Noah and Abraham
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Chapter Five
Noah
God’s purpose was to be fulfilled by a central family. However, when they sinned, that central family was required to take responsibility for that sin. Before sin evolved to a world-level problem, it began as a problem for a single family. When Cain kills his brother Abel, however, the family of Adam loses its opportunity to reverse the conditions of the fall. As the family of Adam expands from a central family to a multitude of families and tribes, the legacy of sin expands as well. This ensues over the course of the next 10 generations and approximately 1600 years.
By the time of Noah, the earth had become filled with violence and corruption. Genesis 6:6-7 reveals God’s grief at the corruption of humanity. His heart “was filled with pain.” God even expressed regret about his initial decision to create mankind. It seemed that everything had gone horribly awry.
A single family stood apart from the degradation and became the object of God’s attention. This was the family of Noah. In Genesis 6:9 Noah is described as “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time and he walked with God.”
Noah’s family takes up the responsibility of Adam’s family. Because of the expansion of 10 generations of sin, however, Noah must also contend with those corrupted multitudes. Noah is referred to as “a preacher of righteousness” in 1 Peter 2:5. During the 120 years Noah toiled to build the ark, he also warned the people of the impending doom.
Abraham
Ten generations and 400 years pass by in the providence of God. At the conclusion of this period, God chooses his next central figure. His name is Abram and he is the son of Terah, an idol-maker.
Four hundred years is a long time. 400 years ago was around the year 1600. The King James version of the Bible had not been written, the Mayflower had not set sail. It was 400 years from Noah to Abraham, and it was a new era for mankind as the year 2000 is when compared with the year 1600. Sometimes when we review the span of biblical history we skim through ages without considering the expanse of time that each age entails. It may appear to many that Noah came on Monday, Abraham on Wednesday, and Jesus over the weekend. We tend to lose sight of the lengthy duration between key providential moments in God’s restoration plan. Thus, we lose sight of the magnitude of struggle and endurance within God’s course. The providential moment stands as a pinnacle moment born of hundreds of years of toil and pain replete with the blood sacrifice of generations of suffering antecedents. It arrives as the conclusion of an exhaustive course and stands out as a lonely island of opportunity, resolution, and change in a sea of violence and pain. It is the moment for which humanity hopes.
All suffering and pain can be erased, however, if only those select individuals fixed within that moment can understand the implications their actions will bear for past, present, and future generations. All failures can be wiped away or, conversely, all unfulfilled responsibility can be extended into the future to be taken up by coming generations in a prolonged course of darkness.
The failure of Ham in Noah’s family was extended to those following 10 generations over the next 400 years. Noah’s family was to accomplish the foundation for the coming Christ. Ham’s failure meant that this moment of opportunity would be extended to a future age, to be taken up by a future family. That family was Abraham’s family. Thus, Abraham’s mission would be to restore the lost Foundation of Faith, and then his sons would take up the mission to restore the Foundation of Substance.
God chose Abraham to fulfill Noah’s mission. The 400 years and 10 generations between Noah’s era and Abraham’s suggests 10 forty-year periods. We see at the time of Moses, God indemnified a 40-day condition of spying through a single 40-year period of wandering in the wilderness. The 40-day flood judgment was lost by Ham’s breach of faith with Noah. It was being indemnified by 10 generations each enduring a 40-year period reflective of the 40 years the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. This was the foundation of time upon which Abraham emerged.
In each age, the central figure is called by God to make a symbolic offering of faith. For Abel it was the animal sacrifice, for Noah it was building the ark. God calls Abraham to make a unique, three-stage offering of a dove and pigeon, a ram and goat and a heifer. Just as there was deep spiritual meaning related to Noah’s releasing of the raven and the three doves, Abraham’s three level offering is likewise replete with providential meaning.
As mentioned, the number three has a very frequent appearance related to the work of God. There were three central families in Genesis; Adam’s, Noah’s, and Abraham’s. Abram’s offering of three stages is reflective of that providential sequence.
Abraham’s offering comes on the foundation of a very significant meeting with the King of Salem, Melchizedek. This meeting was the culmination of Abraham’s battle with King Kedorlaomer. Kedorlaomer had taken Abraham’s nephew Lot into captivity. After Abraham had recovered his nephew Lot, his household and all his possessions, Melchizedek shares bread and wine with Abraham and extends blessing to Abraham. This, of course, reflects the coming Christ, as explained in the seventh chapter of Hebrews.
Jacob
The story of Jacob is significant in another sense in that biblical scholars generally take a dim view toward areas of Jacob’s behavior. He appears to be a deceiver. He stole his brother’s birthright. He fooled his father into giving him the elder son’s blessing. You will find very few sermons extolling the virtues of Jacob.
On the other hand, Jacob stands as the root of the chosen nation and of the lineage that brings the Lord into this world. Perhaps, we are taking a worldly view of Jacob and overlook the deeper meaning of the significant events that chart his life. First, we should clear the record with regard to some of the common accusations leveled against Jacob.
God’s purpose was to be fulfilled by a central family. However, when they sinned, that central family was required to take responsibility for that sin. Before sin evolved to a world-level problem, it began as a problem for a single family. When Cain kills his brother Abel, however, the family of Adam loses its opportunity to reverse the conditions of the fall. As the family of Adam expands from a central family to a multitude of families and tribes, the legacy of sin expands as well. This ensues over the course of the next 10 generations and approximately 1600 years.
By the time of Noah, the earth had become filled with violence and corruption. Genesis 6:6-7 reveals God’s grief at the corruption of humanity. His heart “was filled with pain.” God even expressed regret about his initial decision to create mankind. It seemed that everything had gone horribly awry.
A single family stood apart from the degradation and became the object of God’s attention. This was the family of Noah. In Genesis 6:9 Noah is described as “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time and he walked with God.”
Noah’s family takes up the responsibility of Adam’s family. Because of the expansion of 10 generations of sin, however, Noah must also contend with those corrupted multitudes. Noah is referred to as “a preacher of righteousness” in 1 Peter 2:5. During the 120 years Noah toiled to build the ark, he also warned the people of the impending doom.
Abraham
Ten generations and 400 years pass by in the providence of God. At the conclusion of this period, God chooses his next central figure. His name is Abram and he is the son of Terah, an idol-maker.
Four hundred years is a long time. 400 years ago was around the year 1600. The King James version of the Bible had not been written, the Mayflower had not set sail. It was 400 years from Noah to Abraham, and it was a new era for mankind as the year 2000 is when compared with the year 1600. Sometimes when we review the span of biblical history we skim through ages without considering the expanse of time that each age entails. It may appear to many that Noah came on Monday, Abraham on Wednesday, and Jesus over the weekend. We tend to lose sight of the lengthy duration between key providential moments in God’s restoration plan. Thus, we lose sight of the magnitude of struggle and endurance within God’s course. The providential moment stands as a pinnacle moment born of hundreds of years of toil and pain replete with the blood sacrifice of generations of suffering antecedents. It arrives as the conclusion of an exhaustive course and stands out as a lonely island of opportunity, resolution, and change in a sea of violence and pain. It is the moment for which humanity hopes.
All suffering and pain can be erased, however, if only those select individuals fixed within that moment can understand the implications their actions will bear for past, present, and future generations. All failures can be wiped away or, conversely, all unfulfilled responsibility can be extended into the future to be taken up by coming generations in a prolonged course of darkness.
The failure of Ham in Noah’s family was extended to those following 10 generations over the next 400 years. Noah’s family was to accomplish the foundation for the coming Christ. Ham’s failure meant that this moment of opportunity would be extended to a future age, to be taken up by a future family. That family was Abraham’s family. Thus, Abraham’s mission would be to restore the lost Foundation of Faith, and then his sons would take up the mission to restore the Foundation of Substance.
God chose Abraham to fulfill Noah’s mission. The 400 years and 10 generations between Noah’s era and Abraham’s suggests 10 forty-year periods. We see at the time of Moses, God indemnified a 40-day condition of spying through a single 40-year period of wandering in the wilderness. The 40-day flood judgment was lost by Ham’s breach of faith with Noah. It was being indemnified by 10 generations each enduring a 40-year period reflective of the 40 years the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. This was the foundation of time upon which Abraham emerged.
In each age, the central figure is called by God to make a symbolic offering of faith. For Abel it was the animal sacrifice, for Noah it was building the ark. God calls Abraham to make a unique, three-stage offering of a dove and pigeon, a ram and goat and a heifer. Just as there was deep spiritual meaning related to Noah’s releasing of the raven and the three doves, Abraham’s three level offering is likewise replete with providential meaning.
As mentioned, the number three has a very frequent appearance related to the work of God. There were three central families in Genesis; Adam’s, Noah’s, and Abraham’s. Abram’s offering of three stages is reflective of that providential sequence.
Abraham’s offering comes on the foundation of a very significant meeting with the King of Salem, Melchizedek. This meeting was the culmination of Abraham’s battle with King Kedorlaomer. Kedorlaomer had taken Abraham’s nephew Lot into captivity. After Abraham had recovered his nephew Lot, his household and all his possessions, Melchizedek shares bread and wine with Abraham and extends blessing to Abraham. This, of course, reflects the coming Christ, as explained in the seventh chapter of Hebrews.
Jacob
The story of Jacob is significant in another sense in that biblical scholars generally take a dim view toward areas of Jacob’s behavior. He appears to be a deceiver. He stole his brother’s birthright. He fooled his father into giving him the elder son’s blessing. You will find very few sermons extolling the virtues of Jacob.
On the other hand, Jacob stands as the root of the chosen nation and of the lineage that brings the Lord into this world. Perhaps, we are taking a worldly view of Jacob and overlook the deeper meaning of the significant events that chart his life. First, we should clear the record with regard to some of the common accusations leveled against Jacob.
