Genesis 11

It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

The descendants of Noah journeyed east and began to build.  Cain journeyed east of Eden and lived.  What is it about pursuing selfish motives or living under judgment that is precipitated by a journey east?  

The east wind is what burned the withered and thin grains from Pharaoh's dream in Genesis 41.  A warning comes from the east. 

Solomon was wiser than all the men of the east.  So the east is associated with man's wisdom, man's might, man's folly.

The Only Wise God, please help me to never journey east, to not seek wisdom from the east nor to look for direction from there.  You are God alone and I must pursue and Your wisdom and righteousness.  Let my folly be for You, let my might be at Your discretion, let my choices take me closer to You and not to the east.

Genesis 10 with a bit of 9

When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him.  So he said, "Cursed be Canaan;
                             A servant of servants
                             He shall be to his brothers."

We don't know what Ham had done; but Noah did ... Something significant had changed and Noah knew it was at the hands of Ham.  Something big enough to warrant a curse from a Dad.  I think it's good that we do not know what transpired, we need no unholy incentive nor examples for our imaginations.  

I wondered why the curse fell to the son and not the perpetrator.  Maybe, Ham was aged and any curse to befall him would not mean much.  I don't think the reason is too important as the words seem to have the Lord's backing.  

Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth

and the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite

and the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite

and the Arvadite and the Zemarite and the Hamathite; and afterward the families of the Canaanite were spread abroad.

The territory of the Canaanite extended from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; as you go toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.  (I wonder how far toward Sodom and Gomorrah they went.)

Judges 1:  The sons of Israel did not take possession of their land fully or they did not completely drive out the Canaanite from the land.  Verses 31 and 32 state that Asher did not drive out many occupants of the land, one of which was the Sidonites, and so Asher lived among them.  In Judges 10 we read:  Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines ; thus they forsook the and did not LORD serve Him.  Ezekiel 28 states:  "Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, prophesy against her ... and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, And I will be glorified in your midst. Then they will know that I am the LORD when I execute judgments in her, And I will manifest My holiness in her."

 

Heth, a.k.a. Hethites or Hittites, and the Hivites have this infamy to their names from Exodus 23:  I will send hornets before you that will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite before you.  Additionally, we see mention of the Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites from Deuteronomy 20:  As for the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is going to give you as an inheritance, you must not allow a single living thing to survive. Instead you must utterly annihilate them – the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites – just as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that they cannot teach you all the abhorrent ways they worship their gods, causing you to sin against the Lord your God.

In Genesis 15, where God was speaking promise to Abram, He says that Abe's descendants will be enslaved for four hundred years; but in the fourth generation, his offspring will be able to return to the land, as the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit. (Lord, may the sin of America be full and may we seek righteousness with all of our hearts.)

Joshua 24 regarding the Girgashites, God says: You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho.  The leaders of Jericho, as well as the Amorites, Perrizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, fought with you, but I handed them over to you. 

The curse of Canaan seems to be justified in consideration of the subsequent behavior of his generations.  If the other brothers had related to him in the manner prophesied by their father, perhaps much of the trouble the Israelites encountered could have been avoided.   

He also said,
         "Blessed be the LORD,
         The God of Shem;
         And let Canaan be his servant.
         "May God enlarge Japheth,
         And let him dwell in the tents of Shem;
         And let Canaan be his servant."  

I wonder why Noah continued the declaration in this fashion.  Cursed be Canaan, the son of the offender and now "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem..."   From cursing an heir to blessing God ... this makes me think that whatever transpired between Noah and his son was completely ungodly.  

Lord, please help me to honor the words of authority which are spoken to me.  Please give me a heart to fully comply with all that You have for me and to not hedge when I need to drive out an enemy from my land.   You are God Alone.  

Genesis 9

I think I figured out why Noah had favor in God's eyes.  Noah never once  asked, "Are we there, yet?"  He also began the tradition of men not asking for directions as he just floated around and waited to land just where he was supposed to dock.

Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying,  "Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you ... I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.

 "It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. "When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." 

God does so much.  He does not need a reminder, we do; He puts the rainbow in the sky, in the first place.  He creates the opportunity for remembering and then supplies the promised sign.  I don't often think of His tremendous grace in the display.  I think from now on I will look and remember, too.  He did that just for the scared and frail people like me, so we can rest assured that God remembers and is intent on keeping His promise.  

Another example of His tenderness towards His creation is the He spoke to Noah and his sons.  The Almighty, Sovereign King of the Universe did not have to speak to anyone; but he spoke with Noah and his sons.  The fact that these guys get to hear God speak and He speaks with promise, protection and provision must have been so incredible to them after the years of building and the overall destruction of the world as they knew it.  Our God knows just how to bless a brother or sister.

Thank You Father for Your words of promise and the faithfulness of Your promise-keeping all these years later - You still place the rainbow in the sky and You still withhold the waters.  Why You would care so much in the face of such wickedness amazes me.  Thank You.  Please let me never again regard the rainbow or Your promises in such a matter-of-fact manner.  Help me to delight myself in Your handiwork.  You are Amazing.

 

Genesis 8 - Are We There, Yet?!

But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; 

God remembers Noah the blameless and all the critters.  No mention of the family of Noah.  Had they still not set their hearts towards righteousness?  Oh, Holy Spirit, please let me always yield to the hungering and thirsting for righteousness that You give me.  Let me eat eagerly and drink deeply from Your supply of holiness that I would bring You glory.  Help me to encourage those in my circle of influence and in my prayers to pursue that, as well.  

... So he waited yet another seven days; and again he sent out the dove from the ark. ... So Noah knew that the water was abated from the earth. Then he waited yet another seven days ... Now it came about in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water was dried up from the earth. ... In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. Then God spoke to Noah, saying, "Go out of the ark..."

A week plus a week and then another nearly two months before Noah leaves the ark.  No mention is made of him trying to pry open the door, climb out the window or even asking the God of the Rain and Land if they could pretty please step out for some fresh air.  Noah waits on God.  Even beyond the point when Noah knows that the land is dry.  

Oh, Lord Jesus, that I could follow Noah's example and Yours to wait upon the LORD.  Quietly, patiently, amidst prodigious discomfort, possible duress and probably doo-doo.  Help me to always remember that You are my Comfort, my Fresh Air, my Governor, my God.  If I don't wait on You, I go without You and I know I don't want that.  Give me the spiritual caution (brakes) to never step beyond where You have placed me - especially when the land looks dry  -  unless You say, "Go out of here."  May I bring You glory in the going and in the waiting.

Genesis 7

Then the LORD said to Noah, "Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time.

Noah alone was the righteous one, yet all of his family was permitted to join him.  What grace God gives to him.  What blessings the righteousness of a believer brings to one's family.  Noah's family was also his workforce; so the opportunity of blessings of one righteous person extended to the job-place.  The daunting task of building such a vessel took a great deal of time which would have brought extended exposure to holiness as this righteous person engaged in the market place and community giving witness to his God.

Two challenges hit me from this verse.  One, never grow weary of well-doing; God notices and it matters spiritually and in this present time.  Pursue righteousness, despite the conditions.    Secondly, Noah gave witness with his righteousness, and all those who encountered him had to respond.  Holiness will require a response.  Noah did not alter his pursuit of righteousness in response to the others; he pursued blamelessness in response to God. 

Oh Lord, I want to be blameless in my generation.  I want to pursue You and that sanctified life you intend for me rather than living in reaction to the culture and climate of my time.  Please give me wisdom to discern the tides which pull me, strength for the sacred journey, and an enduring passion to complete the task You've assigned me.  May I glorify You in my home, work and life, may I choose the righteous path for Your Name's sake.

Genesis 6

Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

It seems that Noah was 500 years old and became the father of three boys.  Maybe triplets, maybe a single birth and twins.  I don't know; but what an eventful year.  It also seems that he found favor with God in that God told him to build an ark that year, too.   Wow.  I cannot fathom what Noah and Mrs. Noah's lives were like with babies and ark directions and the coming destruction of the world.  I also wonder if the boys were gifts that had been withheld until this momentous century  to help Noah build and then populate the post-flood world.  The timing of their births is makes me wonder ...

But, on to what I learned from this passage today.

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ... Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. ... for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. 

Contrast that with Noah's behavior:

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.  These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. ... Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.

Peer pressure is no excuse.  Trends don't need to predict or dictate my behavior.  The culture can't control  me if I wish to find favor in the eyes of the LORD.  No matter where I live, what I experience or what society demands, I can always choose to honor God and bring Him glory.  Noah was blameless in his time.  I can pursue blamelessness in my time.  The whole earth was corrupt and stuffed full of violence, yet Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.   Noah did, and so can I, all that God commands.

Father God, I desire to find favor in Your eyes.  I desire to do all that You command.  I desire to walk with You that I may have a similar testimony to Noah's.  I understand that means being counter-cultural and  being set apart from my time, which means I will most likely be set apart from society and family, too.  It is so comfortable to fit in and go with the flow; but I know that is not what You have called Your daughter to do.  And, in view of the cross, how could I respond any differently than to seek Your will for me?  You are worthy.  More worthy than anything or one, ever.  Let me not depart from that understanding, let me live with that motivation, let me glorify You in word and deed, that it might be said of me "In her time, she did all that God commanded and she found favor in the eyes of Her LORD." 

 

Genesis 5

When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. ... So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. ... and he had a son ... and he died...

... and he died...

... and he died...

These verses remind me that Death had entered into the equation as Sin's escort which sends me back to Genesis 2:

But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

God made Adam in His likeness.  Adam had a son in his own likeness.  Something had profoundly and fundamentally changed. 

By God's grace, the gift of our Messiah allows each of us, the mind of Christ. Also, we know that each of us, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. ...  . (Cor. 2:16b, 18).  

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself, (Phil 3:20-21). 

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"(Gal. 3:26, 4:6).

God redeemed the dying, (that is every single person who has ever lived or will live on planet earth), and made them His Own.  That is really redeemed.  I hope you  know this from personal experience.  I would love to tell you more, if you are inclined.