Genesis chapter 9

Genesis 9:12-16  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: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 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.  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.’

I love this symbol of the rainbow being a reminder of God's promise that never again will there be a worldwide flood that destroys all life. It is a sign not just for Noah and his family, but for every generation, so it is for our ancestors, our parents, our siblings, our own families, husbands, wives, children, grandchildren and so on. A promise for eternity. It is a reminder today of exactly what God has promised, a reminder of the sinful ways of the earth that led to the flood in the first place, and a reminder of God promising never to do the same again.

I always remember these words whenever I see a rainbow in the sky. Each rainbow is a vivid reminder of God's promise and His presence.

The thing here, though, is that because God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, He knew then , when he spoke to Noah, just how the world would turn out, and that eventually, it would be just as bad, if not worse, than in Noah's day. You only have to take a look around to realise that the world is not a good place to be at times. There is the rising crime rate, the gun crime, the knife crime, homosexuality is seen as a normal way of life by many, abortion is ever increasing and seen as just another form of contraception, children are abused by the very people supposed to be taking care of them, the sex trade is flourishing, there are more people held in slavery nowadays than when it was abolished, and more Christians have died for their faith in the last 100 years than in the whole 1900 years before then. But God knew this when He made the promise to Noah. He knew how we would turn out, He knew about the innocent being harmed or killed, the wars, the genocide, the famines, the greed of those in power, and yet He still made the promise.

I just think this is such an awesome symbol of God's love, that He knew how we would turn out and still He promised He would not destroy the world by flood again. Would I tell my sons that they would never be grounded again, knowing full well that later today, tomorrow, next week, they would be fighting, losing their tempers and physically hurting each other? I don't think so, even though I love them to pieces, because they have to have ground rules, boundaries across which they should not step.

It makes me wonder why God promised this. I mean, knowing just how the world would turn out…. But then He would also have known that there were many who would turn to Him, who would become Christians, acknowledging His Son as their Lord and Saviour. As Peter says :

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (NIV)

We are being given the time to turn to God. And I am so thankful for this, because I know my family is not yet saved.

Then here we have Noah planting a vineyard and harvesting the crop, pressing the grapes and making wine, waiting for the wine to mature and then drinking it. Of course, all this takes months, maybe longer, yet it is described in one sentence here. So, Noah gets drunk and passes out on his bed uncovered, which presumably means he was naked. He had drunk more than was good for him, became drunk, lost control, took off his clothes and passed out. Ham goes in and sees his father and immediately goes out and tells his brothers.

Whenever I read this I always picture Ham as going out to have a laugh and a joke with his brothers at his fathers expenses, ridiculing his father and his behaviour, criticising him to his brothers and expecting his brothers to join in with the criticism. But what do they do? Do Shem and Japheth join in? Become critical of Noah and how ridiculous he looks snoring on his bed with no clothes on? No, they take a cloak between them, hold it between them and walk backwards into the tent so they don't see their naked father and drop the cloak over his body, covering him up. They cover up their father's impropriety and make him respectable. They don't laugh, criticise, or make fun of him, they show respect and honour.

It stems back to the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate from the fruit of the tree, became ashamed of their nakedness and God clothed them. Here, Noah drinks form the fruit of the vine and becomes naked, then two of his sons cover up his nakedness. Apparently in OT times, to see someone naked (undignified and vulnerable) brought dishonour to the naked person and an unfair advantage to the other person. The way the brothers reacted is symbolic of the two types of people in the world, those who are like Adam and Eve who are ashamed of their nakedness before God, they know their sins and are repentant, and those who flaunt their nakedness, their sins before God, refusing to acknowledge Him, and showing no shame, no regret.

Then when Noah wakes up (with the hangover to end all hangovers presumably), he hears what Ham has done and curses Canaan, Ham's son and blesses Shem and Japheth. He doesn't curse Ham, the one how showed disrespect, but cursed one of his sons instead, prophesying what was to come as apparently, the Canaanites became known for their sexual depravity, and the root of all this was in Ham seeing his father naked. The consequences of Ham's sin in disrespecting his father was carried through to future generations - generational sin.

Genesis chapter 8

On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on one of the mountain in the Ararat region which is in Turkey. It then took another two and a half months before the waters went down. On the first day of the tenth month, they could see the tops of the mountains and then forty days later, Noah sent out a raven from the ark. The raven just flew back and forth until the waters dried up, so Noah sent out a dove and the dove returned to the ark because it could find nowhere to perch on as there was still so much water covering the earth. Noah waited another seven days and sent out the dove again and it came back with an olive leaf in its beak so Noah knew the flood was almost over.

Noah then waited another seven days and sent out the dove for the third time. This time the dove did not return. So Noah opened the hatch of the ark to have a look around and he saw dry ground. It took almost another two months before the earth was completely dry. Noah was still waiting on God and it was not until God told them it was ok that they left the ark.

I love the way Noah waits on God. I mean, there they are, having been cooped up in the ark for months on end and the rain stops, the waters gradually recede until they can see the land. What a temptation that must have been, to just jump out of the ark and step onto the ground. Ok, it might not have been much of a temptation at first, as the land was drying, when they could see it was all muddy and that they would likely get stuck in the mud at the very least. But what about when it looked like it was completely dry, when the earth started drying up and cracking? Then they must have thought it was safe to go out. But no, they waited on God to let them know, through the birds, whether it was the right time to leave the ark.

It is easy to jump in, to think we know the time is right, that we are ready, and yet God knows whether the ground is soft, squishy and muddy, too wet to walk on in safety, or if it is completely dry, a safe path to take. Noah was careful to wait on God, and this I think is an example to us all. I know there are times when I think I know what God wants me to do, and want to rush in and get the job started. But sometimes, it is a matter of waiting, of having patience, and letting God set the timetable not me. Not necessarily an easy thing to do these days, in this fast paced world where everything has to be instantaneous.

Then Noah , his family and all the animals and birds leave the ark. But what is the first thing that Noah does? Choose a good spot to live and build a nice house? Have a good long walk to stretch his legs? Go exploring to see what type of place they had ended up in? Nope, he builds an altar to God, selects clean animals from every species (he'd brought seven pairs of each clean animal on the ark) and offers them to God.

Genesis 8:21 The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: ‘Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. (NIV)

Noah's first priority was God and giving Him the thanks and the praise. What an example to live up to. How often do I start off with good intentions but then "self" takes over. Instead of spending a quiet time with God, seeking His presence, I end up checking emails, starting work early because I have deadlines to meet, even jut messing about on the computer or in the office doing "stuff" (all of which seems so interesting at the time but in reality is just time wasting). Is my first thought God when I get out of bed in a morning? Do I rush into the office to do my readings, spend time with God and let everything else go? Is God really my priority in life or do other things take over? I have to admit, there are far too many times when real life takes over and God gets pushed to one side.

Genesis chapter 7

Genesis 7:1 Next God said to Noah, "Now board the ship, you and all your family—out of everyone in this generation, you're the righteous one. (The Message)

Only Noah was found to be righteous. Not Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives and children, not Noah's wife. Just Noah. But because of Noah, they were all saved.

Have you ever read the Brother Chronicles by Wendy Alec? I have, although I must admit I did skim read chunks of the books. But in those, the whole thing about God and creation, and the devil is the legality of the situation. In these books, satan was given a legal right to the earth at the Fall, and at the time of the flood, everyone was legally going to be destroyed unless they found a righteous man. The angels scoured the earth and eventually found Noah. They were therefore able to use a loophole in the contract and save Noah and his family. Then before Jesus, there was no righteous man anywhere at all., even though they went to every corner of the earth, so God came up with the plan of Jesus, who had to be born as a human in order to fulfil the terms of the contract. Satan thought he had won when Jesus died on the cross, but he missed some of the small print in the contract and Jesus legally claimed the earth and men back. I know this is fiction, but it does make you see how this whole thing could maybe have worked out, and why the death of Jesus on the cross was so important (not that I didn't already know that). And I know that mentioning these books is kind of going off topic, but it just shows what one man can do, doesn't it? I mean, here we have one man, Noah, who because of his righteousness, saved his wife, his sons, their wives, their families, and effectively the whole human race, and then we have Jesus. The man ()and god) who died for each one of us, saving each one of us from the lake of burning fire if we only reach out and take His hand.

I often wonder what will happen to my family, because they do not believe, and yet reading this, maybe the way I live my life, as badly as I do at times, maybe my example (the good, the bad and the ugly) will help to save them, just as Noah's lifestyle saved the lives of his wife and children. Does the way I live my life reflect my faith, let the glory of God shine through? Or does it show people how I can say one thing and yet do another?

We need to make sure as Christians that our walk and out talk line up. It is no good saying one thing, and doing another. Like those pastors who preach against adultery and are then found to have had numerous affairs. I know my husband is so quick to pick up on anything I do wrong. Only the other day I was driving towards our house and turned off the main road but was doing 32 miles an hour (the speed limit is 30) and he pointed this out in no uncertain terms. Yet barely 4 hours earlier, he had been doing 40 on that same stretch…… It's always one rule for him and another for me. And yes, I know two wrongs don't make a right and I was exceeding the speed limit (I did slow down though), but it does get wearing when every little thing you do is picked on.

After all, Noah messed up as we'll find out in the next chapter when he gets drunk. It’s not a case of always doing right, because after all, what person can say they ever did that? The only one who can is Jesus. But it is a case of trying to do God's will at all times, of setting our sights above the things of this earth, not behaving like everyone else, drinking, taking drugs, sleeping around, being filled with gossip, pride, selfishness, anxiety, but instead being filled with the Holy Spirit, letting His peace fill our whole bodies and minds and hearts.

Noah was told to take aboard the ship:

• Seven pairs of every clean animal;

• One pair of every unclean animal; and

• Seven pairs of every bird.

This was to ensure the survival of very bird and animal. The fact that seven animals were taken symbolises God's completeness, holiness, perfection. There were seven days of creation, seven churches, seven candlesticks, seven angels in Revelation, and here there are seven days of waiting in the ark before the flood comes. Then there are forty days and nights of rain like never before and everyone and everything on earth is killed except for Noah and his family, and all the animals and birds in the ark.

The floods lasted 150 days, nearly five months.

Genesis chapter 6

Genesis 6:1-2  When the human race began to increase, with more and more daughters being born, the sons of God noticed that the daughters of men were beautiful. They looked them over and picked out wives for themselves.  (The Message)

There are apparently three different theories for the sons of God here:

1. They are fallen angels who marry women.  Sons of God is often used to refer to fall en angels, but angels do not reproduce (Matthew 22:30 refers to people at the resurrection neither marrying or being given in marriage but being like the angels).

2. They were descendants of Seth who married ungodly women.

3. They were kings who married women and fallen angels (demons) may have indwelt them.  The godly are often referred to as God's sons and indeed, in the New Testament we are referred to as sons and daughters of God.

Whoever they were, it just shows how far they had fallen if God wanted to destroy everyone on earth.

There must have been millions of people on the earth by this time, and yet only Noah found favour with God.  He was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time and he walked with God.  Just like Enoch, who walked in close fellowship with God.

The thing that strikes me here, is that a close walk with God is essential , vital.  Yes, there will be times when we mess up, when everything goes wrong and we don't know which way to turn, but if we have a close walk with God, we will know that we can turn to Him, place everything in His hands.  It’s a case of knowing instinctively what God would want us to do in any given situation, of having such a prayer life, knowing God in such a way that like the four creatures in Ezekiel 1:

Genesis 6: 19-21 When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose.  Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.  When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels

I want that in my life, to know instinctively what God wants me to do no matter what, to be able to move in the Spirit, knowing I am walking in the will of God and doing what he would have me do.  I bet that was how Noah and Enoch lived their lives.  Spending their days gong about their everyday business and yet being in continual communion with God, instinctively knowing His will for them at any given moment in time.

I have such a long way to go, there are so many things that I let get in the way of this, and often, it needs to be a conscious decision to let God into my life,  But it shouldn't be, it should be instinctive, natural, the one thing that I do automatically above all else.  So it is a case of getting my priorities right, of getting the perspective right, of getting my heart right with God and I need to work on it. As Paul says:

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Because when we start to do that, then everything else will fall into place naturally.

You also have to wonder about Noah's sons.  After all, the bible here just mentions Noah as being the only one who found favour with God, it makes no mention of Noah's sons.  So maybe Shem, Ham and Japheth were saved because of their father's faith, not their own.  Kind o puts praying for your children into perspective, doesn't it, if your prayers, my prayers will save our children?

Genesis chapter 5

Whilst this is a seemingly boring list of Adam's descendants right through from Seth to Noah, I love how the bible throws in little snippets of information that really make you wish you knew more of the story.  Here, for instance, are a few verses concerning Enoch, who became the father of Methuselah when he was 65.  He walked with God for 300 years after that and then he was no more, because God took him away:

Genesis 5:21-24 When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he had Methuselah. Enoch walked steadily with God. After he had Methuselah, he lived another 300 years, having more sons and daughters. Enoch lived a total of 365 years.  Enoch walked steadily with God. And then one day he was simply gone: God took him. (The Message)

Imagine that!  He had such a close walk with God that instead of dying, like everyone else, God just took him up to heaven to continue the conversation in person!  I just think that is amazing, and that is the sort of walk I want.  Not the hurried few minutes here and there, my mind busy elsewhere, but a deep and lasting relationship where God knows what I am thinking (which I know He does anyway) and I know what God is thinking, when we spend time just being together, soaking in his presence. 

Yet it is so difficult in this busy world to find the time, to stop and make a conscious decision to spend time with God instead of finishing off that piece of work , doing that chore, watching that TV programme or reading that book.  There are only so many hours in a day and there is so much to do, so many things that need my attention, it is a case of really having to focus, to get my priorities right, because after all, what could be more important than spending time with God, the Creator of the Universe, the Lord God Almighty, Jehovah-Jirah?  Because surely, if I get that right, if I make God my priority, then everything else will flow from there?

Genesis chapter 4

The chapter starts off with Eve becoming pregnant and giving birth to a boy, Abel, and then having another boy later, Cain.   I found it interesting that said with the Lord's help, she had given birth to a man.   So even though they had been banished from the Garden of Eden, they still knew that all they had came form the Lord.  They hadn't forgotten him, or Him. 

The two boys then grew up with Abel becoming  a herdsman, and Cain a farmer.  They then both gave an offering to the Lord:

Genesis 4:3-5

In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favour on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favour. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. (NIV)

Time passed. Cain brought an offering to God from the produce of his farm. Abel also brought an offering, but from the firstborn animals of his herd, choice cuts of meat. God liked Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering didn't get his approval. Cain lost his temper and went into a sulk. (The Message)

You have to love the way the Message translates this as Cain being in a sulk.  Having boys myself, I can only too well imagine the look on his face, his stance, his attitude.  It doesn't actually say in the bible why Cain's offering was not acceptable to God.  I think, though,  this is a case of Cain's heart not being right with God.  There must have been some serious sibling rivalry going on here (and again, I know what that is like from both my own experiences with my brother (I was convinced when I was really young that he was born on the same day as me but three years later just to spite me!) and from watching my own children) over the years.  I can't see that there would be any reason for God not approving of Cain's offering because it was crops rather than animals (after all, grain offerings are acceptable to God and formed one of the offerings noted in Leviticus 2) but reading these verses through, it looks as if Cain just "brought an offering To God form the produce of his farm" whereas Abel brought an offering from "the first born of his heard".  In other words, Cain brought some of the crop, not necessarily the first fruits, but whatever he had to hand, whereas Abel picked out, chose the best of the first born of his animals.  it’s a relationship thing with Abel wanting to please God and Cain wanting to get his duty over and done with. So to me, it sounds like it was Cain's relationship with God that was wrong, not the offering and the fact that God did no approve of the offering is symbolic of God not approving of the way Cain was living his life.

Amos 5: 21-24 “I hate all your show and pretence— the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.  I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings.   I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings. Away with your noisy hymns of praise!    I will not listen to the music of your harps. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living." (NLT)

It’s not something that just happened with Cain, either.  Throughout time, many have been guilty of giving half heartedly to God, of paying lip service to worship on a Sunday morning, their minds busy elsewhere whilst their lips are singing. God doesn't ask for part of us, a snippet on a Sunday morning, a few minutes here and there during the week.  He wants all of us, body, mind and soul:

Mark 12: 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. (NIV)

Maybe Cain had been having a really bad day.  Maybe his crops had failed, he'd run out of seed and fertiliser, maybe he'd just had enough of scrimping and scraping in the ground to make a living, to grow food and provide for his family.  We all have days like that. When whatever we do just takes far longer than we expect, when we hit problem after problem, when everything that could go wrong does, the car breaks down, we're late for a meeting, we forget a deadline, the children are being really obnoxious and disobedient, we are left to do everything ourselves and no one even considers offering to help, etc.  But it is how we deal with days like that which distinguishes us from nonbelievers, or should do.

We need to take everything, no matter how big or small, to God, to turn to Him in prayer when we are having that rubbish day and when things go really well.  God is not just God of our good days, but He is also God in our bad times.  Conversely, it is not just a case of turning to God when things go wrong but of giving Him the praise and glory when things go well. We need to get our hearts right with God, to put Him first in our lives, not second, third, or even further down the list.

Cain didn't do this.  He allowed his mood to colour his reactions, let his temper take over, with the result that he killed his own brother.  A temper is a very powerful thing, and we can do things when in a real temper that we would never dream of doing normally.  When we lose control like that anything can happen.  But if we are walking with God, talk with him daily, spend time in prayer and bible study, then this is less likely to happen, because our thoughts and mind will naturally be set on the things of heaven and not of this world.  If Cain had been closer to God, maybe things would have turned our differently.

Isaiah 12:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. (NIV)

So God calls Cain on his attitude:

Genesis 4:8 God spoke to Cain: "Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won't you be accepted? And if you don't do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it's out to get you, you've got to master it."  (The Message)

Sin was at the back of all of this.  It didn't just affect Adam and Eve, resulting in them being expelled from the Garden of Eden, it affected their children too.  It’s like an infectious disease that no one is immune to.  We are all susceptible to sin, there are temptations for each of us that we would find difficult to overcome.  The thing is to try not to give in to them and to place them all in God's hands, seek His help when it becomes too much, when the thought of that bar of chocolate, that extra glass of wine, seeing that man who makes you feel good, going out with your friends to have a good time, get drunk, maybe get off with some girl,  giving in to your temper, answering back in kin when someone is rude or hurtful, or whatever it is that is going on in your life that you know you shouldn't be doing.

Cain allowed his emotions to get the better of him, and it resulted in his brother's death.  The thing is, he made a choice here, he chose to allow his temper to get the better of him, he did not hold back his anger but let rip with everything he had.  Not only that, this was not done in the heat of the moment either, as time had passed form when the offerings were made.   Cain had had time to think things over, to calm down, work out why his offering had not been acceptable.  So he held on to his anger, he held a grudge against Abel because God had accepted his offering whilst refusing his own.  It really does show why we shouldn't hold grudges, or refuse to forgive people doesn't it?

God sees all this and tells Cain:

Genesis 4:10-12 God said, "What have you done! The voice of your brother's blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you'll get nothing but curses from this ground; you'll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You'll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You'll be a homeless wanderer on Earth."  (The Message)

As a result of the murder of his brother, which he initially tried to deny when broached by God, Cain would be forced to become a nomad and struggle to get any crop from the land.  Cain complained at this saying the punishment was too harsh…...kind of makes me wonder what sort of punishment he thought would be appropriate for someone who had committed murder, especially as he was .  Anyhow, God puts a mark on Cain so that anyone seeing him, would not kill him and Cain went to live in the Land of Nod, East of Eden.  But the interesting thing here is that in verse 16, we are told that Cain left the presence of God.  So God's presence was there with Adam and Eve and their family even though they were no longer in the Garden.  It wasn't a case of God washing His hands of them, barring the door to them, letting them get on with their lives and refusing to have anything to do with them.  Far from it.  They were living in His presence, so when Cain did what he did, he was effectively removing himself from God's presence, choosing sin over God, choosing satan and he then bore the mark of this as a warning to others.

Genesis chapter 3

So here we have the Fall, the serpent plotting and scheming, the temptation, the giving in to temptation and the consequences:

Genesis 3: 1-5 (The Message)

The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: "Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?"  The Woman said to the serpent, "Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It's only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'Don't eat from it; don't even touch it or you'll die.'"

The serpent told the Woman, "You won't die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you'll see what's really going on. You'll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil."

See how the serpent twists everything?  He didn't actually lie, as such, after all, God did tell them not to eat for the tree:

Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;  but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’ (NIV)

And death would follow, not necessarily immediately though.  But the interesting things here (to me at any rate) are that firstly, God gave these instructions to Adam before He created Eve, so when Eve is answering the serpent, she is passing on second hand knowledge,  It is not something she was told direct by God Himself.  But as Adam is head of the household, you would expect God to leave these things to Adam because as Paul tells  us, the man is head of the woman, just as Jesus is head of the church:

Ephesians 5:22-28

Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.

Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favour—since they're already "one" in marriage. (The Message)

Then secondly, the serpent heard everything that God told Adam.  He was right there in the Garden of Eden listening to every word spoken, watching what was going on, seeing what happened.  So, presumably God had already created the angels and satan had been cast down from heaven (or maybe he was about to be as a result of his actions here)?

Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (NIV)

Genesis 3:12-13 The man said, The woman you put here with me— she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.  Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate. (NIV)

Interesting to see how man blamed the woman, and she blamed the serpent.  No one standing up and accepting responsibility for making the decision to eat the apple in the first place.  It reminds me of  two of my boys who aggravate each other something rotten.  The 20 year old has been known on many an occasion to say "he made me do it" after he has just hit his 15 year old brother,  blaming his younger brother when he loses his temper and resorting to physical violence.

We each have to take responsibility for our own actions.  You can’t turn around and say that Eve was the one who made you eat the apple when you had to make a conscious decision to reach out your hand, take the apple and have a bite.  Eve was not the one involved in that decision making process, even though she may have been the one trying to persuade you to eat the apple.  It was your choice.  Similarly, Eve can’t blame the serpent for her choosing to believe his lies and take a bite of the apple.  Exactly the same process applies to her too as she had to have made a conscious decision to reach out and take the apple.

Both the man and the woman, Adam and Eve, had a close relationship with God, probably far closer than most of us.  Yet they were both tempted by the thought of being like God, of knowing good and evil, being all powerful all seeing, all knowing.  They gave no thought to what they could lose, only to what they might gain.  Sometimes, the price we pay to gain something is not worth it and you only have to look at the price Adam and Eve paid to realise that.

The other thing I never really appreciated before, is that it says in verse 6 "she also gave some to her husband who was with her."  It's not a case of Eve wandering around in the garden all on her own, no way.  She was with her husband, they were together, so when the serpent spoke to Eve, Adam was right there beside her listening to every word.  What a cop out to try and blame Eve when he knew exactly what had been going on and what had been said.  He is just as much a party to the sin as Eve was and pretending ignorance, closing his eyes and his mind to the truth is not going to change matters.

It is easy to put the blame on others, to try and make ourselves look good, be the innocent party and whitewash our actions.  But really, we are each just as guilty as both Adam and Eve every single time we sin and every single time we try to excuse it by blaming someone else, our circumstances, the economic situation, our lack of this, our need for the other, the weather, the time of year/month/week/day, our employer, our unemployment, the man in the moon, etc. 

We need to get real with ourselves, others and God, and admit when we have done wrong, take responsibility when we mess up and stop trying to blame anyone and everyone else.

The consequences for Adam and Eve here were simple:

• Pain in childbirth for the woman plus a husband who rules the roost;

• The ground is cursed;

• Getting food from the ground for the man will be as painful for the man as childbirth is for the woman.  He will spend his life working hard every day to earn a living, to put food on the table; and

• Expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

Yet look at the care God takes here.  He doesn't just throw them out and leave them on their own.  He clothes them in leather before they are expelled, so they are warm and protected from the elements.  This is effectively the first sacrifice as at least one animal must have been killed to provide the leather clothing. 

And the serpent?

Genesis 3:14-15 God told the serpent:  "Because you've done this, you're cursed, cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals, cursed to slink on your belly and eat dirt all your life.  I'm declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers.  He'll wound your head, you'll wound his heel." (The Message)

A prophecy of what is to come with the offspring, Jesus, being killed by the serpent, satan, ("you'll wound his heel") yet rising from the dead to deal a mortal blow to satan ("he'll wound your head"). 

Genesis chapter 2

Genesis 2: 1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.   By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.  And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (NIV)

I really struggle at times to take time off work.  Life seems so busy, there are accounts to do, tax returns, letters to writes, payrolls to run, Vat Returns to complete…...the list goes on and on and is never ending.    Then there are the weekly church notices, which usually take 3 or 4 hours to prepare, sometimes more.  All this doesn't include the time I want to spend on Photoshop, creating, designing, just messing around, the I am on the creative team for a digital shop and a designer, so need to make stuff for them.  And what about spending time with the family, taking the children out for the day?  There are tags to make, papers to create, places to see, photographs to take, where does the time go and how can I fit everything in?

Yet look at what God did in six days - he created:

1. Heavens and earth, day and night;
2. Sky;
3. Land and seas, vegetation;
4. Sun, moon, stars;
5. Fish and birds;
6. Animals, man and woman.

And on the seventh day, God rested.

On the seventh day He rested (I'm repeating that because I don't think I ever really read this and take it in!).  He didn't try and squeeze in another set of accounts, or try and tidy up the office, he didn't carry on and try to finish off that job for Mr A or Mrs B.  He didn't even just sit at His computer wondering what on earth He should do next, which of the six million things on His to do list He should tackle next as there was just so much to do and so little time to do it in. 

No, he rested.

Of course, the whole six day thing may just be figurative, it may have taken umpteen days, or weeks, or even years to do all of this, but whether it is figurative or literal, what it does mean is that God set aside a time to rest.  He might have just fooled around with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, read a book, done a jigsaw, gone out for the day, or just sat in his chair not doing anything in particular.  Whatever it was he did, he was resting, just resting.  Not thinking about his "to do" list, or what was going to happen tomorrow, or about how he should have done this, that or the other whilst creating everything.  Nope, he just rested.

And whilst there's a little voice telling me that He deserved to rest after all that work creating the heavens and earth, sun, moon and stars, seas and sky, and so on, it also tells me that I'm not working hard enough, that I waste too much time doing nothing, frittering it away on the internet, reading, doing stuff I have no need to do, that I don't deserve time off, time away from the computer, because after all, what have I done that could possibly compare with what God did?   If I just spend an hour here doing this, two hours there doing that, then I’ll soon be caught up and really take some time off then. 

It's like when my husband comes into the office at the weekend (I do all my crafting on the office as well as accounts and stuff) and says "oh, so you're not working then?" and I always feel so guilty, no matter what day of the week or what time it is.  Of course, being somewhat of a workaholic doesn't help either…..

But God gave us a day of rest for a reason and He considered it important enough to include  in the Ten commandments: 

Exodus 20:8-11 Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don't do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day. (The Message) 

It doesn't necessarily have to be a Sunday but we do need to take rest (and not just at night when we are sleeping).  Od tells us to take a day off, to spend time with our families, and to give Him the praise even moreso on that day.  After all,  if we spend all our time working, how can we possibly have the time to fully appreciate all that God has blessed us with?

Genesis 2:5-6 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. (NIV)

Imagine that, no rain, and no need for rain as the earth is watered by streams from the ground!  It kind of puts the whole idea of Noah building an ark and getting laughed at when he said it was going to rain if they never had any rain in those days……………

Genesis 2:21-22 God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.  The Man said,  "Finally! Bone of my bone,  flesh of my flesh! Name her Woman for she was made from Man." Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh. The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame. (The Message)

God made a companion for man. He didn't make another man, one with whom he could work with, go out drinking with, watch the football with.  No, he made woman, someone who would be a helpmeet to him, be there by his side no matter what happens, stay with him through the good times, the bad times and the ugly times.  I happen to take the view that when you marry, when God joins you together as man and wife, then no man should put that aside.  When you marry, you marry for life.  Of course, there are exceptions to this.  If you have an abusive husband, one who beats you up either physically or mentally, then you need to get away for your own safety.  Similarly, if you are married to a woman who is continually having affair after affair, denigrating you in your own home and to others, abusing you mentally, physically (and that does happen), then you too need to get away.  I don't for one minute believe God intends us to stay in a marriage if our lives are at risk.  But just because you feel trapped, because you think your spouse doesn't love you any more, because times are hard and life is tough or if there is someone else you get along better with, they "understand" you whereas your spouse doesn't, then you need to read these verses and consider just what you were doing when you got married and what God would think of your proposed action. 

It is so sad to see the divorce rate rising, to know that here in the UK in 2010, 47% of all children were born outside marriage (in the USA, the rate in 2009 was apparently 41%).  God never intended it to be this way and the way things are changing in the west is a sign of how we have chosen to reject God and His plan for our lives.  It’s heartbreaking.

Genesis chapter 1

This is the beginning, this is where it all starts.  These chapters set out how it all began, not in great scientific detail, explaining this, that and the other, whether it was a big bang that set everything off, or evolution that caused us to be where we are today.  The important message is that God did create it.  Before He took a hand in it, there was nothing there, the earth was without form and void:

Genesis 1:1-2  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (NIV)

We have had one speaker at our church talk about these two verses and the fact that in verse 1, God created the heavens and the earth yet in verse 2, the earth was formless and empty, without form and void.  The earlier verse talks about the earth being there and the later verse says there is nothing there.  If these verses are taken chronologically in time, what happened between verses 1 and 2 to cause the earth to disappear?  He speaker thought it was possible that this was when the devil and his angels were thrown out of heaven, the rupture causing all sorts of problems on earth, effectively destroying the first earth and meaning God had to create (in verse 2) another earth.  The second earth was inhabited by the fallen angels, demons, and satan (as well as man), and this led to Adam and Eve's sin in eating the apple which over the years has caused other problems with earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. as sin exerted its force on mankind and nature. 

This certainly gives pause for thought, doesn't it?

When you actually look at these verses, it could also mean that the earth was kind of like a big blob, not shaped properly, but just being the basic form on which God would build everything, a bit like making a card.  You start off with a blank card, which may or may not be folded ready, you then get your card base to go on it, add papers, ribbon, buttons, tags or whatever, and voila, one  completed birthday (or anniversary, congratulations, thank you or whatever)  card.  You start with the basic card and end up with a (hopefully) beautifully decorated card that anyone would love to receive. 

In the same way, maybe God started off with the blob of the earth, then gradually added light, day and night, land, seas, vegetation, sun, moon and stars, fish and birds, then animals, man and woman.  As each day passed, the earth would have become more and more recognizable until finally, God finished:

Genesis 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the sixth day.  (NIV)

After each  part of creation is complete, God sees that it is good.  It is not a case of putting all the land in, and deciding that He didn't like that little bit there. Adding the trees and deciding that those  trees in that corner over there needed to go as they just didn't fit right, didn't look right.  Thinking on reflection that man, Adam, should maybe have had sky blue pink with purple polka dots coloured hair, or that Eve needed a little more curve here, a little less there.  No, God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. 

Everything He made was very good. 

Psalm 139:13-16 (NIV)

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Not only did He make everything there is, but He also made each one of us, designed us from top to toe, the colour of our hair, our eyes, the shape of our bodies, our height (and width!), and even today, He is still sat there and saying it (you, me, everyone) is very good.  We are made in God's own image:

Genesis 1:26-28

 God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them

      reflecting our nature

   So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, 

      the birds in the air, the cattle, 

   And, yes, Earth itself, 

      and every animal that moves on the face of Earth." 

   God created human beings; 

      he created them godlike, 

   Reflecting God's nature. 

      He created them male and female. 

   God blessed them: 

      "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! 

   Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, 

      for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth." 

So when you think you need certain parts of your body reducing (or expanding), when you bemoan the fact that you are too short, too tall, too wide, your hair is the wrong colour, your eyes are non-descript, you wish you had long legs like so and so, or that you were really sporty and active like such and such a person,  just remember that you are made in God's image and that He created you just the way He wanted you. You are, in God's eyes , absolutely beautiful.

Then interestingly, in these verses, God says "Let us make human beings….".  Now this is either the royal "we", like Queen Victoria allegedly saying "we are not amused", or God is talking to Himself ( a bit like me when I mispost something in a set of accounts and sit there saying "now we didn't mean to do that, now, did we") or the angels (although it doesn't actually mention creating them here), or else He is talking to someone else and that someone can only be Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

We know  the Holy Spirit is there because we are told so in verse  2, where  the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.   We also know that Jesus was there too from the opening chapter of John:

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (KJV)

So all three of the Trinity were there from before the beginning of time.