It took Noah 120 years to build and prepare the ark. We know that he preached to a rebellious generation during this time (2 Peter 2:5). He could have given up at any time and said, “Lord this is just too hard.” Or he could have lost faith in the Lord who put him up to such a ridiculous task. Noah could have quit, which would have been the easy thing to do. Thankfully he didn’t.
Had others in Noah’s day repented and turned to the Lord. They would have had to prepare some kind of boat as well to be saved from the coming storm. If the price of simple repentance wasn’t too high the inconvenience of having to copy Noah’s ark building idea certainly was. Obeying the Lord in those days would have been a very public thing. I am willing to bet that many didn’t join Noah because of the ridicule that they would have had to endure. . . .
Obedience to the Lord is important. It can often be life saving, but it isn’t always easy. Some things never change.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Gen 6:5-8 Mankind in trouble
“The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on earth had become, and that ever inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, ‘I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth -- men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air -- for I am grieved that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”
At that moment in time the Lord was actually about to wash His hands free of mankind and move on to something else. That He was going to take out everything else (the birds and animals too) was an indicator of how serious God was. I can see the Lord looking at the rest of (birds and animals and such) and saying that without man to tend them and be blessed by them, what’s the point of having them? In all human history this was probably one of if not the most risky season for the human race.
When the creator God decides to do something, who is going to stand in His way. Ever wonder what would have happened if Noah hadn’t found favor in the Lord’s eyes? Thankfully the Lord gave Noah fair warning as to what he was going to do, and He gave Noah detailed instructions as to what to do about it. Verse 22 “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” Because he obeyed, Noah, his family, and every species of animal were saved from the coming judgement. Ever wonder what would have happened if Noah hadn’t obeyed? Two events had to coincide for humanity to be spared: God granted Noah favor and Noah obeyed God. If either of them had been lacking. . . .
At that moment in time the Lord was actually about to wash His hands free of mankind and move on to something else. That He was going to take out everything else (the birds and animals too) was an indicator of how serious God was. I can see the Lord looking at the rest of (birds and animals and such) and saying that without man to tend them and be blessed by them, what’s the point of having them? In all human history this was probably one of if not the most risky season for the human race.
When the creator God decides to do something, who is going to stand in His way. Ever wonder what would have happened if Noah hadn’t found favor in the Lord’s eyes? Thankfully the Lord gave Noah fair warning as to what he was going to do, and He gave Noah detailed instructions as to what to do about it. Verse 22 “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” Because he obeyed, Noah, his family, and every species of animal were saved from the coming judgement. Ever wonder what would have happened if Noah hadn’t obeyed? Two events had to coincide for humanity to be spared: God granted Noah favor and Noah obeyed God. If either of them had been lacking. . . .
Monday, October 18, 2010
Fun with Genealogies (no this isn't a joke)
Traditionally the genealogies are considered the most boring part of the whole Bible, but to the observant or just the morbidly curious with nothing better to do they can yield all kinds of cool little treasures. What follows is one of my curious explorations of the first genealogy in the scriptures.
In Genesis 5:21 we have Enoch one of the descendants of Seth (Able’s replacement). Enoch has the distinction of being the first person after the Garden who the Bible actually says walked with God. He is also the first person in scripture who got a fabulous Elijah like disappearance. Verse 24 reads, “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” When Enoch was 65 he had a child whom he named Methuselah. Enoch’s name means ‘dedicate,’ and he was definitely dedicated to the Lord.
Methuselah means to the end of the spear or to the full extent of the branch or as far as the dart flies. His name is a combination of two words that have multiple applications. The idea seems to be that Enoch was saying that Methuselah is one who would live up till the end of something. The question is what is he living to the end of? Answer: the world as they knew it. From Genesis 5:25 - 31; 7:11 we learn the following information.
Methuselah lived a total of 969 years. At the age of 187 he had a son named Lamech (not the easily offended Lamech that was a descendant of Cain).
Lamech lived for 777 years in all. Lamech had a son named Noah (this is the Noah who built the ark). Lamech lived 595 after Noah was born. Noah was 600 years old at the time of the flood. Doing a little bit of math we figure out that Lamech died 5 years before the flood. Methuselah lived another 782 years after his son Lamech was born which means that he yet another 5 years after Lamech died. Methuselah lived right up until the year of the flood. He lived right up until the end of the age he was living in, just like Enoch said he would when he named him. How’s that for a cool prophetic word?
In Genesis 5:21 we have Enoch one of the descendants of Seth (Able’s replacement). Enoch has the distinction of being the first person after the Garden who the Bible actually says walked with God. He is also the first person in scripture who got a fabulous Elijah like disappearance. Verse 24 reads, “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” When Enoch was 65 he had a child whom he named Methuselah. Enoch’s name means ‘dedicate,’ and he was definitely dedicated to the Lord.
Methuselah means to the end of the spear or to the full extent of the branch or as far as the dart flies. His name is a combination of two words that have multiple applications. The idea seems to be that Enoch was saying that Methuselah is one who would live up till the end of something. The question is what is he living to the end of? Answer: the world as they knew it. From Genesis 5:25 - 31; 7:11 we learn the following information.
Methuselah lived a total of 969 years. At the age of 187 he had a son named Lamech (not the easily offended Lamech that was a descendant of Cain).
Lamech lived for 777 years in all. Lamech had a son named Noah (this is the Noah who built the ark). Lamech lived 595 after Noah was born. Noah was 600 years old at the time of the flood. Doing a little bit of math we figure out that Lamech died 5 years before the flood. Methuselah lived another 782 years after his son Lamech was born which means that he yet another 5 years after Lamech died. Methuselah lived right up until the year of the flood. He lived right up until the end of the age he was living in, just like Enoch said he would when he named him. How’s that for a cool prophetic word?
Friday, October 15, 2010
Gen 4:19 Lamech (Cain's legacy)
Here is an interesting little note on one of Cain’s direct descendants.
Gen 4:19 “Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.
This makes Lamech the first polygamist in the scriptures. Adah’s name means ornament (maybe she was a trophy wife) and Zillah’s name means shadow (based on her name I wouldn’t be surprised if she was intended to be very subservient). Unlike other forms of sexual deviation (adultery, fornication, . . .) polygamy is never strictly called a sin or strictly condemned, but given its introduction it doesn’t come off as a virtue either. It appears to be one of those things that God is willing to tolerate as a less than ideal move, but never really endorse.
Verses 23-24 “Lamech said to his wives, ‘Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.’”
Lamech is a true son of Cain; like Cain he kills another out of offense. Typical of an offended soul he blames the other person for his actions and emotions. Then he judges his actions as almost righteous (at least more righteous than his ancestor Cain's); if Cain was sort of justified (after all he got to live with the Lord’s protection) then Lamech must be really justified (therefore deserving of even more protection). See how warped the mind of an offended soul can be? It’s sad how common offense is.
Gen 4:19 “Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.
This makes Lamech the first polygamist in the scriptures. Adah’s name means ornament (maybe she was a trophy wife) and Zillah’s name means shadow (based on her name I wouldn’t be surprised if she was intended to be very subservient). Unlike other forms of sexual deviation (adultery, fornication, . . .) polygamy is never strictly called a sin or strictly condemned, but given its introduction it doesn’t come off as a virtue either. It appears to be one of those things that God is willing to tolerate as a less than ideal move, but never really endorse.
Verses 23-24 “Lamech said to his wives, ‘Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.’”
Lamech is a true son of Cain; like Cain he kills another out of offense. Typical of an offended soul he blames the other person for his actions and emotions. Then he judges his actions as almost righteous (at least more righteous than his ancestor Cain's); if Cain was sort of justified (after all he got to live with the Lord’s protection) then Lamech must be really justified (therefore deserving of even more protection). See how warped the mind of an offended soul can be? It’s sad how common offense is.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Genesis 4:3-5a and Mark 14
Gen 4:3-5a “In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering. But on Cain and he offering he did not look with favor.”
In Cain’s case he brought just your average ho-hum offering. Abel brought the best of the first that he had. Not surprisingly God preferred Abel’s offering. The question becomes what does this action say about each person’s heart. Abel was one who wanted to worship the Lord, while Cain took his relationship with the Lord casually. As we know from the previous post Cain got offended when his casual approach didn’t pay off. Then things got uglier from there.
Here is another similar story. One person giving an offering to the Lord and someone else with different priorities getting offended and committing murder (or at least assisting one).
Mark 14:3 While he [Jesus] was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, ‘Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.’ And they rebuked her harshly. ‘Leave her alone’ said Jesus. ‘Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. . . . . . .Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.’”
People with right priorities toward the Lord, inevitably offend those with less than ideal priorities. Offense in us is a sign that our priorities are off somehow. Offense at us is a sign that we just might be doing the right thing; of course there are plenty of bad ways to offend people too. If we are following the Lord as we should, be assured that not everyone will like us.
In Cain’s case he brought just your average ho-hum offering. Abel brought the best of the first that he had. Not surprisingly God preferred Abel’s offering. The question becomes what does this action say about each person’s heart. Abel was one who wanted to worship the Lord, while Cain took his relationship with the Lord casually. As we know from the previous post Cain got offended when his casual approach didn’t pay off. Then things got uglier from there.
Here is another similar story. One person giving an offering to the Lord and someone else with different priorities getting offended and committing murder (or at least assisting one).
Mark 14:3 While he [Jesus] was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, ‘Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.’ And they rebuked her harshly. ‘Leave her alone’ said Jesus. ‘Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. . . . . . .Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.’”
People with right priorities toward the Lord, inevitably offend those with less than ideal priorities. Offense in us is a sign that our priorities are off somehow. Offense at us is a sign that we just might be doing the right thing; of course there are plenty of bad ways to offend people too. If we are following the Lord as we should, be assured that not everyone will like us.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Genesis 4 -- Cain, Abel, and offense
The story goes like this. Cain and Able each brought an offering to the Lord. Cain brought a bunch of random vegetables from his fields and Able brought the very best of what he had among his flock. God “looked with favor on Abel and his offering,” but not so much with Cain.
So Cain gets offended. Initially it was probably with God that he had the offense. After all it was God that he was expecting to get something from. He must have realized that God had done nothing wrong. They did have a talk about it, but Cain never dealt with the underlying anger and offense. He simply transferred it to the next closest target, his brother Abel, who had done absolutely nothing wrong.
Offense is when we get angry about a situation and we blame someone else for the thing we don’t like. In essence we judge them as being responsible for our anger.
I don’t believe that it is possible to walk with God and walk in offense at the same time.
To be offended means we have become angry and sinned by not taking responsibility for our anger. Furthermore we have begun to judge others out of our anger, not by looking at fruit. That sort of judging means that we are usually guilty of the very thing we are blaming on others (Matthew 7:1-2; Luke 6:32; James 4:11). So we can include hypocrisy in the mix. The offense itself actually becomes a barrier to prevent us from even dealing with the real issue. Because offended people feel justified they also often feel free to act on their offense even if those acts are obviously sinful. In our story, Cain killed Abel.
An offended person can’t be reasoned with until they are willing to see past their offense. When God confronted Cain, He did so with a question. “Where is your brother?” When God asks a question it is never because He is looking for information. Typically it is so that we can look at ourselves and learn about our true condition. Adam and Eve responded by evading God’s questions because they were afraid and ashamed, but once God made it clear that He already knew what had happened we find that they can be reasoned with. In subsequent chapters we find them still in relationship with the Lord (see Seth’s name Genesis 4:25). God asked David a question (about Bathsheba) through Nathan the prophet and again we find someone who when confronted with his sin was able to be reasoned with. Cain on the other hand responded to God’s question with more offense and a direct lie ( “I don’t know where he is.”).
Once God finally calls Cain on the carpet and begins to mention consequences, Cain responds with whining. “God, you’re being too hard on me.” (author’s paraphrase). In a sense he is almost saying, “my sin isn’t as bad as you make it out to be, so cut me some slack.” He never admits wrong doing or apologizes. And so a story that began badly, ends even worse. “So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence. . .” vs 16.
As followers of Jesus, we will be given many opportunities to take offense at others. We must jealously guard are hearts from this particular poison.
So Cain gets offended. Initially it was probably with God that he had the offense. After all it was God that he was expecting to get something from. He must have realized that God had done nothing wrong. They did have a talk about it, but Cain never dealt with the underlying anger and offense. He simply transferred it to the next closest target, his brother Abel, who had done absolutely nothing wrong.
Offense is when we get angry about a situation and we blame someone else for the thing we don’t like. In essence we judge them as being responsible for our anger.
I don’t believe that it is possible to walk with God and walk in offense at the same time.
To be offended means we have become angry and sinned by not taking responsibility for our anger. Furthermore we have begun to judge others out of our anger, not by looking at fruit. That sort of judging means that we are usually guilty of the very thing we are blaming on others (Matthew 7:1-2; Luke 6:32; James 4:11). So we can include hypocrisy in the mix. The offense itself actually becomes a barrier to prevent us from even dealing with the real issue. Because offended people feel justified they also often feel free to act on their offense even if those acts are obviously sinful. In our story, Cain killed Abel.
An offended person can’t be reasoned with until they are willing to see past their offense. When God confronted Cain, He did so with a question. “Where is your brother?” When God asks a question it is never because He is looking for information. Typically it is so that we can look at ourselves and learn about our true condition. Adam and Eve responded by evading God’s questions because they were afraid and ashamed, but once God made it clear that He already knew what had happened we find that they can be reasoned with. In subsequent chapters we find them still in relationship with the Lord (see Seth’s name Genesis 4:25). God asked David a question (about Bathsheba) through Nathan the prophet and again we find someone who when confronted with his sin was able to be reasoned with. Cain on the other hand responded to God’s question with more offense and a direct lie ( “I don’t know where he is.”).
Once God finally calls Cain on the carpet and begins to mention consequences, Cain responds with whining. “God, you’re being too hard on me.” (author’s paraphrase). In a sense he is almost saying, “my sin isn’t as bad as you make it out to be, so cut me some slack.” He never admits wrong doing or apologizes. And so a story that began badly, ends even worse. “So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence. . .” vs 16.
As followers of Jesus, we will be given many opportunities to take offense at others. We must jealously guard are hearts from this particular poison.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Genesis 1:3 -- God is not silent
I used this concept in a devotional that I led this morning at our church's leadership retreat. As it starts in the first few chapters of Genesis I decided to include it here. One of these days I'll move on from Genesis, but I keep finding that so many precedents are set here. I am continually amazed at just how deep the first few chapters of the Bible really are. I hope you enjoy today's bit of Bible commentary.
Blessings,
David Falls
Genesis 1:3 And God said let there be light: and there was light.
We do not serve a god who is the epitome of the “strong, silent type.” Based on just the creation story we can easily ascertain that He is very strong, but not very silent. Strong because He creates all that is using only the power of His word. It takes more than a light weight to pull that off. ‘Not silent’ because again, He is using His voice (not quiet hands like a painter).
Most of the Bible narrates the story of God’s changing relationship with mankind. Throughout the story He talks. With Adam, He set a precedent by talking to Him and telling Adam, what his purpose was and rules He should obey. Then when Adam rebelled, so God set another precedent by demonstrating that He was still willing and even desired to have conversations with His creation after it rebelled. This sets the tone for the Old Testament where God talks to anyone who will listen (Patriarchs, Pharaohs, the nation of Israel when it is obedient, the nation of Israel when it is disobedient, people who ask His opinion, and even occasionally those who don’t ask). If we are going to rightly relate to God we must understand that we do not serve a silent God like our pathologically skeptical society would have us believe. Our God’s Word is alive and active with all the thoughts and feelings and intents of His heart, ready to be communicated to anyone who is willing to believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Blessings,
David Falls
Genesis 1:3 And God said let there be light: and there was light.
We do not serve a god who is the epitome of the “strong, silent type.” Based on just the creation story we can easily ascertain that He is very strong, but not very silent. Strong because He creates all that is using only the power of His word. It takes more than a light weight to pull that off. ‘Not silent’ because again, He is using His voice (not quiet hands like a painter).
Most of the Bible narrates the story of God’s changing relationship with mankind. Throughout the story He talks. With Adam, He set a precedent by talking to Him and telling Adam, what his purpose was and rules He should obey. Then when Adam rebelled, so God set another precedent by demonstrating that He was still willing and even desired to have conversations with His creation after it rebelled. This sets the tone for the Old Testament where God talks to anyone who will listen (Patriarchs, Pharaohs, the nation of Israel when it is obedient, the nation of Israel when it is disobedient, people who ask His opinion, and even occasionally those who don’t ask). If we are going to rightly relate to God we must understand that we do not serve a silent God like our pathologically skeptical society would have us believe. Our God’s Word is alive and active with all the thoughts and feelings and intents of His heart, ready to be communicated to anyone who is willing to believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Snazzy New Look
I decided to spruce things up a bit. Hope everyone likes this better than plain black. I'll probably alter the background picture every so often. This one came from a stock that blogger already had. I have a couple others that I may upload whenever I get bored of this one.
Blessings,
David Falls
Blessings,
David Falls
Monday, September 27, 2010
Gen 3:7 - self focus
“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”
The devil’s accusation against God also had a subtle barb in what it implied about Eve. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The implication was that Eve’s eyes weren’t open, she wasn’t like God, and she didn’t know the difference between good and evil. In other words the devil was claiming that Eve was ignorant and naive and that she should try to fix herself by disobeying God. The devil got Eve to focus on herself instead of God; we could call this mistake number 5.
After Adam and Eve tried to “fix” their “problem” via an unnecessary snack. They began to realize that something was suddenly wrong with them, “. . . that they were naked.” So they focused on themselves all the more. Then they tried to fix this problem all by themselves as well, with fig leaves.
When God shows up in the next verse the situation goes from comical to tragic. Instead of looking at His goodness toward them and realizing that He had the ability to actually fix their new problem, they focused on themselves (again) and hid from their only true hope of redemption.
So God pursues them and finds them. This begins a long history of God pursuing His rebellious creation. It culminates in Jesus who “came to save that which was lost.”
Once God finds them, He has a conversation with them. Now for the first time in several verses they are paying attention to Him again. In the conversation He promises to fix the problem for real with a promise of an eventual deliverer (vs 15). In the meantime He offers them some help by giving them much better clothing (vs 20) so that they could at least get on with their lives.
The moral here is simple: as much as we focus on ourselves and try to fix ourselves we will create progressively worse and worse problems for ourselves. As much as we focus on the Lord, He will bring real solutions in His own good time.
The devil’s accusation against God also had a subtle barb in what it implied about Eve. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The implication was that Eve’s eyes weren’t open, she wasn’t like God, and she didn’t know the difference between good and evil. In other words the devil was claiming that Eve was ignorant and naive and that she should try to fix herself by disobeying God. The devil got Eve to focus on herself instead of God; we could call this mistake number 5.
After Adam and Eve tried to “fix” their “problem” via an unnecessary snack. They began to realize that something was suddenly wrong with them, “. . . that they were naked.” So they focused on themselves all the more. Then they tried to fix this problem all by themselves as well, with fig leaves.
When God shows up in the next verse the situation goes from comical to tragic. Instead of looking at His goodness toward them and realizing that He had the ability to actually fix their new problem, they focused on themselves (again) and hid from their only true hope of redemption.
So God pursues them and finds them. This begins a long history of God pursuing His rebellious creation. It culminates in Jesus who “came to save that which was lost.”
Once God finds them, He has a conversation with them. Now for the first time in several verses they are paying attention to Him again. In the conversation He promises to fix the problem for real with a promise of an eventual deliverer (vs 15). In the meantime He offers them some help by giving them much better clothing (vs 20) so that they could at least get on with their lives.
The moral here is simple: as much as we focus on ourselves and try to fix ourselves we will create progressively worse and worse problems for ourselves. As much as we focus on the Lord, He will bring real solutions in His own good time.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Genesis 3:5-6 Eve’s third and fourth mistakes
“ ‘. . .For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ When the woman say that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”
Eve’s third mistake was that she listened to and considered Satan’s claims using only her own mind. Because of her conversation with the devil she saw the fruit as a potentially good thing for the first time. It appealed to her physical senses (the lust of the flesh), it looked pretty (the lust of the eyes), and appeared to have the potential to make her better (the pride of life) (1 John 2:16). Her mind was created perfect, but it wasn’t intended to be sufficient to answer all questions. It really wasn’t designed to come up with perfect decisions apart from God and especially not while under the pressures of such temptation. She could have asked the Lord for His help, but unfortunately she decided to try to handle it all on her own.
Satan attacked Eve through her mind and emotions. The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was supposed to make her wiser and smarter. It was supposed to give her knowledge. It was supposed to feed her mind. It brought her spiritual and eventually natural death. I have little doubt that up until this event Eve had been growing closer and closer to the Lord, feeding her spiritual walk just as she fed her natural body. The devil came and helped shift her focus from her spiritual development to her mental development. It isn’t bad to development mentally, and knowledge isn’t a bad thing either, but when the thirst for knowledge and reliance on logic replaces a thirst for God and a reliance on His Spirit bad things happen. A healthy Christian trusts in the Lord and does not lean on his own natural understanding (Proverbs 3:5).
Her fourth mistake is the simple obvious one that everybody knows, she disobeyed the Lord. It was Adam and Eve’s disobedience that really cost them. Interestingly enough the Paul notes that Eve ate because she was tricked (1 Tim 2:14). Adam knew what he was doing. I suspect either that the protective side of himself wouldn’t let his wife go it alone or perhaps he saw Eve’s offering of the fruit as a choice between her and the Lord. Regardless of why they each chose the fruit the results were equally disastrous. The lesson here is simple: disobedience always brings ugly consequences.
As followers of Jesus we must decide that we will always obey His commands to the very best of our ability. Disobedience is not an option. All over the Bible kings rose or fell and people prospered or perished on the basis of their obedience and their disobedience (some kings whose stories are worth considering in this light: Saul, David, Jeroboam, Jehu, and Josiah); even after Jesus’ resurrection this pattern still holds true (Acts 2:42-43; 5:1-10, 1 Cor 11:29-32).
Eve’s third mistake was that she listened to and considered Satan’s claims using only her own mind. Because of her conversation with the devil she saw the fruit as a potentially good thing for the first time. It appealed to her physical senses (the lust of the flesh), it looked pretty (the lust of the eyes), and appeared to have the potential to make her better
Satan attacked Eve through her mind and emotions. The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was supposed to make her wiser and smarter. It was supposed to give her knowledge. It was supposed to feed her mind. It brought her spiritual and eventually natural death. I have little doubt that up until this event Eve had been growing closer and closer to the Lord, feeding her spiritual walk just as she fed her natural body. The devil came and helped shift her focus from her spiritual development to her mental development. It isn’t bad to development mentally, and knowledge isn’t a bad thing either, but when the thirst for knowledge and reliance on logic replaces a thirst for God and a reliance on His Spirit bad things happen. A healthy Christian trusts in the Lord and does not lean on his own natural understanding (Proverbs 3:5).
Her fourth mistake is the simple obvious one that everybody knows, she disobeyed the Lord. It was Adam and Eve’s disobedience that really cost them. Interestingly enough the Paul notes that Eve ate because she was tricked
As followers of Jesus we must decide that we will always obey His commands to the very best of our ability. Disobedience is not an option. All over the Bible kings rose or fell and people prospered or perished on the basis of their obedience and their disobedience (some kings whose stories are worth considering in this light: Saul, David, Jeroboam, Jehu, and Josiah); even after Jesus’ resurrection this pattern still holds true (Acts 2:42-43; 5:1-10, 1 Cor 11:29-32).
A couple observations from Genesis
Genesis 2:9 “Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
The forbidden tree is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It’s fruit isn’t named. The result of eating its fruit (the fruit of its fruit if you will) is death. Rebelling against God, even for the noble purpose of getting knowledge, results in eventual death.
Genesis 3:4-5 “The serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”
Jesus called the devil “the father of lies” claiming that “the truth is not in him.” A loud voice (perhaps the Holy Spirit or an angle) in Revelation calls him the Accuser of the Brethren. The titles are not undeserved; Satan’s first declarative statement is both a lie and an accusation about God. It should be no surprise that after we chose to believe his accusations about God that he would then turn to accuse us as well.
The forbidden tree is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It’s fruit isn’t named. The result of eating its fruit (the fruit of its fruit if you will) is death. Rebelling against God, even for the noble purpose of getting knowledge, results in eventual death.
Genesis 3:4-5 “The serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”
Jesus called the devil “the father of lies” claiming that “the truth is not in him.” A loud voice (perhaps the Holy Spirit or an angle) in Revelation calls him the Accuser of the Brethren. The titles are not undeserved; Satan’s first declarative statement is both a lie and an accusation about God. It should be no surprise that after we chose to believe his accusations about God that he would then turn to accuse us as well.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Genesis 3:3 - Eve's Second Mistake
Eve attempts to correct the misunderstanding, unfortunately she doesn’t stick to just what God had actually said. “. . .but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” God did say not to eat it, but He never said anything about not touching it.
I need to give Eve a little credit here. The blame here might be Adam’s and not Eve’s. It could be that he misrepresented God’s commands when he passed them on to his wife. In either event someone added something to what God had said. It sounds like a harmless addition. After all, if eating the fruit will get us killed, wouldn’t it just be smart to avoid it all together. I have to agree with the concept; avoid temptation whenever possible. But deciding to do something that seems wise, because it seems wise, and calling that wise looking course of action a command from God are not the same thing. In this verse, Eve (perhaps unintentionally) misrepresented the commands of God. At a minimum this brings confusion. What happens when they have kids? If they passed on Eve’s version of the command and the kids somehow come into contact with this fruit (after all it is in the center of the garden), when they touch it and live they will be lead to believe that their parents (or God) are lying about something. Then they may decide to eat it. Trying to add to God’s commands (even for seemingly noble reasons), usually leads to disobedience. Jesus’ endless debates with the Pharisees mostly came about because centuries of Jewish leadership had resulted in there being more laws than ever. Some of those laws actually stood in the way of the expressed will of the God they claimed to serve.
Adding to what God has said and attributing it to Him is never a good idea.
I need to give Eve a little credit here. The blame here might be Adam’s and not Eve’s. It could be that he misrepresented God’s commands when he passed them on to his wife. In either event someone added something to what God had said. It sounds like a harmless addition. After all, if eating the fruit will get us killed, wouldn’t it just be smart to avoid it all together. I have to agree with the concept; avoid temptation whenever possible. But deciding to do something that seems wise, because it seems wise, and calling that wise looking course of action a command from God are not the same thing. In this verse, Eve (perhaps unintentionally) misrepresented the commands of God. At a minimum this brings confusion. What happens when they have kids? If they passed on Eve’s version of the command and the kids somehow come into contact with this fruit (after all it is in the center of the garden), when they touch it and live they will be lead to believe that their parents (or God) are lying about something. Then they may decide to eat it. Trying to add to God’s commands (even for seemingly noble reasons), usually leads to disobedience. Jesus’ endless debates with the Pharisees mostly came about because centuries of Jewish leadership had resulted in there being more laws than ever. Some of those laws actually stood in the way of the expressed will of the God they claimed to serve.
Adding to what God has said and attributing it to Him is never a good idea.
Addendum to Genesis 3:1-2
I realize I misquoted the devil. I was reading the passage as if He asked Eve if she shouldn’t have eaten the fruit of the forbidden tree only. Instead he asks, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” This actually makes my point from my previous post even more clearly. It is a baited question, designed to get Eve talking. It states a misconception inside a question. To really answer it requires two compete thoughts.
1 - The first is a direct answer, “No that’s not what God said.”
2 - The second is a clarification of what God actually said, “We may eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
This particular question also conveniently steers the conversation in the direction of the forbidden fruit. Demons are very good at talking. It’s best not to engage them in conversation.
1 - The first is a direct answer, “No that’s not what God said.”
2 - The second is a clarification of what God actually said, “We may eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
This particular question also conveniently steers the conversation in the direction of the forbidden fruit. Demons are very good at talking. It’s best not to engage them in conversation.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Genesis 3:1-2
The serpent (our enemy) shows up to try to get in the way of God’s plan for mankind; so he starts up a conversation with Eve.
Eve was apparently totally unprepared for the encounter (see post for Gen 2:15). Her first mistake in dealing with her enemy started in verse 2. She accepted his invitation to have a conversation with him.
Demons never start a conversation without an end in mind. They always have an agenda. It does no good to talk with them. We do not owe them answers to any of their questions. They may be our accusers, but they are not our judges; so we don’t have to defend ourselves from their accusations. They are not our bosses (if we are in Christ) so we don’t have to answer to them. They are liars and the truth is not in them, so trying to convince them of truth won’t do any good. There is no reason to waste time or energy on a conversation with them. Dealing with them is a little like what happens when a person is arrested. “We have the right to remain silent, anything we say can and will be used against us.” Generally the wise course of action is to say nothing (accept maybe, "Go Away!" or "Talk to the hand!")
They are accusers and manipulators; when they are asking us to talk, its because they either have an angle or are searching for one. When we begin to talk they gain ammunition every time.
Eve’s response to the Devil’s "Did God really say. . ?" should have been something like, “Yep, that’s what He said.” Then she should have walked away.
Eve was apparently totally unprepared for the encounter (see post for Gen 2:15). Her first mistake in dealing with her enemy started in verse 2. She accepted his invitation to have a conversation with him.
Demons never start a conversation without an end in mind. They always have an agenda. It does no good to talk with them. We do not owe them answers to any of their questions. They may be our accusers, but they are not our judges; so we don’t have to defend ourselves from their accusations. They are not our bosses (if we are in Christ) so we don’t have to answer to them. They are liars and the truth is not in them, so trying to convince them of truth won’t do any good. There is no reason to waste time or energy on a conversation with them. Dealing with them is a little like what happens when a person is arrested. “We have the right to remain silent, anything we say can and will be used against us.” Generally the wise course of action is to say nothing (accept maybe, "Go Away!" or "Talk to the hand!")
They are accusers and manipulators; when they are asking us to talk, its because they either have an angle or are searching for one. When we begin to talk they gain ammunition every time.
Eve’s response to the Devil’s "Did God really say. . ?" should have been something like, “Yep, that’s what He said.” Then she should have walked away.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Genesis 2:15
Genesis 2:15 (NIV) “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
This is Adam’s first job. To work the garden literally means to husband and steward it. In other words God wanted Adam to promote the general welfare of the Garden. A lot like we would work a garden today. Except here there were no weeds or thorns that would choke out the good fruit bearing plants. So this involved some labor, but not the kind of back breaking work we associate with farming today.
To “take care of it,” is a terrible translation. Some translations may translate this as “to keep it,” which is a little better. The word in Hebrew used here actually means “to guard it.” Now in a world where Adam and God are in total control and all physical things are under subjection to them, what could he possibly have to guard against?
The answer lies in Genesis 3. The course of human history since the time in the garden tells us that Adam didn’t follow through very well on the protection side of his job. When the serpent starts talking to Eve, we find that she is totally unprepared for the encounter. When Adam gets involved a little later in the chapter we find that his guard is down as well (he didn’t foresee the threat that the poison of sin could pose coming through his unguarded wife).
Adam could have asked and sought the Lord for more information regarding the threat that he was to guard against. Given the relationship that he and the Lord had it is unlikely that God would have left him to his own devices. Today, according to John 15:15 He no longer calls us servants, but friends. The difference being that He will tell His friends what He is up to. If we seek His counsel in these sorts of matters, He will not leave us totally blind to what we really need to be able to see. He will also give us the wisdom we need in abundance if we but ask (James 1:5).
Adam made his first critical mistake before Eve ever talked to the serpent. He kept only half of the Lord’s commandment. Our purpose from God, is always good. When we fail to walk in our purpose, we open to door to evil.
This is Adam’s first job. To work the garden literally means to husband and steward it. In other words God wanted Adam to promote the general welfare of the Garden. A lot like we would work a garden today. Except here there were no weeds or thorns that would choke out the good fruit bearing plants. So this involved some labor, but not the kind of back breaking work we associate with farming today.
To “take care of it,” is a terrible translation. Some translations may translate this as “to keep it,” which is a little better. The word in Hebrew used here actually means “to guard it.” Now in a world where Adam and God are in total control and all physical things are under subjection to them, what could he possibly have to guard against?
The answer lies in Genesis 3. The course of human history since the time in the garden tells us that Adam didn’t follow through very well on the protection side of his job. When the serpent starts talking to Eve, we find that she is totally unprepared for the encounter. When Adam gets involved a little later in the chapter we find that his guard is down as well (he didn’t foresee the threat that the poison of sin could pose coming through his unguarded wife).
Adam could have asked and sought the Lord for more information regarding the threat that he was to guard against. Given the relationship that he and the Lord had it is unlikely that God would have left him to his own devices. Today, according to John 15:15 He no longer calls us servants, but friends. The difference being that He will tell His friends what He is up to. If we seek His counsel in these sorts of matters, He will not leave us totally blind to what we really need to be able to see. He will also give us the wisdom we need in abundance if we but ask (James 1:5).
Adam made his first critical mistake before Eve ever talked to the serpent. He kept only half of the Lord’s commandment. Our purpose from God, is always good. When we fail to walk in our purpose, we open to door to evil.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
More of Genesis 1 and God in Charge
As for God being in charge:
All of God’s commands in the creation story begin with “Let.” This has to be one of the weakest ways of issuing a command. He doesn’t say something like, “As the Lord God, Supreme Commander of the Universe, I Command that light break forth and be separated from the darkness.” Instead He says “let there be light.” In other words, “Allow light to exist,” or maybe “I choose to allow light to exist.” Reading the creation story I get the impression that creation caused God zero effort. So what does that say about just how powerful God really is?
All of God’s commands in the creation story begin with “Let.” This has to be one of the weakest ways of issuing a command. He doesn’t say something like, “As the Lord God, Supreme Commander of the Universe, I Command that light break forth and be separated from the darkness.” Instead He says “let there be light.” In other words, “Allow light to exist,” or maybe “I choose to allow light to exist.” Reading the creation story I get the impression that creation caused God zero effort. So what does that say about just how powerful God really is?
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Commentary
I have been wanting to write a whole commentary of the Bible for a number of years. I don't know if I will ever pull off such a feat, but I am going to try to put out bits of commentary here. Hopefully it will encourage and enlighten you.
My first section comes from Genesis 1. I have a Bible with some commentary within it, and it just kind of got me started, so I quoted it here.
Lifted from Zondervan NIV study Bible 2008:
Commentary on Gen 1:1-2:3;
“In the ancient Near East, most of the peoples had myths relating to how the world came to be. Prevalent in those myths were accounts of how one of the gods triumphed over a fierce and powerful beast that represented disorder, then fashioned the ordered world that people knew, and finally was proclaimed by the other gods to be the divine “king” over the world he had created -- a position ever subjected to the challenge of the forces of disorder.”
In Genesis we find a very different approach. The God we serve didn’t have to overcome anything. It is apparent that He is in total control. Much of the rest of the Bible rests on the truth that God is God and before Him there is no other.
Humanity does not handle the idea of ‘a supreme god being in control’ very well. From the earliest religions onward humanity has sought after weaker gods. Even after the revelation of an all powerful gods, humanity’s tendency has always been to depart from this simple truth: We serve an all powerful God. For the Israelites it was always the idolatrous religions of their neighbors. Today we trust the created world more than the creator of it; hence the phrase, “I’ll believe only what I see.” An effective warrior must decide early on that our God, though invisible is, was, and always will be supreme.
My first section comes from Genesis 1. I have a Bible with some commentary within it, and it just kind of got me started, so I quoted it here.
Lifted from Zondervan NIV study Bible 2008:
Commentary on Gen 1:1-2:3;
“In the ancient Near East, most of the peoples had myths relating to how the world came to be. Prevalent in those myths were accounts of how one of the gods triumphed over a fierce and powerful beast that represented disorder, then fashioned the ordered world that people knew, and finally was proclaimed by the other gods to be the divine “king” over the world he had created -- a position ever subjected to the challenge of the forces of disorder.”
In Genesis we find a very different approach. The God we serve didn’t have to overcome anything. It is apparent that He is in total control. Much of the rest of the Bible rests on the truth that God is God and before Him there is no other.
Humanity does not handle the idea of ‘a supreme god being in control’ very well. From the earliest religions onward humanity has sought after weaker gods. Even after the revelation of an all powerful gods, humanity’s tendency has always been to depart from this simple truth: We serve an all powerful God. For the Israelites it was always the idolatrous religions of their neighbors. Today we trust the created world more than the creator of it; hence the phrase, “I’ll believe only what I see.” An effective warrior must decide early on that our God, though invisible is, was, and always will be supreme.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
What is Babylon?
This one comes from one of my youth (whose personal information including name I will not reveal here)
There are a considerable number of scriptures on and about the city and nation of Babylon (in their inhabitants the Babylonians -- some of them were called Chaldeans as well). So this is a very short answer.
Babylon was originally a capital city of a nation by the same name (think New York city, New York state). It was pagan owned and operated. The Babylonians were very powerful in their day. To read about them they crop up in the last few chapters of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. They here and there all over Jeremiah and Ezekiel. All the events in Daniel happen in Babylon.
They were pagans, they worshiped idols and they respected sorcerers (often promoting them to high places in the government). So witchcraft was standard practice for them. They had a large and violent army that subdued many other nations (including Israel). They became wealthy through a combination of violent conquest and trade. Their standard worship practices included various forms of sexual immorality. As a people they boardered on amorality (no moral conviction)
They were great architects often building many monuments like Egypt. They also came up the the idea that an hour should be divided into 60 minutes.
The church realizes that it is up against a world spirit that is trying to tear us from the Lord. If that spirit got its way we would have a society in America that is very much like Babylon. Sadly it seems to have made a lot of headway in the last number of years.
The humans that like the world spirit, assume that the total absence of moral standards would grant us paradise (think of the 60s generation and their idea of "free love").
At the end of the age the dominate world power will look and act very much like Babylon, so much so that God actually calls a major center of world wide commerce at that time "Mystery Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots" God will eventually judge the world (see last several chapters of Revelation).
So in Scripture Babylon is a symbol of the World system when it is allowed free reign.
Blessings,
David
There are a considerable number of scriptures on and about the city and nation of Babylon (in their inhabitants the Babylonians -- some of them were called Chaldeans as well). So this is a very short answer.
Babylon was originally a capital city of a nation by the same name (think New York city, New York state). It was pagan owned and operated. The Babylonians were very powerful in their day. To read about them they crop up in the last few chapters of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. They here and there all over Jeremiah and Ezekiel. All the events in Daniel happen in Babylon.
They were pagans, they worshiped idols and they respected sorcerers (often promoting them to high places in the government). So witchcraft was standard practice for them. They had a large and violent army that subdued many other nations (including Israel). They became wealthy through a combination of violent conquest and trade. Their standard worship practices included various forms of sexual immorality. As a people they boardered on amorality (no moral conviction)
They were great architects often building many monuments like Egypt. They also came up the the idea that an hour should be divided into 60 minutes.
The church realizes that it is up against a world spirit that is trying to tear us from the Lord. If that spirit got its way we would have a society in America that is very much like Babylon. Sadly it seems to have made a lot of headway in the last number of years.
The humans that like the world spirit, assume that the total absence of moral standards would grant us paradise (think of the 60s generation and their idea of "free love").
At the end of the age the dominate world power will look and act very much like Babylon, so much so that God actually calls a major center of world wide commerce at that time "Mystery Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots" God will eventually judge the world (see last several chapters of Revelation).
So in Scripture Babylon is a symbol of the World system when it is allowed free reign.
Blessings,
David
The Sequel Already?!?!
I had two people on Sunday who came up to me inquiring about a sequel. The first one hasn't been out six months yet. Quoth the church administrator, "Sheesh!"
On the happy side, I have been working with a few people teaching them how to do the sort of territorial warfare described in the book. I have been taking their questions and recording the answers to them in a typed out fashion. I am going to start posting each question here.
Blessings,
David
On the happy side, I have been working with a few people teaching them how to do the sort of territorial warfare described in the book. I have been taking their questions and recording the answers to them in a typed out fashion. I am going to start posting each question here.
Blessings,
David
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Amazon
Hello All,
I just got news that Amazon.com now actually has the book in stock, and they are able to ship them out. So now they can be ordered there as well. It may be cheaper (depending on where you live) to get it from them. I would try to figure out cost, but they change prices seemingly on a whim. For comparison, I am selling my copies at $10 + shipping, which is working out to about $13 total. How ever you obtain a copy, I hope you enjoy it and that it is helpful.
Blessings,
David Falls
I just got news that Amazon.com now actually has the book in stock, and they are able to ship them out. So now they can be ordered there as well. It may be cheaper (depending on where you live) to get it from them. I would try to figure out cost, but they change prices seemingly on a whim. For comparison, I am selling my copies at $10 + shipping, which is working out to about $13 total. How ever you obtain a copy, I hope you enjoy it and that it is helpful.
Blessings,
David Falls
Friday, February 26, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
It's printing
Yay! A few weeks ago I finally got the last update off the the printer. Eventually, I should get hard copies. I haven't gotten on here much, because I have been busy with my day (really day and night) job of youth pastoring. I will eventually begin making more regular appearances here as I get comments from those who have read the book (what with it still being un-published and all, is a vanishingly small number of people).
Also, if you read this and happen to have questions or comments about some spiritual warfare related topic, feel free to post them.
In Him,
David Falls
Also, if you read this and happen to have questions or comments about some spiritual warfare related topic, feel free to post them.
In Him,
David Falls
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