Bible Stories with Chris Farley:

[Chris Farley]

So this semester, I have been taking a survey of the Old Testament. ITT I will be posting a summary of what I gather from each book. Each week I’ll post my summary for a different book and then open the floor up for discussion. This week, I’ll mention the reoccurring theme that I keep seeing throughout the OT and then move on to Genesis.
IMO, the theme of the OT is this:
From the beginning of Genesis and throughout the entire Old Testament,
There is a common theme. This theme is that humans continue to sin, rebel, and choose to do their own thing, and even so, God still has patience with us and continues to bless us. Occasionally things will get so bad that God will have to punish us, but time and time again, we repent, are sorrowful for our sin and are back in God’s good graces, only to rebel and sin again. This cycle goes on and on throughout the entire OT. God’s chosen people, the Jews, descend from Abraham and his covenant with God. They eventually arrive in the promised land after many centuries of enduring slavery, wandering through deserts, and fighting off other tribes of people. Eventually, Canaan, the promised land, is renamed Israel. Coincidentally, that is what God renamed Jacob, which means “wrestle with God”. This is fitting because we as humans CONTINUE to wrestle with God to this day and have since the beginning of man. Now on to my summary of Genesis...


1. Adam and Eve choose to defy God by eating from the tree of knowledge because satan convinced them to through lies. God responds by allowing them to live but having to endure the pains of the world from there on out.

2. The 6th generation descendant of Cain, Lamech is the first person to take more than one wife. He was vengeful and a tyrant to his city he built. The rest of the world was full of sin and treachery. Eventually God responds by sending the great flood to wipe out the world but saves Noah and his family.

3. Once again, we see the earth’s population full of sin. They think they can get close to God by building a tower (tower of Babel) God responds by changing everyone’s language and nobody can understand one another. Everyone begins to spread out and move away from each other.

4. Eventually, God Decides to bless Abram who later becomes Abraham. He builds a covenant with Abraham promising him land, and a long lineage of people (God’s chosen people). Abraham and his wife Sarah are very old and childless. Abraham has a son with a concubine, Hagar. The son’s name is Ishmael. Ishmael is considered the father of Islam. God blessed Abraham and Sarah with a son, Issac. IMO, God decides to test Abraham’s faith by ordering him to sacrifice his only son because he wants to make sure that Abraham is truly the patriarch of the lineage God wants to use moving forward. I.e. he doesn’t want to get down the line and them not be the right kind of people. Abraham passes his test and God sends an angel to stop him at the last second. And so the lineage begins. Sarah eventually dies, Abraham remarries

5. Issac and his wife Rebecca have twin sons, Jacob and Essau. Rebecca favored Jacob over Essau and helped devise the plan where Jacob deceived Issac by portraying himself as his older brother In order to get dying Issac’s blessing. Fearing for his life from Essau, he takes off and leaves all his blessed inheritance to Essau. Jacob works for 7 years to marry his master (Laban)’s daughter Rachel. But is deceived himself when he goes to marry her, he sees it’s really the eldest daughter, Leah. He vows to work for another 7 years IOT to really marry Rachel. Eventually, he travels back to Canaan to meet his brother. He is scared his brother who has 400 men with him is going to kill him. He prays for God to not allow this. Sometime on his way to meet Essau, Jacob encounters a man (God) who wrestled with him throughout the whole night. God changes Jacob’s name to Israel. Israel and Essau finally meet and Essau spares him. Jacob ended up having many sons with his 2 wives and 2 concubines. He is the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. He favored his second to last son, Joseph.

6. Joseph’s other brothers resented him for this and sold him into slavery to Egypt. Eventually Joseph became 2nd in charge of Egypt. There was a drought in Canaan and all the brothers moved to Egypt. They were met with open arms from Joseph. Jacob is on his deathbed and decides to bless his 12 sons. When he gets to his 4th son, Judah, he claims that he will be the the one that the King of their people will eventually come from. That king will restore the original covenant between God and Abraham and all the blessings God has promised will come to fruition. After this, Jacob dies. Eventually Joseph dies too, and the family lineage grows and grows and the book of Genesis ends with hope for the covenant and future.

 

[shiv]

So this semester, I have been taking a survey of the Old Testament. ITT I will be posting a summary of what I gather from each book. Each week I’ll post my summary for a different book and then open the floor up for discussion. This week, I’ll mention the reoccurring theme that I keep seeing throughout the OT and then move on to Genesis.
IMO, the theme of the OT is this:
From the beginning of Genesis and throughout the entire Old Testament,
There is a common theme. This theme is that humans continue to sin, rebel, and choose to do their own thing, and even so, God still has patience with us and continues to bless us. Occasionally things will get so bad that God will have to punish us, but time and time again, we repent, are sorrowful for our sin and are back in God’s good graces, only to rebel and sin again. This cycle goes on and on throughout the entire OT. God’s chosen people, the Jews, descend from Abraham and his covenant with God. They eventually arrive in the promised land after many centuries of enduring slavery, wandering through deserts, and fighting off other tribes of people. Eventually, Canaan, the promised land, is renamed Israel. Coincidentally, that is what God renamed Jacob, which means “wrestle with God”. This is fitting because we as humans CONTINUE to wrestle with God to this day and have since the beginning of man. Now on to my summary of Genesis...


1. Adam and Eve choose to defy God by eating from the tree of knowledge because satan convinced them to through lies. God responds by allowing them to live but having to endure the pains of the world from there on out.

2. The 6th generation descendant of Cain, Lamech is the first person to take more than one wife. He was vengeful and a tyrant to his city he built. The rest of the world was full of sin and treachery. Eventually God responds by sending the great flood to wipe out the world but saves Noah and his family.

3. Once again, we see the earth’s population full of sin. They think they can get close to God by building a tower (tower of Babel) God responds by changing everyone’s language and nobody can understand one another. Everyone begins to spread out and move away from each other.

4. Eventually, God Decides to bless Abram who later becomes Abraham. He builds a covenant with Abraham promising him land, and a long lineage of people (God’s chosen people). Abraham and his wife Sarah are very old and childless. Abraham has a son with a concubine, Hagar. The son’s name is Ishmael. Ishmael is considered the father of Islam. God blessed Abraham and Sarah with a son, Issac. IMO, God decides to test Abraham’s faith by ordering him to sacrifice his only son because he wants to make sure that Abraham is truly the patriarch of the lineage God wants to use moving forward. I.e. he doesn’t want to get down the line and them not be the right kind of people. Abraham passes his test and God sends an angel to stop him at the last second. And so the lineage begins. Sarah eventually dies, Abraham remarries

5. Issac and his wife Rebecca have twin sons, Jacob and Essau. Rebecca favored Jacob over Essau and helped devise the plan where Jacob deceived Issac by portraying himself as his older brother In order to get dying Issac’s blessing. Fearing for his life from Essau, he takes off and leaves all his blessed inheritance to Essau. Jacob works for 7 years to marry his master (Laban)’s daughter Rachel. But is deceived himself when he goes to marry her, he sees it’s really the eldest daughter, Leah. He vows to work for another 7 years IOT to really marry Rachel. Eventually, he travels back to Canaan to meet his brother. He is scared his brother who has 400 men with him is going to kill him. He prays for God to not allow this. Sometime on his way to meet Essau, Jacob encounters a man (God) who wrestled with him throughout the whole night. God changes Jacob’s name to Israel. Israel and Essau finally meet and Essau spares him. Jacob ended up having many sons with his 2 wives and 2 concubines. He is the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. He favored his second to last son, Joseph.

6. Joseph’s other brothers resented him for this and sold him into slavery to Egypt. Eventually Joseph became 2nd in charge of Egypt. There was a drought in Canaan and all the brothers moved to Egypt. They were met with open arms from Joseph. Jacob is on his deathbed and decides to bless his 12 sons. When he gets to his 4th son, Judah, he claims that he will be the the one that the King of their people will eventually come from. That king will restore the original covenant between God and Abraham and all the blessings God has promised will come to fruition. After this, Jacob dies. Eventually Joseph dies too, and the family lineage grows and grows and the book of Genesis ends with hope for the covenant and future.

Awesome! I wanted to get some kind of Bible thread started.

We could have endless discussion on just Eve’s interaction with the serpent and the differences between the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Or the very first few verses where God (Elohim) creates the firmament and the Spirit of God moves on the water.

Also, I used to get very annoyed about all the genealogy, but when I actually sat down to pay attention to it, there are is a deep well of intuition that can be drawn from just studying the lineage. Each one of those names has been selected very specifically and is exactly the way it should be.

Overall though, I’m very weak on Old Testament - especially after Genesis - and thanks for the inspiration to dig in more!

 

[shiv]

I’ve gotten a lot out of Wikipedia stepping around the lineage of Adam/Noah/Abraham

You can put any of the names in there and move around the tree:

Tubal-cain - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[AmericanViking]

The Israelites are God’s chosen people. Not just the Jews. The Jews are only 1/13th of that group.

 

[Chris Farley]

The Israelites are God’s chosen people. Not just the Jews. The Jews are only 1/13th of that group.

That’s what I meant

 

[Rebarcock.]

A

So this semester, I have been taking a survey of the Old Testament. ITT I will be posting a summary of what I gather from each book. Each week I’ll post my summary for a different book and then open the floor up for discussion. This week, I’ll mention the reoccurring theme that I keep seeing throughout the OT and then move on to Genesis.
IMO, the theme of the OT is this:
From the beginning of Genesis and throughout the entire Old Testament,
There is a common theme. This theme is that humans continue to sin, rebel, and choose to do their own thing, and even so, God still has patience with us and continues to bless us. Occasionally things will get so bad that God will have to punish us, but time and time again, we repent, are sorrowful for our sin and are back in God’s good graces, only to rebel and sin again. This cycle goes on and on throughout the entire OT. God’s chosen people, the Jews, descend from Abraham and his covenant with God. They eventually arrive in the promised land after many centuries of enduring slavery, wandering through deserts, and fighting off other tribes of people. Eventually, Canaan, the promised land, is renamed Israel. Coincidentally, that is what God renamed Jacob, which means “wrestle with God”. This is fitting because we as humans CONTINUE to wrestle with God to this day and have since the beginning of man. Now on to my summary of Genesis...


1. Adam and Eve choose to defy God by eating from the tree of knowledge because satan convinced them to through lies. God responds by allowing them to live but having to endure the pains of the world from there on out.

2. The 6th generation descendant of Cain, Lamech is the first person to take more than one wife. He was vengeful and a tyrant to his city he built. The rest of the world was full of sin and treachery. Eventually God responds by sending the great flood to wipe out the world but saves Noah and his family.

3. Once again, we see the earth’s population full of sin. They think they can get close to God by building a tower (tower of Babel) God responds by changing everyone’s language and nobody can understand one another. Everyone begins to spread out and move away from each other.

4. Eventually, God Decides to bless Abram who later becomes Abraham. He builds a covenant with Abraham promising him land, and a long lineage of people (God’s chosen people). Abraham and his wife Sarah are very old and childless. Abraham has a son with a concubine, Hagar. The son’s name is Ishmael. Ishmael is considered the father of Islam. God blessed Abraham and Sarah with a son, Issac. IMO, God decides to test Abraham’s faith by ordering him to sacrifice his only son because he wants to make sure that Abraham is truly the patriarch of the lineage God wants to use moving forward. I.e. he doesn’t want to get down the line and them not be the right kind of people. Abraham passes his test and God sends an angel to stop him at the last second. And so the lineage begins. Sarah eventually dies, Abraham remarries

5. Issac and his wife Rebecca have twin sons, Jacob and Essau. Rebecca favored Jacob over Essau and helped devise the plan where Jacob deceived Issac by portraying himself as his older brother In order to get dying Issac’s blessing. Fearing for his life from Essau, he takes off and leaves all his blessed inheritance to Essau. Jacob works for 7 years to marry his master (Laban)’s daughter Rachel. But is deceived himself when he goes to marry her, he sees it’s really the eldest daughter, Leah. He vows to work for another 7 years IOT to really marry Rachel. Eventually, he travels back to Canaan to meet his brother. He is scared his brother who has 400 men with him is going to kill him. He prays for God to not allow this. Sometime on his way to meet Essau, Jacob encounters a man (God) who wrestled with him throughout the whole night. God changes Jacob’s name to Israel. Israel and Essau finally meet and Essau spares him. Jacob ended up having many sons with his 2 wives and 2 concubines. He is the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. He favored his second to last son, Joseph.

6. Joseph’s other brothers resented him for this and sold him into slavery to Egypt. Eventually Joseph became 2nd in charge of Egypt. There was a drought in Canaan and all the brothers moved to Egypt. They were met with open arms from Joseph. Jacob is on his deathbed and decides to bless his 12 sons. When he gets to his 4th son, Judah, he claims that he will be the the one that the King of their people will eventually come from. That king will restore the original covenant between God and Abraham and all the blessings God has promised will come to fruition. After this, Jacob dies. Eventually Joseph dies too, and the family lineage grows and grows and the book of Genesis ends with hope for the covenant and future.

In #4 God collaborated w satan to test Abraham. I always find that footnote interesting. Satan sent all the shit Abraham's way. He told God they were only faithful bc they had a great life.

I find that aspect relevant

 

[AmericanViking]

A

In #4 God collaborated w satan to test Abraham. I always find that footnote interesting. Satan sent all the shit Abraham's way. He told God they were only faithful bc they had a great life.

I find that aspect relevant

Job is another. That poor amazing man.

 

[Davy Crockett’s Ghost]

Excited about this thread...thanks for starting the discussion @Chris Farley.

 

[Chris Farley]

As promised, here’s week 2’s edition of Bible Stories with Chris Farley:

Exodus

1. Over 400 years had passed and the Hebrews were fruitful and living well in Egypt. Eventually a new pharaoh emerges and feels that the Israelites are a threat. He enslaves them and orders all the boys be drowned in the Nile River. One of the Israelite women floats her baby down the River and the baby is saved by pharoh’s daughter. This baby is Moses.
2. Moses grows up as an Egyptian under Pharoh’s roof. He eventually sees God in the form of the burning bush where God tells Moses to tell pharaoh to release his people or he will send down the plagues. God gives pharaoh a chance through Moses after each plague but Pharoh’s heart just hardens even more. This is key because even though God knows pharaoh won’t accept him, he still gives him chance after chance. This is another instance of the repetitive theme throughout the OT that we were talking about. The first plagues are: water turning to blood, frogs, lice, flies, livestock pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness. Finally, after all the plagues, it’s the night of Passover. Just as pharaoh killed the sons of Israel, God decides to kill the first born male of each Egyptian family. It’s called Passover because that night, God told the Israelites to sacrifice a young lamb and put the blood above their door so the angel of death knew which homes to pass over. Pharaoh loses his own son and finally tells the Israelites to leave and they are free to go. Moses leads the Israelites out of bondage and back to their promised land. As soon as they step off, pharaoh changes his mind and sends an army after them to kill them all. Moses leads them to the Red Sea and through the power of God, parts the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross. Once they cross, the Egyptian army follows after them and God swallows them up in the sea. Exodus 18 ends with a poem called Song of the Sea. It proclaims God as the true king and that his people should inherit the promised land where they can live for him.
3. The Israelites are on a long wandering trek to Mt Sinai and become ungrateful. They are tired and hungry and begin to curse God. God provides food and water to them but they have once again set the reoccurring theme which is God’s people end up straying away from him. The Israelites finally reach Mt Sinai and God invites them to enter into a covenant which picks up and develops God’s promise to Abraham. He tells the Israelites through Moses that if they live for him, he will give them their promised land and they will become a kingdom of priests and represent God to the rest of the world. The people enthusiastically accept this and God shows himself at the top of the mountain as clouds and lightening. Moses goes up to the top of the mountain where God gives him the basics to the covenant which are the Ten Commandments. They are:

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall make no idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Keep the Sabbath day holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.

The people eagerly agree to the covenant and God tells them that if they live for him and by the covenant, that he will dwell in their presence in the promised land. Remember, his original presence was lost when Adam and Eve committed original sin. So he tells them he will come back before them once again.


4. The next 6 chapters focus on detailed instructions for building the Tabernacle. The tabernacle was a special moveable tent where the ark of the covenant would be placed and God’s presence would dwell.

5. While Moses is on the mountain receiving the instructions for the tabernacle, the Israelites are growing impatient and tell Moses’ brother, Aaron to build the golden calf so they can worship it for rescuing them. God sees what’s going on and becomes angry. He tells Moses he is going to just be done with it all and wipe Israel out completely. Moses pleads for him not to do this. God accepts and tells Moses he is merciful. He will forgive sin but not leave the wicked unpunished. He shows that he is faithful to the covenant and to the people even though they may not have faith in him. Once again, we see the reoccurring theme of his people straying away but God forgiving and accepting them back. At what point does God just give up on his creation and decide to destroy everything? That must be what revelation is about? The book ends with another 5 chapters of detail on the tabernacle and when it’s all finished, Moses tries to go inside but can’t. It is clear that Israel has damaged its relationship with God. The theme of exodus is that it begins with pharaoh threatening the existence of the Israelites, but in the end it’s themselves that are threatening their existence. The question we are left with, how is God going to reconcile with his people?

 

[Hoosier in Mad Town]

Awesome! I wanted to get some kind of Bible thread started.

We could have endless discussion on just Eve’s interaction with the serpent and the differences between the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Or the very first few verses where God (Elohim) creates the firmament and the Spirit of God moves on the water.

Also, I used to get very annoyed about all the genealogy, but when I actually sat down to pay attention to it, there are is a deep well of intuition that can be drawn from just studying the lineage. Each one of those names has been selected very specifically and is exactly the way it should be.

Overall though, I’m very weak on Old Testament - especially after Genesis - and thanks for the inspiration to dig in more!

Speaking of genealogy in Genesis:

The Flood Judgment​

Methuselah comes from muth, a root that means “death”;[1] and from shalach, which means “to bring”, or “to send forth”. The name Methuselah means, “his death shall bring”.[2]

Methuselah’s father was given a prophecy of the coming Great Flood, and was apparently told that as long as his son was alive, the judgment of the flood would be withheld; but as soon as he died, the flood would be brought or sent forth.

(Can you imagine raising a kid like that? Every time the boy caught a cold, the entire neighborhood must have panicked!)

And, indeed, the year that Methuselah died, the flood came.[3]

It is interesting that Methuselah’s life, in effect, was a symbol of God’s mercy in forestalling the coming judgment of the flood. Therefore, it is fitting that his lifetime is the oldest in the Bible, speaking of the extensiveness of God’s mercy.

The Other Names​

If there is such significance in Methuselah’s name, let’s examine the other names to see what may lie behind them.

Adam​

Adam’s name means “man”. As the first man, that seems straight forward enough.

Seth​

Adam’s son was named Seth, which means “appointed”. Eve said, “For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.”[4]

Enosh​

Seth’s son was called Enosh, which means “mortal, frail, or miserable”. It is from the root anash, “to be incurable”, used of a wound, grief, woe, sickness, or wickedness.

It was in the days of Enosh that men began to defile the name of the Living God.[5]

Kenan​

Enosh’s son was named Kenan, which can mean “sorrow, dirge, or elegy”. (The precise denotation is somewhat elusive; some study aids unfortunately presume that Kenan is synonymous with Cainan.)

Balaam, looking down from the heights of Moab, uses a pun upon the name of the Kenites when he prophesies their destruction.[6]

We have no real idea as to why these names were chosen for their children. Often they may have referred to circumstances at birth, and so on.

Mahalalel​

Kenan’s son was Mahalalel, from mahalal which means blessed or praise; and El, the name for God. Thus, Mahalalel means the “Blessed God”. Often Hebrew names include El, the name of God, as Dan-i-el, “God is my Judge”, etc.

Jared​

Mahalalel’s son was named Jared, from the verb yaradh, meaning “shall come down”.[7]

Enoch​

Jared’s son was named Enoch, which means “teaching, or commencement”. He was the first of four generations of preachers. In fact, the earliest recorded prophecy was by Enoch, which amazingly enough deals with the Second Coming of Christ (although it is quoted in the Book of Jude in the New Testament):

Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against.”
— Jude 14–15

Methuselah​

Enoch was the father of Methuselah, who we have already mentioned. Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah.[8] Apparently, Enoch received the prophecy of the Great Flood, and was told that as long as his son was alive, the judgment of the flood would be withheld. The year that Methuselah died, the flood came.

Enoch, of course, never died: he was translated[9] (or, if you’ll excuse the expression, raptured). That’s how Methuselah can be the oldest man in the Bible, yet he died before his father!

Lamech​

Methuselah’s son was named Lamech, a root still evident today in our own English word, “lament or lamentation”. Lamech suggests despairing.

(This name is also linked to the Lamech in Cain’s line who inadvertently killed his son Tubal-Cain in a hunting incident.[10])

Noah​

Lamech, of course, is the father of Noah, which is derived from nacham, “to bring relief or comfort”, as Lamech himself explains in Genesis 5:29.

The Composite List​

Now let’s put it all together:

Hebrew	English
Adam	Man
Seth	Appointed
Enosh	Mortal
Kenan	Sorrow;
Mahalalel	The Blessed God
Jared	Shall come down
Enoch	Teaching
Methuselah	His death shall bring
Lamech	The Despairing
Noah	Rest, or comfort.

That’s rather remarkable:

Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest.

Here’s the Gospel hidden within a genealogy in Genesis!

 

[ETNVol]

As @Hoosier in Mad Town 's post pointed out, Methuselah's name meant "his death shall bring", or something close to that.

Methuselah's family knew that when he died, judgement would come. These people lived several hundred years, so Noah likely had countless uncles/aunts and cousins and nephews/nieces. Yet in spite of that, only Noah and his wife, his sons, and their wives went on to the ark. For almost a thousand years they had witness that judgement was coming, then had Noah preaching the same for 120 years following God's call to him, and yet none of them believed.

 

[ETNVol]

So this semester, I have been taking a survey of the Old Testament. ITT I will be posting a summary of what I gather from each book. Each week I’ll post my summary for a different book and then open the floor up for discussion. This week, I’ll mention the reoccurring theme that I keep seeing throughout the OT and then move on to Genesis.
IMO, the theme of the OT is this:
From the beginning of Genesis and throughout the entire Old Testament,
There is a common theme. This theme is that humans continue to sin, rebel, and choose to do their own thing, and even so, God still has patience with us and continues to bless us. Occasionally things will get so bad that God will have to punish us, but time and time again, we repent, are sorrowful for our sin and are back in God’s good graces, only to rebel and sin again. This cycle goes on and on throughout the entire OT. God’s chosen people, the Jews, descend from Abraham and his covenant with God. They eventually arrive in the promised land after many centuries of enduring slavery, wandering through deserts, and fighting off other tribes of people. Eventually, Canaan, the promised land, is renamed Israel. Coincidentally, that is what God renamed Jacob, which means “wrestle with God”. This is fitting because we as humans CONTINUE to wrestle with God to this day and have since the beginning of man. Now on to my summary of Genesis...



3. Once again, we see the earth’s population full of sin. They think they can get close to God by building a tower (tower of Babel) God responds by changing everyone’s language and nobody can understand one another. Everyone begins to spread out and move away from each other.

4. Eventually, God Decides to bless Abram who later becomes Abraham. He builds a covenant with Abraham promising him land, and a long lineage of people (God’s chosen people). Abraham and his wife Sarah are very old and childless. Abraham has a son with a concubine, Hagar. The son’s name is Ishmael. Ishmael is considered the father of Islam. God blessed Abraham and Sarah with a son, Issac. IMO, God decides to test Abraham’s faith by ordering him to sacrifice his only son because he wants to make sure that Abraham is truly the patriarch of the lineage God wants to use moving forward. I.e. he doesn’t want to get down the line and them not be the right kind of people. Abraham passes his test and God sends an angel to stop him at the last second. And so the lineage begins. Sarah eventually dies, Abraham remarries

Two things come to mind reading the original post.

God rejected one-world gov't at the Tower of Babel. The devil has been trying to put it back together in the 4500 years since. Millennia later, he's now closer than he's ever been. The concept is banished in the initial book of God's word, yet we see what happens when it comes to fruition in the final book of God's word.

Re: Abraham's testing, God does not really test Abraham or anyone else to see how he would respond, God already knew how Abraham would respond. There is nothing God does not already know. The testing was for Abraham's benefit (and looking back through time, the benefit of the billions of us who would eventually hear or read about it).

 

[Cletusnow]

I’ve gotten a lot out of Wikipedia stepping around the lineage of Adam/Noah/Abraham

You can put any of the names in there and move around the tree:

Tubal-cain - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Fun fact-The word Semite comes from Shem son of Noah.

 

[shiv]

Fun fact-The word Semite comes from Shem son of Noah.

Did not know that

 

[TheGratefulReb]

@Chris Farley

Thanks for doing this!

 

[ETNVol]

Re: Shem, he lived 500 years after the flood, and lived to see Abraham's day. Imagine what he had seen, and had been told by his forefathers. All spiritual blessings came through his line, and of course, he is in the lineage of Jesus.

There is a jewish tradition that it was none other than Shem who was the mysterious priest-king Melchizedek, to whom Abraham tithed.

 

[Chris Farley]

Really enjoyed studying Exodus and rehashing it this week. I decided to rewatch The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston and am watching Exodus: Gods and Kings now to make a comparison. Will report back when finished...

 

[Chris Farley]

And once again, the common theme that I keep seeing throughout the whole Old Testament is that the meaning of the name of Israel (wrestles with God) is just SO fitting! From the very BEGINNING God’s chosen people have rebelled time and time and TIME again only to repent and receive God’s blessing. Which leads me to this question...since Christ came, we (as Christians) have been linked to become God’s people, and STILL we continue to rebel! It seems in biblical proportions that God has not eradicated the enemy in many centuries like he did in the OT. Is the time among us finally? Are we close to repentance and receiving yet another blessing from the Lord? Or is this the final straw? How long can God take us going against his will? I welcome the rapture and pray for it! Take us home Lord. Wipe out the evil that darkens our days!

 

[quickfeet]

And once again, the common theme that I keep seeing throughout the whole Old Testament is that the meaning of the name of Israel (wrestles with God) is just SO fitting! From the very BEGINNING God’s chosen people have rebelled time and time and TIME again only to repent and receive God’s blessing. Which leads me to this question...since Christ came, we (as Christians) have been linked to become God’s people, and STILL we continue to rebel! It seems in biblical proportions that God has not eradicated the enemy in many centuries like he did in the OT. Is the time among us finally? Are we close to repentance and receiving yet another blessing from the Lord? Or is this the final straw? How long can God take us going against his will? I welcome the rapture and pray for it! Take us home Lord. Wipe out the evil that darkens our days!

The work as already done. We are saved, forgiven once and for all when we accept Jesus. At that point we become part of God's chosen - you cannot lose that gift once you have truly been saved. After that, of course we will continue to act out against God's will because we are human. Every earthly thing is just smokin' mirrors - we set our eyes on the Kingdom of Heaven. In the meantime we just do our best to attempt to carry out God's plan.

 

[quickfeet]

Speaking of genealogy in Genesis:

The Flood Judgment​

Methuselah comes from muth, a root that means “death”;[1] and from shalach, which means “to bring”, or “to send forth”. The name Methuselah means, “his death shall bring”.[2]

Methuselah’s father was given a prophecy of the coming Great Flood, and was apparently told that as long as his son was alive, the judgment of the flood would be withheld; but as soon as he died, the flood would be brought or sent forth.

(Can you imagine raising a kid like that? Every time the boy caught a cold, the entire neighborhood must have panicked!)

And, indeed, the year that Methuselah died, the flood came.[3]

It is interesting that Methuselah’s life, in effect, was a symbol of God’s mercy in forestalling the coming judgment of the flood. Therefore, it is fitting that his lifetime is the oldest in the Bible, speaking of the extensiveness of God’s mercy.

The Other Names​

If there is such significance in Methuselah’s name, let’s examine the other names to see what may lie behind them.

Adam​

Adam’s name means “man”. As the first man, that seems straight forward enough.

Seth​

Adam’s son was named Seth, which means “appointed”. Eve said, “For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.”[4]

Enosh​

Seth’s son was called Enosh, which means “mortal, frail, or miserable”. It is from the root anash, “to be incurable”, used of a wound, grief, woe, sickness, or wickedness.

It was in the days of Enosh that men began to defile the name of the Living God.[5]

Kenan​

Enosh’s son was named Kenan, which can mean “sorrow, dirge, or elegy”. (The precise denotation is somewhat elusive; some study aids unfortunately presume that Kenan is synonymous with Cainan.)

Balaam, looking down from the heights of Moab, uses a pun upon the name of the Kenites when he prophesies their destruction.[6]

We have no real idea as to why these names were chosen for their children. Often they may have referred to circumstances at birth, and so on.

Mahalalel​

Kenan’s son was Mahalalel, from mahalal which means blessed or praise; and El, the name for God. Thus, Mahalalel means the “Blessed God”. Often Hebrew names include El, the name of God, as Dan-i-el, “God is my Judge”, etc.

Jared​

Mahalalel’s son was named Jared, from the verb yaradh, meaning “shall come down”.[7]

Enoch​

Jared’s son was named Enoch, which means “teaching, or commencement”. He was the first of four generations of preachers. In fact, the earliest recorded prophecy was by Enoch, which amazingly enough deals with the Second Coming of Christ (although it is quoted in the Book of Jude in the New Testament):

Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

Methuselah​

Enoch was the father of Methuselah, who we have already mentioned. Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah.[8] Apparently, Enoch received the prophecy of the Great Flood, and was told that as long as his son was alive, the judgment of the flood would be withheld. The year that Methuselah died, the flood came.

Enoch, of course, never died: he was translated[9] (or, if you’ll excuse the expression, raptured). That’s how Methuselah can be the oldest man in the Bible, yet he died before his father!

Lamech​

Methuselah’s son was named Lamech, a root still evident today in our own English word, “lament or lamentation”. Lamech suggests despairing.

(This name is also linked to the Lamech in Cain’s line who inadvertently killed his son Tubal-Cain in a hunting incident.[10])

Noah​

Lamech, of course, is the father of Noah, which is derived from nacham, “to bring relief or comfort”, as Lamech himself explains in Genesis 5:29.

The Composite List​

Now let’s put it all together:

Hebrew	English
Adam	Man
Seth	Appointed
Enosh	Mortal
Kenan	Sorrow;
Mahalalel	The Blessed God
Jared	Shall come down
Enoch	Teaching
Methuselah	His death shall bring
Lamech	The Despairing
Noah	Rest, or comfort.

That’s rather remarkable:

Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest.

Here’s the Gospel hidden within a genealogy in Genesis!

AWESOME - thanks for sharing

 

[catreaper]

Not trolling this thread. It would lead to certain hellfire.

 

[Babyshoe]

Is this a thread free from judgement of your fellow man?

 

[quickfeet]

Is this a thread free from judgement of your fellow man?

4 sho

 

[Chris Farley]

1.I like the movie’s approach to be different than the original but I do wish it would have started out with Moses as a baby and shown him growing up with Ramses.

2. Oh shit! Jesse from Breaking Bad is in it!

3.One quote that sticks out to me so far is when Pharoh tells Moses “The men who crave power are best fitted to acquire it and least fitted to exercise it”

4. In Ten Commandments, Moses simply accepts the fact he is Hebrew and willingly becomes a slave. In Exodus G&K, he is coaxed into admitting it by Ramses.

5. Wood Miriam!

6. In G&K, it details Moses’ exile a lot more. I appreciate that.

7. Def wood Zipporah

8. God depicted as a little boy with the burning bush was an interesting concept but very moving. I almost felt the exigency was speaking to me personally about today’s times!



9. Another solid quote, when Moses is talking to his son Gershom he says “I’ll see you again, do you believe me?” Gershom shakes his head no. Moses says “Good for you, don’t ever just say what people want to hear.” Excellent advice!

10. Wood Nefertari!!

11. Very happy to see all of the plagues are shown in the movie! I thought it was really interesting how it showed Ramses’ advisors and “scientists” trying to pick a part the plagues and rationalize everything. (Just like all of our dumbass scientists and doctors do today. sometimes you can’t just rationalize it, sometimes it’s the power of GOD that is behind something! It’s not “just nature” that is wreaking havoc on the world! It’s GOD!

12. Also found it interesting when it showed the Egyptian people storming the grain buildings. They finally start to get some balls to feed their starving families. (Our government will soon control our food supply) When they come out, Ramses has his military murder the civilians. (This will happen to us)

13. God’s conversation with Moses about bringing the Angel of Death forward is captivating. It reminds me that although God is merciful, he also can be vengeful if he wants to be. REPENT! The time is now to repent!

14. When Moses arrives at the Red Sea, he feels that he has lost all hope bc he doesn’t hear God speaking to him. He thinks he is trapped between Ramses’ army and the sea. It’s not till the army arrives that God parts it. He waits till the last second to save the people. This just reminds me that it’s not OUR time that matters. We think that only the time that we can experience is what matters. It’s HIS time that we are working on. Do not abandon hope my brothers and sisters! His time is coming! If there’s anything you can take away from this thread or anything I have said it is that! His time IS coming!

15. The actual crossing of the sea shows us that the people are physically struggling to get there. This reminds me that it’s not going to be easy. We are going to have to fight to get to where we are going. But God is still with us.

16. When Moses reaches Mt Sinai and sees God, he looks back at his people who are partying hard and worshiping the golden calf and God just shakes his head in disappointment.

17. I was happy to see an old Moses traveling with the Ark of the Covenant at the end during their 40 years in the wilderness. I am reminded time and time again about how we rebel as God’s people. It does not go unpunished, however in the end, as long as we repent amd let him into our hearts, we will be delivered!

18. overall I was very pleased with this movie. It was very nicely done and the cinematography was excellent. I appreciate the path that the director and writer took to show us a little different side of things compared to The Ten Commandments. I think everyone should give this a watch!

 

[Chris Farley]

Is this a thread free from judgement of your fellow man?

Ain’t no judgement from me homie!

 

[Babyshoe]

Ain’t no judgement from me homie!

Good. A little gun shy from all of those years seeing people getting ripped on Rivals..... I saw this thread and wanted to share in hopes that I would get some thoughts from good people. I grew up Catholic until 16. Followed a girl to an Assembly of God church for 5 years and she broke my heart and told me "GOD didn't want us to be together" (fine) .... I later joined the Air Force and served 14 years but by 2008 had decided that I was an Atheist. I held onto my conservative values, I was never radical and never looked down on Christians. My family and friend all remained with their respective churches. I decided recently that my children needed better guidance and I absolutely hated seeing all of the "evil" in this world the past several years. I took the step, along with my wife, to take them to a church. It's a Methodist Church called The Temple. We've now been going for 5 weeks straight and I am still skeptical of many things but no longer consider myself an Atheist. One thing we are struggling with so far is that our 6 year old girl is listening and learning and is now saying she doesn't want to go anymore because she doesn't want us to go to Heaven because she wants us to stay here. Hopefully I can find the best way to explain this to her as she's only in Kindergarten and doesn't fully grasp the concepts of this or time in general. Anyway, just thought I'd share. Prayers welcomed. Thoughts welcomed. Thanks.

 

[Chris Farley]

Good. A little gun shy from all of those years seeing people getting ripped on Rivals..... I saw this thread and wanted to share in hopes that I would get some thoughts from good people. I grew up Catholic until 16. Followed a girl to an Assembly of God church for 5 years and she broke my heart and told me "GOD didn't want us to be together" (fine) .... I later joined the Air Force and served 14 years but by 2008 had decided that I was an Atheist. I held onto my conservative values, I was never radical and never looked down on Christians. My family and friend all remained with their respective churches. I decided recently that my children needed better guidance and I absolutely hated seeing all of the "evil" in this world the past several years. I took the step, along with my wife, to take them to a church. It's a Methodist Church called The Temple. We've now been going for 5 weeks straight and I am still skeptical of many things but no longer consider myself an Atheist. One thing we are struggling with so far is that our 6 year old girl is listening and learning and is now saying she doesn't want to go anymore because she doesn't want us to go to Heaven because she wants us to stay here. Hopefully I can find the best way to explain this to her as she's only in Kindergarten and doesn't fully grasp the concepts of this or time in general. Anyway, just thought I'd share. Prayers welcomed. Thoughts welcomed. Thanks.

That’s totally normal for a kid that young to say something like that. It’s up to you as parents to just explain in the best way possible that fits your little girl, that one day everyone goes somewhere and if you accept and love Christ, you’ll go to Heaven. Explain that Heaven is the ultimate goal, again in an appropriate way that would fit your little girl.

also, I am practicing Catholic. And on behalf of all Christians, welcome back brother. God is good and is the only answer. Don’t fear the evil. Fight it.

oh and as far as rivals vs here goes; yeah you still need thick skin around here, but it’s not the faggot bash session that was over there

 

[quickfeet]

Good. A little gun shy from all of those years seeing people getting ripped on Rivals..... I saw this thread and wanted to share in hopes that I would get some thoughts from good people. I grew up Catholic until 16. Followed a girl to an Assembly of God church for 5 years and she broke my heart and told me "GOD didn't want us to be together" (fine) .... I later joined the Air Force and served 14 years but by 2008 had decided that I was an Atheist. I held onto my conservative values, I was never radical and never looked down on Christians. My family and friend all remained with their respective churches. I decided recently that my children needed better guidance and I absolutely hated seeing all of the "evil" in this world the past several years. I took the step, along with my wife, to take them to a church. It's a Methodist Church called The Temple. We've now been going for 5 weeks straight and I am still skeptical of many things but no longer consider myself an Atheist. One thing we are struggling with so far is that our 6 year old girl is listening and learning and is now saying she doesn't want to go anymore because she doesn't want us to go to Heaven because she wants us to stay here. Hopefully I can find the best way to explain this to her as she's only in Kindergarten and doesn't fully grasp the concepts of this or time in general. Anyway, just thought I'd share. Prayers welcomed. Thoughts welcomed. Thanks.

Man this is so incredible! I feel so much love for you brother.

As far as the kids go, don't even sweat explaining it. Just say I know, I understand, It's okay. No need to go into a theological discussion with a 6 year old on something that no single human fully comprehends.

Anyhoo, post more with us on the main forum and ignore the ripping. 99% of the time (at least on this site) it is meant in good fun

 

[Chris Farley]

@Babyshoe also, check out Christian books for kids. I’m sure you can find something that will help explain things a little more. I had a children’s bible stories book when I was little, and although there’s no way for a 6 year old to UNDERSTAND it, it definitely helps with setting the tone for one day that she might start to grasp it a little more.

 

[Babyshoe]

Thanks guys. I appreciate it a lot. Love the children's books idea.

 

[TheNJNole]

Or you can watch "The Bible" on the History channel. Don't forget, "The Bible Continues"....

 

[ETNVol]

Good. A little gun shy from all of those years seeing people getting ripped on Rivals..... I saw this thread and wanted to share in hopes that I would get some thoughts from good people. I grew up Catholic until 16. Followed a girl to an Assembly of God church for 5 years and she broke my heart and told me "GOD didn't want us to be together" (fine) .... I later joined the Air Force and served 14 years but by 2008 had decided that I was an Atheist. I held onto my conservative values, I was never radical and never looked down on Christians. My family and friend all remained with their respective churches. I decided recently that my children needed better guidance and I absolutely hated seeing all of the "evil" in this world the past several years. I took the step, along with my wife, to take them to a church. It's a Methodist Church called The Temple. We've now been going for 5 weeks straight and I am still skeptical of many things but no longer consider myself an Atheist. One thing we are struggling with so far is that our 6 year old girl is listening and learning and is now saying she doesn't want to go anymore because she doesn't want us to go to Heaven because she wants us to stay here. Hopefully I can find the best way to explain this to her as she's only in Kindergarten and doesn't fully grasp the concepts of this or time in general. Anyway, just thought I'd share. Prayers welcomed. Thoughts welcomed. Thanks.

I wouldn't worry about it, my little girl said the same thing. And since you can't reason with a 6 year old girl, we tried telling her things like "It'll be a long time from now" and the like. That's probably not the best way to handle it, but it seemed to calm her down.

 

[Chris Farley]

Week 3 edition of Bible Stories with Chris Farley:


Leviticus

1. This is the 3rd book of the Bible and takes place right after the exodus of the Israelites from their slavery. It opens with the problem of Moses not being able to enter the tabernacle. Basically what this book is about is how God is providing a way for sinful corrupt people to live among his holy presence.
2. If Israel who is unjust, sinful, etc. wants to live among God’s holy presence, they too will need to become holy. The book of Leviticus is very symmetrical. It describes 3 main ways that God helps Israel so that they may live in his presence. The first, most outer sections focus on ritual. The middle sections focus on Israel’s priests as mediators between God and Israel, and inside of that are the sections that focus on Israel’s purity. In the center of the book, there’s a key ritual, “The Day of Atonement” which brings the whole book together.
3. The first tier, about rituals describes the 5 main types of sacrifices that Israel is to perform. Two of the ways of sacrifice were ways of saying “thank you” or giving back to him. The other 3 ways of sacrifice were ways of saying sorry or penance. The instructions are for the person performing the sacrifice to slaughter an animal for God. The animal dies in their place and “atones” for their sin. Basically, that means the animal dying covers for their sin. It also lays out the 7 annual feasts. Each one of the feasts celebrated a different part of the story of being freed by God , their wanders through the wilderness, and finding their way to the promised land.

The 7 annual feasts

Passover

Unleavened Bread

First Fruits

Weeks / Pentecost

Trumpets

Day of Atonement

Tabernacles

By celebrating these feasts regularly, Israel would remember who they were and where they came from, and who God was to them.



4. The second tier sections are about Priests. Aaron (Moses’ brother) and his sons are the first ordained priests that are able to enter God’s presence on behalf of the nation. It describes the qualifications for priests. It talks of the importance of being holy.

5. The most inner tier sections talk about the ritual purity and the moral purity. Because God is holy, he required the people of Israel to be in a clean and pure state before they were to come into his presence. Ways of being unclean or impure were things such as contact with reproductive fluids, having a skin disease, touching mold or fungus, touching dead bodies and eating certain animals. All of these are associated with the loss of life. Basically what God is saying is that you become impure when you touch death. Death is the opposite of God’s holiness because God’s essence is life. This key because simply being impure was not a sin in itself, being impure and unclean was a part of everyday life. It was a temporary state. What IS sinful is walking into God’s holy presence with these symbols of death and impurity in the body. There have been many theories as to why certain animals were considered off limits. On to the sections about moral purity, they were to care for the poor, have a high level of sexual integrity, and promote justice throughout the land.

6. At the very center of the book describes one of the feasts, The Day of Atonement. Not every Israelite’s sin and rebellion would be covered through individual sacrifice. So once a year, the high priest would take 2 goats. One would serve as a purification offering and atone for the sins of the people. The other was called the “scapegoat”. The priest would confess the sins of Israel and place them on this goat and then it’d be cast out into the wilderness.

7. The book concludes with Moses calling the nation to be faithful to the covenant they had made at Mt Sinai. (Ten Commandments) he says if you’re obedient, there will be peace. If you’re unfaithful, there will be disaster snd exile from the land. Basically Leviticus provides a way for the people’s sin to be covered so that they can live amongst him peacefully in his holiness.

 

[AntonGoldnagel]

God responds by allowing them to live

I'm not quite sure God "responded" by letting them live.
On the contrary they were under a death sentence.
Adam and Eve were meant to live forever, if God had allowed them to live they would still be alive today.
The sentence was fulfilled before the prophetic "day" consisting of thousand years ended.

Psa 90:4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by,...

 

[Mungri]

I'm not religious but I always joined school and uni choir / orchestra groups and church performances because it was the only way to participate in music in the 90s.

At uni one of my female christian friends invited me to the uni chapel thing because she was giving a speech, I went and she talked about spending a gap year funded by her dad teaching English somewhere in Africa - she had to sleep in squalor and unlike the other people around her, was provided food and bottled water during her stay.

Afterwards the female pastor did the whole typical 'lets pray for all the poor afrikoons', and my friend turned to me right aways and said 'Oh no, you don't have to do this part, just listen to my prayer if you want'.

If all Christians were like her I wouldn't have any issue with them. She never asked or required me to partake in prayer or religious activity, never tried to convert me, she just wanted me at her events and Christian dinner groups and such.

Oh right, when a normal night out turned into an accidental girls night out and me as the only male cos the other group of male friends decided not to turn up, she said 'God I just love that I can just talk to you and you just sit there and listen'. Thats what your faggot friend is for bitch.

 

[AgEngDawg]

1. Adam and Eve choose to defy God by eating from the tree of knowledge because satan convinced them to through lies. God responds by allowing them to live but having to endure the pains of the world from there on out.

Thanks a lot Adam!!!! Freaking loser!!!