Also, done with Job and Genesis. Here are a few notes of interest from Genesis:
*Adam and Eve were vegetarians. God didn't give man animals to eat until after the flood.
*The flood happened not just from rain coming down, but also the ocean floor opening and expanding.
*Before the flood it didn't rain. Water came up from the ground for the plants.
*There were giants that lived on the earth. Either around the time of the Noah or the Tower of Babel.
*One scandalous story especially surprised me. Judah, was one of Joseph's 11 brothers. Long story short, he slept with his daughter-in-law thinking that she was a temple prostitute. She was disguised so he didn't know her identity. When word got out that she was an adulteress, Judah demanded that she be burned to death. That is when she revealed that he was the one she had slept with. He recognized his sin and spared her life. The interesting part of the story is, this is the blood line that Jesus came from. We all know Joseph because of his famous life story of redemption, but Jesus came through the brokenness of sinners. PS-- the daughter-in-law ended up giving birth to twins. When she was in labor, one twin stuck it's arm out and the nurse tied a red string around it to identify it as the first born. THEN, he pulled his arm back in and the other baby was born first. Now, I'm no birthing wiz...but I just don't see how that could really happen. Unless she has a birth canal the size of Galilee.
*Sodom and Gomorrah weren't destroyed because of the sexual sin that was rampant like so many pastors like to teach. Instead, it was because the people were gluttons and lazy. They didn't care about the poor and needy around them.
* Joseph was a teenager when his brothers sold him into slavery to the Ishmaelites (ps--Ishmael is the father of the modern day Muslims....that means that Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all believe Abraham to be the Father of their faith). My translation makes a point to mention that he is 30 when he is brought out of Pharaoh's prison and set at a high place of service under Pharaoh. Seeing as 3-0 is creeping in on me, it is interesting to make the comparison. I bet his expectations for his 20's were different than 'spend some time in slavery and prison'. Helps give perspective when I feel like I've wasted some years.
* My favorite verse: [Go talking to Jacob as he journeys to find a wife(who happens to be his first cousins)] "And behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Genesis 28:15
Now on to Exodus...
1 comment:
When I was in China, I decided to start reading through the Old Testamednt. Isn't it interesting that some of the stories that we've heard our entire lives are actually different than we've been taught all these years. I guess that shows the importance of actually reading and studying it ourselves instead of just believing what we've been told.
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