some puzzles

From yesterday's reading in Genesis 6 this part didn't seem to fit: When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with[a] humans forever, for they are mortal[b]; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. Afterwards it goes on to talk about how the heart of man is full of evil, but these 2 passages don't seem to indicate it was the human fault, that it was external sources that were the evil ones. So that was a bit puzzling. From today's reading my puzzle is when Ham (apparently) sins against Noah, Noah curses his son Canaan. Why Canaan, who was only one of Ham's children. My ponderings for today!

Lamech

Today's reading was Genesis 4:1-5:32. I got stuck at Lamech's speech in chapter 4: 23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. This wraps up the story of Cain and Abel with this Lamech being a descendant of Cain (not the same Lamech who was the father of Noah) and having this odd speech. It seems oddly boastful as if he is proud of killing a man like his forefather did. And instead of God decreeing the punishment, Lamech decrees the punishment. An unrepentant heart will breed unrepentant hearts. Without any comment on the speech the text then switches over to the "good" line that comes through Seth. The geneology of Adam in Chapter 5 does not even list the Cain line in the lineage any more.

Firmament

In reading Gen 1:1-2:3 the verses that caught my attention were about the second day 1:6-8. I think when I read it previously I thought it was referring to the earth's waters but I read it a number of times and this seems to be before God made dry land. So he is separating water below Heaven and water above Heaven. There is an interesting discussion on this here: http://www.kjvbible.org/firmament.html though I'm not sure it addresses how the waters are above the Heaven it does give a good interpretation of a lot of things.

Year One Week One

I bought a new devotional study bible and it has a 2 year reading plan. I'm planning on tracking my reading here. Day 1 looks fairly light: Read Genesis Introduction and Key Verse. The reading suggests that to know where we are going, we need to know our origins and heritage. The key verse is Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Those who walk in pride

Daniel 4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. Nebu was a great and powerful king and God showed him some amazing things but one day 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” And then it all fell apart. He spent time living humbly- a great king. Until he could see the pride. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. Do we see all the pride we have? Are we looking? Are we dealing with it before God has to?

unity

Nehemiah, in the book of the same name, is rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. He has God's favor. He rallied the people and work began. But was there unity? Neh 3:5 gives us a glimpse of that "The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa, buttheir nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors". I am glad that they show that even when moving under God's direction everything is not unicorns and rainbows.

The stump

Isaiah 6:13 "The holy seed will be the stump in the land".
This phrase has been going through my head for the last few days.
I see people who have a background with Christ but have turned away. I see that the holy seed is the stump in their land.
I see the Christian background of the country as a stump in the land.
A stump is always there- unless you take real effort to remove the stump and the roots, it's going to stay. It will always be there as a reminder.