A little early to make for being so late.

Reading 4
NEVER AGAIN
Genesis 9–11

“I now establish My covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature” (Gen. 9:9–10).

Noah and his sons carried the seed of sin with them into the new world. But now God introduced another theme which, with that of Creation, sin, and judgment, echoes through the Old Testament. It is the theme of promise; of a divine commitment to human beings made despite what we are rather than because of what we are.

Overview

God permitted man to prey on the animal kingdom, but not on other human beings (9:1–7). He made the rainbow a sign of His promise never again to cut off all life by a flood (vv. 8–17). Yet the act of Noah’s son Ham shows that sin was still imbedded in human nature (vv. 18–29). The roots of ancient nations are traced (chap. 10), and the origin of differing languages explained (11:1–9). A genealogy draws attention to a man who will be pivotal in God’s grand plan of redemption—Abraham (vv. 10–32).

Understanding the Text
“I will surely demand an accounting” Gen. 9:1–6. In this brief but critical paragraph, God makes society responsible for individual behavior. Men are responsible to enforce God’s prohibition against murder. The words “whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed” supports proponents of capital punishment by commanding society to execute murderers. The rationale, “For in the image of God has God made man,” is stated. Human life is of such ultimate value that no lesser penalty for taking life can signify how important each individual truly is.

The same paragraph lays the foundation for human government. Lesser powers (such as making regulations that promote well-being) are implied in the “accounting” God requires of us for punishing murderers.

This is me.
For anyone thinking that jesus abolished the death penalty for murderers, please hold onto that tought until later in the year when we get to the Gospels.

Covenant Gen. 9:9. This vitally important Old Testament word indicates a formal, legally binding commitment. God’s promise to never again destroy all life with a flood was not lightly made.

“Saw his father’s nakedness” Gen. 9:22. Here the NIV interprets. The Hebrew original reads “uncovered his father’s nakedness.” Just what this phrase suggests is uncertain, but the seriousness with which Genesis treats the event indicates that Ham did more than catch a glimpse of an uncovered body. The delicacy with which Shem and Japheth treated their father (vv. 23–24) is a reminder to us of the modesty with which Scripture treats sexual matters.

“Cursed be Canaan” Gen. 9:24–27. The “curse” uttered here did not cause Canaan’s future condition, but predicted it. Old Testament curses and blessings are often predictive, though pagan peoples considered curses magical utterances which could cause harm to enemies.

There is no suggestion here that Canaan participated in his ancestor Ham’s act. Yet the moral flaw seen in Ham developed through the centuries into the gross immorality practiced by the Canaanites, who practiced ritual prostitution by both sexes as a part of their religion.

Let’s open our lives totally to the cleansing power of God. He can remove even the small flaws that might otherwise be magnified in the lives of our children.

“This is the account” Gen. 10:1–32. Genesis uses both language and land areas to identify ancient peoples. While exact identification is difficult now, many of these names of peoples and nations have been found on ancient inscriptions.

“Settled there” Gen. 11:1–4. Most agree that the tower built at Babel was a ziggurat, a stepped structure which in ancient times was often topped by a temple. Perhaps the words “reaches to the heavens” implies the early institution of idolatrous worship. Yet the text suggests a different sin. The tower was to be a symbol of racial unity, so man should “not be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (v. 4). But God had specifically told Noah and his sons to “fill the earth” (9:1–7). It may have seemed like a little thing. Yet it was important to God’s plan for man to multiply. Here too is a lesson for us. All that God says to us is important. We need to be sensitive to every command.

Me back again:
Here is a question. A group is set a task to go out and witness to every person on specific streets. John goes to the first 5 houses on his street and is able to witness and is rewarded with five families giving their lives to Christ. James and 5 others go to each and every house on their assigned streets and are disappointed with no conversions and many doors slammed in their faces. Who does God bless?

OK not me anymore.

“Confuse their language” Gen. 11:5–9. What an indication of God’s sense of humor. Can you imagine the next morning, one of the workers saying, “Hand me another brick, will you?” And his friend hearing, “Xpul Kodlyeme kakkadoke, seppulvista?” And can’t you see the people, milling about in search of others they can talk with and understand? Soon the speakers of different languages found each other, and each group drifted away to settle in its own territory. In this gentle way “the Lord scattered them over all the earth.”

God often responds this way to our disobedience. He sends no lightning bolt, causes no great suffering. Instead He gently and sometimes humorously changes the direction of our lives.

It’s hot in Dallas in the summer. One young couple, feeling a call to the ministry, enrolled in the seminary I attended. They arrived in August, and were greeted by a heat wave in which temperatures reached 112 degrees. After two days, the young man’s “call” melted away, and they left town. How God must have chuckled. Like the confusion of tongues, His heat wave had “scattered” a couple who were not where they were supposed to be.

Perhaps you can look back too and see gentle ways God has redirected your life. How gracious God is. How good God is not to break out in anger every time we wander from His intended path.

“Became the father” Gen. 11:10–32. Genealogy was vitally important to the Hebrews. In Hebrew genealogies “became the father” often means “was an ancestor of.”

Also, Hebrew genealogies often skip generations, just naming significant ancestors. There is no way to tell from genealogies like this how many generations or how long a time passed from the first person named in a list to the last. Instead the genealogy points us to the truly important persons in Bible history, here preparing us to meet Abraham.

This is a question I have pondered over for quite a while. Our average life span is increasing in many parts of the world but do not come near those of the folks named in Genesis. In Gen 11:10-26 we see 200+ years. As time went on these life spans decreased with a few notable exceptions. Couples were having babies in their 90's. Is it beause when God created Adam he was immortal (to a degree) sin caused him to experience death. Did it just take time for that divine nature we were created with to be slowly destroyed by our sinful natures??

This is one of those useless questions, but then I like useless facts also.

That amazes me too