WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.040 Welcome to you if you are new here in town or visiting from the weekend. 00:00:07.520 --> 00:00:09.919 We are starting a new series today in the book of Genesis. 00:00:11.120 --> 00:00:18.780 And this morning we'll be taking an overview of the first 11 chapters that we'll be covering over the next three months. 00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:25.359 One of the things that we are trying out this fall is we have bought a bunch of these scripture journals. 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:30.879 So this has the text of Genesis on one side and a blank page on the other side. 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:35.159 So if you would find this helpful over the next few months, you can take your sermon notes in it. 00:00:35.219 --> 00:00:38.259 You can take personal notes if you're reading through Genesis on your own. 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:41.679 There's some copies on the back table and there's some down on the bookstall. 00:00:41.780 --> 00:00:42.640 They're four bucks each. 00:00:43.120 --> 00:00:47.299 Just bring the money next week and put it in the offering next week if you don't have that today. 00:00:47.299 --> 00:00:59.219 So feel free to take one if this would be helpful to you and feel free to use them if that would be something you'd like. 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:04.959 So 20 years ago this weekend, I arrived in New Haven. 00:01:05.900 --> 00:01:09.920 Moved for the first time since I was three and I didn't remember that. 00:01:10.599 --> 00:01:16.200 For me, settling into New Haven was both exhilarating and disorienting. 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:18.480 I was a first year college student. 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:22.500 At first, it seemed like I had huge amounts of free time. 00:01:24.379 --> 00:01:25.760 And I was living in a city. 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:26.939 I'd grown up in a small town. 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:28.359 It was all very exciting. 00:01:29.060 --> 00:01:32.599 But at other times, it also felt disorienting and overwhelming. 00:01:33.900 --> 00:01:37.159 I remember my first night at college around 11 p.m. 00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:41.320 I walked over to the Dwight Hall Chapel and sat in a dimly lit corner of the room. 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:43.120 My head was throbbing. 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:46.120 I felt like I must have introduced myself to 500 people. 00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:49.219 On that long, hot, sweaty day. 00:01:50.340 --> 00:01:53.719 How would I find my place among all these people? 00:01:54.460 --> 00:01:57.359 Let alone in this fairly unfamiliar city. 00:01:57.480 --> 00:01:58.680 I would drive around downtown. 00:01:58.820 --> 00:02:01.760 I'd end up going around in circles because there's all the one-way streets. 00:02:01.859 --> 00:02:04.020 And I couldn't figure out which ones went which way. 00:02:05.100 --> 00:02:07.100 One morning, I decided I'd go for a run. 00:02:07.820 --> 00:02:10.420 I thought I'd explore some other parts of the city on foot. 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:12.359 I got completely lost. 00:02:12.459 --> 00:02:13.479 It started pouring rain. 00:02:14.419 --> 00:02:16.819 I knew I wouldn't make it back in time for class. 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:18.539 I thought I was heading back to campus. 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:20.459 I was actually getting close to West Haven. 00:02:22.699 --> 00:02:26.519 Thankfully, a merciful shuttle driver pointed me back where I needed to go. 00:02:26.520 --> 00:02:32.000 Well, whether you've just moved to New Haven or whether you've spent your whole life here, 00:02:32.100 --> 00:02:36.900 isn't this part of what it means to be a human being on this planet? 00:02:38.160 --> 00:02:43.460 We find ourselves in a world that is both exhilarating and disorienting. 00:02:43.460 --> 00:02:48.180 Amazingly beautiful and deeply problematic. 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:53.180 And we can ask ourselves, what does all this mean? 00:02:53.300 --> 00:02:55.000 How do I make sense of it? 00:02:55.080 --> 00:02:56.760 Where did this all come from? 00:02:57.020 --> 00:02:59.140 Where do I fit within it? 00:02:59.480 --> 00:03:01.100 Where is my life going? 00:03:01.180 --> 00:03:07.760 You know, these kinds of questions set human beings apart from every other species that we know of. 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:15.739 Human beings long for meaning, identity, and purpose, and we don't flourish apart from those things. 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:23.259 Over the years, writers and artists and philosophers and poets have wrestled with these big questions of life. 00:03:23.259 --> 00:03:37.239 But one of the texts that has been around the longest and that has consistently shaped cultures and societies, families, and individuals ever since it was first written is the book of Genesis. 00:03:38.459 --> 00:03:43.680 For thousands of years, Genesis has not only told a story about our origins, that is where we came from, 00:03:43.719 --> 00:03:52.680 but it also speaks to our identity, who we are today, and it even hints at our ultimate destiny, where we're headed in the future. 00:03:53.959 --> 00:03:58.439 This fall, we'll be looking at the first 11 chapters of Genesis. 00:03:58.659 --> 00:04:03.399 And week by week, we'll walk through these chapters and consider what they have to say to us today. 00:04:04.379 --> 00:04:07.840 There's a blue card in the pew in front of you that has a schedule. 00:04:08.500 --> 00:04:17.779 So feel free to take one home with you if you'd like, if you'd like to sort of read ahead and prepare for, meditate on the text that we're going to be looking at each Sunday. 00:04:17.879 --> 00:04:20.899 But what I want to do today, today's going to be a bit unusual. 00:04:20.899 --> 00:04:26.279 Usually we'll be staying close to a particular chapter or section of the text. 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:29.359 But today we're going to do an overview of the terrain. 00:04:29.539 --> 00:04:36.439 So today we'll feel a little bit like going up to the top of East Rock or West Rock and looking at New Haven as a whole. 00:04:36.439 --> 00:04:44.459 If you're new in town, it's worth sort of driving or hiking up to one of these outlooks at some point because you can see the contours of the land. 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:52.079 You can see the Long Island Sound on the south and the Quinnipiac River on the east and some smaller rivers on the west. 00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:59.459 You can see the familiar landmarks, the tall buildings downtown, the tree-lined streets, the Yale campus, Southern Connecticut State, Wilber Cross High School. 00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:04.079 You can begin to grasp how the city fits together as a whole. 00:05:05.699 --> 00:05:11.659 Like the city of New Haven, the opening chapters of Genesis can be both exhilarating and disorienting. 00:05:12.599 --> 00:05:15.339 On the one hand, these chapters are endlessly fascinating. 00:05:15.339 --> 00:05:19.779 They've inspired countless works of art and literature over the centuries. 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:31.839 Stories that might be familiar to you like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Cain killing his brother Abel, Noah and the flood, the Tower of Babel. 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:37.039 But at the same time, reading these chapters can also feel disorienting. 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:48.080 Now, in part, this is because these chapters have become the source or subject, I don't think they're the source, but they are the subject of numerous controversies and questions. 00:05:48.980 --> 00:05:55.280 So let me just acknowledge some of the questions that are out there, some of the questions that you may be bringing with you as we approach Genesis. 00:05:55.480 --> 00:05:57.160 So you may have questions about science. 00:05:58.360 --> 00:06:03.160 How does Genesis relate to modern scientific theories like the Big Bang and evolution? 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:10.060 Now, this is a big topic, so we're going to take two weeks at the end of September in Adult Sunday School to address it. 00:06:10.760 --> 00:06:13.860 So I'll teach one session from my perspective as a pastor. 00:06:14.020 --> 00:06:19.060 Danielle Speller, who's a physicist, is going to teach another session from her perspective as a physicist. 00:06:19.180 --> 00:06:20.640 We'll be talking about science and faith. 00:06:22.320 --> 00:06:23.480 So that's one question. 00:06:24.600 --> 00:06:27.400 A more scholarly question is a question about authorship. 00:06:27.540 --> 00:06:28.620 Who wrote Genesis? 00:06:29.340 --> 00:06:31.120 Now, the traditional answer is Moses. 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:36.420 And I think there is a very good case to be made for Moses playing a primary role. 00:06:37.560 --> 00:06:42.459 However, many scholars completely dismiss that idea and don't even take it seriously. 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:49.819 Now, I won't try to resolve that question here and now, but I've written a handout, and it's on the back table, and you can take it, entitled, 00:06:49.939 --> 00:06:50.840 Who Wrote the Pentateuch? 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:55.160 Just sort of overviewing some of the reasons why people think certain things. 00:06:55.160 --> 00:07:01.780 And if that's of interest to you, I'm happy to discuss that at another time. 00:07:02.960 --> 00:07:04.260 Here are some other questions. 00:07:05.340 --> 00:07:09.300 What about cavemen, Neanderthals, and other early hominids? 00:07:09.500 --> 00:07:11.760 How do they fit in with the story of Adam and Eve? 00:07:13.180 --> 00:07:15.120 Where did Cain's wife come from? 00:07:16.120 --> 00:07:21.300 If you know this, Cain's the son of Adam and Eve, and then Cain's wife is mentioned in the text. 00:07:21.420 --> 00:07:26.860 Well, where did his wife come from if he was the son of Adam and Eve and there weren't any other people around? 00:07:26.980 --> 00:07:28.840 Or does that mean there were other people around? 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:31.959 Did the flood really happen? 00:07:32.740 --> 00:07:33.980 Like Genesis says it did. 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:35.480 If so, where's the lost ark? 00:07:35.480 --> 00:07:40.220 More seriously, that was supposed to be a joke, the lost ark. 00:07:41.879 --> 00:07:46.319 More seriously, what does it mean that God made human beings in his own image? 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:50.379 And then why did God want to wipe out the entire world that he had created in the flood? 00:07:51.520 --> 00:07:56.180 So many questions, and all of these are legitimate, some more important than others. 00:07:56.540 --> 00:07:59.060 Many we will address over the next three months. 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:05.680 But you know, if we immediately focus on all the questions that we bring with us as modern people, 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:08.579 many of which reflect our own cultural assumptions, 00:08:09.459 --> 00:08:13.340 it's possible to miss the point of Genesis itself. 00:08:14.660 --> 00:08:19.500 So I want to acknowledge these questions, but I also want to put them to the side for right now, 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:24.139 and begin by dealing with Genesis on its own terms. 00:08:24.939 --> 00:08:27.340 So open your Bible to the book of Genesis. 00:08:29.060 --> 00:08:31.639 This morning, I want to focus on three things. 00:08:31.780 --> 00:08:34.080 Number one is the structure of Genesis. 00:08:34.299 --> 00:08:35.379 How is the book organized? 00:08:36.659 --> 00:08:38.659 Second is the audience of Genesis. 00:08:38.860 --> 00:08:40.159 Who is the book written to? 00:08:40.980 --> 00:08:44.399 And third, the main character of Genesis. 00:08:46.220 --> 00:08:48.159 So first, the structure of Genesis. 00:08:48.379 --> 00:08:50.259 Now, when Genesis was first written down, 00:08:50.360 --> 00:08:54.419 there were no chapter and verse markers like we see in our modern Bibles. 00:08:54.740 --> 00:08:57.379 The chapter numbers were added in the 13th century, 00:08:57.379 --> 00:08:59.919 and the verse numbers were added in the 16th century, 00:09:00.100 --> 00:09:05.580 simply so that it would be easier to explain to somebody else which part you were referring to. 00:09:07.179 --> 00:09:11.259 But we do see in the text of Genesis a very clear and orderly structure. 00:09:11.419 --> 00:09:12.659 Now, if you look in your bulletin, 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:14.919 in one of the middle pages in your bulletin, 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:19.539 I've outlined the important parts of this structure, the relevant verses. 00:09:19.539 --> 00:09:21.699 But if you're looking at a Bible, 00:09:21.819 --> 00:09:23.259 Genesis begins by saying, 00:09:23.459 --> 00:09:27.059 in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 00:09:27.139 --> 00:09:28.379 And in fact, in Hebrew Bibles, 00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:31.399 Genesis is known by that first Hebrew word, 00:09:31.719 --> 00:09:32.939 Bereshith, or beginning. 00:09:33.659 --> 00:09:35.120 It's the book of beginnings. 00:09:35.339 --> 00:09:36.879 And Genesis describes two beginnings. 00:09:37.939 --> 00:09:40.699 So chapters 1 to 11, which we'll be looking at this fall, 00:09:41.059 --> 00:09:42.579 describe the beginning of the world. 00:09:42.580 --> 00:09:47.200 And these chapters have sort of a wide-angle, global view. 00:09:48.100 --> 00:09:50.460 The rest of the book, chapters 12 through 50, 00:09:50.920 --> 00:09:53.720 describes the beginning of God's people Israel. 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:55.720 Starting in chapter 12, 00:09:55.800 --> 00:10:00.920 the focus narrows way into Abraham and his family and his descendants. 00:10:01.879 --> 00:10:04.500 And you can see that these are the two major parts of Genesis 00:10:04.500 --> 00:10:06.780 because each of the parts has five sections 00:10:06.780 --> 00:10:08.860 that all begin with the same heading. 00:10:08.860 --> 00:10:11.279 If you look at chapter 2, verse 4, 00:10:12.259 --> 00:10:16.300 the first heading in the first part of Genesis, 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:16.720 it says, 00:10:17.019 --> 00:10:19.700 these are the generations of the heavens and the earth 00:10:19.700 --> 00:10:20.800 when they were created. 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:24.200 Then if you go to chapter 5, verse 1, 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:26.259 it says this same similar phrase, 00:10:26.379 --> 00:10:28.539 this is the book of the generations of Adam. 00:10:29.240 --> 00:10:30.379 Chapter 6, verse 9, 00:10:30.440 --> 00:10:31.800 these are the generations of Noah. 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:32.840 Chapter 10, verse 1, 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:34.899 these are the generations of the sons of Noah. 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:36.379 And chapter 11, verse 10, 00:10:36.440 --> 00:10:37.620 these are the generations of Shem. 00:10:37.620 --> 00:10:39.820 In other translations, 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:41.480 these verses might be translated, 00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:44.700 this is the family line of so-and-so, 00:10:44.779 --> 00:10:48.080 or this is the account of so-and-so. 00:10:48.139 --> 00:10:49.659 But in Hebrew, it's always the same word, 00:10:49.899 --> 00:10:51.919 regardless of how it's translated. 00:10:53.179 --> 00:10:56.860 And you might notice a couple of things from this structure. 00:10:57.080 --> 00:11:01.700 First, the sections alternate between narratives, or stories, 00:11:02.200 --> 00:11:04.220 and genealogies, or lists. 00:11:04.220 --> 00:11:07.160 And this was very common in many ancient writings. 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:09.840 Story, list, story, list. 00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:13.700 The other thing you might notice is that the first chapter of Genesis, 00:11:13.980 --> 00:11:15.720 through to chapter 2, verse 3, 00:11:16.160 --> 00:11:18.580 stands apart from the rest of the book. 00:11:19.399 --> 00:11:21.960 So it's not just another section. 00:11:22.800 --> 00:11:25.820 It's more like a prologue or a prelude. 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:28.920 As we'll see next week, it's full of poetic patterns. 00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:33.719 It's sort of like a movie trailer that sets the stage for what is to come. 00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:38.559 So Genesis is very intentionally ordered, 00:11:38.679 --> 00:11:40.379 has a very clear and orderly structure. 00:11:40.519 --> 00:11:43.120 It's thoughtfully arranged, not randomly thrown together. 00:11:43.500 --> 00:11:46.620 And it highlights these two major movements, 00:11:46.699 --> 00:11:47.719 the beginning of the world, 00:11:47.879 --> 00:11:50.659 and then the beginning of God's people Israel, 00:11:51.019 --> 00:11:54.459 through whom he would renew the whole world, ultimately. 00:11:54.460 --> 00:11:56.900 So that's how Genesis is structured. 00:11:57.860 --> 00:12:02.280 Second, let me speak a bit to the audience of Genesis. 00:12:02.420 --> 00:12:06.620 In other words, who was the book of Genesis originally written for? 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:12.080 Well, I think we can definitely say two things here. 00:12:12.220 --> 00:12:15.700 First, Genesis was written for the people of Israel. 00:12:16.860 --> 00:12:20.560 In other words, Genesis was written for people who had already experienced 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:23.659 God's mighty power and rescuing grace, 00:12:23.879 --> 00:12:27.859 and it was written for them so they would come to know their God better. 00:12:29.479 --> 00:12:30.919 You might say, well, how do we know this? 00:12:30.979 --> 00:12:34.399 Because Genesis is connected to the four books that follow it. 00:12:35.059 --> 00:12:39.579 And it's always been connected to Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. 00:12:39.659 --> 00:12:41.199 These are the first five books of the Bible. 00:12:41.599 --> 00:12:44.479 That's why they're sometimes called the Pentateuch five books. 00:12:44.939 --> 00:12:47.099 They contain the early history of the people of Israel. 00:12:47.219 --> 00:12:49.839 They contain the laws that the people of Israel were to live by. 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:53.800 And these books were written down and read aloud over the centuries 00:12:53.800 --> 00:12:56.000 among the people of Israel. 00:12:56.960 --> 00:13:00.360 So Genesis was written to help people who were already believers 00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:04.519 in the God of the Bible to get to know their God better 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:07.440 and to find their place in the world that he had made. 00:13:08.280 --> 00:13:12.759 So if you're a Christian believer today, Genesis is for you. 00:13:13.900 --> 00:13:18.480 And Genesis is an invitation to behold your God. 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:22.840 To get to know this God whom you have begun to experience 00:13:22.840 --> 00:13:24.879 and already have come to believe, 00:13:25.300 --> 00:13:27.899 to get to know him better and to find your place 00:13:27.899 --> 00:13:29.860 in the world that he has made. 00:13:30.940 --> 00:13:34.860 But second, I'd also argue that Genesis is also written 00:13:34.860 --> 00:13:39.420 for people who don't or don't yet believe in the God of the Bible. 00:13:39.419 --> 00:13:42.919 If you don't believe in the God of the Bible, 00:13:43.059 --> 00:13:44.740 I think that Genesis is an appeal. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:48.240 Consider this God. 00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:51.919 Now, why would I say that? 00:13:52.860 --> 00:13:55.120 Well, the chapters we're looking at this fall, 00:13:55.379 --> 00:13:57.659 in particular, are written in a way 00:13:57.659 --> 00:14:00.959 that would have introduced the God of Israel 00:14:00.959 --> 00:14:05.779 clearly and powerfully to anyone from the surrounding nations 00:14:05.779 --> 00:14:10.279 who had different religious and philosophical and moral beliefs. 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:15.079 You see, the people of Israel never lived on an island. 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:19.199 They were never completely isolated from the rest of the world. 00:14:19.299 --> 00:14:21.019 They always had neighbors. 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:23.939 The Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Canaanites. 00:14:24.019 --> 00:14:25.319 Now, sometimes they're fighting them. 00:14:25.419 --> 00:14:27.019 Sometimes they're coexisting with them. 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:28.699 Sometimes they're conquered by them. 00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:31.559 But they're always interacting with them 00:14:31.559 --> 00:14:33.079 in one way or another. 00:14:33.080 --> 00:14:35.300 And each of these surrounding nations 00:14:35.300 --> 00:14:37.840 also had their own stories 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:41.100 of how the world came to be 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:44.900 and how their nation came to be. 00:14:45.960 --> 00:14:47.800 Now, there are three major stories 00:14:47.800 --> 00:14:51.040 that we'll see in the course of Genesis 1 through 11. 00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:52.460 First, the creation. 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:54.580 And that's really chapters 1 through 4, 00:14:54.820 --> 00:14:55.900 how the world began, 00:14:56.200 --> 00:14:57.640 and then how it all went wrong. 00:14:58.600 --> 00:15:00.020 Then there's the flood, 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:02.900 which is really chapters 5 through 9. 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:05.280 How everything got washed away 00:15:05.280 --> 00:15:06.960 and then made new again. 00:15:08.020 --> 00:15:10.440 And then there's the Tower of Babel. 00:15:11.100 --> 00:15:14.379 That word Babel is referring to the ancient city of Babylon. 00:15:15.700 --> 00:15:17.720 Now, every one of these topics, 00:15:17.820 --> 00:15:20.560 the creation, the flood, the Tower of Babel, 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:22.160 would have been familiar to people 00:15:22.160 --> 00:15:24.660 from the nations that surrounded Israel. 00:15:25.800 --> 00:15:28.360 So, for example, the Babylonians had a poem 00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:30.379 entitled Enuma Elish, 00:15:30.379 --> 00:15:34.200 which begins with a story of how the world was created 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:36.139 from unformed waters, 00:15:36.139 --> 00:15:38.659 and it concludes with the building of a tower 00:15:38.659 --> 00:15:40.460 in Babylon as a temple 00:15:40.460 --> 00:15:42.620 to the Babylonian god Marduk. 00:15:43.899 --> 00:15:46.419 Other nations also told stories about a great flood. 00:15:46.980 --> 00:15:48.120 The Epic of Gilgamesh, 00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:49.399 the Sumerian flood story, 00:15:49.500 --> 00:15:50.419 the Atrahasis epic, 00:15:50.539 --> 00:15:52.439 all speak about a great flood 00:15:52.439 --> 00:15:54.620 sent by the gods as a judgment 00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:55.840 on the human race. 00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:59.460 So, you see, if you were living in the ancient world, 00:16:00.100 --> 00:16:01.920 the topics that Genesis covers 00:16:01.920 --> 00:16:04.040 and the questions that Genesis addresses 00:16:04.040 --> 00:16:06.379 would have seemed very normal. 00:16:07.420 --> 00:16:09.019 We might read Genesis and think 00:16:09.019 --> 00:16:11.860 that some parts are unusual or strange, 00:16:12.019 --> 00:16:14.379 but they wouldn't have seemed unusual or strange 00:16:14.379 --> 00:16:16.800 in the topics that it is addressing. 00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:20.200 So, Genesis was addressing common questions 00:16:20.200 --> 00:16:21.400 that people had back then. 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:25.740 And I think if we can hear and interpret Genesis rightly, 00:16:25.980 --> 00:16:27.259 we'll see that it also speaks 00:16:27.259 --> 00:16:29.240 to many of the questions that people have today. 00:16:30.740 --> 00:16:32.240 So, Genesis speaks to believers, 00:16:32.740 --> 00:16:35.059 and it invites us to behold our God, 00:16:35.159 --> 00:16:36.720 and Genesis speaks to skeptics 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:38.059 and appeals and says, 00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:40.179 consider this God. 00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:43.240 That brings us to the third point, 00:16:43.340 --> 00:16:45.439 the main character of Genesis. 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:45.640 Genesis. 00:16:47.140 --> 00:16:49.500 The main character of Genesis is not Adam, 00:16:49.740 --> 00:16:50.600 or Eve, 00:16:51.040 --> 00:16:51.500 or Noah, 00:16:51.780 --> 00:16:52.540 or Abraham. 00:16:53.800 --> 00:16:56.560 The main character in Genesis is God. 00:16:58.100 --> 00:16:59.740 In the first chapter alone, 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:02.020 God's name is mentioned more than 30 times. 00:17:03.680 --> 00:17:05.120 And so, before we jump into 00:17:05.120 --> 00:17:07.100 any of our other questions about Genesis, 00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:09.059 the first question we need to ask is this, 00:17:09.240 --> 00:17:11.960 what is Genesis telling us about God? 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:12.039 God. 00:17:13.840 --> 00:17:16.100 You see, what would have been striking 00:17:16.100 --> 00:17:17.900 and distinctive to everyone else 00:17:17.900 --> 00:17:18.920 in the ancient world 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:22.220 is not the topics that Genesis addresses, 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:24.860 but it's the God who Genesis describes, 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:27.700 who's unique and distinct. 00:17:29.019 --> 00:17:30.680 As we look through these 11 chapters, 00:17:30.900 --> 00:17:32.100 we're going to see three things 00:17:32.100 --> 00:17:33.779 about the God whom Genesis describes, 00:17:33.880 --> 00:17:35.340 and for the rest of our time this morning, 00:17:35.400 --> 00:17:37.779 I want to focus on these three things. 00:17:39.259 --> 00:17:41.519 First, in the first two chapters, 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:42.480 Genesis 1 and 2, 00:17:42.539 --> 00:17:44.359 we see that God is the good creator 00:17:44.359 --> 00:17:47.039 of everything and everyone. 00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:51.660 You know, if you read these other creation stories 00:17:51.660 --> 00:17:53.420 from the ancient Near East, 00:17:54.279 --> 00:17:55.920 every one of them describes 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:57.720 the creation of the world as a fight, 00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:01.400 a violent struggle between rival gods 00:18:01.400 --> 00:18:03.059 or a manipulative ploy 00:18:03.059 --> 00:18:05.720 by one deity trying to undermine another. 00:18:05.720 --> 00:18:10.000 But in the biblical account of creation, 00:18:10.500 --> 00:18:12.039 there's only one God 00:18:12.039 --> 00:18:16.579 who is not full of internal conflict, 00:18:17.180 --> 00:18:20.299 but rather who creates all things purposefully 00:18:20.299 --> 00:18:21.779 through his word. 00:18:23.180 --> 00:18:24.519 If you look at chapter one, 00:18:24.600 --> 00:18:25.900 there's a repeated refrain, 00:18:26.059 --> 00:18:27.140 and God said, 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:31.180 and then God saw that it was good. 00:18:31.180 --> 00:18:35.420 In the other ancient creation stories, 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:37.380 the gods create human beings 00:18:37.380 --> 00:18:38.600 to be their slaves, 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:41.180 to do their work 00:18:41.180 --> 00:18:43.299 so that the gods can sit back and relax. 00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:47.340 Mankind shall be charged 00:18:47.340 --> 00:18:49.220 with the service of the gods 00:18:49.220 --> 00:18:50.840 that they might be at ease, 00:18:50.940 --> 00:18:54.519 says the Atrahasis epic Babylonian story. 00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:58.220 But in Genesis, it's different. 00:18:59.259 --> 00:19:01.119 First, we see that God works. 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:03.680 God is portrayed as an architect 00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:05.139 building the universe, 00:19:05.339 --> 00:19:06.720 and then as an artist, 00:19:07.099 --> 00:19:10.220 creating it, filling it, 00:19:10.299 --> 00:19:12.839 and then as a gardener, cultivating it. 00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:16.819 There's a dignity to human work, 00:19:17.579 --> 00:19:20.279 and God is not trying to stop working 00:19:20.279 --> 00:19:21.920 by making human beings 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:25.139 to do his undignified work. 00:19:25.879 --> 00:19:26.899 Rather, God works, 00:19:26.940 --> 00:19:27.879 and so do his people, 00:19:28.039 --> 00:19:29.480 and also God rests. 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:31.899 How does the creation story end? 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:35.579 Chapter two, verse one, 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:36.759 thus the heavens and the earth 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:37.359 were finished, 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:38.539 and all the host of them. 00:19:39.700 --> 00:19:40.639 And on the seventh day, 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:42.379 God finished his work that he had done, 00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:44.539 and he rested on the seventh day 00:19:44.539 --> 00:19:46.460 from all his work that he had done. 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:48.139 So God blessed the seventh day 00:19:48.139 --> 00:19:49.720 and made it holy. 00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:53.480 You see, God rests. 00:19:53.579 --> 00:19:54.180 In other words, 00:19:54.279 --> 00:19:56.319 God has joyful delight 00:19:56.319 --> 00:19:58.799 in the world that he has made, 00:19:58.940 --> 00:20:01.559 and God shares that joyful delight 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:04.700 with his image-bearing creatures. 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:07.440 You see, the Sabbath is not just something 00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:09.079 that only God can practice, 00:20:09.220 --> 00:20:11.359 but as we go on in the Old Testament, 00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:13.259 God gives it as a gift to his people. 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:14.359 He says, 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:17.039 I want you to experience the joyful delight 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:19.480 that I have in looking at the world 00:20:19.480 --> 00:20:20.279 that I have made, 00:20:20.339 --> 00:20:21.500 and even joyful delight 00:20:21.500 --> 00:20:23.299 in the work that I'm doing in you. 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:27.160 You see, the biblical God, 00:20:28.220 --> 00:20:30.559 unlike the other gods 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:32.559 of the ancient Near East, 00:20:33.460 --> 00:20:35.240 the biblical God is not simply 00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:39.460 a projection of greedy, fickle, selfish, 00:20:39.860 --> 00:20:41.599 conflict-prone humanity. 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:44.639 The biblical God is not just a reflection 00:20:44.639 --> 00:20:46.059 of the ancient cultures 00:20:46.059 --> 00:20:47.779 in which these books originated. 00:20:48.439 --> 00:20:50.519 The biblical God is distinct and unique. 00:20:50.639 --> 00:20:53.000 He is the good creator of everything 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:54.159 and everyone. 00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:59.140 You know, not many people today still read 00:20:59.140 --> 00:21:01.640 the ancient Babylonian and Egyptian 00:21:01.640 --> 00:21:03.860 and Canaanite creation myths. 00:21:04.980 --> 00:21:05.120 Right? 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:05.820 Not many people, 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:07.900 pretty much only scholars read 00:21:07.900 --> 00:21:09.220 the Atrahas' epic, 00:21:09.779 --> 00:21:11.680 some of the other Sumerian 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:13.040 and Egyptian creation stories, 00:21:13.140 --> 00:21:14.500 but billions of people 00:21:14.500 --> 00:21:18.220 still read Genesis. 00:21:18.220 --> 00:21:20.779 It's never gone out of print. 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:24.140 Around the world, 00:21:24.279 --> 00:21:25.680 in different periods of history 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:27.380 and vastly different cultures 00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:28.100 from where it is written, 00:21:28.220 --> 00:21:29.120 people have found 00:21:29.120 --> 00:21:31.559 that Genesis has a message 00:21:31.559 --> 00:21:35.019 that is still worth considering, 00:21:35.420 --> 00:21:37.339 still thought-provoking. 00:21:38.740 --> 00:21:41.160 One scholar who wrote a commentary 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:42.000 on the book of Genesis 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:43.140 is Leon Cass. 00:21:43.720 --> 00:21:44.600 He was a professor 00:21:44.600 --> 00:21:45.799 at the University of Chicago. 00:21:46.740 --> 00:21:47.559 He may still be there. 00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:49.480 But he wrote this 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:50.419 in his introduction 00:21:50.419 --> 00:21:51.279 to his commentary. 00:21:51.500 --> 00:21:53.359 He did not identify himself 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:54.519 as a religious believer, 00:21:55.099 --> 00:21:55.960 but he wrote this 00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:56.619 in his introduction. 00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:57.019 He said, 00:21:57.099 --> 00:21:58.039 More and more Americans 00:21:58.039 --> 00:21:59.399 are owning up to the fact 00:21:59.399 --> 00:22:00.659 that something is missing 00:22:00.659 --> 00:22:01.919 in their lives. 00:22:02.359 --> 00:22:03.359 More and more of us 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:05.079 are looking for spiritual direction 00:22:05.079 --> 00:22:05.819 and guidance. 00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:08.519 It seemed like only yesterday 00:22:08.519 --> 00:22:09.799 that the Enlightenment 00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:11.700 overthrew the rule 00:22:11.700 --> 00:22:12.980 of religious orthodoxy 00:22:12.980 --> 00:22:14.859 and promised an earthly paradise 00:22:14.859 --> 00:22:16.220 of human fulfillment 00:22:16.220 --> 00:22:18.920 based only on scientific reason. 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:20.660 Yet today, 00:22:20.779 --> 00:22:22.000 the enlightened children 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:22.880 of skeptics, 00:22:22.920 --> 00:22:23.920 and he includes himself 00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:25.839 as a child of skeptics, 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:27.039 he says, 00:22:27.140 --> 00:22:28.460 We are discovering for ourselves 00:22:28.460 --> 00:22:29.860 that man does not live 00:22:29.860 --> 00:22:31.120 or live well 00:22:31.120 --> 00:22:32.319 by bread alone, 00:22:33.140 --> 00:22:36.420 nor by bread and circuses, 00:22:36.980 --> 00:22:39.059 and that science's account 00:22:39.059 --> 00:22:40.480 of human life and the world 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:41.779 is neither adequate 00:22:41.779 --> 00:22:42.500 to the subject 00:22:42.500 --> 00:22:43.460 nor satisfying 00:22:43.460 --> 00:22:44.620 to the longings 00:22:44.620 --> 00:22:45.220 of the soul. 00:22:46.620 --> 00:22:47.019 So he says, 00:22:47.100 --> 00:22:48.440 We need to reconsider 00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:49.860 our present beliefs 00:22:49.860 --> 00:22:50.940 and reexamine 00:22:50.940 --> 00:22:52.019 seemingly rejected 00:22:52.019 --> 00:22:54.140 or abandoned alternatives. 00:22:54.579 --> 00:22:55.299 This includes, 00:22:55.380 --> 00:22:55.960 he goes on, 00:22:56.019 --> 00:22:57.740 a serious reexamination 00:22:57.740 --> 00:22:58.900 of the Bible. 00:22:59.980 --> 00:23:00.380 And he says, 00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:01.380 The best place to start 00:23:01.380 --> 00:23:02.120 is at the beginning 00:23:02.120 --> 00:23:03.380 with a book known 00:23:03.380 --> 00:23:04.380 as Genesis. 00:23:06.700 --> 00:23:07.000 You see, 00:23:07.100 --> 00:23:07.460 Genesis continues 00:23:07.460 --> 00:23:09.360 continues to speak 00:23:09.360 --> 00:23:10.860 to people 00:23:10.860 --> 00:23:12.900 who are looking 00:23:12.900 --> 00:23:14.600 for these answers 00:23:14.600 --> 00:23:15.620 to these big questions 00:23:15.620 --> 00:23:16.259 of meaning 00:23:16.259 --> 00:23:17.079 and identity 00:23:17.079 --> 00:23:17.920 and purpose. 00:23:19.819 --> 00:23:20.039 You know, 00:23:20.100 --> 00:23:20.600 maybe you've, 00:23:21.400 --> 00:23:22.600 maybe you have come 00:23:22.600 --> 00:23:24.039 to believe 00:23:24.039 --> 00:23:24.960 in the God of the Bible. 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:26.559 Maybe you've had 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:27.160 an experience 00:23:27.160 --> 00:23:27.900 of God's goodness 00:23:27.900 --> 00:23:29.579 that has drawn you 00:23:29.579 --> 00:23:30.340 to him. 00:23:30.420 --> 00:23:30.920 Maybe there's been 00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:31.900 an answered prayer 00:23:31.900 --> 00:23:34.180 or a merciful intervention 00:23:34.180 --> 00:23:35.840 or an undeserved gift 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:37.259 or just an unexplainable 00:23:37.259 --> 00:23:38.599 but undeniable sense 00:23:38.599 --> 00:23:39.459 that God is there 00:23:39.459 --> 00:23:40.279 and God is real. 00:23:40.639 --> 00:23:41.619 And Genesis is saying 00:23:41.619 --> 00:23:42.259 that the God 00:23:42.259 --> 00:23:43.419 you've begun to experience 00:23:43.419 --> 00:23:44.179 is even greater 00:23:44.179 --> 00:23:45.359 than you can imagine. 00:23:46.699 --> 00:23:47.720 The whole universe 00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:48.539 is a theater 00:23:48.539 --> 00:23:49.439 of his glory. 00:23:51.159 --> 00:23:52.240 Abraham Kuyper once said, 00:23:52.359 --> 00:23:53.679 There is not a square inch 00:23:53.679 --> 00:23:55.099 in the whole domain 00:23:55.099 --> 00:23:56.279 of our human existence 00:23:56.279 --> 00:23:58.259 over which Jesus Christ, 00:23:58.399 --> 00:23:59.500 who is sovereign over all, 00:23:59.579 --> 00:24:00.459 does not cry, 00:24:01.019 --> 00:24:01.299 Mine. 00:24:03.339 --> 00:24:03.980 Genesis says, 00:24:04.039 --> 00:24:05.339 God made it all 00:24:05.339 --> 00:24:06.559 and he is present 00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:08.919 in it all. 00:24:10.679 --> 00:24:10.899 You know, 00:24:10.939 --> 00:24:12.240 imagine Moses. 00:24:13.199 --> 00:24:13.980 Imagine Moses 00:24:13.980 --> 00:24:15.299 standing in the wilderness. 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:16.759 He's led the people, 00:24:16.919 --> 00:24:17.539 he's led the children 00:24:17.539 --> 00:24:17.980 of Israel 00:24:17.980 --> 00:24:19.419 out of slavery in Egypt. 00:24:19.539 --> 00:24:20.500 They've experienced 00:24:20.500 --> 00:24:22.859 God's miraculous power. 00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:23.879 They've experienced 00:24:23.879 --> 00:24:25.819 this dramatic deliverance. 00:24:26.419 --> 00:24:27.439 They were once slaves 00:24:27.439 --> 00:24:28.359 and now they're free. 00:24:28.859 --> 00:24:29.679 And imagine Moses 00:24:29.679 --> 00:24:32.159 reading the first chapter 00:24:32.159 --> 00:24:33.439 of Genesis to them 00:24:33.439 --> 00:24:34.939 in the beginning. 00:24:35.339 --> 00:24:36.619 God created 00:24:36.619 --> 00:24:37.519 the heavens 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:38.619 and the earth. 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:41.279 What's he saying? 00:24:41.339 --> 00:24:41.599 He's saying, 00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:42.759 The God who you've begun 00:24:42.759 --> 00:24:43.539 to experience 00:24:43.539 --> 00:24:44.279 who has, 00:24:44.500 --> 00:24:45.419 in a personal way, 00:24:45.639 --> 00:24:46.559 is the one who spoke 00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:47.459 the entire world 00:24:47.459 --> 00:24:48.240 into existence 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:50.419 and rules over everything, 00:24:50.619 --> 00:24:51.240 who formed 00:24:51.240 --> 00:24:52.599 and filled the earth 00:24:52.599 --> 00:24:54.339 and rules over the nations. 00:24:54.519 --> 00:24:56.179 Behold your God. 00:24:56.259 --> 00:24:57.439 He's not just the God 00:24:57.439 --> 00:24:58.779 of your little life 00:24:58.779 --> 00:25:00.399 or your little community. 00:25:00.679 --> 00:25:01.459 He's the God 00:25:01.459 --> 00:25:02.199 of everything. 00:25:02.200 --> 00:25:04.160 He's the one 00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:05.559 who created all nations. 00:25:08.059 --> 00:25:09.140 The good creator 00:25:09.140 --> 00:25:09.680 of everything 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:10.140 and everyone. 00:25:11.140 --> 00:25:11.880 That's the first thing 00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:12.700 we see about God. 00:25:14.059 --> 00:25:15.059 The second thing 00:25:15.059 --> 00:25:15.860 we see about God 00:25:15.860 --> 00:25:16.279 in Genesis 00:25:16.279 --> 00:25:17.380 is that God's not only 00:25:17.380 --> 00:25:18.000 the good creator 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:18.500 of everything 00:25:18.500 --> 00:25:18.920 and everyone, 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:19.640 but he's also 00:25:19.640 --> 00:25:20.360 the judge 00:25:20.360 --> 00:25:22.180 of all. 00:25:22.600 --> 00:25:23.460 And his judgments 00:25:23.460 --> 00:25:25.200 are altogether righteous. 00:25:25.840 --> 00:25:26.640 And we'll see this 00:25:26.640 --> 00:25:27.420 throughout chapters 00:25:27.420 --> 00:25:28.640 three through eleven. 00:25:28.640 --> 00:25:29.800 You see, 00:25:29.900 --> 00:25:30.700 Genesis isn't just 00:25:30.700 --> 00:25:31.180 the story 00:25:31.180 --> 00:25:32.680 of how God's good 00:25:32.680 --> 00:25:33.660 and beautiful world 00:25:33.660 --> 00:25:34.420 began to be. 00:25:34.500 --> 00:25:35.460 It's also a story 00:25:35.460 --> 00:25:37.400 of how human beings 00:25:37.400 --> 00:25:38.360 mess things up 00:25:38.360 --> 00:25:41.680 over and over again. 00:25:43.120 --> 00:25:43.759 Of course, 00:25:43.800 --> 00:25:44.259 it all starts 00:25:44.259 --> 00:25:44.740 in the garden. 00:25:46.020 --> 00:25:46.720 Chapter three 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:48.000 tells the story 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:48.860 of when Adam and Eve 00:25:48.860 --> 00:25:50.160 ate of the forbidden tree. 00:25:52.360 --> 00:25:53.259 And in doing so, 00:25:53.320 --> 00:25:54.140 they were deciding 00:25:54.140 --> 00:25:54.880 that the God 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:55.580 who had planted 00:25:55.580 --> 00:25:56.180 the garden 00:25:56.180 --> 00:25:57.520 and placed them 00:25:57.519 --> 00:25:58.220 in it 00:25:58.220 --> 00:25:59.059 and installed them 00:25:59.059 --> 00:26:00.000 as king and queen 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:00.720 over it, 00:26:01.500 --> 00:26:02.940 they were deciding 00:26:02.940 --> 00:26:04.019 that that God 00:26:04.019 --> 00:26:04.900 is actually not 00:26:04.900 --> 00:26:06.160 very good after all. 00:26:07.400 --> 00:26:08.139 And instead, 00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:08.879 they decide 00:26:08.879 --> 00:26:09.660 that a serpent 00:26:09.660 --> 00:26:10.539 and intruder 00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:11.359 on the scene 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:13.180 is far more trustworthy. 00:26:14.879 --> 00:26:16.099 And then they decide 00:26:16.099 --> 00:26:17.759 that they should have 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:18.139 the right 00:26:18.139 --> 00:26:19.359 to draw their own boundaries 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:21.119 and be accountable 00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:22.220 only to themselves 00:26:22.220 --> 00:26:22.960 and that the world 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:23.480 would be better 00:26:23.480 --> 00:26:24.099 that way. 00:26:24.099 --> 00:26:29.500 But have we not seen 00:26:29.500 --> 00:26:30.219 over and over 00:26:30.219 --> 00:26:31.339 in history 00:26:31.339 --> 00:26:34.279 that when every individual 00:26:34.279 --> 00:26:35.459 insists on being 00:26:35.459 --> 00:26:36.579 their own ruler 00:26:36.579 --> 00:26:37.319 and judge, 00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:39.419 drawing their own 00:26:39.419 --> 00:26:40.219 moral boundaries 00:26:40.219 --> 00:26:41.079 and being accountable 00:26:41.079 --> 00:26:42.339 only to themselves, 00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:43.679 social harmony 00:26:43.679 --> 00:26:44.859 and mutual trust 00:26:44.859 --> 00:26:46.199 quickly vanish. 00:26:49.980 --> 00:26:50.639 Of course, 00:26:50.699 --> 00:26:51.279 that's what we see 00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:51.859 in the aftermath 00:26:51.859 --> 00:26:53.319 of Genesis 3. 00:26:54.459 --> 00:26:55.599 We see alienation 00:26:55.599 --> 00:26:56.279 from God 00:26:56.279 --> 00:26:58.039 resulting in shame 00:26:58.039 --> 00:26:58.679 and distrust 00:26:58.679 --> 00:26:59.439 within marriage. 00:26:59.559 --> 00:27:01.019 Genesis 3, 16. 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:02.079 We see frustration 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:02.779 and futility 00:27:02.779 --> 00:27:03.399 and work. 00:27:03.819 --> 00:27:05.019 Verse 17 through 19. 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:05.799 We see pain 00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:06.279 and agony 00:27:06.279 --> 00:27:07.240 and childbearing 00:27:07.240 --> 00:27:08.079 and continuing 00:27:08.079 --> 00:27:08.959 the human race. 00:27:09.339 --> 00:27:10.339 Chapter 4 begins 00:27:10.339 --> 00:27:11.000 with a brother 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:12.379 killing a brother 00:27:12.379 --> 00:27:13.259 and it ends 00:27:13.259 --> 00:27:13.919 with a husband 00:27:13.919 --> 00:27:15.599 threatening his wives. 00:27:15.879 --> 00:27:17.500 Yes, wives, plural. 00:27:18.439 --> 00:27:19.339 By the time we get 00:27:19.339 --> 00:27:20.199 to chapter 6, 00:27:20.539 --> 00:27:21.279 the verdict is 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:22.599 that the whole world 00:27:22.599 --> 00:27:23.740 is full of violence 00:27:23.740 --> 00:27:24.519 and exploitation 00:27:24.519 --> 00:27:26.059 and every intention 00:27:26.059 --> 00:27:27.019 of the thoughts 00:27:27.019 --> 00:27:27.859 of the human heart 00:27:27.859 --> 00:27:29.539 is only evil 00:27:29.539 --> 00:27:30.339 continually. 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:32.000 Chapter 6, verse 5. 00:27:32.839 --> 00:27:33.859 And there is no remedy 00:27:33.859 --> 00:27:34.399 in sight. 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:37.500 And so God sends 00:27:37.500 --> 00:27:37.959 a flood 00:27:37.959 --> 00:27:40.480 to judge the wickedness 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:41.179 of the world. 00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:43.779 Now as I said, 00:27:44.399 --> 00:27:44.879 every other, 00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:46.079 almost every other 00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:46.699 ancient culture 00:27:46.699 --> 00:27:47.240 at the time 00:27:47.240 --> 00:27:47.779 had a story 00:27:47.779 --> 00:27:48.279 of a flood 00:27:48.279 --> 00:27:49.839 sent by the gods 00:27:49.839 --> 00:27:50.940 to judge the human race 00:27:50.940 --> 00:27:51.480 at some time 00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:51.880 or another. 00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:53.000 That by itself 00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:53.960 would not have seemed 00:27:53.960 --> 00:27:55.019 at all unusual 00:27:55.019 --> 00:27:56.059 or controversial 00:27:56.059 --> 00:27:58.059 to any of Israel's neighbors. 00:27:59.660 --> 00:28:00.440 But in many 00:28:00.440 --> 00:28:02.099 of the other flood stories, 00:28:03.339 --> 00:28:04.660 the gods send the flood 00:28:04.660 --> 00:28:06.339 for rather petty reasons. 00:28:07.859 --> 00:28:09.660 So in the Atrahasis epic, 00:28:10.680 --> 00:28:11.620 Babylonian story, 00:28:12.120 --> 00:28:13.380 the gods get annoyed 00:28:13.380 --> 00:28:14.359 with people 00:28:14.359 --> 00:28:15.519 because they're having 00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:16.460 too many children 00:28:16.460 --> 00:28:18.740 and the world 00:28:18.740 --> 00:28:19.940 is getting too noisy. 00:28:21.860 --> 00:28:22.880 And so the gods 00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:24.079 decide to wipe out 00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:24.700 the world 00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:26.019 so they can have 00:28:26.019 --> 00:28:27.480 peace and quiet again. 00:28:30.299 --> 00:28:30.779 Yeah, 00:28:30.900 --> 00:28:32.019 that's what the story says. 00:28:34.620 --> 00:28:35.920 But the god of the Bible 00:28:35.920 --> 00:28:36.980 is not petty 00:28:36.980 --> 00:28:38.019 or cranky 00:28:38.019 --> 00:28:38.779 or immature. 00:28:42.579 --> 00:28:44.160 Psalm 19, verse 9 says, 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:44.700 the judgments 00:28:44.700 --> 00:28:45.360 of the Lord 00:28:45.360 --> 00:28:45.960 are true 00:28:45.960 --> 00:28:46.820 and altogether 00:28:46.820 --> 00:28:47.660 righteous. 00:28:49.440 --> 00:28:50.160 You see, 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:50.580 if you look 00:28:50.580 --> 00:28:51.740 at God's judgments, 00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:53.700 God's judgments 00:28:53.700 --> 00:28:57.640 are always based 00:28:57.640 --> 00:28:58.400 on reality. 00:29:00.980 --> 00:29:01.320 Now, 00:29:01.360 --> 00:29:01.940 Abraham Lincoln 00:29:01.940 --> 00:29:02.920 quoted that verse, 00:29:03.080 --> 00:29:03.500 the judgments 00:29:03.500 --> 00:29:04.000 of the Lord 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:04.500 are true 00:29:04.500 --> 00:29:05.080 and altogether 00:29:05.080 --> 00:29:05.580 righteous, 00:29:06.060 --> 00:29:07.019 in his second 00:29:07.019 --> 00:29:08.019 inaugural address. 00:29:08.019 --> 00:29:10.079 as he looked 00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:10.799 upon a nation 00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:11.839 nearly destroyed 00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:13.460 not by a watery 00:29:13.460 --> 00:29:13.879 flood, 00:29:13.960 --> 00:29:14.619 but by a bloody 00:29:14.619 --> 00:29:15.579 civil war. 00:29:18.180 --> 00:29:18.980 He said, 00:29:19.180 --> 00:29:19.960 this horrible war 00:29:19.960 --> 00:29:20.859 that we have endured 00:29:20.859 --> 00:29:22.019 could very well 00:29:22.019 --> 00:29:22.639 have been 00:29:22.639 --> 00:29:24.539 God's righteous 00:29:24.539 --> 00:29:25.740 judgment on our nation 00:29:25.740 --> 00:29:27.139 for 250 years 00:29:27.139 --> 00:29:27.859 of slavery. 00:29:30.859 --> 00:29:31.440 Now, 00:29:31.500 --> 00:29:31.940 some of us 00:29:31.940 --> 00:29:32.379 hesitate 00:29:32.379 --> 00:29:34.180 to even suggest 00:29:34.180 --> 00:29:35.480 something like that, 00:29:35.480 --> 00:29:37.279 that God's 00:29:37.279 --> 00:29:38.019 righteous judgment 00:29:38.019 --> 00:29:39.000 could be manifested 00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:39.920 in human history. 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:43.360 I think 00:29:43.360 --> 00:29:44.120 many of us 00:29:44.120 --> 00:29:44.900 want to be clear, 00:29:45.019 --> 00:29:45.299 rightly, 00:29:45.500 --> 00:29:46.339 that not every 00:29:46.339 --> 00:29:47.279 natural disaster 00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:48.220 is an expression 00:29:48.220 --> 00:29:49.299 of God's moral 00:29:49.299 --> 00:29:50.059 disapproval 00:29:50.059 --> 00:29:51.039 directed at 00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:52.120 particular individuals 00:29:52.120 --> 00:29:52.779 or cultures 00:29:52.779 --> 00:29:53.420 or movements. 00:29:54.480 --> 00:29:55.519 We want to be careful 00:29:55.519 --> 00:29:56.279 not to blame 00:29:56.279 --> 00:29:56.839 victims, 00:29:57.660 --> 00:29:58.339 and those are 00:29:58.339 --> 00:29:59.420 important concerns. 00:30:00.819 --> 00:30:01.620 The doctrine 00:30:01.620 --> 00:30:02.500 of God's judgment 00:30:02.500 --> 00:30:03.839 can be misused 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:05.240 in harmful ways. 00:30:05.480 --> 00:30:09.039 But in Romans 1, 00:30:09.120 --> 00:30:09.819 the apostle Paul 00:30:09.819 --> 00:30:10.740 says that God's 00:30:10.740 --> 00:30:11.620 judgment against 00:30:11.620 --> 00:30:13.079 human wickedness 00:30:13.079 --> 00:30:14.299 is manifested 00:30:14.299 --> 00:30:15.420 in the present day 00:30:15.420 --> 00:30:16.819 in part 00:30:16.819 --> 00:30:18.400 by God giving 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:19.220 people over 00:30:19.220 --> 00:30:20.019 to their own 00:30:20.019 --> 00:30:20.860 unrestrained 00:30:20.860 --> 00:30:21.700 desires, 00:30:21.900 --> 00:30:22.500 by letting 00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:23.980 sin take its 00:30:23.980 --> 00:30:24.960 own inherently 00:30:24.960 --> 00:30:26.220 destructive course. 00:30:28.779 --> 00:30:29.860 God is still 00:30:29.860 --> 00:30:30.640 the judge of all, 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:32.900 and his judgments 00:30:32.900 --> 00:30:33.480 are still 00:30:33.480 --> 00:30:34.079 altogether 00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:34.819 righteous. 00:30:35.480 --> 00:30:38.400 And when we see 00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:38.740 that, 00:30:38.839 --> 00:30:39.640 we might ask, 00:30:39.740 --> 00:30:40.360 if human beings 00:30:40.360 --> 00:30:41.319 continue to mess 00:30:41.319 --> 00:30:42.000 things up, 00:30:42.360 --> 00:30:43.160 like Genesis 00:30:43.160 --> 00:30:43.960 shows us over 00:30:43.960 --> 00:30:44.819 and over again, 00:30:44.819 --> 00:30:46.160 if we continue 00:30:46.160 --> 00:30:47.339 to spoil God's 00:30:47.339 --> 00:30:48.420 good world, 00:30:48.420 --> 00:30:49.120 and if God's 00:30:49.120 --> 00:30:50.079 judgments are true 00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:50.720 and altogether 00:30:50.720 --> 00:30:51.240 righteous, 00:30:51.360 --> 00:30:51.900 does Genesis 00:30:51.900 --> 00:30:52.599 and the Bible 00:30:52.599 --> 00:30:53.660 offer any hope 00:30:53.660 --> 00:30:55.220 to people like us? 00:30:55.220 --> 00:30:57.220 God's good 00:30:57.220 --> 00:30:57.860 God's good 00:30:57.860 --> 00:30:57.960 and the Bible 00:30:57.960 --> 00:30:58.299 is not 00:30:58.299 --> 00:30:59.100 God's good 00:30:59.100 --> 00:31:01.660 because the third 00:31:01.660 --> 00:31:02.460 thing that Genesis 00:31:02.460 --> 00:31:03.900 shows us about God 00:31:03.900 --> 00:31:05.839 is that God 00:31:05.839 --> 00:31:07.079 is a merciful Savior 00:31:07.079 --> 00:31:08.640 who offers 00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:09.860 new beginnings. 00:31:09.859 --> 00:31:12.279 see, 00:31:12.359 --> 00:31:13.319 there are three times 00:31:13.319 --> 00:31:14.679 that we'll see 00:31:14.679 --> 00:31:15.259 in the opening 00:31:15.259 --> 00:31:16.179 chapters of Genesis 00:31:16.179 --> 00:31:17.179 where things go 00:31:17.179 --> 00:31:18.299 way south. 00:31:20.299 --> 00:31:20.799 First, 00:31:20.899 --> 00:31:21.399 in the garden 00:31:21.399 --> 00:31:22.939 with the treachery 00:31:22.939 --> 00:31:23.799 of Adam and Eve. 00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:26.539 God entrusts them 00:31:26.539 --> 00:31:28.959 with such a wonderful 00:31:28.959 --> 00:31:29.619 gift, 00:31:30.299 --> 00:31:30.979 and they 00:31:30.979 --> 00:31:32.619 betray God. 00:31:35.479 --> 00:31:36.000 Second, 00:31:36.299 --> 00:31:37.099 things go way 00:31:37.099 --> 00:31:37.979 downhill leading up 00:31:37.980 --> 00:31:38.480 to the flood 00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:39.160 in the spreading 00:31:39.160 --> 00:31:40.079 violence 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:40.960 and exploitation. 00:31:44.579 --> 00:31:45.700 And then third, 00:31:46.079 --> 00:31:46.940 in the ungodly 00:31:46.940 --> 00:31:47.700 ambitions of 00:31:47.700 --> 00:31:48.740 the Tower of Babel. 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:49.799 We'll get to that 00:31:49.799 --> 00:31:50.579 in time. 00:31:51.319 --> 00:31:52.000 And each time 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:53.019 God brings judgment, 00:31:53.200 --> 00:31:53.700 Adam and Eve 00:31:53.700 --> 00:31:54.360 get exiled 00:31:54.360 --> 00:31:55.000 from the garden 00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:56.740 because they've 00:31:56.740 --> 00:31:57.299 spoiled it. 00:31:58.980 --> 00:31:59.740 They've put the 00:31:59.740 --> 00:32:00.279 wrong person 00:32:00.279 --> 00:32:00.880 in charge. 00:32:02.819 --> 00:32:03.940 The wicked world 00:32:03.940 --> 00:32:04.720 gets destroyed 00:32:04.720 --> 00:32:05.380 in the flood 00:32:05.380 --> 00:32:07.799 so that the cycle 00:32:07.799 --> 00:32:08.339 of violence 00:32:08.339 --> 00:32:08.940 doesn't just 00:32:08.940 --> 00:32:09.539 continually 00:32:09.539 --> 00:32:10.539 perpetuate itself 00:32:10.539 --> 00:32:11.359 over and over 00:32:11.359 --> 00:32:11.799 again. 00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:14.460 The people 00:32:14.460 --> 00:32:15.000 at Babel 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:15.799 end up confused 00:32:15.799 --> 00:32:16.460 with their 00:32:16.460 --> 00:32:17.079 ambitions 00:32:17.079 --> 00:32:18.099 frustrated. 00:32:20.220 --> 00:32:21.480 But every time 00:32:21.480 --> 00:32:22.139 that God 00:32:22.139 --> 00:32:22.859 brings judgment, 00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:23.899 God also 00:32:23.899 --> 00:32:25.159 shows mercy. 00:32:26.440 --> 00:32:27.059 Look at chapter 00:32:27.059 --> 00:32:27.500 three 00:32:27.500 --> 00:32:29.460 and verse 00:32:29.460 --> 00:32:29.960 15. 00:32:29.960 --> 00:32:36.460 God is speaking 00:32:36.460 --> 00:32:37.900 after 00:32:37.900 --> 00:32:41.819 what's gone 00:32:41.819 --> 00:32:42.380 wrong in the 00:32:42.380 --> 00:32:42.660 garden. 00:32:44.620 --> 00:32:45.380 The Lord God 00:32:45.380 --> 00:32:46.100 said to the serpent, 00:32:46.299 --> 00:32:46.779 verse 15, 00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:47.680 I will put enmity 00:32:47.680 --> 00:32:48.319 between you 00:32:48.319 --> 00:32:48.880 and the woman 00:32:48.880 --> 00:32:49.740 and between your 00:32:49.740 --> 00:32:50.140 offspring 00:32:50.140 --> 00:32:50.759 and her 00:32:50.759 --> 00:32:51.220 offspring. 00:32:52.120 --> 00:32:52.759 He shall 00:32:52.759 --> 00:32:53.480 bruise your 00:32:53.480 --> 00:32:53.900 head 00:32:53.900 --> 00:32:55.019 and you 00:32:55.019 --> 00:32:55.640 shall bruise 00:32:55.640 --> 00:32:56.140 his heel. 00:32:56.500 --> 00:32:57.039 Now this is 00:32:57.039 --> 00:32:57.420 sort of an 00:32:57.420 --> 00:32:58.740 verse that's 00:32:58.740 --> 00:32:59.220 hard to 00:32:59.220 --> 00:32:59.839 understand. 00:33:00.200 --> 00:33:00.460 It's a bit 00:33:00.460 --> 00:33:00.980 enigmatic, 00:33:01.100 --> 00:33:01.319 but it's 00:33:01.319 --> 00:33:02.019 basically talking 00:33:02.019 --> 00:33:02.380 about an 00:33:02.380 --> 00:33:02.720 ongoing 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:03.500 conflict 00:33:03.500 --> 00:33:04.339 between 00:33:04.339 --> 00:33:05.839 the deceitful 00:33:05.839 --> 00:33:06.160 serpent 00:33:06.160 --> 00:33:07.440 and the 00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:07.819 offspring 00:33:07.819 --> 00:33:08.839 of Eve. 00:33:09.539 --> 00:33:10.339 But it 00:33:10.339 --> 00:33:10.860 says, 00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:12.100 he shall 00:33:12.100 --> 00:33:12.519 bruise 00:33:12.519 --> 00:33:13.120 your head. 00:33:13.220 --> 00:33:13.519 In other 00:33:13.519 --> 00:33:13.839 words, 00:33:14.160 --> 00:33:15.299 a child 00:33:15.299 --> 00:33:16.140 of Eve 00:33:16.140 --> 00:33:17.360 would one 00:33:17.360 --> 00:33:17.720 day 00:33:17.720 --> 00:33:18.980 crush 00:33:18.980 --> 00:33:20.039 the head 00:33:20.039 --> 00:33:20.799 of the 00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:21.420 deceitful 00:33:21.420 --> 00:33:22.000 serpent. 00:33:24.519 --> 00:33:25.000 See, 00:33:25.079 --> 00:33:25.620 everybody knows 00:33:25.620 --> 00:33:26.120 you kill a 00:33:26.120 --> 00:33:26.600 snake by 00:33:26.600 --> 00:33:27.819 crushing its 00:33:27.819 --> 00:33:28.039 head. 00:33:29.220 --> 00:33:31.500 And of 00:33:31.500 --> 00:33:31.740 course, 00:33:31.920 --> 00:33:32.180 the New 00:33:32.180 --> 00:33:32.460 Testament 00:33:32.460 --> 00:33:32.980 says that 00:33:32.980 --> 00:33:33.620 Jesus Christ 00:33:33.620 --> 00:33:33.980 is that 00:33:33.980 --> 00:33:34.500 one who 00:33:34.500 --> 00:33:35.779 has defeated, 00:33:36.120 --> 00:33:36.460 trampled 00:33:36.460 --> 00:33:37.140 down death 00:33:37.140 --> 00:33:37.799 by death, 00:33:37.880 --> 00:33:38.259 who has 00:33:38.259 --> 00:33:39.900 killed sin 00:33:39.900 --> 00:33:40.920 or overcome 00:33:40.920 --> 00:33:41.860 sin. 00:33:43.620 --> 00:33:44.400 And the New 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:44.680 Testament 00:33:44.680 --> 00:33:45.200 says that 00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:45.900 the deceiver 00:33:45.900 --> 00:33:46.620 and liar 00:33:46.620 --> 00:33:47.079 and enemy 00:33:47.079 --> 00:33:47.460 of our 00:33:47.460 --> 00:33:47.960 souls will 00:33:47.960 --> 00:33:48.819 not ultimately 00:33:48.819 --> 00:33:49.240 have the 00:33:49.240 --> 00:33:49.819 last word 00:33:49.819 --> 00:33:51.519 because Jesus 00:33:51.519 --> 00:33:52.039 Christ has 00:33:52.039 --> 00:33:52.299 come. 00:33:53.519 --> 00:33:53.759 See, 00:33:53.839 --> 00:33:54.160 one more 00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:54.579 sign of 00:33:54.579 --> 00:33:55.440 mercy in 00:33:55.440 --> 00:33:55.980 chapter 3, 00:33:56.059 --> 00:33:56.660 verse 21, 00:33:56.660 --> 00:33:57.700 as God 00:33:57.700 --> 00:33:58.340 prepares to 00:33:58.340 --> 00:33:58.960 send Adam 00:33:58.960 --> 00:33:59.279 and Eve 00:33:59.279 --> 00:33:59.820 away from 00:33:59.820 --> 00:34:00.220 the garden. 00:34:00.360 --> 00:34:00.620 It says, 00:34:00.720 --> 00:34:01.000 the Lord 00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:01.640 God made 00:34:01.640 --> 00:34:02.120 for Adam 00:34:02.120 --> 00:34:02.380 and his 00:34:02.380 --> 00:34:03.080 wife garments 00:34:03.080 --> 00:34:03.800 of skins 00:34:03.800 --> 00:34:05.420 and clothed 00:34:05.420 --> 00:34:05.940 them. 00:34:07.100 --> 00:34:07.500 Adam and 00:34:07.500 --> 00:34:07.820 Eve are 00:34:07.820 --> 00:34:08.599 sent away 00:34:08.599 --> 00:34:09.119 from God's 00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:09.639 presence and 00:34:09.639 --> 00:34:10.599 they're ashamed 00:34:10.599 --> 00:34:11.340 and vulnerable 00:34:11.340 --> 00:34:11.760 in their 00:34:11.760 --> 00:34:12.860 nakedness and 00:34:12.860 --> 00:34:13.200 in his 00:34:13.200 --> 00:34:13.880 mercy God 00:34:13.880 --> 00:34:14.480 clothed 00:34:14.480 --> 00:34:14.820 them. 00:34:16.260 --> 00:34:16.800 Of course, 00:34:16.860 --> 00:34:17.200 an animal 00:34:17.200 --> 00:34:17.500 would have 00:34:17.500 --> 00:34:18.139 had to die 00:34:18.139 --> 00:34:18.760 for those 00:34:18.760 --> 00:34:19.320 clothes to 00:34:19.320 --> 00:34:19.900 be made 00:34:19.900 --> 00:34:22.220 and eventually 00:34:22.220 --> 00:34:22.800 God's son 00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:24.099 himself would 00:34:24.099 --> 00:34:24.780 have to die 00:34:24.780 --> 00:34:27.079 but God 00:34:27.079 --> 00:34:27.619 would take it 00:34:27.619 --> 00:34:28.320 upon himself 00:34:28.320 --> 00:34:29.119 to restore 00:34:29.119 --> 00:34:30.139 the honor 00:34:30.139 --> 00:34:31.340 of his own 00:34:31.340 --> 00:34:32.039 image-bearing 00:34:32.039 --> 00:34:32.980 creatures and 00:34:32.980 --> 00:34:33.780 to clothe us 00:34:33.780 --> 00:34:34.139 in his 00:34:34.139 --> 00:34:34.639 righteousness 00:34:34.639 --> 00:34:38.160 and to 00:34:38.160 --> 00:34:38.740 call us 00:34:38.740 --> 00:34:39.519 once more 00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:40.160 his children. 00:34:41.599 --> 00:34:42.240 So God 00:34:42.240 --> 00:34:42.740 shows mercy 00:34:42.740 --> 00:34:43.139 to Adam 00:34:43.139 --> 00:34:43.400 and Eve 00:34:43.400 --> 00:34:44.099 in chapter 3 00:34:44.099 --> 00:34:44.860 and then God 00:34:44.860 --> 00:34:45.440 shows mercy 00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:45.880 to Noah 00:34:45.880 --> 00:34:46.200 and his 00:34:46.200 --> 00:34:46.820 family after 00:34:46.820 --> 00:34:47.340 the flood. 00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:48.599 You read 00:34:48.599 --> 00:34:49.039 the story 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:49.519 of the flood 00:34:49.519 --> 00:34:50.340 and everything 00:34:50.340 --> 00:34:50.759 is getting 00:34:50.759 --> 00:34:51.300 destroyed 00:34:51.300 --> 00:34:52.099 and then you 00:34:52.099 --> 00:34:52.619 get to chapter 00:34:52.619 --> 00:34:53.500 8 verse 1 00:34:53.500 --> 00:34:54.000 which is the 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:54.480 center of the 00:34:54.480 --> 00:34:55.099 flood story 00:34:55.099 --> 00:34:55.639 and it says 00:34:55.639 --> 00:34:56.719 but God 00:34:56.719 --> 00:34:57.460 remembered 00:34:57.460 --> 00:34:58.059 Noah. 00:35:03.880 --> 00:35:04.639 God makes 00:35:04.639 --> 00:35:05.320 a wind blow 00:35:05.320 --> 00:35:06.159 and the 00:35:06.159 --> 00:35:07.039 waters subside 00:35:07.039 --> 00:35:08.719 and then chapter 00:35:08.719 --> 00:35:09.460 9 verse 1 00:35:09.460 --> 00:35:10.199 it says God 00:35:10.199 --> 00:35:11.360 blessed Noah. 00:35:12.820 --> 00:35:13.440 You see on the 00:35:13.440 --> 00:35:14.119 other side of the 00:35:14.119 --> 00:35:15.079 flood there's 00:35:15.079 --> 00:35:16.159 hope of a new 00:35:16.159 --> 00:35:16.800 beginning. 00:35:19.519 --> 00:35:20.139 brothers and 00:35:20.139 --> 00:35:20.780 sisters Jesus 00:35:20.780 --> 00:35:21.599 Christ is even 00:35:21.599 --> 00:35:22.420 better than 00:35:22.420 --> 00:35:23.059 Noah because 00:35:23.059 --> 00:35:24.059 he brings us 00:35:24.059 --> 00:35:25.039 through the 00:35:25.039 --> 00:35:25.960 flood of God's 00:35:25.960 --> 00:35:26.800 judgment into 00:35:26.800 --> 00:35:28.099 his promise 00:35:28.099 --> 00:35:28.759 his covenant 00:35:28.759 --> 00:35:29.559 of grace. 00:35:31.280 --> 00:35:31.639 And Jesus 00:35:31.639 --> 00:35:32.679 God remembers 00:35:32.679 --> 00:35:34.019 us in his 00:35:34.019 --> 00:35:35.639 mercy and he 00:35:35.639 --> 00:35:36.619 blesses us with 00:35:36.619 --> 00:35:37.159 his favor. 00:35:38.039 --> 00:35:38.480 And then we 00:35:38.480 --> 00:35:39.320 might get to the 00:35:39.320 --> 00:35:40.840 third failure of 00:35:40.840 --> 00:35:42.380 humanity chapter 11 00:35:42.380 --> 00:35:43.079 the tower of 00:35:43.079 --> 00:35:44.480 Babel and you 00:35:44.480 --> 00:35:45.500 might think man 00:35:45.500 --> 00:35:47.059 three strikes 00:35:47.059 --> 00:35:48.699 what happens 00:35:48.699 --> 00:35:49.139 when you get 00:35:49.139 --> 00:35:49.860 three strikes 00:35:49.860 --> 00:35:50.460 you're out. 00:35:51.599 --> 00:35:52.119 Right? 00:35:52.259 --> 00:35:53.400 Okay God gave 00:35:53.400 --> 00:35:53.900 Adam and Eve 00:35:53.900 --> 00:35:54.579 another chance. 00:35:54.679 --> 00:35:55.579 Okay God gave 00:35:55.579 --> 00:35:56.039 Noah another 00:35:56.039 --> 00:35:56.440 chance. 00:35:56.759 --> 00:35:57.440 Tower of Babel 00:35:57.440 --> 00:35:58.259 forget it. 00:35:59.759 --> 00:36:00.380 Wipe them out 00:36:00.380 --> 00:36:00.980 and done. 00:36:02.500 --> 00:36:03.199 Maybe make 00:36:03.199 --> 00:36:03.980 another universe 00:36:03.980 --> 00:36:04.940 millions of 00:36:04.940 --> 00:36:05.420 years later. 00:36:07.500 --> 00:36:08.320 But no. 00:36:09.920 --> 00:36:10.739 Once again 00:36:10.739 --> 00:36:11.400 God chose 00:36:11.400 --> 00:36:11.799 mercy. 00:36:13.219 --> 00:36:13.779 Out of the 00:36:13.779 --> 00:36:14.259 blue God 00:36:14.259 --> 00:36:14.920 makes a promise 00:36:14.920 --> 00:36:15.639 to Abraham in 00:36:15.639 --> 00:36:16.400 chapter 12 and 00:36:16.400 --> 00:36:17.059 says I'll bless 00:36:17.059 --> 00:36:18.559 you and make 00:36:18.559 --> 00:36:19.039 you a great 00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:19.940 nation and 00:36:19.940 --> 00:36:21.099 through you all 00:36:21.099 --> 00:36:21.860 the families of 00:36:21.860 --> 00:36:22.500 the earth will be 00:36:22.500 --> 00:36:23.619 blessed one day. 00:36:24.920 --> 00:36:25.700 I will take 00:36:25.700 --> 00:36:28.019 your family and 00:36:28.019 --> 00:36:28.740 your descendants 00:36:28.740 --> 00:36:30.160 and I will work 00:36:30.160 --> 00:36:31.980 through them to 00:36:31.980 --> 00:36:32.880 renew the whole 00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:33.920 world. 00:36:36.740 --> 00:36:37.880 You see the God 00:36:37.880 --> 00:36:38.820 who made the 00:36:38.820 --> 00:36:39.780 world and called 00:36:39.780 --> 00:36:41.019 it good has not 00:36:41.019 --> 00:36:42.480 abandoned his 00:36:42.480 --> 00:36:42.960 creation. 00:36:42.960 --> 00:36:45.860 God hasn't given 00:36:45.860 --> 00:36:46.639 up on us. 00:36:49.019 --> 00:36:49.639 Genesis isn't 00:36:49.639 --> 00:36:50.240 just about 00:36:50.240 --> 00:36:52.920 what God did 00:36:52.920 --> 00:36:53.720 long ago to 00:36:53.720 --> 00:36:54.360 get everything 00:36:54.360 --> 00:36:54.840 started. 00:36:56.280 --> 00:36:56.720 No. 00:36:56.880 --> 00:36:57.579 Genesis shows 00:36:57.579 --> 00:36:58.300 us that the God 00:36:58.300 --> 00:36:59.059 of the Bible is a 00:36:59.059 --> 00:36:59.940 God of new 00:36:59.940 --> 00:37:00.679 beginnings. 00:37:02.659 --> 00:37:03.500 It's not just 00:37:03.500 --> 00:37:04.260 that God can start 00:37:04.260 --> 00:37:04.900 with nothing. 00:37:06.480 --> 00:37:07.240 With a 00:37:07.240 --> 00:37:08.360 formless and 00:37:08.360 --> 00:37:09.380 empty template 00:37:09.380 --> 00:37:11.079 and build it up 00:37:11.079 --> 00:37:11.779 and fill it up 00:37:11.779 --> 00:37:12.239 and make it 00:37:12.239 --> 00:37:12.739 into everything 00:37:12.739 --> 00:37:13.239 that we see 00:37:13.239 --> 00:37:13.539 today. 00:37:13.659 --> 00:37:14.099 It's that God 00:37:14.099 --> 00:37:14.679 can start with 00:37:14.679 --> 00:37:16.460 broken people 00:37:16.460 --> 00:37:18.659 who have been 00:37:18.659 --> 00:37:20.079 twisted by sin 00:37:20.079 --> 00:37:21.299 and hurt 00:37:21.299 --> 00:37:22.519 and who have 00:37:22.519 --> 00:37:23.440 hurt others 00:37:23.440 --> 00:37:24.719 and God can 00:37:24.719 --> 00:37:26.819 renew us 00:37:26.819 --> 00:37:28.380 through his 00:37:28.380 --> 00:37:28.799 son Jesus 00:37:28.799 --> 00:37:29.340 Christ. 00:37:30.340 --> 00:37:31.219 He can make 00:37:31.219 --> 00:37:31.719 us even 00:37:31.719 --> 00:37:33.340 better than 00:37:33.340 --> 00:37:33.619 new. 00:37:33.619 --> 00:37:36.719 2 Corinthians 00:37:36.719 --> 00:37:37.539 4 verse 6 00:37:37.539 --> 00:37:38.119 said God 00:37:38.119 --> 00:37:38.880 who said 00:37:38.880 --> 00:37:39.480 let light 00:37:39.480 --> 00:37:40.359 shine out 00:37:40.359 --> 00:37:40.839 of darkness 00:37:40.839 --> 00:37:41.380 has made 00:37:41.380 --> 00:37:41.859 his light 00:37:41.859 --> 00:37:42.279 shine in 00:37:42.279 --> 00:37:42.839 our hearts 00:37:42.839 --> 00:37:44.099 to give 00:37:44.099 --> 00:37:44.380 us the 00:37:44.380 --> 00:37:44.940 light of 00:37:44.940 --> 00:37:45.380 the knowledge 00:37:45.380 --> 00:37:45.679 of the 00:37:45.679 --> 00:37:46.099 glory of 00:37:46.099 --> 00:37:46.440 God 00:37:46.440 --> 00:37:47.079 in the 00:37:47.079 --> 00:37:47.420 face of 00:37:47.420 --> 00:37:47.619 Jesus 00:37:47.619 --> 00:37:48.099 Christ. 00:37:51.739 --> 00:37:52.319 See we 00:37:52.319 --> 00:37:52.659 see that 00:37:52.659 --> 00:37:53.059 God is the 00:37:53.059 --> 00:37:53.599 good creator 00:37:53.599 --> 00:37:54.159 of everyone 00:37:54.159 --> 00:37:54.699 and everything 00:37:54.699 --> 00:37:55.339 we see that 00:37:55.339 --> 00:37:55.819 God is the 00:37:55.819 --> 00:37:56.179 judge and 00:37:56.179 --> 00:37:56.659 his judgments 00:37:56.659 --> 00:37:57.199 are altogether 00:37:57.199 --> 00:37:57.940 righteous but 00:37:57.940 --> 00:37:58.699 we also see 00:37:58.699 --> 00:37:59.839 that he is a 00:37:59.839 --> 00:38:00.619 merciful savior 00:38:00.619 --> 00:38:02.719 who offers a 00:38:02.719 --> 00:38:03.239 new beginning. 00:38:04.380 --> 00:38:05.099 What's your 00:38:05.099 --> 00:38:06.380 anchor in 00:38:06.380 --> 00:38:06.839 this world 00:38:06.839 --> 00:38:07.299 in this 00:38:07.299 --> 00:38:08.219 exhilarating 00:38:08.219 --> 00:38:09.539 and disorienting 00:38:09.539 --> 00:38:09.960 world? 00:38:11.259 --> 00:38:12.319 Where are you 00:38:12.319 --> 00:38:13.099 looking to find 00:38:13.099 --> 00:38:13.779 meaning and 00:38:13.779 --> 00:38:14.579 identity and 00:38:14.579 --> 00:38:15.219 purpose that 00:38:15.219 --> 00:38:15.759 lasts? 00:38:17.000 --> 00:38:18.059 I pray that you 00:38:18.059 --> 00:38:18.599 would find your 00:38:18.599 --> 00:38:19.219 anchor in the 00:38:19.219 --> 00:38:19.900 character of 00:38:19.900 --> 00:38:20.920 this God. 00:38:21.839 --> 00:38:22.659 Let's pray. 00:38:33.619 --> 00:38:35.900 God we 00:38:35.900 --> 00:38:36.480 praise you 00:38:36.480 --> 00:38:38.299 that you 00:38:38.299 --> 00:38:39.900 are the 00:38:39.900 --> 00:38:41.219 good God 00:38:41.219 --> 00:38:43.460 whose mercy 00:38:43.460 --> 00:38:44.139 is over all 00:38:44.139 --> 00:38:44.420 that you 00:38:44.420 --> 00:38:44.980 have made. 00:38:47.359 --> 00:38:48.239 We praise 00:38:48.239 --> 00:38:48.599 you that you 00:38:48.599 --> 00:38:49.179 are a just 00:38:49.179 --> 00:38:49.599 God. 00:38:51.099 --> 00:38:51.319 Your 00:38:51.319 --> 00:38:51.940 judgments are 00:38:51.940 --> 00:38:52.420 true and 00:38:52.420 --> 00:38:52.799 altogether 00:38:52.799 --> 00:38:53.239 righteous. 00:38:56.239 --> 00:38:57.400 We thank you 00:38:57.400 --> 00:38:58.699 for the mercy 00:38:58.699 --> 00:38:59.380 and grace that 00:38:59.380 --> 00:39:00.000 you've shown us 00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:00.619 in sending your 00:39:00.619 --> 00:39:01.099 son Jesus 00:39:01.099 --> 00:39:01.599 Christ. 00:39:02.420 --> 00:39:03.099 We thank you 00:39:03.099 --> 00:39:03.900 Lord for those 00:39:03.900 --> 00:39:05.099 words that if 00:39:05.099 --> 00:39:05.900 anyone is in 00:39:05.900 --> 00:39:07.159 Christ there is 00:39:07.159 --> 00:39:08.039 a new creation. 00:39:09.019 --> 00:39:09.599 The old has 00:39:09.599 --> 00:39:10.179 gone and the 00:39:10.179 --> 00:39:10.739 new has come. 00:39:10.860 --> 00:39:11.500 Lord we pray 00:39:11.500 --> 00:39:12.759 today. 00:39:13.539 --> 00:39:14.239 We pray that as 00:39:14.239 --> 00:39:15.339 we look into the 00:39:15.339 --> 00:39:15.860 book of Genesis 00:39:15.860 --> 00:39:16.819 this fall we 00:39:16.819 --> 00:39:17.559 pray as we go 00:39:17.559 --> 00:39:18.099 throughout this 00:39:18.099 --> 00:39:18.699 week ahead of 00:39:18.699 --> 00:39:20.099 us that we 00:39:20.099 --> 00:39:20.739 would be anchored 00:39:20.739 --> 00:39:21.460 in these truths 00:39:21.460 --> 00:39:22.039 about who you 00:39:22.039 --> 00:39:22.380 are. 00:39:24.259 --> 00:39:24.900 We pray Lord 00:39:24.900 --> 00:39:25.380 that where we 00:39:25.380 --> 00:39:26.900 need your mercy 00:39:26.900 --> 00:39:27.819 and grace for a 00:39:27.819 --> 00:39:28.319 new beginning 00:39:28.320 --> 00:39:29.660 would you pour 00:39:29.660 --> 00:39:30.300 that into our 00:39:30.300 --> 00:39:30.820 hearts and 00:39:30.820 --> 00:39:31.320 lives and 00:39:31.320 --> 00:39:31.960 relationships. 00:39:35.780 --> 00:39:36.539 Lord would we 00:39:36.539 --> 00:39:41.140 know that the 00:39:41.140 --> 00:39:42.260 same power that 00:39:42.260 --> 00:39:42.960 spoke the world 00:39:42.960 --> 00:39:43.640 into existence 00:39:43.640 --> 00:39:44.300 and the same 00:39:44.300 --> 00:39:45.280 power that raised 00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:46.059 Jesus Christ from 00:39:46.059 --> 00:39:47.420 the dead is at 00:39:47.420 --> 00:39:49.360 work in all who 00:39:49.360 --> 00:39:50.200 believe in Christ. 00:39:53.280 --> 00:39:54.160 Lord would you 00:39:54.160 --> 00:39:55.180 strengthen and 00:39:55.180 --> 00:39:57.300 renew us for the 00:39:57.300 --> 00:39:57.860 sake of your son 00:39:57.860 --> 00:39:58.620 Jesus Christ we 00:39:58.620 --> 00:39:58.840 pray. 00:39:59.460 --> 00:39:59.740 Amen.