02 January

Bible in 365 Days

Genesis 4-7

Genesis 4

The degeneration of the first man and woman was transmitted, the firstborn being manifestly an inheritor of the fallen nature of his parents. His mother named him Cain, intimating a hope that the seed had come which should bruise the head of the serpent. How little she knew of the nature of her own sin. Thus from the beginning sin manifested a wayward rebelliousness which ever tends to break the heart of fatherhood and motherhood; and experimentally some of the consciousness of the pain of God over their own sin would be revealed to these first parents. Abel means vanity, and suggests the disappointment which had come to Eve.

Sin is seen at once, breaking up the family ideal in the story of Cain and Abel. Death, the penalty of sin, is first executed by the hand of a sinner.

Jehovah intervenes, dealing with Cain in strict justice. His going out from the presence of God was a willful severance of himself from the divine government and from response to its claims.

The chapter records with perfect fidelity the story of human progress, notwithstanding its godlessness. Here begins a history which continues until this hour-marriage, and children, and the building of a city without God. The origin of colonization and commerce is seen in Jabal, who "was the father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle." The initiation of what we may speak of as the fine arts was revealed in Jubal, "the father of all such as handle the harp and pipe." Here, too, we find the beginning of mechanical skill, as Tubal-cain was "the forger of every cutting instrument of brass and iron." In Lamech we have the portrait of a man at the pinnacle of such success. He repeated Cain's sin, but now evidently without any remorse, for in poetic language he is heard defending himself and boasting in his safety.

A third son is born to Adam and Eve, Seth; and the new line commences. Through Abel there is no succession. The posterity of Cain will ultimately be swept away in the Flood. Through Seth the seed of the woman will be preserved toward the ultimate victory.

Genesis 5

In this chapter we have a condensed account of fifteen centuries in human history. The ruin of the race had come through man's belief in the devil's lie, "Ye shall not surely die." The repetition throughout the chapter of the sentence, "And he died," indicates the vindication of God against the lie of the devil. The chapter with its account of the ages of these men is of value as it reveals how early history was preserved. Adam was yet alive when Methuselah was born, and Methuselah was yet alive when Noah was born. Thus two persons form a link of connection between Adam and Abraham, a span of two thousand years. The story of creation and the fall may have been told by Adam to Methuselah, and by him to Noah. Noah still lived to be contemporary with Terah, the father of Abraham. This, of course, is merely suggestive, but does indicate a possibility.

It will be realized that the supreme glory of this chapter is its brief but wonderful picture of Enoch. One man who though living contemporaneously with Lamech yet lived in conformity with the will of God in life and conduct as it is so remarkably expressed, "Enoch walked with God." As a result of this fellowship in life, he was "translated that he should not see death," God thus indicating, even in the midst of all the darkness, His power to triumph by grace over the consequences of evil when man submits himself to Him on the basis of faith.

Genesis 6

With the passing of the centuries, the degeneration of the individual and the family became that of society. There had been intermixture between the descendants of Cain and those of Seth, resulting in the Nephilim. These were strong and godless men, ultimately swept away by the Flood.

The description of life is a terrible one. "The wickedness of man was great" that describes the outward condition; "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" that describes the inward character. The completeness of the depravity is revealed in the use of the words, "every," "only," "continually." God was defied and the flesh with its passions and lusts was regnant.

All this "Jehovah saw." His fiat went forth that His Spirit should not always strive with man, and the limit of one hundred and twenty years was set.

Amid this degeneration Noah is seen as a man walking with God. With this man God holds communion and brings him into co-operation with Himself for the preservation of a seed and the bearing of testimony. The closing declaration, "Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he," is a remarkable revelation of his faith. It was a period of strange experiences. Strong men and godless were living and flourishing in all things mental and material. There is no doubt that for material gain they co-operated with Noah in the building of the Ark, which they must have held in supreme disdain. Nevertheless, in every nail driven and foot of work completed, space was given to them to repent. Noah preached righteousness by the very building of the Ark. Yet it would seem as though none profited, save Noah and his family; and his carpenters were finally destroyed outside the Ark which they had helped to construct.

Genesis 7

At last the work was completed, and the man who by faith had done that which was evidence of his folly in the eyes of the world entered the Ark, leaving behind him all his possessions.

Then came the swift and final judgment of God against the corrupted race.

The righteousness of this judgment can be challenged only by such as fail to notice carefully the corruption of the race as to its nature and extent. The only way in which it was possible to ensure the eventual purity of the race, and thus realize the divine ideal m its creation was by the destruction of that which was utterly and irrevocably corrupt.

Love, illumined by light, acts not merely in the interests of the present moment, but of all the coming centuries. There is a severity which is of the very essence of tenderness; and the story of the Flood is an instance of the actuality of the love of God.

Questions as to the universality of the Flood are not relevant to the story as it is written in Genesis. All that this story declares is that the destruction was coextensive with the region occupied by man. The Hebrew word used uniformly for "the earth" through this section, "erets" is used sometimes of the whole earth, sometimes of a part of it, as we may use the word "land." All that this account demands is that we should understand that a corrupt race was swept away and a godly remnant spared.