14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
16A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
17And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
18But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
20Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
21And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
22Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Noah did not have it great when you really think about it. I don't know how Noah envisioned his life, what he thought it would be like; but, I am betting he never thought it would be about building a very large boat and then taking care of a bunch of animals while everyone else on earth was dead. It is interesting to note that Noah doesn't beg God to save everyone, maybe Noah could see all too well how bad man had become.
In Revelations it talks about the end times and says that it will be as in the days of Noah, that may very well mean what is sounds like it says, that the world and man's flesh will once again be corrupted. We have become a nation and a world of those who engage in indiscriminate sex, how many people truly treat their body as a temple and remain chase until married, worse yet, how many remain married to one partner for life (ignoring death and adultery resulting in a remarriage)?
In verses 14 - 22, God explains to Noah what he will have to do. He is instructed to build a very large boat and fill it with all the animals. What isn't often talked about is that Noah was also told to take the food of all kinds that was eaten, that would be potatoes and carrots and onions and all sorts of foods that were eaten by all of the animals on board and the people too.
Today nations around the world are doing the same thing. For the past ten years the world has been stalking a "seed bank" in Norway, it is being stalked with the seeds of every plant and presumably animals. I wonder where they got the idea from, yep, they got it from the bible.
Just in case you were unfamiliar with the word "pitch", it was a type of tar that would make things waterproof. The boat was made of gopher wood and covered in tar so that it would not leak. Nobody knows what "gopher wood" was because the term was only used once in the bible.
Showing posts with label Genesis 6. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Genesis 6. Show all posts
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Genesis 6: 8 - 13
8But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
10And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth
The Lord determined that the people needed to be destroyed. But, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, that thing, grace, to not have anything held against you, to be forgiven even if you are not perfect. Noah must have had a very loving heart to have been the only person to find favor in his time.
Verses 9 through 13 are a restatement of verses 1 through 7; but, told from a slightly different perspective. We find this throughout the whole bible, a story will be told from one perspective and then again from another perspective, it is still the same story; but, the emphasis is changed to make a different point.
Verses 9 through 12 explain the lineage of Noah's family and then explain a little bit more about why God was destroying the people and the land. God says that the people had all become corrupt. To be corrupt is to be impure, to be corrupted (which is the literal translation of the word that was used) is to be changed from a condition that was purer. If we go back to earlier verses we see that humans had interbred with the "sons of God", that was the corruption.
God created us to be human and it is our only chance at true happiness and relationship with him. Personally I am against changing people's genetics, that is playing God and we cannot begin to understand the consequences that it will bring. God blessed us with short lives on earth, it say's that our lives are but a vapor that comes and goes; but, we then get to spend eternity with God in our spirit bodies that do not age.
Many places in the bible it talks about how we are not to attempt to communicate with spirits, that includes angels and demons. The bible does have instances where angels were sent to speak to people; but, they were sent by God and not sought out by people. Our role in this earthly life is not about knowing spirits, it is about free will, it is about choosing to care about and be of service to others or to be selfish and self centered, that is the decision that determines where we go. If we live our lives being of service JUST to be saved then we were still selfish and self centered, we need to live our lives where it is not just about us; but, truly is about each other.
It says that the "flesh" had been corrupted, the physical body was corrupted. There are other parts of the bible that talk about the importance of not defiling or corrupting the body and they usually, if not always, refer to sexual immorality. That is the act of sharing your body with another in a manner that is not acceptable in the eyes of the Lord. In the New Testament it talks about sleeping with a prostitute as defiling the body, it is the part where it talks about the body being a temple. We can all be forgiven for many sins and sexually immorality can also be forgiven; but, it is still what it is. Jesus clearly gave an adulteress a chance when he stopped the men of the town from stoning her to death; but, he also said that she was to change her ways. When we sin, rather than hide it from ourselves or lie to ourselves, we must admit it and then do what is right and that is between you and God, I have enough sin or my own.
10And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth
The Lord determined that the people needed to be destroyed. But, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, that thing, grace, to not have anything held against you, to be forgiven even if you are not perfect. Noah must have had a very loving heart to have been the only person to find favor in his time.
Verses 9 through 13 are a restatement of verses 1 through 7; but, told from a slightly different perspective. We find this throughout the whole bible, a story will be told from one perspective and then again from another perspective, it is still the same story; but, the emphasis is changed to make a different point.
Verses 9 through 12 explain the lineage of Noah's family and then explain a little bit more about why God was destroying the people and the land. God says that the people had all become corrupt. To be corrupt is to be impure, to be corrupted (which is the literal translation of the word that was used) is to be changed from a condition that was purer. If we go back to earlier verses we see that humans had interbred with the "sons of God", that was the corruption.
God created us to be human and it is our only chance at true happiness and relationship with him. Personally I am against changing people's genetics, that is playing God and we cannot begin to understand the consequences that it will bring. God blessed us with short lives on earth, it say's that our lives are but a vapor that comes and goes; but, we then get to spend eternity with God in our spirit bodies that do not age.
Many places in the bible it talks about how we are not to attempt to communicate with spirits, that includes angels and demons. The bible does have instances where angels were sent to speak to people; but, they were sent by God and not sought out by people. Our role in this earthly life is not about knowing spirits, it is about free will, it is about choosing to care about and be of service to others or to be selfish and self centered, that is the decision that determines where we go. If we live our lives being of service JUST to be saved then we were still selfish and self centered, we need to live our lives where it is not just about us; but, truly is about each other.
It says that the "flesh" had been corrupted, the physical body was corrupted. There are other parts of the bible that talk about the importance of not defiling or corrupting the body and they usually, if not always, refer to sexual immorality. That is the act of sharing your body with another in a manner that is not acceptable in the eyes of the Lord. In the New Testament it talks about sleeping with a prostitute as defiling the body, it is the part where it talks about the body being a temple. We can all be forgiven for many sins and sexually immorality can also be forgiven; but, it is still what it is. Jesus clearly gave an adulteress a chance when he stopped the men of the town from stoning her to death; but, he also said that she was to change her ways. When we sin, rather than hide it from ourselves or lie to ourselves, we must admit it and then do what is right and that is between you and God, I have enough sin or my own.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Genesis 6: 1 - 7
1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
5And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
We are now told about how people were progressing on earth and the answer is, not too well. These verses are found challenging by many people. It starts by saying how humans multiplied and how the "sons of God" liked our women and had children with them. We don't know who the "sons of God" were; but, it is generally believed to be fallen angels. It appears that fallen angels (demons) interbred with humans creating a new being. We do know that God was not happy about people interbreading with these fallen angels and we also know that, that is the reason he caused the flood to kill everyone.
Something interesting is that once people interbred with these fallen angels, everything they did and thought was evil. We are not to share space with spirits, it tells us that later in the bible; but, the world's experience with them has never been good.
One interesting thing said by God at this time was that he would not "strive" with humans forever. God has to strive with us to show us how to be with one another. He is not talking about striving with us as between him and us, he created us and could have eliminated us all. Instead he gives man a lifespan of 120 years and it has been the maximum age of people ever since.
We are told how people are living longer today; but, we are not. The average age has risen; but, the drop dead length has not changed. There were people living to be 100 over a thousand years ago. But, the bible tells us that we don't ever die, that seems contradictory. We die to this world and this flesh, we remain eternally spiritual, our essence, our thoughts, our unique take on the world, that which makes us, us, our soul our uniqueness.
What we are being told is that our time on earth is limited, we should remain true to being human and that he will not strive with us forever. Some can choose to have a deep relationship with him and remain with him or we can choose to be separate from him; but, this is the life in which you get to make that decision.
2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
5And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
We are now told about how people were progressing on earth and the answer is, not too well. These verses are found challenging by many people. It starts by saying how humans multiplied and how the "sons of God" liked our women and had children with them. We don't know who the "sons of God" were; but, it is generally believed to be fallen angels. It appears that fallen angels (demons) interbred with humans creating a new being. We do know that God was not happy about people interbreading with these fallen angels and we also know that, that is the reason he caused the flood to kill everyone.
Something interesting is that once people interbred with these fallen angels, everything they did and thought was evil. We are not to share space with spirits, it tells us that later in the bible; but, the world's experience with them has never been good.
One interesting thing said by God at this time was that he would not "strive" with humans forever. God has to strive with us to show us how to be with one another. He is not talking about striving with us as between him and us, he created us and could have eliminated us all. Instead he gives man a lifespan of 120 years and it has been the maximum age of people ever since.
We are told how people are living longer today; but, we are not. The average age has risen; but, the drop dead length has not changed. There were people living to be 100 over a thousand years ago. But, the bible tells us that we don't ever die, that seems contradictory. We die to this world and this flesh, we remain eternally spiritual, our essence, our thoughts, our unique take on the world, that which makes us, us, our soul our uniqueness.
What we are being told is that our time on earth is limited, we should remain true to being human and that he will not strive with us forever. Some can choose to have a deep relationship with him and remain with him or we can choose to be separate from him; but, this is the life in which you get to make that decision.
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