https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=24574584 Abram’s life is parabolic. God calls Abram out of his country, family, and house to live in a tent in a foreign land, yet God is thus blessing Abram (“bless” = to become what God intends) by enveloping him in promises of life infinite. Abram and Sarai are childless, yet God will make a … Continue reading Podcast: Gen. 12:1-9

https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=24561501 The Tower of Babel: One language, that is to say, one manner of speaking, plus a human response to some notion of the threat of being scattered. God’s creation invites us to be creative in His image, to seek to recover His name (“name” has to do with God’s nature) as our own rather … Continue reading Podcast: Gen. 11:1-32

https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=24539454 The Bible pauses at certain places to give overviews or reviews. Before moving on with Shem’s history, the book of Genesis gives a summary of Noah’s other two sons and their descendants. Egypt is “Mizraim” in Hebrew and also referred to as the land of Ham. The other names of the descendants of Ham … Continue reading Podcast: Gen. 10:1-32

https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=24525654 After the flood, God blesses Noah and his sons. The blessing to be fruitful and multiply, as God did with Adam and Eve, confirms God’s power and will that His creation should support life. God instructs that animals as well as plants are for food; perhaps because in our fallen state we need that … Continue reading Podcast: Gen. 9:1-29

https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=24510477 Verse one of this passage says that God remembered Noah.  He had never forgotten him.  Rather, when God remembers it means that His Word, will, and promises are going to take effect (consider Jesus’ institution of the Lord’s Supper: “… do this in remembrance of Me.”) Noah tests the receding of the water but … Continue reading Podcast: Gen. 8:1-22

https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=24498447 The flood narrative: God saw that Noah was righteous in that generation, meaning that Noah was honest about dependence on God, in contrast to the rest of the human population generated according to the flesh, dominated by the corruption of Adam. Seven pairs of clean animals were on the ark since they would be … Continue reading Podcast: Gen. 7:1-24

https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=24485595 Sons of God, daughters of men? The Bible is full of abbreviations, just like we use when texting. “Sons of God” refers to men who were more or less honest about dependence and conscious of the image of God. “Daughters of men” refers to women who were not honest about dependence. The power of … Continue reading Podcast: Gen. 6:1-22

As we continue studying the book of Genesis, here are some more questions to ponder (You'll find question #1 here): Second question: How can one be made in the image of God but not be God and not fail? Third question: How is it that the failure is not catastrophic, and how can that failure work for the … Continue reading Genesis questions to consider

https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=24465630 This passage reviews the history of humanity and reminds us that the image of God is bound up in the relationship between male and female (see 1 Corinthians 11:3 and Ephesians 5:25). Notice the pattern of the genealogy and then the breaks in the pattern (also in Matthew 1!). Enoch walked with God; consider … Continue reading Podcast: Gen. 5:1-32

https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=24441093 Eve bears a first child, a son, and assumes/hopes she has begotten a man, “the Lord,” according to God’s promise. And why wouldn’t she hope so and how could she know that it would be hundreds of generations of the women’s seed before the Holy Spirit would work the conception of the Son of … Continue reading Podcast: Genesis 4:1-8