catching up

Genesis 1:
     I have read this part of the Bible before. Good. That sums it up. God creates something, looks it over, and makes sure it is good before going on. A bit like checking a math problem. Yes, there it is, I used the correct equation, got a reasonable answer, it is good; next problem. He only says it is good. Maybe that is sufficient at that time. Maybe fantastic or amazing or awesome were overkill at that time. Maybe it just was not that impressive to him. If he had made it great maybe He would not have had to destroy it all in a few pages.

    Gen 1:21 Probably this is just one of my odd observations, or maybe because I recently finished Moby Dick, but the question I have is why whales? God creates all the creatures and fowl and all life and kind of lumps them all together and then actually mentions whales. Whales are impressive, maybe the author was so impressed with whales he decided to mention them. Maybe there was some weird cult that worshiped whales so the author to persuade his readers decided to throw in that his god made whales.

    Gen 1:26 Confusion!!!!  Who was the creator talking to? He uses the words "us" and "our" when talking about how he is going to make man. Maybe he is just talking to himself. I have been known to talk to myself; who hasn't? Usually this occurs when I have lost my keys or I am dangerously close to the end of my rope with my teenage daughter. Still, I do not use the words "us" and "our" unless I am including her stepfather in my tirade. Then it goes something like,"She must think we our out of our minds if she thinks we will allow her to dye her hair that color". If someone is sitting alone creating and having a bit of a chat with himself and he began using "us" and "our" I would think he had a multiple personality disorder. Since Jesus and the Holy Spirit have not shown up, it seems like it should be just Him. Maybe I'm thinking too small. He is God, maybe he knows what is to come. Anyone else pondering this one?

   God makes everything, gives Adam and Eve a bit of instruction and hands it all over to them. Wow. This is a generous God. He even makes them in his image. A bit of vanity maybe? I think this was where it all started going wrong. Of course we will not read about it until later, but God tends to make seemingly empty promises, kill people, commit genocide, have a bad temper, and generally be a bit hard for the new people to get along with. Perhaps they are a bit too much alike.

Genesis Book 2:
     Details!!! This book is a more detailed account of the first story. Did they forget to write everything down the first time? Why did they make it two books instead of editing it into one? Interesting.

     Names-Adam had to name ALL the creatures. Can you imagine doing this? I had a difficult time naming my only daughter. I cannot imagine this task. Of course, being the only person, it was probably easier. As soon as someone hears you are pregnant they want to add their two cents on what to name the child. Adam just went about and decided with no one to complain.

     The Rib-Eve was created as a "help meet" and together they are one. Taking the rib to make her was the way the bond was formed between them. Unfortunately, some people use this to mean woman belongs to man. Sad really, it's a beautiful story.

     Naked-Huge point right at the end of Gen 2:25-they have no clothes and they do not care. The state of nakedness can be read many ways in a text. Reading further, they sew together clothes and then God makes them better clothes. Are they covering nudity or are they covering their shame of sin? Both?

     Serpent-How does the serpent know all this? (Gen 3) How does this creature know what the fruit does? How does he know it was forbidden? Did God tell him to tempt Adam and Eve? Did he want to kick them out of the garden? Eve convinces Adam to eat the fruit and now the husband rules over the wife. So much for equality.

     Gen 3:22 There He goes with "us" again; I still want to know who he is talking to. Is is Angels? Other Gods? Himself? Adam and Eve are sent out of the garden. Is this the death penalty He promised? They ate the fruit so they go out and God sends for guards so they cannot eat from the tree that will grant them eternal life.

     Gen 4- Cain is a farmer and Able is a shepherd. They both give offerings to God, but He rejects Cains'. There is no explanation for the rejection. Is God still mad about the fruit being eaten? Did he think gardening was not enough of a challenge? Jealousy rears it's ugly head and Cain kills his brother. Later we learn God goes around killing and gets jealous easily. Again, maybe He went too far when he made man in his image.

  Begot, begot, begot...Seth was born to Adam and Eve and he had a son named Enos. At this point men "...began to call the name of the Lord"(Gen 4:26). What did I miss? Did people stop talking to God at some point and Enos started talking to them again?

Gen 5-People lived a LONG time, and then died. There is one exception; Enoch did not die. Gen 5:24 states, "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him". This leads me to even more questions. Is walking with God a good thing? I am going to assume that God did not just get mad and wipe him off the Earth. If that would have been the case the story could be used as a cautionary tale to those who upset God. I am wondering what he did that was so impressive that he was allowed to be with God instead of die. Why would the author choose not to include this story? Of course this is the Bible, so there are many authors. Could this be bad editing? Is the story out there somewhere, but it is not included in the Bible? I will check into it and update my findings.

Gen 6-GIANTS!!! There are giants in the Bible. This is a bit unexpected for me. Who were these giants? Were they really giants or just impressive people? Did the author literally mean giants? How large were these people if they really were giants? People have grown taller over the course of history. Were the Hebrews just short?
         -God decides people should have shorter lifespans, so He reduces it to 120 years. This seems a bit more reasonable. I suppose if people stayed healthy and still had their wits about them a very long life span could have benefits. They could make huge accomplishments during their life. Then again, considering the way a lot of people procrastinate, probably many of them would just put the big things off until they were 400. 120   is good, but it makes the story a little less believable. I personally have never know anyone over the age of 97.
      -Noah walked with God!!! He lived, walked with God then cam back, and later died. There was more, but set that aside for now. This is another example of someone walking with God, but all the details are gone!!! I really hope there are details later on. This has me extremely curious.

     -Earth is covered in people being evil and violent so God decides to take action. He saves the only good family on the planet and get rid of the bad ones. It is not clearly stated what Noah did that was so much better than the other people. If some of the details were included, maybe people could have a good example to live by. So far, this is a how-not-to book.
    
     -Gen 7-FLOOD. That would be a long time in a boat full of animals; not to mention your kids and wife.
     -Gen 8 A dove brings an olive leaf so they know it is all going to be okay. They build and alter and make an offering. I feel like I am missing an obvious symbol here. What is the symbol of the olive leaf beyond that there is a healthy olive tree?
    -Gen 9-Rainbows will be the sign of the covenant between God and man. Was the author trying to explain something that is beautiful and, at the time, a bit mysterious?
               -Noah is drunk and naked!!! Ham sees that his father is naked and his other two brothers cover their father. Since Ham did not act, his son is cursed. What? Noah got drunk and naked so his grandson is cursed? I suppose that it would teach everyone to watch out for each other and lend a hand to those who are unable. Still, is it right to get drunk and pass out naked in this society? Here it is the first night on the freshly laundered Earth and people are already cursing each other. This is not a good sign.
    -Gen 10-Noah's family tree.