I’ve been having these occurrences a lot lately that I will think or write or say some analogy thinking it is of my invention only to find some form of it days later in Scripture. Hmm… I feel very blessed these days. I know I have always been blessed, but with the fog gone from my head, I can feel it. It’s amazing.

Genesis 5– From Adam to Noah

This chapter is an account of the descendants from Adam to Noah and it reads like the geneology of Jesus. It is of note that all descendants mentioned lived to be over 777 years old except Enoch, who “walked with God” and at 365 (hmm..) days old “he was no more, because God took him”. (5:24) I think I mentioned before the connection between lifespan and goodness/evil. This is another instance. Also Abel, obviously the more innocent and God-fearing of the two, was spared his brother’s fate of a long earthly life. Only the good die young?

Genesis 6– The Wickedness of Humankind and The Command to Build an Ark

This is a very pivotal and unique event in biblical history. God took a look around at all of the corruption of man, and “the Lord was sorry that He made humankind on earth, and it grieved Him to His heart” (6:6). He decided to wipe it all out, except Noah who, for some unexplained reason, had “found favor in the sight of the Lord”.(6:8) So, God commands Noah to build an ark using His very detailed instructions (including the type of wood, dimensions and specifications) and tells him to gather his family and a pair of each animal to avoid the impending flood (God’s wiping away of all evil). Wow! I cannot imagine what my reaction would be if I just received the news from God that Noah did. But Noah obeyed.

Genesis 7– The Great Flood

The Lord explains the exclusion of Noah from his wrath by saying “I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation.” (7:1) Then, more sevens. God wants Noah to take seven pairs of clean animals, seven pairs of birds for the flood occuring in seven days for forty days and nights.

After Noah takes everyone in: his wife, his three sons and their wives and all the pairs of animals, “the Lord shut him in” (7:16). Pause for a moment and let the whole thing sink in. God “shut him in”, protecting him like a huge cargo box floating along the torrential waves.

Genesis 8– The Flood Subsides and God’s Resolve Not to Destroy

After 40 days and nights, Noah thinks it’s a good idea to check things out, so he sends a dove out in search of dry land. He does this a few times (in seven day increments), but the dove kept coming back. Eventually God tells him to take his family and the animals off the ark. What I find so striking in this story is that Noah, who had just experienced something NO ONE else (other than his family) had experienced, something he knew was of God, something for which God had prepared him with a very detailed blueprint, yet Noah didn’t wait for instruction to get off the ark, he tested things out with the dove. But God didn’t forget him, and at the appropriate time, He let Noah know it. These tales are timeless aren’t they? I love that the Bible is a living book, just the way God designed it to be!

After Noah’s arrival on the land, he makes the first altar mentioned in the bible. And something crucial happens, God makes a promise. He promises to never again curse the earth or destroy every living creature because, He said, “the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth” (8:24), hence we are born with sin.

Matthew 3– The Proclamation of John the Baptist and The Baptism of Jesus

I’m just going to do my best to paraphrase this chapter in layman’s terms. God-willing you will feel the power, the humility, the glory of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t need any commentary from me.

John the Baptist, God-apointed foreteller of the Messiah’s coming, was baptizing people in the Jordan River. Anyone who came and confessed his sins and repented, John would submerge them in the waters so they could emerge a new child in Christ. People came from every where, God-led. Pharisees and Sadducees (the Jewish law enforcers and school of thought that was in all ways opposite to Christ’s teaching) came to be baptized and received a warning; John the Baptizer warned them to “bear fruit worthy of repentance” and to not assume that just being children of Abraham (God’s “chosen” people) was not enough, that “one who is more powerful than [John the Baptist] was coming after” (3:11) Then, there is a gap of time, nothing is talked about between John’s profession and…

Jesus’s Baptism. Jesus came to John the Baptist in the Jordan River to be baptized. Okay, I can’t paraphrase it any better, so here is it, pulled straight out of the NRSV version. Matthew 3:13-17:
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Wow! I try to imagine how this felt to John, he knew he wasn’t worthy. Yet, there Jesus was, flesh and blood, standing in front of him. Did John fall to his knees, did he cry, smile, what expression was on his face? I guess we’ll all know that feeling when we get to Heaven.

John “would have prevented him” (3:14), meaning he was going to say something, but then Jesus answered him. Have you ever had a time when the Lord answered your questions before you even asked?