Read-Post Through the Bible

[daniel1212av]

 Hi, i am rather new here, and am an evangelical Christian whose ability to concentrate  on reading anything has been reduced the last few years, but who finds i get much out of Scripture when studying and discussing it with others.

Therefore, for my own edification and that of others  I would like to start a thread in which some brethren would read a chapter a day, beginning in Genesis, and add a few  comments, and go thru the entire Bible in order day by day. This would not be a place for extended debate, as one rule i would want to stick to is that we keep to reading a chapter a day. I am not sure exactly how to do this, whether the entire chapter should be posted each day (most likely) or a link to an online Bible. I stick to the King James version, and i have my good reasons, but i am not forcing others to do the same, nor is the purpose of this thread to force one point of view, though brief comments regarding why one interprets something one way may be concisely included. 

If anyone is interested out there, and or has any suggestions, please repond. And may all be done to the glory of God (1Cor. 10:31).

PS, if anyone is unsure whether i am an evangelical believer (who falls short), you can see my web site at www.peacebyjesus.net. 

[Soldier4Christ]

Hi daniel1212av,

Welcome to Christans Unite.

I am not sure exactly how to do this, whether the entitre chapter should be posted each day (most likely) or a link to an online Bible.

Either way would be fine if there are any that do not have a Bible available. I would think that most people here would have one available on their own computer but there may be an occasional person that doesn't.

I stick to the King James version, and i have my good reasons, but i am not forcing others to do the same, nor is the purpose of this thread to force one point of view

This is good because we do not permit disagreements based on Bible versions. Such arguments over Bible versions does nothing to glorify God.

This sounds like a wonderful study and I hope that you can get some interested parties that are not already involved in a study.

[daniel1212av]

Thanks for the encouragement. I think it would be a good way to read thru the Bible sequencially. I will just start it myself in a couple days even if no no one "signs up," and after others can join in as we go along. Though when we are done i do not think we will compete with Matthew Henry (or Clarke, Gill, JFB, K+D, Poole, tc.)!

[airIam2worship]

Hello Daniel and welcome to CU. I think it's a good idea, I have a thread similar to what you are talking about I started with the book of Matthew and I add a comment by WBN, I usually do a few verses a day. If you are interested it is in the topic Bible Study and it is titled "verse for today".

We could do something like that or similar to that you might even want to title it daily verses from the Old Testament and staart with Genesis. I would be bery happy to see a study such as that.

[daniel1212av]

Yes, i could title it Verse from the OT, but i would like to do a chapter a day, and see how it goes. I think i will start next Monday. i thought maybe Monday thru Friday  would be better, in case some only access their PC's at work, or are too busy on the weekends.  But there is not sign up. Just shout ti from the roof tops.

To God be the glory.

[daniel1212av]

Read first:

To reiterate and add to what was stated in my first post, this topic is to be, by God's grace and if it be His will, a systematic study of the Bible day by day, Monday through Friday.  It is not meant to be a forum for debate, nor is it to present all interpretations as infallible teaching, though i hope that all views stay within the bounds of substantiated orthodoxy. The main purpose (for me at least) is to establish a structure in which a chapter by chapter study of the entire Bible is undertaken and accomplished, to the edification of all, in the spirit of Eph. 4:13, and to the glory of God.

The format i use is to simply post the Bible chapter and then add comments, mostly from from well known evangelical commentators of old, this chiefly being Matthew Henry.  Occasionally i add my own comments, and have tried to distinguish between the two by different colors.  Other brethren can add to this, but I  think it would be best if this is restricted to responses to the daily Scripture reading rather than getting ahead on that. And we should refrain from posting copyrighted commentary if their terms prohibit that.

I am new at this, but i pray this will be a edifying experience for all. Praise be to God.

If anyone wants a basic but very fast Bible program (just the KJV text with search/highlite functions), i  recommend the last free version of QuickVerse for Windows, from at http://www.genesis.net.au/~bible (qv4nonav.exe).   

I do highly recommend the free e-sword Bible program (www.e-sword.net) from which commentary outside my own is taken. The main commentators ones i will be using, and their abbreviations, are

Barnes – Albert Barnes'
Clarke – Adam Clarke
Gill – John Gill
Henry – Matthew Henry's
JFB – Jamieson, Fausset and Brown
K+D – Keil & Delitzsch
MHCC – Matthew Henry's Concise
PNT – People's New Testament (B. W. Johnson)
RWP – Robertson's Word Pictures (N.T.)
Scofield 
TSK – Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
VWS – Vincent's Word Studies  (N.T.)
Wesley – John Wesley

Thank God for such men, which are a big help, not only for their insights (though not perfect) but because i do not have the energy to thoroughly comment on everything myself (neither do i read all the commentary i post). At the beginning of this study i used more of a variety of commentary, but Henry, who by the grace of God excels in practical application, became my most used and trusted commentator, with K+D (in the O.T.), who i think excels in critical aspects  and others occasionally adding to his, and with Clarke usually providing a concise overview of every chapter (though sometimes i find his commentary questionable).

9-23-07: I thought i would add a little background of some of the major commentators i have used so far:

Matthew Henry; "nonconformist" Minister and Bible Commentator 

Born (prematurely) 1662  in Flintshire, Wales. Died (stroke) in 1714 at age 52.

Home schooled by his father and tutored until age 18.

June 1686 began to preach in his father's neighbourhood .

Being persecuted as his father was (search "Act of Uniformity 1662," and "nonconformists"), at one time he decided to sail to America, but God told him in a dream not to board the ship, which later sank. 

May 9, 1687 privately ordained in London by six ministers as a presbyterian.

Began ministry at Chester on 2 June 1687.

Married on 19 July 1687, who died during child birth at age 25. Married secondly, on 8 July 1690

Served energetically with fellow "nonconformists."

Began 'Exposition of the Old and New Testament,' November 1704. First volume published in 1708. Four other volumes, to the end of the gospels, appeared in a uniform edition in 1710. Finshed Acts before his death.

Preached his farewell sermon at Chester on 11 May 1712.

After his death the Epistles and Revelation were prepared by thirteen nonconformist divines, named in the 'Protestant Dissenters' Magazine,' 1797, p. 472, from a memorandum by Isaac Watts. The complete edition of 1811, 4to, 6 vols., edited by George Burder and John Hughes, contains more material from Henry's manuscripts.

Trumbull in his introduction to Henry's Commentary says this about Henry's character.

"In regard to public affairs, he was never guilty of profaning the worship of God by introducing anything obnoxious to the government, or offensive to persons of any party; nor on the other hand, by giving flattering titles to any description of men.   The state of the reformed churches abroad was much upon his heart, and he was a fervent intercessor for those of them that suffered persecution for righteousness sake.   He shunned not to declare the whole counsel of God.   He delighted in preaching Christ and the doctrines of free grace; but also holiness."

Rather than being a work of real critical analysis, for which Henry recommended Poole's "Synopsis," Henry's   "Exposition" is mainly devotional, and reveals an amazing richness of spiritual understanding and practical suggestion. And although his commentary is extensive, it holds the attention of lovers of truth by gems of fresh understanding and poignant application, which serves to nourish and quicken the soul of it's readers by their Scriptural anointing. By the grace of God and to His glory, out of a seeming obscure verse Henry can bring to light a deep truth and fitting application. Robert Hall, George Whitefield, and Charles Spurgeon all used and heartily commended the work, with Whitefield reading it through four times - the last time on his knees!  Spurgeon stated, " Every minister ought to read it entirely and carefully through once at least." (Commenting and Commentaries, p. 3).

I must confess i find i have not the energy or perhaps the kind of heart to do so now.

Main sources for this: Theology thru technology. http://www.tlogical.net/biohenry.htm

Also see

http://www.history-perspective.com/matthew_henry.html

 ================

Johann Friedrich Karl Keil or Carl Friedrich Keil (1807-1888) was a conservative German Lutheran Old Testament commentator. He was born at Lauterbach near Ölsnitz, Saxony, and died at Rätz, Saxony.

He is best known for his contributions to the Keil & Delitzsch commentaries, written with Franz Delitzsch.

Source: Wikipedia

"Ignoring modern criticism almost entirely, all his writings represent the view that the books of the Old and New Testaments are to be retained as the revealed word of God. He regarded the development of German theological science as a passing phase of error."  http://www.swordsearcher.com/christian-authors/keil-delitzsch.html
====================

Franz Delitzsch (1813, Delitzsch - March 4, 1890) was a German Lutheran theologian and Hebraist. He held the professorship of theology at Rostock from 1846 to 1850, at Erlangen until 1867, and after that at Leipzig until his death. Delitzsch wrote many commentaries on books of the Bible, Jewish antiquities, biblical psychology, a history of Jewish poetry, and Christian apologetics.

He defended the Jewish community against anti-Semitic attacks and translated the New Testament into Hebrew, In 1880 he established the Institutum Judaicum[1] in Leipzig for the training of missionary workers among Jews.

Today Delitzsch is best known for his translation of the New Testament into Hebrew. Delitzsch's translation is still considered the standard New Testament edition in Hebrew. It is remarkable in that it was composed before the modern revival of the language but still remains fresh and alive for readers today.

Delitzsch also collaborated with J. F. K. Keil ) on a commentary series which covers the whole of the Old Testament and is still in print, having first appeared in 1861. Delitzsch contributed the commentaries on Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Isaiah.

Source: Wikipedia
============

Albert Barnes (1798–1870) was an American theologian, born at Rome, New York, on December 1, 1798. He graduated from Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, in 1820, and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1823. Barnes was ordained as a Presbyterian minister by the presbytery of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, in 1825, and was the pastor successively of the Presbyterian Church in Morristown, New Jersey (1825–1830), and of the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia (1830–1867).

He held a prominent place in the New School branch of the Presbyterians, to which he adhered on the division of the denomination in 1837; he had been tried (but not convicted) for heresy in 1836, the charge being particularly against the views expressed by him in Notes on Romans (1835) of the imputation of the sin of Adam, original sin and the atonement; the bitterness stirred up by this trial contributed towards widening the breach between the conservative and the progressive elements in the church. He was an eloquent preacher, but his reputation rests chiefly on his expository works, which are said to have had a larger circulation both in Europe and America than any others of their class.

Source: Wikipedia
==========

 JOHN WESLEY (1703–1791)
English evangelist; theologian; cofounder of Methodism. See
http://www.tlogical.net/biojwesley.htm (good concise bio)
=============

  John Gill  (1697–1771), English Baptist preacher and Calvinist theologian , see
http://www.tlogical.net/biojohngill.htm (good concise bio) Good, but i think he lays to much weight on Jewish views.
===============

 Adam Clarke, Methodist preacher (1762 - 1832), see
http://www.imarc.cc/reghist/reghist5.html
or
http://www.swordsearcher.com/christian-authors/adam-clarke.html

Many more commentaries of  can be found here: http://www.bible-researcher.com/links20.html As with the above, may we seek to have the heart of the Bereans and use their method (Acts 17:11), and pray for discernment and an obedient heart. 
 

[daniel1212av]

(Gen 1)  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And 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. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. 6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 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. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. 9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day. 14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 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. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. 20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.


V. 1 ”In the beginning” and thus begins God's written revelation to man. While “the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork” (Ps. 19:1) the Lord's most supreme and comprehensive revelation is that of His written word. It is assumed by many that Moses penned the Torah  (Dt. 31:24), though we do not know for sure, neither is it of grave consequence, as “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:15), as “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pt. 1:21). The phrase ”In the beginning” is found 17 times in Scripture, and the only other place that is refers to Deity is as it is applied to Christ ( John 1:1, 2; Heb. 1:10), the Divine Son of the living God, declaring that through Him “were all things created God created” (Col. 1:16).

“God created” – God (Eloheem' denoting He that is Strong, Mighty) "is the Creator – and later is is said that He made, which sometimes may distinguish between what was created out of nothing (ex nihilo), and that which was fashioned out of matter. That God created, and that He did so in 6 days is affirmed elsewhere in Scripture (Ex. 20:11; 31:17; Neh. 9:6; Heb. 4:4), and this writer holds to a lateral six day creation,  but that aspect is too large to be entered into here (Pastor Rogers has a lengthy thread on that -http://forums.christiansunite.com/index.php?topic=11019.0), suffice to say that we should not be intimidated into adapting Scripture to fit into the atheistic claims of evolutionary hypothesis, nor assume that we have all the answers to all their arguments. While the Lord calls us to use our mental faculties and appeals to them (Mt. 12:11), truth and reality are not limited to what may be seen (and it is the condition of heart that much determines interpretation  of what is observed), and God reveals His truth by and to those that seek Him with a right heart. “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1 Cor. 1:21). “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will show them His covenant” ({Ps. 34:18). “The faith which was once delivered to the saints” (Jude v.3) is one that provides sufficient evidence to  those who are of an “honest and good heart” (Lk. 8:15), to make a step of faith (kind of like getting married) to receive the Lord, who is ”nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit” (Ps. 34:18).

Creation chronologically:
1. Light- which was good – and divided from darkness (the first manifestation of the Biblical doctrine of separation).
2. Firmament (expanse) separating the waters below from above.
3. Waters below  gathered into one place, creating the Seas, separating it from the dry land called earth; Vegetation brought forth.
4. Lights created  in the firmament above for signs and for light; the sun and moon created.
5. Aquatic life and flying fowl brought forth to multiply.
6. Reptiles and mammals created, the later of which man is the last.

Man here means Adam and Eve, as the details of creation give in chapter two will reveal, and as such they  (male and female) were  commanded to reproduce abundantly, and to subdue manage the earth. Man is the crown of God's creation, and while the rest of nature is so overall interdependent upon the function of it's members that even the loss of the earth worm would be catastrophic, nature is not so dependent upon man in order to grow, but it requires man to cultivate and manage it in order to fulfill it's primary purpose, which is to serve man whom God has made steward over nature (and thus the fall affected everything under man's influence). Man is above all other earthly creations, and unlike animals he has a God-consciousness (innately knowing there is a God).  Worship is an activity pecular to man. Without the living and true God, man will worship something created (idolatry), to his own hurt and that of others. This is not relegated to formal religions, but atheistic Communism as well in which men such as Stalin, Mao, Kim Jung Two effectively were/are worshiped. 

V. 28: Like physical man was commanded to reproduce abundantly, so the church is to do spiritually.   

V. 31: And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. Because God is good, so is His handiwork. May i be a better reflection of Him today, like the lesser light that reflects the sun. “......be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12). .

[Soldier4Christ]

Amen daniel,

I would like to reiterate that anything other than the literal interpretation of the 6 day Creation is not subject to debate on Christians Unite. God Created the heavens and earth and all there on in 6 days and rested on the seventh. I would also like to mention that man was created separate and above all other creations on earth. God used the wording "after his kind" for classifications. Therefore man is not in any classification with other life.

There are several threads on Creation at the top of the Bible Study area for those that may be interested in more information on this. These threads are ongoing and will be added to as time permits. An in depth study is currently being done on this subject and will be posted in those threads, hopefully soon.

Again ... Biblical Creation is not an debateable subject on Christians Unite.

[daniel1212av]

(Gen 2)  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. 4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam 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. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

I must first apologize for this late posting. I unexpectedly went away, which is a testimony in itself (found my 88 year old mom in the hospital since last night, and saw God clearly going before me on my way back by bus),
I think chapter 2 could well begin in v.4, but in any case It is supposed by many (who want o find fault) that Gn. 2 contradicts chap. 1, but this is not the case but it supplants chapter 1 as well as revealing God's work in a localized setting. For instance, chap. 1 tell us that “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen 1:27), but chap. 2 provides the details and sequence. I will not delve futhrer into this aspect here, but there are other threads here that substantiate the integrity of Genesis, and this page briefly also does:  http://www.bibletruths.net/Archives/BTAR133.htm.

V. 2,  day God “rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.  Rest does not mean God needed as rest, as Jesus declared on the Sabbath  “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” But it means that  all of God's creation “ex nihilo” was finished, and thus He sanctified the 7th day, like as the 1st  day was evidently sanctified after the Lord finished His redemptive work of atonement and rose on the 1st  day.   

V. V. 4, “These are the generations..”  The Hebrew term for generations is toledoth,. and it's use is a word study in itself.

V. 8  “And the LORD God planted a garden”'. In the primal creation man was set in a garden of blessing but one of testing, with rare stones and a river, and which garden man was to till, but in which garden man failed, choosing his will over God's. But in the work of Redemption the One promised in Genesis 3 (who gives “living water”) was tested in a garden, but choose, “not my will, but Thine, be done” (Lk. 22:42). And in the Consummation men who have overcome by faith in Christ who is faithful and true will enjoy a city in which that which is rare is common, and in which is a “pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb” and shall no longer be tested (Rev. 21, 22). Praise ye the Lord. Such things which God has prepared for those that love Him should serve to make our relatively “momentary” but real earthly burden far more bearable, for  it will be worth it all when we see JESUS!

V. 10, “And a river went out..” Four rivers went out of the Garden, but as rivers change there course over time, we do not know for sure what rivers these may be (the best i know).

V. 15, “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it”. God puit man to work in the beginning, but at the end those who by salvific faith have done His work shall “rest from their labours” (Rv. 14:13). 

V. 16b, 17, ..”Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Adam and Eve would not fall out of hunger, but out of lust. God abundantly provided for their needs, and the world has seen such a garden since the fall.  But in the regeneration,  but “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God” (Rv. 2:7). I pray i be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb. 6:12). 

V. 18, It is not good that the man should be alone.” “two are better than one, .... but woe to him that is alone” (Ecc_4:9a, 10b). But under the New Covenant, we see greater grace given, and a more urgent mission and call to sacrifice whereby some are called to volitional celibacy (Mt. 19:12; 1 Cor. 7:7). In all this we see again God's gracious providence. But as God made man and women  uniquely compatible and complimentary, physically and otherwise in a way neither man and animals nor men with men are not, homosexuality is the ultimate rebellion against His creator on that level, and manifests the final formal stage of idolatrous degeneration going before to judgment (Rm. 2).

V. 24. Marriage is only ordained between man and women, and wife always means women in Scripture; marriage is never provided for homosexual relationships, leaving all sexual activity therein to be perverse  damnable fornication. Nevertheless, to such as well as to “straight sinners, there is offered redemption through “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Act 20:21), as “such we some of you” (12Cor. 6:11). However, the more unnatural a lifestyle, often the more difficult it is to be saved, but with god all things ae possible. 
 
V. 25, “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”  It was between “the man and his wife.” A womens unveiled beauty is not for public consumption, Such a condition of intimacy is one of vulnerability, and such requires trust, and both the beholding and the intimacy  are  reserved only for those of opposite genders who have made the life long commitment of love called marriage, and which alone ca provide the trust necessary for it, as well for that which usualy follows (children and family). 

“and were not ashamed.” Innocence today is a state only babies know, and not all knowledge is beneficial as the next chapter shall reveal,  and the shame that comes as a result.

[daniel1212av]

(Gen 3)  Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 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. 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is 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 for ever: 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

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It is not know how long Adam and Eve were in the garden before this test, but they had no fallen nature as yet, and their intelligence was not clouded by the fall (and Lucifer and his fellows could also sin though they had not a sinful nature). In short, their test  was not beyond their ability to obey. But why must they be tested? Here we become philosophical, and i would say that love must be tested. We may doubt that a man's love for his wife was true if she was the only women on the earth. But if he stays true despite the competition of other women (and likewise the women to the man despite like competition), then we may have more assurance of faithful love. The devil always offers Plan B for our life – the broad way, “that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat,”  while Christ leads us on the narrow way, Plan A, “which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Mt. 7:13, 14). May we always take heed in all ways. 
 
V.1,  “the serpent was more subtle.”  “..that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Rev 12:9) .But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (2 Cor 11:3). The devils first tactic is to probe the women, and see if he could work doubt. 

V. 3; The women's reply seems to add  “neither shall ye touch it” to the Lord's commands. But it reveals that she understood both the command and the solemn warning attached to disobedience.

Vs. 4, 5; The devil then goes on to directly contradict God, their gracious Creator, whose abundant providence should have allowed no thought that He would hold back anything that was beneficial for them. But what i see in the devils accusation is the insinuation that God, the oral authority against whom the devil resented (for being kicked out his position due to his selfish rebellion) and still wars against, had a selfish ulterior motive, that God was somehow slighting Adam and Eve. Such evil imagination is often seen is us if we likewise harbor grudges, surmising that God is treating us unjustly. Or that others mean us ill if we are not treated as we would (or reacting wrongly if we are il treated)  Such a “root of bitterness” by which “many be defiled”(Heb. 12:15), with it's inordinate  sensitivity to wrongs (contra. 1 Cor. 13:5b), is often seen in  many evangelical churches today, and is a cause of many unnecessary divisions and splits, to the general hut of the entire body.  I would also postulate that the   devils discontent and insinuation against God is what is much behind the basic animus and rebellion against moral authority that has been and is seen in much of the liberal movement in recent years. Of which much more could be said. 

V. 6 ; “good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise.” Here is manifested the fist instance of idolatry. Whatever you live for is your god – the Creator or the created. The basic lust of man is pleasure, possessions and power (1Jn. 2:16), all of which God gives in purely beneficial ways (Prv. 10:22) if He alone is our God, but which things man lusts for (idolatry)  in yielding to sin. These same 3 temptations we faced by the 2nd Adam for above, the Lord Jesus, in His temptation in the wilderness by the same old serpent, theb devil. But unlike Adam and Eve, Jesus meat was “to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34),  by obeying His word.  Glory be to God. May we live by the same food.

V. 7; “they were naked.” As said before, not all knowledge is beneficial, and since the fall public nakedness is  seen as shameful in Scripture.  The gradual declothing of the west is a manifestation of it's idolatrous rebellion and infestations of demons, and the Lord warned the church that was comfortable in it to “buy” of Him white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and the shame of thy nakedness do not appear” (Rv. 3:18). Meanwhile, when the Lord cast out  the devils from the Gadarene demonic, then he was found “sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind”(Mark 5:15) 

Vs. 8-13; God calls, Adam and Eve hides, which i think is a precursor of the final judgment; Adam seeks to blame Eve and Eve, the devil. It is amazing that nothing of fallen human nature has changed in 6,000+ plus years! “The serpent beguiled me.” Perhaps this is what Paul alluded to in chastising the Galatians who were “bewitched” by the Judaizers (3:1).

Vs. 14-17;  The serpent is first cursed, and the promise made of a future Deliverer of the womens seed (possibly indicating His virgin birth), then the women shall henceforth be subjected to  pain in child birth, and hitherto  there is no evidence they had known pain. And finally the man's chastisement is that of a cursed earth, by which the  “whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now,”  while the elect look forward to being “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God”  (Rm. 18-21). Till then man must labour for his bread. No matter what our condition, we should seek to be productive for God.

“Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife” (v. 17). “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil” (Ex. 23:2), can be reduce to the singular, that of the wife of thine own bosom. Here it will not be gone into the intrinsic differences that may be behind the prohibition against women pastors (1Tim. 2:12-16). 

V. 21; “LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” God can cover our shame, the result of our sin.   

V. 22  “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of US.” As in Gn. 1:26, and 11:7 and Is. 6:8, God refers to Himself in the plural. And since to my knowledge the use of the royal “we” or “us” was not known until much later, one might surmise this to be an indication of the triunity of the one true God (man was not made made in the image of God and angels (1:26), which nowhere have creative activity ascribed to them, as it is to Christ and the holy Spirit). 

V. 24  “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims.” Cherubims are part of the angelic class of beings, which seem to have something to do with guarding the sanctity of AlmightyGod (Is. 6:2).  May we obey 1 Pet. 3:15 today, and “sanctify [set apart, and exalt] the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.”

Finally, i close with part of a poem i hope will bless to the glory of God. 

GOD made man in His image and likeness, That he might know the love of the Highest.   

A spirit, soul, and body gave He, That man might show GOD's Glory   
   
But he that can love must be able to choose, GOD's word to keep, or His fellowship to lose   
   
The Serpent, so subtle, came up to Adam's Eve,  casting doubt, speaking lies, he worked to deceive.   
   
She believed him, yielded to sin, then gave Adam to eat: Their eyes were evil - opened, and they fell in defeat.   
   
GOD called for Adam, as he hid in the Garden; sin finds you out, and we all must seek pardon.    
   
Cherubims of GOD kept man out, from the tree of life they must be; Till One greater than angels would come down, to die on a Tree.
http://peacebyjesus.witnesstoday.org/CREATION2CONSUMATION-POEM.html

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[daniel1212av]

(Gen 4)  And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. 2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. 13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. 15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. 16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. 18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. 19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. 21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. 22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. 23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. 25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. 26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
 

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In this chapter we have the first murderer, the first city, the first recorded polygamist, and possibly  the first case of manslaughter, but more likely the 2nd murderer.

V. 1 “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived.” The word “knew” here is an obvious euphemism for you know what, as it is in other places such as Mt. 1:25, “And [Joseph] knew her [Mary] not till she had brought forth her firstborn son”, which confirms that Mary was a virgin until she gave birth to Christ. This activity is also what is conveyed in Lot's offer in Gn. 19:8 of his daughters to the men of Sodom in substitution for the men (angels) who they lusted after (cf. Jdg. 19).

Vs. 2-6 The Holy Spirit often reveals truth to us using  two related but dissimilar types, and here Cain and Able manifest two different attempts at giving offerings unto the Lord (which shows this practice was not adopted from pagans), and the kind of heart behind the wrong offering. I agree with the interpretation that Cain's rejected grain offering represents the offer of one's  merits for his essential acceptance before God, while Abel's better and accepted sacrifice of blood represents the atoning work of Christ.   

V. 7b; “sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” This indicates that man can resist sin, and sows that although God rejected Cain's offering, He gave him grace by which he may overcome. However, Cain's desired more to avenge his perceived injustice than to please God. And so it is with men today. And i have been guilty at times of feeling i was dealt with unjustly for my sins, and or reacted in some sort of verbal retaliation when rightly or wrongly charged by others. One need not be a murderer to react wrongly to such, as  even by passive means we may engage in fleshly “protests” which do not manifest Christ. “But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice,.” (Col. 3:10ff).

V. 8b; “Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him” Envy and jealousy are deadly cousins that seek gratification. However, whatever short term satisfaction Cain achieved by slaying his brother was negated by his long term punishment, which under the Law would have meant death (if there were witnesses).

V. 9b, The Bible clearly answers YES to the question “Am I my brother's keeper?” 

V. 10b, the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground.”As does the blood of millions of aborted infants (among other innocents) today.

On a different  realm, notice that from the beginning of God's written revelation to us the Holy Spirit often uses figurative language even in describing literal things, as communication is conveyed in far more ways than exchange of simple data and requires taking into account myriad subtleties of expression, and in context.  This is true in the Bible as well as in every day conversation.

V. 15b; “And the LORD set a mark upon Cain...” No, this mark is not black skin as the Mormon's erroneously held for most of their history . What it is i know not, but think this is one of the places where we must be silent where the Bible is.

V. 17, Cain,though a murderer, was not deprived of a wife and family, and the first murderer built the first city. Perhaps there is some significance in this. The more one can surround himself with the sights and sounds and interactions of social activities and man's creations (including media), the easier it can be to subdue the voice of God and conscience. Finney said it was harder to have a revival in the city than in the country, as there were more things that grieved the Holy Spirit in the former.  And while we must reach the lost where they are,  a church service in which the Lord is highly exalted by worshipping Godly souls and the word expounded in Spirit and in truth is usually far more conducive for conviction and conversion than any other venue.   

V.19, “And Lamech took unto him two wives:” The first polygamist.

V. 26, “then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.”  What meaneth this? Evidently this was not usually the case with Adam's prior decedents, and it is with sadness that we see man who was created to know and commune with God, becoming one in which such was a rarity.  Refusal to pray is passive rebellion, and i must pray more.

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(Gen 5)  This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; 2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. 3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: 4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: 5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. 6 And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos: 7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters: 8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died. 9 And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan: 10 And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters: 11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died. 12 And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel: 13 And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters: 14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died. 15 And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared: 16 And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters: 17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died. 18 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch: 19 And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died. 21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: 22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. 25 And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech: 26 And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters: 27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. 28 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed. 30 And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters: 31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died. 32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

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Gn. 5; Genealogy:

The Bible is a most comprehensive revelation from the living and true God, of both God and man and His environment, and as such it contains both different kinds of records as well as literary forms. This comprehensive aspect itself, as well as it's purity and power, sets the Bible apart from other attempts to produce Holy Writ, in particular the  pseudo – scripture of Islam, the Quran.  Hitherto we have been given a historical narrative of Creation, and as we move toward the Consummation of all things, the Bible periodically provides us with historical genealogies. These are important as they provide a necessary continuity, and with a chronology from the First Adam to the Last Adam, which is Christ (1 Cor. 15:45).

Genealogies were common among semitic people, though they are entirely absent from the Quran., and served the practical purposes of establishing one's right to possession such as land or inheritance, etc. Lacking Internet search companies, these would be memorized and or written. In establishing his claims to certain lands, a New Zealand Maori chief “engaged the government Land Commission 3 whole days with a recitation of descent from an ancestor 24 generations back, comprising very many collaterals and marriages and over fourteen hundred names in all (Chambers Encyclopedia, 1956 edition under "Genealogy").   

The comprehensive nature of Scripture and it's manner of revelation and breadth and scope is a gold mine to those which have tested and seen that the Lord is good, but it also affords some relatively few problematic passages in which some genealogies play a role.  It is not the intent of my study here to go deeply into such things, but if anyone doubts the literalism of Biblical genealogies here is a page i found that deals with such http://www.custance.org/old/geneal.html.(i would ignore his “snuff” analogy however).

V.4; And Adam “begat sons and daughters.” Herein likely is the answer to the age old question, “where did Cain get his wife” (Gn. 4:17)? We are not given a prohibition between marrying one's sister or close kin until approx. 1400  later (Lv. 18), as the effects of the fall, that of defects and disease, we all as certain social effects, were progressive. In fact, had not God given to man the resources and enabled him to discover means to combat such, then we would all die very young! In time an injunction against marrying close kin would be necessary, meanwhile it should not be thought that perhaps at least in the early stages after the fall, a marriage such as Cain's to a sister would be subject to the physical and social detriments that would require it's prohibition later on, and i assume that marriage between close kin by  the Godly decedents was only in the initial stages of mankind.

V.5: “And all the days that Adam lived were 930 years: and he died.” Compare this with Gn. 2:17, “in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” The death here was that of a spiritual nature, and thus we need spiritual birth, a second birthday, wherein we which were “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1, 5) are made alive in Christ by the incoming of His Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:3), by the perfectly just and holy, yet merciful, and gracious almighty God who granted us “repentance unto life” (Acts 11:7), and by whose Spirit we cry, “Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6). To God be the glory!

V.24:  And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” This may be a type of the Rapture (1 Ths. 4:17). But it also speaks of how those who, being saved by faith, walk with the Lord, and by such faith shall never die spiritually: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death”   (Jn. 8:51). “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power” (Rev. 20:6). To His everlasting praise.

V.27; “And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died...” The longevity of antediluvian man is well attested to in Scripture, and of which i have no doubt. Some speculation it was due to natural causes such as increased oxygen, atmospheric pressure, and shielding of radiation by the protective “firmament” above. However, the decrease of man's avberage lifespan could just as well have supernaturally been by Divine decree. It is also said that Adam begat a son [Seth] in his own likeness, after his image.” The body of Adam was created provisionally immortal, and in a state of innocence -Barnes – (which is to be distinguished from righteousness), but having fallen from grace he would pass on his mortal Adamic nature to his posterity. That Adam was the first man is attested to by the faith that before Adam there was no real death, for “as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom 5:12). On the other hand and in a different way, the obedient life of faith is such that “we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh” (2 Cor. 4:11). May we die to self and exchange our weakness for His strength and by such serve Him today.
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