Thursday, January 1, 2009

Day 1 - Genesis 1 - 16

These first 16 chapters of Genesis are so full and rich. I am always amazed, again, each time I read this book at how much happens in just these first few chapters of Gods Word! What I plan to share here are a few of the things that really stand out to me and things that I have noticed either in this reading or in other recent readings that I had not taken note of before.

1:17 (speaking of the sun, moon and stars) God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, - I just love the imagery here of God 'setting' the sun, moon and all those stars in the heavens. Can you picture Him just opening His hand and scattering stars throughout the velvet blackness of space? Stars that we know, scientifically are huge balls of molten gas but God just 'set' them in place. He is so great!

3:6b (after Eve eats the fruit) She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. - I only noticed recently that Adam was with Eve when the serpent got her to eat the fruit, I had always thought she had to take it to him somewhere else in the garden, even though I had read this passage many times, for some reason I just didn't take note of that. I think it puts a bit of a new light on what happened, though I don't fully understand the significance yet - but I do find it very interesting.

3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. - the first messianic prophecy!

3:21 The Lord made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. - What a tender passage! God Himself made clothes to cover Adam and Eves nakedness, so amazing. Ken Ham, from Answers in Genesis, also pointed out that this is the first animal death in God's perfect world...perhaps the first sacrifice, because of the sin of Adam and Eve. Interesting.

4:21-22 - His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. - Proof that early people had advanced skills, which makes sense since we were created perfect, mature and fully formed in the garden. We have only 'degraded' in intervening years because of the fall.

5:24 - Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. - Enoch didn't die, wow...how cool is that?

5:29 - He named him Noah and said, "He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed." - This seemed to indicate to me that Lamech was a man of God so I wondered why the Bible didn't mention him getting on the ark, then I saw that he lived 595 years after Noah was born and Noah was 600 when God flooded the earth. I felt better then, mystery solved.

7:8 - (pairs of animals) came to Noah and entered the ark - Noah didn't have to go search for all the animals God commanded him to bring on the ark (as a board book I read to my boys when they were little indicated) God sent the animals to Noah. It makes sense, but it is still so cool.

7:16b - Then the Lord shut him in. - God Himself closed the door of the ark and shut Noah and his family safely inside.

9:13 - I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. - I love it when I see a rainbow, it just makes my day, and I always think of God's promise to Noah. What a great God.

11:9 - That is why it was called Babel - because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth. - And this is why we have different 'races' today. Pretty interesting.

Chapters 12 - 16

Abram...a great man of God and yet we see him make some major blunders. Letting Pharaoh take Sarai as his wife out of fear. (12:11-20) Having a child by Hagar, thereby taking matters into his own hands and bringing about a whole group of people who would cause trouble for the Jews for the rest of time. (all of chapter 16 deals with this) Yet God credited the faith Abram did have as righteousness (15:6) and God did fulfill His promise to make Abram into a great nation.

I personally am encouraged when I look at these great men of old and see that they made mistakes, even major mistakes and yet they are still used mightily by God. What hope this gives me, as a very imperfect person, that God might still use me! Praise the Lord for that!

I thought I would share some of Jonathan Edwards 70 resolutions at the end of my entries. Here is his 'introductory resolution' , if you will, and his first resolution.

BEING SENSIBLE THAT I AM UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING WITHOUT GOD' S HELP, I DO HUMBLY ENTREAT HIM BY HIS GRACE TO ENABLE ME TO KEEP THESE RESOLUTIONS, SO FAR AS THEY ARE AGREEABLE TO HIS WILL, FOR CHRIST' S SAKE.

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God' s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many soever, and how great soever.

(Amen, Mr. (Reverend?, Dr.?) Edwards. - I will have to look his title up, it doesn't say on the page I got the resolutions from)

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