Genesis 7:6-24 – Our security is in God

The flood was God’s judgement on earth. It is one of the more significant events in the history of mankind. So significant is this event that both the Old and the New Testaments make reference to it. Even the Lord Jesus made mention of this event.  In Genesis 6 we are shown why such a judgement was necessary. It’s because of the rampant wickedness of humanity. The wickedness upon earth was beyond endurance. It was so way beyond the limit that even God’s patience could not bear. So He resolved to annihilate all on the earth. Evil is a direct contradiction to God’s nature. It is an affront to Him and He deeply abhors evil. It is impossible to act wickedly and expect God to ignore it. The very holy nature of God will move Him to deal with evil.   

Noah’s life tells us that it is possible to walk uprightly with God and find favour with Him. God not only preserved him, but also his family. This is a clear reminder to all fathers, that how we live our life will affect our family as well. God’s blessing upon us will be extended to our family, and what we do affect our family as well. We can set them in the right direction with God or we can put them at odds with Him. Noah’s life tells us that we must set our family on the path of God’s blessing by walking with Him, and seeking to build an upright life.

This account of the flood tells us many things. As Creator, God is sovereign and in control of all things. Creation is finally accountable to Him and He expects accountability from all His creation. He expects mankind, made in His image, tasked to rule the earth, to be more responsible. He gave man the greatest privilege to experience a unique relationship with Him, and that privilege comes with a greater accountability. God’s desire has been for man to choose to walk with Him in obedience. To choose evil is to be an affront to Him. The rampant evil resulted from the choice man had made. Undeniably we know that God cannot tolerate evil. His holiness cannot co-exist with evil and wickedness. So He will bring evil and wickedness to a swift end. The account of the flood serves to show us how greatly and intensely God hates sin and evil. The evil and wickedness that prevail only calls for one cataclysmic conclusion – total annihilation.  And that was exactly what God did.

While God must annihilate evil, He also prepared a program to work out His original plan. He found in Noah an instrument that He could use. Noah found favour in His sight. God mercifully preserved him and his family from the judgement - the universal flood. It was a universal flood because we read that every high mountain peak was totally covered and that every living thing was blotted out. The call of Noah to build the ark and the time he took to build it, reveal God’s patience in dealing with sin. In sparing Noah and his family, we see God’s saving grace. Peter in the New Testament tells us that God is patient. He still has no desire that any should perish but that all to come unto repentance.

Remember that we must stay within the confine of our relationship with Christ. He is the ark of our salvation. Anywhere outside of it spells danger. God will eradicate evil. We need to live circumspectly before Him and not allow evil to hold sway in any area of our life. Know that how we live our life also affects that of our loved ones as well. So we need to stay on the right course with God. Obedience to God is the way to go in life. And since God will not allow evil to prevail on earth, we must never allow it to prevail in our life. Deal with it swiftly.   

Genesis 7:1-5 – We can be God’s instrument today

Noah was marked out by his obedience. The common refrain about him was that he did according to all that the Lord had commanded him. This is an indication that he obeyed God consistently in everything. People may obey in one area but not in another. It was not so with Noah. He consistently and constantly obeyed God in all that he was told to do. In this passage we see that God, wanting to preserve the animals, gave specific instructions to him. He was told to bring into the ark seven pairs each of the clean animals and one pair each of the unclean animals. And Noah obeyed. So in verse 5, we read “Noah did according to all that the Lord had commanded him.” He had a high OQ – obedience quotient. We must emulate him and have a high OQ toward God as well. There’s no telling what God can do through one obedient person. Noah’s life stands as a testament to that. 

It is easy to follow what everyone else is doing, especially when we live in a world where every other person seems to be doing it. Every one of us, without exception, is susceptible to influence. This was the condition in Noah’s day. But he stood out differently. Here is what God said of him, “…you alone I have seen to be righteous before me in this time.” How would we like God to say this of each of us?

The world rules by general consensus. But God operates in a different equation. Bear in mind that general consensus is not always right. Majority, they say, always win. But how is majority defined? In God’s equation, even if we are the lone voice agreeing with Him, together with Him, we become the majority. Noah’s life illustrates this. He stood with God and together, the two became the majority. We should never be afraid of what the world will think about us. How God evaluates us is more important. The world may think we are out of sync with them but their opinions of us do not matter. Won’t we rather be like Noah and be told, “You alone have I seen to be righteous in this time?” Having God’s approval and acceptance in life is everything.

God’s intended mission through Noah was to eradicate evil, anything that contradict His plan, anything that was not in agreement with His will. Noah was the only one righteous person God saw whom He could use for this campaign. His life of obedience highlights what can be accomplished with just one person who agrees with God totally. He became God’s catalyst for a righteous reformation. The mission of God in the world through the church today also needs obedient people like Noah. God is seeking that in us. Will we stand with God? Will we think and act differently from the norm of the crowd that are heading in the opposite direction? Let us be the people that will stand absolutely one with God in the mission to establish His godly community! With God we are the majority even with the many dissenting voices from the world. Just imagine what can be accomplished if what God had said to Noah, He can say to us, “You, have I seen to be righteous before me in this time.”    

Genesis 6:17-22 – Obedience pleases God

The condition during Noah’s day went beyond what God could endure. His patience with them had worn thin. The condition was so deplorable that God was determined to fix it. He swore that He would do something to bring it to a swift end, so that He could start anew. So He said to Noah, “Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish.” After all is said, we must bear in mind that the very thing God wants to eradicate is disobedience, the cause of the fall of humanity. We can see that God prices obedience highly. Disobedience was what caused mankind to overstep God’s allowable boundary. Never take God’s goodness for granted. He is not mocked, what a man sows, he shall also reap. Remember, we have the freedom to choose what we want to do, but we do not have the freedom to choose the consequence.  We must always choose to obey God.

Verses 18-21 briefly detail the covenant God made with Noah. Though not many words were said, Noah knew what God meant. The corrupt world would be brought to an end and he was to be more than a survivor. He was to be God’s promised bearer to a new era. God had told him what he must do. But as important as the detail on how the ark was to be structured, it would mean nothing if it was not met with obedience. Everything said thus far would come to naught if not for verse 22. “Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.” Noah obeyed and did as God had instructed.

Noah is an example of what obedience means. Just think of the monumental task God had asked him to do. Imagine the number of trees he had to cut to build that ark. Then think of the effort required to ferry the trees to the specific location to build it. And to think that all these were done without the luxury of modern gadgets, such as chain saws, trucks etc. Try calculating the duration it would require to build that colossal ark. What God asked him to do was not a small task. It was one epic, titanic proportion. We can conclude that maybe, his sons were involved in the project. Even then, the workforce was truly meagre. But Noah did it. Verse 22 said, explicitly, he did all as God had commanded him.   

Today, as in Noah’s day God is still looking at obedience. Our task of bearing the promises of God to a fallen world today is but a smidgeon in comparison to Noah’s phenomenal task. If he could meet his mammoth task with obedience, it will be a crying shame if we can’t obey God in our comparably small task. God expect the same level of obedience as Noah had given. Obedience is the key to great fulfillment. Notice the middle three letters in the word “obedience” form the word “die.” And the middle letter of “die” is “I.” To be truly obedient to God, the “I” in the center must die.

Hear again the word of our Lord and Master in Luke 9:23 - “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” And He also said in John 15:14, “You are My friends if you do what I command you.” Will we make up our mind to be obedient? Let’s do all to obey Him!  

Genesis 6:13-16 – Building a life that can be afloat with God

We all know that nothing escapes the sight of God. Absolutely nothing. He saw everything then and He continues to see everything now – good or evil. So we learn that Noah found favor in God’s sight, and he was described as a righteous and blameless man. But just as God noticed Noah, He also saw evil and the pervasive violence. And such negative state of affairs could not be good breeding ground for righteousness and godliness. God’s intention for a godly generation can never be attained in such a state. It was well nigh impossible. God would have to begin anew with man. Like all of God’s movement this one must also begin with an appropriate instrument, a righteous man. In this movement to preserve mankind while destroying all that was evil, Noah was to be the man for the season. What is this speaking to us? Let us put this in our context. Is God about to break new ground? Can He see in us the right material that He can use? God is still seeking a man to stand in the gap between Him and lost humanity, many of whom are our loved ones, neighbors, friends, and colleagues. Will we, like Noah, be the instrument that God will use? 

God instructed Noah to build an ark that would provide salvation for him and his family. In much the same way as Noah built the ark, we need to build a secure sanctum in life to keep us afloat with God; that will keep us above the flood of evil in our world today. To stay vibrantly connected with God, we need to build the ark of safety, a place where we can constantly retreat to in the journey of life, to stay connected to God. We know that being in Christ, puts us in the Ark of salvation. Equally important as we are in this Ark, we need to cultivate scared rhythms of intimacy with God that will allow His grace to move into our lives and bring about the spiritual growth. Could the massive ark God instructed Noah to build, is also His invitation to us, to build sacred rhythms in life that will keep us afloat with Him, in the midst of a trying world?

Here are some personal reflection concerning the dimensions of the ark that God had given to Noah. Could God be indicating what He wants of our relationship with Him in giving the specifics? In the length, the breadth and the height, could He be talking about durability, space and depth He wants of our relationship with Him? There is no denial that we need to make room in our relationship with Him. It must have durability, space and depth with God. And we are told that the ark was made of gopher wood that could stay afloat for a long time. And like the gopher wood of the ark, our life must be built with spiritual material that will enable us to stand firm in the times of storms and trials in life. The window that opened upward could be an indication for the need to be open to what God will communicate with us from above. The door that opened from within could be an indication that the key to an open dialogue with God is often triggered from within us. It takes desire on our part to seek God. Remember, while God desires His best for us, He needs us to work in tandem with Him. Like Noah, we need to build an ark that will help us to stay afloat with God in a distracting world. We need a place of retreat and find rest in Him and one that will also help us to weather the storms of life.   

Genesis 6:9-12 – Living above the standard of the depraved world

The depravity of mankind was at an all-time high prior to the flood. Genesis 6:5 reveals that explicitly. It says, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Absolutely nothing good came out of man’s thought. Every imagination was evil. The whole culture was demonized. Men, once godly, were overtaken by fallen angels. Their souls were sold. Homes and marriages, the God ordained institutions, were made sacrileges. Violence marked the society with the presence of the Nephilim, the product of demonized marriages. Lust was the call of the day and violence was a common characteristic.

Genesis 6:11-12 highlight the assessment of God. He saw the unchecked corruption and violence. The earth was thoroughly filled with it. He found it repulsive. They were an affront to Him and He would have to destroy man who had descended so low. Yet in a time so bleak, mercy emerged and grace was seen. One man, Noah by name, found favor with God. Think deeper, there are really some similarities between Noah and Adam. Both were made caretakers of the lower creatures. Like Adam, Noah also had three sons – Sham, Ham and Japheth. They both were tillers of the ground. Both also sinned through the product of a tree. As a father, they each had a wicked son that was under a curse. Adam had Cain and Noah had Ham.

Noah’s father was Lamech. His father had a desire to see him an instrument of relief. So he named him Noah, meaning “He will bring us comfort.” Lamech prophetically said this of him in Genesis 5:29, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands from the ground which the Lord has cursed.” And it came to pass. Verse 9 gives us the secret to how Noah was able to accomplish the prophetic word said of him. It is in these four words “...he walked with God.” He did exactly as Enoch, a few generations before him, had done. These were the two that this phrase “…he walked with God” was said of them. This was the highlight of their lives. How important it is in life to walk with God. Nothing should be more central to life as walking with God. He must be our be-all and end-all. If we are to be God’s instrument in a time of confusion such as ours, we must stand out spiritually. We must come to God with red hot zeal. We cannot run with zeal for the world than labor up the heavenly hill with weary feet and slow. Nothing short of a 100 percent commitment to Him will ever be a worthy response to His great love.

Of all the people in his time, Noah stood out. He was described as righteous and blameless. These two attributes can only be cultivated when one walks with God. In the midst of a demonized culture filled with violence and lust, Noah was like a candle in a pitch dark night. He walked discerningly. This could only be possible because He placed God at the center of his life. How he lived reminds us of the instruction of Proverbs 3:6. We must acknowledge God in all our ways and He will direct our path.  

We have before us an example on how to please God. Noah walked with God as Enoch did. Walking with God means that we have Him continually in our thoughts. It is about cultivating a consciousness of His presence regardless of where we are and what we are doing. It is a journey that beckons us to build our life according to the instruction found in His Word. It calls for us to travel on the high road of morality, above the scum the world offers. Then with His help, we will soar like the eagle above the high mountains and in the golden sky. Remember, we who wait upon the Lord shall mount up on wings of eagles. We shall run and not be weary, walk and not faint!    

Genesis 6:1-8 - God’s grace in a depraved generation

On reading these eight verses, it is easy to conclude that the sons of God could be referring to the line of Seth and the daughters of men from the line of Cain. It seems most logical, since Genesis 4 dealt with the evil line of Cain and Genesis 5, the godly line of Seth. Honestly, these eight verses present one of the hardest texts to interpret as we reflect on them. Who actually were the sons of God referred to here?  

This phrase “sons of God” is commonly used to refer to angels in the Bible. Here it could be referring to fallen angels or demons. Why do we come to this conclusion? Jude and Peter in their Epistles talked about the activities of fallen angels. Jude 6 tells us that fallen angels were judged by God and put in the realm of darkness. Angels are sexless. The Lord Jesus said so in Luke 20:34-36. Hence they do not procreate. These fallen angels do have a craving for bodies so that they could display themselves. Passages such as Mark 5:11-13 and Luke 8:31-33 indicate so. Putting these thoughts together, we can conclude that these sons of God referred to here were actually fallen angels that took possession of the bodies of men, from the godly line of Seth, and marry other daughters of men. The purpose of these verses could be to show us that the good plan God had for marriage was demonized.

The first four words of these chapter, “Now it come about…” suggest that in the course of time, human life degenerated further. God’s intention was for godliness to persist but His plan was disrupted by evil influence. Every good thing planned by God only become bad when influenced by the devil and his cohorts of fallen angels. As it was in the situation of Adam and Eve and so now also in marriages. At the heart of it all was lust at work. God intended marriage for companionship and procreation. The emphasis of the union here was for the beauty they saw in the daughters of men. It was no longer on the purpose God had for marriage. At the nub of it was their lustful craving for sexual relationship of those men overtaken by fallen angels. Man are susceptible to all kinds of influence, including evil influence, if we are not alert and don’t stay vibrantly connected to God. How we begin and continue each day is important. For we know how easily anyone who begins well is susceptible to fall away.  It tells us how watchful we need to be to the influence we are exposed to. With increasing circle of friends and associates, there must be the corresponding increase in alertness. We must be vigilant to the suggestions we are opened to. Do evaluate people we are running with. Remember if we run with the skunk, we may smell like the skunk. Hence we must stay close to God and be sensitive to the guidance of His Spirit. 

This passage also tells us that God shortened the life span of man. The length of man was shortened by seven-fold, from 900 or more years to only 120 years. Man now not only have immortality taken from them as a result of the fall, their degeneration and gravitation towards evil continually had drastically reduced the span of their life on earth. To compound the worsen situation, we read of the Nephilim in verse 4. They were the products of the demonized marriages. These Nephilim, described as mighty men, were in reality violent men. Verse 5 shows us how low morality had sunk. “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” The three words - great, every, and continually - need no further explanation. They tell us how low man’s depravity was at. The state of affair was not temporary and there was absolutely no repentance. Lust was unremitting and violence was the norm. God’s hand was forced to act to correct the situation. Why? Because the moral decay and human depravity was repulsive to God’s holy nature.  And He had to do something about it.   

Here we get a peep into the heart of God. It was certainly filled with a mixture of grief and pain. The humanity He had created to be His representative had sunk so low. Our response to His love affects Him in ways that far surpass our capacity to perceive. We better know that God has emotion too. God needs to annihilate evil, and man caught in the middle was to be destroyed. God had a plan and His holiness and justice must be appeased. But even with that thought of getting rid of evil totally, God was still gracious. He looked for a way to preserve man and we are told that Noah found favor in His sight. This is the grace of God. Take note that Noah was not chosen because he was righteous, he was chosen because he found favor in God’s sight.   

How ought we to live? Godly and not selfishly, lovingly and not lustfully, peacefully and not violently. We must live to honor God. That we can do by making right decisions and choices. Seek to fulfill God’s purpose rather than our personal craving and agenda. Be honest with God. We will find favor with Him when we seek to do His will and fulfill His plan, in life or in marriage!  

Genesis 5:1-32 – Stay godly

Without a doubt, our Creator God is a God of continuity. In this chapter we see a re-visitation of His intention. The human race started with Adam. He was the head of the human race, made in the image and likeness of God. The intention of God had always been for him to be His image bearer. Adam had responsibility but he also had tremendous privileges and potential. He had unparalleled access to God and could communicate with Him like no other creatures. God also gave to Adam dominion of the earth and he was to rule it on God’s behalf. But Adam failed God through disobedience. With that failure the realm of evil was introduced. There will always be this demarcation between what’s good and what’s evil. However, it must be said that failure and evil cannot obliterate God’s plan and intention. So we see whatever represents evil is being dealt with. Although Cain and his family degenerated and evil propagated through them, evil could not obliterate God’s program. For He always do something positive to nullify evil and not allow it to destroy His plan for mankind. In Genesis 4, we see the line of Cain, representing evil being dealt with. And in Genesis 5, we see the introduction of the ten generations of Adam’s godly line. The ten generations are: Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Mathuselah, Lamech and Noah. And beginning from Seth we see the emergence of a hope.   

Adam’s fall did not abrogate the blessing of God. So in the line of Seth the likeness and image of God in Adam continued. The task of continuing God’s plan rest in this new line. However, the consequence of sin still took effect as God had forewarned. So we read repeatedly the gloom of death. The cycle that kept repeating itself was the birth and death of every person and generation. Generally, this is a universal experience of man since the fall. However, in the midst of the gloom, we see something bright in the life of Enoch. It’s interesting that Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam. It was intentionally put to mirror the opposite effect of evil. Enoch’s life was the exact opposite of evil. He lived a life to please God. In Genesis 4, we see evil clearly displayed in the life of wicked Lamech. He was also the seventh generation of Adam but from the line of Cain.

So what’s so special about Enoch? He disrupted the rhythm of death. He did not die. That’s because he walked faithfully with God. It’s interesting that his son, Methuselah was born to him when he was 65 years old. That was the year he began his walk with God more seriously. He started where many would have stopped. Many, after becoming a father would stop walking with God. Suddenly, their whole attention is on the son and not on God. But Enoch was different. Verse 22 tells us that as a father, Enoch’s walk became more faithful. And he was rewarded for his faithfulness. God snatched him up and he was translated into His presence without going through death. Like Enoch, we must make faithfulness a definition of our walk with God. Enoch literally closed the gap with God, kept his pace and company with Him throughout life’s journey. There is no telling of what God can do for us when we emulate Enoch’s faithfulness.

Know that we have inherited Adam’s fallen nature, but even the fall did not annul the image and likeness of God in us. It only marred it but the image of God persists.  The wonderful thing is that in Christ we have become His new creation. And with His help and of the Holy Spirit within us, we still have vast potential to live triumphantly for God. Knowing and sharing a deep intimate fellowship with Him can be our perpetual experience. And we also have the capacity to fulfil God’s plan for the earth. Bear in mind that our calling is not just to touch His Kingdom but to enlarge it. Let us press on - to see Him more clearly, to love Him more dearly, to follow Him more nearly, and to serve Him more faithfully!      

Genesis 4:16-26 – The consequence of a wrong decision

In Genesis 4:14, we see how Cain resisted God’s gracious gesture toward him. In the spirit of defiance, he chose to oppose the kind intention God extended to him. So verse 16 tells us that he departed from the presence of God and lived in Nod, East of Eden.  Hence, we can tell that to stay with God or to leave Him is a choice on his part. Of course to stay would require right response to God and toward life. It would mean that he had to make radical adjustment to correct his attitude and actions. This, no doubt, would be very hard on the flesh. It’s a choice that demands a disciplined follow through. Thinking that leaving God would be an easier path, Cain chose to leave the covering God had over his life. It was an unwise choice, but the Bible tells us that Cain chose that path. It’s an act of his will. Like him, the choice to remain with God and enjoy His presence is also ours to make. It starts with a decision but it must also be met with responsible action.

Every decision we make in life will lead us to take a certain course of action. While we can choose what we want to do, we cannot choose the consequence of what we do. Bear in mind that every course had a certain effect. It will happen in a certain way whether we like it or not. The choice Cain made brought about the effect seen in these verses. He had cut himself off from God’s redeeming grace. And it did not just affect him but also his succeeding generations. None of his posterity had any connection with God. Though it was dangerous to live without divine covering, Cain made that choice, and led his posterity to live life lacking God in their agenda. None had any consideration for God. How sad! We must heed the call of God to be careful how we live. To understand what the will of God is and to make decisions that help us to move toward Him and His will.

Life for Cain and his children and his children’s family became a mundane routine without God. They lived and died without the exciting adventure of walking with God. Drably, each generation just went on without factoring God in their life. When we come to Lamech, we see how presumptuous a person living without God can be. Without considering the just God, he did not have any moral compass in life. He impetuously took matters into his own hand and confessed to the killing of a young man who had wronged him. We are not told how, but he was somehow aware of what God had done to protect Cain, his forebear. In what he said he was being presumptuous. He felt that since God had protected Cain despite the latter’s defiance, he expected God would do the same for him and even more. He presumed on the grace of God. We all need to know that we cannot presume on God’s grace and goodness. To do so would be to treat God casually and take Him for someone we can manipulate. The grace of God demands that we make responsible decisions and cultivate responsible living.

The last two verses bring back a breath of fresh air. We feel the continuing grace of God in the conception of Seth. Though Adam and Eve had fallen, God did not leave them to struggle on their own. To Adam’s credit, he remained conscious of God in his journey in life. These two verses more than highlighting their fallen lives, they also highlighted for us the grace of God. Despite their disobedience, God’s plan for humanity was not thwarted. In the place of Abel whom Cain had murdered, God gave them Seth. And in this new son given to Adam and Eve, God would perpetuate His plan for a godly generation. Hence when we come to Enosh, the son of Seth, man began to call on the name of God.

These ten verses show us two roads we all can choose - the road of the King’s highway or the low road of the devil’s broad, crooked and destructive way. It takes a decision to determine what we would rather have. This is particularly important for the head of the family to decide. What we choose will determine not only our destiny but that of our children and our children’s children. The challenge of Joshua to the Israelites still rings clear. What he had said in Joshua 24:14-15 still reverberates in our soul. “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Beloved, we have a choice, make it wisely!

Genesis 4:9-15 – Let’s tenderize our heart towards God!

Genesis 4:8 is an interesting verse. Cain was purported to have told his brother Abel about what God revealed to him concerning his need to harness his anger. He must have told him what God said would happen if anger was not harnessed. The question we ask is why then was Abel willing to go to him into the field? We may not have the exact answer except to say that God’s words, when unheeded, always will happen as He had foretold it. And it was so. Cain led Abel into the field and there had him killed. What happened underscores for us the importance of taking the word of God seriously. But it also reinforces the idea concerning the freedom of choice God had given to man. Though God had spoken, the decision to move in tandem with His revelation rests with us man. He had made us beings with the freedom to make moral choices. He did not insist that Cain should act in a certain way. He left the choice to him. But we know that wisdom dictates that we need to learn how to make right moral choices with His help. Praise God that we have the Holy Spirit alongside us to help us do that today.

One thing we must always bear in mind that God is fully cognizant of what we do in life. He is all-knowing. Nothing is hidden from him. The murder of Abel and how God dealt with Cain tells us so. God came to him inquiring about Abel his brother. It’s not an issue of God not knowing what Cain had done. It was asked to elicit appropriate response and action. The question asked of Cain was to help him to be honest with himself and with God. But unfortunately like Adam, his father, Cain gave an evasive answer that bordered on rudeness. His response to God was, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” This is a question we all need to answer too. If we are to help each other fulfill the greater plan of God, everyone must seek to be our brother’s keeper. Our calling as a member of God’s family is to help each other in the journey of faith. Just imagine what God can do through the church, when we brothers and sisters in the Lord, look out for each other and help each other to adjust and live a godly life.

Through Cain’s incidence, we see another attribute of God. He is a just God. Hence justice must be served. The blood of Abel cried out for vengeance from the ground. God could not stand idly by and pretend as if nothing had happened. Remember, both Cain and Abel were conceived with the help of God. Hence God had every right to intervene in their lives. Accountability was expected of Cain and also from everyone. We cannot imagine how chaotic the world wold be without a moral judge. Justice must prevail if we are to have a peaceful and orderly world. God dealt with Cain where it matters most. As a farmer and tiller of the ground, he needed the ground to be fruitful and be able to yield to his work. But God had placed a judgement on it. The ground that once yielded and gave him plenty to harvest became barren and fruitless. His effort in life would be frustrated and he would be a stranger even to what he was accustomed to do. He would be driven to become a vagrant and a wanderer seeking a means to live by. Yet he refused to change and surrender to God.  

In verses 13-14, we see how defiant Cain continued to be. Just think of what would have happened if he had taken a softer stance, and with a contrition of heart sought for God’s forgiveness. Knowing God’s nature, we dare to say that God would have dealt with him differently. But Cain would not yield to God. He was defiant. He still did not concede that whatever outcome was the folly of his own action. He defiantly accused God for his plight and had chosen to depart from God’s presence. He chose punishment over repentance. He would rather be a vagrant and a wander and be outside of God’s protective hedge, even if death was a threat. Verse 15, in keeping with His nature, God cannot deny Himself. He still could not allow injustice to run rampant. His absolute moral character cannot allow it. He still wants man to experience justice no matter how wrong one can be. So He saw to it Cain would be justly dealt with. He placed a caveat over him to ensure that he would not be destroyed without cause.  

In Cain, we see a case of strong defiance. Given an opportunity to act right and be right with God, he turned it down. He chose to continue in his stubborn streak and be an affront to God. He would rather suffer the plight than to admit his need for God. This is the nature of sin. It causes a person to live contrary to God’s will. Meanwhile God with His love and outstretched arms, still long for man to return to a restored relationship and fellowship. For us, remember to keep short accounts with God, keep in mind the Cross!  It is the greatest monument of God’s outstretched arms and love. Oh what a love! We truly stand forgiven at the Cross. Never forget that!

Genesis 4:1-8 - What’s an acceptable offering to God?

This passage describes two lives, Cain and Abel. Both were male children of Adam and Eve. Cain was the first born. Abel was the younger of the two. We can see that God played a part in their conception. With the help of God, Eve conceived Cain. And then she conceived Abel after that. In the conception of Abel, the word “again” suggests that in the same way God helped her with the conception of Cain, He had also helped her with the conception of Abel.

Remember, the source of life is God. Ability to conceive is a blessing from God. Hence it’s important to realize that having a child is a blessing of the Lord. But equally important is the necessity to train him or her in the fear and nurture of the Lord. The outcome of Cain’s life, in this account, shows us how important that is. This account shows us that life that begins with God has both the potential to continue on the right course or depart from His intended path. A right start with God is important, but equally important is that life must be properly harnessed, and carefully and thoughtfully built along the way. A well-developed life shows itself in one’s attitude toward God, self and others. Starting and ending are equally important. The way we perceive life is cardinal. It helps us to interpret life and make sense of the world around us. Always begin in mind where you hope to end.

Since a good life always begins and continues in God, putting into our life the means to stay connected with Him is paramount. They must be given top priority. One key thing is the worship we offer to God. Anything we bring to God to honor Him is an act of worship. How we bring our offering is important. And in this passage we see the issue of two different ways offerings were brought to God. The crux is often not in what we bring to connect with God but how and with what attitude we approach Him. Both Cain and Abel brought gifts from the works of their hands. Abel, the younger, brought them with a heart of humility, an attitude that delighted God. Whereas Cain brought a gift from his hand, but not a fitting attitude. We guess that he must have approached God with a “You-ought-to-be-pleased-with-me” kind of attitude. This kind starts with and ends with, self. In life we are all differently gifted. We must bring whatever we have to God. But how we approach Him will determine the degree of Divine satisfaction. A broken and contrite heart God will not despise. He gives grace to the humble but opposes the proud and arrogant. It behoves us, then, to carefully check our attitude as we approach God. Be sure to come in humility and not in arrogance.  

From this account, we need also to know that what we bring to God must be our very best. We can bring a haphazardly and hastily gathered offering or a thoughtfully, carefully and faithfully crafted one. Like King David, we must not offer to God our second but our very best. We cannot offer to Him what will cost us nothing. We must give to God our choice offering. Like Abel’s choice of “…the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions.” When we come to God in the best way we know how and with the best gift we can afford, we will delight Him.

Worshiping God is an intensely personal experience. It is an experience between God and each one of us as an individual. God looks at our heart and intention. Bear in mind, we are not in church to compete and to show how much better we can give to God than others. We bring our best to honor God, even if in the eyes of men it may not seem better than someone else’s gift. We come to please God. Envy may steal our peace and rob us of our connection with God. The best course of action is always to hone our approach to God. Remember, when it’s all said and done, the issue is have we given our best? Are our lives well lived? Are our works well done? The acceptance of God is not only in what we give but how we give it.

God’s warning to Cain also tells us how receptive we are to God’s Word will determine how well we will act. There is a necessity to bring our life into alignment with His Word if we are to live a God-pleasing and acceptable life. Know that our connectedness to Him is never outside of us. It is within us and our capacity to make it right. What God said to Cain tells us so. If we set our heart on the right course to obey God, we will find God’s approval. The right place to begin is our heart and not in our circumstances or the actions of others. It is in our attitude and how we respond to God’s instruction. If we don’t, sin and the tendency to do wrong is just crouching outside our heart. It is just a moment away. The approach to adopt in life should be to change and find alignment with God, and not to eliminate and remove what we see as competitors. We are not here to compete with each other. We bring our gifts to complete each other. Let’s bring to God offerings that are acceptable!    

Genesis 3:20-24 – Reconciliation with God made possible

The plan of God for man and the whole of creation was brought into dismay by the disobedience of man. It all happened as God had warned man about eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge and evil. The harmonious relationship man had experienced with God, his wife, nature and himself, and would have continued to experience, was entirely disrupted. Man became at ought not only with God but also with others, with nature and with himself. Death as God had foretold would take place if man ate of the forbidden tree. And on the day that Adam ate it, it happened. In essence death is a separation. In physical death there is a separation between man’s spirit and soul with his body. In spiritual death the entire man - spirit, soul and body - is separated from God. Without a reconciled relationship with God, separation between man and God will take place eternally.

Let’s reflect a little on Genesis 3:14-16. Here, we see the judgement God pronounced on Adam, Eve his wife and the serpent. The consequences of each of their role was delineated. The serpent was cursed for its role in the deception. The place it was assigned to would be in the dust. It would also be forever at odds with humankind. And God told Eve that her offspring would crush the serpent’s head. This is the grace of God foretold. It is a prediction which Christ Jesus finally fulfilled when He crushed and defeated Satan and his scheme at the cross. What a gracious God! Woman was also told she would experience pain in childbirth. And that marriage would also be impacted. The woman would become dependent on her husband and he would rule over her. This power struggle within a marriage was brought about by the fall. The relationship God had at creation with all of nature was also brought into disrepute as well. The ground was cursed because of man’s disobedience. Henceforth, man would need to strife and work to live. The ground would only yield to him with much struggle. And mankind would eventually die and become dust where he was created from. Everything God said was true. Ever since the fall, mankind was put under tremendous burden.  

In verses 20-24, we see the grace of God. He made a provision for the man and woman. He made garment from the skin of a sacrificed animal to cover them. The fig leave garment was substituted by the skin of an animal that gave its life to provide the covering. This is Calvary foretold. God sent Jesus His Son so that His righteousness could be our covering. And He is mankind’s only means to redemption and restoration with God. And we, who have acknowledged His Lordship in life, are covered with His righteousness. And every time the Father looks at us, He sees not what we used to be, but He sees Jesus.

There is a great impact on man’s quickened conscience. He will forever be in a dilemma and be in conflict within himself. While he may know what is good, he will also struggle with his inner resolve and desire to do what’s right. And doing what’s right does not come easily and automatically. That’s the dilemma. And man also would find himself with the propensity to gravitate toward evil. This is caused by the spiritual death between man and God because of the disobedience. Here in verses 23-24 we see another spiritual truth. It is not possible for fallen man to remain in continual fellowship with the Lord. The reason is obvious. Our holy God cannot allow defilement into His presence. The expulsion from the garden highlighted this truth. God barred Adam and Eve from the way to the tree of life, a symbol of Divine presence. A sinner has no right or access to that presence. The flaming sword is the sword of justice that would deny his access. Thank God in Christ we find a new and living way to the presence of God.

What do we say for the rich lessons from these verses? God has made the provision for our righteousness. We, who have made Him the Lord of our life, are covered by the righteous garment provided through His sacrifice. Our dilemma created by a quickened conscience can now be fixed when we return to Christ, and yield to His Lordship. He came to deliver us from a life of uncertainty. Hallelujah! What a God!

Genesis 3:10-19 – The buck stops here!

Conscience, the knowledge of good and evil, was not in operation in mankind before the fall. Adam was created in the state of innocence, and in that state he was ignorance of evil. But the minute he and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, conscience came into operation in their lives. Their eyes were opened and they became not only conscious of good but also of wrong and evil doing. Satan’s word, no matter how gloriously painted, always turns out to be a mirage. Adam and Eve discovered that. But alas it was too late. Weren’t they told that they would have opened eyes and be like God, knowing good and evil when they ate of that forbidden fruit? Yes, their eyes were opened, and like God they knew what’s good and evil. But their conscience became alive and afflicted them and that conscience became a witness to their disobedience. The naked truth, they realized, was an experience of guilt and shame that brought along fear. In fact this is the first time man experienced fear. Instead of being open with God and confess their disobedience, their fear drove them into hiding. So they hid from God. The would-be-glorious future with God died the day they took the bait of Satan. Gratefully we have our Lord Jesus to thank. He would come and provide the way back to a glorious future. Calvary was necessary so that we can experience Easter.     

However, the day Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit was a sad day. They used to walk and talk with God in the garden. They knew God intimately and in a deeply personal way. Now with guilt alive, they shied away from God and went into hiding. They reaction to sin reveals what we too would often do, i.e. to alienate ourselves from God when we sin. But what God did for Adam, He too will do for us. He will come seeking to help us despite our failure. In much the same way, God won’t abandon us. He still cares. It is a motivation to us that when we have failed God we should not run away from Him. We should repent instead and draw nigh to Him, seeking His forgiveness.

In this passage, notice that God dealt with each person individually and directly. He dealt with Adam first, then Eve and then the serpent. It tells us that God gives equal opportunity to all, and each one must account for his or her contribution individually. God first addressed Adam. That is because he represented the head of the human race. Thus as the head, he was the most culpable for the failure. We also learn from how each responded to the wrong. Their responses were evasive. God’s question to Adam was “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” A straight forward like “Yes, I did and I am sorry Lord,” would have sufficed. But he played the blame game. He pushed it to Eve, saying “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” It’s as good as saying, “God, it’s your fault, you gave me that woman.” He was insinuating that had God not given him the woman, he would not have sinned. How insulting! The buck should have stopped there but it didn’t. So God then confronted Eve, she played the same blame game too. She pushed the blame to the serpent. She said “…the serpent deceived me and I ate.” It’s like saying, “The devil made me do it.” Really? God needs us to own up when we have failed. Don’t blame our genes or environment. He has made us capable of making responsible decision. When we don’t take responsibility, we are saying that we are not in control of our own life, someone or something else does. God expects us to exercise our given capability and respond rightly. These verses also tell us that every offence against God invariably will bring consequences. The result of sin has a far reaching effect. It has a wide reaching scope. We are accountable for our action, so let’s be circumspect with life and be careful how we walk!

Genesis 3:8-9 – Where are you?

The presence of God is undoubtedly the best place for man to be. Enjoying God’s presence in life is what man was made for. We are made with a capacity to communicate with God and to have fellowship with Him. He made us in His image and likeness for His own pleasure. And His greatest pleasure is when we willingly delight in Him. That’s why the Psalmist said, “If we delight in the Lord, He will grant us the desire of our hearts.” It is understandable then that Genesis 3:8 shows us God coming to the garden looking for man. He wanted to commune with him. So in the cool of the day, He came to the garden, where the man was. Unfortunately, because of disobedience, man was driven to hide himself from God’s presence. He had just disobeyed God, and the awful feeling of guilt brought about by his disobedience drove him into hiding. Man, without the help of God, would deal with his guilt by hiding, denying and justifying his wrong. Guilt always makes us fearful to confront the wrong and face up to the truth. Hence, fallen man is forever playing a game of hide and seek with God, always pushing the blame. 

Yet despite the disobedience of Adam and Eve, God came looking for fellowship with them. Even though He obviously knew the exact condition they were in, God never denies Himself. 2 Timothy 2:13 tells us that even “If we are faithless, He (God) remains faithful, for He (God) cannot deny Himself.” He will never deviate from the purpose He had made man for. Did God know that Adam had disobeyed Him? The answer is obvious. Being the all-knowing God, it won’t make sense if He doesn’t. Then why did God come to man? He still desires to fulfil His purpose He had for man. Although man had fallen, God still came to him. He came bringing the remedy to man’s disobedience, so that relationship with Him could be restored. He did all He could to help man to undo the mess. Why? Because He values our fellowship. And that can only be restored when our relationship with Him is restored. That’s the reason for Calvary.

Although man was caught in the mire of sin, God still wanted him to deal with it. God would rather that man own up to the wrong and correct it, rather than live a life of hypocrisy and pretension. Nothing escapes His sight. He is still looking for honesty in us, man. He doesn’t want us to hide from Him but to face up to our wrong. The wonders of it all is that God never starts with accusation. He starts by helping us to see how far we have fallen. This is seen in the first question he asked of the fallen man. He called out to the man by asking “Where are you?” This is both a searching yet personal question. It is not a suggestion that God was not aware of where the man was. It’s a question to help man to evaluate himself and come to terms with his condition. God would rather that we reflect and identify where we have fallen and come clean with Him. This was what He did with Adam and this is how He will deal with us.   

In these two verses, we see the intensity of God’s love for mankind. He initiates the move towards man. As He had initiated the movement toward Adam, He initiated His move towards us in Christ Jesus. Paul aptly puts it this way: “God commended His love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” This is the intensity of His love for us!  But in these two verses, we also see the tendency of fallen man. While owning up is the first step to amend the wrong, man would rather hide from the truth. Much like Adam and Eve, our tendency often is to hide from His presence, deny the truth and pretend as if it we are still fine. The question God asked our first parents would be the same question He will ask us today. “Where are you?” To love God and to please Him in life, this question should be seen in the context of our walk with Him. How far are we in our journey with Him? Are there still areas that obstruct and keep us from journeying further and deeper with Him? We can only begin to change when we are aware of our own flaws. So where are we now spiritually speaking? No matter how long it will take for us to come to the answer, it is needful. The Lord is still seeking an honest answer from us so that changes can then kick in. “Where are you?” 

Genesis 3:1-7 – Truth must be spiritually discerned

In Genesis 1-2, we discover that when God saw everything He had created, He said it was good. When God had created the first man, He was more than satisfied. He said that the creation of man was very good. And the scene would have been perfect had not for the entrance of evil. Had Adam and Eve, the woman God created to be his helper, obeyed the only instruction God gave them. Had they avoided eating the fruit of that tree of knowledge of good and evil, the world would still be the perfect place God had intended. But at last it was not to be! Adam and Eve, our first parents, chose to disobey God. They broke the very instruction God gave and ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It was at that point that sin entered into humanity and started a downward spiral for mankind until Calvary. Essentially, sin is disobedience. It is to fall short of the standard of God. It starts when God’s Word is contradicted.

In the perfect environment, sin came in through deception. The serpent became an instrument of Satan to deceive Eve. The serpent has since become the symbol of the devil. He twisted and distorted God’s instruction concerning eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The serpent began with a subtle insinuation to create the misconception that God would keep the best from man. He chose Eve’s unguarded moment and presented to her God’s instruction in negative light. We need to be careful with the subtle insinuation that would come to our mind. The devil cannot made us do his bidding when we are certain of what God has said. When we are able to detect and discern the devil’s subtle insinuation, we can then deal with it. The devil will always contort and distort the truth of God.

In the case of Eve, the devil gave the impression that God was keeping something good from them. The devil through the serpent had slandered God. He insinuated to Eve that God did not want her and Adam to be like God, when in reality they were made in the image and likeness of God. When God said that partaking of that forbidden fruit would bring death, the devil contradicted that and said the opposite. That cunning old devil even dared to insinuate that God lied about the effect of eating the forbidden fruit. He told Eve that eating the fruit would make one wise like God. That directly contradicted what God said would be the result of eating the fruit – death!   

Unfortunate for us, Eve took the bait. She chose to move by what she saw and not live by what God had said. She saw that “…the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” The moment they chose to partake of the fruit, they had changed their allegiance. They preferred the devil’s lies to God’s truth. Then it dawned on them the emptiness of the devil’s lie. Verse 7 describes their experience of nakedness. It was a devastating feeling of emptiness that always brings disappointment. Their natural reaction was to sew a garden of fig leaves to cover their nakedness. Isn’t this a very normal respond of fallen people? That is the tendency to camouflage flaws so that the condition would not be exposed. The first step to change is to confront reality of the situation and not to try to cover up.

From these seven verses, we know that we need to guard our thought life. Subtle and negative insinuation can always be traced to the evil one. He will twist the truth and make us feel as if God is keeping something good from us. Remember what seems pleasurable doesn’t always make it right. The evil one will make us feel as if we are missing out by being obedient to God’s word. We need to guard our thoughts. The surest way to identify lies is to know the liberating truth of God. Seek to know the truth. Be well versed with God’s Word and evaluate every doubt with the truth. If we abide in God’s Word, Jesus has promised that, we “…will know the truth and the truth will set us free!”

Genesis 2:18-24 – Two God-ordained institutions: marriage and home

Genesis is all about beginnings. Needless to say, God is the source of everything. In Him all things find their beginning; all things except evil. The universe, the world, the earth, the sky, the sun, moon and stars, plants, creatures of sea, land and air, and ultimately man, find their beginning in God. The commandment the Creator God gave to the creatures – the fish, the birds, land animals and man is the same i.e. to be fruitful and multiply. This command would be not possible for the man without a woman. So in these verses, Genesis 2:18-24, we see God fashioning a woman for the first man. Amazingly, God made the woman from a rib of the man. Woman, in a sense, is an improved model from man. So in this passage we see the beginning of the first woman, the first marriage and the first family. We can safely conclude then that marriage and the home are two critical institutions ordained by God. They are to be highly honored.    

God understands His creation best. He created the fish, the birds and the animals and gave Adam, the first man, the privilege and honor to name them. Whatever name Adam gave to each animal it was called by that name. This tells us how resourceful he must have been. He must have had an amazing mind, quite like God’s, to be able to think of different names for different animals. But among the animals man couldn’t find a suitable companion in life and for life. It’s because man and animals were made biologically different. God was sure that it wouldn’t be good for the man to be alone without a helpmeet. No animal could fill that gap or satisfy his needs. So God intentionally made a woman, not only correspond him but also fit for him.  She was to be the man’s helper, to be his mate and not his maid.

Here in this passage we are introduced to the first surgery. God put man to sleep without general anaesthesia. And man had a long deep sleep, enough for God to do a reconstructive surgery. God took out one rib from the man’s side and then carefully closed up his fresh. With that one rib He took out, God fashioned a woman for him. And God brought her to him, and there we have the first marriage. Notice the woman was made from a bone from man’s side. This is not a co-incidence, nor was it a haphazard afterthought.  She was intentionally made from a bone from his side, to be tenderly loved and dearly cared for. She was made from the man’s bone and flesh, fashioned from man to be like man, only with a slight modification. She was made with a tender nature, and more delicate and attractive. When she was brought to the man, he was overjoyed. Who can better meet the needs of his life but one taken from him and made to be with him?

Verse 24 defines for us a marriage and home. Here we see that it was God who had ordained both institutions. A marriage is first and foremost between a man and a woman, and that excludes same sex marriage. The man was no longer to be tied to the parents’ apron string but to set up a separate unit of their own. He must primarily stay with his wife and share and do life together. Cleaving speaks of complete oneness, commitment and partnership for life. A husband and his wife must seek to be one in spirit, soul and body to start and maintain a home together. The fact that they were both naked and unashamed has more than a sexual connotation. It speaks of transparency. The man and woman should live without hiding anything from each other. And there should be nothing in between them to be ashamed about. This principle of transparency in a martial relationship helps to build faith and trust. These are vital ingredients to faithfulness. For us husbands, we need to bear in mind that God had given our wives to be an integral part of us. And every husband and wife, must remember to do life together faithfully and committedly. Remember, a lasting marriage and a fulfilling home begins with Christ. On top of that, a great home has Christ at the centre of it all. Let us build a Christ-centred home for His glory! 

Genesis 2:10-17 – Choosing a God pleasing life

In the Garden of Eden there was one main river. And out of that one river flowed four distributaries - the Pishon, Gihon, Tigris and Euphrates. The brief description of the gold and minerals found in the land of Havilah, which the Pishon flowed through, tells us that God had put rich resources in man’s living environment. He is a providential God. He doesn’t want life to be dull and drab. He provides resources to enrich life. Living with a view that God is the source of all the richness of life, help us to rightly steward the resources He has provided us.

In verse 15 we are told that God placed man in the Garden, and gave man the responsibility to cultivate and take care of the surrounding environment. We have earlier established that the man was given great inner resources in order to effectively carry out his God-given assignment. So man was responsible to God for how he went about his task. Whether we realize it or not, our accountability in life is ultimately to God. He expects us to live out our assignments in life responsibly. Know this: God is the source, and our bosses and superiors are His resources to help us build a responsible life. Like the first man, God does have a hand in the respective places where we find ourselves in. And like him, God expects us to responsibly discharge our duties. Bear in mind that we are ultimately accountable to God for the stewardship of our life and resources He had given us.  

The commandment given to man in verses 16-17 regarding the two trees in the Garden is mainly to show us that God had given man the freedom of choice. He did not make man a robot with no capability to make decisions of our own free will. But though man is given the freedom and liberty to make choices, he however, does not have the liberty to control the outcome. The outcome is determined by the actions taken. We do have the freedom of choice but not the freedom to determine the outcome of our choice. Thus we must choose the course of action in life wisely.  

In verses 16-17, we can also see that God had given man plenty of allowances but only one prohibition. He said that “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Notice it says that man could eat from any tree but one. That one prohibition for man was the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, a tree that would spell death for man. It is named tree of the knowledge of good and evil, suggesting that the experience this fruit will bring is a mixed one. It renders a person incapable of committing his or her whole life entirely to God. The forbidden tree is a compromise. The result is not clear cut. It could be good or it could be evil. It always falls within the grey area and put man in a dilemma. Whereas the result of partaking of the tree of life is always good. There is no shade of grey in the tree of life because it always endears us to God. The path of life is determined by the decision we make. Practicing any principle that derives from careful and due consideration from God’s Word, always brings us closer to God. It is likened to partaking of the tree of life.  

The decision we make in life represents the fruit we partake. It is wise that we always evaluate the choices available. If any decision put us in a dilemma; if it kills spiritual sensitivity and distract us; if it incapacitates us to move in tandem with God; and if it separates us and keeps a distance between God and us; it most likely comes from that forbidden tree. The fruit from the tree of life is what we want. It will lead us higher and draw us nearer to God. Our path to God or otherwise, always starts at the point our decision is made. Remember to begin with the end in mind. Our end-goal is always to be nearer to God and enjoy Him forever.  

Genesis 2:4-9 – The choice is ours to make, choose wisely!

In Genesis 1, we see a logical sequence God took to create everything. He started with the environment, the habitat, before He brought about life forms. It reveals how logical God is, whom we worship and serve. In Genesis 1 we are told that God spoke and creation came into being and from it, we know God is the source of all creation. He is the source of life and without Him there would be no life. Now in Genesis 2:4-9 we are brought back to the point before man was brought into existence. God began by setting the tone and conditions for the creation of man. He even thought about food production to sustain the man. He already saw to the soil and the seed. Now He would get the climate and culture going. All four ingredients, soil, seed, climate and culture are needed for food production. The soil and seed were present on the third day but there was no rain and no proper climate as yet. So God began by putting in place the process of rainmaking here. We are told that man was not in existence as yet to cultivate the earth. For He was only made on the sixth day.  

Verse 6 speaks of a movement on earth. There was a mist that rises from the earth and brought moisture to it. This could be the dew that we all know and experience every morning. This is part of the rain-making process. This dew brought newness and freshness to living things.  Like the dew of the morning that moisturizes the earth, God wants to bring the dew of the Holy Spirit to moisturize our life each day. It is the Holy Spirit who will bring the vital ingredients to facilitate our spiritual growth. And in verse 7, we see how man was formed. God formed man from the dust of the earth. He first gathered the dust into the shape He wanted man to be. That shape included the nostrils for God to breathe life into the man. And that was exactly what God did. From the heap of dust God brought forth life. Man became a living soul because God breathed His life into him. We see that man is a tripartite being – spirit, soul and body. The dust became the body, the breath God breathe into him brought about the spirit and the soul. The vital difference between man and all of the other creation of God is that man has the breath of God. He has the vital ingredient that will enable him to know God and then to worship Him. God made us and we are kept alive by His breath. What a thought!    We are at our best when God by His Spirit breathe into us each day. He will bring the vibrancy to life and living.

God placed man in the Garden of Eden which He also caused all kinds of trees to grow in it. Here Genesis specifically speaks of two trees. The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What do they symbolize?  The two trees speak of two kinds of influence we can have in life. One, the tree of life will influence right living. The other, the tree of knowledge of good and evil kills spiritual sensitivity. We can safely surmise that the Word of God is the tree of life. Being influenced by it bring spiritual life and vibrancy. The flesh and our own self-centred reasoning can be likened to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When we rely on our reasoning, sometimes we get it right but most times we get it wrong, because of imperfect revelation. Over relying on this latter tree kills spiritual sensitivity. 

What do we want out of life? The choice we make will determine the outcome of our life. Partaking of the tree of life, the Word of God, brings positive spiritual experiences with God. We must make the choice each day where we should begin, with the tree of life or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? The choice is ours to make, but the choice is also clear!