Category: Genesis

3 Descriptions

On By PaulIn Bible, Genesis1 Comment

In the story of Noah, we are given three distinct descriptions:

  1. He was a righteous man
  2. He was a blameless man
  3. He walked with God

Righteous – we know from Hebrews 11:6-7 that it was Noah’s faith that made him righteous. Blameless – we know from James 2:21-24 that true, saving faith is evident in the way that a person lives and therefore Noah was blameless.

Finally, Noah, like Enoch, walked with God. He continually and habitually maintained a relationship with God.

  • Righteous by Faith
  • Blameless by Conduct
  • Walked with God by Relationship

We also know from later reading that Noah developed a drinking problem and had failings as a father. This is a reminder that without God’s grace we will never be righteous, blameless or maintain a relationship with God.

I want to lean into God for provision of increased faith, power for self-control in my conduct, and the ability to grasp the height, depth, breadth and length of Him who loved me first.

To plead with the desperate father: Lord, I believe, help me with my unbelief. (Mark 9:24)

To ask like the son for a loaf of bread: Holy Spirit dwell in me, that the fruit of self-control would be manifest (Matthew 7:9)

To enter into the disciples’ experience and walk ‘in the dust of the Rabbi’ -t hat we might receive the Lord’s reply to Phillip in John 14:

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?… “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

God doesn’t use a broad brush

On By PaulIn Bible, Genesis, ThoughtsLeave a comment

God sees that the human race is inclined towards sin. He searches every heart, looking for anyone who is willing to receive His mercy, to receive Him.

Then he finds Noah.

He determines to destroy the human race completely because they all have turned away from Him. But He saves Noah, because He has examined every heart and found but one man who walks with faith.

The story of Noah, isn’t the only occasion where God’s grace is demonstrated by the abandonment of the convenient broad brush of judgement. Does He not also save Lot from Sodom’s destruction? Does He not pass over the Israelite first born because of the faithful obedience of the parents? Does He not look upon Jesus crucified between two sinners?

Just as God avoids the broad brush of judgement, may we too seek to be merciful. To look for the best in each person (1 Cor 13:7 AMP). Do we assume all the people who hold different opinions to us, be they political, cultural, ethical, theological, are evil? Or do we see past the stereotype, and consider the individual heart.

It is generous of God to weigh us as individuals, may I extend that generosity to others. And not just to individuals within groups, but to the person in the individual circumstance.

Broad brushes are imprecise and harmful to fine art, and we humans are indeed fine art.

Genesis 4:1-26 Part 2: Faith is Demonstrated

On By PaulIn Bible, GenesisLeave a comment

Genesis 4 includes the story of Cain and Abel, the man who killed his brother. But there is a lot more going on in this passage than meets the eye. For starters, it is where we first start to really see the beginnings of faith in the human race.

Yes, Adam and Eve were supposed to have faith in God’s commands and goodness back in the garden. But they didn’t. We also saw a little of Adam’s faith in the previous chapter when he named his wife Eve, in response to the Promise of God [See: Where do we go from here?].

But in chapter 4, faith is beginning to spring up all over the place:

Eve’s Faith

It is so encouraging to see that Adam and Eve were not “lost causes”. They had learnt, over time, to turn back to God. In fact, they raised their children to follow God, even though they themselves had disobeyed Him.

As Chapter 4 opens, and closes, the faith of Eve is very much on display in the birth of her sons.

“With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man…God has granted me another child in the place of Abel” (vv 1 & 25)

I believe that one of the reasons she thanks God for both Cain and Seth, is because she believes that through one of these children God will provide the Promised One (3:15).

Abel’s Faith

There are many explanations for why Abel’s offering was accepted whilst Cain’s wasn’t. One of the most convincing ones is rooted in Hebrews 11:4: “By faith Abel brought a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings.”

His offering was accepted because of his faith. A faith that still speaks today! (Heb 11:4b)

Cain’s Lack of Faith

Another reason to explain why Cain’s offering was not accepted was because of his lack of faith. We assume this because of the despair that emerges when his offering isn’t accepted.

When we fall short of God’s standards, It is faith that moves us to turn back to God. If however, we don’t live by faith, falling short will result in despair. We will groan that we are not good enough and not valuable to God. (In fact we are not good enough). But faith allows us to put our trust in God and receive His righteousness.

Cain’s lack of faith is seen his response to having his sacrifice rejected. But it is also seen in what happens next. When God punishes him for murdering his brother, Cain again falls into despair. “My punishment is more than I can bear”.

Even despite this, God continues to lavish grace and protection on Cain.

Then later on, we see Cain trying to make a name for himself by building a city (v17). One commentator noted the continuous verb, “Cain was then building a city”. And said that this mirrors the life of someone trying to earn salvation, rather than receiving it by faith.

Faith passed on: Adam and Eve to Abel, to Seth, to society

And yet Adam and Eve continue to have faith in God. And once they give birth to Seth they teach him too to lean on God. And so chapter 4 ends with the hope-filled phrase: “At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD” (v26)

One of the mysterious things about faith is that we can pass it on. This is how commands like the Great Commission are possible. We can go and make disciples of all nations because of our example and teaching of faith.

This is why Paul urges Timothy, ‘do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example to all the believers in speech, conduct, faith, love and purity’.

Yes, God does distribute a measure of faith to each of us (Rom 12:3), but we can go and model and encourage others to walk in faith. This is what we see Adam and Eve doing, and later Seth.

May we too seek to model faith well.