Readings for January 3rd, 2010 – Genesis 7 – 9
What a start in just two days and six chapters of Genesis we have encountered many of the most troubling questions of the Bible. Questions such as:
1. Are Adam and Eve real or just a metaphor?
2. . How do we interpret the creation account? Are the days 24 hour days?
3. Genesis 1:26 says: 26Then God said, “Let us make man£ in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)
Did you notice that the passage says “Let us make man in our image…”?
(At this point it should be noted that the Hebrew word for man (adam) is the generic term for mankind and becomes the proper name Adam).
Now we come to today’s readings. And another question arises: Why was Abel’s offering acceptable and Cain’s was not? ). The Apologetics study Bible indicates: “God preferred Abel's offering not because He liked meat more than vegetables or shepherds more than farmers, but because Abel's offering was made in faith (Heb 11:4). He offered the best of his flock ("the firstborn"), and Cain offered only "some" of his produce (Gn 4:3; cp. Ex 23:19; Lv 2:14).—Apologetics Study Bible, The
Twisted Scripture: Genesis 4:19
Mormons cite this verse and their own scriptures (Doctrines and Covenants, section 132) in order to justify polygamy. Polygamy, however, came into existence only after the fall in the garden. The creation mandate directs that a man shall be joined to one wife (2:24). Other verses that teach monogamy include Pr 5:18-19; Mal 2:14-15; Mk 10:2-8; 1 Co 7:2, 10; 1 Tm 3:2, 12; and Titus 1:6. While there are examples of polygamy in the OT (2 Sm 5:13; 1 Kg 11:3), they did not receive God's approval. Instead God, in His mercy, issued laws to protect the many wives and children of polygamists.
—Apologetics Study Bible, The
Is that not interesting? Often wondered how polygamy was justified.
And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. .” (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.). Now what was this “mark? John MacArthur in his notes on Genesis 4:15 says: “4:15 sign. While not described here, it involved some sort of identifiable mark that he was under divine protection which was mercifully given to Cain by God. At the same time, the mark that saved him was the lifelong sign of his shame. “
Now we come to Adam’s descendants to Noah in Chapter 5. It is here that we become aware the exceptional age of these patriarchs. Methuselah lived 969 years Joesph 110, that is a significant span that seems to have diminished after the flood.
How Old Were the Patriarchs?
ADAM 930 years (Gen. 5:5)
SETH 912 years (Gen. 5:8)
ENOSH 905 years (Gen. 5:11)
ENOCH 365 years (Gen. 5:23)
METHUSELAH 969 years (Gen. 5:27)
LAMECH 777 years (Gen. 5:31)
NOAH 950 years (Gen. 9:29)
~~~ The Flood ~~~
SHEM 600 years (Gen. 11:10, 11)
EBER 464 years (Gen. 11:16, 17)
TERAH 205 years (Gen. 11:32)
ABRAHAM 175 years (Gen. 25:7)
ISAAC 180 years (Gen. 35:28)
JACOB 147 years (Gen. 47:28)
JOSEPH 110 years (Gen. 50:26)
The patriarchs who lieved before the Flood had an average lifespan of 900 years (Gen. 5). The ages of post-Flood patriarchs dropped rapidly and gradually leveled off (Gen. 11). Some suggest that this is due to major environmental changes brought about by the Flood.
A pastor friend of mine once said that he carried a small notebook in his pocket on which he wrote all of these questions for which there seemed to be no definitive answer. When he get to heaven he will ask God. We have a good start on our own notebooks.
Again Adam lived to be 930 years and it seems his memory was still good. I’ve just made it to 67 and my memory is slipping. Here is an interesting Twisted scripture that goes with Genesis 1:27:
Twisted Scripture: Genesis 1:27
Modern-day vampires trace their origins to this verse and the mythical figure of Lilith, who was supposedly created before Eve. The legend of Lilith derives from a theory that Genesis has two creation accounts (this verse and 2:7, 20-22). The two stories allow for two different women. Lilith does not appear in the Bible (apart from a debatable reference comparing her to a screech owl in the Hb text of Isa 34:14). Some rabbinic commentators, however, refer to Lilith as the first created woman, who refused to submit to Adam and fled from the garden. Eve was then created to be Adam's helper. After their expulsion from the garden, Adam reunited for a time with Lilith before finally returning to Eve. Lilith bore Adam a number of children, who became the demons of the Bible. According to kabbalistic legend, after Adam's reconciliation with Eve, Lilith took the title Queen of the Demons and became a murderer of infants and young boys, whom she turned into vampires.
—Apologetics Study Bible, The
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