Today of all days to be given this passage to read would of properly left you shocked, confused and a little sickened. I was eating breakfast scratching my head wondering what I could write. It’s extremely graphic and understandably give us reason as to why God chose to destroy these two city’s. It also demonstrates and shows us why we should respect God, because he hate sin so so much that it lead to destruction, and destruction will soon come again as a result of mankind’s sinful ways. It also just goes to show in some aspects mankind makes the same mistakes over and over again, in the garden where Adam and Eve were banished, the first murder, the flood, where Noah got drunk and was naked in his tent in which Ham disgraced him and now to the point where God destroys two cities, (because he promised he would never flood the earth again.) we never learn. So you can’t help commend and love God; because despite what people say about ‘The non existence of God’ because the amount of evil in the world. Or in some cases many believe that he created the world and has left it to it’s own devises, we can be a real testimony to that and prove through the scripture up until this point sharing his by explaining the reason for creation and how we chose to go it on our own and as a result of this we’ve lost sight and contact with God.
I was stunned about the men of Sodom coming to Lot’s door demanding to have Sex with the two men that Lot was entertaining which then lead to Lot being subjected to this wickedness. The sin was to great, there was no way of turning it around there was no righteous man in sight who would by Gods grace would prevent it from not happing. Its an incredible insight as to how after one sinful act leads to another, it consumes people to the point where there in no way back they soon come to the stage in there life where they know only sin and nothing else, it’s away of life where it considered natural and Common, that it‘s not questioned and our world now is turning into this rapidly, what would have been considered unacceptable fifty years ago isn’t particularly frowned upon today. I was reading one of my favourite magazine (it no longer a favourite I might add) where someone wrote in and asked if it was okay if getting involved with a married man, (that’s not the shocking bit!) and the agony aunt replied that it was fine, as long as she didn’t get to attached then that it okay and wished her luck and fun! Now you know and I know that Is wrong but for those who read that same magazine who stumbled across that letter would of seen the attraction because it now the norm, it’s fashionable to ruin and hurt this married man or women life by ripping their family apart everyone gets hurt, and when that happens it usually leads to revenge and it escalates and evolves. And when these men demand sex, lot not surprised by this that its seems to be a normal occurrence for this to be happing. God is seeing all this hurt and how their wicked ways are destroying people life’s that the only option he’s left is to destroy the cities.
We thankfully know God we know what is sinful and what Is Good. We are the tasty salt and the light in the world, we don’t belong here, this isn’t our home. We know there is corruption, wickedness and acts of evil, thankfully we aren’t in an environment where we see or are subjected to it, we know of its origins from the scripture of the old testament and where is certain place of our country and people who are effected by it and where it happens in other countries through the media. The reason that Lot was saved was because of Abraham, because he prayed for him. That’s amazing, so pray for everyone the offenders and the offended that they maybe saved from the destruction of sin. I say this because of what Jesus said, ‘forgive them father for they don’t know what they do’. And the sad thing Is that they don’t because it normal it’s not alien to them. Play your part, show them the meaning of life, the life that Jesus died for and how it reconciled us back to our father. Then they will question life, comparisons will be made and then a choice is an option. I love you all and we are made in the likeness of God and he sent Jesus his only son because he loved us so so much. It’s extremely beautiful and amazing and awesome and WOW! Pray for everyone we want everyone one to have eternal life because God does to.
Peace people .x.
Tara.x.
P.S watch the soul survivor link! because i've only focused on one particular thing. I hear mike's doing a video again with his special white dye on his beard. How lovely.
Thursday, 9 September 2010
Sunday, 5 September 2010
saturday 4th september 2010
hello people, i just like to say this was meant for yesterday, i'm sorry that it hasn't been publised until today, a day later and there another one to follow about today's readings, but it's better late than never.
Okay so yesterdays followed what happened in fridays reading, Noah, his sons and Noahs wife along with his sons wife were commanded by God to enter the ark along with two of every bird and animal aswell food because you can't really afford the lions to get hungry can you? They are higher up in the food chain than us and with no food for human consumption i can imagine that would leave Noah and his family weak and unable to fight of some scary hungry pair of lions, i'm rambling, i'm sorry. This is because the world and it population of people and animals had become evil and corrupt leaving God feeling painned.
So after Noah had build the Ark, following Gods instructions, which i might add took a hundred years to build. They all entered the ark after seven days after it's completion and God locked them in for near on 150 days. The fourty days and nights of rain fell from the sky as promissed and wiped out everything. All that God gave the breath of life to had well and truely perished. When the land was dry enough to walk on the Ark's population were free to roam and God realvealed his Covenant with Noah and again like in the begunning he commanded them to be fruitful and populate the earth. Noah in reconistion of this built an altar and offered God burnt offerings. God promised that he would never allow this to happen again, 'never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood, never again will a flood to destroy the earth'. so when ever you see a rainbow this is a reminder of when God established his covenant with Noah, remember that when you see one, maybe tell someone the true meaning of the rainbow, and not that there is a pot of gold at the end of it.
Fast forward to Matthew, Jesus was baptised and God is well and truely pleased with him. So yesterday we read that the sprit lead him into the desert for 40 days and i can imagine he was there at night. whislt he was there he was tempted by the devil. Before i wrote this blog i read the Soul Survivors comentary (not to steal material for my own but just a little insight.) and i read some of the coments left by people who like us are doing the bible in one year and they came up with some interesting points, And one of the main reasons we're doing the bible in the year is to get to know god through the bible and bring him closer so we can live our lifes the way he wants us so when tempation comes we can then refer ourselves back to scripture for guidence and strength.
Anyway in the desert one of the ways the devil temps Jesus is through scripture, he seems pretty knowledgeable with scripture, that he belives that would be the more effective way of tempting Jesus in order to get him on the dark side. But he fails, why because Jesus knows it far better than he does, he is one step further/quicker than the devil because he knows it like the back of his hand and in that he has strenght to fight back. Then the devil left him and the angels came to attend him...(v11). wow that pretty amazing.
The devil knows our weekness that he will use our emotionals in order to temp us which resort us to become weak and accept the temptation that will do us more harm than god because it only serves us a small amount of gratifcation which then can in some cases leads to adiction. Thats no good because we then become a slave to our weakness. The devil knows these weaknesses and he will use you emotions to tempt you. We need the strength that Jesus had in the desert. We all go through times where are metohorically in a wilderness, we're weak and lonely and thing that is tempting you seems the best idea in the world, you think if it serves me with a little happyness then whats the harm, it's better than the state i'm in now? We forget what it will then lead us to, bigger things?
The whole point of this year is to have a little bit more knowledge of scripture so when tempation is put infront of you you can then fight back with the wisdom that God gives you from the bible and then the devil will leave. I should imagine that it would take more than three accounts of you displaying amazing scripture knowledge to scare the devil away because when you get older you will find that there will be new tempations and thoughs that tempted you before are nothing because it's no longer a sinful habit. We need to have Jesus strength when we go through difficult times, that we then start to have a habit of resorting to scripture to beat tempation off with big stick, bible bashing if you like because it effectively. So bash that devil with your bible, because he'll use it to bash you, because he is soo clever, but you have strenght and using it is clever, can i get a Bam Bam?
So today theme is strength, pray for it esp for this year as we do this bible in one year challenge.
love you all.x.
Tara .x.
Okay so yesterdays followed what happened in fridays reading, Noah, his sons and Noahs wife along with his sons wife were commanded by God to enter the ark along with two of every bird and animal aswell food because you can't really afford the lions to get hungry can you? They are higher up in the food chain than us and with no food for human consumption i can imagine that would leave Noah and his family weak and unable to fight of some scary hungry pair of lions, i'm rambling, i'm sorry. This is because the world and it population of people and animals had become evil and corrupt leaving God feeling painned.
So after Noah had build the Ark, following Gods instructions, which i might add took a hundred years to build. They all entered the ark after seven days after it's completion and God locked them in for near on 150 days. The fourty days and nights of rain fell from the sky as promissed and wiped out everything. All that God gave the breath of life to had well and truely perished. When the land was dry enough to walk on the Ark's population were free to roam and God realvealed his Covenant with Noah and again like in the begunning he commanded them to be fruitful and populate the earth. Noah in reconistion of this built an altar and offered God burnt offerings. God promised that he would never allow this to happen again, 'never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood, never again will a flood to destroy the earth'. so when ever you see a rainbow this is a reminder of when God established his covenant with Noah, remember that when you see one, maybe tell someone the true meaning of the rainbow, and not that there is a pot of gold at the end of it.
Fast forward to Matthew, Jesus was baptised and God is well and truely pleased with him. So yesterday we read that the sprit lead him into the desert for 40 days and i can imagine he was there at night. whislt he was there he was tempted by the devil. Before i wrote this blog i read the Soul Survivors comentary (not to steal material for my own but just a little insight.) and i read some of the coments left by people who like us are doing the bible in one year and they came up with some interesting points, And one of the main reasons we're doing the bible in the year is to get to know god through the bible and bring him closer so we can live our lifes the way he wants us so when tempation comes we can then refer ourselves back to scripture for guidence and strength.
Anyway in the desert one of the ways the devil temps Jesus is through scripture, he seems pretty knowledgeable with scripture, that he belives that would be the more effective way of tempting Jesus in order to get him on the dark side. But he fails, why because Jesus knows it far better than he does, he is one step further/quicker than the devil because he knows it like the back of his hand and in that he has strenght to fight back. Then the devil left him and the angels came to attend him...(v11). wow that pretty amazing.
The devil knows our weekness that he will use our emotionals in order to temp us which resort us to become weak and accept the temptation that will do us more harm than god because it only serves us a small amount of gratifcation which then can in some cases leads to adiction. Thats no good because we then become a slave to our weakness. The devil knows these weaknesses and he will use you emotions to tempt you. We need the strength that Jesus had in the desert. We all go through times where are metohorically in a wilderness, we're weak and lonely and thing that is tempting you seems the best idea in the world, you think if it serves me with a little happyness then whats the harm, it's better than the state i'm in now? We forget what it will then lead us to, bigger things?
The whole point of this year is to have a little bit more knowledge of scripture so when tempation is put infront of you you can then fight back with the wisdom that God gives you from the bible and then the devil will leave. I should imagine that it would take more than three accounts of you displaying amazing scripture knowledge to scare the devil away because when you get older you will find that there will be new tempations and thoughs that tempted you before are nothing because it's no longer a sinful habit. We need to have Jesus strength when we go through difficult times, that we then start to have a habit of resorting to scripture to beat tempation off with big stick, bible bashing if you like because it effectively. So bash that devil with your bible, because he'll use it to bash you, because he is soo clever, but you have strenght and using it is clever, can i get a Bam Bam?
So today theme is strength, pray for it esp for this year as we do this bible in one year challenge.
love you all.x.
Tara .x.
Friday, 3 September 2010
Jesus coming into the world.
We often talk about the price Jesus paid for us on the cross. But reading Matthew 2 yesterday i realise that that was not the only cost of Jesus coming to earth.
"16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18"A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more."
A whole generation of children were killed by Herod. Have you ever wondered why evil shows up when God is at work? Maybe it's because the devil gets scared!
"16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18"A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more."
A whole generation of children were killed by Herod. Have you ever wondered why evil shows up when God is at work? Maybe it's because the devil gets scared!
friday 3rd september 2010
Friday 3rd September 2010!
Genesis 4:17-6:22, Matthew 2:19-3:17 and psalms 3:1-8
Hello all, once again we have another trilling Blog for you! And you’re all still Keen, God love Ya! Anyway...okay peeps let’s get started!
Okay ... Again we’re presented with a lovely family tree from Adam to Noah. And we have all these people who are living until they’re nine hundred years! Crazy eh? Why you ask? Well... do you remember when God commanded Man kind to multiply themselves on earth? Well I’m guess this was His genus way of allowing them to accomplish this task.
So when Noah was eventually born, 500 years into his life in fact, the world and the human population on earth started to change, it was increasing and the gap between God and mankind started to increased also . Man started to forget about God, they became mortal because they gone so far away from him in their likeness (behaviour) because they’d become so corrupt, wicked and evil in deeds and thought. This pained God’s heart to see that they had become like this. God sprit could no longer dwell amongst them; because of their wickedness so he decides that it would be better to destroy Man and all animals by flooding it. However he finds favour in a guy we know as, Noah.
Noah was a righteous man and compare to other men, blameless. God tells him to build an Ark (God is very particular about how to make it) in which he and this sons along with his wife and this sons wife’s will live along with two of every animal and he was to gather and store food for him and the animals. He reveals that he’ll cause a flood so he could then establish his covenant with him. Read tomorrow’s extract to know what happens next.
Okay....so fast forward to Matthew. Yesterday Joseph was told by and Angel to escape to Egypt in order to protect Jesus from being killed because they’re is a mass slaughter of young boys in Bethlehem under the age of two. And here another angel calls him out of hiding because Herod has died and they settled in Nazareth. Okay for the people who came to the Wednesday’s night meeting, and thoughts of you who didn’t, take note. You would of noticed that there are a few references to what God had said through the old testament prophets, You’ll remember that Matthew wrote his gospel for Jewish converts And that referring to these prophecies it was a way of proving that Jesus was indeed king of the Jews? You can see he uses it on many accusations ...who exciting!?
So the themes is obedience, Noah and Joseph was both obedient, which was good because it allowed God to carry out his plans for restoration.
Time for reflection. How obedient are you when it comes to god? Do you think you are stifling God with the plans he has for your life? Take this time to reflect on this theme and where it fits in with your life?
Prayer: Pray to God that you should become more obedient to him so that you can be the best you can be. He’ll like the fact that you’re showing a keen interest in wanting to be obedient so you can have the life he planned for you..... Peace be with you, until next time.
Tara x.
Genesis 4:17-6:22, Matthew 2:19-3:17 and psalms 3:1-8
Hello all, once again we have another trilling Blog for you! And you’re all still Keen, God love Ya! Anyway...okay peeps let’s get started!
Okay ... Again we’re presented with a lovely family tree from Adam to Noah. And we have all these people who are living until they’re nine hundred years! Crazy eh? Why you ask? Well... do you remember when God commanded Man kind to multiply themselves on earth? Well I’m guess this was His genus way of allowing them to accomplish this task.
So when Noah was eventually born, 500 years into his life in fact, the world and the human population on earth started to change, it was increasing and the gap between God and mankind started to increased also . Man started to forget about God, they became mortal because they gone so far away from him in their likeness (behaviour) because they’d become so corrupt, wicked and evil in deeds and thought. This pained God’s heart to see that they had become like this. God sprit could no longer dwell amongst them; because of their wickedness so he decides that it would be better to destroy Man and all animals by flooding it. However he finds favour in a guy we know as, Noah.
Noah was a righteous man and compare to other men, blameless. God tells him to build an Ark (God is very particular about how to make it) in which he and this sons along with his wife and this sons wife’s will live along with two of every animal and he was to gather and store food for him and the animals. He reveals that he’ll cause a flood so he could then establish his covenant with him. Read tomorrow’s extract to know what happens next.
Okay....so fast forward to Matthew. Yesterday Joseph was told by and Angel to escape to Egypt in order to protect Jesus from being killed because they’re is a mass slaughter of young boys in Bethlehem under the age of two. And here another angel calls him out of hiding because Herod has died and they settled in Nazareth. Okay for the people who came to the Wednesday’s night meeting, and thoughts of you who didn’t, take note. You would of noticed that there are a few references to what God had said through the old testament prophets, You’ll remember that Matthew wrote his gospel for Jewish converts And that referring to these prophecies it was a way of proving that Jesus was indeed king of the Jews? You can see he uses it on many accusations ...who exciting!?
So the themes is obedience, Noah and Joseph was both obedient, which was good because it allowed God to carry out his plans for restoration.
Time for reflection. How obedient are you when it comes to god? Do you think you are stifling God with the plans he has for your life? Take this time to reflect on this theme and where it fits in with your life?
Prayer: Pray to God that you should become more obedient to him so that you can be the best you can be. He’ll like the fact that you’re showing a keen interest in wanting to be obedient so you can have the life he planned for you..... Peace be with you, until next time.
Tara x.
thursday 2nd september 2010
Thursday 2nd September 2010!
Genesis 4: 18- 4:16, Matthew :1-18 and psalms 2: 1-12.
So on Thursday we read that God decided it wasn’t good for man to be alone- Genesis 2: 18. So he then formed beasts and all birds using the dirt from the ground just as he did with Man. (v 19). And he named them, however he was still lonely so God in recognition of this, cause the man to fall into a deep sleep and took out one of his ribs and formed a Woman, then brought her to him in which he called her, Women. God making a suitable helper for him. Okay we know these two humans as ‘Adam’ and ‘Eve’. This comes from the Greek words for Man and Women. Just a little fact for you there.
Okay so Adam and Eve became one flesh and God performed the first marriage ceremony in the Garden of Eden. They were left and allowed to roam and eat from any tree except’ ‘The tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil’, otherwise, ‘they would surely die’. Now there was a crafty serpent in the garden. Who set himself out to temp Eve and succeeds by saying she’d become more like God if she was to eat from It. He was implying that God was selfish and over controlling by not wanting to share his knowledge of Good and evil and by doing so she’d have to eat from the tree. Now it is not wrong for Humans to aspire to be like God, it is a part of His plan and by doing so was to be obedient to God in order to be rewarded. So to not eat from the tree was good and to eat was bad leading o sin and unleashing evil. Uh oh! So in consequence of this they was punished and banished from the Garden. Adam was to work hard for food by working the ground, And Eve’s labour pains was to increase and the Serpent was to remain for all time travelling on his belly and eat dirt.
So Adam and Eve get it on and as a result have two children, Cain and Abel. What happens later on in their lives? Well Cain kills Able out o f jealousy because Abel gave a far more substantial offering to God. God finds Cain and asks where his brother is? ‘Am I my brother’s Keeper?’ There’s something I love about this daily reading of genesis. The fact that God asks Cain where is brother i, knowing full well that Cain had killed him, then earlier when he asked Adam and Eve if they’d had eaten from the tree again knowing that they had. God gives them a chance to come clean /repent and be honest about their sin, but that weren’t which lead to them being banished/exiled and punished.
I love the fact although they sinned God still walked on the earth and has close contact with his creation. Cain was so worried that someone would take revenge and kill him in return that God puts a mark of protection on him. No matter what, God will protect you whether you’ve sinned or not. We come to the reading in Matthew where again he protect his son from being murdered because of king Herod’s jealously because The King of the Jews had been Born. And Jesus was perfect in every way. So today’s theme is Protection: No matter what you do God will protect you. This is along as you obey him and trust that he will, This means keeping yourself from temptation and not acting on impulse. Like Adam, Eve and Cain. They did consult God first, always ask him first and maybe Christian peers.
Also as we won’t be meeting until Wednesday just pray that you won’t be tempted and ask god for strength so you can overcome it. May the peace of the lord be always with you.
Tara.x
Genesis 4: 18- 4:16, Matthew :1-18 and psalms 2: 1-12.
So on Thursday we read that God decided it wasn’t good for man to be alone- Genesis 2: 18. So he then formed beasts and all birds using the dirt from the ground just as he did with Man. (v 19). And he named them, however he was still lonely so God in recognition of this, cause the man to fall into a deep sleep and took out one of his ribs and formed a Woman, then brought her to him in which he called her, Women. God making a suitable helper for him. Okay we know these two humans as ‘Adam’ and ‘Eve’. This comes from the Greek words for Man and Women. Just a little fact for you there.
Okay so Adam and Eve became one flesh and God performed the first marriage ceremony in the Garden of Eden. They were left and allowed to roam and eat from any tree except’ ‘The tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil’, otherwise, ‘they would surely die’. Now there was a crafty serpent in the garden. Who set himself out to temp Eve and succeeds by saying she’d become more like God if she was to eat from It. He was implying that God was selfish and over controlling by not wanting to share his knowledge of Good and evil and by doing so she’d have to eat from the tree. Now it is not wrong for Humans to aspire to be like God, it is a part of His plan and by doing so was to be obedient to God in order to be rewarded. So to not eat from the tree was good and to eat was bad leading o sin and unleashing evil. Uh oh! So in consequence of this they was punished and banished from the Garden. Adam was to work hard for food by working the ground, And Eve’s labour pains was to increase and the Serpent was to remain for all time travelling on his belly and eat dirt.
So Adam and Eve get it on and as a result have two children, Cain and Abel. What happens later on in their lives? Well Cain kills Able out o f jealousy because Abel gave a far more substantial offering to God. God finds Cain and asks where his brother is? ‘Am I my brother’s Keeper?’ There’s something I love about this daily reading of genesis. The fact that God asks Cain where is brother i, knowing full well that Cain had killed him, then earlier when he asked Adam and Eve if they’d had eaten from the tree again knowing that they had. God gives them a chance to come clean /repent and be honest about their sin, but that weren’t which lead to them being banished/exiled and punished.
I love the fact although they sinned God still walked on the earth and has close contact with his creation. Cain was so worried that someone would take revenge and kill him in return that God puts a mark of protection on him. No matter what, God will protect you whether you’ve sinned or not. We come to the reading in Matthew where again he protect his son from being murdered because of king Herod’s jealously because The King of the Jews had been Born. And Jesus was perfect in every way. So today’s theme is Protection: No matter what you do God will protect you. This is along as you obey him and trust that he will, This means keeping yourself from temptation and not acting on impulse. Like Adam, Eve and Cain. They did consult God first, always ask him first and maybe Christian peers.
Also as we won’t be meeting until Wednesday just pray that you won’t be tempted and ask god for strength so you can overcome it. May the peace of the lord be always with you.
Tara.x
Thursday, 2 September 2010
Some thoughts on Genesis 1-11
Introduction
Humanity is “created in the image of God and elected to represent and resemble their creator in being equally creative, fruitful and relational (1:26-27). This vocation of imaging goes horribly astray when the partners, not satisfied with being merely created in the image and likeness of God, want instead to be the same as God”. (Greene & Robinson, 2008, P120.)
Vocation is to flourish in Gods presence
Created in the image of God (1:27) we live because of the breath of God (2:7) within us, indeed, we were created ‘good’ (1:31) for companionship with God (3:8). We were also created to work the ground (2:15) taking pleasure in our labour.
Male and female were created equal (1:27) to live in companionship with each other (2:18). This principle becomes a new creation in each generation as men and women leave their parents to form new families (2:24-25) which in turn have the opportunity to flourish and be fruitful.
Whilst we derive from the ground like the rest of creation, humankind have been set apart from the animal kingdom (1:26) by God and given responsibility for its care (1:28, 2:19-20). This responsibility to care for creation derives both from Gods command but also from our own need because it is the creation that sustains us (1:29).
Vocation lost
The story of Adam and Eve and the serpent (3:1-6) describes the moment when humankind chooses to try and usurp their place in the creation and become equal to God. This has terrible consequences both for them - banished from God presence (3:23)- and for the creation (3:17-18) which becomes a more hostile place.
Was this a real event which brought sin into the world setting the whole of creation in disarray or is it just a story which represents each persons tendency to disobey God rather than follow him? John Hargreaves argues the latter (Hargreaves, 1999, P31) whilst the argument for a once-for-all fall leading to “original sin” is put by Berkhof (Berkhof, 1949, P244).
Whilst Hargreaves’ argument is persuasive the problem with it is that it fails to explain how the perfect creation of a perfect God came to be undone. Why does every human baby choose to go the way of anger the first time their parent fails to give them what they want?
In Romans 5, Paul argues that the problem of sin and the brokenness of creation came into being because of a single catastrophic decision in history by the ‘first Adam’. The effects of the sin of this ‘one man’ is then undone by the death and resurrection of Jesus. In my own life I can absolutely relate to Paul’s words in Romans 7:21-24: knowing what is right I still -too often- choose to do what is wrong.
At the heart of the human condition is the desire to be on a par with God. The story of the fall starts with the search for knowledge at any cost (3:6). One of the great flaws of humanity; once known, knowledge cannot then be unknown (3:10-11). It ends with the story of the tower of Babel - a stinging critique on the Babylonian Ziggurats (Hargreaves, 1999, P75) which sought to reach into the place of the gods. Pride & independence from God (11:1-9) lead to a self destructive way of life which is driven by selfish rather than selfless desires.
Allied to this desire for the self-destructive is an unwillingness to accept responsibility for our actions (3:12-13). This is demonstrated in the conversation that Cain has with God about his sacrifice; he is angry with his brother (Hargreaves, 1999, P44) for getting it right rather than disappointed with himself for the mistakes that he made (4:4-8). Once Cain has let his anger take its course and his brother is dead he then lies to cover it up (4:9).
Cain murders Abel because he is angry (4:8), and from then on, anger and violence become the way of all peoples (6:11-12). We only have to watch the news or read a newspaper to see the truth of the Bible’s observations on the nature of man. Each of us has the capacity for unexpected levels of anger which often spills over into violence.
There are consequences for Cain following the murder. He has no peace (4:13) and there is the suggestion that his example repeats in later generations of his family with the murder by Lamech of another man (4:23).
When Noah gets drunk he exposes himself and lays himself open to the disrespect of his youngest son Ham (9:20-21). His weakness therefore has consequences both for himself and for Ham whose own sinfulness is drawn out by the episode leading to a family feud lasting generations (9:24-25).
Consequences
As a result of our choices we lose the presence of God (3:23-24) and suffer from his punishment (4:10-12, 6:5-7). That easy companionship with the each other and God for which we are created is replaced by inequality in relationships (3:16) and isolation from the source of our life.
The good and fulfilling life that God intended for us becomes a struggle for survival in which even having children becomes harder (3:16-19).
Civilisation
Genesis 4 explores how people learned to live together and how civilisation brought some stability to an otherwise violent and unstable world.
Civilisation (Hargreaves, 1999, P46) offers the possibility that people can live at peace with each other (20), tame their surroundings (21) and find ways of enjoying life (22). It is not necessarily ‘good’, but instead increases our power to do good or evil. Civilisation can enable people to flourish or destroy them - often the two go hand in hand with one group flourishing at the expense of another (Gooder, 2000, P35).
The importance of punishment: Cain (Kevan, 1962, P78) is concerned less about the murder and more about the consequences. Ironically one of the greatest bringers of peace in the affairs of people is the threat of punishment for those breaking the rules of the society in which they live.
Three Sons and a way back to God
The three sons of Adam represent, as Hargreaves suggests, three different types of people that can be found on the earth (Hargreaves, 1999, P49).
Cain is the violent oppressor (4:8) lashing out and murdering the innocent, lying to hide his crime and showing remorse only for his punishment (4:9-10).
Abel, in his turn, is the good person who suffers unjust oppression (4:5,8); the Bible here explores the troubling fact that the innocent often suffer at the hands of evil people who seem to get away with their crimes. The message here is that God sees what is done and champions the cause of the innocent (4:10).
At the end of Genesis 4 we see the beginnings of the good news of a way back to God. Seth is Gods gift to Adam and Eve: the sign of a new start ‘...call on the name of the Lord’ - 4:25-26. Seth’s family call on the name of the Lord (4:25-26). It is interesting to note that they are not described as good or perfect; in the King James Bible it says that Noah ‘found grace in the eyes of the Lord’ (6:8) not that he was perfect - in 6:9 he is noted as being ‘blameless amongst his generation’ - who were in themselves violent and destructive (6:12-13).
Here we see introduced one of the great themes of the Bible; in all the mess of our disobedience and violence God has not abandoned us but is instead working out his plan of salvation. Our relationship with God comes as a result of Gods initiative and is a gift which is and cannot be earned.
Conclusions
Do the stories in the first 11 chapters of Genesis have their foundations somehow in real events or are they simply ancient and powerful stories reflecting on the nature of humankind and their relationship with God and world? In truth we can't know in this life but either way they put their finger precisely on the problem of the human condition. In the final analysis we damage ourselves, each other and the world around us -often deliberately- because of the sinful desires which rage inside us.
The real power of the stories is in their words of hope. In all of the mess, God is still there offering us a way back to him and inviting us to experience a different way of living. Not based upon actions which earn his favour but rather on a willingness to call on his name and listen to his voice.
Bibliography
Atkinson David, The Message of 1-11, 1990, Inter Varsity Press
Berkhoff, Systematic Theology, 1949, Banner of Truth trust
Davidson, Stubbs and Kevan, The New Bible Commentary, 1962, Inter Varsity Press
Gooder Paula, The Pentateuch A story of beginnings, 2000, Continuum
Greene and Robinson, Metavista: Bible, Church and Mission in an age of imagination, 2008, Authentic Media,
Hargreaves John, A Guide to , 1999, SPCK
Oesterley & Robinson, An Introduction to the books of the Old Testament, 1953, SPCK
Wenham Gordon, Exploring the Old Testament A Guide to the Pentateuch, 2003, Inter Varsity Press
Wright NT, The New Testament and the people of God, 2004, SPCK
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
Revolution Youth Cafe Bible in a Year: Week 1 - Welcome
Revolution Youth Cafe Bible in a Year: Week 1 - Welcome: "Welcome to Bible in a Year. It's Day 1! Today’s readings: Genesis 1:1-2:17 Matthew 1:1-25 Psalm 1:1-6 Introduction by Andy Croft We're me..."
Week 1 - Welcome
Welcome to Bible in a Year. It's Day 1!
Today’s readings:
Genesis 1:1-2:17
Matthew 1:1-25
Psalm 1:1-6
Introduction by Andy Croft
We're meeting at The Revolution Youth Internet Cafe tonight 7pm to 9pm; why not come along or email us at bibleinayear@therevolutionandover.co.uk
Today’s readings:
Genesis 1:1-2:17
Matthew 1:1-25
Psalm 1:1-6
Introduction by Andy Croft
We're meeting at The Revolution Youth Internet Cafe tonight 7pm to 9pm; why not come along or email us at bibleinayear@therevolutionandover.co.uk
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