Pastor Billington's Blog

Genesis 9

God gave mankind dominion over the earth, which includes the ability to eat any animal or vegetable. However, eating blood is forbidden. Blood is seen as that which carries life and symbolizes what is sacred. As such, shedding man’s blood is absolutely forbidden, precisely because mankind was made in the image of God, and the death penalty is a result.

Romans 13:3-4 “For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the authority, for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn’t bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil.”

I believe that this passage implies we still carry the imprint of God’s image, even though it has been marred by sin. We are like our creator in many ways, but we have lost the holiness that once was ours, which is why we need Christ!

Ephesians 4:20-24 “But you didn’t learn Christ that way, if indeed you heard him and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus: that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.”

The Noahic covenant is more fully explained here, having been revealed in the prior chapter. God would never again destroy the entire earth with a flood, and the rainbow is a symbol of His covenant with mankind.

What was Canaan’s sin that he was so severely punished? What did he do wrong? Some have come up with bizarre speculations, but we don’t need to go beyond what the text says. Honor and shame were big deals in ancient culture, and we can see the beginning of that here. Rather than treating his father with respect and taking care of him, he apparently chose to ridicule him and tried to have his brothers join him in dishonoring their father. To their credit, they refused.

Thought for the day: How do you treat your parents?

Ephesians 6:1-3 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with a promise: ‘that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth’ “ (WEB).

Genesis 8

“God remembered” didn’t mean that God forgot. It meant that God was faithful to His promise.

Genesis 6:18 “But I will establish my covenant with you” (WEB).

The New Testament looks back on the flood and compares Noah being saved to what happens to us because of our salvation. The water of our baptism is a symbol of the cleansing that happens to us when we believe in Christ.

1 Peter 3:20-21 “In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you—not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (WEB).

Thought for the day: Isn’t it amazing what God has done for us?

Titus 3:5 “But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love towards mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (WEB).

Genesis 7

The size of the ark depends on the size of a cubit. It’s entirely possible that the ark was over 500 feet long and 50 feet high – easily enough to have three decks. The storage space inside would be about the same as 450 semi-trailers. If each semi-trailer could hold 250 sheep, that means the ark could have held 112,500 sheep! That would be ample space for two of every unclean and seven of every clean animal, plus the space necessary for additional food.

Genesis 7:11 says, “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the sky’s windows opened” (WEB). Because of the changes that take place after the flood, some have speculated that there used to be a water canopy above the earth, and that the fountains under the earth refer to subterranean water chambers, hydrothermal vents, and/or tectonic plate movement. In fact, there is scientific evidence for water in the earth’s mantle!

Thought for today: If you really believe that Jesus rose from the dead, why is it so hard to believe some of the other events that the Bible details?

Psalm 119:160 “All of your words are truth. Every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever.”

Genesis 6

There is some dispute about the nature of the “sons of God” visiting the “daughters of men” in this passage. Are they just godly men and ungodly women? Or is there something more going on here? The end result was the birth of “giants” (nephilim in the Hebrew). Some believe that Jude speaks to this event:

Jude 6-7 “Angels who didn’t keep their first domain, but deserted their own dwelling place, he has kept in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgement of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, having in the same way as these given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are shown as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.”

If so, then we have an even greater progression of sin that started with Cain. Is it any wonder that God decided to start over with the one righteous man and his family left? The reality of a worldwide flood is rejected by most of the scientific community, but it is recognized by several cultures around the world. In addition, the Sumerian king list not only mentions the flood, but also shows lifespans decreasing after the flood (just like Genesis does). If you would like more information about the possibility of a literal worldwide flood, check out answersingenesis.com.

Thought for the day: We should do all that we can not to make God sorrowful!

Ephesians 4:30 “Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (WEB).

Genesis 5

We are reminded that mankind (male and female) was made in the likeness of God, but we also remember that sin has marred that image, which makes the phrase “in his own likeness, after his image” a sobering reminder. As a rule, each reference includes the name of a patriarch, his age at the birth of his first son, the length of his remaining life, and his age at death. The average length of life seems incredible to us (912 years) unless we allow for a different ecosystem in the early ancient world, which Genesis alludes to.

Genesis 2:6 “but a mist went up from the earth, and watered the whole surface of the ground” (WEB).

In truth, if we allow for a worldwide flood, we understand that there were drastic changes to the earth, which are reflected in the dwindling lifespans that occurred afterward.

There are two significant individuals in the list. The first is Enoch, who “walked with God, and he was not found, for God took him” (WEB). Notice that “took him” is markedly different than “he died,” and we find a parallel in 2 Kings 2 with Elijah. The second is Noah, who “will comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, caused by the ground which Yahweh has cursed.” Talk about foreshadowing!

Thought for the day: How can we walk with God and be pleasing to Him?

Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Genesis 4

Why was Abel’s offering accepted and Cain’s wasn’t? Many have speculated, but the indication in the text is that Able gave his best (“the firstborn”) while Cain simply gave “an offering.” We also have an explanation in the New Testament:

Hebrews 11:4 “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God testifying with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks” (WEB).

Without faith and a desire to follow God it’s very easy to let ourselves be driven by emotions. Pride, hatred, and deception can even lead to murder. Once we let sin rule us, we end up being guided by it rather than God. And the escalation in sin brings a more severe punishment. Murder brings expulsion from the community, but with grace. Cain has a mark of identification and protection, even though he is still unrepentant.

Cain marries (apparently a sister), and the text lists his descendants and their accomplishments. Although we are not destined to follow in the steps of our ancestors, genetics and examples still have profound effects on us. Generations later we find Lamech engaging in bigamy, vengeance, and murder. He is the one who reminds us of his ancestry, and his arrogance claims an even greater divine protection than Cain had!

Adam and Eve have another son, Seth, who is a forefather of the Messiah (Luke 3:38). In fact, it’s from his birth onward that worship seems to take on a more public and corporate expression.

Genesis 4:26 “A son was also born to Seth, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the LORD’s name” (WEB).

Thought for the day: How can we subdue sin in our lives?

2 Timothy 2:22 “Flee from youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

Genesis 3

In chapter 3 we see the beginning of sin: God gave a command that was disobeyed by both Eve and Adam, with the serpent egging them on. The serpent is being influenced by Satan, which gives us insight into how Satan works: he is a deceiver.

Revelation 12:9 “The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

As a result, the entire creation is cursed. Since Adam is our representative, we are cursed too: “For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

Thankfully though, we also see the beginning of salvation: “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.” This is thought by many to be the first reference to the gospel in the Bible.

Thought for the day: Satan used doubt and desire to tempt mankind. There is a difference between godly desire and earthly desire. Is there always a false promise associated with our earthly desire?

Colossians 3:1-2 “If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.”

Genesis 2

Here we see the beginning of marriage: a man and a woman are given to one another as helpers, with monogamy made explicit (one flesh). They existed in a state of innocence and shamelessness (they were naked and not afraid). We later see marriage described as foreshadowing the relationship between Christ and the church.

Ephesians 5:31-32 ” ‘For this cause a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife. Then the two will become one flesh.’ This mystery is great, but I speak concerning Christ and the assembly.” (WEB)

Since most conservative scholars believe that Moses wrote the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible), how did that come to pass? Was it all supernaturally revealed to Him, or did He have something already written down that was approved by God? We may have some hints throughout Genesis. For example:

Genesis 2:4 “This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.” (WEB)

That phrase is used 10 times in Genesis, and many believe that these indications reveal that the different sections of Genesis were preserved and Moses was used by God to compile the full account.

Thought for the day: If the relationship between Christ and the church reveals something about how marriage was supposed to be at the very beginning, what does that teach us about marriage today?

Ephesians 5:33 “Nevertheless each of you must also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (WEB)

Genesis 1

We get the name of this book from the Greek title, “Genesis,” which means “origin.“ The Hebrew title comes from the first word, “in the beginning.” Genesis is a book about origins or beginnings. In the first three chapter we see the beginning of the heavens and the earth, the beginning of humanity, the beginning of marriage, the beginning of sin, and the beginning of salvation.

The beginning of the heavens and the earth: we see the realms (light, sky/water, land/sea), and the inhabitants of those realms (sun/moon/stars, fish/birds, animals/humanity). Notice that the text says that God made a larger light to rule the day, and a smaller light to rule the night. Why not name the sun and moon? Perhaps because they were frequently worshiped by other cultures. Here God is superior to any lights in the sky because He made them!

The beginning of humanity: mankind is the pinnacle of God’s creation (we are to reign over the rest of it). We are distinct from the rest of creation, since we are made in God’s image. Although male and female are created in chapter one, a fuller account is given in chapter two.

Thought for the day: Since God is our creator, what do we owe Him?

Matthew 22:37 “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ “ (WEB, International)