Alright, first let's do a quick summary: God created
the world and everything in it. This includes man who was made in the image of
God, but fell short of all that image entailed by disobeying God. As a result,
sin entered the world and caused all kinds of problems for humans among
themselves. God told Noah to build a huge boat for his family and a bunch of
animals to hang out in while He flooded the world to rid it of evil. Even
though the evil that God had wiped from the earth was sure to rise again, God
made a covenant with Noah and then with Abraham to bless the people of the
earth and put them on a very long path to redemption. Neither of those individuals was perfect, but
both followed God.
Creation
Adam and Eve were created
in the image of God to serve him and till the land in the Garden of Eden. When the
couple was tempted by the serpent and ate the forbidden fruit, they exposed
themselves to death because that was the price to pay for their actions. This
seems like a steep price for eating a measly piece of fruit, but it’s about a
lot more than just the fruit. It’s about what the eating of the fruit signified
for Adam and Eve. Choosing to eat from the blacklisted tree was not only an act
of disobedience, but an arrogant decision that said they knew more than their
creator. It was an act of defiance that shouted out, “We can be our own gods!”(1:5-6)
This, my friends, is why
Jesus is so important. This is why he is necessary. And the rest of the Old
Testament continues to point back to this necessity of a savior.
Interesting things to note:
1. Other ancient interpretations of creation involve the coming
into being of the gods. The Genesis creation story is remarkably unique because
it does not address where God comes from, but jumps straight into the creation
of the world. God has no contemporaries or enemies, no need for human
sustenance in care or feeding. The focus is very apparently on what God has
done for us. In all instances of Scripture we see that God always holds up his
side of the bargain (and then some), while mankind is continually distracted
and deceived by other things.
2. In the creation story, there is a plurality, a use of “our” (1:26).
Some have argued that this meant that God did in fact have contemporaries. I
disagree. I think that it refers to the trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), in existence long before
Christ came to Earth. (1:2, 27)
Genealogies and Life spans
Genealogies are most people’s least favorite passages to read. They include strange names that are impossible to pronounce and are a huge lull in the action of the story. But they do have a purpose!
First, the genealogies
act like scene bridges in novels; they allow for a time lapse and sum up everything that took place during that time. They tell us the generations that
lived in the interim and a few important events that took place (5:22, 10:5, 12:27-32). Another
important thing about genealogies is that, during ancient times, blood lines
were very, very important to the people – therefore, it was important to them
that they be included. And finally, the progression from Adam to David to Jesus
is being mapped out. As we will see later, this is very important to the Old
Testament storyline.
The specified life spans
in the Old Testament are interestingly long. There are two theories as to why this
is. The first is that they
could in fact be the literal, exact life spans. The thought here is that one of
the consequences of the flood was decreased years of life. While Shem’s
descendants (ch. 11) still live extra-long lives, they are shorter than the
pre-flood lives and we can see them decreasing with each generation. The second is that the
writers (traditionally believed of Genesis to be just Moses) and/or the editors
could be using the typical ancient imagery for a full life – listing a great
number of years.
Noah's Ark and God's sovereignty
So if God wiped out
almost the entirety of his creation because it became rotten, how can we still
believe that he is a sovereign God? (6:6-8)
I think rather than
showing us that God had no control over the evil taking place in the world,
this story shows us that no matter how many fresh starts we get, human beings are doomed
to imperfection. Adam & Eve's original sin became a vicious, irrevocable cycle. The verses immediately following Noah's exit from the ark tell us that nothing will change (8:20-22). This story is one of many examples of the pouring out of God's wrath in the Old Testament, which clearly points toward the need of a savior.
Interesting thing to note: There is a parallel to the flood story
from the Gilgamesh epic. Just like in Noah’s Ark, the divinity singles out an
individual to build a boat and take animals into it. And just like in Noah’s
Ark, at the end of the flood, the individual brings a sacrifice before the god(s). In this
Babylonian story though, royalty is singled out and the gods gather around the
sacrifices like flies, concerned with their own hunger and requiring food from
mankind. In the Biblical story, Noah is a common man chosen because he is willing
to follow God (6:8) at the risk of sounding insane to every person he knows, and the
sacrifice is made out of devotion as opposed to material needs of God (8:20-9:17). God is more concerned with man and man’s needs. The God of the Bible needed no food or shelter from the world that he created.
Tower of Babel and Human Self Sufficiency
This passage is short,
but very important.
It’s a great example of 2
heart idols that humans desperately crave (then and today) – security and praise. The humans were seeking
security when they sought to build a city that kept them from being dispersed
across the earth. And they were seeking praise when they built the tower to
reach the heavens, in order to make a name for themselves. (11:4)
It also points back to
the creation story. Both show people thinking they can be on equal playing
ground with God.
Abraham and The Covenant
God made a 3 part promise to Abraham of land, descendants, and blessing (12, 15, 17). Through his family line God would create a pathway to salvation and blessing (12:3, 17:7) for all. This is central to the development of the Old Testament and it is fulfilled over time, so remember it and remember all 3 aspects of it.
Summing it Up – What does this mean for us today?
God challenges people to
abandon personal security, identity, family, and country and he did it long
before Jesus started asking people to drop what they were doing and become “fishers
of men”. We can see very clearly in the stories of Noah, the Tower of Babel,
and Abraham that this notion has been around since the beginning.
So how does God challenge
us as modern-day Americans to abandon our sense of personal security &
identity, our families, and our country in order to follow him?
Looking back at the Tower of Babel, what cities and towers do you build?
How are Abraham and Noah examples of great faith and where do they fall short? What can we learn from their stories?
What do you guys think about these first 17 chapters?
Is there something important I left out that you would like to see
addressed?
(There are so many things I could write about here and many that I’m
leaving out for the sake of a readable-length post.)
- Courtney
P.S. I'm no expert on Biblical exegesis by any means - not by human standards and certainly not by divine standards. Feel free to challenge me if you disagree with something, or voice your affirmation if you agree with something - I joyfully welcome both! Also, if you would like to hear about my background in studying the Bible, don't hesitate to ask. I thought the post was long enough as is, or I would have included it!
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