forgiven

I go off the path to think about 1 john 9. If we say we have no sin we make God to be a liar. But if we confess our sin Jesus is able to forgive us and clean us from all unrighteous.

1 you can be renewed as if you never sinned. If you confess your sins and are cleaned from all unrighteous then you have a clean slate and your pure before Jesus. What more could you ask for.

The apostle then instructs the believer in the way to the continued pardon of his sin. Here we have, 1. His duty in order thereto: If we confess our sins, v. 9. Penitent confession and acknowledgment of sin are the believer’s business, and the means of his deliverance from his guilt. And, 2. His encouragement thereto, and assurance of the happy issue. This is the veracity, righteousness, and clemency of God, to whom he makes such confession: He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, v. 9. God is faithful to his covenant and word, wherein he has promised forgiveness to penitent believing confessors. He is just to himself and his glory who has provided such a sacrifice, by which his righteousness is declared in the justification of sinners. He is just to his Son who has not only sent him for such service, but promised to him that those who come through him shall be forgiven on his account. By his knowledge (by the believing apprehension of him) shall my righteous servant justify many, Isa. 53:11. He is clement and gracious also, and so will forgive, to the contrite confessor, all his sins, cleanse him from the guilt of all unrighteousness, and in due time deliver him from the power and practice of it.

God’s forgiveness is given as soon as we admit our need of it, not on the basis of any acts we have done to earn it, but solely because of His grace. The free gift of forgiveness carries with it purification from unrighteousness. God accepts us as righteous because He imputes to us the righteousness of Christ. That is, the very righteousness of Christ our sin-bearer is reckoned to our account.¹

Continual confession of sin is an indication of genuine salvation. While the false teachers would not admit their sin, the genuine Christian admitted and forsook it (Ps 32:3–5; Pr 28:13). The term “confess” means to say the same thing about sin as God does; to acknowledge His perspective about sin. While v. 7 is from God’s perspective, v. 9 is from the Christian’s perspective. Confession of sin characterizes genuine Christians, and God continually cleanses those who are confessing (cf. v. 7). Rather than focusing on confession for every single sin as necessary, John has especially in mind here a settled recognition and acknowledgment that one is a sinner in need of cleansing and forgiveness (Eph 4:32; Col 2:13).²

1 Sproul, R. C. (Ed.). (2005). The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (p. 1828). Orlando, FL; Lake Mary, FL: Ligonier Ministries.

2 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (1 Jn 1:9). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

oldie but a goodie

I want to jump right into my thinking tonight. It is on the command of the Lord to have courage. We are to have courage and be strong. Courage is the act of standing up in hard times and having faith to withstand them. It is standing up in the face of fear to make something happen. I need courage to keep going to work even in the times it is hard and I am making less cash. I need it to share my faith on the bus or like tonight at the ymca when I had the chance to share Jesus with a fellow believer. I need it to stand up to tell the truth in debating and sharing Jesus with my family in spite their resisting the Lord and his plans. In the word and I am going to look at many passages tonight we have some reasons for courage. Here is the first passage.

Dut. 6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”[1]

We can have courage for the Lord Jesus is with me at all times and he is my protection. Friend it is cool to know the Lord is with them who know him all the time. In the times we feel there is nobody Jesus is there. I might of talked about this but we need to always know the Lord is with us in everything. If you go to a movie Jesus is there and if the movie is not good we need to not go to it. It is not like you can tell the Lord not to come with you somewhere because he is with us and that ought to make us think about things before we do them. Jesus is never going to leave and forsake us. It is a good thing to know Jesus loves us and he is never leaving is it not.

Josh 1 6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.[2]

This is a command to Joshua going into the new land that God was going to give to them. He was to have courage to follow the word and the laws that God had given to the people. We are to work to follow the things I am talking about like be happy. God has saved us to follow him and if we love Jesus we are going to do what makes him happy. If you follow the bible then I you will have success. For me I got to learn to give to the Lord better and obey him in my cash. God has made me to work and gave me the power to get money I want to honor him and do as he said so he can trust me with more.

The bottom line is this Where do I go when I am afraid and need help. I ought to go to Jesus and allow him to work on me so I have courage to serve Jesus and love him even more.
Shad

abe

Abe Here are a couple of thing I take from Abe in the bible

God always gives the promise and when he does its going to be done.Note that when the contract was given God went though the coals and Abe did not. Because the plan was going to be done by God not us. Look at the son Abe is going to get. Abe made it with another and had Hagar but God still gave his promise and gave the son Issac.

Note that when God gave the son he delivered on the promise. If you are saved your promised to get to heaven and Godis going to give it to you in salvation.

Noah why was he found right with God

GEN 6 THE MAN NOAH AND THE FLOOD

Out of all the\ Earth why was Noah found to be right with God?

Mac 6:8 But Noah found grace. Lest one believe that Noah was spared because of his good works alone (cf. Heb. 11:7), God makes it clear that Noah was a man who believed in God as Creator, Sovereign, and the only Savior from sin. He found grace for himself, because he humbled himself and sought it (cf. 4:26). See notes on Is. 55:6, 7; he was obedient, as well (6:22; 7:5; James 4:6–10).¹

He looked for the Lord and this is what granted him Grace. God selects those who seek after the Lord and rewardes them by saveing them.

God sees the sin of the world and judged it by making a flood. This is a character of God that he is not into sin. Judgment

NOAH, HIS FAMILY, AND THE ANIMALS ENTER THE ARK

And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation [Gen. 7:1].

Why was Noah righteous? It was by faith, just as later on Abraham was counted righteous because of his faith: “And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). Noah believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. “By faith Noah … prepared an ark …” the writer to the Hebrews said (Heb. 11:7). That is the reason God saved him.

Have you ever noticed how gracious God is to this man in all of this time of judgment? Here in verse 1 He says “Come thou….” This is the same invitation that the Lord Jesus gives today to all mankind: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Then in verse 16 of this chapter, we read, “And the Lord shut him in.” Isn’t that lovely? And finally, chapter 8 opens, “And God remembered Noah.” How wonderful! God could very easily have forgotten all about Noah. Years later He could have said, “Oh my, I forgot all about that fellow down there. I put him in an ark and forgot about him!” That would have been too bad, wouldn’t it? But God did not forget. God remembered Noah. God never forgets. He remembers you. The only thing that He does not remember is your sin if you have come to Him for salvation. Your sins He remembers no more. What a beautiful thing this is!

invites a bitter contrast with the Creation story of 1:31. Man’s evil is presented intensively by the words every … only … continually. Imagination is derived from the potter’s verb formed used in 2:7 and implies a design or purpose. What an indictment against the hearts of fallen men. So evil had men become by the days of Noah that it repented the Lord that, he had made man on the earth. The word repented does not mean that God made a mistake in His dealings with men, but rather indicates a change in divine direction resulting from the actions of man. It is “an anthropopathic” (a human emotion applied to God) description of the pain that is caused to the love of God by the destruction of His creatures (Delitzsch, Vol. 2, p. 225). So evil had man become that God, moved by compassion, decided, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth. There is one footnote, however, to this universal destruction. It is not only a footnote, but the preface to a whole new chapter in the history of mankind. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. In Hebrew grace comes from a root meaning “to bend or stoop”; thus, the condescending or unmerited favor of a superior person to an inferior one is implied. This is its first occurrence in Scripture, and it is often used redemptively (Jer 31:2; Zech 12:10). Mankind, the beasts of the field, and the fowl of the air would be destroyed. But God would call out a remnant unto Himself.²

1 MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p. 24). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.

2 Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (pp. 30–31). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

gen 5 notes

Gen 5 A line between adam and Noah

Boririn bible

10 tracing the line of descendant we have our eyes on Jesus

we see the bible is not all about us. It's all about Jesus all the details are about Jesus

9 details show us heaven (temples)

8 details of high priest shows Jesus takes all our needs

7 The requirements of the laws show Jesus is perfect and took the sins away

6 laws give hope we can be made clean in the blood of Jesus

5 the census makes us see if we are part of the lost or are our names are I. The book of life

4 the lot of the land gives us a preview of the inheritance we get forever. All of this for us

3 the genealogy show us where we are headed. The rule of Jesus forever on the throne forever

2 list of names show us our names r listed for who is going to heaven

1 the genealogy of Jesus shows us Jesus welcomes the worst into his family

Salvation, Grace—Enoch did not have to die because God took him (Heb 11:5). Although we must die, God’s grace permits us to enjoy sweet fellowship with Him here and hereafter. Last Things, Believers’ Death—Death as the outcome of life is stated eight times in this chapter of Genesis. This verse, however, breaks the pattern. Personal existence after physical death was not clearly taught in the early biblical literature. This verse indicates a basis for that belief even in these early genealogies. In this and other ways God revealed that our life extends beyond this world. Prayer, Fellowship With God—Practically every activity of the time required walking, and the term came to refer to the entire course of life itself. Enoch’s life was spent in the company of God. See note on 1 Jn 1:3. Genesis 5:29

gen 4 cail and able

Gen 4 1 God gives family life

The Murder of Abel,

We need to give our B est, I am guilty of not giving the way I know I need to. I hold on and it hurts to think what I lose from not giving and trusting in the Lord with this area of my life.

Did God Favor Abel over Cain? (Genesis 4:3-4) Does God have favorites? Does he show partiality for one over another—in this case, Abel over Cain? And does God prefer shepherds to farmers? If not, what was the essential difference between these first two sacrifices in the Bible? The traditional interpretation says that the difference between Cain and Abel is that one offered a bloody sacrifice and the other did not. If this understanding is correct, why are neither we nor they given any specific instructions to that effect? Up to this point, that distinction had not been made. And even if a distinction between the use and absence of blood was in vogue at this early date, why are both sacrifices referred to throughout this whole narrative with the Hebrew term minḥâh, a “gift” or “meal offering”? The answers to these questions are not as difficult as they may appear. There is only one point on which there can be legitimate puzzlement: nothing in this episode indicates that this is the inauguration of the sacrificial system. While it does appear that this is the first time anyone ever sacrificed anything, the text does not specifically say so. That will remain, at best, only an inference. Actually, the supposition that Cain and Abel’s father, Adam, originated sacrifices may be closer to the truth, since no command authorizing or requesting sacrifices appears in these first chapters of Genesis. The whole subject of the origins of sacrifice is one that scholars have debated long and hard, but the subject remains a mystery. Even with this much caution, we must be careful about importing back into the times of Adam and Eve the instructions that Moses was later given on sacrifices. The word used to describe “sacrifice” throughout this episode of Cain and Abel is the word used in the broadest sense, minḥâh. It covers any type of gift that any person might bring. Consequently, the merit one gift might have over another does not lie in the content or type of gift—including the presence or absence of blood. Of course, there was a problem with Cain’s “gift”—he was the problem. Genesis 4:3 describes how Cain merely brought “some” of the fruits of the field. Nothing can be said about the fact that he, as an agriculturalist, naturally brought what farmers have to give. But when his offering is contrasted with Abel’s, a flaw immediately shows up. Abel gave what cost him dearly, the “fat pieces”—in that culture considered the choicest parts—of “the firstborn” of his flock. Abel could very well have rationalized, as we might have done, that he would wait until some of those firstborn animals had matured and had one, two or three lambs of their own. Certainly at that point it would have been possible to give an even larger gift to God, and Abel would have been further ahead as well. But he gave instead what cost him most, the “firstborn.” The telltale signs that we are dealing here with a contrast between formalistic worship and true worship are the emphasis that the text gives to the men and the verb it uses with both of them. In Genesis 4:4-5 there are four emphatic marks used with reference to the two brothers. Literally, the Hebrew of verses 4 and 5 says, “And Abel, he brought, indeed, even he, some of the firstlings of his flock and some of the fat portions belonging to him. And the Lord regarded with favor Abel and [then] his offering. But unto Cain and [then] unto his offering, he did not have regard.” Clearly the focus of this passage is on the men. There are four emphatic elements in the text that mark this emphasis: first, the man’s name; then the verb for “bringing” with the pronominal suffix; then the emphasizing particle gam; and finally the personal independent pronoun. It is difficult to see how the writer could have made it any more pointed that it was the men, and their hearts’ condition, that was the determinative factor in God’s deciding whose sacrifice was to be accepted. The text almost stutters: “And Abel, he, he also, he brought.” The verb shā‛âh means “to gaze,” but when it is used with the preposition ’el (“unto” or “toward”), as it is here, it means “to regard with favor.” Ever since Luther, commentators have noticed that God’s favor was pointedly directed toward the person first and then, and only then, toward the offering that person brought. Accordingly, this became the determinative factor in all worship: the heart attitude of the individual. If the heart was not found acceptable, the gift was likewise unacceptable. It is true that an old Greek translation of this text rendered shā‛âh in Greek as enepyrisen, “he kindled.” Apparently the translator wanted to say that on some occasions God did kindle acceptable sacrifices. But since there is a double object for this verb, namely, Abel and his sacrifice, this translation is unacceptable, for it would set the man on fire as well as the sacrifice! That Cain’s heart and not his offering was the real problem here can be seen from the last part of verse 5: “So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast”—literally, “it burned Cain greatly [or, to the core] and his face dropped.” God’s displeasure with Cain revealed the sad state of affairs in Cain’s heart. Instead of moving to rectify his attitude, Cain let it harden into murder. For the moment, however, anger hid itself in Cain’s eyes—he avoided looking anyone in the eye. Averting his own gaze, he kept others from seeing (through the eye gate) what was in his heart. Hermann Gunkel—who unwisely called this episode a myth—was truly unjustified in claiming this story taught that God loved shepherds but not farmers. Despite others who have followed Gunkel’s lead, there is no proven connection between this narrative and any parallel stories in the ancient Near East of rivalries between shepherds and farmers. Sacrifice in the Old Testament is not a “preapproved” way of earning divine credit. The principle behind it remains the same as it does for all acts of service and ritual in the Christian faith today: God always inspects the giver and the worshiper before he inspects the gift, service or worship.

goverment 2015

Since New Year’s is traditionally a time for resolutions, and since the new Congress convenes this week, I thought I would suggest some New Year’s resolutions for Congress:

1) Bring the troops home — Congress should take the first, and most important, step toward ending our hyper-interventionist foreign policy by bringing our troops home and closing all overseas military facilities. The American people can no longer afford to bear the cost of empire.

2) Pass the Audit the Fed bill — The American people deserve to know the entire truth about how the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy benefits big-spending politicians and financial elites while harming average Americans.

3) Repeal the PATRIOT Act and rein in the National Security Agency — It is approaching two years since Edward Snowden revealed the extent of the NSA’s unconstitutional spying. Yet Congress still refuses to put a leash on the surveillance state. Congress should take the first step toward restoring respect for the Fourth Amendment by allowing Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act to expire.

4) Shut down the Transportation Security Administration — Treating all American air travelers as criminal suspects and subjecting them to intrusive and humiliating searches does nothing to enhance our security. Congress should shut down TSA and return responsibility for airline security to the airlines. Private businesses can effectively protect their customers and employees if the government gets out of the way.

5) End all corporate welfare — Federal programs that provide subsidies or other special benefits to politically-connected businesses cause economic inequality, distort the market, and waste taxpayer money. It also makes political and moral sense to cut welfare for the rich before cutting welfare for the poor. Congress should start dismantling the corporate welfare state by killing the Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Congress should also reject legislation proposed to benefit one industry or individual, such as Sheldon Adelson’s Internet gambling ban.

6) Repeal and Replace Obamacare — Many Americans are losing their insurance while others are facing increasing health care costs because of Obamacare. Repealing Obamacare is only a first step. Congress should both repeal all federal policies that distort the health care market and restore a true free market in health care.

7) End police militarization — The killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in August brought the issue of police militarization to the center of national debate. Congress must end all federal programs that provide military equipment to local police forces.

8) Shut down the Department of Education — It is no coincidence that education in America has declined as federal control over education has increased. Congress should de-fund all federal education programs and return control over education to local communities and parents.

9) Allow individuals to opt out — A positive step toward restoring a free society would be allowing individuals to opt out of Obamacare and other federal mandates. Young people should also be granted the ability to opt out of paying Social Security and Medicare taxes in exchange for agreeing to never accept Social Security and Medicare benefits.

10) Allow state governments to opt out — If Congress lacks the votes to end the war on drugs, repeal Obamacare, or roll back other unconstitutional federal programs, it should at least respect the rights of states to set their own policies in these areas. Federal prohibition of state laws nullifying Obamacare or legalizing marijuana turns the Tenth Amendment upside down.

By adopting these resolutions, Congress can make 2015 the year America begins reversing the long, slow slide toward authoritarianism, empire, national bankruptcy, and economic decline.

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Copyright © 2014 by RonPaul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.

Gods got a paln

Gen 3 part 2 Gospel is in the old

3 15
Genesis 3:15 ( NKJV )

¹⁵    And I will put enmity

    Between you and the woman,

    And between your seed and her Seed;

    He shall bruise your head,

    And you shall bruise His heel

3:15 After cursing the physical serpent, God turned to the spiritual serpent, the lying seducer, Satan, and cursed him. bruise you on the head … bruise him on the heel. This “first gospel” is prophetic of the struggle and its outcome between “your seed” (Satan and unbelievers, who are called the Devil’s children in Jn 8:44) and her seed (Christ, a descendant of Eve, and those in Him), which began in the garden. In the midst of the curse passage, a message of hope shone forth—the woman’s offspring called “He” is Christ, who will one day defeat the Serpent. Satan could only “bruise” Christ’s heel (cause Him to suffer), while Christ will bruise Satan’s head (destroy him with a fatal blow). Paul, in a passage strongly reminiscent of Ge 3, encouraged the believers in Rome, “And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Ro 16:20). Believers should recognize that they participate in the crushing of Satan because, along with their Savior and because of His finished work on the cross, they also are of the woman’s seed. For more on the destruction of Satan, see Heb 2:14, 15; Rev 20:10.¹

Her Seed us the Lord Jesus who is going to make the devil pay for this. In Gen 3 God clothes the sinners liked he does the Chiristians in rightous. They are given the cure for sin. I got to say that Jesus is the thing that fixed your sin. You give not one work or payment Jesus paid it all. God does the work friends.

1 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ge 3:15). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

sin Gen 3

GEN 3 SIN

God made one rule and that was not to eat from the tree, Eve ate thus sin entered the creation.

God will not tolerate sin. He Hates it so much he will never talk to sinners.

Parabasis—“to overstep a forbidden line.” According to this definition, sin occurs when man deliberately (or accidentally) steps over the line of the law of God. The following passages bring this out: “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (1 Jn. 3:4). “Which Judas, by transgression fell” (Acts 1:25). “If thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law” (Jas. 2:11). This emphasizes the positive aspect of sin. Various theological definitions of sin would include: “Sin is lack of conformity to the moral law of God, either in act, disposition, or state” (A. H. Strong). “Sin is a transgression of, or want of conformity to the divine law” (Charles Hodge). “Sin may be defined ultimately as anything in the creature which does not express, or which is contrary to, the holy character of the Creator” (James Oliver Buswell, Jr.). “Sin is a restless unwillingness on the part of the creature to abide in the sphere and limitation in which the Creator, guided by infinite wisdom, had placed him” (L. S. Chafer).

Here is what happens to man that sins

B.    Upon man. When Adam opened the door for sin, two vicious criminals also rushed in and immediately began tormenting the human race. The names of these two terrible gangsters are physical death and spiritual death. In the Bible the theological meaning for death is “separation.” 1.    Physical death: God created Adam with the possibilities of living forever (Gen. 2:9) but Adam sinned (Gen. 3:19) and therefore had to later experience physical death, that is, the separation of his body and soul (Gen. 5:5; Ps. 90:10; Jn. 19:30). 2.    Spiritual death: Because of sin, all unsaved people will someday be forever separated from God in the lake of fire. This is referred to as the second death (Mt. 7:23; 25:41; Rev. 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8). It should be furthermore stated that, although the second death as mentioned above is still future for the sinner, the Bible nevertheless teaches that all unsaved people right now are considered by God to be dead in trespasses and sins and separated even at this present time from his fellowship (Eph. 2:1-12). Both physical and spiritual death seem to be in the mind of God when he warned Adam about the consequences of sin. The Hebrew of Genesis 2:17 may be translated, “For in the day that thou eatest thereof, in dying thou shalt surely die.” In summary it may be said then that sin: a.    Dulls man’s ears (Acts 28:27). b.    Darkens his eyes (Eph. 4:18). c.    Diverts his feet (Isa. 53:6). d.    Defiles his tongue (Rom. 3:13, 14). e.    Deceives his heart (Jer. 17:9). f.    Devours his intellect (1 Cor. 2:14). g.    Dooms his soul (Ezek. 18:4).

Who is this tempter? The devil

3:1 the serpent. The word means “snake.” The apostle John identified this creature as Satan (cf. Rev 12:9; 20:2) as did Paul (2Co 11:3). The serpent, a manifestation of Satan, appears for the first time before the Fall of man. The rebellion of Satan, therefore, had occurred sometime after 1:31 (when everything in creation was good), but before 3:1. Cf. Eze 28:11–15 for a possible description of Satan’s dazzling beauty and Is 14:13, 14 for Satan’s motivation to challenge God’s authority (cf. 1Jn 3:8). Satan, being a fallen archangel and, thus, a supernatural spirit, had possessed the body of a snake in its pre-Fall form (cf. 3:14 for post-Fall form). more crafty. Deceitful; cf. Mt 10:16. to the woman. She was the object of his attack, being the weaker one and needing the protection of her husband. He found her alone and unfortified by Adam’s experience and counsel. Cf. 2Ti 3:6. Though sinless, she was temptable and seducible. has God said …? In effect Satan said, “Is it true that He has restricted you from the delights of this place? This is not like one who is truly good and kind. There must be some mistake.” He insinuated doubt as to her understanding of God’s will, appearing as an angel of light (2Co 11:14) to lead her to the supposed true interpretation. She received him without fear or surprise, but as some credible messenger from heaven with the true understanding, because of his cunning.¹

1 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ge 3:1). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

gen 1 and 2

Gen 1 God made the world from Nothing. Nothing is a hard word to think about like it is lack off. God spoke it into being. Note that God did not create Heaven so Heaven must be outside of the created world.

App Know Heaven is real and outside the earth and universe

Gen 2 Mist came up from the ground How plants were growing in the perfect creation. This ended in the fall

2:8  A “garden” (gan, Heb.) is a sheltered, protected spot. This garden was named “Eden,” perhaps meaning “delight.” God created the garden as a haven where He and man might enjoy the creation together. The description of the garden contains language similar to that used to describe the tabernacle of Israel, indicating the presence of God. The perfect garden contained all that man needed: (1) food for sustenance (v. 9); (2) work in caring for the garden (v. 15); (3) creative leadership in the dominion over the animals (vv. 19, 20); (4) limitation for developing the moral nature of man through the forbidden tree (vv. 16, 17); and (5) the gift of the woman as helper-companion (vv. 18-24). The location of this garden is believed to have been in the Mesopotamian area, i.e., modern-day Iraq.

The tabernacle is a photo pf the perfect earth?

InDepth—God as Creator

“God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). These words form one of the Bible’s principal assertions about the material world—that God created it all.

The first two chapters of Genesis present two complementary accounts of creation (Ps. 104 and Prov. 8 present two additional accounts). Chapter 1 pictures God in sublime terms—grand and awesome. The Hebrew term used for deity in this section (Elohim) speaks of God’s majesty, sovereignty, and awesome power. With a mere word, God spoke the entire universe into existence. When He finished, He called every part of His creation “very good” (1:31).

Chapter 2, on the other hand, presents a more personal picture of creation. It focuses on the creation of man and woman—the only beings in creation who reflect the very image of God. In this section, God’s personal name (Yahweh, or Lord) is used rather than His title, “God.” This is because God personally shaped Adam from the dust of the earth, breathing life into him, and forming Eve from Adam’s flesh and bone. Moreover, the section depicts God placing Adam and Eve in a beautiful garden and interacting with them.

Of course, these two chapters are not written in terms of modern science. But neither are they written in what would have passed for science in ancient times. If the Bible had been written in the “scientific” language of its day, it would be little more than a relic today. Had it been written in the scientific language of the Middle Ages, it would have been a mystery to its first readers and nonsense to us. Had it been written in the scientific language of our own day, it would have been unintelligible to prior generations—and to be sure, a relic in future years.

These first chapters of Genesis reveal God’s identity as Creator in language that makes sense to every sort of audience. The chapters spoke first to a people on the move, at the dawn of Hebrew history. Over the ages, they have spoken to ancient and medieval peoples. And today, they speak to people from all backgrounds. The modern person sometimes wonders why the language is not more precise. Yet these chapters do not aim at precision—their aim is clarity concerning one certain truth: God created the heavens and the earth.