Genesis 6-9: Noah's journey

So, God comes to Noah and says "Build a boat and put a bunch of animals on it." A boat is no problem. Then God says, "I am going to make it rain." And Noah's thinking, "What is rain?" Then Noah winds up on the boat for more than a little bit, while it rains for a month and 10 days. Holy Cow! I can't stand my own kids after 2 straight days of rain. Perhaps someone up in Washington state can better understand this than I can. In the end, God says, "I will save you, but everyone else must die." So I wonder . . .

What is it like to have never seen rain?

Is this story from a flat earth perspective, where God simply opened up the waters above the earth and allowed them to flood all of the earth?

Is there such a thing as "greenhouse" effect? Was this healthy global warminig before we knew of such a thing?

How much fertilizer did that boat produce?

Did Noah want to open the door and let anyone in? Why did God want to start over so bad that he denied access to anyone else?

How much faith did Noah have?!!! Would I be able to follow him even if I didn't know what rain was?

Genesis 6:1-8: The failing of humanity

In order to understand the context of the story line, we must notice that Gen 6:1-8 completes the "account of Adam." The "account of Adam" begins in Gen. 5 and seems to be the story of Adam's line after the Fall. As we noticed in Gen. 4, things went from bad to worse, and the pride of man grew in the face of his sin. Now, in Genesis 6, we find things going from worse to absolutely bad. Everything that God intended has been twisted beyond recognition, and apparently even the spiritual and physical worlds have collided beyond God's intended purpose. The end result is that God is terribly upset with the results of sin in this world, and he has decided to put a stop to the decline before it gets beyond help.

What does the passage mean by "sons of God?" Well, it could mean 1) men of valor and great strength, 2) chiefs of the tribes of men, 3) angelic beings. The actual term here is "Nephilim," which is often used of angelic messengers. In the New Testament, there are indications that Jewish Christians (like Paul, Jude, and Peter) viewed these Nephilim as angelic or spirit beings (1 Cor. 11:10, 2 Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6). So, we have Biblical precedence for understanding these giants to be spiritual entities that corrupted the intent of God further by not staying in their place, but by invading the human realm and adding to its problems.

The other options attempt to explain away the angelic invasion. But what to do with the New Testament interpretations? Either they are mistaken in the cultural portrayal, or there are some things that angels can do that we perhaps do not give them credit for.

Genesis 4: The Development of Humanity

The term "myth," as used here, is defined as a parabolic or hero-story designed to teach certain fundamental truths about a culture's understanding of the world.

We see in Genesis 4 an attempt to undertand how certain elements of Jewish culture came into existence. This is not to say that the stories did or did not happen. I am focusing on the purpose of the preservation of these stories.

First of all, we see that the sin of Cain (murder) and God's mercy on his life has led to further corruption of God's intended plan. Cain's descendants take more than one wife for themselves, and they follow in the footsteps of their ancestor with disregard for human life. They even take the next step in their "de-evolution:" bragging about their conquests and evil intentions. Pride in evil has now taken root in the human heart. At least Cain was shamed by his actions. We also see the development of nomadic herders, musicians, and metal workers--all valued skills in early cultures.

Did you notice the last portion of this chapter. "At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD." While Cain descendants suffered the separation that their father suffered, the descendants of Seth began to call out or proclaim the name of the Lord. So, early on we see the spiritual haves and have nots, so to speak. And whereas Adam and Eve could see and talk to God, their grand children were able to call out to God and tell of their knowledge of him. In spite of the difficult and changing human landscape, God made himself available to humanity. Those that called out to him presumably knew him.

Genesis 4: Where did these other people come from?

For Winston:

Genesis 4:17 says "Cain lay with his wife." Excuse me. Where did Cain get a wife? And where? Was it his sister? Or did God make him another? Or did God create several individuals like Adam and Eve, and we see the offspring of another of these created ones with Cain?

Unfortunately, the Bible does not clarify this issue, and the Hebrew people didn't see much need to clarify it either. Even the Jewish Rabbis seem to avoid the issue. In my research on the subject, the best answer seems to be to accept the existence of the written record and move on.

Either Adam and Eve had many offspring not recorded in the Genesis account. Since their DNA was "undiluted," one could reason that marrying brothers or sisters would not compromise the gene pool.

The other choice seems to be that God created humanity as he saw the need, and the Genesis account is one example of the creating God did throughout the world. The variety of human settlements all over the globe could support this type of theory, although the Bible does not speak to this type of multiple-creation.

Interesting question. Any thoughts?

Genesis 4: My Brother's Keeper?

The questions of God are interesting to me. God knows everything, right? So, why ask?

He does this on many occasions. He did to Adam and Eve in the garden: Where are you? He knew where they were.

He does it to Cain also. "Where is your brother?" God knows the whole story. So, why the question?

Thought one: If God knows the whole story, then he knows what has been done, right and wrong. So, if knows the crime and the appropriate punishment, then why ask the question. Just punish the sinner! However, the willingness of God to ask the question is a sign of mercy and staying of judgment, if only for a moment.

Thought two: Asking the question is an opportunity for the ignorant to learn the answer. God does not ask for himself, but to teach the one who does not know. So, instead of judgment, God is allowing the fallen to learn from the mistake.

Thought three: Asking the question offers and opportunity for repentance. Once the truth is learned, then the ignorant, or the blatant offender, can admit wrong and ask for forgiveness.

Alas, neither Adam and Eve, nor Cain, could pass the the repentance test. Cain's answer is a question also, not a good sign if you need to humble before God. "Am I my brother's keeper?" In other words, "Am I responsible?" Uh, yeah. You are the older brother. You killed him. And you know where he is. Guilty on all counts. Cain failed miserably in life as a brother and in judgment before God.

Now, not even God pronounced the death penalty here on Cain, and required that no other man kill Cain--an interesting development in the story that is up for discussion. Any one care to explain that one?

Yet, God is still merciful, even though the question was not fully understood or sufficiently answered. God is merciful in his tests--allowing several takes for many of us before the final exam is given.

I bet my students would prefer that God handle my exams.