Godward Thoughts

Man had been placed in the garden by God, and given a task (to tend it and to keep it)—and a prohibition—(Gen. 2:17). Man was created to rule over the animals. The Bible was written as a textbook for man—and like any textbook it does not expect the student to understand everything in the first few chapters. There are many questions left unanswered which are taken up at later times. The fact that a serpent speaks is exceedingly strange for the Bible is not Aesop’s Fables.

The Bible makes a very conscious distinction between man and animals. In the previous chapter it explained that Adam gave names to the animals. (Clearly the animals could not do that themselves!) A speaking serpent is incongruous against the background of the Creation account. Speaking animals would seem to belong to paganism which has no concept of creation. Yet it is only later that we learn that the serpent was an instrument of another power. In Genesis 3 all that is not immediately relevant is omitted. All we are told is that the character of the animal made it a particularly well-adapted instrument for the power that used it, and we learn that it was created by God a beast of the field. That is very important for there was an order of authority in the creation. That order was: man ruling over beast; man ruling over the creation.

Satan planned to interrupt that order—to take the lowliest of the beasts and make that beast rule over man. He wanted man to listen and to follow the lowliest of the beasts rather than for man to obey and follow God. He approached the woman first to induce her to lead her husband astray, and thus further disrupt the natural authority of man over woman. Read more »

The most read post on this blog is about Arnold Murray’s doctrine of the serpent seed. Since it gets so much traffic and venom (no pun intended), I thought it would be good to update it. Some of the links are no longer working, the youtube video mentioned in the comments has been removed, and Shepherd’s Chapel has updated their website. By the way, it is hardly reasonable to call this a “bash on Arnold Murray site,” since there are roughly 100 posts & only two (counting this one) discuss Murray. 

There are many comments on the old post, but none actually addressed a question that I asked. What does “Kenite” mean? On his “Answer to Critics” page, Murray states:

What about the use of the word Kenites? It is a Hebrew word that has only one meaning, “sons of Cain.”

Strong’s Concordance and the Brown-Driver-Briggs’ lexicon do not give this definition. None of the commenters addressed this issue (other than Kendall Rycroft, who simply says that I am wrong), this is probably because they just pasted in comments they previously posted on a “I-know-Murray-is-right-because-I-can-look-up-words-in-Strong’s-concordance-and-anyone-who-criticizes-him-is-Satan’s-seed” forum (e.g., Bill). Strong’s concordance is a valuable tool for Bible study, by the way, it is not my intent to disparage it.  I plan on addressing its value in my upcoming post of Arnold Murray.

To help me with the next post, I would like to ask two questions for my commenters. Read more »

Chapter 49 is not a father’s blessing on his sons. Rather, it is a prophecy of what the sons could expect in the future because of their individual characters and the decisions they had made. Reuben was the lustful prodigal son, but Levi and Simeon were angry elder brothers. Judah would be the royal tribe, for the Messiah (Shiloh, “the peace-bringer”) would come from Judah. Joseph was the vine that went over the wall separating Jews and Gentiles. He was shot at by his brethren, which often happens to those who are especially blessed of God. But the Lord was with him, strengthened him, and extended his boundaries of blessing (Genesis 49:26). Joseph suffered, and his sons were blessed by God. Reuben sinned, and his sons lost the blessing of God.

Three burials are mentioned in the final chapter of Genesis, and each is significant. Burying a beloved father.

It would not be easy for Jacob, now 130 years old, to leave the land God gave him and go to Egypt. Moving to a new home is usually a difficult experience, and the older we are, the more difficult it is. Furthermore, Abraham got into trouble in Egypt (Genesis 12:10), and God had stopped Isaac from going there (Genesis 26:2).

But Jacob was able to go with confidence and peace because he was sure of God’s promise and presence (Genesis 46:1–4). In the crisis hours of life, God speaks to us and assures us when we take time to worship. Furthermore, Jacob knew that God had gone before him and that Joseph was there making everything ready for him. The future is your friend when Jesus is your Lord and you follow Him.

Egypt was a haven for Jacob and his family, and there God protected them and built of them a great people. But Jacob knew that Egypt was not his home, Canaan was; and he wanted to be buried there with the others who had made the same pilgrimage of faith. He was a testimony in life, and he wanted to be a testimony in death. Despite his mistakes and failures in life, Jacob ended well.

What should believers do for their family before God takes them in death? Just what Jacob did. He praised God for the past. He told his family what God had done for him and how God had blessed him. God had redeemed him and shepherded him all his life (Genesis 48:15–16).

Joseph had to deal with his brothers patiently, honestly, and decisively, just the way the Lord works with us when we have tried to cover our sins. Joseph’s immediate goal was to get all eleven brothers to Egypt so they could bow before him and fulfill the dream God had given him more than twenty years before. His ultimate goal was to get them to confess their sins and be reconciled to him and Jacob. The men had to come to the place where their mouths were stopped (Genesis 44:16; Romans 3:19).

In a masterful way, Joseph wove these two purposes together as he spoke roughly to them, accused them of crimes, and insisted on their bringing Benjamin to Egypt. Outwardly, he was a stern ruler; but behind the scenes, he was a weeping brother.

When Joseph saw that his brothers’ hearts were humble, and when he heard them confess their sins, he knew it was safe to reveal his identity to them. Our Lord knows just how to work in our lives to bring us to submission. Joseph could have fed them and their father without going through this lengthy procedure, but it would only have further ruined their character.

Joseph explained to them that God had sent him before them to preserve the nation so that Israel could be a blessing to all the earth (Genesis 12:1–3). God’s providential purpose did not minimize their sins or negate their responsibility (Acts 2:23; Acts 3:13–18), but it did help to ease their fear and sorrow. Joseph further reassured them by givingthem rich gifts and promising to care for the whole family. The gifts he sent home helped to give Jacob the assurance he needed that Joseph indeed was alive.