History 10 - Barbara Lynn Seibel

September 22, 2018September 22, 2018

An Unknown Word

Why would God leave a word in the Bible that we can only identify as a noun due to its construction but have no other example available to us either in the Bible or other literature?

What purpose does something like this have in instructing us about God and His ways? How do we make sense of this for how we live out our faith?

The word I’m referring to is found in Genesis 6:14. It is sometimes left out of Biblical translations, simply transliterated, or a “best guess” is used in its place. Scholars debate what “gopher” is. Some think it is a type of tree that was wiped out because of the flood. Others think it may be a scribal error since the Hebrew “g” closely resembles the Hebrew “k”. If the word is supposed to be “kopher” then it would be describing a wood that has been treated to resist water. This latter argument makes a great deal of sense to my logical mind since Noah was building an ark meant to survive a flood. But the bottom line is we don’t know for certain.

How does this information impact you? Does it strengthen your faith or make you skeptical about the Bible’s accuracy?

As you continue to read the remainder of Genesis 6 do you notice that God gives Noah specific instructions on how the ark should be built and what is to be collected for this mission?

Did Noah understand the Lord’s instructions to him? (see Genesis 6:22)

God spoke clearly and precisely to Noah to save a remnant of all flesh. Noah listened to God and was obedient to the instructions.

Is it important that we know the meaning of “gopher”? (see Genesis 9:8-17)

Considering God has promised that He will never again destroy all flesh again via a flood, there will never again be a need for an ark made of gopher wood to be constructed.

So why write a post then about this unknown word?

In today’s world we have so many sources of information barraging our senses that it is often difficult to discern what we should listen to, let alone be obedient toward. Knowing that God spoke with specificity to Noah encourages me to believe that God will also speak to us today with the same clarity through His word so that we may navigate the waters of our own day and age.

But are we listening to Him and are we willing to do as He instructs us just like Noah did?

Are you willing to live out your faith in such a way that you make a difference for God’s mission to humanity?

What does this look like in your life today?

It may not be as epic as building an ark to save all flesh from a flood, but the mission will be specific to who God created you to be to point others to a different structure made of wood that served an even greater epic saving purpose, the cross of salvation. (see Matthew 27:32 to 28:20.)

We all have a specific role to play today. Are you listening and obeying? (See Romans 12:1-2)

Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and out with pitch. (Gen 6:14 ESV)

May 4, 2018May 4, 2018

What’s Your bloodline?

Sometimes life doesn’t take the route we expect. The past several months for myself have been full of unexpected responsibilities, illness, or injuries that made getting to my personal writing goals simply not feasible. Now that I’m able to return to my writing it struck me that sometimes in God’s word there appear to be gaps in the story line as well. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Yes, some details are left out, but we can trust that what is provided is exactly what we need to know.

Genesis 4-5

Based on the face value of the years of life mentioned in the list of Adam’s descendants at the start of Genesis 5, about 1056 years pass from the time Adam and Eve birthed their first son before we come to the story of Noah and the great flood. We’re not given all the details of what transpires during these 1056 years but the details we are told prepare us for this flood story.

Looking back at Genesis 4 we receive these details of Cain’s bloodline:

Adam and Eve have two sons: Cain and Abel.
Cain murders Abel. (See Genesis 4:1-16)
Cain’s genealogical line develops toward a great-great-great grandson Lamech who was the first man to take two wives.
This Lamech brags about killing a man in response to having been only wounded by that man.
Lamech’s offspring tend to livestock, create musical instruments, and develop the forging of bronze and iron.
Lamech’s son, Tubal-cain has a sister named Naamah. (See Genesis 4: 17-24)

The details that are shared about Seth’s descendants in Genesis 4:25 thru chapter 5 are:

Adam and Eve have a third son: Seth.
Seth has a son: Enosh.
At this time the people began to call upon the name of the Lord.
Enoch, the great-great-great grandson of Seth, “walked with God after he fathered Methuselah…Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.”
Methuselah fathers Lamech.
This Lamech fathers Noah and said about Noah, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands”. (See Genesis 5:28-29)

Genesis 5 opens with a summary of the fact that God created mankind then details the genealogical line from Adam through his third son Seth to Noah.

Why do you think this recap of creation is given at the start of Genesis 5 given what we’ve learned thus far in Genesis 1-4?

What difference do you see in the great-great-great grandsons of Cain (Lamech) versus Seth’s(Enoch)?

What is the result of this difference found in Enoch?

Can you see the importance of our need to call on the name of the Lord for the hope of the generations to come?

May the Lord deepen your understanding of His patience and provision for His creation as you reflect on the differences between Cain’s and Seth’s family heritage. As you personalize these lessons to your own life may the Lord give you insight and wisdom as to how He has provided for you in your own family heritage.

Maybe your heritage has more examples along the line of Cain’s bloodline than Seth’s. If so, thank the Lord for this knowledge and seek His strength and mercy to be the catalyst for future generations in your family line toward loving and serving the Lord above all else.

Or does your heritage have more in common with Seth’s blood line than Cain’s? If so, thank the Lord for this knowledge and continue to seek His strength and mercy to continue in faithfulness for future generations in your family line as well.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about Genesis 4-5 if you feel so led to share. Either post a comment on the blog site if you’d like to share with all readers or email me your comments if it is for my eyes only.

Blessings,

Barbara Lynn

January 31, 2018

In the Midst

Genesis 2:9

And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

What does it mean to be “in the midst” of something?

Dictionary.com defines “in the midst” as the position of anything surrounded by other things or parts or occurring in the middle of a period of time.

Have you ever wondered why the tree of life is highlighted as being in the midst of the garden God created? What is the significance of this detail that is shared with us?

A synonym for “midst” is “middle”. Being in the middle of something means the object or person is equally distant from everything else within a specified area. In Genesis 2:9 this could mean the tree of life was at the very center of the garden God created. Or it could mean the tree of life was simply among the other trees of the garden.

Regardless of its precise physical placement within the garden design, scripture is making a point to highlight the tree of life as being present and available to mankind at the start of God’s design. However, God restricted our access to the tree of life as the consequence for disobedience to his first command after Eve and Adam ate fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (See Genesis 3:22-23)

Right now, we are “in the midst” of His plan of restoration for mankind. But guess what? We will one day have access to the tree of life again!

Revelation 22:1-2

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 22:14

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.

What does it mean to “wash their robes”?

Revelation 7:14

I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Restoration is God’s plan for those who acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior. All who “wash their robes” in accepting Christ’s sacrifice (on a tree by the way) as the penalty for their sins will be granted access to the tree of life and its twelve fruits that yield a harvest every month!

In the meantime, we’ve been promised that the Helper, the Holy Spirit, is with us to teach and comfort us while we await the final restoration. (See John 14:26)

May you be encouraged knowing the Holy Spirit is “in the midst” of your daily experience until the time of the final restoration.

Blessings, Barbara Lynn