Tag Archives: Genesis

genesis 11: rebellion

He told them to be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth. Instead, they migrated together and decided to build a city and a tower, so that they would not be scattered over the earth.

So God scattered them over the earth.

Because nothing – no city, no tower, no people, no rebellion, will stop God’s plans and purposes.

Think of the Israelites and their shiny golden calf. Their grumbling and complaining and refusal to trust God. It took 40 years and the death of a generation, but He got His people to the promised land.

Think Jonah. Sent to Ninevah. Went the other way. Big fish swallows him. He went to Ninevah.

Remember Saul. Chosen by God to be king. Hiding in the baggage hoping not to be seen. But God saw him. Saul was anointed as king.

Another Saul, killing the Church. God knocked him down then picked him up and used him to build that same Church.

So, who do you know that’s living in rebellion, running from God, building their own tower? Have you despaired? Have you given up? Don’t. Get up and get yourself before the throne of God and continue to intercede for them and believe God for them.

Think of you and me. Rebels all the way. But look at us now – children of God. Because our rebellion did not stop Him from coming for us.

Thank You, Jesus. Just, thank You.

Exodus 32; Jonah; 1st Samuel 10:20-24; Acts 9

genesis 10: origins

“These are the generations of the sons of Noah…”

Just nine words. Words that no doubt most of us just skim past. But you and I are in those words. Generations. Sons of Noah.

Japheth: Often referred to as the Father of Europeans. His descendants were French, German, Celtic, Russian, and Spanish, among others. Some of his sons’ descendants inhabited Iran and Iraq, India and Armenia.

Ham: His descendants inhabited Africa and the Far East. They founded both Babylon and Ethiopia. They lived in Libya, Egypt, and Israel. It is also widely believed that the Asian peoples descended from sons of Ham.

Shem was an ancestor of Persians, Assyrians and the Syrians, and various Arabic peoples.

You and I fall somewhere in there, as descendants of the sons of Noah, a descendant of Adam and Eve.

It’s good to know and remember where you came from.

I was the first person in my immediate family (parents, siblings) to become a Christian. I met a guy in a bar and eventually married him. He came from a Christian family and told me about Jesus. Not a lot, but the basics. Years later I would surrender my life to that Jesus and never look back. But I learned that there were members of my dad’s family (grandmother, grandfather (eventually) uncles, aunts) who were Christians. I can’t help but wonder where it began. I would love to discover who was my point of origin for the gospel in my family.

After I got saved, most of my family members became Christians, one at a time. I’m still believing for those who have not yet surrendered to the Lordship of Christ.

The covenants God made with both Abraham and Noah included their descendants. God’s purposes and His heart are for families, for lineage and legacy. He doesn’t bless one man, He blesses a man and his descendants. He doesn’t just save one man, He saves a man and his entire household.

And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

That doesn’t mean that when one person is saved, his whole household is automatically saved. It means that one person getting saved then opens the door for the gospel to his whole family.

In a very roundabout way, I am coming to my point, which is this:

God is about family. Descendants. Legacy. Households. Keep going. Keep praying. Keep believing. Keep walking with Jesus. You are opening doors. You are walking in the blessings of God that are being passed down from one generation to the next.

You could very well be someone’s point of origin for the gospel.

genesis 9: multiply

“And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”

Remember when He said the same thing to Adam and Eve?

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth…”

And then when Jesus said it to His disciples?

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…”

Bringing forth many from few. Reproducing His Kingdom through His people is the way of God.

Both darkness and light are increasing in our world today. The part we don’t always pay attention to is which one are we multiplying?

“…for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light…”

The instruction to walk as children of light indicates that it may not be a natural response to our identity in Christ. Even though we are now light, we can still walk as though we are in darkness.

We can still gossip with our co-workers, respond to circumstances with fear and anxiety, react to our children in anger, sulk when we’re overlooked, be obnoxiously prideful, and continually express discontentment with our lives, among other things.

And people are watching. Our kids and grandkids are imitating us. Co-workers, neighbors, family members, employees, younger Christians, and unbelievers could all possibly be looking at us to see what it looks like to follow Jesus.

Questions:

  • When I survey the way I am living my life, the attitudes I display, the values I live by – do I want it reproduced in others?
  • Who is watching my life? Who is becoming the kind of Christian they see in me?
  • How can I be more intentional in multiplying the Kingdom of God around me?

Go, make disciples. Walk as children of Light.

Genesis 9:1; Genesis 1:28; Matthew 28:19; Ephesians 5:8

genesis 8: altars

Again, God is specific with timing. The ark came to rest on the 17th day of the 7th month. In the 601st year (of Noah’s life), 2nd month, 27th day of the month, the earth was finally dry again. Noah and his family had been in the ark for about a year. I can only imagine the smell.

God knows the timing of every single thing in your life. If you are wondering when, or how long, then I invite you to rest. Stop wrestling with the timing of it. Whatever it is, it will not be one minute late, or go on one minute too long.

Noah and his family didn’t know how long they would be in there. I assume they had friends and neighbors who perished in the flood. Their home and all that was known to them was gone, and they had no idea what life would look like outside of the Ark. Maybe they were grieving. Maybe they were scared. Whatever they were dealing with, it was no vacation.

Sometimes being rescued is hard. Life as we know it changes and it can be painful, and it always comes with a loss. In fact, we all have, or have heard, testimonies of life going downhill fast once we surrendered our lives to Jesus. If you are in the hard part of the rescue, stay put. Dry ground is coming.

“Then Noah built an altar to the Lord.”

Altars. Places of sacrifice. Worship. Devotion. Repentance. Thanksgiving. They represent our lives before God. The sacrifice on Noah’s altar was a costly one, given that there were only so many animals left on the earth. And that thought quickly became this one –

There are things that come with us in our rescue so that they can become our sacrifice on dry ground.

So, here come the questions, more for me than for you, but I think we could all stand to answer them: What came with you when Jesus declared you saved? Have you built an altar for your pride yet (independence, selfishness, anger, etc.)?

Can you look back at the difficult seasons and find the altars you built to worship God?

Is your life on an altar right now?


genesis 7: faith

It was in Noah’s 600th year, in the 2nd month, on the 17th day. God knows precisely when He began the flooding of the earth in order to eradicate the wickedness that permeated it. It was the exact same day that He saved the one speck of righteousness that existed on the earth – Noah. Interestingly, it never states that Noah’s sons, wife, or daughters-in-law were righteous. It only tells us that Noah found favor, Noah walked with God, Noah was righteous. Yet his entire family was saved from the flood. Reminds me of this:

“They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household.” – Acts 16:31

{Maybe today you needed to hear that God likes to save whole families. Maybe you needed to hear that God’s timing is precise. Maybe you needed encouragement to continue to pray, continue to believe God for your family.}

But that’s not all that caught my eye in this chapter.

Noah did all that God commanded. All. Not most. Not some. All. But these were not just obedient actions. Listen to Hebrews 11:7:

“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.“

Noah’s obedience came through faith. He believed God would do what He said He would do. He most likely did not understand exactly what that would look like, but He believed it would happen. He trusted God to keep His Word.

People with a religious spirit will often follow the rules out of trust in the rules, not the rule giver. Rules provide order and some measure of control and even superiority to the one who religiously follows them, but the people who follow the rules apart from faith are not the ones who are commended in scripture.

Rules are necessary, and obedience is good. But God will always want to take us below the surface of our obedience so we can discover why we are obeying, and where faith comes into it. For instance, the story of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:

“And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”

The man kept the commands until his obedience required Him to trust God by giving away what he actually trusted. His money. His obedience to the commandments came from his own ability to follow rules. But as in all things, God is looking for faith. From the beginning to the end, it will always be about faith. We enter salvation through faith, not obedience to rules. We can obey every rule written in the scriptures, every commandment given by God – (which we can’t, but for argument’s sake, let’s say we could) but if we do not obey the gospel, we will still be lost, and the gospel is obeyed solely by faith.

By faith, we all have to give up what we’ve been trusting in, and trust God alone.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God…” – Hebrews 11:6

No matter how many rules we follow.

Genesis 6—God Is In the Details

I came home one day and my husband had bought a huge painting and hung it in our living room. It was a 5-foot by 4-foot painting, and it took me about twenty minutes to notice it. My husband can tell you what kind of car each of our neighbors drives, whether or not they wear glasses, and how often they cut their grass. I couldn’t tell you any of that. Unless it involves words on paper, I don’t notice details. Even really big ones, apparently.

Perhaps that’s why the fact that God is so detailed in this chapter stood out to me. The measurements of the ark. The materials for the ark. Where the door will be, how many levels the ark would have. How many animals would be coming into the ark. God really didn’t leave a whole lot for Noah to figure out.

I love that God doesn’t paint with a broad brush. Did you know that there are over 100 prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament, many of them giving details of His death on the cross? And the building of the Temple – full of details.

My point is this: God sees details. He’s not missing one small thing that is happening in your life or in your heart. Nothing will be overlooked by Him.

What are the details of your life that you assume go unseen?

Fingernails bitten down to the quick because that’s how you respond to stress?

The sadness that washes over you just for a moment when you’re reminded of something, or someone?

The little things that make you who you are that others don’t notice, or particularly care about, like the way you get teary-eyed when you watch the sunrise?

The bits and pieces of shame, embarrassment, and insecurity that you tuck away, out of sight, and the way you laugh to cover up your fear. The longings. The dreams you don’t dare dream out loud. The wishes and the regret?

They are not unnoticed. Details matter to God, including yours.

Genesis 5—The Feeling of Deception

Chapters full of genealogies are hard to get excited about, aren’t they? Don’t worry, I’m not going to go beyond the first three verses.

These are the family records of the descendants of Adam. On the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God;  He created them male and female. When they were created, He blessed them and called them man.

Two genders. Two very distinct, different genders. So how do we bring this into our lives with an application, if we already believe it?

By recognizing that the deception that is running rabid through our culture is not that there are no genders or many genders, or that we can be any gender we “identify” as on any given day. Those belief systems are just the outcome of the deception. The great lie behind these beliefs, in my opinion, is this:

What I feel is what is true.

Instead of realizing that our feelings are very often great liars, we are making them our god.

As a young girl of 10 or 11, I felt unloved, so I accused my parents of not loving me (as most adolescents do at some point). When I got older I realized that what I felt was not even close to being true. Part of growing up is learning that feelings come and feelings go, so we don’t make decisions based on how we’re feeling. We wait. We look for the truth, consider the facts.

“I feel”. It’s actually a rather ingenious tactic of the enemy. Humans are created with emotions. We feel things. All he had to do was convince us to judge truth by what we feel, or, by what we don’t feel.

Questions: What feelings have you determined to be truth?

Examples: I feel like a failure. I feel ugly. I feel like no one likes me. I feel stupid. I feel like I am made wrong. I feel unseen/unheard/unwanted. I feel unloved/unloveable.

Or how about these:

I don’t feel like I should have to forgive them. I don’t feel like I should have to give my hard-earned money away. I don’t feel like they deserve my help.

It’s worth thinking about. I can feel it.