Faith of Noah, Abraham and Moses

We studied on Noah’s Ark and the Flood during June 2013 and the Call of Abram (Abraham since Genesis 17:5) during July 2013.

It is ‘Faith’ that they were commended for (Hebrews 11:2)

Hebrews 11:1 defines ‘Faith’ as below:

 ¹ Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Regarding to Noah’s faith, Hebrews 11:7 says,

   ⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

Regarding to Abraham’s faith, Hebrews 11:8 – 19 says,

  ⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. ⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹ And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

   ¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

   ¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” ¹⁹ Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

Genesis is followed by Exodus, where we can find Moses.

Regarding to Moses’s faith, Hebrews 11:24 – 28 says,

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. ²⁵ He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶ He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. ²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

Let us live by faith!!!

#The Bible (TV miniseries) based on Genesis & Exodus can be watched @ http://catchup.ninemsn.com.au/thebible.

The Call of Abram

Genesis 12:1-3

    ¹ The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

Abram was the 10^th generation from Noah. He was married but had no child because his wife Sarai was not able to conceive (Genesis 11:30). Abram means “high father”. In Genesis 17:5, God changed his name to Abraham, which means “father of a multitude”.

Romans 7:2 explains “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham”. This was a glorious moment that God spoke to Abram. It was God’s calling. Imagine almighty creator speaks to you in person with a special purpose of His plan of salvation. What did God command Abram?

See verse 1b.

“Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

God commanded Abram to leave his home country, his people including friends, relatives & neighbours and his father’s household and go to the land God will show him.

Here we see contrast between people’s plan not to be scattered in Genesis 11:4 and God’s command to go to a foreign country in verse 1. Jesus also commanded us to ‘Go and make disciples of all nations…’ in Matthew 28:19.

Here we clearly see difference in God’s thought and our thought.

Isaiah 55:8, 9 says

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, 
   neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, 
   so are my ways higher than your ways 
   and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

Amen. We have very good reason to put down our own thought and obey the command of God even if we can’t understand it.

This is the first step toward discipleship as well. In Luke 9:23,

²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

Here ‘deny themselves’ includes denying their thoughts.

What did God promise to Abram? See v2.

   ² “I will make you into a great nation, 
   and I will bless you; 
I will make your name great, 
   and you will be a blessing. 

First, God will make Abram into a great nation.

It was a great promise to Abram who didn’t have even one child. Also, God’s plan for Abram to form a great nation is in contrast to people’s ambition to build the Babel tower. Here we can see that it is important to fulfil the purpose of our life in God than to join the human ambition of Babel tower.

Second, God will bless Abram. Obedience to God is the way of blessing.

Third, God will make Abram’s name great. The fame is the blessing from God. This is in contrast to the fame people of Babel tower were looking for by themselves.

Proverbs 25:27^b says nor is it honourable to seek one’s own honour.

Proverbs 27:2 also teaches the similar principle.

   ² Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; 
   an outsider, and not your own lips.

Therefore obey God and fame will be given to you naturally by God as blessing.

Forth, God will make Abram a blessing. More detail about ‘a blessing’ is shown in v3. See v3.

³ I will bless those who bless you, 
   and whoever curses you I will curse; 
and all peoples on earth 
   will be blessed through you.”

Those who bless Abram will be blessed and whoever curses Abram will be cursed. All people on earth will be blessed through Abram.

Man can be either a blessing or a curse. Man lives as a curse if without God.

Today we learnt God called Abram to be a blessing. If you follow the faith & obedience of Abram, you can live your life as a blessing. And God says

³ I will bless those who bless you, 
   and whoever curses you I will curse; 
and all peoples on earth 
   will be blessed through you.”

Amen.

The Tower of Babel

Genesis 11:1 – 9
    ¹ Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

There was one language & one common vocabulary in the world (1). People moved and found a large & flat surface of the land in Shinar (=Babylonia) and settled there (2).

   ³ They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 

They communicated & cooperated together to develop & produce bricks & tar (3). Bricked building is stronger and built higher than wooden building. Mortar is a mixture of sand, water, lime and cement.  They used tar, which may be better for taller building because it is sticky black material obtained from coal. Basically they found better materials so that they might build taller building than before.

⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

They decided to build a city with a tower reaching the heavens so that they may not be scattered everywhere over the face of the whole earth (4).

“A tower reaching the heavens” means “very high tower”. But literally “reaching the heavens” is impossible, which shows their ambition.

In fact, a tall tower is an unnecessary thing at that time in practical point of view. So, this construction was driven by their ambition & pride in their heart.

Let’s assume they could succeed in their impossible mission & reach the heavens in their generation. Scientifically speaking, there is not enough air in high altitude causing altitude sickness. And then they will be exposed to radiation from Sun if they go higher than Ozone layer (20 – 30 km above the earth). Lack of air and exposure to radiation both will lead them to death.

Proverbs 14:12 says

¹² There is a way that appears to be right, 
   but in the end it leads to death.

And the tower reaching the heavens does not make them near or like God. Instead the tower symbolizes their ambition, pride, and rebellion against God.

No one can come to the Father without through the Son Jesus (John 14:6).

What is your religion? Do not join a Babel tower, which can’t reach God.

Acts 4:12 ¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

The purpose of building the tower is shown as “so that we may make a name for ourselves” in verse 4. They wanted “to get fame from people”.

Proverbs 25:27^b says nor is it honourable to seek one’s own honour.

It is clearly wrong focus. It is human-centred and not God-centred. Jesus called Peter ‘Satan’ when Peter did not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns in Mark 8:33:

But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Therefore, we can call this human-centred focus as “satanic”.

Then, what should be our focus? See Ecclesiastes  12:13^b:

 Fear God and keep his commandments, 

   for this is the duty of all mankind. 

It was God’s command to fill the earth as shown in Genesis 1:28 & 9:1.

“…. otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” (4)

They tried not to be scattered over the face of the whole earth.

People of the Babel tower might want them to be in centralised place. The problem was that it was for their ambition, pride and rebellion against God.

I pray that any one of us may not be involved with a wrong project like this in his/her life time.

We have tendency not to be scattered.

Even the early church gatherings had the similar tendency but they were scattered by persecution, leading them to the better – the Gospel was spread to more places of the world.

Let us obey to the Great Commission from our Lord Jesus Christ:

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18 – 19)

Here “go” means obviously not going vertically but going horizontally over the surface of the earth.

See verse 5 – 9. What did God do about this?

 ⁵ But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

   ⁸ So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹That is why it was called Babel^[c]—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

The LORD scattered them from there over all the earth by confusing their language so they will not understand each other (5 – 9).

Conclusion

From the story of the Babel tower, we see people chose to live on their own way of pride, ambition and rebellion against God. They pursued fame from human beings. They tried to draw people to the central city through their fame. This was disobedience to God.

Trust God. Obey God. Live the life obedient to God. God can achieve greater things through you than what you can do through your own way.

Check whether you have similar tendency shown in people building the tower of Babel. Are you making a lot of effort to achieve something practically unnecessary for wrong purposes like your own ambition? Repent your sins and follow the way of God.

Genesis 10

The Table of Nations

    ¹ This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.

The Japhethites

 ² The sons of Japheth: 
   Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras.

   ³ The sons of Gomer: 
   Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.

   ⁴ The sons of Javan: 
   Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites. ⁵ (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)

Like Noah who built the Ark, Noah’s grandson Javan’s sons became the origin of the maritime peoples (5).

# A source (https://bible.org/seriespage/spread-nations-genesis-101-1126) says the descendants of Japheth formed the Indo-European family of nations.

The Hamites

   ⁶ The sons of Ham: 
   Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.

   ⁷ The sons of Cush: 
   Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka.

   The sons of Raamah: 
   Sheba and Dedan.

   ⁸ Cush was the father of 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.” ¹⁰ The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar. ¹¹From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah ¹² and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah—which is the great city.

Ham’s grandson Nimrod became a mighty warrior on the earth and built his kingdom. He was the greatest hunter in the world (9). Babylon was built by Nimrod. “Babylon the great” is mentioned in 7 verses in the book of Revelation (Rev 14:8, 16:19, 17:5, 18:1-2, 18:10, 18:21)

Rev 14:8 reads A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

From this verse alone we can know Babylon is immoral and adulterous.

The might warrior built the very sinful city that rebelled against God.

Proverbs 16:25 says

²⁵ There is a way that appears to be right,
but in the end it leads to death.

Genesis, the book of all beginnings teaches us how everything began. Here we see how the sinful city began. This world is full of violence. Many people lost their sense of morality. Do not be misled. Overcome the temptation by following Jesus:

   ⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

(Matthew 4:4, Deuteronomy 8:3)

   ¹³ Egypt was the father of 
   the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, ¹⁴ Pathrusites, Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.

   ¹⁵ Canaan was the father of 
   Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites, ¹⁶ Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, ¹⁷ Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, ¹⁸ Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.

   Later the Canaanite clans scattered ¹⁹ and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.

Sodom and Gomarrah were later judged by God due to their sins and wickedness.

   ²⁰ These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.

# Based on a source (https://bible.org/seriespage/spread-nations-genesis-101-1126),

the nations connected to Ham inhabited northwestern Afria, the western coast of the Arabian Peninsula and the Fertile Crescent from Egypt to Mesopotamia. Some of these nations figured prominently in the biblical story as enemies of Israel, particularly “Babel” (Babylon, 10:10),10 “Mizraim” (Egypt, 10:13), and “Canaan” (10:15).

One thing we notice here is the impact of Noah’s curse upon Ham. In fact this impacted the whole human history over thousands years. What should we say? Choose the way of blessing… and the way is written in the Holy Bible.

The Semites

   ²¹ Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.

   ²² The sons of Shem: 
   Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.

   ²³ The sons of Aram: 
   Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshek.

   ²⁴ Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, 
   and Shelah the father of Eber.

   ²⁵ Two sons were born to Eber: 
   One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.

   ²⁶ Joktan was the father of 
   Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²⁷ Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²⁸ Obal, Abimael, Sheba, ²⁹Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.

   ³⁰ The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.

   ³¹ These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.

   ³² These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.

# Based on a source (https://bible.org/seriespage/spread-nations-genesis-101-1126),

The descendants of Shem (lit. “name”) are the Semitic peoples who inhabited the eastern lands: modern-day Iraq, Iran, and eastern Saudi Arabia. The genealogy of Shem split at the sons of “Eber” (10:25).12 From Eber we get the word “Hebrew.” The descendants of Eber’s son “Joktan” are given in 10:26-32, while the descendants of his other son, “Peleg” are found in Genesis 11. It was Peleg’s line which led to Abraham and eventually to the Israelites (11:18-26).13 This is the family that God will be dealing with throughout the entire Old Testament. These are the Hebrews, the nation Israel.

After the Flood

Genesis 9:1 – 28

   ¹ Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. ² The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. ³Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

After the creation till the Flood, God gave us vegetables & fruits as our food. But after the Flood, God gave us all animals as our food in addition to them.

One question I have here is why God gave the fear and dread of human being(s) to all the animals? It sounds they are being punished by fear, slaughter and being eaten.

   ⁴ “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. ⁵ And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.

   ⁶ “Whoever sheds human blood, 
   by humans shall their blood be shed; 
for in the image of God 
   has God made mankind.

When we eat animals, we should not eat their lifeblood (4).

   ⁷ As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”

This command was also spoken by God in Genesis 1:28 after creating human beings.

   ⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: ⁹ “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you ¹⁰ and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. ¹¹ I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

   ¹² And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶ Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

   ¹⁷ So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

Here, God promised there will be no more global flood on the earth. Without such promise, we could fear the Flood whenever it rains. The rainbow is the sign of the covenant (16).

  ¹⁸ The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) ¹⁹ These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth.

Everyone on the earth is a descendent of Noah as well as Adam.

   ²⁰ Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. ²¹ When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 

Here, Noah was called a man of the soil. Noah was a human being and had the earthly body. And he proceeded to plant a vineyard and … became drunk.

I guess he might be sad for dead people in the Flood including his relatives, neighbours and friends. He might drink wine to comfort his sad heart & forget the past.

A man of the soil – this word reminds me of who I am. And this is why I am how I am. And God knows all.

   ²² Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. ²³ But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.

   ²⁴ When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, ²⁵ he said,

   “Cursed be Canaan! 
   The lowest of slaves 
   will he be to his brothers.”

   ²⁶ He also said,

   “Praise be to the LORD, the God of Shem! 
   May Canaan be the slave of Shem. 
²⁷ May God extend Japheth’s territory; 
   may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, 
   and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”

Canaan, the son of Ham was cursed by exposing his father Noah’s shame. He was cursed to be the slave of Shem & Japheth. Some people think the races (white, yellow, black) are originated from these 3 sons of Noah.

We learn the principle that we shouldn’t expose the father’s shame. Especially Noah was the only man chosen by God to build the Ark – the Vessel of Salvation. Should one shameful moment of his life inside of his tent be exposed & criticized? No. Such exposure or criticism is unfair and evil.

   ²⁸ After the flood Noah lived 350 years. ²⁹ Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.

The Global Flood on the Earth

Genesis 8:1 – 22

Message

   ¹ But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. ² Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. ³The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, ⁴ and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. ⁵ The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.

The flood started when Noah was 600-year 2-month 17-day old as shown in Genesis 7:11.

The rain continued for 40 days & nights (Genesis 7:12).  In the end of these 40 days, the surface of the waters was at least 6.8 meters above the tops of the mountains (Genesis 7:20). I think 40 days were short and quick enough so that no one outside the Ark could escape from the Flood. Also I think 40 days were long enough so that no one outside the Ark could survive in the waters. Now God needed to dry the waters for Noah and his companions. How? By the way of ‘wind’! See v1^b. Sometime after the 40-day rain stopped, God sent a wind over the earth to make the waters receded (1^b). But it took for a long time until the land went completely dry: 110 days till the Ark rested on the mountains of Ararat + 7 more months.

The Judgement was sudden and quick. But the effect of the Judgement was removed not instantly but very slowly. The prevention is better than the cure because the recovery may take long time and the scars may remain… Get right with God before He may discipline you!

I want to think of God who sent a wind for Noah and his companions. It was the grace of God. Within the Ark of Noah, they were experiencing God’s grace while outside the Ark of Noah the Flood continued in the extended period of time.

Once started, the Judgement of God was sudden, quick and complete. Where do you want to stay? Now the Ark is open. Jesus welcomes you with open arms. Will you still insist there will be no judgement of God? Will you insist you will be OK outside the Ark during the Judgement?

On the 1^st day of the 10^th month, the tops of the mountains became visible (5).

   ⁶ After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark ⁷ and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. ⁸ Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. ⁹ But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. ¹⁰ He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. ¹¹ When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. ¹² He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.

Verse 6 – 12 is the record on the period of 40 + 7 + 7 days since the 1^st day of the 10^th month.

   ¹³ By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. 

The first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year may be 40 + 7 + 7 + 7 days after the 1^st day of the 10^th month, when Noah removed the covering from the Ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry.

    ¹⁴ By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.

   ¹⁵ Then God said to Noah, ¹⁶ “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. ¹⁷ Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.”

   ¹⁸ So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. ¹⁹ All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, one kind after another.

The land was completely dry when Noah was 601-year 2-month 27-day old. So it was after 1 year and 10 days after the beginning of the Flood. On this day, God said to Noah to come out of the Ark.

   ²⁰ Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. ²¹ The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

   ²² “As long as the earth endures, 
seedtime and harvest, 
cold and heat, 
summer and winter, 
day and night 
will never cease.”

Noah built an altar to the LORD and sacrificed burnt offerings on it (20). Noah expressed his dedication and gratitude to God. Also, we notice that Noah practiced ‘priesthood’ here. And it was far before the Mosaic Law was given.

I want to think of “Never again will I curse the ground” (21).

If we read carefully, what God swore was that “never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.” (21^c) In the Flood, God destroyed ALL LIVING CREATURES except those in the Ark. And God will never destroy ALL LIVING CREATURES again as He did in the Flood.

Global warming was and is being caused by our own misuse of the earth, which has brought and would bring many serious problems. I hope it might result in not as serious consequences as the Flood.

God Himself will not make the earth go barren… as long as the earth endures… based on verse 22. It is God’s promise.

Was our sinfulness removed from our heart after the Flood? No. See verse 21^b.

“even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood” (21^b)

This promise shown in v21 & 22 was despite of our sinfulness. Based on our sinfulness, we deserve the death by the Judgement of the Flood. Water baptism symbolizes the destruction in the Flood, which we deserve as sinners. When we are baptised, we count ourselves dead to sin (Romans 6:2, 11).

Conclusion

Today we learn the justice & power of God through the Judgement of the Flood.

First, know what you deserve.

This global Judgement by the waters teaches us that the Flood is what we deserve as a matter of fact. The reason we can live on the earth now is only due to God’s grace & promise shown in v21 – 22.

We better follow Noah’s faith and obedience than the way of people in Noah’s generation. We better become the disciple of Jesus in this generation.

• Remember the Flood. Remember what you deserve according to God’s justice.
• Repent your sins before God.
• Confess your faith in Jesus.
• Count yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Second, fear God.

This event teaches us the wrath, anger & power of God, who can destroy absolutely ALL if He wants.

¹⁰ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, (Proverbs 9:10^a)

Also, Ecclesiastes 7:1 – 5 says,

¹ A good name is better than fine perfume, 
   and the day of death better than the day of birth. 
² It is better to go to a house of mourning 
   than to go to a house of feasting, 
for death is the destiny of everyone; 
   the living should take this to heart. 
³ Frustration is better than laughter, 
   because a sad face is good for the heart. 
⁴ The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, 
   but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. 
⁵ It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person 
   than to listen to the song of fools. 

As the conclusion of Ecclesiastes, Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.

  ¹³ Now all has been heard; 
   here is the conclusion of the matter: 
Fear God and keep his commandments, 
   for this is the duty of all mankind. 
¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment, 
   including every hidden thing, 
   whether it is good or evil.

Read the Holy Bible every day.

Pray every day.

Noah’s Ark & The Flood

Genesis 7:1 – 24

   ¹ The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 

Let us think of the Word of God in verse 1: “because I have found you righteous in this generation”

Noah was distinguished from the generation in ‘righteousness’.

We see this world distinguishes people based on ‘achievement’ & ‘performance’ in academia, business or sports and ‘righteousness’ is not counted in highest priority.

They don’t look at ‘morality’ of the person but see his/her ‘wealth’, ‘qualification’, and ‘appearance’.

The top priority of the education should be making a person to live before God.

Proverbs 9:10 says

   ¹⁰ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, 
   and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 

God’s will was clearly taught through the Son of God, Jesus, which is summarized in Matthew 22:37 – 39:

   ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.  ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Now we know that

• Noah had the fear of the LORD.
• Noah loved the Lord his God.
• Noah loved his neighbour as himself.

All crimes and sins are due to the lack of the items listed above.

² Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, ³ and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.⁴ Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.”

   ⁵ And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.

Verse 5 is similar to Genesis 6:22. Here we see that this repetition in the Bible emphasizes Noah’s ‘obedience’.

   ⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. ⁷ And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. ⁸ Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, ⁹ male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. ¹⁰ And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.

As God foretold, the day of the flood finally came on the earth (6). The Noah’s Ark, that is, the result of the obedience, became the vessel of the salvation on the day of the judgement.

   ¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. ¹² And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.

More precise date of the Flood is written in verse 11. The rain continued for 40 days & nights.

   ¹³ On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. ¹⁴ They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. ¹⁵ Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. ¹⁶ The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

“as God had commanded Noah” in verse 16 tells me that God’s working power & Noah’s obedience worked together to make the salvation happen. During our obedience, God is with us to empower & help us. When you do God’s will, you are not alone. God is there with you (Matthew 28:20).

   ¹⁷ For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. ¹⁹ They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. ²⁰ The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits. ²¹ Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. ²² Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. ²³ Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

   ²⁴ The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.

The waters rose to more than 6.8 m above the mountain top (20). Every living thing that moved on land perished (21a). The total length of the Flood was 150 days (24).

Yes, people perished by the Flood – the Judgement of God.

Let us read John 3:16:

   ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

Jesus is one and only Son of God, who is our Savour. Without Jesus, Yes, people will perish on the day of Judgement – this Judgement will be by the Fire (2 Peter 3:10, 12).

And the Judgement will not finish only by physical death. The Bible warns the 2^nd death (suffering in the pond of fire) (Revelation 21:8). Moreover, the judgement will be eternal (Matthew 25:46).

²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. (Revelation 3:20)

Jesus is knocking the door of your heart. Open your door and accept Jesus into your life today.

Noah’s faith & obedience

Genesis 6:9 – 22

  ⁹ This is the account of Noah and his family.

   Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. ¹⁰ Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Here, let us read carefully on the fact that Noah walked faithfully with God.

How can we walk faithfully with God?

1. Meditate the Bible daily (Psalm 1:2).
2. Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
   Present your requests to God without worry, in everything, by prayer & petition, with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6).
   Seek God’s will. *Refer to the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9 – 13).
   Pray for others (1 Timothy 2:1).
3. Do the will of God (John 9:4). Evangelize others (2 Timothy 4:2, 5). Say ‘no’ to ungodliness and worldly passions. Live self-controlled, upright and godly life (Titus 2:12).

In summary, be a disciple of Jesus.

   ¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. ¹² God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. ¹³ So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.

God shared His plan of judgement (the Flood) with Noah (13).

Also, God shared His plan of judgement on Sodom & Gomorrah with Abraham (Genesis 18:16 – 33). Why did God share His plan with Abraham? As shown in Isaiah 41:8 and James 2:23, God called Abraham ‘My friend’. God considered him as His friend. Friend does not hide secret from friend.

Jesus said “You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:14)

Jesus called His disciples ‘friends’.  He have made everything that He learned from His Father known to them (John 15:15).

   ¹⁴ So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. ¹⁵ This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. ¹⁶ Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. ¹⁷ I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. ¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. ²⁰ Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. ²¹ You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”

God gave Noah the details of the Ark that Noah should build, by which his family members and the pairs of chosen animals would be saved.

The Bible reading, prayer life, evangelism and ministry will become like Noah’s Ark of salvation. Our faith may be too small to see when it is first conceived but it will grow to save many people (Luke 13:18 – 19).

  ²² Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Noah obeyed God’s command to build the Ark.

Let us be reminded of John 15:14. “You are my friends if you do what I command.”

Who is your friend?

The wickedness of the human race in Genesis 6

Genesis 6:1 – 8

    ¹ When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. ³ Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

Here the sons of God are descendants of Seth, godly people, or believers. The daughters of humans are descendants of Cain, ungodly people, or unbelievers. ‘A hundred and twenty years’ means time remaining till the judgement of the Flood. Also this means that the length of human life was reduced from many hundreds years to 120 years.

Intermarriage between believers and unbelievers brings serious consequences.

2 Corinthians 6:14 – 18 teaches the principle of believer’s marriage.

    ¹⁴ Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? ¹⁵ What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

   “I will live with them 
   and walk among them, 
and I will be their God, 
   and they will be my people.”

   ¹⁷ Therefore,

   “Come out from them 
   and be separate, says the Lord. 
Touch no unclean thing, 
   and I will receive you.”

   ¹⁸ And,

   “I will be a Father to you, 
   and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

    ⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

The Nephilim were the heroes of old, men of renown. They are people these days like popular musicians, actors, actresses, and athletes.

   ⁵ The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. ⁶ The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. ⁷So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

God saw

• how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth,
• every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

Therefore

• God regretted that he had made human beings on the earth.
• His heart was deeply troubled.

And God decided to wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground for He regretted that He had made them.

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD (8).

Let us study about Noah in verse 9 ~ 22 next week.

Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:1-26

Recommendation on the methodology to study the Holy Bible

I think it is good practice to deeply think on each verse so that you may derive meanings from it by yourself. If you only listen to what others talk about the verse and don’t have a chance to think deeply on the verse by yourself, how can you confirm what you hear from others is correctly based on the text?

I suggest for you to make efforts to derive some meanings and conclusions by your own reading and careful observation on each verse, which meanings and conclusions you and others can’t deny to be reasonably correct if based on the text.

This will increase your knowledge & faith.

Message

¹ Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” ² Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

There must be other children of Adam & Eve before Cain was born. Cain was a child born after Adam & Eve were expelled from Eden garden due to their sin. Eve says “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.”(1b). This gives us a few thoughts:

• A child is a gift from God. She received the gift and she thanked & praised God.
• Receiving the gift involves pregnancy, formation of a life in the womb, and birth pain. We can’t exclude God in this wonder of reproduction process.
• A new life is a spiritual being as well as a physical being.

And then, Abel was born as a younger brother of Cain.

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. ³ In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. ⁴ And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵ but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.

The fact that God accepted Abel’s offering but he refused Cain’s gives us a few thoughts:

• Abel’s offering involved shedding blood of lives amongst flocks.
• Cain offered earthly fruits to God. Earthly fruits may require shedding sweats to acquire but did not please God.
• There are requirements in the offering to God. God does not accept any offering that does not fulfil such requirements. Here, let us think about whether God will accept all type of religions that offer their own way of offerings.
• Abel’s offering represents sacrificial offering by the Lamb of God, Jesus

So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

⁶ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? ⁷ If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

God’s Word shows Cain’s Anger is due to Cain’s own misdeed. Cain himself was the wrong doer but he was angry at both God and Abel. God’s Word shows the characteristics of the sin:

The sin is crouching at the door like the lion crouching just before attacking.

“it desires to have you”: human beings as sinners are in great danger of being in full control of the sin.

“but you must rule over it.”: even so, we have responsibility to control the sin. The restless battle is between human beings and the sin. Jesus crucified the sin on the cross and frees those who are lead by the Holy Spirit instead of their sinful nature (Romans 8:1-4). Accept Jesus and declare your victory in Jesus over the sin today.

⁸ Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Cain killed his younger brother Abel, who and whose offering pleased the God. Cain committed murder out of his jealousy. The murder practiced by Cain was evil and wicked.

⁹ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

¹⁰ The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. ¹¹ Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹² When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

As the result of the sin of the murder, Cain became ‘a restless wanderer on the earth’. What does it mean?

Before we conclude, note that the murder requires death sentence according to the God’s Law given through Moses (Exodus 21:12-17).

We can conclude that this was a death sentence. He would be killed by whoever might find him.

So, he had to hide. If he might be found, he had to run.

He would suffer the fear of the vengeance or the death wherever he might go and whoever he might meet… One serious sin caused him suffering of the whole life time.

¹³ Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear. ¹⁴ Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

What Cain says explains it better as shown in v13 – v14. He says:

• The punishment is unbearable.
• He is expelled from the land.
• God withdraws His presence (which includes His goodness, mercy and kindness) from Cain.
• He faces the fear of the vengeance or the death wherever he goes and whoever he meets.

¹⁵ But the LORD said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. ¹⁶ So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

At the appeal of Cain (I have to say he repented), God put a mark on him showing God’s declaration that “anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over”.

¹⁷ Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. ¹⁸ To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

¹⁹ Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. ²⁰ Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. ²¹ His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. ²² Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.

Cain was building a city. Amongst the descendants of Cain, Jubal was the father of all who play stringed & piped instruments. And Tubal-Cain was the father of engineering.

²³ Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for injuring me.
²⁴ If Cain is avenged seven times,
then Lamech seventy-seven times.”

Lamech killed a younger man as Cain killed his younger brother. Lamech took advantage of God’s forgiveness on Cain and became bold and justified his murder saying “if Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times”.

He spoke this to his two wives. This makes us to think both murders by Cain and Lamech might be linked to their “women”. These days people often mention the sin of “violence” & “sex” together. Such corruption (sex & violence) was prevailed in Genesis 6, when God decided to judge the world by the flood.

²⁵ Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” ²⁶ Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.

Adam & Eve gave birth to Seth in place of Abel, who and whose offering pleased God. Abel means “breath; son; breathing spirit”. Seth means “appointed; granted”. He also gave birth to a son and named him Enosh. It is interesting to know that this name is the same to Cain’s son’s name as shown v17. Enosh means “man, human being”. Seth might be a godly man. At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD.

Seth’s descendant, Noah and his family were saved in the flood but Cain’s descendants were wiped away in the flood (Genesis 6 – 8).