Genesis

Genesis 7:21-22 - QT by Emily

"And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle. And of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life. Of all that was in the dry land died.”

The must have been so sad to see. People dying one by one slowly as the water continues to rise up and there's no way to survive that. This flood was over the whole earth not just where Noah was building the ark and it's sad to know that there was no one righteous except for Noah in the whole world. You know when it rains, they say that's God crying. I feel like God was weeping and mourning for his creation and that was the flood. God must've been so sad. The waters went up to where the mountains were covered. The world is becoming more and more wicked and soon there will only be very few righteous people that truly follow God. Let us be little fires around the world and shine brightly for others to see and be witnessed to. Let us continue to be like Noah and have a simple faith in God's plan for us.

Genesis 7:3 - QT by Emily

"Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.”

I now understand why God had Noah bring animals 2 by 2 male and female on the ark and that was to keep the seed alive because the animals are important. 7 clean so they can be used for sacrifice. 2 unclean of each animal male and female to reproduce. God wasn't going to start over with the creation of animals. Even the insects are important and were protected by the flood. It's amazing how all the animals obeyed to go in the ark. God gave us the responsibility to have dominion over the animals and to take care of them. Unfortunately, now, we see many animals abused and not taken care of correctly. At the same time, we shouldn't be praising animals either where you think of them more highly than God. God made the animals and insects for their own purpose and we has is own plan for each and every one of us. Let us stay close with God and follow the plan he has set for us with faith.

Genesis 6:17-18 - QT by Emily

"And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under Heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant: and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and they sons, and thy wife, and thy sons wives with thee.”

You can tell that God is very sad when he says this. He doesn't want to kill off all the creation He was made but he knows he has to. If it weren't for Noah, the whole earth would be wiped out but he spared Noah and is family. He also promised a covenant right after the flood. God had such specific requirements for the ark and Noah obeyed them all because he knew what was at stake. Our God is slow to anger, he loves us unconditionally but he is also just. The Great Tribulation is coming and let us be like Noah's family who stayed faithful an followed God's commands til the end. Let us follow God and not the world. Temptations are all around us but we have to stay put in the truth.

Genesis 6:1-2 - QT by Emily

"And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair: and they took them wives of all which they chose.”

I believe this was the start of a very wicked world. I wonder if the Cainites didn't marry with the Sethites, then would the world have gotten so wicked where every though was evil. We may never know but because of their compromises to marry a non-christian, they're example was set for others and that one big compromise led to other compromises. In this day and age, we don't even see many people get married. There are many single parents and if people do get married, there's often a divorce that follows. People don't take marriage seriously anymore and it seems like they didn't back then either. This is why we need to marry a strong Christian, it affects basically everything and God will lead you to that right person. We just have to follow his ways and not our own.

Genesis 5:24 - QT by Emily

"And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”

I think this is very interesting that God took Enoch and didn't want him to see death. It only really says that Enoch walked with God. Enoch seems to be special and he was called to not see death or go through the great tribulation. Noah on the other hand and many others were called for God's special purpose. God has a special purpose for each and every one of us. We don't all have to be pastors. We see in the bible that many were not but God called them to do many different things. Noah had the faith to build an ark, David was a king, Jonah was in... a whale. Some were prostitutes and some were tax collectors. God can use anyone and even though it may seem crazy. God uses anyone for extraordinary ways. We see this throughout the Bible and even now. What is God's special purpose for you?

Genesis 5:4-5 - QT by Emily

"And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: and all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.”

In the old days people probably lived to see not just great grandchildren but many generations of children growing up. I think because of this, Adam was able to teach the many generations about God the right way and how to walk in the truth. Nine hundred and thirty years is a long time. There is a distinct difference in Cain's line and Seth's and the line of Seth called upon the name of the Lord. Nowadays, people may only live to around 80-90 years and if you're healthy then maybe over a 100 year. Some don't even live to see their grandchildren. I think it's so important to teach our kids when they are young the word of God to keep their foundation strong in hopes that they will do the same for their children. Let us be the example Christ set for us to our future generations and to others around us.

Genesis 4:20-21 - QT by Emily

"And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.”

The line of Cain was given many gifts like running a business it seems, it seems, inventing new instruments, and knowledgeable in brass and iron. They were smart, creative, and good workers. The note says the Cainitic civilization may have been as splendid as Greece or Rome but the divine judgment is according to the moral state and not the material. God was looking at their hearts and it looks like they took after Cain and his wickedness. Lamech killed a man and he though God would avenge him seventy-seven gold more than Cain. Looks like Cain did not change and taught his people his way. We see the world today and it's like many are like Cain's people. They are stubborn in their own way, think only materialistically, and think of me, myself, and I. That is our society and we cannot be of the world and instead not of this world. Let us humble ourselves before God our create and check our hearts daily.

Genesis 4:13-14 - QT by Emily

"And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that everyone that findeth me shall slay me.”

You can tell that Cain is very cold with God in his answers. I wonder if Cain felt guilt after killing his brother because his response to the punishment seems as though he still thinks what he did was not that bad or wrong. He doesn't ask for mercy from God and says he can't even handle the punishment. Sin really took over Cain. God could have killed him right there on the spot too but he did not so God was merciful and gracious once again. Looking at Cain is really like looking at a serial killer like Ted Bundy who didn't think he was doing anything wrong. I think because Cain probably had the motive of killing Abel for awhile, when he actually did it, he was not phased. We really need to guard our hearts and have a more sensitive heart when it comes to sin. God was gracious then but judgement day is coming soon so let us have our hearts ready.

Genesis 4:7 - QT by Emily

"If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

God said this even though he knew what Cain would do. From the beginning we see that Cain is selfish with his actions in giving fruit as an offering rather than an animal as an offering and Abel gave a portion of his firstborn. God wasn't really looking at the offering itself but more the heart and motive, but the offering shows that. Abel gave a portion of the firstborn because he wanted God to have the best whereas Cain was probably thinking it'd be better for him to eat that. So Cain's motives in the beginning were not right and he may have been jealous of Abel from the beginning and had the motive to kill him. Sin was already at his door and he allowed it to take over, by the time God said this to him. I'm sure Cain wasn't even listening or understood what God said because he was filled with anger. We cannot allow sin to come in. We have to guard our hearts and really ask the question, 'Who are we pleasing right now? Is it God or Satan?' Is your heart for God? Let us humble ourselves before God and be grateful for his grace and mercy.

Genesis 3:24 - QT by Emily

"After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”

Now the Garden of Eden is hidden where no one can find it and the angel protects the Tree of Life but they chose to eat from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. And now we cannot access the tree of life until Jesus returns again. But God knew this would happen and now we can hope for the future to have access to the Tree of Life; To have all our questions answered. Some may blame Adam and Eve every time they go back to Genesis but if you were in their shoes, you'd do the same exact thing because we are human and prone to sin. Looking back at the past is not for us to blame others but to learn from people's or your mistakes and apply the lesson to our lives for the future. We can change for the better through Jesus Christ.

Genesis 3:19 - QT by Emily

"By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; from dust you are and to dust you will return.”

I never really paid attention to these verses until now. We were not meant to suffer with the pain of working for food to survive until we die, That was the punishment for all mankind. Because we were made from the dust of the ground, back to dust we go as we die. I believe we were meant to live eternally at first with no pain, suffering, or sorrow, like we would in heaven but this was inevitable and God even foreshadows of what will happen in verse 15 talking about Jesus Christ coming to strike the serpent's head. This punishment will be upon mankind until Jesus comes again for the final judgment. God's words are true and just. They speak life and let us not take any of God's words lightly. Instead, let us continue to read and meditate on all his words daily, not adding to it's words or talking anything out of context. And let us follow him wholeheartedly til the end with our hope in Jesus Christ.

Genesis 3:11-12 - QT by Emily

"and he said, 'who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?' The man said, 'The woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.'”

Now, we see Adam is playing the blame game here. He automatically gets defensive because he doesn't want to be the one getting in trouble. He blames Eve and God, anyone but himself, he blames Eve for giving him the fruit and blames God for putting the woman there with him. Adam knew what he did wrong. He was there with Eve the whole time she was getting tempted and willingly took and ate the fruit Eve gave him so that he wouldn't be along. Adam and eve were no longer innocent. He was so ashamed of his nakedness that he hid from God. We all go through this. Blaming others, afraid of being confronted or owning up to our mistakes. But we can't be like that. Instead we have to go to God and confess our sins and truly turn away. Repent now or the sin will grow bigger and it becomes harder to repent. We need to strive to become more holy so let us own up to our mistakes and truly repent before God.

Genesis 3:6 - QT by Emily

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for good and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.”

Satan is very good at deceiving. He always poses the question. "why not?" and gives good valid points to make you go through with it. There's really no harm, what have you got to lose, you only live once. In this case, he said that they would not surely die which was slightly true physically. They wouldn't die on the spot but spiritually they did as they saw their nakedness. Satan tempts by using words that will bring pleasure to you. Eve realized that she wouldn't die and the fruit looked really good and on top of that, she would be like God being all-knowing. They both became selfish for a second without thinking of the consequences for the future and how God would feel and paid the price. Now, sin is all around us. we get tempted everyday but are we choosing the right path? to sin? or to obey God? Sin is inevitable but we can avoid it more by asking God to help us be more sensitive to sin. We are not perfect but we can strive to be holy everyday.

Genesis 2:20 - QT by Emily

"So the man gave name to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.”

It’s kind of crazy that Adam named all these animals. I feel like that would be a lot of pressure and overall just a lot of animals to name in one day. I’m sure God gave him the wisdom to choose the right name. It’s like trying to come up with a good name for a company. I feel like it would take a lot of time. This was basically man’s first job on earth to make sure all the animals had names. Adam was basically the first zoologist and caretaker of plants. Imagine having all that responsibility. God technically did call all of us to take care of the earth and everything on it (the plants, trees, and animals). But many of us don’t even think about if or forget. I think people that still have farms are good examples or even going back to Charles Mulli to be self-sustaining and bring new life from a place of drought. Let us start taking action and start taking care of this earth that God created for us and be examples of Christ

Genesis 2:16-17 - QT by Emily

"And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.’”

Do you remember when you were younger, and you were given simple instructions not to eat candy all the time or you will get cavities? Now, because we know we can’t eat it, it only makes us want it more and it’s on our mind all day. Even though we know the consequences of eating that candy, we still end up eating it and pay the price. I don’t know what a cavity feels like, but I do remember the tears from Noah and Elijah coming out of the dentist. Now God gave Adam simple instructions and he obeyed until the serpent came into play. It all could have been avoided if Satan wasn’t there, but he was. It’s quite easy to follow God’s commands but because of temptation, it makes it harder and then we get stuck choosing. If we have our eyes fixed on Jesus, sin will be more apparent to us and we will be sensitive to it. So, let us keep our foundation rooted in Jesus Christ and obey his commands without hesitation.

Genesis 2:3 - QT by Emily

"And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”

I always wondered why God rested on the seventh day. Isn’t he always working now? Does God even get tired? No, he doesn’t and so he didn’t rest because he was tired but because nothing formless or empty remained. He completed all his work and as God said, it was very good. God is perfect in all of his ways. God created the heavens and the earth and everything on and around the earth in six days. That’s amazing. The sabbath also means rest in Hebrew and God blessed and made it holy for us to rest and worship him and go to church. A day dedicated to God where we don’t work, no school and be thinking about him all day. We are so lucky to have a God like our God who is so powerful and loving towards us. Let us continue to thank God and praise and worship him for what he has done for us. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Let’s admire everything he’s made instead of taking it for granted. God is so good.

Genesis 1:28 - QT by Emily

"God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

It amazes me that God gave us the command to rule over the animals. He gave us plenty of food to eat and be healthy. God created us in his own image from the dust of the ground. God creates life everywhere. God created each one of us unique and no one the exact same with different personalities. He didn’t create us to be robots to automatically worship him but for us to willingly worship him. Not being forced but wanting to serve and love God with all our hearts. We were not created to be like animals but to rule over them. Many things have happened over the years like slavery and the mistreatment of women and many more where we don’t treat everyone equally which is still going on today. I wonder what the world would be like if there was no sin. Let us continually remind ourselves of this truth that God created us in his image. Let us be that example for others.

Genesis 1:25 - QT by Emily

"God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds, and God saw that it was good.”

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that God created all the animals on the ground, sea, and sky, and insects in the world. Every one of these creatures are different and unique to their king. God literally thought of everything. God made these creatures with such detail and they serve a purpose on this earth whether they may scare us or not. I learned yesterday that a giant isopod is the vacuum of the sea even though it looks horrific. Reading these verses reminds me of how powerful and great our God is. God thinks and has thought everything through for earth and for us. God is truly the God of the universe. He created it all. Let us continually remind ourselves of everything God has done for us. Let us give thanks to our holy God and give him all our worship and love.

Genesis 1:3-4 - QT by Emily

"And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.”

God, in all his power knew how to create the earth and as we see, it was very orderly. I can imagine the whole earth so bright with all the light. God is the wisest in all his decisions. God is the ultimate designer and architect. Our earth is beautiful when you take a second to stop and look. It’s sad to see humans don’t appreciate creation and make the earth dirty like littering. Light is necessary for life and the old testament; it symbolizes life and blessing. I can’t wait for heaven with no darkness. God is so powerful that he speaks everything into life and everything God creates is good. Sometimes I don’t realize and forget God’s power and to be so thankful for everything he’s made around me. I’m so thankful for everything he’s made around me. I’m so thankful for light! Because I am in fact scared of the dark. Little things like that we forget or overlook but let’s remind ourselves of all that God has done for us. God has done everything for us and let us thank him every day, every hour, every minute of our lives.