Читать книгу The Books of Moses and More: A Christian Perspective - Kenneth B. Alexander - Страница 22

Genesis is the book of the beginnings of beginnings. It is the only book, scientific or otherwise, that sets the time of creation of this physical reality we call home at a fixed point. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). God Himself existed, prior to the creation, in the realm of Spirit, what we colloquially call heaven. “God is spirit” (John 4:24). The world of Spirit is distinguished from this natural world. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). Creation, as recounted in Genesis, is the creation of a material world separate from the world of spirit, with the intent that both realms become one at some point.

Many definable events were in existence in God’s heart prior to the creation of our world. Christ was in existence before physical creation. …” You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). Christ existed as the Lamb of God, slain for the sins of the world, before the world was created. Revelation 13:8 says: “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”. In the spirit realm there was the reality in the heart and the plan of the Father, and it had that form before it finally came and manifested itself in the physical world that we call reality. Through the centuries it had to have reality in the spirit world and reality in the heart of the Father before we could finally see its reality. (Stevens, John Robert, This Week, 1973 Vol.IV, p.328).

God hints in the scriptures about how He created this realm we currently dwell in. Isaiah 40:21-22 states: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who is enthroned above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain”. And He told Job:“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? …Or who stretched the line on it? “On what  were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7). His ways are past finding out!

Genesis is not only an account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. It is a history of mankind, from God’s standpoint; of its perfected state, to its sinful state and the redemption that returned him to a perfected sinless existence. Taken as a whole the Book lays out the framework upon which God built a Kingdom of Sons which became His Bride and His family. The end is known from the beginning so we speak of it as it is before it is actually manifested.

To understand Genesis is to know God, the way He thinks, why He does certain things, His feelings and His reasons, which are in addition to His mighty power, his great omnificence, omnipresence and overwhelming glory. Despite His greatness He is willing that man can individually know His heart, His ways, and He is willing to share that with the men/women who are willing to be chosen to receive it.

The book begins with the re-creation of the earth which God found (in verse 2) to be: “formless and void [a waste and emptiness], and darkness was over the surface of [the face of] the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving [hovering] over the surface of the waters”. God speaks here of a Spiritual darkness because (in verse 3) He creates “light”, spiritual light to combat the spiritual darkness (the Sun is not created until later). God goes on in verses 4-30 to create lights in the sky (Sun, Moon and stars), dry land, birds, large and small (creeping things) animals and finally man. It should be noted that no time period (day or any amount) separates verses 1 & 2. The “7 days” of creation actually begin in verse 3.

The fact that God does all works in what He calls a number of “days” does not mean these are days as man understands a day (a revolution of the earth in a 24 hour period). We must understand what time really is, that is, what time means to God who lives in eternity. The Bible says this about time from God’s standpoint: “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. (2 Peter 3:8-9). Also Psalm 90:4, written by Moses, also the author of Genesis by consensus, says: “For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night”. This scripture indicates a thousand years are like a watch in the night which man sleeps through with no passage of time noted. Some interpreters say that the term “a thousand years” is simply a number meaning “ultimate perfection” (10 x 10 x 10 = 1,000). Wiersbe, Warren W., The Bible Exposition Commentary, Victor Books, 1996. The Bible Knowledge Commentary states as follows: God counts time differently than does man. People see time against time; but God sees time against eternity. In fact time only seems long because of man’s finite perspective. With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. Other commentators regard a thousand years as simply “a very long time”.

The creation of man is documented as follows: “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them…. God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very  good” see Genesis 1:27-31 for a full account). However . beginning with Chapter 2, God apparently recounts the creation of man in more detail. Some see a conflict between chapters 1 & 2 for a variety of reasons too numerous to mention here. However all that can really be said is that Chapter 1 speaks for itself and Chapter 2 begins the line of man that ended in the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior and Messiah.

In Chapter 2 God creates Adam from the dust of the earth and later Eve from the body of Adam. The pair is born into an earthly paradise which resembles the Kingdom of God which is to come (see Revelation 21-22). There was as yet no death in this paradise. To God His creation was “very good” in that no imperfection existed. The pair, man and woman, was free to partake of every blessing in this paradise but were sternly warned not to partake of the fruit of the “tree of knowledge of good and evil”; the penalty for offending this commandment would be death. (Gen. 2:16-17).

Chapter chronicles the deception which was propagated against Adam and Eve which would throw the entire creation into a state of futility which would plague man for the next millenniums. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made” The serpent was Satan himself. Revelation 20:1-3 says in relevant part “And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years”. The serpent (Satan) said to the woman, “Indeed has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die”. Eve was well aware of God’s commandment which made her choice later to eat of the fruit a willful sin, even though she was deceived by one more crafty than she.

“The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!” This is a direct contradiction to God’s word. The devil went on: “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate”. How often are we deceived by something that looks innocent and desirable?

This is one of the oldest tricks used on man by Satan. He told Eve that is she ate she would be like God. Man always wants to exalt himself above God and establish his own kingdom on earth. Satan himself wanted to be like God. Isaiah 14:12-14 says of Satan: “How you have  fallen from heaven, O star of the morning [shining one, Lucifer] son of the dawn!.. “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Genesis 3:1-6). Satan has challenged God’s word ever since using the deceptive phrase “has God really said”. This assault of Satan which amounts to unbelief hits directly against man’s faith as Satan makes a mockery of God’s word.

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Ge. 3:8-13).

Adam and Eve’s response to their sin is the same as ours. We are guilty, we know it, and we try to hide our sin. The Lord responded angrily: “who told you were naked?” Adam and Eve confessed but God had no choice but to punish them. If he allowed them to live on in the garden of paradise in a sinful state, with the tree of life still available to them, they would have perverted the world even more that it was cursed by God’s punishments. They would have had eternal life in a garden of sin. God said: “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to  the tree of life” (Gen. 3:22-24).

The bottom line was that He expelled them permanently from the garden into a cursed world dominated by futility. The Apostle Paul explains in Romans 8:20-21: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but  because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God”. In other words God did not subject creation to futility willingly. His hand was forced by Adam and Eve. Placing creation under a curse was a better alternative than allowing sin to invade paradise forever. His acting as he did was actually an act of mercy because it set the stage for the redemption of man to come in the form of Jesus Christ.

God’s hope is expressed in his judgment of the serpent: ”The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel” (Gen. 3:14-15). What He is saying is that the seed of the woman (Jesus Christ) will eventually crush the head of the serpent, defeating Him. Of course that was fulfilled by the virgin birth of Jesus through the woman, which was the defeat of Satan.

Subjecting the earth and creation to futility has had far reaching effects. Since that day in  Paradise, the world has been under the curse of futility until now. Futility is variously described as: useless, fruitless, unimportant, vain, abortive and worthless. One need only look around to see the nations rise and fall, leaders come and go, happiness is fleeting and no matter what is attempted it doesn’t produce true happiness. Man lives in a world dominated by futility, death, destruction and unpredictability. Solomon said: Vanity of vanities, [futility of futilities]” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is futility” What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun? A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever…. All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:2-9).

Although man was cast into a world of sin upon his fall from paradise, evidence of that sin is immediately manifested in the first family. Cain, the older son of Adam, rose up and killed his younger brother Abel in the field. The story goes that each was to bring an offering to the Lord. Abel, a sheepherder, brought his first fruits lamb without blemish as his offering. Cain, on the other hand, was a farmer and brought the first fruits of his crops. God was pleased with Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s. Cain became angry. The Lord gently counseled him, trying to give him an opportunity to change his attitude. (Gen. 4:6-7). Cain did not listen and the first recorded murder resulted.

Why this occurred involves some conjecture. Probably both had been educated by Adam as to what was and was not acceptable to God. Abel’s offering was a thing of great value – his first born, unblemished lamb. Cain’s gift was from the land that God had cursed when He ejected Adam and Eve from the Garden (Genesis 1:17-19). In any event, God must have assumed Cain knew better, otherwise, the God of justice could not have punished Cain as He did for something done from ignorance. Also, Abel’s offering was a first-born lamb without blemish, as Christ was referred to as the Lamb of God. Abel’s revelation may have been deeper than Cain’s and thus presented a sacrifice which was symbolic of the restoration to follow from the cursed ground. God told Cain essentially that, since he (Cain) was now aware of sin (sin means in Hebrew "missing the mark") that he could find a happy countenance by mastering that sin and “hitting the mark”. Cain may also have been jealous of his brother since Cain was the firstborn son of Adam. He may have felt that Abel was going to usurp his place of honor, normally going to the first born of a family.

God banished Cain completely from his presence. No true family can be properly constructed with the presence of evil within it. This can be compared with Satan who was thrown out of heaven because his rebellious, evil, accusing presence was a distraction to God and his plan for mankind. Cain went out from the Lord to the Land of "Nod". The word Nod has been variously associated with: wanderer, vagrant (New American Bible Version), nomad, aimless, unrest, commotion, a terror round about, a dreadful sound round about, and a land of exile (Matthew Henry's Commentary). So the land of Nod was spiritually separated from God in a terrible land where there was "no rest for the wicked".

Therefore the land of Nod was where Cain settled and built the earth's first city (Gen 4:17), As Adam was banished from Paradise onto the earth, so Cain was banished from God's presence on earth. In this land Cain became the builder of the first large city on the earth. He set the stage for the later evil that would eventually cause God to send the flood destroying all humanity. The descents of Cain were those that began to engage in worldly pursuits (music, city building, nomadism, work with metals, probably alchemy, sorcery, cattle breeding, etc) Genesis 4:17-24.

Adam had another son Seth who also began a line separate from that of Cain. It was with Seth that men began to call upon the Lord again (Genesis 4:25-26). The line of Seth included Enoch who walked with and God translated him like he did later with Elijah. It also included Lamech who was the Father of Noah.

However, in Chapter 6 we see man being completely corrupted. “Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose… The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown” (Gen. 6:1-2, 4).

Nephilim means literally “fallen ones”. The heavenly beings referred to as the “sons of God” (called Watchers in some extant books i.e. the Book of Enoch) were actually fallen angels that fell to earth, mated with earthly women, and produced Satanic offspring called Nephilim. These Nephilim were the closest thing Satan had to offspring as they were ½ demonic and ½ human. They produced what were called “giants”, men of renown; men like those depicted in Greek and Roman mythology such as Hercules etc.

These Nephilim continued to exist after the flood. They were confronted by the spies who spied out the Promised Land. “So they [the spies] gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. “There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:32-33). The Nephilim hid out in the land of Hebron, from which Goliath the giant arose. “When they had gone up into the Negev, they came to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak were” (Numbers 13:22).

It was because of these Nephilim that God decided to destroy man, because they had made the earth so corrupt. “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them” (Gen. 6:5-7).

“But  Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen. 6:8). Noah, the son of Lamech, had three sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth) of whom we will learn more later. God told Noah exactly how to construct the ark (Gen. 6:14-17). And He told Noah to stock the ark with sufficient food and told him to bring male and female animals, birds, and creeping thing onto the ark. This Noah did. When he, the animals, and his family entered the ark it began to rain and rained 40 days and nights. And: “The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died (Gen. 7:20-22).

There is today considerable scientific and archeological debate as to how this could possibly have occurred as it is written in the Bible. There is no real scientific or archeological proof. The only answer is that it was a miracle. “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:23-26). And: “Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27). “And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You;” (Mark 14:36). The answer to the scientific debate is that to God all things are possible, where they are impossible even for man to imagine.

END PART 1