Technically, this is Saturday's entry - first real chance to write. I read Genesis 4-6, and there's plenty to go through, so I better get started. Cain and Abel, there's a tragic story. Abel gives God both the first and the best. Cain eventually finds the time to give God something, and gets upset when God rewards the one who honours Him as deserving of the best. Yet God has not condemned him for his lack of proper reverence and honour, instead He warns Cain of the potential for his sin to master him, and offers acceptance if Cain does what is right. How often do I get angry as a result of something I haven't done right? How often has sin crouched at my door and rather than mastering it I've given in and let it have me, as Cain did?
(at this point, feeling exhausted after a long day, I fell asleep - continued after I woke up)
- 10:45 am
God, thank you that You destroy sin, and that You will not allow me to be tempted beyond what I can stand, so that as I walk in obedience I will always have the ability to shut the door to sin, and open it to You. Forgive me for the times when I have done the opposite, and give me Your strength for each new day so that I will live consistently for You and not give in to the evil and contrary desires of my flesh. Amen.
The other thing I noticed with Cain is that in his mind he was distanced from his brother. Whether through jealousy, anger, or the deceitfulness of sin, he let go of the fact that he was indeed his brother's keeper. We are all responsible for one another, but like his father's sin, Cain looks out for only himself and tries to pass off the blame, but God is neither blind nor stupid. He sees and knows exactly what has happened. I need to make certain that I don't make excuses to sin in my own life, they are deceptive and do not actually excuse me from the responsibility I have to God and to those around me. Any excuse that subverts righteousness or justice has to go.
A few points that might be interesting in the line from Adam to Noah: Adam was still alive when Noah's father was born. Adam's son Seth was still alive when Enoch was taken away to be with God. Adam was not, but he would have been alive when Enoch began walking with God. I wonder if maybe Adam's stories of walking in the garden of Eden with God had inspired Enoch to pursue a close relationship of his own with God.
Besides Adam, Seth, and Enoch, the rest of the men named would have been alive when Noah was born. Noah also walked with God - yet he did so without having met arguably the 3 closest men to have had the chance in history up to that point. Adam had at least done so at one point, Seth would have had firsthand accounts of that, closer to the event than anyone else, and Enoch walked so closely with God that God took him. I don't know whether Noah learned to walk with God from God Himself, or from what can be clearly seen in nature that points to Him, or whether others of his ancestors instructed him. All we see is that at the time of the Flood, Noah alone on earth was a godly man.
Noah's father would have died about 5 years before the Flood, but his grandfather, Methuselah, would have died about the same year as the Flood, perhaps even perishing in it, or perhaps being spared from it by God by dying before it could take place. I don't know the details, but I do know that just because Methuselah lived longer than any other man in recorded history doesn't necessarily make him a good example. I would rather follow in the footsteps of God, the way his father Enoch did, or the way Noah did, being righteous and without blame among the people of his time. I'm glad that Noah didn't just resolve to be OK with himself just being better than average, or godly in comparison with others... because he actively walked with God, he and his family was spared, and the human race continued. How important is it to walk with God? It has far reaching consequences that we can't begin to imagine. You and I would not be alive today if Noah had not walked with God.
Dear God, may I walk more closely with You, and be an influence on many who I may never meet in this lifetime. For Your praise, and for Your glory. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment