A look at what has occurred up to this point in Genesis helps our understanding of these important chapters. After the good creation, Adam and Eve sinned resulting in judgment and a marred image of God that all of their progeny inherit. In the judgment there was a promise though (3.15). Cain soon dashed the hopes that he was that promised seed. Wickedness increased to the point that God judged the world in the flood. Noah, who is a descendant in the chosen line of Seth, finds favor with God. Noah and his sons do not prove to be the seed of promise. The sin of Ham brings about a new curse spoken by Noah, and then we come to Genesis 10 & 11.

In Genesis 10 we read the genealogies of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, & Japeth. Little is said about Japeth. Ham’s line is developed in more detail and some of the nations that Israel encountered show up in his line. Although Shem is the oldest, his line is last. When taken with the blessings from Noah, this position points to the fact that Shem will continue the godly line that has been developing throughout the narrative. The common language of nations, languages, tribes, and people (see v.5, v.20, v.31, and v.32) is important in these genealogies. Also, there are two pauses to inform us about two characters. One is Nimrod, a great hunter who built cities in Shinar. The other is Peleg, who lived at the time when the earth was divided. The languages of the nations and the narrative about these two men point toward Gen.11.1-9, which should be read with the genealogies in Gen. 10.

The tower of Babel story reveals how the nations with their languages came to be, and it helps us understand what the text means when it says the earth was divided. In the building of Babel, all men have a common language and goal for which they are working. This may seem like a good situation, but the judgment of God proves that it was actually evil. In short, the building of this tower to reach to the heavens was a rebellion against God. The goal to make a name for themselves instead of glorifying God reminds us of similar man centered initiatives today. Their resistance to being spread out over the earth went against God’s command to fill the earth (9.1, 1.28). God went down to see their work (v. 5). This statement does not mean that God is bound by space or that he does not know all things. Rather, this language is an indictment revealing the smallness of their tower. God judges the people by confusing their language, and thus they disperse, as they should have done originally, and form nations by languages.

Even in the day of high-speed communication via the Internet, we deal with the confusion of cross-cultural communication. But these chapters are not only about judgment. There is mercy as well. The account of Babel is sandwiched between two genealogies of Shem. When we reach Eber in the first, he has two sons, Joktan and Peleg. The first genealogy follows Joktan’s line. The second genealogy follows Peleg’s line, and we learn that this is the chosen line. Abram comes from this line, and this sets us up for the rest of the Genesis narrative. In Gen. 12.1-3, God calls Abram from his homeland and promise to bless him. He will become a great nation and all of the nations of earth will be blessed in him. Through Abraham’s line Jesus Christ will come, who is the promised seed of Gen. 3:15. Christ brings salvation and he tells his disciples to take the good news to all of the nations.

When we look at Gen. 10 &11, we are reminded that there are two lines of people in the world. As followers of Christ, we should seek to glorify God rather than making a name for ourselves. Also, we are reminded that the nations are to be reached with the gospel so that all nations can come together as one people again. However, this new unity centers on Christ and glorifies his magnificent name. Let us consider what part God would have us to do in reaching the nations for his glory.

Audio from this week’s lesson: Genesis 6:0-11

~TWM

Before we get off the road to financial freedom, there are a few things we
need to remember. First, God created work: the first thing the Lord did with
Adam was to assign him work. However, after the Fall, work was made more
difficult. Second, God has a perspective on work: (1) work is necessary,
(2) it develops character, (3) we should work as for the Lord, (4) there is
equal dignity in all types of work. Third, God has promises for us in our
work: (1) He gives us our job skills, (2) He gives us our success, and (3)
He controls our promotions. We also have responsibilities. First, we have
responsibilities in work: We are to work hard, but not to overwork. We also
have responsibilities in regards to our relationship with our employers: we
must me absolutely honest with them, we are to be faithful to them, we are
to pray for them, honor them (and fellow employees), and we must share our
faith with them. With these final truths we can safely take the off-ramp
and begin our lives of being financially responsible for God’s glory.

Gen 2:15; Gen 3:17-19; Col 3:23; Exod 36:1; Gen 39:2-3; Prov 12:27; Exod
34:21; Dan 6:4; Dan 6:10; 1 Pet 2:18

Will is on track to graduate from SBTS’ Billy Graham School in December 2008. He feels called to be a minister of missions. He graduated from Texas A&M in 2004 with a degree in Economics and began Seminary at Southwestern. He transferred to SBTS last semester. Will loves people, traveling, learning about different cultures, and teasing his twin sister, CeCe. He came to Christ when he was 13 years old and felt a calling to the ministry early on. One of his favorite ministries is Operation Christmas Child, which he’s volunteered with since high school. He is crazy talented in baseball and is always up for an outing to the Slugger Museum. He’s worked at Starbucks for the past two years, and he drinks his coffee black.

Jenny is a Lead Teacher and head over toddler curriculum at The Gardner School in the Lyndon area. She works with 18-24 month olds. She graduated from Baylor University in 2004 with a Family Consumer Science degree (Home Ec, as she calls it). Though she won’t admit it, Jenny has talents in singing, dancing, and painting. She loves decorating, hosting, and family traditions. Jenny grew up in a strong Christian family and remembers a love for Jesus in her heart at an early age. She’s the youngest of three girls, and her dad was a pro football player (His name is Gary Hammond, if you want to Google him). Her second cousin is Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, and she loves that Will has a beard.

Will and Jenny are both from Plano, Texas (near Dallas). They met in high school at a local Wendy’s and started dating their sophomore year. They got engaged in 2003 at the top of the Empire State Building. They were married in February 2005. After they married, they joined the Heights Church in Plano, which is where Jessica Simpson grew up. The Crums found out they were expecting a baby just before Christmas, and they are beyond excited. They find out if they are having a boy or girl next month, and Jenny is due August 20th.

I’m STILL full from Sunday. Italian food has a way of doing that… and yet we always go back for more! If you were able to make it, you enjoyed all of the pastas, lasagnas, salads, meats, breads and desserts there were to offer! It seems that as our class grows, so does the variety of food!

But more importantly, Wellum’s Couples spent some quality time fellowshipping, laughing together, and investing in each others lives just a little bit more. And it’s all just a small part… a small, but integral part of God’s design for His church. If you’re new to the class, welcome! We do this a few times a year, and we’re looking forward to the next classwide Sunday lunch!

Class,

Let’s join the Perz family in welcoming Leah Mackenzie into the world! Enjoy these photos and an update from Ryan on behalf of the family.

We joyfully welcomed our second child Leah Mackenzie Perz into this world on Monday February 18th 2008. We are humbled and thankful to the Lord for entrusting us with this stewardship of raising children for his glory. We also give God all the glory, for we know that our ability to parent comes only through the redemption that is in Christ and his Spirit indwelling us.

Elijah loves his little sister and has blown me away with how gentle, loving and concerned he is about her so far.

Emily exemplifies the Proverbs 31 woman and blows me away with how well she makes the adjustments and cares for our children.

Praising the Triune God from whom all blessings flow,

Ryan Perz

Regardless of one’s interpretation of some of the key elements of Genesis 6:1-8, it is clear that the events being depicted here by Moses serve as the grounding for God’s judgment against humanity in the flood. Before getting to the flood, then, it is essential to have an understanding of this introductory section.

Throughout the history of the church, much attention has been given to the identity of the “sons of God” who intermarried with the “daughters of man,” a clear abomination in the eyes of the Lord (6:1-2). While the traditional interpretation understands a reference to angles to be in view here, there have been several attempts to interpret the passage differently, perhaps in order to avoid the problems that come along with the traditional view, problems such as squaring this text with what is known of angels from New Testament passages such Matthew 22:30 and Hebrews 1:7. Some, as a result, have suggested that the flow of the opening chapters of Genesis set the context for understanding “sons of God” as referring to the godly line of Seth. The major problem with this interpretation lies in the very words, “sons of God,” which clearly refer to angels elsewhere in the Old Testament (Job 1, 2, 38). Others, however, have suggested the possibility that Moses has in mind mighty kings who have fallen sway to demonic forces. Both interpretations, however, have immense difficulty squaring themselves with two key New Testament texts which almost undoubtedly refer to these early chapters of Genesis.

In 2 Peter 2:4, Peter mentions God’s judgment of angels together with Noah’s flood and God’s rescuing of Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah (2 Pet 2:4). Similarly Jude appears to allude to this same section of Scripture, mentioning Sodom and Gomorrah together with God’s judgment of angels on the last day due to their refusing to stay in their “own position of authority” and leaving their “proper dwelling” (Jud 6). Therefore, any interpretation that takes “sons of God” to refer to anything other than angels, must understand these New Testament passages as not referring directly to Genesis 6. Based on these apparent New Testament references to Genesis, together with the aforementioned Old Testament usage of “sons of God,” the traditional interpretation of angels seems to best fit the biblical data.

As the text moves forward to the flood, the increasing prominence of evil becomes clear. God reduces the number of years man will live on the earth to 120 years (6:3). The Nephilim are said to inhabit the earth, indicative of their posing a challenge to the people of the land (6:4). The entire human race is depicted as being consumed with evil all the time (6:6). As a result, the Lord becomes sorry that he made man (6:6) and, therefore, resolves to blot him out from the face of the earth together with all the animals (6:7). At this point, all seems to be lost and bound to God’s decisive and final judgment; however, the text veers away from this pending annihilation and offers hope: “But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord” (6:8). The answer to Lamech’s prayer has come in the person of Noah, “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands” (5:29).

The stage is now set for the flood. This one who has found God’s favor will become the hope for humanity’s continued existence, but as the story unfolds, he too, like Seth, will be shown as falling short of the promised seed who will deliver the decisive, crushing blow to the serpent—a void which will remain unfilled until the incarnation of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

Audio from this week’s lesson: Genesis 6:1-8

~TDG

This Christmas, our ABF gave Dr. and Mrs. Wellum a trip to one of Kentucky’s most-beloved restaurants, Patty’s 1880’s Settlement at Kentucky Lake. Since then, we had been waiting on a beautiful Saturday for my husband, Robert Patterson, to get us there in a 6-passenger, high performance Piper Saratoga II.

On February 2nd, we met at the Glendale Flying Club hangar at Bowman Field, where the Saratoga is kept. The Wellums had a flurry of questions before we took off. Robert happily explained the aerodynamics of the plane for a few minutes. Airplanes have many redundancies in place to ensure that no one has to pull over and lift the hood while in flight. Thankfully, it is much safer than driving in a car.

We pointed out the downtown cityscape as we flew out of Louisville. By the time we reached our cruising altitude of 6,000 feet, we had fantastic views of the rural countryside. The Ohio River turns and coils like a snake on the Kentucky/Indiana Border, and we cut over it several times. Making our approach to the Kentucky Dam Airport, the sun was glinting off the Kentucky and Barkley Lakes like glass. Although the Wellums had the back seat to enjoy by themselves, we talked together for most of the flight.

A van from Patty’s came to the airport for us, and soon we were seated in the restaurant, each with an enormous menu. Dr. Wellum ordered the world famous 2” thick pork chops, and we couldn’t believe he nearly finished it! Afterward, we made the waiter recite the 19 items on the dessert menu and picked four different pie slices. The waiter looked like he would tip over as he brought them all out!

After dinner we shopped at a few of the 10+ stores situated around the settlement. Karen and I swooped over to a 75%-off sale, while Dr. Wellum and Robert discovered an outdoors store. Several purchases later our stomachs were settled, so we said our goodbyes to the pork chops and mile-high meringue for good.

Blood orange rays were peaking through the trees as we got to the airport. Our ascent into the air was silky smooth as the cool of the day kept winds at bay. The city lights were the only boundaries we saw to distinguish the land from the stars. With a near 60 mph tailwind, Louisville’s lights appeared like an artificial sunrise in 40 short minutes, having traveled at nearly 250 mph. Back at Bowman, Robert softly landed on Runway 24, ending the peaceful flight.

We had hoped the day would allow Dr. and Mrs. Wellum to relax and enjoy being treated to delicious views and venues. On several occasions, the Wellums expressed their gratitude to the ABF for giving the gift. They themselves serve us faithfully each week, and it was a privilege to be entrusted by the class to make the trip possible.

———-

Visit the Patterson’s Picasa Web Album for photos from the Flight

As we make the third turn of our adventure, the landscape is filled with idea of giving. In this week’s lesson, we find that there are three important things to remember in regards to giving: (1) giving with the proper attitude is crucial, (2) we must give to God first, and (3) 10% of our income is only foundational for our giving. We also saw that there are four advantages to giving: (1) giving draws our hearts toward Christ, (2) giving develops character, (3) giving allows us to invest for eternity, and (4) giving produces a material increase to the giver. Finally, we learned that there are three entities to which our giving should go to: (1) our local church, (2) Christian ministries, and (3) the poor. Next week we will pass the final mile marker and complete our journey to financial freedom!

On February 5, 2008, an EF-4 tornado hit Union University in Jackson, TN, damaging 80% of the dorms and many other buildings. Our ABF has at least 3 members who were former students of Union. Some of us personally know people who were saved from the rubble. $40 million is the current cost associated with the recovery.

Heroes abound as Union rebuilds. I have been told that due to requirements from the insurance company, students were not allowed to go back inside the dorms to salvage belongings. Instead, their very professors and administrators carefully filled bags and suitcases in their place. Truly, this is what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. The other testament to the leadership’s dedication is that the school has made housing accommodations for all 1,200 students to continue the Spring Semester, beginning February 20th!

The Union University website has a plethora of information about the Disaster Relief Fund, stories from the recovery, and some amazing footage taken by students. Southern Seminary is raising $35-50K to replace much of the Christian Studies library. Check out the Seminary News service to make a donation.

Please continue to pray as these dedicated students and faculty deal with the traumatizing effects of the storm and as they gather on move-in day, February 19th. Praise God for His miraculous mercy, sparing all of their lives! Praise Him as onlookers see true Christian service in action.

At the end of Gen. 4, two lines of descendants are in view – one evil, one good, both from Adam. Observing Cain’s line (the evil one), it is clear that the promised seed of Gen. 3:15 who would reverse the curse would not come from him. Instead, the author highlights the fact that Cain’s sons were wicked; one of whom was the first polygamist (Lamech) and followed in the murderous example of his father.

The other line that is mentioned in Gen. 4 is that of Seth. Unlike Cain and his family, who settled “out from the presence of the Lord” (4:16) and lived rebelliously, it was the men of Seth’s line who “began to call upon the name of the Lord” (4:26).

In chapter five, greater attention is given to Seth’s godly line, the recounting of which offers reminders of the way life should be and glimmers of the hope of redemption. Brief accounts of ten descendants of Seth are given, each of which follow a general pattern: length of life before children, names of children, length of life after children, mention of having other sons and daughters, and the total of years lived.

Something that stands out about all of these individuals is the long length of their lives (e.g., Adam was nine hundred and thirty years old when he died.); a detail that would have reminded the audience of Moses (the author) that long life, indeed eternal life, was what God had intended for mankind. Another reminder of the way things were supposed to be is seen in the life of Enoch, a man who “walked with God” and did not die. This was something that all of Adam’s seed would have experienced had he and Eve not sinned.

Adam and Eve’s sin had messed up everything, and it was in response to this and with the hope of redemption that Lamech (not to be confused with Cain’s son) said of his son Noah, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed” (5:29). These words mark a transition in the Genesis story and in the broader story of God’s redemptive purposes. The focus of chapters six through eleven will now be on Noah, a descendant in the godly line of Seth, “a righteous man, blameless in his time” (6:9), but a man who was clearly not the promised seed.

The line of Seth proved to be a much better lot than that of Cain. Men from his line called on the name of the Lord, some are said to have walked with God, yet all are said to have died having not granted rest from the effects of sin. The Lord was narrowing in on those through whom the promise of redemption would come, but the line was not narrow enough yet.

Audio from this week’s lesson: Genesis 5.

~DGG