Genesis

[JoshuaM]

150 years flood is about half a year, it is a fast flood ,must be v v big one, so it destroyed all the creatures on earth. but God let Noah to choose those pairs of animals ,birds on the ark, it means God trust Noah,and let him and his family survived , so we can still all have life up to now.............it is amazing, also pondering how to let God trust us?

we don't need to let God trust us, as He will do as he chooses. God knows us better than we know ourselves.

Would not God find this out?For He knows the secrets of the heart.
Psalm 44:20-22

And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
Luke 16:14-16

15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work 2 Timothy 3:15-17

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

another question about the former chapter, i v read that link about aliens. that means aliens do not exist? or it only means those "sons of God"r not aliens?
and if they r angels, then they must from devil.

that thread does not believe the sons of God r not aliens, basically cuz God did curse adam and eve, not cursed aliens, so the curse will not happen to creatures out of human.
but later it also says, if who believes there r aliens, he is deceived, cuz scientists prove that there is no aliens etc......it makes me want to ask this, cuz i believe there r aliens , though.

Yes that organization doesn't believe in aliens. But the other references i noted in the previous chapter were that angels have been referred to as the sons of God. So it is clear they aren't outer space people.

I believe a scientist can prove there is no aliens, because i do believe people experience things, but the "aliens" are demonic manifestations when the experiences really happen. For one, they never glorify God. Another, they cause people to focus more on aliens than God. Thirdly, the experiences are often traumatic. Fourthly, the experiences often are only remembered in hypnosis. Fifth, the alien descriptions change as science fiction changes. One more thing, the Bible doesn't mention anything of otherworldly beings. Some people try to say that angels are aliens, but that is similar to saying that fiction novels prove the Bible is fake. Fiction means fake, therefore, fake cannot prove history books like the Bible are fake. anyways lets not get off topic here.

I was one of the people that used to believe in aliens myself. But then I listened to God and saw otherwise. Let's not turn this into an alien debate thread though okay?

but there is one important good point of that link, too,there r two world, one is the world of God, another is the world of demons. and the land of demans is the earth which they r controlling for now.

yeah, that is noted throughout the Bible. In two ways, one is we can serve God or the flesh (being satan's way). The other way is the spiritual experiences people have in the Bible

 

[JoshuaM]

Genesis 8

The Flood Subsides

1But (A)God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and (B)God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided. 2Also (C)the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and (D)the rain from the sky was restrained;
3and the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end (E)of one hundred and fifty days the water decreased.
4In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, (F)the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat.
5The water decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible.
6Then it came about at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the (G)window of the ark which he had made;
7and he sent out a raven, and it flew here and there until the water was dried up from the earth.
8Then he sent out a dove from him, to see if the water was abated from the face of the land;
9but the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, so she returned to him into the ark, for the water was on the surface of all the earth. Then he put out his hand and took her, and brought her into the ark to himself.
10So he waited yet another seven days; and again he sent out the dove from the ark.
11The dove came to him toward evening, and behold, in her beak was a freshly picked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water was abated from the earth.
12Then he waited yet another seven days, and sent out (H)the dove; but she did not return to him again.
13Now it came about in the (I)six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water was dried up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was dried up.
14In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.
15Then God spoke to Noah, saying,
16"Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons' wives with you.
17"Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you, birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may (J)breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth."
18So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him.
19Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by their families from the ark.
20Then Noah built (K)an altar to the LORD, and took of every (L)clean animal and of every clean bird and offered (M)burnt offerings on the altar.
21The LORD (N)smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, "I will never again (O)curse the ground on account of man, for (P)the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; (Q)and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.
22"While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
And cold and heat,
And (R)summer and winter,
And (S)day and night
Shall not cease."
Cross references:

1. Genesis 8:1 : Gen 19:29; Ex 2:24; 1 Sam 1:19; Ps 105:42
2. Genesis 8:1 : Ex 14:21; 15:10; Job 12:15; Ps 29:10; Is 44:27; Nah 1:4
3. Genesis 8:2 : Gen 7:11
4. Genesis 8:2 : Gen 7:4, 12
5. Genesis 8:3 : Gen 7:24
6. Genesis 8:4 : Gen 7:20
7. Genesis 8:6 : Gen 6:16
8. Genesis 8:12 : Jer 48:28
9. Genesis 8:13 : Gen 7:6
10. Genesis 8:17 : Gen 1:22, 28
11. Genesis 8:20 : Gen 12:7, 8; 13:18; 22:9
12. Genesis 8:20 : Gen 7:2; Lev 11:1-47
13. Genesis 8:20 : Gen 22:2; Ex 10:25
14. Genesis 8:21 : Ex 29:18, 25
15. Genesis 8:21 : Gen 3:17; 6:7, 13, 17; Is 54:9
16. Genesis 8:21 : Gen 6:5; Ps 51:5; Jer 17:9; Rom 1:21; 3:23; Eph 2:1-3
17. Genesis 8:21 : Gen 9:11, 15
18. Genesis 8:22 : Ps 74:17
19. Genesis 8:22 : Jer 33:20, 25

 

[JoshuaM]

Genesis 8

1AND GOD [earnestly] remembered Noah and every living thing and all the animals that were with him in the ark; and God made a wind blow over the land, and the waters sank down and abated. 2Also the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the gushing rain from the sky was checked,
3And the waters receded from the land continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had diminished.
4On the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat [in Armenia].
5And the waters continued to diminish until the tenth month; on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the high hills were seen.
6At the end of [another] forty days Noah opened a window of the ark which he had made
7And sent forth a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters were dried up from the land.
8Then he sent forth a dove to see if the waters had decreased from the surface of the ground.
9But the dove found no resting-place on which to roost, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were [yet] on the face of the whole land. So he put forth his hand and drew her to him into the ark.
10He waited another seven days and again sent forth the dove out of the ark.
11And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a newly sprouted and freshly plucked olive leaf! So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the land.
12Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, but she did not return to him any more.
13In the year 601 [of Noah's life], on the first day of the first month, the waters were drying up from the land. And Noah [a]removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was drying.
14And on the twenty-seventh day of the second month the land was entirely dry.
15And God spoke to Noah, saying,
16Go forth from the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives with you.
17Bring forth every living thing that is with you of all flesh--birds and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the ground--that they may breed abundantly on the land and be fruitful and multiply upon the earth.
18And Noah went forth, and his wife and his sons and their wives with him [after being in the ark one year and ten days].
19Every beast, every creeping thing, every bird--and whatever moves on the land--went forth by families out of the ark.
20And Noah built an altar to the Lord and took of every clean [four-footed] animal and of every clean fowl or bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21When the Lord smelled the pleasing odor [a scent of satisfaction to His heart], the Lord said to Himself, I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the imagination (the strong desire) of man's heart is evil and wicked from his youth; neither will I ever again smite and destroy every living thing, as I have done.
22While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 8:13 Possibly overhanging eaves which prevented the rain from coming through the perforated window space had also prevented Noah from seeing the mountaintops. It is well to remember that the Architect of Noah's ark was the omniscient Scientist Whose "ways are past finding out," though men have learned much from them through the centuries. Nothing was lacking in Noah's ark to keep it from being suited for all that was required of it. The comfortable, light, well-ventilated, watertight, perfectly planned boat, large enough to accommodate all the original land animals intelligently and to permit the four human couples to live separately and in peace, needs no apology today. "In 1609 at Hoorn, in Holland, the Netherlandish Mennonite, P. Jansen, produced a vessel after the pattern of the ark, only smaller, whereby he proved it was well adapted for floating, and would carry a cargo greater by one-third than any other form of like cubical content" (J.P. Lange, A Commentary). It revolutionized shipbuilding. By 1900 every large vessel on the high seas was definitely inclined toward the proportions of Noah's ark (as verified by "Lloyd's Register of Shipping," The World Almanac). Later, ships were built longer for speed, a matter of no concern to Noah.

 

[JoshuaM]

I haven't seen any questions or comments on Chapter 8, but if anybody has any, feel free to comment or question. I'm going to post the next chapter.

Genesis 9

God's Covenant With Noah

1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. 3 Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

4 "But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. 5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.
6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made man.
7 As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it."
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."
12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."
17 So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth." The Sons of Noah

18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the earth.

20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded [a] to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness.
24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,
"Cursed be Canaan!
The lowest of slaves
will he be to his brothers."
26 He also said,
"Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem!
May Canaan be the slave of Shem. [b]
27 May God extend the territory of Japheth [c] ;
may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,
and may Canaan be his [d] slave." 28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 Altogether, Noah lived 950 years, and then he died.

Footnotes:

1. <LI id=fen-NIV-226a>Genesis 9:20 Or soil, was the first <LI id=fen-NIV-232b>Genesis 9:26 Or be his slave <LI id=fen-NIV-233c>Genesis 9:27 Japheth sounds like the Hebrew for extend .
2. Genesis 9:27 Or their

 

[JoshuaM]

Genesis 9

1AND GOD pronounced a blessing upon Noah and his sons and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

2And the fear of you and the dread and terror of you shall be upon every beast of the land, every bird of the air, all that creeps upon the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are delivered into your hand.
3Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and as I gave you the green vegetables and plants, I give you everything.
4But you shall not eat flesh with the life of it, which is its blood.
5And surely for your lifeblood I will require an accounting; from every beast I will require it; and from man, from every man [who spills another's lifeblood] I will require a reckoning.
6Whoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God He made man.
7And you, be fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly on the earth and multiply on it.
8Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying,
9Behold, I establish My covenant or pledge with you and with your descendants after you
10And with every living creature that is with you--whether the birds, the livestock, or the wild beasts of the earth along with you, as many as came out of the ark--every animal of the earth.
11I will establish My covenant or pledge with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood; neither shall there ever again be a flood to destroy the earth and make it corrupt.
12And God said, This is the token of the covenant (solemn pledge) which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:
13I set My bow [rainbow] in the cloud, and it shall be a token or sign of a covenant or solemn pledge between Me and the earth.
14And it shall be that when I bring clouds over the earth and the bow [rainbow] is seen in the clouds,
15I will [earnestly] remember My covenant or solemn pledge which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy and make all flesh corrupt.
16When the bow [rainbow] is in the clouds and I look upon it, I will [earnestly] remember the everlasting covenant or pledge between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
17And God said to Noah, This [rainbow] is the token or sign of the covenant or solemn pledge which I have established between Me and all flesh upon the earth.
18The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan [born later].
19These are the three sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was overspread and stocked with inhabitants.
20And Noah began to cultivate the ground, and he planted a vineyard.
21And he drank of the wine and became drunk, and he was uncovered and lay naked in his tent.
22And Ham, the father of Canaan, glanced at and saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.
23So Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it upon the shoulders of both, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness.
24When Noah awoke from his wine, and knew the thing which his youngest son had done to him,
25He exclaimed, Cursed be Canaan! He shall be the [a]servant of servants to his brethren!(A)
26He also said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! And blessed by the Lord my God be Shem! And let Canaan be his servant.
27May God enlarge Japheth; and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.
28And Noah lived after the flood 350 years.
29All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 9:25 The language of Noah here is an actual prophecy and not merely an expression of personal feeling. That Noah placed a curse on his youngest grandchild, Canaan, who would naturally be his favorite, can only be explained on the ground that in the prophetic spirit he saw into the future of the Canaanites. God Himself found the delinquency of the Canaanites insufferable and ultimately drove them out or subdued them and put the descendants of Shem in their place. But Noah's foresight did not yet include the extermination of the Canaanite peoples, for then he would have expressed it differently. He would not merely have called them "the servant of servants" if he had foreseen their destruction. The form of the expression, therefore, testifies to the great age of the prophecy (J.P. Lange, A Commentary).

Cross references:

1. Genesis 9:25 : Deut 27:16

 

[JoshuaM]

for some reason this isn't posting on this computer. so i am going to post the commentary.

(Matthew Henry)

God blesses Noah, and grants flesh for food.



The blessing of God is the cause of our doing well. On him we depend, to him we should be thankful. Let us not forget the advantage and pleasure we have from the labour of beasts, and which their flesh affords. Nor ought we to be less thankful for the security we enjoy from the savage and hurtful beasts, through the fear of man which God has fixed deep in them. We see the fulfilment of this promise every day, and on every side. This grant of the animals for food fully warrants the use of them, but not the abuse of them by gluttony, still less by cruelty. We ought not to pain them needlessly whilst they live, nor when we take away their lives. (Ge 9:4-7)

Blood, and murder forbidden.



The main reason of forbidding the eating of blood, doubtless was because the shedding of blood in sacrifices was to keep the worshippers in mind of the great atonement; yet it seems intended also to check cruelty, lest men, being used to shed and feed upon the blood of animals, should grow unfeeling to them, and be less shocked at the idea of shedding human blood. Man must not take away his own life. Our lives are God's, and we must only give them up when he pleases. If we in any way
hasten our own death, we are accountable to God for it. When God requires the life of a man from him that took it away unjustly, the murderer cannot render that, and therefore must render his own instead. One time or other, in this world or in the next, God will discover murders, and punish those murders which are beyond man's power to punish. But there are those who are ministers of God to protect the innocent, by being a terror to evil-doers, and they must not bear the sword in vain, Ro 13:4. Wilful murder ought always to be punished with death. To this law there is a reason added. Such remains of God's image are still upon fallen man, that he who unjustly kills a man, defaces the image of God, and does dishonour to him. (Ge 9:8-17)

God's covenant by the rainbow.



As the old world was ruined, to be a monument of justice, so this world remains to this day a monument of mercy. But sin, that drowned the old world, will burn this. Articles of agreement among men are sealed, that what is promised may be the more solemn, and the doing of what is covenanted the more sure to mutual satisfaction. The seal of this covenant was the rainbow, which, it is likely, was seen in the clouds before, but was never a seal of the covenant till now it was made so.
The rainbow appears when we have most reason to fear the rain prevailing; God then shows this seal of the promise, that it shall not prevail. The thicker the cloud, the brighter the bow in the cloud. Thus, as threatening afflictions abound, encouraging consolations much more abound. The rainbow is the reflection of the beams of the sun shining upon or through the drops of rain: all the glory of the seals of the covenant are derived from Christ, the Sun of righteousness. And he will shed a glory
on the tears of his saints. A bow speaks terror, but this has neither string nor arrow; and a bow alone will do little hurt. It is a bow, but it is directed upward, not toward the earth; for the seals of the covenant were intended to comfort, not to terrify. As God looks upon the bow, that he may remember the covenant, so should we, that we may be mindful of the covenant with faith and thankfulness. Without revelation this gracious assurance could not be known; and without faith it can be of no use to us; and thus it is as to the still greater dangers to which all are exposed, and as to the new covenant with its blessings. (Ge 9:18-23)



Noah plants a vineyard, is drunken and mocked by Ham.



The drunkenness of Noah is recorded in the Bible, with that fairness which is found only in the Scripture, as a case and proof of human weakness and imperfection, even though he may have been surprised into the sin; and to show that the best of men cannot stand upright, unless they depend upon Divine grace, and are upheld thereby. Ham appears to have been a bad man, and probably rejoiced to find his father in an unbecoming situation. It was said of Noah, that he was perfect in his
generations, ch. 6:9; but this is meant of sincerity, not of a sinless perfection. Noah, who had kept sober in drunken company, is now drunk in sober company. Let him that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. We have need to be very careful when we use God's good creatures plentifully, lest we use them to excess, Lu 21:34. The consequence of Noah's sin was shame. Observe here the great evil of the sin of
drunkenness. It discovers men; what infirmities they have, they betray when they are drunk; and secrets are then easily got out of them. Drunken porters keep open gates. It disgraces men, and exposes them to contempt. As it shows them, so it shames them. Men say and do that when drunken, which, when sober, they would blush to think of. Notice the care of Shem and Japheth to cover their father's shame. There is a mantle of love to be thrown over the faults of all, 1Pe 4:8. Beside that, there is a robe of reverence to be thrown over the faults of parents and other superiors. The blessing of God attends on those who honour their parents, and his curse lights especially on those who dishonour them. (Ge 9:24-29)

Noah curses Canaan, blesses Shem, prays for Japheth, His death.



Noah declares a curse on Canaan, the son of Ham; perhaps this grandson of his was more guilty than the rest. A servant of servants, that is, The meanest and most despicable servant, shall he be, even to his brethren. This certainly points at the victories in after-times obtained by Israel over the Canaanites, by which they were put to the sword, or brought to pay tribute. The whole continent of Africa was peopled mostly by the descendants of Ham; and for how many ages have the better
parts of that country lain under the dominion of the Romans, then of the Saracens, and now of the Turks! In what wickedness, ignorance, barbarity, slavery, and misery most of the inhabitants live! And of the poor negroes, how many every year are sold and bought, like beasts in the market, and conveyed from one quarter of the world to do the work of beasts in another! But this in no way excuses the covetousness and barbarity of those who enrich themselves with the product of their sweat and
blood. God has not commanded us to enslave negroes; and, without doubt, he will severely punish all such cruel wrongs. The fulfilment of this prophecy, which contains almost a history of the world, frees Noah from the suspicion of having uttered it from personal anger. It fully proves that the Holy Spirit took occasion from Ham's offence to reveal his secret purposes. to ?Blessed be the Lord God of Shem. to ? The church should be built up and continued in the posterity of Shem; of him came the
Jews, who were, for a great while, the only professing people God had in the world. Christ, who was the Lord God, in his human nature should descend from Shem; for of him, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. Noah also blesses Japheth, and, in him, the isles of the gentiles that were peopled by his seed. It speaks of the conversion of the gentiles, and the bringing of them into the church. We may read it, to ?God shall persuade Japheth, and being persuaded, he shall dwell in the tents of Shem. to ? Jews and gentiles shall be united together in the gospel fold; both shall be one in Christ. Noah lived to see two worlds; but being an heir of the righteousness which is by faith, he now rests in hope, waiting to see a better than either.