Curse or Prophecy?

"And the sons of Noah that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread. And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: and he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. 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. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died." (Genesis 9:18-29)

We have here the first mention of Canaan, father of the Canaanites; a nation that will eventually be conquered by the Israelites under Joshua.

But biblical scholars are divided as to whether or not the thing that Noah pronounces upon Ham's son Canaan is truly a curse or merely a prophecy. The reason for this is that right after he "curses" Canaan, Noah goes on to prophesy about both Shem and Japheth. It could be just the timing of the passage that makes it seem to relate to the incident involving Ham, when in fact, perhaps it does not. And the reason scholars think this might be the case is because the curse is pronounced upon Canaan, whom we will see is the fourth son of Ham, versus being pronounced on Ham who is the one who did the deed.

The "deed" was Ham walking into his father's tent and finding him drunk, asleep, totally naked and uncovered. At first glance, this does not appear to be so grievous a sin; in fact, why would Ham be blamed if he just happened to walk into his father's tent and "stumbled" upon his father's nakedness? The problem, however, might be more serious than that.

It turns out that the word for "uncovered" in the Hebrew suggests a word that is active rather than passive; which might be indicating that Ham actually uncovered his father to see him in his nakedness; rather than that Noah was already uncovered when Ham walked in. The passage itself states that "Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him," indicating that there was an action on Ham's part. Was that action the actual uncovering of Noah, as the Hebrew word suggests, or was it the act of accidentally stumbling upon his father's nakedness, and then going to tell his brothers about it?

In either case, respect for his father appears to be greatly lacking on Ham's part and could have produced the curse. Yet, none of this explains why Ham's fourth son would receive the curse, rather than Ham himself. Thus, it appears to be more prophecy than curse; Noah prophesying that Canaan and his descendants would at some point in the future become cursed (by acts of their own doing).

But there is another part to this story that is important for us to learn from; and that lesson is that we are always to be prayerfully on our guard so that we do not stumble. For the first six hundred years of Noah's life, he is seen to be walking with God. Then, this incident occurs, and the last recorded event of Noah's life involves his being drunken and naked…not something a man of God would want to be remembered by. And then we are told that Noah lived for 950 years and died. End of story. A rather sad and inglorious end, wouldn't you say?

Here is one more final but interesting observation: when Noah died, another man by the name of Abraham, a figure who is soon to arrive on the biblical scene, was 58 years old. I mention this just to give you an idea of how these men's timelines overlap. It also helps us to see how so many biblical events were able to be passed verbally from one generation to another, until they arrived at a point in time where God inspired certain men to write them all down for our benefit.

Sign of the Rainbow

"And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 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. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 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. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood by shed: for in the image of God made He man. And you, be fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 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. 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 they any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 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. 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 flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." (Genesis 9:1-17)

I often wonder why God repeats Himself so much in His Word. Is it to give emphasis to the words that He is speaking? Probably. Is it because He wants to make sure we understand Him? Also probably. Is all of this because we are slow to hear and dull in our understanding? Most definitely. We are after all only human.

Which makes the fact that God is making a covenant with us in the first place so amazing! God making a covenant with mere mortal man! Ah, but we are not mere mortal man. We are God's beloved creation. And no matter how many times judgment must fall on us because of our sinful ways, He continues to show over and over again how much He loves us.

The Hebrew word for "covenant" is beriyth and its definition, besides covenant, is alliance, pledge…in this case between God and man. It is a divine ordinance established, complete with signs or promises.

In this case the "pledge" is that God will never again destroy every living creature on the earth (so long as the earth remains), and that He will never again destroy the earth with flood.

And as a reminder to Himself (as well as being a sign to us) He has placed the rainbow ("His bow") in the clouds for us to see.

Thus, Noah and his family, and all the animals on board the ark with him, are released from their long confinement of preservation, and sent off with the command to "be fruitful and multiply." No mention of children has been made thus far between Noah's sins and their wives. Perhaps they were sent on board as "intendeds" (fiancés) rather than as husband and wives. The Hebrew often uses the term wife, husband, or spouse not only for those meanings, but also for those who are engaged; signifying the commitment right off the bat at the engagement. Perhaps, in this case, there were no children born on the ark, because there was not meant to be. Perhaps the official ceremony or consummation of the marriages of these three sons of Noah was meant to happen only upon dry ground. We do not know for certain; what we do know is now God has voiced His will that they do indeed pro-create, and have many children.

Here is the first mention of a form of civil government ordained by God. Any human or beast who kills a human, must also be put to death. The blood of the guilty one will be required for the shed blood of the victim. Thus capital punishment was originally ordained by God.

Here also is the first mention of man eating meat. Prior to this he was given all the herbs of the field as his food. Animals were killed only for sacrifices unto God. Now man is instructed to eat anything that moves. Perhaps this is why the animals will all be in fear of man, for now they will become hunted by him. We must remember however, that God has also ordained "clean" and "unclean" animals. While He has not told Noah at this point to eat only the "clean" animals, I feel certain that Noah understands the implications involved.

One final note, from this point on, we are not told what happened to the ark. We do know, however, that it rested on the mountains of Ararat; this tells us that Noah and his families most likely headed to lower ground where the living was easier and more comfortable to their lungs. It is not believed that they tore the ark apart to use for building, mostly because it was so well constructed with pitch inside and out, that it would have been difficult to tear apart again; in addition to the altitude at which the ark rested.

Therein lies all the speculation about the ark. And I do agree with Chuck Missler that it will perhaps again be a testimony to a sinful world of God's judgment to come; and that the world will not heed it any better then that it did in Noah's day.

Noah’s Worship

"And God spake unto Noah, sayng, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake: for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth: neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." (Genesis 8:15-22)

Finally, more than a year after having entered the ark, Noah and his family, and all the animals, were instructed by God to leave the ark. There are a couple of things to consider here.

The first is that if all of these animals were on the ark for a year, male and female, is it possible that there were no other animals born to them during the flood and the months waiting for the waters to recede? I don't think that was possible or even probable. In fact, in the third sentence of this section of scripture it is said that the animals left the ark "after their kinds," which indicates to me that there were many of each kind that needed to depart from the ark. I think it would be safe to assume that the animal population increased while on board the ark, so that there were most likely many more leaving the ark than arrived on the ark in the beginning.

The second thing, then, that must follow, is that God certainly allowed for expansion of the animal population when He instructed Noah to build the ark. That wasn't something we considered in chapter 7 of Genesis when all first boarded the ark, for at that moment we had nothing to tell us how long the flood would last or how long they would occupy the ark. But, now we have been told earlier in this same chapter (8) that they occupied it for 53 weeks; therefore, now we also know that the animal population increased.

What doesn't appear to have happened is that Noah's sons had any children, either before they entered the ark, or that were born during the voyage, as no mention has ever been made of children; just an interesting side note.

Noah immediately takes one of each and every "clean" animal and fowl and offered all up to God on an altar (literally: a high place, i.e. a mound of earth perhaps); these are the odd "sevens" of the "clean" animals that we saw mentioned in Genesis 7:2, the ones that the Lord provided to Noah for the specific purpose of sacrifice. God receives Noah's offering; and, perhaps because of Noah's willingness to offer it out of a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving, not because of a commandment to do so, it is a "sweet savour" unto the Lord. So much so that the Lord shows mercy to Noah and to his many descendants to come by promising never to destroy every living thing on the earth so long as the earth remains (which, by the way, indicates to us that the earth will not always remain; evidenced as well by prophetic scriptures that will be seen further along in our study).

So, God's promise or covenant of there always being "seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night" for as long as "the earth remaineth" is given because of Noah to us today. We see then that God's Word directly contradicts those purveyors of global warming we are constantly hearing from, for God promises that we will always have both heat and cold until the time when the world must end, according to His Word; I trust His Word over theirs, don't you?

More on God's Covenant with Noah tomorrow.

 

The 17th Day

"And God remembered Noah, and every living thing and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged; the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; and the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month upon the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: and he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent for the dove out of the ark: and the dove came in to him in the evening; and lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him anymore. And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth, and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked and behold, the face of the ground was dry. And in the second month on the seven and twentieth day of the month was the earth dried." (Genesis 8:1-14)

The words "in the seventh month" does not indicate that this was the seventh month of the flood; for the flood lasted only five months (150 days – remember that at that time months were 30 days only – months changed during the time of Joshua, as we will see when we arrive at that point in our study). Instead, "the seventh month" indicates to us the time of the year in which the ark found a resting place on a mountain top. The year itself was during the 601^st year of Noah's life; he was in his six hundredth year when God closed him and his family up in the ark. But more important than the year or the month is the day.

The ark rested "on the seventeenth day of the month." What makes this immediately interesting is that it cannot be a coincidence, but divine orchestration for some divine purpose, that the flood began on the seventeenth day of a particular month (the second month in that instance - Genesis 7:11) and that it now ends on the seventeenth day of the month as well (the seventh month here). We cannot help but wonder what God's purpose was in that?

We will see as our study continues, that this date has prophetic value, and points to, as the entire Bible points to, Jesus Christ; who was resurrected (in the Hebrew calendar) on the 17^th day of the month called Nissan (the day that is also known as the Feast of First Fruits.)

What is also interesting is that the ark, which we have already considered to be a "typology" of Christ; now comes to "rest." Jesus himself tells us "Come unto me" (enter the ark of preservation from judgment)…and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

There is no "coincidence" with the Almighty God.

The passage tells us that on the seventeenth day several things happened:

-the flood stopped: "the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;"

-the ark rested;

-and as soon as the flood stopped, the waters began immediately to decrease.

Two and a half months later the tops of the mountains are seen. Forty days later Noah ventures to open the window of the ark, and begins to test the dryness of the land. If there had been carrion available, (floating carcasses) the raven would not have returned; but it did return, resting apparently on the outside of the ark until the earth dried. But the dove, by virtue of its nature, finding no dry place to land, returned to its home and Noah drew it back inside to await another week (most likely timing it by Sabbaths). This happened twice more, and the Bible tells us that the earth was finally dry on the 27^th day of the second month of that 601^st year of Noah; which meant that by that time, Noah and his family had been in the ark for an incredible 53 weeks!

In tomorrow's passage, we will find them being released from the ark upon God's command.

 

And All Flesh Died

"And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days." (Genesis 7:17-24)

Now comes the moment when all flesh that moved upon the earth drowned in the flood that covered the entire earth; water that covered even the highest mountain by more than fifteen cubits (22 feet or more), allowing no refuge to be found even on the highest of high ground. God made sure that His will would be accomplished: that any living creature, whether man or beast, that lived on the dry land would die.

But note that the Word says "in the dry land" – which means that at least some of the creatures in the water (and Genesis chapter 1 tells us that God made creatures who lived in the water rather than on dry land) were not destroyed. We often think of the flood as having destroyed every living thing in the world, and it did, in fact, kill every living thing "on" the earth or "above" the earth (such as birds who eventually must have a place to rest and food to eat; of which neither was found during the 150 days of deluge), but not so for the things that lived in the sea.

Then there is the matter of the wording that says "all in whose nostrils was the breath of life." This descriptive is clearly the very thing that identified who was to die during God's judgment on the earth. There are creatures "with nostrils" who breathe the same air that man breathes. There are other creatures who have gills, living in water, and to whom being in the air (instead of water) brings death; basically all fish. Then there are still others who breathe air (having nostrils) but live for the most part in water, but not solely in water for they must have land from time to time, such as seals and walruses. Most likely then, this latter group did not survive the 150 days of the flood.

But what about the "breath of life" wording? And why was this where the line was drawn? Was it simply because God chose water to cleanse the earth and thus those who did not thrive in water must therefore die? Or was there something more to it?

Still, I can see why evil men had to die, but why were all the animals killed? I think it is perhaps because man, beast and earth are supernaturally bound together and have been since the Creation. The judgment of God must fall on all three, if it must fall at all. When man is blessed, so is all of creation. When man is cursed, so is all of creation. The results of man's sin in the garden has revealed this to us already.

When Adam and Eve sinned, God killed animals to provide a covering for them; the first animal sacrifice took place because of sin. God has just wiped possibly millions of relentless and remorseless sinners off the face of the earth. The death of how many animals would be required now?

As you can see, there is so much more I would like to know about all of this. But regardless of the lack of answers in all of this, one thing is certain: 150 days of flood was sufficient to destroy all mankind and all animal life: except for those on the ark, and those who dwelled in the waters. And God's judgment was fulfilled.

The Hand of God

"And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth. There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them into the ark; they, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in." (Genesis 7:6-16)

How many ways do we see the hand of God at work in this passage of scripture?

Who brought the animals to the ark? Did Noah go and gather them all himself, even such as the lions and bears? No. The same God who brought the animals to Adam so that he could name them, now brings them to the ark. The same God who created all of these animals is now able to cause them to be restrained from tearing apart the very man who has been designated to save them on the ark: Noah. And they "went in two and two." Perfectly planned, perfectly orchestrated…by GOD.

"the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up" – waters that had been kept in reserve for a need such as this? Waters help deep within the bowels of the earth? And who is able to break open the stores that hold these waters? GOD alone.

"and the windows of heaven were opened" – heaven, the place of God's throne. The heavenly atmosphere out of physical sight to man, yet controlled by the One on that heavenly throne; the Only One who is able to open heavens windows and allow the 'waters above' to lose their restraint and flow freely in a deluge of destruction. Who is the master of that house of which these windows are a part? GOD.

"Wherein is the breath of life" – again, possible only by God who is the giver of life. The same God who is about to destroy the entire wicked world has shown mercy to these few people and to these few animals. He can give life and He can take it away. For He is GOD.

"And the LORD shut him in" – not for Noah to do for himself. God Himself "sealed" in the remnant of creation that He wanted saved. Just as He will "seal" His servants in a coming latter day of trouble protecting them from the evil that will fall upon the earth, allowing them to continue as His witnesses to a perishing world.. Just as He "seals" His children within the confines of heaven, instead of an ark, when He brings judgment and wrath to a wicked world for a second and final time. Who cares for His creation so much that He will not suffice someone else shutting that door, but will do it Himself? GOD.

Here, in merely the first few chapters of Genesis, we are being given a picture of who GOD is and what His sovereignty entails. And here, in the preservation of His creation, and in the display of His mercy and grace, are we enticed to join our own lives to this wondrous, merciful and loving God, if we but will.

Is it possible that the remaining many books of the Bible can tell us anything more about God when it has revealed so much of Him to us already?

YES. There is much more to come, for our God is infinite and all the books written in the whole world cannot contain all that He is.

Come

"And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the females; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him." (Genesis 7:1-5)

"Come thou and all thy house..." "Come". NOT "Go in."

What volumes that little word "come" speaks to us; for this is the Father calling His child to come inside, where He is; where it is safe. The Father is not leaving the child alone, He is with his child.

If the Lord had said, "Go in" then the ark might have felt like a prison to Noah. But instead, it has become a refuge, a place where God's presence and comfort is found.

'Danger is imminent,' the Father says. 'Come in now, inside the house with me, so that I can protect you and keep you safe for you are my beloved one'. And the Father's child obeys; he has always been an obedient child of the Father.

Such was the relationship between Noah and God. Such was the comfort Noah had of the presence of God in this terrible time that was about to come. Such was the reward for the integrity towards God that Noah displayed; integrity that shone brightly in such a wicked and perverse generation. And God had witnessed Noah's righteousness. This is confirmation to us that God does take note of us. He does witness our actions; and, of course, He knows our hearts as well. Nothing that we do goes unnoticed by God; whether or righteousness in Jesus Christ, or of wickedness and perversion that persists to utter destruction.

These passages about Noah and the Ark are the first ones that come to my mind, to comfort me in times of trouble. Knowing that I am a child of God because I trust in His Son, Jesus Christ, a child of God just as Noah was, reminds me that I have a refuge in God at such times, just as Noah did. His Word tells us that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. His reward is peace, comfort, and ultimate safety during troubled times.

But now let's look for a moment at the animals that are also preserved along with Noah and his family.

This is the first mention of clean and unclean animals. But why are there more clean animals given safe harbor, versus unclean; and why is there an unequal number of clean animals taken on board?

The commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown says that the reason for the abundance of clean animals to be saved over the lesser number being saved of the unclean animals, was because "their rapid multiplication was a matter of the highest importance, when the earth should be renovated, for their utility either as articles of food or as employed in the service of man."

As far as the odd seventh number, JFB also says: "It was manifestly reserved for sacrifice; and so that both during Noah's residence in the ark, and after his return to dry land, provision was made for celebrating the rites of worship according to the religion of fallen man."

From the entrance of sin into the garden, to this point where the entire earth is about to be destroyed (minus 8 people and many pairs of animals), the God-ordained ordinance of animal sacrifice as atonement for sin (all pointing to the ultimate sacrifice of His own Son as atonement for man's sin) will not cease merely because Noah and his family are on an ark floating in the midst of a vast sea of destruction. God, who provided for Noah's every need, included an extra animal, in every grouping of clean animals, specifically so that this reminder of man's sin, and God's provision, would continue.

Further proof to us that the Bible, from its first words to its ending pages, points to Jesus Christ.

 

A Remnant

But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he." (Genesis 6:18-22)

This passage opens with the declaration from God that He will establish a covenant with Noah, speaking of a future hope and promise; something most encouraging to Noah who would spend many years building the ark and prophesying to all around him of the judgment to come. Noah experienced first-hand the mercy and grace of God towards him and his family through their rescue from the coming flood. God was merciful in that He spared Noah having to worry about or witness the destruction of his loved ones, leaving Noah free to attend to the task that God had for him. And on the other hand, Noah's children were blessed to have such a God-fearing parent, whose godliness procures for them this physical salvation, teaching them to choose wisely, as their father did, concerning their own relationships with the Lord God Almighty; unlike the children of the world at that time whose parents were corrupt before God, who would soon perish in the flood with their ungodly parents.

Of all the population of the earth at that time (which as we have said, biblical scholars believe to have been in the millions), only 8 people are saved: a remnant. Of all the animals alive at that time, only a remnant is saved. The remnant speaks of rescue or, better yet, of escape: escape from the judgment of God's wrath upon a wicked world.

Ezra 9:8 "And now for a little space grace hath been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape…"

Isaiah 10:20 "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped out of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth."

Jeremiah 15:11 "The Lord said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant…"

Ezekiel 6:8 "Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered though the countries."

Romans 9:27 "Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved.."

Whenever the term "remnant" is used in the Bible, it will speak of a small number of people who have been preserved out of a much larger number; and it will speak of their being preserved only by the grace of God towards those who seek Him.

God's method of preserving or saving the "remnant" is displayed for us symbolically here in the account of Noah and the ark. The Hebrew word for "ark" is: tebah, meaning a chest, an ark, or a coffer (from which the term coffin comes.) A coffin speaks of death, but certainly it was not Noah's death or his family's, as they were preserved alive in the ark. But the vessel that preserved Noah is symbolic of the vessel that saved us: Jesus Christ – by whose death we were saved. Thus, the ark of our salvation is Jesus Christ.

Matthew Henry, when speaking of the wisdom and faith of Noah, also compares the ark to Jesus Christ:

"As an instance of wisdom for himself [Noah], thus to provide for his own safety. he feared the deluge, and therefore prepared the ark. Note, When God gives warning of approaching judgments, it is our wisdom and duty to provide accordingly. See Exodus 9:20-21, Ezekiel 3:18. We must prepare to meet the Lord in his judgments on earth, flee to his name as a strong tower (Proverbs 18:10), enter into our chambers (Isaiah 26: 20-21) especially prepare to meet him at death and in the judgment of the great day, build upon Christ the Rock (Matthew 7:24), go into Christ the Ark."

Joel 2:32 "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call."

Revelation 12:17 "and the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

This last scripture above reminds us of God's prophecy from the Garden, about the war that would take place between Satan's seed and the seed of the woman. And in this scripture we see who the remnant are: they are those "which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Thus, just as it was in the days of Noah, there will be, in the last days before the second coming judgment, only a remnant called by the name of Jesus Christ; for because of the sin of man's arrogance and pride, only a remnant will be seeking God and will be saved by His mercy and grace.

 

The Ark of Judgment

"The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die." (Genesis 6:11-17)

To this point, the earth had still been watered by a mist. There was no such thing as rain, and certainly not a deluge of rain that would bring about the flood God is describing. Thus Noah, obediently building the ark in preparation for something he had never witnessed before, demonstrates to us faith; confidence that what God says is going to happen will indeed happen. I don't think a person can truly "walk with God" without such faith; complete confidence and trust must be part of a true deep relationship, or the relationship remains surface-level only, an illusion of a relationship, without faith. Here is something to check in our own hearts: are we truly "walking with God" or only casting an illusion? Noah was found faithful to God and was accounted righteous because of his faith.

Theoretically a cubit is the length of your arm from the tip of the middle finger to your elbow, somewhere between 14 and 25 inches depending upon the size of the person. Since the length of the ark is to be 300 cubits, if I multiply that by a median number of about 19, it seems the ark would be 475 feet long, possibly even longer. And by those same calculations the height would be 47 feet or so. What an endeavor this was for Noah! And just think of how long it must have taken for him (even with the help of his sons) to build such a thing without all the modern equipment such as we have today! And it contained three levels. This might have been considered the first cruise ship in existence, except for the terrible views from the ship of the destruction of what might have been millions of people at that time (as scholars believe to be possible given the extremely long life-spans) along with an endless number of animals and all that was upon the earth. How horrible it must have been for Noah to know, as the days grew closer to completing the ark, that so many would die needlessly…needlessly not because God destroyed them, but because they would not repent. For there is too much biblical evidence that God would have been merciful had they just turned to Him with repentant hearts.

The window (if it were a window as we know it) would have only been approximately 19 inches in height…and with all those animals inside the ark! But scholars believe the window was something like a high transom or eave that ran the full length of the ark; so that even though it was only a foot and a half high it was long enough to provide a sufficient "airing out" of the ark.

We should take note of the fact that God had Noah do a rather odd thing. It would be typical to "pitch" (seal with tar) the outside of a boat to make it waterproof; but why would God instruct Noah to also pitch the inside of the boat? Perhaps it was because of the animals that were about to board the boat. Perhaps, however, it was so that the ark would be preserved, so much so that thousands of years later it would be discovered still intact; but for what purpose? Well, the ark, as it was being built by Noah for however many years it took to complete, became a testimony to an unbelieving world of a coming judgment. Perhaps God "preserved" it so well so that at a later date it would again become a testimony to an unbelieving world of a second (and final) judgment.

There has been much speculation about where the ark landed: the bible says (Genesis 8:4) that it rested "upon the mountains of Ararat." If you do a search within Wikipedia titled "Searches for Noah's Ark" you will find a quite long list of the various attempts made to find the ark. There is a mountain named Mount Ararat located in Northern Iraq. The mountain is 16,854 feet high and satellite images indicate an extreme amount of glacial-looking ice. Traditions of Josephus (Jewish historian) and others near his time, record that the "mountains of Ararat" are in what is now known as Eastern Anatolia in Turkey. Turkey continues to prohibit search expeditions into these mountains, I believe, on the basis of not wanting to disturb the relics of the ark that are there. Regardless, there appears to be no confirmed evidence yet that the ark is in those mountains or in the mountain in Iraq. But that is not to say that it isn't or that in God's timing, it won't be discovered. Will its discovery finally bring people to acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? Possibly, but even with all the miracles that Jesus did while He walked on this earth, there were only a few who believed in Him (5,000 were fed at one time by the miracle of the fish and loaves, yet how many were with Him at the cross?) And it was left to those few, that remnant, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to spread the Good News to others.

I believe that the same wickedness that afflicted the people of Noah's time, is the same wickedness that afflicts the world at large today. But the bible tells us that the second judgment will be far worse than the first, for those who have not received the Good News of God's Word: that we can be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.

For those who trust in Jesus, the ark will not be found to be a symbol of judgment, but a symbol of salvation: rescuing us from God's wrath which will be poured out one final time onto an unbelieving and sinful world.

 

“But Noah Found Grace…”

"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham and Japeth. (Genesis 6:8-10)

Noah, following closely upon Enoch, also "walked with God;" a sign of his being in constant communion (intimate fellowship) with God. Noah's righteousness is discussed in Hebrews 11:7 (right below the righteousness of Enoch):

"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."

2 Peter 2:5 describes Noah as a "preacher of righteousness."

Genesis 6:8 tells us that Noah was a "just man and perfect in his generations;" in other words, even though certain descendants from the line of Seth eventually gave way to wickedness, yet those that were direct ancestors of Noah, including Noah himself, were found to be "perfect." This does not mean they were sinless, only Jesus was that. But it does mean that they were righteous (obedient) before God.

The scripture in Hebrews above describes Noah as being faithful and moved to obedience to God through his fear of God and of the destruction that God says will soon come upon the earth because of wickedness. But I believe it is strictly because of his close fellowship with God that Noah is said to have "found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Grace is unmerited favor, in other words, favor from God that has not been earned. God simply loved Noah and provided His grace towards Noah.

Noah is described as a "preacher of righteousness" by Peter. Being a righteous man, Noah would have done his best to warn his neighbors and other family members of the judgment on the earth that was about to come from God, but it appeared that the wickedness was so great that in the end, only a handful of people were spared judgment.

And the ark itself, which we will see Noah build according to God's instructions, will become a testimony to an unbelieving world of coming judgment. The world did not believe and so the world did not enter into the ark of God's protection; only Noah and his family did. A day may come in the future when that same ark that was carefully constructed with its preservation in mind (Genesis 6:14) might become a testimony for a second time to an unbelieving world of coming (and final) judgment.

Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japeth. Interestingly they are not listed in order of their birth; instead, Shem is given pre-eminence over his brothers by being listed first. If you recall from the third chapter of Luke, Noah and his son Shem are listed in the genealogical record of Mary, the mother of Jesus. We will see that Shem proves himself to be righteous, as does his brother Japeth, but Ham dishonors his father and thus brings upon himself and his descendants a curse of servitude.

 

 

Sons of God, Daughters of Men

"And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that He had made man on earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them." (Genesis 6:1-7)

 This is a difficult passage to understand; partly because of the use of the term "sons of God." This terminology appears (to various biblical scholars) to be speaking of angels in these following passages:

Job 1:6 "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them;"

Job 2:1 "Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord."

 Job 38:7 "…when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"

 But, to other biblical scholars, it appears to be speaking of the descendants of Seth (as disciples of God, thus sons of God) specifically in Genesis 6:2. It does seem to me that the term "sons of God" could, in fact, have two different meanings, that would have to be interpreted according to the sentence in which it is used.

If the meaning is "angels" would it indicate "fallen angels?" Surely angels who were obedient to God would not leave their heavenly station to co-habitate with earthly women, would they? But certainly the fallen angels had already left their heavenly abode when they fell with Lucifer (Satan) (Jude 1:6), so that, if these are indeed angels, they must be fallen angels versus the obedient ones.

It does appear that because of this cohabitation (whether of angels or of men) there were "giants on the earth." The Hebrew form of the word giants is "nephilim" and is used by at least one bible scholar as the name for the race that was formed from such a union. Nephilim comes from a Hebrew root word nepheth meaning "a height."

Yet, another sense of the word "giants," even as used further along in Genesis 6, is that they became "mighty" men: as in strong, ferocious, terrible, "renown" for their wickedness rather than for their godliness…perhaps made more "mighty" by the use of the forged instruments of brass and iron invented by Tubal-cain (Genesis 4:22). Apparently this wickedness increased relentlessly; causing the Lord to "grieve" all that He was a witness to.

If, however, this term refers to the descendants of Seth who at least began as godly; why was God's spirit striving against them….unless the godly descendants of Seth took ungodly women from the line of Cain? Perhaps these women were considered to be "daughters of men," simply because they did not know or walk with God, but walked only according to the ways of man. If indeed, this is the case, which seems more logical, then men did what men still do today….they sinned. They formed sexual unions with ungodly and degenerate women from the line of Cain, apparently not involving God in this decision, and eventually became degenerate themselves. And all because they found the women to be "fair"….sounds a little like the same affliction Eve had in the garden when she saw that the forbidden fruit was "pleasant to the eyes" (Genesis 3:6). Lust strikes again! And, since these "sons of God" took "wives of all which they chose," perhaps these were also polygamous relationships; just one more affront to God.

Whichever the case may be here, whether fallen angels or fallen men from the line of Seth, the end result is rampant wickedness, relentless turning away from God, such that God is grieved to know that He must now destroy them.

So much wickedness, as we will see in our study, that there is only a remnant who can be called righteous, and who will be saved from the devastation that God is about to bring upon the earth because of the wickedness therein.

The Lineage of Seth

"And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: for God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord." (Genesis 4:25-26)

Cain is a murderer. Abel is his victim. And then sometime after Abel's murder, Eve gives birth to another son named Seth. It is from this lineage that King David is born. It is through this lineage that Jesus is given His legal birthright through his stepfather Joseph as well as His biological birthright through His mother Mary.

Please note, however, that there were most likely many sons and daughters born to Adam and Eve in between Cain and Abel and Seth. Just because attention is drawn to these three so that they are mentioned in the bible does not allow us to presuppose that there were no other children born to them. It is most certain, instead, that there were many children born to them.

All the people mentioned in Seth's lineage, except for Noah, were born before Adam died; which means that all of them would have been privileged to receive a complete and accurate account of how creation came about. And even though these men all seem to be a part of those mentioned who began "to call upon the name of the Lord" (v. 26), thus having no skeletons in the closet; still there are only a few names mentioned in this lineage that are meant for us to pay close attention to. One of those is Noah, whose life we are all somewhat familiar with; we will learn more of Noah beginning in chapter 6 of Genesis.

But another name to take note of is Enoch: for it is said of Enoch that he "walked with God: and he was not; for God took him" (Genesis 5:24). It doesn't say Enoch walked with God and then died. Every person listed in this genealogy is shown to have died (except for Noah who is still alive at the end of this list); but Enoch just "was not; for God took him," meaning that God translated him to heaven without dying. To understand why that happened perhaps we should explore what it means to "walk with God."

The bible tells us in Amos 3:3 that two cannot walk together unless they agree. The first thing then that is necessary in order to walk with God is to agree with God. That means you have accepted everything that God says to be truth, and are walking in agreement with not only God but His words that He speaks. But walking with someone on a regular basis such as Enoch did with God, would also indicate camaraderie or companionship; a relationship.

So the second part of "walking with God" would be an involvement in each others' lives; on the part of man it would indicate a willingness to make God a part of each and every moment of life, and because we are in agreement with Him, to please Him in everything that we do and say. That takes a dying to self so that we please God instead of self; and it takes a dying to the the world as well, so that there are no distractions from your engrossment with your walk with God. That last part is something very difficult for man to do on a consistent basis; but apparently not for Enoch; although we must note that the bible also tells us that this "walk with God" did not commence between Enoch and God until after the birth of Enoch's son, Methuselah (Genesis 5:22), continuing it for the next 300 years.

Anyone who has experienced a close communion with God, even momentarily, knows that nothing in life compares to it. Well, Enoch walked with God; that experience was most likely more important to Enoch than life itself. God obviously knew that before He translated Enoch to heaven to continue that relationship with him there.

Paul says that Enoch "was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:5-6)

Jude calls Enoch a prophet and quotes Enoch when discussing false teachers by saying that "Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all these speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." (Jude 14-15)
 Isn't it amazing that God would so enjoy a man's companionship that He carts the man off to heaven to remain with him forever? And yet, isn't that what He's promised to do one day for ALL of us who "please God?"

In closing this posting, we have to make one more mention of Enoch's son, Methuselah. We know him to be the oldest man who ever lived (or at least that was recorded for us): 969 years to be exact. Hence the once popular saying: "as old as Methuselah!"

So, if you ever happen to hear that saying again, you can quote chapter and verse: Genesis 5:27; and maybe begin a conversation about the Lord in the process!

Cain’s Descendants

In looking individually at the descendants of Cain that are listed in Genesis 4:17-24, we find several, including Cain himself, who, by today's standards, might have been seen on the cover of Time Magazine because of their pioneering ingenuity.

Cain, for example, no longer farming the land which had become doubly-cursed for his sake, found a way to become wealthy, it appears, for he built a city that he named after his son Enoch. So we have the first "city" of biblical mention.

Enoch, by the way, means "dedicated," but to what he was dedicated we do not know; perhaps he was dedicated to his father's line of work as a city-builder. However, being an immediate descendant of Cain, it was most likely not to God.

We know little about Irad except that his name means "fugitive." That probably tells us the direction his life took as well.

Mehujael means "smitten or struck by God." That doesn't sound promising.

The next descendant, however, give us something to ponder as his name seems to indicate some inclination towards God. Methushael means "man of God." Unfortunately, the bible doesn't elaborate on this, so we can only assume he might have been considered a "black sheep" in the ungodly line of Cain, if indeed he went contrary to Cain's decision to leave God's presence. Certainly, one man being "of God" amongst many who were not, would be considered "odd man out."

However, Methushael's descendant, Lamech (meaning "wild man"), did not turn towards God. In fact, Lamech's is the first biblical account of the sin of polygamy; and yes, it was a sin as it was in direct contradiction to God's ordination of what marriage is to be about: between one man and one woman. Lamech goes on to murder a man; the second physical murder recorded in the Bible. But I have found contrasting biblical commentaries speaking of Lamech's crime. One commentator says he did it in self defense. Indeed, both the NIV and the New Living Translations seem to indicate that "wounding" was done to Lamech by a young man. However, the King James version seems to be saying that the crime of killing a young man was to the "wounding" of Lamech himself. Matthew Henry comments that Lamech's pride and arrogance, from a degenerate and unrepentant heart, lead him to make that self-pronouncement that any who took revenge on him should be punished "seventy-seven times" for he views his own crime as being not nearly as bad as Cain's, and thus should require more vengeance should someone attempt to come against him for his crime. Whichever was the case, Lamech was not a godly man, thus continuing in Cain's footsteps by not honoring God in his life choices.

Then there is Jabal which means "moving", born to Lamech's wife Adah ("ornament"); and Jubal which means "playing," born to Lamech's second wife Zillah ("shadow" – a telling statement of the effects of polygamy on the women involved).

Jabal "was the first of the herdsmen who live in tents." (4:20) This makes us wonder what the prior herdsmen lived in; or were they just living out in the open without the covering of tents?

Jubal was "the first musician – the inventor of the harp and flute." (4:21) Who was the object of the music these instruments produced: man or God?

Tubal-cain "was the first to work with metal, forging instruments of bronze and iron." (4:22) Were these instruments of utility or of war? Or perhaps some of each?

I leave you with something to ponder here. We will see in the next chapter of Genesis that a godly man named Seth is born to Eve, to replace Abel whom she lost, and the works of the godly line of Seth bear little resemblance in terms of fame and fortune to the great achievements of Cain's ungodly descendants. In very stark contrast, the godly line of Seth achieved little that would put them on the cover of Time Magazine…for all they did was worship God in obedience to Him. Their focus was on a relationship with God, leaving little time for worldly pursuits.

Tomorrow we will study Seth's lineage, but I'd like for you to keep one question in mind as we study Seth:

If you were to judge all the accomplishments of your life to date, which lineage would your works resemble most: Cain's or Seth's?

Living in the Land of Nod

"And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold." (Genesis 4:16-24)

That Cain "went out from the presence of the Lord" seems to indicate that Cain chose to leave God's presence. This shows his unrepentant heart. God's mercy is also shown in that He allows Cain space to repent by not destroying him utterly as would have been warranted by murder, although Cain views it as extreme ("more than I can bear") because of his impenitent and unhumbled heart. When God asked for an honest confession of the crime, Cain lied instead.

Now we see that Cain "knew his wife and she conceived." The Word doesn't say that Cain "took a wife," in fact, in implies that he already had one, perhaps even when he murdered Abel. This causes us to ponder where his wife came from? We have a clue about this in Cain's response to God's curse upon him:

"…and it shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall slay me." (Genesis 4:14)

Cain speaks as though there is a population on the earth other than just those the Bible narrative has so far spoken of; and obviously there are since he apparently had a wife already. Here is a classic example of how it is going to be in gathering our knowledge of Biblical facts: we are given some information, but not all…at least not all at once. We may feel as though there are only four people on earth, but then our perspective must change as we see that there are in fact more because Cain now has a wife. Further knowledge will be added to this as we learn that the ages of the people who lived at that time, shortly after sin entered in, were hundreds of years as compared to our short life-span (because of the abundance of iniquity as time goes by that leads to death-ravaged physical bodies that cannot survive for as long).

Additionally, we are not told how many children Adam and Eve had altogether. We are told of three of their children, but not possibly all of their children, some of whom most certainly could have been girls. And yes, it does appear as though Cain would have had to marry a sister, and while such an arrangement today would be considered incestual and genetically dangerous, perhaps because of the shorter period of time that sin had reigned over what were meant to be immortal bodies, the typical hindrances to such an arrangement are not to be assumed.

But what is more important to note than where Cain's wife came from is that the repercussions of his sin of murder, carry on to his descendants, so that those who are living in the land of Nod, somewhere east of Eden, come to represent, the fleshly side of mankind and will become known as the "sons of man," having been removed from the presence of God's Spirit by Cain's decision to depart rather than repent, becoming "a fugitive and a wanderer" because of the guilt of his own conscience.

So now we have an ungodly group of people on the earth, with iniquity abounding (growing worse) as seen by the crime of Lamech, Cain's descendant.

But we will see soon that there is another born to Eve who will represent the spirit of God and will be known as "the sons of God."

“A More Excellent Sacrifice”

I ended yesterday's posting with a reference to the fig leaves that Adam and Eve sewed together for themselves to cover up their nakedness (Genesis 3:7) of which they became ashamed once they had eaten of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That will be the point at which we begin our discussion today but before we begin, I have to share a comment that Matthew Henry made about clothing that was really quite profound. Here's what he said:

"...clothes came in with sin. We should have had no occasion for them, either for defense or decency, if sin had not made us naked, to our shame. Little reason therefore we have to be proud of our clothes, which are but the badges of our poverty and infamy."  So why is it so important for us to "look good" in terms of the clothing we wear? Perhaps that is something to think about.

Now back to the fig leaves which were the first attempt by man to cover his shame; shame that was caused by sin. Sin still causes shame in us today and man still attempts to cover his shame with the works of his own hands. But God had a different solution to the shame of man's nakedness: the skins of innocent animals slaughtered for man's sake. What a point He made in doing so!

First, God did not consider the fig leaves to be a sufficient covering for man's shame (or for man's unrighteousness); He preferred instead, a covering of His own making.

Second, innocent creatures, having had no part in the sin of man, were killed; blood of innocent lives was required. Why was this necessary?

Third, Adam and Eve witnessed what death looked like (for the very first time) as they watched God kill the animals…animals that Adam had personally named…knowing now that death would one day come also to them.

I believe that we might assume that these animals were lambs. Why would I assume this?

Because if Adam and Eve witnessed what God did with the animals (one for each of them), and instructed their children accordingly, then Abel (being obedient to his parents and not rebellious like Cain) would have followed their instructions when providing an offering to God. The Bible tells us that Abel took of the "firstlings" of his flock of sheep. The Hebrew word for "firstlings" (bekowrah) means "first-born." While it is possible that Abel waited until the first-born had become a very old sheep (what we would call "mutton"), that doesn't seem quite as fresh an offering, does it? A lamb, by the way, is a young sheep, one that is less than one year old, so I would assume again that it is possible the lamb was not necessarily new-born, but was certainly the first-born of its mother. So, if Abel followed his parents example, and his parents followed God's example, this should tell us that the animals sacrificed in the garden were lambs, one for each of them apparently as Genesis 3:21 speaks of animals in the plural.

But, of course, there is other evidence for assuming the slain animals were lambs: scriptural evidence that indicates that God chose a lamb to become "the more excellent sacrifice" for a sin-covering (atonement) for man:

"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29). This was John the Baptist speaking of Jesus Christ.

"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship Him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 13:8)

 Thus, sacrifice (of an innocent lamb) had its physical origins in the garden; yet its eternally spiritual origin was as a part of God's plan from "the foundation of the world."

We will see as we continue in our bible study that animal sacrifice (the shedding of innocent blood for the atonement or forgiveness of sin) became an institution for the people God claimed as His own: the Jews. It was an institution that was to teach them about their sin and about a loving God who sent His own first-born to become the "more excellent sacrifice" paying the ultimate price of His own blood, shed for the forgiveness of our sin. He was an innocent lamb becaue the Bible tells us He was obedient to God and had NO sin...a lamb without spot or blemish...and therefore the blood that was shed was innocent blood.

The question, the most important question of your entire life, is this: will we choose God's Lamb "by faith" to cover the shame of our own nakedness (our sin and unrighteousness) or will we provide a covering of our own brand of fig leaves?  And what form do those fig leaves take in this day and age? Attending church every now and then without ever becoming involved in a church is one brand of fig leaves; just attending church occasionally is fairly safe, but becoming involved might require a commitment that we don't really want to give.  How far are our hearts from God?

Do you believe that you can be reconciled to God through your fig leaves alone, whatever form they might take?  If you reject God's Lamb (His own son, Jesus Christ) and provide a sacrifice of your own, do you think that God will be pleased with you?

Please ponder this carefully and seriously before you answer for the Word of God tells us it is a matter of life or death: life being an eternity in heaven and death being everlasting torment in hell.

Here is a clue to the answer:

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, IS the "more excellent sacrifice." There is no other way to be reconciled to the Father except through Jesus Christ.

Put away your fig leaves and "put on" Jesus. He can be found in the Word of God, also known as the Bible.

The First Pharisee

Knowing now that Cain's offering was not made by faith (in other words, not made according to God's desires but according to Cain's own desires, or his own idea of what "doing well" meant to God), we see then that Cain became the first example of the ideology that was demonstrated during the time of Jesus by a Jewish group known as the Pharisees.

The Pharisees were the most important religious/political group amongst the Jews in existence at the time of and prior to Christ's ministry. They appear in the gospels many times and always in opposition to Jesus. The apostle Paul was himself a Pharisee (formerly known by the name of Saul) before becoming a Christian; as a Pharisee he saw his self-appointed task of persecuting and killing Christians as his work of righteousness unto God. When Paul later met Jesus on the road to Damascus, the words spoken to Him by the Lord were: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute ME?" (Acts 9:4) for certainly, as he persecuted the body of Christ known as the church, Paul was, in fact, persecuting Christ Himself.

The name "Pharisee" means "the separated ones," a distinction established by the will of man; which is interesting since the word "church" means "the called out ones," a distinction established solely by the will of God.

Thus the stark contrast between the Pharisees and the church is set at the very foundation of each: for the true church is "called out" in accordance to the guidance and direction of Jesus Christ who is the head of the church; and the true body of Christ (aka the church) walks in humility, not in pride, knowing that they have no righteousness of their own, but are simply covered by the righteousness provided to them through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. This is known as "being saved by faith through grace;" grace being the gift of God through Jesus Christ. While many of today's Christians look, sadly, more like Pharisees than true followers of Christ, there is still a remnant that do indeed have grateful hearts towards God, and who walk in simple humility as Jesus did.

The Pharisees, on the other hand, were highly "spiritual" (at least in their own eyes, if not God's eyes) and considered themselves to be separate from (and superior to) others who were not Pharisees; they considered their righteousness before God to be marvelous indeed, simply because of the position they believed they earned through the law. They had no heart of gratitude or love towards God; they did the works of the law for their own benefit of getting into heaven (or so they thought), and thus had little or no love for their fellow man along the way; thereby totally missing the point of the law; for Jesus said the whole law could be summed up with these two commandments alone:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." (Luke 10:27) Unfortunately, love (either for God or neighbor) was not really the primary focus of the ultra-legalistic Pharisees.

"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me….for out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." (Matthew 15:8-9, 19)

Jesus called the Pharisees "white-washed sepulchres" (Matthew 23:27): tombs containing death and decay on the inside but appearing to be pristinely beautiful on the outside (because they gave the appearance of being holy, when their hearts were rotten and full of evil.) Thus the righteousness of the Pharisees was "salvation by works according to the law" (man-made) rather than "by faith through grace" (God-made). Put in a more simple form, it was "law versus grace." This is what caused the Pharisees to be in constant opposition to Jesus (to the point of wanting him murdered) who was full of the GRACE of God:

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

Thus, we can say that Cain was the first "Pharisee" of sorts. The Bible tells us his offering was made unto God in a way that was unacceptable to God because it was not according to God's desires for the method of offerings to God. It was not an offering made from a man who knew he was a sinner, yet seeking God with a humble heart. It was an offering made from a self-righteous man (a Pharisee) who thought that his offering should be accepted over his brother's for no other reason, apparently, but that his pride told him it should be so; perhaps he felt that because of his legal position as first-born or perhaps he was just deceived "by the wicked one." Actually, in either case he certainly was deceived, and not dealing with reality.
Whatever his thinking, it was similar to the Pharisees in the feeling of self-righteousness and superiority over others, and murder was spawned in his heart, as it was also in the hearts of the Pharisees.

To understand Cain and Abel's situation better, we ought to understand why an offering was being given in the first place, which we will get into further in our next posting.

I will tell you this: it all began with the fig leaves that Adam and Eve fashioned for themselves back in Genesis 3:7. God provided a far better covering for them that He fashioned with His own hands, and I believe He taught the first parents by that one action what an offering was to be. And I believe we can safely assume that they taught this to their children; but one of their children, at least, chose to be rebellious and do things his own way, rather than God's way.

To be continued in tomorrow's posting.

Cain and Abel

"And Adam knew his wife and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering, but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother, and it came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not; am I my brother's keeper? And he said What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth: and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth, and it shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall slay me. And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden." (Genesis 4:1-16)

Most people have heard of Cain and Abel whether or not they ever read it for themselves in the Bible. It is the classic model of sibling rivalry and jealousy.

Cain was the firstborn; his name is derived from a word meaning "possessed" or "acquired" as Eve goes on to explain in the first verse of the passage. Abel was his younger brother whose name means "vapour" or "breath"; possibly so named because his life was to be a short one.

This passage raises more questions than it answers within itself. For example, both men gave offerings unto the Lord God. Both men gave of the fruit of their labors; Cain was a farmer, Abel was a sheepherder. But Cain's was not accepted by the Lord…why not? Did Cain pre-meditate his brother's murder? Why didn't he suffer death for the death of his own brother? Why did God protect him with a mark, rather than let him suffer death for such a crime?

It is only by going ahead of our studies and gathering information from other biblical references that we can begin to answer some of these questions, but I doubt that we will answer all.

Here are some verses to think about:

1 John 3:12 "Not as Cain [who] was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteousness."

Jude 1:11 "Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core."

Matthew 23:34-35 "Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye hall kill an crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar."

Hebrews 11:4 "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh."

Hebrews 12:24 "And to Jesus mediator of the new covenant and to that blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."

From these verses we are told a few important things: such as Abel's offering was offered up "by faith" and his offering was considered a "more excellent sacrifice than Cain." We also see Abel grouped in with prophets and such and called "righteous" by Jesus who is the one speaking in Matthew. Cain's works, however, "were evil". This might mean that it was not only the murder that was obviously evil, but even his own offering was evil. We are not told that Cain offered it up "by faith," perhaps that was the root of the evilness of it. There is a scripture that supports this:

"But without faith it is impossible to please [Him]; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6

We see in the Genesis verses that even though Cain's offering was not accepted by God, God questioned his being downcast. He told Cain that in order to be accepted by God all Cain had to do was "do well", in other words, do according to God's will; and that if he did so, his brother Abel would serve him, Cain would be ruler over his brother, retaining all the privileges of being the first-born. Yet Cain proved that his love was not for God but for himself alone, being controlled by the same one that controlled the serpent in the garden; Cain proved that he "was of that wicked one and slew his brother." How then could his offering have pleased God with a heart set against God to begin with? Even after God's encouraging words to Cain, Cain spoke with his brother, and then later met him in a field where he murdered him; a pre-meditated murder that issued forth from an evil heart.

We will continue our study of these passages and more in the next posting.

 

 

 

The Cherubim

The third chapter of Genesis closes with the first mention of angels. These particular angels who have been set at the entrance of Eden to guard access to the Tree of Life, are called "cherubim," the plural form of "cherub." The meaning of their name is unknown, but interestingly the one who influenced the serpent (aka Satan) began as a cherub:

"Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering…thou art the anointed cherub that covereth…thou was perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, til iniquity was found in thee…thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground…" (Ezekiel 28:13-17)

This cherub, prior to being found with iniquity because of his sin of pride, was named Lucifer which means light-bearer, shining one, morning star. He is spoken of by the prophet Isaiah and also by Jesus:

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the side of the pit." (Isaiah 14:12-14)

"And He [Jesus] said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." (Luke 10:18)

Obviously then, cherubim had access to the garden where Adam and Eve walked with God. The cherubim were winged beings. Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10 give us further details about their most unusual appearance (they are not your typical angel) having four wings, and four faces, and wheels. And they sparkle or shine as though with fire, so that as they move they give the appearance of lightning. They also have wheels that stay by their sides…wherever the cherubim go, the wheels also go.

The study of cherubim, the study of seraphim (meaning fiery or burning ones), and the study of angels (meaning messengers) is a study that we will get into in depth as we get further into the bible. For now, know that cherubim were very vocal in their praises of God, and are associated with worship of God. They are the ones whose images decorate the "ark of the covenant" and God is said to be riding upon the cherubim or enthroned upon the cherubim. (1 Samuel 4:4, 2 Samuel 6:2, 22:11, 2 Kings 19:15, I Chronicles 13:6, 28:18, Psalm 18:10; 80:1, 99:1, Isaiah 37:16)

As to the reason these two cherubim are placed at the entrance of the garden, the reason is stated by God Himself in verse 24: so that they would not live forever with the knowledge of good and evil. Cherubic guards were posted so that man would not eat of that Tree of Life in their fallen condition. It was not a punishment, it was a protection.

But the Tree of Life is what redeemed man will eat of for eternity…redeemed man being those who choose the redemption that Jesus Christ provided to them by His death and resurrection.

God’s Sorrow

I had some difficulty understanding Genesis 3:16 at first.

God is wisdom, we know that. And being wise I would expect the punishment to "fit the crime", yet for the longest time I never could quite relate God's curse on the woman to the sin of eating from the tree and bringing it to her husband to eat. (I never said I was quick about these things!)

And then He helped me to see (without the use of commentaries this time) that the woman's punishment did fit the crime: the crime was the sorrow that she brought to God both by her own sin and by influencing Adam to sin. These were His children. He had created them, he had cared for them, and now He was going to have to witness their death, even though He had created them to be immortal and to live with Him forever. Now, instead, because she was deceived and rebelled against God, God would face the sorrow of witnessing all that this first couple brought upon themselves, and it began with this woman.

So I now believe that the punishment did fit the crime; the woman was going to understand sorrow as it relates to her own children, both in the "bringing forth" of them and in seeing them sin as God had to see His children sin, and then, finally, see them die because of their own free will choices.

We will see as our study continues in Genesis just how greatly the woman did suffer sorrow for her children; suffering the sorrow not only of the natural death of her children, but even facing the sorrow of one being murdered by his own sibling. In both of these cases, I wonder if we can comprehend just how much did she grieve knowing what her rebellion cost her own children. The weight of that burden must have been a terrible thing.

But, as Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 2:14 "…Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." So, if Adam unlike the woman, was not deceived, why did he willingly indulge in this sin with her?

I found one teacher (Chuck Missler) who believes it is possible that Adam loved this woman so much, that even though she had been deceived and sinned against God (possibly even realizing that if he had stayed by her side she would not have been vulnerable to the deception) he loved her so much that he would not let her suffer the punishment of her sin alone. He had walked with God longer than she had, he knew the commandment better than she did, and he knew what was going to come as a result of her sin, and he determined (by his eating of the fruit as well) to suffer it with her. He would not be parted from her, even though it meant he would die, returning to the dust from whence he was created, instead of living forever.

If Chuck Missler is correct, then right here at the very beginning of the bible, we have the first typology of Christ and His bride (those who would trust in Him and receive Him as Savior) with Jesus giving His own life, suffering even greater things than His bride would suffer, in order to prevent her having to suffer the ultimate punishment of her sins and in order to bring her back to the Garden (aka Heaven and life everlasting). And because His desire was that the entire world would become His bride, He gave His life for ALL. Some will reject Him, choosing to live in rebellion, in their own ways instead of in His ways; and so many will not become His bride. Though He gave His life for ALL because of His great love for ALL, yet many will by their own free will choices end up suffering the ultimate punishment for their continuing sin: that place of everlasting suffering and torment known as hell.

Jesus became the second Adam in many ways: as perfectly obedient son versus rebellious son, as a better caretaker and "covering" (1 Corinthians 11:3) for his bride than Adam was to the woman (whom he later named Eve in these same passages), as partaking in His bride's suffering to an even greater degree than Adam ever would even though Adam had tasted of an earthly paradise and lost it, Jesus had been with God in the heavens, and willingly left His place to dwell in terrible suffering and sorrow on this earth alongside of, and for the sake of, His soon to be bride; a bride whom He would never leave and would never forsake. He would always be with her, never leaving her to be vulnerable.

Eve greatly suffered the sorrows of her rebellion, as will we all as we make the decision to rebel against God and do things our own way, seeking our happiness and our contentment in things other than that blessed relationship with God, who having designed us, know exactly what our soul needs to find contentment, if we would but heed Him as He reveals His plan for us through His Word. But, in spite of our rebellion, God loved us still and gave us His own Son who became known as the "Man of Sorrows" (Isaiah 53:3)

I'd like to hear your comments about other possibilities of why Adam knowingly and willingly sinned, rather than being deceived as Eve was.

The Seed of the Serpent

[Before we get into this topic, I want to mention to readers of this blog that there are often comments posted (at the end of my daily postings) that contain very insightful and therefore valuable information concerning our studies here. Sometimes these comments aren't posted the same day, sometimes its several days later; but I hope, when you get the chance that you will open up the comment section beneath each daily posting and see what other readers are saying about these topics, even going back the past few days to see what has been commented on. And if you have comments but have held back from posting them, I sure hope you will consider commenting yourself. Remember that your comments can remain anonymous; no one has to know who you are (in case you're the shy type). Even if your comments only include more questions, we welcome those questions as well. It is from questions that we grow in our knowledge as we strive together to understand the answers to those questions from the Word of God. So, please do consider adding to our study with your comments. Thanks! JAG]

Considering the seed of the serpent is a bit of a let-down compared to studying the seed of the woman; but as diligent students of the Word, we must understand as well all that the Word is willing to tell us about the serpent. In studying this, I had to do some deeper research, because I had more questions than answers regarding the serpent.

There are several very good commentaries that I like to refer to in my studies. My two favorites are 1) Jamieson, Fausett and Brown (a six volume commentary written over a hundred years ago by three conservative pastors of churches in England); and 2) Matthew Henry (written in the 1700's by another pastor in England). Famous evangelical preachers, Charles Spurgeon and George Whitefield, highly recommended these commentaries during their own lifetimes. Here are quotes from both of these commentaries that explain more about the serpent and/or who was controlling it.

"The fall of man was effected by the seductions of a serpent. That it was a real serpent is evident…but the material serpent was the instrument or tool of a higher agent, Satan or the devil, to whom the sacred writers apply…the reproachful name of "the dragon, that old serpent" (Revelation 20:2 and 20:10). There being in the pure bosoms of the first pair no principle of evil to work upon, a solicitation to sin could come only from "without," as in the analogous case of Jesus Christ (Matthew 4:1-11); and as the tempter could not assume the human form, there being only Adam and Eve in the world, the agency of an inferior creature had to be employed. The dragon-serpent seemed the fittest for the vile purpose; and the devil was allowed by Him who permitted the trial, to bring articulate sounds from its mouth." JFB Commentary

"It is certain it was the devil that beguiled Eve. The devil and Satan is the old serpent (Revelation 12:9), a malignant spirit, by creation an angel of light and an immediate attendant upon God's throne, but by sin become an apostate from his first state and a rebel against God's crown and dignity. Multitudes of the angels fell; but this that attacked our first parents was surely the prince of the devils, the ring-leader in the rebellion: no sooner was he a sinner than he was a Satan, no sooner a traitor than a tempter, as one enraged against God and his glory and envious of man and his happiness. He knew he could not destroy man but by deceiving him. The game therefore which Satan had to play was to draw our first parents to sin, and so to separate between them and their God….the adversary and enemy is that wicked one. It was the devil in the likeness of a serpent. Whether it was only the visible shape and appearance of a serpent (as some think those were of which we read in Exodus 7:12), or whether it was a real living serpent actuated and possessed by the devil, is not certain: by God's permission it might be either. The devil chose to act his part in a serpent. Perhaps it was a flying serpent…one of the seraphim…for the fiery serpents were flying ( Isaiah 14:29)." MH Commentary

If you read the scriptures supplied within these quotes you will see that the devil (Satan) is also known as a "deceiver," and the first deceit was carried out on Adam and the woman. The reason this information above is important to us is because once we determine who was "controlling" the serpent, we will have a better idea of what is meant by the "seed of" the serpent. Understanding then that it was Satan himself, and knowing that God used the personal pronoun "he" when referring to the seed whose head would be bruised by the seed of the woman, we can assume that the one whose head will be bruised will be a man and that man will also be "controlled" by Satan. In fact, the bible speaks of such a man (we will see in our continuing study) and he is called the anti-christ. Knowing that Satan is evil, a liar, a corrupter of the innocent, hater of God, and out to destroy mankind, we can safely assume that the anti-christ will also have all of these characteristics. In fact, the bible has a bit to say about the anti-christ, but we will not go into that detail today. Actually, there will be many who will be called seeds (plural) of the serpent (specifically because of their rebellion against God and these will be comprised of both men and fallen angels); but there is only one "seed" (singular) that God is speaking of here.

The promise that the serpent's (Satan's) head would be bruised speaks of this: the seed of the woman will raise up to trample upon him (Satan), to spoil him, to lead him captive and to triumph over him (Collossians 2:15). He shall bruise his head, that is, Jesus shall destroy all Satan's politics and all his powers, and give a total overthrow to Satan's kingdom and interests…a wound to the head of this beast, that can never be healed. By the grace of Jesus Christ, he treads Satan under the feet of his people (Romans 16:20) and will shortly cast him into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).

As for the serpent, it was cursed to crawl on its belly, when obviously it was either upright on legs or had wings prior to the curse. It was the most subtle (wily) of all creatures of the field, and it became more cursed than any creature of the field. Nevertheless, as Matthew Henry went on to say "the devil's instruments must share in the devil's punishments. Thus, the bodies of the wicked, though only instruments of unrighteousness, shall partake of everlasting torments with the soul, the principal agent. Even the ox that killed a man must be stoned (Exodus 21:28-29)…the serpent's crime was that he tempted Eve to eat that which she should not; his punishment was that he was necessitated to eat that which he would not: dust thou shalt eat."