December 24 - Genesis 1-11
It is a little unusual to be reading Genesis here at Christmas time, but we will read it again more slowly to start the new year. Maybe, this way it will sink in better. I do know that the Lord showed me something new this morning, as I read the first 11 chapters in one sitting. It gave me a different perspective on the beginning of history. I hope this section will be a blessing for you and that God will speak a special message to you, too.
The one thing that grabbed me this morning was how sin is the theme of these first 11 chapters. I had always focused in on the details of creation, the building of the ark, and of the tower of Babel. However, the recurring message is that man is continually falling into sin and that sin is causing trouble for everyone. Chapter 3 tells us about the original fall into sin by Adam and Eve after God had given them every advantage of creation in chapters 1 and 2. That sin led to the sinful nature and sin spreading to every human. Then, Cain killed Abel. Lamech killed a man. (4:23) The world was overwhelmed by violence so God destroyed it by a flood. Even Noah fell into sin, when he made the wine after the flood. Finally, the people wanted to build the tower just because they could, and God realized their self centered hearts. He knew they were going the wrong way, so He confused their languages and separated the people groups. All of this was the result of sin. This has always been the legacy of the human race from the beginning of time.
What is God doing about it? He is reaching out to us. He is providing a way out. He made the animal skins into clothes for Adam and Eve, so the animal died. I believe that was for clothes and for a sacrifice for their sins. After that we see people offering sacrifices to God. God punished Cain, but I believe He was trying to teach him a lesson, so he would turn to God. God taught Noah what to do to be saved from the flood by building an ark and collecting the animals. God was there at every turn leading the people to Him. The problem was that people chose not to listen or at least they did not follow as closely as they should have. Isn't that the same way today? God is reaching out to us, but are we listening? Do we ignore God? Do we go our own way? I think we do go our own way much too often. We do this partly because we do not see the seriousness of sin. It is a cancer that will destroy us and others if we don't allow God to remove it from us.
Let's resolve as the New Year approaches to take sin seriously and to ask the Holy Spirit to cleanse us, so we can walk closely with God in the coming year. If not, we will see the destructiveness of sin in our lives and in our families that we see here at the beginning of the Bible. God has not changed, and people have not changed. We must deal with reality and not our fantasies.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 12-16.
The one thing that grabbed me this morning was how sin is the theme of these first 11 chapters. I had always focused in on the details of creation, the building of the ark, and of the tower of Babel. However, the recurring message is that man is continually falling into sin and that sin is causing trouble for everyone. Chapter 3 tells us about the original fall into sin by Adam and Eve after God had given them every advantage of creation in chapters 1 and 2. That sin led to the sinful nature and sin spreading to every human. Then, Cain killed Abel. Lamech killed a man. (4:23) The world was overwhelmed by violence so God destroyed it by a flood. Even Noah fell into sin, when he made the wine after the flood. Finally, the people wanted to build the tower just because they could, and God realized their self centered hearts. He knew they were going the wrong way, so He confused their languages and separated the people groups. All of this was the result of sin. This has always been the legacy of the human race from the beginning of time.
What is God doing about it? He is reaching out to us. He is providing a way out. He made the animal skins into clothes for Adam and Eve, so the animal died. I believe that was for clothes and for a sacrifice for their sins. After that we see people offering sacrifices to God. God punished Cain, but I believe He was trying to teach him a lesson, so he would turn to God. God taught Noah what to do to be saved from the flood by building an ark and collecting the animals. God was there at every turn leading the people to Him. The problem was that people chose not to listen or at least they did not follow as closely as they should have. Isn't that the same way today? God is reaching out to us, but are we listening? Do we ignore God? Do we go our own way? I think we do go our own way much too often. We do this partly because we do not see the seriousness of sin. It is a cancer that will destroy us and others if we don't allow God to remove it from us.
Let's resolve as the New Year approaches to take sin seriously and to ask the Holy Spirit to cleanse us, so we can walk closely with God in the coming year. If not, we will see the destructiveness of sin in our lives and in our families that we see here at the beginning of the Bible. God has not changed, and people have not changed. We must deal with reality and not our fantasies.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 12-16.