At first I wasn’t sure how these two passages connected, but after reading again I see how they both demonstrate true faith in the Lord. Noah did everything the Lord told him to, just as the servants did when Jesus turned water into wine. An inspiring reminder to trust in the Lord with all your heart!
Noah’s obedience is always awe inspiring to me. If I was given those instructions I would have crumbled with anxiety, doubt, fear of not having enough to make it happen, fear of the judgement of man. Maybe we don’t see doubts that we’re there due to the story telling, but maybe he was just so sure of God’s provision and faithfulness that there was no need to doubt.
Two verses that stood out to me were John 2:16 KJV that says “Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.” and John 2:19 and 2:22 KJV that say “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” and “When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.”
Vs 8, Then He said to them, “Now draw some out and take Jr to the chief servant.” And they did. This took faith to believe and trust in what the Lord had done and was instructing them to do. Yet in faith, they overused.
I love the lesson of obedience we are given in Jesus turning water into wine. Mary told the servants to “do whatever he tells you.” This is the reminder that “Full obedience brings joy, satisfaction, and transformation.” (Enduring word commentary).
I understood it more as he didn’t entrust himself to them, the way he did the 12 disciples. He was in a time of Roman rule and knew clearly from his comment about destroying the temple he would be crucified. But what stood more out, and perhaps is more powerful, is he knew well what was inside men, and still chose to be crucified to pay for all of it. He knew all of the wickedness, and still let his blood be spilt so we could be forgiven.
This stood out to me too. More so because (though he didn’t die), his life on Earth was considerably shorter than those that became before/after him, yet he was walking with God.
I love the way you out this. I wrote in my notes how “human” this interaction is. Jesus came as fully man and fully God. He responded in such a human way, but honored her nonetheless by being faithful to her faith in him. It’s so beautiful!
Mary’s faith in Jesus is what lead the first miracle. Interesting to see Jesus didn’t have the intention of turning the water into wine, but because of her faith he did. Beautiful ❤️
It’s quite humbling to think about how we can anger the Lord and Jesus with our actions. Also makes me wonder how Jesus feels about the ministries out there that sell their products. Is it like the temple being used for profit? Thank you Jesus for the ministries that do not use your temple for profit, but to raise you up instead.
I just love the conversation Jesus has with Mary when they’re at the wedding. She fully believes in her son and knows he can work miracles, and Jesus tells her it isn’t time for him to reveal himself to the world in that way, and Mary still told the servants to do whatever he told them to do. Such a mother-son dynamic, and she totally pulled a mom-move and he was just like … okay fine. lol! I think it also reveals how much Jesus loved his mom, which has me bawling just thinking about it.
I’m reading through these responses and it is so true. God had mercy on us for our wickedness. He didn’t destroy us, instead He sent His only son to die on the cross for our sins. I have really enjoyed reading so far, I like finding out new information and coming to the realization that God truly is so good and glorious.
In Hebrews 11:5 it mentions Enoch among the faithful in the Old Testament. It says because of his faith he was taken away and did not experience death and he was approved as one who pleases God.
It’s amazing to me that in the Old Testament, God destroyed almost all of creation for its wickedness, but instead chose to send His son to die for all of creation to save us from our wickedness. Thank you Jesus for bearing the punishment for our sin.
it’s interesting to see how the flood and the temple both are similar in a way. Jesus saw the wickedness in the world and He wanted to get that out of here. he flip those tables and made those people leave because they were doing evil things. i’m just thinking about God and his forgiveness right now because there’s so much evil in this world. so much sin that’s happening and all the things the Lord could do but thank God for His grace.
I wonder this too. And there is so much violence still in the world. I am eager to learn more about how to react to this as a Christian. What to think or say and how to calm my anxious heart.
You know what I really noticed this time in the Genesis passage? The fact that both Cain and Seth had descendants with similar names. Both had a Lamech and a Methuselah (Methushael) and an Enoch. It seems to be emphasising the difference between their bloodlines and how one lead to a righteous conclusion and the other did not. God is so amazing.
I had a son two months ago; we named him Noah. Reading this passage while holding him, gives me hope and encouragement. It shows me what I need to pray for in this moment. That all my sons be as Godly and obedient to the Word as Noah was.
I love how in both the instance of Adam and Eve’s sin and Cain’s sin God asked them first what had happened even though he would have already known. He wants His people to come to Him and confess to Him so that He can cover their sin like he did with Adam and Eve.
How did Cain find a wife when he went away from the presence of God? I had always thought Adam/Eve were the first humans and all who came after would lead back to them.
It always takes me a minute to follow the passages about the linage of certain characters. Especially in later books where there can be quite a lot of names and relations.
Wow is all I can say on how he describes the arc in such detail. But it’s also interesting how he can turn a disappointing situation into joy by the simply turning the water in the jugs into wine.
24 enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. This verse confuses me, did Enoch live so righteously that he was called home early or did he sin?
Reading about the first miracle in John 2 was eye opening. Jesus transforms the place from empty to full. He fills the jugs of water with wine and brings joy where disappointment occurred.
I actually was wondering the same thing about how the earth was being populated through Adam’s early descendants! I did some googling. It appears as if Cain was intimate with his wife/sister? I am confused and hoping for some clarity about this also.
Has anyone else asked the question of who Cain laid with and all of the other early descendants of Adam? I also used to wonder why including the dimensions was important. But I understand now. As a teacher, the clearer the instructions, the better the outcome. If God had not been so specific the ark would have likely been built smaller and not been big enough to withstand the flood or hold all of the animals.
I always questioned the importance of including the measurements of the ark in scripture. This is probably the first time I didn’t do it. It helps provide the mental picture of the huge task Noah was asked to complete.
I do not want this to just be a check I am marking in the box as an accomplishment for the year. I want to grow in this experience as I read, so speak to my heart Lord as I read these passages daily. And if I get behind, which I probably will, let me not get discouraged and just continue on. May I finish no matter if it is day 365, 367, or day 400.
I think it gives perspective. We learn about creation and the fall of man while we learn about the gospel of Jesus because his life fulfills the scriptures of the Old Testament.
In Genesis 6:14-22, something stood out to me. When God calls us to do something, He doesn’t leave us hanging. He provides instruction, direction, and provision. Our success depends on our faith in God and our obedience to his call.
“Zeal for your house will consume me” … may we all have zeal for the things of the Lord – for God’s word. Our God continues to call us to be set apart in 2021… That we might ponder the zeal, fury, jealousy for righteousness that Jesus possessed as he made a whip and drove the market out of the temple grounds… what is He calling me to remove from my life? What practices or attitudes of mine are displeasing to Him? Do I thirst for righteousness? That I am called under the law, He has given grace and my salvation is not dependent on my works- praise God! Not that I am called to “strive” to “do good,” but to be transformed, through my love of God, that I might desire to be ‘holy as He is holy’ … I keep pondering Jesus’ temperament in this interaction; the words He spoke…
I love the genealogy background to see how God uses everyone for His purpose! Oh hallelujah how the temple was cleansed and raised in three days! I am enjoying so much reading the Bible in this new year!
I’ve been raised in church my whole life. & now as a mom of 3 I want to teach my kids & if I don’t know the word for myself I’ll never be able to teach them. So since I’ve struggled with getting into the word I’m starting this challenge a day late but Better than never! ❤️
God blessed Abel’s offer and not Cains because Abel sacrificed the best that he had, while Cain did not. As for what God is saying to Abel, how I have always understood it (and I am not a biblical scholar so take it with a grain of salt) Cain made his living through working the ground and growing and selling crops. His punishment was that he would no longer be able to work in this way and would become a wanderer with no where to really call home. But God did not condemn him to death and essentially is saying that if anyone tried to harm him their punishment would be much worse. Does that answer your question?
day 2 complete:) something fun God brought to light to me through this passage was he still had Consequences for Cains actions, but not condemnation ❤️
5The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
This gets me. This is right before the story of Noah, and all I can think about is that this is me. This is the definition of total depravity, and it grieves God’s heart. I am so so thankful that this isn’t the end of the story and that even in this chapter, God shows his deep love for man even though he deserves the opposite. He provides a way of escape, and it all points to Jesus!
Day 2 done. I love that Jesus was angered when he saw the people sinning in the temple. It shows he was human, it was a righteous anger. I struggle with anger and my biggest caution in life is my anger and making sure to not sin in my anger. I also love how Jesus told his mom, “it’s not my time yet,” he knows everything. He also called his mom woman, I’m not sure if I would call my mom woman. He shows us that Christian friends are closer than family. To surround ourselves with believers. But remember, don’t get comfortable because he wants us to shine light in dark places, teaching and serving, then taking time to worship God in private.
Hello, Holly! I’ll try to answer your question! Back then, people made sacrifices. Abel tended Sheep, while Cain was a farmer. Abel offered his best lamb, because in order for a proper sacrifice, the lamb needed to be without any blemishes,
could someone explain Genesis 4:8-16 to me? i’m not quite understanding why Gods refusing Cains offering and also what God is saying to Cain after he kills Abel
day 2 done! I am really enjoying Genesis and both yesterday and today’s readings have really spoken to me. God created us to be equal and kind, and when we weren’t acting so, he decided to start over, changing our life spans making it so we had less time to be sinful and corrupt the world. Probably hoping we would spend more of our short time being the children God wanted us to be.
THIS is a very important theme in the Bible. Jesus comes to the lowly people first, he does not show himself to those in higher places of power. A pastor the other day was talking about this in our current times (2020) and how we are Gods people. He will show Himself to us if we seek Him and it’s our duty to share that with the world like never before. Our hope cannot be in those with political position or power but in God. And we have to share Him for all those who are looking to the wrong thing.
i find it interesting that the life expectancy has changed so much through the years because back then it was so long and in between now and then it was very short and grew to be larger and so i believe that god limited humans to a certain amount of time so we can only do some much and limit the evil!
I found these passages to be really interesting. I thought the lineage of Adam and Eve was cool to read and definitely hearing their ages was shocking and I did wonder to myself- why did they live so long back then and why do we have such short lives now? Then my question was answered in that God limited mans time on earth to 120 years because man was evil and sinful. Then the passage about Noah spoke to me- the message I got from that and the rest of the passages is that God is all powerful and we will live eternally in his grace and mercy if we live have faith and live in a godly manner.
Genesis 6:2-3 spoke to me. It reminded me how important it is to not become unequally yoked. The sons of God chose the daughters of Man to marry and God saw that it was bad an decided to wipe out the face of the earth. He does not want us to be unequally yoked with those that are not of him. Did anyone else get this understanding from reading those verses? I’m wondering if I’m interpreting it correctly.
Love this thought! I actually think that they might have lived their lives in a different type of “year” because in one of their lives they gathered a child at 0 years old which I’m not sure is possible. We have no way of knowing their true measurements of time.
I found Genesis 6:5-8 very interesting as it really helped me to relate to God in that moment and showed me that it’s okay to regret something but that doesn’t mean you have to completely change your life because if it.
Such a random thought I had while reading this scripture was why were their lives so long at the start of the Old Testament and we’re now down to life expectancies of 60 – 80 years (depending where you live)? Is it years and years of sin that have corroded away at our lives?
I find it fascinating that Mary knew Jesus could handle the problem of the wine running out. It makes me wonder what things she saw Him do while He was growing up.
Catching up! I love what God said to Cain after his offering wasn’t received well. We are to give our utmost for his highest and he knows when we don’t. Sin is in wait ready to pounce on our failures and show us the “easy” way out.
Day 2/365
He longs for a relationship for us, he waits patiently for our human selves to come full circle and want to get to know him. Jesus Christ, the Lord our God is forever and always in our corner. He leaves his hand out waiting for us to latch on.
He has not only given us life….
He has sent his only son to die for our sin he has compiled a book that shares the story!
We have more than enough resources that God has provided and then he gives us the decision of following him.
I pray that I walk with the Lord just as Enoch had. That I do not only turn to God when something terrible or really good has happened. I pray to use his resources every day and build a steadfast relationship with our father ♥️
I pray tonight that I would continue to trust in you Lord. I pray that every word I read tonight and in the future I would continue to understand what you are saying to me. Goodnight Lord. Amen.
Day 2-Even from the beginning God knowing man would continually fail, He began giving us grace. He saw man failing and instead of completely destroying His creation, He commanded Noah to do His work and he would be saved from the flood.
How amazing we have a God willing to continually forgive us. He knows what is in us and what we will do. Even though we disappoint His grace, love, and forgiveness are endless always allowing us redemption. ❤️
Someone may have answered this, my app wouldn’t let me see the other two replies. In answer to your question about Enoch, Hebrews 11:5 says, “By faith Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death.”
A couple thoughts come to my mind. One is that he always was and always will be about a relationship with us and was giving them an opportunity to be open and honest with him. I also think he needed them to be able to recognize what they did; to own it.
If God “took Enoch” and he was not found, does this mean he disappeared? As in, God literally took him to heaven??
And why didn’t God accept Cain’s original offering? This caused his anger- though not justifying his murder of his own brother.
Did Lamech kill someone too? (Genesis 4:23-24)
Hi Lexi! You ask some really great questions. I am by no means an expert but I want to try to help.
I was always puzzled by the different wording too: “took Enoch” instead of “he died”. I think maybe because Enoch spent his life walking with God, God welcomed him after his life on earth ended. I believe the wording is intentional and there’s a message there: walk with God and He will deliver you.
In regards to Cain and Able, I think that God was testing and teaching Cain, much like He tests and teaches us today.
And yes, I do think Lamech killed someone too. Lamech uses what God said to Cain after he murdered Able as justification. But the seventy times seven is significant. In Matthew 18:22 Jesus says to Peter, “You must forgive not seven times, but seventy time seven.”
This link explains this well! https://www.gotquestions.org/seventy-times-seven.html
Lexi- Thank you for asking these questions! I have read this passage so many times and forget to contemplate the verses! Lauren, thank you for your response. I never considered how he “took” Enoch.
In regards to Cain’s offering: God asks us to give Him our “first fruits”. He provides for us, and He wants us to show Him our trust and faith in Him by returning to Him the first of what He has given to us. IE. Tithes and Offerings – He wants us to give to Him first, and then use the rest of our income to live off of. He wants to teach us how to fully rely on Him, even when things seem tight. If we are faithful in giving to Him first, He will bless us and provide for us tenfold.
Abel offered God the firstborn of his flock. His first fruits! Abel didn’t know how many more babes were going to be born to his flock, but He knew He needed to offer to God in thanks when He was FIRST blessed. Cain, however, waited until he had plenty of crops before offering any to God. He didn’t seem to trust that God was going to continue to grow the crops and continue to provide food for him, so he held out until he knew he had enough to live on, THEN he offered some to God.
God wants our first. He wants our best.
Thank you all for these responses. These have helped greatly. I love this community that welcomes all the questions that I have as I am learning and reading through the Bible this year! ❤️
My understanding is Enoch did not have to experience death, much like Elijah was taken up into heaven.
As for Cain’s offering, obviously it doesn’t say in the text but a best guess would be Cain didn’t offer his best. It says Abel offered the first of his flock, perhaps Cain gave what he didn’t want? We can only guess.
Lamech may have killed, again it doesn’t say, but I think his speech to his wives was more him telling them his character than anything else.
Day ✌️ done! I love the way it’s set up and how it fell with the days of the week for 2020. The day we read Psalms is Saturday, which is my family’s sabbath day and we attend church that evening.
Day 2 ❤️ it’s been a while since I’ve pulled my Bible out. Love reading these, definitely makes you think about how it all started and where we are at today.
Love that Jesus’ first miracle was turning water to wine. I also didn’t get the significance of 46 years until today. Mary was 13 when she bore Jesus; Jesus was 33 when he died.
I love how the passage talked about how Enoch walked with God. When I was a kid, everyday when my mom would drop us off at school she would say, “walk with Jesus.” May we be like Enoch and walk with the Lord today.
This just shows how awesome God is. When you follow him good things will happen for you. God is a man of his word and you don’t always need to see signs to believe in him! We also learn that we need to celebrate each other instead of being jealous or mean to each other.
Noah also walked in fellowship in God, and he also leads his life by faith and not by sight or need for miraculous proof like the Jewish leaders did in John 2. He trusted God and in return, God’s plan showed the Lord’s trust in Noah. Noah did not back down because he knew that God was backing him. I hope I can walk in fellowship with God just as closely as Noah did. Truly and inspiring and beautiful story ❤️
It awestruck me that Enoch lived in close fellowship with God and he did not die, according to scripture. He disappeared because God took him to heaven for eternity.
I’ve been journaling questions, and have so many about this section of genesis! Fascinating! In this John passage, I love that Jesus’s mother had faith he would perform the miracle, even when he said he wasn’t ready. Such a great mom move!
Where have you been finding journal prompts? I’m having a hard time understanding all of the meaning of the reading.. I am new to this and am looking for any tips!
Cain is a reminder that jealousy is a wicked trait and that it will only lead to your own downfall. It’s important to remember this is the days of social media and constantly comparing to others.. it is toxic and an unattractive quality. Be happy for others and celebrate their accomplishments instead of being jealous and hateful.
Reading the beginning, when Cain and Abel were born and eventually when Cain has a wife and child. I always wonder, where did his wife come from? God speaks of other people who may not kill Cain or they will be punished sevenfold….is there a mention of other people he created roaming the earth at that time? If we are all descendants of Adam and Eve, where did the wife of Cain come from? Does anyone know?
I had this same question a while back, so I asked someone in my church. The answer I received is there are two schools of thought. The first is that when God created Adam and Eve, He also created “the other people”. He just set Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The second idea is that the only humans He created were Adam and Eve, and the “other people” are their children. So Adam and Eve truly are the mother and father of all humans.
What I was taught when I had this question was your second point is that Adam and Eve are the mother and father of all humans. God made Adam and Eve as two perfect humans. As generations pass by, that’s when we start to get genetic differences. This is the idea, Back in the biblical days people lived very long lives due to their closer kinship to Adam and Eve and in turn having little impurities to their genetic make up. It was not until comparatively recently that people started to have shortened lifespans.
This is just one way of thinking though.
This is from the blue letter bible. Hope it’s helpful to you.
First, we must understand that no information is given as to when Cain killed Abel. The Bible does not tell us how old Cain and Abel were when this murder took place. It merely says it occurred at the end of days. It is not necessary to assume that they were mere teenagers or young men. If each of them were over fifty years of age, then there could have been a considerable number of people living at the time. We know this because the Scripture does state that Adam and Eve had many more sons and daughters than Cain and Abel.
The Bible says Adam was one hundred and thirty years old when Seth was born. He then lived another eight hundred years. God had promised Eve that he would greatly multiply her conception (Genesis 3:16). In fact Jewish tradition states that Adam had 33 sons and 23 daughters! Therefore many people could have existed at the time when Cain killed Abel. It has been conservatively estimated that 32,000 people could have been alive at that time this event occurred.
I tend to think that the Bible isn’t in chronological order so when it talks about generations shortly after, those people were already on earth when Cain killed Abel
I love the story about Jesus at the wedding. Ive always has the impression Jesus was always healing and doing good in the towns, and wouldn’t have time for a party such as a wedding but he was there. He was there celebrating the joy of two coming together, just as family would be. He is family.
When Jesus turned water into wine, the Bible says it was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory (verse 11). The word glory struck me as powerful. In Hebrew the word is kavod which translates to ‘importance,’ ‘heaviness,’ ‘majesty,’ ‘respect,’ and primarily ‘glory.’ I hope to live out God’s will with as much zeal, respect, and glory as Jesus does here.
it’s interesting that jesus used the water jars that were meant for purification rituals as the vessels for serving wine at a wedding. so many layered metaphors!
I love the connection between the beginning of the world and the beginning of grace. The old testament stories speak of a time when the law was the highest standard and death was the payment due when it was broken. Jesus, however, came to fulfill that law. He came to show us grace, even through righteous anger. Sin, no matter how ugly, will NEVER defeat our King.
I really love that God clothed Adam and Eve after they sinned and He protected Cain after he had murdered even though he punished both of them. God is loving even though sin has consequences.
I also love the faith that God sees in humans, and specially in Noah, and how He finds favor in those who seek Him.
Jesus’ first miracle is really cool- I love how he surprised the people at the wedding and how he goes against what is normal in the culture.
Jesus getting angry about people selling things in the temple reminded me about how disgusting our perverted sin is to God – using something that used to glorify God and making it to glorify the opposite, SIN.
OT: Sin grieves God! We cannot hide our sin from God. Sin has consequences – wages. The consequence of sin is death. Physical death. Spiritual death. NT: Jesus came to bring hope and life! He came and was constantly surrounded by the need of Man for redemption.
If Cain had gone back to God and repented would be have been forgiven? This just stuck out to me and I feel like someone else might know more about this.
I’ve never read the story of Noah before. Interesting to know that there was only one family worthy of being saved. No wonder God was sad at the choices man had made and chose to push the reset button!
Things that jumped out at me :
– Cain felt both the consequences and of the Judge and the Grace of Him…something I think I forget!
– Jesus did what he was meant to do: and didn’t look for validation, or recognition because he did not need it to know who he was.
– choice litters the beginning of the Bible : and sets us up for the grace and redemption we find in the rest of the story…one of the reasons the Old Testament is so important!
When I read Genesis 6:5-7 it seems as if God made a mistake in creating humans, he regrets/is sorry. That’s tripping me up right now. God doesn’t make mistakes. I think I’ve learned about this section before but I can’t remember. Any insight?
I don’t think his “regret” is a statement of a mistake on his side—- I read it as more like sorrow for what his creation had become… “and it grieves his heart”
I believe you are correct. The Old Testament is full of evil and corruption. When God gave up Jesus, things changed and we were free. The God we know now is the new testament.
I’ve found most bible in a year plans mix old & new testament. I find it easier to see Jesus in the Old Testament when they do this. Plus makes the reading plans easier when you get to all the genealogies. It’s like bonus for getting through that begot, begot, begot section
I’ve read through the Bible twice before. Once straight through, and once doing a mix of old testament and new. They each have pros and cons to them, I found. :)
I love the story of Jesus turning water into wine. As I read it again, He showed me that He will draw out the very best in us when we feel like we are just “water”. So good!
Christina, I second that! I’ve read this story many times, but this time around I felt a sense of grace in that moment. Despite all that Cain has done, God still loves him.
I notice many stories in the Bible that show that God allows us to make choices – the fruit in the Garden of Eden allows us the knowledge of good and evil – what is right or wrong. Cain’s choice was to kill Abel, and God allowed him to make that choice. I think that this story also shows God’s mercy. Even though Cain committed murder against his brother, God was still merciful to him.
I agree that it shows mercy and forgiveness.
It reminds me of when God made clothing for Adam and Eve after they had eaten the fruit, realised that they were naked and were hiding from Him. Adam and Eve had got themselves into that mess and God could have left them to find a solution themselves, but he didn’t and although the consequences still stood, God in his mercy provided help to them in the form of clothing.
Similarly in this instance, although Cain had to leave, God again stepped in to provide a solution to Cain’s fear.
He had warned Cain to he should be wary of sin and rule over it. God allowing us to make our own choices. But Cain ended up being so hurt by what he had done, God showed him grace and mercy by protecting him. Just as he does for us daily. Thank you Lord!
I love that this study has a little bit of New Testament with the old. It makes it easier to read. I tried to get through a chronological bible study, and it was hard to keep up with all of the Old Testament, without Jesus to save the day.
25and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man. 24But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men,
He knew Enoch and Noah “walked with God”. He knew Cain’s heart and He knows mine. As I set my mind on You today Lord, may my heart be submitted & filled with love & worship for You above/before all else. I desire to walk with You through this day.
I have been listening to a series from one of our priests and he recently talked about why God chose Abel’s offering over Cain’s. This might be common knowledge to some, but it was enlightening to me. Father was covering sacrifice and elaborated that a sacrifice of the first born (in this case, livestock) was considered a very deep sacrifice. Abel sacrificed his first born (livestock), not knowing if he would ever have more. Cain made a sacrifice, but it doesn’t specify what he sacrificed because his sacrifice was not as deep. It was just interesting to me and I thought I’d share! ❤️
Enoch lived 365 years and then was not because God took him. I find it funny that our year is 365 days and yet we struggle to walk with God just for that long. I am praying I can have the strength and love for God that Enoch had.
I’m always so distraught over how we grieve the Lord, how I grieve the Lord. And how Jesus knows us (me) inside and out. I know I am personally responsible for driving the nails through my Savior’s hands and feet. He died for ME! And yet I still sin… daily. Thank you God for continuing to work on me and not giving up on me.
To me it means that he knew who he was and what he was doing, so the opinions and judgement of others didn’t really matter to him because they would one day realize the truth.
Same answer as below…it has to do with translation. Translating the original text into modern English doesn’t always “work”. From what I’ve read, it’s more like he was saying “ma’am” and it would have been an appropriate and respectful way to address a woman in that time period, whereas in our time period and said in English, it would be rude!
Our pastor preached this passage on Sunday and mentioned this. He said in that time period it was similar to saying ma’am. It was just a common form of address. So it wasn’t considered rude like it sounds to us. I had always thought the same way you did so I found his point interesting.
In Genesis 6:2 Why would it call them “sons of God” but “daughters of man”? Is that intentional, like to mean that men are holy but the women aren’t? It makes me angry.
I did some research into this, and it’s actually because of semantics. It’s really difficult to translate. I guess male pronouns are what most translations chose to pull out of context, but in general “sons of god” could be just as easily translated to “children of god”. You might prefer a different translation.
This is referring to the line of Seth, the sons of God, keeping in relationship with Him, and the line of Cain, wicked and evil. Contextually, The men (from Seth’s line) were enamored by the women of Cain’s line and choosing them as wives. This does not indicate that there were not Godly women, but that essentially the Godly men were choosing an ungodly life. Choosing sin over God.
This is referring to the line of Seth, the sons of God, keeping in relationship with Him, and the line of Cain, wicked and evil. Contextually, The men (from Seth’s line) were enamored by the women of Cain’s line and choosing them as wives. This does not indicate that there were not Godly women. But rather that the Godly men were choosing ungodly wives. Choosing sin over God.
In the old testament, sons of God were referred to as the angels. That’s why the fact that they had gotten with the women made the Lord so angry since normally that wouldn’t result in death of the world. In Jude 6 it talks about the angels who “did not keep their property domain”. There is a speculation that that’s how the Giants came about.
From previous study and research the “Sons of God” are said to be the angels. If you recall in the beginning of Genesis 1:26 when says let’s make mankind in our image. It’s believed that HE is speaking of the angelic beings that already existed before Adam and Eve. So when the angelic beings mated with mankind.
What I find interesting and reassuring was were God told Cain his commanded sufferings from what he had done and then Cain added on to it “From your face, I shall be hidden.” It wasn’t God who hid his face from Cain, it was Cain’s choice to run and try to hide from God. God NEVER hides His face from us no matter what we have done. It’s counterproductive to having right relationship. We may try to put space between us and God from our own shame or rebellion but He’s still right there♡
I have been a Christian for 8 years, and I have never had such an amazing connection to the word! I used to never read my bible and church was just a Sunday thing for me.. but I know that God has a plan for me, and it is starting now!
Yes they lived 900 years because the Lord’s spirit was in them but after many generations they could only live 120 years because the Lord said that his spirit couldn’t abide in men forever and that their lives would be shortened to 120 years
Every time I read this passage I often wonder why God chose to take Enoch. If the wages of sin is death and Enoch didn’t die but was taken to be with God my assumption is Enoch must’ve been truly righteous and pure. I often wonder why we don’t hear enough about Enoch’s faith. It must’ve been great. Just wish we had more details for examples. He truly walked with God.
It has always made me wonder about why God chose to take Enoch and Elijah. I want to know what set them apart from others.
However, when the Bible says that the wages of sin are death I believe it is referring to spiritual death (separation from God) not necessarily physical death although a lot of things came about as a result of Genesis 3 and sin. Like scripture says “No one is righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10) but I also wish we could learn more about Enoch and his faith!
I love that in such a fallen world, we see that Enoch truly desired the lord and walked with him and it was considered enough in Gods eyes to bring him to himself.
I like to imagine that he was walking by faith with every step. Closer and closer to the heart of God.
I’m also fascinated with Enoch’s life and unusual departure. It caught my eye, reading this time that he was taken at age 365. I have also been reading Revelation lately and have thought that Enoch and Elijah might be the “two witnesses” mentioned there, thinking that because it is “appointed for man to die once…” perhaps they were taken before their deaths because they have another place in time to serve God and die for their Faith. Very intriguing stuff!
Day 2.. I thought I would get bored in this part but really focusing and reading it through. I am a believer but just wanting to strengthen and deepen my relationship
Hello! Which one is ur husband doing? Is it an app as well? My boyfriend and I have been reading this one together haha I would like to share the one ur husband is doing with him :)
In Genesis 6, God’s knowledge of the heart of man is revealed. He is sorry that He made man and intends to wipe them out, saving Noah and his fam in the process.
Fast forward to John 2:24-24. God’s heart is again revealed for His people. Yet, instead of sending rain, He sends Jesus. This once-for-all sacrifice (Heb. 10) would make it possible for us to enter the presence of God, fully trusting in Him and His promise keeping.
I am starting my journey with Jesus. I have always believed in God and Jesus, but I am trying to strengthen my relationship because I have never really been very religious. Any tips or plans that you would recommend?
Just a big welcome..and stick with it when it gets hard or confusing. Check in here for comments. Many times someone posts an explanation to a verse or a phrase and it can be so helpful!
Here is a link to the Bible study plan on the website: https://shereadstruth.com/plans/bible-year/
Idk what is causing the she reads truth app to not show up, it might not be supported on their advice? But the link leads to the plan and comments :) hope it helps!
Because he already knows everything within my heart, I can approach Him boldly in prayer- holding nothing back. There is nothing to fear in sharing my heart with my God.
Today this reading told me that god is always with you, and you are never alone! You can see that those who are faithful are the ones who see Christ the most.
Reading about God paving the way to those who walked by him only confirmed my faith and made me want to continue this reading challenge. I hope God sees us all walking by his side and helps guide the new year with his light ❤️
When reading about how God was disgusted with the evil and corrupt human race it makes me think of the world we are currently living in. Think about how often we hear “ there has never been such a tragedy like this” whether it be natural disasters or shootings or bombings things are horrific right now in our world, just makes me think about how close His return is.
What struck me is how Jesus spoke in a way that some did not understand. When he spoke of the temple, he was speaking of his body. Who understood him at that time?
I think today, the Lord actually really spoke to me about parenting. I am a mom of two girls, a four year old and a one year old. Enoch walked with God, and therefore we can assume he raised his kids up in the Lord. And it was passed on to Noah who was righteous in his generation. A generation that was wicked and evil, Noah stood out and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
We too live in an evil time, and it’s our job as parents to set the bar high and to be an example and raise our kids up in the Lord so they too can stand out in their generation. I am challenged this new year to be more loving and patient, and to be intentional with my parenting and spending time with my kids. I want them to know the Lord, and it starts with me. So this reading plan is a great way to start.
Yes thank you for drawing this parallel Chelsey! I’m encouraged to do the same. Patience and kindness to my kids is so hard for me but God is faithful and I trust He will give me what I need!
I was really struck today by the way that God always makes a way for his people and those who are faithful. God won’t abandon you and leave you hopeless and alone. To Adam and Eve he gave Seth and through Seth he gave Noah. And even in the midst of the entire world’s corruption he gave Noah the ark because of his faithfulness. It’s a good reminder that shows up again and again in the word that God will not leave us where we are or abandon us. He always makes a way for his people.
Different Lamech. I was pondering that same thing and I wonder whether the fact that there are two Lamech’s is to highlight the difference between Cain and Seth’s lines?
Really struck by the parallel in the flood story and the final verses in John 2. Jesus did not trust any man because he knew what lay in their hearts and Genesis 6:5 mentions that evil was in man’s heart continually. It’s both saddening to know that little changed in man through the ages, but also so joyous that sin has been dealt the death blow and we can live in freedom from the chains of sin through Christ.
Yes me too!!! How great is God’s grace and kindness to still give us responsibility and authority in his kingdom though we are still so sinful. Sad and joyous indeed!
In response to Rebecca’s post because I couldn’t reply for some reason. As you continue to read this plan, the readings are parallel to each other and it will make more sense why they are paired together. Otherwise, I have always heard that John is a great place to start if you’ve never read the bible.
https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-Mary-woman.html
I love this site! Will use it a lot this year :) it helps answer so many questions from the Bible – more than your question but good explanation of the passage
Mary knew Jesus had the power to help with the problem miraculously, but this is not how He wanted to do things. He honored His mother despite this not being His desire.
Mary knew Jesus had the ability to miraculously intervene. The last thing the Bible says about Jesus was when he was 12 years old, and then it jumps to Him as an adult beginning His ministry. We know nothing of what took place at home while He was growing up but it seems clear Mary knew Jesus’ potential. Jesus honored Mary by complying, but this was not how He desired to use His powers to draw attention to Himself.
One of the pastors at my church explained this not too long ago- although in our time it sounds like Jesus was being short with his mother, in Biblical times the word “woman” was extremely respectful. Essentially he was saying “ my lady”. And the point of delaying the miracle was not to emphasize the timing, but on whose time Jesus works. He would wait for the fathers command.
Does anyone else nerd out on the genealogy stuff? I always find it fascinating when you add the numbers and do the math – things like Methuselah, the man who lived the longest, died the year of the flood. So did he die from the flood? He wasn’t on the boat. It doesn’t say. But just makes me wonder? Or that Noah was born 126 years after Adam died, and 14 years after Seth died.
Just brings timelines in perspective.
I was wanting to do the math too and I’m no math nerd;) I wondered if Noah was born before Adam died- so thanks for clearing that up for me! So crazy that Adam had so many generations of grandchildren while still alive.
I’m intrigued by “Zeal for your house will consume me.” Could anyone explain exactly what this means? I understand what the phrase means, I just don’t understand why it was stated or who exactly stated it.
I believe It’s just John writing a reference to explain the zealous behavior and why they didn’t think Jesus was acting in a manner uncalled for. It is in Psalms 69:9 as well… if you read that entire chapter in Psalms it draws a lot of parallels to Jesus life and crucifixion, which is interesting! This might not be what you are asking, but I hope this helps!
John 2:24-25 stood out to me. Jesus knows all people. Not just my name but every corner of my heart, every bit of faith and every bit of unbelief. He is the Truth regardless of any of us (I.e. He doesn’t need us!) yet he chooses us, loves us, wants to be in relationship with us. That is love!
19 And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
In this verse it never states that taking two wives is a sin yet, I know it is one. Does anyone have a scripture that can help me?
The best I have is all that God designs and Christ says about marriage. Adam and Eve were given each other, no one else. A man is supposed to leave his family and be united with his [singular] wife. Adultery is the only grounds for divorce specifically outlined in the Bible. Christ accusing the woman at the well of having several husbands. I think it all spells out that we’re meant for monogamy.
Chloe,
I’ve had this question about similar practices in the Old Testament that are condoned early on and then condemned later. The best answer I’ve gotten is that God allowed people to live within the cultural norms they already knew and led His people slowly toward more holy lifestyle and practices as time went on. Hope this helps!
14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. It is so interesting that even though Cain killed Gods child God spared him and made sure no one would kill him. Any thoughts anyone?
I’m with u on this. I stopped reading and asked God the exact same question. The response I got was just his Love for us. I have 2 daughters and I imagined 1 of them committing a crime (yes there 9 & 2 but follow me) I wld of course be furious and may not want to even look at her but she’s my daughter I would not want anything to happen to her because of My love for her. It would hurt ME. He’s our Heavenly Father so if in my sinful nature I can still Love my girls that much imagine how much more HE loves us….
I have done other Bible reading plans but they’ve never come with the ability to leave comments! Such a wonderful addition to daily reading, I love it!
Anyone care to share their thoughts and wisdom on these verses?
Genesis 6: 5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
The part that “the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth” confuses me. He must have known what would happen? I’m sure I’m interpreting it wrong, but it almost seems like it was a “mistake”.
Hey Shannon! I am reading this through a Study Bible & there is a section that talks about this…
“The exact nature of the sin described in these verses is perplexing to most readers. While the actions are somewhat unclear, what is abundantly evident is the fact that God’s good, created order has been corrupted by human rebellion. The people have done the very thing God commanded them to do in the garden- they have been fruitful and multiplied and filled the earth (Genesis 1:28). Sadly, rather than filling the earth with image-bearers who reflect God’s glory they have instead filled the earth with brokenness.
Interestingly, the sin recounted here describes the people seeing something as beautiful and pursuing that thing in rebellion to God’s command, as did Adam and Eve. Rather than submitting to the command of God and trusting the goodness of his dictates, the first couple chose to trust their eyes and follow the lusts of their hearts (Genesis 3:1-7). At its core, this is the nature of all sin.
God, the Creator of all things, knows best how the human life should be lived. He provides clear guidance on his good and gracious plans for humanity, which are ultimately good. Sin is rooted in unbelief in the promises of God. Rather than trusting in the ways of God, all people choose to follow the desires of their own hearts and, in doing so, elevate themselves to the position of God. People believe they know better than God; therefore, they run after the lusts of their hearts and the desires of their eyes. John warns, however, that these things are passing away and so are those who live their lives in pursuit of them. Only those who do “the will of God ” can live (1 John 2:16-17).
But, how does one do the will of God? The implications of Adam’s sin and the fall are not merely that all people make bad decisions, yet if they try hard enough they can keep God’s law. Rather, sin renders all people unable to keep God’s law and trapped in the shackles of their sin. Jesus perfectly and completely lived the life they could not live, no matter how hard they tried. Those who are aware of their inability to keep God’s law can turn to Christ in repentance and faith and be given the free gift of righteousness. By grace, God credits the perfection of Jesus to men and women who could never earn it by their own merit (2 Corinthians 5:21).”
Thank you for sharing that Rachel! Yes it does. I just find the part about God regretting that he made man to be an interesting statement, but maybe the meaning is lost a bit in translation.
I just started reading the bible and I really don’t understand the scripture Genesis 4-6. It really confused me, would anyone be able to explain it to me??
What exactly confuses you? I can give you an overview. This particular part discusses genealogy from Adam–the first man ever created–to Noah. I believe we are catching a glimpse of how the world was populated; we don’t follow every family, because this specific description concerning the lineage of Noah’s family will lead us (eventually) to the birth of Christ.
God is setting up a narrative. What I mean by that is, God’s intentionally revealing specifics of history to unfold the need for redemption, and his desire and plan to save mankind from sin, while we also learn of his character.
Noah was the man God instructed to build a large ship–as in, large enough to hold pairs of all living creatures and his family. God was pouring out his wrath on mankind for his violence and rebellion. He chose to flood the entire world and start the human race over again with a man who was faithful to him.
Thank you so much. It helped a lot , it all makes more sense. I’ve learnt a lot so far and can’t wait to keep reading more and discovering more of Gods word.
In regards to Genesis 4:17 “Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.” Where did Cains wife come from ? If Adam and Eve did not have her how did she come to be ? I kinda of feel silly asking this question like the answer is obvious but I am confused non the less lol
It would be a sister or possibly even a niece. Adam and Eve “begat sons AND daughters”, and at this time everyone lived 700 + years, continuing to have children the whole time, obeying Gods command to multiply in the earth.
“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” || Two points stand out to me in reading these chapters.|| 1. There is always a remnant. A remnant of faith. A remnant of hope. Throughout the OT we see over and over the evil and wickedness of the world overcoming the hearts of God’s people…yet in every situation there is at least one who remained faithful; a remnant. In his generation, Noah was that “one”. || 2. Why Noah? Was he the strongest? Was he the smartest? The richest? The poorest? The wisest? The meekest? No…none of those things are mentioned about him…he was faithful…he simply chose to walk with God. For that choice alone, he found favor with God. We can’t choose to walk with the world and expect or even hope to find favor with God. His favor, His abundant blessing of fellowship with Him are found in walking in His ways and spending time in His presence.
John 3:31 “He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.”
Grateful for this TRUTH in such uncertain times and for the Gift from Him that is my Faith!
We had a covenant service with our church, and I’m also doing this along with the Joshua devotional, so God is obviously trying to speak with me about covenants lol… I love the idea that we have covenants WITH God, it’s a two way street. As we notice with Noah today, Noah did ALL that God asked of him, and God blessed him. He did the same with Joshua, and many more people! So it’s super cool to think that we can have our own covenants with God as well, his promises are always steadfast, even if we sometimes stray away.
Excited about this plan and new beginnings! The genealogy of Jesus and foreshadowing to his life and purpose on earth is amazing. John is a powerful book and I love that we are reading Genesis and John together!
I’m confused about Enoch “walking with God” and then “was no more because God took him.” I know that’s the ending of his life, but does it mean like he disappeared or…?
Hi Ashley…yes, thats what is taken from this passage, that he was chosen for God’s own reason to not experience the physical death. Interesting huh? There’s another guy who also fits this category in scripture , Elijah! You’ll enjoy reading about him. :) (quite a story!)
I love that you get a glimpse into Mary and Jesus’ relationship with the story of the water being turned into wine. Mary, like any proud mama who knows her son can get things done, goes to Jesus with the problem. Jesus protests but does what his Mama asks him to do. And Mama looks at the servants and says “y’all do what he says.” It makes me laugh to think how “normal” their relationship might have been. Yes, she birthed the son of God, but she is human. And I really believe Jesus regarded her with both an earthly and heavenly love of a son towards his mother.
I found it so interesting how much Noah’s instruction in entering the ark with his family and every kind of animal reminds me how we are all accepted into ark (the church) and that there are people that are there to provide the ‘spiritual’ food that we need to survive.
God truly is a merciful and loving God :) His mercy endures forever :)
Gen 5:22 Enoch walked with God. Oh! No better prospect of hope for 2017 but to want God more than anything. Oh! To walk with Him this year. The One whom John says knows what’s inside of me. The One Who does miracles for servants before masters. Oh God! Help us all to flesh out these words.
I’ve never understood the acceptance of one offering and not the other, either. I wonder if God was trying to teach Cain a lesson because he could see his heart was not in the right place? Looking forward to reading through the bible this year, trying to get my own heart closer to God through his word.
It’s because the wages of sin is death, I think. Only blood could atone for sin, and Cain offered none. That’s why Jesus died for our sins—He was the Lamb of God, and His blood is so precious that animal sacrifices are no longer necessary.
Thank you for answering Brie’s question. Reading the bible like this, with all of your opinions, helps me see more than I can see on my own. Thank you for opening my eyes.
This may help with further study into why God accepted Abel’s sacrifice and not Cain’s; 1 John 4:12 “We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.”
I’m struggling to process why the Lord acknowledged Abel’s offering and not Cain’s? They both brought from their perspective jobs? Were they not using their God given talents and abilities to bring forth those offerings?
I struggled with that same question also. I can only think that God was looking in their hearts. God did warn Cain of sin and to let it rule over him. I could also be way off base though.
I love how God uses the most unlikely people to do the most amazing things. Can take a human life, that he was the father of Enoch, who walked closely with God. From there we get people such as Methuselah and Noah, who was one of the few people following God in his day.
Thank you for all your comments, the interpretations and what has been learned from all truly help for this first time scripture reader. I’ve never been able to really get through it. My spiritual tendencies are for nature and the beauty that exists thanks to Him. So I’m challenging myself to know Him better through His word. I look forward to the journey with you all this year!
Joining all of you for 2017! I find it interesting that Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine. I want to study the significance of that. Nothing he did lacked hidden meaning or prophetic fulfillment. If anyone has insight, please share.
Welcome ladies! I’m excited to read along with you guys this year and read your insight into the passages. I love seeing how people interpret God’s word
This is so helpful in a young teen and wanting to be more intact with the Bible and so I started yesterday and we can all make this through this great year with god together
I got stuck at the nephilim part, I guess it translated as just “giants” but I google searched it and there are so many theories out there of that “Sons of God” could mean, and now i’m just confused.
I love no matter how many times I’ve read these passages, including being faithful to read aloud thru the generational records, I always, always glean new truths. I love that whenever I come, open heart, open mind, the Spirit interprets for me and teaches me “new and marvelous things I don’t know.”
Happy 2017! I’m thrilled to do this one year plan to get through the entire bible. In today’s reading, I’m curious about Genesis 4:3-7…
Why did God not have regard for Cain’s offering from the ground?
I believe there is much debate over this section but I think that the problem wasn’t in the nature of Cain’s offering but his attitude behind it. The passage states that Cain just brought some fruit of the ground, so he was paying his offering but his heart wasn’t in it. Abel, on the other hand, brought the firstborns of his flock and their fat. He carefully chose what he was offering to the Lord instead of just doing it because he had to.
Wondering too… I’ve learned that the offering to God needed to be a blood sacrifice – that Adam & Eve practiced that with their family (learning it from God when He sacrificed the animals for their clothing) but Cain disregarded the correct way to approach God and did it his own way. Kind of like the NT passage in Rom 10:2-3
I’ve heard several sermons about this and the gist I got was that he thought his offering was worth more than his brothers because it held greater value, but in Gods sight they were equal because they were equal sacrifices for each brother.
Wondering too… I’ve learned that the offering to God needed to be a blood sacrifice – that Adam & Eve practiced that with their family (learning it from God when He sacrificed the animals for their clothing) but Cain disregarded the correct way to approach God and did it his own way. Kind of like the NT passage in Rom 10:2-3
A few months ago I heard a sermon on Genesis 5. The pastor had a really interesting observation about the genealogy. All of the people died except Enoch, who walked with the Lord (Genesis 5:24).
I love God’s mercy towards us… He let Adam and Eve live after disobeying Him, he lt Noah and his sons live even though he knew that they were’nt perfect.
He sent Jesus to die for us, and even now as christians when we let sin into our lives and have to deal with the consequences from it, He is still there holding our hands, encouraging us to move on, to work towards being strong in him!
I love that Jesus honored his moms wishes though he sounded as though he wasnt ready to start miracles… Sometimes its a struggle for me to do what my mom wants, and this is an encouragement for me to be more caring about her and her wishes.
I love the faith that both Mary and the servants at the wedding had in Him
Agreed! Old and New Testaments, I am in awe at His loving character. Another thing that stuck out to me in relation to God’s reaction to the original sin is that He punished, then out of love clothed Adam and Eve Himself. He is so tender with us, even when we screw it all up.
I love how the grouping and arrangement of the reading today was so coherently about God’s capacity for mercy toward us. I am struck by His mercy in having man leave the garden before he was trapped in an eternally sinful state, how God had mercy on Cain and preserved his life (even after such atrocious behavior), how God spared Moses in order to give mankind their best chance at a fresh start (and hung a rainbow in the sky as an everlasting covenant with us in mercy). I love how In Jesus, God sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins… I love that Jesus conceded to Mary’s request (though it wasn’t his first inclination), how He reprimanded the money-changers out of a desire to teach everyone in the community how they are NOT to relate to a holy God (so that true repentance and heart change could come). What a God we worship!!! No matter what He does, He acts out of His perfect love- mercy is such an integral part of His being. I pray that it can be more significant and active in my heart as a woman made in His image.
Jesus didn’t entrust himself to man because he knew all of them and He knew what was in the heart of man. I don’t know particularly what He saw but I know in me I often want mans approval and God has been showing me this and how the only one who can and really who gets to tell me who I am is God! He modeled this here. He is the one we need to go to for approval, for love, for recognition
The genealogy covered in these parts of Genesis are thousands of years! I’m touched by God’s sorrow of man prior to the great flood, and His covenant with us. I’m struck by Jesus’ first miracle as well. Not only does he make a lot of wine, it’s also good wine– quality and quantity.
I found it awesome that instruments are mentioned so early on in the Bible! Heaven is going to be an epic dance/worship party!! I also loved that even though God was furious and disappointed with his creation he decided to show love and spare Noah and his family! He is a loving God that doesn’t have to be loving toward us because we constantly struggle with sin.
I really like that in Genesis 5, It is mentioned twice that Enoch walked with God – among all the other descendants that just lived, bore children, and died. I want to leave a legacy of walking with God like Enoch did!
There is so much going on in the world – I was also blessed by God’s grace towards Cain. It is my prayer that the Lord would also put a “mark” on my sons (and all your children too) so that no one would do them harm
Me too :) It’s amazing how many parts of the bible we miss if we don’t read it closely… It is also very convicting at the same time bc I struggle a lot with renewing my mind :(
Regarding Cain’s wife, I am thinking thatAdam lived to a ripe old age of 930, so there must have been many other children – lots of girls. I’m guessing that in the beginning, the wives had to have been Adam’s offspring as well, and there would have been enough of an age gap between everyone that it wasn’t weird back then. Am I making any sense?
I love Mary’s confidence in Jesus is John 2:3-5. After asking him to fix the diminishing alcohol problem and basically getting a ‘why are you even asking me about this’ she still tells those around to do whatever he says. As to say she knows that even her simplest request will be taken care of by her son..and it was.
Madeleine “Verses that caught my eye this evening:
John 2:10, where the banquet master notes that “everyone” does things one way but Jesus acts the exact opposite. Foreshadowing and symbolism there.
Genesis 4:15, where even after Cain killed Abel, the Lord does not want him to die. So much so, in fact, that He threatens to curse anyone who would dare to take Cain’s life. I’m not sure that my interpretation is accurate, but the way it struck me tonight was abundant with grace. God is so good.”
❤️ this
I was curious about that too. The footnotes in my NKJV explain that it’s likely because no one else was walking with God…simply living for sinful self & dying. Enoch and Noah were the exceptions. The genealogy progression is not just to prove the line of Jesus but until the flood how progressively evil man had become walking farther from God, corrupt in sin.
I don’t know if this will help at all, but I know there is the belief that Enoch and Elijah are the two witnesses who come in Revelation…so maybe they didn’t die their earthly deaths in preparation for what’s to come? deaths
Another interesting thing with the temple event, I am reading “killing Jesus.” It’s an account of His death. One of the chapters speaks all about Him doing this at the temple. I have heard sermon after sermon about this but nothing like the way the book describes it. See the Jews had to build a specific room for the Gentiles to worship. They were supposed to be selling the items outside of the temple. Because the high priest and those close to him hated the Gentiles they moved the selling yard inside the temple where the Gentiles were supposed to be. Therefore the Gentiles no longer had a place to worship. According to history the original plot to kill Jesus came at this moment. The moment He rushed the temple and turned the tables. And He did it all for us! He did it all so the everyone would be welcomed into the Fathers house!! Wow!!! If you get the chance to read the book, I recommend it. It’s written by Stephen Mansfield. That chapter had me in tears.
Ashley explained it well. To add… Jesus wasn’t angry to just be angry. He was so upset and hurt that people were getting in the way of others’ relationships with God. By selling in the courts, they not only were turning the temple into a marketplace, but they were actually selling sacrificial animals (these animals were needed to make sacrifices so that people could be seen as “clean”- this was because Jesus hadn’t atoned for our sins yet) at a price that people couldn’t afford so it was harder to make sacrifices- thus interfering with peoples’ relationship with the Father. Imagine if you were Jesus and you saw that God’s children weren’t able to be as close as they should be to God. I think then, you’ll be able to understand a little more what zeal is. It’s that feeling you get when the bad guy wins or you experience injustice.
Interesting note – the verse says his disciples “remembered it was written” that,”Zeal for your house will consume me. ” It is important to remember that the disciples were Jewish, and would have grown up memorizing the old scriptures. They knew when prophesy was being fulfilled, recognized when clues were pointing to Christ being the Messiah. In this verse when they remembered it was written, the footnote of my ESV Bible refers us back to Psalm 69:9. Lots of great stuff in there where David is crying out for God to save him. It even prophecies of God saving Zion. I’m a sucker for digging into the cross references!
I love how faithful Noah was to the Lord in Genesis 6. It would be so difficult to build a gigantic boat while claiming that the Lord told you to- I bet people thought he was crazy.
What sticks out to me tonight is that God didn’t just tell Noah “Hey build a boat” and then leave him to figure it out, He gave very specific instructions and guided him through each step. Praying to be able to see God doing this in my life too!
Verses that caught my eye this evening:
John 2:10, where the banquet master notes that “everyone” does things one way but Jesus acts the exact opposite. Foreshadowing and symbolism there.
Genesis 4:15, where even after Cain killed Abel, the Lord does not want him to die. So much so, in fact, that He threatens to curse anyone who would dare to take Cain’s life. I’m not sure that my interpretation is accurate, but the way it struck me tonight was abundant with grace. God is so good.
In Genesis Enoch in the lineage of Adam walked with God and it didn’t say he died it said that God “took him with him” that’s amazing and subtle foreshadow of Jesus!
15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;
This reminds me of how Jesus changes us from the inside. The temple will always look the same on the outside, but he comes in and drives out all that’s bad. Renewing us and changing us every day.
In Genesis Enoch in the lineage of Adam walked with God and it didn’t say he died it said that God “took him with him” that’s amazing and subtle foreshadow of Jesus!
What do you suppose the significance is of the statement made to the bridegroom about saving the best wine for last? Obviously Jesus’ is the best, but I wonder if there are other ways where Jesus saves the best for last. Or even in how we live, is it better sometimes to save the best for last?
Maybe to keep the faith even when things are not so great? Or possibly that God is forever providing for us? I’m sure there’s more. Those are just the first things that come to mind for me.
I think it is to exemplify the capacity of the miracles Jesus performs. That even the worst tasting water can be made into the best tasting wine or in other words, what may seem like a daunting situation to be in can have a miraculous outcome through prayer and faith in Christ.
I’ve read this was to signify that the wine was not just grape juice. It was “the best” as in it was alcoholic which makes it an absolute miracle since fermentation is a long process.
Weddings would last for a few days, and your guests might get upset if the wine runs out. So, not only does the wine not run out, but it’s really good quality wine! This is very similar to the personality of God- he gives us life and life to the full…he blesses us but with abundance…etc :)
I liked the part that spoke about too much eagerness for “household” things will consume you. I struggle with over consumption of material things. This spoke to me
Something I noticed in the footnotes is that Noah’s name is similar to the word for rest. I found this interesting because of his calling to build the ark, which seems far from rest. I think this goes to show that when God commanded us to rest in Him, that this concept of shalom (rest) should be in every aspect of our lives.
Well said, Amanda. I struggle with anxiety and find that hard to do at times especially when I’m anxious. I know God would rather me have rest than be anxious.
That’s a good question. I want to do some reading about the timing of creation, too. Was each day literally a “24 hour day” or was it a figurative measure of time? Anyone know of resources?
There are many different theories about creation. So many ways to look at it. I decided it’s not a key theology topic for my faith as I trust God created the world, we just might not know exactly how :) my thoughts.
Alex, I actually had major trouble with this topic as I was an adamant atheist and self professed smarty pants not too long ago. I’ve learned through study and prayer that the bottom line, God made the world, us, and everything. He was, is, and yet to come. We may not know every detail scientifically and I, by no means think that science is contradictory to God’s word. I believe one day, science will come to reveal God’s creation even to the faithless in an even more obvious way, yet some will still deny Him. I believe that there are many mysteries to God as well, and we may not ever know every detail until we are with Him in heaven. ☺️
I honesty don’t know but one thing to consider that I hadn’t thought about until today is Genesis 6:3 • Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal ; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
Agreed! Just keep in mind that calendar year length could have been different. But, yes, I agree with you that they had very long lives until God chose to lower life expectancy because of man’s wickedness, as is written.
God asked Noah to perform a very difficult task. Noah had to fully rely on God to do this. I need to remember that whatever God asks of me is not too difficult to do with His guidance. He’s always there with me. Praise God for His goodness.
I am excited. Being a Christian for a long time you can tend to gloss over some of the scriptures because you have read them so many times before. I’m praying I read these scriptures with the Holy Spirit illuminating the Word for greater understanding; but I also want to read with child like faith.
For example in yesterday’s reading the word jumped out that one of the stars were made for the purpose of signs. Loved that! Also, I like the reminder that the Holy Spirit was there from the very beginning….just like He is today. Ready!
Kind of a silly question but how do you think Mary knew Jesus could turn that water into wine? Had she witnessed miracles he had done before? Did he just do them around the house? I love thinking about how easy a miracle is to God.
I totally agree!! It’s amazing to think that He can turn water into wine just like that or speak a couple words and form the earth and the heavens above!!!
The angel told her he was a miracle child for a reason so she was probably expecting something :) I’m sure he did heal her when she was sick and so on. Jesus is referring to his publicity in that statement. So funny to imagine :)
genesis 6:13,22
God told noah that He would flood the earth and get rid of all living things that He had created. the earth had never even seen rain before though. everyone probably thought that noah was crazy while he built the ark. but through it all noah trusted God. it would be AWESOME to have that kind of faith in God!!
So far, the Book of John has stood out to me as a progression of Jesus’ miracles. From knowing Philip to transforming water into wine to revealing his most miraculous resurrection, Jesus shows us God’s power through his miracles.
So many questions. Did Cain not bring his best fruit forward and that’s why God was not pleased? And if God is all knowing why would he create man knowing that he would turn evil and have to wipe them out? Just need help understanding thank you!
Allison…..everything points to Jesus. Without mankind turning to evil there is no need for God to show His ultimate sacrifice for us. From Garden (Eden) to Garden (Gethsemane) God was offering a way to heal a divide created by our own doing.
Allison, Robyn answered the second part above, but the first part I will answer. God was not pleased with Cain’s offering not because it wasn’t good enough but because Cain’s heart wasn’t in the right place. A lot of the Old Testament is pretty vague but when you compare and parallel it to the New Testament the true reasoning behind commands and other things that God did are revealed. When Jesus spoke on the sermon on the mount, he revealed that it is all a matter of the heart. So Cain’s offering was tainted, he either didn’t want to give it, he didn’t give the best because he wanted to keep the good stuff, or something else in that manner. I’m sure I will have a lot of questions throughout the year here, I pray for wisdom and understanding for all of us as well as a community here to learn and lean on each other. God Bless.
I often parallel Cain’s and Abel’s offering to how we tithe. God asks for 10% but if that is all we give without thinking just to meet the minimum, where is our heart. Or even if we give more, do we make sure people know we are giving more? Are we looking for human approval? When we tithe, it’s just between God and us.
5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 ‘If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
God was giving Cain a chance to do better , but he ended up picking the wrong way. God gave us the gift of free will, so when we choose Him. It’s with faith and honesty.
Someone once pointed out to me all of the times that Jesus was hesitant to perform miracles or walked away from an opportunity because the people were such skeptics or unbelievers. It really makes me think — how many times has God not been able to work in my life because my lack of faith and skepticism?? My “New Years resolution” this year is to work on my desire to control all my circumstances, and to step back and let God work in my life! (PS: Watch for this as we read the Gospels this year — it happens more than once!)
Our resolutions are very similar. I’m still discerning my vocations (for family and career) and I really struggle with giving up control and trusting God. I know that we have to do the work, but I always question myself. My biggest obstacle is differentiating between when I need to completely give up the reigns and when God is working and leading me to do something or take a certain step in my life. Solidarity goes a long way – I’ll be praying for you and all others who are struggling to let God work in their lives!
Thank you for sharing this, Kaitlin! I feel the same way and it is helpful to hear that others struggle to discern when to let go and let God and when to accept responsibility and take the reins. I am looking forward to becoming better at listening in 2016… To God and to myself.
I love reading about Noah! It is such a wonderful testament to just plain and simple FAITH and OBEDIENCE….Noah had literally never even seen rain before and was asked to build this huge Ark….what!?!?! And there was going to be a flood….. Noah had no clue what a flood was …..Complete blind faith and obedience put into action allowed Noah to be a world changer and to save his family…. God help me to have the type of faith and obedience that Noah did!
Perhaps the miracle was not so much turning water to wine but in Mary’s focus to the servants. As the first disciple, she lays before us a challenge, “do whatever He tells you.” It is a challenge for all of us to listen to Jesus and follow Him.
Yes! This verse stood out to me, too! And I love how you called Mary Jesus’ first disciple. Isn’t that what disciple means? To follow, to do whatever He tells us.
I love the way people respond to jesus’s first actions in John 1 and 2. It is really true that God can do so much with a little bit of faith like he did in the lives of Mary and the disciples.
I love in John 2 that the servants did what they were told to do and Jesus performed a miracle!¡ I really want to start reading the bible more and this app has help me so so much!
John 2:23,24 Jesus did not trust “popular” opinion “because He knew all men.” It is so important to seek God and His Word for ourselves and not just what plays well in social media. His truth transcends culture and trends and is the only foundation that hold firm in life.
That’s one of my favorite views on that passage. Such a needed reminder for me that if I genuinely want to see God work, then I need to make myself submitted and available.
Mrs. Mohre, thank you so much for that kind comment yesterday. That made my day. Also I think this passage shows just how amazing God is and it amazes me!
Madeleine L’Engle has a book called Many Waters that’s a fictional, imaginative look at the Noah story and deals with her idea of the Angels and women of men. It’s fascinating and well written. Highly recommend.
It’s crazy to think that God has essentially cleaned Earth twice. Once with the great floods and Noah’s arc and the other with Jesus and the cleansing of our sins. God is righteous and kind indeed.
I can’t even imagine living as long as they did back then. It’s hard to imagine living to be 100 and back then they lived almost 1,000 years. That’s crazy!!
I wonder about that to. It must’ve been way different, the way they aged, but it’s kinda cool to think about, that you would be able to see that much progression.
I just finished the book AHA by Kyle Idleman. At one point he talks about the “alarms” God gives us when we’re headed down the wrong path. He cites the warning to Cain about sin crouching at his door as one of the very first “alarms” God gave someone. I thought it was an interesting way to think of it.
It amazes me how long people lived in the beginning and how quickly people disappointed God that he wanted to start over. I often wonder is God is just as disappointed now and wishes he could have a do over…
Okay so I’m very intrigued… All these people are living for 800-900 years, and then there’s Enoch, who only lived 365 years… Anything that could possibly help??
I’m so confused. Genesis 4 talks about Cain’s bloodline (“the seed of the serpent”) and it mentions Enoch, then four generations later, Lamech (who murders and boasts about it, comparing himself to Cain). In Seth’s bloodline (the holy bloodline) it mentions Enoch, then two generations later, Lamech. Of course it’s likely that people had the same names, but what I’m confused about is I read separately that Noah’s mother was likely Adah or Zillah, because they were Lamech’s wives. But that’s the Lamech from Cain’s bloodline and the Lamech from Seth’s bloodline doesn’t mention a wife of wives.
Normally I would have read quickly through these passages because all they do is list how long the descendants of Adam and Eve lived but this time I slowed down and the passage about Enoch stopped me. I started to think of that song “Only the good die young.” God took Enoch about 600 years or so before the others because he walked faithfully with Him. God wanted Enoch earlier because of his good faith. As scary as it sounds to die young, I’d rather begin to live a short life of peace and happiness with God than a long life full of pain and suffering. This is the first passage that’s truly gotten me excited about getting back into my faith and I can’t wait to begin this journey!
If Enoch was such a righteous man that he didn’t even suffer death but was taken by God himself, then why was Enoch’s book removed from the bible?!
The book of Enoch wasn’t removed until after Jesus death so Jesus would have been raised with the book of Enoch and if it was good enough for Jesus why was it taken away from us?
Anyone heard any theories?
My theory (and I believe the orthodox bibles have Enoch still) but the Roman Catholic Church was opposed to it for reasons that I can’t recall. It happened at the council of nicea when they were trying to standardize Christianity
It’s hurts me that we as human beings are destroying his earth. We are spreading evil within ourselves. But as Christians, as believers we must spread the word about him as we are here to do so. We must make him proud.
“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37 NIV) Many don’t realize that the times of Noah were actually a very intelligent and technologically advanced time. Even more so than today’s society. I have been studying on the Nephilim (fallen angles) and it has completely blown my mind. Very interesting study of you are interested.
This verse in Matthew is referring to how no one expected the flood – life was business as usual up until the very moment it occurred. It will be the same during the end times…two men working in a field and then suddenly one has disappeared in The Rapture.
Adam and Eve had other children besides Cain and Able. Being the first people God created their genetics were perfect. Cain had to have married a sister.
God allowed humans to live that long back then. It wasn’t anything they did. It was normal. Then God shortened our years. Could you imagine if we all lived to be 900? There wouldn’t be room to breathe because the world would be full of people!
Adam and Eve were created first, thus pure genetics. Also, created in a perfect environment. Their sin brought about death and the curse on the earth. Thus ages decreased gradually. ??
6Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7If you do what is 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.”
Such a beautiful reminder of salvation and walking in faith with God…
It says that Cain was intimate with his wife. But I am confused as to where his wife came from. As far as I know Adam and Eve were the only family so far.
My guess is it was a daughter of Eve and Adam, that they just don’t mention. If u notice, they don’t really mention daughters much at all except to say that they did give birth to daughters
One train of thought is that because people of this time period lived for close to 1000 years (the earth was new and free of pollutants,germs, etc.) it was possible that Adam and Eve had hundreds of children and their children had hundreds of children and so on. So the earth became populated relatively quickly.
I thought the same thing! I think we are meant to conclude that Cain’s wife was actually his sister. I’m thinking that the daughters of Adam and Eve are not really mentioned because its the men that carry on the bloodline of Adam?
Why is your face downcast? Gen 4:6. “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates. If only I cannot miss what I’m really saying with my face and actions. So want a Beautiful God stirring in me not angry faces over this life.
I see a Jesus! even when He was and IS the son of God…inthis scriptures (he is obedient to his mother mary at the wedding which end up being a beautiful picture of his Blood represe tes by the wine. His first recorded miracle! the blood he offers to those who who are needy and broken and sinful…like me…the blood that cleanses me. I am so thankful for his blood.
Then, john scriptures reveal to me that that his house is NOT a marketplace there is no money that can buy grace! IT IS a free gift….and there is power in that statement because it brings peace to my soul to know that HE wants me to receive his grace as a gift.
Jesus Rocks! God is so precise and orderly I cannot help it but receive his LOVE and accept his timing.
good day ladies!
I have a question, I am just reading the bible for the first time, and was wondering if this follows the bible exactly. I see that each day we are reading some parts of genesis and then some parts of John. The sequence doesn’t seem correct…is the app just making it this way or does the bible really go from genesis to John…back and fourth. I went from reading about how earth was created, to Cain and Abel, and now noah…didn’t know if that was supposed to be like that…jumping around to different stories so quickly. Thanks for any help you can give! :)
Heya jody, no this isn’t the order of the bible. The “she reads truth” programmers have split it into an Old Testament reading (before Jesus) and New Testament reading (during and after Jesus) each day. Good on you for aiming to read it this year!
Hi Jody, the book of Genesis does jump like you said. It talks about the earth being created, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel and all their sons and then it talks about Noah. So that part is correct and exactly in order as you would read in Genesis. The book of John is New Testament so between Genesis and John will be completely different. Hope this helps!
Jody if you would like to read straight through so you can keep the story straight you can download another app to aid you – there is an esv bible app and one just called “holy bible” – they both have free plans you can do to read the bible straight through in a year. – I love this plan but it would be confusing if I were in your shoes reading for the first time.
Ally, I have a Bible commentary that better explains scripture and it says that when God “regretted” making mankind that that word is better translated to “sorrowful”. God is all knowing; however, the choices of mankind were wicked and corrupt. ‘God made man by design but man had taken that capacity given to him and produced evil alone. ‘(The Bible Knowledge Commentary)
The bible says God grieved. He was pained by all the evil so he wanted to purge the world, send a great flood. We have choices as humans. We choose every day to follow God’s will as closely as possible OR choose the world. It was the same way thousands of years ago. The world was corrupt because man chose the worldly pleasures, not God. I believe God is still disappointed with me daily when I choose the world over Him. Noah; however, walked with God. I believe God knew man COULD choose to serve him, so he wanted to start a new creation and rid the world of all its evil.
God’s grace is sufficient but his judgment is swift…may we all fear the Lord and serve Him to our greatest capacity!
That is an important translation, thank you for sharing it… And it is true, we have been given the very free ability to either love and obey or reject God and his choice to give us freedom demonstrates a lot of love and his relational character. Thank you so much
God regretted making mankind, how can this be? He knew what would happen, he allowed it and “saw it coming” in his pre-ordaining ability. Could some one please clarify for me? Thank you xx
I’m no theologian, but here are my thoughts. I absolutely agree that God “saw it coming,” but I think what’s so beautiful about our Lord is that to some measure He places boundaries on Himself. An example of this is when He looks for Adam in the garden… certainly He could figure it out right away, but He searched. In doing so He allows interaction with His creation. If He was just a puppeteer, there would be no need for the conversation with Adam and Eve following the fall. I think in this instance, His regret is somehow tied to Him later partnering with Noah. No regret means no need for change. That’s my simplified take :). Hope it at least sparks some more thought.
Hi Helen, I found this note at my bible (NIV study bible):
“sons of God saw … the daughters … and they married any. See v. 4. The phrase “sons of God” here has been interpreted to refer either to angels or to human beings. In such places as Job 1:6; 2:1 it refers to angels, and probably also in Ps 29:1 (where it is translated “heavenly beings”). Some interpreters also appeal to Jude 6–7 (as well as to Jewish literature) in referring the phrase here to angels. Others, however, maintain that intermarriage and cohabitation between angels and human beings, though commonly mentioned in ancient mythologies, are surely excluded by the very nature of the created order (see ch. 1; Lk 20:34–36 and note on 20:36). Elsewhere, expressions equivalent to “sons of God” often refer to human beings, though in contexts quite different from the present one (see Dt 14:1; 32:5; Ps 73:15; Isa 43:6; Hos 1:10; 11:1; Lk 3:38; 1Jn 3:1–2, 10). “Sons of God” (vv. 2, 4) possibly refers to godly men, and “the daughters” to sinful women (significantly, they are not called “daughters of God”), probably from the wicked line of Cain. If so, the context suggests that vv. 1–2 describe the intermarriage of the Sethites (“sons of God”) of ch. 5 with the Cainites (“the daughters”) of ch. 4, indicating a breakdown in the separation of the two groups. Another plausible suggestion is that the “sons of God” refers to royal figures (kings were closely associated with gods in the ancient Near East) who proudly perpetuated and aggravated the corrupt lifestyle of Lamech, son of Cain (virtually a royal figure), and established for themselves royal harems.”
Genesis 6 verse 2… I’m wondering what this means when it says the sons of God saw the daughters of humans and saw that they beautiful and they married any of them they chose…( who are
The sons of God) I’m
Confused about this.
I’m sorry if this has already been posted – I’m reading the bible with my children. Who are the people that Cain fears will kill him? Brothers? Nephews? My daughter wants to know if God created other humans, but only the creation of Adam and Eve is recorded in the bible.
The study bible I have indicates that Cain was probably afraid of his other family members. Remember that Adam and Eve were told to multiply the earth. There were probably other humans on the earth at that time but the bible doesn’t mention them all.
I love seeing Noah’s faithfulness to the Lord. He did what he said, even though he looked crazy! What dedication, and discernment because we can sometimes be so confused between our own desires and the Lord’s..
I’ve always wondered if Enoch and Noah were both righteous and walked faithfully with God, why did God only take Enoch? “Walked faithfully with God” only appears 3 times and all three are in the verses on Enoch and Noah.
I find it interesting that God regretted making man and that he still protected Cain after his deeds. It was also fascinating that Cain’s offering was rejected by God. Cain then showed the nature of his heart by murder and lying. It’s not the impetus that caused the action, it just brought out the nature of the heart. No one “makes” us do something, but sometimes our true nature can be provoked.
No. If you read through you will see that God made many people whom he called Mankind. And it was from these first people, made by God, that early spouses were found.
I have had to make some hard business decisions lately, but I have always believed that making the right decisions no matter how hard or regardless of the results (in this case, potentially less sales) would somehow pay out in the long run. And Genesis reminded me of this today – to make anything but the right choice opens the door for sin to enter. That was exactly the confirmation I needed to continue to make the hard choices! To keep sin away!
it’s amazing to read the Old Testament and to see God’s plan for redemption was from the beginning. I did a women’s study through my church and we studied the Old Testament and found Jesus (things pointing to his coming). I love this app it’s so far has helped me read my bible daily! God bless you all
I think that Seth’s story is abandoned so often. We get distracted talking about Cain and Abel. We get stuck on the anger and frustration and jealousy of Cain. We see his actions and think “Oh, I would never act like that.” But I think that there is so much more to focus on here. This story is not about why jealousy is bad (though it is…). This story is about God’s redemption. Though Adam and Eve lost a child (no doubt one of the worst pains that could ever be experienced) God was still with them, and God saw them through and brought them another son, Seth, who ended up being in the direct bloodline of Noah. God takes an awful situation and turns it around for good. Every. Time. And while it doesn’t always seem that way, we need to trust that the same God who offered forgiveness and redemption to Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David, and Paul among SO many other offers it to us as well.
Not understanding what Jesus meant my “my time has not yet come”- I understand he is talking about his death but why mention it there and why would it stop him from doing miracles?
I believe what He meant by “my time has not yet come” was more focused on the timing of when He wanted it to be known to those on Earth that He was the Messiah. He did not want to reveal that at this time. Hope that helps!
I listened to a sermon on that part by Tim Keller last year, and he explained that Jesus was at a wedding, and like most of us do at weddings, he was thinking about his wedding. He was thinking of the price he would have to pay to rescue his bride (death and separation from his Father). When his mother told him they were out of wine, he told her, “it is not my time” because it was not his wedding – at his wedding, he would provide the wine by shedding his blood. This explanation has always helped me understand Jesus’s first miracle. The sermons is titled, “Lord of the wine,” and you can find it in the iTunes Store in the Timothy Keller podcast.
I am playing catch up – just now reading day two on day four. But I am committed to sticking with this reading plan once I get caught up! I really want to read through the entire Bible in a year! Something I have attempted several times and never accomplished in my 26 years of life. I am thankful for the accountability of this group and look forward to studying and learning with you all !
And now for a note about the text, does anyone else ever wonder why the Lord found it necessary to not only spell out the early genealogy of man, but also detailed the ages of each man and his lifespan? Just curious :)
I believe he detailed the ages of each man to emphasize that Enoch had been blessed. Every man lived 900+ years, however he “only” lived 365 due to faithfully walking with God. On a side note, I’m playing catch up also, but at least we only have 2 days to catch up!
Gen. 5:24 talks about how Enoch walked faithfully with God and then God took him away. I think that’s an awesome picture for Christians because death to us is not a terrible thing but an awesome thing because we get to be in God’s presence.
The wedding at Cana story always makes me chuckle — “mom NO I don’t want to no it isn’t the right time!!!” “Oh pshhh come on. Servants! My son will fix this.” “Ugh fineeeee.”
Interesting that already, this early in scripture you can see the success of the men that “walk closely with God”. My prayer this year is to start seeing that truth in my own life. Also, the end of john 2 where it said but Jesus didn’t trust them because He knew all about people. He was fully humN but being fully God also must have been so hard. He lived in s world where He could trust no one because He knew the heart of human man.
I love how when Adam and Eve sinned, and again when Cain sinned, God asks them “What have you done?” It really paints a beautiful picture of Him as a father. I also love how with both punishments, he also makes provisions for those who have sinned.
I’m curious whether there is anyone alive today who is older the 120 years? Not sure who the oldest person is right now, but would be interesting to know if anyone in modern times has lived past that mark.
I think when God said 120 years he might have been saying it in a metaphorical sense- 12 was one of the Old Testament “perfect” numbers, so he might have meant it as man will only live his full amount of years and no longer
I think it’s so interesting that Jesus’ first miracle was known by the servants and not by the master. The lowest peoples were the very first shown what he was capable of.
Another thing I love about it is that it’s an everyday sort of problem. A big one in that culture for sure, but it isn’t life or death either. It shows me that he cares about my concerns too, even when I think they may be too small to bother Him with.
Just want to challenge all of us to believe what the Bible is clear on and not get too worried or focused on what we don’t understand. Seek, pray and learn. Yes. But don’t get discouraged or bogged down in trying to connect every single dot. Many men that are way smarter than me even disagree over interpretations and meanings of passages. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. We must get comfortable with belief. Unreserved belief simply because His Word says it. Love to all of you!! Let’s keep thanking Him for the precious gift of His Word!!
Thank you for that thought. It is so easy to get lost in the details and wanting to dig into those points that you don’t understand most. It is not the way of our culture I feel to just sit back and know that you are going to learn what you need to in the time it is given.
Having that faith that you can just let go and not need to know it all, I think brings you closest to God. He wants us to believe that he knows all, and as children of his we will be given the knowledge we need as we need it. Not all at once.
God is glorified when we know Him more. The way we know Him is through His Word so Yes! digging deeper is good!! Reading the commentary is great! Desiring more knowledge is admirable. But I often find myself wanting to acquire more head knowledge than heart change. I know God wants me to trust that He knows all things…both when I understand a text and when I am struggling with it. Let’s press on sister!
I think we are suppose to dig in the word. The bible is for everyone to read but it’s the believer that gets the secrets and meaning from it when we dig deeper
Thank you for those words! Sometimes I read and I don’t understand everything. Sometimes I don’t care to understand the little details either. I wasn’t sure if that was “right” or “wrong” but your words spoke to my heart. Showing me that faith and believe trumps it all! Thank you!!!
Genesis 5:22-24 is such an interesting passage. Enoch “walked faithfully with God,” and God “took him away” rather than him dying. I encourage anyone reading this to look up commentaries on this brief passage. How sweet would it be if we could walk faithfully with God like Enoch!
God said that he would never destroy the Earth or people again. I wonder what he thinks of life today? I can only imagine that his heart aches and he weeps at all the sin, evil and corruption. Do you think he thinks about starting over?
Does anyone know why life spans mentioned in Genesis varied so much from lifespans today (i.e., men becoming fathers at 105 and dying at 800 or 900 years old)? Is it because of the difference between ‘sons of God’ and ‘humans’ mentioned in this reading? And if so, I missed how the humans got here, if not direct descendants of the sons of God. Is anyone able to elaborate on this?
Genesis 6:3 says “Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
My belief is that is has something to actually do with the age of our world. I would check out Ken Ham’s input on this, he’s got great insight on this kind of stuff. {I want to research it again myself}
I used to have a gentleman in our Sunday school that had a doctorate in biology, engineering and theology (very bright man) and he was able to use science to prove many things from the Old Testament. When it comes to ages he discussed the difference in air quality at the time of God creating earth in comparison to now; we have a lot less oxygen per inhale. Our heart has to work harder to pump blood and circulate, back then human bodies did not have to work nearly as hard. It also goes along with how now many dinosaurs wouldn’t be able to survive because their heart wouldn’t have the power to pump oxygen from our air quality all the way up to their brains. Of course this is just his understanding based on his education. It makes sense to me though! Another one of those things we can ask when we get to Heaven!
That’s an area I’m also interested in. Were years possibly counted differently? The modern calendar we used today (12 months) didn’t come about until the Roman Empire I believe.
I am not sure about the ” sons of God”, however i believe it was the atmosphere and their eating habbits alot has change within our atmosphere once the flood came. now we have terrible eatinf habbits
Anyone else run numbers and see that Adam was alive when Noah was born. Adam didn’t die until Noah was around 56! Crazy.
I’ll have to do more research on “the Sons of God married daughter of humans…humans are mortal and only live 120years”. I can’t fully wrap my mind around that.
If fallen angels bred with women then, why doesn’t it not still happen. Seems odd? A different world back then for sure.
I actually Google image searched some of the genealogies and that helped picture some a little more than the lists (and number of years). Some of them showed ages/life span as well
“Of the views with some biblical support, some believe that fallen angels bred with women and resulted in giants called Nephilim. Some believe the sons of God were the result of fallen angels who overtook ungodly men to breed with women.” – Answers in Genesis
Of the views with some biblical support, some believe that fallen angels bred with women and resulted in giants called Nephilim. Some believe the sons of God were the result of fallen angels who overtook ungodly men to breed with women. – Answers in Genesis
Of the views with some biblical support, some believe that fallen angels bred with women and resulted in giants called Nephilim. Some believe the sons of God were the result of fallen angels who overtook ungodly men to breed with women. – Answers in Genesis
My Bible reference says that this indicates a heroic person, which makes sense because the verse goes onto say “They were the heroes of old, MEN of renown” I think it just means important men.
I wrote a paper on this once and there are a couple of different views on what Nephilim were. I laid out evidence and thought for both opinions but my conclusion was that it’s one of those things that’s not essential to the gospel and we won’t know for sure what they were until we can ask Jesus in person. But when we finally enter His glory, I doubt we’ll care. ;)
It also makes the point that Abel brought the best portions from the first of his flock, first can refer to quality as well as place order. He gave God the best of what he had worked for. It makes no such observation with Cain, saying only that he brought “some” of what he had grown. Looking at Cain’s response (anger, pouting), he had a heart problem going on. Jealousy, begrudging God his due – he was going through the motions because he wanted favor, not because he wanted relationship with God. God even warned him – sin is crouching at your door – like we tell little children when we see them trying to decide “make a wise choice.” And then his response to God after being caught in sin – it’s not fair! My punishment is too harsh! Clearly he had no remorse and felt he should not have been punished. Still angry at God, still showing no love for anyone but himself.
Hope, not sure if I agree completely with it having more to do with how God forgave and blessed Adam and Eve with animals skins but I love the correlation it brings with blood offerings and ties in creation.
Only animals were acceptable for sacrifice. Blood had to be shed. It was a picture of when Christ would come and die once. He had to shed His blood to redeem us. Cain ignored God’s way and tried to come in his own way. People still do this … nothing changes
Because Cain just brought “some of the fruits of the soil” while Abel brought some of the FIRST born. Similar to a pre-law tithe, as in the first tenth for Abel rather than some of what was available at Cain’s convenience.
I’ve also heard a sermon that we may not know why God was unhappy with his gift because at that point there was no law of what Cain had to give. The sermon I heard made the point that The Lord looks at the heart and clearly from the passages following, Cain’s heart is not in the right place. He’s doing it because he has to not out of love.
That seems to be a recurring theme in the Bible–second born over the first born. It’s the same with Jacob and Esau. “Jacob I loved but Esau I hated.” Or with Joseph and all of his brothers! I think back to these verses: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. They read: brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many of you were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things–and the things that are not–to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before him. It is because of HIM that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God–that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore it is written: let the one who boasts boast in the Lord” Romans chapter 9 is also a helpful passage
I agree wholeheartedly that it is hard to know God is so upset with our sins. Just recently I have done things I never thought I would have, sins I can’t take back. But because of those sins I have a deeper understanding, appreciation, and thankfulness for the grace God gives us. If we deserved his grace it wouldn’t be what it is… Grace.
Why did God regret us? Doesn’t he love us no matter how much we had sinned?! Why did he want to get rid of all of us…someone help me with this concept.
God is perfectly just and perfectly gracious. It is a hard concept to understand. But, if a just judge sees murder and doesn’t punish the offender then he would not be just. God must punish sin, His standard is perfection. We can not meet that standard but Someone did. Because He loves us He has made a way for us to be in right standing with Him even tho we are sinful. That is through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Free grace for all who believe in Him. We will see soon (in Genesis 12) that God promises a new and better covenant. A way for salvation. One that He is faithful to fulfill. One that He did fulfill in Christ Jesus.
It is hard to grasp. I think of God as my father. A Heavenly Father. The same way we can disappoint our earthly father so can we out Heavenly Father. My dad punishes me when I do wrong because he loves me. Same with God.
We are under the blood of Christ, so our sin is covered. God is first and foremost HOLY. Sin has no place with Him and nothing can make Him ignore sin. If all of his creation was steeped in sin, of course he regretted that creation. It was completely corrupted. That’s why he sent his son to cover our sin, so we could be reconnected to him.
I don’t know if this helps. So many things are hard to understand because we have such small and carnal minds, while he has infinite understanding, knowing and seeing all.
This particular passage in John led me to pause and consider what today’s bride is like. Are we not eerily similar? What would He do if he physically walked into today’s church?
I ask myself the same questions . . . How many altars would He overturn today ??? How many churches dedicate themselves to put together productions and shows that will attract followers . . . but don’t really dedicate themselves to what they were called to do!
It’s hard, but I’m also so thankful to have a God who can empathize with my feelings, positive and negative. And that our Lord didn’t just create the things we feel, but has lived and experienced them.
it’s good to note that this language is not always precise and the word is not meant in the way we mean it when we refer to ourselves. the Lord is not capable of changing his mind- he is completely unchanging! so when we see the word “regret” and a change of action, it simply means that the lord did one thing and then did another. he created, and he destroyed. however, the authors of scripture, though inspired, are still human. so there’s a sort of anthropomorphism here- they ascribe human emotions to God in order to try to understand him better. so really, God didn’t regret his actions or change his mind- he just changed his actions.
“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great … and He was grieved in His heart” (6:5-6). Sin grieved God then. And it grieves Him now. He has not changed! I sin so lightly. It doesn’t grieve me. Yet, it should! If I am made in His image and redeemed by His Son, I must value what He values and grieve over what grieves Him. God, change my heart!
Gods word is is precious.
I love how God is always makes it enough!
Just started!! Catching up and so excited!
I The blessing is in the obedience to God’s voice, Blind Faith
At first I wasn’t sure how these two passages connected, but after reading again I see how they both demonstrate true faith in the Lord. Noah did everything the Lord told him to, just as the servants did when Jesus turned water into wine. An inspiring reminder to trust in the Lord with all your heart!
God knew the evil in men & still sent his son to redeem us. What a faithful Father!
Noah’s obedience is always awe inspiring to me. If I was given those instructions I would have crumbled with anxiety, doubt, fear of not having enough to make it happen, fear of the judgement of man. Maybe we don’t see doubts that we’re there due to the story telling, but maybe he was just so sure of God’s provision and faithfulness that there was no need to doubt.
Two verses that stood out to me were John 2:16 KJV that says “Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.” and John 2:19 and 2:22 KJV that say “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” and “When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.”
every time i read Jesus’s words I get chills. So blessed.
Thank you for your comment, I’m a new Christian and this really helped me to understand the message
Vs 8, Then He said to them, “Now draw some out and take Jr to the chief servant.” And they did. This took faith to believe and trust in what the Lord had done and was instructing them to do. Yet in faith, they overused.
I love the lesson of obedience we are given in Jesus turning water into wine. Mary told the servants to “do whatever he tells you.” This is the reminder that “Full obedience brings joy, satisfaction, and transformation.” (Enduring word commentary).
I understood it more as he didn’t entrust himself to them, the way he did the 12 disciples. He was in a time of Roman rule and knew clearly from his comment about destroying the temple he would be crucified. But what stood more out, and perhaps is more powerful, is he knew well what was inside men, and still chose to be crucified to pay for all of it. He knew all of the wickedness, and still let his blood be spilt so we could be forgiven.
This is the first time I made the connection that Noah was out of the line of Cain!
Enoch walked with God and was raised up after 365yrs. So he never died. Wow!
This stood out to me too. More so because (though he didn’t die), his life on Earth was considerably shorter than those that became before/after him, yet he was walking with God.
Jesús knew that he was going to get crucified and that he was going to rise 3 days later!! ✝️✝️
I love the way you out this. I wrote in my notes how “human” this interaction is. Jesus came as fully man and fully God. He responded in such a human way, but honored her nonetheless by being faithful to her faith in him. It’s so beautiful!
Mary’s faith in Jesus is what lead the first miracle. Interesting to see Jesus didn’t have the intention of turning the water into wine, but because of her faith he did. Beautiful ❤️
Like mothers everywhere who are accustomed to sons who say no, Mary knows Jesus will bless—in this instance and SO much more.
It’s quite humbling to think about how we can anger the Lord and Jesus with our actions. Also makes me wonder how Jesus feels about the ministries out there that sell their products. Is it like the temple being used for profit? Thank you Jesus for the ministries that do not use your temple for profit, but to raise you up instead.
I just love the conversation Jesus has with Mary when they’re at the wedding. She fully believes in her son and knows he can work miracles, and Jesus tells her it isn’t time for him to reveal himself to the world in that way, and Mary still told the servants to do whatever he told them to do. Such a mother-son dynamic, and she totally pulled a mom-move and he was just like … okay fine. lol! I think it also reveals how much Jesus loved his mom, which has me bawling just thinking about it.
The part where it says Jesus didn’t trust men because he know what was inside us
playing catch up and reading multiple days
I’m reading through these responses and it is so true. God had mercy on us for our wickedness. He didn’t destroy us, instead He sent His only son to die on the cross for our sins. I have really enjoyed reading so far, I like finding out new information and coming to the realization that God truly is so good and glorious.
How near-sighted we are…Jesus did not speak riddles, but He saw the big picture when the rest of us have tunnel-vision.
11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. – John 2:11
In Hebrews 11:5 it mentions Enoch among the faithful in the Old Testament. It says because of his faith he was taken away and did not experience death and he was approved as one who pleases God.
It’s amazing to me that in the Old Testament, God destroyed almost all of creation for its wickedness, but instead chose to send His son to die for all of creation to save us from our wickedness. Thank you Jesus for bearing the punishment for our sin.
I always love the story of Jesus turning water into wine. I love how it is an underrated story of how he served his mother ❤️
You can read his book as well.
For he knew what was in each person
it’s interesting to see how the flood and the temple both are similar in a way. Jesus saw the wickedness in the world and He wanted to get that out of here. he flip those tables and made those people leave because they were doing evil things. i’m just thinking about God and his forgiveness right now because there’s so much evil in this world. so much sin that’s happening and all the things the Lord could do but thank God for His grace.
I wonder this too. And there is so much violence still in the world. I am eager to learn more about how to react to this as a Christian. What to think or say and how to calm my anxious heart.
I want to know more of Enoch, as he did not die…
17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” – John 2:17
I was thinking the same thing! What a cool testimony of Seth’s line!
I wonder if God still regrets making man?
GOD is amazing in every way!! Even though I have read his word I still am blown away by what he has done!!!
You know what I really noticed this time in the Genesis passage? The fact that both Cain and Seth had descendants with similar names. Both had a Lamech and a Methuselah (Methushael) and an Enoch. It seems to be emphasising the difference between their bloodlines and how one lead to a righteous conclusion and the other did not. God is so amazing.
Good to go back and reread the beginning ❤️ God is good
Noah was rewarded for his loyalty to God and pure ness of y
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It amazes me how long people used to live. I often wonder if time was tracked differently than we do now.
I enjoy reading about the goodness of the Lord
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Is there a way to listen to this instead of reading?
John 2:17 ESV “Zeal for your house will consume me.” which is just like the song “zeal”.
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day 2! praise the lord
I can’t stop thinking about Enoc.
I had the same thought. Out of all of the names listed Enoch was the only one who followed God.
I thought nephilim are half angel half human.
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Loved the John passage
I was wondering the same
I had a son two months ago; we named him Noah. Reading this passage while holding him, gives me hope and encouragement. It shows me what I need to pray for in this moment. That all my sons be as Godly and obedient to the Word as Noah was.
Isn’t it beautiful grace that even despite his terrible sin, God still protected him.
I’m trying to understand this verse myself! All the others stated that the men died except for this one. Wondering why it’s different!
Maybe, and maybe not. Jesus’ lineage came out of only sinners. Rahab, Lot and his daughters, Bathsheba, to name a few.
Has any one gone to the ark? It’s cool to see how big it would have really beed
So great, Ella!! ❤️
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Love the story of the arc being build, amazing.
Oh this is interesting to hear!!
I love how in both the instance of Adam and Eve’s sin and Cain’s sin God asked them first what had happened even though he would have already known. He wants His people to come to Him and confess to Him so that He can cover their sin like he did with Adam and Eve.
If you look at the footnotes, if you are reading in a physical copy of the Bible, it says that nephilim are giants.
On the Bible recap podcast she said there is a possibility that nephilim are the beings created by fallen angels procreating with human women.
Is there significance in the years that each descendant lived? The verse is so specific about each one that I just wonder whether it means anything…
Does anyone have information about the nephilim? I am confused by them.
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How did Cain find a wife when he went away from the presence of God? I had always thought Adam/Eve were the first humans and all who came after would lead back to them.
God’s response to Cain touched me.
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Interesting that Noah came from Seth. Cain did not get that lineage because of his sin.
I was wondering the same thing.
It always takes me a minute to follow the passages about the linage of certain characters. Especially in later books where there can be quite a lot of names and relations.
Wow is all I can say on how he describes the arc in such detail. But it’s also interesting how he can turn a disappointing situation into joy by the simply turning the water in the jugs into wine.
I’ve only heard this spoken of that Enoch was righteous and then was with God.
24 enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. This verse confuses me, did Enoch live so righteously that he was called home early or did he sin?
I read the Message version aloud to my 2 year old today so that I made sure I got this in today!❤️
I was intrigued by Seth. I honestly never hear about him and was pleasantly surprised to read about another son that Adam had.
Reading about the first miracle in John 2 was eye opening. Jesus transforms the place from empty to full. He fills the jugs of water with wine and brings joy where disappointment occurred.
Day 2!!
Day 2 done. Wow, it’s amazing to hear about the ark and how descriptive it was.
Day 2! Complete.
✔️day 2! ❤️
I actually was wondering the same thing about how the earth was being populated through Adam’s early descendants! I did some googling. It appears as if Cain was intimate with his wife/sister? I am confused and hoping for some clarity about this also.
I love this so much! Exactly what I was thinking while reading
Has anyone else asked the question of who Cain laid with and all of the other early descendants of Adam? I also used to wonder why including the dimensions was important. But I understand now. As a teacher, the clearer the instructions, the better the outcome. If God had not been so specific the ark would have likely been built smaller and not been big enough to withstand the flood or hold all of the animals.
YES!! Exactly my heartbeat. I know you didn’t write for any recognition but thank you just the same. Perfectly worded!
So thankful to be on this journey with others, with myself, with the Lord especially!
Thankful for the Word of God
Day 2. Praying for consistency as we tackle this together.
Yes!
I love that we can read through the bible altogether, from all around the world. I’m in Australia at so thankful for my sisters in Christ !
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I always questioned the importance of including the measurements of the ark in scripture. This is probably the first time I didn’t do it. It helps provide the mental picture of the huge task Noah was asked to complete.
I do not want this to just be a check I am marking in the box as an accomplishment for the year. I want to grow in this experience as I read, so speak to my heart Lord as I read these passages daily. And if I get behind, which I probably will, let me not get discouraged and just continue on. May I finish no matter if it is day 365, 367, or day 400.
Day 2 complete ❤️
Day 2 complete! ❤️
I think it gives perspective. We learn about creation and the fall of man while we learn about the gospel of Jesus because his life fulfills the scriptures of the Old Testament.
In Genesis 6:14-22, something stood out to me. When God calls us to do something, He doesn’t leave us hanging. He provides instruction, direction, and provision. Our success depends on our faith in God and our obedience to his call.
Love this ❤️
Love this <3
“Zeal for your house will consume me” … may we all have zeal for the things of the Lord – for God’s word. Our God continues to call us to be set apart in 2021… That we might ponder the zeal, fury, jealousy for righteousness that Jesus possessed as he made a whip and drove the market out of the temple grounds… what is He calling me to remove from my life? What practices or attitudes of mine are displeasing to Him? Do I thirst for righteousness? That I am called under the law, He has given grace and my salvation is not dependent on my works- praise God! Not that I am called to “strive” to “do good,” but to be transformed, through my love of God, that I might desire to be ‘holy as He is holy’ … I keep pondering Jesus’ temperament in this interaction; the words He spoke…
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Day 2 completed. Why do we start at the beginning and then jump to Jesus? Why does it split like that?
2021 is my first year of a year through the Bible. Looking forward to seeing my relationship with God continue to grow this year.
I love the genealogy background to see how God uses everyone for His purpose! Oh hallelujah how the temple was cleansed and raised in three days! I am enjoying so much reading the Bible in this new year!
I’ve been raised in church my whole life. & now as a mom of 3 I want to teach my kids & if I don’t know the word for myself I’ll never be able to teach them. So since I’ve struggled with getting into the word I’m starting this challenge a day late but Better than never! ❤️
My prayer for today: May we always have the heart of Abel and give our best to the Lord, and be filled with zeal for the Kingdom.
Day 2! Great job y’all ❤️ God is going to do some soul searching in us this year!
Praise God!
Ah so good! Especially the cleansing of the temple in John.
I have wondered the same thing!
Love your post. Such a great point. We are always offered His grace!
Day 2 complete ❤️
God blessed Abel’s offer and not Cains because Abel sacrificed the best that he had, while Cain did not. As for what God is saying to Abel, how I have always understood it (and I am not a biblical scholar so take it with a grain of salt) Cain made his living through working the ground and growing and selling crops. His punishment was that he would no longer be able to work in this way and would become a wanderer with no where to really call home. But God did not condemn him to death and essentially is saying that if anyone tried to harm him their punishment would be much worse. Does that answer your question?
Day 2 is done! I am reading The Message translation this year and so far really enjoying the contemporary language.
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day 2 complete:) something fun God brought to light to me through this passage was he still had Consequences for Cains actions, but not condemnation ❤️
5The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
This gets me. This is right before the story of Noah, and all I can think about is that this is me. This is the definition of total depravity, and it grieves God’s heart. I am so so thankful that this isn’t the end of the story and that even in this chapter, God shows his deep love for man even though he deserves the opposite. He provides a way of escape, and it all points to Jesus!
Day 2 done. I love that Jesus was angered when he saw the people sinning in the temple. It shows he was human, it was a righteous anger. I struggle with anger and my biggest caution in life is my anger and making sure to not sin in my anger. I also love how Jesus told his mom, “it’s not my time yet,” he knows everything. He also called his mom woman, I’m not sure if I would call my mom woman. He shows us that Christian friends are closer than family. To surround ourselves with believers. But remember, don’t get comfortable because he wants us to shine light in dark places, teaching and serving, then taking time to worship God in private.
I gotta stop typing
I just realized I sent this twice….
Hello, Holly! I’ll try to answer your question! Back then, people made sacrifices. Abel tended Sheep, while Cain was a farmer. Abel offered his best lamb, because in order for a proper sacrifice, the lamb needed to be without any blemishes,
could someone explain Genesis 4:8-16 to me? i’m not quite understanding why Gods refusing Cains offering and also what God is saying to Cain after he kills Abel
day 2 done! I am really enjoying Genesis and both yesterday and today’s readings have really spoken to me. God created us to be equal and kind, and when we weren’t acting so, he decided to start over, changing our life spans making it so we had less time to be sinful and corrupt the world. Probably hoping we would spend more of our short time being the children God wanted us to be.
Day 2 done!,
This is in reply to Alison’s comment about Jesus showing up to the servant first.
THIS is a very important theme in the Bible. Jesus comes to the lowly people first, he does not show himself to those in higher places of power. A pastor the other day was talking about this in our current times (2020) and how we are Gods people. He will show Himself to us if we seek Him and it’s our duty to share that with the world like never before. Our hope cannot be in those with political position or power but in God. And we have to share Him for all those who are looking to the wrong thing.
i find it interesting that the life expectancy has changed so much through the years because back then it was so long and in between now and then it was very short and grew to be larger and so i believe that god limited humans to a certain amount of time so we can only do some much and limit the evil!
I found these passages to be really interesting. I thought the lineage of Adam and Eve was cool to read and definitely hearing their ages was shocking and I did wonder to myself- why did they live so long back then and why do we have such short lives now? Then my question was answered in that God limited mans time on earth to 120 years because man was evil and sinful. Then the passage about Noah spoke to me- the message I got from that and the rest of the passages is that God is all powerful and we will live eternally in his grace and mercy if we live have faith and live in a godly manner.
Genesis 6:2-3 spoke to me. It reminded me how important it is to not become unequally yoked. The sons of God chose the daughters of Man to marry and God saw that it was bad an decided to wipe out the face of the earth. He does not want us to be unequally yoked with those that are not of him. Did anyone else get this understanding from reading those verses? I’m wondering if I’m interpreting it correctly.
Love this thought! I actually think that they might have lived their lives in a different type of “year” because in one of their lives they gathered a child at 0 years old which I’m not sure is possible. We have no way of knowing their true measurements of time.
I found Genesis 6:5-8 very interesting as it really helped me to relate to God in that moment and showed me that it’s okay to regret something but that doesn’t mean you have to completely change your life because if it.
Such a random thought I had while reading this scripture was why were their lives so long at the start of the Old Testament and we’re now down to life expectancies of 60 – 80 years (depending where you live)? Is it years and years of sin that have corroded away at our lives?
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day 2, done!! can’t wait to keep reading!!
done!!
day 2 done!!
Such a great moment in the word ¡thanks! Day 2 ✔️
Day 2! Already feel God’s love!
I love the contrasts of the old and new testaments.
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Deciding to read the Bible is the best thing I have ever done.
I think it is very interesting that all of the men mentioned at the beginning lived for so long
I find it fascinating that Mary knew Jesus could handle the problem of the wine running out. It makes me wonder what things she saw Him do while He was growing up.
What an interesting thought!
I’ve thought this so many times!
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Catching up! I love what God said to Cain after his offering wasn’t received well. We are to give our utmost for his highest and he knows when we don’t. Sin is in wait ready to pounce on our failures and show us the “easy” way out.
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I’m catching up too. Planning to do 2 readings per day until I’m up to speed!
Catching up. Love that the masters were clueless but the servants knew! For this first miracle Jesus let the servants see FIRST. ❤️
I love this ❤️
Catching up
a little late but catching up today! i have a lot of reading ahead of me!
Same here! But better late than never! Not going to let the feeling of behind “behind” deter me from starting!
For Jesus knew what was inside man. What a wonderful blessing. Also, I want to learn more about these jars for purification and it’s significance.
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He’s so merciful with us. Thank you Jesus for your love!❤️
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It was interesting how God was disappointed in how have had made man and they became so corrupt. I don’t think I remember reading that.
Thank you! This does indeed help!!
God is teaching us grace. Showing us and telling us no matter what he is always there for us.
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He longs for a relationship for us, he waits patiently for our human selves to come full circle and want to get to know him. Jesus Christ, the Lord our God is forever and always in our corner. He leaves his hand out waiting for us to latch on.
He has not only given us life….
He has sent his only son to die for our sin he has compiled a book that shares the story!
We have more than enough resources that God has provided and then he gives us the decision of following him.
I pray that I walk with the Lord just as Enoch had. That I do not only turn to God when something terrible or really good has happened. I pray to use his resources every day and build a steadfast relationship with our father ♥️
“He has not only given us life, He has sent his.” Loved this!
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Day 2. Rebuilding my faith.
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I pray tonight that I would continue to trust in you Lord. I pray that every word I read tonight and in the future I would continue to understand what you are saying to me. Goodnight Lord. Amen.
going to bed with these words in my head. Love you God.
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Day 2-Even from the beginning God knowing man would continually fail, He began giving us grace. He saw man failing and instead of completely destroying His creation, He commanded Noah to do His work and he would be saved from the flood.
How amazing we have a God willing to continually forgive us. He knows what is in us and what we will do. Even though we disappoint His grace, love, and forgiveness are endless always allowing us redemption. ❤️
Someone may have answered this, my app wouldn’t let me see the other two replies. In answer to your question about Enoch, Hebrews 11:5 says, “By faith Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death.”
Why did God ask Cane and Eve and Adam, whyyy they did what they did, when he knew very well what they were going to do?
A couple thoughts come to my mind. One is that he always was and always will be about a relationship with us and was giving them an opportunity to be open and honest with him. I also think he needed them to be able to recognize what they did; to own it.
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If God “took Enoch” and he was not found, does this mean he disappeared? As in, God literally took him to heaven??
And why didn’t God accept Cain’s original offering? This caused his anger- though not justifying his murder of his own brother.
Did Lamech kill someone too? (Genesis 4:23-24)
Hi Lexi! You ask some really great questions. I am by no means an expert but I want to try to help.
I was always puzzled by the different wording too: “took Enoch” instead of “he died”. I think maybe because Enoch spent his life walking with God, God welcomed him after his life on earth ended. I believe the wording is intentional and there’s a message there: walk with God and He will deliver you.
In regards to Cain and Able, I think that God was testing and teaching Cain, much like He tests and teaches us today.
And yes, I do think Lamech killed someone too. Lamech uses what God said to Cain after he murdered Able as justification. But the seventy times seven is significant. In Matthew 18:22 Jesus says to Peter, “You must forgive not seven times, but seventy time seven.”
This link explains this well! https://www.gotquestions.org/seventy-times-seven.html
Lexi- Thank you for asking these questions! I have read this passage so many times and forget to contemplate the verses! Lauren, thank you for your response. I never considered how he “took” Enoch.
In regards to Cain’s offering: God asks us to give Him our “first fruits”. He provides for us, and He wants us to show Him our trust and faith in Him by returning to Him the first of what He has given to us. IE. Tithes and Offerings – He wants us to give to Him first, and then use the rest of our income to live off of. He wants to teach us how to fully rely on Him, even when things seem tight. If we are faithful in giving to Him first, He will bless us and provide for us tenfold.
Abel offered God the firstborn of his flock. His first fruits! Abel didn’t know how many more babes were going to be born to his flock, but He knew He needed to offer to God in thanks when He was FIRST blessed. Cain, however, waited until he had plenty of crops before offering any to God. He didn’t seem to trust that God was going to continue to grow the crops and continue to provide food for him, so he held out until he knew he had enough to live on, THEN he offered some to God.
God wants our first. He wants our best.
Thank you all for these responses. These have helped greatly. I love this community that welcomes all the questions that I have as I am learning and reading through the Bible this year! ❤️
My understanding is Enoch did not have to experience death, much like Elijah was taken up into heaven.
As for Cain’s offering, obviously it doesn’t say in the text but a best guess would be Cain didn’t offer his best. It says Abel offered the first of his flock, perhaps Cain gave what he didn’t want? We can only guess.
Lamech may have killed, again it doesn’t say, but I think his speech to his wives was more him telling them his character than anything else.
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Loved Enoch and his faith and loved the wedding and Jesus’ 1st miracle! Day 2✔️
Day 2 – Done!
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day 2 done ✔️ I love the wedding at Cana so much!
Day ✌️ done! I love the way it’s set up and how it fell with the days of the week for 2020. The day we read Psalms is Saturday, which is my family’s sabbath day and we attend church that evening.
I always love the wedding at Cana.
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2-363 Day two down
Praying to be focused on my walk with the Lord today, just like Enoch.
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Day 2 done! I also hadn’t even thought of the significance of 46 years and rebuilding in three days.
It was something I never really thought of, but yes, three days to rise from the dead, temple being his body.
Day 2 ❤️ it’s been a while since I’ve pulled my Bible out. Love reading these, definitely makes you think about how it all started and where we are at today.
Love the Old Testament stories. They just make me think.
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Love that Jesus’ first miracle was turning water to wine. I also didn’t get the significance of 46 years until today. Mary was 13 when she bore Jesus; Jesus was 33 when he died.
Wow I never realized that! Thanks for sharing!
What did I miss? Where is the reference to 46 years?
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I love how the passage talked about how Enoch walked with God. When I was a kid, everyday when my mom would drop us off at school she would say, “walk with Jesus.” May we be like Enoch and walk with the Lord today.
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That is such a great reminder. I love that your mom said that! ❤️
Amazing! Thank you for sharing. ❤️
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Finished yesterday!
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woohoo!
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#GoingAtMyOwnPace
Wee!
Day 2 complete
day 2 complete !
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25and because He did not need anyone to testify about man; for He Himself knew what was in man.
This just shows how awesome God is. When you follow him good things will happen for you. God is a man of his word and you don’t always need to see signs to believe in him! We also learn that we need to celebrate each other instead of being jealous or mean to each other.
Noah also walked in fellowship in God, and he also leads his life by faith and not by sight or need for miraculous proof like the Jewish leaders did in John 2. He trusted God and in return, God’s plan showed the Lord’s trust in Noah. Noah did not back down because he knew that God was backing him. I hope I can walk in fellowship with God just as closely as Noah did. Truly and inspiring and beautiful story ❤️
It awestruck me that Enoch lived in close fellowship with God and he did not die, according to scripture. He disappeared because God took him to heaven for eternity.
Abel is an example of a follower who gives God his BEST and his FIRST. His life is completely devoted to God.
Thank you for sharing that! I was having a hard time trying to digest that piece of scripture
I’ve been journaling questions, and have so many about this section of genesis! Fascinating! In this John passage, I love that Jesus’s mother had faith he would perform the miracle, even when he said he wasn’t ready. Such a great mom move!
Where have you been finding journal prompts? I’m having a hard time understanding all of the meaning of the reading.. I am new to this and am looking for any tips!
Where are you finding the journal prompts? I am new to this and am having a hard time understanding all of the reading!
What questions do you have? I don’t have prompts but would love to talk about questions you or I have and feed off of Gods truth
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Cain is a reminder that jealousy is a wicked trait and that it will only lead to your own downfall. It’s important to remember this is the days of social media and constantly comparing to others.. it is toxic and an unattractive quality. Be happy for others and celebrate their accomplishments instead of being jealous and hateful.
Reading the beginning, when Cain and Abel were born and eventually when Cain has a wife and child. I always wonder, where did his wife come from? God speaks of other people who may not kill Cain or they will be punished sevenfold….is there a mention of other people he created roaming the earth at that time? If we are all descendants of Adam and Eve, where did the wife of Cain come from? Does anyone know?
I had this same question a while back, so I asked someone in my church. The answer I received is there are two schools of thought. The first is that when God created Adam and Eve, He also created “the other people”. He just set Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The second idea is that the only humans He created were Adam and Eve, and the “other people” are their children. So Adam and Eve truly are the mother and father of all humans.
What I was taught when I had this question was your second point is that Adam and Eve are the mother and father of all humans. God made Adam and Eve as two perfect humans. As generations pass by, that’s when we start to get genetic differences. This is the idea, Back in the biblical days people lived very long lives due to their closer kinship to Adam and Eve and in turn having little impurities to their genetic make up. It was not until comparatively recently that people started to have shortened lifespans.
This is just one way of thinking though.
This is from the blue letter bible. Hope it’s helpful to you.
First, we must understand that no information is given as to when Cain killed Abel. The Bible does not tell us how old Cain and Abel were when this murder took place. It merely says it occurred at the end of days. It is not necessary to assume that they were mere teenagers or young men. If each of them were over fifty years of age, then there could have been a considerable number of people living at the time. We know this because the Scripture does state that Adam and Eve had many more sons and daughters than Cain and Abel.
The Bible says Adam was one hundred and thirty years old when Seth was born. He then lived another eight hundred years. God had promised Eve that he would greatly multiply her conception (Genesis 3:16). In fact Jewish tradition states that Adam had 33 sons and 23 daughters! Therefore many people could have existed at the time when Cain killed Abel. It has been conservatively estimated that 32,000 people could have been alive at that time this event occurred.
I tend to think that the Bible isn’t in chronological order so when it talks about generations shortly after, those people were already on earth when Cain killed Abel
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I love the story about Jesus at the wedding. Ive always has the impression Jesus was always healing and doing good in the towns, and wouldn’t have time for a party such as a wedding but he was there. He was there celebrating the joy of two coming together, just as family would be. He is family.
When Jesus turned water into wine, the Bible says it was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory (verse 11). The word glory struck me as powerful. In Hebrew the word is kavod which translates to ‘importance,’ ‘heaviness,’ ‘majesty,’ ‘respect,’ and primarily ‘glory.’ I hope to live out God’s will with as much zeal, respect, and glory as Jesus does here.
it’s interesting that jesus used the water jars that were meant for purification rituals as the vessels for serving wine at a wedding. so many layered metaphors!
I love the connection between the beginning of the world and the beginning of grace. The old testament stories speak of a time when the law was the highest standard and death was the payment due when it was broken. Jesus, however, came to fulfill that law. He came to show us grace, even through righteous anger. Sin, no matter how ugly, will NEVER defeat our King.
I love this bible study I feel like god is right there reading over my shoulder
Amen ❤️
This was a good passage of learning and really diving deep into the history.
I agree
Too often we rely on the opinions of others. We would do well to remember Christ’s response to people, he who knows the hearts of man.
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Jesus knows what is in man ! -ellie
I really love that God clothed Adam and Eve after they sinned and He protected Cain after he had murdered even though he punished both of them. God is loving even though sin has consequences.
I also love the faith that God sees in humans, and specially in Noah, and how He finds favor in those who seek Him.
Jesus’ first miracle is really cool- I love how he surprised the people at the wedding and how he goes against what is normal in the culture.
Jesus getting angry about people selling things in the temple reminded me about how disgusting our perverted sin is to God – using something that used to glorify God and making it to glorify the opposite, SIN.
I LOVED THESE PASSAGES. ❤️
God does not like sin….yet human tend Andy was seen by hims and Jesus :(
OT: Sin grieves God! We cannot hide our sin from God. Sin has consequences – wages. The consequence of sin is death. Physical death. Spiritual death. NT: Jesus came to bring hope and life! He came and was constantly surrounded by the need of Man for redemption.
Looking for connection between the stories. How is Jesus first miracle connected to the treacherous downfall of man? Just the need of a savior?
If Cain had gone back to God and repented would be have been forgiven? This just stuck out to me and I feel like someone else might know more about this.
I’ve never read the story of Noah before. Interesting to know that there was only one family worthy of being saved. No wonder God was sad at the choices man had made and chose to push the reset button!
Things that jumped out at me :
– Cain felt both the consequences and of the Judge and the Grace of Him…something I think I forget!
– Jesus did what he was meant to do: and didn’t look for validation, or recognition because he did not need it to know who he was.
– choice litters the beginning of the Bible : and sets us up for the grace and redemption we find in the rest of the story…one of the reasons the Old Testament is so important!
When I read Genesis 6:5-7 it seems as if God made a mistake in creating humans, he regrets/is sorry. That’s tripping me up right now. God doesn’t make mistakes. I think I’ve learned about this section before but I can’t remember. Any insight?
I don’t think his “regret” is a statement of a mistake on his side—- I read it as more like sorrow for what his creation had become… “and it grieves his heart”
I believe you are correct. The Old Testament is full of evil and corruption. When God gave up Jesus, things changed and we were free. The God we know now is the new testament.
Ok thank you! That makes sense
I’ve found most bible in a year plans mix old & new testament. I find it easier to see Jesus in the Old Testament when they do this. Plus makes the reading plans easier when you get to all the genealogies. It’s like bonus for getting through that begot, begot, begot section
I’ve read through the Bible twice before. Once straight through, and once doing a mix of old testament and new. They each have pros and cons to them, I found. :)
Read it :)
I love the story of Jesus turning water into wine. As I read it again, He showed me that He will draw out the very best in us when we feel like we are just “water”. So good!
Wow I’m going to reflect on that too!
Such a good thought
Love this!
i never thought of it that way!! i love that meaning though! it’s amazing being able to speak to others and discover new meanings! love this!❤️
Love this!
Why do you think God allowed Cain to kill Abel but marked Cain not to be killed?
My first thought is punishment. He must live with what he did. Perhaps
I think it shows how God is full of grace. He punished Cain but also redeemed him by not allowing anyone to kill him.
Christina, I second that! I’ve read this story many times, but this time around I felt a sense of grace in that moment. Despite all that Cain has done, God still loves him.
I notice many stories in the Bible that show that God allows us to make choices – the fruit in the Garden of Eden allows us the knowledge of good and evil – what is right or wrong. Cain’s choice was to kill Abel, and God allowed him to make that choice. I think that this story also shows God’s mercy. Even though Cain committed murder against his brother, God was still merciful to him.
I agree that it shows mercy and forgiveness.
It reminds me of when God made clothing for Adam and Eve after they had eaten the fruit, realised that they were naked and were hiding from Him. Adam and Eve had got themselves into that mess and God could have left them to find a solution themselves, but he didn’t and although the consequences still stood, God in his mercy provided help to them in the form of clothing.
Similarly in this instance, although Cain had to leave, God again stepped in to provide a solution to Cain’s fear.
He had warned Cain to he should be wary of sin and rule over it. God allowing us to make our own choices. But Cain ended up being so hurt by what he had done, God showed him grace and mercy by protecting him. Just as he does for us daily. Thank you Lord!
Yes! Karen, that stood out to me! God warned him before he even killed his brother…never realized that!
I love that this study has a little bit of New Testament with the old. It makes it easier to read. I tried to get through a chronological bible study, and it was hard to keep up with all of the Old Testament, without Jesus to save the day.
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25and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man. 24But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men,
He knew Enoch and Noah “walked with God”. He knew Cain’s heart and He knows mine. As I set my mind on You today Lord, may my heart be submitted & filled with love & worship for You above/before all else. I desire to walk with You through this day.
I have been listening to a series from one of our priests and he recently talked about why God chose Abel’s offering over Cain’s. This might be common knowledge to some, but it was enlightening to me. Father was covering sacrifice and elaborated that a sacrifice of the first born (in this case, livestock) was considered a very deep sacrifice. Abel sacrificed his first born (livestock), not knowing if he would ever have more. Cain made a sacrifice, but it doesn’t specify what he sacrificed because his sacrifice was not as deep. It was just interesting to me and I thought I’d share! ❤️
Love this, thank you for the insight!!
Enoch lived 365 years and then was not because God took him. I find it funny that our year is 365 days and yet we struggle to walk with God just for that long. I am praying I can have the strength and love for God that Enoch had.
I noticed that too. So very true
Noah is someone i want to be like. the one who found favor (grace) in the eyes of the Lord!
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I hope Jesus sees me in the same way he saw Noah. Worthy of being saved and blameless in His eyes!
Me too!
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Me three!!
I’m always so distraught over how we grieve the Lord, how I grieve the Lord. And how Jesus knows us (me) inside and out. I know I am personally responsible for driving the nails through my Savior’s hands and feet. He died for ME! And yet I still sin… daily. Thank you God for continuing to work on me and not giving up on me.
The app combines Old Testament readings with New Testament readings every day of the week but one when it only gives verses from Psalms.
Ditto! :)
It grieves the Lord to watch His creation not align with His will, but He is a just God
Noah has the kind of faith I long for!
Finishing day 2 on Jan 3. But I’ll catch up!
Lol I’m right there with yah! God bless!
Me too
Day 2 on jan 5! Better late than never!
To me it means that he knew who he was and what he was doing, so the opinions and judgement of others didn’t really matter to him because they would one day realize the truth.
day 2!! ❤️
It bothers me that in John 2:4 Jesus calls his mom “woman”, it seems disrespectful to me
Same answer as below…it has to do with translation. Translating the original text into modern English doesn’t always “work”. From what I’ve read, it’s more like he was saying “ma’am” and it would have been an appropriate and respectful way to address a woman in that time period, whereas in our time period and said in English, it would be rude!
In our English translation, it sounds rude but the way it is in the original Hebrew text, it is said as a word of endearment
That always catches my eye too…maybe culturally at that time and place it wasn’t how we perceive it today
Our pastor preached this passage on Sunday and mentioned this. He said in that time period it was similar to saying ma’am. It was just a common form of address. So it wasn’t considered rude like it sounds to us. I had always thought the same way you did so I found his point interesting.
In Genesis 6:2 Why would it call them “sons of God” but “daughters of man”? Is that intentional, like to mean that men are holy but the women aren’t? It makes me angry.
I did some research into this, and it’s actually because of semantics. It’s really difficult to translate. I guess male pronouns are what most translations chose to pull out of context, but in general “sons of god” could be just as easily translated to “children of god”. You might prefer a different translation.
This is referring to the line of Seth, the sons of God, keeping in relationship with Him, and the line of Cain, wicked and evil. Contextually, The men (from Seth’s line) were enamored by the women of Cain’s line and choosing them as wives. This does not indicate that there were not Godly women, but that essentially the Godly men were choosing an ungodly life. Choosing sin over God.
This is referring to the line of Seth, the sons of God, keeping in relationship with Him, and the line of Cain, wicked and evil. Contextually, The men (from Seth’s line) were enamored by the women of Cain’s line and choosing them as wives. This does not indicate that there were not Godly women. But rather that the Godly men were choosing ungodly wives. Choosing sin over God.
In the old testament, sons of God were referred to as the angels. That’s why the fact that they had gotten with the women made the Lord so angry since normally that wouldn’t result in death of the world. In Jude 6 it talks about the angels who “did not keep their property domain”. There is a speculation that that’s how the Giants came about.
From previous study and research the “Sons of God” are said to be the angels. If you recall in the beginning of Genesis 1:26 when says let’s make mankind in our image. It’s believed that HE is speaking of the angelic beings that already existed before Adam and Eve. So when the angelic beings mated with mankind.
I always find it interesting that Jesus tells his mother his time has not yet come and then does the miracle anyway
Same!
This may be digging too deep here: but where did Cain’s wife come from?
This could help: https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/who-was-cains-wife
What I find interesting and reassuring was were God told Cain his commanded sufferings from what he had done and then Cain added on to it “From your face, I shall be hidden.” It wasn’t God who hid his face from Cain, it was Cain’s choice to run and try to hide from God. God NEVER hides His face from us no matter what we have done. It’s counterproductive to having right relationship. We may try to put space between us and God from our own shame or rebellion but He’s still right there♡
Amen!
We’re all in this together* cue high school musical.
Haha, day 2✅ just a tad late hahaha
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God is good all the time. So amazing how he turned water into wine. I also am enjoying reading about all the amazing things the lord has done.
does anyone know if there will be an actual written study? or will this just be a personal reading of straight scripture?
Typically this is just a straight scripture plan.
I believe it’s just a personal reading so you can read the whole bible in one year not to study the whole bible in one year. Hope that makes sense
I desire to have the faith of Noah. He put all his trust in God, he trusted that he & his family would be spared.
I
Really enjoying this read thru
Striving to be a faithful servant of the Lord like Noah was.
I never knew that the first miracle Jesus did was turning water into wine! Looking forward to learning more things through this bible study
I have been a Christian for 8 years, and I have never had such an amazing connection to the word! I used to never read my bible and church was just a Sunday thing for me.. but I know that God has a plan for me, and it is starting now!
“Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.”
What an inspiration Noah is! How I strive for God to be able to say the same of me.
Loving the work of my Father
John 2:20-22 is astonishing to me! Jesus was like “meditate on this homies, you’ll get it soon”
Love this time in the word!
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Praying God uses His word to strengthen me and give me a year of instilled peace
Only 363 days to go!
Day 2 done!! I feel like genesis has always been harder to ready than any of the other chapters for me. I like it being broken down
Day 2-,Follow His Commands
This reading reminded me that we have the power in us to overcome sin because God I’d always with us.
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Day 2 done!
I pray I become zealous for the Lord
Amen!
Day 2 is in the bag!
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Yes they lived 900 years because the Lord’s spirit was in them but after many generations they could only live 120 years because the Lord said that his spirit couldn’t abide in men forever and that their lives would be shortened to 120 years
Literally wrote in my journal “how could Adam live 930 years?!” Thanks for this!!
So the men in the Bible literally lived 900s of Years?
Every time I read this passage I often wonder why God chose to take Enoch. If the wages of sin is death and Enoch didn’t die but was taken to be with God my assumption is Enoch must’ve been truly righteous and pure. I often wonder why we don’t hear enough about Enoch’s faith. It must’ve been great. Just wish we had more details for examples. He truly walked with God.
It has always made me wonder about why God chose to take Enoch and Elijah. I want to know what set them apart from others.
However, when the Bible says that the wages of sin are death I believe it is referring to spiritual death (separation from God) not necessarily physical death although a lot of things came about as a result of Genesis 3 and sin. Like scripture says “No one is righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10) but I also wish we could learn more about Enoch and his faith!
I love that in such a fallen world, we see that Enoch truly desired the lord and walked with him and it was considered enough in Gods eyes to bring him to himself.
I like to imagine that he was walking by faith with every step. Closer and closer to the heart of God.
I’m also fascinated with Enoch’s life and unusual departure. It caught my eye, reading this time that he was taken at age 365. I have also been reading Revelation lately and have thought that Enoch and Elijah might be the “two witnesses” mentioned there, thinking that because it is “appointed for man to die once…” perhaps they were taken before their deaths because they have another place in time to serve God and die for their Faith. Very intriguing stuff!
I was thinking the same thing, why take Enoch without an explanation.
Day 2.. I thought I would get bored in this part but really focusing and reading it through. I am a believer but just wanting to strengthen and deepen my relationship
Reflecting on how one can rule over sin (Genesis 4:7) and how I must call on the name of the Lord! Loving this study already! Day 2 ✔️
Totally. That verse spoke to me too..
Day two down. My husband and I are doing different “The Bible in a Year” series, and it has been great reflecting on the differences.
Hello! Which one is ur husband doing? Is it an app as well? My boyfriend and I have been reading this one together haha I would like to share the one ur husband is doing with him :)
There is the bible app and he reads truth
In Genesis 6, God’s knowledge of the heart of man is revealed. He is sorry that He made man and intends to wipe them out, saving Noah and his fam in the process.
Fast forward to John 2:24-24. God’s heart is again revealed for His people. Yet, instead of sending rain, He sends Jesus. This once-for-all sacrifice (Heb. 10) would make it possible for us to enter the presence of God, fully trusting in Him and His promise keeping.
I am starting my journey with Jesus. I have always believed in God and Jesus, but I am trying to strengthen my relationship because I have never really been very religious. Any tips or plans that you would recommend?
The Quest is a great bible study I highly recommend!!
Thank you so much!
Just a big welcome..and stick with it when it gets hard or confusing. Check in here for comments. Many times someone posts an explanation to a verse or a phrase and it can be so helpful!
Acts and Romans are really fantastic books of the Bible to strengthen your Faith and dig deeper to see why you hold the beliefs that you do.
Journal :-)
Think of it more as a relationship ❤️
I want to invite a friend to do this study but can not find it on the App Store. Is there a link anyone can share?
Here is a link to the Bible study plan on the website: https://shereadstruth.com/plans/bible-year/
Idk what is causing the she reads truth app to not show up, it might not be supported on their advice? But the link leads to the plan and comments :) hope it helps!
I am loving these responses for everyone else on this journey! Amen and praying for all of us to take time in His word.
God knows everything about mankind. He knows me. He knows my heart. There is absolutely nothing I can hide from him.
Because he already knows everything within my heart, I can approach Him boldly in prayer- holding nothing back. There is nothing to fear in sharing my heart with my God.
Love this, Megan!
Today this reading told me that god is always with you, and you are never alone! You can see that those who are faithful are the ones who see Christ the most.
Today this reading told me that god is always with you, and that you are not alone!
❤️❤️
Day 2 done ❤️
Done!
Reading about God paving the way to those who walked by him only confirmed my faith and made me want to continue this reading challenge. I hope God sees us all walking by his side and helps guide the new year with his light ❤️
When reading about how God was disgusted with the evil and corrupt human race it makes me think of the world we are currently living in. Think about how often we hear “ there has never been such a tragedy like this” whether it be natural disasters or shootings or bombings things are horrific right now in our world, just makes me think about how close His return is.
What struck me is how Jesus spoke in a way that some did not understand. When he spoke of the temple, he was speaking of his body. Who understood him at that time?
❤️
I think today, the Lord actually really spoke to me about parenting. I am a mom of two girls, a four year old and a one year old. Enoch walked with God, and therefore we can assume he raised his kids up in the Lord. And it was passed on to Noah who was righteous in his generation. A generation that was wicked and evil, Noah stood out and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
We too live in an evil time, and it’s our job as parents to set the bar high and to be an example and raise our kids up in the Lord so they too can stand out in their generation. I am challenged this new year to be more loving and patient, and to be intentional with my parenting and spending time with my kids. I want them to know the Lord, and it starts with me. So this reading plan is a great way to start.
Yes thank you for drawing this parallel Chelsey! I’m encouraged to do the same. Patience and kindness to my kids is so hard for me but God is faithful and I trust He will give me what I need!
I was really struck today by the way that God always makes a way for his people and those who are faithful. God won’t abandon you and leave you hopeless and alone. To Adam and Eve he gave Seth and through Seth he gave Noah. And even in the midst of the entire world’s corruption he gave Noah the ark because of his faithfulness. It’s a good reminder that shows up again and again in the word that God will not leave us where we are or abandon us. He always makes a way for his people.
Wasn’t Lamech a descendant of Cain?
Different Lamech. I was pondering that same thing and I wonder whether the fact that there are two Lamech’s is to highlight the difference between Cain and Seth’s lines?
Done!!!
✅
Really struck by the parallel in the flood story and the final verses in John 2. Jesus did not trust any man because he knew what lay in their hearts and Genesis 6:5 mentions that evil was in man’s heart continually. It’s both saddening to know that little changed in man through the ages, but also so joyous that sin has been dealt the death blow and we can live in freedom from the chains of sin through Christ.
Yes me too!!! How great is God’s grace and kindness to still give us responsibility and authority in his kingdom though we are still so sinful. Sad and joyous indeed!
In response to Rebecca’s post because I couldn’t reply for some reason. As you continue to read this plan, the readings are parallel to each other and it will make more sense why they are paired together. Otherwise, I have always heard that John is a great place to start if you’ve never read the bible.
Day 2 done!
Can anyone explain John 2:4? – 4And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-Mary-woman.html
I love this site! Will use it a lot this year :) it helps answer so many questions from the Bible – more than your question but good explanation of the passage
Mary knew Jesus had the power to help with the problem miraculously, but this is not how He wanted to do things. He honored His mother despite this not being His desire.
Mary knew Jesus had the ability to miraculously intervene. The last thing the Bible says about Jesus was when he was 12 years old, and then it jumps to Him as an adult beginning His ministry. We know nothing of what took place at home while He was growing up but it seems clear Mary knew Jesus’ potential. Jesus honored Mary by complying, but this was not how He desired to use His powers to draw attention to Himself.
One of the pastors at my church explained this not too long ago- although in our time it sounds like Jesus was being short with his mother, in Biblical times the word “woman” was extremely respectful. Essentially he was saying “ my lady”. And the point of delaying the miracle was not to emphasize the timing, but on whose time Jesus works. He would wait for the fathers command.
Her is the recorded podcast of her sermon on this chapter! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/summit-spokane-church/id892877217?mt=2&i=1000419479431
♥️
Does anyone else nerd out on the genealogy stuff? I always find it fascinating when you add the numbers and do the math – things like Methuselah, the man who lived the longest, died the year of the flood. So did he die from the flood? He wasn’t on the boat. It doesn’t say. But just makes me wonder? Or that Noah was born 126 years after Adam died, and 14 years after Seth died.
Just brings timelines in perspective.
Such an interesting point Kari. I will think more about it!
Love that stuff too!
Here is the link!
https://www.khouse.org/articles/1996/44/
I heard it preached, but this is just a reading. Have fun!!
I have never found it interesting before but today it really struck me and I thought it was so neat!
I was wanting to do the math too and I’m no math nerd;) I wondered if Noah was born before Adam died- so thanks for clearing that up for me! So crazy that Adam had so many generations of grandchildren while still alive.
Jesus first miracles!
Actually it was 2 of every unclean animal and 7 of every clean animal that’s what the original bible said
I’m intrigued by “Zeal for your house will consume me.” Could anyone explain exactly what this means? I understand what the phrase means, I just don’t understand why it was stated or who exactly stated it.
I believe It’s just John writing a reference to explain the zealous behavior and why they didn’t think Jesus was acting in a manner uncalled for. It is in Psalms 69:9 as well… if you read that entire chapter in Psalms it draws a lot of parallels to Jesus life and crucifixion, which is interesting! This might not be what you are asking, but I hope this helps!
My bible references Psalm 69:9 too: “Passion for your house has consumed me..”
Does anyone know what version this is in?
It’s in the top right corner, you can change it.
John 2:24-25 stood out to me. Jesus knows all people. Not just my name but every corner of my heart, every bit of faith and every bit of unbelief. He is the Truth regardless of any of us (I.e. He doesn’t need us!) yet he chooses us, loves us, wants to be in relationship with us. That is love!
Amen!
Agreed!! Amen
Love this!!
Thanks Brittany. It means a lot to me.
19 And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
In this verse it never states that taking two wives is a sin yet, I know it is one. Does anyone have a scripture that can help me?
The best I have is all that God designs and Christ says about marriage. Adam and Eve were given each other, no one else. A man is supposed to leave his family and be united with his [singular] wife. Adultery is the only grounds for divorce specifically outlined in the Bible. Christ accusing the woman at the well of having several husbands. I think it all spells out that we’re meant for monogamy.
Chloe,
I’ve had this question about similar practices in the Old Testament that are condoned early on and then condemned later. The best answer I’ve gotten is that God allowed people to live within the cultural norms they already knew and led His people slowly toward more holy lifestyle and practices as time went on. Hope this helps!
14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. It is so interesting that even though Cain killed Gods child God spared him and made sure no one would kill him. Any thoughts anyone?
I’m with u on this. I stopped reading and asked God the exact same question. The response I got was just his Love for us. I have 2 daughters and I imagined 1 of them committing a crime (yes there 9 & 2 but follow me) I wld of course be furious and may not want to even look at her but she’s my daughter I would not want anything to happen to her because of My love for her. It would hurt ME. He’s our Heavenly Father so if in my sinful nature I can still Love my girls that much imagine how much more HE loves us….
I have done other Bible reading plans but they’ve never come with the ability to leave comments! Such a wonderful addition to daily reading, I love it!
Anyone care to share their thoughts and wisdom on these verses?
Genesis 6: 5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
The part that “the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth” confuses me. He must have known what would happen? I’m sure I’m interpreting it wrong, but it almost seems like it was a “mistake”.
Hey Shannon! I am reading this through a Study Bible & there is a section that talks about this…
“The exact nature of the sin described in these verses is perplexing to most readers. While the actions are somewhat unclear, what is abundantly evident is the fact that God’s good, created order has been corrupted by human rebellion. The people have done the very thing God commanded them to do in the garden- they have been fruitful and multiplied and filled the earth (Genesis 1:28). Sadly, rather than filling the earth with image-bearers who reflect God’s glory they have instead filled the earth with brokenness.
Interestingly, the sin recounted here describes the people seeing something as beautiful and pursuing that thing in rebellion to God’s command, as did Adam and Eve. Rather than submitting to the command of God and trusting the goodness of his dictates, the first couple chose to trust their eyes and follow the lusts of their hearts (Genesis 3:1-7). At its core, this is the nature of all sin.
God, the Creator of all things, knows best how the human life should be lived. He provides clear guidance on his good and gracious plans for humanity, which are ultimately good. Sin is rooted in unbelief in the promises of God. Rather than trusting in the ways of God, all people choose to follow the desires of their own hearts and, in doing so, elevate themselves to the position of God. People believe they know better than God; therefore, they run after the lusts of their hearts and the desires of their eyes. John warns, however, that these things are passing away and so are those who live their lives in pursuit of them. Only those who do “the will of God ” can live (1 John 2:16-17).
But, how does one do the will of God? The implications of Adam’s sin and the fall are not merely that all people make bad decisions, yet if they try hard enough they can keep God’s law. Rather, sin renders all people unable to keep God’s law and trapped in the shackles of their sin. Jesus perfectly and completely lived the life they could not live, no matter how hard they tried. Those who are aware of their inability to keep God’s law can turn to Christ in repentance and faith and be given the free gift of righteousness. By grace, God credits the perfection of Jesus to men and women who could never earn it by their own merit (2 Corinthians 5:21).”
Hope this helps clear things up a little bit!!!
Thank you for sharing that Rachel! Yes it does. I just find the part about God regretting that he made man to be an interesting statement, but maybe the meaning is lost a bit in translation.
Thank you for posting this, Rachel! So helpful!
I had the exact same thought Shannon. Thank you for Asking this question. And thanks Rachel for taking he time to reply.
God accepted Abels sacrifice because he was obedient to what God asked Cain would also have been accepted had he brought forth what was asked of him …
I seen a lot of questions about this, but the reason God accepts Abel’s gift is because it a sacrifice, and Cain’s was not.
CCV.church has the BEST sermon on the significance of the wedding water-wine miracle from this past Sunday. Highly recommend!!
I just started reading the bible and I really don’t understand the scripture Genesis 4-6. It really confused me, would anyone be able to explain it to me??
I’d really appreciate it
Thanks x
Hi Ann,
What exactly confuses you? I can give you an overview. This particular part discusses genealogy from Adam–the first man ever created–to Noah. I believe we are catching a glimpse of how the world was populated; we don’t follow every family, because this specific description concerning the lineage of Noah’s family will lead us (eventually) to the birth of Christ.
God is setting up a narrative. What I mean by that is, God’s intentionally revealing specifics of history to unfold the need for redemption, and his desire and plan to save mankind from sin, while we also learn of his character.
Noah was the man God instructed to build a large ship–as in, large enough to hold pairs of all living creatures and his family. God was pouring out his wrath on mankind for his violence and rebellion. He chose to flood the entire world and start the human race over again with a man who was faithful to him.
I hope this helped!
Thank you so much. It helped a lot , it all makes more sense. I’ve learnt a lot so far and can’t wait to keep reading more and discovering more of Gods word.
In regards to Genesis 4:17 “Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.” Where did Cains wife come from ? If Adam and Eve did not have her how did she come to be ? I kinda of feel silly asking this question like the answer is obvious but I am confused non the less lol
It would be a sister or possibly even a niece. Adam and Eve “begat sons AND daughters”, and at this time everyone lived 700 + years, continuing to have children the whole time, obeying Gods command to multiply in the earth.
“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” || Two points stand out to me in reading these chapters.|| 1. There is always a remnant. A remnant of faith. A remnant of hope. Throughout the OT we see over and over the evil and wickedness of the world overcoming the hearts of God’s people…yet in every situation there is at least one who remained faithful; a remnant. In his generation, Noah was that “one”. || 2. Why Noah? Was he the strongest? Was he the smartest? The richest? The poorest? The wisest? The meekest? No…none of those things are mentioned about him…he was faithful…he simply chose to walk with God. For that choice alone, he found favor with God. We can’t choose to walk with the world and expect or even hope to find favor with God. His favor, His abundant blessing of fellowship with Him are found in walking in His ways and spending time in His presence.
I love your thoughts on this, thanks for sharing!!
Love this!
Amen!!!
John 3:31 “He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.”
Grateful for this TRUTH in such uncertain times and for the Gift from Him that is my Faith!
We had a covenant service with our church, and I’m also doing this along with the Joshua devotional, so God is obviously trying to speak with me about covenants lol… I love the idea that we have covenants WITH God, it’s a two way street. As we notice with Noah today, Noah did ALL that God asked of him, and God blessed him. He did the same with Joshua, and many more people! So it’s super cool to think that we can have our own covenants with God as well, his promises are always steadfast, even if we sometimes stray away.
Excited about this plan and new beginnings! The genealogy of Jesus and foreshadowing to his life and purpose on earth is amazing. John is a powerful book and I love that we are reading Genesis and John together!
I’m confused about Enoch “walking with God” and then “was no more because God took him.” I know that’s the ending of his life, but does it mean like he disappeared or…?
Hi Ashley…yes, thats what is taken from this passage, that he was chosen for God’s own reason to not experience the physical death. Interesting huh? There’s another guy who also fits this category in scripture , Elijah! You’ll enjoy reading about him. :) (quite a story!)
I love that you get a glimpse into Mary and Jesus’ relationship with the story of the water being turned into wine. Mary, like any proud mama who knows her son can get things done, goes to Jesus with the problem. Jesus protests but does what his Mama asks him to do. And Mama looks at the servants and says “y’all do what he says.” It makes me laugh to think how “normal” their relationship might have been. Yes, she birthed the son of God, but she is human. And I really believe Jesus regarded her with both an earthly and heavenly love of a son towards his mother.
I was thinking the same thing as I was reading this part
I found it so interesting how much Noah’s instruction in entering the ark with his family and every kind of animal reminds me how we are all accepted into ark (the church) and that there are people that are there to provide the ‘spiritual’ food that we need to survive.
God truly is a merciful and loving God :) His mercy endures forever :)
21 Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.”
What a different way to look at that verse! I’m thankful too that His mercy is so timeless
It’s the genealogical blood line that eventually leads to Jesus.
I started today
I love this plan so much!
Just curious as to the point of listing through the names/generations? Any insight?
It’s like why some people in today’s world are so interested in their background. This scripture is the background as to where Jesus came from.
Gen 5:22 Enoch walked with God. Oh! No better prospect of hope for 2017 but to want God more than anything. Oh! To walk with Him this year. The One whom John says knows what’s inside of me. The One Who does miracles for servants before masters. Oh God! Help us all to flesh out these words.
Random question but how do you get your profile photo included by your name? Nice to see faces with the comments …even if they are super tiny. Haha.
I was wondering the same thing :)
FIRST TIME EVER reading through the entire bible. Excited to be on this journey in 2017! Cheers!
(P.S. Really wish you could tap to like comments. So many good ones!)
I was thinking the same thing about liking comments!
Me too! I’m so so excited to read through the entire Bible this year.
Same here!!
Me too Mary! I’m excited to see what I can learn
I’ve never understood the acceptance of one offering and not the other, either. I wonder if God was trying to teach Cain a lesson because he could see his heart was not in the right place? Looking forward to reading through the bible this year, trying to get my own heart closer to God through his word.
It’s because the wages of sin is death, I think. Only blood could atone for sin, and Cain offered none. That’s why Jesus died for our sins—He was the Lamb of God, and His blood is so precious that animal sacrifices are no longer necessary.
Thank you for answering Brie’s question. Reading the bible like this, with all of your opinions, helps me see more than I can see on my own. Thank you for opening my eyes.
This may help with further study into why God accepted Abel’s sacrifice and not Cain’s; 1 John 4:12 “We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.”
It’s because Abel’s offering was living.
We studied it in my English class. It’s a lot more in depth but that I mainly remember my teacher saying.
Hi! I started reading in November but I’m so excited to continue the journey of reading His word daily along side you all!
Abel brought his offering from the best of what he had and Cain did not.
Hi! I’m also going to attempt, once again, to follow this daily. Glad to have you ladies here as well!
It’s nice to be going along with others! I feel like it could get definitely get overwhelming
I’m struggling to process why the Lord acknowledged Abel’s offering and not Cain’s? They both brought from their perspective jobs? Were they not using their God given talents and abilities to bring forth those offerings?
I struggled with that same question also. I can only think that God was looking in their hearts. God did warn Cain of sin and to let it rule over him. I could also be way off base though.
Read further down, some of the other women’s answers may help;)
Because Abel gave the best that he had. It was literally a sacrifice to give up.
So fun to see so many girls joining to do this thing together! I’m so excited for this next year to come!
this is our year to rise and spread the gospel to other people:)
I love how God uses the most unlikely people to do the most amazing things. Can take a human life, that he was the father of Enoch, who walked closely with God. From there we get people such as Methuselah and Noah, who was one of the few people following God in his day.
Thank you for all your comments, the interpretations and what has been learned from all truly help for this first time scripture reader. I’ve never been able to really get through it. My spiritual tendencies are for nature and the beauty that exists thanks to Him. So I’m challenging myself to know Him better through His word. I look forward to the journey with you all this year!
Joining all of you for 2017! I find it interesting that Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine. I want to study the significance of that. Nothing he did lacked hidden meaning or prophetic fulfillment. If anyone has insight, please share.
Welcome ladies! I’m excited to read along with you guys this year and read your insight into the passages. I love seeing how people interpret God’s word
This is so helpful in a young teen and wanting to be more intact with the Bible and so I started yesterday and we can all make this through this great year with god together
I agree!
The nephilim ! Giants who roamed the earth! Creatures half animal half nephilim! It is all so true!
I got stuck at the nephilim part, I guess it translated as just “giants” but I google searched it and there are so many theories out there of that “Sons of God” could mean, and now i’m just confused.
I started yesterday!! Excited to walk with you ladies this year through the whole Bible!
Same with you god will be with us the whole way keep your life full of joy and happyness ❤️
I love no matter how many times I’ve read these passages, including being faithful to read aloud thru the generational records, I always, always glean new truths. I love that whenever I come, open heart, open mind, the Spirit interprets for me and teaches me “new and marvelous things I don’t know.”
I love how you put it :)
I love how you put this. I have probably read these passages 10s of hundreds of times yet something new always pops up
I started this yesterday too! I’m really excited to start my day with the bible and committed to stick with it!
I’m here for 2017! So excited to read through the Bible for the first time!
Excited
Happy 2017! I’m thrilled to do this one year plan to get through the entire bible. In today’s reading, I’m curious about Genesis 4:3-7…
Why did God not have regard for Cain’s offering from the ground?
I believe there is much debate over this section but I think that the problem wasn’t in the nature of Cain’s offering but his attitude behind it. The passage states that Cain just brought some fruit of the ground, so he was paying his offering but his heart wasn’t in it. Abel, on the other hand, brought the firstborns of his flock and their fat. He carefully chose what he was offering to the Lord instead of just doing it because he had to.
Wondering too… I’ve learned that the offering to God needed to be a blood sacrifice – that Adam & Eve practiced that with their family (learning it from God when He sacrificed the animals for their clothing) but Cain disregarded the correct way to approach God and did it his own way. Kind of like the NT passage in Rom 10:2-3
I’ve heard several sermons about this and the gist I got was that he thought his offering was worth more than his brothers because it held greater value, but in Gods sight they were equal because they were equal sacrifices for each brother.
Wondering too… I’ve learned that the offering to God needed to be a blood sacrifice – that Adam & Eve practiced that with their family (learning it from God when He sacrificed the animals for their clothing) but Cain disregarded the correct way to approach God and did it his own way. Kind of like the NT passage in Rom 10:2-3
Welcome 2017 ladies!! I just started today!!!
I started yesterday too! Will be so great to have all of you on this journey!
Same here I started yesterday!! Looking forward to see how far we all go with the Lord’s help and grace!
I started yesterday too! Excited to learn and get closer to Him this year. ☺️
A few months ago I heard a sermon on Genesis 5. The pastor had a really interesting observation about the genealogy. All of the people died except Enoch, who walked with the Lord (Genesis 5:24).
Me, too!!! Very excited to be a part of this community and submerge myself in the Word this year!
Before anything else each day….
MN Anne? If so, this is Heidi and I’m reading thru too! :)
I started yesterday too! I lead a lifegroup of High School girls and I am challenging them to do this if they need a structured quiet time!
Hi, 2017 ladies! Reading along with you this year.
I’m here for 2017! Excited to begin this!
We can do this!:):)
I started yesterday!
Yay!!
My name is Lisa and I started yesterday, too!
Yay!!
I just started yesterday! Happy to have company!
Yay!:) I really want to stick it out this time… hoping fellow readers will be extra motivation:)
Anyone else starting this plan for 2017??:) I’m here hopefully for the duration if you want company!
Hi Janna! I just started yesterday, too. Excited to read the whole bible in 2017!
I’m here too Janna and Denise. Excited to read through the Bible with you and SRT this year of 2017.
Im also using this plan as my devotional for 2017! Yay.
Hi Janna, and others! I started yesterday too! So glad to have the company of you ladies!
I’m here with you too!
Interesting that Jesus used the jars of water for Jewish purification rituals. Perhaps showing his lordship and completion of the OT laws?
I love God’s mercy towards us… He let Adam and Eve live after disobeying Him, he lt Noah and his sons live even though he knew that they were’nt perfect.
He sent Jesus to die for us, and even now as christians when we let sin into our lives and have to deal with the consequences from it, He is still there holding our hands, encouraging us to move on, to work towards being strong in him!
I love that Jesus honored his moms wishes though he sounded as though he wasnt ready to start miracles… Sometimes its a struggle for me to do what my mom wants, and this is an encouragement for me to be more caring about her and her wishes.
I love the faith that both Mary and the servants at the wedding had in Him
Agreed! Old and New Testaments, I am in awe at His loving character. Another thing that stuck out to me in relation to God’s reaction to the original sin is that He punished, then out of love clothed Adam and Eve Himself. He is so tender with us, even when we screw it all up.
I love how the grouping and arrangement of the reading today was so coherently about God’s capacity for mercy toward us. I am struck by His mercy in having man leave the garden before he was trapped in an eternally sinful state, how God had mercy on Cain and preserved his life (even after such atrocious behavior), how God spared Moses in order to give mankind their best chance at a fresh start (and hung a rainbow in the sky as an everlasting covenant with us in mercy). I love how In Jesus, God sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins… I love that Jesus conceded to Mary’s request (though it wasn’t his first inclination), how He reprimanded the money-changers out of a desire to teach everyone in the community how they are NOT to relate to a holy God (so that true repentance and heart change could come). What a God we worship!!! No matter what He does, He acts out of His perfect love- mercy is such an integral part of His being. I pray that it can be more significant and active in my heart as a woman made in His image.
Jesus didn’t entrust himself to man because he knew all of them and He knew what was in the heart of man. I don’t know particularly what He saw but I know in me I often want mans approval and God has been showing me this and how the only one who can and really who gets to tell me who I am is God! He modeled this here. He is the one we need to go to for approval, for love, for recognition
My favorite part of this reading is,” Noah did everything God commanded.
The genealogy covered in these parts of Genesis are thousands of years! I’m touched by God’s sorrow of man prior to the great flood, and His covenant with us. I’m struck by Jesus’ first miracle as well. Not only does he make a lot of wine, it’s also good wine– quality and quantity.
I found it awesome that instruments are mentioned so early on in the Bible! Heaven is going to be an epic dance/worship party!! I also loved that even though God was furious and disappointed with his creation he decided to show love and spare Noah and his family! He is a loving God that doesn’t have to be loving toward us because we constantly struggle with sin.
I really like that in Genesis 5, It is mentioned twice that Enoch walked with God – among all the other descendants that just lived, bore children, and died. I want to leave a legacy of walking with God like Enoch did!
There is so much going on in the world – I was also blessed by God’s grace towards Cain. It is my prayer that the Lord would also put a “mark” on my sons (and all your children too) so that no one would do them harm
Gen 4:7 really stood out to me. Sin always desires to conquer us, but God encourages us that we can and must rule over it!
Me too :) It’s amazing how many parts of the bible we miss if we don’t read it closely… It is also very convicting at the same time bc I struggle a lot with renewing my mind :(
Regarding Cain’s wife, I am thinking thatAdam lived to a ripe old age of 930, so there must have been many other children – lots of girls. I’m guessing that in the beginning, the wives had to have been Adam’s offspring as well, and there would have been enough of an age gap between everyone that it wasn’t weird back then. Am I making any sense?
Yes you are it’s confusing
Is there a place to go
To ask
Questions ?
Why doesn’t anyone answer these questions??
so cool that they lived that long!!!
I love Mary’s confidence in Jesus is John 2:3-5. After asking him to fix the diminishing alcohol problem and basically getting a ‘why are you even asking me about this’ she still tells those around to do whatever he says. As to say she knows that even her simplest request will be taken care of by her son..and it was.
Madeleine “Verses that caught my eye this evening:
John 2:10, where the banquet master notes that “everyone” does things one way but Jesus acts the exact opposite. Foreshadowing and symbolism there.
Genesis 4:15, where even after Cain killed Abel, the Lord does not want him to die. So much so, in fact, that He threatens to curse anyone who would dare to take Cain’s life. I’m not sure that my interpretation is accurate, but the way it struck me tonight was abundant with grace. God is so good.”
❤️ this
So good!!
Love what you noticed about John 2:10!!!!
Curious as to why they went into depth about Enoch. Saying he was steadily with God and how God took him, but they did not do that with anyone else.
I have the same question! Noticed it’s phrased differences from the others. I made a note to look into this further in the commentaries.
I was curious about that too. The footnotes in my NKJV explain that it’s likely because no one else was walking with God…simply living for sinful self & dying. Enoch and Noah were the exceptions. The genealogy progression is not just to prove the line of Jesus but until the flood how progressively evil man had become walking farther from God, corrupt in sin.
I don’t know if this will help at all, but I know there is the belief that Enoch and Elijah are the two witnesses who come in Revelation…so maybe they didn’t die their earthly deaths in preparation for what’s to come? deaths
Yes. Where did Cain’s wife come from?
She was one of his sisters. Adam and Eve had other children. Cain, Abel and Seth were the only ones mentioned by name..but they had more.
Lori, I am just joining this plan for the year and am catching up, but I saw your question. I found the following link for you at BibleGateway.com. Hope this helps. https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/all-women-bible/Cain-8217-s-Wife
Another interesting thing with the temple event, I am reading “killing Jesus.” It’s an account of His death. One of the chapters speaks all about Him doing this at the temple. I have heard sermon after sermon about this but nothing like the way the book describes it. See the Jews had to build a specific room for the Gentiles to worship. They were supposed to be selling the items outside of the temple. Because the high priest and those close to him hated the Gentiles they moved the selling yard inside the temple where the Gentiles were supposed to be. Therefore the Gentiles no longer had a place to worship. According to history the original plot to kill Jesus came at this moment. The moment He rushed the temple and turned the tables. And He did it all for us! He did it all so the everyone would be welcomed into the Fathers house!! Wow!!! If you get the chance to read the book, I recommend it. It’s written by Stephen Mansfield. That chapter had me in tears.
This is awesome! Thanks for recapping the book…I’ve struggled with that section in John…and wow does that ever change
The story.
Thank you for sharing this! Your recap gave me chills for Gods greatness!
Who did Cain marry?
That’s what I’ve been wondering!!
Truuuuue!!
I always wondered the same thing! Did God make other ppl in the mean time for Cain to meet?
Would he have wrote about it in the bible?
John 2:17 // What did “Zeal for your house will consume me” mean?
“Zeal” means “extreme passion” for “your” meaning “Gods” house (the Temple)
I’m glad you asked cause that’s what I was wondering!
Ashley explained it well. To add… Jesus wasn’t angry to just be angry. He was so upset and hurt that people were getting in the way of others’ relationships with God. By selling in the courts, they not only were turning the temple into a marketplace, but they were actually selling sacrificial animals (these animals were needed to make sacrifices so that people could be seen as “clean”- this was because Jesus hadn’t atoned for our sins yet) at a price that people couldn’t afford so it was harder to make sacrifices- thus interfering with peoples’ relationship with the Father. Imagine if you were Jesus and you saw that God’s children weren’t able to be as close as they should be to God. I think then, you’ll be able to understand a little more what zeal is. It’s that feeling you get when the bad guy wins or you experience injustice.
Interesting note – the verse says his disciples “remembered it was written” that,”Zeal for your house will consume me. ” It is important to remember that the disciples were Jewish, and would have grown up memorizing the old scriptures. They knew when prophesy was being fulfilled, recognized when clues were pointing to Christ being the Messiah. In this verse when they remembered it was written, the footnote of my ESV Bible refers us back to Psalm 69:9. Lots of great stuff in there where David is crying out for God to save him. It even prophecies of God saving Zion. I’m a sucker for digging into the cross references!
I love how faithful Noah was to the Lord in Genesis 6. It would be so difficult to build a gigantic boat while claiming that the Lord told you to- I bet people thought he was crazy.
What sticks out to me tonight is that God didn’t just tell Noah “Hey build a boat” and then leave him to figure it out, He gave very specific instructions and guided him through each step. Praying to be able to see God doing this in my life too!
Amen.
Verses that caught my eye this evening:
John 2:10, where the banquet master notes that “everyone” does things one way but Jesus acts the exact opposite. Foreshadowing and symbolism there.
Genesis 4:15, where even after Cain killed Abel, the Lord does not want him to die. So much so, in fact, that He threatens to curse anyone who would dare to take Cain’s life. I’m not sure that my interpretation is accurate, but the way it struck me tonight was abundant with grace. God is so good.
In Genesis Enoch in the lineage of Adam walked with God and it didn’t say he died it said that God “took him with him” that’s amazing and subtle foreshadow of Jesus!
15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;
This reminds me of how Jesus changes us from the inside. The temple will always look the same on the outside, but he comes in and drives out all that’s bad. Renewing us and changing us every day.
How great is our God! How mighty!
I love this application, Nicole! Thank you for sharing!
Love this
Love this description. As Jesus drives out the bad from within me, I find it scary and unnerving and painful BUT Jesus makes me new and clean!
Love this verse from John 2:25 “He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.”
Further words confirming how God knows us inside and out; so comforting!!!
That stood out to me too!!!
In Genesis Enoch in the lineage of Adam walked with God and it didn’t say he died it said that God “took him with him” that’s amazing and subtle foreshadow of Jesus!
Sorry disregard that last one lol
What do you suppose the significance is of the statement made to the bridegroom about saving the best wine for last? Obviously Jesus’ is the best, but I wonder if there are other ways where Jesus saves the best for last. Or even in how we live, is it better sometimes to save the best for last?
Maybe to keep the faith even when things are not so great? Or possibly that God is forever providing for us? I’m sure there’s more. Those are just the first things that come to mind for me.
I think it is to exemplify the capacity of the miracles Jesus performs. That even the worst tasting water can be made into the best tasting wine or in other words, what may seem like a daunting situation to be in can have a miraculous outcome through prayer and faith in Christ.
I’ve read this was to signify that the wine was not just grape juice. It was “the best” as in it was alcoholic which makes it an absolute miracle since fermentation is a long process.
Weddings would last for a few days, and your guests might get upset if the wine runs out. So, not only does the wine not run out, but it’s really good quality wine! This is very similar to the personality of God- he gives us life and life to the full…he blesses us but with abundance…etc :)
Agreed!
I liked the part that spoke about too much eagerness for “household” things will consume you. I struggle with over consumption of material things. This spoke to me
Yes! Thanks for sharing. I read this the same way!
Something I noticed in the footnotes is that Noah’s name is similar to the word for rest. I found this interesting because of his calling to build the ark, which seems far from rest. I think this goes to show that when God commanded us to rest in Him, that this concept of shalom (rest) should be in every aspect of our lives.
Well said, Amanda. I struggle with anxiety and find that hard to do at times especially when I’m anxious. I know God would rather me have rest than be anxious.
New fact for me, too!
Rest in Him. Love that principle here
Ken Ham has a ministry called Answers in Genesis that you could look up online and it will have the resources you are looking for.
Are we supposed to take it literally that these men lived for over 900 years?
That’s a good question. I want to do some reading about the timing of creation, too. Was each day literally a “24 hour day” or was it a figurative measure of time? Anyone know of resources?
It was their family lineage. Not the actual age of that one person :)
Sorry. Wrong person :)
It was their family lineage. Not the actual age of that one person :)
There are many different theories about creation. So many ways to look at it. I decided it’s not a key theology topic for my faith as I trust God created the world, we just might not know exactly how :) my thoughts.
Alex, I actually had major trouble with this topic as I was an adamant atheist and self professed smarty pants not too long ago. I’ve learned through study and prayer that the bottom line, God made the world, us, and everything. He was, is, and yet to come. We may not know every detail scientifically and I, by no means think that science is contradictory to God’s word. I believe one day, science will come to reveal God’s creation even to the faithless in an even more obvious way, yet some will still deny Him. I believe that there are many mysteries to God as well, and we may not ever know every detail until we are with Him in heaven. ☺️
Welcome to the faith!!!
Hi all!
This is a subject of much debate among theologians and denominations, but I encourage you to learn more about this subject.
I really like this article from The Gospel Coalition on the doctrine of creation. http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/theological-triage-and-the-doctrine-of-creation
I don’t really know any resources for your specific question, but when in doubt a comparison of Theology books is always a good bet.
I honesty don’t know but one thing to consider that I hadn’t thought about until today is Genesis 6:3 • Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal ; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
Yes.
When you read more you see that God cut off mankinds’ age because the lived corrupt lives.
So yes you should believe it. It is written.
Agreed! Just keep in mind that calendar year length could have been different. But, yes, I agree with you that they had very long lives until God chose to lower life expectancy because of man’s wickedness, as is written.
Thank you all so much!!! Wow I’m so excited about taking this journey through the bible with you all now!! ◡̈
God asked Noah to perform a very difficult task. Noah had to fully rely on God to do this. I need to remember that whatever God asks of me is not too difficult to do with His guidance. He’s always there with me. Praise God for His goodness.
I am excited. Being a Christian for a long time you can tend to gloss over some of the scriptures because you have read them so many times before. I’m praying I read these scriptures with the Holy Spirit illuminating the Word for greater understanding; but I also want to read with child like faith.
For example in yesterday’s reading the word jumped out that one of the stars were made for the purpose of signs. Loved that! Also, I like the reminder that the Holy Spirit was there from the very beginning….just like He is today. Ready!
Kind of a silly question but how do you think Mary knew Jesus could turn that water into wine? Had she witnessed miracles he had done before? Did he just do them around the house? I love thinking about how easy a miracle is to God.
I totally agree!! It’s amazing to think that He can turn water into wine just like that or speak a couple words and form the earth and the heavens above!!!
The angel told her he was a miracle child for a reason so she was probably expecting something :) I’m sure he did heal her when she was sick and so on. Jesus is referring to his publicity in that statement. So funny to imagine :)
genesis 6:13,22
God told noah that He would flood the earth and get rid of all living things that He had created. the earth had never even seen rain before though. everyone probably thought that noah was crazy while he built the ark. but through it all noah trusted God. it would be AWESOME to have that kind of faith in God!!
Amen!
So far, the Book of John has stood out to me as a progression of Jesus’ miracles. From knowing Philip to transforming water into wine to revealing his most miraculous resurrection, Jesus shows us God’s power through his miracles.
You put it so well. I feel the same way.
So many questions. Did Cain not bring his best fruit forward and that’s why God was not pleased? And if God is all knowing why would he create man knowing that he would turn evil and have to wipe them out? Just need help understanding thank you!
I understand what you are saying. I don’t know myself either- just wanted to say I had the same questions as you!
Allison…..everything points to Jesus. Without mankind turning to evil there is no need for God to show His ultimate sacrifice for us. From Garden (Eden) to Garden (Gethsemane) God was offering a way to heal a divide created by our own doing.
I love this response so much! This really spoke to me. Thank you for sharing!
Allison, Robyn answered the second part above, but the first part I will answer. God was not pleased with Cain’s offering not because it wasn’t good enough but because Cain’s heart wasn’t in the right place. A lot of the Old Testament is pretty vague but when you compare and parallel it to the New Testament the true reasoning behind commands and other things that God did are revealed. When Jesus spoke on the sermon on the mount, he revealed that it is all a matter of the heart. So Cain’s offering was tainted, he either didn’t want to give it, he didn’t give the best because he wanted to keep the good stuff, or something else in that manner. I’m sure I will have a lot of questions throughout the year here, I pray for wisdom and understanding for all of us as well as a community here to learn and lean on each other. God Bless.
Thank you very much for the response. That does make more sense :)
I often parallel Cain’s and Abel’s offering to how we tithe. God asks for 10% but if that is all we give without thinking just to meet the minimum, where is our heart. Or even if we give more, do we make sure people know we are giving more? Are we looking for human approval? When we tithe, it’s just between God and us.
Thank you!!! That slipped by me tonight. Cain always gives me pause.
Thank you for the explanation! It truly helped.
Also, it was not a blood sacrifice. There needed to be shedding of blood for the sins to be covered.
Thank you Mandy! I didn’t even think of that. Just another way that Cain didn’t even meet the minimum requirement for his sacrifice to God.
Those are really good questions. I don’t understand what Cain did wrong either.
I think it’s because he was not giving with a joyful spirit, rather out of necessity.
5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 ‘If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
God was giving Cain a chance to do better , but he ended up picking the wrong way. God gave us the gift of free will, so when we choose Him. It’s with faith and honesty.
Someone once pointed out to me all of the times that Jesus was hesitant to perform miracles or walked away from an opportunity because the people were such skeptics or unbelievers. It really makes me think — how many times has God not been able to work in my life because my lack of faith and skepticism?? My “New Years resolution” this year is to work on my desire to control all my circumstances, and to step back and let God work in my life! (PS: Watch for this as we read the Gospels this year — it happens more than once!)
I love this perspective, thanks for sharing it. :)
So true!!! I love this!! Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you for sharing this. I struggle with skepticism as well. I’m praying that I will be able to let God work in me without hesitation or fear.
Thank you for sharing! This is something I want to work on this year as well. God Bless.
Our resolutions are very similar. I’m still discerning my vocations (for family and career) and I really struggle with giving up control and trusting God. I know that we have to do the work, but I always question myself. My biggest obstacle is differentiating between when I need to completely give up the reigns and when God is working and leading me to do something or take a certain step in my life. Solidarity goes a long way – I’ll be praying for you and all others who are struggling to let God work in their lives!
Thank you for sharing this, Kaitlin! I feel the same way and it is helpful to hear that others struggle to discern when to let go and let God and when to accept responsibility and take the reins. I am looking forward to becoming better at listening in 2016… To God and to myself.
I love reading about Noah! It is such a wonderful testament to just plain and simple FAITH and OBEDIENCE….Noah had literally never even seen rain before and was asked to build this huge Ark….what!?!?! And there was going to be a flood….. Noah had no clue what a flood was …..Complete blind faith and obedience put into action allowed Noah to be a world changer and to save his family…. God help me to have the type of faith and obedience that Noah did!
Perhaps the miracle was not so much turning water to wine but in Mary’s focus to the servants. As the first disciple, she lays before us a challenge, “do whatever He tells you.” It is a challenge for all of us to listen to Jesus and follow Him.
I never thought of it that way!
Yes! This verse stood out to me, too! And I love how you called Mary Jesus’ first disciple. Isn’t that what disciple means? To follow, to do whatever He tells us.
I love the way people respond to jesus’s first actions in John 1 and 2. It is really true that God can do so much with a little bit of faith like he did in the lives of Mary and the disciples.
I love in John 2 that the servants did what they were told to do and Jesus performed a miracle!¡ I really want to start reading the bible more and this app has help me so so much!
John 2:23,24 Jesus did not trust “popular” opinion “because He knew all men.” It is so important to seek God and His Word for ourselves and not just what plays well in social media. His truth transcends culture and trends and is the only foundation that hold firm in life.
I love in John 2 how Jesus was able to perform a miracle because the servants made themselves available to Him and did what he asked.
That’s one of my favorite views on that passage. Such a needed reminder for me that if I genuinely want to see God work, then I need to make myself submitted and available.
Mrs. Mohre, thank you so much for that kind comment yesterday. That made my day. Also I think this passage shows just how amazing God is and it amazes me!
Jesus’ first public miracle, rescuing people from shame.
So true. Never thought of that. Thanks for pointing it out.
I am really curious about the Nephilim and the Men of Renown….
Madeleine L’Engle has a book called Many Waters that’s a fictional, imaginative look at the Noah story and deals with her idea of the Angels and women of men. It’s fascinating and well written. Highly recommend.
Download the free app “Got Questions”. I spent a lot of time reading about the Nephtilim this morning there! Fascinating.
It’s crazy to think that God has essentially cleaned Earth twice. Once with the great floods and Noah’s arc and the other with Jesus and the cleansing of our sins. God is righteous and kind indeed.
Genesis 6:4, what are Nephelim?
Never mind! I read above and it answered my question!
I can’t even imagine living as long as they did back then. It’s hard to imagine living to be 100 and back then they lived almost 1,000 years. That’s crazy!!
I wonder about that to. It must’ve been way different, the way they aged, but it’s kinda cool to think about, that you would be able to see that much progression.
Mindblowing to see how long they all loved back then, I think I’m Really going to like this plan
I live in Genesis 4:7 where it describes sin as crouching at the door waiting for us to lose our strength. Such a great image!
I just finished the book AHA by Kyle Idleman. At one point he talks about the “alarms” God gives us when we’re headed down the wrong path. He cites the warning to Cain about sin crouching at his door as one of the very first “alarms” God gave someone. I thought it was an interesting way to think of it.
So true, I think most of us do. It’s a good reminder to read this and know to stay on guard
It amazes me how long people lived in the beginning and how quickly people disappointed God that he wanted to start over. I often wonder is God is just as disappointed now and wishes he could have a do over…
Okay so I’m very intrigued… All these people are living for 800-900 years, and then there’s Enoch, who only lived 365 years… Anything that could possibly help??
I believe he was the first to truly walk with God. And God took him up. He did. Not die.
He did not die. Many believe he will be one of the prophets that come back in revelation.
I’m so confused. Genesis 4 talks about Cain’s bloodline (“the seed of the serpent”) and it mentions Enoch, then four generations later, Lamech (who murders and boasts about it, comparing himself to Cain). In Seth’s bloodline (the holy bloodline) it mentions Enoch, then two generations later, Lamech. Of course it’s likely that people had the same names, but what I’m confused about is I read separately that Noah’s mother was likely Adah or Zillah, because they were Lamech’s wives. But that’s the Lamech from Cain’s bloodline and the Lamech from Seth’s bloodline doesn’t mention a wife of wives.
Where did you read that Noah’s mother was Adah?
Genesis 6:4
Is this where the stories of demigods come from? It seems interesting as a real scriptural basis for Greek/roman myths
I was wondering this too when I read it. Interesting!
I think I’ve heard pastors say before that these were Giants. Like Goliath. They didn’t have any supernatural power. They were just big.
Normally I would have read quickly through these passages because all they do is list how long the descendants of Adam and Eve lived but this time I slowed down and the passage about Enoch stopped me. I started to think of that song “Only the good die young.” God took Enoch about 600 years or so before the others because he walked faithfully with Him. God wanted Enoch earlier because of his good faith. As scary as it sounds to die young, I’d rather begin to live a short life of peace and happiness with God than a long life full of pain and suffering. This is the first passage that’s truly gotten me excited about getting back into my faith and I can’t wait to begin this journey!
Awesome response! Thank you :)
If Enoch was such a righteous man that he didn’t even suffer death but was taken by God himself, then why was Enoch’s book removed from the bible?!
The book of Enoch wasn’t removed until after Jesus death so Jesus would have been raised with the book of Enoch and if it was good enough for Jesus why was it taken away from us?
Anyone heard any theories?
My theory (and I believe the orthodox bibles have Enoch still) but the Roman Catholic Church was opposed to it for reasons that I can’t recall. It happened at the council of nicea when they were trying to standardize Christianity
It’s hurts me that we as human beings are destroying his earth. We are spreading evil within ourselves. But as Christians, as believers we must spread the word about him as we are here to do so. We must make him proud.
“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37 NIV) Many don’t realize that the times of Noah were actually a very intelligent and technologically advanced time. Even more so than today’s society. I have been studying on the Nephilim (fallen angles) and it has completely blown my mind. Very interesting study of you are interested.
That sounds very interesting!
Morgan where can I learn more about the Nephilim?
This verse in Matthew is referring to how no one expected the flood – life was business as usual up until the very moment it occurred. It will be the same during the end times…two men working in a field and then suddenly one has disappeared in The Rapture.
How did Cain have a wife? There wasn’t anyone else there but Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve had other children besides Cain and Able. Being the first people God created their genetics were perfect. Cain had to have married a sister.
Maybe a silly question to some, but how did they live so long then?
God allowed humans to live that long back then. It wasn’t anything they did. It was normal. Then God shortened our years. Could you imagine if we all lived to be 900? There wouldn’t be room to breathe because the world would be full of people!
If you think about the population growth, that does make sense. Thanks!
Adam and Eve were created first, thus pure genetics. Also, created in a perfect environment. Their sin brought about death and the curse on the earth. Thus ages decreased gradually. ??
6Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7If you do what is 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.”
Such a beautiful reminder of salvation and walking in faith with God…
Amen to that! And we see what happens when we let sin rule over us. God is still faithful to us but it’s a very real warning that we must be alert.
It says that Cain was intimate with his wife. But I am confused as to where his wife came from. As far as I know Adam and Eve were the only family so far.
My guess is it was a daughter of Eve and Adam, that they just don’t mention. If u notice, they don’t really mention daughters much at all except to say that they did give birth to daughters
One train of thought is that because people of this time period lived for close to 1000 years (the earth was new and free of pollutants,germs, etc.) it was possible that Adam and Eve had hundreds of children and their children had hundreds of children and so on. So the earth became populated relatively quickly.
I thought the same thing! I think we are meant to conclude that Cain’s wife was actually his sister. I’m thinking that the daughters of Adam and Eve are not really mentioned because its the men that carry on the bloodline of Adam?
I was wondering the same thing because it doesn’t say Adam & Eve had other sons and daughters until after Seth when Adam was 130.
Why is your face downcast? Gen 4:6. “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates. If only I cannot miss what I’m really saying with my face and actions. So want a Beautiful God stirring in me not angry faces over this life.
Having a hard time reading genesis and then right into John. Is it necessary to read John too?
I felt the same way, so I found it helpful to read Genesis in the morning and then John later in the day
Good idea! I was feeling a little thrown off reading one after the other. I think I will split them up too. Thanks for sharing!
Good idea!
I agree. I like the idea of reading new and old but it is such a jump. I like the idea of morning and night reading
I see a Jesus! even when He was and IS the son of God…inthis scriptures (he is obedient to his mother mary at the wedding which end up being a beautiful picture of his Blood represe tes by the wine. His first recorded miracle! the blood he offers to those who who are needy and broken and sinful…like me…the blood that cleanses me. I am so thankful for his blood.
Then, john scriptures reveal to me that that his house is NOT a marketplace there is no money that can buy grace! IT IS a free gift….and there is power in that statement because it brings peace to my soul to know that HE wants me to receive his grace as a gift.
Jesus Rocks! God is so precise and orderly I cannot help it but receive his LOVE and accept his timing.
good day ladies!
I have a question, I am just reading the bible for the first time, and was wondering if this follows the bible exactly. I see that each day we are reading some parts of genesis and then some parts of John. The sequence doesn’t seem correct…is the app just making it this way or does the bible really go from genesis to John…back and fourth. I went from reading about how earth was created, to Cain and Abel, and now noah…didn’t know if that was supposed to be like that…jumping around to different stories so quickly. Thanks for any help you can give! :)
Heya jody, no this isn’t the order of the bible. The “she reads truth” programmers have split it into an Old Testament reading (before Jesus) and New Testament reading (during and after Jesus) each day. Good on you for aiming to read it this year!
Thank you for explaining it to me! Much appreciated! :)
Hi Jody, the book of Genesis does jump like you said. It talks about the earth being created, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel and all their sons and then it talks about Noah. So that part is correct and exactly in order as you would read in Genesis. The book of John is New Testament so between Genesis and John will be completely different. Hope this helps!
Jody if you would like to read straight through so you can keep the story straight you can download another app to aid you – there is an esv bible app and one just called “holy bible” – they both have free plans you can do to read the bible straight through in a year. – I love this plan but it would be confusing if I were in your shoes reading for the first time.
Ally, I have a Bible commentary that better explains scripture and it says that when God “regretted” making mankind that that word is better translated to “sorrowful”. God is all knowing; however, the choices of mankind were wicked and corrupt. ‘God made man by design but man had taken that capacity given to him and produced evil alone. ‘(The Bible Knowledge Commentary)
The bible says God grieved. He was pained by all the evil so he wanted to purge the world, send a great flood. We have choices as humans. We choose every day to follow God’s will as closely as possible OR choose the world. It was the same way thousands of years ago. The world was corrupt because man chose the worldly pleasures, not God. I believe God is still disappointed with me daily when I choose the world over Him. Noah; however, walked with God. I believe God knew man COULD choose to serve him, so he wanted to start a new creation and rid the world of all its evil.
God’s grace is sufficient but his judgment is swift…may we all fear the Lord and serve Him to our greatest capacity!
That is an important translation, thank you for sharing it… And it is true, we have been given the very free ability to either love and obey or reject God and his choice to give us freedom demonstrates a lot of love and his relational character. Thank you so much
You are so welcome!
God regretted making mankind, how can this be? He knew what would happen, he allowed it and “saw it coming” in his pre-ordaining ability. Could some one please clarify for me? Thank you xx
I’m no theologian, but here are my thoughts. I absolutely agree that God “saw it coming,” but I think what’s so beautiful about our Lord is that to some measure He places boundaries on Himself. An example of this is when He looks for Adam in the garden… certainly He could figure it out right away, but He searched. In doing so He allows interaction with His creation. If He was just a puppeteer, there would be no need for the conversation with Adam and Eve following the fall. I think in this instance, His regret is somehow tied to Him later partnering with Noah. No regret means no need for change. That’s my simplified take :). Hope it at least sparks some more thought.
Oh ok yeah! he is a gracious God who is close and relational with us, thank you for your help!
Hi Helen, I found this note at my bible (NIV study bible):
“sons of God saw … the daughters … and they married any. See v. 4. The phrase “sons of God” here has been interpreted to refer either to angels or to human beings. In such places as Job 1:6; 2:1 it refers to angels, and probably also in Ps 29:1 (where it is translated “heavenly beings”). Some interpreters also appeal to Jude 6–7 (as well as to Jewish literature) in referring the phrase here to angels. Others, however, maintain that intermarriage and cohabitation between angels and human beings, though commonly mentioned in ancient mythologies, are surely excluded by the very nature of the created order (see ch. 1; Lk 20:34–36 and note on 20:36). Elsewhere, expressions equivalent to “sons of God” often refer to human beings, though in contexts quite different from the present one (see Dt 14:1; 32:5; Ps 73:15; Isa 43:6; Hos 1:10; 11:1; Lk 3:38; 1Jn 3:1–2, 10). “Sons of God” (vv. 2, 4) possibly refers to godly men, and “the daughters” to sinful women (significantly, they are not called “daughters of God”), probably from the wicked line of Cain. If so, the context suggests that vv. 1–2 describe the intermarriage of the Sethites (“sons of God”) of ch. 5 with the Cainites (“the daughters”) of ch. 4, indicating a breakdown in the separation of the two groups. Another plausible suggestion is that the “sons of God” refers to royal figures (kings were closely associated with gods in the ancient Near East) who proudly perpetuated and aggravated the corrupt lifestyle of Lamech, son of Cain (virtually a royal figure), and established for themselves royal harems.”
Thanks for clarifying this, Giu!
Thanks you for this . This explains a lot…
Genesis 6 verse 2… I’m wondering what this means when it says the sons of God saw the daughters of humans and saw that they beautiful and they married any of them they chose…( who are
The sons of God) I’m
Confused about this.
She “… walked faithfully with God.” From Genesis 5
May this be my life and legacy as I draw nearer to Him.
I’m sorry if this has already been posted – I’m reading the bible with my children. Who are the people that Cain fears will kill him? Brothers? Nephews? My daughter wants to know if God created other humans, but only the creation of Adam and Eve is recorded in the bible.
The study bible I have indicates that Cain was probably afraid of his other family members. Remember that Adam and Eve were told to multiply the earth. There were probably other humans on the earth at that time but the bible doesn’t mention them all.
I love seeing Noah’s faithfulness to the Lord. He did what he said, even though he looked crazy! What dedication, and discernment because we can sometimes be so confused between our own desires and the Lord’s..
Wow to live 900+ years.
I’ve always wondered if Enoch and Noah were both righteous and walked faithfully with God, why did God only take Enoch? “Walked faithfully with God” only appears 3 times and all three are in the verses on Enoch and Noah.
I find it interesting that God regretted making man and that he still protected Cain after his deeds. It was also fascinating that Cain’s offering was rejected by God. Cain then showed the nature of his heart by murder and lying. It’s not the impetus that caused the action, it just brought out the nature of the heart. No one “makes” us do something, but sometimes our true nature can be provoked.
Where did Cain get his wife? Was she just a later descendent from Adam and Eve?
As gross as this is….he married his sister.
Haha. Thanks! :)
No. If you read through you will see that God made many people whom he called Mankind. And it was from these first people, made by God, that early spouses were found.
I have had to make some hard business decisions lately, but I have always believed that making the right decisions no matter how hard or regardless of the results (in this case, potentially less sales) would somehow pay out in the long run. And Genesis reminded me of this today – to make anything but the right choice opens the door for sin to enter. That was exactly the confirmation I needed to continue to make the hard choices! To keep sin away!
it’s amazing to read the Old Testament and to see God’s plan for redemption was from the beginning. I did a women’s study through my church and we studied the Old Testament and found Jesus (things pointing to his coming). I love this app it’s so far has helped me read my bible daily! God bless you all
I think that Seth’s story is abandoned so often. We get distracted talking about Cain and Abel. We get stuck on the anger and frustration and jealousy of Cain. We see his actions and think “Oh, I would never act like that.” But I think that there is so much more to focus on here. This story is not about why jealousy is bad (though it is…). This story is about God’s redemption. Though Adam and Eve lost a child (no doubt one of the worst pains that could ever be experienced) God was still with them, and God saw them through and brought them another son, Seth, who ended up being in the direct bloodline of Noah. God takes an awful situation and turns it around for good. Every. Time. And while it doesn’t always seem that way, we need to trust that the same God who offered forgiveness and redemption to Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David, and Paul among SO many other offers it to us as well.
My thoughts on this scripture exactly!
Love this!
Thank you so much for pointing this out, great truth!
Not understanding what Jesus meant my “my time has not yet come”- I understand he is talking about his death but why mention it there and why would it stop him from doing miracles?
Jesus did not want to show that He was the Messiah yet, is what I believe.
I believe what He meant by “my time has not yet come” was more focused on the timing of when He wanted it to be known to those on Earth that He was the Messiah. He did not want to reveal that at this time. Hope that helps!
I listened to a sermon on that part by Tim Keller last year, and he explained that Jesus was at a wedding, and like most of us do at weddings, he was thinking about his wedding. He was thinking of the price he would have to pay to rescue his bride (death and separation from his Father). When his mother told him they were out of wine, he told her, “it is not my time” because it was not his wedding – at his wedding, he would provide the wine by shedding his blood. This explanation has always helped me understand Jesus’s first miracle. The sermons is titled, “Lord of the wine,” and you can find it in the iTunes Store in the Timothy Keller podcast.
wow! thank you for sharing Ella!
Oh wow. Powerful. The foreshadowing in the Bible floors me.
I am playing catch up – just now reading day two on day four. But I am committed to sticking with this reading plan once I get caught up! I really want to read through the entire Bible in a year! Something I have attempted several times and never accomplished in my 26 years of life. I am thankful for the accountability of this group and look forward to studying and learning with you all !
And now for a note about the text, does anyone else ever wonder why the Lord found it necessary to not only spell out the early genealogy of man, but also detailed the ages of each man and his lifespan? Just curious :)
I believe he detailed the ages of each man to emphasize that Enoch had been blessed. Every man lived 900+ years, however he “only” lived 365 due to faithfully walking with God. On a side note, I’m playing catch up also, but at least we only have 2 days to catch up!
Gen. 5:24 talks about how Enoch walked faithfully with God and then God took him away. I think that’s an awesome picture for Christians because death to us is not a terrible thing but an awesome thing because we get to be in God’s presence.
Amen! That is beautiful Enoch testament and the fact Noah found grace blessed me this morning
The wedding at Cana story always makes me chuckle — “mom NO I don’t want to no it isn’t the right time!!!” “Oh pshhh come on. Servants! My son will fix this.” “Ugh fineeeee.”
John 2:19 He sure did!!
I love that so early in His ministry, Jesus was already foreshadowing His true mission of sacrifice. (Tear down the temple and rebuild in 3 days).
Love it as well!
This is one of my favorite lines! It seems so much beyond its years.
Right?? That verse gives me chills!
This reading plan and the comments of all you ladies is excellent! So glad I decided to join along!
Interesting that already, this early in scripture you can see the success of the men that “walk closely with God”. My prayer this year is to start seeing that truth in my own life. Also, the end of john 2 where it said but Jesus didn’t trust them because He knew all about people. He was fully humN but being fully God also must have been so hard. He lived in s world where He could trust no one because He knew the heart of human man.
I love how when Adam and Eve sinned, and again when Cain sinned, God asks them “What have you done?” It really paints a beautiful picture of Him as a father. I also love how with both punishments, he also makes provisions for those who have sinned.
Verse that stuck out to me Genesis 4:7 “…it {sin} desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
I love that too. And that to Adam and Eve and Abel, Cain probably wasn’t bad, wasn’t seen as a sinner. But God knew what was in his heart.
I find it so interesting how long the early descendants lived and then when things started to get crowded God cut it down to 120 years!
I’m curious whether there is anyone alive today who is older the 120 years? Not sure who the oldest person is right now, but would be interesting to know if anyone in modern times has lived past that mark.
After Noah’s time, God put a cap on age. You’ll see it when we get to his story. It’s really quite amazing.
I think when God said 120 years he might have been saying it in a metaphorical sense- 12 was one of the Old Testament “perfect” numbers, so he might have meant it as man will only live his full amount of years and no longer
I was wondering why he cut down the lifespan (too crowded). Thanks!
I think it’s so interesting that Jesus’ first miracle was known by the servants and not by the master. The lowest peoples were the very first shown what he was capable of.
Love this too Karis.
Another thing I love about it is that it’s an everyday sort of problem. A big one in that culture for sure, but it isn’t life or death either. It shows me that he cares about my concerns too, even when I think they may be too small to bother Him with.
I never even thought about it from that perspective! I love that!
Love this thought, Karis!
I love that you pointed that out, it didn’t occur to me.
Awesome Observation!!
Just want to challenge all of us to believe what the Bible is clear on and not get too worried or focused on what we don’t understand. Seek, pray and learn. Yes. But don’t get discouraged or bogged down in trying to connect every single dot. Many men that are way smarter than me even disagree over interpretations and meanings of passages. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. We must get comfortable with belief. Unreserved belief simply because His Word says it. Love to all of you!! Let’s keep thanking Him for the precious gift of His Word!!
Thank you for that thought. It is so easy to get lost in the details and wanting to dig into those points that you don’t understand most. It is not the way of our culture I feel to just sit back and know that you are going to learn what you need to in the time it is given.
Having that faith that you can just let go and not need to know it all, I think brings you closest to God. He wants us to believe that he knows all, and as children of his we will be given the knowledge we need as we need it. Not all at once.
I love your words. Yet sometimes do you ever think the Lord is calling us to dig? Not neccesarily to achieve the right answer, but to study deeper?
I guess that’s how my heart feels. I actually want to know the commentary but ok with the unknown?
Or do you think that’s the enemy trying to big me down? I just don’t know sometimes.
God is glorified when we know Him more. The way we know Him is through His Word so Yes! digging deeper is good!! Reading the commentary is great! Desiring more knowledge is admirable. But I often find myself wanting to acquire more head knowledge than heart change. I know God wants me to trust that He knows all things…both when I understand a text and when I am struggling with it. Let’s press on sister!
I think we are suppose to dig in the word. The bible is for everyone to read but it’s the believer that gets the secrets and meaning from it when we dig deeper
would like if I could!
Wish we could “like” comments! Thanks for the encouraging TRUE words!!!
Totally agree! His ways are not our ways & when it comes time to understand something, He’ll bring sweet revelation!
Amber?! Is this MY Amber?
Thank you for those words! Sometimes I read and I don’t understand everything. Sometimes I don’t care to understand the little details either. I wasn’t sure if that was “right” or “wrong” but your words spoke to my heart. Showing me that faith and believe trumps it all! Thank you!!!
Thank you so much for saying that! I was starting to get slightly discouraged because I don’t understand every single word. But you’re so right!
Genesis 5:22-24 is such an interesting passage. Enoch “walked faithfully with God,” and God “took him away” rather than him dying. I encourage anyone reading this to look up commentaries on this brief passage. How sweet would it be if we could walk faithfully with God like Enoch!
Amanda! That’s what stuck out to me as well.
Thanks so much for this explanation! I was just going to ask this question!
That is an amazing point !
That passage stuck out to me as well. Do you think that means the others didn’t go to Heaven?
It means Enoch did not have to face death!
God said that he would never destroy the Earth or people again. I wonder what he thinks of life today? I can only imagine that his heart aches and he weeps at all the sin, evil and corruption. Do you think he thinks about starting over?
That’s an amazing question. I think so…and yet we’re slowly turning others to God
I have pondered the same question but that is why God gave up his son. Jesus came so we have a way out of sin through His grace.
I’m so happy I’m doing this! My eyes are opening and knowing Christ in a different way than before is so inspiring to be a better person & follower
Does anyone know why life spans mentioned in Genesis varied so much from lifespans today (i.e., men becoming fathers at 105 and dying at 800 or 900 years old)? Is it because of the difference between ‘sons of God’ and ‘humans’ mentioned in this reading? And if so, I missed how the humans got here, if not direct descendants of the sons of God. Is anyone able to elaborate on this?
Genesis 6:3 says “Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
I need to study this. I wondered the same thing.
I was wondering the exact same thing.
My belief is that is has something to actually do with the age of our world. I would check out Ken Ham’s input on this, he’s got great insight on this kind of stuff. {I want to research it again myself}
I used to have a gentleman in our Sunday school that had a doctorate in biology, engineering and theology (very bright man) and he was able to use science to prove many things from the Old Testament. When it comes to ages he discussed the difference in air quality at the time of God creating earth in comparison to now; we have a lot less oxygen per inhale. Our heart has to work harder to pump blood and circulate, back then human bodies did not have to work nearly as hard. It also goes along with how now many dinosaurs wouldn’t be able to survive because their heart wouldn’t have the power to pump oxygen from our air quality all the way up to their brains. Of course this is just his understanding based on his education. It makes sense to me though! Another one of those things we can ask when we get to Heaven!
That’s an area I’m also interested in. Were years possibly counted differently? The modern calendar we used today (12 months) didn’t come about until the Roman Empire I believe.
I am not sure about the ” sons of God”, however i believe it was the atmosphere and their eating habbits alot has change within our atmosphere once the flood came. now we have terrible eatinf habbits
Anyone else run numbers and see that Adam was alive when Noah was born. Adam didn’t die until Noah was around 56! Crazy.
I’ll have to do more research on “the Sons of God married daughter of humans…humans are mortal and only live 120years”. I can’t fully wrap my mind around that.
If fallen angels bred with women then, why doesn’t it not still happen. Seems odd? A different world back then for sure.
I was very confused by the years. How did you figure out how old the really were when they died?
I actually Google image searched some of the genealogies and that helped picture some a little more than the lists (and number of years). Some of them showed ages/life span as well
They were Giants in the land.
Can someone explain the Nephilim to me? I looked it up but I’m not 100% sure I’m clear on who/what they are.
“Of the views with some biblical support, some believe that fallen angels bred with women and resulted in giants called Nephilim. Some believe the sons of God were the result of fallen angels who overtook ungodly men to breed with women.” – Answers in Genesis
I had the same question…
Of the views with some biblical support, some believe that fallen angels bred with women and resulted in giants called Nephilim. Some believe the sons of God were the result of fallen angels who overtook ungodly men to breed with women. – Answers in Genesis
Of the views with some biblical support, some believe that fallen angels bred with women and resulted in giants called Nephilim. Some believe the sons of God were the result of fallen angels who overtook ungodly men to breed with women. – Answers in Genesis
My Bible reference says that this indicates a heroic person, which makes sense because the verse goes onto say “They were the heroes of old, MEN of renown” I think it just means important men.
I wrote a paper on this once and there are a couple of different views on what Nephilim were. I laid out evidence and thought for both opinions but my conclusion was that it’s one of those things that’s not essential to the gospel and we won’t know for sure what they were until we can ask Jesus in person. But when we finally enter His glory, I doubt we’ll care. ;)
Why exactly did God not look at Cain with favor?
I was thinking it was because he only brought Him the fatty undesirable parts of his livestock, rather than a full animal?
Cain was the farmer; he brought “some of the fruits of the soil,” not the sheep.
Offerings require blood to atone for sin and Cain brought him plant and no blood.
It also makes the point that Abel brought the best portions from the first of his flock, first can refer to quality as well as place order. He gave God the best of what he had worked for. It makes no such observation with Cain, saying only that he brought “some” of what he had grown. Looking at Cain’s response (anger, pouting), he had a heart problem going on. Jealousy, begrudging God his due – he was going through the motions because he wanted favor, not because he wanted relationship with God. God even warned him – sin is crouching at your door – like we tell little children when we see them trying to decide “make a wise choice.” And then his response to God after being caught in sin – it’s not fair! My punishment is too harsh! Clearly he had no remorse and felt he should not have been punished. Still angry at God, still showing no love for anyone but himself.
I think it has more to do with the fact that he brought animal which is what was used to cover his parents sin
Hope, not sure if I agree completely with it having more to do with how God forgave and blessed Adam and Eve with animals skins but I love the correlation it brings with blood offerings and ties in creation.
Only animals were acceptable for sacrifice. Blood had to be shed. It was a picture of when Christ would come and die once. He had to shed His blood to redeem us. Cain ignored God’s way and tried to come in his own way. People still do this … nothing changes
I thought the same thing! Cain offered only what he had – fruits of the soil. Isn’t that what we are asked to give? All that we have.
Because Cain just brought “some of the fruits of the soil” while Abel brought some of the FIRST born. Similar to a pre-law tithe, as in the first tenth for Abel rather than some of what was available at Cain’s convenience.
I’ve also heard a sermon that we may not know why God was unhappy with his gift because at that point there was no law of what Cain had to give. The sermon I heard made the point that The Lord looks at the heart and clearly from the passages following, Cain’s heart is not in the right place. He’s doing it because he has to not out of love.
That seems to be a recurring theme in the Bible–second born over the first born. It’s the same with Jacob and Esau. “Jacob I loved but Esau I hated.” Or with Joseph and all of his brothers! I think back to these verses: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. They read: brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many of you were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things–and the things that are not–to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before him. It is because of HIM that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God–that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore it is written: let the one who boasts boast in the Lord” Romans chapter 9 is also a helpful passage
I agree wholeheartedly that it is hard to know God is so upset with our sins. Just recently I have done things I never thought I would have, sins I can’t take back. But because of those sins I have a deeper understanding, appreciation, and thankfulness for the grace God gives us. If we deserved his grace it wouldn’t be what it is… Grace.
Ah-I love this!
Why did God regret us? Doesn’t he love us no matter how much we had sinned?! Why did he want to get rid of all of us…someone help me with this concept.
God is perfectly just and perfectly gracious. It is a hard concept to understand. But, if a just judge sees murder and doesn’t punish the offender then he would not be just. God must punish sin, His standard is perfection. We can not meet that standard but Someone did. Because He loves us He has made a way for us to be in right standing with Him even tho we are sinful. That is through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Free grace for all who believe in Him. We will see soon (in Genesis 12) that God promises a new and better covenant. A way for salvation. One that He is faithful to fulfill. One that He did fulfill in Christ Jesus.
Lauren that is a great understanding that you have for this passage. It is a hard one to grasp and I thank you for sharing.
It is hard to grasp. I think of God as my father. A Heavenly Father. The same way we can disappoint our earthly father so can we out Heavenly Father. My dad punishes me when I do wrong because he loves me. Same with God.
lauren thank you for that understanding…I at times have a difficult time grasping this fully and seeing the perspective of others is perfect!
I am going to ask a pastor I know about this because I have no idea and now I am a little lost with this as well
We are under the blood of Christ, so our sin is covered. God is first and foremost HOLY. Sin has no place with Him and nothing can make Him ignore sin. If all of his creation was steeped in sin, of course he regretted that creation. It was completely corrupted. That’s why he sent his son to cover our sin, so we could be reconnected to him.
I don’t know if this helps. So many things are hard to understand because we have such small and carnal minds, while he has infinite understanding, knowing and seeing all.
This particular passage in John led me to pause and consider what today’s bride is like. Are we not eerily similar? What would He do if he physically walked into today’s church?
I ask myself the same questions . . . How many altars would He overturn today ??? How many churches dedicate themselves to put together productions and shows that will attract followers . . . but don’t really dedicate themselves to what they were called to do!
Exactly!
Completely agree!!!
Agreed! Too many distractions that take away from the Lord.
I had these thoughts too . Let’s refocus in the new year to make sure our actions in church would not anger Jesus but give him glory!
I really struggle with these early scriptures. The word regret is so strong, it’s hard to ignore.
I completely agree. To know the Lord can feel regret towards his creation…
It’s hard, but I’m also so thankful to have a God who can empathize with my feelings, positive and negative. And that our Lord didn’t just create the things we feel, but has lived and experienced them.
I agree with you both. It makes me so sad.
Amen!
it’s good to note that this language is not always precise and the word is not meant in the way we mean it when we refer to ourselves. the Lord is not capable of changing his mind- he is completely unchanging! so when we see the word “regret” and a change of action, it simply means that the lord did one thing and then did another. he created, and he destroyed. however, the authors of scripture, though inspired, are still human. so there’s a sort of anthropomorphism here- they ascribe human emotions to God in order to try to understand him better. so really, God didn’t regret his actions or change his mind- he just changed his actions.
I love this point
“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great … and He was grieved in His heart” (6:5-6). Sin grieved God then. And it grieves Him now. He has not changed! I sin so lightly. It doesn’t grieve me. Yet, it should! If I am made in His image and redeemed by His Son, I must value what He values and grieve over what grieves Him. God, change my heart!