Noah, Part 2, the Stage is Set and a Boat is Built

Today we're looking at Genesis 6:9 - 6:22. As always you can go to Biblegateway.com, NetBible.com, or BlueletterBible.org for reading the Bible online. I would encourage you to read the section in the Bible before reading the blog. There's a lot there to digest and I'm going to try and do it in just a couple of blog entries, so I won't be able to cover all of the details.

I miss those. Delicious.

For today's blog we're going to play the question game: Who, What, Where, When, How, and Why. (The question game, by the way, is not a bad tool for studying the Bible. Observe, ask questions, make notes, etc). The winner of the game gets a Pudding Pop.
Who? Noah, who was a righteous man. Noah walked with God. Who else walked with God? Enoch. What happened to him? He didn't experience the judgment of sin in his day. Hmmmm, maybe walking with God is something we should all aspire to.
What? God tells Noah he is going to destroy the world but will preserve Noah from destruction. He then tells him to make an ark, an enormous boat. God also tells Noah to bring in a pair of every living animal with him, male and female, and also enough food to feed the animals, himself, and all of his family that goes with him.
Where? Not sure exactly. It happened at a place that didn't have Pudding Pops.
When was this going to happen? Noah didn't know for sure, but it was coming soon.
Why was God doing this? Because man had increased in evil, sin, and corruption. The earth was full of violence. Man was thoroughly evil. God is holy and he judges sin.
How would God do this? God told Noah there was going to be a flood of waters that would cover the earth. Keep in mind there was no rain yet on earth at this time. People, Noah included, didn't know what rain was. Before that time God watered the earth with a mist, (Genesis 2:5-6). Noah didn't know exactly how judgement was going to happen or when, but he knew that judgment was coming. Noah listened to God and obeyed. He trusted what God had said and so "being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes through faith", (Hebrews 11:7). Noah was a man who walked with God and who had faith.

So God tells Noah what he is going to do and how to escape the coming judgment. Mental note: It's always good to be buddies with God. It helps you escape worldwide divine judgment, which is always a plus. Ergo, be on the Almighty's good side. You should also note that God's judgment is not willy-nilly. It is not without just cause. The world at this time is evil. Man has rejected God and is not walking in his ways. (Good thing that hasn't happened in our day, huh?). Lesson: God will always judge evil, his judgment is just, and there is no way to escape judgment except by walking with God by faith.

We see here some important things yet again.
- God hates sin and evil.
By the way, what is good and evil, right and wrong, has its definition and basis in God, the Lord, the Creator. Right and wrong are not defined by culture, the majority population, or man's reason. Righteousness finds its definition in God. We don't get to make our own standard. The standard is set by the Creator.
- God will judge evil.
In the movie Tombstone, there's a dramatic scene where Wyatt Earp, played by Kurt Russell, tells one of the bad guys, "YOU TELL 'EM I'M COMING AND HELL'S COMING WITH ME, YOU HEAR?! HELL'S COMING WITH ME!" He dramatically illustrates the point of coming judgment for the bad guys. We who live on earth have no cowboy promising coming judgment. Instead we have an Almighty God who has declared to us what is right and wrong, who has created, loved and provided for men and who has reached out to mankind to have fellowship with him. He has given him life and breath, but has only been rejected and scorned. He has given us the Bible to show us the way to him. In every circumstance man has lived in, (see also Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and now Noah), man has rejected or disobeyed what God has revealed. God is righteous and he will judge sin. Judgment is coming. It's going to be bad for all those who have not walked with God by faith. Hell will one day come to earth and the Lord of heaven and earth will be leading the charge. It's best we all get right with Him before that time comes. This may sound unpleasant, but it is Biblical. When we read the Bible, our job is not to choose which parts which we like and ignore the rest, but it is to understand what the Bible says as a whole, pleasant and even unpleasant.
- Man has a means of escaping judgment by walking with God by faith. Enoch walked with God and did not die. Abel obeyed God by faith, (see also Hebrews 11), and is commended by God. Now Noah walks with God by faith and will escape destruction. There seems to be a theme here. Faith = walking with God = escaping judgment and the curse of sin.

As a side and possibly humorous note, check out Cosby + Noah. That link actually illustrates an interesting thought. Noah is out building this enormous boat for the salvation of his family and animals. At some point the neighbors are going to start to wonder what he's doing. Can you imagine the conversations that he had with folks?

Noah and his neighbors.

Neighbor: So Noah, what are you doing?
Noah: I'm building an ark.
Neighbor: What's an ark?
Noah: It's a big boat.
Neighbor: Why do you need a boat?
Noah: Because God's about to judge the world, flood the earth, and kill every living thing on it.
Neighbor (to himself): ....No wonder we don't invite this guy to our parties.

I am nervous to speculate on what's not Biblically documented, but it blows one's imagination to think about how Noah would have interacted with the unrighteous around him as he built this enormous, (1 and a half football fields), size boat. That's a conversation I'd love to have with Noah in heaven. But I digress...

Coming next - bad news bears.

Genesis 6, Noah, (Part 1), and you get to meet Wanda and the Professor

If you're new here, please sign a name card and think of two truths and a lie that you can share with the rest of us later. Be advised that we're going through the basic stories of the Bible in hopes of laying a framework for understanding the Bible as a whole. I would encourage you to read the past blog entries to get caught up. Feel free to read them in the bathroom, but not while driving.

If you're not new the blog I know it feels like we've been in Genesis forever. I understand your frustration. Then again, we're reading the Bible and we're learning good stuff, (hopefully). Also, as I've said before, Genesis lays the groundwork for understanding the rest of the Bible as a whole, so it's crucial we understand Genesis before we move on to other things. So please be patient, hold on, and enjoy the ride as much as possible. Send all complaints to this lady (to the right). She works at the DMV and also handles complaints for my blog. Her name is Wanda.

So now we're going to talk about Noah. But first we need to set the groundwork for Noah. (I say 'we' like I have a staff). The account of Noah is from Genesis 6-9 and I'm going to try to cover that all in one blog, (but not this one). First we need to cover the Genesis 6:1-8, which is a very weird passage in some ways and not very weird in others. Let's look.

"When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, 'My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years'. The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men of old, the men of renown." 

Now we reach our first really weird passage of the Bible. I have no idea what it means. Does it mean angels were possessing men and having sex? Does it mean the good guys were falling into immoral sin with women? Does it mean that the leaders of the people were getting involved inappropriately with women? I don't know. I asked Wanda what she thought, but she told me I first needed to fill out three forms and pay her a $15 processing fee before she'd answer, so I just left her alone. You and I could get into a big discussion about the different views on this, but since the point of my blog is to focus on the groundwork of the Bible and not the disputed details, we're going to just move on. Apparently volumes of commentaries have been written about what these verses could mean. It's an interesting discussion, but we're not going to have it here. If you have any other questions, ask that guy over there. He's the official professor of this blog.

Moving on to V5-8, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.' But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." 

Let's do a quick recap of man, his existence on earth, and his relationship to God during that time.
- Man was made and given a commandment before God. He failed to keep the commandment and was judged by God, (Adam and Eve).
- Man was kicked out of the garden and given instructions on how to live rightly with God. Man failed and was judged/cursed by God, (Cain and Abel).
- Man, for the most part (see Enoch), fails to walk with God and increases in wickedness and evil. There is some sort of weird immorality going on, (v1-4), and now the "thoughts of his heart was only evil continually", (v5). Man has failed again and now God promises to judge man for his wickedness.

So in each situation man has failed to walk with and honor God, with a few notable exceptions, (Abel, Enoch, and now Noah). Man failed to keep even the simplest commandment, (don't eat from that tree). Now sin has corrupted mankind's heart and mind that their thoughts and actions are only evil continually. Creation, which started out so good, has now become evil and corrupted by sin and by mankind. The SoWhat Lesson: Sin has corrupted man's heart. Man needs a new heart. Man needs God but will not honor or obey him. 

I want you to see how sin has completely corrupted man in only the first six chapters of the Bible. Man has failed to walk with and honor God as he should. Man has sought to do it his own way. Man has not trusted and walked with God, (see few exceptions). Now you have God, grieved and sorry that he has created man. God's heart is broken because his creation will not respond to him as he desired. God wants a relationship of love, trust, and obedience from his people, but they will not turn to him. As always, sin and failure to obey and listen to God leads to consequences and judgment, and it is about to get ugly, and wet. Lesson # 2: God will always judge sin and evil. 

Then there's Noah. He is one of the few men of faith who have walked with God and trusted him. He is about to get saved from destruction because of his faith, (see also Enoch and Abel).

Next time I'm going to try and condense the story of Noah from three Bible chapters into a readable blog. If I don't do it, then I have to pay Wanda a big fine. Look forward to seeing you then. - Me.

Genesis 5, where everybody dies*

Death by Chocolate: It was hard to find a lighthearted picture about death. 

In chapter 5 the Bible lists the generations of the sons of Adam and his sons, (Cain's line is not mentioned). So you have Adam > Seth > Enosh > Kenan > Mahalalel > Jared > Enoch* > Methuselah > Lamech > Noah. You know what all of those guys have in common?* They all died, (except Enoch).

How Jared spent his time on earth, then he died.

 Adam...he lived...and he died.
Seth...he lived...and he died.
Enosh...he lived...and he died.
Kenan...he lived...and he died.
Mahalalel...he lived...and he died.
Jared...he lived, he sold jewelry...and he died.
Enoch...he lived...he walked with God, and he didn't die.
Methusaleh...he lived a really long time...and he died.
Lamech...he lived...and he died.
Noah.

Sin has entered the world and now there is death. Over and over again the phrase "and he died" is repeated. God promised that those who sinned would die. Death is a reminder that sin is in the world and that man needs a savior and life giver. Every person put into the ground points us back to God as our creator, judge, giver of life, and hopefully, Savior.

They only one who doesn't is Enoch, who walked with God. Everyone else experiences the curse of sin, death, but Enoch does not. Why? What is different about Enoch than these other men? The verse says that Enoch walked with God and so he was taken by God and did not die. What do we take from this? Was Enoch so pious and righteous that he did not sin? I don't believe so, though certainly he was a devoted follower of God. I'll cheat a little bit here and look ahead to the New Testament book of Hebrews and what it says about Enoch.

Hebrews 11:5-6, "By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." 

Enoch, God, walking. Enoch, size 6, God, size 22

Enoch escaped the curse of sin, (death), because he walked with God by faith. Let it be noted that there is a means of escaping the curse of sin by walking with God by faith. This will be developed more fully as we go through Genesis, but we should put this idea in the vault of our minds and remember it as we continue to read the Bible.

Lesson to be learned:
- A man pleases God not by the works he does, but by walking with him by faith. What does this look like exactly? Keep reading.
- The way to escape the curse of sin is by faith.
- The curse of sin is death.

On to Noah, and theologically incorrect baby decor everywhere!

Season premiere, Wednesday, 10/9 Central

I'm just saying. We all miss Si, Willie, Jase, Phil, Ms Kay and the rest.

And no, this has nothing to do with the current Genesis series, but Phil does kind of look like Abraham, I think.

Law and Order, Genesis Style, (Part Deux)

I miss these guys. (Not to be confused with Cain and Abel)

If you missed the riveting part 1 of the "Law and Order" series, click here. It is so dramatic it makes the real Law and Order look boring. Well, not really, but at least you can look at the funny pictures I put up and learn more about Cain and Able. We looked at the story of Cain and Abel and saw how sin didn't stop is corruption of the world with Adam and Eve and the world at large, but it has also corrupted the children of men, too. We looked at how Cain and Abel brought offerings to God and Cain tried to do it his way and Abel did it God's way. Cain got mad at God and Abel because God had favor on Abel's offering instead of his. God tried to counsel Cain to do right and watch out for sin. Unfortunately THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GO HORRIBLY WRONG! (cue the Law and Order theme song).

Genesis 4:8-16

"Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother? He said, I do not know; am I my brother's keeper? And the Lord said, 'What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground." (8-10)

- Instead of "doing what is right" as God counseled, (v7), Cain decides to instead murder his brother. Sin and evil have worked in the hearts of men so that it now leads to murder. Cain was jealous, which led to anger, which led to calculated murder. This was not a crime of passion and rage that came about in a moment, this was a premeditated murder. Man has fallen from fellowship with God and each other in the garden to murder. If you're keeping track, we're only in the 4th chapter of the first book of the Bible. It doesn't look good for the development of man's character and moral integrity. Lesson: Man has a sin problem not only outwardly, but in his heart.

Mack, cute kid, sinner like me.

- We will see throughout the Bible and the history of mankind that men would rather do it their way than turn back to God and do the right thing. Cain is not some isolated guy in history. Cain lives in the heart of every man, woman, and child that has ever been born. I have a son, Mack, (like the truck). Sometimes he decides to smack his sister or mother in the head. This of course leads to discipline in which his parents ask him to say he is sorry, (repent), for what he has done. This child would rather take discipline from his parents, over and over again, than say he is sorry to the offended party. He has, just like you and me, the heart of Cain, a sinner. Again, as Bill Cosby would say, "Brain Damage!" (See prior blog post).
- Interesting note made by the NetBible commentator, "The word 'brother' appears six times in vv.8-11, stressing the shocking nature of Cain's fratricide (see 1 John 3:12)."
- V10, God says, "What have you done?" Have we seen this before somewhere? Yes, the last time someone sinned against God. God said to Eve, "What have you done?" God asks Cain where is brother is, (as if God didn't know). Cain has a chance to come clean and fails. Not only that but he is irreverent towards God, "I don't know, am I my brother's keeper?" He acts like he is not responsible for his brother and not responsible for those around him when in fact he is.

God's response:
"And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.' Cain said to the Lord, 'My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." (11-14). 

In Law and Order: Genesis, we now reach the point of judgment and punishment. God has found Cain guilty of murder, the evidence is the blood of the innocent, (Abel), that cries from the ground. Now Cain is punished by God. Cain is cursed and made a fugitive on earth.

Cain is guilty, he has killed his brother in a premeditated act. God knows it. God has called him to account for it. Cain is guilty and he is deserving of the death penalty before God. So Cain, in an act of humble contrition, begs God for forgiveness and mercy...oh wait, that's not what happened. Cain never admits his sin or admits he is wrong. He never asks God to forgive him. Instead of asking forgiveness or confessing what he did, Cain is like the person on Law and Order who finally admits, in a moment of blunt honesty, "Yeah I did it. I killed him. He had it coming!" How does this play out in your life and my life? Do we easily admit when we're wrong before others? More importantly, do we easily submit to the righteousness of God and his commands? I think not.

Whining: what Cain does.

Here we also have the first pity party of the Bible. Cain, deserving death, whines when God punishes him but still allows him to live. Can you imagine how this would play out in an actual courtroom today? A person is found 100% guilty for a crime for which they are deserving of death. Instead of pronouncing death on the criminal, the judge issues a more lenient judgment. Instead of thanking the judge for his/her mercy the criminal whines about how rough his punishment is. That's exactly what happens here. Cain is "guilty as sin". God has every right to stomp on him and scrape him off the bottom of his divine shoe. Instead God allows Cain to live and what does Cain do? He whines about how unfair the punishment is? But see the kindness of God. He allows Cain to live and even makes provision for him for protection. Lesson: God is merciful and gracious. He is kind, even to stupid and whiny sinners. 

A side note here: The author of Firm Foundations, Trevor McIlwain, made a great point about this passage. When bad things happen, men frequently look to God and say, "Where were you? How could you let this happen?" Four chapters into the Bible, it is not God who has failed, but men. Men have disobeyed God, acted in unbelief, blamed God, blamed each other, acted in jealousy, acted in anger, and now have committed murder. God provided companionship, food, shelter, a wonderful environment for mankind, and the blessing of his presence. How exactly has he failed men so far in the Bible? Instead man has failed God. When we look at the destruction on earth and the bad things that have happened, we may want to stop looking at God with angry fist and instead looking at how man has disobeyed and rebelled against his creator.

Lessons Learned:
- Man has now descended, because of sin, into premeditated murder. Not only murder, but murder between family members. Adam and Eve sinned and they gave birth to little sinners. Guess what that makes you and me, their children?
- God pursues sinners to reconcile them to himself. First God came to Cain before the murder to try and resolve things with him. Then God came to Cain after the murder and instead of squashing him like a bug God makes provision for him to continue living. God is gracious to sinners.
- No one can hide from judgment. God said to Cain that the blood of his brother was crying out from the earth for justice. You and I may not have killed anyone, but our cruel, selfish, angry, greedy, and prideful deeds cry out to a holy and righteous God for judgment. Someone has to deal with our sin. Evil must be punished. Judgment is coming for you and me, but just as God always makes provision for sin, he will make provision for the sin in our lives, (stay tuned to future blogs to see how)...

Genesis 4, The first episode of Law and Order

Have you ever watched Law and Order on TV? Of course you have. One of the reasons is that it's one of the longest running shows on television. Another reason is it's about good guys and bad guys, thrilling court drama, and good acting. There are also about 19 different versions of the show. There's Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, Law and Order Criminal Intent, Law and Order Miami, Law and Order Elementary School, Law and Order Care Bears, Law and Order Duck Dynasty Style, Law and Order Disneyland, and so forth. (I may have made some up there, but you get the point). Today we're going to get to see "Law and Order Genesis", because today we are going to see the first murder, investigation, and judicial punishment of a murderer.

Remember how we got here? God made the world, made everything good, made man, then made woman, (Hooray!), and left man and woman in the garden with only one command to obey. Man and woman failed, the world was cursed with the introduction of sin, and man and woman were kicked out of the garden with the knowledge that their sin = death. We're now into Genesis 4:1-16.

So Adam and Eve make some babies, sons to be exact. The firstborn is Cain and the second born is Abel. Abel was a shepherd and Cain tills the ground. The problem is that there are problems between Cain and Abel. Sin has infiltrated the hearts of Adam and Eve's children.

Personally I find it hard to believe that Cain and Abel didn't get along. My brother and I never fought, argued, or had ill feelings towards each other....

OW! OW!!! OW! OW! Okay, stop, stop, stop!

Sorry, I'm recovering from being struck by lightning because of my lies. Let's just say that you should never ever ask me about the time an unmentioned older brother broke a water pipe outside of the house because an unmentioned younger brother cheated to beat me, I mean, the older brother in basketball. A mother who will not be named was quite upset.

Cosby: comedian, actor, theologian

So sin is now in the world after Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the last chapter. The hearts of men and women are messed up. Envy, jealousy, selfishness, pride, and anger are now in the hearts of men and it's been passed on to their children. If you've ever raised children, you know they aren't sweet little angels. Children don't automatically share, wait patiently, or listen to their parents. Goodness and obedience have to be taught to them, whereas disobedience and disrespect come naturally. The great theologian Bill Cosby describes children as having "brain damage" and he's somewhat right. Children don't necessarily have brain damage, but all people, including children, have heart damage because of sin.

So (v3) Can and Abel bring an offering of God to worship him. Abel brought the firstborn of his flock and Cain brought the fruit of the ground. What happens next?

"And the Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering, but he was not pleased with Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it." 

Alright let's make some notes here:
1. God was pleased with Abel's offering, but not Cain's. Why? Commentators are not totally in agreement here, but I think that it had to do with the type of sacrifice given. Abel gave an animal of his flock. When he "offered" an animal, that doesn't mean that he gave it to God to keep as a pet, but that the animal was killed as an offering to God. Where have we seen that before? Just one chapter back when God clothes Adam and Eve, he does so with the skins of animals that had been killed. God taught Adam and Eve that death was required to deal with sin. This will be a running theme throughout the Bible. God will always require death in order to deal with sin.

Let's contrast this with Cain's offering. Cain offered the fruit of the ground. Now there's nothing wrong with fruit, vegetables, or grains. They're all part of the food pyramid that we learned about in kindergarten. However, fruit, grain, and vegetables don't bleed and die like animals. They can't offer a sacrifice of blood and death. I believe that Cain decided to come to God on Cain's terms and offer his offering, instead of what God required. I believe God had given specific instructions on what to offer him and what was required to come to him. Instead of coming to God HIS way, Cain went before God Cain's way. This will be a running theme throughout history. Men will try to come before God on their terms, not on God's terms. They will try to come to God on the basis of their good works, on their success, on their intellect, on their reasoning, on their sacrifice. They will not trust what God has said in the Bible or revealed through his prophets or his Son. The problem is God has only provided ONE way to come to him. Lesson: Man has to submit to God's way alone. Man has to trust God and submit to HIS ways. Do men like this? No.

2. Cain is very angry and jealous against his brother because his brother's offering was accepted by God but his was not.
Uh oh. In chapter 3 man and women experience unbelief, disobedience, blaming one another, and blaming God. Now sin continues in their children as Cain experiences anger and jealousy. Red flags to be sure. This seems to go against the whole idea that man is essentially a good person, huh? Man is a fallen and broken individual. Men and women's hearts are corrupted by sin. They don't naturally want to do good, do right, and love God. Look at verse 7, "And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you and you must master it." Sin is seen as an animal crouching around men waiting to devour them. Sin is a problem for men and will be for the rest of time. If only there was someone who could save men and change their hearts? If only there was someone who could restore men to fellowship with God? If only...
Lesson: Men need someone to save them, restore them to God and change their hearts.

3. God comes to Cain and tries to make things right. Remember that God did this in chapter 3 when Adam and Eve sinned? Again we see God initiating contact with sinners, not the other way again. God is seeking to restore men to righteousness and not the other way around. God tells Cain, if you "do well" will you not be accepted? This leads me to believe that God had told Cain what was "well" or "right" in regards to sacrifices, but Cain didn't listen.
Lesson: God had given and will give instructions on how to approach him and man has to listen and obey God's way in order to be accepted by him.

Alright, so we've set the stage for the drama. Tune in next blog for the murder, investigation, and judgment to follow. Part 2, coming soon.

P.S. If you don't come back, this guy will interrogate you.

The Worst Day in Human History, Part 3 (Finale)

No man is an island, entire of itself. 
Each is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. 
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. 
As well as if a promontory were. 
As well if a manor of thine own. 
Or of thine friend's were. 
Each man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind. 
Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls, 
It tolls for thee. - John Donne

Genesis 3:19-24

A final note here on Genesis 3. We've looked at the crucial moment in man's history where he disobeyed God, (sin), and experienced the corrupting curse of his choices. This is also known as the Fall of Man, or simply The Fall, by theologians. The world is now broken. Man's relationship with one another is broken. Man's is now broken inside by sin. He no longer relates to God rightly, views himself rightly, or know how to rightly relate with his Creator. What began by God as "very good" has now fallen because of man.

Last time I noted the depressing and discouraging nature of Genesis 3. Truth maybe hard, but it is still truth. We can't hide from the honest nature in which the Bible explains what happens. Nor can we ignore that the Bible accurately diagnosis man's condition. This is why man "can't just get along" with one another, why marriages disintegrate, why evil exists in the world, and why the world in which we live nor our bodies work as we want them to. But we remember the promise, or glimmer of hope seen in God's promise to the woman (3:14). It is the promise of the seed of woman, (not of man), who will one day come and crush the offspring of Satan, even though he will be wounded in the process. The identity of this man is not yet known, but God does provide hope for the future of mankind.

Keeping all of this in mind, let's look at the end of Genesis chapter 3.

"By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." (19-20)

"Death comes to us all" -
said to Edward the Longshanks

The final proclamation of God's curse on man because of his sin is that man will live a difficult life in a broken world until ultimately, he will die. Man's mortality is a reminder of the effects of sin. Death is a reminder that the world and we are not as we should be. A funeral procession is a distressing thing because it is a reminder to everyone that "death comes to us all". "You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die," (Genesis 2:17). The curse of sin is death. Sin requires death. (Keep this in mind as it will be a running theme throughout the Bible).

V20-21, "The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. The Lord God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them."

A few very important things to see here:
- God, though the offended party in the relationship, nevertheless moves to care for, protect, and provide for sinners, (Adam and Eve). Once again, it is God who initiates help and care to sinners, not the other way around.
- Death is required to cover up the effects of sin. God made clothes for Adam and Eve. Did he just create them out of thin air? He could have, but I don't think so in this case. I believe animals were killed and clothing from skins were made from Adam and Eve. I believe God did it that way to show them that dealing with the effects of sin, (in this case nakedness), requires death. An animal had to die to deal with the problem. God is establishing a pattern here that sin requires death. This will be seen throughout the rest of the Bible story.

Sin is unpleasant and so are the consequences.

V22-24, "And the Lord God said, 'Behold, the man  has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever-' therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that they turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life." 

More VERY important stuff:
- God talks to himself again like he's got multiple personalities. Man has become like one of "us". Another revelation of the Trinity of God, (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
- God sends man out of the garden because a holy and perfect God cannot tolerate the presence of sin. Man has become unrighteous by his sinful actions and therefore cannot stay in the presence of God. Man is therefore expelled from the garden.
- What if God allowed man to eat from the tree of life and live forever? Wouldn't that be great? I don't think so. If man lived forever in a corrupted and sinful state he would only destroy himself and others. Man already does a pretty good job of that anyways. Man needs to be healed and saved from the corrupting influences of sin. He needs to be restored. An undying sinful man cannot return to fellowship with God. Death is required to deal with sin.
- Man is expelled from the garden and cannot return but by the way God provides. Man is going to spend the rest of his days trying to get back to and right with God by his own education, efforts, sacrifices, and accumulation. Every religious system but one exists on the premise that man has to get right with God by his efforts in one form another, be that living a good life, obeying a sacred book, sacrificing appropriately, telling enough people about "the truth", keeping oneself unstained from evil things/places/activities/words, purifying yourself from bad karma, and on and on ad infinitude. Man is going to try and do it his way. (Another running theme). There is only going to get to the tree of life and it will be God's way. 

Lego pics found on the Bricktestament.com

Thus ends the age of innocence of man. Man has been expelled from the presence of God because of his sin and disobedience. What is hopeful about the story is that it could have ended right here, but it didn't. God could have wiped out Adam and Eve and the entire creation, but he didn't. He could have killed Adam and Eve and been justified in doing so, but he didn't. God is going to work to restore man to fellowship to him. He is going to come to him, just as he did in the garden, seeking restoration. He is going to provide for man, just as he provided clothes for Adam and Eve. What's that going to look like? We don't know yet. You have to keep reading the Bible...(and less importantly this blog), to find out.