Read the Bible in 90 Days (day 1 Gen 1:1- Ge 16:16)

It’s hard to imagine the great physical processes which took place in one day, when God said, “Let there be”…earthquakes, land moving, water moving.  How amazing is the mental picture of all of that?  His organizing, looking at his work, restructuring, placing.  The word of an orchestrator, artist, architect.  And, he gave an allotted time for each event:  planner, organizer, “pace-r”. 

God gave sub-ordinating roles, even among the stars, not really called the Moon and Sun starts here, in scripture (NIV Bible Study notes say, calling them only “two great lights” that the people might avoid worshipping them, as they were already doing).

1:26 “Let US make man in OUR own image”.

Here the presence of the Trinity indicated, all working together, as we later seen on the gospel of John, chapter 1:  “In the beginning was the word, and the word was God, and the word was with God.”

Also, “Let them [men] rule”.  God, from the beginning, before the creation of man, wanted to give mankind work, shared ownership, a role, jobs, property.

Ch 2:  The 7th Day, God rested.   Blessed it, and made it holy (set apart), because he had rested from creating work.  Our resting times should also, then, be set apart, when we finish large tasks.  Celebrated, made special, noted in time.  We rest from work. 

2:15 God gave the command, “Do not eat”, immediately afterward, giving a gift.  Much like we reign our kids in tight, then bless them to let them remember they are loved.  Only this “gift” proved to be a distraction to him, much as it is often with our children, leading them into trouble.  Parenting…gotta love it.

2:24  “For this reason will a man leave his father and mother”…obviously added in later.  It’s hard to imagine God saying this to Adam and Eve at the time, for they knew neither! 

3:  Q:  Why did God put trees in the garden which would threaten his role as God?  1.  Tree of knowledge of good and evil 2.  tree of life.  I had never really read this clearly, but IF they had eaten both, they would have truly been like God.  The reason they were banished from the garden was NOT just because they disobeyed, but also because they could NOT be permitted to eat from the tree of life AFTER they had eaten from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  see v22.”He must not be allowed”.  As parents, we much know how far our children can go without ultimate harm being done to them by their mistakes, in the same way.  He banished them, therefore. 

Ch. 4.  Eve gives birth, crediting God “for helping her”.  Even after his punishment, he is found to be “helping her”.  Remember as a parent the tender balance that needs to exist between parenthood and friendship.

Ch 4:  First jealousy leads to murder.  Brotherly, wise, advice is given, “sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it”;  but, it is rejected.  Murder results.  Sometimes when we try to help siblings, we suffer.  It has been this way from the beginning.  Say the right things does not mean we will not suffer.  God took care of the punishment, confronting Cain as Judge.

Even in punishment, again God cares for Cain in his punishement.  Cain fears being killed, if found.  And, God said, “Not so, if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over. ” and the Lord put a mark on his head, so that no one who found him would kill him. (I wonder what this mark could have looked like, or been?)  Cain went to live “east of Eden”, in the land of Nod.  Cain’s lineage. (Enoch was in his lineage, but a different Enoch than the one who was “taken by the Lord and was no more, recorded in the next chapter).

Ch.6  “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.  The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.”

(continue ch 7-19, as time allows)