Read: Genesis 5 - 18

Well I'm combining yesterday and today together.  After writing a day late about Monday I didn't have the brain power to write Tuesday as well.  So today you get both yesterday and today.  This one might come across a litte stream of conscience like but oh well.

Much of this section of Genesis seems to be genealogy and I'm not sure that has any special significance or not beyond adding weight and validity to the book.  I'm sure that scholars and such can read much into it and out of it but for me reading it was kind of blase.  There, of course, was Noah and the flood in there and the start of the very repetitive theme of the wickedness of man.  Not to be course about it but, what else is new, obviously hasn't been new in a great long time. Mention of the Nephilim, whom I've heard said were angels but the text itself seams to regard them merely as some kind of giant sentient being.  Fodder, I'm sure, for the "aliens have visited us" crowd.  Well God would still be God for aliens so what does it matter.  Angels and Demons would be a kind of alien too if you think about it and God is still God for them.

Of interest is the general longevity of people before the flood versus the marked decreasing longevity of people afterward.  I remember my dad talking about some paper he wrote in college concerning a theory behind that.  Maybe he would be willing to post that some where and I can link it or something.  The genealogy is followed down to Abram (later Abraham) and the start of his travels and travails. Abrams father didn't have Abram until he was 70 years old and he lived to be 205.  I remember in church, sermons that would go on and on about how amazing it was that Abram would father a child at 90 yet given the still great longevity of that generation, I don't see the amazement in that justified.  What IS amazing to me is that after 80 years of barrenness Sarai (later Sarah) did conceive, even after menopause.  That seems rather miraculous, but the age thing, given the context of the time does not seem miraculous unless you view it through the glass of present life and longevity.  Even today octogenarians can still produce sperm and the like so they could conceivable also father children.

I'm going to step back a little here as I skipped over something that also occurred to me.  Everyone knows the general story of the Tower of Babel.  We all here about it in Sunday school about everyone gathering and building the tower basically giving the finger to God as it were.  I'm not sure I see that upon examining the text myself.

Genesis 9:1 - And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth"

Later in Gen 9:7 - And you (plural) be fruitful and multiply, team on teh earth and multiply in it"

Here we have a command from God to go out and multiply upon the earth.  But did they do that?  Well they started to.  There is a whole list of Nations and the like including Babel so everything is good right?  I mean isn't everyone spreading out and filling the earth just as is commanded?  Well almost.

See here is little old Babel started by a group that originally where going out to fill the earth.  They are migrating after all.  Well in their migration they found a plain and said to one another.

Genesis 11:4- Come let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.

There it is "lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth".  They wanted to stick together, they did not want to fill the whole earth, they disobeyed God.  Well, God said be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.  2/3rds of an enchilada isn't the whole enchilada. God saw this, saw what they could do with one language and decided to remove the tool by which their desires where enabled. Its a pretty handy solution to accomplish his purpose I think.

Back to Abram.

Genesis 12:10-20 tells us of Abram in Egypt and I must say, Abram is a jerk here.  He basically whored out his wife to the Pharaoh and didn't trust God for his needs and safety.  I say whored out because he recieved riches for falsely giving his wife to the Pharaoh.  He got rich off of doing evil.  Don't we see that all the time in our world.  And Abram is obviously doing this because of unjustified fears.  Unless I'm missing something, even after the lie was revealed and Pharaoh had suffered plaugues because of the unknown immorality he treated fairly and kindly with Abram.  I can't imaging that God would of allowed death to come to Abram after he had already made promises.

This  lack trusting of God and his wisdom and word seems to continue as well in other forms. Abram wheels and deals with Lot and Lot for his part uses his human senses rather than trusting or asking God to find a place to settle.  Lot settles in a place that reminds him of the Garden of Eden and guess whats there.  Yup, Sodom and Gomorrah.  Den of inequity line from star wars crosses my mind here.

Something that I can say about Abram in this part is he's always honoring and thanking and at least striving after God. Everywhere he goes he puts up alters and sacrifices.  The first mentioning of tithing is here in Gen 14:20 "And Abram game him (Melchizedek, priest of the God Most High) a tenth of everything.  So even though Abram was filled with fear and greed and such, Abram still honored God and God in return honored Abram and did not turn his back on him.  He even reminds Abram and creates a second covenant with him in Gen 15:13-16. (the first being Gen 13:14-18).  I think there are 3 covenants total with Abram, these two I mention and the last one, the covenant of circumcision that is layed out in Gen 17:11-14.

About these covenants.  Well there are 3 of them.  The first one vague and far in the futre, the second one soon and very specific but not actually present and the third one is now and immediate and requires immediate action.  That is a neat progression there.  Seems like as Abram grows in trust of the Lord, God asks more and more of him and also gives more and more to him.  Even when he's weak and takes Hagar to bed in Gen 16:2-4, God honors and protects and looks after Hagar and her child.  Even the bastard child is important to God.

What is also very interesting is the nature of the covenant.

Gen 17:12 & 13 - He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised.  Every male throughout your generations, whether born in you house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised.  So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.

Jesus was the Son of God.  He was born of God and just as the covenant with Abraham was vested in those bought by Abraham's money, so is the covenant and relationship that Jesus has with god vested in us through the money (blood) of the cross.  I think that is a wonderful foreshadowing of what is to come down the road.

I actually read part of Gen 19 but I'm not going to include it today.  It is more appropriate I think to reread it with the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah.