Genesis 15 -- A Promised Land

Ok, I know there was no post yesterday.  That is because I spent most of my time researching about marriage in the Bible to share with friends on Facebook.  I hate to see how people want to twist what marriage means to make it suitable for everyone.  Marriage for the Christian is so important because it represents Christ's relationship with the church and if marriages work correctly, it can be a beautiful thing to hint at what it will be like when we, the church, are with Christ forever.  Anywho, on to chapter 15.

Genesis 15:1 After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:
Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield;
your reward will be very great.
2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what can You give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Abram continued, “Look, You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir.”
4 Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”
6 Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.

God has just promised Abram that he would be a biological father to a son, who would be his heir.  Abram believed the Lord and what he said.  We too should believe the promises that the Lord has given to us!

Genesis 15:7 He also said to him, “I am Yahweh who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
8 But he said, “Lord God, how can I know that I will possess it?”
9 He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10 So he brought all these to Him, split them down the middle, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut up the birds. 11 Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell on Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.
13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be foreigners in a land that does not belong to them; they will be enslaved and oppressed 400 years.14 However, I will judge the nation they serve, and afterward they will go out with many possessions. 15 But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.16 In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

Your offspring will be foreigners in a land, that is Egypt.  They will be enslaved and oppressed, which happened in the book of Exodus.  Though he will judge that nation with the 12 plagues.  Notice he also mentioned the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.  The Amorites as a whole were not followers of God.  Perhaps there were a few there who did, and God wanted to delay the destruction of the Amorites until there were no Godly left?  We do not know, of course, just a thought.

17 When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring, from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River: 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim,21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

And the Lord kept his promise to Abram.

Joshua 21:43 So the Lord gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. 44 The Lord gave them rest on every side according to all He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies were able to stand against them, for the Lord handed over all their enemies to them. 45 None of the good promises the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled.

Genesis 14 -- Abram rescues Lot

Genesis 14:1 In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim 2 waged war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, as well as the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 All of these came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea).4 They were subject to Chedorlaomer for 12 years, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in the mountains of Seir, as far as El-paran by the wilderness. 7 Then they came back to invade En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they defeated all the territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.
8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and lined up for battle in the Valley of Siddim9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim contained many asphalt pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, but the rest fled to the mountains. 11 The four kings took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food and went on. 12 They also took Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, for he was living in Sodom, and they went on.
13 One of the survivors came and told Abram the Hebrew, who lived near the oaks belonging to Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and the brother of Aner. They were bound by a treaty with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken prisoner, he assembled his 318 trained men, born in his household, and they went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 And he and his servants deployed against them by night, attacked them, and pursued them as far as Hobah to the north of Damascus. 16 He brought back all the goods and also his relative Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the other people.
17 After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).18 Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest to God Most High. 19 He blessed him and said:
Abram is blessed by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth,
20 and I give praise to God Most High
who has handed over your enemies to you.
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
21 Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, but take the possessions for yourself.”
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand in an oath to Yahweh, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will not take a thread or sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, so you can never say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing except what the servants have eaten. But as for the share of the men who came with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre—they can take their share.”

So I read this and think, now what?  Well, first lets see what this passage is saying.  There was a war.  The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were defeated and their cities plundered.  Lot and all his possessions were taken since he lived near Sodom.  Abram was called upon to rescue Lot since they were family.  Abram assembled some of his men and defeated the kings who had won and recovered all the possessions.  The king of Sodom was prepared to give Abram all the possessions that had been recovered.  Abram refused so that he could remain loyal to God.  He did not want the king to say that Abram was rich because of him.  Abram knew he was rich because of what God had done for him.

Now what does this passage tell us about God?  Well, God was with Abram in that he "handed over" the enemy to him.  God is creator, as mentioned in verse 19 and 22.

What does this passage tell us about Christ?  My husband says that ALL scripture can point us to Christ in some way.  Here Abram rescues Lot.  Abram is Lot's savior, like Christ is our Savior.  Just as Abram brought back all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah to the safety of their towns, away from those who would harm them, so will Christ do for us in the last days when his church is rescued and he brings us into the promised New Jerusalem.  Our enemy, the devil, will no longer be able to harm us.

2 Peter 3:13 But based on His promise, we wait for the new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will dwell.

Genesis 13 -- Abram and Lot Separate

Genesis 13:1 Then Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev—he, his wife, and all he had, and Lot with him. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. 3 He went by stages from the Negev to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been,4 to the site where he had built the altar. And Abram called on the name of Yahweh there.
5 Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. 6 But the land was unable to support them as long as they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they could not stay together, 7 and there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.
8 Then Abram said to Lot, “Please, let’s not have quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we are relatives. 9 Isn’t the whole land before you? Separate from me: if you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”
10 Lot looked out and saw that the entire Jordan Valley as far as Zoar was well watered everywhere like the Lord’s garden and the land of Egypt. This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. 11 So Lot chose the entire Jordan Valley for himself. Then Lot journeyed eastward, and they separated from each other. 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot lived in the cities of the valley and set up his tent near Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were evil, sinning greatly against the Lord.

The men of Sodom were evil.  Lot and his family lived among them.  Lot set his tent up near Sodom.  We learned here in verse 10 that the Lord is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness.

Genesis 13:14 After Lot had separated from him, the Lord said to Abram, “Look from the place where you are. Look north and south, east and west, 15 for I will give you and your offspring forever all the land that you see.

God showed Abram the land his descendants would inherit.   It is the land of Canaan.

16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.17 Get up and walk around the land, through its length and width, for I will give it to you.”
18 So Abram moved his tent and went to live near the oaks of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord.

The Lord promised Abram that his offspring will be so numerous that they cannot be counted.  By this time, however, Abram had no children.  Sarai was already beyond normal child bearing years. (She is approx. 10 years younger than Abram.  For later, when God promises Isaac, Abram mentions he is 100 and Sarai is 90.)  When God called Abram, he was 75, so Sarai would have already been around 65.

Genesis 12:10-20 -- Sarai and Pharoah

Genesis 12:10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”
14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.15 And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
17 But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

So, you may think, why did Abram lie to Pharaoh and  tell him Sarai was his sister?  Now Abram was afraid of Pharaoh's men, that they would kill him and take Sarai.  Though, he forgot what God had promised him before: "I will make you into a great nation." If he is dead, how will he become a great nation?  Now, keep in mind that Abram did not lie to Pharaoh.  Sarai was his sister.  His half-sister.  Remember God had not yet commanded the people to not marry close relations.  Though Abram was wrong in not telling Pharaoh the whole truth, and not trusting in God's promise.  He may be chosen of God (like all Christians) but that does not mean he does not sin.

As a result of this sin, Abram did gain riches, earthy riches.  God can use our sinful behavior to bring about good for his people.  He would rather us not sin, but he knows the hearts and minds of men, and knows that sinning is a natural part of man, ever since the fall.

Pharaoh seemed to suffer from Abram's sin, while Abram prospered.  This somehow does not seem fair, does it?  Once Pharaoh found out about Sarai being Abram's wife, they were kicked out of Egypt.  I bet Pharaoh would not be so kind as to let them back in either.  The Bible does not say how Pharaoh found out, but I bet he was furious when he did.

Genesis 12:1-9 -- Calling on the name of the Lord

Ok, so you may have noticed that I did not post anything yesterday.  I did not do my reading, I must admit.  I spent the whole morning at church though, doing a 5K run/walk to help support missions.  I walked.  I could not run the whole course!  Especially those hills!  Anywho, we had a blast!  Now on to chapter 12.

Genesis 12:1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”

God gave Abram a promise.  I will bless you and make you a great nation.  That great nation was to be Israel.  This passage also points to Christ.  "and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."  Through Abram would come the Christ.  Jesus was Abram's descendant.

Genesis 12:4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

Abram, like Noah, did as the Lord told him.

Genesis 12:6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

God gave Abram another promise here.  His descendants would get control of the Land of Canaan.  This promise is fulfilled upon Moses's death when Joshua takes the people into the "Promised Land" of Canaan.

Genesis 12:8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.
9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

Abram called on the name of the Lord.  What did this mean for Abram?  I've gotten curious about digging into this section and knowing what it really means.  I understand the meaning in the New Testament but in the Old Testament  I've always thought of it as worship.

In the New Testament, we read:

Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Now, most of the time this verse is taken out of context and people want to say all I have to do is say a prayer and call on his name and I will go to heaven.  Well, it isn't that easy.

This verse must be put in context:

Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

The "Everyone" here seems to indicate that Paul was stating that any person can be saved, no matter is he is Jew or Gentile.  However he goes on to say you cannot just merely pray and be saved.  This verse says you must also hear the gospel and BELIEVE it.   If you do not believe it, then you are not saved.

1 Corinthians 1:2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

Here in Corinthians, we see that those who call on the name of the Lord are members of the church, those who are sanctified in Jesus.   You must be saved in order to call on his name.  But you may think, but Paul said in Romans you must call to be saved.  Not so.  You are called by God.  No one is saved on their own.  God must call them first and then they will call on him.  You will not call on God of your own accord.  God much choose you first.  Now God can choose anyone he wants.  That means anyone can "call on the name of the Lord" as long and God calls him first:

Romans 9:14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses,
“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

So, simply saying a prayer cannot save you.  God must first call you and then you can call on God.

Now all this does not address how "calling on the name of the Lord" is used in the Old Testament.  So far we've seen Noah and Abram both call on the name of the Lord.  What does this mean?  I mentioned before that I have always seen this as an act of worship.  Merely praising God.  My husband led me to this passage in Psalms to help me further understand the meaning.

Psalms 145:13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
14 The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.

Here David called on the name of the Lord in praise.  He also shows how calling on the name of the Lord seeking the Lord to provide nourishment and protection.

Well, my time is up for the little one is up from her nap and is calling on my name for her nourishment!

Genesis 11:10-32 -- Abram's Ancestors

Genesis 11:10 These are the family records of Shem. Shem lived 100 years and fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11 After he fathered Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 12 Arpachshad lived 35 years and fathered Shelah. 13 After he fathered Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and fathered other sons and daughters.14 Shelah lived 30 years and fathered Eber. 15 After he fathered Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 16 Eber lived 34 years and fathered Peleg. 17 After he fathered Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 18 Peleg lived 30 years and fathered Reu. 19 After he fathered Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 20 Reu lived 32 years and fathered Serug. 21 After he fathered Serug, Reu lived 207 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 22 Serug lived 30 years and fathered Nahor. 23 After he fathered Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 24 Nahor lived 29 years and fathered Terah. 25 After he fathered Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 26 Terah lived 70 years and fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
27 These are the family records of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran fathered Lot. 28 Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans, during his father Terah’s lifetime. 29 Abram and Nahor took wives: Abram’s wife was named Sarai, and Nahor’s wife was named Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 30 Sarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child.
31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran.

This genealogy is showing how Abram (who would later become Abraham) is descended from Noah.  Abram is one of the most important figures in Jewish culture.  He would become the ancestor of all the Jewish people.  Every Jew can (or should be able to) trace their family lineage all the way to him.

I have a relatively short blog post on Biblical Genealogy if you are interested.

Genesis 11:1-9 -- Tower of Babel

Genesis 11:1 At one time the whole earth had the same language and vocabulary. 2 As people migrated from the east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let us make oven-fired bricks.” They used brick for stone and asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5 Then the Lord came down to look over the city and the tower that the men were building.6 The Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let Us go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babylon, for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

The people of earth wanted to be recognized.  They wanted power here on earth.  They were to demonstrate the power by building a great city with a tower that reached into the heavens.  The Lord disapproved and as a consequence, so they could not do it again, he confused their language and  scattered them.  Now the people could no longer understand each other and  communicate about how to build the city.

Now one may stop and say, but didn't they say in chapter 10 that each people had their own language and were already scattered around the earth?  Yes, in chapter 10 they do say that, but keep in mind Genesis is not linear.  Remember how God described the creation of the world, but then later goes into detail about how he formed Adam and Eve?   That is what is happening here.  In chapter 10, all the families were described and it was told where they went and that they each had their own language.  In the story of Babel, you are seeing a more detailed account of how they became spread out and how they each got their own language.

Genesis 10 -- Biblical Genealogy

Genesis 10:1 These are the family records of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They also had sons after the flood.
2 Japheth’s sons: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3 Gomer’s sons: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 4 And Javan’s sons: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5 The coastland peoples spread out into their lands. These are Japheth’s sons by their clans, in their nations. Each group had its own language.
6 Ham’s sons: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. 7 Cush’s sons: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. And Raamah’s sons: Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush fathered Nimrod, who was the first powerful man on earth. 9 He was a powerful hunter in the sight of the Lord. That is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a powerful hunter in the sight of the Lord.” 10 His kingdom started with Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-ir, Calah, 12 and Resen, between Nineveh and the great city Calah.
13 Mizraim fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14 Pathrusim, Casluhim (the Philistines came from them), and Caphtorim.
15 Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn, then Heth, 16 the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the Canaanite clans scattered. 19 The Canaanite border went from Sidon going toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and going toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim as far as Lasha.
20 These are Ham’s sons, by their clans, according to their languages, in their own lands and their nations.
21 And Shem, Japheth’s older brother, also had sons. Shem was the father of all the sons of Eber. 22 Shem’s sons were Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.
23 Aram’s sons: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.
24 Arpachshad fathered Shelah, and Shelah fathered Eber. 25 Eber had two sons. One was named Peleg, for during his days the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan. 26 And Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were Joktan’s sons. 30 Their settlements extended from Mesha to Sephar, the eastern hill country.
31 These are Shem’s sons by their clans, according to their languages, in their lands and their nations.
32 These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their family records, in their nations. The nations on earth spread out from these after the flood.

Ok, one may read this and wonder why in the world this is in the Bible.  What does this record have to do with anything?!  Well the Jews were very diligent about keeping genealogical records to trace their linage to Jacob, then Abraham, then Noah and all the way to Adam.  It was important to show how they were God's people.  It also helps to show that the Bible uses historical records. This shows it is true!  Also, each family group, as we will see when we read further and get to the 12 tribes, has a specific role in the Jewish community.  Knowing which family you belong to, helps you know your role in society.

The genealogies were also important to point to Christ.  The Lord promises a savior to come from the line of David.

Isaiah 11:1 Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him—
a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a Spirit of counsel and strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

Isaiah 11:10 On that day the root of Jesse
will stand as a banner for the peoples.
The nations will seek Him,
and His resting place will be glorious.

Jesse was David's father.  Knowing that the Bible is clear on whose line Jesus will come from helps us to establish the fact the Christ was fully man.  He was born from a woman, and is a descendant of Jesse, through David.  It also helps to establish that Jesus was a Jew, which means he was from God's chosen people.

Genesis 9:18-29 -- Noah's Nakedness

18 Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were Noah’s sons, and from them the whole earth was populated.
20 Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. 21 He drank some of the wine, became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a cloak and placed it over both their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father naked.
24 When Noah awoke from his drinking and learned what his youngest son had done to him,25 he said:
Canaan will be cursed.
He will be the lowest of slaves to his brothers.
26 He also said:
Praise the Lord, the God of Shem;
Canaan will be his slave.
27 God will extend Japheth;
he will dwell in the tents of Shem;
Canaan will be his slave.
28 Now Noah lived 350 years after the flood. 29 So Noah’s life lasted 950 years; then he died.

Noah pronounced a punishment on Canaan.  Ham was the one who looked upon his father's nakedness, but did nothing about it, but Canaan was punished.  He and his offspring were to be the slaves of Ham's brothers, Shem and Japheth.  Why was Canaan punished for Ham's wrong?

Exodus 34:7 But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.

The Bible states that the children and grandchildren will suffer for the sins of their fathers.  If you do something wrong, others are impacted as well.  If you do wrong and must be punished by going to jail, then your children will suffer for not having you there.  Now, that is just a simple example, but in Bible, the wrong of one man could impact all his offspring and descendants.

Also keep in mind that Canaan is the ancestor who gave rise to the Canaanites.  Abram was promised the Canaanite land for his future descendants.

Genesis 9:1-17 -- The First Covenant

Yeah, so I got completely wrapped up in other things this morning and did not even think about the blog or my daily reading!  Man, I do not want to fall into that routine again.  I've been really enjoying typing up these posts!

Genesis 9:1 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority. 3 Every living creature will be food for you; as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything. 4 However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it. 5 I will require the life of every animal and every man for your life and your blood. I will require the life of each man’s brother for a man’s life.

I discussed before how Noah and Adam receive similar commandments on being fruitful and what they could eat. You can ready my post titled Mmmmm... Meat to see what I said on that.

Genesis 9:6 Whoever sheds man’s blood,his blood will be shed by man,for God made man in His image.

Whoever kills man shall be killed by man.  Very straight forward.  If you kill someone, then you too shall die.  The reason for this is that we are made in HIS image.  The death of an animal does not require the death of the one who killed it.  That is because man is set apart from the animals.  We are made in the image of God where as animals are not.

Genesis 9:7 But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”

We know that Noah's family was fruitful and multiplied and eventually they did spread all of the earth.  It seems that at first all the people stayed relatively close together.  In chapter 11 we read that "from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth."  This being after the attempted Tower of Babel.

Genesis 9:8 Then God said to Noah and his sons with him, 9 “Understand that I am confirming My covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you—birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you—all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark. 11 I confirm My covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by the waters of a flood; there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”

Never again will the Lord cause a flood that will wipe off all life.  He promised and the Lord always keeps his promises!

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind. Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?

1 Kings 8:7 The Lord has fulfilled what He promised. I have taken the place of my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised.

Acts 13:23 “From this man’s [David's] descendants, according to the promise, God brought the Savior, Jesus, to Israel.

The above passages show just some of the promises that the Lord has kept.

Genesis 9:12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between Me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all future generations: 13 I have placed My bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.14 Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all the living creatures: water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature. 16 The bow will be in the clouds, and I will look at it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all the living creatures on earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have confirmed between Me and every creature on earth.”

The Lord even gave a sign to Noah and his people to show that he will never destroy the earth by flood again.   He placed a rainbow in the sky.  Now, every time we see a rainbow, we can remember the covenant and promise God gave to Noah and his family.

Genesis 8 -- Ending the Flood

Genesis 8:1 God remembered Noah, as well as all the wildlife and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water began to subside.2 The sources of the watery depths and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky stopped. 3 The water steadily receded from the earth, and by the end of 150 days the waters had decreased significantly. 4 The ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.
5 The waters continued to recede until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were visible. 6 After 40 days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made, 7 and he sent out a raven. It went back and forth until the waters had dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent out a dove to see whether the water on the earth’s surface had gone down, 9 but the dove found no resting place for her foot. She returned to him in the ark because water covered the surface of the whole earth. He reached out and brought her into the ark to himself. 10 So Noah waited seven more days and sent out the dove from the ark again. 11 When the dove came to him at evening, there was a plucked olive leaf in her beak. So Noah knew that the water on the earth’s surface had gone down. 12 After he had waited another seven days, he sent out the dove, but she did not return to him again. 13 In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water that had covered the earth was dried up. Then Noah removed the ark’s cover and saw that the surface of the ground was drying. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was dry.

So for nearly a year, the earth was drying from the flood.  To have that much water on the earth, it would take a long time to dry up.

Genesis 8:15 Then God spoke to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. 17 Bring out all the living creatures that are with you—birds, livestock, those that crawl on the ground—and they will spread over the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” 18 So Noah, along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, came out. 19 All wildlife, all livestock, every bird, and every creature that crawls on the earth came out of the ark by their groups.
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord. He took some of every kind of clean animal and every kind of clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 When the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, He said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, even though man’s inclination is evil from his youth. And I will never again strike down every living thing as I have done.
22 As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, and day and night
will not cease.”

Finally, Noah and the animals could leave the ark.  How would you like to be stuck in a boat for a year with smelly animals, not able to go out and walk along the ground.  I would rejoice when I could get outside, away from all those animals!  Noah, in his thankfulness for coming through the flood, offered sacrifices to the Lord.  The Lord then promised never again curse the ground because of what man does.  God knows were are sinners by birth.

Some people believe that people are inherently good, but this is not so.  Look at babies.  If you put one toy between two infants, one of two things will happen.  They will fight over it or one will take it leaving the other with nothing.  Children are selfish.  They did not have to be taught that.  We do not have to be taught to sin.  We have to struggle NOT to sin!

⁵ 

Psalm 51:5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born;
I was sinful when my mother conceived me.   

Psalm says we were sinners when we were conceived.  Not merely when we were born, but before our mothers even knew they were pregnant with us, we were sinful.   This is why we need Christ.  We were conceived sinners, we were born sinners and we live as sinners until Christ redeems us!

Genesis 7 -- The Flood Happened!

Genesis 7:1 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before Me in this generation. 2 You are to take with you seven pairs, a male and its female, of all the clean animals, and two of the animals that are not clean, a male and its female, 3 and seven pairs, male and female, of the birds of the sky—in order to keep offspring alive on the face of the whole earth. 4 Seven days from now I will make it rain on the earth 40 days and 40 nights, and I will wipe off from the face of the earth every living thing I have made.” 5 And Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him.

I notice a consistent theme here in reading about Noah.  He "did everything that the Lord commanded him." He alone was righteous, which is why God decided to spare he and his family from the destruction that was about to come upon the earth.  Noah was faithful to God in that he trusted everything God had told him.  He obeyed God's commands and did not question what the Lord was doing.  We also, should do everything God commands of us.  We should be faithful, like Noah, to follow through with what the Lord commands us to do.

Genesis 7:6 Noah was 600 years old when the flood came and water covered the earth. 7 So Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives entered the ark because of the waters of the flood.8 From the clean animals, unclean animals, birds, and every creature that crawls on the ground, 9 two of each, male and female, entered the ark with Noah, just as God had commanded him. 10 Seven days later the waters of the flood came on the earth.

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the sources of the watery depths burst open, the floodgates of the sky were opened, 12 and the rain fell on the earth 40 days and 40 nights. 13 On that same day Noah along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, Noah’s wife, and his three sons’ wives entered the ark with him. 14 They entered it with all the wildlife according to their kinds, all livestock according to their kinds, the creatures that crawl on the earth according to their kinds, all birds, every fowl, and everything with wings according to their kinds. 15 Two of all flesh that has the breath of life in it entered the ark with Noah. 16 Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered just as God had commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in.
17 The flood continued for 40 days on the earth; the waters increased and lifted up the ark so that it rose above the earth. 18 The waters surged and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19 Then the waters surged even higher on the earth, and all the high mountains under the whole sky were covered. 20 The mountains were covered as the waters surged above them more than 20 feet. 21 Every creature perished—those that crawl on the earth, birds, livestock, wildlife, and those that swarm on the earth, as well as all mankind. 22 Everything with the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils—everything on dry land died. 23 He wiped out every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, from mankind to livestock, to creatures that crawl, to the birds of the sky, and they were wiped off the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters surged on the earth 150 days.

Through the flood, God destroyed everything that was not on the ark.  Every creature that walked along the face of the earth and all birds of the air.   Many people try to say that the flood could not have possibly cover the whole earth and cover all the mountains in 20 feet of water.  Why not?  Why couldn't God have done that?  Many cultures have a story of a great flood and how people repopulated the earth.  To say it was localized to Noah's region does not account for all the stories other cultures tell.  Now, I believe the Bible portrays the accurate version of events.  The others, though having some truth, are not completely accurate.  Everyone likes to use the game telephone to describe this.  The Bible tells the true story, but others heard the story passed down from generation to generation, and the story slightly changes or parts are exaggerated and then myths are formed.  Now, you may say, "what a minute, wasn't the story in the Bible passed down from generation to generation, so it would have mistakes too, right?"  No!  And here is why:  The Bible is the inspired word of God.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

ALL scripture is inspired by God.  God does not lie!  He always tells the truth.

John 8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I came from God and I am here. For I didn’t come on My own, but He sent Me. 43 Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the Devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of liars. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Who among you can convict Me of sin? If I tell the truth, why don’t you believe Me? 47 The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.”

John records Jesus's words here saying that the Devil is the father of all liars.  Jesus says he speaks the truth!   Paul also plainly states that God cannot lie:

Titus 1:1 Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to build up the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, 2 in the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.

Since God does not lie and all scripture is inspired by God, then all scripture is true.

Psalm 119:The entirety of Your word is truth,
and all Your righteous judgments endure forever.

Since all scripture is true, we must obey what it says.  By faith, we believe that the words are true, as the Bible describes.  Like Noah, we must do "everything that the Lord commanded" us.

Genesis 6 -- Righteous Noah

Genesis 6:1 When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves. 3 And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth both in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of mankind, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men.

Who are the Nephilim?   That question is linked to a blog post by my husband.  I feel he has a very good explanation for this!

Genesis 6:5 When the Lord saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time, 6 the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 Then the Lord said, “I will wipe off from the face of the earth mankind, whom I created, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them.” 

What a sad day for the Lord!  To see his creation, that he made perfect, turn so wicked.  He saw nothing good.  Nothing that made his heart glad.  He was ready to destroy everything he created, but one man found favor with him.  Are we not so thankful for that?!

Genesis 6:8 Noah, however, found favor in the sight of the Lord. 9 These are the family records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with wickedness. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth was, for every creature had corrupted its way on the earth.13 Then God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to every creature, for the earth is filled with wickedness because of them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth.

Now, Noah was not without sin.  All of mankind are sinners.  He "was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries."  He tried to live a righteous life and please God.  He did not rebel against God and turn to the wickedness of the others.

The Lord also said that "every creature had corrupted its way on the earth."  Thus, the reason the Lord was punishing all of creation and not just man.  Everything that Noah and his family ever knew was about to be destroyed and they knew it!  The Lord told him.  I know if the Lord can and told me what he told Noah, I'd be frightened.

Genesis 6:14 “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and outside. 15 This is how you are to make it: The ark will be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 16 You are to make a roof, finishing the sides of the ark to within 18 inches of the roof. You are to put a door in the side of the ark. Make it with lower, middle, and upper decks.
17 “Understand that I am bringing a flood—floodwaters on the earth to destroy every creature under heaven with the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will die. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you, and you will enter the ark with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives. 19 You are also to bring into the ark two of all the living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of everything—from the birds according to their kinds, from the livestock according to their kinds, and from the animals that crawl on the ground according to their kinds—will come to you so that you can keep them alive.21 Take with you every kind of food that is eaten; gather it as food for you and for them.” 22 And Noah did this. He did everything that God had commanded him.

So, if you didn't make it to the ark, you died.  That goes for man and animal.  Noah had quite a task getting an ark built and getting two of every kind of animal and enough food for all of them.

I just had a thought.  Lets look back at Genesis 5 for a moment.

Genesis 5:29 And he named him Noah, saying, “This one will bring us relief from the agonizing labor of our hands, caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.”

Noah is a type of Christ.  He was the savior to those on the ark.  Now lets look at another verse.

Matthew 24:36 “Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son —except the Father only. 37 As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah boarded the ark. 39 They didn’t know until the flood came and swept them all away. So this is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be."

This is a reference to Noah being compared to Christ.  "As in the days of Noah" is referring to the wickedness of the people on the earth before the flood.  That is how the earth will be before our Lord returns.  The people were living their lives.  Doing their own thing, with no regard for the things of God.  So it shall be when the Son of God, Jesus, returns.

Genesis 4:25-5:32 -- The Descendants of Adam

I am going to start where I left off in Chapter 4.

Genesis 4:25 Adam was intimate with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, for she said, “God has given me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” 26 A son was born to Seth also, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of Yahweh.

Genesis 5:1 These are the family records of the descendants of Adam. On the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God; 2 He created them male and female. When they were created, He blessed them and called them man.
3 Adam was 130 years old when he fathered a son in his likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. 4 Adam lived 800 years after the birth of Seth, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 5 So Adam’s life lasted 930 years; then he died.
6 Seth was 105 years old when he fathered Enosh. 7 Seth lived 807 years after the birth of Enosh, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 8 So Seth’s life lasted 912 years; then he died.
9 Enosh was 90 years old when he fathered Kenan. 10 Enosh lived 815 years after the birth of Kenan, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 11 So Enosh’s life lasted 905 years; then he died.
12 Kenan was 70 years old when he fathered Mahalalel. 13 Kenan lived 840 years after the birth of Mahalalel, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 14 So Kenan’s life lasted 910 years; then he died.
15 Mahalalel was 65 years old when he fathered Jared. 16 Mahalalel lived 830 years after the birth of Jared, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 17 So Mahalalel’s life lasted 895 years; then he died.
18 Jared was 162 years old when he fathered Enoch. 19 Jared lived 800 years after the birth of Enoch, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 20 So Jared’s life lasted 962 years; then he died.
21 Enoch was 65 years old when he fathered Methuselah. 22 And after the birth of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 23 So Enoch’s life lasted 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was not there because God took him.
25 Methuselah was 187 years old when he fathered Lamech. 26 Methuselah lived 782 years after the birth of Lamech, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 27 So Methuselah’s life lasted 969 years; then he died.
28 Lamech was 182 years old when he fathered a son. 29 And he named him Noah, saying, “This one will bring us relief from the agonizing labor of our hands, caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.” 30 Lamech lived 595 years after Noah’s birth, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 31 So Lamech’s life lasted 777 years; then he died.
32 Noah was 500 years old, and he fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

My husband has pointed out that according to the ages of these men, that many probably knew each other or lived during the same time as some of the first people.

Assuming the year Adam was created as 0, this is what the linage would look like in years:
Adam (0-930)
Seth (130- 1042)
Enosh (235-1140)
Kenan (325-1235)
Mahalalel (395-1290)
Jared (460-1422)
Enoch (622-987)
Methuselah (687-1656)
Lamech (874-1651)
Noah (1056-2006)

Noah was the first of this line to be born after Adams's death.  His father, grandfather, etc would all have had opportunity to meet and know Adam.  I find this quite interesting!  I, being a genealogy nut, am fascinated that Lamech, being a gggggg-grandson of Adam could have actually sat down and talked with him!  I know I will never be able to do that in my lifetime.  I only knew my great-grandmothers.  A few are fortunate to know gg-grandparents, but not more than that.

Also another interesting thing my husband asked was about the death of Methuselah.  He died in 1656, right around when the flood started.  The flood was in Noah's 600th year, which would (according to my math above) be around 1656.  Did he die before the flood or as a result of the flood?   The Bible does not say, but it is an interesting question!

Genesis 4:8-24 -- Cain's Punishment and Family

Genesis 4:8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”
10 Then He said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground! 11 So now you are cursed, alienated, from the ground that opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood you have shed. 12 If you work the ground, it will never again give you its yield. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

Cain committed the first murder mentioned in the Bible.  His jealousy and anger let him to do this horrible act.

Genesis 4:13 But Cain answered the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear! 14 Since You are banishing me today from the soil, and I must hide myself from Your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, whoever finds me will kill me.”

He is complaining about his punishment to the Lord.  He murdered his brother and at the time he did it, he was not thinking of the consequences of his actions.  Now that he is being punished he is complaining that it is too much!  God does show some mercy to Cain.  He says:

Genesis 4:15 Then the Lord replied to him, “In that case, whoever kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” And He placed a mark on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him. 16 Then Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

The Lord would not let anyone murder Cain.  God also allowed Cain to have a family.

Genesis 4:17 Cain was intimate with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain became the builder of a city, and he named the city Enoch after his son. 18 Irad was born to Enoch, Irad fathered Mehujael, Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 Lamech took two wives for himself, one named Adah and the other named Zillah.20 Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of the nomadic herdsmen. 21 His brother was named Jubal; he was the father of all who play the lyre and the flute. 22 Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. Tubal-cain’s sister was Naamah.
23 Lamech said to his wives:
Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
wives of Lamech, pay attention to my words.
For I killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for striking me.
24 If Cain is to be avenged seven times over,
then for Lamech it will be seventy-seven times! 

The descendants of Cain became the nomads and wanders of the earth.  Since the earth would not yield its crop from the ground for Cain, he had to wander to find his food.  Some people have wandered where Cain got his wife.  There is only one possibility, Cain married his sister.  Who else were there?    Most people think of today when brothers and sisters do not marry.   Too many genetic problems arise today from close relatives marrying.  Back then, however, the DNA was not as corrupted.  Adam and Eve had perfect DNA. When the fall happened, the DNA started to become corrupt.  This website, Cain's Wife, explains the reasons why Cain married a sister and how that was acceptable for him to do.

Well, I would go on, but the little one has awakened early from her nap!  I will finish chapter 4 later today or tomorrow morning!

Genesis 4:1-8 -- Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:1 Adam was intimate with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have had a male child with the Lord’s help.” 2 Then she also gave birth to his brother Abel. 

The first two baby boys!

Genesis 4:2 Now Abel became a shepherd of flocks, but Cain worked the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain presented some of the land’s produce as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also presented an offering—some of the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain was furious, and he looked despondent.

So, why was Cain so upset?  The Lord had not accepted his offering, but had accepted Abel's.   But why?  Why did God accept Abel's offering but not Cain's?

Genesis 4:6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you furious? And why do you look despondent? 7 If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

Cain's offering was not accepted because he did not do what was right.  Hebrews says the following:

Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

Another passage that speaks of Cain is 1 John:

1 John 3:12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.

Cain's deeds were evil and his offering not acceptable to the Lord.   Abel's deeds were righteous and accepted by God.  Both men offered sacrifices to the Lord.  What was offered is not the reason one was rejected and the other was accepted, it was the how.  Cain had evil in his heart when he offered his sacrifice, but Abel's was offered with the right heart.  After God rejected Cain's offering, Cain took matters in his own hands.

Genesis 4:8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Yes, killing the one you hate or are jealous of will solve all your problems!  NO!  It just creates more problems!  One sin will lead to more sin.  "But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."  Genesis tells it plainly.  You must rule over sin or sin will rule you.  Cain let sin rule him.  His anger and jealousy over Abel caused him to sin further and kill his own brother.

Genesis 3 -- The Fall

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” 

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”

When God gave the command to Adam, he did not say Adam could not touch it. I wonder how that was added in? Perhaps, in order to keep from eating it, Adam told her not to touch it?

Genesis 3:4 “No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”6 Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Adam was there the whole time. He saw and heard everything the serpent said too, yet he did not stop Eve from taking the fruit. He let her take it and then he ate it too.

Genesis 3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

Just think of how terrified they must have felt knowing that they had disobeyed God. They could hear him coming, and even though God knew exactly what they had done and where they were, he still asked where they were. I know if I had done something wrong, I would hid from my parents. They knew where I was, and I still hid, terrified of my punishment.

Genesis 3:10 And he said, “I heard You in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”
11 Then He asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

God already knew what they had done. Doesn't this sound like a conversation parents have with their kids? "Did you draw on the wall?" The parent knows the child did it, but still asks. How does Adam answer?

Genesis 3:12 Then the man replied, “The woman You gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”
13 So the Lord God asked the woman, “What is this you have done?”
And the woman said, “It was the serpent. He deceived me, and I ate.”

Adam blamed both Eve and God. "The woman gave it to me!" "You gave me the woman!" Eve blamed the serpent. "The serpent lied to me!" God punishes all three. They each did wrong. The serpent for tempting. Adam and Eve for eating. Adam and Eve were both told not to eat, but they did. It does not matter who ate first or who gave who what. They both sinned so they are both punished.

Genesis 3:14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent:
Because you have done this,
you are cursed more than any livestock
and more than any wild animal.
You will move on your belly
and eat dust all the days of your life.
15 I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.

The serpent's punishment is to crawl on the ground and eat dust.  There is hostility between serpents and mankind.  Each will try to kill the other.  Though, we know in the end, man will win, through Jesus, and the head of the serpent will be crushed for good!

Genesis 3:16 He said to the woman:
I will intensify your labor pains;
you will bear children in anguish.
Your desire will be for your husband,
yet he will rule over you.

Painful childbearing...  Thanks to modern medicine, I did not feel much of the labor pains when giving birth to my daughter, but I sure did feel it afterwards, thanks to all the tearing!

Genesis 3:17 And He said to Adam, “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it’:
The ground is cursed because of you.
You will eat from it by means of painful labor
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow
until you return to the ground,
since you were taken from it.
For you are dust,
and you will return to dust.”

Both man and woman get painful labor.  Women in childbirth and men with work.  

Genesis 3:20 Adam named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made clothing out of skins for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, all of creation was punished when Adam sinned.  Verse 21 says that the Lord made clothing out of animal skins.  That means an animal had to die for cloths to be made.  The verse does not say the Lord used wool or fur, but skin.  The skin was used.  This was perhaps the first death of a living creature.

Genesis 3:22 The Lord God said, “Since man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God sent him away from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove man out and stationed the cherubim and the flaming, whirling sword east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life.

The biggest punishment of all was Adam and Eve's separation for God.  They were driven out of the garden and out of God's presence.  They did not die physically immediately after eating the fruit, but they dies spiritually, in that they were now separated from God.  

Genesis 2:4-25 -- Work and Woman

So in Chapter 2, we get a more detailed account of the creation of man.

Genesis 2:4 These are the records of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation at the time that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 5 No shrub of the field had yet grown on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. 6 But water would come out of the ground and water the entire surface of the land. 7 Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
8 The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there He placed the man He had formed. 9 The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river went out from Eden to water the garden. From there it divided and became the source of four rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon, which flows through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 Gold from that land is pure; bdellium and onyx are also there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon, which flows through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris, which runs east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.

Now, one may look at this passage and say, "Wait a minute.  In chapter 1, he created plants on the 3rd day and man on the 6th, so why in chapter 2 does he say, "No shrub of the field had yet grown on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted" before telling about the creation of man?"  I asked that question!  I cheated a little and asked my husband about it.  He has learned a lot of Hebrew and Biblical theology from his time at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  He then goes on to explain the words in Hebrew and how they are different and how the "earth" in chapter one means something slightly different than "land" in chapter 2.  Where in Chapter 1 it talks of the world as a whole.  The Lord create plants on the whole earth, but here in chapter 2, land refers to a more specific area.  No shrubs or bushes had grown in this spot.  This spot being Eden.  So, according to my husband's interpretation, God made plants on the whole earth, then made man, then Eden, then placed man into Eden.  God did not made Eden and think, "I need a man to work it."  No, he made man and said, "I need something for the man to do."  So, he created Eden for the man to work.

There are those who also look to this passage and wonder exactly where the garden was.  We do not know exactly, but since we know where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are, we have a pretty close guess (if they did not change course or diverge much in their paths) of where it may have been.

Genesis 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

The first command God gives to Adam.

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.” 19 So the Lord God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found as his complement. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. 22 Then the Lord God made the rib He had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.

So man named every animal, but none were good enough for man.  So, man went to sleep, lost a rib and woke up with a woman.  I hadn't really thought of this before, but the woman was the only creature not created directly from the dust of the earth.  Not sure if there is any significance to that or not, just an interesting thought!

Genesis 2:23 And the man said:

This one, at last, is bone of my bone
and flesh of my flesh;
this one will be called “woman,”

for she was taken from man.

As the joke goes, Adam saw Eve and said "Whoa!  Man!"

Genesis 2:24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.

I think I'll tackle this marriage stuff tomorrow!

I like (narratively speaking) how chapter 2 sort of sets up for the fall.  It seems to for shadow what will happen.  You know when you look at a child and say "Don't throw that toy," what do they do next but throw the toy!  Also, you have a foreshadow of the consequence.  Both man and his wife were naked and felt no shame.  What was the first thing that happened when Adam and Eve ate the fruit?  They realized they were naked and hid!   

Genesis 2:1-3 -- A Sabbath Rest

When I started this blog, I had a goal of getting through at least one chapter in the Bible a day. Well, it is day 4 of my blog and I'm just now on chapter 2 in Genesis!

Genesis 2:1 So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. 2 By the seventh day God completed His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. 3 God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it He rested from His work of creation.

After God created all of creation, he rested. He set apart the seventh day has holy. He rested from all his work on the seventh day. In the Old Testament, the Jews also set apart the seventh day (called the Sabbath) and kept it holy and rested from their work. There were many laws about the Sabbath and what was considered work and what was not. In fact, the 4th commandment that God gave to Moses reads as follows:

Exodus 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: 9 You are to labor six days and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates. 11 For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.

 The Bible also gives strict punishment for breaking the Sabbath.

Exodus 31:12 The Lord said to Moses: 13 “Tell the Israelites: You must observe My Sabbaths, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so that you will know that I am Yahweh who sets you apart. 14 Observe the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Whoever profanes it must be put to death. If anyone does work on it, that person must be cut off from his people. 15 Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who does work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. 16 The Israelites must observe the Sabbath, celebrating it throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign forever between Me and the Israelites, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.”

Anyone who works on the Sabbath shall be put to death. Does this mean we too must observe the Sabbath as they did in the Old Testament?

Mark 2:23 On the Sabbath He was going through the grainfields, and His disciples began to make their way picking some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 He said to them, “Have you never read what David and those who were with him did when he was in need and hungry— 26 how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the sacred bread—which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests—and also gave some to his companions?” 27 Then He told them, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. 28 Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

The Sabbath was made for man. It is a blessing from God to have the Sabbath. A time of rest of our toils and labors on this earth. For the Jew, that rest was on the seventh day of each week since that is what the Lord commanded of them. For us, our Sabbath rest is found in Christ.  For those outside of Christ, there will be no rest.

Revelation 14:9 And a third angel followed them and spoke with a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, 11 and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or anyone who receives the mark of his name. 12 This demands the perseverance of the saints, who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus.” 

13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: The dead who die in the Lord from now on are blessed.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “let them rest from their labors, for their works follow them!”

Our rest in Christ is two-fold.  We find rest and comfort in him now on the earth.  We may even set aside a day (whether it be Saturday or Sunday or some other day) to rest from our earthly work and focus on the Lord, however there is also a day coming when we will have complete rest in Christ.  We will be in the presents of God and will no longer have the toils and trials of the earth to worry us.  Our rest will be complete and perfect in the new heavens and the new earth.

Genesis 1:28-31 -- Mmmm, Meat!

Genesis 1:28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” 

God gave us the world to subdue it and allowed us the rule the creatures. He set us above the rest of creation.

Genesis 1:29 God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This food will be for you, 30 for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth—everything having the breath of life in it. I have given every green plant for food.”And it was so. 31 God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.

In the beginning, everyone and all creatures were vegetarian. Does that mean we should only eat plants today since in the perfect world that God created only plants were eaten?

Genesis 9:1 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority. 3 Every living creature will be food for you; as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything.

See how this passage mirrors what God said to Adam? Both were given the command to "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." To Adam he gives all plants and to Noah he gives everything, plants and animals, to be food. So, it is fine to eat meat. God gave us permission long ago to do so.

The Lord did give Noah some restrictions on the meat.  We will continue to read from Genesis 9:

Genesis 9:4 However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it.

There are MANY more examples of the food restrictions in the Old Testament   Leviticus 11 goes through all the clean and unclean animals. (Go here to read)  But why does God put all these restrictions on the foods that his people eat?  It is to keep them holy, set apart for God.  God did not want his people to get caught up in what the Gentiles were doing.  He did not want them to become idol worshipers and forget their God.  By giving strict food guidelines, they were unable to share a meal with Gentiles.  How do you know what they are serving isn't unclean.  You do not know where it came from, how it was killed or cooked.  Ever tried to prepare a meal for a Jewish friend?  It can be difficult knowing what you can and cannot serve.  

Since God gave his people restrictions on the foods to eat, should we too abide by those rules?  Let us see what the New Testament says.

1 Corinthians 10:25 Eat everything that is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience’ sake, 26 for the earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it. 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you over and you want to go, eat everything that is set before you, without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This is food offered to an idol,” do not eat it,out of consideration for the one who told you, and for conscience’ sake. 29 I do not mean your own conscience, but the other person’s. For why is my freedom judged by another person’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thanks, why am I slandered because of something I give thanks for?

1 Corinthians 8:8 Food will not make us acceptable to God. We are not inferior if we don’t eat, and we are not better if we do eat. 9 But be careful that this right of yours in no way becomes a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone sees you, the one who has this knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, won’t his weak conscience be encouraged to eat food offered to idols? 11 Then the weak person, the brother for whom Christ died, is ruined by your knowledge. 12 Now when you sin like this against the brothers and wound their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food causes my brother to fall, I will never again eat meat, so that I won’t cause my brother to fall.

Romans 14:13 Therefore, let us no longer criticize one another. Instead decide never to put a stumbling block or pitfall in your brother’s way. 14 (I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. Still, to someone who considers a thing to be unclean, to that one it is unclean.) 15 For if your brother is hurt by what you eat, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy that one Christ died for by what you eat. 16 Therefore, do not let your good be slandered, 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and approved by men.
19 So then, we must pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another. 20 Do not tear down God’s work because of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong for a man to cause stumbling by what he eats. 21 It is a noble thing not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother stumble. 22 Do you have a conviction? Keep it to yourself before God. The man who does not condemn himself by what he approves is blessed. 23 But whoever doubts stands condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from a conviction, and everything that is not from a conviction is sin.

So, the New Testament is clear.  You can eat meat if it does not cause your brother to stumble.   You do not have to abide by the Old Testament food laws if you know they are not necessary.  If you think it is wrong to eat a certain type of food or food prepared a certain way, then do not eat it.  It is a sin to eat that which you think is wrong.


What about animals? Did they eat meat before the flood? The Bible never shows that God gives animals permission to eat meat. In the perfect world, no animal ate meat. We live in a fallen world. Not a perfect world. When man sinned, all of creation was punished. Not just man. The ground was no longer has bountiful as it was before. Animals suffered just as much as man. Did some animals turn to meat out of desperation for food? Maybe. We do not know.

Genesis 1:26-27 -- In HIS image

God made man!  He made me.  He made you.  He made everyone.

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”
27 So God created man in His own image;
He created him in the image of God;
He created them male and female.

God made us in HIS image.  What does it mean to be made in his image?  Being made in the image of God sets us apart from the rest of creation.  He made us different than all the other plants and animals.  The plants and animals are not in his image.

He does not describe how he made the plants and animals, but he takes his time to tell how he made us.  He formed us with his hands and breathed life into us.

Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.

My husband has taught me to look for themes through out scripture. One of the themes is creation. Very evident in Genesis and spread throughout scripture. As I was trying to answer the question posted above, "what does it mean to be made in his image?" I found the following verses that ties in so well with this part of the creation story.

Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.

In the beginning when God created man, he created us in HIS image. After the fall, when man sinned, we separated from God, though still made in his image, we lost something. A closeness with God that we will not experience again until we are reigning with God in the new heavens and the new earth. When God drew us to himself to be saved, we again became His image, in the image of his son, Jesus. We gained some of the closeness we lost. It is a new birth for the believer.

Genesis 1:6-25 -- Day 2,3,4 and 5

Ok, so I have a switch between the NIV translation (that was used before in the earlier post) to the HCSB.  My study Bible is HCSB, so that is what I am currently using!

Now on to day two.

Genesis 1:6 Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.” Evening came and then morning: the second day.

Do you notice God did not say the second day was good?

9 Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land “earth,” and He called the gathering of the water “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” And it was so. 12 The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 Evening came and then morning: the third day. 

14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for festivals and for days and years. 15 They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights—the greater light to have dominion over the day and the lesser light to have dominion over the night—as well as the stars. 17 God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, 18 to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 Evening came and then morning: the fourth day. 

20 Then God said, “Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 21 So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds. He also created every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 So God blessed them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” 23 Evening came and then morning: the fifth day.  

24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

I also do not believe in evolution, at least not how it is taught in schools.  There are aspects that I see that are true and seem accurate.  I believe that creatures can change over time, just not a bacteria eventually becoming a fish.  I believe God made bacteria AND fish, at the same time.  They have co-existed.  One did not become the other through evolution.  The Bible repeatedly says God created plants and animals "according to their kinds."  That means fish have always been fish.  Two fish can NEVER have a cat.  They ALWAYS have fish.  Yes, I do believe that genetic mutation can change a species, if the mutation proves to benefit their survival.  If a fish has a genetic mutation, it will still be fish.  It won't mutate into a cat.

I also believe in survival of the fittest.  If you have two groups cats that separate and one moves to a really cold climate and one moves to a really warm climate, then eventually, over time, you will notice some differences in the two population of cats.  If you look at the group in the cold climate, you will see that the cats with the longer fur tend to survive better, so most of the off spring and future generations will have longer fur (because those with the genetics to have short fur will die from the cold, thus overtime the gene(s) for short fur will eventually be bred out), while the cats in the warmer climate will tend to have shorter fur since the longer haired ones over heat.

The part about evolution I do not believe is that ALL life came from ONE ancient ancestor.  How can a tree, bacteria, human, fish, etc. have come to be if they all came from one ancestor?  The one ancestor would have had to contain ALL the DNA possible for each of those things to exist.  Moreover, as time went on the new species would only be different because of the loss of genetic information.  Just look at dog breeds, for an example of how differences are caused by a loss of DNA.  Certain breeds are selectively breed for certain traits.   If you want a solid coated dog, you only breed solid coated dogs.  If any of the offspring have speckled coats, you do not breed them.  Eventually, there will be no more speckled coated dogs.  That genetic information will be lost.  The only way to re-introduce speckled coats is to breed in a dog with a speckled coat.

I believe God made each creature.  They may not have looked exactly the same as they do today, but when God created a fish, it looked similar to the fish we have today.  Now, God does not specify if he made one kind of fish and all fish today came from that or if he made several kinds of fish.  Same with all the other plants and animals.  He does not say if he made one kind of cat or if he made lions, tigers and leopards at the same time. The Bible does not say.  The fact that he does say he made them "according to their kind" tells me he made more than one kind of animal and plant when he created them!