The Not in the Devil’s Tale

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We continue with the account of the Fall of Adam and Eve as the devil, the serpent, subtly lies about God and lures Eve into three appeals for her heart: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. John the Apostle corroborated these three temptations in 1 John 2:16-17:

For everything in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. – 1 John 2:16-17

We can see the irony of John’s comment in verse 17 as he says we live forever by doing the will of God. Living forever pertains of course to our resurrection to eternal life, something Adam and Eve likely did not understand in the garden of Eden. Their disobedience meant certain death in a physical sense.

But how does the devil trick Eve? He says, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” He plays on her innocence. Eve of course knew that God specified the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The fact that the tree was forbidden gave it special importance. The moment they ate from that tree, their knowledge would replace their innocence and they would know good and evil. So Eve answers the serpent fairly accurately but with some subtle differences from the facts. Perhaps because she was getting her information second hand through Adam, she made some slight variations, such as, “You must not touch it.” She says, “You will die” rather than “You will certainly die.” The serpent said, “You will not surely die,” directly contradicting God and casting doubt on God’s word and His motive.

The serpent crafted his words carefully and said, “For you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” This has an element of truth to it. God said later, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:22). Eve looked at the fruit, and it seemed good for food (the lust of the flesh) and pleasing to look at (the lust of the eyes). She thought it would make her wise (the pride of life), knowing good from evil. Probably she did not understand good and evil, because she could not yet discern the difference.

How many of us long to be the captain of our own destiny, in charge of our life, completely independent, with no boss but our own will? We want to be like God. The most arrogant want to be God. Emperors in history have demanded worship of themselves! Think of Nebuchadnezzar, or Caesars Nero and Domitian, or Emperor Hirohito. Eve’s temptation was therefore universal and arises from our own will taking priority over the Creator’s will, and over what is right and good.

I say that the temptation is universal, although it is tailored to the individual’s psyche and circumstances. Let us consider the temptation of Jesus in Luke chapter 4. Satan said to the very hungry Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread” (Luke 4:3). He appealed to the lust of the flesh when Jesus was weak with hunger.

Next Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms from a high vantage point, saying, “I will give you all their authority and splendor…if you worship me, it will be all yours.” He appealed to the lust of the eyes.

Finally Satan appealed to pride, telling Jesus to throw Himself down from the temple. Jesus’ feat of survival would have been a show of His divine nature. What a spectacle this would have been, like Superman leaping tall buildings with a single bound! But the man Jesus would have tested God the Father, contrary to Scripture. Deuteronomy 6:16 forbids testing the Lord your God with false gods and further, testing Him by complaining and demanding things from God. Anyway, in Jesus’ case, this would have been a demand to rescue Jesus from His own folly of throwing Himself off a building. Pride would become apparent from seeking to make Himself a spectacle for His own benefit.

What about you and I? What’s your weakness? For some of us the weakness of the flesh pertains to physical pleasures, such as gluttony or sexual promiscuity. The lust of the eyes may fall into impurity with pornography, or the longing for treasures that are visually pleasing, such as a mansion or sports car. Bigger, better, faster! The dream house, the corner office, the Ferrari. But houses and offices and Ferraris in themselves are not evil! Yet they can lure your heart away from righteousness. How you acquire them can become all consuming and lead to crimes.

In 1 Timothy 6:10 we find St. Paul’s sanction against the love of a good thing, money!

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

This touches on the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and furthermore, when such pursuits become entangled in our pride, further sin is born. I know of a man serving twelve years in prison for fraud who was so thoroughly entangled in lust and pride that he defrauded people of many millions of dollars to feed his lusts and his desire for prestige as head of a busy company. He even gave interviews on national television as the CEO and posed as an expert in his field before his fall. He pierced himself with many griefs.

Our lesson has focused thus far on Satan’s modus operandus, that of appealing to our lust and pride, even as Satan casts doubt on God’s honesty, God’s care for us, and even God’s very nature. God’s word we know to be reliable. Reading the entirety of the Bible we see the consistency of God’s promises that begin in Genesis 3:15 (the prediction of Jesus versus Satan) and develop into a nation dedicated to God through the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The call of Abraham begins in Genesis 12. Isaac has two sons, Jacob and Esau, and Jacob becomes patriarch of twelve tribes. The nation of Israel begins shakily in captivity in Egypt, but is brought out in spite of the Egyptian stronghold, settling in the land of Canaan, developing for hundreds of years into many millions of people, until a monarchy is established, ultimately leading to a king above all kings, the Savior and Messiah. We know this from reading the testimonies and the history found in the Bible.

But let us focus again on Genesis chapter 3 to see how God cares for Adam and Eve. Can man live forever in a fallen state? God’s answer was no, in Genesis 3:22-23. He could not allow the man to live forever as a sinner, separated from the holy God. Can you imagine Adolf Hitler living forever? Death is the curse given for sinning in the first place. However, living forever in this condition cannot be. Eternal life comes only after we are freed from the curse of sin, but it comes with our redemption and resurrection. There are very few exceptions (Enoch, Elijah, and the chosen at the Rapture predicted in Revelation).

Now the science lovers among us certainly know about the law of entropy. Entropy has never been refuted and means that things deteriorate. Putting this simply, things eventually fall apart unless someone shepherds them along. We call this “someone” God. Speaking of the Son of God, Paul wrote:

For in Him all things were created…all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. – Colossians 1:16-17

The universe holds together by God the Father through His Son, Jesus. Otherwise, things would go chaotic. So our bodies also deteriorate, and we die. Now in the garden of Eden there was also the tree of life, which God mentions in Genesis 3:22. Overcoming entropy, in the case of man’s body, could have been intended through his eating from the tree of life. We do not know, but this seems implied. Man could no longer have access to the tree of life, because he was not allowed any longer to live forever. This was a kindness from God. Instead God provided another way, the way of redemption through Messiah. The first strong hint for this is found in Genesis 3:15, when God told the serpent:

“And 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.”

Satan was the serpent and the heel bruiser, who put Jesus on the cross. The Messiah, Jesus, was the head crusher, destroying Satan’s plot to destroy mankind, and eventually throwing Satan into the place of fiery torment – hell – prepared for the devil and his angels. (See Matthew 25:41.) The devil’s offspring may be interpreted as his angels (the demons) or wicked humans who follow his commands. The woman Eve’s offspring is the child of the promise, Jesus, who would save the people from their sins, as predicted in Matthew 1:21, and who would reign on the throne of David forever and rule over the house of Jacob forever, as predicted in Luke 1:33. Luke 1:33 is quite similar to the prediction of Daniel 7:13-14, referring to the Son of Man who would be given all honor and glory and power, and who would rule forever over a kingdom that would never be destroyed. Jesus triumphed by overcoming the temptation to avoid the cross and through His atoning death for our sins, as well as through His resurrection.

Therefore, we may view God as kind to Adam and Eve and us by assigning the curse of death for sin, but providing eternal life through faith in the Resurrected One, Jesus. Jesus, the way, the truth and the life (John 6:14), is the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Him will live, even if he dies (John 11:25).

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you. – 1 Peter 1:3-4.

Now we know that we live in a fallen world. We know this from Scripture and from the evidence around us – the decay in nature, wars, animosity, depravity, hatred of the good, love for evil, and blasphemy against the holy God. Even “the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). Creation suffers decay because of the sins of humanity, the crown of God’s creation. Beginning with Adam and Eve in their fallen state, they were separated from paradise and from God. Furthermore, animals were now sacrificed on their behalf. The blood of the innocent animal allowed a temporary relief as a sin offering. God even sacrificed an animal by providing animal skin or hide for their clothing, in Genesis 3. God proved to be kind to them, even though they had disobeyed Him. We shall see through further study that there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22); the sacrifices provided a temporary atonement as a type for the permanent solution to our redemption given us through the blood of Jesus.

The First Murder – Genesis 4

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“What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!” God’s anguished words of accusation against Cain told a truth that rings out to us throughout history — no secret sin can be hidden from God. We know this truth even in forensic science today: you cannot expunge human blood. The murderous crime leaves a trail that cannot be erased. Others may not find the trail of blood, but the record still remains. Just as the Lady Macbeth ordered the blood stain removed in guilty delirium, cursing it, “Out, out…!” (Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 1), she could not erase blood from her guilt-ridden hand, even though no blood was physically there. The blood speaks, whether it be found or unfound. In God’s record book, there are no secrets that will not be revealed.

Cain did not seem to bear a conscience or the madness that overcame the Lady Macbeth, yet his guilt rested on him as surely as his brother Abel’s blood was received by the ground, which God used as a testimony against him. A consistent theme in the Bible says, “…be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23).

“My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.” – Jeremiah 16:17 [The Lord God speaking to His people]

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. – Ecclesiastes 12:14

God honored Abel’s sacrifice of worship, but did not have regard for Cain’s sacrifice. Abel offered the firstborn of his flocks with the choicest portions of the fat of his livestock. Cain brought some fruit from the ground, as he raised crops for a living. One opinion of scholars supports the idea of Cain’s produce itself being unacceptable, as the ground was under a curse. A similar view expresses his produce as improper or prohibited, as animal sacrifice was assumed to be required. According to either argument, Cain would have needed to buy some type of livestock, whether lambs, goats, bulls, etc., in order to present an acceptable offering on the altar. Nothing is said about whether Cain offered the “firstfruits” of his crops, but something was wrong with it. The firstfruits means that the first crops to ripen are offered as a sacrifice, an act of reverence. Now the scripture supports the offering of both the crops of the ground and livestock as a sacrifice (grain offerings and animal sacrifice in Deuteronomy, depending on the type of sacrifice). Therefore, the substance of Cain’s sacrifice was probably not in itself displeasing to God. No, Cain’s flawed sacrifice came from a heart that did not give the best of his produce. This is interpreted in the New Testament:

By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. – Hebrews 11:4

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 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. – 1 John 3:11-12

Writing about religious violence, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks observed, “The story of Cain and Abel is the most profound commentary I know on the connection between religion and violence.” (Quoted from Jonathan Sacks, Genesis: The Book of Beginnings; New Milford, CT: Maggid Books & The Orthodox Union, First Edition, 2009.) Perhaps Rabbi Sacks’ assessment overstates the case of religious violence, considering the lack of religion in Cain’s heart. He cites the theories of Freud, Rene Girard, and postmodernists as possible explanations for modern religious violence, but in Cain’s case, one simple explanation might be that of telling oneself that he is indeed doing the will of God. Did Cain think that God was wrong about his sacrifice? Another possible explanation for exerting his wrath on the favored one (Abel) would be to assert, like Nietzsche, that there is no God, and his rival did not deserve to live. As Cain was in conversation with God, such a perspective would not be possible. However, if one were to bear contempt toward God while not questioning His existance, it makes sense to likewise bear contempt for God’s creation. Cain cared not for God’s authority, nor for His advice to do the right thing in order to gain acceptance. Neither did he care for the life of his brother. His actions began with his paltry sacrifice to God, then his downcast countenance, and then steadily moved toward the wrathful act itself. Note the progression of Cain’s attitude, his evil deed, and finally his answer to God:

God: “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Cain took his brother into the field and murdered him.

God: “Where is your brother?”

Cain: “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

God: “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse….”

Cain: “My punishment is more than I can bear.”

The fact that one’s gift or sacrifice was not accepted could elicit either a self assessment — what did I do wrong? — or anger over the rejection. The first reaction issues from a humble and caring heart. In the case of a worshipper, such an attitude means one is genuinely trying to worship the Lord. The other reaction — anger, Cain’s reaction — signifies a quid pro quo, or appeasement, or placating God, which is known as the “gift relationship” (Richard Titmuss, The Gift Relationship; New York: Pantheon, 1971). The gift relationship in the ancient tribal world was used as a means of control, whereby the leader would bestow gifts as a means to power; the practice was further exercised to influence the gods for favor, such as a sacrifice to a god in exchange for bounty of rain and harvest, or protection from enemies. Even today, a criminal kingpin fosters dependency and coercion by debt through giving. “You owe me” exerts control over one’s subjects. Insincere worshippers who live a double life, attending church or temple on the holy day but practicing evil during the week, may deceive themselves, thinking God is placated. Does God owe them something? God’s answer emphatically condemns trying to placate Him with meaningless worship, as indicated by 1 Samuel 15:22: “To obey is better than sacrifice.” In Isaiah God proclaimed:

“Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me…I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.” – Isaiah 1:13

“When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!” – Isaiah 1:15

We immediately know that Cain’s heart had no humility or concern for pleasing God when he reacted in anger at the rejection of his gift. Cain was not worshipping, not humble, not caring, not in fear of the Lord God. Taken to the extreme, the gift relationship as far as the giver is concerned states: I give, therefore I rule (Sacks, Genesis, 2009). Cain wanted to rule by his own will and acknowledged no master, not even God Himself. With such an attitude, Cain took no responsibility for his actions and showed no remorse. In response to Cain’s fear of being killed, God, out of kindness, placed a mark on Cain as a warning to the rest of mankind. The warning signaled vengeance seven times for anyone who would potentially kill Cain.

Cain’s obvious contempt for God is synonymous to willing God’s nonexistance; in a sense Cain wanted to replace God with his own will to power. Even in this scenario, God was kind to him, offering a way for self-rule first when He said, “…sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Following up our quotation of Ephesians 4:26, verse 27 says, “Neither give place to the devil.” The serpent in the garden of Eden tempted Eve with this same argument for being like God. Taking the place of God, or being like God, and exerting one’s own will with contempt for others — the height of arrogance — truly places Satan on the throne of one’s life. However, as the Lord recommended to Cain, self control provides the avenue toward honor and acceptance. In contrast, a Nietzschean will to power denies God and places oneself (rather, the devil) on the throne as the lord of one’s life. It is no wonder that the Bible often refers to God as the Lord God, using God’s own title for Himself, I AM, and translating it to HE IS (Exodus 3:14-15). We call God “Lord” to acknowledge that HE IS and to make the distinction between the Lord God, who is our Creator and Master, and ourselves, His subjects.

Adam and Eve had now lost their second-born son, righteous Abel, who was murdered by his wicked brother, Cain. Their third son, Seth, came and issued forth a more righteous lineage. As we follow the line of both Cain and Seth, we see some similarities in names, such as two Lamechs and two Enochs. Seth’s Enoch walked with God and was taken to heaven without dying. Nothing noteworthy of Cain’s Enoch may be determined, except for Cain’s naming a city after him. As for Cain’s Lamech, he was evil, establishing polygamy and killing two people. Seth’s Lamech fathered Noah and prophesied that Noah would be a comfort to the people after the struggle of working the ground that God had cursed. “Noah” means “comfort” or “rest.”

Genesis chapter 4 ends with some hope with the life of Seth. People began calling on the name of the Lord. This worship likely issued from the progression of righteousness from the line of Seth that culminated in Noah’s life as the ray of hope in God’s upcoming judgment on mankind, the Great Flood.

Noah – Genesis 6 through 9

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Noah is renowned for building the ark and surviving the Great Flood that covered the earth. He is less well known for what occurred when he and his family came out of the ark and reestablished the human race on planet earth. We shall explore Noah’s legacy for humanity, and especially discuss both the judgment of God and the kindness of God.

The Great Flood was told in different but similar versions in many ancient cultures. From early Mesopotamian times, we have the epic of Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk in southern Mesopotamia who found the patriarch, Utnapishtim, a figure similar to Noah as survivor of a destructive flood. This tale and other adventures of Gilgamesh were found on a series of clay tablets and fragments written in the Akkadian language. Cultures in Africa and the Americas also have their own versions of a Great Flood that inundated the earth. Genesis says that the Flood covered the mountaintops and implies that it was worldwide, not a localized flood. The history in Genesis says that God was grieved that He had made mankind, because the mind of humanity was turned toward evil all the time (Genesis 6:5). Human violence filled the earth. God saw that only Noah was righteous; in fact, Noah walked with God. Therefore, God decided to destroy the earth but save Noah and his family, his sons, and their wives.

God told Noah to make an ark of gopher wood (Genesis 6:14). Gopher is the pronunciation of a Hebrew word of uncertain meaning, but it is often interpreted as the type of wood, such as cypress. Others think gopher referred to the type of cut used in construction. Noah at least knew exactly what God meant and obeyed God’s instructions, building his ark to the prescribed dimensions estimated to be at least 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet from top to bottom. God stated that a flood would come, and it appears the intended destruction would occur in 120 years (Genesis 6:3). Every creature with the breath of life in its nostrils but not aboard the ark would be destroyed in the Flood, including humans. At the appropriate time God would bring pairs of animals, male and female, to Noah for gathering into the ark’s three stories. Animals were subdivided into clean animals and unclean animals (Jewish kosher and non-kosher). Leviticus 11 gives the details for discerning between clean and unclean animals. For example, a dove was clean, while a raven was unclean; a cow was clean, and a horse unclean. The clean animals were taken in seven pairs of male and female, while the unclean animals were taken in single pairs of male and female. Clean animals could be used on the newly-dried earth after the Flood for two purposes: food and sacrifices to God.

Now righteous Noah obeyed God in completing all the instructions. It is commonly believed by the faithful that Noah preached the repentance of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5) during the long building of the ark, but nobody listened! Only Noah and his family were saved. The animals came into the ark along with Noah and family, and God closed up and sealed the door of the ark. Some believe this shows the cooperation between God’s planning and provision and man’s responsibility. The rains came as the earth’s underground reserves welled up, and the rain lasted 40 days and 40 nights as the ark rose on the surface above the destruction. After the rain stopped the surge lasted for 150 days. Eventually, the ark came to rest on a mountain of Ararat. The family and the animals had stores of food in the ark and survived. Noah sent out a raven and then a dove. The dove came back with an olive leaf, and on the third release of the dove it did not return. God finally told Noah to come out of the ark onto dry land.

Noah immediately built an altar and offered a burnt animal sacrifice to God. Then God established His covenant with Noah, commonly called the Rainbow Covenant. The Rainbow Covenant consists of God’s unilateral promises, along with instructions (commands) that mankind may or may not choose to obey! No matter what, God promised never again to destroy the earth and its inhabitants by a worldwide flood. This promise was sealed by God’s setting His rainbow in the sky when it rains. His other promises included the seasons and the movements of the earth, sun, and stars to mark the calendar, as well as days and nights, seedtime and harvest. The earth would always be well regulated, and humans could mark time and calendars by the reliable movements of nature. God also promised to remove the curse on the ground that had plagued mankind since Adam and Eve left the garden of Eden. The ground would now more easily produce crops and vegetation for the growing of food. Also with regard to food, animals could be eaten as food, and no longer just vegetation, but with the stipulation that humans abstain from the eating of blood.

Some instructions or commands to mankind included not only abstention from blood, but capital punishment for murder.

“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.” – Genesis 9:6

God renewed His blessing on humanity to be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth and all creatures; the fear and dread of humanity would come over all creatures.

Now we come to the role of Noah as the new patriarch over humanity, which we could judge to be a checkered history. Noah had three sons who had been in the ark, along with their wives. The sons were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Noah became a man of the soil and cultivated a vineyard. Thus begins a sad story of Noah’s debasement in the eyes of his sons. Noah, the hero of righteousness to his sons, basically got drunk and fell into a stupor, naked. We may recall that with Adam and Eve, their nakedness became the first thing for which they felt shame after they sinned and disobeyed God. Nakedness is almost synonymous with shame when seen in the context of vulnerability to sin. In fact, in Hebrew the word for naked sounds very similar to the word used to describe the serpent (Satan) in the garden of Eden. The adjective for the serpent (Satan) was crafty. Crafty Satan knew this, so what crafty device led Noah to his drunken condition when he was discovered by his son, Ham? We do not know whether he became innocently drunk, although this seems unlikely, or whether he was tempted to drown his sorrows in alcohol. As obedient to God as Noah had been to date, he alone had survived with his family, of all the human race. Had he succumbed to survivor’s guilt or survivor’s syndrome? Genesis is tacit on this topic of motive or emotional response by Noah.

One thing we do know from the account of Noah: his words are not recorded throughout the anti-deluvian period and during the Flood. Repeatedly the scripture says he obeyed God just as he had been instructed, yet no words are recorded. Now we know in the case of several biblical men and women of God that they contended with God. Abraham reasoned with God in Genesis 18 and said, “Far be it from you…to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike,” and “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” And he pleaded with God, if only ten are righteous in the city, will you spare it? In Genesis 14 he fought a righteous battle, apparently without direct instructions from God, to save his nephew, Lot. There seemed to be an initiative toward righteousness in Abraham’s heart that did not wait for instructions or ask permission. One theory proposes that the scripture makes a subtle difference in Noah’s relationship with God and Abraham’s that seems to support Noah’s passivity and Abraham’s proactive righteousness. “Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9), but speaking to Abraham, God said, “Because you are wholehearted, walk before Me” (Genesis 17:1). In the Midrash on Genesis, the Bereshit Rabbah 30:10, Rabbi Yehudah gives an analogy of this distinction with a parable of a king with two sons, one fully grown, and the other still a boy. The grown son would walk before the king, while the boy son would be taken by the hand and walk with the king. I do not know whether this should be so interpreted in gauging the spiritual maturity of Noah (the “boy son”) and Abraham (the “grown son”), but perhaps we can understand Noah’s vulnerability.

We do, at least, know that blind obedience to God may be acceptable — after all, Abraham tried to sacrifice his son, Isaac, under God’s orders, yet against Abraham’s whole being. (God’s angel stopped Abraham from going through with sacrificing Isaac.) Nevertheless, God did not intend for us to be robots of righteousness; otherwise, there would be no choice of righteousness rather than wickedness in the first place. We know furthermore that Noah reacted with his first and only speech in the scriptures (Genesis 9:25-27). The speech was not pretty and spewed out curses on Ham’s son, Canaan, but with blessings for Japheth and Shem. We know from biblical history that the curse and the blessings of Noah came to pass. Ham’s son, Canaan, established the tribes and nations of the land of Canaan, which became an ungodly place judged by God and conquered by the descendants of Shem, the Israelites. The Israelites became especially favored as the people of God’s covenant promises, including the Messiah, the anointed one: that is, Jesus. The Japhethites became many successful nations that allied with the descendants of Shem. The fateful pronouncements of Noah in Genesis 9 could suggest prophecy given to him by God, although spoken in anger in the case of Ham’s son, Canaan. The other possibility is that Noah’s forecast issued from his own heart but came to pass anyway, whether by God’s will or (very unlikely) coincidence. We are not certain.

Noah’s legacy appears to be that of the flawed hero of faith. We cannot read of any concern for the future of his descendants, for the account in Genesis does not suggest Noah’s concern, nor his prayers, nor any pleadings for his descendants’ walk with God. Without such a record and, in fact, no mention of it, we do not know what went on in Noah’s heart. As we are reading the inspired Scripture, I think not knowing in this case is best for us; we know enough. We do see later in the biblical history how heroes of faith such as Abraham and Jacob and Joseph, Gideon and Elijah and Jeremiah would contend with God — question Him, reason with Him, wrestle with Him, but also obey Him.

This brings us to the account of God’s words in the narrative of Noah. God was the only recorded speaker until Noah gave his curses and blessings on his descendants; God had much to say! God’s first speech in the account of Noah appears in Genesis 6:3. He said, “My spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal — his days will be 120 years.” Two phrases in this sentence have obscure meaning from the ancient Hebrew: “My spirit will not contend” and “he is mortal.” Since humans continued to have lifespans over 200 years for several generations after Noah, rather than lifespan, scholars mostly believe that God was referring to the time remaining between God’s pronouncement of judgment and when judgment came by the Great Flood. The 120 years would give Noah time to build the ark, as well as time for people to repent. This interpretation is consistent with God’s kindness and patience, as we see from 2 Peter 3:9:

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

The Torah also refers to the patience of the Lord God in Exodus 34:6. When Moses asked to see God’s glory, the Lord God said He was “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness.” Apparently, in regard to Noah’s generation, even given 120 years, no repentance occurred, for only Noah and his family and his sons’ wives entered the ark. From the brief sentence by God in Genesis 6:3, “My spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal — his days will be 120 years,” we may surmise that Noah set the example for humanity, and even preached repentance, as mentioned by the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 3:19-20 and 2 Peter 2:5.

God was upset with the continual evil of humans, as shown by Genesis 6:4. The Nephilim, interpreted as either giants or fallen ones, were the offspring of the union of “the sons of God” with the “daughters of men.” This is a controversial verse that raises the theory of fallen angels (demons) mating with humans. However, the created order states each type or species of creature mated after its kind (Genesis chapter one), while angels are spirits and not human. Although some biblical passages refer to angels as sons of God, other passages refer to humans as sons or children of God. Calling humans “sons of God,” interchangeable with “children of God” in both Greek and Hebrew, applies to the righteous in passages such as Deuteronomy 14:1; 32:5; Psalm 73:15; Isaiah 43:6; 1 John 3:1-2, 10; etc. Another interpretation says that descendants of Cain (daughters) mated with descendants of Seth (sons of God), so that the daughters of Cain’s wicked legacy married the sons of Seth’s righteous legacy. Yet another theory refers to Bible passages (and Near Eastern literature) naming kings and powerful men as “sons of God.” In such a context, Lamech, the descendant of Cain, was a powerful, evil influence, yet a kingly “son” of God, broadcasting his boast to his two wives about killing men, in a poetical verse (Genesis 4:23). Regardless of any theory’s accuracy about sons of God and Nephilim, the point being made was that all humanity, even the descendants of Seth, had become corrupted by evil.

In the context of the Nephilim, probably the best interpretation of Nephilim would be demonized humans. The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (Nashville: Holman, 2019) agrees with this interpretation. At a minimum, humans were influenced by evil powers and were themselves evil. In keeping with their glorification of violence (Genesis 6:13), the Nephilim were mighty men (even giants), admired by men in spite of their wickedness, but fallen in God’s eyes. They were human, as seen from the context of Genesis 6:1-7, and God regretted having created them, and therefore decided to destroy them. We see that God decided to exercise His judgment on humanity for the continual propagation of evil. The mind of man had turned toward only evil all the time (Genesis 6:5), and only Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8).

God’s next speech included instructions to Noah to build the ark and prepare for housing and feeding the animals, and He began by saying that the earth was filled with violence because of all people (Genesis 6:13). As much wickedness as we find on earth today, we cannot say that the earth is filled with violence 100%, because of all people, 100%. But such was the case before the Flood, with the exception of Noah! To Noah God said to take seven pairs of every clean animal, male and female, and one pair of every unclean animal, male and female, and in seven days He would bring rain upon the earth for 40 days and 40 nights, “and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature that I have made” (Genesis 7:4). The animals came to Noah, obviously by God’s direction, and entered the ark (Genesis 7:8-9). The flood waters came and wiped out all breathing animals (Genesis 7:22), yet the ark floated.

Chapter 8 begins, “But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock” aboard the ark. The phrase “God remembered” repeats through the Scriptures when God honored His promise or covenant with humans. God does not forget and is always faithful. The hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” quotes Lamentations 3:22-23, which is assumed written by the prophet Jeremiah in one of the darkest times in Jewish history, the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. and the exile of the people of Judah. Even when things appear to be worst of all, God remembers His promises and His covenants with His people! So God “remembered” Noah and even the animals and began the retreat of the waters. The ark came to rest on the mountain of Ararat. When Noah and his family and the animals emerged, God made His covenant with Noah and spoke to Noah and his three sons. As mentioned, God said the calendar of the earth and the heavens would be reliable as long as the earth endured, and of course, no flood would ever again destroy all of humanity. Greater than this promise, God allowed for a rebirth of humanity’s right standing by giving us a second chance on earth. Humanity has failed again and again, and we still live on a fallen planet and are still subject to the wages of sin, our eventual death (Romans 6:23). Even so, we can turn to God and are given new opportunities, first through the covenants with Abraham and Moses and the children of Israel, and ultimately through the New Covenant in which God’s law is written on our hearts (Ezekiel 11:19; Romans 2:15) — the new covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ (Jeremiah 31:31; Luke 22:20).

God chose a flood to destroy humanity and every creature that had the breath of life in its nostrils. You may ask, why all the animals? Reading the creation history in Genesis chapter one, we see that God created the earth first, and then the universe around it. This contradicts the suppositions of modern science, but the creation history emphasizes that our planet was made to house God’s major creature in all creation, humans, who were made in God’s image. Animals support humanity for food, clothing, companionship in some cases, labor, and for centuries, transportation. They even provided the sin offering by their innocent blood sacrificed for the forgiveness of sins. Thus the sins of mankind brought destruction and suffering on nature, too. However, the symbol and the substance of a new beginning, the ark and its creatures aboard, ushered in a brand new start. The saved ones came forth from the watery grave of all humanity, a figurative baptism as described by the Apostle Peter (1 Peter 3:20-21). They emerged from the ark to a new life, a new beginning in which, for a while, God would be honored. Later, God’s redemptive plan through Christ, not for a while but for all time, would be eventually fulfilled, and is fulfilled in the lives of believing Christians. I close this article with a quotation of the Apostle Paul, writing of the symbolic baptism into the death of Christ:

6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. -Romans 6:6-11

The Sanctity of Human Life

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Recent history includes two world wars that killed scores of millions of people. Hitler’s evil empire attempted to wipe out the Jewish people in the Holocaust. Despots have continued attempted genocide and barbaric cruelty in several nations. Let us pose these questions: What would our world look like if all human life were valued? What would become of death at the hands of murderers and warmongers? Would genocide be unheard of? Would slavery and human trafficking be nonexistent? Would pornography and prostitution and drug vending and kidnapping be abolished? After the Great Flood desribed in the book of Genesis, the Lord God commented that “every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood” (Genesis 8:21).

God has shown us a better way. Respect for life even extends to other creatures. Animal sacrifice included one purpose of atonement for our sins. As the wages of sin is death (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23), the penitent would offer the life of the innocent animal on the altar to pay for his sin. God accepted this offering and forgave the sin, but the life of the animal had to be respected by abstaining from consuming its lifeblood.

“For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” – Leviticus 17:11

The taking of another person’s life indicates contempt for God Himself, as the murderer effectively despises God’s creation, man, who is made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). We are God’s image bearers and have many unique abilities that set us apart:

  • Reason and ingenuity
  • Communication
  • A sense and acknowledgment of eternity
  • The capacity to worship our Creator
  • Some limited creative power (but unlike God, we cannot create material out of nothing)
  • Choice with regard to good and evil
  • An eternal spirit
  • The capacity for the fruits of the Holy Spirit to be manifest in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

Murderers discard their relationship with mankind and their Creator by demonstrating the utmost contempt for others, as well as God Himself. Jesus described this attitude of heart as murderous from its core, which is expressed in human wrath and words of contempt. In fact, Jesus regarded such hateful words of contempt as the moral equivalent of murder (Matthew 5:21-22). The Apostle John wrote of this:

Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. — 1 John 3:15

For this reason we are commanded not to commit murder (Exodus 20:13), but to love one another (John 15:12). The act of kindness foils the evil tendencies, such as spiteful and hateful words tantamount to murder. As we nurture the good things of bearing God’s image, such kindness becomes apparent, even in how we greet one another (Matthew 5:47).

The punishment for murder varies, and in the United States its most drastic punishment comes after “capital murder,” defined as multiple killings, assassination, or murder combined with another major felony such as bank robbery, etc. These examples and the punishments vary from state to state, while some states have banned capital punishment. The Scripture gives one punishment, which is capital punishment — the execution of the murderer, also termed a life for a life. The rationale for biblical capital punishment is that we are made in the image of God, and the murderer is therefore accountable for the life of another by the forfeiture of his own life.

“Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.” – Genesis 9:6

However, is abortion murder? Perhaps legally abortion is not murder, but the laws of man and God’s word may not always agree. Now the arguments for and against abortion in the United States recently became quite heated after Roe v. Wade was overturned, with abortion regulation turned over to the states. The same arguments continue over so-called reproductive rights (an ironic misnomer) or the right to choose — the choice to kill the life within the mother’s womb. The attempt to justify abortion with semantics, referring to a fetus as a tissue mass and other euphemisms only serves to cloud the issue. This covers the fact of baby killing with a lie attempting to negate the reality of the infant’s death, which then strikes many women with remorse for a lifetime after the act. The word of God shows the Lord God’s attitude toward the fetus, the life of the unborn:

15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. – Psalm 139:15-16

Two brief accounts in the Bible refer to babies (not fetal mass or tissue mass) in the womb. The first example actually calls the fetuses babies. Genesis 25 relates the pregnancy of Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, who was suffering from twins in her womb (Jacob and Esau) who were jostling each other so much that she inquired of the Lord what was happening. His answer came with authority:

“Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” – Genesis 25:23

The seminal account of Jacob and Esau became the archetype of God’s sovereign choice that at times chose the dominance and blessing of the younger over the older offspring, which rings true in Hebrew and Jewish history in the lives of Jacob, Joseph, Gideon, and David. More important in this current discussion, the account of Rebekah’s twins tells us that God cares for children in the womb and foresees their future.

The second account of the child in the womb comes through the testimony of Jeremiah, who was called by God to be His prophet in the book of Jeremiah, chapter 1. God said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I set you apart” (Jeremiah 1:5).

I cannot help but wonder if our nation will be held accountable for some 63 million lives taken for the sake of convenience or the “right to choose.” Violence is condemned, and continuous and unabated violence brought about God’s judgment of humanity by the Great Flood. The next judgment will come by fire, according to 2 Peter 3:3-7,11. The prophet John the Baptizer emphasized this in Matthew 3:11 and Luke 3:16, when he said Jesus “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Baptism of the Holy Spirit we receive as believers in Christ; the fire of judgment those receive who are unbelievers. Jesus’ winnowing fork will gather up the wheat (the faithful) for His barn, and reserve the chaff (the wicked) to be burned with “unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17). Judgment is coming for those who take human life lightly, including devaluing the helpless in the womb for the sake of one’s convenience. The question for the guilty must be this: What will you do about it?

Repent, says the Lord. Confess before the Holy God and He will lift you up. Your confession, repentance, and faith helps you receive God’s gift, your salvation. Nothing you did in the past cannot be cleansed by the blood of the Lord Jesus, whose atonement is available to all who come to Him. By the mercy and grace of God through your receiving His Son, you may become a son or daughter of our Lord God (John 1:12).

Babel – Genesis 11:1-9

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Located in the plains of Shinar of northern Mesopotamia, Babylon, or Babel, ushered in the world of many languages and nations scattered over all the earth. The brief Babel narrative finds people in opposition to God, and tells of the scattering of the nations developed from the descendants of Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. How did the peoples of the earth in chapter 10 – the Table of the Nations – become so distinctly different and settle over the whole earth? In brief, God scattered them. The Babel account begins and ends with the Hebrew words, kal-ha-eretz, all the earth. This framing device gives a clue to the writer’s ingenious, compact method of imparting wordplay, repetition, and an hourglass literary device intended to convey the contrast between man’s foolish arrogance and the Lord God’s majestic power. Babel’s secrets are unlocked in just nine verses. The hourglass account of Babel presents itself like this:

The first two verses and last two verses provide two opposite narrations. Kal-ha-eretz, all the earth, had just one language and one common speech or vocabulary. This is the top of the hourglass. However, God confused their language and scattered the people over kal-ha-eretz, all the earth. This is the end of the account and the base of the hourglass.

The second set of two verses (verses 3 and 4) and the second-to-the-last set of two verses (verses 6 and 7) give two opposing discourses. In the first discourse the people say, “Come, let us bake bricks and use mortar,” and “Let us build ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens to make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of kal-ha-eretz.” In the opposing discourse, verses 6 and 7, God says, “If as one people with one language they can do this, there is no limit to what they can do. Come, let us go down and confuse their language, so they will not understand each other.”

The central verse (5) serves as the transition between the discourse of the people and the discourse of God and says that the Lord came down to see the city and the tower they were building. The fact that God “came down” gives us a clue that the heavens were not reached!

The final narration in verses 8 and 9 presents the opposite effect of the first narration. Their languages are now different and the people become scattered over all the earth, kal-ha-eretz.

They were building a tall ziggurat, a tower to reach the heavens, so that they could make a name for themselves. The tower of Marduk in Babylon reached a height of 300 feet and demonstrated the new technology of bricks of mud and mortar made of tar or asphalt. The new method of construction gave taller structures more strength, and for certain, gave them confidence in their enterprise. The city was very possibly under the supervision of Nimrod, a descendant of Ham and Cush, and a king of this region. Mesopotamia included ancient Sumer, the cradle of the first civilization after the Great Flood. Unfortunately, God’s directions to the people included being fruitful and multiplying – a task they had no problem accomplishing – but also spreading out over all the earth, kal-ha-eretz.

The ancient problem of hubris so famous in the Greek tragedies of Euripides, Aeschylus, and Sophocles had a much earlier beginning with Babel. This in part is what God meant when He said, “If as one people with one language they can do this, there is no limit to what they can do.” He was not speaking of great undertakings, but of great sin, arrogance, hubris. Essentially, the people succumbed to Eve’s temptation in the garden of Eden, the idea of being like God. In this case, to be as gods the people thought they could reach the heavens and make a name for themselves. The wordplay becomes a mnemonic for the sin. In Hebrew the phrasing sounds alike for name – shem – and heavens – shamayim. “Let us reach shamayim and make shem.” If we consider the dominance of consonants over vowels, the two words sound remarkably close. The phrasing of wordplay and the tight structure of this account would have been helpful to Moses’ listeners as they heard the reading of the new scripture. Availability of the manuscript would have been limited and many people were illiterate, a good reason for getting their attention orally in a memorable way.

Moses, the presumed author, further enhanced the wordplay by repeating the words for heavens and the earth – shamayim and ha-eretz – echoing Genesis 1:1, the first sentence of the Bible:

In the beginning created God the heavens and the earth.

Bereshit bara Elohim et has-shamayim et ha-eretz.

– Genesis 1:1

The account of Babel therefore has something to do with the distinction between the heavens and the earth. A Psalm of David gives an important clue:

The highest heavens belong to the Lord,

but the earth He has given to mankind.

– Psalm 115:16

The peoples’ overweaning presumption was their attempt to become God, in effect doing away with Him – Nietzsche would say killing God – as they would take His place and make a name for themselves. This sin contained the seed of perhaps greater arrogance than their disobedience to the commission God had given them at Ararat, when the Lord spoke to Noah and his three sons, saying to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth (Genesis 9:1). Surely they had multiplied, but they chose to remain concentrated on the plain of Shinar, the land between the rivers (Tigris and Euphrates). They even said as much in 11:4 – “Otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.“

In a sense the Lord God laughed at their prideful arrogance. Imagine the Almighty One examining their ziggurat, the 300-foot tower of Babel, as He descended from the highest heavens to see their paltry work. The confusion of the language occurred easily, at God’s command, just as God said to Abraham,

“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” – Genesis 18:14

Further wordplay occurs with the words for brick, L-V-N in Hebrew, and confuse, N-V-L. This reversal reinforces how God reversed their intention by confusing the language and scattering them.

We may further observe that the name they made for themselves had quite the opposite of the intended effect. The name of the city became Babylon, or Babel, which sounds like confusion.

Now mankind did not fully learn the lesson of Babel. At least 30 ziggurats have been found in ancient Mesopotamian ruins. Some have inscriptions about reaching the heavens. Many cultures have built pyramids and tall structures to reach the heavens for religious purposes, making a “shem” for themselves by reaching “shamayim.” However, in effect, God’s purpose for mankind – to fill the earth – came about from God’s will exercised at Babel. The moral for readers today may be found in the words of Jesus as he taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer:

“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Oh, that we could deny our tendency for self-glorification and self-deification and self reliance, independent of our Creator! If we could only spurn the temptation of Eve to be like God (Genesis 3:5). The better path follows our Lord’s example. We may pray this: “Lord, may your will be done.”

The Battle for Self-Control

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The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans chapter 7 that he waged a war with himself. In Paul’s day, the battle of self-control was not a new concept by any means. Solomon wrote of this in Proverbs.

Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city. – Proverbs 16:32

We know of course that the battle of self-control is a universal human condition that is not confined to Judeo-Christian Scriptures and writings! About four centuries after Solomon, Plato wrote of this as the war against oneself. In his Socratic discourses, Laws, Book I, Plato asserted that victory over oneself was superior to victory in war or battle, while self-defeat was both “the worst and the most shameful” defeat. We may ascertain the moral implications of self-defeat from such sins as unholy wrath, violence, hatred, profanity, impurity, intemperance, immorality, dishonesty, graft, self-indulgence in myriad ways, and the more “socially acceptable” indulgences such as gossip, complaining, and even worry. The long list of our potential self-defeating sins, which goes beyond what I’ve only begun to name, suggests that we have a sin problem that even the best of men and women struggle to keep in check.

Even the Apostle Paul struggled, writing to the church at Rome that although his mind wanted to do right, his sinful nature would at times get the better of him. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! – Romans 7:19-25

As humans, the wiser of us crave deliverance from the sin that wages war against our minds; more so, as Christians in love with God’s moral code of conduct in His Holy Book, we long for deliverance from the sin that wages war against our mortal body and wrestles against our spiritual being. We cannot win this war alone, which is one reason why God has given us His Holy Spirit to resist temptation.

11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. – Romans 8:11-13

Now Paul, of course, was writing about spiritual life and death, just as Jesus claimed in John 11:25, when our Lord said, “He who believes in Me will live, even if He dies.” Our spiritual living, even though we die, is our resurrection, just as Jesus said in the same passage, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Yet with faith, our active belief and trust in Christ, we are able by the promised Holy Spirit in us to go about putting to death the sinful deeds of the body. Therefore, Paul and we the faithful can say, “Thanks be to God who delivers us through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 7:25).

Do you have trials and temptations, as the hymn says? Then “Take it to the Lord in prayer.” Do not fight the battle for self-control alone. We have the promised Holy Spirit within us who came to our aid the moment we first professed Christ as our Savior. As the Apostle Peter said, the promised Holy Spirit “is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39). Now this is how we know the Spirit of God is in us: by how we live our life according to the Word of God. Check yourself against His Holy Book. This is a beginning to see the evidence of Christ in us: Galatians 5:22-23, which says “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

We put to death those evil deeds and desires on a daily basis, even as we take up our cross (Matthew 16:24). Paul wrote to the Colossians that they “died,” and their life was “hidden with Christ in God,” so that they, therefore, could put to death their earthly nature (sin), while Christ was their life (Colossians 3:3-5). How then is our life “hidden with Christ in God?” Perhaps you have heard the hymn, “He Hideth My Soul.” Jesus is our strength, and He covers us as we stand behind His greatness, a bulwark against the wiles of the devil. We do not stand alone against the forces of evil, but as Michael the archangel said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you” (Jude 9). Satan the accuser fights against us to use our own sinful past to weaken our faith, and by all accounts we are not worthy for salvation, and not worthy to stand before the Lord’s throne of grace, and yet by the grace of God who has redeemed us, we do not stand by our own power, but rather, we stand by the power of the cross and the risen Savior. Therefore, we stand in the power of the resurrection of our Lord. We overcome the evil one “by the blood of the Lamb,” Jesus, and by “the word of [our] testimony” (Revelation 12:11). When we deny ourselves according to Matthew 16:24, we become dead to self, but alive to Christ. Is your life “hidden with Christ in God?” Ask yourself: Is Christ your life? Where do you focus your attention each day? Just as your thoughts govern your actions, then your thoughts of Christ will fill up your mind and your actions. “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).

By the power of the cross and our risen Christ, whose testimony is sure and whose promised deliverance is our steadfast hope, the Lord bless your spirit with His Holy Spirit within you. Amen.

What’s in a name? – Shem’s Legacy for the Messiah

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After the Great Flood, Noah and his family began their new life on an unpopulated planet earth. Noah planted a vineyard and got drunk tasting his wine. We can make special note of the aftermath of Noah’s drunken nakedness after he and his family exited the ark and settled down. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham revealed Noah’s nakedness by telling his brothers, Shem and Japheth. Then good Shem and Japheth walked backwards into Noah’s chamber with a blanket, averting their eyes and covering their father. Now Shem was not only his name, but actually was the Hebrew word for name. There is more to a name than its pronunciation. In the Old Testament, which mirrored much of ancient Hebrew culture, the naming of the newborn would at times attempt to capture the person’s anticipated character, or the circumstances of his birth. Today we say that we want to honor a person’s good name. In this sense, the Old Testament referred to the good name of a person, and even his renown or fame. We could say that Shem meant not only “name” but also “fame” or “renown.”

The use of the word shem for fame may be found in examples such as this one, which addresses Solomon’s fame for his wisdom:

We know so little of Shem from the Flood account and thereafter, but we do read of the blessing that Noah pronounced after he woke up from his drunken state. Noah blessed Shem and Japheth, and especially noted the future of Shem’s descendants. There developed a Semitic group (“Shemites”) that resided in Ur of southern Mesopotamia – Ur being a Chaldean city. Abram, later named Abraham, came from Ur as the tenth generation from Noah after the Great Flood. Now Abram’s family had moved northward to the Mesopotamian city of Haran, and from there God spoke to him. We make note of the commissioning of Abram to leave his home and family and travel to an unknown country, Canaan (Genesis 12:1-5). The blessing of Shem given by Noah was realized through Abraham’s descendants, who became the Hebrew people. The promise God gave Abraham through a sacred covenant pledged that all nations would be blessed through Abraham. Most of Genesis tells the beginnings of the redemptive story that began with Abraham and his descendants and ultimately resulted in the life of the Messiah, the anointed kingly One who would save all people of all nations who place their faith in Him.

As an aside to our theme and complementary to it, consider Solomon, whose name became synonymous with wisdom:

For he [Solomon] was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Carcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame [shem] was in all the nations round about. – 1 Kings 4:31

How much more does the name of the Messiah, Jesus, apply for all humanity! The theme of the entire Bible focuses on how we find eternal life through this Messiah, this Anointed One, who in Greek of the New Testament is known by the word for Messiah, which is Christ. This may be a lot to digest if you are new to the Bible, but the history and prophecy gradually becomes manifest through the entire Bible as we proceed.

What’s in a name? The name of the Holy One gives His character of faithfulness, holiness, mercy, and grace. God’s name (Exodus 3:14-15) represents Himself, and His Son, Messiah, also holds the essence of His greatness. We first begin at the beginning by acknowledging that the promised offspring who would drive back the devil was mentioned in Genesis 3:15, as the One who would destroy the devil’s head. As mentioned in “The First Sin,” a previous article on this site, Genesis 3:15 is known as the first citing of the gospel of the Savior of mankind. The verse is therefore called the protoevangelium. By this kernel of the gospel imbedded at the beginning of the Bible, in Genesis 3:15, we understand that God’s gospel is for each of us. In fact, He knows each of us by name. How can we assert this? We know from the pronouncements of God and His servants in Scripture:

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. -Psalm 139:16

Thus wrote David, the Psalmist, of his own beginning in the womb as God formed his body. The Lord Himself affirmed this when He commissioned Jeremiah as a prophet to the nations in the book of Jeremiah:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” -Jeremiah 1:5

The Lord Himself looks into our hearts and deeds; He cares about what we think and do!

“I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” -Jeremiah 17:10

We know the Lord is watching each of us:

13 The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. 14 From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; 15 He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works. -Psalm 33:13-15

David wrote of a relationship with the Holy God in Psalm 23:

You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies. -Psalm 23:5

We have a similar Scripture in the New Testament, in Revelation 3, by the voice of Christ:

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.” -Revelation 3:20

God watches you; God knows you. His knowledge is infinite (Psalm 147:5); how much more may He know about each and every one of His image bearers, human beings (Genesis 1:27)! Whoever calls on God will be saved (Acts 2:21), and the Lord even calls you to bring you unto Himself (Acts 2:39). By these personal details ordained between God and people, we know that He knows you by name! What’s in a name? It is your personal invitation to trust the Lord in faith and call on the name of the Lord.

The Standard for Ethics

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How do the laws in human history relate to ethics today? We may read of the laws of mankind from ancient times, such as the Code of Hammurabi and the Ten Commandments, combined with the laws in the Hebrew people’s teachings, the Torah. Many centuries later, Plato wrote an extensive, though unfinished, dialogue entitled Laws, which attempted to analyze legal codes of various Hellenic countries of the 5th Century B.C. In comparing these ancient codes and commentary, we find one particularly significant property in common, which is the appeal to deity in one form or other for establishing the authority of the laws. The rationale for appealing to such authority has its basis in the absolute standard of purity, without equivocation or error; otherwise, ethics and faith in God Himself have no standard but are reduced to mere relativism. Therefore, a comparison of ancient legal codes and commentary with the Bible would seem not only appropriate but vital.

Even though earlier legal codes of a Sumerian culture are also extant, these appear much more fragmented and incomplete than Hammurabi’s. The Code of Hammurabi dates back to the 18th Century B.C. under a Mesopotamian leader, probaby King Hammurabi himself, in the region of the Euphrates. Oddly, the most complete preservation of the code, the basalt stele of Hammurabi, was discovered in Susa, Iran (Persia) near the border with modern-day Iraq, and stands reassembled today in the Louvre Museum. Scholars surmise that the stele had been moved to Susa by force of war; nevertheless, other fragments found in the Near East point to the code of Hammurabi having a lasting influence across several cultures over some centuries in the overall region. The stele has a prologue and 282 legal paragraphs inscribed in cuneiform in the Akkadian (Semitic) language, followed by an epilogue, and it prescribes the legal requirements for such topics as family and civil law, business law, property law, and criminal law. The legal paragraphs are amazingly advanced in both format and concept. The casuistic style for each legal paragraph states “if” such-and-such, “then” such-and-such shall apply as to the legal remedy, and either a reward or punishment. Probably the most notable paragraph similar to a biblical nature mentions exacting punishment for the crime of violence – “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” as later cited in the law of Moses: Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21; and repeated in the New Testament in Matthew 5:38. The carved relief at the top of the stele depicts the king revering Shamash, also known as Utu, the Babylonian god of the sun and justice.

Another remarkable code chronologically after Hammurabi’s would of course be the law of Moses as found in the parchment manuscripts of the Hebrew books of instruction – the Torah, consisting of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (written c. 15th Century BC). The earliest extant manuscripts of the Torah today, along with many other Hebrew scriptures and Jewish writings, were discovered between 1946/1947 and 1956 at the caves of Qumran near the Dead Sea. They were probably copied by Essene scribes dating between the 3rd and 1st Centuries BC, with some manuscripts even earlier, and some later. The advance in scholarship and corroboration finds a remarkable similarity in the wording and clarity of translation between the previously “oldest” extant manuscripts and the Dead Sea Scrolls. The law of Moses found in the Torah reveals the law code of God to His people that organizes around the Ten Commandments presented to the first generation of the liberated Hebrews who exited Egypt (Exodus chapter 20), and then a second time to the next generation as the people prepared to enter the Promised Land (Deuteronomy chapter 5). We may note that the Ten Commandments give four “vertical” commandments on how to relate to the Supreme Being, followed by six “horizontal” commandments on how to relate to fellow humans. The summary commandments for each of these two categories may be found in the narration and admonitions by Moses to the people. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 provides the famous “Shema,” meaning “Hear,” which states the oneness of God and the Greatest Commandment – to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. The first four of the Ten Commandments relate to honoring God as the only true and living God, the use of His name, and keeping the Sabbath, and all fall under the Greatest Commandment, Deuteronomy 6:4-5 – the Shema. The Second-Greatest Commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself, lies deep in Leviticus in the context of not holding a grudge, but to love instead, in Leviticus 19:18. “Love your neighbor as yourself” provides the primary emphasis and reason for the last six of the Ten Commandments, which include:

  • Honor your father and mother.
  • Do not murder.
  • Do not commit adultery.
  • Do not steal.
  • Do not bear false witness.
  • Do not covet.

This law code includes the simple major and universal Commandments but branches out into the sacrifical system of worship and animal blood atonement for sin, as well as various cultural regulations, sacred holidays, and worship requirements that provide a type for Christ, the projected Messiah, who was to come centuries after Moses. We may state unequivocably that the law of Moses points to the Divine, and as Bible believers, we say on faith that it comes from God.

We now come to the bulwark of Western legal and political thought, the philosphers of ancient Greece, which included the Big Three: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Of these, we may focus on Plato’s final work in his old age, his dialogue, Laws. Today Plato’s discussion of laws may be criticised for its style and antiquated opinions, which at times seem to border on the naive. However, the major point comes from the statements of Plato’s character in the dialogue, the Stranger of Athens, as he propounds the divine nature of good law. “The laws of the Cretans,” he says to Clinias the Cretan, “are held in superlatively high repute among the Helenes. For they are true laws inasmuch as they effect the well-being of those who use them by supplying all things that are good. Now goods are of two kinds, human and divine” (Laws, Book I). He further expounds on humanity’s dependence on divine direction. We may wonder whether, assuming pagan gods to be nonexistent, a “divine” order or direction from the ancient Hellenic world would have any relevance, even in the 5th Century BC. The answer must come from their perspective, which would be affirmative. Although at times Plato’s Athenian Stranger mentioned God as the source for good law, we may only gather that he referred to someone in the ancient Greek pantheon. In the reading, one may find a reference to Zeus and Pythian Apollo. Now Zeus in general would be regarded in Hellenic culture as of highest rank, the deific king of Olympus. However, Apollo, a god of great influence in multiple areas of human endeavor, specifically became involved in Greek religious tradition as the source for the power of the oracle at Delphi, the ancient Greek center of the universe. There at Delphi on the Bay of Corinth, Pythia, the oracular priestess, practiced her art of divination. Belief in law from the mouth of Apollo through Pythia had great weight to the Hellenic peoples.

Our thesis, after some comparison of legal and religious cultural references, lays out the universal need for authority for objective ethical principles, which we may further focus as commandments and laws of religious importance; namely, there must be a standard by which ethics are judged that stand independent of mere opinion and relativism. Even as Bertrand Russell, a self-described agnostic or atheist, admitted, he could not definitively judge goodness and badness (right and wrong) without requisite “non-natural properties of goodness and badness” (Stanford, 2021). Therefore, we may surmise that, according to Russell, without the supernatural ethical standard, objective ethical correctness would be reduced to debate. God must exist for an objective ethical standard, and as God said, “I AM” (Exodus 3:14). Remarkably, the ancient philosophers and lawgivers tended to agree on divine direction, if only ostensibly to justify the laws. Divine decree was invoked by Hammurabi, Moses, and Plato. Bible believers say that God will judge the people of the world, past, present, and future, and His judgment is right. We have His Book by which we may know His standard, in the pages from Genesis to Revelation.

For God shall bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. – Ecclesiastes 12:14

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. -Hebrews 4:13

We are fortunate to have the hope of God’s promises to believers, and may call on the name of the Lord and plead in faith for His grace and mercy, turning to Christ, the author and finisher of our faith (Romans 10:9-10; Hebrews 12:2). We are privileged to live out our faith, not under judgment, but under grace and a sound mind in Christ (Romans 8:1; 12:1-3). May the Lord’s peace be with you.

REFERENCES:

Britannica Online, britannicaonline/topic/Britannica-online. “Code of Hammurabi.” Accessed 10

February 2024.

Britannica Online, britannicaonline/topic/Britannica-online. “Dead Sea Scrolls.” Accessed 10

February 2024.

Britannica Online, britannicaonline/topic/Britannica-online. “Shamash.” Accessed 10 February 2024.

Plato, Laws. English trans. by R.G. Bury. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1926.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Russell’s moral philosophy,” under subtitle “1. The open

question argument and its aftermath: Moore’s influence on Russell,” revised 4 May 2021.

Abraham – A Blessing to All Humanity

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Genesis chapter 12 sets the stage for God’s plan to restore all humanity through a man, through his descendants, through a nation coming from that man, and through an eternal kingdom out of an Anointed One from that nation, the Messiah. It begins with the blessing given to Abram (Abraham) in Genesis 12:1-3.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Abram came from Semitic lineage, the 10th generation after Noah of the Great Flood and descended from Shem. His hometown was Ur, a Chaldean city of southern Mesopotamia, but his father and his clan moved to Haran in northern Mesopotamia. There in Haran God spoke to Abram, telling him to go to a strange land. He left his clan behind with the exception of his wife and servants, and Lot, his nephew.

We may ask, why did God choose Abram? He most assuredly was a righteous man, but were there not others of righteous stature? The Hebrew written code of law did not yet exist, although Abram was likely to have known of Chaldean or even Babylonian law codes. One way or other, Abram was influenced more by the tradition of Noah and Shem than that of the non-Semitic peoples of Babylon and the descendants of Ham. Abram already knew of God, and he knew something about right versus wrong. And then God made Himself known to him.

We may ask, why must Abram go to a new land? What significance did this targeted land have? It was already occupied by the descendants of Canaan along the Mediterranean coast and extended parallel to the Jordan River. Several people groups lived there, including the Amorite tribes common to the Fertile Crescent, a swath of property shaped like a sickle or crescent that stretched around the northern and western borders of today’s Arabian Desert. Canaan, as the land was called (alternately Palestine, after the Philistine people), included an area from just south of Damascus to the southern desert, just north of the Sinai peninsula. The Old Testament histories cited Israel’s presence in Canaan as running north to south from Dan to Beersheba, and east to west from the Jordan River to the coast. The land could also be regarded as extending east of the Jordan by the Israelite-occupied territories of Reuben, East Manasseh, and Gad.

Canaan was becoming a major corridor for trade and communication between the northern sections of the Near East, as well as the land of modern-day Turkey and Europe, and Egypt. If God wanted to establish an influential nation for exercising His divine plan for humanity, perhaps this was why He chose Canaan. If God were to choose neutral ground, could this have been a reason for selecting Canaan, at the crossroads of three continents? Today we cannot say that Christianity and Judaism are Western, Eastern, or African. We might also include the third Abrahamic religion from the descendants of his second wife Hagar’s son, Ishmael. No, these monotheistic faiths are not truly confined to one continental locale, but central to the major population expansions in world history. More specifically to God’s redemptive plan, we may affirm that Messiah, as Savior of mankind, relates to all nations. With his blood he “purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).

A further answer to our question may perhaps be found in Genesis where God spoke to Abram again:

13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” -Genesis 15:13-16

The Lord was speaking to Abram in greater detail about the birth of the nation coming out of Abram, the nation whereby all the nations of the earth would be blesssed. Specifically, He was speaking of the Hebrew people’s captivity in Egypt, where they indeed would become enslaved, but rescued and brought out of that place under God’s “mighty hand and outstretched arm.” The conquest of Canaan would not happen according to the passage above, verse 16, until the sin of the Amorites had reached its full measure. What sins would justify the wrath of God and the conquest of the land? The seven tribes of Canaan eventually engaged in every form of wickedness imaginable: idolatry, human sacrifice to false gods, sorcery, bestiality, and every kind of sexual perversion imaginable, to name a few.

We could next ask, if there were seven nations of Canaan, why did the Lord specifically mention the Amorites? Abram settled in Canaan near the town of Hebron, south of Salem (Jerusalem), and near Mount Hebron, the highest peak in Canaan. His settlement for his extensive flocks, herds, and employees came about from a treaty with three Amorite brothers, and he dwelt near the oaks of one brother, Mamre the Amorite. Abram had not yet purchased property of his own in Canaan, so the treaty was helpful for both Abram and the Amorites. They in fact fought together against some marauding kings who had kidnapped his nephew, Lot, successfully rescuing Lot and family and returning them home. Although God had special regard for Abram, the man was human and had to avoid entangling himself in compromising situations, a circumstance that his nephew had not avoided. Of all the tribes and nations of Canaan, Abram probably knew the Amorites the best.

Abram became the patriarch by whom the whole world would be blessed, but the germination of such a Divine plan came about through the trials that tested his faith. He was tested as he agreed to leave his home and go to the unknown land of Canaan. By faith he fought against the kingly alliance that had captured Lot, his nephew, and prevailed. By faith he gave a tenth of the booty from that battle to King Melchizedech, the priest of Salem. By faith he believed God’s promise that he would have a son and a multitude of descendants and several nations from him, even though he and his wife were childless and advanced in years. See a summary of his life in Hebrews11:8-12. “Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).

This next test of faith was the hardest of all: By faith Abraham (his new name) listened to God’s instructions to offer his beloved son, Isaac, as a sacrifice on the altar; and God rewarded him by staying his hand and providing a ram as the sacrifice instead.

The standard for righteousness, in fact, is faith in God: belief that He will honor His promises and provide for our needs. We may not be perfect, but God’s promise is forgiveness as we turn in faith to His Son, Jesus the Messiah.

If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. -1 John 1:9

The Cost of Following Christ

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Jesus had much to say about the cost of being His disciple; in fact, true discipleship will cost you everything, and yet, the value of His grace is limitless! This quote from Jesus compares such a cost with the practicality of war:

31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. -Luke 14:31-33

We also know of the cost of a stronger nation at war against a weaker power, which holds out with great resistance and perseverence, because the weaker power’s homeland means everything to the people, even life itself. The stronger power must be forced to weigh the cost, even weighing the diminishing returns from a seemingly endless war. America has witnessed this from the Vietnam War and the war in Afghanistan. Russia may be experiencing this principle in its war against Ukraine, and also suffered heavy losses in the 1980s in the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. In fact, the principle of diminishing returns goes back in history to ancient times. Aristotle referred to the fading Persian empire’s struggle against Atarneus, a stronghold town on the coast of Asia Minor (Politics, Book II, iv, 10), in which the city’s mega-wealthy financier, Eubulus the Bithynian banker, suggested to the Persian general, Autophradates, that he count the cost in time, expense, and lives to take the city. Autophradates wisely withdrew the seige from Atarneus.

Now Jesus’ example in Luke chapter 14 refers to the weaker power offering peace terms when the cost would be too great. We have therefore two examples from history: the diminishing returns of the stronger power in one example, and the likely defeat or excessive cost of the weaker power in another example. Our moral of these illustrations pertains to becoming a Christian. To be a Christian, Jesus says, you must go “all in.” The cost is your life, whether literally in the case of your martyrdom, or the cost over your natural lifetime as a slave of Christ.

Then He said to them all: 23 “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” -Luke 9:23-24

Self-denial places others ahead of yourself, and the motivation is love. The cost of discipleship is everything, but the gain is everything for eternity. Oh, the amazing riches of Christ (Romans 9:23; Colossians 1:27; Hebrews 11:26)!

Now the cost of discipleship to Jesus may be regarded, in the case of the strong Christian, as the stronger power waging war on the weaker, who may perhaps find himself casting his pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6) in the hope of saving the irretrievable, only to sink himself in the mire of the other’s depravity. Once you have laid out the gospel and your arsenal of prooftext – that is, your memorized Scriptures that show the way of repentance and salvation in Christ – it becomes necessary to “dissolve the bands” (T. Jefferson) that may lead to evil influence. As the apostle said, once you have warned the wayward one, watch that you yourself be not tempted. Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good character,” which Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:33, quoting from the Greek Poet, Menander.

In the case of an ordinary Christian, or a new Christian, or even a weaker Christian, how do you ask for peace against the stronger power? One must not negotiate with evil, especially the devil. Surrender, not to evil, but to the risen Savior. Do as Paul described in Colossians 3:1-3; namely, hide your life in Christ. As you deny self and hide your life in Christ, the Lord Jesus stands between you and evil. We are all weak in one way or other, and Jesus knows your every weakness. Call on Jesus for protection. Take that temptation to the Lord in prayer. Such is the resistance of the saved, calling on the name above all names, Jesus. As James wrote, resist the devil, and he will flee (James 4:7). Is he fleeing from your power? No, he is fleeing from you because of who is in you, Jesus, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).