically says that on the seventeenth day of the second month all the underground waters erupted from the earth, also described in some versions, as the floodgates of the earth opening, and the rain fell from the sky in mighty torrents.

It is interesting to consider that maybe prior to this there had been one giant continent that all people lived upon and that God broke this continent open when the waters burst forth separating the lands. I believe that is the theory of Pangea.

When Noah and his family were safely on the ark with all the animals, “the Lord closed the door behind them.”

It rained for forty days and nights – a month and ten days or non-stop torrential rain. Water covered the highest mountains by twenty-two feet. If God left it that way for decades without light it would have been considered “the deep waters” just like it is described in the first verses of Genesis.

The force of the shifting waters that flowed over the ground would have swept away anything that had not been solidly anchored down. Soil and stones would have been displaced and everything would have settled in the lowest possible areas, the heaviest at the bottom covered by layers and layers of silt. Maybe to be excavated thousands of years later. Statues half buried in the rock, cities that would appear to be carved out of the sides of cliffs…

God destroyed every living thing that breathed on dry land and the only people who survived were Noah, his wife, and his three sons and  their wives. Eight people would have to restart life. It would take them years to replenish the earth again, to get back to the modern age (the one they had lived in) that had been destroyed, especially because they would have oceans to cross to get to distant lands. Eight people without vehicles, houses, cities, or fields to harvest, etc.

The flood waters covered the earth for 150 days, almost half a year.

The World is Crazy

Read Genesis Chapter Six

This is one of my favorite chapters because is mentions some strange, unexplainable things. In five short chapters of the Bible, 1,556 years after the creation, we have only heard, in detail, about a handful of people!  Yet we know that people have multiplied and have become evil.

The Bible says “the Sons of God” noticed the “daughters of men” that they were beautiful and they took them for their wives. Who were these Sons of God? Were they the descendants of Seth? Were the daughters of man descendants of Cain? Or, were the Sons of God descendants of Adam while the daughters of men were descended from the “other” people I think God may have created outside the garden of Eden? I’m going to go out on a big limb here, because not many people are reading this anyway, but I theorize that the Sons of God were Satan and the fallen angels that had been kicked out of Heaven and daughters of men were the human women of the race God had created.

Anyway, at this time God decided to shorten man’s lifespan to 120 years. Maybe the premise was that if people didn’t live as long, they would not develop such evil ways. Their lives would be cut short. Imagine what our lives would be like and the things we would have if people like Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Edison, Nichola Tesla, and Steve Jobbs had lived nine hundred years! So that said, imagine what life was like for the people of Noah’s time when people like Da Vinci, Edison, Tesla and Jobbs DID live for 900 years. I don’t think these people were still living in tents riding camels and writing on stones. I think they had technology, most likely even more advanced than the technology we have today. I think they had air travel, power vehicles, electricity, running water, etc. Then where is it today you may ask? I think we are just starting to find what isn’t buried at the bottom of oceans or under layers and layers of the silt that settled on the land under the great flood waters. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of unexplainable archeological discoveries today. This would also explain why it was so odd for Noah to build a giant boat out of wood, by hand! Wouldn’t we think it odd today if one of our neighbors started doing the same thing? When we have great ships of iron and steel? When we have airplanes that can fly above any ocean for thousands of miles?

Genesis 6 verse 4 talks about there being Nephilim/Nephilites or Giants living on the earth at that time (could be the fallen angels–just saying). These giants married the daughters of men and their children became mighty heroes and famous warriors (demigods). I think this is the root of Greek Mythology and the Roman Gods. These were the celebrities of their times–maybe with supernatural beauty and power. When Shem, Ham and Japheth left the Ark after the flood I imagine them sitting around their campfires at night with their children telling them stories about these “ancient” heroes and their powers.

But the focus of this chapter is God’s sorrow. His heart was broken by the extent of wickedness on the earth. He planned to wipe all humans from the face of the earth but then one man, Noah found favor with God. He was in close fellowship with God and God decides to save Noah and his family (who are descended from Adam). God gives Noah specific instructions on how to build the ship because he is going to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy everything living. He tells him to bring animals and enough food for  his family onto the boat. And Noah does everything God tells him to do.

 

Genesis, Chapter Five!!

The Descendants of Adam

Read Genesis, Chapter Five (Yesterday I posted this as Chapter Four–all I can say is that is was early in the morning and my brain was fuzzy…)

Today’s chapter is one of those genealogy chapters that seems pretty boring and meaningless, but let’s read it and see if we find anything interesting!

The chapter starts by saying in KJV “This is the book of the generations (that word again) Adam.” It restates that God created human beings in His likeness, male and female, he named them and called them human. So from the start we were humans.

Adam was 130 years old when Eve gave birth to a son “in his image” and named him Seth.

My rough calculations indicate that The earth had been around about 2,156 years when the flood happens. Adam lived 930 years! That was long enough to see the birth of Lamech, who was Noah’s father so he knew seven generations of his own descendants. To consider the perspective of this, look back on the last 100 years and imagine living another 830 years!

Its also interesting that there isn’t any mention of who the wives/mothers are or of Cain and Abel even though they were born before Seth. Plus, we know there were many more children because the Bible tells us that they all had many more sons and daughters. But for some reason, we have this particular line to look at in the book of Genesis.

So the creation, Adam and Eve’s Fall, Cain and Abel all happen in the first 130 years. So far, this is not a very happy story for the beginning of mankind. We will have to keep reading to see if it gets better!

 

 

The Fall of Man

Read Genesis, Chapter Three

This chapter describes “The Fall” not referring to the season, of course. As if the first two chapters of the Bible are not weird enough, in this one we have the Serpent, who we learn is a reptile that talks. And the fact that he spoke to Eve did not seem to phase her at all.

We know this happened in Adam’s first 130 years because the genealogy of Adam (spoiler alert-you will read about this in chapter five, I think) says that he was 130 years old when he and Eve have a son named Seth–which is after they are kicked out of the Garden of Eden.

The first question that comes to my mind, is what was the Serpent? He obviously was a reptile, however, the fact that God’s curse on him is that he will crawl on his belly–going forward– groveling in the dust, lower than all other animals, indicates that prior to the temptation of Eve this creature must have stood upright and I’m assuming it had a domineering, powerful presence. Hmmm…what ancient animal do we know of that was a “reptile” and was clever, powerful, strong, imposing, and would have been a presence Eve could not ignore? I prefer to think of the serpent as a Velociraptor (my favorite of the dinosaurs). It has always been interesting to me that the serpent, when depicted in paintings of Adam and Eve is portrayed as a snake curled around a tree limb. What I’m reading in this chapter is that he did not crawl in the dust until God cursed him.

Now back to our story, recap– The Serpent Tempts Eve…

Why might the Serpent choose to tempt Eve and not Adam? The Bible tells us in chapter two that God told Adam that he could not eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil when the Garden of Eden was first created and before he had put Adam to sleep to create Eve. So could it be that the serpent was hoping that Eve had only heard about this restriction from Adam who relayed God’s instruction when he showed her around the garden?

Was the serpent hoping that because Eve had not heard it from God himself but from Adam that it would make her more susceptible to his lying?

So, Eve has doubts, she wants to be like God and she obviously doesn’t trust the one who told her not to eat of the tree. If it was Adam relaying the message maybe she didn’t think he had told her the whole truth about the tree, after all, Adam and God were alone together before she “arrived” in the garden and she was not there for the conversation about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

So why would she trust a serpent? What could he have told her to win her trust? Maybe he showed her some of his own “magic,” maybe he told her how he had been a close friend of God and then God tossed him out of Heaven. He had to win her over somehow and get her on his side. The serpent convinces Eve that he understands the mind of God and what his intentions are and she believes him!

Then after she eats the fruit and sees that it is good, and nothing seems to change and she doesn’t “die,” she is convinced that the serpent has told her the truth, and God had lied to them. She gives the fruit to Adam. I think it’s interesting that the serpent was clever to have Eve bring the fruit to Adam. Adam would certainly take a bite when he found out his woman had already done so!

I wonder what would have happened if Adam had stood firm and refused to eat the fruit. Would his righteousness have covered Eve’s sin? It wasn’t until Adam ate the fruit as well that they both noticed their nakedness. It wasn’t until Adam sinned as well by eating the fruit that man fell from grace.

Adam relayed the Truth of God to Eve

Eve relayed the lie of Satan to Adam

There is a lot more in this chapter — God’s conversation with Adam and Eve, the curses he imposes on the serpent, the man and the woman going forward. You really should read it.

Then God makes clothing for them, showing how much he still loves and cares for them but then he sends them away from the garden and posts angels to guard the entrance to keep them from eating of the Tree of Life so they do not have to live in sin forever!

Chapter Two

Read Genesis, Chapter Two

“The creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested.” So this was the establishment of a seven day week. He blessed this day and declared it holy.

Now we  move on to what I’ve been told is a recap of the creation of man.

There is this weird verse, 4, “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.” Some Bibles tack part of this verse onto the first passage and part of it onto the next passage but the KJV just lets it roll on into verse five.  When I think of generations, I think of people, like grandparents, children and grandchildren.

Verse 5: And every plant of the field before it was in the earth when they were created, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. (So it seems we are back on day two or three, according to Chapter One) Verse 6: But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

Verse 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.

So did God make this one man, this one special man that He himself breathed into with His Spirit? Did he make this man on day two or three, before he created the plants?

The next verse goes on to say that God planted a garden and he put the man into this garden. And this garden was in a specific place with specific trees – the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. There is a river that branches into four – Pison which the flows into the land of Havilah where there is gold and onyx and stone; the Gihon which flows into Ethiopia; the Hiddekel flows toward Assyria, and the fourth is the Euphrates.

God puts the man into the garden to till the soil and take care of the plants. He tells the man not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and that if he does eat from it he will surely die. (I wonder how the man knew what death was?)

Then God creates animals (Chapter one says this happens on day six), and the man names all the animals. But God sees that the man needs a companion, so he puts him to sleep and takes a rib from the man to create a companion, a woman. The two came from one flesh, one pure line created by God.

It seems like God created these two special people, as if they were chosen for himself. And maybe there were other people living on the land outside the garden. I think we will see this theme carried on throughout the rest of the Bible.

 

 

 

 

 

Day One, Chapter One

I generally read the NIV, consulting the King James version for comparison. I will summarize below, and point out details that jump out at me that seem important. Like I said in my introduction, God may point out something else to you as you read the chapter.

Read Genesis, Chapter One

We learn that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. But when was that exactly? The next sentence says the Earth was without form and void and darkness covered the deep. God moved over the waters. So the water was already there – he did not create water at this time.

DAY ONE – God said let there be light and he separated light from darkness. This was the first day and night. Where did this light come from? It was not from the Sun yet, the sun had not been created. The light must have come from God himself.

DAY TWO – God separated the waters (that were already there) making the sky (heavens) and leaving the rest of the waters as part of the deep. So there is the light from some unknown source (most likely God), and God pulls some of the water up from the deep to make the atmosphere.

DAY THREE – God gathered the waters under Heaven to let dry land appear (that was already under the water) so there was earth and sea separated. God covered the land with plants and trees. So I imagine God sweeping his hands across the deep to push aside the waters and then forming the earth into hills above the edges of the water, still under the light that comes from him. His hands form mountains and valleys. And with a flutter of his fingers he covers the land with trees and plants. One massive continent surrounded by the sea.

DAY FOUR – God created the Stars, Moon, and Sun. He made the solar system. This was the day that the earth’s rotation was was set in place, the precise distance from the sun was determined, the moon was set in place to regulate the movement of the seas and the stars were placed in the sky. God could take a step back knowing that what he had brought back into motion would run by itself on a perfect clock.

DAY FIVE – God made fish and water creatures to live in the sea and the birds of the air. These were the first creatures to enjoy the new world. They saw the first sunset and were set to explore their new home.

DAY SIX – God created animals, wildlife, livestock, and all creatures on the earth. God created Mankind in His image, male and female he created them to be fruitful and multiply, replenishing the Earth. It seems that maybe God created many people, male and female. Note: God refers to himself in plural “Let us make man in Our image.”

The word Replenish  means to refill, freshen, restore something to a former condition, to make full or complete again. This seems to indicate that the world had existed in the past and God had destroyed it…and now was the time to restore it.

God gave the people and the animals all the plants to eat and the people were to rule over the animals and the fish of the sea and the birds of the air. They were there to keep the order of things. This indicates that none of the animals were carnivores–none wanted to eat the others!

God saw that all he had made was good. This takes us through the sixth day.

 

 

Let me introduce myself

Let me begin by making it clear that I am not a theologian or a seminary graduate. I am just a normal person, a Christian, a daughter, a wife, a mother. The world seems turned upside down lately and there is a lot of hate swirling about. I think the basis of all this chaos boils down to misunderstandings. Misunderstandings about who God  is and the message of the Good News that he wants us to bring to the world.

At my church today we were challenged to live an extraordinary life one day at time. My take away was that slow steady progress in a direction toward God can change the world. For example, if I start reading the Bible one chapter at a time it is going to take me two or three years but I trust that I will be changed at the end of that time. I’ve grown up learning the stories of the Bible, and have read most of it in random order depending on devotion books to guide me. I’ve heard passages dissected in sermons and at conferences. But I’ve never read the entire Bible from beginning to end.

The Bible as a whole seems overwhelming to understand. The words are strange, names are strange and everything seems ancient. It has some crazy stories (a talking donkey, a man swallowed by a fish, a burning bush, crucifixion and resurrection) and can be difficult to understand. What does it all have to do with us? How can one God know everything? If there is a good God why is there evil? In order for the Holy Spirit to open our eyes, our hearts, and our minds to answers, we need to read the book that has been referred to as a love letter from God. But where do we start? What is the right way to do it?

There is no right way to read it. We can use the Bible to see where we fit in God’s story, as part of His family. We are not lost and alone, but in order to get immersed and to really know the great power and the fierce love of God and to experience it fully we need to read the whole Bible not just the parts that seem applicable.

 

 

 

Do you know you might be drowning?

If your city was under water from storms and flooding and your neighbors were in the water flowing past you as you stood on your roof waiting for rescue, would you let them pass by screaming for help? I think most of us would attempt to save them from certain death.

If you were standing on the calm upper banks of the Niagara river and a family was paddling in a canoe, laughing and enjoying the beauty around them, unaware that they were slowly being pulled closer and closer to the falls, heading for certain death, would you try to warn them?

Now, what is the difference between physical death and spiritual death?