TJC eLibrary Item

Genesis

“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me” (Jn 5:39).

The central message of the entire Bible is the salvation of mankind who is created by God and has fallen in sins. The merciful God has prepared a great salvation: Jesus Christ came to the world to lay down his life to redeem mankind from sins and to deliver the chosen ones to his heavenly kingdom to receive eternal life. This is the main purpose of studying the book of Genesis.

I. PART ONE: An Introduction to Genesis

A. Purpose of Genesis (2 Tim 3:16–17)

1. To understand God’s immense wisdom, power, and his great love through his creation (Prov 3:19; Jer 32:17; Ps 8:3–4).

2. To obtain lessons and warnings from the records about the downfall of the progenitors of mankind. To recognize the weaknesses of man and the cunning temptation and powerful weapons of Satan. To realize the forbearance, deliverance and righteous judgment of God (Rom 5:12; Rev 12:9,12,17; 2 Pet 2:5–7).

3. From the fathers of faith—Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph: To learn to cultivate an intimate relationship with God, to please God and to receive God’s abundant grace and blessings, as well as to accomplish God’s great mission (Heb 11:4–22; Gal 3:7–9).

B. Author and the generations of Genesis

1. The first five books of the Bible—Gen, Ex, Lev, Num, Deu—are also known as the Pentateuch or Torah (Books of Law). According to Bible records, research of conservative Bible scholars and discoveries of archaeologists, the author of Torah should be Moses (Deut 31:9,24–26; Lk 24:27,44; Jn 1:45; 5:46–47).

2. Genesis was written in 1,400 b.c. Its records span 2308 years (from the creation of Adam to the death of Joseph). Moses recorded the events that happened since creation (about 2,600 years ago) to 300 years before him.

	Years From Creation	b.c.
Adam	0	about 4000
Flood	1656	about 2400
Abraham	1948 (borned)	about 2000
Joseph	2198 (borned)	about 1800
Moses	about 2600	about 1400

3. The source of information from which Moses wrote Genesis:

a. From the inspiration of God (2 Tim 3:16)

b. From the oral tradition of ancestors

c. From the historical record of Hebrew nation (including genealogy) (Gen 5:1–32; 6:9; 11:10–32; 25:13–20; 36:1–43: 37:2)

C. Origin of the Name “Genesis,” its significance and its importance

a. “Genesis” is taken from the Septuagint—a Greek translation of the Old Testament Bible which was completed in 72 days by 72 priests (6 priests from each of the 12 tribes) under the decree of King Ptolemy Philadelphus during 285–24 B.C. Christ and Paul quoted the Old Testament using this Greek version which is earlier than any other extant Hebrew versions of the Old Testament.

b. “Genesis” is derived from the Greek word “Gennao” which means “origin” or “birth,” for in this book records the origin of the universe, life, man, woman, Sabbath, family, faith, sins, work, murder, sacrifice, nations, languages, civilization, culture, and salvation, etc.

c. The Bible begins with Genesis as its foundation and ends with Revelation. The New Testament contains at least 200 quotations from or references to Genesis.

D. General Outline of Genesis

1. By events and major characters

God created the heaven and the earth, all things, and mankind (1:1–2:25)

The fall of the forefathers of mankind (3:1–4:26)

From Adam through Enoch to Noah (5:1–32)

Noah and the Flood (6:1–9:29)

The descendants of Sham, Ham, Jepheth (10:1–32)

The Tower of Babel and confusion of languages (11:1–9)

From Sham to Abram (11:10–32)

Abraham (12:1–25:11)

The descendants of Ishmael (25:12–18)

Isaac, Esau, and Jacob (25:19–35:29)

The descendants of Esau (36:1–43)

Jacob and Joseph (37:1–50:26)

2. By generations

The generations of the heaven and the earth (1:1–2:6)

Adam and his descendants (2:7–6:8)

Noah and his sons (6:9–9:29)

The descendants of Noah’s sons (10:1–11:9)

The descendants of Sham (11:10–26)

The descendants of Terah (11:27–32)

Abram and his sons (12:1–25:10)

The descendants of Ishamel (25:12–18)

The descendants of Isaac (25:19–35:29)

The descendants of Esau (36:1–37:1)

The descendants of Jacob (37:2–50:26)

3. While the first 11 chapters of Genesis cover a period of about 2,000 years, the other chapters (12–50) cover only about 350 years. The reason is that Genesis places its emphasis on the most important character, Abraham, and the most important event, God’s choosing and the faith of man. Similarly, out of the 89 chapters of the gospel books in the New Testament, 4 chapters record the first 30 years of Jesus’ life and the other chapters (85 chapters) the last 3 years of his life. Specifically, since the theme of the gospel books is the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, 27 of the 85 chapters record the last 8 days of His life.

II. PART TWO: THE ESSENTIAL TEACHINGS OF GENESIS

A. Creation of heaven and earth (1:1–2:25)

1. [1:1]

Through His immeasurable wisdom, mighty power and great love, God created the universe and all things by His word and command (Prov 3:19; Jer 10:12; 32:17; Ps 104:24; Jn 1:1–3; Act 17:24–28; Rom 1:20; Col 1:16; Heb 3:4). The universe was not naturally formed by “Big Bang” nor by “Evolution” (note 1).

2. [1:2]

“And the earth was without form, void; and the darkness was upon the face of the deep”—perhaps this is the prelude to the birth of the beautiful and orderly universe and to the lives therein. It might also be the result of the fallen angel (Is 14:12–17; Ez 28:14–17): “the fuitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins” (Jer 4:23–26). Similalry, the devil turned the hearts of men into void and darkness (Ps 62:9; Is 57:20–21; Gen 6:5).

“The spirit of God moved upon the face of the water”—“moved” in Hebrews is “rachaph” which means “shook” (Jer 33:9) or “stirred up” (Deut 32:11). The mighty power of the spirit of God, which shook the face of the water, became the source that generated more energies (light, heat and electricity, etc.).

* God made the planet Earth prior to all other planets in the universe. Obviously then, the universe was made for the earth. To God, the earth is the most important planet on which men were created after His image. Therefore, when the end of the world comes, God will destroy the earth as well as the entire universe (Heb 1:10–12; 12:26–27; Rev 6:13–14).

3. [1:3–25]

a. The clause “God said, ‘…’” is found 10 times (3,6,9,11,14,20,24,26,28,29). (Ps 33:6,9; 148:5; Heb 11;3)

The word of God is life (Jn 6:63) and is power (Lk 1:37).

b. The order of creation:

First day—the heaven, the earth and light

Second day—firmament (air), division of the water above and below firmament

Third day—grass, herbs, fruit trees and vegetation

Fourth day—sun, moon and stars

Fifth day—marine life and birds

Sixth day—Living creature, creeping things, beasts and finally mankind

From the order of creation, we perceive God’s great wisdom and love: He prepared the necessary environment for all life to survive (like air, water, the sun and moon) and created all other things before He made man (Ps 8:3–4; 104:10–28).

c. “God said, ‘Let there be light’” (1:3).

This “light” is not sunlight (1:16), but the light that came from God (1 Jn 1:5; Jas 1:17; 2 Cor 4:6). “God called the light “day” and the darkness He called “night,”” (1:5) meaning that the earth began to revolve.

d. “God made the firmament and separated the water under the firmament from the water above it.”

God had created the atmosphere to protect the lives on earth and to provide sufficient O2, N2, and CO2 for all living things through His immense wisdom and love (note 2).

“The waters under the firmament” refer to the ocean which occupies 2/3 of the surface area of the earth. Before the third day of creation, the entire earth was covered by this waters (1:9).

“The waters above the firmament” refer to the layer of vapor canopy that enveloped the firmament to provide “greenhouse effect” for the earth. Since it maintained the same temperature at every place, the earth became an extremely good environment. The source of the flood in Noah’s generation is simply this vapor canopy which God broke and poured all the mighty water on the entire globe (7:11) (Note 3).

e. “After his kind” (1:11,12,21,24,25).

This term is mentioned 10 times. Every living thing was created by God from the beginning after his own “kind,” such as crops, bean, eagle, cow, horse, bear, tiger, snake, ant, monkey, dog, cat, human, etc.; they are definitely not formed by evolution. There are only slight variations within each “kind.” Breeding can be done only within the same “kind”; cross breeding of different “kinds” is impossible. “Kind” is not “species,” a term used in Evolution (1 Cor 15:38–39).

“Fossils” are the strongest evidence to prove that evolution is absolutely wrong (Note 5).

f. “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years, … And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also” (1:14–19). God made the solar system and the stars in the universe to provide a perfect environment for all plants and creatures to survive. This reveals God’s mighty power, great wisdom and abundant love (Note 6).

The sun prefigures God—the Lord Jesus (Mal 4:2; Mt 5:45; Lk 1:78; Jn 8:12).

The moon prefigures the TrueChurch (2 Cor 3:17–18; Rom 13:12).

The stars prefigure the saints (Dan 12:3; Phil 2:5; Mt 5:16).

The wandering and falling stars prefigure the fallen believers (Jude 13; Rev 6:13).

4. [1:26–28]

a. God made man after His own image (1:26–27). The “image of God” refers to the “image of the spiritual body” (1 Cor 15:44,49; Prov 8:22–25; Eze 1:15; Heb 1:3; Lk 24:39–43) and the “image of spirituality” (Is 42:5; Eph 4:24; Ez 3:9–10; 2 Pet 1:4,11). The degree of perfection of “spirituality” on earth is directly related to the degree of glory of the “spiritual body” in heaven (Mt 13:43; 17:1–2; Mk 9:2–3).

b. God said, “We” (1:26). It does not denote plurality or trinity.

There are several explanations: God, as the king of the spiritual world, was speaking to His angels (Heb 12:9–10); God was speaking to His beloved son who had been established before the foundation of the world (Prov 8:22–26; Ez 1:15–17; Jn 17:24; Eph 1:4; 2 Tim 1:9; 1 Pet 1:20); God made man and woman according to “His” (singular) image (1:27).

c. God blessed mankind (1:28–30):

(a) Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth (today’s population and distribution of mankind)

(b) Rule over the land (today’s mankind rule over the planet earth)

d. God made the heaven and the earth within six days—six real days

(a) In Hebrews, “yon” means real “day” (24 hours)

(b) At the end of each day’s creation, the Bible said “evening and morning” (1:5,8,13,19,23,31)

(c) God made grass, herbs, and fruit trees on the third day. He made sun, moon, and stars on the fourth day. So the third day has to be 24 hours, or else all the plants and trees cannot survive (1:11–19).

(d) In the ten commandments, God said, “In six days he made heaven and earth and all things” (Ex 20:11).

(i) It is not according to “Gap Theory” (Note 7) nor “Day-Age Theory” (Note 8).

(ii) In fact, according to discoveries by scientists in recent years, the earth is actually fairly young in age (which corroborates the Biblical account of about 6,000 years (Note 9)). Even biochemical archaeologists discovered that the dinosaurs lived at the same time as human beings (Note 10).

5. [2:1–7]

a. God established the Sabbath (2:1–3). The Sabbath was established long before the commandments and laws were declared. “Sabbath was made for man” (Mk 2:27).

(i) For man to rest physically and spiritually (Is 40:28; Ex 23:12)

(ii) For man to remember the profound grace of God’s creation (Ex 20:8–11)

(iii) To be a sign between God and us and to remind us to live a sanctified life (Ez 20:12)

(iv) To remember God’s salvation grace (Deut 5:15)

(v) Remind man to hope for the real Sabbath in the kingdom of heaven (Heb 6:9–10)

(vi) To give blessing to mankind (Is 58:13–14)

* The Sabbath day is the seventh day of the week—Saturday.

b. “But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground” (2:6). Prior to the flood, there was no rainbow, nor four seasons on earth (8:22; 9:12–17) (Note 2).

c. God made Adam (2:7). God formed the body of man from dust—today’s chemists have proven that the more than 30 major chemical elements in the human body are identical to the composition of dust. God also gave man spirit and soul (Is 42:5; 1 Thess 5:23). The spirit of man is the lamp of God (Prov 20:27; Mt 6:22–23). Conscience is the work of the spirit (Rom 2:14–15; 7:19–22). The soul of man is his inner self (Mt 16:26; Rom 7:24; 1 Pet 2:25)

(a) “Breath” in Hebrews is “ruach” or in Greek “Pnuema,” which is equivalent to “wind.” “Breath” means “life” (Ex 7:22; Ez 37:9–14; Jn 3:6–8; 20:22; Act 2:1–4)

(b) “Adam” means “man,” which is derived from Hebrews “adamah,” meaning “earth.”

6. Garden of Eden [2:8–17]

a. Prefigures the true church

(a) “Eden” in Hebrews means “delight.” The church of God is filled with spiritual joy (Rom 14:17; Ps 36:7–9).

(b) In the East (Ez 43:1–2; 47:1–2; Mt 24:27; Is 49:11–12; Rev 7:1–3)

(d) And the tree of knowledge of good and evil—the commandment (Rom 7:7; Mt 19:16–17)—God did not allow the progenitors to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil because God did not want them to have any knowledge of evil, lest they be overcome by their lust of flesh and commit sins (3:7; 1 Cor 14:20).

(e) 4 rivers (Ez 47:1,6–9; Rev 22:10; Ps 46:4)—the river of the truth (Ps 2:2–3), the living waters of the Holy Spirit (Jn 7:37–39)

(f) Euphrates means “break forth.” “Tigris” (former name “Hiddekel”) means “direction, arrow.” Archaeologists have proven that these 2 rivers are indeed the cradle of mankind (Note 11).

(g) All kinds of wonderful fruits (Ez 47:12)—the virtues of the saints, to glorify God and edify people (Jn 15:8,16; Gal 5:22)

(h) Fine gold—tried faith (1 Pet 1:7). Pearl and onyx—the spiritual beauty of the saints (1 Pet 3:3–5)

(i) All creatures lived in harmony and love—the garden of love (2:19–20; Is 11:6–9).

(j) God walked in the garden (3:8)—God abide always (Rev 21:3–5; Mt 28:20; Mk 16:20; 1 Jn 3:24)

b. God granted mankind freewill to choose (2:6; Jn 8:31–36)

c. God made every beast and fowl out of the dust and brought them before Adam to have him name them (2:19–20).

7. God instituted marriage (2:18–25)

a. The purposes of God’s making Eve—to help Adam (husband) in his faith, daily life and work (2:18; Ecc 4:9–11).

b. Woman was made for man. Therefore, wife must respect husband as her head and obey him (1 Cor 11:3,8–10; Eph 5:22–23).

c. God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam—we should rely upon God to seek our spouses. God will personally find a spouse for His child. The lesser the human intervention, the more God’s Providence. What God provides is the best (Prov 3:3–5; 19:14; 24:61–63).

d. “Reap” in Hebrews is “tsela” which means “side.” Therefore, husband must cherish and love his wife (Eph 5:25,28,33; 1 Pet 3:7).

e. “Bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh”—since husband and wife are one body, let no one put asunder (Mk 10:6–9,11,12).

f. They were naked, but felt no shame—they did not have the knowledge of evil and were simple and pure as infant (1 Cor 14:20).

g. Adam prefigures Christ (1 Cor 15:45,22). Eve prefigures the Church (Jn 19:33–35; Act 20:28; Eph 5:23,25; Rev 19:7–8).

B. The progenitors sinned (Gen 3:1–4:26)

1. Adam and Eve committed sins

a. The serpent was wise and cunning (Mt 10:16; 2 Cor 11:3), and became the instrument of Satan (2 Cor 11:3; Rev 12:9).

(a) Devil made people doubt the words of God (3:1; Jas 1:6).

(b) Devil changed the word of God (2:4; Jn 8:44–47).

(d) 3 major weapons of Devil—the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (3:4–6; 1 Jn 3:15–17).

(e) Serpent was cursed by God; he served as the instrument of Satan to tempt people to sin (3:14).

b. Eve committed sin

(a) Listened to Satan and not to God (Jas 4:7)

(b) Did not refrain from the lust of the flesh and eyes (1 Pet 2:11–12)

(d) Caused her husband to sin (Jn 21:3; Mt 18:7)

(e) Did not admit her own sin and passed the responsibility on to others (2:13; 1 Jn 1:8,10; Ps 32:5)

(f) Naked—shame will definitely be revealed after a person sinned. It is impossible to cover up by human ways (Is 64:6; Lk 12:2,3)

(g) Eve was cursed by God (Jn 16:21; 1 Tim 2:15) and lost eternal life (3:22–24).

c. Adam sinned

(a) Failed to fulfill the duty of a leader (head) and blindly followed his wife (3:6; Lk 14:25–26).

(b) Refused to admit his own sin and passed the responsibility on to others (3:12; Prov 28:13)

(d) Adam was cursed by God (2:17–19; Ps 91:10; Rom 8:22,23; Ecc 1:13; 2:11,22) and lost eternal life (Rom 2:6–11).

d. God’s righteousness and mercy

(a) God walked in the garden—He is omnipresent and omniscient (3:8; Ps 139:1–8; Jer 16:17).

(b) God gave Adam and Eve time and opportunity to repent (3:9–11; Rom 2:3–6).

(c) God made coats of skins to clothe Adam and Eve (3:21; Is 61:10; Gal 3:27)—prefigures that Christ gives us his righteous garment through crucifixion.

(d) God placed cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life (Heb 9:11–12; 10:19–20).

Cherubims—angels (Ez 28:13–17; Heb 9:7–9; 24–28).

(e) “The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent and the serpent shall bruise her heel.” There shall be enmity between them (Gal 4:4; Is 7:14; Rom 16:1; Heb 2:14; 1 Cor 15:55–56).

C. Cain and Abel (4:1–26)

Typical figures of good and evil. Adam also had many other children (5:4).

1. Why God favored Abel’s offering and not Cain’s

a. Abel offered sacrifice by faith (Heb 11:4). He did what God pleased by following God’s will in his offering (Lev 1:10–13).

b. Abel offered the first born (4:4; Num 18:17; Prov 3:9–10). He put God first and offered his thanksgiving to Him.

c. Abel offered the best (4:4 Num 18:29; Mal 1:6–8).

d. God looks into the hearts of man (1 Sam 16:7). To obey is better than sacrifice (1 Sam 15:22–23).

2. Cain committed sin

a. Cain offered a sacrifice that God displeased (4:3–7; Rom 12:2; Eph 5:8–10; 1 Pet 2:5; Prov 16:2).

b. Cain was jealous of his own brother (Jas 3:14–16; Prov 14:30, 27:4).

c. Jealousy ’ hatred ’ anger ’ murder (4:5–8; Prov 25:28; Jas 1:13–15; Eph 4:26–27)

d. Cain did not examine himself (Lam 3:40).

e. Cain was unwilling to repent (4:9; rom 2:5–6).

f. The judgment of God (4:10–13)

g. “Whoever met Cain” refers to Adam’s children who were born after Cain and Abel—for Abel was killed when Adam was about 129 years old. God gave him a sign, perhaps a visible sign on his forehead (cf. 9:12–14).

3. The descendants of Cain. In this early generation of mankind was found civilization, wisdom, and technology; but sins also gradually multiplied.

a. Jabal was the father of dwellers in the tents and the owner of cattle.

b. Jubal was the father of musician of the harp and organ.

c. Tubalcain was an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron.

d. Lamach—the seventh generation from Adam through Cain. He started polygamy (Mk 10:6–9). He was a man of violence and brutality (4:23–24).

4. God gave Adam Seth to replace Abel (4:25–26). People began to restore their faith toward God in the time of Enosh (Mal 2:15).

D. The earliest 10 generations of mankind (the devout seeds)

Name	Age
1. Adam	930
2. Seth	912
3. Enosh	905
4. Kenan	910
5. Mahalalel	895
6. Jared	962
7. Enoch	365 (was taken by God)
8. Methuselah	969 (the oldest man in history; died in the year of the Flood)
9. Lamah	777 (had the shortest life among the earliest 10 generations; died about 4 years before the Flood
10. Noah	950

1. The cause of longevity before the flood (Note 3)

2. Enoch walked with God (5:21–24)

a. Even though he had the shortest life on earth, his life was the most valuable and remarkable (Ps 90:12; Jn 21:25).

b. “Enoch” in Hebrews means “dedication.” “Methusalah” in Hebrews means “man of javelin” or “when he dies, judgment.”

c. Turning point of Enoch’s life—age 65

(a) God named Enoch’s son Methusalah to warn Enoch of the destruction of the world at Methusalah’s death. Truly, in the year of Methusalah’s death, God destroyed the world with flood (5:25–28, 7:11; Mt 24:42–44; Rom 13:11–14).

(b) Enoch lived in a sinful generation (he was the seventh generation from Adam through Seth, the same generation as Lamach) (Jude 14). But Enoch preserved his faith and walked with God (1 Jn 5:18).

d. Enoch walked with God

(a) He walked with God:

(i) had the same mind and heart as God (Amos 3:3)

(ii) had an intimate relationship with God; the friend of God (Ps 25:14; Jas 4:8)

(iii) walked in God’s way and obey God’s word (6:9; 1 Jn 2:5–6)

(iv) worked with God—preached the warning to save souls (Jude 14)

(b) He walked with God 300 years—

(i) the longest and the most persistent faith in the history of mankind (Heb 3:14; Ecc 7:1,8)

E. Noah and the Flood (6:1-8:22; Mt 24:37-39; II Pet 2:5)

1. The reason for destruction with flood—warning of the last day

a. The sons of God marry the daughters of men (6:1-4)

(a) Sons of God—the sons of Seth, descendants with faith (4:2-26, 6:3; Jn 1:12; Rom 8:14); but does not refer to angels (Mt 22:30).

(b) Daughters of men—the descendants of Cain, descendants without faith.

(c) When married to non-believer, one would gradually lose faith and depart from God. (Neh 15:26-27; 2 Cor 6:14; 1 Cor 7:39)

(d) Marriage that results from outward beauty would not please God. (Prov 31:30; 1 Pet 3:3-5)

b. Every intent of thoughts was evil (6:5)--thoughts has been taken up by evil, and the heart has become darken. Sinning and immorality will be the natural result. (Mt 6:23, 15:18-20; 1 Pet 1:13-15)

c. The earth was corrupt and filled with violence (6:11-12). Evil deeds are product of evil thoughts (Lk 6:43-45). Because of the severe sins, God no longer forgave (Rev 18:4,8).

d. Valuing material life, and pursuing physical enjoyment and pleasure (Mt 24:38-39). Wasting the grace of God on the life of indulgence and pleasure (Job 1:4-5; 2 Tim 3:1-4).

2. The authority of Noah’s Ark

a. Over 200 recordings of different cultures and nations (7:6-7). *note 12.

b. Proof from fossils (7:19-21).*note 13.

c. Proof from astronomy (7:11). *note 3 and 14.

d. Discoveries of exploration scientists (8:4)--Mt.Ararat. *note 15. The Ark is 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, 45 feet high, and the volume is 1440,000 cubic feet; it can contain 125,000 sheep. Species of pines.

e. Evidence from pilots and satellite photograph. *note 16.

f. Evidence from aerodynamicist. *note 16.--length:width=6:1; length:height=10:1; it is the most stable ship of the world. *note 17.

g. The ice caps of northern and southern poles. (8:1-5). *note 18.

3. A righteous man—Noah (6:8-9)

a. Perfect man (17:1; Heb 6:1; Mt 5:48)

b. Walked with God (Mich 6:8)

c. Believed and relied on God completely—when he was 500 years old, God only told him once to build the “ark”, he obeyed and did so. (5:32; 6:13, 22, 7:1; Lk 6:46; Jn 8:31)

d. Mission of Noah (Mission of the true church in the last days)

(a) Build the ark (build up the complete church)

(b) Prepare food for all the animals, birds, insects for and themselves (they stay in the ark for 377 days)(6:21) To be filled by the truth.

(d) Bring his whole family, animals, birds, and insects into the ark (6:19; 7:2-3). Bring people into the true church to be saved.

e. The thanksgiving of Noah (8:20-21; Ps 103:1-5, 116:12-14, 17)

4. The spiritual prefiguration and teaching of Noah’s ark

The ark prefigures the true church (Ark of the last days)

a. Only one (6:14; Eph 4:4; Is 12:1-3; Jn 10:16; Rev 21:2)

b. The measurements are completely according to God’s command (Words of God—Bible)(6:22; I Chron 28:12; Mt 7:21-23; Gal 1:6-10; Eph 2:19-20)

c. All kinds of living creature lived together in harmony (Is 11:6-9; Ps 133:1-3; Jn 13:34-35).

d. Having the abidance of God—God said, “Come into the ark, you and all your household.” (7:1; Mt 28:20)

e. Having a source of light at the top of the ark (6:16)--the only source of light and air (from above). Build up hope and reliance on God (Ps 141:8; Prov 3:5-7).

f. Release of a raven and a dove (8:6-14)

(a) Raven—greedy (Prov 30:17), an unclean bird (Lev 11:13,15), did not return after the release. Lost itself in the rotten flesh and mud (8:7). Prefigures members who indulge in the pleasures of worldly sins (25:27; Heb 12:14-17; I Pet 4:23).

(b) Dove—gentle (Mt 10:16), clean, peace, love its family (Is 60:8), animal of sacrifice (Lev 1:14). Prefigures believers who are holy and filled with the Holy Spirit (Mt 3:16).

(i) First release—water has not yet dry, the dove cannot find a place to land and returned. Prefigures the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament time. Because salvation was not yet complete, men’s sins were not cleansed, the Holy Spirit could not dwell in men but only temporarily moved men (I Sam 10:6-10).

(ii) Second release—water has subsided; the dove returned with a fresh olive leaf. This prefigures the work of the Holy Spirit in the apostolic time. The olive leaf refers to the people who are saved (Ps 53:8).

(iii) Third release—the dove did not return. This prefigures the work of the Holy Spirit in the last days before the second coming of Jesus (Joel 2:23, 18-31).

F. Heaven and earth after the flood

1. There are four seasons (8:22); there are rain and rainbows (9:12-16). *note 3 & 14.

2. God blessed Noah and made a covenant with Noah. The rainbow refers to salvation and the spiritual beauty of the Lord Jesus (Ezek 1:26-28; Rev 4:3); it is the sign of covenant between God and men (12:9-11; Ex 12:3-8).

3. God allowed men to consume meat. *note 3.

4. Two commandments

a. Do not eat blood (9:4; Lev 17:11-12). Blood consists of life and is used for the purpose of redemption (Heb 9:6; Acts 15:19, 28).

b. Do not shed the blood of men (9:6). One must pay his own live for a live (Num 35:33). Because man is created in God’s own likeness (Mt 5:21-22; Jas 3:9-10; I Jn 4:20).

5. Noah’s drunkenness (9:20-27)

a. Men’s perfection is relative, not absolute. Men are very weak and often change—e.g. Elisha, Peter; only the Lord will never change (Heb 13:8; Mt 17:7).

b. Even Noah committed wrongs; we must be even more alert (I Cor 10:12). This was the only mistake of Noah, just like David.

c. After he had completed the great work and received the abidance, blessings and covenant of God, he let lose of his flesh and committed sin (I Cor 9:27; Gal 5:16-21), similar to Elijah and King David.

d. People who failed on eating and drinking (Heb 13:9; Rom 14:17)--the Israelites in the wilderness (Num 11:4-35), the man of God (I Kings 13:11-22), the children of Job (Job 1:4-5).

e. Person who was victorious on eating and drinking—Daniel (Dan 1:8, 12-15).

f. Harm of drinking—a drunkard forgets the law of God (Prov 31:4, 5), harm his own health (Hos 7:5), commits great sin (19:30-38), exposes his shame (9:20), brings harms to others (9:24-25), loses of eternal life (I Cor 6:7, 10).

(a) Should not drink—other than cooking or when taking it as medicine (I Tim 5:23).

(b) Do not drink (Eph 5:18; Gal 5:19-21).

g. Would not reexamine himself when committed sin but turn the anger on his son and cursed his son so that the descendants have to suffer (9:24-25; Prov 14:29; Jas 3:8-10; Lk 6:27-28).

h. Although a righteous man might be weak for a time, when he turned back God, God still receives him. Therefore, no one should not despise or look down on him (Ps 37:24). Such as Abraham (12:10-20, 13:1-18), Moses (Num 12:1-9).

i. Because Ham went out to proclaim his father’s shame, he received a severe curse (Prov 10:19, 13:3, 17:27, 28). E.g. Miriam (Num 12:1, 6-15). Shem and Japheth by their love covered their father’s shame and received the great blessing of God (9:27-27; I Pet 5:7-8; Ps 15:1-3).

j. The prefigurations of Noah continue to be fulfilled until present day (9:24-27)

(a) The descendants of Sham—Spread through the Middle East, Asia. The true church of God (tent) comes from the descendants of Sham—Jews.

(b) The descendants of Japheth—Spread through Europe and the north. The strong countries, no matter in politics, economy, or military are from the descendants of Japheth (9:27).

(c) The descendants of Ham and Canaan—Spread through the land of Canaan and Africa and suffered the fate of being slaves.

G. The descendants of Sham, Ham, and Japheth (11)

1. The meaning of genealogy (I Chron 1-9; Mt 1; Lk 3)

a. Records history and events.

b. Records dwelling places.

c. Records descendants of the devout and the genealogy of Messiah and the chosen people of God.

d. Records ancestors and the right of inheritance.

2. Descendants of Japeth (10:1-5, 9:7)

a. “Madai”—his descendants and the Persians built up a great empire (Dan 5).

b. “Javan”—his descendants built up the great Greek Empire.

c. “Gomer”—his descendants built up the great Germany, and the great force of the Nazi party. “Magog, Tubal, Rosh” built up the great northern country. Was closely related to the great final war (Ezek 38:1-3, 14-16; 39:1-16; Rev 16:12-16, 20:7-10).

3. Descendants of Ham (10)

a. Nimrod, son of cush, was a mighty hunter, protector of the human beings (there were dangers of the beasts).

b. Babel et al were the founders of the city of Nineveh. The descendants of Cush also established the great Egyptian Empire and her culture.

c. “Put”--built the country of Libya (Ezek 38:5).

d. “Sheba”--queen of Sheba(I Kings 10; Mt 12:42)

e. “Pathrusim”--Philistines (10:14)--the main enemy of the judges.

f. “Canaan”--various tribes in the land of Canaan (10:15-18); established the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

4. Descendants of Shem (10:21-21)

a. “Elam”--established the Persian Empire.

b. “Asshur”--established the Assyrian Empire.

c. “Mash”--Job (Job 1).

d. “Eber”--the Hebrews (10:24).

5. The ancient culture—Nineveh, Egypt, etc. *note 19.

H. The Tower of Babel (11:1-9)

Babel—Akkad meaning “the door of God”. The ancient Hebrew root word means “confuse”. “Add”--Akkad as “Ziggurratu”.

1. Purpose

a. Wished to reach heaven and challenge God (Is 14:13-14). Knowledge and skill make men proud (Ezek 18:5-6, 16-17; Prov 16:18; I Pet 5:5-6).

b. In order to glorify men, not God (Ps 115:1; Ezek 5:41, 44, 7:18).

c. So that they will not be scattered throughout the earth-contrary to the will of God (1:28; Rom 12:2; Jn 6:38).

2. Result

a. Those who do not do according to the will of God will finally perish (Rom 9:14-16).

b. Those who rely on themselves but not God will not receive the help of God in the completion of work.

c. God confused their tongues so that the work had to be stopped and the people scattered throughout the earth.

3. Archaeologists discover the tower of Babel at the period about 101 years after the flood located 20 miles south-west of Babylon. The shape of the tower is square, with area of 49,000 square feet. The height can reach 600 feet and had reached 157 feet. It had been built with red, yellow, blue, and green colors of bricks. Ancient picture has been found to record that a tower has been built to rebel against God, within one night, God struck the tower and scattered them that there was great confuse of language and great weeping.

I. From Shem to Abram (11:10-30)

1. Ur—140 miles south-east of Babylon. Originally a commercial harbor, one of the most famous city in the ancient time. She was the center of commerces, culture and also the city of idols and adultery (*note 20). Leaving Ur—prefigures leaving all sins. It is the first step of God’s calling (11:1; Neh 9:7).

2. Haran—located at the bank of the branch of Euphrates, Balikh. From Ur to Haran is about 600 miles and Haran to Hebron at least 400 miles (13:18).

3. The father of Abraham, Terah at first also served the idols (Josh 24:15) and he did not have a firm determination in God’s calling. Therefore he and his sons Nahor and Haran stay at the mid way. They were not able to persevere and obediently finish the journey to Canaan (24:10, 28:1, 2, 10).

J. Abraham (12:1–25:11)

Abram (original name means “father of high”). Abraham (the name God changed) (17:1–5)— “Father of nations”

1. The father of faith—Abraham (Jn 8:39; Rom 4:1–3,13,16; Gal 3:6–9)

a. Put God first in his daily life—

(a) Obeyed God’s calling and camped out from Ur (12:1–4; Heb 11:8)

(b) Built an alter everywhere (12:7–8; 13:18)

(d) Believed the word of God (Rom 4:19–21; Heb 11:18)

(e) Had an active faith (a living faith) (Jas 2:14–22)

(f) Loved God more than his only begotten son (22:1–19; Heb 11:17)

(g) Believed that God is omnipotent (Rom 4:17; Heb 11:19; Mt 19:26)

(h) Found a wife for his son by posing only one condition—faith and love (24:1–9; 2 Cor 6:14–18)

b. Set his hope in heaven—

(a) Life of a sojourner (Heb 11:9–16)

(b) Not affected by the temptation of splendor and enjoyment of Egypt. Regarded God as his only satisfaction (13:1–4; Heb 11:24–27)

c. Loved others as himself—

(a) Did his best with love to show hospitality to strangers (18:1–8; Rom 12:10–13)

(b) Magnanimous; did not remember Lot’s offense. Even risked his life to save Lot (14:1–16; 1 Cor 13:5). Prayed persistently for Lot (18:20–33; 19:29; Mt 5:44; 6:14–15)

d. A lasting and steadfast faith. His faith grew with age, from 75 to 175 years old, a-hundred-year faith (12:4; 25:7)

2. The friend of God—Abraham (2 Chron 20:7; Is 41:8; Jas 2:23; Jn 15:14)

a. God appeared to Abraham seven times and gave His promise to him and made a covenant with him

(a) On the day of calling (12:1)—directed him to depart from Ur to Canaan

(b) After he yielded with love, God appeared to him and blessed him (13:14–17).

(d) God reaffirmed His promise and made a covenant with him by splitting the sacrifice (15:1–21)

(e) After Abraham’s weakness and mistake, God appeared to exhort him, to reconfirm the promised and to make a covenant of circumcision with his house (17:1–27; Ezek 2:11–12)

(f) God and angels appeared to him in the form of strangers to test his love and to fulfill God’s promise (18:1–16)

(g) God tested Abraham by asking him to offer his only begotten son to give him the perfect blessing (22:1–18)

b. God revealed secret things to Abraham (19:16–17; Ps 25:14)

c. God blessed him in all things and made his cup overflow with grace (24:1; Ps 34:8–10; 36:7–9; 33:5–6)

3. Abraham’s blessings reached all nations and generations (22:17–18; Ex 20:6)

4. Departed the world under the grace of God—his days in full and left in peace (35:29; Ps 116:15; Rev 14:13)

5. 4 failures of Abraham’s faith

a. Encountered famine and went down to Egypt (12:10)

b. Forgot to ask God and rely upon Him in adversity. Departed from the promised land (26:1–13; Ps 31:14–15; Prov 3:5–7)

This mistake caused him to lie (12:11–20). Even the entire house of Pharaoh was under God’s punishment and later caused Lot to separate from him (13:1,2,8)

c. He lied 2 times (12:10–20; 20:1–18). He failed to rely on God’s mighty power. For fear of death, he uttered a “half lie” and even caused others to be chastised by God (Mt 10:26,28–31; Act 17:28)

d. Yielded to the weakness of others—listened to Sarah’s words and married Hagar, which created severe family disputes and left the enmity of Israel and Arab in generations to come (16:1–14; 21:8–21)

We must not follow the flesh or the desire of man (Mt 16:21–23; Rom 8:5–8,12,13). We must wait upon the Lord patiently (Ps 37:7,34).

6. The wife of Abraham—Sarah

“Sarai” (original name means “doubtful”). “Sarah” means “princess”

a. The only woman whose name was changed by God (23:1). Also, the only woman whose age of her death is recorded in the Bible (17:15–16)

b. Except for her faith weakening twice, she was indeed a faithful woman (16:1–3; 18:12).

(a) Obeyed her husband (1 Pet 3:1,5,6)—departed from Ur, showed hospitality to stranger, offered her only son to God

(b) Possessed inward beauty—had a holy character, feared God, was gentle and quite (1 Pet 3:2–5)

c. A virtuous woman—a good helper of her husband and an excellent teacher of her son (Prov 31:10–12,28–30). Deeply remembered by her family (23:2–20; 24:67) and praised by God

7. The other wives of Abraham

a. Hagar—means “escape.” It seemed that was her destiny (16:6–8; 21:10,14)

(a) Became arrogant and despised her mistress (16:4–5). Failed to remain humble and thankful in the grace of God (Deut 8:11–14)

(b) Did not rely on God but wept in despair (21:16)

God heard the weeping of the lad (21:17; Mt 11:25–26; 18:1–4; 21:16)

b. Keturah (25:1–4)

8. The nephew of Abrahm—Lot

a. Held no personal relationship with God because his faith depended only on Abraham. When he departed from Abraham, he almost lost his faith completely, but retained a little of a “righteous heart” (2 Pet 2:7–8).

b. Pursued the glory and pleasures of the world—he forgot the grace of his uncle and chose the most fertile land (13:1,2,11).

c. Would not depart from Sodom even when he was severely chastised by God (14:11–12; 19:1–9; Heb 12:5–13).

d. Did not nourish the faith of his children and let them marry sinful unbelievers (19:12–14; 2 Cor 6:14–18)

e. About 10 people in his family bankrupted their faith. 7 died and the 2 daughters who remained committed incest, a great sins (19:12–14,26,30–38).

f. If Abrahm had not prayed persistently with love, Lot would have also perished (19:29; Amos 4:11)

g. The main reason Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed by God—filled with sin of homosexuality and fornication (18:20; 19:5; 2 Pet 2:7–8; Rom 1:24–32)

In 1924, American archaeologists discovered Babaca-Dra plain, a 5 mile stretch in the southeast corner of the Dead Sea, and excavated evidence of pottery and flintstones to prove that the civilization ceased around 2300–1900 b.c.

Near the southeast corner of the Dead Sea, several miles long, under the mountain of Jebel Usdum (Mt Sodom), salt, sulphur and much asphalt (lime pit) (14:2,3,10; 19:24) comprised a thickness of 150 feet. The rocks on the mountain had high contents of salt and tasted bitter. There were many salt pillars.

The Dead Sea is the lowest places on earth. It is about 1,300 feet below sea level and the mineral salt content reaches 25% to 35%.

According to Bible archaeologists, God very possibly attacked the cities with a great earthquake and caused the ground to open and a volcano eruption. Sulphur and natural gas gushed out from underground which was kindled by God using fire and lightning from heaven (1 Kg 18:38). Thus, the salt and burned, fell, and covered four cities southeast of the Dead Sea—Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim (Deut 29:23).

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