Lasso of Truth

Genesis 20-23

Chapter 20.  Was anyone experiencing deja vu while reading this chapter?  I bet Sarah was, too.  I think we covered quite a bit of this the last time Abraham led us down this road...but there is still one thing I'd like to point out.  It must have been difficult for Sarah to follow Abraham's leading in this situation.  But God blessed them, even though Abraham acted wrongly.  God will bless the submission of a wife, even when her husband's guidance is misleading.

Chapter 21.  God provides the long-awaited son.  And of course, this stirs up trouble again between the women.  In verse 12, Abraham seeks God's guidance to find his next move...and it's a surprising one.  Why would God let Sarah decide Hagar's fate?  I'm sure she didn't have her maid's best interests at heart.  But God's plan was to lead Hagar away from Abraham's family so that He could demonstrate His love and provision for her.  He wanted to show Himself to her.  Sarah's intention is irrelevant, because God was ultimately in control of the situation. 

Chapter 22--the Offering of Isaac.
Okay, I have to admit that this chapter really stumped me at first.  But I have learned that when a passage of scripture is confusing, that it helps to read it several times.  And ask God to help you learn what He wants you to.  As I read the chapter again, I noticed that something was repeated several times--in verse 2, verse 12, and verse 16.  God refers to Isaac as "your son, your only son."  As I read the chapter yet again, I started to wonder if this passage is in part to prepare us for the eventual sacrifice of Christ.  (Notice that Isaac even has to carry the wood for his own sacrifice, just as Christ was forced to carry his own cross.)  This story, especially read from a parental standpoint, evokes strong emotion.  A father, willing to give up his only son, whom he loves.  He had waited so long for him!

And while God did not require this great sacrifice of a man, he was willing to bear the pain and sorrow of watching his own son, his only son, whom he loved, pay the sacrificial price.  Maybe this test was partly to prepare the hearts of men for the possibility of a final sacrifice.

Chapter 23--Sarah dies, and through her burial Abraham continues to acquire land, as God has promised.  Notice the long life that God gave Sarah.  Even though she was 90 or 91 when her son was born, she got to live with him and watch him grow into a man of 35 before her own life was over.

Next time--Genesis 24-26
We are getting into the really juicy stuff, here.  How is everyone feeling so far?  I am praying that you are encouraged this week.  The idea of reading the whole Bible is daunting, but when taken in small bites, it is completely manageable.  Let me know what God has shown you, or something that you had never read before.

Genesis 17-19

Chapter 17  I just love the idea of the spiritual name change.  It is such a cool Idea. I wish we did this today.  When something happens that is big enough to change our lives, it changes who we are.  The only problem would be that no one would know me, since I'd be on my 4th name at least!

In verses 16-17 God reminds Abraham of the covenant and his promise of a son.  In verse 18 Abraham says, "Are you sure?  I'm old, and I already have a son.  Why don't you make him the one?"  When are we going to start believing God?  Stop comparing him to your dad who walked out, or your friend who betrayed you, or the teacher that hurt you, or any of the people we relate to in our lives.  God isn't people.  He is GOD.  Only loving.  Always good. Believe Him.

But in chapter 18 it is Sarah's turn to show her disbelief.  God has come again--this time in human form--to tell them of the promise of a son.  (Has God ever had to repeat himself to you?  He has to me!)  And as we know, Sarah overhears and cracks up.  I love how she says, "After I have become old, will I have pleasure,  my lord being old also?"  Translation:  Ha!  I'm old, and my husband is older!  We don't even do that stuff anymore! 

And when God confronts her on the issue, Sarah denies laughing at all.  Let's not fool ourselves into thinking that God doesn't know our hearts.  The sooner we lay it all out on the table, the sooner our healing can begin.  Sarah was hurt.  She was ashamed at being childless.  God wanted to heal all that, but she wasn't quite ready to let go of that hurt that had become so familiar and comfortable over the years.  But He persisted with her. 

Let's spend a little extra time in Chapter 19--the destruction of Sodom.  Verse 3 is interesting.  I wonder why Lot urged the men so strongly not to stay there in the square overnight.  What was drawing Lot to a place where there was so much evil?  Why would he raise a family here--in a place where grown men were not even safe?  Continuing on, the plot thickens (or sickens, rather).

In verse 8 Lot is willing to give over his virgin daughters to be defiled and raped by these wicked men.  Just to keep himself out of danger.  And he had just said, "Please my brothers--do not act wickedly."  Don't act wickedly, but here are my daughters to treat as you please?  He has let the culture seep into his senses to an extent that he can't tell right from wrong.  Only the most offensive sins are even noticed by him.  In verse 9 we notice that after all this time living here, he has established no authority with the people of the town.  They are unrepentant and unreachable.  He should have left long ago.

By the way, can you imagine how his daughters must have felt?  Their very bodies used as bargaining chips?  They were engaged, looking forward to their weddings, and he was about to throw all that away.

Something else jumped out at me from this section.  Right before they flee the city, Lot hesitates.  But it says that God's compassion was upon them.  I wonder if the compassion of God is a little more than just a feeling.  More like a physical force.  The men grab the refugees and actually drag them out of the city.  So cool.  I'm comforted in the fact that his hesitation did not result in destruction. 

In verses 30-38 we see the repercussions of Lot's lack of wisdom and spiritual guidance.  (Anyone reading this for the first time?) His daughters have no moral compass.  After their dad demonstrated how little their virtue was worth, the obviously started to believe it.  (Notice that the deeds done in darkness and solitude are still known by God.)  The girls have no frame of reference to the love and power of God, who literally dragged them out of judgment.  Why would he do that just to leave them childless and homeless?  But they don't know Him.

Before we end, notice the name of the oldest daughter's child.  Bookmark that for later.

So how is everyone feeling after such a heavy passage of Scripture?  Did you know all that was even in there?  If we were watching a movie with a plot like this, most of us would turn it right off, yet here it is in God's Word!  The world is a dark place, and according to scripture, it has been for a long time.

Next Time: Genesis 20-23

Genesis 15-16

Like I said in my last post, this section of scripture has a huge message in it for me.  And you.  I am actually going to type up a condensed version of my notes, since I wrote eight pages worth in my journal.  But there is so much meat in here that it's still not going to be short, I assure you.  By the way, are you keeping a journal of your notes as you read?  I find that it really helps to journal your thoughts on a passage, because you can always go back and read what you wrote.  It's amazing what I can forget in as little as 1 hour's time.  I also hope that you'll write something for yourself about every single chapter that you read--even if you are just describing what happened.  It will serve as a basic outline if you decide to re-read something later.  Alright...who's ready to dig in?

I am assuming that you have read these chapters already, because I'm going to put things in a different order, and it will be confusing if you don't know the story.  So, do that first.

There are three characters in this story: Abram, Sarai, and Hagar.  Each has a very real and very serious problem.  And each of us can relate to at least one of them.  I know I see myself in all three.  Let's start with the brains of the operation, Sarai.

Sarai didn't believe God when He told her that He was going to give her a son.  Not completely, anyway.  We don't know how long she's been waiting since the first promise of a baby, but from her point of view, it's been long enough.  So she says to herself, "Well, I guess I'm just going to have to make this happen."   Have you ever heard the saying, "God helps them who help themselves?"  Well read on, and then forget that saying.  It's a lie.  Not only does Sarai give her maid to her husband, but she plans to pass off the baby as her own.  Can you imagine what kind of place you have to be in emotionally to come up with a plan like this?  Childlessness was probably very painful for her, and to go through the hope of motherhood again would have brought that all back up again.  But, the emotional state of Sarai isn't the main point, here so let's continue.

According to Sarai's plan, Hagar gets pregnant.  But does that make Sarai happy?  No, she gets jealous.  But why--everything had gone according to her plan, right?  The fatal flaw was that it was her plan.  Imagine what the Enemy might have been whispering in her ear at this point.   "Hagar, a filthy maid, can get pregnant, and you can't.  What does that make you?"  "How can you even call yourself a woman?"  "She thinks she's better than you.  Did you hear the tone of her voice just now?  Did you see the look she just gave you?"  "Did you see the look she just gave your husband?"  "She is going to run you out of here."  "I bet Abram enjoyed being with her.  He probably loves her--someone who can give him a child."  Satan loves to kick us when we're down.  And he is clever enough to keep our thoughts right where he wants them--on ourselves.

Sarai's Lesson:  Remember:  God's awesome plan for your life will never include compromising your integrity.  His will for your life will NEVER contradict His Word.  (Girls, if there is a man in your life who you are sure is the one, you will never have to connive, play mind games, be fake, or sleep with him--to make him yours.)  God is HUGE.  Don't get in the way of his best for your life!

Abram.  What's his role in all of this?   God just showed him this amazing vision and promised him yet again to bless him beyond his dreams.  Yet he just goes along with this sick, evil plan as if the encounter with God had never happened.   And then he has not one, but two angry women to deal with.  And how does he handle this?  He gives all the power, yet again, to Sarai.  God appointed the man as the head of the family, remember?  And when the man doesn't live up to that divine appointment, serious consequences ensue. 

Abram's lesson:  We have been promised impossible blessings.  A life inconceivable to our imaginations.  But the second we start living our lives, the beauty of that vision starts to fade in our memories, until we wonder if it ever really happened.  There is only one way to keep God's best for you at the forefront of your mind:  Don't look away!  Don't keep your relationship with God separate from your daily life. The more time you spend with God, the more familiar his voice sounds to you.  It will become easier to distinguish between His voice, and the Imposter's.

Now, for the third point in this little "love" triangle.  Hagar was abused, taken advantage of.  She was run out of her home pregnant, penniless, shamed, with nowhere to turn.  But God saw what happened to her. He told her to go back, fulfill the role that was required of her, and he would do great things for her, and her son.  In 16:13 she says, "You are a God who sees."  Amen.

Hagar's lesson:  Like Hagar, some of us have been abused and mistreated when we were utterly helpless.  But remember!  God sees the injustice that happens in this world.  He has compassion on those who are mistreated.  Live your life for HIM, and you will receive blessings for that. There is the temptation to get dragged down in sorrow and pity over your situation.  But do not look down at your feet saying, "Poor me!"  Look up!  He's there, reaching for you.  He wants to be your Saviour.  And he's got plans for you in this life, too.

Next Time: Genesis 17-19

Genesis 12-14

Chapter 12
God makes this incredible promise to Abram.  Over and over he says, "I will bless you.  I will bless you.  I will bless you..."  And then I guess Abram took a nap or something, because suddenly he has forgotten the whole conversation.  As soon as they set foot in Egypt, where God sent them to be protected from the famine, Abram gets scared.  (I wonder what Satan was whispering in his ear that made him suddenly so self-conscious.  Don't listen to him.  He's a liar.)  They pretend that Sarai is only Abram's sister.  Why?  Is he afraid that they'll mistreat her?  No, he's covering his own butt.  He thinks that since she is so beautiful that the lusty Pharaoh will kill him and marry her.  (Girls, just because someone tells you that you are beautiful, doesn't mean that they have your best interests at heart.  But that's a discussion for a different time.)

God just promised Abram that he was going to make him a great nation, and curse those that curse him.  How is that going to happen if Abram is dead?!  He had nothing to worry about.  But instead he took his life into his own hands, risked his own wife's virtue, and got them all kicked out of Egypt. 

Abram seems to redeem himself a little in chapter 13.  He lets Lot greedily choose the verdant, abundant land for himself and leaves it to God to do the blessing.  Wise decision for someone who made such a terrible one in the last scene.  So what changed?  Verse 4 says it all:  "And there Abram called on the name of the Lord."  Wisdom abounds when you spend time with the Lord, praising his name.

And what about Lot?  We know that what the world calls success: fame, fortune, financial security, good-looking spouse, etc--that stuff looks good, but it isn't life.  It has nothing to do with the abundance that God is offering.  Lot took what looked like the better deal.  But it was nearby a little city called Sodom.  And in verse 12, it says that while Lot settled in the valley, he moved his tents as far as Sodom.  The exciting life of the wicked men of Sodom looked good to Lot.  He saw their big buildings, bright lights, beautiful women, the fun they were having, and he started inching closer and closer until his life started to look a lot like theirs.  It sucked him right in.

In Chapter 14 we find out that life in the big city might not have been quite as cool as Lot had previously thought.  He gets mixed up in trouble--a huge war, in fact.  The city gets looted and raided, Lot gets kidnapped, and Abram has to come to his rescue.  Abram is still walking with God at this point, because he refuses to take any of the spoils of the war.  Instead he gives credit for all his success to God.  Smart move.

So what are you taking from this lesson today?  I know that sometimes the idea of a big house, cool car, plenty of money, the American dream...sometimes that stuff really gets under my skin. That stuff isn't in itself bad, but--and listen to this--it isn't life.  It can all be taken away.  Don't let the pursuit of success, wealth, and "happiness" suck you in the way it did to Lot. God is offering an abundance of joy, security, and LIFE that cannot be touched by anything.

This is so exciting.  I can't tell you how much I LOVE the Old Testament, so I am having a great time digging deep into these scriptures.  But I must repeat.  The lessons that I am choosing to write about it these pages are not the only lessons to be gleaned from these stories.  Read them for yourself.  Let the word of God soak into you, and listen to the Spirit speak to you through it.  It's gonna CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

Next time:  Genesis 15-16

I'm going to be posting this on Monday so you have plenty of time to read this section and let it sink in.  READ THIS 2, 3, or 4 times.  It is very important, and God has been showing me something huge to share with you from these chapters.  I want you to be prepared.  See you Monday!!
--Anna

Genesis 10-11

Hello!

Before we start I just want to say a word about genealogies.  There are a couple big ones in these two chapters.  Did you read them?  Or did you skim through until you were sure that it was over, and then read from there?  If that last one applies to you, I'd challenge you to go back and take a look.  There is not a single word in the Bible that is not there for a reason.  And even if you don't see yourself as a scholar or a historian, you can still find wisdom and blessing in the genealogies of the Bible--things that are applicable to the very life you are living today.  I'll give you an example of that in this post.

Chapter 10 is nothing but a list of Ham's (and Shem's and Japheth's) descendants.  We talked about a couple of them yesterday, but there are even more hints of what is to come from Ham's family.  Verses 10 and 11 mention Nimrod. It says that he was a mighty hunter before God, but unfortunately that wasn't the extent of his fame.  He was also the founder of many cities, two of which are the notorious Babel and Nineveh.  And then I read farther to verse 19, and notice that their wealth of land reaches even to Sodom and Gomorrah.   If those names don't ring a bell, just wait.  We'll be reading about the destruction of those evil cities in the next few days.   When I read about a family that has gotten this out-of-control, I have to wonder:  Where did they go wrong?  The bible only tells us of one particular sin of Ham's life, but I have to assume that it was more of a life-style for him.  From and earthly perspective, these guys had it all:  Land, wealth, power.  But Ham's descendants were missing the one thing that couldn't be taken from them.  The legacy of an un-godly father reaches farther than we can imagine. 

Chapter 11- The Tower of Babel
Can you imagine how great it would be if the whole world spoke the same language? When I was in Chicago last week I ran into so many people from different countries.  France, Pakistan, Spain, Korea--and many more. I didn't have a chance to witness to these people, because they couldn't understand a word I was saying!  All I could do was smile, nod, take a picture for them, and send them on their way. 

But the people of Babel had this, and instead of harnessing this incredible gift to worship, and bring glory to God, these guys take advantage of their ability to cooperate and build a tower.  And was it a chapel?  A church? An alter for God?  No.  They wanted a tower that would reach into heaven and make them famous.  For their own glory.  They even state their reasoning: "Otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the earth."  Funny how God can use the very thing you are trying to avoid to teach you a lesson.  When we try to make things happen on our own power, God has a way of reminding us who is really in control.   Someone I know and love once said, "God is not going to let me fail."  But the thing he was doing was for his own glory and through his own power.  Sadly, he didn't learn to rely on God in time, and God did indeed let him fail.  Miserably.  This life isn't about us, and if we can't get that, God just might have to prove it to us.

I don't want to have to learn that lesson over and over.  Do you?

It's interesting how the story of the Tower of Babel is flanked by two genealogies, Ham's and Shem's.  Almost like God had a purpose for it, right?  We know that Shem was one of the brothers that chose to do what was right back in chapter 9.  In this list of descendants, we see at the end a very famous man.  Old father Abraham, himself.   The beginning of the Israelites.  And we know that if we continue down that line we'll see many more like him:  Jacob, David, Solomon, Jesus Christ. 

I don't know about you, but I count being in the actual physical lineage of Jesus as an incredible honor, reserved for very few--each with an amazing story.  We don't know why God chose Shem to be the beginning of this, but there is a clue as to why he didn't choose Ham. 

So often we choose to avoid sin because we are avoiding the consequence.  We're taught this from a young age.  "If you don't pick up those toys right now, you will not be having ice cream with dinner."  This is a valid motivation.  Ham's descendants might not have gotten into nearly as much trouble if he had been a righteous man. 

But if we change our thinking only slightly, then avoidance of sin changes from being fear-based (I don't want to be punished.)  to being love-based.  (I want to maintain this relationship with God and all the blessings that come with that.)  Shem had no idea that one decision would change his family's history forever.  But he probably did understand that it would affect his friendship with God.  So often in today's Christianity we don't worry too much about sin, because we know that we live under grace.  We know that we are redeemed for past, present and future sin, and we can ask for forgiveness later.  But living under grace isn't just freedom from eternal damnation.  It's the freedom to have a love affair with the Creator of the universe!  The lover of your soul!  We have no idea the spiritual blessing that God wants to heap on us, if we will only follow him.

Let's not miss out on that!
Next time: Genesis 12-14

Genesis 7-9

Hey, we are cruising right along.  Can you believe how much we've covered already?  How many of those Sunday School lessons you've heard over and over were all crammed together in the first 6 chapters?  It's not slowing down here.  This is the flood.  Noah's ark.  We've all heard this one hundreds of times, yet there are a few things that really stood out to me this time that I don't remember seeing before.  So here we go:

In Genesis 7:11, it says that "the fountains of the great deep were burst open."  This is not just water from the sky.  This water is coming from everywhere.  This is no pitter-patter rain shower,  This is immediate mayhem.

In 7:16 I see evidence of how God sees us differently than the animals.  It says that they walked onto the ark in pairs as God had commanded them.  They were acting on instinct, the unseen force of God.  We don't know why he chose those specific animals, but my guess is that it wouldn't matter too much.  There purpose was going to be to re-populate the earth.  But Noah and his family were saved because of his relationship with God.  There's that word again!  They had a purpose that went beyond mere re-population.  (In fact, that was the only reason Noah was saved.  There is no mention of more children in chapter 9 when his death is recorded.)

Something in chapter 8 caught my eye, too.  Again, it talks about the fountains of the deep, and the rain from the sky.  But this time it also mentions the floodgates of the sky.  And since it is mentioned in addition to the rain, it must be something more.  Maybe a tsunami or hurricane.  I don't know why, but in all my years of hearing this story, it never occurred to me that this was a violent, windy storm.

Okay, so onto chapter 9.  In verse 9:6 God establishes what we might recognize as the death penalty.  But I don't see the emphasis in the punishment, here. It says, "For in the image of God He made man."  The point is the sanctity of life.  We are created in the image of God.  Every single one of us.  We should think about that more as we live our daily lives.

The Rainbow  Read this for yourself, because it's really cool.  Not only is the rainbow a sign that God will never again destroy the earth through flood, but it's something that we get to see for ourselves.  And every time we do, we can be reassured in the character of our Lord, who keeps his promise and will never change.

And now we come to the end of the chapter.  Noah gets drunk.  I am touched by Shem and Japeth's sensitivity.  It was wrong for Noah to get drunk and lie around naked.  (Although he was probably really proud of the vineyard he planted, and was rewarding himself.  It was still wrong.)  But the two older boys had respect and honor for their father, even in his wrongdoing. They could have just said, "Well, he deserves what he gets."  But the command to "honor your parents" really has nothing to do with the goodness of your parents.

And what about Ham?  Yeah, he's in trouble, right.  In chapter 10 we'll read about Ham's descendants.  You might recognize some of them.  And if you don't, you'll be reading about most of them very soon.  They are the future enemies of Israel.  The land that they settle and claim for themselves will end up being the "promised land."  And God's going to hand it over to their enemies on a platter.  Those Old Testament curses were no joke.
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So how are you doing so far?  Are you overwhelmed, excited?  I want to know what God has been showing you this week.  Next Time:  Genesis 10-11.

Genesis 4-6

There is a ton in these chapters, so I am only going to point out a few things.  But if the Lord is speaking to you from this in a different way, please let me know!  I'd love to hear where you are, and what the Lord is teaching you through his word.

Right away in 4:3 something hit me.  Eve says," I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord."  (Okay, try to look past the term manchild for a second.  I know it's hard, but that wasn't the highlight here.)  I love that Eve gives God the credit for the conception of her baby.   Do you realize that even with modern technology, that scientists have no idea what drives the sperm toward the egg?!  I do.  And knowing that means that every conception is a miracle.  Every single one.  Let's chew on that for a moment, huh?

The rest of Chapter 4 is really hard for me, emotionally.  In v.9, Cain knows that God knows what he did, but he still can't bring himself to confess.  Check out verse 10:  "What have you done?  The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground."  Wow.  Do you ever feel like evil goes unnoticed by God?  I've felt like that.  But I don't think it's true. 

Then, down in verse 13, Cain is still whining.  "But my punishment is too great to bear!"  And in 15 God shows him grace.  Man, if anyone deserves punishment, it's Cain, right?  Yet God extends grace to even the most sinful. I don't want Cain to get grace in this situation.  I want to see him punished.  I want his life for Abel's.  It's hard for me to understand that God loves the murderers and rapists and child molesters as much as he loves me.  They are still his children, even though they have chosen to live in the deepest pits of darkness.  Something to think about, huh?

In verse 7 it says that "sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it."  We have to be continually wary of the enemy's schemes.  It's desire is for you.  And your co-workers. And your children.  And the people you come into contact with every single day.  And there is only one way to master it.

In verse 26, we see that God gives Eve another son, Seth, and after his son (Enosh) was born, the men began to call upon the name of the Lord.   There is something to be said for the  leadership of a godly father.  In the next chapter we find out that the whole world gets eaten up by sin, despite God's warning in 4:7.  Except one man.  I wonder if Noah's reliance on God had anything to do with the example that was passed down through Enosh, his ancestor. 

In chapter 6, we see a glimpse of how bad mankind had become.   Yet verse 9 says that "Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God."  Now, blameless isn't sinless, and we know that Noah was just a man.  But with the whole world in a riot of sin, greed, debauchery, etc...how do you remain blameless?  We live in a world that is corrupt, too.  We can't live a day in mainstream America without being bombarded with evil.  How do we remain upright and blameless, when it seems like a losing battle? How do we keep from heading down that slippery slope with the path that we walk seems so narrow?  Look back at the last part of verse 9 with me.  "Noah walked with God."  That is the key.  We cannot be blameless on our own strength, through our own willpower.  The enemy is stronger than us.  We can't win!  There is only one who has the power to conquer evil.  Stick by him.  Abide in him.  That is the key to righteousness, to blamelessness.

Thank you Lord!  The Lord of all creation wants a relationship with me.
Next time: Genesis 7-9

Genesis 1-3

As I read this passage, many things come to mind in regard to my own spiritual life.  I'm going to skip over creation itself, because that has never been difficult for me to understand or believe.  But what really spoke to me this time was the entrance of sin into the world.  So often we have been angry with Adam and Eve for screwing up this life for us, but I never really stopped to wonder what it was like for them.  They were deceived.  They were lied to, and they believed it--and then acted on it.  Ever happened to you?  It has to me.  But what jumped out to me this time was not what they did, but what they lost.

Within the Body of Christ are many differences today.  Some say we can't worship with drums, or rhythm.  Some say that we shouldn't use instruments at all.  Or art, or dance, or raise our hands or...whatever.  And these differences serve to divide us and make us less effective as a complete organism.  I know what I believe about true worship, but I also know that I don't even have it right.  Why?  Because of sin.  We can't worship completely and perfectly, because we are still a fallen race.  We don't even know what it means to worship perfectly.  To really walk with God.  No one does.  Well, almost no one.  Adam and Eve are the only ones in the history of mankind to really know what was lost that day.  Can you imagine how horrible that must have been to live with?  We have no idea!  Instead of condemning them for bringing us all down, why not mourn for them.  We all lost something that day, and no one could know the extent of that loss like the ones who got us into this mess.  But we do have hope that someday, when we see Him in all His Glory.  We won't have to wonder what true worship is.  We won't know any other way.  I ache for that moment.

Here's something else.  In case you haven't heard, I must share this.  The Bible is what is called the Written Word of God.  Later, in John, Jesus is called the Living Word.  No coincidence here, okay?  Everything in the Bible, Old and New Testaments, points to Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world.  He is the written word acted (and lived) out.  And the idea of needing a Savior starts way back here in Genesis.  Remember how God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or they shall surely die?  Well, they ate it, and they didn't die...so what did God mean?  Did he change his mind?

Some say that it was a spiritual death, because they were separated from God, and that is what death is.  True.  Some say that it was an eventual death because they would no longer be able to eat from the tree of life and live forever.  Also true.  But don't miss this:

In Chapter 3, verses 12 and 13, both Adam and Eve confessed their sin.  (Even though they blamed someone else!) In verse 21, God makes clothing for them out of animal skins.  Where did he get these skins?  Did the animal give them up willingly, and continue to live its life without them?  Uh, not likely.  We'll find out later that the only way to restore communion with God after sin is through the shedding of blood.  But just because he hadn't made the announcement yet, didn't mean that it wasn't yet true.  Adam and Eve deserved death for their sin.  But God so loved them, that he let an innocent take their place.  Sound familiar?  Yep, even the very beginning of Genesis is setting the stage for what is to come.  And it only gets more exciting from here, y'all.

Next time: Genesis 4-6

Missed the intro to this study? Click here!