An immediate and central observation about Leviticus is that it would be an utterly useless document without the book that came before it, Exodus. That's funny because my first observation about Exodus was that it needed Genesis to make sense. These three (so far) books are definitely all one cohesive story.

Leviticus takes place at Sinai, where Moses first met God, and where the Israelites eventually camped out, making a commitment and covenant in their relationship with God, getting the list of God's laws, turning away quickly, being forgiven, and building the tabernacle so that God can dwell among them. And now God is telling Moses more instructions.

Synopsis

The LORD gives Moses all kinds of instructions about making offerings to God at the tabernacle. The priests, the leaders, the community as a whole, and individuals all get their own specific set of exact instructions for how to make offerings. Also, these various groups are given very specific instructions on different kinds of offerings: grain offerings, fellowship offerings, sin offerings, guilt offerings, etc.

(An "offering" seems to be a cultural gift/worship for God in which an animal or grain is burnt up on an alter as to God.)

A few things stand out to me among the MANY details as I read these various specific instructions:
1. In each situation the person doing the offering does their part while the priest also does his part.
2. When done right, the offering makes an aroma that is pleasing to the LORD.
3. It is important that the Israelites don't eat fat or blood, and don't cook break with yeast.
4. The sacrifices must be very high quality animals / crops.
5. The sacrifices constitute as repayment to God for various wrongdoings the Israelites commit, including accidental sins. It seems the wrongdoings would be defined as breaking the law that God gives which is listed in Exodus.
6. It's important to follow the instructions to a tee.

So after all these instructions are given, Moses does exactly as God says, following orders to the tee in order to initiate / consecrate Aaron and his sons into the priesthood. They are told to stay in the tent for seven days. On the eighth day, the whole Israelite community gathers 'round, and Aaron does the first offering of each of the types, doing them exactly right, in order that God may appear before them.

And then an amazing thing happens: God does appear! The glory of The LORD appears and a fire comes out from him and consumes the offering. The crowd goes wild, cheering and falling on their faces in amazement and worship! It's awesome!!

Then two of Aaron's sons don't follow the directions and add fire and incense when they shouldn't have. God's fire burns them up. Moses tells their families to mourn them, and clarifies some of the instructions.

Response

These descriptions of sacrifices definitely seem foreign and in my opinion is the first spot where the Bible could truly seem "boring." However these details matter as demonstrated by Moses' sons death at the end of the section. The points that I numbered above are some of the points that are repeated over and over again.

However foreign it seems, however, that is not an excuse to miss the larger points being made: As God's people, Israel must serve God exactly on his terms and constantly using the offerings to atone for their breaking of God's laws. When this is done, it is quite awesome as God shows up at the end of the section.

Of course the story with Aaron's sons dying is difficult for me to read, as it seems like they shouldn't have to die for something like that. As I have said many times in this blog, I'm going to continue to let those thoughts stir and soak up more of the message of the Torah before I confront that more directly.

But here is one point that is clear from this story: Above things like family or life and death, it is the highest priority to obey God.

A commenter has directed me to two very helpful articles regarding evolution/Genesis that take the points I made and articulate them a lot more fully and with a lot more intellectual clout. I really enjoyed the articles and highly recommend them:

The Implication of the Human Genome Project on Modern Apologetics
An article investigating how we should interpret Genesis

Francis Collins is quoted for most of the first article. I saw him speak at Cosi Science Center in Columbus, Ohio and really enjoyed him.

The sequel's setup and a request from Moses
God made known through the plagues
God's power displayed in the rescue of Israel
God's provision, becoming his people, receiving the first laws
Instructions for a tabernacle for God to dwell in, Israelites worship an image
Moses asks God to forgive. The tabernacle is built triumphantly.
Thoughts on who God is so far.

The sequel to Genesis starts out with a lot of setup. Israel is now numerous but enslaved, a story about killing babies, Moses surviving the slaughter, God looking down and remembering his promise to Abraham, Isaac and Israel.

Then the action begins: Moses ends up an outcast but God meets him in the desert of Sinai. He tells Moses he will rescue the Israelites and give them great land but Moses is terrified and is afraid he won't be able to help. God tells him he will succeed and the sign of that will be that they will return to Sinai and worship God on Mt. Sinai.

Moses and his bro Aaron ask Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out to worship God and Pharaoh refuses, and in fact makes the Israelites' lives harder, so they complain to Moses who complains to God. At the same time, it's all going down just like God said.

God sends Moses to initiate 10 or so plagues in Egypt. This proves God's power and his love for Israel, solidifying Moses' faith in God. Pharaoh, however, is stubborn and even as Egypt is being destroyed by these plagues, won't let Israel go. Moses warns him that something terrible is coming.

God strikes down every firstborn in Egypt, sparing the Israelites, who had celebrated a festival and put the blood of firstborn livestock over their doors. This terrible event shakes Pharaoh to his core, who sends out Israel with God leading them by cloud/fire.

Pharaoh changes his mind and sets out after Israel (Moses trusts God while Israel panics), but God parts the sea for Israel to get through, while confusing Pharaoh's army and then bringing the sea down on them. Israel sings a beautiful song about God and his unparalleled love and faithfulness and power.

God provides for Israel in various ways, in battle, in food, in water and in health. Moses seems to have a complete trust in God while the Israelites are always complaining.

They arive at the desert of Sinai and Moses goes up to the mountain to meet God. God says that if Israel agrees to follow his law, they will be his people, he will show them favor and they will be in a special treasured relationship with him, which include him giving them the land he promised Abraham.

Israel agrees. The laws God give involved worshiping only God and not making an idol of him or any other god, treating each other justly and kindly, punishing violence, and celebrating certain festivals. Israel agrees to it all.

God then tells Moses all the instructions for a tabernacle Israel is to build. With the tabernacle God will be able to dwell among Israel.

But when Moses goes down the mountain, he finds Israel worshiping a cow made of gold. God is willing to start over with just Moses but Moses talks him out of it. There are lesser punishments, and Moses sends those faithful to God, the Levites, out to punish with death their family and friends who have turned away.

God insists he won't now travel with the Israelites.

Moses speaks with God regularly and asks him, as a friend, to PLEASE travel with Israel. God agrees and, at Moses' request, passes by where Moses is, covering only his face. He declares about himself his faithfulness, love, forgiving heart, power, just nature, etc.

Israel has a rare triumphant moment as the nation builds the tabernacle to EXACT specifications as worship to God. God then travels with them wherever they go as they move toward the promised land.

Wow! What a book! I found it to be very exciting. It is a direct sequel to Genesis and took God's plan from working with just a couple guys to setting off plans for a whole nation.

Not only did God free Israel and make his covenant with him, but he made him self known a whole bunch along the way. Moses comes to know and trust him through the plagues. He knows him as both God and best friend. Pharaoh and Egypt comes to know his power and punishment. Israel comes to know his power and faithfulness and love for them. Then, when they turn away from him, the end up knowing his forgiveness, and at the end of the book are being led by God through the desert.

I'd say those are the two main threads in this book: God historically taking Israel out of Egypt and kicking off their statehood while still in the desert, and God making himself known to the world, especially to Moses, Pharaoh, Egypt and Israel.

Exodus is behind us and that means it's time for another reflection article on a relevant topic. If you hadn't noticed it's been a few days since I last posted... That's because this topic is hard! I've been thinking and procrastinating for a few days on writing a blog about who Genesis and Exodus say God is.

I am not a Biblical scholar or an expert; I'm just a guy who spent the last couple weeks reading and taking notes on and reflecting on Genesis and Exodus, trying to see what they're really about. But here's what I see as far as who God is so far in these books.

1. God exists. This is not something that the Bible argues; on the contrary, it is taken for granted and therefore never discussed. In the world of Genesis and Exodus, God is the most real thing there is.

2. God is the unique, ultimate power of the universe, who is active in creating earth and humans and also active in guiding society along a path whose end we have not yet reached by the end of Exodus. He scoffs at and hates worship of any other god, an image of any other god, or even an image that is supposed to represent him. He is bigger than these things.

3. God is also active in directing the lives of individuals, such as Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses. He cares about them, blesses them, tells them what to do, and also brings them along in their relationship from a point of being unfamiliar with him and not trusting of him to being completely trusting and content with and confident in God. In fact he ends up a personal best friend with most of these people.

4. God has a plan. It is obvious God has a plan for all of history even in these first two books. He has a plan to make the world like it was when he first created it. We don't know how long this will take or how he will accomplish this. But it definitely has something to do with the Israelites. There is also a clue in Jacob's blessings of his sons that something important will come from Judah's tribe.

5. God has reasons. I am still struggling with whether I agree with them all, but God has reasons. He has reasons for destroying humanity with a flood, for destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, for sending the Levites violently after their friends. He also has reasons for all the other things that he does, which are inarguably good and loving and powerful (so far). He does not act haphazardly or randomly very often.

Don't worry, at the end of Leviticus I will discuss more what I think about some of these shocking differences between what we think is loving and caring and just and what the authors of the Torah think. But for a few more days I want to further familiarize myself with the adjectives that describe God. And no passage so far has seemed more critical than the following.

God, ready to destroy Israel and start over with Moses, has been talked out of it by Moses. Because Moses is God's friend, God listens. Then God asks to see "God's glory." God says that seeing his face will result in death, so he puts Moses in a cleft of a rock and blocks Moses' view while God's face is visible. This is what God declares as he passes by:

"The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation."

Wow. This the climax of Exodus, shows that God is an almighty loving being who not only cares but FORGIVES!, forgetting sin! Yet he is still just and punishes.

After this statement, and the Israelites triumphantly build the tabernacle to God's specifications, and he travels with them as the book ends.

If Genesis was about God beginning his plan to restore the world to harmony and order and goodness, Exodus is step one in this plan: Yes, creating a nation, but perhaps bigger than that, making himself known to these people. And these are the top things for God to make know: Yes, he won't forget to be just, but he loves and is loyal and patient and forgiving!

It is a triumphant anding and a hopeful message. I look forward to the next book, to see God continue his quest to restore earth.

(Note: As I said above, there are plenty of difficult passages to reconcile with God's statement about himself. I will discuss that in a few days, Friday or Saturday, after I finish Leviticus. This blog entry is a further attempt to completely understand what Exodus is saying about God before I begin to criticize or question it.)

Synopsis

So Moses heads into this tent he had put up and God comes down in the cloud and talks to him face-to-face like he would a friend. They have a discussion in which Moses, apologizing for the idol worship of Israel, asks God to stay with them and travel with them. God agrees to. Then Moses asks to see God's glory. This is when it really gets interesting.

God passes in front of Moses but doesn't allow Moses to see his face, or else Moses will die. This is all very intimate and reminds me of the more serious God-to-man scenes of Genesis. God declares as he goes by: I am compassionate, gracious, patient, loving, faithful, loyal, forgiving, and yet still just.

God goes over the covenant again, emphasizing especially the sabbath and festivals and not worshiping idols. After this experience, Moses face actually glows and he has to wear a veil so as not to scare everyone to death.

Now the Israelites bring their offerings to the Lord to build God's sanctuary so that may dwell among them. It is a triumphant part of the story because the Israelites are generous and give more than what is needed. Everyone follows God's instructions exactly when building what becomes known as the tabernacle. At the end Moses sets up the tabernacle and everything is done for God and by God's commands. From then on when the Israelites set out God is with them and leading them. This is the end of Exodus

Analysis

Whew! That's it for Exodus. Once again I'll be writing a couple more posts before I get to Leviticus. Over all Exodus is very much explaining how the Israelites came to be in covenant with God. But in that, he brings Moses from a place of incompetence to total trust in and friendship with God. Meanwhile, the nation of Israel is coming along very slowly but have moments of triumph and still have God being very faithful to them.

All the laws and commands God gives in this book is so that God can know the people and can dwell among them. I have to say it's a powerful and exciting book.

Yesterday my post was all about laws. Laws and laws and laws. Today that continues for a big, with instructions upon instructions about making a sanctuary for God. But the reason I'm not bored with it is because there is clear purpose in what God is telling Moses.

Synopsis

The Israelites have just agreed to God's laws to become his people, his treasured posession. So Moses and Joshua are up on the mountain for forty days and God speaks to them:

Take offerings from the people, whatever they want to give, good stuff. Build a holy box exactly as I instruct you, build a big tent as a sanctuary as I instruct you, and set apart Aaron and his sons to be priests for this sanctuary. Build them really complicated clothes in order to do this just as I instruct you. All of this is so I, the LORD, can dwell among you (the Israelites). The Israelites each year must give a half-shekel to atone for their sin. Build a special basin and make special oil to anoint Aaron and his sons. I've chosen one guy from Dan's tribe and one from Judah's to be "filled with God's spirit" and to make a bunch of sweet designs for the sanctuary. Remember, REST ON THE SABBATH like I did on the seventh day of creation. Here are a couple tablets I made personally with the laws on them; put them in the holy box.

Meanwhile, down at camp Sinai, the people are sick of waiting for Moses to come down so they tell Aaron to make them a God to worship (yikes!! this is directly against God's command). Aaron uses a tool to make a gold cow for them. They go crazy worshiping this thing, which they say is the god that brought them out of Egypt.

God lets Moses know about this and tells Moses he'll just destroy the Israelites and start over with Moses, but Moses reminds God of his promise to Abraham and God relents.

Moses heads down the mountain, destroys the tablets in frustration and burns up the cow while Aaron makes excuses. Moses sees the people are running wild out of control. He calls for all who are loyal to The LORD to come to him. The Levites (of which he is one) come to his side. He commands them to kill with the sword their friends and relatives in the camp runnign wild. 3000 people are killed, and this gets everyone back in line.

Moses goes to God and asks for forgiveness for the Israelites; God relents but says there will be punishment, and the Israelites experience plagues. God says he will still give the Israelites Canaan, but he won't be able to travel with them or else he would have to destroy them for their evil.

Analysis

There is a whole lot to take in here. First of all, the parts about the sanctuary and all the details could be boring, but I have to remember that there is explicit purpose in it all: That the Israelites could know and worship God and so that he could dwell among them. It's actually a loving gesture.

So just as God is commanding this, the people completely go the other way, going against their promise to worship only God and claiming that another god, this golden calf, brought them out of Egypt! It's pretty stunning. While God is willing to destroy them for this, Moses looks a lot like Abraham as he calms God down and gets him to relent.

There is still punishment: 3000 cow-worshipers are killed and the Israelites get sick. But God is careful to not travel with them in order to withhold his judgment.

In the last section of Exodus, the Israelites were grumbling because they didn't have water out in the desert, despite the amazing wonders God had done. Today's section sees more of that, and following that is a cornerstone section, in which God and the Israelites make an official commitment to each other.

Synopsis

The Israelites head out and head to the Desert of Sin (no pun intended), presumably by God's leading. They get there 45 days into their journey. Once again they're grumbling, complaining that Moses ever brought them out of Egypt. Moses defers to God, saying God brought them there, not him. Moses asks God and he miraculously provides, giving them just enough magical bread for each day (2x on the sixth day, because on the last day of the week they must rest, a reference to the original creation). God's specific instructions about the bread are not always followed.

They move on to Rephidim, where the Israelites complain more and God provides them with water. (Man, do they have a lack of trust in what he has done.) The Amalekites attack and there's a battle with Moses' ever helpful "staff of God" being held over the battle, giving victory to the Israelites. At this point they are near Sinai, where Moses first met God, so his father-in-law is nearby. Moses tells him about all God has done and how he is the judge and teacher of the people. Jethro worships God and then gives some good advice about appointing lower judges.

90 days into their journey, they arrive at Sinai and camp in front of the mountain, and the real action starts. Moses goes up onto the mountain to talk to God, who tells him that it's time to make a deal with Israel. That if they decide to obey God and keep his covenant, they'll be his special treasured people among all others, a nation of priests to God. Pretty cool! The elders of Israel say they will follow through on this. God then tells Moses to get the people ready for an experience, as God will make come down onto the mountain in smoke and fire and thunder and trumpets, and no one will be able to touch the mountain, so that they know God is truly speaking to Moses.

God indeed does come down and calls Moses alone to the top of the mountain, and God gives him some commands:

I am God. Worship only me, especially not making idols--I'm really serious about that!--or misusing my name, the LORD. Rest on the last day of the week (like the original creation). Honor your parents, don't kill, commit adultery, steal, lie in court, or lust over what your neighbor has.

The people are terrified. Moses reassures them and God tells him a whole lot more laws, centered around fairness and worshiping only God:

First there are a bunch of laws about how to treat slaves, followed by how to fairly deal with violence. Property laws are next, followed by a bit of a grab bag of laws. Next are laws about how to act in court and then how to help foreigners / the poor. God reemphasizes not to call on the names of other gods, and then explains the three festivals they are to celebrate each year.

God explains some of the benefits of following God and his laws: God will be on their side, leading them through the land triumphantly and defeating their enemies. He will continue to provide them food and water and (slowly, for their good) drive out the people from the land he has promised them (through Abraham). He tells them what the borders of their land will be.

Then Moses reports all this to all the people and they all say, "Everything the LORD has said we will do." Moses writes all of this down. The next morning he reads aloud all he wrote and builds an alter and with the sacrifice sprinkles blood on the Israelites, sealing the covenant God has made with them. Moses and Joshua then go back up the mountain to hear more from God.

Analysis

So first off God continues to provide quite visibly and spectacularly, even in battle, for the Israelites, despite their distrust in him. When they get to the place where Moses first met God, God makes his relationship with them official: He will be their God, they will be his people. They will obey what he says, he will bless them and give them the land he promised their ancestors. But most importantly, they will be his treasured possession among all his creation, a nation of priests.

All this is a big deal. I notice a few things: 1. This is a sweet deal for Israel, who just three months ago was hopelessly enslaved in Egypt. Now they're the all-powerful God's treasured nation. 2. These people are so unfaithful to God; why is he doing this?

Anyhow, God descends on the mountain quite dramatically for all to see, and Moses goes up to receive God's instructions for the Israelites.

Here we get the ten commandments, which basically amount to honoring God and giving each other basic dignity. These are the most important laws but they are simply laws God gives to the Israelites for their contract with him, nothing more. If there was any doubt left, we can see God is concerned with their relationship to him and their moral treatment of each other.

Furthermore, God gives a bunch more laws. It's kind of funny that we don't hear about these as much but I suppose "attacking your parents is worthy of death." Over all, these laws are reletively reasonable. They mostly ask for fair payback for wrongdoing and fairness in deals. Slaves are actually treated much better than they were in American 200 years ago. I'd say the only thing we'd disagree with are a couple of the death-deserving laws: murder, attacking your parents, kidnapping, cursing your parents, and witchcraft. By and large though, our own laws on these topics don't look all that different, 1000s of years alter.

Response

I can't emphasize this enough: The ten commandments are not what we think they are. They are not a list of what God cares about the most; they are just the ten most important laws that God gave for the Israelites. The dozens of laws that follow them directly are no less legitimate. Although some of them reflect God's universal moral character (especially us worshiping only God and not murdering), some of them are completely useless to a gentile like me, such as how to deal with a livestock thief or keeping the Sabbath. We should not put them up in front of government buildings or even our own houses; it's nonsense, and God is not asking us to follow them as a set. (And it's far from a complete list of what he's asking of the Israelites.)

Aside from that, what stands out is God's official new relationship with Israel. He will protect them and love them and provide for them if they agree to obey his commands. They did nothing to deserve this deal; in fact they've been downright verbally abusive to God. I think this reflects God's relentless effort to bring people from a point of faithlessness and immorality to faith and morality: (see Abraham, Jacob, Jacob's sons, Moses). The thing is, God did all those with basically one event; for Israel it's taking a lot more work.

One might argue that all those reconciliation stories AND the Israelite covenant are the small stories in the over all Biblical plan began in Genesis for God to restore the broken world that spiraled downward ever since people chose their own wisdom's over God's in the garden. Stories within stories within stories, all with this theme.

Waaaay back in the first third of Abraham's story, before he even had any kids, God spoke closely with him told him not only about the promise of wealth and a nation of descendants and the land of Canaan and blessing the whole world, but God told him how his descendants would go to Egypt and become slaves there, before God brought them back out.

At the end of Genesis, the Israelites are in Egypt, and Joseph, a man in tune with what God is doing, tells them that when they go back to Canaan, to take his bones with them. The two Exodus posts so far readied us for the moment the Israelites would leave Egypt. Now, with Moses having warned Pharaoh about the consequences of ignoring God, that time has come.

Synopsis

God fills Moses and Aaron in on the details of what's next: Each Israelite family will sacrifice a good 1-year-old lamb, put the blood on their doors, eat bread with no yeast for a week, party all week and God will kill every first-born in Egypt, skipping over the Israelites. These instructions are repeated a few times, including after the deed is done, as God emphasizes what an important holiday this is going to be--for members of Abraham's covenant only--as the Israelites remember what God has done forever.

Pharaoh summons Moses during the night while the Egyptians are discovering their tragedy, and tells him and the Israelites to get out! The Egyptians give their Israelite neighbors lots of gold and silver as God predicted and 600,000 men, plus women and children, along with lots of other non-Egyptian (not sure if they're in the count) leave Egypt together, ready to fight, after being in Egypt for 430 years.

Moses grabs Joseph's bones on their way out, and God personally leads them towards Canaan (taking the long way around to avoid battle) with a pillar of cloud during the day and by fire at night. They end up trapping themselves against the sea so that God can show how he will provide for them.

Pharaoh regrets letting the slaves go and goes after them with his army and chariots. As he's closing in, the Israelites panic and lash out at Moses and God, saying they'd rather be slaves in Egypt than dead in the desert. Moses ain't having it, telling them to trust God, who separates them from the Egyptian army with the cloud/fire and spends all night splitting the sea to provide a dry path for the Israelites to walk through.

They do walk through, and as Pharaoh's army follows them, God throws their army into confusion, with wheels falling off and the like. The army begins to retreat but God sends the sea on top of them and drowns them all. The Israelites mike it to the other side scratch-free.

Israel sings a beautiful song about God's love and faithfulness to Israel, that God is the greatest of all, that he defeats his arrogant enemies, that God is forever king. They continue their travel and in the Desert of Shur God provides water for them miraculously.

Analysis and Response

From my cultural perspective, the first question to ask is, why does God bring so much hardship on the Egyptians, why does he kill babies, and why does he destroy a whole army that's retreating? For a God that seems to hate murder, this seems extraordinarily cruel.

I'm still processing this idea; it's not a conversation for just one blog post, I don't think, but some of my initial thoughts relate to a cultural superiority complex--that we think the way we think is the best. For one thing, we think that there is nothing on earth worse than death, that it is the worst thing that can happen to a person under all circumstances. To the ancient Israelites, there were plenty of things in the world worse than death. We also feel we have a great degree of control over our comfort and safety and rarely feel serious physical hardship, while the ancient Israelites knew hardship as a foundational element of life.

Another thought is that God has a very large plan of restoring order and harmony to earth since man screwed it up and a big part of that plan is his promise to use the nation of Israel, so he's simply on their side and is doing what needs to be done to work them into his larger plan. He is for them, in other words.

Also, we are an individualized culture--we think every person exists in a vacuum, while the Israelites existed more as a unit than as individuals. To the Israelites and Egyptians alike, there is no question as to why all Egypt pays for Pharaoh's stupidity. That's an especially interesting point, considering the whole "freeing the slave" element. What we often forget when reading this story is how radical God's salvation for Israel is. This is pre-englightenment slave-freeing. No one on earth thought that the Israelites had a right to be freed because of their unchangeable human rights and their salvation tells just as much about God's radical love and faithfulness for Israel as it does about how he wants to stop oppression.

These are some initial thoughts on how I can wrestle with the murder of every firstborn in Egypt. For me a counter-point to these thoughts is, "Sure, our cultures are different, but our culture has a better handle on these points, so why is God so far behind the curve?" Like I said, it's not a conversation for just one blog post and I hope to continue to process it over the next month as we move through the Torah.

One point that needs no argument is that the ending point of this story is that God is good, loving, powerful, and just. The perspective of Exodus, of Moses and of the Israelites is pure wonder and appreciation and excitement for what God has done for them, and the love that he has demonstrated. You might disagree but that is certainly Exodus' point.

Finally (there's a lot packed into these few pages!), just as God brought Abraham, Jacob, and Jacob's sons through a journey of doubt of him to trust in him, he seems to be repeating the same pattern here. Moses might already be on the end side of that process, as he doubted bigtime before what God would do but after the plagues has enourmous confidence in God's provision even when a sea is in the way.

Pharaoh is certainly on the end side of that process, but he demonstrates what continued stubbornness and antagonistic attitudes toward God lead to: You will know his power in the end, but it won't be good for you.

The Israelites are going to be on a longer trajectory, and I don't just say that because I know the next 1300 pages will be about the nation's up-and-down relationship with God. Already there are signs that despite God's faithfulness they will be unfaithful over and over again, as they've already started complaining about water. This could be a long process.

Yesterday's reading had Pharaoh commenting that he doesn't know this "The LORD." Today's reading has God making himself known to Pharaoh.

Summary and Analysis

God's instructions to Moses are recapped. Then Moses goes to Pharaoh and he and Aaron do the snake staff thing. Pharaoh's magicians copy the art, but Aaron's staff / snake eats the magicians'.

After this, there are nine signs that God terrorizes Egypt with. They are done with a variation on one pattern. The "plagues" are the Nile turning to blood, lots of frogs, lots of gnats, lots of flies, livestock dying, boils on skin, terribly damagin hail, lots of locusts, and three days of darkness.

More or less, for each plague, God tells Moses what to do to make it happen. Moses follows instructions and it happens that way, and it's a huge problem for Egypt. Sometimes, but not always, Pharaoh asks Moses to stop the plague, with Moses praying and stopping it. Every time, though Pharaoh's heart is hardened and he doesn't let the Israelites go.

By the end of it all, Pharaoh's advisers are begging him to let the Israelites leave for three days, but Pharaoh won't have it. Finally Moses snaps into anger mode and declares what God told him, every firstborn son of Egypt will die, with this resulting in Egypt knowing God and seeing the difference between Israel and Egypt.

Response

In our culture, it is a popular idea that we just need faith in God, that we just need to believe him and it is nobler to believe without seeing than seeing first. That idea does keep company with a couple New Testament quotes, but at the same time, I don't think God is holding back miracles from us do to a holy coyness.

In fact, I'd say Genesis and Exodus so far would agree with me on that count. In our culture knowing God is a very personal and subjective experience. In the world of Genesis and Exodus, it is no such thing.

God objectively exists in this book and not many people can doubt it. Abraham and his descendants talked to God all the time, with him talking right back. Not only that but their neighbors always commented on how blessed they are by God. The, in Exodus, these nine plagues happen for the purpose of demonstrating who God is, his power and might.

In the opinion of the Old Testament, it's not that you have to trust God despite the lack of signs; you have to trust him for all the amazing signs he's already given us.

I wonder what our faith would be like if we thought like that: That it's not that God is a silent narrator that we have to know exists theologically, but that He has spent a lot of time throughout history making himself known by his own acts apart from human will.

Genesis/Exodus reports that God's existence and activity in the world is well-documented and clear as day, not something to conjure up out of thin air. I hope God continues to make himself known to me through these kinds of experiences.

I feel like I could take another week to reflect on Genesis, but it is time for the sequel: Genesis II: The Reckoning. Also known as Exodus. I can already tell this book is very much a sequel to Genesis, involving how God continues his plan to fulfill his covenant with Abraham's family (they will be a great nation, they will possess the land of Canaan, and all nations will be blessed through them).

I can also tell it's a different literary style than a lot of Genesis. It is much more of a fast-moving story, in which all the parts have a purpose and work towards the main points. Often Genesis would seem to go off on tangents about where certain nations came from and the like that didn't seem to fit the main flow all that well.

We have a few important characters introduced: Moses, his brother Aaron, the Pharaoh they deal with, and the people of Israel family, which have multiplied and become numerous.

Summary

The first two pages were mainly background and set up, sort of a "here's what happened since the end of Genesis" type of thing. The Israelites do become very numerous and become slaves in Egypt.

Moses, a Hebrew, is born and raised by Pharaoh's daughter, escaping a scheme to kill all Hebrew male babies. Moses demonstrates a hunger for justice that ends up forcing him to run away from Egypt.

Pharaoh eventually dies and meanwhile the Israelites are crying out for help. God hears them and remembers his covenant with Abraham (see, it's a sequel) and his concern for them is noted. That's the setup, the background info for Exodus. Then the action starts.

God goes to work right away by appearing to Moses in the form of a burning bush. He talks to Moses and says a few things: He does see the misery of the Israelites, he is coming down to rescue them, and he is sending Moses.

Moses wonders how he could be part of such a plan, and who to tell the Israelites this God is.

God says he will be with Moses and will grant him success, and his name is I AM, The LORD. He says to tell the Israelite elders The LORD is coming to save them and give them Canaan, and to ask Pharaoh for some time off. God predicts that Pharaoh won't let them go, so God will do wonders and then they'll be able to go, and they'll go away rich.

Moses is worried the Israelites won't believe him, so God gives him some signs, one including Moses' staff turning into a snake. Moses is still worried because he doesn't speak well, so God provides again by suggesting Moses' brother Aaron do the speaking. Once Moses is on his way back to Egypt, God appears one more time and lets him know that when Pharaoh says "NO" God will strike down his firstborn son.

The importance of circumcision is briefly referenced, and the Moses and Aaron tell the Israelites what's up. They agree and worship The LORD.

But when Moses and Aaron request time off from Pharaoh, he remarks that the Israelites are just lazy, and that he doesn't know this "The LORD" they are talking about. Instead of giving them time off he makes their work much harder, and the Israelites despise Moses for it.

Moses goes to God and complains, thinking the whole thing is useless. But God reiterates that he is the same God of Abraham, The LORD, although he hadn't told them his name. He references his covenant to give them Canaan, and he says he will make them his nation. He says he will do it by his mighty hand. When Moses reports this to the Israelites, they aren't so excited anymore, because of the extra work it got them last time.

God tells Moses to go talk to Pharaoh about it again, but Moses complains that it won't do any good.

Analysis

Wow, there's a whole lot to take in here. First off, like I said at the beginning of the post, this is very much the sequel to Genesis, with God mentioning his covenant with Abraham many times. It is very clear that this is the same God, which means he's trustworthy and powerful and good. He says his name this time: The LORD.

A big contrast with Abraham's story, though, is that no one is giving God the benefit of the doubt. In Genesis, Abraham and Jacob did doubt God's power to fulfill his promises, but they still worshiped God over and over and trusted him for many things. God brought them to a place of trust by the end of their stories.

In Exodus, no one seems to understand how powerful and active God is. Where Abraham didn't hesitate to get up and move, Moses has all kinds of complaints right away, complaints that directly contradict what God says.

Pharaoh says he doesn't know anything about God, contrasting what Abraham's neighbors would say (they saw how blessed by God he was). And when times get rough the Israelites and Moses totally turn on what God has to say, even though God predicted it would go down exactly like it does go down.

Nevertheless, God is determined to hold up his part of the covenant with Abraham's family, and maintains that he will somehow bring Israel out of Egypt and giving them Canaan.

Response

The Israelites, despite being very numerous, have fallen on some hard times. Meanwhile, God is not known at all in the way he was in Genesis. In Genesis, everyone saw all the time God's work in Abraham's family's life. Moses and the Israelites have no patience at all and it seems God has to start all over again in this human character development thing. They do not trust God like Abraham and Jacob and Jacob's sons did at the ends of their lives.

Meanwhile, I, the reader, have tons of confidence that God will come through because it's clear this is the same God in Genesis and he created earth, helped Sarah have a kid in her old age, etc. The question is, how long is it going to take Moses, the Israelites, and Pharaoh to figure this out?

First creation story
Second creation story, fall of man
Hitting the reset button with Noah; the tower
Noah's sons
Abraham's exploits, the promise, and an intimate meeting with God
Hagar, and more of Abraham's exploits
A son! Abraham's big finish
Isaac has sons, one is a cheat and runs off with Abraham's promise
Jacob has kids; he and Laban pull some fast ones
Jacob comes to know God through a wrestling match, returns home.
The setup: Joseph is sent to Egypt
Jacob's family reconciled, saved, and relocated.
Jacob's blessings, Joseph's last words
Genesis: literal history or metaphor?

As I finish reading, taking notes on, reflecting on, and posting about each book of the Bible, I plan on writing a post or two reflecting on common issues people have with that book, along with a post summarizing and linking to all the posts about one book. This is the first of the summarizing posts and is related to Genesis.

Genesis, a mix of origin myths and ancestor stories (among other things) is the first book of the Bible. It is very long and its content is very foreign to a modern Western culture. However, it is still very purposeful and thoughtfully themed, with a thick thread that is easy to follow. This thread revolves around God's beautiful creation, the fall of that creation into corruption, including the corruption of man, and God's calculated first steps in returning the creation to harmony, especially as his plan involves one man, Abram, and his son, grandson, and great grandsons.

Parts 1 to 3: The Creation of Earth

The first story in Genesis is a creation myth that is poetic and orderly and beautiful. God makes the world almost like he's stretching a canvas and then painting a picture on top. Humans are created in God's image and their purpose is to rule earth and multiply on it. Everything is great.

The second story is another creation myth, this time it's mostly about mankind's creation. A man is made, and is put in a sweet garden to work, and can live forever, eating from the tree of life. He needs a friend so after he names all the animals God makes him a wife. They're naked but it's a good thing. God warns them not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil or else they'll die.

A serpent tells the woman that if they eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they won't die, but they'll be like God, knowing good and evil for themselves. The woman and her husband eat that fruit, and it only goes down half like the serpent. Yeah, they know good and evil, but it makes them ashamed of their nakedness. Plus, they do end up dying. Not only that, but God puts a curse on a ton of stuff, from the serpent to childbirth to marriage to farming. Things don't heal over time as one of their sons actually murders the other one. One of HIS descendants murders two people and is proud of it. Yikes.

A third story is then told (see above linked post) in which it is reiterated that God made man in his image. Generation after generation passes, and eventually man is totally corrupt and evil. God is sorry he ever made earth, except for one righteous guy, Noah.

This is the story of the creation of earth, according to Genesis. I also wrote a post in which I talked about my thoughts on the literal vs. metaphorical interpretation of the Genesis, and that is worth checking out at this point.

You can see two main things in these first two posts / three stories: God is consistently good, just, powerful, and creative. Meanwhile his creation starts out great, but becomes evil through the acts of Adam and Eve and through the passing of generations.

Parts 4-6: Noah and his family

At this point the story turns to one man: Noah. He is the only person left on earth worth a lick. God reveals his plan to Noah for restoring harmony to earth: he'll destroy absolutely everything with a flood, but will save Noah and his family and some animals in a big boat. It all goes down like God says, and at the end, Noah worships God and God makes a promise to never do this kind of thing again. He tells Noah's family to fill the earth like before, and to stop killing each other.

After that, Noah's family line is traced, and just as humans begin filling the earth, they decide they'll make a name for themselves and not fill the earth by building a huge tower out of brick. They don't get too far before God spreads them all over the earth himself and confuses their languages. Noah's family line is then reiterated, right down to a man named Terah, who has a son named Abram.

So it is seen that God is still the same all-powerful God, very concerned with restoring creation to how he first made it. So he starts over. But he doesn't totally neglect man, saving one man very much on purpose and basically giving man a fresh start with his commands at the end to not murder and to fill the earth again. A few more generations pass and mankind is already fighting against this, trying to stay in one place and follow his own path. God does what he can to proceed with the plan but of course he won't destroy earth again. We end with geneologies leading to Abram, but the story leaves us hanging on what God will do next.

Part 7 - 8: From Abram to Abraham

God gets to work right away, telling a guy named Abram to move to where God shows him, telling him that HE will make Abram's name great, will bless him, give him tons of descendants, give him the land he will show him, and will bless all nations through him. Abram then has a series of exploits in which God blesses him greatly or reiterates his promises, and Noah often responds by giving God credit or worshiping him.

Eventually Abram and God share a powerful scene in which Abram doubt's God's promises of many descendants because his wife Sarai is old and barren. God tells Abram his descendants will be slaves but will come back to take the land, and as a sign, God moves a firepot between some sacrifices.

Nevertheless, Abram takes his slave as a wife because it doesn't seem Sarai will ever have a kid. God says that Abram's slave's kid, Ishmael will become a great nation too, but that Sarai will indeed have a kid. God then makes it a covenant (the blessings, land, descendants, and and blessing all nations) by giving Abram circumcision and by renaming him Abraham and his wife Sarah. Meanwhile not only is Abraham very blessed by he seems to be best friends with God, able to talk with him about anything, with God listening.

Eventually, Sarah does have a son, Isaac, and Abraham now believes God's covenant so much that he'd be willing to sacrifice his son, the son OF the promise, when God tells him to. He finds his son a wife and dies at a good old age.

Meanwhile Ishmael does indeed become the father of a great nation as well.

This part of Genesis focuses on on Abraham exclusively instead of all of mankind, and God not only makes world-big promises to Abraham, but he begins to carry them out in incredible ways and single-handedly carries Abraham from a place of pseudo-belief in what God says to a place of complete trust no matter what the circumstances. God also becomes absolute best friends with Abraham through the process.

Part 9 - 11: Isaac and Jacob

Isaac, to whom God gives the same covenant He gave Abraham (and gets even richer than Abraham), has a couple kids and accidentally hands his blessing down to the younger, deceitful one, Jacob. Jacob runs off in fear of his brother's wrath, and God appears to him, confirming that indeed he has received the covenant from Isaac that Abraham originally got.

Jacob then spends a lot of time with his Uncle, getting four wives, having 12 sons and deceiving and being deceived by Uncle Laban lots of times.

Jacob heads home with his numerous family members and possessions, but when he hears his brother is about to meet him, he panics. He literally wrestles with God all night. God blesses him and changes his name is Israel (struggle with God), telling him he will indeed be blessed and his descendants will be a great nation. His brother meets him and hugs him, and Israel returns home to his dad.

Jacob's brother is shown to have lots of kids and be blessed as well.

Throughout the stories of Isaac and Jacob, God's covenant with Abraham is passed down, so God is working through generations of people. Isaac and Jacob are both made very rich by the covenant. Jacob is given more stage time and is brought over time by God from a state of decietfulness to a state of mature trust and respect for God.

Part 12: Jacob's family

Jacob's sons aren't to nice to the favorite son of Jacob, Joseph, and long story short, he is sent to Egypt as a slave and no one knows he's alive but his brothers. He is continutally blessed in Egypt despite years of hard times and ends up basically the prime minister of Egypt. With God's help he's well prepared for a seven year famine and when it kicks in Egypt is doing great and making money off the whole world by feeding the nations.


Jacob's sons go to Egypt to get food because of the famine and Joseph recognizes him, after getting them to bring the youngest to Egypt, he is emotional in front of them and reveals himself as Joseph. They are afraid but he insists it is God who sent him to Egypt not them, so that he might save his family from starvation. Jacob is delighted to hear his son is alive and they all move down to Egypt.

Jacob, about to die, gives his sons their share of the blessing, especially praising Joseph and giving him a double share of the nation that will one day rise out of the person Israel's blood line. Jacob dies and they bury him back in the land God sent promised to Abraham (Canaan). Eventually Joseph dies but he reminds the Israelites that they belong in Canaan and that one day when God sends them back, to take his (Joseph's) bones back to Canaan with them. Then Joseph dies.

In the final part of Genesis, there is more character development as God brings Joseph's older brothers from a state of violence and deceit to humility and regret over their mistreatment of Joseph. Meanwhile God uses Joseph to save his family by bringing them to Egypt during the famine, which is just the place God told Abraham his descendants would become slaves. As the book ends, Jacob's kids are starting to grow into a nation, the Israelites.

The book ends in great anticipation, because God's covenant with Abraham, the focus on the book, are absolutely certain (because of God's character) and yet mostly not yet there. Yes, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were greatly blessed. But they are not a great nation yet (although that seems to be emerging), they're not yet in the land, they haven't taken the land, and all nations haven't been blessed (although many people comment on how blessed they are). It's like the tiny buds of the covenant are seen but there is much more to come.

I believe Genesis intends to end with that sort of mindset.

(Update: to read a couple articles similar to mine written by John Lang visit this post.)

I just wrote 13 blog posts on the book of Genesis and there's an elephant in the room: Is it to be taken as literal history or as a religious metaphor? It's a topic that deserves discussion when trying to understand Genesis. The short answer is this: The Bible is true, evolution is real, and neither conflict with each other or a Biblical idea about God. Here is the long answer:

I will first make some conditions on which I think about this topic. I will then state my stance and provide the main reasons I think what I think, before I defer to a well-known theologian of the 16th century. At the end I'll caution thinking of Genesis as "a simple metaphor" and give a perspective on how God works.

Conditions

Before you judge my opinion too quickly, here are some points I want to clarify:

1. I am indeed a Christian, believing Jesus Christ is our one true gateway to God (and IS God).
2. I believe God is powerful enough to do whatever he wants. God could certainly have formed the earth with the power of Play-doh or literally as it is in the Bible, for he is the creator and is unbelievably powerful. Of course our world would look a lot different if he had.
3. I believe the Bible is not a tool to be read however one wants to in order to make his/her point. There is an accurate means by which to interpret the Bible and let it say what it wants to say, which is by-and-large not ambiguous. When two people disagree on what the Bible means, one person is right and the other person is wrong (even though it might be hard for us to determine for sure who is who sometimes).
4. I believe the Bible is true, beginning to end.

Okay, read ahead, oh brave reader.

My stance

I believe the earth is billions of years old and that life on earth evolved over a billion+ years from very small life forms to all life we see today, most probably including humans. The origin of the first living cells is a matter of open debate.

Having now read points 3 and 4 of my conditions, and having read my opinion on evolution, it should be clear what my stance is: Genesis is not literal history.

My main reasons for viewing Genesis as a form of metaphor are the scientific reality of evolution by means of natural selection, the genres of the stories of Genesis, and the pure poetry of the Genesis literary devices.

Evolution is real.

There was a time when I didn't know what to think about creationism and evolution, worrying that my faith would be destroyed at any second. My dad, a longtime serious Christian (not an evil scientist), always encouraged a balanced view, knowing that it didn't matter if the serpent literally told Eve to eat the fruit. But I found it comforting to pour over internet articles on why evolution is totally untrue and scientists are by and large blind or liars.

But the truth is, scientists are the best people in the world at science. And science is one of our best lenses through which to observe the world. And when I say science, I mean, strictly, peer-reviewed theories tested by the scientific process, seeking the simplest, most likely explanation for phenomena in the universe. It has provided us with most of the advances that have improved the surface quality of our lives. It has led us to live longer lives than we did 1000 years ago. It has multiplied our understanding of the physical universe times 1000 (although we still have only hit the tip of the iceberg).

Now, you may say that lots of scientists believe that evolution is hogwash and that creationist scientists are a dime a dozen. In reality this is more or less a lie put forth by many creationism apologists and believed by a lot of people who are fooled by them,. I wish I could put it in a nicer way, but the more I came to understand the evolution / creationism debate, the more determined I was that that's the truth. Non-evolutionists are rare in the serious scientific community, and among serious biologists, they are practically extinct. Period. Furthermore, those who claim that creation is just as scientific as evolution usually lack several of the parts of my definition of science above.

(Once again let me clarify that the origin of the first living cells is still up in the air, although perhaps one day science will discover that as well.)

Other than that, I am not going to go into all the reasons I see evolution by means of natural selection as a historical reality because there are millions more qualified than me to explain it. It's not easy to understand at first but it's convincing in the long run and is now a foundational pillar of modern biology, geology, and some other sciences. On a large scale, it's a battle between the loud and the learned, not the learned and the learned.

So if evolution is real, surely we can throw Genesis into the trash can, right? It's not that simple, people. Like it or not, the first eleven chapters of Genesis have no interest in either scientific theory or even historical bearings.

Doesn't Genesis have a say?

Like I said earlier, I believe the Bible is 100% true and cannot be interpreted any which way. I simply believe that the way creationists interpret Genesis is absolutely wrong, and misses a lot of the important points the author is trying to make.

Oh, you think the Bible should be taken at its word? Well, how about Psalm 93, which states that the "world is established, firm and secure" (proof we are the center of the universe) and "the seas have lifted up their voice" (proof the seas have souls!!). Oh, I see, you take exception because that's poetry and therefore is a metaphor. Then what about Matthew 5, in which Jesus says to gouge out your eye if it causes you to sin? Oh, you say Jesus was talking in hyperbole. Riiiiiight.

So Jesus speaks in hyperbole and in parables, and Psalms speaks in metaphorical poetry, but Genesis is not free to choose for itself what kind of literature it is? How rude.

Here are the main reasons Genesis is asking you NOT to take it literally:

1. Simply put, it is written in the Genre of creation myth, period. Back when Genesis was written, every culture came up with a story about how the world came to be, which reflected that culture's world views. We would never think any of those stories are true in the least. However, they are excellent help in understanding the author's view of God and man and the earth.

Even if Genesis is divinely inspired (I believe it is), it's written in the context of these other creation myths, and there's no reason to think it was trying to be different in terms of literal history, since the author wasn't there for the creation of the earth. In fact, if it did interact with historical truth, and talked about the origin of species and genetic mutation and those kinds of things, it would have been utterly useless literature for 95% of its lifetime.

So instead the beginning of Genesis is written in the genre of creation myth. Its readers, familiar already with the ideas about how the world came to be, would be blown away by the actually unique, starring elements of Genesis: there is just one God who is all-powerful; God cares about both goodness and the safety of man; the world, and humans, were made with harmony and purpose in mind; that harmony and purpose was destroyed because man wanted to fly solo; and God is working actively to repair the tears.

This contrasts big-time with other ancient creation myths, which believed that man was made on accident by gods fighting with each other or by a god masturbating, and that the gods need us to make food for them even though we're annoying to them, and they are on the same moral playing field we are. These points, and others, would be completely lost in a historical record. But they emerge as the main points of the passage when Genesis 1-11 is viewed as a creation myth.

2. Genesis asks you not to take it literally by its story structure. Genesis has TWO, count 'em TWO creation stories that are very different. And besides being silly on their own from a scientific standpoint, they are not in agreement with each other. Anyone who argues otherwise would rather be right than realistic or has been fooled by someone who would.

The first creation story lays out creation in six days: day 1 is light and darkness, day two is the sky and seas, day three is ground and plants, day four is the sun moon and stars, day five is birds and sea creatures, and day six is animals and humans.

Read over that order again and tell me with a straight face that it's trying to be historically accurate. Plants are explicitly stated to exist before the sun!! Birds are explicitly stated to exist before creatures on the ground!! My God, the stars aren't created until days after the earth!!!

The answer to this problem, of course, is that the order of creation has literary purpose, not scientific or historical. The first three days, God makes a canvas. The second three days, God fills the canvas. It's poetry, people.

The second creation story goes in a whole different direction. Order is not exactly different in the second story from the first story, because it is ambiguous and unimportant. The second story couldn't care less what order God created things because no one knew the order and the first story only stated it as a literary device. It's not far fetched, and in fact it is the only reasonable explanation anyone from any time could come up with.

To bolster my case, I'll mention that "6 days" is not mentioned in the second story. And while man's purpose in the first story is to be made in God's image, and to rule earth and to fill earth, in the second story our purpose is to work the garden, to live forever, to name the animals, and to have sex. Another difference is that the first story doesn't care who's made first, man or woman, while the second story has man coming first and then woman. The first story emphasizes the goodness and harmony of what God creates while the second story contrasts that good world God makes with the fallen world where people run from God and start killing each other.

In addition to all this, Genesis 4 is arguably a THIRD creation story in which God creates humans in his likeness, but after a long time, mankind is totally evil and corrupt and God is sorry he made us. Genesis is clearly written carefully and with purpose, not carelessly and haphazardly. All three stories have different scopes and different purposes, none of which are historical records.

3. Another element of ancient myths that Genesis contains is dozens of explanations for every day life. Almost all people throughout all history would laugh at the prospect of almost any of these explanations being historically accurate.

Here's an incomplete list: Man names the animals while looking for a suitable mate. We hate snakes because one tricked us into abandoning God, and that's why they don't have legs. The reason that it hurts to give birth, that women are oppressed in marriage, and that farming is hard is because we chose our own morality over God's. Nomads originated because Cain was reprimanded by God. Various job-clans originated from Cain's grandsons. God just decided one day that we would live way shorter lives. People got all over the earth and all the languages developed in one evening (not sure if that includes languages that did not yet exist at the time of Genesis' writing, such as English). Rainbows originated as a reminder to God to not flood earth. Canaanites are cursed because their ancestor looked at his dad naked. The word "nimrod" originated from a great warrior. Most of the big cities of the ancient world were founded by one guy. Two detestable nations were born when two daughters had sex with their dad.

Once again this is an incomplete list, and yet it is clearly the stuff of legend and myth, not historical fact. Many of the explanations that I didn't mention spill over into the second half of Genesis, bringing it's purpose as a historical narrative into question, although I'm willing to leave that possibility much more open.

There are other points to be made but in my opinion these three demonstrate convincingly that Genesis has no intention of historical accuracy, but rather it invites you to share its view of how God, man, earth, and our relationships all fit together, and what God is doing about it. Those views are revolutionary in ANY culture and are what make Genesis timeless.

A pre-Darwin theological perspective

If you believe evolution is real, perhaps you think I have just manipulated my understanding of Genesis to fit my theological beliefs. But actually, before Darwin, my understanding of Genesis was already an educated option. I did not discover this myself, but read it on page 257 of Introducing the Old Testament by Jon Drane, so I will just quote the relevant parts:

All this [the notion that literal Genesis must be defended] is a fairly recent development, and earlier generations of Bible scholars were much less inclined to try to force the book of Genesis into the straitjacket of a scientific textbook. Even to scientists as long ago as the sixteenth century, it seemed unlikely that there could be waters above the sky in the way that seemed to be implied... John Calvin was no liberal, but in his Commentary on Genesis he agreed with this opinion, describing such a notion as 'opposed to common sense, and quite incredible,' and going on to dismiss the idea that the Genesis story was supposed to be any kind of scientific account... The Old Testament writers, he argued, simply took for granted the sort of world-view that was widely held in their day. This assumed that the world was like a flat disc, set upon pillars below, with the sky arching over it like a dome... Calvin described details such as this as only props on the main stage - background detail to reinforce the fact that the Old Testament's message was relevant to the world in which ordinary people lived.

I agree wholeheartedly, and this understanding of Genesis is much more respectful of and takes much more seriously the incredible message about God that the book does put forth. It is not one of many interpretations, but the intended way for the book to be read as purposed by the original author and the God who inspired him/her.

Cautioning against not taking the Bible seriously as a Christian

Having said all this, those who do not take Genesis literally often do have a flawed perspective, not taking Genesis very seriously, calling it "a bunch of metaphors that teach us lessons." It is important to take Genesis seriously, as it is NOT a bunch of moral lessons - in many places it is morally indifferent - but a serious and true view of mankind's world and of God's work in the world. Although it is of a similar genre, it is not Aesop's Fables and has a much grander and more serious purpose and scope.

Not only that, but apart from Genesis, a sizable percentage of the Bible is without a shadow of a doubt indeed meant to be taken literally, such as Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, the historical details of the prophets, the Gospels, Acts, and the historical details of Paul's letters. The end of Genesis through Deuteronomy is possibly meant to be taken as literal history (maybe, maybe not). Many of these books contain difficult passages, like Jesus walking on water and people rising from the dead. A part of being a Christian is to believe these events are real history (otherwise Christianity is totally pointless).

Is there room for God in evolution?

The last argumentative hurdle I run across is, "If life originated through natural processes, isn't the idea of God useless?" The issue here is natural vs. supernatural. For some reason we get hung up on the idea that whatever we can easily understand is natural and God had nothing to do with it, while what we don't understand is supernatural and we can give God credit for that. Part of the appeal of creationism is that, by this standard, it gives God more credit than evolution.

But the Bible argues that God created the natural world and had absolute control over that creation. According to Genesis, the rest of the Old Testament, and the New Testament, God deserves credit for creating everything on earth, owning everything on earth, and controlling everything on earth.

Guess what? This means that whether I was healed in an instant during a prayer or by a six-hour surgery, God deserves the credit. Either he interceded in history to change my circumstances or set my healing in motion through a doctor's instrument at the beginning of creation. Either way, it's his doing, and his good pleasure, and neither glorify God more than the other. This also means that whether it took dozens of billions of years or 6 days, creation of the universe was made through God's beautiful and patient process. Neither is more or less supernatural or natural than the other.

It is a dangerous proposition that what we do understand is not from God while what we don't is proof of God, as many people have gained unbelief in God throughout history when they came to understand something new, assuming what we understand is not from God. Many Christians (and Muslims) are panicking about evolution the way others panicked about germs, cells, and the earth revolving around the sun. We now understand (some of) the process by which the sun arrives each morning and delivers sunlight and warmth life to us, but God is still the Lord over the sun. In the same way, we understand (some of) how God developed life on earth but he is still Lord over the development.

Imagine that one day, it is proved historically that the healings and miracles and walking on water that Jesus is reported to have done really happened. A revival takes place, with billions putting their faith in Christ because it is proven the Gospels are accurate beyond a shadow of a doubt. (Of course, if this was all proved, most would still deny Christ, but stay with me here.)

Now, imagine ten years later, natural, scientific processes are discovered by which Christ performed these miracles. Should these billions deny their faith in Christ because we now see that he walked on water because of some natural scientific process?

Many would say yes, but in my opinion there is no difference. According to the Bible, God is in control of what we can observe and what can't observe. The only difference between the two is whether we can understand it, not whether God is glorified through it. The idea of natural vs. supernatural is not in the Bible and is unimportant. (I do think that Jesus walking on water demonstrates his Godly authority over nature and did not require a scientific process, but that is not the point.)

Conclusion

So I do believe in the Bible. In fact, I think it is all true and has one true meaning, not many. But evolution is also real, and Genesis does not intend itself to be read in such a way as to contradict evolution. In fact, such a reading detracts from the true, relevant, important messages of Genesis about how the one all-powerful God is beginning a process of fixing a broken world, while evolution itself is a long way from making an argument against the God of Christianity as an active supernatural power.

I hope and pray that this post has given you some new things to think about. Mostly my goal is to help you to see Genesis and God in a new way. You're free to believe in creationism if you think it's the most valid scientific explanation for life's development, but please don't hijack the book of Genesis to make your point. I welcome comments or questions. I am not a professional scientist or theologian. But these are my thoughts, and I suggest that you, too, pick up some books from the library (including Genesis) and search for the truth. Thanks for reading.

Wow! This is my 13th post on Genesis and I've already arrived at the end of the book. The last few pages are Jacob's last days, his death, burial, and Joseph's last days as well. The book has left me both reflecting and looking ahead.

Synopsis

Jacob, about to die, makes Joseph promise to bury him with his fathers, not in Egypt. They use the special "thigh" promise that Abraham used with his servant getting a wife for Isaac.

Later Jacob is ill (wasn't he already?) and tells Joseph the story of God's covenant with him at Luz (when he first left his father's house): God will make him a great nation and will give him the land. Jacob says Joseph's two sons are to become Jacob, which, as far as I can tell, is a blessing to Joseph, that his family will have twice the inheritance. Jacob blesses the younger one ahead of the older one. Kinda like how Jacob got the better blessing as the younger sibling.

Next Jacob gathers his sons around him to bless them/tell about their futures. It's done in verse:
Reuben, his oldest, has been strong, but will no longer excel since he slept with one of his dad's wives.
Simeon and Levi, who killed all those guys because they raped Dinah, are denounced for their violence, and are said to be scattered among Israel.
Judah is to be praised among his brothers, is a lion, will be a ruler until "he to whom it belongs shall come."
Zebulun will live by the sea.
Issachar will live on good land and submit to forced labor.
Dan will be like a snake and give Israel justice.
Gad will be attacked by raiders but will fight back.
Asher will be a good cook.
Naphtali is a doe that bears beautiful fawns.
Joseph gets a long poem... Despite being bitterly attacked, he has persevered because of the power of God, who is a great, great God. He gets really really blessed.
Benjamin is a wolf who devours prey and divides plunder.

These twelve men make up the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jacob reiterates to bury him in his family's burial cave in Canaan. Then he dies.

Joseph asks for permission to take his body to Canaan, and Pharaoh grants it. Joseph, his bros, and tons of others go up with them to Canaan to bury Jacob. They mourn terribly and for a long time, and do bury him in the same cave Abraham is in. Then they go back to Egypt.

Joseph's brothers are still afraid of his wrath, but he assures them again that his slavery was part of God's plan to save Israel's family.

Joseph lives to see his great grandchildren and tells the Israelites that they will eventually go back to Canaan and when they do, to take Joseph's bones with them. then he dies at 110.

Analysis

And that's all, folks. That's where the story ends. The implication is that Israel will grow into a nation. But it hasn't happened yet. They certainly don't have the land (they aren't even living in it) and all nations have not at all been blessed. Genesis, at the end, is a book that looks forward to the future or possibly to the next book.

Response

Overall, what do I come away with? The book is definitely in two halves: before Abraham and after he shows up. Before Abraham seems to be that despite God's beautiful and harmonious creation that man is apart of, mankind is totally and utterly corrupt, evil and violent. God quells the evil for a while with the flood, but clearly another solution is needed.

The second half is about a lot of things. First of all, it's about God making a covenant with Abraham and his family: they he will bless them, that he will bless all nations through them, that he will make a great nation from Abraham, and that he will give Abraham the land of Canaan. Over and over and over again this is stated and restated several times to Abraham, then once to Isaac, a few times to Jacob, and then retold by Jacob. It matters.

Other themes are there though. God demonstrates extreme faithfulness to the family, not just to honor his promises, but to develop them to a point that they really trust him, through Isaac's birth or Jacob wrestling with God or his sons being shown mercy through Joseph.

Over the weekend I plan on making a large post summarizing Genesis in full and linking to appropriate posts. I also will write a few posts just pondering some issues we may have when reading through Genesis.

It's been fun, and I look forward to Exodus.

Yesterday when I left off, Jacob's 11th son Joseph was abused in just about every way, and yet because God was with him remained successful in all he did until he was more or less king of Egypt. By the beginning of a seven year famine, he's got enough grain to feed the whole world. All of Egypt comes to buy grain from him. We haven't heard about the rest of Jacob's family for a while, and that's where today's reading takes us.

Synopsis

Jacob sends his sons (minus his youngest, Ben) off to get grain. They bow before Joseph without recognizing him, and he can barely hold it together emotionally in their presence. I don't think he is sure how to reveal himself, so he calls them spies and demands that to prove they are not, they bring Benjamin back.

He keeps Simeon there as collateral, and his brothers, who claim to be honest men, blame their situation on their mistreatment of Joseph years ago. When they head back, Jacob isn't too keen on losing Simeon AND Benjamin. Plus the silver they paid for the grain seems to put back in their bags, so they fear for their lives.

But soon enough they run out of grain again because the famine is so severe. Judah makes himself personally responsible for Ben's safety. They head back and Joseph demands to have a meal with them, where they are treated well (especially Benjamin). Joseph has a silver cup put in Ben's bag, and when it is found, Ben is stuck being Joseph's slave. Judah begs to trade himself for Benjamin.

At this point Joseph can't take it anymore and breaks down weeping, revealing himself. His brothers are dumbstruck. But he says something very powerful: that his is not mad, that it is not them that sent him there but God, in order to save Israel's family from death, so they are all to move down there with dad and live on the best land and Egypt. Pharaoh hears about it all and is happy for Joseph, offering land.

Jacob, of course, can't believe is son is alive and is totally revived by the whole experience. Jacob and all his family, 66 men in all, move down to Egypt. On the way there God assures Jacob that this is all part of the plan of the covenant. Jacob actually meets the Pharaoh and blesses him.

Analysis

Although for the last day or so we hadn't heard about the covenant, we learn at the end of this passage that all that is happening, including moving to Egypt, is part of the plan to eventually get the land they were living in, and have a great nation, and bless all nations. Clearly God is blessing the family, by saving them from starvation.

This is maybe the most powerful part of Genesis. Joseph has been mistreated but instead of revenge he offers (literal, physical) salvation to his brothers, saying that it was all part of God's plan. This whole experience seems to have a profound effect on his otherwise detestable siblings. They seemed to be transformed through the whole experience.

Response

Character development has been such a surprising element of Genesis. When reading all the stories one by one, it is hard to see, but by reading more at a time, reflecting on it and charting it out, it is easier to see how God first develops Abraham, then Jacob, and eventually of Jacob's kids, and he does it through blessings and love.

I'm excited to finish Genesis, which in turn is a book that is really pointing beyond itself to the future where the promise is fulfilled.

Ah, after 10 synopsis posts, we are on the final leg of Genesis at last. Parts 1-3 (two posts) told of the harmonious world God created with a man in his likeness in charge and man's corruption and fall. Parts 4-6 (2 posts) told of God starting over and sending Noah's family out to populate earth, with similar results. Parts 7-8 (3 posts) detailed God's epic promises to Abraham and how God blessed Abraham through life while simultaneously bringing Abraham to a place of faith through the birth of his son Isaac. Parts 9-11 (3 posts) Told of Isaac's wealth, and of God passing Abraham's covenant down to Isaac and then to Jacob, who God also brings through a process to bring him to a place of faithfulness to God.

And now, part 12 (this will be 3 posts as well).

Synopsis

Joseph, Jacob's 11th oldest son (older only than his full brother Benjamin), is 17, and is dad's favorite. His brothers hate them because of jealousy, because he brings a bad report to his father about them, because he gets a sweet coat, and, oh, he tells them about a couple dreams in which all of them plus his parents bow down to him.


Alright, so when they're way out far from home keeping the flocks, he goes to check on them for dad and they plot to kill him. The oldest, Rueben, tries to save him, but in the end he ends up being sold as a slave to Ishmaelites. (They trick dad into thinking he was killed by a wild animal.)

(Meanwhile, Judah has an interesting story with God striking a couple of his sons down and him eating some humble pie for using a prostitute and holding his third son from his oldest's widow, who ends up having Judah's kids.)

The Ishmaelites take him to Egypt and sell him to an Egyptian official named Potiphar. God is with Joseph and he's basically put in charge. Potiphar's wife would love to have an affair with Joseph, and since he isn't having it, she accuses him of trying to rape her. So he gets thrown into prison. But here God is with Joseph again and he is so successful he is basically put in charge of the dungeon as well.

This is where it gets interesting. Two of Pharaoh's servants are thrown into prison. After a while they both have dreams and by God's power Joseph interprets them both correctly: one is given his position back, and the other one is executed. Although the cupbearer (the one who is given his job back) promises Joseph he'll remember him and get him out, he forgets.

A couple years later, the Pharaoh has two dreams that nobody can crack, and suddenly the cupbearer's memory is jogged. They bring Joseph up right away, and he interprets the dreams, giving credit to God for the interpretation: Egypt will experience seven years of bountiful harvest followed by seven years of famine.

He tells Pharaoh that Egypt will need someone wise to fix it so the seven lean years are bearable, and Pharaoh can't think of anybody better than Joseph. So Joseph goes from an inmate to more or less the king of Egypt with the Pharaoh as a figurehead. Joseph stores up an absolute insane amount of grain during the first seven years, and when the famine comes, Joseph is able to begin supplying the whole world with grain.

Analysis

There's a few interesting points with this, the first third of Joseph's story. For one thing, it's clear by now that morals have developed in Genesis to mean something. At first, Genesis was just a series of stories and adventures with no moral lesson to learn. Since that, though, Genesis has gotten progressively concerned with morality, and by Joseph's story it is very important how he stays pure and doesn't lie, and it is bad how Judah denies his son's widow a husband and it's a disgrace that he uses a prostitute. I'm not sure when this light switch went on. Meanwhile Joseph is giving God credit left and right.

This part of the story is definitely the set up. It's funny because all of what I read today is 90% of what people know about this story, while the other 2/3rds of the story only make up 10% of our understanding of the passage. I guess it has to do with how quickly events move along. However, I'm guessing the main point Joseph's story (beside a moral exposition) is showing how Israel gets to Egypt. So this part of the story is really just the set up for actually making it happen over the next few pages.

One last note: Jacob/Israel still has his blessing/promise/covenant from God, and has not yet passed it on.

Response

I'm beginning to feel like an outsider. Early Genesis was beautiful commentary on the nature of man and God and our relationship. God's character was further demonstrated through Abraham and his family's story. But as his family continues down the road and Israel has his twelves sons and they'll be on their way to prosper in Egypt soon, the whole thing is transitioning to a story about the Israelite nation, of which I am not a member. I anticipate that a lot of the First Testament is going to seem like an exciting story that I'm viewing from the outside in. We'll see, though.

Genesis is getting closer to the end, and it's becoming evident that God's covenant with Abraham is not going to be completed at the end of the book. Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob are all definitely very blessed. We'll see how much there is of blessing all nations, making a great nation, and giving them the land is fulfilled by the end of the book. If they're not all totally fulfilled, then I will say that at least Genesis is a book that is very much looking toward the future.

I've been enjoying Genesis so much more by reading more of it per day and really charting out the unfolding story of the whole book. It's good reading and it's the beginning of a very passionate story that makes up the rest of the Bible.

The last couple posts summarized the beginning of a journey Jacob was taking. Only now, after seeing the journey as a whole, can I see how it's all structured literarily. His journey away from home and back is a sort of chaism: the second half of the story is a sort of reflection of the first half, with the center piece being a critical turning point.

Recap

The setup: Jacob, the deceiver had just stolen his brother's blessing. His father and mother send him to uncle Laban's house because Esau wants to kill him.

A. Jacob leaves his father to go live with Uncle Laban.

B. On the way there, Jacob has a dream in which he sees the majesty of God, who passes on to hiim the Abrahamic promises.

C. A lot of adventures with Laban and Jacob tricking each other, along with Jacob having 12 kids

Today's Synopsis

D. Jacob hears that Esau is on his way with 400 men and freaks out scared, sending gifts to Esau to please him.

E. Jacob sends everyone ahead, stays behind and wrestles a man who turns out to be God, showing a lot of humility; he overcomes the man, the man blesses him and renames him Israel ("he struggles with God").

D1. Esau embraces Jacob in love; they weep together.

C1. A story of how Jacob's sons Simeon and Levi kill a whole male population of a village because one of them rape their sister, making Jacob afraid of revenge.

B1. Jacob's family throws out foreign gods, and God appears to Jacob again and reaffirms the Abrahamic promises.

A1. Jacob arrives back at his father's house.

As you can see, the As, Bs, Cs, and Ds corrospond, while the E is the centerpiece of the whole story.

After this, Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamam, completing Jacob's family. Isaac dies at the age of 180, and Jacob and Esau bury him. This is the end of part 9.

Part 10 is simply a list of Esau's three wives, and one of each of their kids. Esau and Jacob separate because their is not enough room for all of their possesions to stay together. So Esau settles in Seir.

Part 11 is a longer list of Esau's successful family line. Meanwhile, Jacob is living in Canaan.

Analysis

I almost forgot about Chiasms. I had briefly learned about them in my Biblical survey classes,
but this one just jumped out at me so much that I was able to catch it and research chiasms again (who knows how many I've already missed). It seems that Hebrew writers could better make a point by writing in this literary style, and the point is not at the end, but in the middle. And that part is Jacob physically struggling with God.

Response

I see a connection here between Jacob and Abraham, because God uses their circumstances to develop a trust of him in them. They are both promised God's promises for no apparent reason but over time are brought to a point of strong relationship with God.

Genesis has flowed from complete harmony to utter disaster, a reboot, and now God working and making covenants with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I don't know how they'll get the land, and I don't know how they'll bless all nations, but judging by how much God has blessed these men, I'd guess he'll come throught on these other promises as well.

Today's reading is the famous record of how all Jacob's kids were born. When most people try to read the Bible straight through, I think this is where they give up. I say that because the stories directly following it I have no recollection of reading before, even though I've read everything before it dozens of times. And my gosh, is Jacob a trickster.

Synopsis

When we last left off, Jacob (who's name more or less means deceiver) had stolen a couple important things straight from his brother's lap and had run off to Uncle Laban's so as not to be murdered. What follows, besides a large record of kid-having, is a large amount of events with Jacob and Laban trying to get the best of each other with their various schemes.

Jacob offers to work seven years for Laban in return for his daughter's hand in marriage. Laban gives him the wrong daughter as a trick to get him to work seven more years. Jacob does this. Jacob wants to lead, but Laban doesn't want him to because since Jacob is blessed by God, Laban's household has become wealthy since he's been there. So they make a deal with Jacob keeping the dark flocks and Laban keeping the light flocks. Laban pulls a fast one by getting rid of all the dark ones in "shady" ways (har har) but Jacob outsmarts him with his breeding techniques and ends up way more rich. Laban keeps changing the wages on him to try to fix it but Jacob succeeds nonetheless.

Anyway, next, Jacob runs away with his wives without telling Laban. At the same time, Rachel (Jacob's wife and Laban's daughter) steals Laban's household gods. When Laban catches up to Jacob, they argue about why Jacob would have to leave in secret, and Laban brings up the gods. Jacob, not knowing Rachel has them, says anyone who stole them will be put to death. Laban never figures out the truth though, because Rachel tricks him by hiding them in a bag she's sitting on and claiming she can't stand up because she's on her period.

Jacob then goes on a big rant about how he's been serving Laban for the past 20 years and Laban's been a jerk and they make a covenant to leave on good terms and Laban heads home.

Amidst all this, Jacob ends up with two wives who are sisters, and there is a bit of a competition for who can give him the most kids:

Leah, who is not as loved as her sister, has four kids right off the bat:
Rueben, Simeon, Levi and Judah
Rachel, who is barren (barren woman #3 in Genesis) offers her slave Bilhah to Jacob, who has:
Dan, Naphtali
Leah, who has stopped having kids, offers HER slave, Zilpah, who has:
Gad, Asher
Then because of a mandrake trade with Rachel, Leah earns the right to sleep with Jacob one night and has:
Issachar, Zebulum, and Dinah (the only girl of the group)
Finally, Rachel is able to have a kid after all:
Joseph.

Analysis

Wow, at this point Genesis seems to be taking a turn. We are still in part 9 of Genesis, and we have seen Jacob being blessed as the heir of God's Abrahamic covenant (once again, though, I don't see anyone being circumcised, despite 11 boys being born). On the other hand, this section of the story is getting pretty wacky, with all of the shady tricks going on between Jacob and Laban. It's a rather entertaining narrative, reading about how these two one-up each other constantly.

What are the results at this end of the story? Not much has changed, except Jacob is rich and has lots of kids. There's not much more here to take away and if you knew that you could almost skip most of this section and not miss a beat (as far as I can tell so far, anyway). Jacob, when compared to his grandfather, is not exactly a saint. But God is still faithful to his promises. I'm interested to see what happens next.