King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Saturday, January 04, 2024
Chapters: Genesis 9-11
Message: Genesis: Life After The Flood
Hello My Friend,
The life of a Christian is a separated life, one that does not confine them, rather liberates them from the wickedness of the world, [1 Peter 2:15-16 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.]
Forget about the immorality of the world for a second, no honest person can say that it is acceptable to mutilate a child or purposely end the life of a terminally ill person. God, is the giver and taker of life, and if people would learn to value and respect life itself, whether it be man or animal, then perhaps there would not be so much evil in the world, [Galatians 5:13-15 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.]
As we continue in the reading of Genesis, we learn that life on earth after the flood took on a whole new meaning, it would be quite different from what Noah and his family remembered. God, gives them some instructions and for the first time since God created the earth man and animal would become enemies and carnivores by nature. There were some exceptions and not every living creature became carnivorous.
[Genesis 9:1-5 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. 3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. 4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.]
Before the flood even the animals got along with man and were vegetarians, and all creatures willingly placed themselves under the subjection of man, but now it was every creature for themselves. Not only would man have dominion over them, they would be feared greatly by the animals. And although God gave the approval for them to kill creatures for food, it would not be for sport, they needed to value life, [Proverbs 12:10 A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.]
Before the flood, animals were only offered up to God as a whole burnt offerings, but now they would need to offer up the very thing that gives life to all creatures, the blood. This is where God institutes the animal sacrifice, since blood is the very life of every living creature it is required by God in order to reconcile with Him, [Colossians 1:19-20 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.]
Life to our soul also comes from a blood sacrifice, in particular one man’s blood, Jesus Christ. Until Jesus would come and be that blood sacrifice to make atonement for our souls permanent, God made it possible with the institution of the animal sacrifices. However, God, was not done, to prove that He does value life, He also made a covenant not only with human life, but all living creatures as well.
[Genesis 9:8-11 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. 11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.]
Now, we have seen some floods on the earth, in fact, this past year several areas were affected with floods by the hurricanes that came through the south, but God still keeps His promise not to destroy the earth or mankind completely with water. And to remind us of that promise God gives us a sign after every storm.
[Genesis 9:13-16 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.]
I live in a state that has more stormy days than all the states in America, in fact, I just learned that on average the state endures three hundred and ninety storms per year, which by the way occur just three months out of the year. Even on the worst stormy day there is something about seeing the rainbow after the storm that gives a sense of peace. The rainbow represents more than just the promise of God not destroying the earth with a food again, it also represents everlasting life for those who believe in His Son for He truly is our peace, [Romans 5:1-2 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.]
Now, just as God commanded them to be fruitful and multiply, they certainly did, we are given an account of the three sons of Noah, and the children that would descend from them. First, Noah, discovered something, life was a lot different after the flood, he went back to his job as a farmer and discovered what happens to grapes when they sit in the sun for a long period of time.
[Genesis 9:19-23 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread. 20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: 21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. 23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.]
I never understood just how disrespectful Ham was until I had to start caring for my mother who did some things when she was not in her right state of mind. Ham, appears to have been a bit sketchy as he mocks his father of his shortcoming by going to his brothers instead of just covering him up. It is probable that Canaan was be there because when Noah did come to his senses he was not too happy with Ham.
[Genesis 9:24-28 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. 25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.]
Why did Noah curse Canaan and not Ham? God, often places the judgment of their sins upon their children because their children inherit the fathers sins, then add to it. God, already knew that Canaan’s descendants would become slaves in the worse way, this was only a foreshadow of what was to come of them. As the generations of Noah are listed, notice the sons of each of the three and how they will play key roles in how God would use them to not establish and strengthen His people, but judge them as well. The account begins with the descendants of Japheth.
[Genesis 10:1-5 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. 2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. 3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. 4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.]
Now, Ham’s descendants are listed, but we will come to understand why not only Canaan, but Ham’s entire lineage would distance themselves from the others. In fact, it was one of Ham’s descendants who started the first earthly empire.
[Genesis 10:6-11 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. 7 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. 8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,]
God, was not pleased with Nimrod in fact, his name means fool for a reason. Nimrod, was what you call these hunters that hunt wild animals for sport, and prided themselves for having killed lions, tigers, and bears. I imagine his lineage as being something resembling neanderthals as the abundance of wild beasts were probably quite extensive. Ham’s, descendants are of African and Egyptian descent, and You will notice that some of the more ruthless nations come from Canaan’s family, including Sodom and Gomorrah.
[Genesis 10:15-19 And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth, 16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, 17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, 18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. 19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.]
You do not even need to read through the Bible to understand why Noah said that Canaan’s descendants will become servants of servants, some of the most wicked sins, including idolatry, sodomy, and rape. And we are learning quite a bit about Gaza right now actually as they are still at war with Israel as we speak. Now that we see where the descendants of Canaan came from we can get a better understanding of how the nations became so corrupt and how it would take a lot of faith from one of those descendants to turn to God. And now we come to the descendants of Shem.
[Genesis 10:21-25 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born. 22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. 23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. 24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber. 25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.]
Eber, who is Shem’s great grandson, is prominent here because his descendants would make up what would be known as the Hebrews (Israelites). Shem’s, relation to Japheth is expressed here to show that they were alike in their disposition, and to signify, that in times to come they would unite in their spiritual beliefs as the Gentiles would desire the same relationship with God that they had, [Isaiah 42:5-6 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: 6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;]
At this point, everyone still spoke the same language, but their dialects were different, meaning some had a southern accent while others had an English accent and so forth to distinguish them from the others. This would also be when their nations would come about as the land was divided, such as Greece, Italy, Britain, and Poland. We learn that they did not scatter the earth as they were told by God and why it was important. It seemed that they were led under the direction of Nimrod who decided to build a tower.
[Genesis 11:1-4 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.]
Do you see what they were trying to do? They were trying to get to heaven on their own. They did not want to trust God, but make a name for themselves. Of course, God saw this and was not too happy.
[Genesis 11:5-9 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.]
Notice that it says, “the children of men builded.” These were the scientists of today who are not one bit curious to discover God’s creation, but rather what they can create by themselves. How foolish where they to think that they could build a tower high enough that it would reach up to heaven? Notice also that God was not even mentioned, so they had no desire whatsoever on how to reach God, they just wanted to get to heaven. So many people believe in heaven, and even that they will be there when they die because of their “righteousness”, but do not want to do it God’s way and for that reason end up in hell.
[Romans 10:2-4 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.]
Not only did God confine their speech by making several languages, which is also known as tongues, He also confined their beliefs. And the “Us” He is talking to is the Godhead, His Son, and Holy Spirit, they always have been and always will be three individual persons, [1 John 5:7-8,11 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. 11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.]
This makes no sense to the unbeliever and only half of believers, but God’s Word is actually like a foreign language to those who are not saved. He will actually only show us what it means through our faith. Now, as we just read about the descendants of each of Noah’s three sons, a more detailed account is given to Shem’s, this is because Abraham would come from his lineage, who would become the father of all nations.
[Genesis 11:10,12,14,16,18,20,22,24,26 These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: 12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah: 14 And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber: 16 And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg: 18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu: 20 And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug: 22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor: 24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah: 26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.]
Before God even sent Abraham to Canaan, his father intended to go there, but died while he decided to stay in Haran, but we will also see some other familiar names as well, [Genesis 11:27-31 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. 28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. 29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. 30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.]
We can now see how Lot came to travel with Abraham in the beginning. It may seem boring and uncalled for to have all of these names to read throughout the Bible, but as you do read them you discover how the world unfolds into what it is today. These names play a key part in not only how God changed the way He would deal with man under a new law, but would establish a covenant with one man, who would make a nation of people that knew the only living God and would lead others to follow Him.
[Galatians 3:6-9 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Genesis 9:5-6 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. 6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.]
Today’s Prayer: God, We know that the second we received Your Son as our Saviour that You established a covenant with us that promises that You will give us eternal life through Him. And as new creatures it is Your desire that we fear You and stay faithful to Your teachings so that we can teach them to our children. History gives us ample testimonies of how blessed or cursed we are as a nation based on our faithfulness to You. Lord, Give us Your power, wisdom, and guidance to learn of Your ways, and give us Your mercy, and grace to live in obedience to Your Word so that our future has blessings to look forward to rather than curses. I love You, and pray this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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