genesis 6 commentary spurgeon genesis 6 commentary spurgeon

Reuben was the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power, yet his father had to say to him, Thou shalt not excel.. Unto him shall the gathering of the people be.. Genesis describes the creation of the world, the fall of the first men into sin and its consequences, but not only the curse but also the first clear pointer to the redeemer.We see God's righteousness in the judgment of the great flood, but also election of grace and the life of faith in Abraham.In the story of Isaac we see the beloved son of the Gen 49:11-12. Moreover, nothing in the context of Genesis 6 indicates that the "sons of God" should be understood as angels (this makes this passage unlike Job 1-2, for example, where the context of a heavenly council makes it clear to the reader that angels are being referred to). StudyLght.org. John Bunyan wrote, as I have often reminded You, The Christian man is seldom long at ease, When one troubles gone, another doth him seize; and though the rhyme is rather rough, the statement is perfectly true. Ecclesiastes The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Does he provide for ravens and sparrows, and will he suffer you to lack anything, O ye of little faith? The work of building the ark was laborious, costly, tedious, dangerous, and seemingly foolish and ridiculous; especially when all things continued in the same posture and safety for so many scores of years together; whereby Noah, without doubt, was all that while the song of the drunkards, and the sport of the wits of that age. C.H. We may recount and rehearse the story of our rescue from universal destruction, and we need not be afraid or ashamed of repeating it. And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. He was guilty of unkindness to his wife and of blasphemy against his maker, in seeking to escape from confessing the sin which he had committed. Gen 1:24-25. And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. This does not mean that creation was out of control, nor does it mean that God hoped for something better but was unable to achieve it. You did very wrong, but I say nothing about that, for I want you to notice how God has over-ruled your action, how your sin has been made to be the means of your preservation and the preservation of many besides: God did send me before you to preserve life.. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. It seemed essential to this end that Abraham should come right out from his fellow-countrymen, and be separate unto Jehovah, so the Lord said to him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy fathers house, unto a land that I will shew thee.. At the same time, there does seem to be a clashing between Abrahams question, What wilt thou give me? and the declaration of God, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. There is a great descent from the language of the Lord to that of the most stable believer, and when you and I are even at our best, I have no doubt that, if all could be recorded that we think and say, some of our fellow-believers would feel that the best of men are but men at the best, and that Gods language is after a nobler fashion than ours will ever be, till we have seen his face in glory. All the details are mentioned, for true obedience is very careful of detail. Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. Gen 15:18-21. Gen 27:1-4. Chapter 29:1-31:55 Jacob's stay with Laban, Chapter 32 Jacob's fight with God and new name (Israel), Chapter 35 Jacob goes to Bethel; birth of Benjamin and death of Rachel, Chapter 36:1-37:1 Esau and his descendants; final word, 4. They were opened, indeed; and Adam and Eve did know good and evil. 72.] Bible Study Tools Language Tools Study Library And the answer would be, It was by his weakness that he won his princedom, he became Israel, a prince of God, when his thigh was put out of joint. How pleased would you and I be to go halting all our days with such weakness as Jacob had, if we might also have the blessing that he thus won! So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. Though I am willing to give up my share of the spoil, that is no reason why these men should do the same. Christian men ought not to expect worldlings to do what they cheerfully and willingly do themselves; and, indeed, it is not much use to expect it, for they are not likely to do it. Now let us read in the twenty-second chapter of this same Book of Genesis. His was deliberate obedience; he could bear suspense, thinking over the whole matter for three days, and setting his face like a flint to obey his Lords command. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death. Oh, that at any time when we have sinned, God would ask each one of us the question, What is it that thou hast done?, Still, you see, there is no confession of guilt, but only the attempt to push the blame off upon somebody else. Here he draws Gods name into this lie, And this is worse still. Chapter 6. Give Jehovah his due. I have often admired that widow of Sarepta. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: According to the Eastern manner of swearing. No tempest of wrath was to break out of it upon him. There are far better ornaments than gold can buy ornaments neat, and raiment comely may we all possess them. Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; It was to be a long while before the nation should enter upon its inheritance. It is the strong who can afford to be quiet; as you go across the village green, a goose will hiss at you, while the strong ox lies down calmly, and takes no notice of you: His bow abode in strength, , Not only his hands, but the arms of his hands . We must do everything that is included in the bounds of the divine command, and do it all with scrupulous exactness and care. What a rush of thoughts must have passed through their minds when they remembered all their unkind behavior toward him! And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. They were all there, yet he could remember the time when he had said, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away. Ah! Drive them away; God give you grace to drive them away by the power of his gracious Spirit! Look, look, I pray you, upon that place of darkness and woe where every impenitent and unbelieving spirit must be banished for ever from the presence of the Lord! A certain structure of Genesis can be seen in the fact that eleven times the Hebrew word "toledoth" (generations, histories) is mentioned as conclusion - or introduction - of a report. Pray as well as plan, and if your plans be numerous, let your prayers be all the more fervent, lest the natural tendency of your constitution should degenerate into reliance upon the arm of flesh, and dependence upon your own wisdom, instead of absolute reliance upon God. He received what he sought for his necessity, but not what he merely asked out of curiosity. Gen 49:8. In tones of mingled pity and rebuke he asked, Where art thou?, Note the calm majesty of every word. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? Gen 8:15-21. She should not have been beguiled by the serpent. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Here is a lesson for us. Chapter 1-5 From creation to the flood, Chapter 1 The work of the six days (general report), Chapter 2 Creation of man (special report), b. Blow it east, or blow it west, the wind comes from God; and whether the waters increase or are assuaged, it is Gods doing. Chapter 10:1: These are the generations of the sons of Noah, 5. And said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. God is not unfeeling in the face of human sin and rebellion. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. Gen 22:6-8. This mysterious personage, the highest type of our Lord Jesus Christ, blessed Abraham; and without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. He blessed him,. He should seek counsel of God, and observe that he did so. Genesis Spurgeon's Bible Commentary Genesis Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) .was born in Essex, England. We shall read three short portions of Scripture, all illustrative of the great truth that God has sometimes given grace to his people to overcome himself, the Almighty has condescended to be vanquished by man. Gen 32:32. Philippians So they went both of them together. Twice we are told this, for this incident is a type of the Father going with the Son and the Son going with the Father up to the great sacrifice on Calvary. The needful test had been applied, and Abrahams faith had endured the trial. Sin must be a very heinous thing, since God, who despiseth not the work of his own hands, will sooner break up the human race, and destroy every thing that liveth rather than that sin should continue to defile the earth. Perhaps you have some of these unclean birds coming down upon your sacrifice just now. a. Oftentimes, our highest obedience must be a solitary one; friends cannot help us in such emergencies, and it is better for them and better for us that they should not be with us. And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. Gen 8:2. Chapter 2:4: These are the histories of the heavens and the earth. After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. Only for this will he be enquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them, and we must take care that we call his promise to mind, and plead it at the mercy-seat. These two names do not however, as many critics think, point to different authors or reports, which would have been compiled by later "editors", but are a proof for the divine inspiration of Scripture. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again. Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. Gen 22:5. O, what a fall was there, my countrymen, Then I, and you, and all of us fell down; while sin triumphed over us; yet even the fall by Adams sin was not without the promise of a gracious recovery through the last Adam, the Lord from heaven. The well was there already, but for all practical purposes it , Jacob's Model Prayer Site by Mere. And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. We know that the angels went down to Sodom, where they were received by Lot, and despitefully used by the Sodomites. This narrative always comforts me I think that Zoar was preserved, not so much by the prayer of Lot, as by the greater prayer of Abraham which had gone before; yet the mighty intercession of the friend of God did not prevail until it was supported by the feeble petition of poor Lot. This process is pictured in Genesis 6:1-8, which describes the world just prior to God's judgment in the flood. I believe that much of the theology which is tinged with free will is true, and I know that the teaching which fully proclaims electing love and sovereign grace is also true; and you may find much of both these truths in the Scriptures. My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. Gen 18:23-25. It was according to the rule of war that, if persons who had made an invasion were afterwards themselves captured, then if the new captor gave up the persons, he was fully entitled to take the goods to himself. 2 Peter Matthew It was true then, and it is true today: But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more (Romans 5:20). Gen 3:13. And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. The Holy Spirit says, Judas, not Iscariot, so that there should be no mistake about the person intended. Already in the Old Testament it often refers to the whole Pentateuch, the Thora, i.e., the first part of the Old Testament. For as a prince hast thou power with God and with men and hast prevailed. I am afraid there are not many men of Abrahams sort in the world even now; but, wherever there is such a man, with whom God is familiar, he will be sure to be one who orders his household aright. Look till your heart melts with pity for the many who are going the downward road, and who will eternally ruin themselves unless almighty grace prevent! And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? I fear that the decline of family godliness, which is so sadly remarkable in these days, is the source of a great many of the crying sins of the age; the Church of God at large would have been more separate from the world if the little church in each mans house had been more carefully trained for God. It is for our sake that the rainbow is set in the cloud, and we can see it there; yet infinite mercy represents it as being there as a refreshment to the memory of God: The bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it,-. Instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. 1 Thessalonians You will not surely die: Satan effectively laid the groundwork. Genre This passage is narrative. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. a. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations: This description of Noah unique to him not only refers to the righteous life of Noah, but also to the fact he was yet uncorrupted by Satans attempt to sow something like a virus among the genetic pool of mankind. Gen 22:11. No; she might be a little too forward, and a forward woman was not a fit spouse for the good and meditative Isaac. And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. So, it may be that there is some mighty man of God who is near to prevailing with God, but he cannot quite obtain his request; but you, poor feeble pleader that you are, shall add your feathers weight to his great intercession, and then the scale will turn. This is unfortunate, since his works contain priceless gems of information that are found nowhere except in the ancient writings of the Jews. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. So it is not strange that this is mentioned as an heroic act of faith. (Poole), 2018 David Guzik No distribution beyond personal use without permission. When writing Genesis, apart from direct revelations of God (for example the report on the creation of the world in Genesis 1; Genesis 2), he could possibly have referred to documents from the time of the patriarchs (for example the genealogies of Genesis 5:10-11 ,36).Under the direction of the Holy Spirit of God Moses wrote everything down.As he was a prophet, the words of 2 Peter 1:21 apply to him as well:"Holy men of God spake under the power of the Holy Spirit.". Genesis 6 describes a desperate attempt on the part of Satan to attack the godly remnant that is named in chapter 5. Gen 8:13. Nay more, we may say to him, Take not tithes, O Lord, but take all!. Because of this mention of pitch (a petroleum product) in what most people think is the Middle East, it is said that John D. Rockefeller looked for (and found) oil in that region based on this verse. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. Gen 7:9. In the midst of such corruption and judgment, there is also grace. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. Be not afraid; he can open the windows of heaven, and pour down abundant blessings for you, and he can let down the cellar-flaps of the great deep, and stop its flowing fountains. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. (wpe), Family Reformation; Or, Jacobs Second Visit to Bethel, An Urgent Request for an Immediate Answer. Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that, which grew upon the ground. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is Gods host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim. They had a right to it. Make yourself: This means this was Noahs project. The old man is in his dotage, said they; he always was peculiar, he never acted like the rest of the citizens; he came in here as a stranger, and he has always been strange in his behavior.. In 1936 a young British archaeologist named Hardwicke Knight hiked across Ararat and discovered interlocking hand-tooled timbers at a height of 14,000 feet (4,600 meters). And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Genesis iii. Thus the beginning and the end of the Bible call our attention to the tree of life and the river of life in the paradise below and the better paradise above. And Abraham gat up early in. In 275 b.c., Berosus, a Babylonian historian, wrote: But of this ship that grounded in Armenia some part still remains in the mountains and some get pitch from the ship by scraping it off.. The ark, roughly the shape of a shoebox, was plenty large enough (about the size of the Titanic), and had a cubit-wide opening (18 inches, one-half meter) all the way around the top. I should think that no person, merely by reading this chapter, would arrive at the conclusion that has been reached by some of our very learned men, too learned to hold the simple truth. And they went both of them together. I suppose that this was a very drying wind, so the waters began to turn to vapor, and gradually to disappear. Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacobs thigh in the sinew that shrank. And the Canaanite was then in the land. God told Noah when to go into the ark, but he did not tell him when he should come out again. You can check these in your browser security settings. No doubt he was weary, though triumphant; and so, just then, the Lord sent him special refreshment, and, beloved, how sweet it is to us when the greater Melchizedek meets us! Gen 12:2-3. Wherever sin is, God will hunt it; with barbed arrows will he shoot at it; he will cut it in pieces with his sharp two-edged sword, for he cannot endure sin. Down from the top of earthly bliss Rebellious man was hurld; And Jesus stoopd beneath the grave To reach a sinking world.. Everything was ready for mans use, every fruit-bearing tree for his nourishment, every creature to do his bidding, for it was the will of God that he should have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. God did not place the man formed in his image, after his likeness, in an unfurnished house or an empty world, and leave him to provide for himself all that he required but he prepared everything that man could possibly need, and completed the whole plan by planting a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.. In addition, it points to a deep and serious problem in the world at that time, something far beyond the problem of believers marrying those who do not believe. Oh, how often have we been lifted up above the earth by the very force that threatened to drench and drown us! You know the story of Hagar; of her being sent out from Abrahams tent with her son Ishmael. Notice that the angel says, Now I know that thou fearest God. I do not think that the gracious use of godly fear has ever been sufficiently estimated by the most of us; here, the stress is not laid upon the faith, but upon the filial fear of Abraham. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Gen 8:22. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen 18:31-32. I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. The old serpents head is bruised with a fatal bruising, while the wounded heel of our Saviour is the joy and delight of our hearts. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. He have this year had a long and dreary winter; it looked as if spring would never come. Oh, that question! Hath he said, and shall he not do it?. Everybody was drowned save these great fathers of the new age, and all must begin from this stock. The Song opens thus:. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. Gods gracious interposition had delivered him out of the hand of the angry Laban, Laban the churl, who cared for Jacob only for what he could get out of him.