Dear reader, the world did not just happen, for nothing happens without a cause, except God. He alone had no cause because he has always existed. That is one of the great mysteries about him which is beyond our ability to understand. Yet knowing about him is the most rational and enriching explanation of our existence. Nothing can compare with the value of knowledge about him and his will for us.We can understand him better by knowing that God is a supernatural being who resides outside our universe in a different and vastly superior realm, one that is impossible for us to even imagine. Yet, although invisible to us, he remains actively involved in this world. And over the years, through various representatives, he created the Bible so that we can know something about him and how he wants us to live. For the Bible teaches that we are his offspring, made in his image, which explains why we are so creative, and dominate all the other creatures of the world. Moreover, after our time in this life is over, our souls will be brought to his world to be judged by how we have lived in this one.
The Seven Days of Creation
The first thing the Bible tells about is the creation of the world. Now do not expect a detailed scientific explanation of exactly how the world and all the living things in it were made in a mere page or two. What is written is enough to inform us that God made it in an orderly and logical way. And now here is how it begins.
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
It is hard for some people to believe that our whole universe was created by one being. This is, after all, a very big world. In fact, if we used the Sahara desert as a comparison, our own planet earth would be like a tiny grain of sand there. Yet it does not take something big to create great things. Most all of us have seen a great city with many large buildings and streets, which are filled with all kinds of big machines and vehicles. Did all of those things just grow out of the ground like grass and trees? Of course not. We all know they were made by men, who seem so tiny compared with the great things they make. Looking down from one of the tallest buildings that men have made men look smaller than ants.
Of course, it takes many men to build our great things. But God is so much mightier than we are. And his greatness is not a matter of size, it is a matter of quality. What, for example, have elephants, who are so much bigger than men, done in the world compared with men? A great stone statue may look like a man, but it is only a carved rock with no inner complexity. A robot may look like a man, but its inner complexity is relatively crude, containing thousands or perhaps even millions of components if you include those of its processor chips. In contrast, each of our bodies is composed of trillions of living cells, and each cell is like a specialized factory, but far more complex than any human factory. What I am saying is that our bodies are super-complex, far beyond what we can understand. Yet did you know that we are mostly empty space, over 99.9999999 percent empty space? If you could take away all the empty space in your body you would be so small as to be invisible, except maybe with a very high power microscope. And the nature of all other things in this world is the same; they are mostly empty space.
But God is not made of matter, his body is composed of a spiritual substance unlike anything in the world. And I doubt if there is any empty space in him. And because he is so immensely complex, astronomically more than we are, there is just nothing to compare him with. Perhaps the best thing we can do is to look at the comparison God himself gave for us through the great prophet Isaiah. God said, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). And scientists tell us that the heavens extend out at least 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles from us (according to the way they now figure it). But even if it is later found to be not nearly that big (their estimate depends upon assumptions about the speed of light), this world is still so big that it is impossible for us to even imagine how big it is. Did you know that our sun is a million times bigger than our earth, yet it looks like a little ball in the sky, not even as big as an average cloud? It looks small because it is so far away. Yet it is very close to us compared with far away stars. And God said his thoughts and his ways are as far above ours as the heavens are above the earth. It is just impossible for anybody to imagine how magnificent God is. He is so magnificent that he was able to create this whole world in six days.
Now about the theory of evolution. Anybody who goes around claiming that the dirt of this world made itself and all the living things in it, is as truthful as somebody going around claiming that all the cities of the world were made by the dirt underneath them. So we should all praise the dirt for being so great? Don’t be so dumb as to believe such things, even if most men do. The German people of the twentieth century were very intelligent about many things, yet most of them supported the Nazis. Was that smart? It may be hard for some people to believe that our whole universe was created by one being, but it is much harder for me to believe that our whole universe created itself. Dumb dirt creating smart men? Nobody has ever shown dumb dirt creating anything by itself. The whole idea is just too dumb for me to believe. The theory of evolution is like liquor. Men swallow it and get dumb because it makes them feel good.
Gen 1:2And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Gen 1:3And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.
Gen 1:4And God saw the light, that it was good. And God divided the light from the darkness.
Gen 1:5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
When it says the earth was without form, that probably means there were no geographical features like mountains and valleys. And also the earth was entirely under water. When it says the earth was void, that probably means there was nothing there except the water. Then God created light, and he separated it from darkness.
Gen 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
Gen 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so.
Gen 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
The second day God created the firmament, and separated the waters. What the Bible probably means in this scripture by the firmament is our atmosphere, but it could include outer space as well. The word heaven as used in the Bible can refer to either (1) our atmosphere, (2) outer space, or (3) the spiritual world where God lives. Perhaps in some cases it could refer to combinations, like the atmosphere and outer space, or outer space and the spiritual world. In this case it includes the atmosphere because God said the waters would be divided, with part above the firmament, and part below. So that, no doubt, refers to the difference between the water in the clouds, and the water on the surface of the earth.
Gen 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so.
Gen 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth, and he called the gathering together of the waters Seas. And God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:11 And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, [and] fruit trees bearing fruit according to their kind (in which is the seed of them) upon the earth. And it was so.
Gen 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit in which is the seed of it, according to their kind. And God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.
The third day God separated the water on the surface so that land would appear. We do not know how God did any of these things. It seems most likely to me that God caused what we call earthquakes to raise up land above the surface of the ocean. But there is something you need to know about the earth. We should not think the surface of the earth looked then like it looks now, with all its high mountains and deep valleys, because there was a great flood many years after the beginning that changed a lot of things. Anyway, there was now dry land on the surface, and God saw that it was a good thing. Because then he made all of the different kinds of plants with their seeds—the grasses, and the trees, and the bushes, and the vines, and all the rest.
Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.
Gen 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth. And it was so.
Gen 1:16 And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, also the stars.
Gen 1:17 And God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth,
Gen 1:18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
It is interesting that on the fourth day God put the lights in heaven (or outer space), which we call the sun, moon, and stars, so that the sun would dominate the day, and the moon and stars would give light during nighttime. God also saw that was a good thing. Creating those heavenly objects now put something in the world to keep time, so that we could tell one day from another, and we could tell winter from summer by how high the sun rises (higher in summer, lower in winter), and we could define years by the cycle of the sun with the earth. How men determine time precisely has varied depending upon the development of science and technology, but the way we keep time will always depend primarily upon the steady cycle of the heavenly objects above us that God created, as the Holy Bible says. There is, however, another mystery about this because God created day and night, and the separation of days, before he created the sun to show the difference.
I do not know the answer to that puzzle. There are many mysteries in the Bible, as well as in the world itself. And men make many guesses (or theories) about solutions for them. Here is one for you. Perhaps before the stars and planets and moons were created there was diffuse matter in space (like clouds of atoms instead of water) some of which glowed with light. But God brought the matter together into the sun and stars and other planets and moons on the fourth day. (According to technical jargon our sun is also a star, but everybody knows the difference.) But that does not explain the separation of day from night before the sun was made. Perhaps whatever produced the glow of light initially involved some other kind of daily cyclic activity, such as gigantic waves of light and darkness in the atomic plasma of space before it all coalesced into the celestial bodies that now exist. If that were the case then the cycle would probably have been from all night to all day for the whole world (instead of the moving half night and half day as it is now), like the cycle of a boat going up and down with each passing wave.
Anyway, nobody really knows what the answer is. But do not listen to scoffers about such things. (If you are not sure what a scoffer is, or some of the other words I use, look them up in your dictionary, a book you should use a lot if you want to be smart and well educated. Don’t be so quick to read that you take no time to learn new things. Remember the proverb “haste makes waste.” Words make great tools for thinking, and powerful weapons against enemies, so build up your tools and your armory.) Scoffers like to accuse the Bible of being stupid because they cannot understand something about it. But if they want to stay dumb, that’s their problem. Trusting God and his Holy Bible is like planting vegetable seeds in the ground. If you do it right, and are patient, you will keep learning, while the scoffers stay dumb.
Gen 1:20 And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
Gen 1:21 And God created the great sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.
Gen 1:23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
So on the fifth day God created all the creatures in the waters, and all the birds of the sky. And he saw that was a good thing. And so he blessed them and told them to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the waters and the air with these living creatures. Now we come to the last day that God did his work during that first week, the sixth day.
Gen 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth according to their kind. And it was so.
Gen 1:25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kind, and the cattle according to their kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
On that day God created all the beasts of the earth, and everything that crawls around. And he saw that this too was a good thing. Incidentally, there is an old riddle that I learned about when I was a young child. And it says, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” Well, according to the Bible it was the chicken, because that is what he created. And also when God created all the vegetation, the Bible says that the plants were created with their seeds. And since the egg is the seed of the chicken, and since the Bible does not say that the pattern for creating the animals was different, then we can conclude that the chicken came first. That is what is called logical reasoning. You take the facts of the problem, and put them together so that you can find a solution that makes sense. And it makes no sense that God would have created the eggs first. Besides, who would sit on them for hatching? Also on the sixth day God created men and women.
Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image—after our likeness—and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
Gen 1:27 And God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, a male and a female he created them.
But who was God talking to when he said, “Let us make man in our image—after our likeness”? It could only have been Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son. Because the Bible says that Jesus was in Heaven with God at the beginning, and he used Jesus to create the world. (You can read a little about that in the first part of the book of John.) Because Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, he is also called God. And I also think it is significant that in the first verse of the Bible, which says, “In the beginning God created…,” the Hebrew word for God is in the plural form.
Now I think it is absolutely awesome that we are made in the image of God. Do you know what that means? It means that God looks like us. And as a matter of fact, the Bible teaches us that God is even our Father—our heavenly Father. So we look like him, and he looks like us. Of course, he looks much more beautiful and glorious and splendid and magnificent, and every other superlative (check that one out also) that we could think of. Actually, the Bible says we cannot see God and live (Exodus 33:20). I suspect that if any normal human being were to look upon God, the experience would be so exciting that he would keel over dead. Our heart would probably pound apart inside of us. But that is just my guess as to why we cannot see him and live. Nevertheless, we know that God has hair and eyes and a mouth and arms and legs, and the same kind of shape that we have, because the apostle John said he saw the heavenly body of Jesus (God must have protected John because he only fainted when he saw him, and did not die), and John described how he looked. And the Bible says Jesus is the exact image of the essence of God (Hebrews 1:3). You can read about John’s vision of Jesus’ heavenly body in the first part of the book of Revelation. Next the Bible says,
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.
Notice the command that God gave to mankind. First he said, “Be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it” Our Heavenly Father commanded us to be fruitful, which includes multiplying to increase our population (mainly women’s part), and building and constructing things to replenish the earth (mainly man’s part). Regarding the growth of population, there is a lot of nonsense promoted by God’s enemies that says there are too many people in the world. In fact, the communists who rule China are keeping parents in their country from having more than one child so they can reduce their population. They use all of their brute force to prevent or exterminate any more than one child per family. It is just another horror committed by the servants of the devil. But the truth is, when children are properly trained and cared for, they become a great asset. They become productive workers, strengthening a nation, and making it more prosperous. Large populations are a problem only when most of the people are bad. People are like apples that a farmer grows. If he gets a big harvest, but then neglects them after they ripen, they rot and become a curse, making garbage on the ground, which breeds flies and other loathsome things. But if he works hard to preserve them, and uses them wisely, they will make him prosperous. Every prediction of disaster caused by increased populations has proven false. God works with us, blessing us so that we can always provide for more people. One of the first men to claim that population growth would cause starvation and poverty was an Englishman named Robert Malthus, who lived about two hundred years ago. He lived before the invention of farm machines. We are now producing far more food with far fewer people than Malthus ever dreamed was possible. Dear reader, trust God, because he always knows what is best. Every year millions of little babies are being killed by abortion. Ten times more little babies have been murdered by abortion in America alone, than Jews killed by the Nazis during World War 2. There are going to be a lot of people in hell because of these things.
Regarding the command to replenish the earth, God did not create our world so complete that it would need no more development. He created a livable place for us that is filled with natural resources. Our job is to continue the creation, not only by multiplying, but also by transforming the earth into a civilized habitat. Undeveloped lands need to be gradually converted as needed into something useful. Of course, God expects us to use wisdom in whatever we do, including when, how, and how much of our natural resources to use at any one time. But many of the marvelous things men have made, like cars and aircraft, telephones and televisions, electronic and mechanical machines of all kinds, can be considered part of our command to replenish the earth, because they improve our lives. Things like harvesting trees and crops, and digging into the earth for minerals, which are then purified and converted into useful things, are also part of fulfilling our command to replenish the earth. With all the great earth-moving machines we have created we convert land from useless jungles and wildernesses to places we can work and live comfortably. A jungle and a wilderness may be a fun place to visit, but how many people would really want to live there permanently, especially without all the modern conveniences our factories have made? Of course, it is wrong for men to abuse and contaminate the earth, nor should we waste our resources. We should take good care of the earth so that future generations will be able to use its resources, and also not have to spend a lot of effort cleaning up after us. It is sinful to squander and ruin lands and forests and waters selfishly. Men who do such things are like burglars who break into houses, plunder their treasures, and leave them a torn up mess. Righteous men try to leave the world a better place than it was before them.
The last thing that God commanded mankind was to have rule over every other creature on the earth, including all the sea creatures and the birds and the beasts and the creeping things that God made. And sure enough, we do. Have you ever seen any animal that rules over people? (Some pets may be so spoiled that they boss their owners around, but that is only because their owners let them.) God has given us the power to rule over every other creature on earth. In fact our power is so great that some of them are in danger of being exterminated by mankind, including the giant whales of the oceans. But men have misused lots of things, including their power and authority over the animals.
Gen 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed. To you it shall be for food,
Gen 1:30 and to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creeps upon the earth in which there is life, for food—every green herb. And it was so.
Another interesting thing about the world at the beginning was our food. God said that both men and animals were to be vegetarians. (But that was changed later. See Genesis 9:3.) Therefore, there were no carnivorous beasts or birds in the beginning. So in the beginning none of the beasts and the birds killed and ate each other. We do not know about the creatures of the sea, because they were not mentioned. I guess it could be argued both ways. We just do not know because the Bible does not say. It may be fun to discuss each possibility, but such things are not worth fighting about. Then after it was all created, the Bible says,
Gen 1:31 And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Gen 2:1 And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
So God created the whole world and everything in it in six days. Now most evolutionists do not believe in God, and they say the world is billions of years old. No doubt you have heard that story ad nauseam. And there are even some men who claim to believe in the Bible who agree with the evolutionists that the world is billions of years old. But it makes no sense for a man to claim to believe in the Bible, and also say the world is billions of years old, because the Bible just does not agree with that. It says six days. I really do suspect how much faith a man has who claims God took billions of years to create the world. Billions of years is an immense amount of time. Do they think God was too weak to do it all in six days? Certainly if God wanted to take that long he could have, but the Bible says all he needed was six days.
How much time does God need to do things? Well, take, for example, reports in the New Testament about Jesus healing people. Some were born unable to walk from their birth. Grown men that were born so crippled have no muscles in their legs. In fact, anybody who goes without using their legs for a few weeks begins to have their leg muscles shrink away. It’s called atrophy. And eventually, unless used, their muscles disintegrate completely. But what if physicians were somehow able to start new muscle cells to grow in such a man? How long would it take for them to grow back normally? It would take a very long time. Try increasing your muscle size, and you will get some idea of how long it takes. But how long did it take Jesus to give men who had never walked normal legs to walk with? He did it in an instant. That is the power of God. He does not need long lengths of time to go through the “natural” process. Neither did he need a lot of time to create this world. Six days was long enough for him.
Regarding the miracles that Jesus performed, you either believe they happened the way the Bible says, or you do not. Likewise the matter of God creating the world in six days. You either believe it or not. There is no scientific proof either way, whether the creation lasted six days or billions of years. Evolutionists who claim they have proof are liars, just like the devil whom they serve. They claim the “empirical” (an important word scientists use) evidence all shows the world to be billions of years old. But they apparently do not appreciate what real miracles are. If a lame man whom Jesus healed had afterward gone to a physician, and asked the doctor how long he thought he had been walking, the doctor would no doubt have examined him, and said that the “empirical evidence” showed he had been walking all his life because he had healthy legs. But actually he would have been walking only a very short time, because Jesus made a miraculous cure. If the doctor was a skeptic like most modern scientists he would have said it was impossible for a lame man to develop normal legs in an instant of time. But the Bible says the world was created quickly by miracle, not like the slow gradual development of things as they are now.
So don’t be fooled by those skeptical scientists and their boasting. They are almost all narrow minded, and very ignorant about the Bible and spiritual things. Did you know that according to their rules of evidence, there is no proof that men like Moses and Jesus Christ ever existed? All we have are historical records, which do not qualify as “empirical” evidence. But God does not accept such feeble excuses to dismiss him and his truth, and so the world suffers many sorrows and evils and destructive vices because of the wrath of God, as the apostle Paul said:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all irreverence and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what is knowable of God is apparent in them, for God made it known to them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things made, both his eternal power and divinity, for them to be without excuse. Because, although knowing God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were they thankful, but became vain in their reasonings and their heart was darkened without understanding. Professing to be wise, they became foolish, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image like corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed things, and creeping things.
And for this reason God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, to degrade their bodies among themselves, who changed the truth of God into the lie, and worshiped and served the creation against him who created it, who is blessed into the ages. Truly. Because of this God gave them up to shameful passions, for even their females changed the natural use into what is against nature. And likewise also the males, having left the natural use of the female, burned in their lust toward each other, males with males producing shamelessness, and receiving in themselves the recompense of their deviancy that was fitting (Rom 1:18-27).
That scripture describes very closely what has happened to America in recent years, a once Christian nation that has become hostile to God and his righteousness. And so they have outlawed him in our government and in our schools, and have begun practicing perverse things like homosexuality. Claiming to be more enlightened, they have refused to include God in their knowledge. Now determining what is true and what is false is often difficult in this evil world. But modern science and scholarship have been taken over by scoffers who do not want to believe God and his Holy Bible. So they make rules against believing in him, and they refuse to accept any evidence about him. Consequently, they are helping to destroy our Christian heritage, and so the citizens of my country are becoming more barbaric, glorifying many kinds of evils and those who indulge in them. What Paul wrote seems almost prophetic about America in these last few generations. Continuing that scripture, Paul said,
And just as they did not approve having God in knowledge, God gave them over to an unfit mind, to do things that are not fit; having been filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity; being gossips, slanderous, God-hating, aggressors, arrogant boasters, contrivers of evil things, disobedient to parents; without understanding, untrustworthy, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful. Who, knowing the righteousness of God, that those who commit such things are worthy of death, not only do them, but also favor those who do (Rom 1:28-32).
What the enemies of God have done to this great nation both angers me and saddens me. Yet my grief is nothing compared with what God himself feels (more about that later). But back to the story of creation. So God finished the creation in six days. But there was one more day left that God used, the seventh. And about it, the Bible says,
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had made, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it, because in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made.
Now I want you to notice that the Bible says God rested from all his work which he created and made. Many people claim that when God was creating the world, all he did was utter a few commands; that is, he just spoke things into existence. It seems that way because that is how it reads here in Genesis. However, the psalmist also says he used his hands: “The sea is his, and he made it. And his hands formed the dry land” (Psa 95:5). Nevertheless, it is a big mistake to interpret everything in the Bible literally. For example, Jesus once told his followers that unless they ate his flesh and drank his blood they could not have eternal life. Most of them took that literally (even though he told them not to), which caused them to think he was crazy, and so they quit following him. It takes a lot of study and careful thinking to interpret some things in the Bible, especially those things that need to be interpreted figuratively.
Anyway, I will give you some evidence that God actually labored during the creation, resting afterwards, and did not just utter a few words. When God established the Sabbath day, he commanded the Israelites to rest on the last day of each and every week. Here is part of what he told them: “Therefore the sons of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the sons of Israel forever. For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed” (Exo 31:16-17). Notice the Bible says that on the seventh day after Jehovah (which is God’s name, as quoted in the New Testament) made heaven and earth “…he rested, and was refreshed.” Why would he rest and be refreshed if he did no work, but only spoke a few words? We should try to interpret what the Bible says to make sense, and resting and being refreshed makes no sense if only a few words were uttered. Some might argue that the words “rested and refreshed” are figurative and not literal, because there is another scripture that says, “Have thou not known? Have thou not heard? The everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, nor is weary. There is no searching of his understanding” (Isa 40:28). That scripture says that God “faints not, nor is weary.” But being weary means being exhausted. So I think what that means is that God never becomes weak or exhausted. But the Bible does say that he rested and was refreshed after the creation, which suggests that creating the whole universe did take some energy from him.
Which reminds me of a time when that happened to Jesus when a woman was healed of a serious disease. Jesus was surrounded by people, and the woman struggled to get close to him. Here is part of the story:
For she said, If I but touch his garments, I will be healed. And straightaway the flow of her blood was dried up, and she knew in the body that she was healed of her scourge. And straightaway, Jesus, when he recognized in himself that power went forth from him, having turned around in the crowd, he said, Who touched my garments? (Mar 5:28-30).
Notice the Bible says that when the woman was healed power went forth from him, and he recognized that loss of power. So I believe that power went forth from God when he created our universe. And if you read in science about how much energy there is in this whole wide world, maybe you can understand why God rested after it was all done.
Nevertheless, this whole question is not worth quarreling or fighting about. If somebody insists that God just spoke everything into existence, then that is alright with me; that is his right. But I have presented some evidence that he labored for two reasons. First, it was to give you a simple example to show how you need to consider all of the evidence logically and rationally whenever you try to interpret what the Bible means when it says something. Don’t just be pig-headed and try to win an argument; be wise and search for the truth of something. Look for all of the evidence, and be willing to change your mind. Only fools stiffen their necks and refuse to learn something new. The second reason why I mentioned this question, is to help you appreciate our Heavenly Father more. Remember, God is like us. He has feelings. He loves some things and he hates other things. He delights in some things and he is grieved about other things (see for example, Psalm 78:40). And all the sin in the world is wearisome to him. For example, the people of ancient Jerusalem became so sinful that God became tired of it and destroyed them. Here is what God said to them, “Thou have rejected me, says Jehovah. Thou have gone backward. Therefore I have stretched out my hand against thee, and destroyed thee. I am weary with relenting” (Jer 15:6). One day God will destroy this whole sinful world, condemning sinners to hell, and rewarding the righteous with eternal life in heaven with him. Then both God and all his sanctified will rest from the evils of sin. The author of the book of Hebrews used the promised land of the Israelites as an example of rest:
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, Today if ye hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, according to the day of the trial in the wilderness, where your fathers challenged me, tested me, and saw my works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, They are always led astray in their heart, and they did not know my ways. So I swore in my wrath, They will not enter into my rest (Heb 3:7-11).
He warned us not be disobedient like the Israelites who first left Egypt. That generation was cursed to die in the wilderness. But there is a greater, eternal rest for the righteous after this life is over. And so he said, Let us be afraid therefore, lest, a promise being left behind to enter into his rest, any of you should seem to have come short” (Heb 4:1). It was Joshua who led the Israelites into their promised land, but ours is with God in heaven:
For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken about another day after these things. There remains therefore a Sabbath for the people of God. For a man who has entered into his rest, he has also rested from his works, as God did from his own. Let us therefore be diligent to enter into that rest, so that not any man may fall by the same example of disobedience (Heb 4:8-11).
And so, dear reader, show compassion to God who has shown so much compassion to you, more than you could ever repay. Do not add to his labor and to his sorrows by sinning and creating more evil. If you are a Christian (and everybody should be), hearken to what Paul said to the Ephesian brothers: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in which ye are sealed for a day of redemption” (Eph 4:30).
Regarding the seventh day, remember what the Bible says about it at the beginning: “God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it, because in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made.” Therefore, the seventh day was special in God’s sight, for he set it apart as holy. But that was talking about the last day of creation. Should we conclude that every seventh day is hallowed by God? I will wait to discuss that question when we get to the ten commandments, which God gave from Mount Sinai. Now the next part of the Bible tells about the creation of Adam.
Adam and his family
Gen 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven.
Gen 2:5 And no plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up, for Jehovah God had not caused it to rain upon the earth. And there was not a man to till the ground,
Gen 2:6 but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
Gen 2:7 And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.
Notice how that scripture says that God created Adam (the Hebrew word for Adam is the same as for Man) when “no plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up, for Jehovah God had not caused it to rain upon the earth” (Genesis 2:5). But what day was that? Well, remember vegetation was created on the third day. So it had to be before that happened. And since the earth was under water until the third day, then Adam must have been created on the third day before vegetation was made. Yet we just saw that the Bible says God created men and women on the sixth day. I have an explanation for that, as well as for some other puzzles about the antediluvian world, which I present in the supplement at the end of this document.
That scripture says God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. That is a figurative expression. The words breath, wind, and spirit come from the same word in both Hebrew and Greek languages. Transliterated they are ruah in Hebrew and pneuma in Greek. Its application in the above scripture clearly means spirit. For the spirit is the animating force within the body. It is like electricity in a computer. Without it the computer is as dead as a man without a spirit. Of course, men can restore electricity to a computer and it will revive, but when God takes the spirit from a man, unless he returns it, his body remains dead. For Solomon said when a man dies, “the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it”(Ecc 12:7). And there are many such scriptures in the Bible. There have been rare occasions when God returned the spirit of a man after a brief time of death, but they were all miracles.
Next the Bible says,
Gen 2:8 And Jehovah God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Gen 2:9 And out of the ground Jehovah God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, also the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Gen 2:10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it was divided, and became four heads.
Gen 2:11 The name of the first is Pishon. That is it which encompasses the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
Gen 2:12 And the gold of that land is good. There is bdellium and the onyx stone.
Gen 2:13 And the name of the second river is Gihon. The same is it which encompasses the whole land of Cush.
Gen 2:14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel [Tigris]. That is it which goes in front of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
So the Bible says that God put all of the trees that were good to look at, and good for food in the garden. Next the Bible says,
Gen 2:15 And Jehovah God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Gen 2:16 And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou may freely eat,
Gen 2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it. For in the day that thou eat of it thou shall surely die.
So after God put Adam in the garden he commanded him to manage it, and take care of it. He also said that he could eat freely of every tree of the garden except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And he warned him that in the day he ate of it he would surely die. Then God sought a help meet for Adam.
Gen 2:18 And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make a help meet for him.
Gen 2:19 And out of the ground Jehovah God formed every beast of the field, and every bird of the heavens, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and whatever the man called every living creature, that was the name of it.
Gen 2:20 And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the heavens, and to every beast of the field, but for man there was not found a help meet for him.
God said it was not good for Adam to be alone. Remember, Adam was created on the third day, and there was no other living thing on the earth except for the vegetation that God created on that day. Therefore, God created some animals, “every beast of the field, and every bird of the heavens.” And he brought them to Adam, who gave names to them. Those animals may have been to Adam like pets are to us. Nevertheless, none of them were found to be a help meet for him. Regarding how many animals there were, I do not believe the above scripture refers to the tens of thousands of different kinds of animals that exist in the world now, but rather to a much smaller number. When the scripture says “every,” it does not always mean in an absolute sense. But I explain more about those things later.
Gen 2:21 And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept. And [God] took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in place of it.
Gen 2:22 And the rib, which Jehovah God had taken from the man, he made a woman, and brought her to the man.
Gen 2:23 And the man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Gen 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cling to his wife, and {the two (LXX/NT)} shall be one flesh.
Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
God caused a deep sleep to fall upon him, and, as a master surgeon, he opened up his body, and took out one of his ribs, and then closed it up again. Then from that rib he made a woman, and brought her to him. And when Adam saw her, he immediately accepted her, because she was actually part of him, bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh. And so that began the institution of marriage, because after Adam took her, the scripture says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cling to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh” (Gen 2:24). Since a man and his wife are said to be one flesh, then we can understand how the Bible says there is one God, yet consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The oneness of God is because of the perfect unity of those three members, though not equal in everything, just as the members of a marriage are not to be equal in everything. But there is more said about that in the New Testament. An interesting thing about Adam and his wife in the beginning is that they were so innocent they were like little children, and they went around naked in the comfort of the garden without feeling ashamed.
So far in the creation story everything is good. Adam and his wife live in the garden paradise of Eden comfortably under the leadership of God. But then the serpent tempts the woman to sin.
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made. And he said to the woman, Yea, has God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?
Gen 3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat,
Gen 3:3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, Ye shall not eat of it, nor shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Gen 3:4 And the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not surely die.
Gen 3:5 For God knows that in the day ye eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
So the serpent tempts the woman to violate God’s command against eating the fruit. Now this must have been a very special kind of serpent, because he was able to talk with the woman. And the Bible says he was the shrewdest beast of all that Jehovah God made, and that is certainly not true of any serpent we know about on the earth today. But then who was this special serpent? Well, we learn from other scriptures that the serpent was Satan (see, for example, Rev 12:9). But what kind of body he had so that they could see him we do not know. I do not see how it could have been like anything on earth today. The dragon (Satan) described in the book of Revelation was a fearsome seven headed monster. Maybe that is what they saw, but in their innocence they had no fear of him. Or perhaps the body of Satan was changed into a serpent-like dragon later, so that he did not look so fearsome then. It is another of the Bible’s mysteries.
Anyway, the serpent takes up a casual conversation with the woman, and asks her if God said they should not eat of any tree in the garden. The woman told him what God said. Then the serpent lied to her, saying that she would not die. But then he said something that was true: “God knows that in the day ye eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” That is a common tactic of the devil, mixing lies with truth, like mixing poison with good food. The devil and his disciples often use this strategy. They will mix lies with facts to tempt you to sin. Then when the truth becomes known, and the lies are exposed, it is too late; there is no turning back; you have to suffer the consequences. So the devil lied to the woman about God, mixing his lie with some truth, to caused her to doubt God. And when that happened she became much more vulnerable to sin. (Incidentally, the Bible does not say the fruit was an apple. That is a popular myth.) Next the Bible says,
Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make wise, she took of the fruit of it, and ate. And she also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
So they both sinned against God, and broke his commandment. An interesting thing about this story is that the Bible says the woman was deceived by the serpent but Adam was not (1st Timothy 2:14). The truth is, women are naturally easier to deceive. That is probably why the devil did not first tempt Adam, but instead chose to tempt the woman when she was away from her husband. But if Adam was not deceived, why did he also violate God’s command? We can only guess, because the Bible does not say. One thing it does teach is that women have a lot of power to lead men astray (not that all will, I rejoice to say). A women can have such a strong influence over a man that he will often let her lead him to sin even though he knows better. In such cases his relationship with her becomes stronger than his relationship with God. Men will often do things they know are foolish if their women urge them to. The wise king Solomon let his wives turn him away from God. And there are many other examples of how a man was led to sin because of the strength of his relationship with a woman. But Jesus warned about any relationship that comes before God, including fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters: “He who loves father or mother above me is not worthy of me, and he who loves son or daughter above me is not worthy of me” (Mat 10:37).
Well, regardless of why Adam ate the fruit that his wife gave him, he sinned with her when he did. And when that happened, the Bible says,
Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of Jehovah God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah God amongst the trees of the garden.
Gen 3:9 And Jehovah God called to the man, and said to him, Where are thou?
Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked. And I hid myself.
When they heard the voice of Jehovah God walking in the garden in the cool of the day they hid themselves among the trees away from him. God had a close relationship with Adam from the beginning. Remember, the Bible says that Adam was a son of God (Luke 3:38). And Paul compared Jesus Christ to Adam when he said, “The first man Adam developed into a living soul. The last Adam a life giving spirit” (1Co 15:45). So Adam and his wife were so close to God that he walked in the garden with them. Perhaps the appearance of God was like that described at the beginning of the book of Revelation, which was the form of a man, but much more powerful and majestic. Perhaps it was more earthly, similar to that of heavenly agents (angels) who appeared to men later. Nobody knows. Anyway, the scripture says that God called for the man: “And Jehovah God called to the man, and said to him, Where are thou?” (Gen 3:9). Notice in those words that God called for the man and not the woman. God intended from the very beginning for men to be ahead of women, to be the head over them (see 1st Corinthians 11:3). So when Adam told God that he hid himself because he was naked, here is what happened next:
Gen 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou was naked? Have thou eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee that thou should not eat?
Gen 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.
Gen 3:13 And Jehovah God said to the woman, What is this thou have done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.
Thus, Adam and his wife made excuses for what they did. When God asked him if he had eaten of the forbidden tree, instead of simply saying yes, he told God that it was the woman, whom he gave to be with him, who gave it to him, and he ate. So it seems he tried to share the blame with both God and the woman—God, because he gave him the woman, and the woman, because she gave the fruit to him. Men still try to spread the blame around whenever they do wrong. Then Jehovah God asked the woman why she did it. And the woman simply said that the serpent deceived her. She apparently did not explain how he tempted her, possibly because it would have been more embarrassing to admit that she doubted God’s warning. It is interesting that there is no record that God asked Satan why he tempted the woman. Apparently he already knew that Satan was an adversary to him. Hence, God did not ask him why, nor did the serpent offered any explanation. Next, because each of them had sinned against him, God punished each of them. First the serpent.
Gen 3:14 And Jehovah God said to the serpent, Because thou have done this, cursed are thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. Upon thy belly thou shall go, and dust thou shall eat all the days of thy life.
He told the serpent that he was cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. And now he would have to go about on his belly, and eat dust all the days of his life. But what does that mean? Nobody really knows; again all we can do is theorize. Perhaps the part about going on his belly and eating dust meant that God condemned Satan to find his sustenance in the world, in the material realm (although he is invisible to us), instead of in Heaven. For the book of Job tells about Satan “going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it” (Job 1:7). And the New Testament tells about invisible demons in the world, which are adversaries of God, like Satan. The part about being cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field may mean that unlike the animals, who are all doomed to perish, Satan’s fate will be eternity in hell, a far worse fate than simple death. There are many mysterious things about this world and the things in it. Of course, there are also many false ideas masquerading as truth. But one thing I have learned about the Bible: It is filled with truth. And I have never found anything false in it, although there are many things that are difficult to understand, such as this scripture about the serpent and his curse.
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. He shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel.
Next, God told Satan that he would put enmity between him and the woman, and between his seed and her seed. In that passage the seed of the woman has traditionally been interpreted as referring to Jesus Christ. The seed of the serpent must include unrighteous men, such as those who betrayed and crucified Jesus. For Jesus told the Jews who opposed him that the devil was their father (John 8:44). The part about putting enmity between the serpent and the woman is more difficult for me to interpret. The simplest explanation is that it refers to the serpent’s relationship with Eve, but that seems too simple. I do not see how it could refer to womankind, for it is common for them to be just as allied with the devil as men. Some have suggested that the woman God was referring to was the virgin Mary, by whom Satan’s mortal adversary, Jesus Christ, was born and raised. Satan no doubt hated her, and she no doubt hated him. Anybody who does not hate Satan cannot love God (See Luke 16:3 for evidence of that). Nevertheless, we always need to be careful and not read too much in what the Bible says, especially when there is so little evidence either way.
The part about bruising is, no doubt, figurative language. Satan bruised Christ when Christ was in his most humble condition, that is, in a body of flesh (his heel). He bruised him because he was the spirit that moved men to betray and to crucify Jesus. But that “bruise” was only temporary, for Jesus arose after three days. The part about bruising the head of the serpent could include a couple of things. First, the devil’s supremacy in this world (see Luke 10:18 & John 12:31) was dealt a serious blow with the ministry of Jesus and the creation of his Church. Second, a head wound is a far more serious injury, and the successful mission of Jesus on earth resulted in the complete condemnation of Satan. You can read more about that in my essay Jesus, Our Redeemer. Next God told the woman of her punishment.
Gen 3:16 To the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy childbearing, in pain thou shall bring forth children. And thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Regarding the curse of increased pain in child bearing, the pain is clearly not limited to the time of birth, but includes the whole process of rearing children. For anybody who has ever done so can testify about all the pain and hard labor involved in bringing children to maturity. Jehovah also told the woman that her desire would be to her husband, and he would rule over her. Throughout history women have desired dependence upon men, and men have ruled over them. But I doubt if that was part of the curse against women, for Paul said it was that way from the beginning (see 1st Corinthians 11). In recent times sinful men have gained control of our country, and they have taken away the average man’s God given authority over his wife. They have even elevated many women over men, giving them power to rule them. American women are playing the harlot with our government, giving our sinful rulers their allegiance instead of their husbands, in return for which the government has become their lover, giving them the support and protection that formerly came from their husbands. God has allowed it to happen to punish this sinful generation of men. But do not participate in their rebellion against God. You may find yourself in hell with them, both the men and the women. Next comes the punishment of Adam.
Gen 3:17 And to Adam he said, Because thou have hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake. In toil thou shall eat of it all the days of thy life.
Gen 3:18 Also, thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to thee, and thou shall eat the herb of the field.
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face thou shall eat bread, till thou return to the ground, for out of it thou were taken. For thou are dust, and to dust thou shall return.
God cursed the ground because of the sin of Adam. Now Adam would have to sweat in hard labor for his sustenance. And he would have to battle thorns and thistles in the process. And as God warned would happen, he was going to die, disintegrating into the dust from which he came. Now remember, God said that on the day he ate of the forbidden fruit he would die. But the Bible does not say that Adam returned to the dust of the ground on the actual day he ate of it, for he lived hundreds of years afterward. Does that mean the Bible is contradicting itself? No way. It simply means we have to look more carefully at what God meant when he said he would die on that day. What probably happened was the process of body aging that leads to final death began on that day. If you cut a branch from a tree, is that branch immediately dead? No. In fact it does not look a bit different from when it was on the tree. But its death is certain because it has been cut from the tree (unless it is kept alive by special techniques). That is probably what happened to Adam: the deterioration of his body from aging began when he ate the forbidden fruit.
Notice that God did not remind the woman she was going to die. It was a foregone conclusion. God warned it would happen, and it did. God did not forgive either Adam and his wife, or the serpent. If he had forgiven Adam and his wife, then he would have had to forgive the serpent also in order to be just. Remember, the serpent was the devil, Satan, God’s greatest adversary. If God has to forgive every man every time he asks him, then he has to forgive Satan every time as well. And that means God alone is the one who would suffer the consequences of sin. Yet he alone is always innocent. It makes no sense for God to forgive everybody who simply asks him. You can read more about forgiveness by reading my essay, Giving and Forgiving Judiciously. You can read more about how Christians have been redeemed from eternal condemnation with the devil in my essay, Jesus, Our Redeemer.
Gen 3:20 And the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
Gen 3:21 And Jehovah God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skins, and clothed them.
I am told the word Eve means living. After Adam and Eve had their eyes opened, because they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they were ashamed to be naked. Therefore, they needed clothing to cover themselves. So Jehovah God made coats of skins for them to wear: I will say more about Eve being the mother of all living later. Next the Bible says,
Gen 3:22 And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man has become as one of us—to know good and evil—and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—
Gen 3:23 therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from where he was taken.
Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man. And he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to guard the way of the tree of life.
So God sent Adam out of the garden of Eden to farm the ground for his sustenance, and he blocked his way back. The Cherubim are spiritual guards that are invisible to us. Notice the Bible does not say that God destroyed the garden of Eden, but rather he set guards at the east of it, which must be where the entrance was. I have often wondered if the garden of Eden is the paradise that both Jesus and Paul spoke about in the New Testament. Perhaps it is still here, but in another dimension not visible or accessible to us. Perhaps some righteous souls go there after death. During his crucifixion Jesus told one of the men who were being crucified with him (the one who defended him) that he would be in paradise with him that day (Luke 23:43). Perhaps God is using it as a demonstration world, to show mankind at the time of the great judgment how the original world would have been if men had lived righteously. Perhaps, having the tree of life, the chosen men who are taken there (after their death here) live and produce as God had originally intended all men to do. In that case it would be another material world in another realm within this sinful one, where progress and technological development would be far beyond ours, because there would be no wars or crime or evil of any kind there. Men there would be like the heavenly agents (angels). Perhaps the fiery chariot that took Elijah up into heaven (2nd Kings 2:11) was a kind of helicopter that men of that dimension had already invented long before Jesus came to this earth. Perhaps Jesus moved in and out of that realm to this one during the times he appeared to his disciples after his resurrection.
All of that is pure speculation, and should not be considered Biblical fact. All it does is let you know that there are logical possibilities to explain some of the mysteries of the Bible. Speculating a little is not wrong. God once tested Abraham’s faith by commanding him to sacrifice his son as a burn offering (Genesis 22). Abraham speculated about what would happen when he sacrificed Isaac (Hebrews 11:19). Abraham was going to do it, but God stopped him at the last moment. What Abraham speculated would happen did not happen, because God stopped him. So speculation should be recognized for what it is, speculation, and not established truth. What is speculated is often incorrect, therefore, let no man insist on any speculation. The evolution theory is an example of speculation, and the evil it has produced is incalculable. Hitler and Stalin both used it to justify the killing and destruction they caused, and theirs was only a small part of the evils spawned by the evolution theory. The idea of purgatory is another speculation, but there are many things about purgatory that violate what the Bible teaches. No speculation should violate known facts, Biblical or otherwise. So be careful with any kind of speculation. Next the Bible says,
Gen 4:1 And the man knew Eve his wife, and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from Jehovah.
When the Bible says a man knew his wife, that means he joined himself with her to produce a child, the two becoming one flesh. That should always be a very private thing between a husband and his wife. Anything else is sin. Our corrupt entertainment industries, as pawns of the devil, have seduced the people to become voyeurs, indifferent to the sinfulness of looking at indecent exposure and sexual intimacy. Notice that Eve gave Jehovah credit for giving her a son. Adam and Eve are not portrayed as continuing to rebel after they ate the forbidden fruit. We have all sinned against God, but not all continue to sin. Next the Bible says,
Gen 4:2 And again she bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought an offering to Jehovah of the fruit of the ground.
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat of it. And Jehovah had respect to Abel and to his offering,
Gen 4:5 but he did not have respect to Cain and to his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
Gen 4:6 And Jehovah said to Cain, Why are thou angry? And why has thy countenance fallen?
The Bible says that Jehovah had respect to Abel and his offering, be not to Cain and his offering. When that happened Cain became angry, and the Bible says, “and his countenance fell” (that is another common expression in the Bible), which means the expression on his face was gloomy or unhappy looking. Then Jehovah God asked Cain why he responded that way. God said to him that he had no reason to be angry or to look unhappy. He told him that if he did what was right then he too would be accepted. There is never any prejudice or favoritism by God.
Some claim that Cain was rejected because of his character, or his weakness of faith, or how he made his offering, and not what he offered. I disagree, for the only Biblical evidence of the difference in the offerings comes from the author of the book of Hebrews, who said that Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain: “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, because of which he was reported to be righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through it, he who died still speaks” (Heb 11:4). In my opinion, Abel’s was the better sacrifice because it was a blood sacrifice. Although the law of Moses did allow offerings of flour, grain, and “firstfruits,” these were always secondary to the blood sacrifices. You see, throughout the Bible God has always emphasized blood sacrifices, and what Cain offered was not a blood sacrifice. Hence, it may have been that God wanted both men to offer blood sacrifices, for God responded to Cain’s anger by saying, “If thou do well, shall thou not be accepted?” (Genesis 4:7). And the “do well” refers to the “better sacrifice.” Back when I was younger I used to wonder why the Bible emphasized blood sacrifices so much. I know a lot more now than I did then. (Now before I continue I want to warn you that the more you learn about the reality of this earthly life, the more you are going to be disappointed about it.) First, consider this. You are going to die one day, and all of your friends and loved ones are going to die too. We all die sometime. There is nothing more true and certain than the fact that you and I are going to die. Everybody’s blood is going to be shed eventually, whether in the funeral home when they take it out and put in embalming fluid, or by some other way, such as a fatal accident. Death is a consequence of sin, and there is no escaping it. But God is merciful, and he has provided a way for us to escape the living death of hell. And that way requires us to voluntarily sacrifice our own earthly selfishness in order for us to be faithful and obedient to him. Jesus said, “For whoever wants save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it. For what does it profit a men, if he should gain the whole world, and lose his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mat 16:25-26).
Of course, God does not want us to commit suicide. What he means by losing our lives for his sake, is that we sacrifice our selfishness to serve him, that we quit the pleasures of sin, and live the way he wants us to live instead. And the idea of shedding blood symbolizes this self-sacrificing life that God wants. Of course, shedding some other man’s blood is wrong (except in special circumstances, like war). It is our own blood that we must sacrifice. But, as I said, God does not want suicide, so before Christ the kind of bloodshed that God accepted was from animals that we owned. Their blood substituted for ours. And their death was a loss to us because they belonged to us, like money. You might say that was not fair to the animals, but remember we eat them all the time. Every hamburger you ever ate was once part of an animal that was killed to feed you. God said there is nothing wrong about killing animals, so don’t worry about it. He made everything, including us and the animals, and if he says it is alright, then it is alright. Don’t be so proud and self-righteous that you think you know better than God. People who do that end up in hell, deservedly.
This shedding of blood in sacrifices for sin was called making atonement, a way of trying to compensate for offending God. And the law of Moses contains a lot of detail about exactly how and when to make atonement with such animal sacrifices. But God does not want any of that anymore, because Jesus was the ultimate atoning sacrifice. For John said, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son, an atonement for our sins” (1Jo 4:10). And speaking of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, the author of Hebrews said, “But this man, having offered one sacrifice on behalf of sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting henceforth until his enemies are placed a footstool of his feet. For by one offering he has fully perfected forever those being sanctified” (Heb 10:12-14). So now we do not need to shed the blood of any more animals in sacrifice, for Jesus’ blood was the perfect sacrifice. So you can see now why God insisted to Cain that his offering must be a blood sacrifice, and not just anything else. You can read more about God’s fabulous logic in all of this in my essay Jesus, Our Redeemer. Now, when God told Cain that if he did well he would be accepted, he also warned him about sin, saying,
Gen 4:7 If thou do well, shall thou not be accepted? And if thou do not well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire shall be for thee, and thou shall rule over it.
Sin is whatever offends God. And as we learn more about what God considers right and wrong, we learn more about what things are sin. The above scripture also requires some interpretation, and so I will tell you what I think it means. First, the statement, “if thou do not well.” What God was saying there applied to Cain whenever he did wrong, as he did when he gave the wrong kind of offering. Having already done wrong once, Cain became vulnerable to habitual sin. Sin is much easier to become habitual once you do it. Sinful men know that if they can ever seduce somebody to sin with them once, it will be a lot easier the next time. And each time becomes easier. Whenever you sin, the habit of sinning crouches at the door, and its urge becomes stronger. But God told Cain to rule over it. And God expects us to rule over every urge to sin, and not let it take control of us. For when sin takes control of somebody, it will eventually destroy him like a deadly disease. Think of sin as evil germs. Fight against such things if you want to stay healthy and live longer. Next the Bible say,
Gen 4:8 And Cain told Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and killed him.
Gen 4:9 And Jehovah said to Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not. Am I my brother’s keeper?
Gen 4:10 And he said, What have thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood cries to me from the ground.
Cain’s anger was not only unjustified, but he also let it provoke him to commit a horrible sin. I can imagine a little of how Adam and Eve must have felt when they learned what Cain did. Anybody who loves their children would be greatly grieved to learn that one of their sons murdered anybody; how much more if he murdered his own brother. They also knew that they were partly responsible, because they brought sin into the world. It must have been very bitter sorrow to them. And we must recognize that whenever we sin, we too are contributing to the sorrows of the world, as well as causing grief for God. Every sin is like dropping some garbage in the streets. Hardened sinners scoff about such warnings. Some of them become so hardened that they even enjoy wallowing in the filthiness of the earth, whatever kind it may be. But if you want a better life in a better world, trust God and follow him, for he said, “Become ye holy, since I am holy” (1Pe 1:16). Then God pronounced Cain’s punishment, for every sin is punished in some way (see, for example, Hebrews 2:2).
Gen 4:11 And now cursed are thou from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand.
Gen 4:12 When thou till the ground, it shall not henceforth yield to thee its strength. A fugitive and a wanderer thou shall be on the earth.
God said the ground would no longer yield its crops to him. And so he would be a nomad, a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.
Gen 4:13 And Cain said to Jehovah, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
Gen 4:14 Behold, thou have driven me out this day from the face of the ground, and I shall be hid from thy face, and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. And it shall come to pass, that whoever finds me shall slay me.
Cain did not think of what he did to his brother; he was only concerned about himself. So he protested about his punishment, claiming it was too severe for him, and would cause him to be slain by somebody else—a killer complaining that he might be killed. Sinners do not understand justice, and if they do understand any of it, they hate it.
Gen 4:15 And Jehovah said to him, Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And Jehovah appointed a sign for Cain, lest any who finds him should smite him.
Why Jehovah chose the punishment of Cain that he did we do not know. God knows all the circumstances about everything, and he is best able to judge. But for whatever reason, he did not want Cain to be slain. And so he set a much more severe punishment for any man who would kill him. Perhaps Cain did not intend to kill Abel. We do not know all the details of many things the Bible tells about. What the sign was that God appointed for Cain, so that others would recognize him, was not stated, and it would be counterproductive to speculate about it. For then whoever had the same kind of appearance would be judged prejudicially.
Regarding the matter of sevenfold, the word seven has special meaning in the Bible. Symbolically, it refers to completeness. So, in effect, what God told Cain was that vengeance would be full and complete against anybody who killed him. Regarding vengeance, sinners hate it because vengeance actually refers to doing justice, imposing just punishment on the guilty. Anybody who says Christians should not want vengeance is misinformed. See Revelation 6:9-11 for evidence of that. What Jesus taught against was seeking personal vengeance. God said, “Vengeance is for me, I will repay, says Lord” (Heb 10:30). We should not try to take vengeance ourselves, but ask God to do it, as the sanctified souls were doing in Heaven which was recorded in the book of Revelation. And remember, government authorities are instruments that God uses to carry out his vengeance. Both Peter and Paul said this when they were commanding Christians to be obedient citizens:
Therefore because of the Lord, ye should submit to every human establishment, whether to a king as being supreme, for to governors as being sent by him for vengeance of evil-doers and praise of well-doers (1Pe 2:13-14).
For rulers are not a source of fear to the good works, but to the evil. And do thou desire not to fear the office of authority? Do what is good, and thou will have praise from it. For he is a helper of God to thee for what is good. But if thou do what is evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is a helper of God, vengeful for wrath to the man who commits evil (Rom 13:3-4).
But back to Cain, the Bible next says,
Gen 4:16 And Cain went out from the presence of Jehovah, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
Gen 4:17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived, and bore Enoch. And [Cain] built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.
This brings up the age-old question about where Cain got his wife. It could have been a sister because the Bible says that Adam begot sons and daughters. Marrying sisters is illegal now because of the risk of genetic deformities. But I am told that back in those days the purity of the genetic material (the chromosomes) was much greater, and so such a risk was far less. Over the centuries flaws in the genetic material have accumulated, so that now a man and a woman who are very closely related risk having children with defects. If they are not closely related, then whatever flaws may be in the genetic material of the one, the good genetic material of the other one would be used by the growing embryo. A defect would occur only if both of their genetic material had exactly the same flaw, which is much less likely if they are not biologically related. Nevertheless, I have more to say about that question in the supplement.
More generations of man
Gen 4:18 And to Enoch was born Irad, and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.
Gen 4:19 And Lamech took to him two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
Gen 4:20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of such as dwell in tents and [have] cattle.
Gen 4:21 And his brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all such as handle the harp and pipe.
Gen 4:22 And Zillah, she also bore Tubal-cain, the forger of every cutting instrument of brass and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
Gen 4:23 And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken to my speech. For I have killed a man for wounding me, and a young man for bruising me.
Gen 4:24 If Cain shall be avenged seven fold, truly Lamech seventy-seven fold.
Gen 4:25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son, and called his name Seth. For, [she said], God has appointed for me another seed instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.
Gen 4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son, and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of Jehovah.
Notice that last sentence: “Then men began to call upon the name of Jehovah.” Apparently God continued to be available on the earth for Adam and his children, but not to later generations. For about the time of Seth, Adam’s grandson, men began to call upon the name of Jehovah, apparently the way we now do in prayer.
Next the Bible lists the generations that led to Noah. You will find many genealogical listings in the Bible. And these can be useful in several ways. One of which has been to date events that are recorded in the Bible
Gen 5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God he made him,
Gen 5:2 a male and a female he created them, and blessed them, and called their name Man, in the day when they were created.
Gen 5:3 And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begot [a son] in his own likeness, according to his image, and called his name Seth.
Gen 5:4 And the days of Adam were eight hundred years after he begot Seth. And he begot sons and daughters.
Gen 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.
Gen 5:6 And Seth lived a hundred and five years, and begot Enosh.
Gen 5:7 And Seth lived eight hundred and seven years after he begot Enosh, and begot sons and daughters.
Gen 5:8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.
Gen 5:9 And Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Kenan.
Gen 5:10 And Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years after he begot Kenan, and begot sons and daughters.
Gen 5:11 And all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died.
Gen 5:12 And Kenan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel.
Gen 5:13 And Kenan lived eight hundred and forty years after he begot Mahalalel, and begot sons and daughters.
Gen 5:14 And all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.
Gen 5:15 And Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared.
Gen 5:16 And Mahalalel Jared eight hundred and thirty years lived after he begot, and begot sons and daughters.
Gen 5:17 And all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.
Gen 5:18 And Jared lived a hundred sixty-two years, and begot Enoch.
Gen 5:19 And Jared lived eight hundred years after he begot Enoch, and begot sons and daughters.
Gen 5:20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty-two years, and he died.
Gen 5:21 And Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah.
Gen 5:22 And Enoch walked with God after he begot Methuselah three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.
Gen 5:23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years.
Gen 5:24 And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
Gen 5:25 And Methuselah lived a hundred eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech.
Gen 5:26 And Methuselah lived seven hundred eighty-two years after he begot Lamech, and begot sons and daughters.
Gen 5:27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty-nine years, and he died.
Gen 5:28 And Lamech lived a hundred eighty-two years, and begot a son.
Gen 5:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, because of the ground which Jehovah has cursed.
Gen 5:30 And Lamech lived five hundred ninety-five years after he begot Noah, and begot sons and daughters.
Gen 5:31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy-seven years, and he died.
Gen 5:32 And Noah was five hundred years old. And Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Using such kinds of information men have estimated the current age of the world to be about 6000 years. The above genealogy lists nine men from Adam to Lamech, the father of Noah. There are a couple of things worthy of note in that listing. First consider the ages of the men who died a natural death. They ranged from 777 to 969 years. Of the eight men who died, six lived over 900 years. As a young man I used to doubt those were real years, but after some careful study, I no longer doubt it. I noticed in later scriptures that after the great flood, which occurred during Noah’s time, the ages began to drop sharply. There was an average age of over 900 years before the flood. Noah lived 950 years, but his son, Shem, only lived 600 years, and Shem’s son only lived 438 years. Abraham was born a few generations later, and he only lived 180 years. Many generations later Moses was born, and he only lived 120 years. Many more generations later David was born, and he only lived 70 years. As the centuries passed, the average age of men dropped to the typical three score and ten (Psalm 90:10) that exists now. So in the centuries before the great flood, men lived more than ten times longer than they do now.
I once read an article written in a Creation-Science journal by a man who used that information to explain why some ancient creatures were so big. For example, ancient sharks teeth have been found indicating that some of the sharks must have been about 70 feet long. Unlike mammals, fish and reptiles continue to grow larger with age. So the thing that could explain the huge sizes of some of those ancient fish and reptiles (like dinosaurs), was that they lived so long. It is an interesting theory. But regardless of whether it is correct or not, what the Bible says is true because it is the word of God. Any difficulty we may find in the Bible is our problem, our lack of understanding, and not the Bible itself. That is true in scientific study and in Biblical study. Dedicated scientists do not quit doing research when they cannot understand everything, and neither should Christian scholars quit studying the Bible when they cannot understand everything. Men who do remain ignorant.
The one man in that listing who did not die was Enoch, who, the Bible says, “walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” Regarding Enoch, the book of Hebrews says, “By faith Enoch was transferred to not see death, and he was not found, because God transferred him. For before his removal he was reported to be pleasing to God” (Heb 11:5). So instead of dying, Enoch was transferred to Heaven because he was pleasing to God. There have been many men written about in the Bible who were pleasing to God, but none of them escaped death except Enoch and Elijah. The Bible tells us that Elijah was taken up into heaven by a “chariot of fire” (2nd Kings 2:11). Why God took those two men, and not other righteous men, the Bible does not say. God has his own good reasons for whatever he does. Nevertheless, the Bible says that the spirit of every man who trusts and obeys him will be taken up into Heaven after he dies. God promised us he would do it, and he keeps his promises. But scoffers will be thrown into hell.
Gen 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them,
Gen 6:2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair. And they took to them wives of all that they chose.
That is another mysterious passage of scripture, and there has been much debate about what it means. Some claim the sons of God were heavenly agents (angels) who lived on the earth. I do not believe that because there is no evidence at all to support the idea. My own belief is that the sons of God were offspring of Adam, for the Bible calls Adam “the son of God” (Luke 3:38) because God was his only father. But who were the daughters of men? Perhaps they were the offspring of the other men and women that God may have created besides Adam and Eve. I say more about that in the supplement at the end of this document.
Gen 6:3 And Jehovah said, My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he also is flesh. Yet shall his days be a hundred and twenty years.
Remember, a man’s spirit is what animates his body. It is what makes it alive. It is the energizing force within him, like electricity in a computer. But unlike electricity, a man’s spirit is itself a living thing with a mind. For when this body dies, our unique and personal identity survives in the living spirit God breathes into us. And for the disciples of Christ we are promised a new and glorious body for our spirit that will never die. Paul tells more about that in First Corinthians 15.
The above scripture plus many others suggests to me that God’s spirit in the world is what animates everything. God is like a super colossal power plant radiating his spirit into the world to energize and animate it. And I am including not only the spirit he gives to men but the spirit he puts into everything else, like the sun and the stars. Our personal spirit is an intelligent spirit, like the electricity in an operating computer, while God’s spirit (energy) in the sun and stars is like the electricity of a heater. Remember, when we die our spirit returns to God who gave it. If God were to take all of our spirits back, and withdrew his spirit (energy) entirely from the world it would become like it was at the beginning: dark and dead. For his spirit is the continuing source of its energy, just as an electrical power plant is the source of energy for our computers and our electric heaters.
Actually, the Bible says God has seven spirits (Rev 4:5), and the word seven symbolizes completeness. So he probably has a different spirit, a special kind of energy, for every kind of purpose. And they need no transmission lines, being like the radio energy that transmits our signals. But of course, his spirits perform instantaneously, and are far superior to anything available for us to use in the world. His Holy Spirit is apparently the special one reserved only for the sanctified of Jesus Christ. There are too many supporting scriptures for what I have suggested to give here. Just remember these things as you read the Bible, and you will see many of them.
The above scripture seems to refer to the time when God began the process of shortening the lifespans of men. The 120 years probably means the limit of age, for there have been documented cases of modern men who lived over 110 years, but I know of none more than 120. Claims otherwise have never been verified. I did read very recently about a documented case of a woman in America who was 115 years old. However, some Bible versions translate the Hebrew word for “abide in” to “strive with,” which is the alternate meaning of the word. Commentaries that agree with that phrasing then usually say that the above scripture refers to the time that God allowed men to repent before he destroyed them with the great flood. I disagree, but whichever way the word is translated is not important; it is not essential information.
Gen 6:4 The giants were on the earth in those days. And also after that, when the sons of God came to the daughters of men, and they bore sons to them, the same were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
Here again we have reference to marriages between the sons of God and the daughters of men. And the Bible says their sons were “the mighty men who were of old.”
Noah and the great flood
Gen 6:5 And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen 6:6 And Jehovah regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart.
Gen 6:7 And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground, from man, to beast, to creeping things, and birds of the heavens, for I regret that I have made them.
So we find that after about 1600 years of existence the population of the world became so wicked that God was forced to destroy them. The Bible says, “Jehovah regretted that he had made man on the earth.” God was sorry he made man, and he mourned on account of all of man’s wickedness, because it was so great, for the Bible says, it “grieved him in his heart.” There are many men who consider God to be so different from us, and so much in absolute control of everything, that he would never feel grief or regret about doing anything. But the Bible says otherwise.
Remember we are made in the image of God, and so he is like us, with feelings. We should appreciate the fact that God suffers grief whenever we sin. For how can we cause grief to somebody we claim to love? Would you act in some selfish way even if it caused grief to your parents? If so, then you are no better than a brute beast. If you have ever had children, then you can appreciate the grief that parents suffer when their children do wrong. And God too is grieved whenever we sin, because he is our Heavenly Father.
And being made in the image of God, we also have freewill. Some men, like the Calvinists, deny our freewill. They have misinterpreted a few scriptures that talk about predestination, while ignoring those that talk about freewill. But it really is obvious, to all who have not been blinded by doctrinal error, to see that we can choose to do right or wrong, just as Adam and Eve did. And since God has endowed us with freewill, then he does not choose for us how we act (although there are always exceptional instances). Therefore, God does not know at the time we are born whether we are going to live righteously or wickedly. Otherwise why would the Bible say that Jehovah regretted having made man? God certainly has the power to do anything, including the elimination all evil, or knowing exactly how we are going to live our lives. But if God had eliminated the possibility of evil, and had not given us freewill, then nobody would be made in the image of God. Everything, including ourselves, would be robotic. It is to give us the opportunity to become sons of God again (like Adam, we all become rejected when we first sin) that he is restraining his powers for a time. Trust him, and you will see how everything will end up right in the end. But I will tell you something about the afterlife. There will be no sin in Heaven or hell. There will be no sin in hell because nobody in it will have freewill. Hell will be completely robotic, and ruled with a rod of iron by God and his sanctified, who will retain their freewill. There will be no sin in Heaven because only righteous souls who hate sin, will ever get there. And they will be given new bodies that are free from the urges and impulses to sin that our bodies of flesh now have.
And dear reader, it is a great mistake, and a great disservice to God, for men to look upon him as so different, and so unfeeling, and so all-determining, as to say that he neither regrets anything he has done, nor becomes grieved about anything we may do. It is not only illogical and indefensible according to the Holy Scriptures, but it makes him look cruel. And that is the greatest cruelty of all, to condemn God. Do not think so foolishly. Use the intellect that God gave you, and think clearly for yourself. Never look at just part of the evidence before making a conclusion. For Solomon said, “He who pleads his case first [seems] just, but his neighbor comes and searches him out” (Pro 18:17). And always remember this: if you follow a man blindly, you may discover, after ending up in a ditch (or hell itself), that he too was blind, no matter how confident he may have sounded. A perfect example is Adolph Hitler and all who trusted him.
Gen 6:8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah.
Gen 6:9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.
Gen 6:10 And Noah begot three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Although mankind had become very wicked at that time, Noah was a righteous man, and so he found favor in the eyes of Jehovah. And he had three sons. Now, that scripture says that Noah “walked with God.” Although the Bible says that after the birth of Enosh, Adam’s grandson, men began to call upon the Lord, indicating he no longer walked with them, God still walked with a few men. Remember the record says that Enoch walked with God before God took him. We also learn later in the book of Genesis that God occasionally walked with Abraham on the earth. And God spent a lot of time with Moses when he brought the Israelites out of Egypt. So I have no doubt that Noah literally walked with God, at least at times.
Gen 6:11 And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
Gen 6:12 And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
Remember, God had said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground, from man, to beast, to creeping things, and birds of the heavens.” God was going to destroy them all because they had become so corrupt. Apparently even the animals had gone bad, for it says “the earth was filled with violence.” In my short lifetime I have seen the growth of violence in America, which used to be a Christian nation. When I was a child most people did not even lock the doors to their houses. Many vehicles did not have keys for them. In most places everybody could walk the streets at any time of the day or night in safety. But violence has increased. Many houses now have bars on their doors and windows. There are now many places in our land that are more dangerous to the average citizen than the wilds of Africa, or the jungles of South America. Even the pictures on TV have become violent. Sudden bright flashing lights in your eyes, with rapidly changing scenes, as if the cameraman had gone berserk. It gives me a headache trying to watch it because I am a thinking man. Many shows are filled with gruesome scenes of murder and destruction, which most people find entertaining, but I find repulsive. Popular video games involve little more than killing and destroying. Just look at the racks of computer games in the stores, and you will see the kind of things that are most popular. The racks are filled with boxes that depict monsters and mayhem. When most people are told about this, they just laugh and scoff because they have become so calloused to violent entertainment. Yet they seem surprised by the increasing violence everywhere, with even school children murdering each other. They say they cannot understand it. But if you want to be wise and understanding, study the Holy Bible. Sinners who rule our land no longer censor the entertainment that is fed to the people, and so they are polluted with things that indulge their baser appetites. Jesus warned about indulging the baser appetites of men, for he said “…what is lofty among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luk 16:15). Remember, whatever is sown is what will be reaped.
Now for some words about God destroying the population. First, you should realize that death is an enemy of God, and nobody hates it more than he does. Indeed, the Bible says, “The last enemy abolished is death” (1Co 15:26), for sin is the cause of death as Paul said: “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). It is those who hate God and his ways that love death. When Solomon was writing about how to live wisely he said the wisdom of God was like a lovely lady who wants to help us live righteously. And among her encouraging words were these: “Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For he who finds me finds life, and shall obtain favor of Jehovah. But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate me love death” (Pro 8:34-36). Solomon said that all who hate the wisdom of God love death. God is the source of all life, and death is the very opposite of him. Read what God said to the prophet Ezekiel: “Have I any pleasure in the death of a wicked man? says lord Jehovah, and not rather that he should return from his way, and live?” (Eze 18:23). God did not want to destroy the nation of Israel; they were his special people. So he warned them by many prophets, including Ezekiel. Here are some of the warnings that God gave to Ezekiel for the people: “Say to them, As I live, says lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, but that the wicked man turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (Eze 33:11).
Therefore, God does not enjoy destroying men, whom he created in his own image, nor does he enjoy seeing us suffer. Job was a rich and highly respected man, and he was also exceedingly righteous. God even told Satan that there was no man like him on earth, “a perfect and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil” (Job 1:8). Yet in order to meet Satan’s challenges (see Job 1:11 & 2:4), God allowed Satan to afflict Job with extraordinary suffering, beyond measure in my eyes. For in addition to the sudden violent death of all of his sons and daughters, and the loss of all of his wealth, Job was afflicted with severe boils “from the sole of his foot to his crown” (Job 2:7). In addition to those things he became a social outcast, and was even persecuted by the local riffraff. Later, three of his friends traveled to be with him. And instead of comforting him, they added to his suffering, telling him that because of his wickedness he deserved all that happened. Their accusations were like rubbing salt in his wounds. Being subjected to so much physical and mental anguish, Job cried out to God, proclaiming his innocence. Not knowing that Satan was the real culprit, Job accused God of not being fair with him. Finally, God responded to Job, and, among other things, he said, “Will thou even annul my judgment? Will thou condemn me, that thou may be justified?” (Job 40:8).
The greatest lesson from the story of Job, it seems to me, is that even the most righteous of us are going to suffer innocently sometime. And the best thing for us to do is learn from the suffering of Job, and trust God who allows such things to happen for his own great and lofty reasons. After his time of suffering God blessed Job with twice as much as he had before. And God has promised to bless us in the end if we will trust and obey him even during times of bitter sorrow. But God’s enemies often seize upon such times to do what God warned Job against when he said, “Will thou even annul my judgment? Will thou condemn me, that thou may be justified?” They boldly condemn God when things happen that they do not like, especially when God brings forth harsh judgments. Rather than call for repentance, they accuse him of being cruel. It is common for opponents of capital punishment to exalt themselves as being more civilized and compassionate than God himself. They want to annul his judgment when they attack him for commanding such things as capital punishment and the occasional extermination of populations. But in so doing they condemn themselves. Will they also condemn the leaders of the United States and their allies for killing men, women, and children with bombs in numerous cities in Japan and Germany during World War 2, including the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atomic bombs? No doubt some would, but such men are blind fools who have never had to face tough decisions about combating evil. God has tougher decisions to make than we will ever face, and it is our duty, like faithful soldiers, to trust his leadership, and accept the rightness of his decisions (as Job later learned). Since his wisdom and his righteousness is infinitely greater than ours, it makes good sense for us to have faith in him, and obey his commandments, even if they are hard and grievous. That is exactly what Jesus did, and we must walk in his steps if we want to be his disciples, even if it leads to crucifixion.
And so God did not want to destroy those people during the time of Noah, but they gave him no other choice. How can I make you appreciate God’s dilemma? Let’s say that you work very hard to create a garden. And for a while the garden produces beautiful flowers and fine vegetables. But then something gets in the garden that spoils it. And no matter how hard you try to prevent it, all the flowers become moldy, and the vegetables rot even before they ripen, and weeds take over. Pretty soon the whole garden stinks, being full of useless weeds, and rottenness, and ugliness. What then would you do with your garden? Would you leave such a mess the way it was? Every wise gardener knows that he has to destroy the whole thing in some way, such as by burning, and begin anew.
And so it was with God during the days of Noah. But some would protest saying that human beings are not plants. No, but they can become even more rotten and corrupt than plants. Do you not realize that wicked sinners not only pollute themselves, but, like a vicious disease, they infect others to pollute them. And children are especially vulnerable. How can God protect the children, and still leave wicked men free to pollute? He cannot. Foolish scoffers demand ridiculously impossible things from God, such as getting rid of evil, but allowing men to sin. The modern proverb which says, “They want their cake, and eat it too” condemns them. God will not cater to the folly of their reasoning. Therefore, when wicked sinners become so numerous, they leave God with few choices. In the case of the antediluvian world, it became necessary to destroy them.
But it is reasonable to ask why he would include the little children? The reason is because their little minds had been polluted by all the sinfulness around them, and it was to their benefit for their flesh to perish as well. That may sound strange and contradictory unless you know what life and death are really all about. Remember, we are all going to die eventually. Which is worse, to suffer many years in this life, or just a few years before being taken to Heaven. Remember Enoch was pleasing to God, and so he did not live as long on this earth as the other men of that era because God took him. Faithless men who do not believe in the joys of the afterlife cannot understand such things, because their only hope is in this life. So they would judge Enoch as less fortunate because he did not live as long on the earth as the other men. But Christians look forward to another life in Heaven with God, which Paul said was far better (Philippians 1:23). Now do not let some foolish man say that therefore we should all kill each other to get there quicker. God owns us, and we are here to serve him. Anybody who takes his own life risks displeasing God (although I would never judge anybody who did, because there are so many individual circumstances that can be involved; God is the judge). But back to the children, look at it this way. If some impoverished children happened to be clothed with filthy rags and lived in a decaying shack, who would complain if somebody removed those rags, and put them in a great new house with fresh clothes? That is how it is with our earthly bodies compared with Heaven. Here is what Paul said about that: “For we know that if the earthly house of our tent were destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens. For also in this we groan, longing to clothe ourselves with our habitation from heaven” (2Co 5:1-2). Therefore, trust our Heavenly Father in whatever he does, because he loves us (especially little children) more than we could ever love anybody. Grieve with him when he finds it necessary to bring about death (or allow it to happen) which he hates.
Gen 6:13 And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them, and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Gen 6:14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood. Thou shall make rooms in the ark, and shall pitch it inside and outside with pitch.
Gen 6:15 And this is how thou shall make it: The length of the ark three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
Gen 6:16 Thou shall make a light for the ark, and thou shall finish it to a cubit upward. And thou shall set the door of the ark in the side of it, with lower, second, and third stories thou shall make it.
Gen 6:17 And I, behold, I bring the flood of waters upon this earth, to destroy all flesh, in which is the breath of life, from under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.
Gen 6:18 But I will establish my covenant with thee. And thou shall come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
Notice that God used the expression “the end of all flesh.” But God did not bring about the end of all flesh as we understand it. There is an important thing about the Bible that must be recognized in order to understand it better. There are words in English that are commonly understood to be absolute and complete, such as “all.” Yet translators use such words even where the Bible may not intend for it to mean absolute and all encompassing. Translators are forced to use such words, whether the original word meant absolute or not, because there are no English words that are comparable. And the above scripture is an example. The word “all” is commonly meant to be absolute: the whole amount, without exception. But obviously that was not what God intended, for he commanded the ark be built to save some. There just is no English equivalent for a Hebrew or Greek word that means either the whole amount or almost the whole amount. (Adding the word “virtually” to create the expression “virtually all” would come close.) Another word that poses the same problem is the word “eternal.” That word is commonly understood to encompass all time in an absolute sense. However, the word for “eternal” in the Bible can mean either without beginning and end, or an exceedingly long time. There are many instances of words used in English translations that are commonly understood to be absolute, but the Hebrew or Greek word is not limited in every use to that sense. Therefore, great caution needs to be taken before deciding that a word is used in an absolute sense. Especially in cases like the above where a contradiction would occur if it were interpreted that way. That is not only true of words, but also of complete statements. For God said “And I, behold, I bring the flood of waters upon this earth, to destroy all flesh, in which is the breath of life, from under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.” Yet it is clear that every living thing on the earth did not die, because he saved Noah, his family, and many animals. If you want to understand the scriptures better, remember Jesus words: “Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (Joh 7:24).
Although God said he was going to destroy all flesh, he made a covenant with Noah. He told Noah to build an ark in which he would save Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives. He told him what kind of wood to make it of, and what to cover it with. And it was to have three stories a door and a light (probably a window). It was to be 300 by 50 by 30 cubits in size. And since a cubit is considered to be about 18 inches, then the ark would be about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high, which would make it contain about one and a half million cubic feet of space, a very large vessel indeed. Nobody knows what kind of shape it had other than being six times longer than it was wide, with its height being a little more than half the length of its width. That is all we know about how it looked; anything else is a guess. It must have been a very time consuming project to construct, probably taking at least several years. And since such a project could hardly be hid, Noah must have experienced much ridicule, and perhaps even persecution. Remember, the Bible says that the earth was filled with violence, but no doubt God blessed him and protected him.
Now you might ask why God did not make the ark himself, since he was able to create the whole world. That certainly would have saved Noah much time and labor. But God does not want to do everything for us. It is our duty to work, using our energy and other resources to multiply and replenish the earth as he had commanded from the beginning. Who knows what are all of the benefits in doing whatever God says for us to do. It is likely God wanted other men to know about what was coming, warning them so that they might have time to repent. For the author of the book of Hebrews said, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned about things not yet seen, moved with awe, prepared an ark for the salvation of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became an heir of righteousness according to faith” (Heb 11:7). Also Noah seems to have preached to the people, for Peter called Noah a herald of righteousness when he said, “he [God] did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, the eighth, a herald of righteousness, when he brought on a flood upon the world of the irreverent…” (2Pe 2:5). But there is no record that any of them repented.
Gen 6:19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort thou shall bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee. They shall be male and female.
Gen 6:20 Of the birds according to their kind, and of the cattle according to their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind. Two of every sort shall come to thee, to keep them alive.
Gen 6:21 And take thou to thee of all food that is eaten, and gather it to thee, and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
Gen 6:22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.
Notice the wording “And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort thou shall bring into the ark…” Even though it says “every living thing” it is unlikely that sea creatures were included. This may be another example of a Bible expression that was not intended to be interpreted in a rigid absolute sense. Regarding the animals in the ark scoffers claim that it was not large enough to have held every kind. But it is almost certain that the world of that time did not contain nearly the variety of animals it now does. For example, there are now hundreds of different varieties of dogs, yet genetic studies have shown that they can all be traced back to a single kind. And men are still able to breed new varieties of dogs from this common genetic type. But Noah may not even have had any dogs, because they are carnivorous beasts. And there were no carnivorous beasts at the beginning, for man and animals ate only vegetation (Gen 1:30). It was not until after the flood that God told Noah that we could now eat flesh (Gen 9:3). And since it was not until sin entered into the world that God cursed the earth, and created the thorns and thistles, perhaps God created many of the animals that now exist (especially ones like crocodiles and vultures) after the great flood. Of course since the Bible does not say either way, then admittedly these ideas are sheer speculation. I just wanted you to know that there are many possibilities about how many animals were in the ark. There are many details about things mentioned in the Bible that are not recorded there. Also regarding the animals that were in the ark, most likely they were very young and immature; old enough to be weaned, but not full grown. That also would have greatly reduced how much space they would have taken in the ark, as well as the food that would be needed for them.
Gen 7:1 And Jehovah said to Noah, Come, thou and all thy house into the ark, for I have seen thee righteous before me in this generation.
Gen 7:2 Of every clean beast thou shall take to thee by sevens, the male and his female. And of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female.
Gen 7:3 Also of the birds of the heavens by sevens, male and female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
Gen 7:4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will destroy from off the face of the ground.
Gen 7:5 And Noah did according to all that Jehovah commanded him.
Gen 7:6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
Gen 7:7 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.
Gen 7:8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps upon the ground,
Gen 7:9 there went in two by two to Noah into the ark, male and female, as God commanded Noah.
In that scripture Jehovah makes a distinction between clean and unclean animals. That is the first time in the Bible that such a distinction is made. The law of Moses refers to clean animals as those that could be eaten. However, since eating flesh was not allowed until after the flood, that distinction would not seem to apply here. Perhaps it referred to animals that could be used for sacrifices, although what those might be was not made explicit before the law of Moses either.
The Lord told Noah to take of every clean beast by sevens, the male and his female. Exactly what that means is also unclear. Since seven is an odd number, each male could not have had his female if it meant seven animals. Perhaps it means seven pairs of animals, a male and his female for each pair. On the other hand, some commentaries claim the odd beast was to be used for sacrifice by Noah, because after the flood Noah sacrificed to Jehovah of every clean beast and bird (Genesis 8:20). Nevertheless, since clean animals were mostly livestock used to provide milk and other useful things, whether it meant seven individuals or seven pairs, it is probable, as some commentaries have suggested, that the Lord wanted more of them so that they would multiply more rapidly. Those that are considered to be unclean animals have, throughout history, always had smaller populations than the clean ones. Regarding the statement, “of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female” it is possible, like the statement for the clean beasts, “by sevens, the male and his female” that in both cases the number meant a pair, two pairs for the unclean, and seven pairs for the clean; that is, with each number, two and seven, it meant pairs, a male and a female. If that was the case, then it would mean there were four of each unclean beast, and fourteen of each clean beast. That would still not have caused a problem of crowding on the ark if God created most of the animals that now exist after the flood. Also notice that God commanded Noah to bring a larger number of birds, and he made no distinction between unclean and clean ones: “Also of the birds of the heavens by sevens, male and female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth” (Gen 7:3). Perhaps there were no unclean birds in the antediluvian world. That would be further evidence that many animals in our world now were created after the flood.
Jehovah gave Noah seven days to enter the ark with all of the animals. Some have suggested that Jehovah himself gathered together all of the beasts and birds and creeping things. But even if Noah had to do it himself, all beasts, birds, and creeping things were tame toward men, because the Bible says that the fear of man did not come to the animals until after the flood (Genesis 9:2). The Lord also told Noah that he was going to cause it to rain forty days and forty nights upon the earth. Like the number seven, the number forty is used frequently in the Bible. And so it also may have symbolic meaning. As with the number seven, it may also refer to a full amount, but in this case of a larger quantity. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that it rained a literal forty days and forty nights upon the earth.
Gen 7:10 And it came to pass after the seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
Gen 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Gen 7:12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
Gen 7:13 In the selfsame day Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, entered into the ark,
Gen 7:14 they, and every beast according to its kind, and all the cattle according to their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every bird of every sort.
Gen 7:15 And they went in to Noah into the ark, two by two of all flesh in which is the breath of life.
Gen 7:16 And those that went in, went in a male and a female of all flesh, as God commanded him. And Jehovah shut him in.
Where all the water came from to flood the whole world has also been much debated. It is quite possible that the surface of the earth during the antediluvian era was quite different from what it is now. From what the Bible says, the water was simply redistributed so as to cover the entire surface. I am told that if the surface of the earth were made completely flat, ocean water would cover all of it to a depth of about a mile and a half. So God could have shifted some of the surface land down, and some of the ocean floor up, enough to cover all of the land, reverse from what he did on the third day of creation when he divided the waters to make the dry land. Then afterward he could have divided the waters again to recreate the dry land, perhaps with some different land masses than it originally had. There is a passage in Psalms that suggests it may have happened that way. Speaking of God, the writer said,
…who laid the foundations of the earth that it should not be moved forever. Thou covered it with the deep as with a vesture. The waters stood above the mountains. At thy rebuke they fled. At the voice of thy thunder they hastened away. The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place which thou had founded for them. Thou have set a bound that they may not pass over, that they turn not again to cover the earth (Psa 104:5-9).
The relative speed of this massive shifting of land and water could easily have created many of the geological formations we have now, such as the Grand Canyon. There are many excellent books and articles that offer much more detail explaining scientifically how it all could have happened. Some of this material is available on the Internet. But remember this: You can either believe what the Bible says about it, or what men of the world say. In any case, it is all a matter of who you are going to believe, for there is no incontrovertible proof either way.
Gen 7:17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth. And the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth.
Gen 7:18 And the waters prevailed, and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
Gen 7:19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven were covered,
Gen 7:20 fifteen cubits upward. The waters prevailed, and the mountains were covered.
Notice it says, “all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven were covered, fifteen cubits upward. Now fifteen cubits is less than twenty-five feet. So God did not need to elevate the water much above the land to accomplish his purpose. And remember, the high mountains that then existed may not have been nearly as high as the ones now.
Gen 7:21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, from birds, to cattle, to beasts, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth, and every man.
Gen 7:22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, of all that was on the dry land, died.
Gen 7:23 And every living thing was destroyed that was upon the face of the ground, from man, to cattle, to creeping things, and birds of the heavens, and they were destroyed from the earth. And only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.
Gen 7:24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.
So apparently the flood waters grew for forty day, and then stabilized for another 150 days, or about five months.
Gen 8:1 And God remembered Noah, and all the beasts, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.
Gen 8:2 Also the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained.
Gen 8:3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually. And after the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters decreased.
Gen 8:4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
Gen 8:5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.
Gen 8:6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made.
Gen 8:7 And he sent forth a raven. And it went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
Gen 8:8 And he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground.
Gen 8:9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot. And she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. And he put forth his hand, and took her, and brought her in to him into the ark.
Gen 8:10 And he stayed yet another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark.
Gen 8:11 And the dove came in to him at evening. And, lo, in her mouth an olive leaf plucked off, so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
Gen 8:12 And he stayed yet seven other days, and sent forth the dove. And she did not return again to him any more.
Gen 8:13 And it came to pass in the six hundred 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 dried.
Gen 8:14 And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.
Gen 8:15 And God spoke to Noah, saying,
Gen 8:16 Go forth from the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
Gen 8:17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee of all flesh, both birds and cattle, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth, that they may breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
Gen 8:18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him.
Gen 8:19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, whatever moves upon the earth, according to their families, went forth out of the ark.
Then after the 150 days the waters began to recede. Since the flood began on the second month, the seventeenth day, and the ground was dry by the first day of the next year, then the flood lasted about ten and a half months. Nevertheless, God kept Noah in the ark for another two months. The reason why is not given. Perhaps Jehovah wanted him to wait until the land was covered with vegetation so that the animals would be able to spread out immediately after disembarking.
Gen 8:20 And Noah built an altar to Jehovah, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Gen 8:21 And Jehovah smelled the sweet savor. And Jehovah said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake, for that the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I again any more smite everything living, as I have done.
Gen 8:22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Although that scripture quotes Jehovah as saying that he would not again curse the ground because of man, that does not mean that man no longer suffers from any curse from God. For we know that the curses of Adam and Eve remains in effect. And Jehovah warned the Israelites that he would curse them if they broke his covenant with them. And the book of Revelation mentions many curses against men that God sends because of their unrepentant sinfulness. What Jehovah apparently meant was that he would not again destroy everything living as long as the earth remains.
There is also a very profound statement about human nature in the above scripture. Jehovah said, “…the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” Apparently the premature acquisition of the knowledge of good and evil, which resulted when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, has corrupted our nature, filling our hearts with evil thoughts from our youth. Therefore, every man must struggle against this corrupting influence within our flesh. You can read more about that struggle in my essay, Spirit versus Flesh.
Gen 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
Gen 9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the heavens, with all with which the ground teems, and all the fishes of the sea. They are delivered into your hand.
Gen 9:3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. As the green herb, I have given you all.
Gen 9:4 But flesh with the life of it, [which is] the blood of it, ye shall not eat.
After the flood God repeated his first command that we be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. However, the world after the flood was a new world. The topography and the geology of the earth was almost certainly changed drastically. And even though Noah preserved the kinds of animals that existed before the flood, as I have said it is possible that God created many new kinds afterward. For remember, before the flood man and animals ate only vegetation, but afterward God told Noah that man could eat flesh. And we know there are many flesh-eating animals in existence now. Moreover, the tameness of animals before the flood was lost. It is natural now for animals to fear man, although because of special breeding and training some animals are much less fearful. And remember there are exceptions to everything.
It is interesting that God gave no restrictions about what kinds of animals we could eat. Commands against eating certain things was only a part of the law of Moses, which came much later for the Israelite nation. The one restriction that has remained, however, even for Christians, is that blood not be eaten. Nevertheless, like every other commandment of God, some violate it. I learned years ago that a common food dish in Germany is blood pudding. And there are tribes in Africa that collect and eat blood from living animals like milk. I have been so conditioned against such a thing, that the very thought of it is repulsive to me. Did you know that very young children have no natural aversion to body waste, including their own. It is not uncommon for them even to play with it, if they have a chance. Human nature has been corrupted (not entirely, of course), and we must all now struggle against its evil tendencies, as well as work to develop and promote its good tendencies.
Gen 9:5 And surely your blood, [the blood] of your lives, I will require. At the hand of every beast I will require it. And at the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, I will require the life of man.
Gen 9:6 Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed. For in the image of God he made man.
Another new commandment given after the flood was the application of capital punishment for murder, whether by man or beast. Men could kill animals even before the flood, as Abel did with his sacrifice, but now if a man kills an innocent man, he is to be killed by somebody else. God commanded men to kill other men only if those other men had killed innocent men. Whether that command applies to war is unclear. If so, then God would only approve of defensive war. In that case a society would be justified to kill men of another society who had shed blood against them. And in such a situation, I doubt that the defending society would have to worry about killing only the individuals who actually did the killing against them, since it was a collective action. On the other hand, God gave several commands to the Israelites about how to conduct war. And he did not limit them to defensive war. Nevertheless, the command for capital punishment against murderers is clear, although widely disobeyed in the world, especially by this adulterous generation which approves killing innocent babies, but rarely kills murderers, even of the most wretched kind.
Gen 9:7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply. Bring forth abundantly on the earth, and multiply on it.
Again God gave his command to be fruitful, and multiply. Nowhere in the entire Bible is there any kind of warning about creating too large a population. When God’s righteousness is done, no population could ever become so big that it would become a burden. God works with us in his unseen way to provide for us. And if a population becomes too large for a certain area, he will provide a place for the new members. There is even evidence in the Bible indicating that mankind will eventually colonize the universe. So there will always be a place for new souls to live as the population of the world increases. Whenever any need arises to find a way to obey a command of God, he will provide a way for us. It is a matter of trusting him, especially when we cannot see far enough ahead to know how he will do it.
Gen 9:8 And God spoke to Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
Gen 9:9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you,
Gen 9:10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, even every beast of the earth.
Gen 9:11 And I will establish my covenant with you. Neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of the flood, nor shall there be a flood any more to destroy the earth.
Gen 9:12 And God said, This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
Gen 9:13 I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between me and the earth.
Gen 9:14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud.
Gen 9:15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
Gen 9:16 And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
Gen 9:17 And God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
After the flood God established a new covenant with mankind, promising never again to bring another flood to destroy all flesh. And the sign of the covenant is the rainbow. So whenever you see a rainbow, think of God’s promise. There has been some debate about when rainbows first appeared. Some have suggested that it never rained before the flood, but that mist and dew were what watered the ground. If that were the case, then rainbows may never have been seen before the flood.
Gen 9:18 And the sons of Noah, who went forth from the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth. And Ham is the father of Canaan.
Gen 9:19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was spread over.
Whether God had created other men besides Adam before the flood or not, the Bible is clear that all men who ever lived after the flood were offspring of Noah and his sons. All men can be traced genetically back to a common race. And the Bible says that race is the family of Noah. There are some interesting things about our racial background that men have speculated about from the Bible record, which you can find in books or on the Internet, but I will not discuss any of that here.
Gen 9:20 And Noah began to be a farmer, and planted a vineyard.
Gen 9:21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken. And he was uncovered within his tent.
Gen 9:22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.
Gen 9:23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.
Gen 9:24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done to him.
Gen 9:25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan. He shall be a servant of servants to his brothers.
Gen 9:26 And he said, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem. And let Canaan be his servant.
Gen 9:27 God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem. And let Canaan be his servant.
Gen 9:28 And Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood.
Gen 9:29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.
Why Noah became drunk has also been debated. Some claim he intended to become so. I do not agree. I prefer to think that he was unaware he would become drunk. But either way is not important. The important lesson in that passage is that sons should hold their fathers and mothers in such high honor that they would not allow themselves to violate their privacy and see their nakedness. Of course, as with most everything else, circumstances may sometime make it necessary. But Ham violated his father’s privacy without sufficient cause. Moreover, instead of covering his father, he went and revealed it to his brothers. Hence, he deserved being condemned. It was to the credit of Shem and Japheth that they were careful not only to avoid seeing their father’s nakedness, but they made an effort to cover him.
Supplement
There are many puzzles in the Bible history of the world from its creation to the end of the flood, which enemies of God have used against it. In order to help strengthen your faith in God and his Holy Word, I would like to offer for your consideration some possibilities that could explain some of those puzzles. First, it should be recognized that there are many puzzles in our understanding of nature itself. Scientists frequently grapple with data that is mysterious and sometimes seems paradoxical or incongruous. The nature of light is a classic example, which acts both like matter and pure energy. Second, it must be recognized that the few pages in the Bible that are dedicated to describing the first sixteen centuries of the world’s history could not possibly include everything. There is no doubt in my mind that many things were omitted from the book which would have prevented any puzzles. I also have no doubt that the author of the book of Genesis was quite aware of the existence of those puzzles. And so the reason why those puzzles were left in the Bible record is itself a puzzle. Scoffers use such things to challenge the credibility of the Bible. Yet, many things about God himself are puzzling, and many scoffers even challenge his very existence. Perhaps God has made things the way they are to test our souls, to see if we really want to know about him and his righteousness or not. One of the proverbs of the wise King Solomon says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter” (Pro 25:2). It is to the benefit of a nation for its leadership to promote research, and not throw up its hands at difficulties, and never try. And so it is with understanding mysteries of God and his Holy Bible.
Allow me, therefore, to theorize about things that may explain some of the mysteries in these first pages of the Bible. First I want to explain what seems to be a contradiction about when Adam was created. First the Bible says that man was created on the sixth day: “And God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, a male and a female he created them” (Gen 1:27). Then it says,
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven. And no plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up, for Jehovah God had not caused it to rain upon the earth. And there was not a man to till the ground, but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And Jehovah God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed (Gen 2:4-8).
According to that scripture Adam had to have been created on the third day, because it says he was created before there was any vegetation. And it was not until the third day that Jehovah separated the waters on the surface of the earth to make dry land, after which he created vegetation. Now there is something in the description of the six days of creation that could indicate, although subtly, that the third and sixth days were special ones. For after God created light on day one, the Bible says, “And God saw the light, that it was good” (Gen 1:4). But on the second day when the firmament was created there was no such comment recorded. However, on the third day, two similar comments were recorded, first after dry land appeared, “And God saw that it was good” (Gen 1:10), and a second time after vegetation appeared, “And God saw that it was good” (Gen 1:12). Then the same statement was repeated once on the fourth day after the lights in the firmament of heaven were created, and again once on the fifth day after the sea and air creatures were created. But on the sixth day, like the third day, two similar comments were recorded. First there were the words, “And God saw that it was good” (Gen 1:25) after the land animals were created, then there were the words “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Gen 1:31) at the conclusion of the sixth and last day of creation. It was also on the sixth day when God created mankind, male and female. So the Bible seems to say that Adam was created on the third day, while mankind was created on the sixth day, both of which may have been special days because of that.
Now it is reasonable to ask how Adam could have been created separately from mankind? Scoffers dismiss all of it as primitive and irrational mythology, but such men will die in their ignorance unless they repent. May I suggest that as soon as God created the dry land he created Adam from the dust of it to be a son of God on the earth, to be with him, and to watch him create the things on the earth, and to be a god on the earth, to replenish the earth and to rule over it, and to continue to create good things, all, of course, under the subjection of the supreme God the Father, for there is but one God with a capital G. Men are sons of God, therefore we too are gods, divine beings and not mere animals, just as Jesus said (John 10:34). You can read more of what I say about that in my essay Sons of God.
As soon as God created Adam he planted a garden for him to live in. It is possible that Adam watched while God created the garden. You have probably seen time-lapse photography, or animated scenes of plants growing super fast. Maybe that is what Adam saw when his Father was creating the vegetation of the world. Perhaps he saw the plants rapidly sprouting up out of the ground and growing quickly. In time-lapse photography the plants only appear to us to be growing rapidly, but with Adam the growth itself was rapid. There is an interesting story in the book of the prophet Ezekiel that tells of a vision he experienced. It began when he saw a valley filled with dry bones. Then Jehovah told Ezekiel to prophesy to the dry bones to hear the word of Jehovah. And while he was prophesying to them, the bones began to assemble together into skeletons, which then were covered with all the tissues that make a normal man. But they had no life in them, so God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy for the wind to bring them the breath of life. So Ezekiel did, and here is what he said happened: “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceedingly great army” (Eze 37:10). So maybe, like the prophet Ezekiel, Adam saw God bring life from the ground. Also, since the Bible says that God created the vegetation of the earth on the third day, then it was not just the garden that God planted. However which came first, the vegetation of the earth, or the garden of Eden, is not clear to me. My best hunch is that it was the garden that came first, then the rest of the vegetation of the earth on the third day.
Then as soon as God made a habitat for Adam he sought a help meet for him, because he said that it was not good for him to be alone. It was then that God created animals for Adam to consider. I do not believe that God created at that time every animal we know about. For remember, God was creating animals for Adam to consider as a help meet for him. That event also occurred on the third day because that happened before the woman was created, and she was created on the same day Adam was, as this scripture says: “This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God he made him, male and female he created them, and blessed them, and called their name Man, in the day when they were created” (Gen 5:1-2). Now since none of the animals were fit to be a help meet for Adam, God took a part of Adam’s own body to create a woman. And she was found to be the help meet for him, so she became his wife. Now since the Bible says that Adam later called his wife Eve, “because she was the mother of all living,” perhaps Eve was the first female ever created. Perhaps Adam had no reproductive organs before the surgery that took a rib from him to make the woman. Remember, it is most unlikely that Adam had a navel, because he was never born of a woman. And since God brought other animals for Adam to consider as a help meet for him, perhaps neither he nor they had reproductive organs. Adam would still have been a man because a man is still a man even if he does not have reproductive organs. There are many more differences between men and women besides those organs. (A quarrelsome man might argue about the necessity of male hormones and all of that, but remember we are talking about the unique time of the first man, and not all men. My point is that Adam did not have a unisex body, but was male whether he had reproductive organs or not, just as God is male, being our Father.) Anyway, what I am suggesting is that Eve was the prototype mother of all other creatures, the first female ever created. Did you know that there is no record in the Bible of any females in Heaven? The female form is apparently unique to our physical world, and Eve was the very first one, the mother of all living.
Perhaps it was after the woman was made that God created the other creatures of the world, the sea and air animals on the fifth day, and the land animals on the sixth day, commanding them to be fruitful and multiply, there now being both male and female for each kind. But what about the scripture that says “And God said, Let us make man in our image—after our likeness—and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. And God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them,” which happened on the sixth day? Perhaps God created other men and women at that time besides Adam and Eve, the same way he created all of the animals. That would explain where Cain got his wife, and why he was fearful that some other man might slay him. And it would also explain the scriptures that mention the sons of God (being offspring of Adam) marrying the daughters of men. Notice in that scripture that it says nothing about the male being created first, and the female being made out of the male. How many of those other men and women God may have created, I have no idea. Nobody knows how many of each kind of animal God first created either. It seems to make more sense to think that he created more than just one male and one female each. Remember, Noah took more that two each of all the clean animals into the ark. It could be argued that because the words “male” and “female” in the above scripture are both singular that meant only one of each was created. However, the same singular words “male” and “female” are used in the following command that God gave to Noah: “Of every clean beast thou shall take to thee by sevens, the male and his female. Also of the birds of the heavens by sevens, male and female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth” (Gen 7:2-3), where God was referring to more than one. But none of this is worth quarreling about.
In support of the possibility that God may have created other men and women besides Adam and Eve, the Bible teaches that God has always wanted to have a special people apart. Soon after the great flood, which destroyed every living thing on the earth except for Noah and his family, God chose Abram (later named Abraham) to make a special covenant with, to have a special race of people, which were the Hebrews, later also called the Israelites. And during the Exodus, when God created their nation, he chose men out of them to be their priests. Then when their messiah came, Jesus the Christ, the only begotten son of God, God made a special covenant with Jesus’ disciples of any race that they would now be his chosen people, sons of God out of all mankind to be a royal priesthood as Peter said: “But ye are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for an acquired possession, so that ye might broadly proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1Pe 2:9), one based not on blood but on spirit. So perhaps Adam was chosen to be the earthly son of God, living and walking with God himself in a special place, the garden of Eden, intended to be separate from the rest of mankind. Yes, those other men (if it happened that way) were made in the image of God, just like all of mankind is now, but they were not chosen to be distinct in a special way as Adam and his offspring were, or Abraham and his offspring were, or disciples of Christ are now. Nevertheless, remember, all of mankind was destroyed by the great flood except for Noah and his sons, who were offspring of Adam and Eve (and by implication their wives were as well). Therefore, if God did create other men and women besides Adam and Eve, none of their offspring survived the flood. Hence, all men after the flood are offspring of Adam, even if most reject being sons of God.
One final puzzle. Remember, after Adam sinned, Jehovah said to him, “cursed is the ground for thy sake,” and “thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to thee.” The question is, when did that happen? Since vegetation was created on the third day, and it was not until the cool of the day when God confronted Adam and Eve about their sin, then the curse was most likely at some time after vegetation had already been created. Hence, God altered the earth and its vegetation as a consequence of the sin. But if God created other men and women on the sixth day, after Adam and Eve, then was the sin and curse before that or afterward? It seems most likely it was before, because after Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the nature of their flesh was changed, and all men afterward have the same nature. The one problem I can see with that explanation, is that God cursed the ground because of Adam’s sin, yet after completing the creation Jehovah said, “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Gen 1:31). The key to that scripture is the meaning of the expression “very good.” Now the words “very good” in that passage could not mean that the world was perfect, even if the curse came later. Moreover, it is most likely that degenerative aging was a part of the world from the beginning, because the tree of life was located in the garden of Eden, not outside of it. And remember, Adam was cast out of the garden so that he would not eat of that tree to avoid death. So the process of degeneration with age must have been a part of the world even when God said all that he made was very good. What the Bible means by the words “very good” in that scripture may be that everything God made was very good to suit his purpose, including the thorns and thistles. For example, the thorns and thistles were “very good” to punish mankind because of sin.
We must recognize that our awareness of all of God’s purposes, including the reasons for this troubled world, is extremely limited. Consider the story of Job. Things were happening in Heaven that had a profound effect on his life, yet he was completely unaware of those things. The New Testament tells about the existence of demons on the earth. Yet we do not know why they are here, nor do we know much about them and how they affect the world. I have no doubt that there are many and great activities going on between the spiritual world and our material world that we cannot know about. We are like very young children who live in ignorance of the multitudes of things and the great forces that are at work around them. Our world is filled with many mysteries. It is our duty to struggle to solve those that would help us live better, and trust God about all the rest. My goals in attempting to find answers to some of these Bible mysteries about the antediluvian world are to help strengthen your faith in God and his Holy Word, and to increase your love for him, because he is so worthy of all our love and adoration and obedience. And none of these or any other speculations should be used to create division among his sanctified. Only a few things are essential and worth fighting to defend, things such as the Ten Commandments, and such things are made very clear in the Holy Scriptures.