Day 4.
We are reading today from Genesis 8-10:32; Matthew 4:12-25; Psalm 4:1-8; Proverbs 1:20-23
Genesis 8-10:32
1-5 God remembers Noah and the water goes down slowly but steadily till the mountain tops are visible again, where the ark comes to rest.
6-12 First Noah sends out a raven, then a dove. When the dove no longer returned it meant that there was dry ground. 13-14 It took about a year for the water to dry up.
15-19 Noah waits for God to tell him to come out. When God tells him and the animals to come out they obey. Then God tells them to be fruitful and increase in numbers just like he had told the people and animals to do in Genesis. This wasn't the perfect world anymore. However it was a new beginning of sorts.
20 The first thing we are told Noah does after coming out is to be thankful to God and build an offering where he sacrifices animals. And God is pleased with Noahs attitude. By sacrificing of animals there is already an understanding in Noah that there is a cost to thank God- that sacrfice is needed. God says He will never do it again (also in 9:8-11 He makes that promise as his covenenant)- never to destroy all living creatures and the earth in a flood EVEN THOUGH He knows it is not going to change that the human heart is inclined towards evil in every way since childhood.
Neat little poem in verse 22 about the flip sides of everything and cycles continuing. Kind of reminds me of Ecclesiastes 3:1
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens"
Genesis 9
God’s Covenant With Noah
1-5,7 God blesses Noah with the same blessing given to Adam & Eve in the garden minus the "subdue the earth". This time we are told animals will now have a fear of man and that all animals may now be eaten as food. Only they are told not to eat an animal with the lifeblood still in it. Same rule will apply to animals eating each other with lifeblood in them. And if we take the lifeblood from another human (murder) we will also be held accountable.
6 We see God is talking about murder here, as he says: “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind."
It's neat that the image of God is reiterated. For anyone wondering if after Adam sinned and it said that now his sons were created in his likeness (Adams) and did not mention Gods image, we see here with Noah that they are indeed still created in Gods image and God takes human life as very sacred.
12-17 God exmplains that his covenant with Noah not to ever flood the earth and wipe them all out, is not just a promise to him but all generations in the future, and that a rainbow will be the sign of it as a reminder. He explains that this covanent is everlasting.
18-28 We now learn about Noahs three sons who are later on spread over the earth. We are told Noah plants a vinyard and ends up getting drunk off of his own wine. He lied down naked in his tent. Ham actually sees his naked drunk father and his reaction is to tell his brothers about it. When his brothers hear they came in backwards not to look at their dad in order to cover him with a blanket and show honor and respect to their dad. The dad learned of what happened he cursed the youngest son (and called him Canaan), saying he will be a slave to his brother. To the other two Noah praises God on their account and acknoweldges their faith in God. He asks God to expand their territory. They are trust worthy and responsible while the younger one dishonors his dad and has quite the arrogant disrespectful attitude.
Genesis 10:1-32 is a history lesson.
Back in Gen.9:18 the names of Noahs sons say: "Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)"
We are not given a lot about Japheth.
We are told the sons of Japheth and then given the names of his oldest sons children and his middle sons children. From the middle son come the "maritime peoples" each of the middle sons children having their own clan, moving to a different territory and taking up their own language.
When it comes to Hams children we learn that he names his youngest Canaan. That was the name Noah called him when he cursed him. Ham was the youngest, and he gives his youngest son this name. From them come the Cannanites who end up being enemies of Israel.
We learn a lot about his first son Cush, all the children he has. We learn the names of the children of the second to last child of Cush. We also learn that he had one son Nimrod, "who became a mighty warrior on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.” From his descendants Babylon and Ninevah and many other famous bibical strong yet pagan cities are established.
Next we learn about Ham's second son Egypt and his children. We learn that the Philistines (other notable enemies of Israel) come from one of his sons.
No mention of the history of his third Son Put nor the sons of Nimrod.
However the last son Canaan (that Noah called Ham when he was cursed), details are given.
All of the names of Canaans children are listed and many of them had some very bad history with Israel as well. Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites and more.
We are told they spread as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, and beyond... other names of places that will come into play.
Shems list is also a longer one.
We are given the names of each of his sons. Of all of his 5 sons, we hear the geneology of two of them. Arphaxad, and Aram. More details are given on Arphaxads children getting into Shems grandchildren, great grand children and then great great grandchildren (through Arphaxad).
One of his great grand sons named Eber has two kids and we have some interesting details about how they are named their names because the earth was divided in their time. The other son of Eber named Joktan we are given a long list of all of his sons. Thirteen kids!
We are given the regions they stretched out in.
The list makes me wonder why some had so many more details then others. Did some die young? Or was it that some of them, their history had more significance to the earlier readers of this list?
It's nice to know that it says that our names will be recorded in "the book of life". Psalms 139:16, Ph.4:3 and Rev.3:5.
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Matthew 4
12-17 Right after John the Baptist (the cousin of Jesus) is jailed, Jesus leaves Nazareth to go to Galilee, more specifically we are told he lived in Capernaum, which was by two lakes to fulfill a Prophesy in Isaiah.
In the Prophecy, Galilee was connected to the Gentiles and were called "people living in darkness" and it says a great light will be seen by them. "On those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
This is when Jesus started to preach and He preached what John had also preached: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
18-22 Jesus walks by the sea and calls his first disciples: Simon (aka Peter) and his brother Andrew. They are fishing which is their job. Jesus gives them a new one that relates to their old one. Using their fishing talents to catch men instead. He tells them to follow Him and they "at once" do what He says and they leave their nets. Next, two more brothers: James and John. They were also fishermen- and when Jesus told them to follow him, they also left what they were doing- (even leaving their dad who they were fishing with) to follow Jesus.
I wonder if these four disciples had heard Jesus preaching earlier?
23-25 Next we see Jesus in action: teaching in their synagogues, letting people know the good news about the Kingdom of God, and healing everything wrong amoung the people. That made the press over in Syria. His healing attracted large crowds coming to him to be healed from all over the place.
I would love to hear the story of each person who has been healed because of Jesus, both in his time on the earth and how He heals us each now!
Just as Jesus calls people to repentance, tells them about a better way and presents them with true healing, David has a similar cry.
Psalm 4:1-8
David the music director writes a song (with stringed instruments! I love it!)
1 He begs for God to hear him and answer him in distress.
2 David is watching people who don't care for God and it hurts.
3 He knows God has called him to be different! FAITHFUL. Like Noah and Enoch. And He realizes God will hear him.
4-5 He encourages others not to sin but to search their hearts at night and be quiet. To trust God and to make sacrifices that line up with following God.
6-8 People want money or wealth, but David is saying God's presence is what we should be after "the light of your face shining on us". He wants his heart filled with joy when others have other luxury items. He wants to sleep in peace knowing God alone is his refuge.
Proverbs 1:20-23 continues with telling people to repent! Just like David in Psalms and Jesus in Galilee.
Wisdom crys out to us - but sometimes we waste our lives with things that don't matter. Listen to wisdom that raises her voice. Accept the rebuke and repent!
"Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings."
What a cool thought for 2011. I admit I have wasted a lot of my time and God I repent of that to you. I want to use my time in your word this year- everyday. Give me the strength to keep this up. So cool that he promises to pour out his thoughts to me and make his teachings known to me. :)
Love you God.
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