The Covenants made thus far in scripture Three covenants that have been made to this point in our study. I think it’s of utmost importance to understand God’s promises throughout our "digging" and the provisions being made by God for His creations. The Edenic Covenant: Genesis 1:28-30 and 2:16, 17* This covenant made man, before he sinned, responsible to multiply and populate the earth. Man was to subdue the earth and was given authority over all animal life. Being established as the groundskeeper of the garden he was to cultivate it and use the garden to produce food for consumption. The only exception was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Disobedience to this instruction would bring death. The Adamic Covenant: Genesis 3:14-19* Once man disobeyed God’s instructions, God first cursed the serpent and predicted the enmity that would occur between the serpent and woman…between Satan and Christ Jesus. This prediction meant that Satan would bruise the heel of Jesus (injure him), but Satan would be destroyed by Christ. Secondly, woman would experience pain in childbirth and be under the authority of her husband. Lastly, the ground was cursed and man would work by the sweat of his brow to remove the thorns and various obstacles when cultivating the fields for production of food. Man would experience, as a consequence, weariness and eventually return to the dust from which he was made. The Noahic Covenant: Genesis 8:20-9:27* Following the flood, God promised Noah that He would no longer destroy the entire earth again with flood waters. The rainbow was given as a visible sign of this promise. The covenant also gave: 1. Establishment of human government with the power of capital punishment 2. Regularity of seasons 3. Directed man to populate the earth 4. Reaffirmed man’s dominion over lower creatures 5. Added meat to man’s diet 6. Included (due to the events in Chapter 9) the curse of Ham’s son, Canaan to be a servant to his brothers; gave Shem a place of favor (became the line of the Messiah); Japheth would enjoy expansion, but would dwell in the tents of Shem. *Believer’s Commentary by William MacDonald, edited by Art Farstad, page 41. Now, for a point regarding the latter verses of Chapter 9 beginning with verse 20, let’s refer to scripture. “Noah became a farmer and planted a vineyard.” It would take a few years before this could transpire. I have a next door neighbor who tries each year to get his vines to produce grapes. I think he’s on year three or four and still not enough grapes have materialized for a glass of juice! So, I believe several years have evolved since the flood. Why Noah would then drink so much of his wine he would become drunk I haven’t an answer. Could it be that he was so excited that he finally had a successful year of wine making that he accidently overdosed on his consumption? Did he make a strong batch and didn’t stop his consumption until he was flat on his back? I really don’t have an answer and I’m not sure of all the details as to why he is lying in his tent unclothed or what lead to this situation. But that’s how it happened. Enters his son, Ham, into the tent. Instead of immediately trying to cover his father’s body, Ham leaves the tent and goes and tells his brothers that Noah is lying naked in his tent. The brothers enter the tent with a covering, walking backwards so they won’t look on their father’s body and covers him. Noah awakens, is told the events that unfolded and immediately curses the younger son. Actually, now is a good time for all of you astute students to ask me, “why did this happen?” The events of the flood have finally subsided; life is getting back to normal after this family has survived a year of being enclosed in an ark with numerous animals. Why did Noah get drunk and this harsh action taken when the son walked into his tent and didn’t act appropriately? My answer…I don’t know. The only answer I have relates to sinful human nature. The circle of life continues when in our humanity we make mistakes and then we suffer the consequences. How many times do we read in scripture about the sins of the Israelites coming on the heels of a miraculous blessing from God? Ham is described from verse 18 forward as “Ham, the father of Canaan.” So we know that Ham’s descendants are the ones living on the land when the Israelites come calling to possess the Promised Land of Canaan. Shem, debated to be the oldest son of Noah, will be the line from which comes the Messiah. Verse 27 of Chapter 9 suggests that Japheth would also be blessed with dominion and would share in spiritual blessings via Shem’s descendents, the Israelites. In summation, God used this act for His glory and these sons will populate the earth with various tribes. (More on those peoples next week.) The Chapter ends with the death of Noah who lived to be 950 years old. For next week’s assignment, I’d like you to read Chapter 10 and 11. Chapter 10 gives the breakdown of the genealogies of Noah’s sons. I will address more fully the nations that you will recognize (in today’s society) that come from each of these sons. Especially note an individual by the name of Nimrod in verses 8-10 of Chapter 10. See what you can find out about him. What connection does he have to the Tower of Babel in Chapter 11? Chapter 11 is the recording of the Tower of Babel. Why was it built? What was it to accomplish? What was the “heart” intent of the people for building this structure? What action did God take to disperse man’s goal to erect this skyscraper? Then meditate on the reasons for our personal actions. I wrote this week’s devotion on the word “temporal” dealing with the fame, fortune and notoriety issue. Perhaps that will unfold a different perspective in your analysis. To conclude for next week read verses 27 through the end of Chapter 11. This is our springboard for many discussions on Abram whose name becomes Abraham. The beginning of his story is an awesome one. Abram’s father, Terah, left behind home and all his relatives (who were worshipping idols, by the way) because he felt the call of God on his life and that of his family. Although Terah hasn’t the “notoriety” of his son, Terah made the necessary sacrifices of human relationships to follow God’s plan. I’m assuming that is happening or has happened to many of our BLBS participants. I know it happened to me. God’s Word continues to teach us, to grow us and to assure us that God knows the road we are on and eagerly desires to walk alongside us and willingly give us the needed tools for the journey. Thank you, Jesus, for your overflowing love and provision that is offered at our fingertips through prayer and Your Word. Father, Your Word is overwhelming in its instruction and boundless in its love as You willingly provide availability to us in our frail human condition 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Lord, there is so much for us to learn and so much for us to understand with our limited finite minds, but You are sufficient, my Lord and my God. Thank you for visiting with us and anoint your children this day with an open heart and an open mind to receive a nugget of knowledge. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen! CommentsGary Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:42:37 Jan/Kathy/Cindy - I have really appreciated the comments and study you have posted. Jan and Kathy, your questions have been thought provoking. I started the study just reading Cookie's instruction and your questions but have now caught up in the reading. Jan Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:37:58 Gary - SO glad to have you join in!! Cindy (my friend and co-worker) is also studying with us (quiet but brilliant) and we are ALL realizing how MUCH we have to learn!!! I know we can count on you to contribute some thought-provoking comments, questions and insightful ideas.... And for the record - I couldn't agree with you more - Cookie is truly a teacher blessed by God, and she is one true blessing to all of us!!! AND we appreciate the slow but steady study pace Cookie is willing to guide us with so this is a no-pressure/all welcome study :) Cindy Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:14:42 God is very clear on capital punishment in Chapt. 9. It is such a huge debate -life in prison or the death penalty. The problem is that trials are decided by man (without Gods wisdom) and are often flawed. So, even though the Lord is very clear with his statement - "Whoever kills a human being will be killed by a human being because God made humans in his own image" - the debate still goes on. Jan Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:08:31 Once again, I am amazed at all the key items I missed in my initial review that everyone else brings out. It is so awesome to study in a group like this and benefit from each person's insights!!! Cookie - the information on the Covenants is so helpful! Cindy - somehow I totally buzzed by Gen 9:5-6 and didn't stop to correlate with the ongoing Death Penalty issue - WOW - another evidence that the Bible DOES have all the answers..... and is it just me, or as we move forward are there verses in earlier chapters that begin to be a bit more clearly understood? Like God commanding Noah and his extended family to "grow in number and fill the earth". Before I just accepted that at face value. Now moving on to the Tower of Babel - and only after studying a bit more in bible.org - does the understanding that part of the problem in building a city and tower was their desire to "settle" rather than spread out and "fill the earth". And rather than giving glory to God, they wanted to become famous. SO they were not obedient to God's command and lost their focus. The one website suggested life was getting shorter so the people may have wanted to leave a legacy to be remembered by, rather than travelling like nomads.... They lost sight of the solution to death being eternal life - not a monument. Leave a Reply | AuthorCome along and join the Bucket List Bible Study! Open to all who enjoy studying God's Word. ArchivesSeptember 2010 Categories |
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