Genesis Chapter 13 Notes

Abram left Egypt taking his wife, and taking Lot with him. The Bible says that Abram was very rich in cattle, silver and gold. In today's time that would be very wealthy in money and resources. Even though he was very rich, that did not stop him from serving his God. He created an altar and called on God's name. Lot who was with Abram also had flocks, herds and tents. I'm convince that he was wealthy as well. Lot's people could not dwell with Abram's people so therefore Abram felt it was best for them to be separate. Truth be told God never told Abram to take Lot with him in the first place which is why it is good that they separated. In life there are some family members, friends, and other toxic people in your life that you cannot take with you. Some people will try to slow you down and stop you. Abram asked Lot to separate himself from him and all that he has. Lot saw the plain of Jordan in Sodom and Gomorrah and it looked like a place that  was beautiful and well watered. Both Lot and Abram separated themselves from each other. Lot went east to the plain of Jordan while Abram stayed in the land of Canaan. The men in Lot's new home were extremely sinful and wicked in God's eyes. I noticed that when Abram and Lot separated that's when the Lord started talking to Abram even more. He asked Abram to look to the north, south, east and west and Abram did. Then the Lord said that every land you see will be given to you and your children forever. Then the Lord went on to compare his children with the dust of the earth. The dust on the earth is not something that you can intellectually count. In otherwords, he will have so many nations of children that he won't be able to count them because there will be so many. I know I am getting ahead of myself but the Bible says that we are heirs to God's Throne and joint-heirs with Christ Jesus, We are also a seed of Abraham through faith but I'll talk more about that later. Intellectually Abraham's children will be counted by God but man's intellectual ability would limit him. So then the Lord gave him specific instructions to walk through the land and He will give it to him. Abram and his family left Canaan and dwelled in the plain of Mamre which is in Hebron. There be built an altar for the Lord.

There are many lessons I learned from this passage. First and foremost, when God is about to take you somewhere there are just some people who cannot be a part of your life. Some people can't go where God is about to take you.  Second, you have to be careful! If God didn't tell you to take that person with you then that person could be placed into your life to cause strife. There can't be two Kings in One Castle, two main chefs in one kitchen, etc…You have to remove that person from your life. It was when Abram and Lot separated when God was able to speak to him. Sometimes people can hinder the process of your growth and success. One thing I noticed about Abram is that everywhere he went, he built an Altar for the Lord. I personally believe that he worshipped the Lord at the altar. The Lord is great and I believe that Abram recognized that. The second lesson is, listen when God is speaking and take heed to what God is saying.

Genesis 13:1-18

1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Beth–el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth–el and Hai;

4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.

6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.

9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.

12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.

14 And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.

Genesis Chapter 12 Notes

The Lord said to Abram to leave out of his home away from his family and father's house to a place where he will show him. The Lord made him a promise saying that he will bless him, make his name great, and he will also be a blessing. God also promised him protection by saying if anyone curse you they will be cursed but if they bless you they will be blessed. Then God said that every family will be blessed through you.

I personally believe that we as Christians are in line to receive/inherit the blessings of Abraham by faith. God wants to bless us, make our names great and cause us to be a blessing to every person around us. God also promises us protection, that he will bless the person who treats us right and curse the person who treats us wrong. The Bible says vengeance is mine says the Lord. The Bible also says that no weapon formed against us shall prosper and every tongue that shall rise against us in judgement shall be condemned. One thing I got from this is if you are God's child, he does care when others are hurting you or mistreating you. So if you have ever been mistreated by anyone just know that God cares.

So the Abraham was obedient to the Lord and left his home (Haran) place but he took Lot with him. They traveled through the land of Canaan, the place of Sichem, and unto the plain of Moreh.

The Lord came into Abram's presence again and promised him that he will give his children the land that they were in. Then Abram built an altar before the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. Next Abram kept it moving South and ended up in Egypt. There was a famine in the land meaning there was very little to no food to eat.

Abram's wife Sarai was very beautiful and the Egyptian men were captured by her beauty. Abram told them that she was their sister. Because she had favor with the men, they made sure that he had sheep, oxens, donkeys, menservants, amir servants, and camels. However, the Lord was not too pleased. The Lord sent a plague to Pharaoh and his family and others who were connected to him. I imagine that Pharaoh was probably upset. So he brought Abram in to be questioned. What are you trying to do to me? Why didn't you tell me that Sarai was your wife? Why did you tell me that she was your sister? I could have married her and brought a curse upon my house! Pharaoh and his house knew that God had his hand upon Abram and his family which is probably why Pharaoh just decided to send Abram and Sarai away. Pharaoh commanded his servants to make sure that Abram, his wife and the things that they have be gone out of that land.

Genesis 12:1-20

1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 

2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 

3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. 

8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth–el, and pitched his tent, having Beth–el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. 

9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: 

12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. 

13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. 

15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 

16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.

17 And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.

18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

Genesis Chapter 11 Notes

This commentary is only about Genesis chapter 11:1-9. I won't cover verses 10-32 in this commentary because it is pretty much a list of names of Shem descendants.

The whole earth spoke the same language and used the same (words) dialect, speech or vocabulary. In my imagination, all those individuals spoke Hebrew. The reason why I believe all those individuals spoke Hebrew is because the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. So it makes sense to me that they all spoke Hebrew. Together, on one accord they traveled to the eat and stayed in Babylonia and stayed there. I can imagine them having an meeting and discussing their plans for a project (a building to each the sky, making a great city for themselves). They wanted to famous for their work and they did not want to be separated from each other. What do you know? We have the first construction workers in the Bible. Who were these people? God already destroyed all world with a flood. It seems to me like there would only be Noah and his descendants left.  It's possible that some of Noah's descendants could have been the ones to build the city. Even though the Bible is not clear on who or how many individuals came together and decided they wanted to build an city. After the people had a thought they put those thoughts into action and started to build the tower of Babel and build a city. They were on one accord and communicated the same language. They had the same goal, no hidden agendas, and that got God's attention. God came down from Heaven and saw what the people did and he said in verse 6 And Behold, the people is one, and they all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. I like the way the New Living Translation says it, Look!" he said. "The people are united and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!" Even though those people were doing things that was against God's will at the time they were all on one accord. If a group of disobedient people can do something that is not in the will of God and prosper, how much more can the believer who has God's stamp of approval can do? All things are possible with God! These people had a plan, discussed their plan and put their plans into actions. They didn't want to be scattered. However, God wanted them to be scattered. In the beginning God told man to be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth and subdue it. How are the people going to be fruitful, multiply and replenish the earth when they will not even separate from each other? I can imagine that those people were comfortable with each other and were probably born together and wanted to die in the same place. I imagine that those people wanted to stick together and didn't want to be separate from each other around the earth because they knew deep down inside that they would have no way to communicate with each other. They didn't have the telephone, Facebook, Skype, Twitter, Yahoo Messenger, or any other way to communicate with each other through Internet like we do today. They were most likely fearful of separating from each other because of their close relationship and they didn't want to be lonely. I'm sure that they had a love for each other and a strong bond. When you have a strong bond with someone it makes it even more difficult to separate from that person. However, in spite of their anxiety to separate and their fear God still wanted them to be separated from each other to go and replenish the earth. So God gave them different languages and they could not understand each other. They scattered all over the earth and wasn't able to build the city. I personally believe that this event of God confusing the languages is the thing that not only created the different languages but also created different cultures as well.

One thing that I learned from this portion of the scriptures is that sometimes God will allow certain things to happen to get you to move out of your comfort zone. Sometimes God will destroy that project, relationship, etc. just so that He can take you to a place for you to prosper. Sometimes you have to move out of that city away from your family members. Sometimes you have to leave that job that you have worked at for years. Sometimes you have to leave that relationship. God always has something better for you.

Genesis 11:1-32

1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 

6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

10 These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: 

11 And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah: 

13 And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. 

14 And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber: 

15 And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

16 And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:

17 And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. 

18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu: 

19 And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.

20 And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:

21 And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.

22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:

23 And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:

25 And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. 

28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child. 

31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. 

32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

Genesis Chapter 10 Notes

Genesis Chapter 10 is all about the family history of Noah's Family.

Genesis 10:1-32

1 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. 

3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. 

4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. 

7 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. 

8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. 

10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,

12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city. 

13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, 

14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.

15 And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,

16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,

17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, 

18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. 

19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.

20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.

21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born. 

22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. 

24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.

25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.

26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, 

27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,

28 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, 

29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan. 

30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.

31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. 

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

Genesis Chapter 9 Notes

God blessed Noah the same way he blessed mankind in the very beginning. Verse 1 of Genesis chapter 9 says that God blessed Noah and his sins, and said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. When God blesses someone He speaks out of his mouth. I noticed that God did not tell Noah to subdue the earth. Could it be that mankind lost his authority over the earth to satan because of Adam's disobedience? I personally believe the answer to that question is yes. In Genesis 1:27 the Bible talks about God creating mankind (male & female) in his image. Genesis 1:28 says, And God blessed them, and God said unto them. Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living that that moveth upon the face of the earth. In other words, God originally gave control of the Earth to mankind. In Genesis 9:1 says And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth. My question is why didn't God tell Noah to subdue the earth like He originally told mankind? One theory is that maybe Adam and Eve's disobedience to God caused Satan to be able to have authority over the earth. In Genesis 9:2 God said to Noah, ANd the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, and upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hands are they delivered. In Genesis 1:28 God had already given mankind authority over the earth and the animals did not have to be delivered into mankind's hands. However, because they sinned and fail short they gave satan free rein over the earth. Not only that, satan has a great influence over the hearts and minds of individuals. In Genesis 9:2 even though mankind didn't actually have total and complete authority over the earth anymore, He still had some authority, the animals still had to respect Noah as authority. As a matter of fact, the animals are fearful of Noah. God also talked to Noah and his sons about their diet and vegetable is what food they need to eat. However, God knew that He destroyed the earth with the flood and there was probably not a lot of vegetables left. So I believe that God felt it was okay to eat meat as long as it was not a living animal. Next God set up a rule, in the rule if any human being kill a human being that person will be killed. If an wild animal kills an human being that wild animal will also die. God established his covenant with Noah his family and the animals who were in the boat with him. He promised to never again flood the land. As a sign of his covenant the rainbow will be in the clouds. I don't know why do the Homosexual community take something as sacred as God's rainbow that is an reminder of God's covenant with mankind and man and use it for their symbol. I think that they need to be educated on the significance of the rainbow.

 After Noah, his son's and their wives got out of the boat Noah began to cultivate the ground and planted a vineyard. Noah drank some wine that he made and became drunk and stretched out naked in his tent. Noah was the first drunk man from an alcoholic substance. When Ham saw his father naked, he went and told his brothers that his father was drunk and naked. Ham was the first gossiper because He gossiped about his father. Shem and Japheth took a robe into the tent and put it on Noah's body without seeing his nakedness. When Noah found out what happened he spoke a curse upon Canaan which are the descendants of Ham. He also said that Canaan would be the lowest out of all the servants to the relatives. Noah also pronounced a blessing over Shem and Japheth.

Genesis 9:1-29

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 

5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. 

6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 

9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 

10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. 

11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 

13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 

14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 

16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 

17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.

19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.

20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: 

21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. 

22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.

24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 

26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 

29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

Genesis Chapter 8 Notes

God remembered that Noah, his family, and the other animals were still in the boat. So he sent a wind to blow so that the land can eventually dry up. After 150 days  (5 months after the flood started) the boat rested on the mountains of Ararat. About two and a half months later, the water started to go down, and other mountains became visible. Then another 40 days later, Noah opened an window and sent a bird out to check and see if the water had dried up from off the earth. That bird flew back and forth. He also sent out a dove, but when that dove could not find any dry land it flew back into the boat. 7 days later, Noah sent the dove out a second time. The dove returned a second time with an fresh olive leaf in his beak. Then Noah waited another seven days and sent the dove out a 3rd time but the Dove did not return.

I want to take a moment and say that numbers are important in scriptures. 7 days Noah sent the dove out a second time to see if the land was try. It was also the 7th day that God rested from all the work that he had made. 40 days the storm lasted, 40 days Moses was in the mountain fasting and talking to God. The number 40 in the Bible is symbolic of a period of testing. Noah's faith was put to the test for 40 days and 40 nights because he had to stay inside the boat. I don't know about you, but I can't imagine just sitting in one place for 40 days. That had to be a test of faith. The Children of Israel was tested in the wilderness for 40 years but of course we will get to that later. Jesus Christ himself fasted for 40 days and was tempted by the devil. Jesus also ascended into heaven 40 days after his resurrection but we will get to that later as well. In my opinion the number 40 represent a process. The number 3 have a very significant meaning as well. Three represent the will of God. God sent 3 messengers to Abraham to tell Sarah that she would conceive in her old age. Saul had to face 3 years of famine. Elijah stretched forth his body over a dead child three times and the child came to life again. Three men were sent to the furnace of fire because they would not worship the King's god. Jonah was trapped in a big fish for 3 days and 3 nights because he was disobedient to God. Paul was blind for 3 days after his encounter with Jesus Christ. The Godhead is one in 3 persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God rose Jesus Christ up on the 3rd day. 3 times Peter denied Jesus Christ. 3 times Paul prayed to the Lord and the Lord responded that my Grace is sufficient. Also, when 2 or 3 are gathered, the Lord is there in the midst.

Now back on track. I almost got too deep with those numbers, lol. So in 2 more months the earth was completely dried. I imagine that God raised up the Son up during the day to dry the earth because there was probably no sewage system like there is in today's time. Then God told Noah that he, his family and the animals can now leave the boat. I imagine that Noah, his wife, their sons, and then their sons wives left the boat by two's. Then Noah (having authority over the animals) had them leave the boat single filed in pairs of twos. Right after they left the boat, Noah built an altar to the Lord and killed an animal, burned it and offered it as a sacrifice to the Lord.  The Lord was so pleased with Noah and Noah's offering that He said that He would never curse the ground again because He actually understands that human beings have a wicked heart that was created in them from birth. He also promised not to destroy all living things. He also said that as long as the earth will remain, there will be seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night. We can definitely see proof of that in the weather, gardens, and the time. For an example, when a gardener plants a seed in the garden, waters it, and the Lord gives it energy from the sunlight. It is then that the seed go from a seed to a plant with fruits and vegetables depending on what type of seed is planted. There is always summertime and winter time. I know we have four seasons, fall, winter, spring, and summer. However, fall weather is pretty much the beginning season of winter. Spring weather, is the beginning seasons of summer. In the fall, the leaves are falling down, the weather is getting cold, many of the birds fly soul, and one good thing about it the misquotes, and other annoying bugs seems to start disappearing. In the winter, everything dies. The bears hibernate, the snow falls on the ground depending on where you live it. The season itself is cold and people have to go out in their big warm coats, boots, gloves, hats, and scarfs. It's so cold that people have to turn on their heat in their homes and cars. The spring time, everything starts to grow. In the Spring, you see the caterpillar turning into the butterflies, the sun makes its way out, the leaves on the trees grow back, the snow mets, the bees and annoying misquotes and flies come back. In the spring time the beautiful birds starts singing their songs and wakes you up in the morning. The air seems fresh and the butterflies fly all over. The weather is warm and pleasant. The Summertime is hot! It's so hot that you have to wear shorts, capris, and sun dresses. People go swimming in the summer and turn on their central air or air conditioner to keep cool. People also have to either ride with their windows down or let the window up and turn on the air conditioner in their cars because thats how hot it is. The sun is beautiful in the summer but the energy from it is too hot sometimes, lol.  

My point for saying all this is that summer and winter is still here and comes around every year. Seedtime and harvest doesn't just apply to the seasons but it also applies to us as individuals. We can sow good seeds and reap good harvest. Let's ask God to show us what seeds He wants us to sow so that we can grow and reap an harvest in every area of our lives. 

Genesis 8:1-22

1 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;

2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; 

3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.

4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:

7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.

8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; 

11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. 

12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.

13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. 

14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.

15 And God spake unto Noah, saying, 

16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.

17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:

19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.

20 And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Genesis Chapter 7 Notes

After Noah was obedient to God and did what the Lord instructed him to do, the Lord gave Noah more specific instructions. The Lord instructed him to to take his family (wife, sons and their wives), 7 pairs of every type of animals (male & female) that are clean, and one pair of the animals that are not clean (male and female) and go into the Boat because in 7 days I the Lord will flood the earth. It's not an coincidence that the Lord created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th. In this passage of scripture the Lord was destroying the thing he created and spoke highly of (the earth) in seven days because of the sinfulness, wickedness, of man. The flood will last 40 days and 40 nights.  Noah did everything that the Lord told him to do. Seven days after Noah did what the Lord told him to do, the Heaven opened up and rain fell upon the earth for 40 days and 40 nights destroying everything, all the animals, human beings. The water was about 20 feet deep and it covered the mountains. I imagine that if there were buildings they would all be covered in water. I feel that God was washing the sin off of the earth that mankind had created. Water has always been looked at as purity. Our bodies is made up of 70% of water and it is water that keeps us alive. However, in this passage of scripture water did not keep the people alive.

Can you imagine what would have happened if Noah was disobedient? If Noah would have been disobedient, then he, his family and all the animals would have died in the flood. Often times it is very crucial that we obey what God commands us to do. God is an all knowing God, an all seeing God, an omnipotent and omnipresent God. He see's all. So why not obey God when he tells us to do something? I remember one time when I was attending Baker College. My friend Melody and I were riding home from church. Then the Lord spoke to my Spirit and said Shawne pray. I saw a vision of my roommate getting in a car accident. So I began to pray out loud. The next thing I know this car came out of no where and nearly hit us. Afterwards, my friend drove into the gas station, got out the car to process what had just happened. While I was screaming the blood of Jesus and praise God. When she got back into car I told her that God heard my prayer and sent his angels to stop what the enemy was trying to do. The devil's purpose is to still, kill and destroy. The Bible says when the enemy comes in like a flood, God will raise a standard against him. So that day the devil wanted to kill me and my friend in an car accident. It was my obedience to pray to God that activated the protection in my life. So my point for sharing this is that it's very important to be obedient to what the Lord said do. Because Noah was obedient to the voice of God, his life, his family's life, and some selected animals lives were spared. I hope that this motivates and encourages you to be obedient to the voice of God. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Before you can obey God, you have to first read and study His Word and know His voice. You know His voice by developing that relationship with Jesus Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to enter into you. The more time you spend in prayer, worship, praise, meditating, reading, and studying God's Word the more you will get to know him and the easier it will become to be obedient.

Moving along, I know I got off track but the Lord put some things in my Spirit about obedience. The flood continued for 150 days. So after the storm was over, and the land dried up, that's when Noah, his family and the animals got out of the boat. One thing that God ministered to me about that is after the storm when you are in Christ you will always be alright. Noah, his family, and the animals were okay. Even though death came to everyone else around them God's favor and protection kept them. They were not in the storm simply because Noah pleased God. It's important for the man of the household to walk with God because it puts God's protection around that man's family and himself.

Genesis 7:1-24

1 And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.

5 And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him.

6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,

9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;

14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.

15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.

17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.

19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.

20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:

22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.

23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.

24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

Genesis Chapter 6 Notes

The men started having children which multiplied the population in the earth. Verse 2 says that the sons of God saw the daughters of men were beautiful and they married them. When I read that scripture, two questions pondered in my mind. Who are the sons of God? Who are the daughters of men? So of course I did a search on it. According to both "Tom Howe and R. C. Sproul, two biblical scholars, the "sons of God" are the human descendants of Seth who was the son that God gave Adam and Eve to replace Abel. The "daughters of men" are the descendants of Cain, who was cursed by God for the murder of Abel. So of course, God was very disappointed the mankind race as a whole. He pretty much said that His Spirit will not always be with man because man is flesh (carnal, worldly, sinful) and decreased his lifespan to 120 years. The sons of God and the daughters of men began to have sex with each other and produced children. God began to see the carnality, evil, sinfulness, and wickedness of the human race. The human race's thoughts and actions were carnal, evil, sinful, and wicked and God was not pleased with that at all. The Lord regretted making mankind because mankind's behavior really broke his heart. So the Lord decided that he was going to destroy every human being. All of that sinfulness, wickedness, evil, and carnality came from Adam and Eve's disobedience to God. Sometimes, the decisions that your parents make can effect your life in a negative way or a positive way It's for that reason why parents, guardians, foster parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and many others should make sure that they are living a life that is pleasing to God and being a good example in front of the children. I know I am getting ahead of myself but the Bible says Train up a child in the way that he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. I am convinced that if Adam and Eve had not been disobedient, all the sin and foolishness would not be in the earth today.

So as a result of all the sin, evil, disobedience, and wickedness God decides that he wants to destroy the animals, the humans,  because he regret making them. When I read that I was like WOW! What could they have done that was so horrible that would make God say that he regret making them? I imagine that they were fornicating, committing adultery, killing and murdering each other, not worshipping God, worshipping false idols, lying, etc….. In spite of all of that, one man on earth had favor with God and that man's name was Noah. God was pleased with Noah because he was a righteous man, he was the only blameless man, he was the only man that was being obedient to what God was saying to him. Noah was the second person the Bible said walked with God. Enoch was the first. God saw that the earth was corrupt and decided to warn Noah and fill him in on his plans to destroy it. He gave him specific instructions to build an large boat, that was waterproof inside and outside. God even gave Noah specific measurements and the material that he wanted Noah to make the boat. I can imagine that people were laughing at Noah for building a boat especially when it has never been done before. Noah was the first boat builder, I don't know what those people are called, lol. I imagine that Noah probably wanted to warn everyone of what God was about to do. If Noah had warned people, they probably would not listen because they were so stuck in their sinful ways. God told Noah specifically to bring his wife, children, children's wives and 2 animals male and female of every species into the boat. I'm had to gather enough food for himself and his family as well.

What is interesting is that Noah did not question what God told him to do. Noah did not get confirmation from someone else on what God told him to do. Noah simply listened to instructions and obeyed what God said. Noah did everything that God told him to do. How many of us can say that? How many things have God told us to do that we have left undone? How many things have God told us not to do something but we did it any way? I know I'm getting ahead of myself here but the Bible says that Obedience is better than sacrifice. What I gather from this chapter is the moment God says hey Shawne, I want you to do this or I want you to do that then I must do it without question. 

Genesis 6:1-22

1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 

3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 

12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.s

14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 

16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. 

17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 

18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.

19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. 

22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

Genesis Chapter 5 Notes

Genesis chapter 5 is just a breakdown of Adam's family tree. In this commentary I will not go into major details of Adam's family tree. Instead, I will provide you with an picture of what Adam's family tree looks like like I did with Cain's family tree. Nevertheless, there is one person that I am interested in talking about in this commentary and that person is Enoch. Enoch is Jared's son and a descendant of Adam. The Bible says that Enoch walked with God after he had his child Methuselah. Enoch pleased God so much that God did not want him to get corrupted by the sin of the world and decided to take him home 365 years old. I don't believe that it is an coincidence that God took Enoch home at 365 years old and there are 365 days per year. 133, 225 days Enoch walked with God. The Bible does not specify how Enoch walked with God but it just says that he does. I am going to use my imagination. I personally believe that he pleased God by having faith in God because the Bible says it is impossible to please God without faith. You have to have faith in who God is and truly believe that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Not only do you have to know who God is but you have to know what God wants. You have to know the voice of God, hear it and respond to it in faith and obedience. I imagine that Enoch had faith in God and was obedient to what the Lord spoke to Him. I imagine that Enoch offered several sacrifices unto the Lord, spent time in worship and prayed to God. I imagine that Enoch taught his wife and children God's Word even though it wasn't written back then like it is today. The laws were not created. I imagine that Enoch lived a Holy and blameless life that pleased God. I imagine that Enoch trusted God through the hard times and the good time. I imagine that God used Enoch to prophecy His word. I imagine that Enoch's heart was right with God and he had a strong desire to please God. I'm sure that Enoch was a family man who took good care of his children and wife. I imagine that Enoch walked in love with every person that he came across. Enoch was the first person to be raptured because of his faithfulness and loyalty to God. Just hearing that Enoch walked with God motivates me! Enoch was the first person that the Bible said "walked with God". I too desire to "walk in God." So my prayer is for the Lord to teach me how to walk with God. It seems like now it would be easier to "walk with God" now than it was in Enoch's days. The reason I say that is because God has given us the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit can teach us how to walk with God.  My prayer for you reading this post is that God would show you how to walk with God in the way He desires you to walk with Him. God bless all of you! :)

Genesis 5:1-32

1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:

5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

6 And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:

7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:

8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.

9 And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:

10 And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:

11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.

12 And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:

13 And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:

14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.

15 And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:

16 And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:

17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.

18 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:

19 And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.

21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:

22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:

24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

25 And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech:

26 And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:

27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.

28 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:

29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.

30 And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:

31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.

32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis Chapter 4 Notes

Adam and his wife had their first child Cain and then their second child Abel. Abel was given the job of an Shepherd because he was the took care of sheep whereas Abel was an Gardener because he cultivated the ground. Both Cain and Abel were given the opportunity to give an offering to the Lord God as a sacrifice. God was pleased with Abel's offering but God was not pleased with Cain's offering. God is no respecter of persons and he loves everybody. However, God does not respect everything everyone does. I personally believe that God respected Abel's offering more than Cain's because Abel offered his best while Cain only offered what was convent for him to offer. Abel, brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof and the Lord had respected unto Abel's offering (Verse 4). Cain offered the Lord an offering but God did not have respect for it. In the old testament people used to kill lambs to offer them as a sacrifice for sin. It was the blood sacrifice of an pure and healthy animal that they had to offer to be accepted in order for their sins to be forgiven. Usually the blood sacrifice covered peoples sins. So with that in mind, Abel offered God the first fruit meaning that he offered the firstborn lamb that he had. Cain, only offered a gift that clearly wasn't his best. So God did not accept it.

When God accepts one brother's gift and don't accept the other brother's gifts it could cause anger, bitterness, and jealousy. Cain was jealous and envious of Abel because God accepted Abel's gift. Cain is the first man in the Bible to be jealous of his brother. He is also the first man to get angry and murder his brother. The first sibling rivalry was between Cain and Abel. Cain was angry, bitter, and jealous and you could tell that is how he felt because he looked dejected. The Bible says for us to be angry and sin not. However, it's unfortunate that in Cain's case he didn't have the self control to separate the two. The Bible declares that Cain was angry and you could see the anger in Cain's face. He was most likely frowning and had a look of rage. So the Lord being so loving, kind, and caring cared enough to ask Cain why he was feeling the way that he felt. God said, Why are you so angry? Why do you look so dejected. If you do the right thing, you will be accepted. If you don't sin will overtake you but you must do right and overtake it. After that you would think that Cain would say Lord, I'm sorry for my anger. please forgive me. Lord, show me how to give an offering to you that you will accept. What can I do to make it up to you Lord? Oh but no, Cain did not do that at all.

I imagine that Cain walked away from God with an bad attitude and contemplated in his mind on what he can do to hurt his brother Abel. So he found his brother and asked his brother to go to the field with him. I imagine that both Adam and Eve are far away from them two. I bet Cain made Abel believe that he wanted to do some brotherly bonding with him. Cain talked with Abel his brother, and then attacked him murdering him with his bare hands. The Bible is not clear on him using a weapon so I assume that Cain murdered Abel with his bare hands. I can imagine Cain walking away from the body, leaving it in the field. Next the Lord see's Cain and ask where is his brother Abel located? Cain pretty much answered the Lord by saying Am I my brother's keeper. In otherwords, I'm not responsible for Abel, Abel is a grown man, so why are you asking me where he is at? Am I my brother's guardian? It seems to me that Cain was defensive with the Lord because Cain knew that he had done wrong and killed his brother. Many times when people do wrong they tend to get overly defensive when they are accused of something that they know good and well that they are guilty of doing. The Lord responded like a Father who is disappointed in his child's behavior. He said what have you done Cain? Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. God is loving, kind, and gentle. However, God is also just and he has to punish sin. So with that being said, Cain was cursed from the earth. He would have a difficult time getting food and will be made a homeless wanderer throughout the earth. Cain felt that his punishment was too much for him and feels that he will be a homeless wanderer and somebody is going to kill him so he disclosed that to the Lord. Instead, Cain should have told God what he had done and begged for mercy asking God please forgive me for murdering my brother. Of course the Lord responded to Cain by saying whoever tries to kill you will have an seven fold punishment. Then the Lord put a mark on his face to warn people not to try to kill Cain. Cain left the Lord's presence and eventually started a family. For this particular commentary, I will not give a list of cain's family. Instead I will do that in a drawing diagram later. Eventually Adam and Eve gave birth to another Son and named him Seth. Seth also had a child and named him Enosh. That was the time when the people started to call on God's name.

Genesis 4:1-26

1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.

2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. 

4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.

11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;

12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. 

15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. 

17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.

19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.

21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.

22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubal–cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal–cain was Naamah.

23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. 

24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.

26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.

Genesis Chapter 3 Notes

In Genesis chapter 3. I personally believe that the devil made the serpent possessed because he manifested his spirit inside it. The serpent was very slick, cunning, and clever. He was doing what the devil is known for doing that is walking around as a roaring lion seeing whom he can devour. So I imagine him walking up the woman. Asking the woman a question. Did God really say that you can't eat from every fruit in the garden? Of course the woman responded by saying We can eat from every tree accept one which is the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God told us not to eat from the tree nor touch it unless we will surely die. It's interesting that the woman would say that. God never said that they could not touch the tree. In Genesis 2:16-17 God said to Adam Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat from it but the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. However Eve responded to Satan's question by saying the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said don't eat it, don't touch, or you will die! She forgot the word surely. In my opinion that word surely represents the seriousness of what God was saying. The word surely is used to emphasize the speaker's firm belief that what they were saying is true. God was firm when he gave Adam the commandment not to eat the fruit of the tree. I personally believe that because God did not speak that to Eve personally she didn't get the seriousness of God's message. So next the serpent starts lying to the woman. First of all he was trying to call God a liar. Second of all he was trying to get the woman to believe that God is a liar. When clearly the Word of God says that God is not a man that he should lie and God hates lying. However, the serpent had the audacity to say you won't surely die. In other words, he was trying to convince the woman that God's message wasn't that serious at all. He was saying don't worry you won't die at all but instead if you eat the fruit, you will be like gods and have the knowledge of good and evil. Eve listened to Satan and everything that he was saying sounded good. She was attracted to the thing that she did not know. So thought in her mind this fruit looks good and it's good for food, and she had the desire to be wise because this knowledge that the serpent spoke of was appealing. So she picked the fruit of the tree and ate it then she gave it to her husband and he ate it. I notice that both of their eyes were open after they both ate it. I wonder if Eve's eyes would have been open if Adam wouldn't have eaten it. After they ate it, there eyes were open, and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons (Verse 7). The husband and wife were ashamed, felt exposed, and afraid so they covered themselves. Of course Adam and Eve were the first fashion designers in the world because they sowed fig leaves together to make clothing.

So God was walking in the garden but Adam and Eve hid themselves from God's presence because they were afraid, ashamed, exposed, and they knew that God would not be pleased with what they have done. I personally believe that when they ate the fruit the glory of God that was within them was lost. That light was lost! So God said Adam where are you? I personally do not believe that God was asking that question because He didn't know where Adam was. I think He was waiting for Adam to come out and confess. I believe Adam came out from hiding and said, I heard your voice and I hid myself because I was fearful and ashamed because I am naked. Fear and shame can cause God's children to try to hide from God especially after you have sinned or been disobedient to God. So the Lord, asked him who told you that you were naked? Who gave you this information? Did you eat from the tree that I specifically told you not to eat from? Instead of the man saying, Yes Lord I know that you told me that you did not want me to eat from the tree. Lord, please forgive me for taking the fruit from my wife and eating from the tree and please Lord spare my life. Adam responded and pretty much said God, this woman that you placed in my life gave me the fruit of the tree and yes I did eat it. So in a sense he was blaming God and the woman for him eating the tree. He was blaming God for putting the woman in his life. He was blaming the woman for giving him the fruit from the tree. A lot of men are the same way in today's society. Instead of acknowledging their own wrong doings and repenting from their sins they will try to blame the woman in their lives (their mother for not being there, their aunt, their sister, their girlfriend, their baby mama, their wife, etc)…. Men are going to have to step up and take responsibility for their own lives. Just because a woman tries to steer you in the wrong direction doesn't mean that you have to go. Acknowledge your wrong doings, repent to God and move on with your life. The Lord in his anger was saying Woman, what have you done? When God asked her that question, she should have said Lord Adam told me that you said not to eat or touch the tree but I didn't understand the seriousness of the command. Please forgive me for listening to the serpent instead of listening to my husband. Also please forgive me for eating from the tree and giving it to my husband.  But she did not say any of that. Instead she said the serpent tricked me into eating the fruit. She do what a lot of women do and that is blame satan for their wrong doings. It's time for both men and women to start taking responsibility for their own behaviors, wrong doings, and sins and self reflecting. It's time to repent and ask God to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

So after the Lord, heard all of their excuses He made a decision to give them punishments because he is a just God and must punish sin. He started with the serpent made him the most cursed animal, forced him to eat dust for the rest of his life and to crawl on his belly. In verse 15 God said, I will put enmity between you and the woman, your seed and her seed, and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. I personally believe that the seed of the woman that verse 15 is referring to is Jesus Christ. Mary was the virgin woman God impregnated by the Holy Spirit to bring forth Jesus Christ. I think that Jesus bruised his head (destroy satan's works, designs, kingdoms, etc) and satan bruised his heel by influencing the hearts of Pointius Pilate and the Jews to crucify Jesus Christ. For the woman's punishment God made childbirth painful, gave the woman's desire to her husband, and the husband became ruler over her life. For Adam's punishment, the ground was cursed which means that Adam would have to toil in sweat and work really hard to feed and provide for his family. God also said that dust is what Adam was made out of and when he dies his body will return to dust.

Next, Adam gave his wife the name Eve because she was the mother of all living. (Verse 20). So the man became like God to know good and evil. The Lord did not want them eating from the tree of life to live forever in their sinful state. So therefore, the Lord sent them out of the garden of Eden and sent Cherubims (angels) to guard the garden to keep the way of the tree of life.

The one thing that I take from this whole passage is to be obedient to God when He tells you not to do something or to do something. Disobedience causes unwanted consequences. 

Genesis 3:1-24

1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 

13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 

16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 

20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Genesis Chapter 2 Notes

By the time, 6 days is over God finishes his very good work. The seventh day he rested. I personally do not believe that He rested because He was tired. I personally believe that God rested because He had completed his work. When you are on the job, usually you take breaks in between the job. However, I personally do not believe that God took a break while He was creating the whole work. He decided to take His break when he finished creating everything. The 7th day, God blessed it and sanctified (set it apart for his use) because he completed his work.

 It is my understanding that after the 7th day was over, God decided that he wanted someone to till the ground and take control over the earth. So that's when He decided to create Adam and he breathed the breath of life into his nostrils and Adam became an living soul. I often wondered why didn't God give Adam mouth to mouth? Why did God breathe into God's nostrils? When God breathed breath into man's nose it put spiritual oxygen into man's body which caused man to become a living soul (spirit). I also notice that when I had asthma, I used to try to breathe out of my mouth and had lot's of trouble breathing because I was breathing wrong. Technically we are supposed to breathe or inhale in through our nose and exhale out of our mouth. I personally believe that concept came from the Word of God because God breathed the breath of life in our nose and not our mouths. I noticed when I was attending martial arts that the instructor always wanted us to breathe in through our nose and breathe out through out mouth through every blow to give us power and energy through our body to fight. I also notice that when I was in the choir that choir directors would yell at us about our breathing. I didn't learn how to breathe correctly until I started taking martial arts. For a long time I thought that I was supposed to breathe in through my mouth and out my mouth. But thank God for correcting me. 

The Lord created a garden in Eden, planted several different trees and plants. The trees that God planted was beautiful (looked good) and was good for food. There were two trees in the center of the garden which were the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. God also created bodies of water which were called Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates.

God gave Adam two jobs which is to keep and to dress the garden. I personally believe that God wanted Adam to keep and dress the garden is because he knew that satan would be trespassing in the garden. When lucifer was kicked out of Heaven, he ended up on earth.

God told Adam you can eat off of any of these trees but do not eat from the knowledge of good and evil tree or you will die. In that scripture God didn't specify that it was a natural or spiritual death. It could have been both. Then the Lord said it's not good for man to be alone; I will make him a helpmeet according to verse 18. Of course none of the other animals were compatible with Adam but God allowed Adam to give the animals names which is one of the ways he exercised his authority. Later that evening, God performed the first surgery ever. He put Adam to sleep, and then took one of his ribs and closed up his side. It's amazing how God uses the hand of doctors to conduct surgery on people now-a-days. Those medical doctors better realize that the first surgeon was God and not them. God was the first one to cut open someone, take parts of the body out and close up the wound. I'm sure God was so gentle and strategic that Adam probably didn't even feel a thing. At least that is what goes on in my imagination. Next, Adam woke up and saw the beautiful woman standing there and he yelled WO-MAN! Naw, I'm kidding, lol. He recognize that God created her specifically for him. He said this is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh and he called her woman because she was taken out of man (verse 23). I also believe that the reason God wanted us to be called Woman is because we are simply a a human form with a womb. Whereas the man, does not have a womb and can't bring forth children.  Because God created the woman for Adam, they were already husband and wife and didn't necessarily have a wedding ceremony. Adam also said that man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh (verse 24). While I am reading this scripture something puzzles me. If Adam and Eve were the only two individuals on earth then why would he say that the man shall leave his father and mother? Clearly Adam and Eve did not have a mother and father. So my only thoughts is, that in Genesis Ch 1 the male and females that were created then might not have been Adam and Eve. It could have been other human beings. Then again, Adam could have been prospecting that a woman and man will have a baby, the baby will grow up, get married and become one with his wife or her husband.

 Another thing I wanted to say on marriage. God made woman for man which means that they are supposed to be together. Hint! Not woman and woman or man and man! Not Adam and Steve, or Eve and Angela! When the man and woman gets married, the wife and husband should be put top priority over all other people including the parents. When the parent's grown children gets married, the grown children are supposed to leave their parents household and become joined together forever and never separated from their spouse.

Last but not least, Adam and Eve (husband and wife) were both naked and they were not ashamed (Verse 25). Let's get something straight here! This scripture does not give people the right to walk around in public butt naked. I think what is being conveyed in this scripture is that Adam and Eve were both naked in front of  each other. Husbands and wives should be comfortable, open and exposed to each other and they should not have any fear or be afraid.

Genesis 2:1-25

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 

2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 

3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 

6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 

13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.