Live Long and Prosper

January 5, 2024

January 5, 2024

Read Genesis 5, Psalm 5, John 5

My apologies for the Star Trek reference in the title. I’m not a big Star Trek fan, a “Trekkie” as they are called, but I have seen enough episodes to know the phrase comes from the Vulcans in the series.  When you read Genesis 5 you will immediately notice this is a genealogy. The book of Genesis has two different lines of genealogies all through the whole book. Some follow a godly line of people and others a not so godly line. The last part of Genesis 4 is a decent into wickedness.  It starts with Cain and his murder of Abel and then goes to Lamech who ends up bragging to his two wives that he has killed a man for injuring him vv. 23-24. Now in Chapter 5 we follow the Godly genealogy of Adam through Seth. It ends with Noah the only one found righteous on the earth at the time of the flood.

The second thing you probably noticed right away was the ages of the men named. The ages range from 365 years with Enoch to 969 with Methuselah. Enoch was one of two men that the Bible says never died. What a simple epitaph we have recorded about Enoch, “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” v. 24. Some have noted the 365 days in a year match his years. What a brief but powerful funeral message! Someone once showed me that if you do the math, when the flood waters came on the earth with Noah, it apparently occurs the same year that Methuselah died[JW1] . Was God waiting for the last of the righteous to pass away before He unveiled his plan to Noah? I’ll let you be the judge.

Skeptics will balk at the ages of these men. They may say it’s not possible. First, none of us knows, we were not here to see for ourselves. After the flood we do see the ages falling back down. God does make a statement about man’s years being 120 (Genesis 6:3). I once had a Bible study teacher suggest that perhaps the atmosphere was very different before the flood.  The flood narrative describes water that was above in the atmosphere (Gen. 7:11). We do have written records in Sumerian literature that credits three kings as living 72,000 total years. Most think they were just having a humble brag moment in their reign.

Psalm 5 is another Psalm of David. The middle verses stand out to me. vv. 4-6 talk about a God who takes no pleasure in evil nor with the men who practice it. David says, “You destroy those who tell lies” v. 6. The next three verses vv. 7-9 speak of the great mercy that God bestows on the righteous. “But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house” v. 7. This takes me back to the two genealogies in Genesis. There are those that follow the Lord and those that do not.  Remember, no one is perfect or without sin, but the trajectories of the two are contrasted.

John 5 is the narrative of Jesus healing a man at the Pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. It always fascinates me in this story that Jesus asked a question “Do you want to get well?” v. 6. This is a “yes or no” question. The man responds with a “why” answer to a question Jesus never asked. “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred” v. 7. It seems that the man was focused on his problem and not the solution that stood right before him. When it comes to the problems that we face, do we tend to look at the problems or do we look to the solution to the problems? Sometimes we can focus on the wrong things.

This healing on the Sabbath launches Jesus in persecution by the Jews. Jesus will later explain what keeping the Sabbath is about and what it was not about. Jesus speaks plainly about His authority and the testimony of the Scripture which speaks of him. He tells the Jews plainly, you study the Scripture but you do not come to Jesus who the Scriptures speak of.

What other words or phrases or themes do you see in these three chapters? What stands out to you when you read them? What questions do you have about these passages?  Write them down and dig into some answers when you can go back and research them more. Add your comments below.

 [JW1]By adding the numbers between Methuselah and Noah (187 + 182) and accounting for Genesis 7:6 where Noah was 600 years old it is possible to consider that Methuselah died in the flood or just before it began. (187+182+600 = 969.)

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Posted by John Weldon

Sabbath, Work, and Some Weddings

January 2, 2024

January 2, 2024

Read Genesis 2, Psalm 2, John 2

Life is a mix of work and play. We see both of these elements in Genesis 2. Some people are work-a-holics, while others are just plain lazy. We must find a proper balance. The Sabbath was a day of rest. God does not need the rest, but it was an example set by God for humanity to follow. We are living in the New Testament times and not under the Mosaic Law. We do not have a legal obligation to follow the Sabbath today, but we would be wise to observe a Sabbath in our lives on a weekly basis. On the other side of the coin, God created man and placed him the garden “to work it and take care of it” v. 15. You likely had New Years Day off and today you are back to work. Work is good for the human soul. It was a part of God’s plan before the fall, before sin (although sin made it more laborious). Work gives us a sense of purpose, accomplishment, and a healthy pride in what we have done. Work accomplishes good things for us and others. The Evangelist Jonathan Edwards who worked tirelessly to preach the gospel across America still made time for a Sabbath. While traveling on the Connecticut River he recorded,

“At Saybrook we went ashore to lodge on Saturday, and there kept the Sabbath;
where I had a sweet and refreshing season, walking alone in the fields.”[JW1] 

Whitney, Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.

Some skeptics object to Genesis 2 as a contradictory second creation account. Rather it is continuation of the creation account but zoomed in from a 30,000-foot up view down to the garden view. Genesis 1 looks at the creation of the universe and Genesis 2 homes in on the creation of humanity. It ends relating marriage to the creation account with the often quoted “a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” v.24.

Contemporaries push back on this narrative. Is Adam superior to Eve because he was created first? Isn’t the creation story a patriarchal story of oppression? Does Adam name his own wife as an exercise of power, after all, Eve is called a “helper” v. 20? The answer, “no” to all these accusations. Sixteen times God is called Israel’s helper (Ex. 18:4, Deut. 33:7, etc.) and He is not the lessor in that relationship. Both men and women are equal in value but differ in their roles in the family and the church which follows the creation narrative.

Psalm 2 opens with a question, “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?” The question of who would dare challenge the authority of God and his power. God dares any nation who would come against his “Anointed One” v. 2, The psalm is full of language that points not only to an earthly king in Israel but also to Jesus. The New Testament connects Psalm 2 in Acts 4:25-26, Acts 13:33, and Hebrews 1:5.

The themes of weddings and authority continue in John 2. Jesus’ first miracle was at a wedding. He turned water into wine. Not just any water, it was “the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing” v. 6. Think of that as water unfit to drink, meant for washing hands and other ceremonial items. Jesus took something impure and made it into “choice wine” v. 10 that people would brag about and enjoy. This first miracle was a statement about Jesus’ mission and ministry. Second, Jesus purifies the temple and rids it the money-changers by creating a whip and driving out those who had made the temple into “a market.” What has the contemporary church made the church into? Are we guilty of turning it into anything that would displease Christ? When Jesus is questioned about his actions the subject of authority is raised upon Jesus. “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” v. 18. Jesus looks ahead symbolically to the cross where his physical body would be destroyed but God would “raise it in three days” v. 20.

What else do you see in these chapters? What words and phrases catch your attention as you read?  How does the theme of authority flow through each of these chapters individually? What questions do you have from these chapters? Add your thoughts below.

 [JW1]Whitney, Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1991. pg, 197.

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Posted by John Weldon