It’s easy to fall into the error of viewing the patriarchs or heroes of the Old Testament as having gained God’s favor by being obedient or righteous, but the reality is, they all had pretty serious moral failures. The wealth that this chapter references, Abraham gained in Egypt through the favor he curried by allowing Pharaoh to take Abraham’s wife as his own.

Just as we today are saved not by our works, but by our faith in a savior who paid the full penalty for all of our sins, Abraham was saved not by his works, but by his faith in the God who saves. James 2:22-23 tells us, “You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was made complete, and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend.” The actions Abraham took in obedience to God were visible evidences of his faith, but those actions alone could not save him (especially weighed against the balance of his sin).

In the same way, all of the good we do cannot outweigh the sin that dwells in our heart, but the power of God to transform our hearts can save as we put our faith in Him.

Sin is always, first, an issue of our hearts. We see that as Abram and Lot discuss splitting up to reduce tension among those caring for their herds. Lot’s heart is set on self — he chooses the land that is evidently more fertile and lush, despite the awareness of corruption. 

Verse 12 tells us, Lot “pitched his tents near Sodom.” It’s a vivid picture of how a self-seeking heart will often try to get as close to sin as it can. It says, “How close to the line can I get?” Rather than, “How can I draw closer to God’s desires for me?” For us, it may be, “How far can I bend the rules on paying taxes without getting audited?” or “How fast can I drive without getting a ticket?” or “How little can I do around the house without getting in trouble with my parents?” 

Instead of trying to see what we can get away with, what if we set our hearts in the opposite direction of selfishness? In Romans 12:9-11, Paul advises believers, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord.”

The end of chapter 11 says that Abram’s father, Terah, left their home in Ur of the Chaldeans and set out for Canaan, but when they reached Haran, they settled there. After Terah died, Abram was called by God to set out again for Canaan.

It makes me wonder: Was Terah called to Canaan but gave up when he reached Haran because that looked “good enough”?

How many times does God call us to something, only to have us give up halfway there? What blessings do we forfeit because we fail to follow through? Setting out on foot with all your family and belongings to trek from Iraq to Israel is a daunting effort, but what challenges has God called us to overcome that we decide are just too hard? Or do we get halfway, notice a nice little village and decide this is far enough?

That’s lesson enough for me to ponder all day, but Abram gives us a second one in this chapter.

Instead of staying in Canaan, where God called him, and trusting that God could provide, even in a famine, he continues his trek all the way to Egypt. Even worse, not trusting the Lord to protect him in this foreign land, he asks his wife to lie, and allows her to be taken and sexually assaulted by Pharaoh who says he took her as his wife. Even worse, Abram gained material wealth through this deceitful arrangement.

Failing to trust God and acting out of fear are the basis for many sins. Consider the temptations that plague us regularly. How often are they the result of fear? God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear. Paul counseled the Philippians, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:19)

What calling from God are we not pursuing out of fear?

What calling have we set out on, but stopped halfway, thinking, “This is good enough”?

What calling have we run from when the going got tough, rather than pressing in on God’s promises and trusting Him to do more than we can ask or imagine?

It’s not too late to get back on the road that God called us to. It’s not too late to turn back to the calling we ran from. It’s never too late to start trusting God completely.

The lesson of the Tower of Babel is not that God desires to thwart our efforts, but that mankind is constantly seeking to usurp God’s authority and role as Creator. Note that the people who came to the valley of Shinar, which lies in the fertile crescent in modern day Iraq, did not include all the descendants of Noah. According to the previous chapter, the family lines of Ham and Japheth scattered as God had commanded.


​Can you picture this group of migrants discovering an area rich in resources and saying to one another, “Why should we keep going? This place looks great. Let’s just stay here.” It seems like a logical choice, but it’s one that directly defies the expressed will of God — He had commanded them to scatter in order to fill the earth.

Even worse than their refusal to go where God called them to go (the ends of the earth), they decided to build a tower to reach the heavens. Essentially, they decided to go where God had not called them, to climb to the throne of God. It isn’t hard to deduce the inspiration for such a desire. Isaiah tells us of Lucifer in Isaiah 14:13:
“For you have said in your heart:
I will ascend into heaven,
​I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.”

So God confused their languages. He caused division among them which made them unable to work together to complete their project. It forced them to separate because they could no longer comprehend one another.

But isn’t God a God of unity?

Yes and no.

God desires unity. But not for unity’s sake.

God desires for us to be unified in our worship of Him, not unified in defiance of His Word. Not unified in sin.

The world proclaims peace through tolerance of anything except the worship of God and reverence for His Word.

Jesus said, “ Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.” (Matthew 10:34-36)

God's desire for us is for our good and His glory, but when we are unified in defiance of Him, neither of those purposes are achieved. The tower of Babel teaches us that God will undermine our efforts when those efforts are directly contrary to His Word, detrimental to our souls, and dishonoring to our God.

Genesis 10

This chapter tells of the descendants of Noah from the three sons who survived the flood with their wives. It’s possible, given the timelines of fatherhood from earlier genealogies, that Noah and his wife also continued having children after the flood, as he lived another 350 years. But any such children aren’t part of the story being told.

Remember that Genesis is the story of the Israelites' history which Moses recorded for them at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. So the names in this genealogy are particularly important because they explain both the animosity various tribes show to the Israelites and the background for God’s judgment on the Canaanites in taking the Promised Land from the descendants of Ham and giving it to the descendants of Shem.

These genealogies also set the foundation for the rest of the Old Testament including the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah, the wars between Israel and the Philistines, and the exile to Babylon. Even to this day, tensions and war in this region are common and it stems from this history.

We often read genealogies in the Bible in a cursory manner, skimming over names that are difficult to pronounce without thinking about or researching their meaning, but these stories provide an important basis for understanding both the Old and New Testaments. As a friend recently pointed out, generational sin that isn’t repented of often compounds with each future generation. Do not think that the hidden sins that no one knows but you and God will remain invisible. In subtle ways our children pick up on our behaviors and model them, whether they are good or bad. They pick up our habits and pass them down to the next generation and the next.

What a powerful thought! What a compelling motivation to reflect on areas that I haven’t submitted to the Lord and to repent and submit to Him immediately, to save future generations from the devastating impact of sin left unchecked.

This is one of those passages that has often made me scratch my head in confusion. As we read the text in the 21st Century, it raises many questions because we don’t understand the full context of Ham’s transgression against his father.

The first thing to understand is that this was not a case of Ham peeking in the tent, giggling at the sight of his father uncovered, and calling his brothers to come see as well. Verses 24-25 tell us, “When Noah awoke from his drinking and learned what his youngest son had done to him, he said:
​
"Canaan is cursed. He will be the lowest of slaves to his brothers.”

This confirms that Ham’s act was not a passive one, but an action taken against his father.

But why is the curse pronounced against his son, Canaan?

When read in context with the book of Leviticus, which was also penned by Moses, the author uses the euphemism “uncovered his nakedness” to indicate a sexual act. What’s more, Leviticus 18:7 says, “You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness.” At least one source, Bryan Fischer of American Family Association, deduces that Ham’s act was actually committing incest with his mother based on the Levitical reference. In his view, the curse on Canaan was because Canaan was the son resulting from this incest.

Other views indicate the sexual sin was against Noah himself and that Ham’s words to his brothers were intended to encourage them to violate their father as well.

Whatever actually transpired, it’s clear from this story that the flood did not wash sin from the earth. The Puritan John Owen stated, “The seed of every sin is in every heart."

We often view the shocking sins of others as if we stand apart and would never do something so awful, but the reality is that, “The heart is deceitful above all things,​ and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

Paul tells us in Romans 7:24-25 what our only hope is for this condition: “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin.”

The story we tell to children about Noah doesn’t often include the time it took for the water to recede before they could safely leave the ark. In all, they remained on the ark for a year and ten days. That is a long time to be cooped up with a bunch of animals.

I never noticed until this reading that Noah’s sending of the raven and the dove were because he couldn’t see the situation clearly. The design of the ark didn’t include a little cupola like that plastic toy. It didn't have windows. Just an 18-inch opening between the ark and its roof, which would not allow him to look down at the ground below the ark.

We’re in the same boat frequently. We can see God’s plan at a distance, and we’re trusting Him to get us there, but we aren’t sure exactly where to place our next step. The ground around us is a muddy mess and we don’t see a safe rock to stand on. We’re probably also surrounded, as Noah was, by people clamoring for change.

Maybe our best course is to wait on the Lord. Sure, it’s getting crowded and stinky in our ark, but God’s timing is perfect. When the moment is right, and the path is firm and dry, the Lord will guide us out. But until then, we need to sit tight.

So, today I’m hoping to remind myself to take a lesson from Noah. To not jump out of the boat into hip-deep mud, but to wait upon the Lord and trust His timing. Even when it is uncomfortable. Even when it seems like it’s been forever. Even when others are pushing their agenda.

Personally, I’ve gotten into some really sticky situations as a result of trying to forge ahead before the ground was dry. I’ve been called a G looking for an O, and that isn’t far off. My default setting is action, often without as much planning as might be beneficial. God knew what he was doing when He gave me a husband who loves nothing better than a thorough road map!

If you still picture a tiny plastic ark with chubby little plastic animals when you think of Noah, you should check out the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky. A life-sized replica of the same dimensions indicated in the Bible, it illustrates the plausibility of this story. They also point out that the animals which came to Noah need not have been fully mature, allowing plenty of space for the food as well as the animals.

It’s also important to realize that this was not simply a case of “it rained for forty days and forty nights” as catastrophic as that might seem. Verse 11 tells us, “all the sources of the vast watery depths burst open, the floodgates of the sky were opened.” If you’ve ever had to dig a well, you understand that beneath the surface of the earth lie water reserves contained in the water table and aquifers. The flood of Noah not only involved continuous rain, but also seismic activity as these underground springs erupted. In addition, many believe that the rain was not the meteorologic event that we might see today, but the collapse of the canopy of “water above the expanse” created in Genesis 1:6-7. ​

Regardless of the scientific explanation, or whether we can ever fully understand or explain such an event, there is ample physical evidence it occurred. From the remains of sea creatures found buried on mountain peaks to stratified layers depicting a cataclysmic flood and the resulting sedimentation, to over 200 flood “myths” in various cultures around the world. While most locations have experienced local flooding, these stories tell a different story. They are consistent in key points such as that the flood was world-wide, that God saved a man and his family alone, and the flood was the judgment for man’s wrongdoing.

Although trusting God's Word requires faith, It Isn't a blind faith that ignores any evidence to the contrary. Any belief we have, whether in the Bible, in the theory of evolution, or in medical science, starts with certain assumptions. We view the pieces of evidence we find in the light of those assumptions. 

Genesis 6

This is one of the most mysterious chapters in the Bible. Who were the Sons of God? Who were the Nephilim? What about the “powerful men of old” or “men of renown” as some translations put it?

I’ve heard teaching that the Sons of God represent the godly line of Seth, and the daughters of man, the ungodly line of Cain. But why not just say that? And why would that make them famous or powerful? More importantly, this sets up a dichotomy among mankind, as if some of us descend from the “godly” line and others do not. That contradicts the full counsel of scripture that tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It also makes me scratch my head as I consider some of the behavior we see in the “godly” line.

Others suggest that the Sons of God and Nephilim are one and the same, and that they are the angels who followed Lucifer in rebellion against God. Their procreation with human women, according to this view, produced giants, or men of power, by virtue of their being “half-angel.” But this appears to contradict the words of Jesus in Matthew 22:30, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven.” That certainly suggests that angels do not marry.

But Genesis 6 doesn’t actually say that the Sons of God marry the daughters of man. It says the Sons of God took some of the daughters of man as wives, yet the footnote in some translations indicate that the word translated as “wives” is the same as that translated as “women.” Taking some of them “as their women” certainly has a different connotation than marriage.

Some writers suggest that the notion is that mankind is continuing the effort begun in the garden to “be like gods” by procreating with these angels. They also suggest that the “men of renown” or, literally, “the men of name,” foreshadows both the Tower of Babel, where mankind sought to reach heaven and to build a name for themselves, and the power of God’s pronouncement to Abraham that “I will make your name great.”

I’m not qualified to pronounce an answer as to who exactly these Sons of God were, and I trust that if it were critical to fully understand this, God would reveal it to us. But the more important point is that it provides the backdrop of God’s judgment. Something related to these relationships led to God saying, “My Spirit will not live in human beings forever, for they too are flesh; therefore their life span is to be 120 years.”

Just a few other quick notes:
​
We often think that Noah was spared because he was more righteous than those around him, but that isn’t really what the scripture says. It says that he found favor with God. Other translations say that he found grace in the sight of God.

God’s grace is never about how good we are, but about how good God is. Noah was more righteous than those around him because of the grace he received from God.

Verse 12 is one that I have never paid particular note to before: God saw how corrupt the earth was, for every creature had corrupted its way on the earth. ​

Not only had sin corrupted mankind, but it had crept into the entirety of creation. We often wonder when thinking of Noah’s flood, “Why wouldn’t God just judge the people? Why make animals suffer and die?” But this verse tells us that animals, too, were corrupted. Our modern notion of animals and nature as innocent and undefiled point back to an innate longing for the garden, but they don’t reflect the current state (or the state at the time of Noah).

The ages and the way in which this genealogy is presented has always fascinated me. I don’t believe that anything God includes in His Word is wasted, so I’ve researched and studied to try to understand the significance and the meaning behind the ages, which obviously strike us today as unusual.

Several explanations are plausible. One is that when Genesis 1:6-8 describes the waters below and the waters above, the waters above represented a vapor canopy that filtered the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun, allowing a sort of greenhouse that protected creation and allowed for human lives to be much longer.

The cumulative effects of mutations to DNA over generations make us less and less resilient, more prone to the effects of sin, namely death and disease, cutting our lives short from God’s original design.

The earth’s rotation around the sun has expanded in tiny increments over thousands of years, meaning that a “year” at the time of Adam and Eve was much shorter than it is today. In fact, according to Science Alert, a day was once only 18 hours. https://www.sciencealert.com/earth-days-getting-longer-lunar-retreat-astrochronology

I’m not a scientist, and even those who are constantly re-evaluate and revise their theories. But there are interesting and plausible explanations for the years in this account even when they seem impossible in our current experience.

But I also researched and discovered something interesting about the way the dates line up. If you create a timeline and place the dates, and the lengths of life on it, you’ll find that the account of the flood occurs in year 1656 following Adam’s creation. Each of the lives mentioned begins, and ends, prior to that year, except for Noah, of course. Sadly, Methusaleh, Noah’s grandfather, the man who lived the longest life recorded in the Bible at 969 years, died the same year as the flood.

For me, the accuracy of this detail in the accounts strengthens my faith in God’s Word. God doesn’t expect us to check our brains at the church door, but He does expect us to consider that where our understanding and His Word differ, perhaps we are the ones who are wrong. Faith includes trusting that God knows more than I will ever know.

For the longest time, I read this chapter and couldn’t understand why Cain’s offering didn’t please God, and Abel’s did. Was it because Abel’s offering was a blood sacrifice? Was it, similar to Esau and Jacob, that God favored one even from birth?

One word finally helped me understand the distinction. First. Abel brought the first and the best, Cain simply brought some of his produce. That tiny difference is essential because it represents our attitude toward God.

Is he simply worthy of “tipping” with some of our leftovers or is he worthy of the very best we have to offer?

God’s warning to Cain is a powerful word to us as well, because sin continues to crouch waiting to pounce on each of us. It desires to destroy, and we must overcome it.

As God pronounces His judgment on Cain, Cain demonstrates the same error Eve made — he adds to the word of God. When God says he will be a restless wanderer and the earth won’t yield crops for him anymore, Cain mistranslates that to say that God is banishing him from the earth and that he will have to hide from the Lord’s presence.

It seems like a small tweak, but what a huge revelation of Cain’s misunderstanding of God! God desires reconciliation, not alienation. His judgment on Cain was intended to help Cain recognize who God is and who, in comparison, he is. Sadly, it didn’t work. The implication, based on the brief description of Cain’s family line, is that he continued to hide from God and his family grew more and more distant. Five generations later, we see Lamech be the first to defy God’s design for marriage by taking two wives and arrogantly declare his power and vengeance.

When we come under conviction, we have two options. We can acknowledge who God is and repent and submit ourselves to His authority. Or we can stiffen our necks, refuse to yield and acknowledge His rightful authority as our Creator, and continue to pursue sin. The second course has grim results not only for us, but for future generations.

But God does not ignore Cain’s plea, even if his misrepresentation maligns God’s character. God still protects Cain, placing a mark upon him so that others would know he was under God’s protection. We don’t know what that mark was, and we have no reason to believe it was passed down to his descendants. It was a demonstration of God’s continued love and desire for Cain to come to repentance.