Holy Bible Study & Discussion with Jerry: Recent Episodes
Jerry Joyce
I have created this podcast to help spread the Word of GOD to everyone who may be interested.
Our Mission:
To Provide the Knowledge that Will Train Sisters and Brothers in Christ To Spread GOD's Love and create disciples.
Our Vision:
To Share All Resources that Will Aid in the Knowledge Necessary for the Building of GOD's Kingdom.
Blessings to all,
Welcome again, I am Jerry, this portion of our study covers:
Sarai’s Suggestion - Unbelief Actions
After Abram rose to the heights in chapter 15, you would say that he certainly is treading on high places—but he is not perfect.
In chapter 16 we see the lapse of this man’s faith relative to Sarai and Hagar, the Egyptian maid. We have here the unbelief of both Sarai and Abram, and the birth of Ishmael. This is certainly a letdown after the wonder of the previous chapter.
Genesis 16 continues to follow the life of one of Israel's greatest patriarchs: Abram, who will soon be renamed Abraham. To this point, Abram and his wife Sarai are still childless, despite Abram being well over seventy-five years old (Genesis 12:4). In fact, at this point in the narrative, Abram is pushing ninety (Genesis 16:16)!
In the prior chapter, Abram has voiced his concerns to God about the situation, and God has responded with a dramatic demonstration of His intentions. For all these many years, Abram has resisted following the normal practices of his day. Abram and Sarai were wealthy. They had many servants.
Abram could have taken many wives. He chose, instead, to wait for God to fulfill the promise of children through his barren wife Sarai. Until now. With Abram in his mid-80s, Sarai has apparently become tired of waiting. In her eyes, it is time to go to plan B: giving her Egyptian servant girl Hagar to Abram, in order to finally obtain a child.
Apparently, if a wife was unable to bear children, it was considered appropriate for her to give a servant to her husband, as another wife, with the understanding that any children born to that servant would rightfully become the child of the original wife. In a disappointing moment of faithlessness, Abram agrees, and Hagar quickly becomes pregnant.
It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.
Our scripture will be coming from:
Genesis 16:1-5 KJV
[1] Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
[2] And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
[3] And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
[4] And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
[5] And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.
GOD’S Covenant With Abraham – Prepare A Sacrifice part-2
Genesis 15 consists entirely of a long encounter between the Lord and Abram. When the ”word of the Lord” comes to Abram in a vision to bring reassurance of God’s support for him, Abram takes the opportunity to press God with questions. Abram asks both about his childlessness and how he can know he will one day possess the land of Canaan.
God responds, and Abram believes. God’s response includes leading Abram through a covenant ritual involving slaughtered animals, as well as a prophecy about the future of Abram’s descendants before the time will come to occupy the Promised Land.
Again, Abram is a very practical man. He believes in dealing with reality, and I think we need to do that. We need reality today in our Christian lives. If reality is not in your life, there is nothing there. A great many people just play church today.
Abram is very practical. He wants to know something, and he would like to have something in writing. Before God completes the ritual, He causes a deep sleep to fall on Abram and reveals to Abram a prophecy about the future of his descendants.
They will live as captives for 400 years in another country, serving that nation. When the time comes, they will be released with abundant possessions and return to execute God's judgment on the Amorites and other inhabitants of the land of Canaan. Abram learns that he will live to a good, old age, but that he will not live to see the troubling events of this prophecy.
Finally, God completes the covenant ritual in a dramatic fashion. Abram witnesses a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch pass through the pieces of the animals, a sight he would likely long remember as evidence of God's covenant promises.
God completes the covenant by describing both the southern and northern borders of the Promised Land, as well as identifying the peoples who would have previously occupied the various regions of the land when Abram's descendants would receive it as their own.
It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.
Our scripture will be coming from:
Genesis 15:13-21 KJV
[13] And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
[14] And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
[15] And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
[16] But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
[17] And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
[18] In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
[19] The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
[20] And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
[21] And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
Blessings to all,
Welcome again, I am Jerry, this portion of our study covers:
GOD’S Covenant With Abraham – Prepare A Sacrifice part-1
Even though Abram has faith, he respectfully asks one more question of the Lord, in response to God's repeated promise to give him the land of Canaan: "How am I to know?" God doesn't reject Abram's request for reassurance.
Instead He instructs Abram to gather five specific animals, to cut some in half, and to arrange them in a specific way. This begins a covenant ritual between God and Abram that is momentarily interrupted by birds of prey trying to eat the remains of Abram's slaughtered animals.
Before God completes the ritual, He causes a deep sleep to fall on Abram and reveals to Abram a prophecy about the future of his descendants. They will live as captives for 400 years in another country, serving that nation. When the time comes, they will be released with abundant possessions and return to execute God's judgment on the Amorites and other inhabitants of the land of Canaan.
Abram learns that he will live to a good, old age, but that he will not live to see the troubling events of this prophecy.
It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.
Our scripture will be coming from:
Genesis 15:7-12 KJV
[7] And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
[8] And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
[9] And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
[10] And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
[11] And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
[12] And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
Blessings to all,
Welcome again, I am Jerry, this portion of our study covers:
ABRAHAM’S FAITH
This is one of the greatest statements in the Scriptures: “And he believed in the LORD.” Abram believes God. This statement, from Genesis 15:6, is one of the key verses in all of the Bible. Abram’s belief in God is credited to him as righteousness.
In the New Testament, both Paul and James quote this verse (Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; James 2:23), making it a cornerstone of the Christian teaching that God’s acceptance of us comes by His grace and through our faith.
What this means is that Abram said amen to God. God has said, “I will do this for you,” and Abram says to God, “I believe You. Amen. I believe it.”
And that was counted to him for righteousness.
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Romans 13:1 KJVS
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
In Romans 12, Paul described what it means to be a living-sacrifice Christian. In short, it mostly has to do with setting ourselves aside to serve the Lord, each other, and even our enemies in love.
Now Paul turns to the issue of how Christians who are saved by God's grace should interact with our present governments. He describes the biblical doctrine of submission to human authorities, something Peter also teaches (1 Peter 2:13–17).
Again, those in Christ are called to set themselves aside and to trust God to provide what is needed through those in authority, whether good or evil. Paul is clear that this applies to every person.
He calls for us to be in submission to government authorities, though he does not say that we must obey them in all cases. Paul and the other apostles refused to obey commands from people in authority to stop preaching the gospel, for instance (Acts 5:27–29).
They did, however, submit to those in authority in all matters that were not in contradiction to the will of God.
Why should we submit?
Paul is clear: Every authority in the world was established by God. This would include, of course, good leaders, evil leaders, and everyone in-between.
Paul's instruction here, then, is not about blind nationalism or absolute obedience to men. Rather, it is a recognition that human government—in general—is a legitimate authority, and that Christians cannot use their faith as an excuse for civil lawlessness.
God puts all leaders in place for the specific reasons Paul will describe in the following verses. We should remember that Paul is writing this letter to Christians in Rome.
The government of Rome ruled much of the known world at the time. It was led by the Emperor Nero from AD 54–68. Nero is famous for his cruel and unfair treatment of Christians, among other groups.
We must not assume that Paul is writing these words lightly. He was aware of the implications of his teaching.
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
3 John 1:1-2 KJVS
[1] The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
[2] Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
Three times, John uses the theme of "goodness" or "wellness."
First is general encouragement; the same phrase which starts this verse was used to introduce Gaius in 3 John 1:1.
Second, John prays a general blessing. Then, he appeals for the health of Gaius. We don't know for sure that Gaius had specific health concerns which would require prayer. One possibility is that Gaius was elderly.
The apostle John was quite old by the time he wrote this letter, and Gaius might have been of a similar age. John seems to have known him for some time, and speaks of his church members as children (3 John 1:4).
Third, John spoke specifically about Gaius's spiritual maturity. John loved him (3 John 1:1), spoke well of those he led in his church (3 John 1:3–4), and commended his work (3 John 1:5–8).
We will now get deep into today’s discussion:
By now, there is one thing we should know about GOD. His Word is 100% absolute. He dosen't change, He always remains the same. There are no loopholes in His Word, His Word is Very clear.
Apparently, this vast universe we live in had been here for billions of years, but something happened to the earth and to a great deal of the creation. As a result, God moved in, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the deep, and there was brought cosmos out of chaos.
Chapter 1 described God's process of creation in six separate days. The first few verses of chapter 2 complete that sequence with a seventh day, where God takes a deliberate rest from His work.
Having concluded the account of the creation week, Genesis now turns back to provide more detail about the creation of human beings, where they lived, and God's instructions to them. This verse serves as an introduction to the story of Adam and Eve and those who would follow. It is written in the poetic structure of a "chiasm."
This is a word-pyramid in which phrases parallel each other on the way "up" and "down." Another way to think of this is as a mirror, centered on some specific point. The idea-pattern in a chiasm is structured as A-B-C-B-A, but can include many more points around the central theme.
This form of writing is common throughout Genesis. This pattern can be found in Genesis in single verses, in multi-verse sections, and even over the course of multiple chapters. Setting the stage for the arrival of man, two things are missing at this point in the creation story: rain and someone to work the ground.
This portion of study describes a world in which no shrubs or small plants of the field had yet sprung up. This passage, then, is describing the lack of cultivated crops grown for humans to eat.
God caused all kinds of plants to grow on the land on the third day of creation.
This portion of study is pointing forward to man's future work and purpose on the earth, to plant crops and work the ground, to bring order to the earth by tending what God had made.
At this point, there was no one to work the ground and no rain. This portion of study tells us how the garden got its water with no rain: mists or streams came up from the ground. The impression is of underground streams, the so-called "fresh water ocean," which would saturate the land, perhaps on a cyclical basis.
This fits the description of upcoming verses of the rivers that water the Garden of Eden and the region around it. It also fits with the farming practices of the Mesopotamian region that relied on cyclical flooding to sustain crops.
As we saw in chapter 1, God had prepared a world in which humans could grow and gather food before He even made man. Likewise, He had made a world in which humans were needed to care for all He had made and help to bring order to it.
As we look at Summary Of The First Five Days Of Restoration Discussion, what questions come to your mind?
Let us know on the HBS & DwJ website:
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Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Romans 12:2 KJVS
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Paul is urging Christians to respond to God's mercy, His forgiveness of our sin, and His inclusion of us in His family. The appropriate reaction would be offering to Him our entire lives as a form of living, breathing sacrifice.
Next, Paul writes that we must no longer be conformed to the world. The word "world" is often used in the New Testament to refer to the "world system," or the way that every human being lives by default.
John described this worldly way of living as "the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life" (1 John 2:16).
By instinct, all of us chase those things in pursuit of happiness and meaning. Paul tells us to abandon the chase for pleasure, possessions, and status—to stop living like everyone else.
Instead, he urges us to be transformed from the inside out. Specifically, he writes that we must be changed in how we think, to have our minds renewed so that we can begin to understand God's will for our lives.
God may continue to provide us with pleasure, possessions, and status in various forms, but he urges us to learn how to look at life with a new question:
What does God want for me?
What is truly a good, acceptable, and perfect use of my life for His purposes and not just for my own?
We will now get deep into today’s discussion:
By now we have seen that God separated plant life and animal life from mankind, and He said, “Let us make man in our image.”
The Bible clearly distinguishes between man and beast—something evolution does not do. According To Evolution as Carsten Bresch describes it:
“Evolution is defined as the development of all things in all spheres of our world—including the descent of man from apelike ancestors.”
The so-called proofs for evolution based on homologies emphasize the idea of descent from common ancestors. Man is supposed to have descended directly from the animal kingdom by means of the same processes involving the same evolutionary factors which caused animals to evolve.
For this reason, the differences between man and beast are not regarded as fundamental, but as a difference in degree only. Man has only developed to a higher level.
Let's talk about Scientific Objections:
Even on the purely biological plane there is a wide, unbridgeable chasm between man and beast, as illustrated by the following four considerations:
The human brain possesses qualities that have no parallel in the animal world. One consequence is man’s explicit mental capabilities.
Man possesses the faculty of speech, and his creative communication by means of his vocal system is completely different from those of animals.
He has the unique ability to pay attention to various matters at will; he has an inconceivably wide range of interests and observation, because it is possible to consider spatially [spay·shuh·lee] and temporally [ tem·pr·uh·lee ] remote objects; he is able to make abstractions and to use his system of signs for meta-lingual purposes.
Only man is fully bipedal; he can walk upright because of the special structure of the spine. Thus, our hands are not required for locomotion and are available for other purposes. Only man is able to express emotions (such as joy, sadness, hope, laughter, shyness).
Some animals seem to have similar abilities, but they cannot be compared with human emotions.
Now,
Back to The Holy Bible: The Holy Bible, without question, clearly distinguishes between man and beast:
On the sixth day, Adam was created “in the image of God” and quite apart from the land animals through a clearly distinguished separate act of creation.
Man was made last of all the creatures: this was both an honor and a favor to him. Yet man was made the same day that the beasts were; his body was made of the same earth with theirs; and while he is in the body, he inhabits the same earth with them.
God forbid that by indulging the body, and the desires of it, we should make ourselves like the beasts that perish!
The Hebrew word bara (create) is used three times in Genesis 1:27 to emphasize this act of creation. Only man received the breath of God. In this way, he was given a spirit (Eccles. 12:7; 1 Thess. 5:23) so that he transcends the world of the animals.
Only when Adam was created, did God “use his hands”: “The Lord God formed [Hebrew yatsar] the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Gen. 2:7). In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word yatsar is used to describe the actions of a potter who skillfully and imaginatively forms his vessels. In the same way, God used earthly matter for Adam’s physical parts.
Only man can actually communicate with God. Only he possesses the gift of speech and of prayer by means of which he can express all his thoughts before his Creator. Man was created to be near and close to God. He is dependent on communion with God.
Only man has a free will and possesses the faculty of creative thought. According to Psalm 8:5, man was made “a little lower than the heavenly beings.” Human beings possess gifts such as freely developing personalities, inventiveness, and the capacity for cultural development (such as writing, music, historical awareness, so on and so forth).
Even the difference in flesh is mentioned in the Bible: “All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another” (1 Cor. 15:39). This finding has consequences for molecular biology: Proteins comprise the major part of the body. The human body contains approximately fifty thousand different kinds of proteins, each fulfilling its own specific functions. They have different amino acid sequences.
All organisms have certain amino acids in the same positions in the polypeptide [ paa·lee·pep·tide ] chain, and they serve to establish and preserve the characteristic functions of the specific protein.
In contrast to this precise positioning, there are other positions where the amino acids clearly differ from one kind to the other.
It is said only about man that he was not only created “by God,” but also “for Him” (Col. 1:16).
This high purpose is only ascribed to man. Animals are also creatures of God, but they did not receive the calling to become children of God (John 1:12).
In contrast to the animals, man is an eternal being; this means that his existence never ends, even after the death of the body (Luke 16:19–31). An imperishable body will be raised from the perishable one (1 Cor. 15:42). Man was to be a creature different from all that had been hitherto made.
Flesh and spirit, heaven and earth, must be put together in him. God said, "Let us make man."
Man, when he was made, was to glorify the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Into that great name we are baptized, for to that great name we owe our being. It is the soul of man that especially bears God's image.
Man was made upright. His understanding saw Divine things clearly and truly; there were no errors or mistakes in his knowledge; his will consented at once, and in all things, to the will of God.
His affections were all regular, and he had no bad appetites or passions. His thoughts were easily brought and fixed to the best subjects. Thus Holy, thus happy, were our first parents in having the image of God upon them.
May the Lord renew it upon our souls by his grace!
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Romans 12:2 KJVS
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Paul is urging Christians to respond to God's mercy, His forgiveness of our sin, and His inclusion of us in His family. The appropriate reaction would be offering to Him our entire lives as a form of living, breathing sacrifice.
Next, Paul writes that we must no longer be conformed to the world. The word "world" is often used in the New Testament to refer to the "world system," or the way that every human being lives by default.
John described this worldly way of living as "the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life" (1 John 2:16).
By instinct, all of us chase those things in pursuit of happiness and meaning. Paul tells us to abandon the chase for pleasure, possessions, and status—to stop living like everyone else.
Instead, he urges us to be transformed from the inside out. Specifically, he writes that we must be changed in how we think, to have our minds renewed so that we can begin to understand God's will for our lives.
God may continue to provide us with pleasure, possessions, and status in various forms, but he urges us to learn how to look at life with a new question:
What does God want for me?
What is truly a good, acceptable, and perfect use of my life for His purposes and not just for my own?
We will now get deep into today’s discussion:
By now we have seen that God separated plant life and animal life from mankind, and He said, “Let us make man in our image.”
The Bible clearly distinguishes between man and beast—something evolution does not do. According To Evolution as Carsten Bresch describes it:
“Evolution is defined as the development of all things in all spheres of our world—including the descent of man from apelike ancestors.”
The so-called proofs for evolution based on homologies emphasize the idea of descent from common ancestors. Man is supposed to have descended directly from the animal kingdom by means of the same processes involving the same evolutionary factors which caused animals to evolve.
For this reason, the differences between man and beast are not regarded as fundamental, but as a difference in degree only. Man has only developed to a higher level.
Let's talk about Scientific Objections:
Even on the purely biological plane there is a wide, unbridgeable chasm between man and beast, as illustrated by the following four considerations:
The human brain possesses qualities that have no parallel in the animal world. One consequence is man’s explicit mental capabilities.
Man possesses the faculty of speech, and his creative communication by means of his vocal system is completely different from those of animals.
He has the unique ability to pay attention to various matters at will; he has an inconceivably wide range of interests and observation, because it is possible to consider spatially [spay·shuh·lee] and temporally [ tem·pr·uh·lee ] remote objects; he is able to make abstractions and to use his system of signs for meta-lingual purposes.
Only man is fully bipedal; he can walk upright because of the special structure of the spine. Thus, our hands are not required for locomotion and are available for other purposes. Only man is able to express emotions (such as joy, sadness, hope, laughter, shyness).
Some animals seem to have similar abilities, but they cannot be compared with human emotions.
Now,
Back to The Holy Bible: The Holy Bible, without question, clearly distinguishes between man and beast:
On the sixth day, Adam was created “in the image of God” and quite apart from the land animals through a clearly distinguished separate act of creation.
Man was made last of all the creatures: this was both an honor and a favor to him. Yet man was made the same day that the beasts were; his body was made of the same earth with theirs; and while he is in the body, he inhabits the same earth with them.
God forbid that by indulging the body, and the desires of it, we should make ourselves like the beasts that perish!
The Hebrew word bara (create) is used three times in Genesis 1:27 to emphasize this act of creation. Only man received the breath of God. In this way, he was given a spirit (Eccles. 12:7; 1 Thess. 5:23) so that he transcends the world of the animals.
Only when Adam was created, did God “use his hands”: “The Lord God formed [Hebrew yatsar] the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Gen. 2:7). In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word yatsar is used to describe the actions of a potter who skillfully and imaginatively forms his vessels. In the same way, God used earthly matter for Adam’s physical parts.
Only man can actually communicate with God. Only he possesses the gift of speech and of prayer by means of which he can express all his thoughts before his Creator. Man was created to be near and close to God. He is dependent on communion with God.
Only man has a free will and possesses the faculty of creative thought. According to Psalm 8:5, man was made “a little lower than the heavenly beings.” Human beings possess gifts such as freely developing personalities, inventiveness, and the capacity for cultural development (such as writing, music, historical awareness, so on and so forth).
Even the difference in flesh is mentioned in the Bible: “All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another” (1 Cor. 15:39). This finding has consequences for molecular biology: Proteins comprise the major part of the body. The human body contains approximately fifty thousand different kinds of proteins, each fulfilling its own specific functions. They have different amino acid sequences.
All organisms have certain amino acids in the same positions in the polypeptide [ paa·lee·pep·tide ] chain, and they serve to establish and preserve the characteristic functions of the specific protein.
In contrast to this precise positioning, there are other positions where the amino acids clearly differ from one kind to the other.
It is said only about man that he was not only created “by God,” but also “for Him” (Col. 1:16).
This high purpose is only ascribed to man. Animals are also creatures of God, but they did not receive the calling to become children of God (John 1:12).
In contrast to the animals, man is an eternal being; this means that his existence never ends, even after the death of the body (Luke 16:19–31). An imperishable body will be raised from the perishable one (1 Cor. 15:42). Man was to be a creature different from all that had been hitherto made.
Flesh and spirit, heaven and earth, must be put together in him. God said, "Let us make man."
Man, when he was made, was to glorify the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Into that great name we are baptized, for to that great name we owe our being. It is the soul of man that especially bears God's image.
Man was made upright. His understanding saw Divine things clearly and truly; there were no errors or mistakes in his knowledge; his will consented at once, and in all things, to the will of God.
His affections were all regular, and he had no bad appetites or passions. His thoughts were easily brought and fixed to the best subjects. Thus Holy, thus happy, were our first parents in having the image of God upon them.
May the Lord renew it upon our souls by his grace!
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Proverbs 3:5-6 KJVS
[5]Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
[6] In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
(5) This is among the more often-quoted verses of the entire Bible. Solomon offers sound advice for life. Human understanding is always subject to error. What appears to be the right choice may be the wrong choice.
But the Lord sees the big picture and He always knows what is best for us. The point here is not to be mindless or naïve.
Rather, we need to recognize our own limitations. Just because we're in over our heads does not mean God is no longer in control. The following verses add insights to this instruction (Proverbs 3:6–12).
Abraham could not see how everything would work out for the best when the Lord commanded him to slay his son Isaac on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22:1–2), but he trusted in the Lord with all his heart.
The Lord had promised Abraham that He would establish His covenant with Isaac and his descendants (Genesis 17:19), so Abraham believed that, if necessary, the Lord would raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:17–19).
At Mount Moriah, Abraham tied Isaac to an altar and raised a knife to plunge into Isaac's chest, when the Lord intervened and substituted a ram for Isaac (Genesis 22:9–14).
The Lord did not disappoint Abraham's wholehearted trust, nor will He disappoint us if we trust Him with all our heart.
Our understanding may need time to catch up with His will, but in the end we'll see how He is always working for good.
(6) If we want perfect direction in life, whether we are buying a house or looking for a spouse, choosing a vocation or planning a vacation, in all our ways we should acknowledge the Lord.
He will not only guide us in the right way but also remove obstacles from our path.
The apostle James admonishes us to consult the Lord's will when we need to plan our days (James 4:13–15).
This doesn't mean we'll get answers to every question we might ever have. A blunt figure of speech used in English points out that life is already hard, and it's only harder when one makes foolish choices.
Following God's plan and His will is a good way to avoid added struggle.We find a good example in Genesis 24 of a person who acknowledged the Lord and received perfect guidance.
He was Abraham's servant who was on a mission to find a suitable bride for Abraham's son Isaac.
The servant went to Nahor, a city in Mesopotamia, and rested his camels beside a spring of water when the women of the city approached to draw water.
He prayed to the Lord for success in finding the right woman for Isaac (Genesis 24:12–14). The Lord answered his prayer, and Rebekah would soon become Isaac's bride.
Abraham's servant praised the Lord for directing him to Rebekah. He said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master's kinsmen" (Genesis 24:27).
We will now get deep into today’s discussion:
Day Five—Animal Life Discussion
We do have a certain amount of development. This does not mean that everything came from one little cell but that God made one of each creature and there has been development from each one.
God commanded the fish and fowl to be produced.
How many types of fish are there?
Fish biologists have described more than 30,000 species of fish in the whole world.
What are the main types of fish?
Scientists group fish into three main types.
They are divided into these groups because of the structure of their mouths and the types of skeletons they have.
There are jawless fishes, cartilaginous (kaar · tuh · la · juh · nuhs) fishes, and bony fishes.
What are Popular Types of Fish?
Tuna
Salmon
Tilapia
Catfish
Cod
Alaskan Pollock
Trout
Bass
Anchovies
Halibut
Sardines
What are fowl?
Fowl are birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl and the waterfowl.
Anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close evolutionary relatives.
How many fowl are there?
This number is unknown, however, it has been said that there were some 25.8 billion chickens in the world.
What are Popular Types of fow you askl?
Chickens contribute 90 percent of world poultry meat production,
followed by turkeys with 5 percent,
ducks with 4 percent
and geese and guinea fowl with 2 percent.
The rest comes from other poultry species.
What are the main types of fowl?
“Fowl” is used to refer to waterfowl, such as ducks, swans, and geese;
game fowl, such as turkey or pheasant;
or domesticated barnyard birds like chickens.
In the food industry, “fowl” is often used to reference birds that are commonly eaten or the meat of these birds in a way that's synonymous with “poultry.”
creatures are a result of the command GOD himself executed. Insects, which are more numerous than the birds and beasts, and as curious, seem to have been part of this day's work as well.
The Creator's wisdom and power are to be admired as much in an ant as in an elephant.
The power of God's providence preserves all things, and fruitfulness is the effect of his blessing.
Genesis 6:8
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
And why did Noah find grace?
Lest one believe that Noah was spared because of his good works alone, God makes it clear that Noah was a man who believed in God as Creator, Sovereign, and the only Savior from sin.
He found grace for himself, because he humbled himself and sought it, he was obedient, as well.
Genesis 6:9
These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
This characterization of Noah creates a sharp contrast with the description of the world at large in Genesis 6:5.
Of course, Noah sinned like every other human being.
But clearly he did not participate in the general moral decay into which the society around him had fallen.
Noah was a follower of the Lord rather than idols.
But the language and context here distinguish him from other people more on the basis of his character than on the object of his worship.
While others are violent, abusive, and self-centered, Noah acts with justice toward others.
The word order is one of increasing spiritual quality before God.
Just, is to live by God’s righteous standards.
Perfect, sets him apart by a comparison with those of his day.
And that he walked with God, puts him in a class with Enoch.
Genesis 6:10
And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Noah’s three sons are significant for the role they will play in repopulating the earth after the great flood.
As survivors of the catastrophe, Shem, Ham, and Japheth will become the forefathers of all ethnic groups found in Genesis 10.
Presumably, they follow their father’s moral example and avoid the sins of the culture around them.
Genesis 6:11
The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
This verse summarizes the more detailed description of society in Genesis 6:4–7.
As seen earlier, God intends for humans to manage the earth and all living things responsibly by following His instructions.
While God had commanded Adam and Eve to produce new life, the darker human capacity to murder was introduced in the second generation of the human race.
The tendency now seems to be to take life rather than multiply it.
The seed of Satan, the fallen rejectors of God, deceitful and destructive, had dominated the world.
Genesis 6:12
And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
The breadth of the problem is stressed in that the phrase all flesh includes all descendants of Adam and Eve.
Everyone except Noah has become corrupt.
This implies many self-centered sins. Violent struggles for power, no regard for the common stewardship of the earth’s resources as God originally commanded, etc.
People have come to realize that control of the world at the expense of others can produce great material wealth.
That is, man had corrupted God’s way and was going his own way.
He had turned from the purpose for which God had created him.
Genesis 6:13
And 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.
By the time Noah comes on the scene, the situation has become so bad that God sees no other solution than to destroy what He has made.
Destroy did not mean annihilation, but rather referred to the Flood judgment, both of the earth and its inhabitants.
Theoretically, Genesis 6:7 could signal a return to the timelessness that existed before Genesis 1 after God destroys the universe and all humans with it.
Then He could start over. Or God could keep all the inanimate elements of creation intact, then bring new humans into existence.
But since Noah is an exception to the rule of wickedness, God decides to work with him and his family rather than starting from scratch.
God’s decision to reveal His plan to Noah further stresses the quality of Noah’s character.
To what extent Noah shares this dire warning with others outside his family is unknown.
Noah is characterized as “a preacher of righteousness” in 2 Peter 2:5, but it is unclear whether that means Noah actually speaks to his contemporaries about the coming judgment and the need to repent.
God is going to send the Flood, and I would like to mention here several reasons why.
Man had a promise of a Redeemer, and he was told that there was coming a Savior on the earth.
That is the thing man should have been looking for; instead of that, he turned from God.
These two boys, Cain and Abel, stand as the representatives of two great systems, two classes of people: the lost and the saved, the self-righteous and the broken-spirited, the formal professor and the genuine believer.
That is what was present in the human race at this time.
And then we find that the patriarchs were living so long that the lives of Adam and Methuselah bridged the entire gap from the creation to the Flood.
They certainly could have given a revelation to all mankind, which they did.
Then we are told in Jude 14 and 15 that Enoch preached, he prophesied, during that period.
We are also told that Noah preached during that period as he was building the ark.
When Enoch disappeared, that should have alerted the people to the intervention of God in human affairs.
They also knew about this man Methuselah and the meaning of his name; and when he died, they should have known the Flood was coming.
Finally, there was also the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
God said that His Spirit would not always strive with man.
The Spirit of God was striving with him, but, when man totally rejected God, the Flood came in judgment upon the earth.
The entire human family has turned from God “. . . There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10).
There are just a few, though, who do believe Him—Noah and his family.
Here is one man who walked with God; he believed God.
Here is a man who still trusted God—“by faith Noah.”
Here is a man who was willing to risk building a boat on dry land.
If the rains did not come, he certainly would be the laughingstock of the community.
I think he was just that for 120 years, but Noah believed God.
There is a striking comparison in the fact that the days of Noah are to be duplicated before the Lord comes again to the earth, not for the Rapture, but to establish His Kingdom.
But there are some remarkable parallels that have already taken place.
For instance, this chapter opened: “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them. . . .” There was this tremendous population increase, and by that time man had spread pretty much over the earth.
He was in North America, in Asia, in Europe, and in Africa.
He had spread in every direction.
Today we have a tremendous population explosion, and men again have increased upon the face of the earth.
Also, there is the fact that during the Great Tribulation period, the Holy Spirit will no longer restrain evil.
He will be there to convert men, but we are told very definitely that He will not be restraining evil on the earth.
God’s overtures to men will be despised and rejected, and certainly they are even today.
Isn’t it amazing that the only ones who are listened to by the world today are the liberal Protestant and Roman Catholic ministers?
You hear nothing from conservative men.
They have attempted to make some sort of inroad, and they are trying their best to get back in the mainstream, but we have come to the day when, if you are going to stand for God, you will find that you will not be able to talk before a television camera very often.
Instead, you must learn to protest, to march, and to deny Christ before you can expect a television interview!
Finally, the world in that day will be faced with the great problem of the Rapture—there will have been a great number of people who have mysteriously left the earth.
Also there were judgments in Noah’s day, and yet they did not heed them.
Genesis 6:1
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
Such long lifespans as indicated in the record of chapter 5 caused a massive increase in earth’s population.
This matter of “the sons of God” and “the daughters of men” is something that has caused no end of discussion.
There are a great many of good men who take the position that “the sons of God” were angels.
A number of teachers teach, that the sons of God were angels, and I recognize that a great many of the present-day expositors take that position.
Genesis 6:2
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
The sons of God, identified elsewhere almost exclusively as angels, saw and took wives of the human race.
This produced an unnatural union which violated the God-ordained order of human marriage and procreation as found in Gen. 2:24.
Some have argued that the sons of God were the sons of Seth who cohabited with the daughters of Cain; others suggest they were perhaps human kings wanting to build harems.
But the passage puts strong emphasis on the angelic versus human contrast.
The NT places this account in sequence with other Genesis events and identifies it as involving fallen angels who indwelt men.
Matthew 22:30 does not necessarily negate the possibility that angels are capable of procreation, but just that they do not marry.
However, to procreate physically, demons had to possess human, male bodies, making this an unnatural process.
This matter of “the sons of God” and “the daughters of men” is something that has caused no end of discussion.
There are a great many good men who take the position that “the sons of God” were angels.
I personally cannot accept that at all.
Most of my teachers taught that the sons of God were angels, and I recognize that a great many of the present-day expositors take that position.
However, if these were good angels, they would not commit this sin, and evil angels could never be designated as “sons of God.”
Also, the offspring here were men; they were not monstrosities.
I do not know why it is assumed by so many that the offspring were giants.
We will look at this more closely when we come to verse 4.
Genesis 6:3
And 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.
The Holy Spirit played a most active role in the OT.
The Spirit had been striving to call people to repentance and righteousness, especially as Scripture notes, through the preaching of Enoch and Noah.
One hundred and twenty years, is the span of time until the Flood, in which man was given opportunity to respond to the warning that God’s Spirit would not always be patient.
We believe that Noah preached for 120 years, and during that time the Spirit of God was striving with men.
Peter makes it very clear that it was back in the days of Noah that the Spirit of God was striving with men in order that He might bring them to God—but they would not turn.
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison” (1 Pet. 3:18–19).
These spirits were in prison when Peter wrote, but they were preached to in the days of Noah.
How do we know that?
Well, Verse 20 reads: “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”
When were they disobedient?
During the long—suffering of God in the days of Noah—during those 120 years.
Genesis 6:4
There 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.
The word Nephilim is from a root meaning “to fall,” indicating that they were strong men who “fell” on others in the sense of overpowering them.
They were already in the earth when the “mighty men” and “men of renown” were born.
The fallen ones are not the offspring from the union in verses 1 and 2.
It says, “There were giants in the earth in those days,” but it does not say they are the offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of men.
It does say this about the offspring: “the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”
These were not monstrosities; they were men.
The record here makes it very clear that the giants were in the earth before this took place, and it simply means that these offspring were outstanding individuals.
Humanity has a tremendous capacity.
Man is fearfully and wonderfully made—that is a great truth we have lost sight of.
This idea that man has come up from some protoplasm out of a garbage can or seaweed is utterly preposterous.
It is the belief of some scientists that evolution will be repudiated, and some folk are going to look ridiculous at that time.
Evolution is nothing in the world but a theory as far as science is concerned.
Nothing has been conclusive about it.
It is a philosophy like any other philosophy, and it can be accepted or rejected.
When it is accepted, it certainly leads to some very crazy solutions to the problems of the world, and it has gotten this country into trouble throughout the world.
Anyone would think that we are the white knight riding through the world straightening out wrongs.
We are wrong on the inside ourselves!
I do not know why in this country today we have an intelligentsia in our colleges, our government, our news media, and our military who think they are super, that somehow or another they have arrived.
It is the delusion of the hour that men think that they are greater than they really are. Man is suffering from a fall, an awful fall.
He is totally depraved today, and until that is taken into consideration, we are in trouble all the way along.
Then what do we have here in verse 4?
As I see it, Genesis is a book of genealogies—it is a book of the families.
The sons of God are the godly line who have come down from Adam through Seth, and the daughters of men belong to the line of Cain.
What you have here now is an intermingling and intermarriage of these two lines, until finally the entire line is totally corrupted (well, not totally; there is one exception).
That is the picture that is presented to us here.
I recognize, and I want to insist upon it, that many fine expositors take the opposite view that the sons of God are actually angels.
If you accept that view, you will be in good company, but I am sure that most of you want to be right and will want to go along with me.
Regardless of which view you take, I hope all of us will be friends, because this is merely a matter of interpretation.
It does not have anything to do with whether or not you believe the Bible but concerns only the interpretation of the facts of Scripture.
What was the condition on the earth before the Flood?
What caused God to bring the judgment of the Flood?
Genesis 6:5
And 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.
This is one of the strongest and clearest statements about man’s sinful nature.
Sin begins in the thought-life.
The people of Noah’s day were exceedingly wicked, from the inside out.
There are four words here that ought to be emphasized and which I have marked in my Bible.
“The wickedness of man was great.”
“Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil.” Only evil—that is all it was—and that “continually.”
These four words reveal the condition of the human family that was upon the earth.
Genesis 6:6
And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
Sin sorrowed God who is Holy and without blemish.
“And it repented the LORD.”
What repented the Lord?
The corruption of man repented the Lord. It looks as if God has changed His mind and intends to remove man from the earth.
He probably did just that with a former creation on the earth.
Although it grieved God because of man’s sin, thank God, He did not destroy him.
Genesis 6:7
And 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.
God promised total destruction when His patience ran out.
It does not mention fish because they are in the water, and He is simply going to send more water.
Genesis 5:27
And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
Methuselah lived longer than anyone has ever lived, 969 years; he apparently died just before Noah’s flood; despite his Godly father, there is no record that he lived for God.
Methuselah lived longer than Adam.
These two men, Adam and Methuselah, pretty well bridged the gap between creation and the Flood.
According to our genealogy, this man Methuselah could have told Noah everything from the creation of the world.
I personally feel that we have a gap in the genealogy given here.
We know that in the opening of the New Testament the genealogy that is given of the Lord Jesus leaves out quite a few, and purposely so, because there is an attempt to give it in three equal segments.
Certain ones are left out, but you will notice that it follows through accurately.
I am sure that this genealogy is accurate, but the important thing is that we may have a gap here that would account for the fact that man has been on this earth a great deal longer than we have supposed.
This is something I do not care to go into because it is quite an involved subject.
Scripture is not clear right here.
Why isn’t it?
Because God is not anxious to insist upon that.
What He is trying to get over to us is the religious, the redemptive, history of mankind on this earth.
The name of Methuselah means “sending forth.”
Others believe that Methuselah meant: “When he is dead, it shall be sent.”
What will be sent?
The Flood.
As long as Methuselah lived, the Flood could not come.
The very interesting thing is that according to a chronology of the genealogy of the patriarchs, the year that Methuselah died is the year that the Flood came.
“When he is dead, it shall be sent”—that is the meaning of his name.
Why did Methuselah live longer than any other person?
God kept him here just to let mankind know that He is patient and merciful.
God will also wait for you, my friend—all of your life.
Peter speaks of the long-suffering of our God: “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water” (1 Pet. 3:20).
As we continue down through the rest of this chapter, each man is mentioned and then his death.
Genesis 5:28
And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:
This simply means Lamech fathered a son, but not just any son.
Genesis 5:29
And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.
We are now introduced to Noah, one of the central figures of the Bible, and of all time. His name means “rest”.
It seems that Lamech, the father of Noah, had been given a Revelation concerning this child.
The comfort he brought, as it regards the curse, had to do with the Ark, and the One Who would ultimately come through his lineage, the Son of God, Who would remove the greater curse — the curse of the broken Law [Gal. 3:13].
Genesis 5:30
And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:
Lamech fathered more sons and daughters after he fathered Noah.
But none of the brothers and sisters of Noah believed the Word of the Lord, and thereby perished in the flood.
Genesis 5:31
And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.
Here we see Lamech died after seven hundred seventy seven years of life on earth.
Genesis 5:32
And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Due to the fact that every human being on the face of the Earth died in the flood, with the exception of Noah and his family, this means that every person who has ever lived since then is a descendant of either Shem, Ham, or Japheth, who are all sons of Noah.
It is the popular theory in the world, blindly accepted by men, and the conclusion, I think, of all philosophy, that human nature is inherently and innately good and that it can be improved.
The whole program that is abroad today is that, if we will just try to improve the environment of man and his heredity, he can really be improved.
Communism and socialism seek to improve man.
Arminianism means that man can assist in his salvation.
Modernism says that man can save himself.
In other words, salvation is sort of a do-it-yourself kit that God gives to you.
Some of the cults tell us that human nature is totally good and that there is no such thing as sin.
What does God say concerning man?
God says that man is totally evil, totally bad.
That is the condition of all of us.
“There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10).
That is the estimate of the Word of God.
If we will accept God’s Word for it, it will give us a truer conception of life today than is given to us by others.
Here is mankind, and we are following a godly line now.
Where is it going to lead?
Is it going to lead to a millennium here upon this earth?
No.
The very next chapter tells us that a Flood, a judgment from God, came upon the earth.
Genesis 5:21
And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
And then did Enoch die?
No! He did not die.
This is a dark chapter, but here is the bright spot in it.
Apparently, Enoch was 65 years of age when he was converted and entered into this Divine fellowship.
The name “Methuselah” means: “The Deluge (the flood) shall be sent when he is dead”
So, Methuselah was a living, walking testimony that judgment was coming upon the Earth because of its terrible wickedness.
However, only Noah and his family believed.
So the flood came a little less than a thousand years after Methuselah was born.
We read that Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begat Methuselah, and after that he walked with God.
I do not know what the first sixty-five years of his life were.
I assume that he was like the rest of the crowd—this was a very careless period, moving now into the orbit of the days of Noah.
But when that little boy Methuselah was born, Enoch’s walk was changed.
Perhaps, that baby turned him to God.
Genesis 5:22
And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
Three statements are made in the Bible respecting Enoch: “he walked with God” [Gen. 5:22]; “he witnessed for God” [Jude, Vs. 14]; “he pleased God” [Heb. 11:5].
Enoch did not live a life of isolation, but he did live a life of separation.
This is one of the most remarkable things, that in the midst of death one man is removed from this earth.
It is said of Enoch that he “walked with God.” This is quite remarkable, by the way.
Only two men are said to have walked with God.
In the next chapter, we find that Noah also walked with God.
These were two antediluvians, which means "before the flood" and they walked with God.
This is demanded of all Believers.
Genesis 5:23
And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
Converted at 65 years old, he faithfully lived for God some 300 years.
My fellow Christian Siblings, sometimes God puts a baby in a family just for that purpose, and if that baby will not bring you to God, nothing else will.
For three hundred years after that he walked with God, and he begat other children, sons and daughters.
“And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years”—that is how long he was on this earth, but he did not die.
Genesis 5:24
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
There are actually only two men in the Old Testament who did not die.
One of them is Enoch, and the other, of course, is Elijah.
Enoch was translated, and as Paul said, “that he should not see death” [Heb. 11:5]).
Enoch is one of the few before the Flood of whom we have any record at all.
We are told that he did not die but that God took him—he was translated.
What do we mean by translation?
Translation is the taking of a word from one language and putting it into another language without changing its meaning.
Enoch was removed from this earth; he was translated.
He had to get rid of the old body which he had.
He had to be a different individual—yet he had to be the same individual, just as the translated word has to be the same.
It does not say, “And then Enoch died,” but it says, “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”
Enoch was taken to heaven.
I think that all the great truths here in Genesis are relevant to a subject under consideration.
In my judgment, this is the picture of what is to come; here is the Rapture of the church.
Before the judgment of the Flood.
God removes Enoch.
Genesis 5:25
And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech:
Methuselah, Enoch's son, fathered Lamech at the age of a hundred eighty seven years of age.
Noah, Enoch's great grandson, will be born to Lamech.
Genesis 5:26
And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:
Methuselah fathered more sons and daughters seven hundred eighty two years after he fathered Lamech.
Genesis 5:1
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
Corresponds with the phrase, “The Book of the Generation of Jesus Christ,” Who was the Last Adam [Mat. 1:1].
The “Likeness of God” is the “Glory of God” [II Cor. 4:6].
Through the Fall, man lost that glory; however, at the First Resurrection of Life, every Believer will regain that glory [Rom. 8:17.
“The book of the generations of Adam.” This strange expression occurs again only in the beginning of the New Testament, and there it is “the book of the generation of Jesus Christ.”
There are these two books, as we are already seeing that there are two lines, two seeds, and they are against each other.
The struggle is going to be long between the line of Satan and the line of Christ, the accepted line.
The line which we are following now is the line through Seth, and it is through this line that Christ will ultimately come.
Genesis 5:2
Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
“And blessed them, and called their name Adam”—not the Adamses, but Adam.
He called their name Adam—Eve is the other half of him.
Refers to the fact that hedro-sexuality is the created human relationship by God.
The blessing was lost as a result of the Fall, but has been regained in Christ.
Adam, in the Hebrew, is the word for humankind in general beside the specific name for the first man.
Genesis 5:3
And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
When Adam was 130 years old, how old was he?
In other words, when God created Adam, did He create him thirty years old or fourteen or forty-five?
I do not know—anything would be speculation.
And if He created him that old, was he that old?
And of course God could create him any age. May I say, this answers a lot of questions about the age of the earth.
When someone says that certain rocks are billions of years old, they just do not know.
Maybe when God created them, He created them two or three billion years old.
The important thing here is that when Adam had been here 130 years, he begat a son in his own likeness.
Adam was made in the likeness of God, but his son was born in his likeness.
God originally intended for mankind to procreate “sons and daughters of God” into the world; due to the Fall, sons and daughters could be brought into the world only in the likeness of their original parent, Adam, a product of his fallen nature; it is called “original sin".
means that Adam no longer had the Image of God; the “likeness” and “image” are now after Satan [Jn. 8:44].
Even though Seth was not the Promised One, still, he represented a ray of hope; through him, rather his line, the Promised One would come.
Genesis 5:4
And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
The intimation is, Adam was able to father children, and Eve to conceive, for some 800 years.
Exactly how many children they brought into the world we aren’t told.
But it had to be many.
Genesis 5:5
And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
The family history of this, the Heavenly Race, is marked by death; no matter how long a member of the family lived, yet three words attend the name: “and he died”.
Now we start through the graveyard.
Adam begat sons and daughters, “and all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years”—and what happened?
“And he died.”
Genesis 5:6
And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:
Seth fathered a son by the name of Enos at the age of an hundred and five years.
Genesis 5:7
And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:
Seth fathered more sons and daughters eight hundred and seven years after Enos.
Genesis 5:8
And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
Here we see Seth died after nine hundred and twelve years of life on earth.
Remember, he had a son by the name of Enos.
Genesis 5:9
And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:
We see here Enos fathered a son named Cainan at the age of 90.
Genesis 5:10
And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:
Enos fathered more sons and daughters eight hundred and fifteen years after he fathered Cainan.
Genesis 5:11
And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
Here we see Enos died after nine hundred and five years of life on earth.
Genesis 5:12
And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:
Cainan fathered a son by the name of Mahalaleel at the age of seventy years of life on earth.
Genesis 5:13
And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:
Cainan fathered more sons and daughters after Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years later.
Genesis 5:14
And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
Here we see Cainan died after nine hundred and ten years of life on earth.
Genesis 5:15
And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:
Mahalaleel fathered Jared at the age of sixty and five years of life on earth.
Genesis 5:16
And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:
Mahalaleel fathered more sons and daughters eight hundred and thirty years after he fathered Jared.
Genesis 5:17
And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.
Here we see Mahalaleel died after eight hundred ninety and five years of life on earth.
Genesis 5:18
And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:
Jared fathered Enoch at the age of a hundred sixty two years of life on earth.
Enoch and Abel are the only two men from creation to the flood, with the exception of Noah, listed who lived for God.
There may have been others, but the Bible doesn’t say.
Genesis 5:19
And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
Jared fathered more sons and daughters eight hundred years after he fathered Enoch.
Genesis 5:20
And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
Here we see Jared died after nine hundred sixty two years of life on earth.
Genesis 4:25
And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
After dealing with Cain’s line in the beginnings of corruption of violence, Moses goes back some years to the birth of “Seth;” the Holy Spirit will single out “Seth,” because he was in the lineage of Christ; the name “Seth” means “appointed substitute”.
When “Cain” was born, Eve said, “I have gotten a man from the LORD,” indicating that she believed in the Covenant of Genesis 3:15.
Now she uses the term “God,” in effect stating that she has lost faith in the Covenant.
As stated, this “seed” would be the one through whom Christ would come, but because of faithlessness, Eve did not know or believe this.
Genesis 4:26
And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
The name “Enos” means “sickly, mortal, decaying man;” the awful results of the Fall are now beginning to sink in.
This probably refers to contempt; quite possibly the family of Cain, knowing that Seth had now taken the place of Abel, as it regards the “firstborn” or “appointed one,” contemptuously refers to them as the “God people,” or the “Lord people”.
Apparently this was the beginning of men calling upon the name of the Lord.
Genesis 4:16
And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
Those in rebellion against God do not at all desire His Presence, and for all the obvious reasons.
“Nod” means “wandering;” the majority of the human race “wander,” because they don’t know God and, therefore, have no peace.
I know a lot of folk who dwell in “the land of nod” when they are in church, but frankly, I do not know where the land of Nod really is.
But we are told that Cain went out and dwelt in that area.
Genesis 4:17
And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
"knew his wife" is the Biblical terminology for conception.
"builded a city" actually means “was building” or “began to build;” the idea is, it was not finished; and so it has been, and is, with the human race; nothing is ever quite finished with the unredeemed, simply because what is built doesn’t satisfy.
This carries the idea, due to the meaning of the name Enoch, that this city would be a place of education and learning — but it was education and learning without God.
Men have been doing this ever since. They like to call streets and cities by their own names or by names of loved ones.
Even in Christian work you have schools named for individuals.
Men love to do that, whether they are Christian or whether they are after the order of Cain.
But here is where urban life, city life, began: “and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.”
Cities have become one of the biggest problems that man has today.
The cities, they say, are dying, and yet people all over the world are flocking to the cities.
Genesis 4:18
And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
This means fathered.
All of this was three hundred or more years after the creation of Adam and Eve.
Genesis 4:19
And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
The first instance of polygamy recorded in the Bible. Here is the beginning of polygamy—having more than one wife.
Lamech now does that which is contrary to what God intends, contrary to what God has for man.
You will never find anywhere in the Scriptures that God approves of polygamy.
If you read the accounts accurately, you will find that He condemns it.
He gives the record of it because He is giving a historical record, and that is the basis on which it is given to us here.
“Adah” means pleasure or adornment. She was the first one to make it to the beauty parlor, I guess.
“Zillah” means to hide; I suppose that means she was a a woman who flirts.
My fellow Christian Siblings, what two girls he had for wives!
No wonder he had problems.
Later on we will see what happened. Here now is the beginning of civilization, the Cainitic civilization.
Genesis 4:20
And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.
She gave birth to Jabal.
The apostle Paul was a tent maker later on, but here is the first housing contractor.
This is the very first rancher.
Genesis 4:21
And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
Here is the beginning of the musicians.
When we hear some of the modern music today, I am sure there are many who would agree that it must have begun with Cain’s civilization!
It seems that Jubal was the originator of musical instruments; man’s ear is now filled with other sounds than those which issue from Calvary, and his eye is filled with other objects than a Crucified Christ.
Genesis 4:22
And Zillah, she also bare Tubal–cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal–cain was Naamah.
Tubal-cain was the first one to begin to work with metals; the name of “Cain” was probably added to show that these were “Cainites;” “Naamah” means “beautiful”.
Here we see the ones who are craftsmen.
Genesis 4:23
And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
We do not know whether he did or not, but he says that he slew in self-defense.
And We do not know whether or not his two wives entered into this, or whether or not he was defending one of them.
We are not told how it happened.
Genesis 4:24
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
Lamech says, “If Cain got by with it, I can get by with it. After all, Cain did not slay in self-defense, but I have.”
This is the first recorded poem in human history.
Like so much poetry ever since, it glorifies immorality and murder, and denies coming wrath.
Man has attempted to deny judgment ever since; nevertheless, judgment one day is coming [Rev. 20:11-15].
Genesis 4:1
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
Our lesson text now jumps past the account of the fall in Genesis 3 to the conception and birth of Cain.
The majority of interpreters see all the events of Genesis 4 as occurring after Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden (3:23, 24).
Against this understanding, however, is a proposal that the construction in the original language has the author backtracking (at least briefly) to events that occur prior to the expulsion.
This theory means that Eve’s future punishment noted in Genesis 3:16 connects with childbearing already experienced.
Whether what is recorded in the verse before us happens before or after the fall may affect interpretation.
If the birth of Cain takes place before the fall, then Eve’s words I have gotten a man from the Lord are seen as giving the Lord credit.
If the birth of Cain takes place after the fall into sin, however, Eve’s words are understood by some to be a boast in that she is claiming to have created a man just as the Lord did.
This reveals the fact that Adam and Eve certainly did not anticipate that the struggle was going to be long.
When Cain was born, Eve must have said, “I have gotten the man from the Lord. God said that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent—and here he is!”
But Cain was not the one. He was a murderer, he was no savior at all. It will be a long time before the Savior comes.
For a minimum of six thousand years—and I think it has been longer than that—the struggle has been going on between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.
In either case, we see underway the God-ordained imperative to multiply.
The sexual function between husband and wife is God-ordained.
Sexual expression neither resulted in nor resulted from the fall into sin by Adam and Eve.
The name Cain occurs 20 times in 17 verses in the KJV, and all but one of these (Joshua 15:57) refers to the individual in the verse before us.
Three of the occurrences are in the New Testament (Hebrews 11:4; 1 John 3:12; Jude 11).
Genesis 4:2.
And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
These are the two boys that we are looking at.
The designation Abel occurs 16 times in 13 verses in the KJV, although some refer to a stone (1 Samuel 6:18) or a city (2 Samuel 20:14, 15, 18).
Four of the references to Abel the man are in the New Testament (Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:51; Hebrews 11:4; 12:24).
To be either a keeper of sheep or a tiller of the ground is a common occupation in antiquity.
Genesis 4:3
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
The phrase used here refers to a long indefinite period.
This was probably the first offering that he brought, even though the Lord had explained to the First Family the necessity of the Sacrificial System, that is, if they were to have any type of communion with God and forgiveness of sins.
There is evidence that Adam, at least for a while, offered up sacrifices.
“In process of time” actually means “at the end of days,” which would mean on the Sabbath Day, on the day that God had rested.
“Cain brought”—the idea of “brought” means to an appointed place.
They are bringing an offering to God to an appointed place to worship.
All this would indicate that they are doing it by revelation.
I know that they are, for when we turn to Hebrews 11:4, we read: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”
How could Abel offer it “by faith”?
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17).
God had to have given His Word about this, or this boy Abel could never have come by faith, and that is the way he came.
The other boy did not come that way. “Cain brought of the fruit of the ground.” There is nothing wrong with the fruit.
Don’t think that he brought the leftovers—his attitude is not that of giving old clothes to the mission.
I think that the fruit he brought would have won the blue ribbon in any county or state fair in the country.
He brought the best of his beautiful, delicious fruit. and he brought it as an offering to the Lord.
Cain knew the type of Sacrifice that the Lord would accept, but he rebelled against that admonition, demanding that God accept the labor of his hands, which, in fact, God could not accept.
So we have, in the persons of Cain and Abel, the first examples of a religious man of the world and a genuine man of Faith.
Genesis 4:4
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
This is what God demanded; it was a blood sacrifice of an innocent victim, a lamb, which proclaimed the fact that Abel recognized his need of a Redeemer, and that One was coming Who would redeem lost humanity.
The Offering of Abel was a Type of Christ and the price that He would pay on the Cross of Calvary in order for man to be redeemed.
As stated, this was a Type of Christ and the Cross, the only Offering which God will respect.
Abel’s Altar is beautiful to God’s Eye and repulsive to man’s.
Cain’s altar is beautiful to man’s eye and repulsive to God’s.
These “altars” exist today; around the one that is Christ and His atoning work, few are gathered, around the other, many.
God accepts the slain lamb and rejects the offered fruit; and the offering being rejected, so of necessity is the offeror.
Genesis 4:5
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Someone may say, “I don’t see anything wrong in the thing Cain did.”
In the eleventh verse of his epistle, speaking of apostates in the last days, Jude says, “. . . They have gone in the way of Cain . . .”
What is the way of Cain?
When Cain brought an offering to God, he did not come by faith—he came on his own.
And the offering that he brought denied that human nature is evil.
God said, “Bring that little blood sacrifice which will point to the Redeemer who is coming into the world. Come on that basis, and don’t come by bringing the works of your own hands.”
Cain’s offering also denied that man was separated from God.
He acted like everything was all right.
This is what liberalism does today in talking about the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man.
My Christian Siblings, things are not all right with us today.
We are not born children of God.
We have to be born again to become children of God.
Man is separated from God.
Cain refused to recognize that, and multitudes today refuse to do so as well.
The third thing that Cain’s offering denied was that man cannot offer works to God—Cain felt he could.
Scripture says: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).
The difference between Cain and Abel was not a character difference at all, but the difference was in the offerings which they brought.
These two boys had the same background.
They had the same heredity.
They had the same environment.
There was not that much difference between them.
Don’t tell me that Cain got his bad disposition from an alcoholic grandfather on his father’s side—he didn’t have a grandfather.
And don’t say that Abel got his good disposition from a very fine grandmother on his mother’s side.
They just didn’t have grandparents.
They had the same heredity and the same environment.
The difference was in the offerings.
That offering makes a difference in men today.
No Christian takes the position that they are better than anyone else.
The thing that makes them a Christian is that they recognize that they are sinners like everyone else and that they need an offering, they need a sacrifice, and they need Someone to take their place and to die for them.
Paul says of Christ: “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood . . .” (Rom. 3:25).
Therefore Paul could further write: “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Rom. 10:3).
That is the picture of multitudes of people today.
They are attempting through religion, through joining a church and doing something, to make themselves acceptable to God.
God’s righteousness can only come to you—because it must be a perfect righteousness—through Christ’s providing it for you.
“Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Rom. 4:25).
That is, He was raised for our righteousness.
He was the One who took our place.
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21).
Paul says in Philippians 3:8–9, “. . . That I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ. . . .”
The righteousness of Cain was his own righteousness.
The righteousness of Abel was faith in a sacrifice that looked forward to Christ’s sacrifice.
We have seen that Cain and Abel had come together to worship God.
These two boys were identical.
They were the sons of Adam and Eve.
However, there is a great divergence between Cain and Abel which is not necessarily a character divergence.
One was accepted because of the sacrifice which he brought by faith; the other, Cain, b...
Genesis 3:14
And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
Since the serpent has been the instrument of deception, God addresses him first in judgment.
God’s pronouncement of a curse on the serpent above all cattle, and above every beast of the field seems to say that all other creatures will suffer negative effects as a result of sin’s entrance into the world (see Romans 8: 22 , 23 ), but the serpent will be punished more severely than they.
Some suggest that the words upon thy belly shalt thou go imply that the serpent stands upright prior to this curse.
But this phrase may mean that the serpent’s crawling will now carry with it a meaning of contempt that was not present previously.
The idea of eating dust likely signifies humiliation or shame, which it does elsewhere in Scripture (see Psalm 72: 9 ; Isaiah 49: 23 ; Micah 7: 17 ).
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
“And I will put enmity between thee [that is, Satan] and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it [that is, Christ] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel,” This is a tremendous statement that is given to us here.
The most prominent thought is not the ultimate victory that would come, but the long-continued struggle.
This verse reveals the fact that now there is to be a long struggle between good and evil.
This is exactly what you will find in the rest of the Scriptures.
The Lord Jesus made this statement in His day concerning this struggle: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).
“The devil” is Satan. The Lord Jesus Christ made the distinction between children of God and children of Satan.
John again mentions this conflict in 1 John 3:10: “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”
Thus we have brought before us the fact that here is a conflict, here is a struggle, and here are two seeds in the world.
There will be the final victory—but the long—continued struggle is important to note.
Every man must face temptation and must win his battle.
Before Christ came, the victory was through obedience in faith.
After Christ came, we are to identify ourselves with Christ through faith.
What does it mean to be saved?
It means to be in Christ.
Man was one of three orders of creation: angels, man, and animals.
Animals were given no choice, but man and angels were given a choice.
Here you have, if you please, man’s choice.
He has made a decision, and he is held responsible for the decision that he has made.
Notice that it says “her seed.” It does not say the man’s seed. Here is at least the suggestion of the virgin birth of Christ.
When God went into that garden looking for man, He said, “Where art thou?”
Any anthology of religion tells the story of man’s search for God.
My Christian Siblings, that is not the way God tells it.
Let’s tell it like it is: Salvation is God’s search for man. Man ran away from Him, and God called to him, “Where art thou?”
God seeks out man, and He offers man salvation, but there is going to be a long struggle that will take place.
The enmity, or hostility, mentioned here is reflected to some extent in the aversion most people have to snakes.
But the language of this verse, especially toward the end, points to a deeper spiritual hostility that understands the seed of the serpent to be linked with Satan and all who carry out his evil intentions (compare John 8: 44 ).
Satan’s continuing desire is to ruin lives by deceit (just as he ruined Eve’s ), thereby thwarting God’s righteous purposes toward those created in His image (compare Revelation 12: 9).
In time, however, one seed (descendant) of the woman fulfills God’s purpose by dealing Satan a death blow. This is pictured here as striking the enemy’s head.
Jesus does this by means of His death on the cross (Hebrews 2: 14 , 15 ; compare 1 John 3: 8).
That Satan is to bruise his heel indicates that Satan inflicts a measure of suffering on the Son of God, but this in no way causes the kind of damage that Jesus inflicts on Satan.
Genesis 3:16
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
This is the judgment upon woman. She cannot bring a child into the world without sorrow.
Isn’t it interesting that that should be true?
The very thing that brings joy into the life and continues the human family has to come through sorrow.
God turns His attention to the woman.
Childbearing was to occur as a part of God’s plan prior to the fall ( Genesis 1: 28), but now the process of multiplying through childbearing will be accompanied by a multiplying of sorrow, referring primarily to the pain involved in giving birth.
Some suggest that a part of this sorrow includes the understanding that any child will enter a world greatly tainted by sin.
Who can foresee what aspects of the curse of sin lie ahead for a newborn baby as he or she matures?
Despite a parent’s best intentions, a child will experience the sorrows of life in a fallen world— and for some that sorrow will be especially tragic.
Another consequence for the woman is stated, one that affects the relationship between husband and wife: and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
This has been interpreted in various ways.
One idea is that it means she will still desire her husband in spite of the pain of childbirth, and that he will use that to dominate her in the relationship.
It seems better, however, to view this statement as a description of the tension, in the sense of a power struggle, that will characterize the relationship between a husband and a wife as a result of the fall.
The harmony and unity that was so eloquently expressed by Adam when the Lord brought the woman to him ( Genesis 2: 23 ) will now be a struggle to maintain.
No man should interpret the language of this verse as a license to mistreat his wife.
He must honor God in the way he treats his spouse, a principle discussed by Paul, who uses Christ’s love for the church as a model ( Ephesians 5: 25 ).
Genesis 3:17
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee , saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.
Now addressing the man, God makes Adam’s blame clear: he hast hearkened unto the voice of [his] wife rather than to God’s voice.
Then the man’s punishment is pronounced: cursed is the ground for thy sake.
Like the woman, the man will experience his own version of sorrow; it will come in his efforts to bring forth food from the ground.
God had placed the man in the Garden of Eden “to dress it and to keep it” ( Genesis 2: 15 ).
This task was intended to be a source of satisfaction as the man worked in harmony with his Creator.
Now, however, such work will be much more of a drudgery or toil.
Thus the important tasks given for the man and the woman will still be done: children will to be born and crops will be harvested.
But the struggle to carry out these duties will always be a reminder of the high price of disobeying God.
Genesis 3:18
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Thorns and thistles were not originally in the creation of God, this being a result of the curse, which is a result of the sin of man.
This would not now grow freely, as originally intended, but only now with great care and great labor.
Genesis 3:19
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
This is the judgment upon man. Death now comes to man.
What is death?
Physical death is a separation of the person, the spirit, the soul, from the body.
Ecclesiastes says: “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Eccl. 12:7).
Man ultimately must answer to God.
Whether he is saved or lost, he is going to have to answer to God.
But Adam did not die physically the day that he ate. He did not die until more than nine hundred years later.
The whole point is simply this: he died spiritually the moment he disobeyed; he was separated from God.
Death is separation.
When Paul wrote to the Ephesians that they were “dead in trespasses and sins,” he did not mean that they were dead physically but that they were dead spiritually, separated from God.
In that wonderful parable of the prodigal son, our Lord told about this boy who ran away from his father. When he returned, the father said to the elder son, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found . . .” (Luke 15:24).
Dead?
Yes, he was dead, not physically, but he was separated from the father.
To be separated from the Father means simply that—it means death.
The Lord Jesus said to Martha, “. . . I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (John 11:25).
Again, “dead” means death spiritually, that is...
Genesis 3:6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
You will find that this is the exact temptation that Satan brought to the Lord Jesus in the wilderness (see Matt. 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4).
First of all, he said to our Lord, “Make these stones into bread”—this was the appeal to the flesh, as the tree was good for food.
Then Satan showed the Lord the kingdoms of the world and offered them to Him—that was an appeal to the mind, as the tree was pleasant to the eyes.
Then finally he said, “Cast Yourself down from the temple”—this was an appeal to the religious side of man, as the tree was to be desired to make one wise.
I do not think that the Devil has changed his tactics today.
He uses the same tactics with you and me, and the reason that he still uses them is that they work.
He hasn’t needed to change his tactics, for we all seem to fall for the same line.
John wrote: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16).
“The lust of the flesh”—that is, the tree was good to eat.
“The lust of the eyes”—the tree was good to look at.
“The pride of life”—the tree was to be desired to make one wise.
These things are not of the Father, but of the world.
Jesus said that these sins of the flesh come out of the heart of man, way down deep.
This is where Satan is making his appeal.
This is the method that he is using in order that he might reach in and lead mankind astray.
And he succeeded.
They were told that they would know good and evil—and what happened?
We now have the results of the fall of man.
This presents the lust of the eyes.
This presents the lust of the flesh.
This exemplifies the pride of life.
This constitutes the Fall of humanity.
This refers to the fact that evidently Adam was an observer to all these proceedings;
Some claim that he ate of the forbidden fruit which she offered him out of love for her; however, no one ever sins out of love;
Eve submitted to the temptation out of deception, but “Adam was not deceived” [I Tim. 2:14]; he fell because of unbelief; he simply didn’t believe what God had said about the situation;
Contrast Verse 6 with Luke 4:1-13; both present the three temptations, “the lust of the flesh,” “the lust of the eyes,” and “the pride of life”; the first man falls, the Second Man conquers.
Genesis 3:7
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
“And the eyes of them both were opened”—this refers to their conscience.
Before the fall, man did not have a conscience; he was innocent.
Innocence is ignorance of evil.
Man did not make conscience.
It is an accuser that each one of us has living on the inside of us.
“And they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” Have you ever noticed that the fig tree is the only tree that is specifically mentioned?
(The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not an apple tree. I do not know what it was, but I am almost sure it was not an apple tree.)
These fig leaves concealed but did not really cover.
Adam and Eve did not confess; they just attempted to cover up their sin.
They were not ready to admit their lost condition.
This is the same condition of man today in religion.
He goes through exercises and rituals, he joins churches, and he becomes very religious.
Have you ever noticed that Christ cursed the fig tree?
That is quite interesting.
And He denounced religion right after that, by the way; He denounced it with all His being because religion merely covers over sin.
In this temptation Satan wanted to come between man’s soul and God.
In other words, he wanted to wean man from God, to win man over to himself, and to become the god of man.
The temptations of the flesh would not have appealed to man in that day, anyway.
He was not tempted to steal or lie or covet.
He was just tempted to doubt God.
What was the trouble with the rich young ruler?
He did not believe God.
In the parable of the tares, the tares are those who would not believe God.
Notice Satan’s method.
First, Eve saw that the tree was good for food; second, it was pleasant to the eye; and third, it was to be desired to make one wise.
Satan works from the outside to the inside, from without to within.
On the other hand, God begins with man’s heart.
Religion is something that you rub on the outside, but God does not begin with religion.
May I make a distinction here: Christianity is not a religion; Christianity is Christ.
There are a lot of religions, but the Lord Jesus went right to the fountainhead when He said, “Ye must be born again.”
He said to the Pharisees who were very religious on the outside, “Make the inside of the platter clean.
You are just like a mausoleum, beautiful on the outside with marble and flowers, but inside full of dead men’s bones.” What a picture!
And Adam and Eve, instead of confessing their sin, sewed fig leaves together as a covering.
May I say to you, there is really no new style in fig leaves.
Men are still going to church and going through religious exercises and good works instead of confessing the sin of their hearts.
This refers to the consciousness of guilt as a result of their sin.
This refers to the fact that they had lost the covering light of purity, which previously had clothed their bodies.
Now, the sinners clothe themselves with morality, sacraments, and religious ceremonies; they are as worthless as Adam’s apron of fig leaves.
Genesis 3:8
And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
It may seem odd that God is described as walking in the garden, since “God is a spirit” (John 4: 24).
The language is most likely a way of portraying the closeness that has characterized the relationship between God and the two humans to this point.
One may assume that Adam and Eve’s “walk” up to now has pleased God, and they have welcomed the opportunity to walk with Him whenever He comes into the garden. That situation is about to change.
Adam and his wife no longer welcome the sound of God’s approach.
The trees of the garden that have been given to them for their pleasure and enjoyment ( Genesis 2: 16 ) are now used as a shield to hide behind.
The two are trying to avoid having to face the Lord.
Genesis 3:9
And the LORD God called unto Adam , and said unto him, Where art thou?
God already knows where Adam is, of course. God asks Where art thou? because Adam needs to know that God desires a word with him.
Religion will separate you from God—and Adam is lost.
Adam is lost, and it is God seeking him and not man seeking God.
Genesis 3:10
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Adam’s admission of being afraid signals the end of the closeness that has characterized the relationship that he and Eve have enjoyed between themselves and God to this point.
The nakedness that had produced no shame previously ( Genesis 2: 25 ) is now a source of shame.
Adam is not fully naked at this point since both he and Eve have clothed themselves as found in verse 7.
But even though Adam has covered his physical nakedness, he senses that he has not covered it enough to be comfortable in the presence of God.
It is tragically, painfully clear at this point that the serpent has lied.
Yes, the eyes of the two humans are open as the serpent had promised ( Genesis 3: 5 , 7 ); but “knowing good and evil” (v. 5 ) is not the pleasurable experience that the serpent had led them to believe it would be.
Adam “knows” he is guilty of the evil of breaking God’s commandment; he “knows” he can no longer be close with God.
It would have been far better for him simply to have trusted and obeyed God than to possess the bitter knowledge that he has acquired through disobedience.
Genesis 3:11
And he said , Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Again, it is not information that God seeks as He questions Adam. Rather, the questions are designed to get Adam to realize something.
The second of the Lord’s questions goes straight to the heart of the matter: has Adam disobeyed the clear command given him by his Creator?....
Instead of saying, “Ye shall not surely die,” what he said in effect was, “Ye certainly shall not die. Why, that is just absolutely impossible!”
He questions the love of God and the goodness of God: “If God is good, why did He put this restriction down?”
The serpent implies that God is not righteous when he says, “You will not die.”
And he questions the Holiness of God by saying, “You’re going to be gods yourselves, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
The thing that Eve did was to add to the Word of God.
The liberal and the atheist take from the Word of God, and God has warned against that.
The cults (and some fundamentalists, by the way) add to the Word of God, and God warns against that.
There are those who say that today we are saved by law.
They argue, “Yes, it is by faith, but it is faith plus something else”—and they are apt to come up with anything.
The Word of God says: “Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:29).
How important this is!
The serpent very subtly contradicts God, and he substitutes his word for God’s word.
The Book of Romans teaches the fact of the obedience of faith.
Faith leads to obedience, and unbelief leads to disobedience.
Doubt leads to disobedience—always.
It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.
Our scripture will be coming from:
Genesis 3:4-5 KJV
[4] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
[5] For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Now it is time for our verse break down:
Genesis 3:4
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Ye shall not surely die — He proceeded, not only to assure her of perfect impunity, but to promise great benefits from partaking of it.
Proclaims an outright denial of the Word of God; as God had preached to Adam, Satan now preaches to Eve; Jesus called Satan a liar, which probably refers to this very moment [Jn. 8:44].
The first part of the book of Genesis is general history (also called primeval history).
As Moses introduced new people or nations throughout this section, the emphasis very quickly moved to the person or entity that he intended to feature at that point.
For example, the accounts of the first sin and the first murder are set forth in Genesis 3 and 4.
Genesis 3:5
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
your eyes shall be opened — His words meant more than met the ear. This caused Eve to be inquisitive.
In one sense her eyes were opened; for she acquired a direful experience of “good and evil” - of the happiness of a holy, and the misery of a sinful, condition.
But he studiously concealed this result from Eve, who, fired with a generous desire for knowledge, thought only of rising to the rank and privileges of her angelic visitants.
This suggests the attainment of higher wisdom.
This, in effect says, “You shall be Elohim.” It was a promise of Divinity.
God is Omniscient, meaning that His knowledge of evil is thorough, but not by personal experience.
By His very Nature, He is totally separate from all that is evil.
The knowledge of evil that Adam and Eve would learn would be by moral degradation, which would bring wreckage.
While it was proper to desire to be like God, it is proper only if done in the right way, and that is through Faith in Christ and what He has done for us at the Cross.
Apparently, this vast universe we live in had been here for billions of years, but something happened to the earth and to a great deal of the creation.
As a result, God moved in, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the deep, and there was brought cosmos out of chaos.
It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.
Our scripture will be coming from:
Genesis 2:4-6 KJV
[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,
[5] And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, 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.
[6] But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
Now it is time for our verse break down:
Genesis 2:4
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.
“generations” here refer to “Divine divisions;” it refers to the manner in which all were created, as outlined in Chapter 1.
This presents the new name of God as “Jehovah Elohim”; this Chapter reveals Christ as Jehovah Elohim, man’s Redeemer; the First Chapter reveals Him as Elohim, man’s Creator.
We come to what many characterize as a second account of the creation of man.
This section, however, is better thought of as a more detailed account of what Genesis 1 described in the format of panorama.
The phrase these are the generations is a formulaic section-header.
This introductory statement carries the sense of “This is what happened concerning . . .”
A feature of the Bible, first occurring in the verse before us, is the use of the divine name Yahweh; this is traditionally rendered, in small capitals, as LORD in our English Bibles.
Previously, God has been called only by the Hebrew name Elohim, a title conveying His transcendence and power.
The name Yahweh, on the other hand, emphasizes His eternal existence and covenantal presence with His people.
The combined name— seen three times in Genesis 2: 4– 7 and dozens of times elsewhere as “LORD God”— is thus particularly powerful.
This scripture refers to the history or account of the generations of the heavens and of the earth.
Where did Moses obtain this account so different from the puerile and absurd fictions of the heathen?
Not from any human source, for man was not in existence to witness it; not from the light of nature or reason, for though they proclaim the eternal power and Godhead by the things which are made, they cannot tell how they were made.
None but the Creator Himself could give this information, and therefore it is through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God (Hebrews 11:3).
Genesis 2:5
And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, 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.
The second day of creation is addressed here, which obviously preceded day three, when plant life was developed.
It seems that rain came to the Earth on day three, which caused the Earth to “bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind.
All of this was before man was created, showing that he had nothing to do with the creation, that being altogether of God.
The language here suggests that the writer is not looking back to the creation of vegetation in Genesis 1, but rather is previewing the cultivation that will occur in the Garden of Eden and after the fall.
Two features lend support for this view.
First, the phrase herb of the field appears again in Genesis 3:18 to designate what humanity will eat after the fall.
Second, whereas the rain anticipated in verse 5 will be a blessing, it is an instrument of judgment in Noah’s day (7:4).
These verses thus may set the stage for the more detailed account of man’s creation that follows, which complements the general description in 1:26, 27.
Genesis 2:6
But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
This pertains to day two of Creation; at that time, day two, there went up a mist from the Earth, which prepared the Earth for the seed which God evidently planted on the beginning of day three, and which rain on day three then brought forth.
The exact nature of the mist that rises from the earth is unclear.
The underlying Hebrew word occurs in the Old Testament only here and in Job 36:27, there translated “vapour.”
Taken together, the idea may be that of evaporated water that condenses to a liquid state to water the whole face of the ground.
Perhaps the water mixed with dust provides clay the Lord God uses to create man.
All right get those phone lines buzzing by the mighty dozens and let us know what you think of today's episode.
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To GOD Goes The Glory
The Glory
Glory👃🏾
Creation, before the intrusion of human sin in Genesis 3, fully reflected GOD's intent.
Humanity now awaits the new heaven and new earth, to appear when GOD's redemptive purposes, initiated in the work of Christ, are consummated
GOD did not create the Sun, Moon, and stars at this time.
They were already up there.
GOD just brought them around into position.
We are set as lights in this world to serve GOD.
Do we in like manner answer the end of our creation?
We do not, our light does not shine before GOD, as His lights shine before us.
GOD is The Supreme Being, The Creator and Ruler of all that is, The Self Existent One who is perfect in Power, Goodness and Wisdom.
GOD is One, however He exsists as three persons. GOD The Father, GOD The Son, GOD The Holy Spirit.
GOD is Just, Loving, Truthful, Holy, Mercy, Grace, GOD judges sin, GOD also offers forgiveness.
GOD’s Shield And Reward Revelation – Abram Encouraged By GOD
We come to one of the high points of the Bible here in chapter 15. Genesis 15 consists entirely of an extended encounter between the Lord and Abram, the man who will later be renamed Abraham.
This concludes with the formal establishment of God’s covenant promise to Abram: to give him and his descendants the land of Canaan. The chapter begins with the “word of the Lord” coming to Abram in a vision. This arrives with reassurance to Abram about God’s continued commitment to him: Don’t be afraid. I am your shield. Your reward will be great.
Abram, though, takes the opportunity of this visitation from the Lord to ask some hard questions.
He is curious about God’s repeated promises to him. First, addressing the promise that God will make of him a great nation, Abram respectfully points out that his current heir is a servant, not a son. He has no children. And, at this point, Abram is well over seventy-five years old (Genesis 12:4).
God’s response is to show Abram the stars. Using this as an analogy, God repeats His promise that Abram’s descendants will be so numerous as to be uncountable.
It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.
Our scripture will be coming from:
Genesis 15:1-5 KJV
[1] After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
[2] And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
[3] And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
[4] And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
[5] And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Hebrews 1:3 KJVS
[3] Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
A major theme of the book of Hebrews is the supremacy of Christ. Faced with persecution, there is a temptation to follow the crowd. Jewish Christians of that era would have been under pressure to return to Judaism, rather than continue as Christians.
The first four verses of Hebrews serve as an introduction to the idea that Jesus is the better way. This verse also provides important support for the divinity of Jesus. That is, these words imply that Jesus Christ is, in fact, God.
The Greek word characktēr is translated here as "exact imprint" or "exact representation." The Greek word for "nature" here is hypostaseōs. This is the source of the theological term "hypostatic union," a fancy way of saying that Jesus is both God and man.
Combined, these words mean that Jesus' nature is identical to that of God. Christ is divine, exactly as God is divine. The reference to sitting at the "right hand" is important in ancient literature. This is a symbolic reference to honor and power.
A person seated at the right hand of the king was considered trustworthy, and he was bestowed with the power of that king. References to Jesus as "seated" at the right hand of the Father imply His absolute power and authority.
"Man Of God" is the description given to a man who follows God in every way, who obeys His Commands with joy, who does not live for the things of this life but for the things of Eternity.
Who willingly serves GOD and gives freely from all his resources, yet gladly suffers a consequence of his faith.
Our scripture will be coming from:
Genesis 14:21-24 KJV
[21] And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
[22] And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
[23] That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
[24] Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Psalm 103:6 KJVS
[6] The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
Prior verses contained David's personal reasons for honoring God. Here, David moves from personal to general statements about God's governance. His direction of the world is another reason for Israel to praise Him. David states that God performs righteous deeds and justice.
Israel had many opportunities to observe God's righteous deeds. From His call of Abraham to the time of David, God performed righteous acts on behalf of the nation. He delivered the nation from slavery in Egypt (Judges 6:9) and provided miraculously for the Israelites in the wilderness by supplying water from a rock (Exodus 17:1–6), manna from heaven (Exodus 16:15–16), and abundant quail for meat (Exodus 16:13).
God also judged Israel's wicked enemies and punished those who violated His covenant. He displayed His justice for His oppressed people by rescuing them from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 20:2) and later, in the era of the Judges, by repeatedly delivering them from their oppressive enemy nations. He had also commanded His people to show kindness and generosity to the poor (Deuteronomy 15:7–11).
When it comes to men, there is very little information directing men on how to really become a man.
Besides GOD, who does a man talk to for positive direction?
What do you feel is the most pressure that a man faces?
What do you feel discourages a man the most?
Our scripture will be coming from:
Genesis 14:13-20 KJV
[13] And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
[14] And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
[15] And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
[16] And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
[17] And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.
[18] And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
[19] And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
[20] And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Ephesians 6:10 KJVS
[10] Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Verses 10 through 20 are a famous and well-used portion of Scripture.
Paul wraps up his practical teachings with a series of analogies, comparing aspects of the Christian faith to the equipment carried by a soldier. This verse introduces the overall motivation for Paul's instructions.
Namely, this is strength, through the Lord, and of the Lord. Paul opened his letter with a prayer for the Ephesian Christians to receive wisdom and knowledge (Ephesians 1:15-23).
Here, after discussing the real-world application of that wisdom, Paul notes that the believer does not rely on his or her own strength, but on the power of God to win victory in life's battles.
The following verses will offer an outline of each part of the metaphorical armor of God. Each piece connects to an area of spiritual life important for reliance upon God's strength. Paul's depiction of these components will conclude with a focus on prayer (Ephesians 6:18–20), again asking God for strength and success in battle.
Only by relying on God, through these spiritual tools, can we overcome spiritual evil and succeed at living out God's will. Paul personally saw himself as a spiritual warrior as well.
In fact, he was often a prisoner of war, in a sense (Ephesians 6:20), yet still involved in the battle to reach others with the good news of Jesus.
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Ephesians 6:10 KJVS
[10] Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Verses 10 through 20 are a famous and well-used portion of Scripture. Paul wraps up his practical teachings with a series of analogies, comparing aspects of the Christian faith to the equipment carried by a soldier.
This verse introduces the overall motivation for Paul's instructions. Namely, this is strength, through the Lord, and of the Lord. Paul opened his letter with a prayer for the Ephesian Christians to receive wisdom and knowledge (Ephesians 1:15-23).
Here, after discussing the real-world application of that wisdom, Paul notes that the believer does not rely on his or her own strength, but on the power of God to win victory in life's battles.
The following verses will offer an outline of each part of the metaphorical armor of God. Each piece connects to an area of spiritual life important for reliance upon God's strength.
Paul's depiction of these components will conclude with a focus on prayer (Ephesians 6:18–20), again asking God for strength and success in battle.
Only by relying on God, through these spiritual tools, can we overcome spiritual evil and succeed at living out God's will. Paul personally saw himself as a spiritual warrior as well.
In fact, he was often a prisoner of war, in a sense (Ephesians 6:20), yet still involved in the battle to reach others with the good news of Jesus.
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Ephesians 6:10 KJVS
[10] Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Verses 10 through 20 are a famous and well-used portion of Scripture. Paul wraps up his practical teachings with a series of analogies, comparing aspects of the Christian faith to the equipment carried by a soldier.
This verse introduces the overall motivation for Paul's instructions. Namely, this is strength, through the Lord, and of the Lord. Paul opened his letter with a prayer for the Ephesian Christians to receive wisdom and knowledge (Ephesians 1:15-23).
Here, after discussing the real-world application of that wisdom, Paul notes that the believer does not rely on his or her own strength, but on the power of God to win victory in life's battles.
The following verses will offer annual outline of each part of the metaphorical armor of God. Each piece connects to an area of spiritual life important for reliance upon God's strength.
Paul's depiction of these components will conclude with a focus on prayer (Ephesians 6:18–20), again asking God for strength and success in battle.
Only by relying on God, through these spiritual tools, can we overcome spiritual evil and succeed at living out God's Will. Paul personally saw himself as a spiritual warrior as well.
In fact, he was often a prisoner of war, in a sense (Ephesians 6:20), yet still involved in the battle to reach others with the good news of Jesus.
Genesis 14 is an action-packed story of war between ancient city-states with a surprising conclusion. For 12 years, the four kings of an eastern group of city-states—Elam, Shinar, Ellasar, and Goiim—had ruled over the city-states in and around Canaan.
Finally, the kings of five cities grouped around the south end of the Dead Sea rebel. A year later, the four kings arrive in the region to reestablish their rule.
Following a southerly route along a line east of the Jordan River, the four kings defeat every city, king, and people group in their path all the way to the edge of Canaan's southern wilderness.
Then they turn back north, eventually arriving at the Valley of Siddim near the Dead Sea.
It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.
Our scripture will be coming from:
Genesis 14:1-6 KJV
[1] And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;
[2] That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.
[3] All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.
[4] Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
[5] And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,
[6] And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El–paran, which is by the wilderness.
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Romans 8:26 KJVS
[26] Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
This passage describes the difference between our future and our present, as Christians. Our future in Christ, as God's children and heirs of His kingdom, is everything we long for. Our present, though, is a life of longing, patient waiting, living in the hope of reality that has not yet arrived. We continue to suffer along with the rest of creation, to groan for the life to come.
How do we live in the meantime?
A large part of the answer to that question has to do with the Holy Spirit, given to every Christian when we come to faith in Christ.
God gives us His own Spirit as a deposit or down payment on that future we are longing for (Ephesians 1:13–14; 2 Corinthians 1:22).
Through the Spirit, God provides for us in many different ways on this side of eternity.
Generally, he helps us in our weakness. Paul is acknowledging here that, even as Christians, we remain weak in and of ourselves. Physically, we remain creatures in fragile bodies with sometimes baffling emotions.
Spiritually, we can become weak in our faith and/or in our resistance to sinful desires. As Paul will begin to make clear, however, God's Spirit with us makes all the difference. He continually helps us in and even through our weakness. He steps in. He helps with the burden.
More specifically, Paul writes that we are so weak that at times we do not know what to pray for! We have been given access, in prayer, to our Father God.
We feel the need, the longing, for Him, but what do we ask for?
The Spirit steps in and carries those unsaid "groanings"—those thoughts and feelings we simply cannot express in human words—to God.
He both creates the connection from ourselves to God and provides the content of our communication.
“And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him” —here is the third appearance of God to this man.
“Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward.”
This is the land God is going to give him.
As God continued to appear to Abram and later on to the other patriarchs, God put sideboards around that land. In other words, He put a border to it and told them exactly what the land was.
He was very specific about it.
It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.
Our scripture will be coming from:
Genesis 13:14-18 KJV
[14] And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
[15] For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
[16] And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
[17] Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
[18] Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Psalm 38:9 KJVS
[9] Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.
Throughout this psalm, David confesses that he suffers because of his own sin (Psalm 38:1–4, 18).
Much of these symptoms are poetic expressions of his guilt and shame: conviction brought by God (Psalm 38:5–8).
It's fitting, then, that David chooses to refer to God using the Hebrew term Adōnā'y, or Adonai, which literally means "Master." This term was sometimes spoken when reading Scripture, rather than trying to pronounce God's self-identified name of YHWH.
This reference shows that David is humble and regards himself as God's servant. David also acknowledges that the Lord is omniscient: nothing is hidden from Him. The Lord was fully aware of David's pain and sighs, as well as his motives and his desires.
Every believer should derive comfort, peace, and courage from the fact that the Lord knows all about their suffering. Such omniscience does not preclude the need to pray.
Hebrews 4:14 tells us Jesus, the believers' great high priest, is available. The same passage assures us He sympathizes with our struggle since He experienced temptation but didn't sin (Hebrew 4:15).
This is why we can confidently approach God in prayer, as we seek to "receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).
It is Abram who makes the division. It took a big man to tell Lot this. In other words, Abram is saying that Lot could choose what he wanted and Abram would take what was left. Pharaoh had given to Abram many animals and servants, adding to Abram's growing possessions.
In fact, both Abram and his nephew Lot have such large herds that their herdsman begin to fight over the limited resources in the area around Bethel where they have settled. Abram suggests they split up instead of quarreling. Abram offers Lot the first choice of where to settle.
Lot chooses the fertile lands along the Jordan river, near the town of Sodom, already famous for its wickedness. Lot's choice to live physically near (and eventually in) Sodom will cost him dearly.
It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.
Our scripture will be coming from:
Genesis 13:10-13 KJV
[10] And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
[11] Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
[12] Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
[13] But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
John 17:21 KJVS
[21]That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
Scripture often emphasizes how unity and love reflect a person's commitment to Christ (John 13:34–35; 1 John 4:20).
It's noteworthy that when Jesus transitions from praying for Himself (John 17:1–5), to praying for the disciples (John 17:6–19), to praying for all Christians (John 17:20), the first thing He refers to is unity (Psalm 133:1).
Christian "love" is meant to distinguish believers from non-believers. The unbelieving world cannot see or experience the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14).
All they can see is how self-professed believers speak and act (Matthew 5:13–16).
In this verse, Jesus points out this is how "the world" (John 17:16–18) is meant to be introduced to faith in Christ.
This is why those who say they are Christians must behave accordingly (1 Peter 2:12) and held accountable by other Christians (1 Corinthians 5:11).
The need for unity does not mean tolerating blatant sin or false teaching (Galatians 1:8–9; 2 Timothy 3:16).
However, the Bible is clear that those who love God will obey God (John 14:15), and the primary demonstration of that is a unifying love for other believers (John 17:23).
Jesus makes other comments implying that He is God and shares the divine nature with God the Father (John 5:22; 10:30; 14:9).
In this specific context, His reference is to unity of purpose and intent. Jesus' actions, consistent with the words of God and the will of God, were proof that He was sent by God (John 14:11, 31).
The same is meant to be true of Christian believers: that their actions and attitudes reflect a commitment to their Creator (Colossians 3:14).
In chapter 12, Abram—the man later named renamed Abraham—lied about Sarai being his wife, out of fear. As a result, God afflicted Pharaoh's household with a plague for taking Sarai.
Pharaoh allowed Abram to keep the dowry he'd paid, but sent them away as soon as he realized what had happened.
As a result, Abram returned to the land of Canaan with much greater wealth than he'd had before.
Pharaoh had given to Abram many animals and servants, adding to Abram's growing possessions.
In fact, both Abram and his nephew Lot have such large herds that their herdsman begin to fight over the limited resources in the area around Bethel where they have settled.
Abram suggests they split up instead of quarreling. Abram offers Lot the first choice of where to settle. Lot chooses the fertile lands along the Jordan river, near the town of Sodom, already famous for its wickedness. Lot's choice to live physically near (and eventually in) Sodom will cost him dearly.
It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.
Our scripture will be coming from:
Genesis 13:1-9 KJV
[1] And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
[2] And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
[3] And he went on his journeys from the south even to Beth–el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth–el and Hai;
[4] Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
[5] And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
[6] And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
[7] And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
[8] And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
[9] Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Philippians 4:13 KJVS
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Despite his frequent need, and harsh treatment, Paul joyfully declares his confidence that God will allow him to endure anything.
Paul's words reflected the Gospel teachings that nothing is impossible with God (Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 1:37).
Paul had declared elsewhere that if God is for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?
This perspective can also be found in the Old Testament.
Jeremiah 32:17 notes that nothing is too hard for the Lord.
Job 42:2 declares God can do anything.
God's closest followers have long known that with God, nothing is impossible, whether Abraham's promised son Isaac, the people of Israel crossing the Red Sea, or the people entering the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua.
God provides on time, in His time, every time.
Paul's confidence can be found throughout his writings (2 Corinthians 3:4; 7:16; 8:22; 10:2; 11:17; Galatians 5:10; Ephesians 3:12; 2 Thessalonians 3:4).
This verse can, however, be taken out of context. Paul's comment is specifically referring to the ability of a Christian to endure under hardship and persecution. Despite well-meaning use of the words, this text does not teach that a Christian is empowered to accomplish any task simply because they are saved.
Abram was in the land, and this was the place of blessing. God never told him to leave.
But a famine was in the land, and I think one morning Abram pushed back the flap of his tent, looked out, and said, “Sarai, it looks like everybody’s going to Egypt. There’s a famine, you know, and it’s getting worse. Maybe we ought to think about going down.” And I suppose Sarai said, “Anything you want to do, Abram. I’m your wife and I’ll go with you.”
After a few days had gone by and Abram had talked to some of these travelers (probably coming from north of where he was living and bringing the news that the famine was getting worse and was moving south).
I imagine that he said to Sarai one evening, “I think we had better pack up and go to Egypt.”
So Abram and Sarai start down to Egypt. Notice that God had not told him to do that.
When God had appeared to him the last time, He had said, “This is it, Abram, this is the land I am going to give you. You will be a blessing, and I am going to bless you here.”
But, you see, Abram didn’t believe God. He went down into the land of Egypt.
In the Bible, Egypt is a picture of the world. You will find that all the way through. I think it is still a picture of the world. But Abram went down to Egypt.
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Hebrews 11:1 KJV
[1] Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
This often-quoted verse gives a direct definition of faith, meant to be read in the context of the rest of this letter. At the end of chapter 10, the writer of Hebrews finished describing why the new covenant in Jesus Christ was superior to the old covenant of animal sacrifices (Hebrews 10:1–18).
This concluded with a reassuring reminder not to "shrink back," but to "have faith" (Hebrews 10:39). The definition given here is meant to tie this command to the examples given later on. After this verse, the writer will explain how the actions of various biblical figures proved both the existence and validity of their faith.
Those contexts—former evidence and future expectation—are essential when interpreting the meaning of these words.
In verse 1 we read: “Now the LORD had said unto Abram.”
We know from other Scriptures that God had called Abram when he lived in Ur of the Chaldees:
“The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Then came he out of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell” (Acts 7:2–4).
Abraham obeyed God by leaving his home, his business, and the high civilization of Ur, “not knowing whither he went.”
Yet it was not complete obedience because we read that he took with him some of his family. He took with him his father, Terah, and God had told Abraham not to take him.
Why was it that God wanted to get him out of the land and away from his relatives?
We learn the answer in the Book of Joshua. “. . . Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor; and they served other gods” (Josh. 24:2).
They served other gods—Abraham was an idolator. The world was pretty far gone at that time.
God had to move like this if He was going to save humanity. The other alternative for Him was to blot them all out and start over again.
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Matthew 6:33 KJVS
[33] But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
This is one of the key verses in all of Jesus' teaching, commonly used in quotes, artwork, and Bible memorization. Like any other lesson from Christ, it must be understood in the context of the verses that comes before it.
Too often, Jesus' Words here have been ripped out of that context and used to suggest that God will supply endless material blessings if His children seek Him first. That is not, at all, the meaning of this sentence. The context of "these things" are the basic needs of life: food and clothing.
Jesus has commanded His readers not to live in continually worry about how they will obtain those, even if they don't know where the next meal is coming from. He wants them to trust the heavenly Father to provide what is needed for His children because He values them so greatly (Matthew 6:25–32).
Instead of living in constant and fruitless worry, Jesus gives His followers a different outlet for their energy: pursue God's kingdom, trust His righteousness, and leave it to Him to take care of the basic needs of our lives.
The call to "seek first" God's kingdom and righteousness connects to the other teachings Jesus has given in this Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:1–2, 5–6, 16–17).
Motives matter, and only by sincerely putting God first can we pursue righteousness.
Followers of Christ should prioritize living according to the principles He has been teaching (Matthew 6:24; John 14:15).
Jesus' earliest message was the same as that of John the Baptist, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17).
To seek God's kingdom and His righteousness means to live in that ongoing repentance from sin, and to lead the kind of sincere, from-the-heart, devoted-to-God lifestyles Jesus has been describing.
In response, God will make provision for whatever it is we truly "need" in order to accomplish His will.
The first three verses give us the threefold promise of God to Abraham (Abram), and actually this is the hub of the Bible.
The rest of Scripture is an unfolding of this threefold promise.
The first of the threefold promise is the land. God says, “I am going to show you a land, and I am going to give it to you.”
The second part of the promise is the nation—”I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great.” He also promises him, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee.”
The third part of the promise is that He would make him a blessing: “In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” This is God’s threefold promise.
It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.
Our scripture will be coming from:
Genesis 12:1-3 KJV
Welcome to HBS & DwJ Podcast.
I am Jerry Joyce, your host.
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Romans 12:4-5 KJV
[4] For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
[5] So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Paul is describing how living sacrifices live. He has urged Christians—all who have received God's mercy because of their faith in Christ—to offer their everyday lives to God as an ongoing act of worship.
Previous verses made clear that this will require transformation of our minds and perspective so that we can see and understand what God wants and be used by Him to get it done. Now, though, Paul begins to get into what our specific jobs in this sacrificial lifestyle might be.
It turns out that God's purpose for Christians is that we will spend our lives serving each other in specific ways. His analogy here applies broadly to each local congregation, but it also includes the worldwide church in general.
Paul uses the familiar analogy of a human body, something he develops in more detail in 1 Corinthians 12:12–31.
Bodies are a unified whole, containing one person. But that unified body is made up of many different parts that serve wildly different functions from head to toe.
Paul will show in the following verses that the church, meaning all Christians, is similar in that we are the body of Christ. Paul is describing how Christians who have been shown mercy by God—which means all saved believers—should live now.
What kind of a life makes sense?
The prior verse described a human body. It is just one person, but it has many different parts that serve different functions.
Now Paul says that we, as the collective group of Christians, are also a kind of body. We are Christ's body on earth, often referred to as "the church." We are countless different parts in many different places with vastly different jobs, but together we are, by analogy, one unified "being," a single entity with what should be a united purpose.
Paul writes something else about us as part of the body of Christ. None of us exists outside of the body. No Christian is an unattached Christian. We are all members of each other, connected to each other with the purpose of serving each other.
This is what God intends to do with us on this side of eternity.
Now we will continue to take up the line of Shem since it is the line which will be followed throughout the Old Testament.
The second section of the chapter provides a simple genealogy from Noah's son Shem to Abram, showing specifically how God's people descended in a direct line from one to the other.
This genealogy also shows that the lifespans of men quickly decreased after the flood, from nearly a thousand years, to several centuries, to roughly a century by the time of Abram.
It is time to open our hearts, minds, and souls to the Word Of GOD.
Our scripture will be coming from:
Genesis 11:22-32 KJV
Welcome to HBS & DwJ Podcast.
I am Jerry Joyce, your host.
Our Scripture Of The Week Is:
Genesis 4:1 KJV:
[1] And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
Now begins the story of human history apart from the perfection of the Garden of Eden, as the first generation born into sin comes to earth.
Adam and Eve slept together, conceived, and named their firstborn son Cain. Eve's statement of gratitude reflects her continued faith in God's goodness and provision. Even outside of the garden, Eve understood she owed her life and every good gift to the Lord.
In a way, this is remarkable.
Eve doubtlessly experienced great pain in bearing and giving birth to Cain, something she would have expected after hearing God's curse for her (Genesis 3:16). Instead of resenting God for that, she gives Him credit for helping her through the process of receiving this gift of a son.
His birth is a happy occasion, and a fulfillment of God's intent to keep the human race alive.
During this session of Holy Bible Study, we discussed the Foundation Stage, a memorable phase, GOD's Relationship with man, the primary names of Deity, the eight great covenants, as well as the fact that GOD is clearly at work in our lives at all times.
During this Jerry Joyce Podcast Session, my co-host, Howard and myself are discussing change, and how it affects us at home, in our communities, our nation, and ultimately, our world.
We are all part of society, if we all would learn how to receive structure in our personal lives, our family lives, through out our communities, as well as our nation, and ultimately the world, the population as a human race would live better lives.
Our Mission:
To provide the knowledge that will train Sisters and Brothers in Christ to spread GOD's Love and create disciples.
Our Vision:
To share all resources that will aid in the knowledge necessary for the building of GOD's Kingdom.