M R Tool

Genesis Class Week 9

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:22:00 +0000

Genesis 9:18-11:9 Descending to Babel

Genesis 9:18-29 - Noah and sons

Noah was a farmer, so he planted a vineyard, and low and behold he gets drunk. His son Ham walks in and sees him naked and tells his brothers. Ham did not act noble with his father and shamed him. The other two honored there father by covering him.

When Noah wakes and finds out what happened, he curses Canaan. Note that he curses Hams son, Canaan, and not Ham. In verse 1 God had blessed Noah and his sons, so the curse falls on Hams son. This is the son that would become the Canaanite people; which were enslaved and killed my Israel when they took the promise land. In the curse he also blesses Shem’s and Japheth’s descendants.

The Chapter ends with wrapping up Noah’s years at 950 years.

Genesis 10 - The Table of Nations

We have a listing of the descendents of Noah’s sons. Much of the lists are not an individual but a nation. Such as the list of Canaan’s descendents, they are the peoples that the Israelites were to destroy and remove from Canaan during the time of Joshua. This would be relevant to the Israelites as they prepared for the entering of Canaan at that time.

One man of note is Nimrod. He was a great leader and a mighty hunter. He is credited here for the building of Babylon and Nineveh and the surrounding cities. This too would be relevant to the Israelites in there future. It is likely that Nimrod was the instigator of the Tower of Babel and after the confusion of the languages he may have continued the work.

Ham’s descendents settled mostly in northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Japheth’s moved north to the Black and Caspian Sea’s, and into Greece. Shem’s descendents settled between the two of them, mostly along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Genesis 11:1-9 - The Tower

Everyone spoke one language, and they came together in the plains of Shinar. They decided to build a city with a tower to the heavens. They did this for there own glory and fame and to unify themselves. God came down and saw what they were doing and decided that, if they could do this as one people united that nothing was outside there power. Once again man reached out and tried to be like God, building up power and fame. God confused there language and they were scattered.

So Glad This Week Is Over

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:22:00 +0000

Genesis Class Week 8

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:41:00 +0000

Genesis 8 – 9:17 From Flood to Covenant

Genesis 8:1-14 - the water recedes

God remembers Noah and his family, and all the animals that were with him. God provides a wind to dry the earth and the waters recede. The ark settles in the mountain range of Ararat, not the mountain of Ararat as it is often thought. Almost 3 months later the mountain tops become visible. Forty days later he sends out the raven, who few back and forth until there was somewhere to land. He then sends out the dove several times until it brings back an olive leaf. Then he waits seven day and the dove does not return. After being on the Ark for about a year he opens the covering and the land is dry. About two months later the earth is completely dry.

Genesis 8:15–22 - coming out of the ark

God then calls Noah and his family out of the Ark, along with all the animals. They all come out and Noah builds an alter to God, and makes a sacrifice from some of all the clean animals. God is pleased, and make a promise to himself never to curse the ground because of man again, and not to ever destroy all living things.

Genesis 9:1-17 - God's covenant with Noah

God blesses them, and re-commissions them to be fruitful and multiply. He also sanctions the eating of meat, also that the fear of man would fall on all animals. God gives one restriction regarding blood in the meat. God also addresses murder here, connecting that humans are created in Gods image and that image is sacred; followed up with again the command to multiply.

God then makes his covenant with Noah and his sons, also with all the animals, that He will not destroy the whole earth by water ever again. He then gives them a sign of the covenant, the rainbow. We do not know if this was the first rainbow ever. Science would have applied before the flood as it does after. Rainbows are caused by light shinning through moisture in the air. This would have been the state of things prier to the flood as well, even if it had never rained there was mist. It is likely that the use of the rainbow was to be the renewal of an old symbol with a new meaning.

There are some interesting chiasmi (palistrophe) in the Ark story. A chiasmus is a literary device in which one half of a story or poem is a mirror-image of the other, giving a form A1BA2 etc.

A1. Noah and animals enter the Ark
B1. Flood increases on the Earth
C1. Mountains covered, all living things die
D1.Waters cover the Earth
E. God "remembers" Noah, God's wind blows over the waters
D2. Waters begin to recede
C2: Mountain-tops become visible, Ark rests on the mountains
B2: Flood recedes from the Earth
A2: Noah and animals leave the Ark

The other is in the timeline of the flood.

7 days of waiting for the flood (7:4)
7 days of waiting for the flood (7:10)
40 days of rain and flooding (7:17a)
150 days of water triumphing (7:24)
150 days of water waning (8:3)
40 days’ wait (8:6)
7 days’ wait (8:10)
7 days’ wait (8:12)

Football Is Over

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:29:00 +0000

my son had his last game last night. i did not go because i was sleeping so i could go to work tonight. they were playing in a tournament. they had lost the first game that was on saturday. so last nights game was for second and third place. however it turns out that the team they played on saturday was all high school kids so they were disqualified, since it was a league of middle school age kids. so last nights game is now for first and second place, the bummer deal is that the high schoolers took the trophy for first place. well i guess you are wondering who won last night. as it turns out my sons team won the game. my son got to play center for the game since the teams regular center was injured 2 weeks back.

now all that is left is to return the equipment and have a banquet on tuesday, and football is behind us for this year.

Country???

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:58:00 +0000

i am not much of a country fan but this is one of my favorite songs when singing Karaoke.

What It Is...

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:16:00 +0000

it is life and you have to take it as it comes.

i have been having a busy go of things as of late. football is over after this weekend, and the kids are doing good. my daughter is having some trouble with 2 of her classes, two classes that i have never studied. those being chemistry and calculus. the kids mom has been in drug rehab and we have all been dealing with that. she is out now, and life has been far from easy. work is as it always is, work, nothing really to report there.

the holidays are upon us and it does not feel like it should be that time of year already. i am feeling very ill-prepared.

i have found that i lack the motivation to see things happen. it rather sucks to have the desire to see things through but not have the motivation to go after it. so i guess i really have nothing interesting to share. life is dull but active.

Walking And Talking

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Genesis Class Week 7

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:07:00 +0000

Genesis 6:9-7 – Noah and the flood

Traditions of a catastrophic flood are found in many ancient cultures:

• Egyptian tradition: The gods at one time purified the earth by a great flood, from which only a few shepherds escaped.
• Greek tradition: Deucalion warned that the gods were going to bring a flood upon the earth because of its great wickedness; he built an ark which cam to rest on Mount Parnassus. A dove was sent out twice.
• Hindu tradition: Manu, warned, built a ship in which he alone escaped from the deluge that destroyed all creatures
• Chinese tradition: Fa-He, founder of the Chinese civilization, is represented as having escaped from a flood – with his wife, three sons and three daughters.
• English tradition: The Druids had a legend that the world had been re-peopled by a righteous patriarch who had been saved in a strong ship from a flood send to destroy man from his wickedness
• Polynesian tradition: Stories of a flood from which eight escaped
• Mexican tradition: One man and his wife and children were saved in a ship from a flood which overwhelmed the earth.
• Peruvian tradition: One man and one woman were saved in a box that floated on the flood waters.
• Native American tradition: Various legends, in which one, three, or eight persons were saved in a boat above the waters on a high mountain.
• Greenland tradition: The earth once tilted over, and all men were drowned, except one man and one woman, who re-peopled the earth

Genesis 6:9-22

The account of Noah and the flood starts in 6:9; some may argue that it starts with verse 1 with the corruption of the earth. However, versus 1-8 give us an introduction into what led up to the flood. Noah we know is of the line of Seth, he was credited as being righteous and blameless. Noah had a true love for God, thus he had a right relationship with God. He was blameless, but that does not mean that he was perfect. God knew his heart in comparison to the contemporaries, and chose him to be the path to salvation for the human race and animal kind.
God speaks to Noah and tells him that he is going to destroy the earth and everything in it. He is only going to spare Noah and his family. Noah is to build a boat and fill it with animals. The Ark is to be made of cypress wood (Gopher wood in some other translations. The word in the Hebrew is not a known wood) and coated with pitch. It was to be 450 ft long, 75 ft wide and 45 ft high. It was to have three decks and a door in the side. From the shape and dimensions of the ark it was not meant to be a high sea vessel but a floating barge.

The English word for the ship is ark; however the Hebrew word (tevah/ship) that is used for the Ark is not the same as the Ark of the Covenant. The word for the ark is the same word used for the basket that Moses was placed in and floated down the river. According to the dimensions of the ark, it was the largest ship on record until 1858 when the Great Eastern was built to 669 ft.

Genesis 6: 22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Genesis 7:1-5

Noah built the boat and fills it with animals, one pair of ever every kind of animal, male and female, and seven pair of every clean animal. This is to repopulate the earth with all the animals. The point of the seven pairs of clean animals is for sacrifice after the flood. If Noah did not have extra of the clean animals that he would need in sacrifice, then it would be a long while before Noah and his descendants could make sacrifices to God, also to have new cloths. Noah was also to store all kinds of food and vegetation. We will find out that the earth was covered with water for about a year. In that time plant life would have also been destroyed. He was going to need food and seed to replant.

A common question is “how Noah got all those different types of animals on the ark?” Well, today we have hundreds of types of dogs. However most of them have only been around in the last few centuries. It is likely that Noah only took one set of dog, cat, horse, etc. and that they were breed into the species that we know today.

After loading the ark with every kind of animal and the food that was needed, he entered the ark and seven days later God brought the rain.

Genesis 7:5 And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.

Genesis 7:6-24

In Chapter 5 we find that Noah was 500 when he became a father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And one hundred years later the earth is destroyed. We have an exact time that the flood was. From here on out the record keeping of the Old Testament helps so we can know when the flood was.

We see that the animals came to Noah and obeyed him on getting on the ark. A return of Gods original plan for man to be over the animals, this was disrupted by the first couple when they obeyed the serpent.

Genesis 7:11-12 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.

From the above verses we know that the water burst forth from the ground and fell from the sky lifting the ark off the earth. It rained 40 days and 4o nights, talk about depressing. God shut up the ark, Noah could not do it himself, and all that was with Noah was saved.

Genesis 8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded

Hoping For Sleep

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:48:00 +0000

i have not been sleeping much lately.

Genesis Class Week 6

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:41:00 +0000

Genesis 6 – Starting over

There are three main factors in the text that led up to the flood. 1) Unspiritual marriages 6:2, 2) a deep evil twist of the human character 6:5, 3) Brutal violence 6:11.

Genesis 6:1-4

The population of the Earth was increasing. “The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.” From verse 2 we can figure that they marriages of the two were lustful, they married for beauty and not for spiritual character. Who are these ‘sons of God’? There are 3 theories.

The sons of God

1. The sons of God are Angels. This theory is a popular one and often used because the term is used in other places in the Old Testament in reference to the Angels. It is used to justify the “heroes of old” in verse 4. That there descendents were blessed with divine abilities. This is refuted by Jesus himself in Matthew 22:30

At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

To further support this angelic interpretation the Virgin Mary became pregnant by the Spirit of God. It may be reasonable to conclude that the same may be possible for other heavenly beings.

2. The sons of God are political leaders. This theory was purposed by Jewish scholars in the middle ages, Psalms 82:6-7 is a support to the idea.

"I said, 'You are "gods" you are all sons of the Most High.' But you will die like mere men you will fall like every other ruler."

It based on the leaders of the time, the representatives of God, may have been corrupt thus escalating the influence of corruption in the human race. It would fit that leaders in the near east would have claimed divine status, such as the Pharaohs did, also setting up harems for themselves, as did Solomon.

3. The sons of God are the descendents of Seth. The righteous descendents of Seth may have started to intermarry with the descendents of Cain. Seeking relationships of lust and not righteousness. This fits with the flow of chapters 4-6 and connecting Cain to the flood.

So which is correct? Not sure, these are the ideas that we have. However the concept of the ‘sons of God’ is foreign to us today with the emphasis of Jesus as the ‘Son of God’. Most likely it made more sense to the audience of the time.

Years of man are 120

Verse 3 is often thought to mean that the human race would not longer have long lives like those of old. However this is mostly unfounded as many of the men in the bible still had long lives after the flood. Such as: Abraham (175), Isaac (180), Jacob (147), Aaron (123), Jehoiada (130), and Job (160+). It is believed that the 120 years was rather time remaining until the purge of the earth and begin anew. Just like God gave the city of Nineveh the chance to repent in the account of Jonah.

The Nephilim

Again it is vague as to who these people were, they are only mentioned in the bible twice, here in Genesis and in Numbers when the spies are scouting out the land of Canaan. There is a notion that they were super humans and giants. However in the first part of the verse 4 it states that they were on the earth then and after the flood. If the flood was a worldwide event then no one would have escaped that God had not set aside. So there is little chance that they serviced the flood. These Nephilim may not have been the supermen that they are thought to be, but the height of sinful men. The Nephilim may gave been seekers of glory and fame, who went out of there way to prove themselves by there deeds. One other thing to consider about these great men, is that if there were the descendants of angels then why is there no record that God punished the heavenly creatures for this corruption.

Genesis 6:5-8

God’s Sorrow

In verse 5 we see that mans wickedness got to the point that he grieved that he had created them, and his heart is filled with pain. Man had escalated in sin to a point that they were twisted from what God had made. That every though and inclination was evil. Man had corrupted the whole earth so that even the animals were to be punished. Gods plan is to start over, to un-create and recreate. Only one man was righteous and found favor in Gods sight, Noah.

Genesis 6:9-22

God had a plan

Once again it stated that Noah was righteous and we find that he has 3 sons. The rest of mankind was corrupt and violent. So God calls to Noah and lays out his plan for the destruction of the world. Noah did all that the Lord told him to do.

Through The Desert

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0000

i will not be in the office tomorrow, and not having internet at home i posting the friday video a day early.

Bach To Friday

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:55:00 +0000

i have a habit of whistling, mostly because i do not have a radio in the car and then i get songs stuck in my head. i like t whistle classical tunes. thurday afternoon my son asked me what songs Bach did. as it is i do not ever know who did what in the classical world. so here is a little video that i found that is really cool to watch.

Genesis Class Week 5

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:21:00 +0000

Genesis 4 – Life Outside The Garden

Two Brothers Genesis 4:1-5

God, in his grace, gives humans another chance. He gives family a chance. Assuming that Adam and Eve were created full-grown, Cain, when he killed Abel might have been about 129 years old; for Seth was born soon after (v. 25), at which time Adam is 130 (5:3). Cain and Abel are the most significant children up to this point.

Cain – (Qayin) "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." (v. 1); it is credited to Cain as being the first born; he was a farmer like his father; made a sacrifice to God of some of his fruits

Abel – supposed to be the second child; was a herdsman; made a sacrifice of faith to God (Hebrews 11:4)

By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

The sacrifices – From the end of Chapter 3 it would seem that God Instituted sacrifices when he made the skins of clothing for Adam and Eve. From verse 3 it would seem that Cain decided to bring an offering and Abel joins him. Cain’s sacrifice was produce that he grew. Verse 3 tells us that it was some fruit of the soil, and that he brought it to God as a sacrifice. The implication is that he just grabbed some produce and gave it to God. Verse 4 tells us that Abel brought the firstborn and fat portions, the choicest parts, of his flocks. Though it may have been Cain’s idea to give a sacrifice to God, Abel had the better heart in the matter.

1 John 3 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.

Crime and Punishment Genesis 4:6-16

Cain is not happy that his little brother is getting the attention. His sacrifice is disregarded by God. Cain did not get the response from God that he wanted, and he becomes angry. It would seem that Cain might be angry with his brother but first and foremost he is angry with God. God then warns him that if he did the right thing then he too would be accepted. Either unwilling or unable to resolve his anger he turns on his brother as a scapegoat. His brother then becomes the innocent recipient of Cain’s faulty relationship with God. He takes advantage of his brother and strikes him down, spilling his blood on the ground. The farmer has now sown the earth with blood.

Cain is the first to whom sin is attributed. God presents it as a choice. Either we choose to sin or not to sin.

After he kill his brother in a field God confronts him by asking the rhetorical question

“Where is your brother Abel?"

"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"

God approaches Cain as He did Cain’s parents. Where Adam and Eve tried to become like God, Cain is playing God. Sin is escalated Adam excused his sin, Cain denies his. Adam hid, fearful of God, Cain rejects to take responsibility for his.

Again the punishment is swift and fitting to the crime. Cain is cursed and the already cursed ground will not produce for him. His livelihood is taken from him and his forced to be a wanderer (nad). Cain heads east into the land of wandering (Nod) and builds a city. Cain worried about his own safety from revenge, but from whom? Adam and Eve must have had other children (v 5:4) and they were starting to populate the earth. So he was worried about revenge from the family. God then marks Cain so that no one would try to kill him, but if anyone kills him he would be repaid seven times over.

The renewal – Genesis 4:25-26

Adam and Eve have another child about this time and name him Seth “God has granted me another child in place of Abel,” this is the third and last noted child of the first couple. About this time was when people started calling on the lord.

First Snow, In Fall

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:27:00 +0000

well we have not reached the middle of october yet and we are already getting snow. i awoke this morning and i was making breakfast, my daughter headed out on the patio for her morning cigarette she starts to whine about there being snow. so i poked my head out of the kitchen to see a good amount of snow on the ground. so i finished making breakfast and my coffee and headed out to clean off the car.

i am not ready for winter yet and this snow stuff really sucks. i do not mind the cold, but i really dislike the snow. i guess i will be working this next week on getting somethings done for the oncoming winter. tomorrow my son has a football game and it is suppose to snow then as well. this is going to be a fun weekend all the way around.

Finally The Week Is Over

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0000

ok so i was shown this the other day and thought it was great. i hope you all enjoy.

Genesis Class Week 4

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:23:00 +0000

Genesis 3 – The Fall of Mankind

The garden in jeopardy – Genesis 3:1-7

We do not know the time laps from the end of chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3. It could have been the next day, or it could have been a hundred years later. However the Stage is set, act one has commenced; our characters are introduced, queue the protagonist.

Chapter 3 we are introduced to the serpent. Verse one tells us that the serpent is the craftiest of all the creatures. The serpent speaks, and has a recorded brief conversation with the couple. He asks a seemingly innocent question. He does not outright call God a liar but he twists his words to imply that He is lying to them. After a reply from the woman he challenges Gods Truthfulness. He attacks the word of God head-on and questions Gods motives of withholding the fruit from them. He plants the seed of doubt in her mind.

After reevaluating the fruit and deciding that it was pleasing to the eye and useful for gaining wisdom she took and ate and gave some to her husband, who was there also. They then obeyed the animal, the opposite of what God had set up, and willfully disobeyed Gods command. The fruit did gain them knowledge, knowledge of the fact that they were naked. They are no longer innocent, they are vulnerable. So then try to cover up what they had done and make clothes out of fig leaves.

The garden lost – Genesis 3:8-19

Act two opens with God on the seen. The man and the woman hear God walking in the garden. And they hide, “Oh No! Dads home!”. God calls out them with a rhetorical question “Where are you?”, as if God did not already know. They come out and ashamed of there nakedness they report that they were afraid and hid. God asked the man out right did you eat and disobey me? The man who was silent in the last scene now tries to sidestep the question and shifts the blame back to the woman. It is telling in his language that he also want s to blame God for giving him this woman.

God then turns to the woman, asking for her side of the story. She answers the question acknowledging that she was tricked by the serpent. Here the oneness of the man and the woman is torn apart. The serpent is not given the chance to defend itself.

Punishment is dealt out swiftly in reverse order. Unlike the serpent, the man and woman were not cursed. The punishments of all three are twofold.

The serpent is cursed to crawl on his belly and eat the dust, and that there will be enmity between the serpent and the offspring of the woman.

Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."(This is the first prophetic scripture pointing to Jesus.)

The woman is punished with increased pain in childbirth. Not that childbirth is the punishment but that it would be more painful. This does not imply that Eve had already had children but it also does not rule it out either. The second punishment is that she would have desire for her husband and he will rule over her. This is not to imply that women are inferior to men. This punishment is based around the domestic environment. The phrase “rule over” is the same as God is ruler of the universe and we are to rule over the earth and the animals that is described in chapter 1 and 2. We are responsible for there care not to lord it over them.

The Man is addressed in verse 17 and is rebuked for having listened to his wife and not the word of God. Here the earth is cursed. In chapter 2, man is given meaningful work, now he will have to work the whole earth and the ground will not yield it fruits willingly. Work has now become drudgery. He is also faced with mortality, the fact that one day he will die. Likely mortal before, rebellion against the creator of life forced death to become the center of our existence.

Expulsion from the garden – Genesis 3:20-24

The final scene demonstrates Gods love for the couple. Though he is forced to remove them from the garden and the tree of life, also the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he provides for them coverings made from animal skins. Now the animals that were entrusted to the man’s care are now to be there source of clothing. Conflict is the result of human rebellion. Human questioning of the divine intent and motive propels the world into disorder, alienation, and struggle. The human couple tragically alters each of their relationships: 1) there relationship with their creator; 2) their relationship with each other; 3) their relationship with the rest of the created order.

There is hope in chapter 4 of renewal with the first recorded birth.

Alone At Work

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 06:56:00 +0000

so i am the only person on the help desk tonight.

Genesis Class Week 3

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:13:00 +0000

Genesis 2:4-2:25 – The Garden

The relationship begins, Genesis 2:4-7.

Chapter 2 opens with what is sometimes called the second creation story. This is not a contradiction of the first account but a supplement to the account of chapter 1. There is a shift from the theocentric (God-centered) view of creation in chapter 1 to an anthropocentric (Human-centered) view of chapter 2.

Chapter 1 creation story introduces us to an all powerful God (Elohim), the “generic” name of the Supreme Being. In Chapter 2 we are introduced to “the Lord God” (Yahweh Elohim), His personal name. This is the first step that God takes in revealing his desire to have a relationship with us.

Chapter 2 starting in verse 5 states that there was no vegetation on the earth; this can be taken to mean that it would fit into the early part of day 3. It continues on that there had been no rain and the Earth was watered by: Springs (NLT) Streams (NIV), Mist (KJV). The ‘watered by streams’ is a constant theme in this chapter. This account then moves to the creation of man, followed by the garden. This is most likely to express to the audience that the creation of the garden was for man, continuing Gods desire to provide for our needs.

In verse 7 we are told that God makes the first man from the dust of the ground, and that God breathed the breath of life into him, an intimate portrayal of God giving us life. We know that the first man was called Adam from the Hebrew word for earth (Adamah), which makes the Adam the first “earthling”. Adam is both frail (being made of dust) and empowered (inbreathed by God). In chapter 1 we know that humans are the only creation that God spoke to, in chapter 2 humans are the only creation that has the breath of life from God.

The Garden, Genesis 2:8-14

God then plants a garden in the east, in Eden. “East of what?”, again we have to look to the original audience, the Hebrews who are coming out of Egypt, so we can speculate that the garden was east of Egypt. Then he puts the man in the garden, and God waters the garden with springs. There are only 2 trees mentioned by name in the garden, all the others were pleasing to the eye and good for food. The location of the garden is then described as being at the headwater of four rivers.

Man in the garden, Genesis 2:15-17

God puts man in the garden, and gives the man a purpose to his life with three instructions. Work the garden and keep it (vocation), you may eat of any of tree in the garden (permission), but do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (prohibition).

Not good to be alone Genesis 2:18-25

It is stated in Genesis 1:27 that man was created “male and female”. Here we get a personal view of the start of the human race. God knew that it was not good for man to be alone, so he created all the beast of the fields and the birds of the air and brought them to him to name. Among them there is no suitable helper found.

God then causes Adam to sleep and removes a rib and creates an appropriate counterpart. God creates woman, a new creation, yet sharing man’s own essential nature. When Adam wakes and sees his wife, he is excited.

Genesis 2:23-24 “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’”

This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. (NLT)

Earlier God gave the man vocation so he had meaning to his life, now he gives him a companion to bring joy. Just as we are given the pattern for the work week in chapter 1, here we are given the pattern for marriage. One man and one woman joined as one.

Tangerines

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:27:00 +0000

just a funny song.

Genesis Class Week 1 & 2

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:04:00 +0000

as i have mentioned before i have started teaching a class on sunday mornings here is the first two classes rolled into one.

Genesis Introduction

“We have more traditionally been taught to think of Genesis as the account of how human pain originated. Perhaps we have been more concerned (i.e. self-absorbed) to try to make sense of our pain than spiritually sensitive enough to read Genesis as the explanation of the pain that we brought to God.”

Genesis - The Beginning of Faith
Rubel Shelly Page 14

The Beginning:
There are 5 beginnings in Genesis.

1 Genesis is the beginning of divine Self-disclosure
God reveals Himself in his creation

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Genesis is the beginning of a unique relationship between God and his human creations.
God reveals His image in us, creating us in His image male and Female.

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

3 Genesis relates the beginning of tension between God and the men and women created in his image.
Such a unique relationship is filled with negative as well as positive possibilities. We have the freedom to be faithless or faithful; greedy or gracious. God will not coerce His creation; He will not achieve his will by force. He is sovereign but he is not a tyrant.
If we seek Him, we will find Him. If we want to know his will for our lives, He will make it known. If we want to share in His purposes for human life, He will see to it that we are not left in the darkness of confusion.

Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

4 Genesis is the beginning of God’s Pain over our situation.
The tension between our partnership with God and our freedom to go our own selfish way has caused Him pain.

Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

5 Genesis is the beginning of the revelation of divine grace.
We introduced sin into His Eden. And then we saw God for what he really is, a gracious and compassionate God.

Romans 3:23-26 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

The Creation Hymn – Genesis 1-2:3
Creation is described as taking place in six days. There are eight acts of creation, each introduced by the words ‘and God said…’

The creation Hymn is told from the perspective of an observer watching God create. The creation is not described chronologically, for example light and darkness are explained before the sun, moon, and stars. However the account is one that we can understand from the perspective of ancient man to the scientific mind of the 21st century. There is no explanation of biology or geology, or any other science. We do not know when creation took place (other then in the beginning). And other then God speaking the creation into existents, we do not know how God went about creating the universe.

The Creation Hymn is written as prose. There is a poetic structure of the first week, where day 1 corresponds to day 4, day 2 to day 5, and day 3 to day 6.

Prose is writing that resembles everyday speech. The word "prose" is derived from the Latin prosa, which literally translates to "straightforward". Prose is adopted for the discussion of facts and topical reading, as it is often articulated in free form writing style. Thus, it may be used for books, newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias, broadcast media, films, letters, history, philosophy, biography, and many other forms of communication.

Day 1 Light and dark Day 4 Sun and moon and stars
Day 2 Sea and sky Day 5 Creatures of water and air
Day 3 Fertile earth Day 6 Creatures of the land; land animals; humans’ provision of food.

The Structure of the account of each of the six days.
In Genesis 1:2-2:3
1. Announcement “and God said”
2. Command “let there be,” “let [them] be gathered,” etc.
3. Report “and it was so”
-a descriptive phrase telling what God did
-a word of naming or blessing
4. Evaluation “it was good”
5. Temporal statement “there was evening, and there was morning--the __day”

The origin of the world and of life was no accident. There was a creator: God
God made everything there is.
All that God made was good
The high point of all God’s creative acts was the making of mankind
Mankind is distinguished from all other creatures in two respects: he alone is made in God’s own likeness; and he is given charge over all the rest.
God’s six ‘days’ of creative activity followed by a ‘day’ of rest, sets the pattern for out working life.

Because There Is No Moon

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:14:00 +0000

this song has been running through my head a lot lately. i hope you enjoy.

First Game

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:05:00 +0000

this last sunday was my sons first football game. i went even if i do not know anything about football. and i was ready to watch the game and cheer them on. then i got asked my the couch if i could run the time clock. i told him i would but someone would need to teach me what i need to do. i know how it is scored, but i do not know when to stop the clock. well i found out in a hurry. i watched the game but i did not watch the game. i know you are all wondering who won. well the other team did, but the boys had fun.

something else happened on sunday that i just found out last night about. my daughter quit her job. so last night she was out looking for a new job.

In Honer Of

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:12:00 +0000

it is September 11th. it has been 8 years, and i will never forget that day.

Life In A Car

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:32:00 +0000

yesterday afternoon i spent 3 hours in my car. with picking up both kids from school getting my sons football equipment, and then taking him to practice. then i had my daughter drop me off at my tuesday night study. yes that means that my daughter has her license now. we went on thusday morning last week to take the test. but i am starting to feel like all i do is drive.

also in order to get my daughter to school on time in the morning. she is dropping me off at night at work, then picking me up in the morning so i can take her to school. it is rather weird not having my car at night.

Not Knowing

noreply@blogger.com (mrtool) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:02:00 +0000

i did not know that the soft cell version of this song was a cover, but i like it.