Day 5: It Rained & Poured for 40 Daysies, Daysies!

Curse you, day 3!  With your 4 tiny verses!  Today we cover three whole chapters! (Genesis 7:1-10:5)  I'm reading and blogging at the same time tonight! 
Tonight we start with Noah getting on the ark.  7:2 God says, "Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate and two of every kind of unclean animal."  My friend Stacey commented on the significance of the #7 in the Bible, but she commented on my FB page rather than here.  Stacey-if you're reading can you share with us again on here?  I'm just thinking, this changes that whole song we used to sing in Sunday school Rise & Shine: The animals they came on, they came on in sevensies, sevensies.  Raise your hand if you remember this song!  Anyway, according to my study bible the unclean animals only had to reproduce themselves after the flood.  The other ceremonially clean animals would be used by Noah as burnt offerings. 
So once everyone was on the ark verse 7:16d says, "Then the Lord shut the door."  So again, this makes me think God still walked the earth.  Yes- he has powers and could close the door from above, but I rather like the image of him at the end of Noah's driveway, closing up the door of the ark, patting the side and waving goodbye to Noah and his family!
Here's a new (to me) tidbit:  7:24 The waters flooded the earth for 150 days.  I always thought of it raining and pouring for 40 daysies, daysies.  I guess I never thought about how long it took for all that water to go away.  So they were cooped up on that boat for 190 days!  Wow!  That's a lot.  Of course it beats the alternative...

8:4 "...the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat."  Do you remember that movie that came out in the early 80's?  It was like a documentary for the big screen where they were following evidence of Noah's ark?  And they thought Ararat was what is now Everest? (I think- I don't know, I was a kid when that came out!)  anyway, I digress...
So as I read on I realize, they were on the ark for longer than 90 days!  The boat came to rest on the mountain after 150 days (on the 17th day of the 7th month it came to rest)Then the waters continued to recede until the 1st day of the 10th month. Then after 40 more days, Noah sent out a raven who flew back and forth until the water dried up.  Then he sent out the dove, who came back because it had nowhere to land. Then 7 days later, Noah sent out the dove again...It goes on like this til I have lost track of how many days they were on the ark.  Suffice it to say it is longer than I can imagine being cooped up in the dank, dark with a floating zoo while probably feeling quite afraid!
Here's an interesting tidbit: 9:3 God says, "Everything that lives and moves will be food for you.  Just as I gave you the green plants, now I give you everything."  Thank you, God!  I could not get through life as a vegetarian!  I mean absolutely no offense to anyone who chooses that lifestyle.  I just happen to be anti-vegetable which would make being a vegetarian very difficult.  And to be vegan would be impossible as I could not get through life without cheese!  OK--but God goes on to say, "But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it."  I find the note explaining this too confusing to understand.  Do you think this means we aren't to eat anything alive?  Didn't Ozzy Osbourne eat stuff live during concerts?  I don't know! Again- I was just a kid in the 80's!
Then God placed a rainbow in the sky as a sign of his covenant to never again cut off all life with a flood.  I am always grateful when I see a rainbow.  I wanted to use a picture I took of a double rainbow, but it's not on this computer.  Instead you got the kids from our last church on the ark on our playground. =)
Today's reading ends with 10:5 which seems an odd place to end--in the middle of more begatting.  I wonder why we didn't just end at the end of chapter 9.  Oh, well.  I don't make the schedule.  I'm just following it.  And I thank you for following me! (If any of you are still left!)  Again-- you need not be Christian to respond, but I do ask you to be kind.

Day four- some personal experiences and the story of Noah

Rough day here!  I did my reading earlier, but it's almost 11pm and I'm just now getting a chance to post.  Our 13yo announced last night that he was cooking dinner tonight for his Family Consumer Science class (Home Ec for those of you as old or older than me!)  So my husband bought some groceries for him to make breakfast andwiches (ham, eggs and cheese on french toast).  But it wasn't until I told him he better get started or he'd be late for confirmation class that he said he didn't actually know how to make this dinner!  Erg!  See, I thought he'd made this meal in class and now had to make it for his family.  Silly me!  So my blog time came and went as I taught my son how to cook dinner. 

OK- 2 more interesting things I want to share on a personal level before moving on.  I woke abruptly around 1:00 this morning from a dream where I had to get through a burning building.  I'm pretty sure the building was a church and I do not recall being afraid.  I was apprehensive, but not afraid.  Anyway, I woke abruptly and had the distinct understanding that this dream was a warning that now that I've taken on this project (and it's going well- at least by the standards I've set for myself!) Satan is going to try to shake me.  It was almost like though the building looked like it was on fire, it actually wasn't and as long as I focused on God--I'd be alright.  I don't know.  Make of it what you will, but I've got my guard up.
The other thing that happened was this:  We had our van in the shop because the power steering was shot.  It was in for this a few weeks ago and our mechanic said it was either a leaky hose & mrhph... for $300 or we had to replace the mfhphrp and fghtkl for $800.  So he tried the $300 thing and it worked for about a week.  So we took it in to have it looked at fully expecting at least a $500 repair bill and he charged us nothing!!!  He said if he had gone to replace the thing last week he would have discovered the it was this other thing, but since he never tried to replace it he didn't notice the actual problem was this.  Coincidence?  I think not!  I feel so blessed--like this was a personal gift given expressly to me for trying to be faithful.

So- today's readings... Genesis 6:1-22  Here are the things that struck me while reading:
Genesis 6:3 says, "Then the Lord said, 'My spirit will not contend with man forever for he is mortal, his days will be a hundred and twenty years."  My study bible suggests that this is God announcing that man's lifespan would be limited to 120 years.  But might 120 years be the limit of how long God will actually walk the earth with man?  That was something I wondered about the other day.  I'll have to pay attention to anyone the Bible mentions "walking with God". 
Genesis 6:4 says, "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days- and also afterward-when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them."  Perhaps this is where Cain and Seth's wives came from as I asked yesterday.  Again- turning to my NIV Study Bible it notes, "Nephilim.  People of great size and strength.  The Hebrew word means 'fallen ones'."  Hmmm...  I'm sure for some things like this I could do some research online to find out more.  But I don't want this to turn into such a project that I become overwhelmed.  Right now, I'm just going to read and raise questions.  Point things out, answer my own questions when possible.  Maybe next year I can spend the year researching the questions raised this year. ;-) 
6:5 We're coming up on the story of Noah!  It does note, "Noah walked with God."  This could be literal!  So far, I believe the others who "walked with God" literally, physically walked with God, too!  So instead of that comedy routine...was it Bill Cosby who did a voice from Heaven talking to Noah, "I want you to build me an ark."  Maybe they were just walking along and God was explainging, "Look.  This whole world thing is really not working out the way I had planned.  I'm really disappointed.  So, I've decided to wash away everything and start over....except for you!  I'll tell you what.  Why don't you build a big boat that you and your family can survive on."  And you know--when you look at it that way, it makes a little more sense that Noah would drop everything and build a boat.  One minute he hears God lamenting the state of the world, so upset he's going to wipe the slate clean.  He may have thought he and his family were doomed.  Then God offers him a lifeline--of course he was going to do it! 
My Bible gives the measurements of the ark in feet as opposed to cubits.  It says "450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high." And basically it will have 3 levels.  I remember I was in a Sunday School class once where we went outside and measured how long it would have been, but I can't really picture that now.  But I did think this:  A common measurement for a living room is 16x 20.  So look around your living room and imagine the ark was about 30 living rooms long and 5 living rooms wide.  While that's a lot bigger than your average yacht, that's not a lot of space for your family and the entire contents of the local zoo!  And there was not a lot of light on this boat!  From the description, it looks like all the light came form the top 18 inches of the side of the boat.  There were 3 decks.  So I don't know if the top deck was exposed, so the 18 inches of "windows" were on the middle deck, or if they were on the top deck.  Either way, at least one deck was not exposed to light! 
I would just like to mention that it saddens me that all those other animals were killed.  I kow I should be sad about the people, but...  I don't know.  It's like when my dad used to watch war movies.  Men are dying left and right and I'm saying, "Oh!  Those poor horses!"  I guess I just figure the people know what they've gotten themselves into.  The animals just got caught in the crossfire.
Final thought:  Some people believe the flood was worldwide, others argue that it was regional, "universal only from the standpoint of Moses' geographic knowledge" (yes- Moses- as he is believed to be the author of Genesis.)  What do you think?  And do you think that point really matters?
PS- It's not yet midnight!

Day 3: The readings for the next few weeks

Today's passage is disappointingly small and there is no meat to it at all! (1Chronicles 1:1-4) So, let's quickly revisit day 1:  Where did Cain & Seth's wives come from????  I mean...don't you wonder?
And I'm also going to post the next several weeks readings for those who'd like to play along at home.  Would love to have you comment here so this becomes more of a dialogue than a monologue. 

I got this list at oneyearbibleonline.com:

GENESIS 1:1-3:24

GENESIS 4:1-5:32
1CHRONICLES 1:1-4
GENESIS 6:1-22

GENESIS 7:1-10:5
1CHRONICLES 1:5-7
GENESIS 10:6-20
1CHRONICLES 1:8-16
GENESIS 10:21-30
1CHRONICLES 1:17-23
GENESIS 10:31-32

GENESIS 11:1-26
1CHRONICLES 1:24-27
GENESIS 11:27-31
GENESIS 12:1-14:24

GENESIS 15:1-17:27

GENESIS 18:1-21:7

GENESIS 21:8-23:20
GENESIS 11:32
GENESIS 24:1-67

GENESIS 25:1-4
1CHRONICLES 1:32-33
GENESIS 25:5-6
GENESIS 25:12-18
1CHRONICLES 1:28-31
1CHRONICLES 1:34
GENESIS 25:19-26
GENESIS 25:7-11

GENESIS 25:27-28:5

GENESIS 28:6-30:24

GENESIS 30:25-31:55

GENESIS 32:1-35:27

GENESIS 36:1-19
1CHRONICLES 1:35-37
GENESIS 36:20-30
1CHRONICLES 1:38-42
GENESIS 36:31-43
1CHRONICLES 1:43-2:2

GENESIS 37:1-38:30
1CHRONICLES 2:3-6
1CHRONICLES 2:8
GENESIS 39:1-23

GENESIS 40:1-23
GENESIS 35:28-29
GENESIS 41:1-57

GENESIS 42:1-45:15

GENESIS 45:16-47:27

GENESIS 47:28-50:26

JOB 1:1-4:21

JOB 5:1-7:21

JOB 8:1-11:20

JOB 12:1-14:22

JOB 15:1-18:21

JOB 19:1-21:34

JOB 22:1-25:6

Day 2- Let the Begatting Begin!

Genesis 4:1-5:23 Today's reading starts with the story of Cain & Abel.  Abel kept flocks & Cain worked the soil.  Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.  Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.  The Lord looked with favor on Abel, but no on Cain.  This made Cain angry. (Genesis 4:2-5-paraphrased)

OK- So this leaves me wondering a few things.  How did Cain know that God didn't find favor with his offering?  Did God continue to appear to them as he had to Adam and Eve?  Were these offerings made in person?  When did God actually stop appearing?  Has he actually stopped?  (Maybe Joan of Arcadia was based on some people's real life experiences.)  What was wrong with Cain's offering?  As I mentioned, I'm using the NIV Study Bible which offers this explanation, "The contrast is not between an offering of plant life and an offering of animal life, but between a careless, thoughtless offering and a choice, generous offering.  Motivation and heart attitude are all-important, and God looked with favor on Abel and his offering because of Abel's faith." 

Genesis 4:18 The begats begin...

Genesis 4:25 Adam & Eve have another son, Seth.  (I never knew this...or I forgot this.) 

5:1 The beginning of more begatting down Adam's line.  Adam was 130 when he had Seth.  He lived 800 more years and had other sons & daughters.  5:1-32 Tells the lineage of Adam to Noah.  It mentions how old each one was when he had his first son, how many more years he lived & that he had more sons and daughters.  It summarizes he lived so many years "and then he died".  It says this for each one down the line with one exception. Adam> Seth> Enosh> Kenan> Mahalalel> Jared> Enoch.  Enoch is the exception.  At 65 years (one of the youngest fathers of the bunch!) he became the father of Methuselah.  "After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for 300 years.  Instead of saying, "And then he died" it says, "And then he was no more because God took him away."  My Bible notes that Lamech, the 7th from Adam in the genealogy of Cain was evil personified & Enoch, the 7th from Adam in the genealogy of Seth was commended as one who pleased God.  So I guess his reward was that he never experienced death.

I don't know how I would understand all of this without a study Bible!  This is one of the reasons I think it's important to go to church--to help make sense of what we're reading in the Bible!  Please feel free to comment and even to disagree or point things out or mention what stood out to you when reading these passages.  Again- you don't need to be Christian to comment, but please be kind!

Day One- The Creation Story

Well, I did it!  I've read the Bible one time, so far!  Today's reading:  Genesis 1:1-3:24

I teach Sunday School to middle schoolers who asked about dinosaurs in relation to the Creation story.  Perhaps its a reflection of my naivete that I never thought to ask about this until I was in college.  All those liberal arts classes had me questioning my faith.  I actually called the church office while I was home on Christmas break to make an appointment to talk to the pastor.  I expected to be there for hours as we debated the idea of how dinosaurs fit into the creation story.  What actually happened was I asked my question, the pastor said, "It doesn't say in the Bible that God's days only lasted 24 hours.  God's time may not be the same as our time." Huh.  That honestly never occurred to me!  So while I had budgeted hours for this conversation we were done in about 2 minutes...I stayed for a little while and we talked about other things.

Here are some other things that struck me while reading... not everything is spelled out as far as creation goes.  In verse 1:24 it says, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals..."  It doesn't spell out cows, sheep, pigs, dogs, lions, snakes, bears, skunks...  I don't know if this is important, but I noticed it.

OK- here's a biggie!  1:26- Then God said, "Let's make man in our image."  Um, our?!?!  I have an NIV study bible.  The note for this verse says, "God speaks as the Creator-King, announcing his crowning works to the members of his heavenly court.  Then it listed a bunch of other verses where words like "our" and "us" are used.  This reminded me of a time in fourth grade when I had to look up the meaning of a word in the dictionary, but the definition had a word I didn't know so I had to look up that word...which also had a word I didn't know... hmm...I did look up a couple of these verses, but I worried that if I continued at this rate it would take far longer than a year to read the Bible.  So we'll just leave this one alone for now.

So God says, "Let us make man in our image" (verse 26) then in verse 27:  "So God made man in his own image."  Sounds like some other men I know..."Let's make man in our image, and by our I mean mine"...  I told you I could be irreverent! Let's leave this one alone.

Alright, on to Adam and Eve.  Now, Eve often gets a bad rap for being the first one to take the fruit, so in her defense, I'd like to point out that in verse 2:17 God told Adam not to eat from the tree.  Eve wasn't even made until verse 2:22!  So her hearing not to eat from the tree is actually hearsay, right?  I don't think that would hold up in a court of law!  So the serpent comes to her (not Adam because Adam heard it directly from God) and says, "Did God really say you can't eat from any tree in the garden?" (3:1)  Do you see how sneaky that is?  He knows she didn't hear it directly from God and he deliberately confuses the command.  "Did he really say you can't eat from any  tree in the garden?"  So he's already got her questioning what she heard...interesting.

I also find Adams defense of eating the fruit interesting. Verse 3:12- The man said, The woman you put here with me...."  Like it's God's fault, or the woman's fault...not his own.  This is still a problem with mankind- refusing to accept blame.  So if Eve was guilty of the original sin, Adam is guilty of the original blameshifting.  She gave it to me, you put her here.  And she follows suit, "The serpent deceived me."

3:16 This reminds me of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories.  This one is the story of "Why Women Experience Pain During Childbirth"

My last comment on today's reading: 

3:21 "The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve and clothed them."  (hmmmm...does PETA know about this?  I'm just saying...)

 Soooo- that's one day of reading.  I hope you'll come back!  You do not need to be Christian to comment, but I do ask that you at least be kind!