Jefferson Vann

Genesis 3

Genesis 3

Genesis 3:1 Now the snake was cleverer than any other living thing of the field that Yahveh God had made. He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You will not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

Genesis 3:2 And the woman said to the snake, “We are allowed to eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,

Genesis 3:3 but God said, ‘You will not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you will not touch it, or else[1] you will die.'”

Genesis 3:4 But the snake said to the woman, “You will not become mortal and die.

Genesis 3:5 You see, God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to look at, and that the tree was craved to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her man who was with her, and he ate.

Genesis 3:7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves skirts.

Genesis 3:8 And they heard the sound of Yahveh God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and the man and his woman hid themselves from the presence of Yahveh God among the garden’s trees.

Genesis 3:9 But Yahveh God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

Genesis 3:10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.”

Genesis 3:11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I instructed you not to eat?”

Genesis 3:12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.”

Genesis 3:13 Then Yahveh God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The snake deceived me, and I ate.”

Genesis 3:14 Yahveh God said to the snake, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock and all living things of the field; you will crawl on your belly, and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:15 I will put hatred between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he will harm your head, and you will harm his heel.”

Genesis 3:16 To the woman, he said, “I will surely multiply your hardship in childbearing; in hardship you will give birth to[2] children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will have influence over you.”

Genesis 3:17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, and this is what I said, ‘You will not eat of it,’ the ground is cursed because of you; in hardship, you will eat of it all the days of your life;

Genesis 3:18 It will bring forth for you thorns and thistles, and you will eat the plants of the field.

Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”

Genesis 3:20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

Genesis 3:21 And Yahveh God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Genesis 3:22 Then Yahveh God said, “Notice,[3] the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, or else he might reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live permanently-“[4]

Genesis 3:23 therefore Yahveh God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.

Genesis 3:24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubs and a flaming sword that turned each way to prevent access to the tree of life.

[1]פֵּן = or else Genesis 3:3, 22; 11:4; 19:15, 17, 19; 24:6; 26:7, 9; 31:24, 31; 32:12; 38:11, 23; 42:4; 44:34; 45:11.

[2] יָלַד = give birth to, be born, father. Genesis 3:16; 4:1, 2, 17, 18, 20, 22, 25, 26; 5:3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32; 6:1, 4, 10; 10:1, 8, 13, 15, 21, 24, 25, 26; 11:10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27; 16:1, 2, 11, 15, 16; 17:17, 19, 20, 21; 18:13; 19:37, 38; 20:17; 21:2, 3, 5, 7, 9; 22:20, 23, 24; 24:15, 24, 36, 47; 25:2, 3, 12, 19, 24, 26; 29:32, 33, 34, 35; 30:1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25, 39; 31:8, 43; 34:1; 35:16, 17, 26; 36:4, 5, 12, 14; 38:3, 4, 5, 27, 28; 40:20; 41:50; 44:27; 46:15, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27; 48:5, 6; 50:23.

[3] הֵן = notice. Genesis 3:22; 4:14; 11:6; 15:3; 19:34; 27:11, 37; 29:7; 30:34; 39:8; 44:8; 47:23.

[4] עוֹלָם = permanent, permanently, ancient, future. Genesis 3:22; 6:3, 4; 9:12, 16; 13:15; 17:7, 8, 13, 19; 21:33; 48:4; 49:26.

Genesis 3 quotes:

“Here in Genesis 3 the death of an animal to cover the man and the woman is a picture of what is to come, the first step of an entire institution of sacrifices that points us finally to the supreme sacrifice and what Jesus did to take away our sin and cover up our shame.”

Carson, D. A. The God Who Is There : Finding Your Place in God’s Story. Baker Books, 2010. p. 39.

“The higher critics attacked the books of Genesis and Revelation because the subtle serpent within them knew that no other books exposed him as much. If you want to know how the serpent came in and what his destiny will be, you need to read the first chapters of Genesis and the last chapters of Revelation. Revelation 12:9 mentions “the ancient serpent, he who is called the Devil and Satan.” The word “ancient” that describes the serpent refers to the time of Genesis 3. Therefore, if we did not have the books of Genesis and Revelation, the subtle serpent would not be fully exposed. Thus, the serpent invented the so-called modern criticism in an attempt to discredit these two books.

Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Genesis. 1st ed., Living Stream Ministry, 1987. p. 227.

” We therefore insist that Genesis 1 to 3 is a literal account of the creation of the world, its inhabitants, and man. It is a literal account of how sin and death and sorrow entered the race. It is a literal account of the strategies of Satan, of the curse of God on creation, and a literal account of God’s plan of redemption in the slaying of a substitute to atone for man’s sin (Genesis 3:21). To deny the literal account of creation is to destroy the reality of sin, and death, and sorrow. If the record of Genesis 3 is not literally true, then what explanation can we give for the fact of sin, disease, violence, death, destruction, and war? Then how can we account for the depravity of human nature? Then how do we know the records of the Gospel to be literally true?”

DeHaan, M. R. Genesis and Evolution. Zondervan, 1962. p. 33.

WILL YOUR WORK LAST- – jeffersonvann

the battling seeds – jeffersonvann

JOB’S HOPE – jeffersonvann

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GENESIS in Jeff’s library

FINDING YOUR ROOTS

FINDING YOUR ROOTS

1 Chronicles 1:1-4 NET.

¹ Adam, Seth, Enosh, ² Kenan, Mahalalel, Jered, ³ Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, ⁴ Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

We began reading 1 Chronicles this week and started with an always-exciting genealogical list. Since we have committed to reading through the Bible in eighteen months, I should have warned you about genealogical lists. We find several of them in the Bible. Consider this sermon your warning. You can also view it as special instructions for when you encounter such lists. They are not like the fine print in the instructions for a product you buy. You know, the fine print that the manufacturer has to include, but nobody reads?

I titled today’s sermon “Finding Your Roots” after the PBS series of the same name. I genuinely enjoy watching that show. I appreciate how Louis Gates Jr. reveals interesting facts about a celebrity’s family tree. Some of the Black guests discover they have slave ancestors, while some of the White guests find they had slave-owner ancestors. Others realize they have a king, a general, or a preacher in their lineage. Conversely, some uncover murderers, horse thieves, and deserters among their relatives. Some hear a mix of good and bad news. The show is fascinating because it teaches so much about history connected to real people and real families.

We should not be surprised that God provided us with so many genealogies in the Bible. He had the most important message ever to share through the pages of His word. However, He did not simply give us a bullet list of facts and philosophical ideas. Instead, He wrapped His message in the stories and everyday events from biblical times. He ensured that those who would listen to and read His word had a context that helped them see its significance. They could understand His story because it was part of their own story. The opposite was also true. Everyone could see how important they were to God because He revealed how their story was part of His story. In both the Old and New Testaments, the truth of God’s word is conveyed within the context of the history of His people.

Today’s short text reminds us that all roots are connected. If you go back far enough, everyone is related. Everyone’s family tree begins with Adam. He and Eve were my first parents and yours too. 1 Chronicles is all about David, the greatest king of the United Kingdom, not Britain, but Israel. So we would expect it to begin at David’s coronation. But that is not recorded until chapter eleven. The first ten chapters trace the history of God’s people from Adam to David, doing so primarily through genealogical lists.

God wanted the people of the United Kingdom under David to know that they were important to him, so he wrote their names down in his holy book. The book also included their stories—good and evil, famous and infamous. As we read these stories, we need to recognize that they are our stories, too. We may not trace our ancestry back to King David, but we could trace our lineage back to Father Adam. To make that point, the Holy Spirit began this book not in Jerusalem, but in Eden. Everyone’s story begins there. The spiritual message of 1 Chronicles is not about one ethnic group. It’s about God’s purpose for every nation and every language. The sons of Noah produced children from three major language groups all across the planet: the Semitic, the Hamitic, and the Indo-European. We’re all in there.

As we read through the genealogical lists, we often come across names that are hard for us to pronounce, even though they were not hard to pronounce by the people who named them. Names are root clues, clues to the culture of the owner. For example, the Hebrew word for God is El, short for Elohim. Lots of Hebrew names in these genealogies contain that name. It shows up in Eldad, Eleazar, Eli, Eliakim, Elihu, Eliphaz, Elisha, Ariel, Bethel, Daniel, Gabriel, Immanuel, Ishmael, Israel, Nathaniel – and these are just a small percentage. You will also find the name Yah – short for Yahveh in many Hebrew names. Yahveh is the proper name of the God of the Bible. Yah is in Jason, Jehu, Jesus, Joanna, John, Jonathan, and Joshua.

The deity names point to the people’s connection with God. Other names emphasize the connections they had within their families. Many Hebrew names contain the syllable ‘ab. Names like Abigail, Abihu, Abner, Absalom, Ahab, Joab, Moab, and Aholiab point to the father of the person named. The syllable ben is also in many names. It means son. It is found in Benjamin and Reuben. Lots of other names became place names, and people began naming themselves after that place.

The names appearing in genealogical lists serve as clues to the culture from which those people emerged. One way archaeologists authenticate a document or inscription they find is by comparing the included names. If the document contains personal or place names that don’t correspond with the period it is supposed to have been written in, that indicates the document may be a forgery. Many books written around the same time as biblical texts were excluded from the biblical canon because they were found to be inauthentic, and the names they included offered significant clues.

When we start doing our genealogical research, we are sometimes embarrassed by what we find. Every family seems to have some bad apples. But the biblical genealogies highlight a helpful truth. Roots are not prophecies. You don’t have to match your roots. You don’t have to follow in the footsteps of your father. As we examine the kings of Israel and Judah, we find that some kings established dynasties that turned away from the covenant with God and sought other gods. Yet, even in those dynasties, occasionally a king would emerge who did not walk after the pattern established by his ancestors. There were some good kings, like Asa, Hezekiah, and Josiah. They did not follow the bad examples set for them.

The lesson for all of us is that we are free to be nonconformists as well. If it is evil, and everybody is doing it, then we do not have to be like everybody. If we have alcoholics in our family, we do not have to drink alcohol. If we have horse thieves in our family tree, we do not have to become thieves.

As we read the Bible, we also discover that roots matter in both Testaments. Both have genealogies. In fact, the New Testament begins with the genealogy of Jesus. Matthew did his research and found that God had been at work in the family of Christ for millennia. Jesus descended from Abraham, the man to whom God promised that he would be a blessing to many nations and would father many nations. Jesus was going to be the ultimate fulfillment of those promises. Jesus descended from Jacob, a deceiver whom God blessed despite his character. God inspired him to become more than he was. Jesus descended from Ruth, a foreign woman who found grace in the eyes of Boaz, and in God’s eyes. She was rescued by love. Jesus descended from David, a man after God’s own heart, a king whom God established, and to whom God promised a descendant who would rule eternally. Jesus is that descendant.

The Bible does not contain your family tree or mine. What is essential is not that we can be traced physically to Jesus’ family. Jesus himself said that his mother and his brothers are those who hear and do the word of God. When we repent of our sins and put our faith in Christ, we become part of his spiritual family.

Roots connect us. They show us our context. One of the fallacies that Jesus encountered during his earthly ministry was the belief among the physical descendants of Abraham that they were automatically saved due to their lineage. However, Jesus told them that God could raise children for Abraham from the rocks. What truly matters is our connection to Christ, which is established not by a blood test but by our faith in Him.

However, some Christians fall for another fallacy: that since we are saved by faith in Christ, all the Jewish elements in the Old Testament are irrelevant. They view the Old Testament as a shell from which they can extract the gospel, ignoring the shell itself. Those who embrace this fallacy essentially treat 77% of the Bible as unimportant. But God’s word is not merely directed at a group of ancient Jews; it is meant for us—every part of it, one hundred percent. The ancient roots preserved in the family trees recorded in the Old Testament are our roots. We are connected to them through Christ, making them significant for us because of Him.

That is why, even when we consider the 23% of our Bibles known as the New Testament, we find over 300 direct quotations and hundreds more allusions and indirect quotations. These references indicate that Jesus fulfills Old Testament prophecies. They demonstrate that the New Testament apostles utilized the Old Testament as Scripture to teach theology to the New Testament church. They reference the Old Testament to explain the person and work of God, since God remains constant in both testaments. Even when the New Testament authors discuss the old covenant, they do so to help their listeners understand the new covenant by comparing the two.

We decided to embark on a project to read the entire Bible this year and part of next year. We chose not to skip ahead to the more familiar passages of the New Testament because we wanted to become skilled in using the whole sword, not just the handle. It’s a shame to be a Christian and not know the entire Bible.

In the television show, guests talk with Dr. Gates because they want to find their roots. They aim to learn more about themselves by researching their family tree. Most of the time, they are astonished by what they discover. They uncover where their families originated, what they experienced, and who they interacted with. Sometimes, they find ancestors who made choices similar to their own. Other times, they encounter ancestors who faced different challenges and made distinct decisions. However, nobody finishes the show and says, “What a waste of time.” They seek to find their roots because pieces of the puzzle of their present lives are missing.

The Bible can guide you and me. It serves as the voice of God addressing our current circumstances. We might be Cain, tempted to respond violently when things don’t go our way. We might be Enoch, choosing to walk with God when the surrounding culture has turned away from Him. We could be Noah, listening to God and taking on the impossible simply because we know God desires it. Naturally, there are also many negative examples in the Bible. Those poor choices and the ensuing consequences can serve as warnings if we encounter similar temptations.

We have chosen to read through the Bible. We have had those Bibles on our shelves or in our phones, tablets, and computers. We have had the lights, but we might not have turned them on when we needed them. Once we turn to the biblical records and find our spiritual roots, we will be more likely to make the right choices and avoid the wrong ones. We will gain what King Solomon called wisdom. The more we dig into God’s word and make it a light for our path, the more we will understand why Solomon called wisdom a treasure worth more than gold and precious gems.

Genesis 2

Genesis 2

Genesis 2:1 So the sky and the land were finished, and all the army [1] of them.

Genesis 2:2 Then on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he stopped[2] on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

Genesis 2:3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it special, because on it he stopped from all his work that God had done by creating.

Genesis 2:4 This is the history[3] of the sky and the land when they were created, in the day that Yahveh God made the land and the sky.

Genesis 2:5 Before any bush of the field was in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up – because Yahveh God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no person to work the ground,

Genesis 2:6 and a mist was regularly ascending from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground –

Genesis 2:7 then Yahveh God formed the first man from dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breathing[4] of life, and that man became a living throat.

Genesis 2:8 Now Yahveh God had planted a garden at Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground Yahveh God made every tree to grow up that one would crave[5] to look at and was good to eat. The tree of life was in the middle of this garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was also there.

Genesis 2:10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.

Genesis 2:11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

Genesis 2:12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.

Genesis 2:13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush.

Genesis 2:14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

Genesis 2:15 Yahveh God took the human and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

Genesis 2:16 And Yahveh God commanded the human, and this is what he said, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,

Genesis 2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you will not eat, for in the day that you eat of it “you will be mortal, you will die.”

Genesis 2:18 Then Yahveh God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a partner[6] fit for him.”

Genesis 2:19 And out of the ground Yahveh God had formed every living thing of the field and every bird of the sky and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living throat, that was its name.

Genesis 2:20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the sky and to every living thing of the field. But for Adam there was not found a partner fit for him.

Genesis 2:21 Then Yahveh God threw down this Adam into a deep sleep, and while he slept took one of his ribs and shut up flesh[7] in its place.

Genesis 2:22 And the rib that Yahveh God had taken from this Adam he made into a woman and brought her to this Adam.

Genesis 2:23 Then this Adam said, “This finally is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh; she will be called a woman, because she was taken out of a man.”

Genesis 2:24 Because of this a man will leave his father and his mother and hold fast[8] to his woman, and they will become as one flesh.

Genesis 2:25 And the man and his woman were both naked and were not ashamed.

[1] צָבָא = army. Genesis 2:1; 21:22, 32; 26:26.

[2] שָׁבַת = stop. Genesis 2:2, 3; 8:22.

[3] תּוֹלֵדוֹת = history, generation. Genesis 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1, 32; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 13, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2.

[4]נְשָׁמָה = breathing. Genesis 2:7; 7:22.

[5]חמד = crave. Genesis 2:9; 3:6.

[6]עֵזֶר = partner Genesis 2:18, 20.

[7] בָּשָׂר = flesh, meat. Genesis 2:21, 23, 24; 6:3, 12, 13, 17, 19; 7:15, 16, 21; 8:17; 9:4, 11, 15, 16, 17; 17:11, 13, 14, 23, 24, 25; 29:14; 37:27; 40:19; 41:3, 4, 19.

[8] דָּבַק = hold fast. Genesis 2:24; 19:19; 31:23; 34:3.

Genesis 2 quotes

“The Hebrew words translated ‘work’ and ‘take care’ (Genesis 2:15) are both used later in the Bible in specifically religious contexts. “Work’ is often used to speak of the service of God — particularly, in some texts, the service of priests in the tabernacle.’’ ‘Take care’ is also frequently used of religious duties, especially the Levites’ task of guarding the tabernacle.’* These links underline the significance of our responsibilities in creation. When we ‘work’ the earth and ‘take care’ of it we are engaged in a high calling: the priestly task of worshipping God.”

Roberts, Vaughan. God’s Big Design : Life As He Intends It to Be. Inter-Varsity, 2005. p. 61.

” If God has the kind of power we see in this pericope, then we know not to take this language in any literalistic fashion: God does not get tired as we do (see also Isa. 40:28-31). Hence the language is analogical, and the import is that human work and rest are analogies of God’s work and rest.”

Collins, C. John. Genesis 1-4 : A Linguistic, Literary, and Theological Commentary. P & R Pub, 2006. p. 77.

“When we read the account of Adam’s creation in Genesis 2 in the context of the creation of the first man in Genesis 1, the suggestion that Adam functioned as a vicegerent is reinforced.”

Munther, Isaac. From Land to Lands, from Eden to the Renewed Earth : A Christ-Centred Biblical Theology of the Promised Land. Langham Monographs, 2015. p. 38.

[1] צָבָא = army. Genesis 2:1; 21:22, 32; 26:26.

[2] שָׁבַת = stop. Genesis 2:2, 3; 8:22.

[3] תּוֹלֵדוֹת = history, generation. Genesis 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1, 32; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 13, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2.

[4]נְשָׁמָה = breathing. Genesis 2:7; 7:22.

[5]חמד = crave. Genesis 2:9; 3:6.

[6]עֵזֶר = partner Genesis 2:18, 20.

[7] בָּשָׂר = flesh, meat. Genesis 2:21, 23, 24; 6:3, 12, 13, 17, 19; 7:15, 16, 21; 8:17; 9:4, 11, 15, 16, 17; 17:11, 13, 14, 23, 24, 25; 29:14; 37:27; 40:19; 41:3, 4, 19.

CREATION AND MARRIAGE – jeffersonvann

JOB’S HOPE – jeffersonvann

Maranatha Daily Devotional – Friday, January 12, 2018
Maranatha Daily Devotional – May 12, 2015

GENESIS in Jeff’s library

Genesis 1

Genesis 1

Genesis 1:1 At first,[1] God created the sky[2] and the land,[3]

Genesis 1:2 but the land was unformed and unfilled, and the deep space was dark, and God’s Breath[4] was shaking up the water.

Genesis 1:3 Then God said, “Let light be,” and there was light,

Genesis 1:4 and God saw how good the light was. God separated[5] the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:5 God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. After evening was over and morning came, it marked the first day.

Genesis 1:6 Then God said, “Let a separator be placed in the midst of the water, and let it separate the water above from the water below.”

Genesis 1:7 so God made the separator and separated the water that was under the separator from the water that was over the separator. And it became that way.

Genesis 1:8 God called the separator “sky.” After evening was over and morning came, it marked the second day.

Genesis 1:9 Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry ground appear.” And it became that way.

Genesis 1:10 God called the dry ground Land, and the water that had been gathered together he called Seas, and God saw how good it was.

Genesis 1:11 Then God said, “Let the land sprout flora: plants producing seed,[6] and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the land.” And it became that way.

Genesis 1:12 The land produced flora: plants producing seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, and God saw how good it was.

Genesis 1:13 After evening was over and morning came, it marked the third day.

Genesis 1:14 And God said, “Let luminaries show in the separator of the sky to separate the day from the night. And let them serve as signs and distinguish seasons, and days and years,

Genesis 1:15 and let them serve as lights in the divider of the sky to give light upon the land.” And it became that way.

Genesis 1:16 And God made the two large luminaries- the larger luminary to influence the day and the lesser luminary to influence the night- and he also made the stars.

Genesis 1:17 And God set them in the divider of the sky to light the land,

Genesis 1:18 to influence[7] the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw how good it was.

Genesis 1:19 After evening was over and morning came, it marked the fourth day.

Genesis 1:20 And God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms of living throats,[8] and let birds fly above the land across the divider of the sky.”

Genesis 1:21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living throat that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw how good it was.

Genesis 1:22 And God blessed them, and this is what he said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let birds multiply on the land.”

Genesis 1:23 And After evening was over and morning came, it marked the fifth day.

Genesis 1:24 And God said, “Let the land bring forth living throats according to their kinds – livestock and moving things[9] and living things[10] of the land according to their kinds.” And it became that way.

Genesis 1:25 And God made the living things of the land according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that moves on the ground according to its kind. And God approved.

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make humanity in our image, after our likeness. And let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the land and over every moving thing that creeps on the land.”

Genesis 1:27 So God created humanity in his own image, he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Bear fruit and become many and fill the land and subdue it and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over everything alive that moves on the land.”

Genesis 1:29 And God said, “Notice,[11] I have given you every plant producing seed that is on the face of all the land, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You will have them for food.

Genesis 1:30 And to every beast of the land and to every bird of the sky and to everything that creeps on the land, everything that has a living throat on it, I have given all flora for food.” And it became that way.

Genesis 1:31 And God saw everything that he had made, and noticed it was very good. And after evening was over and morning came, it marked the sixth day.

[1]רֵאשִׁית = first Genesis 1:1; 10:10; 49:3.

[2]שָׁמַיִם = sky Genesis 1:1, 8-9, 14-15, 17, 20, 26, 28, 30; 2:1, 4, 19-20; 6:7, 17; 7:3, 11, 19, 23; 8:2; 9:2; 11:4; 14:19, 22; 15:5; 19:24; 21:17; 22:11, 15, 17; 24:3, 7; 26:4; 27:28, 39; 28:12, 17; 49:25.

[3]אֶרֶץ = land Genesis 1:1-2, 10-12, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24-26, 28-30; 2:1, 4-6, 11-13; 4:12, 14, 16; 6:4-6, 11-13, 17; 7:3-4, 6, 10, 12, 14, 17-19, 21, 23-24; 8:1, 3, 7, 9, 11, 13-14, 17, 19, 22; 9:1-2, 7, 10-11, 13-14, 16-17, 19; 10:5, 8, 10-11, 20, 25, 31-32; 11:1-2, 4, 8-9, 28, 31; 12:1, 5-7, 10; 13:6-7, 9-10, 12, 15-17; 14:19, 22; 15:7, 13, 18; 16:3; 17:8; 18:2, 18, 25; 19:1, 23, 28, 31; 20:1, 15; 21:21, 23, 32, 34; 22:2, 18; 23:2, 7, 12-13, 15, 19; 24:3-5, 7, 37, 52; 25:6; 26:1-4, 12, 22; 27:28, 39, 46; 28:4, 12-14; 29:1; 30:25; 31:3, 13, 18; 32:3, 9; 33:3, 18; 34:1-2, 10, 21, 30; 35:6, 12, 16, 22; 36:5-7, 16-17, 20-21, 30-31, 34, 43; 37:1, 10; 38:9; 40:15; 41:19, 29-31, 33-34, 36, 41, 43-48, 52-57; 42:5-7, 9, 12-13, 29-30, 32-34; 43:1, 11, 26; 44:8, 11, 14; 45:6-8, 10, 17-20, 25-26; 46:6, 12, 20, 28, 31, 34; 47:1, 4, 6, 11, 13-15, 20, 27-28; 48:3-5, 7, 12, 16, 21; 49:15, 30; 50:5, 7-8, 11, 13, 24.

[4]רוּחַ =breath, wind Genesis 1:2; 3:8; 6:3, 17; 7:15, 22; 8:1; 26:35; 41:8, 38; 45:27.

[5]בדל = separate Genesis 1:4, 6-7, 14, 18.

[6] זֶרָע = seed. Genesis 1:11, 12, 29; 3:15; 4:25; 7:3; 8:22; 9:9; 12:7; 13:15, 16; 15:3, 5, 13, 18; 16:10; 17:7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 19; 19:32, 34; 21:12, 13; 22:17, 18; 24:7, 60; 26:3, 4, 24; 28:4, 13, 14; 32:12; 35:12; 38:8, 9; 46:6, 7; 47:19, 23, 24; 48:4, 11, 19.

[7]מָשַׁל = influence, rule. Genesis 1:18; 3:16; 4:7; 24:2; 37:8; 45:8, 26.

[8]נֶפֶשׁ = throat. Genesis 1:20-21, 24, 30; 2:7, 19; 9:4-5, 10, 12, 15-16; 12:5; 14:21; 17:14; 19:17, 19-20; 23:8; 27:4; 32:30; 34:8; 35:18; 37:21; 42:21; 44:30; 46:18, 22, 25-27; 49:6.

[9] רֶמֶשׂ = moving thing. Genesis 1:24, 25, 26; 6:7, 20; 7:14, 23; 8:17, 19; 9:3.

[10] חַיָּה = living thing, living. Genesis 1:24, 25, 30; 2:19, 20; 3:1, 14; 7:14, 21; 8:1, 17, 19; 9:2, 5, 10; 37:20, 33.

[11] הִנֵּה = notice. Genesis 1:29, 31; 6:12, 13, 17; 8:11, 13; 9:9; 12:11, 19; 15:4, 12, 17; 16:2, 6, 11, 14; 17:4, 20; 18:2, 9, 10, 27, 31; 19:2, 8, 19, 20, 21, 28; 20:3, 15, 16; 22:1, 7, 11, 13, 20; 24:13, 15, 30, 43, 45, 51, 63; 25:24, 32; 26:8, 9; 27:1, 2, 6, 18, 36, 39, 42; 28:12, 13, 15; 29:2, 6, 25; 30:3; 31:2, 10, 11, 51; 32:18, 20; 33:1; 34:21; 37:7, 9, 13, 15, 19, 25, 29; 38:13, 23, 24, 27, 29; 40:6, 9, 16; 41:1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 29; 42:2, 13, 22, 27, 28, 35; 43:21; 44:16; 45:12; 46:2; 47:1; 48:1, 2, 4, 11, 21; 50:5, 18.

Genesis 1 quotes:

“The natural tendency of the universe is to go from order to chaos. The only way to move from chaos to order is to direct energy toward that task. And that’s exactly what we see in Genesis 1.”

David, Benjamin, ed. Seven Days, Many Voices: Insights into the Biblical Story of Creation. Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2017. p. 35.

“On the fourth day of creation (Genesis 1:14-19), we are given the comparison of day to night, and days to years. If the word “day” doesn’t mean an ordinary day, then the comparison of day to night and day to years becomes meaningless.”

Ham, Ken. A Pocket Guide to Six Days : How Long Were the Days in Genesis 1? Answers in Genesis, 2014. p. 13.

“Man, however, wants evidence. He wants God to explain to his satisfaction just how He did it, and will not accept the simple final statement of Genesis 1:1. While this first verse in the Bible is God’s final word on the origin of the universe, man’s perverted curiosity is not satisfied with God’s definitive statement, and so he seeks to invent his own idea for the origin of the universe, and comes up with a theory of evolution, which wholly or partially rules God out of His creation. Just as in the Garden of Eden, the question is still, ‘Will we believe God’s Word or the speculations of science, so called?’”

DeHaan, M. R. Genesis and Evolution. Zondervan, 1962. p. 13.

“There is a distinction in the text between the first three works of creation, which form the inanimate world, and the second five works of creation, which define the animate life placed within the world.”

Weaver, John. Earthshaping, Earthkeeping: A Doctrine of Creation. Lynx/SPCK, 1999. p. 31.

Genesis 1 links:

Maranatha Daily Devotional – Friday, January 1, 2021
Maranatha Daily Devotional – May 10, 2015
Maranatha Daily Devotional – May 11, 2015
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, January 2, 2023
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, January 11, 2018
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, October 1, 2024

GENESIS in Jeff’s library

HEZEKIAH’S CHOICE

HEZEKIAH’S CHOICE

2 Kings 19:1-4 NET.

¹ When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the LORD’s temple. ² He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, clothed in sackcloth, with this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: ³ “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This is a day of distress, insults, and humiliation, as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. ⁴ Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. When the LORD your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. So pray for this remnant that remains.'”

The superpower during this time was the Assyrian Empire under King Sennacherib. The empire had already invaded the holy land and taken control of the entire northern kingdom, Israel. It had also captured all the fortified cities in Judah, except for Jerusalem itself. Sennacherib fully intended to complete the task and conquer Jerusalem as well. However, he first wanted to play with them a little. He sent his commanding general and chief adviser along with a taunting letter. The letter cautioned Judah not to rely on an alliance with Egypt to save them. It stated that they could not depend on Yahveh, the God of the Jews, either, since Yahveh had instructed Assyria to march against the land and destroy it.

While he was reading this letter, some officials in Judah asked the commanding general not to speak in Hebrew but to deliver his message in Aramaic. They were concerned that ordinary people would be discouraged by this news. However, the commanding general refused. He stated, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their excrement and drink their urine along with you.” He proclaimed this message in Hebrew so everyone could hear it: “This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you from my hand! Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the LORD when he says, “The LORD will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his cistern, until I come and take you to a land just like your own — a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Then you will live and not die. Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, “The LORD will rescue us.” Have any of the gods of the nations actually rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria from my power? Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued their lands from my power? So how can the LORD rescue Jerusalem from my power?”

The king of Judah at that time was Hezekiah. He was not a perfect man; in fact, the Bible records some of his failures. However, today’s passage focuses on a time when he and his city faced a terrible crisis, and he made the right choice. That is what I want to discuss this morning. The Bible recounts instances where the people of God faced insurmountable odds and emerged triumphant. These stories are God’s gift to us, guiding us in making the right choices. So, here is what I observe in today’s text.

What Hezekiah wore (1).

He tore his clothes and put on sackcloth, which is funeral attire. It is what someone wears when they are in deep mourning. Hezekiah ripped up his royal robe and donned the dress of the seriously afflicted. He did not strap on his sword and call his captains to battle. He understood that would not work. The enemy was too great, and he had no confidence that he could prevail. Now was not the time to pull himself up by his bootstraps. Now was not the time for a stirring speech to motivate his troops into battle. Now was the time for the king to serve as a representative of the people and appeal to a power greater than himself and more potent than his army.

The book of the prophet Jonah describes such a time. Jonah appeared to the Ninevites and proclaimed their impending destruction. The King of the Ninevites declared a fast and led his people to repent and seek God’s favor. That is not what Jonah wanted, but it is always what God desires. He does not wish for anyone to be destroyed; He wants everyone to repent. By the way, do you know what Nineveh was? It was the capital city of this same Assyrian empire. It was a large, evil, and violent city, but even Nineveh was not a lost cause. The lesson we learn from all this is that it does not matter who you are or what your reputation is. In times of crisis, the best choice is to humble yourself.

But there’s more. Look at where Hezekiah went (1).

He did not barricade himself in his palace. He did not lock himself in his royal panic room. Instead, he went into the temple courts. When all else fails – or, in this case, is about to fail – seek God. Cast your cares on the Lord because he cares for you. In times of trouble, seek God. In times of crisis, go to the Lord’s house.

Contact any medical facility in this area, and you will likely first encounter a recording. What does that recording say? The first thing you will probably hear is this: “If this is an emergency, hang up and dial 9-1-1.” Don’t waste time trying to get help from a clinic that isn’t equipped to provide the assistance you need. You need an ambulance. You need the police. You need firefighters. This is not a normal situation. This is a crisis that requires a first responder.

Hezekiah realized he had to go to God’s house. God was the only qualified first responder in this crisis. While all the fortified cities of Judah had walls, those walls could not stop the invasion of the Assyrian armies. Hezekiah understood that the walls of Jerusalem wouldn’t be sufficient. However, he recognized that Jerusalem possessed something none of the other cities had: the temple of Yahveh. God is present everywhere, but the symbol of His presence is located in a specific place in this city.

Notice also what Hezekiah said (3).

From his position in the temple courts, Hezekiah summoned his cabinet members: his chief of staff, Eliakim; his secretary, Shebna; and the leading priests. He gave them all the same instruction: to find Isaiah. The king had a message for Isaiah: Now is the time. The baby is ready, but the mother lacks the strength to give birth. Isaiah was the most prominent prophet of Yahveh during Hezekiah’s reign. King Hezekiah understood that he needed the Lord, so he went to the temple. He also recognized that he needed the word of the Lord, so he called for Isaiah. All he required was a message from God.

Notice what Hezekiah prayed (4).

He said, “Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. When the LORD your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. So pray for this remnant that remains.’

Hezekiah does not pray for the walls of Jerusalem to be strong enough to withstand Sennacherib’s army or for the defeat of the Assyrian Empire. Instead, he prays for two things: that God would punish Sennacherib for his blasphemy—his insult to God himself—and that God would help the remnant.

When Isaiah responds, his message goes beyond the specific requests that Hezekiah mentioned. We should not be surprised by this, as that is how God always works. He is able to do far more than we ask Him to do or even think of asking Him for (Ephesians 3:20). Hezekiah didn’t need to get all the wording of his prayer correct. What was important was that Hezekiah knew where to go and to whom to pray.

Isaiah sent back this message: “’This is what the LORD says: ‘Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard — these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me. Look, I will take control of his mind; he will receive a report and return to his land. I will cut him down with a sword in his land.”

That did happen, but it would occur many years later. It was the answer to Hezekiah’s prayer, but it did not lead to an immediate end to the siege. God took care of that problem as well, even though Hezekiah did not specifically pray for it at that time. In a later prayer, Hezekiah would say, “Yahveh, God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubs! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the land. Pay attention, Yahveh, and hear! Open your eyes, Yahveh, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! It is true, Yahveh, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands, manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. Now, O Yahveh our God, rescue us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Yahveh, are the only God.

In response to that prayer, the Lord halted Senacherib’s army without Judah firing a single shot. While the soldiers in the Assyrian camp were sleeping, an angel from God entered the camp and killed 185,000 of them. They broke camp the next day and returned to Nineveh.

If you visit London today, you can check out a museum housing a message penned by Sennacherib boasting about all his conquests. The message lists the nations he defeated. Notably absent from that list is any reference to his conquest of the great city of Jerusalem. The Bible explains why he stopped at that point. It was all due to a prayer.

I had mentioned at the beginning of today’s message that Hezekiah was not a perfect man. It is essential that we also understand where Hezekiah failed (ch. 20).

The Old Testament documents the people of God’s failures and successes. We must understand that even if God has used us in the past, we are not immune to making poor choices now. Chapter 20 recounts how a delegation from the King of Babylon visited Hezekiah. He welcomed them and treated them to a tour of his palace and all his treasures. That was not a wise decision.

Isaiah told Hezekiah that a time would come when everything in his palace and the belongings his ancestors had accumulated would be carried away to Babylon; nothing would remain. He mentioned that some of Hezekiah’s descendants would be taken captive and made eunuchs in the king of Babylon’s palace. Hezekiah replied that at least there would be peace during his lifetime.

We cannot afford to make choices that will lead to challenging times for our children and grandchildren. We cannot look around at all the blessings we have now and not think about the world in which our children and grandchildren will live.

On this day, as we celebrate the fathers among us, we must learn from the mistake Hezekiah made as a father. Fathers all over the planet are currently making the same error. They are befriending the enemy, not realizing that their children will bear the consequences of that friendship. A little accommodation here, a little compromise there, and they are creating a world that enslaves their children and grandchildren.

Some of you have not been blessed with a believing father. That is unfortunate. However, the real tragedy would be this: it would be a tragedy if your children do not experience the blessing of having a believing father. Our faith in Christ must be firm, built on the unshakable foundation of the word of God. We owe our children that legacy. We may not have a wealth of material possessions to leave them, but we must pass on that faith. If we fail them in this regard, nothing else will matter.

Author: Jefferson Vann

Genesis 3

Genesis 3

Genesis 3 quotes:

Genesis 3 links:

FINDING YOUR ROOTS

Genesis 2

Genesis 2

Genesis 2 quotes

Genesis 2 links:

Genesis 1

Genesis 1

Genesis 1 quotes:

Genesis 1 links:

HEZEKIAH’S CHOICE