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THE BOOK OF GENESIS,
Chapters 1-50

CHAPTER ONE

 

 

Genesis Chapters 1 & 2:ALL:  The Scriptures are known to be written in poetic, musical, and historical format.  What is interesting, is that from Genesis 1:1 through Genesis 2:3, we have 99.5% in historical narrative and .05% in poetic format.  Thus, by design, God wants us to know what happened “In the beginning.”

 

The plural form of God, “H433; Elohim,” is used thirty times in Genesis, Chapter One.  Thus, when we come to Genesis 1:26, we can understand that “us” and “our” elude to a triune Godhead.

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1:1:  “In the beginning” = Let’s not come to the conclusion that this is “in the beginning” of everything, but of only this biosphere.  For Job 38:7 teaches us that the angels “sang together [where happy]” at the creation of this earth.

 

Our Hebrew word for this phrase is, “H7225; Beresheet.”  Let’s break that down in order; using the Hebrew words associated with the breakdown of “Beresheet.”

“Beit” = Strong’s (1248) “bar” = “Beit; Resh” = Son (of God);

“Resh” = Strong’s (1254) “bara” = “Beit; Resh; Aleph” = To Create (see Heb. 1:1-2);

“Aleph” = “Aleph” = The first letter in Hebrew = “Aleph; Beit” = “God” = With Father (which is where English speaking peoples get their word “alphabet” = Aleph is the First Letter for the Title “Elohim” = God;

“Shin” = Strong’s (7898) “shayith” = “Shin; Yod; Tay” = Thorns or Thornbushes;

“Yod” = Strong’s (7218) = “rosh” = “Resh; Aleph; Shin” = Head.  Strong’s (7862) = “Shin; Yod” = “shay” = gift;

Tav” = Truth/Covenant/sign/life or death.

Our message is: “Son of God, Create with God the Father, thorns on head, a gift of truth.

 

“In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth” = Only something Greater than the thing it creates can be its Creator.  The argument is sometimes used that, “God created but He did not make.” For a use of God “creating,” or “forming,” or “making” anything as God being the originator of everything, see Isaiah 43:1 & 6 where all three words (concepts) are covered in the same verse.

 

In order for anything to exist (in a format we know of) you must have these THREE elements: “In the beginning [#1 = TIME] God created the heaven [#2 = SPACE] and the earth [#3 = MATTER].  Why do you need these THREE elements?  Because if you didn’t have SPACE, where would you put the MATTER?  If you didn’t have TIME, what would it mater?  If you had MATTER, SPACE, but no TIME, when would you put it?

 

Notice we have a trinity of trinities here.  TIME has Past, Present, Future; SPACE has Length, Width, Height; while MATTER has Solid, Liquid, and Gas.  Notice also that the God Who created them must be outside of them in order to create any of them.  Therefore, He is not held or limited by TIME, or in SPACE, or in MATTER.

 

The Triune God is seen in this very first verse and also the 3 creative properties needed in order for anything to exist as we know it.  Let’s break it down.  “In the beginning {TIME} God created the Heaven {SPACE} and the earth {MATTER}.”  And they are in order.  You cannot have matter without a place to put it in {SPACE}; and you cannot have “matter and space” without “time.”  Some may argue that God is outside of “TIME.”  However, He chose to have mankind live within the elements of time (for all eternity; Isaiah 66:23).

 

Why did God even create this universe (or anything else) in the first place?  According to Isaiah 45:18 “He formed it to be inhabited.” And according to Revelation 4:11 it was for His Own pleasure.  The Hebrew word used here for “created” is “H1254; bara.”  When used in conjunction with God being the active force, it literally means, “created out of nothing.” In other words, God created everything from non-existent material.  Scientists today may claim to “create” something, but they have done it using already existent material.

 

When only God is the subject of this verb, it is used for His creative power.  Such as when He “created “heaven and earth,” Genesis 1:1; “humanity,” Genesis 1:27; “the heavenly host,” Isaiah 40:26; “the ends of the earth,” Isaiah 40:28; “north and south,” Psalm 89:12 [13]; “righteousness; salvation” Isaiah 45:8; “light; darkness; peace; evil,” Isaiah 45:7.  Also, David asked God to “create” in him a clean heart (Psa. 51:10 [12]).  Isaiah promised that God will “create” a new heaven and earth (Isa. 65:17); although here He will use already existent material.

 

In regards to beginnings, or a timeline, looking again at Job 38:4-7, the angels “sang” at the creation of this earth; meaning they existed before it.  Just when Satan sinned, we are not specifically told.  But we are told that there was “war in Heaven,” Revelation 12:7, and that Satan and his angels were cast out of Heaven and sent to this earth (Rev. 12:9), meaning that Adam and Eve were already alive when this “war” occurred.  Imagine Satan and his angels being able to witness the creation of this universe, and then sinning anyway.

 

“God desired that a change take place and that the work of Satan be brought out in its genuine aspect.  But the exalted angel, standing next to Christ, was opposed to the Son of God.  The underworking was so subtle that it could not be made to appear before the Heavenly host as the thing that it really was; and so there was war in Heaven, and Satan was expelled with all who would not stand on the side of loyalty to God’s government.  The Lord God stood forth as Supreme Ruler.

 

“This condition of things had existed a long period of time before Satan was unmasked and the evil ones expelled.” LT:162, 1906.

 

“Satan came to this world and determined to carry out here the idea that men could be equal with God.” LT:132, 1910.

 

From “Story of Hope,” pages 7.3-8.5, we read, “The loyal angels hurried to the Son of God to tell Him what was taking place among the angels.  They found the Father in conference with His Son, to determine how, for the best good of the loyal angels, they could forever put down the authority that Satan had claimed for himself.  The great God could have hurled this arch-deceiver from Heaven immediately, but this was not His intention,  He would give the rebels an equal chance to test their strength and might against His Own Son and His loyal angels. {SH:7.3}.

 

“In this battle every angel would choose sides, for all to see.  It would not have been safe to allow any who joined Satan in his rebellion to continue to occupy Heaven.  They had learned the lesson of genuine rebellion against Gods unchangeable Law, and this is incurable.  If God had exercised His power to punish this chief rebel, discontented angels would not have been unmasked.  So God took another course, because He wanted to reveal His justice and His judgment clearly to all the Heaving beings. {SH:7.4}.

 

“War in Heaven -- It ws the highest crime to rebel against the government of God.  All Heaven seemed in commotion.  The angels were assigned in companies, each division with a higher commanding angel at its head.  Satan was warring against the Law of God, because he was ambitious to exalt himself and unwilling to submit to the authority of Gods Son, Heavens great Commander. {SH8.1}.

 

“All the angels of Heaven were summoned to appear before the Father.  Satan unblushingly announced his dissatisfaction that Christ was honored before him.  He stood up proudly and urged that he should be equal with God.  Good angels wept to hear the words of Satan and his insolent boasts.  God declared that the rebellious should remain in Heaven no longer.  They had held their high and happy existence on condition of obedience to the Law that God had given to govern the high order of intelligences.  But no provision had been made to save those who dared to transgress His Law. {SH8:2}.

 

“Satan grew bold in his rebellion, expressing his contempt for the Creators Law.  He claimed that angels needed no law but should be left free to follow their own will, which would always guide them rightly.  Law, he said, was a restriction of their liberty, and to abolish Law was one great aim of his taking a stand in opposition. {SH8:3}.

 

“The happiness of the angels consisted in their perfect obedience to Law.  Each had his special work assigned him, and until Satan rebelled, there had been perfect order and harmonious action in Heaven. {SH8:4}.

 

“Then there was war in Heaven.  The Son of God, the Prince of Heaven, and His loyal angels engaged in conflict with the arch-rebel and those who united with him.  The Son of God and the true, loyal angels prevailed, and Satan and his sympathizers were expelled from Heaven.  All the remaining angels acknowledged and adored the God of justice.  Not a taint of rebellion was left in Heaven.  Everything was peaceful and harmonious again, as before.  Angels in Heaven mourned the fate of those who had been their companions in happiness and bliss.  All Heaven felt their loss. {SH8:5}.

 

“The great Creator assembled the Heavenly host, that He might in the presence of all the angels {Note:  All the angels were in existence at this point in time; see Job 38:6-7 again} confer special honor upon His Son. . . [18] Especially was His Son to work in union with Himself in the anticipated creation of the earth and every living thing that should exist upon the earth.”  1SP:17-18.

 

Even more than the process of Creation itself, is that nature’s Creator remains the Primary focus in the rest of Genesis, Chapter 1.  The word “God” punctuates the 31 verses of this Chapter 32 times; a fact that emphasizes God’s role in Creation [ONLY God Creates out of nothing].  In an interesting note, the verb translated “created” in verse one, is “bara,” and appears in the Bible ONLY when it depicts an activity of God.  The other common word used ONLY when human beings make something (sometimes used when God does) is “asah.”

 

That Adam and Eve were there, on the sixth day of “in the beginning,” is quite evident from the following passages:  Matthew 19:4 and Mark 10:6.

 

There is no word in the Hebrew language that means “universe,” or “cosmos.” By contrast, this verse in the Hebrew Grammatical Structure (according to Steven Boyd, PhD. Hebraist, at Hebrew Union College), is telling us that God created everything.

 

“God created the world out of nothing, therefore we must become as nothing in order for God to save us.” Martin Luther, as quoted in, “At Jesus’ Feet.” Doug Batchelor quoting Martin Luther: “God creates out of nothing.  Therefore, until a man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him.”

 

“God made the world to enlarge Heaven.  He desired a larger family.”  RH, June 25, 1908; ST, December 25, 1901; 1BC:1081.

 

“The great Creator assembled the Heavenly host, that He might in the presence of all the angels confer special honor upon His Son.  The Son was seated on the throne with the Father [RIGHT HERE THAT MAKES HIM EQUAL WITH GOD, for no one sits with the Father on His throne but God], and the Heavenly throng of holy angels was gathered around Them.  The Father then made known that it was ordained by Himself that Christ, His Son, should be equal with Himself [The Angels Must Not Have Ben Acquainted With Michael Before This Event]; so that wherever was the presence of His Son, it was as His Own presence.  The Word of the Son was to be obeyed as readily as the Word of the Father.  His Son He had invested with authority to Command the Heavenly host.  Especially was His Son to work in union with Himself in the anticipated creation of the earth and every living thing that should exist upon the earth.  His Son would carry out His Will and His purposes, but would do nothing of Himself alone.  The Father’s Will would be fulfilled in Him. [1SP:17.2]

 

“Satan was envious and jealous of Jesus Christ.  Yet when all the angels bowed to Jesus to acknowledge His supremacy and high authority and rightful rule, Satan bowed with them; but his heart was filled with envy and hatred.  Christ had been taken into the special counsel of God in regard to His plans, while Satan was unacquainted with them.  He did not understand, neither was he permitted to know, the purposes of God.” 1SP:17.2-3.

 

“There were mountains, and hills, and plains; and interspersed among them were rivers and bodies of water.  The earth was not one extensive plain, but the monotony of the scenery was broken by hills and mountains, not high and ragged as they now are, but regular and beautiful in shape.  The bare, high rocks were never seen upon them, but lay beneath the surface, answering as bones to the earth.  The waters were regularly dispersed.  The hills, mountains, and very beautiful plains, were adorned with plants and flowers, and tall, majestic trees of every description, which were many times larger, and much more beautiful, than trees now are.” 1SP:24.1.

 

“An angel from Heaven was passing.  Satan called him, and entreated an interview with Christ.  This was granted him.  He then related to the Son of God that he repented of his rebellion, and wished again the favor of God.  He was willing to take the place God had previously assigned him, and be under His wise Command.  Christ wept at Satan’s woe, but told him, as the mind of God, that he could never be received into Heaven.  Heaven must not be placed in jeopardy.  All Heaven would be marred should he be received back; for sin and rebellion originated with him.  The seeds of rebellion were still within him.  He had, in his rebellion, no occasion for his course, and he had not only hopelessly ruined himself, but the host of angels also, who [30] would then have been happy in Heaven had he remained steadfast.  The Law of God could condemn, but could not pardon.” 1SP:29-30.

 

“This great change of position had not increased his love for God, nor for His wise and just Law.  When Satan became fully convinced that there was no possibility of his being re-instated in the favor of God, he manifested his malice with increased hatred and fiery vehemence.” 1SP:30.2.

 

Jesus “left the fallen angels to perish in their rebellion, but stretched forth His hand to rescue perishing man.  The angels who were rebellious were dealt with according to the light and experience they had abundantly enjoyed in Heaven.  Satan, the chief of the fallen angels, once had an exalted position in Heaven.  He was next in honor to Christ.  The knowledge which he, as well as the angels who fell with him, had of the character of God, of His goodness, His mercy, wisdom, and excellent glory, made their guilt unpardonable.” Con:21.1.

 

“There was no possible hope for the redemption of those who had witnessed and enjoyed the inexpressible glory of Heaven, and had seen the terrible majesty of God, and, in presence of all this glory, had rebelled against Him.  There were no new and wonderful exhibitions of God’s exalted power that could impress them so deeply as those they had already experienced.  If they could rebel in the very presence of glory inexpressible, they could not be placed in a more favorable condition to be proved.  There was no reserve force of power, nor were there any greater heights and depths of infinite glory to overpower their jealous doubts and rebellious murmuring.  Their guilt and their punishment must be in proportion to their exalted privileges in the Heavenly courts.” Con:21.2.

 

“God” = The Hebrew word used here for “God” is “Elohim.” For all the Titles and Names of our God, see my Bible Study: “GOD, NAMES OF.” Here is the excerpt for “Elohim” from that study:

Elohim = The first form of this Divine name in the Bible is ordinarily translated “God.” = Genesis 1:1.  It is the most frequently used name in the Old Testament, as is its equivalent “theos” in the New Testament.  It occurs in the Book of Genesis alone approximately 200 times.  It is one of a group of kindred words, to which belong also “El” and “Eloah.” Its form is plural and best expresses the plurality of the Godhead.  But the construction is uniformly singular, i.e., it governs a singular verb or adjective, unless used of heathen divinities (see Psalm 96:5; 97:7).  In that sense, it is used of “gods” (note the small “g” and the plurality) in the ordinary sense, such as its use in First Samuel 28:13.

 

However, its primarily used in the plural (thus, especially with the article) of the supreme “God.” There is the occasional use applied by way of deference to magistrates and princes (see Genesis 23:6 as an example); gods (small “g,” without the definite article, (see Genesis 31:30, 32; Exodus 7:1; 20:3), judges (see Exodus 21:6; 22:9), mighty (men, or strength in general, see Genesis 30:8; Exodus 9:28).  Thus, the context in which it is used is very relevant.

 

1:2: “without form and void” = The Hebrew word for “without form” is, “tohuw.” Examples are:  Job 6:18 & Job 26:7.  The Hebrew word for “void” is, “bohuw” (see Jeremiah 4:23).  Here, as in Jeremiah 4:23 are the only occurrences of these two Hebrew words together.  These two Hebrew words have various meanings apart.  However, when they are together, the meaning is that God created without any available materials.  See also Psalm 33:6 & 9; Jeremiah 51:15 & 16; Romans 4:17; Hebrews 11:3, which clearly teach us that God did not use previously existing material in order to create this earth.  God spoke, and it was.  This is what makes Him God, something nothing, no one, no entity, no created being can do.  If you cannot understand this concept, please read Job 38:4-6.  Note also that the angelic host were witnesses of this event (see Job 38:7).

 

Consider also Ecclesiastes 3:11: “He hath made every thing beautiful in His time:  also He hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”

 

“In the formation of our world, God was not beholden to pre-existent substance or matter.” 3MR:208.

 

“The theory that God did not create matter when He brought the world into existence is without foundation.  In the formation of our world, God was not indebted to pre-existing matter.  On the contrary, all things, material or spiritual, stood up before the Lord Jehovah at His voice and were created for His Own purpose.  The heavens and all the host of them, the earth and all things therein, are not only the work of His hand; they came into existence by the breath of His mouth.” 8T:258.4.

 

“the deep” = The Hebrew word used here is “tehown,” which corresponds to its Greek equivalent, “abussos,” or “abyss,” which is used as the home of the demons (Rev. 9:1 & 2 & 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20;1 & 3; see also Luke 8:31; Rom. 10:7; 2Pe. 2:4; Jude 1:6; Rev. 12:9), and relates to were Satan and his angels were cast to after the war in Heaven.  Thus, Satan and his angels were cast into what was once a void place in the universe and where later God formed/created this earth.  Once again, imagine Satan watching this earth being created, then sinning anyway.

 

“the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” = The Holy “Spirit of God” still moves “upon the face of the waters” of men’s bodies which are made up of just under 90% water.

 

In Rabbinic literature, “The Babylonian Talmude,” states that the Spirit of God hovered over the waters like a “dove.”  I wonder where they got that idea.

 

1:3: “God said” = Or better, “Commanded,” see Second Corinthians 4:6, which states: “For God, Who Commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts. . .”  The Hebrew is “amar aw-mar” which in this context is better translated as, “Command.”

 

“Let there be light” = According to First John 1:5, “God is Light,” and as such it might be conceivable that when God entered into this voided place it was then that He filled it with His Light.  Therefore, knowing He would have to leave this area of the universe because of upcoming sin, He Commanded that there be light here.

 

A big argument for evolutionists is the distance to the stars, and therefore, that light took millions of years to get to earth in order for us to observe the stars light, therefore again, the earth is millions of years old.  First of all, the speed of light is now known to not be the same; and therefore, we cannot measure the distance to the stars based upon light. Second, since light travels at different speeds and the brightness of a star is not a way to determine its distance (since all stars do not put out the same amount of light), and since honest scientists know that we do not actually know the distance to the stars (except in our own galaxy), then we cannot determine how old this earth is based upon light travel.

 

The Bible explains it by stating that as God said “let there be” whatever, and so it was, so God said, “Let there be light,” Genesis 1:3, and the distances of light from the stars was immediate, just as everything else was immediate.

 

1:4 & 10 & 12 & 18 & 21 & 25 & 31: “that it was good” = Notice in each step of the Creation God concludes with the same refrain: “God saw that it was good,” with the last step (verse 31) going even further by stating that “It was very good.” The Hebrew word “H2896; tobe,” translated “good,” contains within it the concept of “enjoyment,” and it also implies relationship.  Thus, God pauses to fully enjoy what He has created.  Then He “sanctifies” and “blesses” this pausing period, Genesis 2:1-3, by creating “the Sabbath was made for man[kind],” Mark 2:27, i.e., relationship.

 

By contrast, critics argue that “H2896; tobe,” has nothing to do with “the sense of morality,” but rather in contrast to being bad.  That is just silly logic.  The opposite of “bad” is “good.” The Hebrew word “H2896; tobe” can also be translated as “made as intended,” or “beautiful.” In that sense “good” would not mean in a sense of “morality.” However, to then apply any sense of the word “good” to something of inferior value is to corrupt the text.  To use Psalm 104:21 and other texts in Job, Chapters 38 through 41, as an example, as prior to the Genesis account of the creation of Adam and Eve, is to misconstrue the texts.

 

All of this goes away when you ask the critics, “What day should we celebrate the Biblical Sabbath day?” Or, “Why does God specifically point out which day the Seventh-Day Sabbath was to be kept in Genesis, Chapter 16, if He didn’t specify when it was?” Or, “Why did God Command mankind to keep the Sabbath Holy if we don’t know when it occurs.” And in a side note, Genesis 1:30 and 9:3, specifically let us know that the original diet was “green herb[s]” and that the transference to meat eating was later specified after the flood (Gen. 9:3).

 

1:5: “the first day” = The Hebrew for “first” is “H259; echad,” literally means, “one.” This is significant, because it specifically designates and decimates all arguments to the contrary, that God’s creative “days” were longer than 24-hours.  The Hebrew word “H259; echad,” is always translated as “one” elsewhere in the Book of Genesis (11:6; 41:25 & 26), and throughout most of the Old Testament, except when it follows itself.  Such as in Exodus 36:10 & 12, where it should/could be translated as “one and one” as opposed to “one and another,” simply because it works better that way in the English.  Thus, the passage should have been translated as “And the evening and the morning were one day.” See my Bible Study: "YOME, THE HEBREW WORD FOR DAY."

 

Genesis 1:5 & 8 & 13 & 19 & 23 & 31: “evening and the morning were the [whichever] day” = See my Bible Study: “YOME, THE HEBREW WORD FOR DAY.”

 

1:6 & 7 & 8 & 14 & 15 & 17 & 20: “firmament” = The Hebrew word used in the verses is, “H7549; raqiya’,” and most modern translations translate this word as, “expanse.” Whatever helps you to better understand what God is trying to tell you, go with it.

 

The “firmament” is what we call the sky, recognized as such because “fowl” fly in it (verse 20).  But God calls the firmament “heaven” (verses 8 & 20).  This is the first heaven.  The second heaven is where the “lights in the firmament of the heaven” are, verse 14, meaning the sun, moon and stars, verse 16.  Thus, the third Heaven that Paul speaks of (see 2Co. 12:2, then see Jer. 51:9 its Hebrew equivalent) is where God dwells.  Verse 7 explains it better.

 

The word “firmament” implies something that is “firm.” But the “expanse” of the sky gives a better concept of what our heavens look like; where the birds and clouds fly.  Some argue that the Hebrew word “raqiya” is a noun, but if the verb were used, “H2792; rqah,” it would mean, “to flatten or spread out.”  However, the noun is used here, indicating that there is a separation between the first, second, and Third heavens.  Are the heavens “expansive?” Yes.  But that still does not imply that there is no separation.

 

It is argued that sometimes the “heavens” are described as “a tent,” Isaiah 40:22.  However, even “a tent” has a ceiling.

 

1:7: “And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament” = Notice that there were “waters” above the “firmament” and there were “waters” under the firmament.  In other words, earths seas, lakes, and rivers.  Therefore, the birds fly in between these (remember; verse 20).  After the flood in Genesis, Chapters 6-8, the waters that were above the firmament no longer existed, meaning there was plenty of water for the great flood, and our earth must have had more of an inhabitable land mass before the flood.  Genesis 7:11-12 teaches us that there was water above the firmament (as this verse teaches) and waters under the earth, which comprised the entire water sources for the great flood.

 

According to Josephus’ Book 1, Chapter 1, page 18: “He set the heaven above the universe, surrounding it with ice. . .”

 

1:9: “and let the” = According to the “Linus Codex,” i.e., “Linux Codecs” (multiple Codex’s), this should be translated as, “in order that” “the dry land appear.”

 

Also, according to Psalm 24:1-2 and this verse, there was water above where the birds fly, water upon what must have been a flat earth, and (Psalm 24:1-2) waters that were under the earth.

 

1:11: “kind” = “Baraminology” is the scientific word used today to describe the created “kinds” on earth.  It is derived from the Hebrew words, “bara,” meaning “created,” and “min,” meaning “kind.”  The best I can determine, is that Evolutionists argue that “kind” is an unacceptable term to determine what they term as “species.”  “Species,” to them, means a specific cat, like a leopard (only).  Whereas “kind,” to the Biblical student, means, all in the cat family; from house cat to the wild lion.  Evolutionists use their explanation of “species” in an attempt to prove that the ark made by Noah would not have been large enough to house all of the animal “species.”  Whereas, Creationists see no problem with the size of the ark housing Gods created beings at that time.  As an example, even secular scientists admit that at the time of Noah, the dog varieties that we have today were not known then.

 

Finally, we know that cats cannot mate with dogs and produce offspring.  However, a lion and a leopard can and will produce an offspring.  Thus, cats are a “kind.”  Whereas, the Evolutionist species cannot produce whales from a dog and cat matting (even though they believe some sort of evolution from some sort of original species created some sort of new species).

 

To be clear, “species” originally meant Biblical “kinds.”  Whereas, in more modern times (uneducated Biblical commentators), “species” refers to specific animals (all rhino’s, white; black grey; java; are of the same family; but not a mouse).  Thus, Biblical “kinds” have never changed their definition; whereas “species” classification changes all the time.

 

1:11-12 & 29; 2:5: “grass” = See my Bible Study: “DIET, DINNING GOD’S WAY.”

 

1:14: “let them be for signs” = The “them” being the sun and the moon.  They are to be for “signs,” i.e., the Hebrew being, “oth,” meaning literally or figuratively, in the sense of appearing: “a signal” as in a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, token, et cetera, evidenced in a “mark or miracle.” Let’s discuss a “miracle.”

 

One of the most important “signs” that the sun and moon are to give is the Second Coming of our Lord (Isa. 5:30; 13:9-10; 24:21-23; Eze. 31:7-8; Joel 2:10 & 31; 3:15; Amos 8:9; Zep. 1:15; Mat. 24:29; Luke 21:11 & 25 [Here in Luke our Lord calls it a “sign” of His Coming]; Rev. 6:12; 8:12).  Let us not miss this as did the Jews in our Lord’s day Who reprimanded them in Luke 12:56.  And our Father states the same thing in Jeremiah 8:7 & Ecclesiastes 3:1.

 

“and for seasons” = The Hebrew word for “seasons” is, “moed,” properly meaning, “an appointment,” that is, “a fixed time or season; specifically a festival; conventionally a year; by implication, an assembly (as convened for a definite purpose); technically the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting; also a signal (as appointed beforehand):  -- appointed (sign, time), (place of, solemn) assembly, congregation, (set, solemn) feast, (appointed, due) season, solemn (-ity), synagogue, (set) time (appointed).” The meaning thus is clear that God has appointed specific times for specific events seen by observing the heavens.

 

This same word appears in Leviticus 23:2 twice, and had the translators translated this word properly as being “a fixed time,” in reference to when the Holy Convocation Sabbath was to be observed, it would have brought more meaning and force to verse 3 which states: “ Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation.”  However, the translators were too influenced by this word’s occurrence in Leviticus 23:4 to move away from translating it as “feasts.” But we know by connecting verses 2 and 3 together in context that our Genesis 1:14 word “moed” can be in reference to “a fixed time.”  Thus, God created the sun and moon to help us identify God’s Divine appointments and His Sabbath Day.

 

A better way to understand that the Biblical meaning for “seasons” is “a Divinely appointed time,” is to see how Paul uses the word in First Thessalonians 5:1, “seasons” being the Greek word “kairos,” which literally means, “an occasion,” that is, “set or proper time.” And verse 4 affirms that we (should and) can know the time: “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”

 

If we look at Psalm 104:19 we can see our word “moed” and understand that God uses the moon to determine when the Feast days are to be: “He appointed the moon for seasons [“moed”]:  the sun knoweth his going down.”

 

“for days and years” = Thus we can see (above) that this is referring to Holy days, such as the Year of Jubilee, the seventh year, when the land was supposed to rest, for the Festival days, such that the sun and moon could be used to know when they would occur.

 

Therefore, let’s read Genesis 1:14 again: “God created the sun and moon to send signals to let us know when His Divine appointments are.”  Thus we can see that this Hebrew word has a dual application here, in that it both refers to “seasons,” or when the months will begin, and when the festivals [Divine appointments] of our Lord begin.  Bottom line, we can determine when our Lord will Come a Second time, just as our pioneers did with the October 22, 1844 date.

 

1:14-19: “day” = The use of the word “day” in these verses alludes to the fact that a 24-hour period of time equals one day and is established by another fact that it existed before there was even a sun or moon, which were created on day 4.

 

In an interesting point made in Isaiah 45:7, i.e., “I form the light, and create darkness,” our Lord tells us that He had to “create darkness.” This makes perfect sense, in that our Lord is surrounded by light and most likely this light fills the entire universe.  Therefore, He would have had to “create darkness” in order for there to be any “darkness” at all.

 

1:16: “two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night” = God made a “greater light” and a “lesser light.” We call these the “sun” and the “moon.” By contrast, Genesis, Chapters 1-14, never mentions those names.  By not naming them God plays down their importance as opposed to Israel’s neighbors who worshipped them as deities.  Thus, God’s supremacy is established at the outset of the Biblical narrative and no rival gods are permitted to challenge Him.

 

The terms “sun” and “moon” were surely avoided because their names in Hebrew were the names of, or better, closely related to, the names of pagan sun and moon gods of the ancient Near East and Egypt.  The use of the terms “greater light” and “lesser light” showed that they were created for specific functions, “let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.” Genesis 1:14.

 

1:21: “great whales” = The Hebrew is “tan-neen” or “tan-neem,” and one should not translate it as anything other than “dragon; serpent; sea monster; venomous snake.” See an example in Exodus 7:10 & 12; Deuteronomy 32:33; Job 30:29; Psalm 148:7; Isaiah 51:9; Jeremiah 9:11; 10:22; 14:6; 49:33; 51:34 & 37; Ezekiel 29:3.

 

1:26: “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness” = See my Bible Study: “GOD, NAMES OF.”

 

The “Us,” “Our,” and “Our” in this verse must NOT be confused with there being MORE THAN ONE God.  Our “God is one,” Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:29; Galatians 3:20.  Three times in the verse following this one (Gen. 1:27) it affirms that ONLY “God created” humanity.  So it is in Genesis 5:1 & 2; 6:6 & 7; 9:6; Deuteronomy 4:32; Psalm 89:47; Isaiah 44:24.

 

The general argument for both sides of this issue (Trinity or none Trinity) is known as “The Plural of Majesty,” view.  One side argues that there is no “Plural of Majesty” being used in this verse.  Whereas the Trinitarian side argues that it is being used.  However, both sides (reluctantly for the none Trinitarian viewers) admit that the sentence structure begs for “Us,” “Our,” and “Our.”  This does not mean that there is more than one God.  But it does open to us an understanding of the Godhead that we may never fully comprehend.  For how can there be only ONE GOD when the Bible clearly speaks of more?  The answer for me is, “One God comprised in three distinct personalities.”  That may or may not help you.

 

By contrast, the God of the Bible is a Triune Being because He is Love.  Love cannot be exercised in isolation.  You cannot be all loving and be alone at the same time.  Love is manifested in relationships.  Augustine expressed this truth eloquently, when he said: “Ubi amor, ibi trinitas,” meaning, “Where there is love, there is a trinity.”  By that he meant, that where there is love, there is a lover, a beloved, and a spirit of love.

 

For the plurality of the Godhead, see the words, “us; our; we,” et cetera, as used in Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8; Jeremiah 51:9; Daniel 10:13; John 17:11 & 21 & 22.  See also John 14:16; 16:7.  God does not Dialog (two beings talking) in Heaven, He Trialog’s!  The only way to explain this Biblically is to read First John 5:7.

 

“I saw that when God said to His Son, Let us make man in our image, Satan was jealous of Jesus.  He wished to be consulted concerning the formation of man.  He was filled with envy, jealousy and hatred.  He wished to be the highest in Heaven, next to God and receive the highest honors.  Until this time all Heaven was in order,” 1SG:17.

 

“Before the fall of Satan, the Father consulted His Son in regard to the formation of man. . . When Satan learned the purpose of God, he was envious at Christ, and jealous because the Father had not consulted him in regard to the creation of man.” 3SG:36.

 

“in Our image, after Our likeness” = According to Philippians 2:6, Christ did not have to change his image in Heaven that much since we are already made in His image.  And according to Isaiah 43:7, God created man for God’s Own glory: “for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.”

 

In a side note, if we read Genesis 5:2 we can see that God regarded Adam and Eve as equals, calling them both, “Adam:” “Male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name [NOT, “their names,” plural; but one name] Adam, in the day when they were created.”

 

The word for “image” in Hebrew is “tselem,” and the word for “likeness” is “demuth.” These words can connote the physical (“tselem”) and the inward (“Demuth”), which includes the spiritual and mental aspects of humanity.  Ellen G. White recognizes this when she says man was made in God’s image, “both in outward resemblance and in character.” PP:45.

 

“As Adam came forth from the hand of his Creator, he was of noble height, and of beautiful symmetry.  He was more than twice as tall as men now living upon the earth, and was well proportioned.  His features were perfect and beautiful. His complexion was neither white, nor sallow, but ruddy, glowing with the rich tint of health.  Eve was not quite as tall as Adam.  Her head reached a little above his shoulders.  She, too, was noble -- perfect in symmetry, and very beautiful.

 

“This sinless pair wore no artificial garments.  They were clothed with a covering of light and glory, such as the angels wear.  While they lived in obedience to God, this circle of light enshrouded them.” 1SP:25.

 

“When Adam came from the Creator’s hand, he bore, in his physical, mental, and spiritual nature, a likeness to his Maker. . . It was His purpose that the longer man lived the more fully he should reveal [His] image -- the more fully reflect the glory of the Creator.” Ed:15.

 

“We were brought into existence because we were needed.  God’s vast design in the mediatorial economy shows that He has embraced all humanity in His plan.  He calls upon men and women to show themselves Christians, that they may fill their appointment as agents chosen to carry out His purposes.” 13LtMs, Ms 124, 1898, paragraph 29.

 

“He {Jesus} was in the express image of his Father, not in features alone, but in perfection of character.” RH, December 17, 1872.

 

“We were brought into existence because we were needed.  How sad the thought that if we stand on the wrong side, in the ranks of the enemy, we are lost to the design of our creation.  We are disappointing our Redeemer; the powers He designed for His service are used to oppose His grace and matchless love.” ST, April 22, 1903, paragraph 5.

 

1:28: “replenish the earth” = It must be understood that the word “replenish,” back in the 1600 hundreds, when the “KJV” was written, simply meant “fill; to fill.” The Hebrew word “H4390; maie,” is a primitive root, meaning to “fill,” or (intransitively) “be full” of, in a wide application (literally and figuratively):  “accomplish, confirm, consecrate, be at an end, be expired, be fenced, fill, to fill, fulfill, (be, become, give in, go) fully, [over-] flow, fullness, furnish, gather (selves, together), presume, replenish, satisfy, set, space, take a [hand-] full, have wholly.” This same Hebrew word is used in Genesis 1:22, where it is translated as “fill,” i.e., “fill the waters in the seas.” So should it have been translated here.  Otherwise, you might assume the earth had been filled beforehand, being translated as, “replenish.”

 

Another good example is “maie[‘s]” next use as found in Genesis 6:11, where it is translated as “filled,” i.e., “and the earth was filled with violence.”  Here we can clearly see that “replenish with violence” would not work so well.  Numerous examples of its 240 appearances in God’s Word teach us that “fill” should have been the proper translation here, and or, that in the Hebrew thought process for, “replenish,” is in a “fill up” point of view, and this is what is meant in Hebrew reasoning, and not a “refill” point of view.  The confusion of its meaning in this verse comes from its translation in Genesis 9:1, where Noah is told to “replenish” the earth, and there it would be appropriately translated.  Therefore, why not the same conclusion here?  Again, of its 240 appearances, only here, (5 total) and in Genesis 9:1, is it translated as “replenish,” whereas “fill” would have worked just as well in Genesis 9:1, just as it is more appropriate here.

 

1:29: “seed” = God’s ORIGINAL DIET.  If we look at Genesis 1:11 & 12; 3:15; 4:25; 9:9; 12:7, etcetera, we could easily translate this Hebrew word, “zera” as “offspring.”  By contrast, if we look at Genesis 7:3; 8:22, we can look at this Hebrew word as “seed,” i.e., not a plant yet.  The context to me calls for “offspring.” The key word that helps to bring me to this conclusion in this verse is the Hebrew word before “seed,” that being, “bearing,” i.e., Hebrew, “zara,” which literally means, “conceived.” Therefore, this passage to me is talking about the production of that “seed.” Finally, Jesus was not the “seed of the woman,” He was the “offspring.”

​

 

CHAPTER TWO

 

 

2:2: “day” = Critics argue that because “evening and morning” is not included in the “seventh day” analogy, therefore, this “day” is still going on today and does not therefore sanction the Holy Seventh-Day Sabbath of the Lord.  By contrast, the fact that in Genesis 1:5 & 8 & 13 & 19 & 23 & 31 “evening and the morning” is listed, and therefore, the precedence is set forth for a proper understanding that “evening and morning” can be understood to apply here; because of the fact that “day” is in this text.  To argue that the “day” does not end in this verse, ignores the critics own argument, in that the “day” would also not begin; with that form of reasoning by them.

 

If we go to Mark 2:27, we can clearly see the the Biblical “Sabbath was made for mankind.” Therefore, as long as mankind exists, the Blessed; Hallowed; Made Holy; Sanctified; Created; and Commanded Seventh-Day Sabbath will endure.  Plus, verse 2 states that “God ended His work” of creation.  To argue that the “day” is still going on is to also insert that God is still reating; which He is not.  And, the “day” had to end in order for God to “bless” it.  In a side note, God’s “rest” had to end as well in order to start the next weekly period.

 

2:2 & 3: “rested” = The Hebrew is “H7673; shabath,” could be translated as “Sabbath,” as in Second Chronicles 36:21.  Thus, the fourth Commandment could be established from the beginning in Eden.  However, the critics will point out the Hebrew being “H7673; shabath,” and is a verb, and not a noun, as “H7676; Shabbath” is.  However, if we go to Mark 2:27, our Lord Himself tells us that He “made” the noun “Sabbath” in the beginning of creation “for mankind.” And Moses, in delivering what God wrote, inserting into the creation account in the Fourth Commandment in Exodus 20:8-11, the noun for “H7676; Sabbath.”

 

Although the Hebrew is a verb here, and translated as “rested,” which denotes “cessation,” and not relaxation.  The latter idea is expressed by the Hebrew verb “nuah,” as used in Exodus 20:11, where the Divine “rest” fulfills an anthropological function as a model for human “rest.” However, in Genesis 2:2-3, the Divine rest has a cosmological function, in that the Creator had no occasion to proceed to further creations.  To express the idea of “Sabbath rest,” from physical exhaustion, “nuah” is generally translated in English as, “to rest.”

 

In Exodus 20:11, God’s pattern of work-rest in creation is given as the basis for the Commandment to work six days and to rest on the seventh.  In Genesis 2:2-3 however, the Hebrew verb “H7673; shabath” is used because of the function of God’s “rest” being different.  It fulfills a cosmological, rather than an anthropological function.  It explains to us not why people should “sabath/Rest,” but rather how God felt about His creation:  He regarded it as complete and perfect; and to that effect, to acknowledge it, He ceased/stopped creating.

 

“I was shown that the Law of God would stand fast forever, and exist in the new earth to all eternity.  At the creation, when the foundations of the earth were laid, the sons of God looked with admiration upon the work of the Creator, and all the Heavenly host shouted for joy.  It was then that the foundation of the Sabbath was laid. . . The Sabbath was instituted in Eden before the fall, and was observed by Adam and Eve, and all the Heavenly host.  God rested on the seventh day, and blessed and hallowed it; and I saw that the Sabbath would never be done away; but the redeemed saints, and all the angelic host, will observe it in honor of the great Creator to all eternity.” 1SG:113; 4SP:288.

 

“[85] I was then carried back to the creation, and was shown that the first week, in which God performed the work of creation in six days and rested on the seventh day, was just like every other week.  The great God, in His days of creation and day of rest, measured off the first cycle as a sample for successive weeks till the close of time. . . God gives us the productions of His work at the close of each literal day.  Each day was accounted of Him a generation, because every day He generated or produced some new portion of His work.  On the seventh [86]

 

“day of the first week God rested from His work, and then blessed the day of His rest, and set it apart for the use of man.  The weekly cycle of seven literal days, six for labor and the seventh for rest, which has been preserved and brought down through Bible history, originated in the great facts of the first seven days.” 1SP:85-86.  

 

2:2-3: “(2) the seventh day. . . the seventh day. . . (3) the seventh day” = In Hebrew literature and language, when something needed to be, or the author wanted to emphasize something, they would repeat it.  Yet here we have it repeated three times.  Therefore, the importance of this “seventh day” needs to be acknowledged and noticed for its importance.

 

2:3: “blessed” = Genesis 2:3 affirms that the Creator “blessed,” Hebrew, “barak,” the seventh day, just as He had blessed the animals, and Adam and Eve, on the previous day (Gen. 1:22 & 28).  Divine blessings in Scripture are not merely “good wishes.”  Rather, they are assurances of fruitfulness, prosperity, and a happy and abundant life (Psa. 133:3).  In terms of the seventh day, it means that God promised to make the Sabbath a beneficial and vitalizing power through which human life is enriched and renewed.

 

“sanctified” = Genesis 2:3 also affirms that the Creator “hallowed” (RV, RSV) the seventh day, “made it holy” (NEB, NAB), or better, “sanctified it” (NASB).  Both here and in Exodus 20:11, the Hebrew text uses the verb “qiddes (piel),” from the root, “qds,” meaning “holy.”  In Hebrew, the basic meaning of “holy” or “holiness,” is “separation.”  Or better, “to be separate from,” or “separate for” holy use.  In terms of the Sabbath, its holiness consists in God’s separation of this day from the six working days.  The holiness of the Sabbath stems not from man’s keeping it, but from God’s choice of the seventh day to be a channel through which human beings can experience more freely and fully the awareness of His sanctifying presence in their lives.  In other words, it is not man’s keeping of the seventh day that makes it “holy,” it is the fact that God made it “holy” that it is “holy,” whether man keeps it or not.

 

The bottom line, to keep the Sabbath “holy” means to acknowledge God as Creator.  Progressive Creationist would do well to understand that there was no “affliction. . . [at] the beginning of the creation,” Mark 13:19, and that Adam and Eve were created at “the beginning of the creation,” Matthew 19:4; Mark 10:6.  Notice, too, that the first thing God declared “holy” was time, the seventh day.  Not a piece of ground (Exo. 3:5), not a dwelling place (Exo. 15:13), not even a shrine such as the Sanctuary (Exo. 26:33-34), but a segment of time itself was the first thing in God’s new Creation specifically “set apart,” which is another way of expressing “to be made holy.”

 

“The Sabbath was observed before the fall.”  And “they observed the Sabbath after their fall.” 1SP:59; 4SP:285; 3SG:52.

 

2:4:  “generations” = “Each day was accounted of Him a generation, because every day He generated or produced some new portion of His work.” 3SG:90.

 

2:5: “And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. . . no man to till the ground” = What is interesting here is that Moses refers to a time in the future in regards to certain plants and them only coming up after the tilling of “the ground,” (see Gen. 3:18) and these come about as a result of sin; for it would appear that the ground originally need not to be tilled, for it was watered via “But there went up a mist from the earth,” Genesis 2:6.  Also man was not to work as hard as to cause “sweat of thy face,” brought about by the cursing of the ground (Gen. 3:17; 5:29; Gen. 4:12 equaling the second curse) due to sin.

 

The Hebrew word “siah,” translated as “plant” here, appears only four times in God’s Word (Gen. 2:5; 21:15; Job 30:4 & 7), and refers to those plants that have “thorns and thistles,” Genesis 3:18, that would grow along with the Hebrew word for “herb[s],” which is, “eseb,” also translated as “herb” in Genesis 3:18.  Clearly then, the “plant[s] of the field” are only those plants that came about as a result of the tilling of the ground, which occurred because of (sin) God’s cursing of the ground.

 

“not caused it to rain” = No rain until Noah’s time; just before and then after the flood.

 

2:7: “formed” = The Hebrew for “formed” is, “H3335; yatsar,” meaning, “to fashion; make; frame; squeeze into shape.” The Aramaic Manuscripts have the word “b’nah,” meaning, “to build; construct,” as in the way a potter would “form” a vessel.

 

God could have just “spoken” mankind into existence.  But He choose to be intimately involved in the process.

 

“the breath of life” = According to Job 33:4, “The Spirit of God hath made me [so only the Holy Spirit “formed man of the dust of the ground,” Genesis 2:7, but] and the breath of the Almighty hath given one life [so God the Father, or God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit, or any combination thereof, “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,” finishing Gen. 2:7].

 

In Genesis 1:20; 1:21; 1:24; 1:30; 2:19; 9:10; 9:12; 9:15; 9:16; Leviticus 11:46, the “living soul [nephesh hayyah],” refers to animals.  However, translators of most English versions have chosen to translate it “living creature” rather than “living soul,” as it should be, for it is the same Hebrew structure as in Genesis 2:7, where man is referred to as a “living soul.” Also notice that the animals were also created “out of the ground,” Genesis 2:19.  Once again emphasizing substance, plus God’s breath, equals a “living soul.” However, see Ecclesiastes. 3:21 for their eternal salvation.

 

“Those who lived before the flood were favored in having a knowledge of the Law of God communicated to them by Adam who had conversed with God and angels in Eden.  He lived among them nearly one thousand years, and by his teachings, example, and humble obedience to all God’s Requirements, exalted the Law of God.” RH, April 29, 1875.

 

“The Law of God existed before man was created.  The angels were governed by it.  Satan fell because he transgressed the principles of God’s government.  After Adam and Eve were created, God made known to them His Law.  It was not then written, but was rehearsed to them by Jehovah.” 3SG:295.

 

“God created man for His own glory.  It was His purpose to repopulate Heaven with the human race, if after test and trial they proved to be loyal to Him.” ST, May 29, 1901; 1BC:1082; TA:287.

 

“Man created for fellowship with God.” ST, September 19, 1906.

 

“In the beginning, man was created in the likeness of God, not only in character, but in form and feature.” 4SP:463.

 

“If Adam, at his creation, had not been endowed with twenty times as much vital force as men now have, the race, with their present habits of living in violation of natural law, would have become extinct.” FCE:23.

 

“As Adam came forth from the hand of his Creator, he was of noble height, and of beautiful symmetry.  He was more than twice as tall as men now living upon the earth, and was well proportioned.  His features were perfect and beautiful.  His complexion was neither white, nor sallow, but ruddy, glowing with the rich tint of health.  Eve was not quite as tall as Adam.  Her head reached a little above his shoulders.  She, too, was noble -- perfect in symmetry, and very beautiful.” 1SP:24; ST, January 9, 1879.

 

2:8: “Eden” = According to this verse, Eden is made on day Six.  Also, Lucifer was in Eden “till iniquity was found in thee,” Ezekiel 28:13-15.  Also, according to Job 38:4-7, Lucifer was most likely present: “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy,” he being a part of the host to welcome in God’s new creation of Earth.  In other words, Satan sees all this Creative power and still. . .

 

According to Isaiah 51:3; Ezekiel 28:13 & 31:9, “Eden” was the “garden of God.”  It was God’s dwelling on earth, the place where our first parents were intended to worship and commune with Him.  Therefore, the greatest loss of the “fall” was not the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden, but their loss of being in the immediate presence of God.

 

“When Adam and Eve were placed in the beautiful garden, Satan was laying plans to destroy them.” 1SG:19.

 

2:9:  “pleasant” = Even the fruit trees, like the flowers, gave off a “fragrant” (1SP:26) scent.

 

Genesis 2:9; 3:22 & 24; Proverbs 3:18; 11:30; 13:12; 15:4; Revelation 2:7; 22:2 & 14: “tree of life” = “I saw the fruit of the tree of life, the manna, almonds, figs, pomegranates, grapes, and many {How “many” is many?} other kinds of fruit.” CET:64; EW:19; LDE:289; LS80:217; LS88:217; ExV:15; 1T:69; WLF:17; RH, July 21, 1851; Broadside 1, April 6, 1846.

 

Two other kinds of fruit mentioned upon the “tree of life” from Mrs. White are: “In the midst of the garden stood the tree of life, the glory of which surpassed all other trees.  Its fruit looked like apples of gold and silver, and was to perpetuate immortality.  The leaves contained healing properties.” 1SP:26.1; PP:47.

 

“The Lord has given me a view of other worlds.  Wings were given me, and an angel attended me from the City to a place that was bright and glorious.  The grass of the place was living green, and the birds there warbled a sweet song. The inhabitants of the place were of all sizes, they were noble, majestic and lovely.  They bore the express image of Jesus, and their countenances beamed with holy joy, expressive of the freedom and happiness of the place.  I asked one of them why they were so much more lovely than those on the earth.  The reply was -- ‘we have lived in strict obedience to the Commandments of God and have not fallen by disobedience, like those on the earth.’  There I saw two trees, one looked much like the tree of life in the City.  The fruit of both looked beautiful; but of one they could not eat.  They had power to eat of both, but were forbidden to eat of one.  Then my attending angel said to me -- ‘none in this place have tasted of the forbidden tree; but if they should eat they would fall.’ ” RH, August 1, 1849; EW:39-40; ExV:22; Broadside2, January 31, 1849.

 

“The angels ascribe honor and glory to Christ, for even they are not secure except by looking to the sufferings of the Son of God.  It is through the efficacy of the cross that the angels of Heaven are guarded from apostasy.  Without the cross they would be no more secure against evil than were the angels before the fall of Satan.  Angelic perfection failed in Heaven.  Human perfection failed in Eden, the paradise of bliss.  All who wish for security in earth or Heaven must look to the Lamb of God.  The plan of salvation, making manifest the justice and Love of God, provides an eternal safeguard against defection in unfallen worlds, as well as among those who shall be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.” ST, December 30, 1889; OHC:45.

 

“When Christ cried out, ‘It is finished,’ the unfallen worlds were made secure.  For them the battle was fought and the victory won {Begin the 1000 years where Satan is bound; see my next EGW quote}.  Henceforth Satan had no place in the affections of the universe.  The argument he had brought forward, that self-denial was impossible with God, and therefore unjustly required from His created intelligences, was forever answered.  Satan’s claims were forever set aside.  The Heavenly universe was secured in eternal allegiance.” RH, March 12, 1901.

 

“Limited alone to the earth, he {Satan during the 1000 years} will not have the privilege of ranging to other planets {meaning he DID}, to tempt and annoy those who have not fallen {Meaning they are still making their choice to serve God as opposed to us who fell}.” EW:290; FLB:353; Hvn:118; Mar:313; 4SP:474; 1SG:211.; SR:416; TA:280.

 

Here is my comment on Matthew 18:12-13: “an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray” = This is (Matthew’s) the best text to conclude that there are other worlds besides ours in God’s universe.  Others also are Hebrews 1:2; “worlds” plural, and Revelation 20:3; “nations” plural.  The key here is that of “the ninety and nine which went not astray.”

 

“The tree of life was a type of the one great Source of immortality.  Of Christ it is written, ‘In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.’  He is the foundation of life.  Obedience to Him is the life-giving, vivifying power that gladdens the soul.  Through sin man shut himself off from access to the tree of life.  Now, life and immortality are brought to light through Jesus Christ.” 17MR:352.

 

“tree of knowledge of good and evil” = “There was nothing in the fruit of the tree of knowledge that was dangerous in itself, but the danger was in Adam and Eve listening to Satan and venturing to transgress.” S&T1:227.

 

2:15: “to dress it and to keep it” = The Hebrew word for “keep” is “shamar,”which can also be translated as “guard.”  In other words, Adam was to ensure that nothing was to disrupt the sanctity of Eden (such as Satan, his adversary).  But in his perfect state, the main meaning is to dress and keep it however he wanted to for his own enjoyment.

 

“It was the work of Adam and Eve to train the branches of the vine to form bowers [shady lair], thus making for themselves a dwelling from living trees covered with foliage and fruit.” PP:47.

 

2:16: “Commanded the man” = “The very test that God brought upon Adam in Eden, will be brought upon every member of the human family.  Obedience to God was required of Adam, and we stand in the same position that he did to have a second trial, to see whether we will listen to the voice of Satan and disobey God, or to the Word of God and obey.” RH, June 10, 1890; 5BC:1146.

 

2:17: “thou shalt not eat of it” = “He would place man upon probation to test his loyalty, before he could be rendered eternally secure.  If he endured the test wherewith God saw fit to prove him, he should eventually be equal with the angels.” 1SP:23.

 

“The forbidden tree was as attractive and lovely as any of the trees in the garden.” RH, February 24, 1874.

 

“in the day” = It does not state, “In that day (that very day).” Just as in Genesis 2:4 & 3:5 and others, it can mean, “When” I visit you.  The Hebrew for “day” is “yome,” and doesn’t always mean a 24-hour day unless, like in Genesis, Chapter One, it is surrounded or followed by qualifying statements, such as numbers, “first day,” or descriptions, “evening and morning.” Thus, the meaning is, “when you disobey Me, you will die because of it.” Or, “in the day” you die, it will be because you disobeyed Me.  In other words, the word “day” here means “time;” i.e., “in that time.” Let’s look further in:

 

“thou shalt surely die” = The Hebrew for “die” is very interesting, in that in the English we are attempting to translate the words for “die,” i.e., “H4191 H4191; muth muth,” meaning “die die.” A more literal translation would be “dying thour dost die.”

 

For the critics, to better explain “die die,” because the pair did what they did, transgressed God’s Commandment, they would begin the process of dying.  The fact that God made “coats of skins” Genesis 3:21, for them is proof that in the future Christ would take the place of their sins (if confessed) and die for them. For God to kill them right away at the time of their sin would not give them opportunity to repent; which He does for everyone.

 

2:18: “help meet” = See my Genesis 4:19 Note.

 

The Hebrew word for “helper” is “ezer” and means “helper, assistant, partner, or ally.”  When “eber” is applied to God’s attitude toward Israel He is portrayed as Israel’s Partner and Protector (Exo. 18:4; Deu. 33:26 & 29; Psa. 33:20; 70:5; 115:9 & 10 & 11; 121:2; 128:4; Hos. 13:9).

 

“In the beginning, God gave to Adam one wife, thus showing His order.  He never designed that man should have a plurality of wives.” 3SG:99.

 

2:19: “God formed every beast of the field” = In the more detailed account of the forming of man and woman and the animals in Genesis 1:24-31 (day 6) God goes on to better explain it in Genesis, Chapter 2.  And, there was no need to mention the animals at all until they were to be brought before Adam when introduced to him.  But since He does, old earth advocates have jumped all over this verse.

 

The superficial contradiction that the animals were created after Adam is removed simply by noting that there is no distinction in the Hebrew between past tense and pluperfect tense.  The context of a verse determines which tense to use.  But twisting the Bible for one’s own belief system is more prominent than what our Lord truly intends for us to understand.  By replacing the past tense word “formed,” and replacing it with the pluperfect tense “had formed,” we can read the verse in its true context as follows: “And out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field.”

 

Some commentators have argued against this translation, but its legitimacy is verified by Dr. H. C. Leupold, Professor of Old Testament Exegesis at the Capital University Seminary (Lutheran), in Columbus, Ohio, in his masterful two-volume commentary on Genesis: “It would not, in our estimation, be wrong to translate ‘yatsar’ as a pluperfect in this instance: ‘He had molded.’ The insistence of the critics upon a plain past is partly the result of the attempt to make chapters one and two clash at as many points as possible.” Exposition of Genesis, 1950, Volume 1, page 130.

 

Even he has touched upon the most important point, that there is an “agenda” here to discredit the Biblical account.  Now who would be at the bottom of that (Satan)?

 

The fact of the matter is that this discourse is focusing upon the goings on in the garden of Eden, while Genesis, Chapter 1, is focused upon the entire creation.  Eve was the last thing to be created and this is explained here.  She is the only one that didn’t see anything created and had to both trust God and Adam as to how things came to be.  Whom do you trust?

 

“Adam” = “Adam” is the common Hebrew word for a human being and humanity.  It also bears a resemblance to “adamah,” the Hebrew word for ground, from which God “formed man.” The similarity of “Adam” and “adamah” suggests an intimate link between man and the earth from which he was created.

 

“As Adam came forth from the hand of his Creator, he was of noble height, and of beautiful symmetry.  He was more than twice as tall as men now living upon the earth, and was well proportioned.  His features were perfect and beautiful.  His complexion was neither white nor sallow, but ruddy, glowing with the rich tint of health.  Eve was not quite as tall as Adam.  Her head reached a little above his shoulders.  She, too, was noble -- perfect in symmetry, and very beautiful.” ST, January 9, 1879; CC:11; LDE:291; LHU:47; ML:126; 1SP:24; 3SG:33; SR:20; BLJ:227.

 

“to see what he would call them” = “The laws and operations of nature, which have engaged men’s study for six thousand years, were opened to their minds by the infinite Framer and Upholder of all.  They held converse with leaf and flower and tree, gathering from each the secrets of its life.  With every living creature, from the mighty leviathan that playeth among the waters to the insect mote that floats in the sunbeam, Adam was familiar.  He had given to each its name, and he was acquainted with the nature and habits of all.” PP:51.

 

2:20: “but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him” = For those who question where Cain’s wife came from, this text clearly indicates that there were no other people living at the time of Adam until Eve was created; and Genesis 3:20 states that she is “the mother of all living.”  Also, Paul makes it clear in the New Testament that all people alive on Earth today come from Adam and Eve’s descendants (see Acts 17: 26).  Thus, Cain’s wife was one of his sisters or a niece.  The problem of intermarriage apparently was not an issue until after the flood (and after even Abraham who married his half-sister Sarah) when God gave strict Laws concerning intermarriage in the Book of Leviticus, recognizing the continuing deterioration of the original race due to sin.

 

2:21 & 22: “[21] took one of his ribs [22] rib” = See my Bible Study: “BIBLE FUN.”

 

God had a reason for forming Eve out of one of Adam’s ribs.  If the two had been created completely separately, it could indicate that by nature they were completely independent individuals.  But the sharing of flesh in both persons indicates that the two were to be united and were intended to be “one flesh.”

 

The other argument is that God took from the center of man to show that woman was not to be stepped upon if God had taken from the foot; or that had God taken from the head it might indicate that Eve was to be dominant over Adam.

 

The scientific argument is the best, in that the rib bone is the only bone in the human body that grows back.

 

“After the creation of Adam every living creature was brought before him to receive its name; he saw that to each had been given a companion, but among them ‘there was not found an help meet for him.’  Among all the creatures that God had made on the earth, there was not one equal to man.  And God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.’ Man was not made to dwell in solitude; he was to be a social being.  Without companionship the beautiful scenes and delightful employments of Eden would have failed to yield perfect happiness.  Even communion with angels could not have satisfied his desire for sympathy and companionship.  There was none of the same nature to love and to be loved.

 

“God Himself gave Adam a companion.  He provided ‘an help meet for him’ -- a helper corresponding to him -- one who was fitted to be his companion, and who could be one with him in love and sympathy.  Eve was created from a rib taken from the side of Adam, signifying that she was not to control him as the head, nor to be trampled under his feet as an inferior, but to stand by his side as an equal, to be loved and protected by him.  A part of man, bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh, she was his second self, showing the close union and the affectionate attachment that should exist in this relation.” PP:46.

​

2:22: “made” = The Hebrew for “made” is “H1129; banah,” meaning “to build; to be built up.” In this case, to build from material already in existence as opposed to Genesis 2:7, where God “formed man” from a different material then the final result.  The Hebrew for “formed” is, “H3335; yatsar,” meaning, “to fashion; make; frame; squeeze into shape.”

 

“brought” = Since God “brought” Eve to Adam, then Eve first “walked with God” before she walked with Adam.

 

2:25: “naked” = What is interesting here, is that the Hebrew word used for “naked” is “H6174; arom,” which means “naked, either partially or totally nude.” However, after the couple sinned, the Hebrew word used for their nakedness is “H5903; cyrom/crom,” meaning, “nudity; neakedness,” in Genesis 3:7 & 10 & 11.  That both words can mean partially, see Deuteronomy 28:48 for “crom,” depending upon the context.  My point is, I believe Adam and Eve were clothed in a circle of light.  It is not as if they did not know they were “naked” within the covering of the light.  But when their light coving left them, they were totally exposed.

 

The proof of this is when we look at Genesis 3:11, when Adam tells God he is “naked.” But at this point Adam had covered himself up with “fig leaves,” Genesis 3:7.  Thus, some other covering must had hid his nakedness prior to this.

 

Also, according to Genesis 1:26, mankind is made after the image of God.  Then if we go to Psalm 104:2, we find that God “coverest Thyself with light as with a garment” And if you read the context of Psalm 104, it is covering the creation account.  The Hebrew word for “light” is “H216; or,” which is the same as used in Genesis 1:3 & 4 & 5 & 18.  See Revelation 16:15.

 

“A beautiful soft light, the light of God, enshrouded the holy pair. This robe of light was a symbol of their spiritual garments of heavenly innocence. Had they remained true to God it would ever have continued to enshroud them.” COL:310.4; ST, January 28, 1897, paragraph 1.

 

“The clear and perfect light that had hitherto surrounded them had lightened everything they approached.”  DG:25.2; RH, November 8, 1898.

 

“The sinless pair wore no artificial garments; they were clothed with a covering of light and glory, such as the angels wear.  So long as they lived in obedience to God, this robe of light continued to enshroud them.” PP:45.3.

​

CHAPTER THREE

 

 

3:1: “the serpent was more subtil” = According to these statements of insight from my favorite Bible commentator, the fall of Satan took place after the creation of mankind.  Because, according to Job 38:6-7 the Angels saw the creation of this earth before the fall of Satan.

 

“His followers were seeking him [Satan]; and he aroused himself and, assuming a look of defiance, informed them of his plans to wrest from God the noble Adam and his companion Eve.  If he could, in any way, beguile them to disobedience, God would make some provision whereby they might be pardoned, and then himself and all the fallen angels would be in a fair way to share with them of God's mercy.  If this should fail, they could unite with Adam and Eve; for when once they should transgress the Law of God, they would be subjects of God’s wrath, like themselves.  Their transgression would place them also, in a state of rebellion; and they could unite with Adam and Eve, take possession of Eden, and hold it as their home.  And if they could gain access to the tree of life in the midst of the garden, their strength would, they thought, be equal to that of the holy angels, and even God Himself could not expel them.” 1SP:30.4.

 

“God assembled the angelic host to take measures to avert the threatened evil.  It was decided in Heaven’s council for angels to visit Eden and warn Adam that he was in danger from the foe.  Two angels sped on their way to visit our first parents.” 1SP:32.

 

“The serpent was a beautiful creature, with wings; and while flying through the air, his appearance was bright, resembling burnished gold.  He did not go upon the ground, but went from place to place through the air, and ate fruit like man.  Satan entered into the serpent, and took his position in the tree of knowledge, and commenced leisurely eating of the fruit.” 1SP:35.1.

 

“She was startled to hear a serpent speak.  He extolled her beauty and exceeding loveliness, which was not displeasing to Eve.  But she was amazed, for she knew that to the serpent God had not given the power of speech.  Eve’s curiosity was aroused.  Instead of fleeing from the spot, she listened to hear a serpent talk.  It did not occur to her mind that it might be that fallen foe, using the serpent as a medium.  It was Satan that spoke, not the serpent.  Eve was beguiled, flattered, infatuated [2Co. 11:3].  Had she met a commanding personage, possessing a form like the angels, and resembling them, she would have been upon her guard. But that strange voice should have driven her to her husband’s side to inquire of him why another should thus freely address her.  But she enters into a controversy with the serpent.” 1SP:36.

 

“I saw a sadness come over the countenance of Adam.  He appeared afraid and astonished.  A struggle appeared to be going on in his mind.  He told Eve he was quite certain that this was the foe that they had been warned against; and if so, that she must die.  She assured him she felt no ill effects, but rather a very pleasant influence, and entreated him to eat.  Adam quite well understood that his companion had transgressed the only prohibition laid upon them as a test of their fidelity and love.  Eve reasoned that the serpent said they should not surely die, and his words must be true, for she felt no signs of God’s displeasure, but a pleasant influence, as she imagined the angels felt.  Adam regretted that Eve had left his side; but now the deed was done.  He must be separated from her whose society he had loved so well.  How could he have it thus?  His love for Eve was strong.  And in utter discouragement he resolved to share her fate.  He reasoned that Eve was a part of himself; and if she must die, he would die with her; for he could not bear the thought of separation from her.” 1SP:39.

 

“Angels of God visited Adam and Eve, and told them of the fall of Satan,” 3SG:39.

 

“[53] In order to accomplish his work unperceived, Satan chose to employ as his medium the serpent -- a disguise well adapted for his purpose of deception.  The serpent was then one of the wisest and most beautiful creatures on the earth.  It had wings, and while flying through the air presented an appearance of dazzling brightness, having the color and brilliancy of burnished gold.  Resting in the rich-laden branches of the forbidden tree and regaling itself with the delicious fruit, it was an object to arrest the attention and delight the eye of the beholder.  Thus in the garden of peace lurked the destroyer, watching for his prey.

 

“The angels had cautioned Eve to beware of separating herself from her husband while occupied in their daily labor in the garden; with him she would be in less danger from temptation than if she were alone.  But absorbed in her pleasing task, she [54]

 

“unconsciously wandered from his side.  On perceiving that she was alone, she felt an apprehension of danger, but dismissed her fears, deciding that she had sufficient wisdom and strength to discern evil and to withstand it.  Unmindful of the angels’ caution, she soon found herself gazing with mingled curiosity and admiration upon the forbidden tree.” PP:53-54.

 

“Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” = This is what I would call a deflective question, in that the first part is made secondary to the second part, when in reality the first part is more important.  The true question is, “Did God say this or not?”  See Genesis 2:16-17.  Whereas the second part is a false statement of what God did not say, i.e., “every tree,” upon which Eve and most would tend to focus upon.  When Satan tried this with Jesus, He simply went to the Word of God, i.e., “It is written,” Matthew 4:4.  The tempter made the stones, i.e., the second part of the question, to be the focus, whereas the real point was the first, i.e., If you are the Son of God.  Jesus didn’t bite.

 

“She was startled to hear a serpent speak.  He extolled her beauty and exceeding loveliness, which was not displeasing to Eve.  But she was amazed, for she knew that to the serpent God had not given the power of speech. {1SP:35.2}

 

“Eve’s curiosity was aroused.  Instead of fleeing from the spot, she listened to hear a serpent talk.  It did not occur to her mind that it might be that fallen foe, using the serpent as a medium.  It was Satan that spoke, not the serpent.  Eve was beguiled, flattered, infatuated.  Had she met a commanding personage, possessing a form like the angels, and resembling them, she would have been upon her guard.  But that strange voice should have driven her to her husband’s side to inquire of him why another should thus freely address her.  But she enters into a controversy with the serpent.” 1SP:35.2-36.1.

 

3:2: “the woman said” = “The angels cautioned Eve not to separate from her husband in her employment; for she might be brought in contact with this fallen foe.  If separated from each other, they would be in greater danger than if both were together. . . God would not permit Satan to follow the holy pair with continual temptations.  He could have access to them only at the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” 1SP:34.2.

 

“Eve went from the side of her husband, viewing the beautiful things of nature in God’s creation, delighting her senses with the colors and fragrance of the flowers and the beauty of the trees and shrubs.  She was thinking of the restrictions God had laid upon them in regard to the tree of knowledge.  She was pleased with the beauties and bounties which the Lord had furnished for the gratification of every want.  All these, said she, God has given us to enjoy.  They are all ours; for God has said, ‘Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it.’

 

“Eve had wandered near the forbidden tree, and her curiosity was aroused to know how death could be concealed in the fruit of this fair tree.  She was surprised to hear her queries taken up and repeated by a strange voice.  ‘Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden.’  Eve was not aware that she had revealed her thoughts by conversing to herself aloud; therefore, she was greatly astonished to hear her queries repeated by a serpent.  She really thought the serpent had a knowledge of her thoughts, and that he must be very wise.” RH, February 24, 1874.

 

3:3: “neither shall ye touch it” = For those who believe that Eve was adding to the Commandment of God, consider these facts.

 

Fact 1) The Devil was up to his usual tricks, misquoting the Word of God (Rev. 12:9; a “deceiver”).  Consider how he misquoted God’s Word when tempting our Lord in the wilderness after a 40-day fast, as outlined in the Book of Matthew, Chapter 4, verse 6, and Luke, Chapter 4, verse 11, misusing Psalm 91:11-12, where Jesus corrects Satan with (Matthew “It is written” Luke “It is said”) “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God,” Matthew 4:7 & Luke 4:12.  Taken from Exodus 17:2 & 7; Numbers 14:22; Deuteronomy 6:16; Psalm 78:18 & 41 & 56; 95:9; 106:14; Malachi 3:15.

 

If we read Genesis 3:1, it states that “the serpent,” i.e., Satan “said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” WAIT!  WHO SAID WHAT GOD HAD SAID?  Therefore, it was Satan who left out and incorrectly quoted God’s Word, also leaving out, “neither shall ye touch it,” which Eve properly quoted God’s Word back to “the serpent,” just as Jesus corrected Satan when being tempted by him.  Satan’s statement of “not eat of every tree” is a misquote of God’s Word.  What God really stated is found in Genesis 2:16-17: “[16] Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: [17] But of the tree of “knowledge,” “thou shalt not eat.” They could eat of “every tree.” Thus, Eve, while being tempted, was no less stating correctly a “Command of God,” not to “touch it,” as was Jesus when He, being tempted in the wilderness, corrected Satan’s version of God’s Word.​

 

Fact 2) Consider:  When did Eve become a sinner; “before” or “after” partaking of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil?  If “after,” as your answer should be, then Eve was telling the truth of what God had instructed about not eating from it nor even “touching it.” If your answer is “before,” then Eve is a LIAR when stating that God had also given the instruction about not even “touching” the fruit.  Don’t reason that this was just an implied instruction, or a “white lie.” It is still a lie in God’s reasoning’s if you assume Eve added to God’s Command/Word.  Also, if Eve sinned before partaking of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, then there was no need for the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the first place, for she would have LIED [that is, SINNED], thus breaking the 9th Commandment, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against [God] thy neighbour,” Exodus 20:16.

 

Fact 3) I’ve heard people reason that she was just doing as the Pharisees, adding restrictions to the Law of God in order not to possibly violate It in the first place.  But any type of reasoning for Eve’s use of adding, “neither shall ye touch it,” is to use your concept of your fallen world view; that is, you living in a sinful world.  But Eve was not in a fallen state and had no concepts of falsehoods, coverups, misrepresentations, excuses, or sinful contemplations as we do when attempting to protect ourselves through deceit.  By contrast, she was in a perfect environment, had no concept of reasoning away or making excuses for God’s instructions, and had no reason to attempt to deceive her deceiver; or come up with calculations to excuse her thoughts about the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  NO, NO!  And lest I have not convinced you, here are some excerpts from my favorite Bible commentator.

 

Here are the ORIGINAL writings of Ellen G. White:

 

“In the midst of the garden, near the tree of life, stood the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  This tree was especially designed of God to be the pledge of their obedience, faith and love to Him.  Of this tree the Lord Commanded our first parents not to eat, neither to touch it, lest they die.” 1SP:27.1.

 

“Eve, unconsciously at first, separated from her husband in her employment.  When she became aware of the fact, she felt that there might be danger, but again she thought herself secure, even if she did not remain close by the side of her husband.  She had wisdom and strength to know if evil came, and to meet it.  This the angels had cautioned her not to do.  Eve found herself gazing with mingled curiosity and admiration upon the fruit of the forbidden tree.  She saw it was very lovely, and was reasoning with herself why God had so decidedly prohibited their eating or touching it.  Now was Satan’s opportunity.  He addressed her as though he was able to Divine her thoughts.” 1SP:35.2.

 

“God had prohibited them from tasting or even touching it,” 1SP:37.

 

“She took it in her hand.  Now, said the tempter, you were prohibited from even touching it lest you die.  He told her that she would realize no more sense of evil and death in eating than in touching or handling the fruit.” 1SP:38.

 

“He [Satan] knew that they would be perfectly safe if they touched not the fruit.” 1SP:40.

 

“The beautiful Eve was beguiled by the serpent to eat of the fruit of the only tree of which God had forbidden them to eat, or even touch it lest they die.” 4aSG:120.

 

From Counsels of Diets and Foods, page 145: “Adam and Eve in Eden were noble in stature, and perfect in symmetry and beauty.  They were sinless, and in perfect health.  What a contrast to the human race now!  Beauty is gone.  Perfect health is not known.  Everywhere we look we see disease, deformity, and imbecility.  I inquired the cause of this wonderful degeneracy, and was pointed back to Eden.  The beautiful Eve was beguiled by the serpent to eat of the fruit of the only tree of which God had forbidden them to eat, or even touch it, lest they die.”

 

From The Story Of Redemption, page 24: “In the midst of the garden, near the tree of life, stood the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  This tree was especially designed of God to be the pledge of their obedience, faith, and love to Him.  Of this tree the Lord Commanded our first parents not to eat, neither to touch it, lest they die.  He told them that they might freely eat of all the trees in the garden except one, but if they ate of that tree they should surely die.”

 

From Temperance, page 283 (1949): “Eve was surprised and startled as she thus seemed to hear the echo of her thoughts.  But the serpent continued, in a musical voice, with subtle praise of her surpassing loveliness; and his words were not displeasing.  Instead of fleeing from the spot she lingered wonderingly to hear a serpent speak.  Had she been addressed by a being like the angels, her fears would have been excited; but she had no thought that the fascinating serpent could become the medium of the fallen foe.

 

“To the tempter’s ensnaring question she replied: ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.’

 

“By partaking of this tree, he [Satan] declared, they would attain to a more exalted sphere of existence and enter a broader field of knowledge.  He himself had eaten of the forbidden fruit, and as a result had acquired the power of speech.  And he insinuated that the Lord jealously desired to withhold it from them, lest they should be exalted to equality with Himself.  It was because of its wonderful properties, imparting wisdom and power, that He [GOD] had prohibited them from tasting or even touching it.  The tempter intimated that the Divine warning was not to be actually fulfilled; it was designed merely to intimidate them.  How could it be possible for them to die?  Had they not eaten of the tree of life?  God had been seeking to prevent them from reaching a nobler development and finding greater happiness.

 

“We have souls to save or souls to lose.  God created our first parents and placed them in Paradise.  God made only one restriction.  ‘The fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’  They would forfeit their life, if they did not obey the restriction.”

 

Lastly, from Testimony Studies on Diet and Foods, page 158: “Adam and Eve in Eden were noble in stature, and perfect in symmetry and beauty.  They were sinless, and in perfect health.  What a contrast to the human race now!  Beauty is gone.  Perfect health is not known.  Everywhere we look we see disease, deformity and imbecility.  I inquired the cause of this wonderful degeneracy, and was pointed back to Eden.  The beautiful Eve was beguiled by the serpent to eat of the fruit of the only tree of which God had forbidden them to eat, or even touch it lest they die.”

 

SDA’S = COMPARE WITH ST, FEBRUARY 13, 1896 AND RH, FEBRUARY 24, 1874, WHERE THE EDITOR OF EGW’S WRITINGS MAKE’S EVE OUT TO BE A LIAR:  “The woman erred when she entered into controversy with the serpent.  The Lord had not said, ‘Ye shall not touch it.’ ” ST, February 13, 1896.

 

“Eve had overstated the words of God’s Command.  He had said to Adam and Eve, ‘But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’ In Eve’s controversy with the serpent, she added the clause, ‘Neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’  Here the subtlety of the serpent was seen.  This statement of Eve gave him advantage, and he plucked the fruit, and placed it in her hand, and used her own words, ‘He hath said, If ye touch it, ye shall die.  You see no harm comes to you from touching the fruit, neither will you receive any harm by eating it.’ ” RH, February 24, 1874.

 

See also 2Red:10-11 (quoting the Review and Herald article); Confrontation (1971, quoting the Review and Herald article); TA:54-55 (1996, which is again quoting the Review and Herald article), watch the dates, all of which quote or go along with the Signs of the Times or Review and Herald changes.

 

“die” = Literally, yes one would “die.”  But when that would take place is open.  Whereas, when Satan tells Eve she “shall not surely die,” he literally says, Hebrew, “die-die,” meaning immediately; or that she would not “die-die” at all.  Again, he is playing mind games with Eve.

 

3:4:  “Ye shall not surely die” = See my Genesis 3:3 Note.  Two principles are brought out here.  One: Satan Lied, or Two:  God lied.

 

It can be stated that: “This was Satan’s first lesson upon the immortality of the soul,” 1SG:113.

 

“He {Satan} stated that by eating of the fruit of the tree forbidden them was the reason he had attained the power of speech.” 1SP:38.

 

“It was Satan who originated the doctrine of eternal torment as a punishment for sin, because in this way he could lead men into infidelity and rebellion, distract souls, and dethrone the human reason.” RH, November 17, 1891, paragraph 5.

 

“Satan assured Eve that she was created immortal, and that there was no possibility of her dying.  He told her that God knew that if they ate of the tree of knowledge their understanding would be enlightened, expanded, and ennobled, making them equal with Himself.  And the serpent answered Eve, that the Command of God forbidding them to eat of the tree of knowledge was given them to keep them in a state of subordination, that they should not obtain knowledge, which was power.  He assured her that the fruit of this tree was desirable above every other tree in the garden to make one wise and exalt them equal with God.  He has, said the serpent, refused you the fruit of the tree which is of all the trees the most desirable for its delicious flavor and exhilarating influence.  Eve thought the discourse of the serpent very wise.  She viewed the prohibition of God unjust [SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE WHAT SATAN DID IN HEAVEN].  She looked with longing desire upon the tree laden with fruit which appeared very delicious.  The serpent was eating it with apparent delight.  She longed for this fruit above all the fruit of every variety which God had given her a perfect right to use.” RH, February 24th, 1874.

 

3:5: “in the day ye eat thereof” = Remember my statement in Genesis 3:1: “This is what I would call a deflective statement, in that the first part is made secondary to the second part, when in reality the first part is more important.”  Here again Satan makes the more important part about death being unavailable, i.e., the first part, secondary to the part about being something you cannot be, i.e., God.  However, the fact is, they were already “like God,” in that they were created in the image of God (see Gen. 1:26), and therefore should not have come under question in the first place.  But Eve, being as normal as we are today, took the bait upon the second part of the question, making of it more prominent to have to answer.  Consider again how Jesus answered the tempter in Matthew 4:4.

 

“Satan exercised his power of hypnotism over Adam and Eve.” 21MR:10.

 

“ ‘In the day ye eat thereof’ -- transgress the Divine requirement -- ‘ye shall be as gods’?” PP:55.

 

“Satan would convey the idea that by eating of the forbidden tree, they would receive a new and more noble kind of knowledge than they had hitherto attained.  This has been his special work with great success ever since his fall, to lead men to pry into the secrets of the Almighty, and not to be satisfied with what God has revealed, and not careful to obey that which was Commanded.  He would lead them to disobey God’s Commands, and then make them believe that they are entering a wonderful field of knowledge.  This is a miserable deception.  They fail to understand what God has revealed, they disregard His explicit Commandments, aspire after wisdom, independent of God, and seek to understand that which he has been pleased to withhold from mortals.” ST, January 16, 1879.

 

“your eyes shall be opened” = “If Adam had not transgressed the Law of God, the ceremonial Law would never have been instituted.  The gospel of good news was first given to Adam in the declaration made to him that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head; and it was handed down through successive generations to Noah, Abraham, and Moses.  The knowledge of God’s Law, and the plan of salvation were imparted to Adam and Eve by Christ Himself.  They carefully treasured the important lesson, and transmitted it by word of mouth, to their children, and children’s children.  Thus the knowledge of God’s Law was preserved.” 1SM:230.

 

“ye shall be as gods” = The Hebrew Word for “gods” here is, “Elohim.”  Although this is the plurality form for God, It should be translated as “God,” singular.  For Satan is talking about the nature of God.  In fact, this is what Satan aspired to be, but could not be nor will ever be (nor us; we are created beings like him).  This correcting translation I am suggesting is confirmed in verse 22, “man is become as one of Us.”

 

3:6: “And when the woman saw that the tree was (1) good for food, and that it was (2) pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be (3) desired to make one wise” = Which equals First John 2:16:  “For all that is in the world, (1) the lust of the flesh, and (2) the lust of the eyes, and (3) the pride of life.”  Therefore, the first sin was “covetousness.”  Where Adam and Eve were tempted and failed, Christ, in the wilderness was tempted with these same things and overcame in our behalf.

 

“that it was pleasant to the eyes” = Here begins every downfall of the Christian.  Remember, God says of His creation that everything He had made was “good.”  Therefore, all the trees of the Garden of Eden were “pleasant to the eyes.”  Eve did not question that there was a God.  She did not doubt God’s Word.  What she was doing in her mind was contemplating the action to sin.  Here is where the downfall begins.  When you contemplate sinning.

 

“he did eat” = See First Timothy 2:14.

 

“The tempter plucked the fruit and passed it to Eve.” 1SP:37; RH, February 24, 1874.

 

“As soon as Eve had [39] disobeyed, she became a powerful medium through which to occasion the fall of her husband.” 1SP:38-39; 3SG:42.

 

“I saw a sadness come over the countenance of Adam.  He appeared afraid and astonished.  A struggle appeared to be going on in his mind.  He told Eve he was quite certain that this was the foe that they had been warned against; and if so, that she must die.  She assured him she felt no ill effects, but rather a very pleasant influence, and entreated him to eat. {1SP:39.1}

 

“Adam quite well understood that his companion had transgressed the only prohibition laid upon them as a test of their fidelity and love.  Eve reasoned that the serpent said they should not surely die, and his words must be true, for she felt no signs of God’s displeasure, but a pleasant influence, as she imagined the angels felt.  Adam regretted that Eve had left his side; but now the deed was done.  He must be separated from her whose society he had loved so well.  How could he have it thus?  His love for Eve was strong.  And in utter discouragement he resolved to share her fate.  He reasoned that Eve was a part of himself; and if she must die, he would die with her; for he could not bear the thought of separation from her.  He lacked faith in his merciful and benevolent Creator.  He did not think that God, Who had formed him out of the dust of the ground into a living, beautiful form, and had created Eve to be his companion, could supply her place.” 1SP:39.1-39.2.

 

“The instant man accepted the temptations of Satan, and did the very things God had said he should not do, Christ, the Son of God, stood between the living and the dead, saying, ‘Let the punishment fall on Me.  I will stand in man’s place.  He shall have another chance.’ ” 1BC:1085. 

 

“Whatever else the sin of Adam did, it did not give human beings an excuse for transgressing God’s Law.” 21MR:116.

 

“Christ in counsel with His Father, instituted the system of sacrificial offerings; that death, instead of being immediately visited upon the transgressor, should prefigure the great and perfect offering of the Son of God.” ST, March 14, 1878; 1BC:1104.

 

“For the sake of His dear Son the Father forbears awhile the execution of death,” 3SG:47.

 

God “might have brought upon them immediate death.” 3SG:49.

 

“Like Adam and Eve, who took the apple from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and ate it,” Letter 224, 1903; 5BIO:304.

 

“The Law of God existed before the creation of man or else Adam could not have sinned.  After the transgression of Adam the principles of the Law were not changed, but were definitely arranged and expressed to meet man in his fallen condition.  Christ, in counsel with His Father, instituted the system of sacrificial offerings:  that death, instead of being immediately visited upon the transgressor, should be transferred to a victim which should prefigure the great and perfect offering of the Son of God.” ST, March 14, 1878; 1BC:1104; 1SM:230.

 

“Sin originated in self-seeking.” DA:21.

 

“Adam was not deceived by the serpent, as was Eve, and it was inexcusable in Adam to rashly transgress God’s positive Command.  Adam was presumptuous because his wife had sinned.  He could not see what would become of Eve.  He was sad, troubled, and tempted.  He listened to Eve’s recital of the words of the serpent, and his constancy and integrity began to waver.  Doubts arose in his mind in regard to whether God did mean just as he said.  He rashly ate the tempting fruit.” RH, April 1, 1875.

 

3:7: “the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked” = They were not only physically “naked,” i.e., without clothing (which did not bother them anyway; see Gen. 2:25), but the more important nakedness which they were now experiencing was their lack of the covering of light which encompassed them while they were holy (sinless).  This covering of light which they had can be seen by observing that Satan had once partaken of it also (see Eze. 28:17) and that it appears to be what we will regain if faithful (see Rom. 13:12).

 

“God created man for His own glory, that after test and trial the human family might become one with the Heavenly family.  It was God’s purpose to re-populate Heaven with the human family, if they would show themselves obedient to His every Word.” 1BC:1082.4.

 

“The halo of glory, which God had given holy Adam, covering him as a garment, departed from him after his transgression.  The light of God’s glory could not cover disobedience and sin.” 1SM:270.

 

“This sinless pair wore no artificial garments.  They were clothed with a covering of light and glory, such as the angels wear.” 1SP:25.1.

 

“[40] Our first parents chose to believe the words, as they thought, of a serpent; yet he had given them no tokens of his love.  He had done nothing for [41] their happiness and benefit; while God had given them everything that was good for food, and pleasant to the sight.  Everywhere the eye might rest was abundance and beauty; yet Eve was deceived by the serpent, to think that there was something withheld which would make them wise, even as God.  Instead of believing and confiding in God, she basely distrusted His goodness, and cherished the words of Satan.” 1SP:40-41.

 

Note:  In the heat of a moment, we all seem to lose our “common sense.”  We need to learn more on how to reflect on the words (arguments of others) spoken to us before answering or acting.

 

“After Adam’s transgression he at first imagined that he felt the rising to a new and higher existence.  But soon the thought of his transgression terrified him.  The air that had been of a mild and even temperature, seemed to chill them.  The guilty pair had a sense of sin.  They felt a dread of the future, a sense of want, a nakedness of soul.  The sweet love, and peace, and happy, contented bliss, seemed removed from them, and in its place a want of something came over them that they never experienced before.  They then for the first turned their attention to the external.  They had not been clothed, but were draped in light as were the Heavenly angels.  This light which had enshrouded them departed.  To relieve the sense of lack and nakedness which they realized, their attention was directed to seek a covering for their forms; for how could they meet the eye of God and angels unclothed?” 1SP:41.1.

 

“Adam censured Eve’s folly in leaving his side, and being deceived by the serpent.” 1SP:41.2.

 

“And through her {Eve} he {Satan} had also caused the overthrow of Adam, who, in consequence of his love for Eve, disobeyed the Command of God, and fell with her.” 1SP:42.1.

 

“Satan urges before God his accusations against them, declaring that they have by their sins forfeited the Divine protection, and claiming the right to destroy them as transgressors.  He pronounces them just as deserving as himself of exclusion from the favor of God.  ‘Are these,’ he says, ‘the people who are to take my place in Heaven and the place of the angels who united with me?  While they profess to obey the Law of God, have they kept its precepts?  Have they not been lovers of self more than of God?  Have they not placed their own interests above His service?  Have they not loved the things of the world?  Look at the sins which have marked their lives.  Behold their selfishness, their malice, their hatred toward one another.’ ” 5T:473.2.

 

“The people of God have been in many respects very faulty.  Satan has an accurate knowledge of the sins which he has tempted them to commit, and he presents these in the most exaggerated light, declaring: ‘Will God banish me and my angels from His presence, and yet reward those who have been guilty of the same sins?  Thou canst not do this, O Lord, in justice.  Thy throne will not stand in righteousness and judgment.  Justice demands that sentence be pronounced against them.’ ” 5T:474.1.

 

“Adam and Eve both ate of the fruit and obtained a knowledge, which, had they obeyed God, they would never have had -- an experience in disobedience and disloyalty to God -- the knowledge that they were naked.  The garments of innocence, the presence of light which surrounded them, a covering from God, had departed.  They supplied the place of the Heavenly garments by sewing together fig leaves for aprons.  This is the covering that all who have transgressed the Law of God have used since the days of Adam and Eve’s disobedience.  They have sewn together fig leaves to cover their nakedness caused by transgression and sin.  The fig leaves represent the arguments used to cover disobedience.  When the Lord calls the attention of men and women to the truth, the making of fig leaves into aprons will commence in order to hide the nakedness of the soul of every transgressor.  The Lord Jesus Christ has prepared a covering, the robe of His own righteousness, that He will put on every repenting, believing soul who by faith will receive it.” 21MR:193.

 

“Among the lower creatures Adam had stood as king, and so long as he remained loyal to God, all nature acknowledged his rule; but when he transgressed, this dominion was forfeited.” Ed:26.

 

“The vacancies made in Heaven by the fall of Satan and his angels will be filled by the redeemed of the Lord.” RH, May 29. 1900; TA:49.1.

 

“fig leaves. . . aprons” = Man’s idea for covering sins is “fig leaves” and “aprons,” while God concept, according to verse 21, is “coats. Of skins.”  Meaning, only the “blood” of Christ can save us from our sins.

 

3:8: “voice” = The Hebrew word used here is “qol,” meaning “voice” or “sound.”  Therefore, the better translation that would go along better in the sentence structure would be “sound of the LORD God walking in the garden,” meaning they knew and were familiar with the coming sounds of our Lord.  The question is, will we know the Second Coming “sounds” of our Lord when He comes again?  We must familiarize ourselves with those sounds now, before He comes.

 

“cool” = The translation of the Hebrew word “ruach” as “cool” is an excellent one, which takes into consideration that the Holy pair would not have felt this change in temperature unless they had lost their covering; which they did.

 

“Adam and his wife” = “. . .we are just where Adam and Eve were after their transgression, degraded, fallen, and without a Saviour; just where they would have remained had they not accepted Jesus Christ as their Redeemer.”  RH, April 19, 1870.

 

“hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God” = See Isaiah 59:2.  Before this they could see God.  That privilege is now gone.  Sin separates us for God now, just as it did then.

 

3:11: “Who told thee that thou wast naked” = “This question was asked by the Lord, not because He needed information, but for the conviction of the guilty pair.” 1SP:42.

 

3:12: “whom Thou gavest to be with me” = See Job 31:33.

 

“Adam acknowledged his transgression, not because he was penitent for his great disobedience, but to cast reflection upon God.” 1SP:42.

 

“The spirit of self-justification originated in the father of lies, and has been exhibited by all the sons and daughters of Adam.” ST, March 16, 1888; SC:40; 5T:638; PP:58.

 

3:14: “thou [Satan] art cursed” = See Isaiah 14:29.

 

“As the serpent had been exalted above the beasts of the field, he should be degraded beneath them all, and be detested by man, inasmuch as he was the medium through which Satan acted.” 1SP:43.

 

3:15: “enmity” = “When Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, they were innocent and sinless, in perfect harmony with God.  Enmity had no natural existence in their hearts.  But when they transgressed, their nature was no longer sinless.  They became evil, for they had placed themselves on the side of the fallen foe, doing the very things that God specified they should not do.  Had there been no interference on the part of God, fallen humans would have formed a firm alliance with Satan against Heaven.  But when the words were spoken, ‘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,’ Satan knew that although he had succeeded in making human beings sin, although he had led them to believe his lie and to question God, although he had succeeded in depraving human nature, some arrangement had been made whereby the beings who had fallen would be placed on vantage ground, their nature renewed in godliness.  He saw that his actions in tempting them would react upon himself, and that he would be placed where he could not become conqueror.” CTr:28.5; SpTB02 6.2.

 

“between thy [Satan’s] seed and her seed” = Who is Satan’s “seed?” First, we must determine who “her [Eve’s} seed” is; for it would be a complete opposite, and therefore more easily identified.  And since “her seed” would ultimately be the Messiah, i.e., Christ.  Thus, since “seed” is a reference to “offspring,” or better, “followers of,” Satan’s “seed” would be those who choose to follow him; and “her seed” would be those who choose to “follow” Christ.  You will either have “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” Colossians 1:27, or (pay attention), Satan and his ideas, thoughts, suggestions and plans will be in you.  There is no middle ground.  You are either working for Satan or Christ.

 

“bruise thy [Satan’s] head” = This is a deadly wound.

 

“thou shalt bruise His [Christ’s] heel” = In the statement “thou shalt bruise His heel” is seen the first indications of a piercing of the feet (Christ’s method of dying upon the cross) with the fact that Christ’s body would be “bruised,” but nowhere “broken” (see Exo. 12:46; Num. 9:12; Psa. 34:20; John 19:33 & 36).

 

In a side note, it is possible that knowing that our Lord would die upon a cross, and that in order for one to breath upon the cross, one has to push oneself up via their “heel” in order to breath, the application could also be referring to Christ’s literal “heel.”

 

The “Targum Onkelos” puts it this way: “And I will put enmity between thee [Satan] and between the woman, and between thy [Satan’s] son and her Son.  He [Messiah] will remember thee [Satan], what thou [Satan] didst to Him [Jesus] (at) from the beginning, and thou [Satan] shalt be observant unto Him {Jesus] at the end.”

 

The “Targum PS-Jon” has it this way: “And I will put enmity between thee [Satan] and the woman, and between the seed of thy son [Satan’s], and the seed of her sons; and it shall be when the sons of the woman keep the Commandments of the Law, they will be prepared to smite thee [Satan] upon thy head; but when they forsake the Commandments of the Law, thou [Satan] wilt be ready to wound them in their heel.  Nevertheless for them there shall be a medicine [Savior], but for thee [Satan] there will be no medicine; and they shall make a remedy for the heel in the days of the King Meshiha.”

 

The “Tarbum Neofiti” states it basically the same: “And I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman and between your sons and her sons.  And it will come about that when her sons observe the Law and do the Commandments they will aim and bite him [Satan] on his [Satan’s] heel and make him [Satan] ill.  For her sons, however, there will be a remedy [Messiah], but for you, O serpent, there will not be a remedy [Savior], since they are to make appeasement [reconciliation] in the end, in the day of King Messiah.”

 

“Had not God specially interposed, Satan and man would have entered into an alliance against Heaven; and instead of cherishing enmity against Satan, the whole human family would have been united in opposition to God. . . The grace that Christ implants in the soul creates the enmity against Satan. . . There was no dissension between himself [Satan] and the fallen angels as regards their hatred of Christ; while on all other points there was discord, they were firmly united in opposing the authority of the Ruler of the universe.” 4SP:324-325.

 

“Before the life of toil and sorrow which sin brought upon them was depicted before them, before the decree that the wages of sin is death was pronounced, they heard the promise of redemption. . . This prophecy refers not only to the enmity between Christ and Satan, but also to the enmity that exists between the world and the followers of the world’s Redeemer.  Christ was the special One who shall overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.” 3ST:22.

 

“The same enmity is manifested toward Christ’s followers as was manifested toward their Master.” 4SP:326.

 

“When Adam and Eve first heard the promise, they looked for its speedy fulfillment.  They joyfully welcomed their first-born son, hoping that he might be the Deliverer.” DA:31.

 

“In transgression Adam became a law to himself.  By disobedience he was brought under bondage.  Thus a discordant element, born of selfishness, entered man’s life.  Man’s will and God’s will no longer harmonized.  Adam had united with the disloyal forces, and self-will took the field.” ST, June 13, 1900.

 

“Christ was the special One Who should bruise the head of the serpent; but the prophecy also includes all those who shall overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.” YI, October 11, 1894; ST, July 11, 1895.  See Romans 16:20.

 

“By infinite love and mercy the plan of salvation had been devised, and a life of probation was granted.  To restore in man the image of his Maker, to bring him back to the perfection in which he was created, to promote the development of body, mind, and soul, that the Divine purpose in His creation might be realized -- this was to be the work of redemption.  This is the object of education, the great object of life.” ED:15-16.

 

3:16: “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception” = It may be that before this time Eve had already conceived without pain.  After all, they were told to “Be fruitful, and multiply,” Genesis 1:28.  I can also base this concept from the language of Romans 5:14: “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression.”  Therefore, there may have been more than just Adam and Eve living at the time they decided to eat from the forbidden tree.  And because Adam is considered to be the patriarch, or head of the entire human race, “all have sinned,” Romans 3:23.  This is confirmed by Romans 5:12: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

 

“thy desire shall be to thy husband” = If we compare this phrase as found in Genesis 4:7, we can better understand that this is not sexual desire, but rather submission to authority.  And here is where “the battle of the sexes” began.  Women will always attempt to rule over men (honey does), whereas men are supposed to have the final say in family decisions.  And lest women don’t like that, remember that the man will pay for that discission when not listening to his wife’s advice.  See First Corinthians 11:3.

 

3:17: “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife” = This is a very important point God is making.  “Because you listened to her and not Me (God).”  Do we do that today?

 

“cursed is the ground” = This is the first of three curses of the earth (Gen. 3:17; 4:12; 8:21).  Genesis 5:29 mentions our Lords second cursing of the earth (in Gen. 4:12); while Genesis 8:21 (the third cursing) tells us that God will not curse it again.  This third curse finds most Bible commentators agreeing that the flooding of our entire earth, caused a main change of that being the way in which our planet is watered, i.e., no longer by a “mist,” Genesis 2:6, but by rain; meaning a total atmospheric change.

 

Also, because Cain’s offering was from “the ground,” God told him it would no linger “yield unto thee her strength,” Genesis 4:12.  God was attacking Cain’s idol.  And to this day people still yield to (worship) their stomachs what belongs to God.

 

“The curse did not change at once the appearance of the earth.  It was still rich in the bounty God had provided for it.  There were gold and [67]

 

“silver in abundance.  The race of men then living was of very great stature, and possessed wonderful strength.  The trees were vastly larger, and far surpassing in beauty and perfect proportions anything mortals can now look upon.  The wood of these trees was of fine grain and hard substance -- in this respect more like stone.  It required much more time and labor, even of that powerful race, to prepare the timber for building, than it requires in this degenerate age to prepare trees that are now growing upon the earth, even with the present weaker strength men now possess.  These trees were of great durability, and would know nothing of decay for very many years.

 

“A heavy, double curse, first in consequence of Adam’s transgression, and second, because of the murder committed by Cain, was resting upon the earth; yet the mountains and hills were still lovely.  Upon the highest elevations grew majestic trees, rising to a lofty height, their branches spreading to a great distance on every side, while the plains were covered with verdure, and appeared like a vast garden of flowers.  Some of the hills were covered with trees of beauty, and vines climbing the stately trees were loaded with grapes, while beautiful flowers filled the air with their fragrance.  But notwithstanding the richness and beauty of the earth, yet, when compared with its state before the curse was pronounced upon it, there was manifest evidence of sure and certain decay.

 

“The people used the gold, silver, precious stones, and choice wood, in building houses for themselves, each striving to excel the other.  They beautified and adorned their houses and lands with the most ingenious works, and provoked God by their [68]

 

“wicked deeds.  They formed images to worship, and taught their children to regard these pieces of workmanship made with their own hands, as gods, and to worship them.  They did not choose to think of God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and rendered no grateful thanks to Him Who had provided them all the things which they possessed.  They even denied the existence of the God of Heaven, and gloried in, and worshiped, the works of their own hands.  They corrupted themselves with those things which God had placed upon the earth for man’s benefit.  They prepared for themselves beautiful walks, overhung with fruit trees of every description.  Under these majestic and lovely trees, with their wide-spread branches, which were green from the commencement of the year to its close, they placed their idols of worship.  Whole groves, because of the shelter of their branches, were dedicated to their idol gods, and made attractive for the people to resort to for their idolatrous worship.

 

“Instead of doing justice to their neighbors, they carried out their own unlawful wishes.  They had a plurality of wives, which was contrary to God’s wise arrangement.  In the beginning, God gave to Adam one wife -- showing to all who should live upon the earth, His order and Law in that respect.  The transgression and fall of Adam and Eve brought sin and wretchedness upon the human race, and man followed his own carnal desires, and changed God’s order.  The more men multiplied wives to themselves, the more they increased in wickedness and unhappiness.  If any one chose to take the wives, or cattle, or anything belonging to his neighbor, he did not regard justice or right, but if he could prevail over his neighbor [69]

 

“by reason of strength, or by putting him to death, he did so, and exulted in his deeds of violence.  They loved to destroy the lives of animals.  They used them for food, and this increased their ferocity and violence, and caused them to look upon the blood of human beings with astonishing indifference.

 

“But if there was one sin above another which called for the destruction of the race by the flood, it was the base crime of amalgamation of man and beast which defaced the image of God, and caused confusion everywhere.” 1SP:66-69.

 

“When the faithful dead shall be resurrected, and the King of glory shall open before them the gates of the city of God, and the nations who have kept the truth enter in, what beauty and glory will meet the astonished sight of those who have seen no greater beauties in the earth than that which they beheld in [89] decaying nature after the threefold cursewas upon the earth.” 3SG:88-89; Hvn:79.

 

“In the days of Noah a double curse was resting upon the earth in consequence of Adam’s transgression [Gen. 3:17] and of the murder committed by Cain [Gen. 4:12].” CC:32.

 

“in sorrow shalt thou eat of it” = “Now God declares that they shall eat of it, that is, they should be acquainted with evil all the days of their life.” 1SP:43.1; 3SG:45.

 

“And the life of toil and care which was henceforth to be man’s lot was appointed in love.  It was a discipline rendered needful by his sin, to place a check upon the indulgence of appetite and passion, to develop habits of self-control.  It was a part of God’s great plan for man’s recovery from the ruin and degradation of sin.” PP:60.

 

3:18: “Thorns also and thistles” = “All tares are sown by the evil one.  Every noxious herb is of his sowing, and by his ingenious methods of amalgamation he has corrupted the earth with tares.” 16MR:247.

 

God “never made a thorn, a thistle, or a tare.  These are Satan’s work, the result of degeneration.”  6T:186.

 

“The thorn and the thistle -- the difficulties and trials that make his life one of toil and care -- were appointed for his good as a part of the training needful in God’s plan for his uplifting from the ruin and degradation that sin has wrought.” SC:9.

 

3:19: “In the sweat of they face” = “They were informed that they would have to lose their Eden home.  They had yielded to Satan’s deception and believed the word of Satan, that God would lie.  By their transgression they had opened a way for Satan to gain access to them more readily, and it was not safe for them to remain in the garden of Eden, lest in their state of sin, they gain access to the tree of life, and perpetuate a life of sin.  They entreated to be permitted to remain, although they acknowledged that they had forfeited all right to blissful Eden.  They promised that they would in the future yield to God implicit obedience.  They were informed that in their fall from innocence to guilt, they gained no strength but great weakness.  They had not preserved their integrity while they were in a state of holy, happy innocence, and they would have far less strength to remain true and loyal in a state of conscious guilt.  They were filled with keenest anguish and remorse.  They now realized that the penalty of sin was death. {1SP:44.1}

 

“Angels were commissioned to immediately guard the way of the tree of life.  It was Satan’s studied plan that Adam and Eve should disobey God, receive His frown, and then partake of the tree of life, that they might perpetuate a life of sin.  But holy angels were sent to debar their way to the tree of life.  Around these angels flashed beams of light on every side, which had the appearance of glittering swords.” 1SP:44.1-2.

 

3:20: “Adam called his wife’s name Eve” = See Genesis 5:2 Note.

 

“Eve was created from a rib taken from the side of Adam, signifying that she was not to control him as the head, nor to be trampled under his feet as an inferior, but to stand by his side as an equal, to be loved and protected by him.  A part of man, bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh, she was his second self, showing the close union and the affectionate attachment that should exist in this relation.” PP:46.2.

 

“mother of all living” = This has reference to the Messiah in that it is by the power of Christ Who is the source of life that all life is derived from.

 

3:21: “coats of skins” = See Verse 7 Note.

 

This is the first sacrificial service performed, for it seems to have been in practice by Genesis 4:3-5.  Since it was a serpent, a creature, that was used to introduce sin, it would be a creature, a lamb, that would introduce the Savior to the world.  According to Leviticus 7:8, the skin of the sacrifice was given to the priests for clothing.  This is a clear indication that Adam and Eve were given the skins after their first sacrifice.  See my Bible Study: “OFFERINGS, THE DIFFERENT TYPES.”  What a seen to witness for them because of their sin.

 

“The atmosphere was changed.  It was no longer unvarying as before the transgression.  God clothed them with coats of skins to protect them from the sense of chilliness and then of heat to which they were exposed.” 1SP:49.1.

 

“In the slain victim, man was to see the fulfillment for the time being of God’s Word, ‘Ye shall surely die.’  And the flowing of the blood from the victim would also signify an atonement.” RH, March 3, 1874.

 

3:22: “to know” = The Hebrew understanding of knowledge includes intellectual, relational, and emotional aspects.  “To know” did not simply mean to know a fact, particularly when a person was involved.  It also meant to have a meaningful relationship with the One known.  Thus to know the Lord meant to be in the right relationship with Him -- to “serve” Him (1Ch. 28:9), to “fear” Him (Isa. 11:2), to “believe” Him (Isa. 43:10), to “trust” Him and “seek” Him (Psa. 9:10), and to “call on” His name (Jer. 10:25).

 

“for ever” = The Hebrew word “olam,” translated “forever,” may also mean “ancient times” (Gen. 6:4; 1Sa. 27:8), “were of old” (Lev. 25:32), “at any time” (Deu. 32:7), “days of old” (Deu. 33:15), “lasting hills,” (How long will they last?  Jos. 24:2), “in old time” (Job 22:15), or “the old way.”  If we translate “forever” here, as “a long time” like in Isaiah 42:14, we might better understand the duration of life from eating from the Tree of Life.

 

3:23:  “God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden” = “[51] To Adam were revealed future, important events, from his expulsion from Eden to the flood, and onward to the first advent of Christ upon the earth.  His love for Adam and his posterity would lead the Son of God to condescend to take human nature, and thus elevate, through His Own humiliation, all who would believe on Him.  Such a sacrifice was of sufficient value to save the whole world; but only a few would avail themselves of the salvation brought to them through such a wonderful sacrifice.  The many would not comply with the conditions required of them that they might be partakers of His great salvation.  They would prefer sin and transgression of the Law of [52] God, rather than repentance and obedience, relying by faith upon the merits of the sacrifice offered.” 1SP:51-52.

 

“[52] Adam was carried down through successive generations, and saw the increase of crime, of guilt and defilement, because man would yield to his naturally strong inclinations to transgress the holy Law of God.  He was shown the curse of God resting more and more heavily upon the human race, upon the cattle, and upon the earth, because of man’s continued transgression.  He was shown that iniquity and violence would steadily increase; yet amid all the tide of human misery and woe, there would ever be a few who would preserve the knowledge of God, and would remain unsullied amid the prevailing moral degeneracy.  Adam was made to comprehend what sin is -- the transgression of the Law.  He was shown that moral, mental, and physical degeneracy would result to the race, from transgression, until the world would be filled with human misery of every type. {1SP:52.1}

 

“The days of man were shortened by his own course of sin in transgressing the righteous Law of God.  The race was finally so greatly depreciated that they appeared inferior, and almost valueless.  They were generally incompetent to appreciate the mystery of Calvary, the grand and elevated facts of the atonement and the plan of salvation, because of the indulgence of the carnal mind.  Yet, notwithstanding the weakness, and enfeebled mental, moral and physical, powers of the human race, Christ, true to the purpose for which He left Heaven, continues His interest in the feeble, [53]

 

“depreciated, degenerate specimens of humanity, and invites them to hide their weakness and great deficiencies in Him.  If they will come unto Him, He will supply all their needs.” 1SP:52-53.  Note: This would make Adam a Prophet.

 

“After his transgression, God would communicate to man through Christ and angels.” 1SP:54.

 

“Holy angels were sent to drive out the disobedient pair from the garden, while other angels guarded the way to the tree of life.  Each one of these mighty angels had in his right hand a glittering sword.

 

“Adam was driven out from that beautiful garden to till the earth from whence he came.  And God [this is just a reference as to WHO gave the order] guarded the tree of life with flaming (45) swords which turned every way, lest man should eat of it and perpetuate a life of sin.” 3SG:45-46.

 

“The pure and lovely garden of Eden, from which our first parents were driven, remained until God purposed to destroy the earth by a flood.  God had planted that garden, and especially blessed it, and in His wonderful providence withdrew it from the earth, and will return it to the earth again, more gloriously adorned than before it was removed from the earth.  God purposed to preserve a specimen of His perfect work of creation free from the curse wherewith He had cursed the earth.” 3SG:55.

 

3:24: “garden of Eden” = “At the end of one thousand years, Jesus, the king of glory, descends from the holy city, clothed with brightness like the lightning, upon the mount of olives -- the same mount from whence He ascended after His resurrection.  As His feet touch the mountain, it parts asunder, and becomes a very great plain, and is prepared for the reception of the holy city in which is the paradise of God, the garden of Eden, which was taken up after man’s transgression.  Now it descends with the city,” 3SG:83.

 

“Cherubims, and a flaming sword” = One angle would have been sufficient to keep out Adam and his offspring (see 2Sa. 24:15; 2Ki. 19:35; 2Ch. 32:21, for what one angle can do).  Therefore, why multiple “Cherubims?”  Apparently, it would take a Cherubim to keep out another Cherubim, i.e., Satan and his hoard.  Note the plural, “Cherubims.”

 

“Around these angels flashed beams of light on every side, which had the appearance of glittering swords.” 1SP:44.

 

“. . . measures were immediately taken in Heaven to defeat Satan in his plans.  Strong angels, with beams of light representing flaming swords turning in every direction, were placed as sentinels to guard the way of the tree of life from the approach of Satan and the guilty pair.” RH, February 24, 1874.

​

 

CHAPTER FOUR

 

 

4:1:  “gotten” = The Hebrew word “qanah” translated “gotten” can mean “redeemed” (Neh. 5:8), as if to buy, or “recover” (Isa. 11:11), as if to redeem.  Eve thought Cain to be the promised Redeemer (Gen. 3:15). Thus, the verse should read, “I have a redeemer from the LORD.”

 

“When Adam and Eve first heard the promise {Gen. 3:15}, they looked for its speedy fulfillment.  They joyfully welcomed their first-born son, hoping that he might be the Deliverer.”  DA:31.

 

4:2:  “Abel” = According to our Lord in Luke 11:50-51 Abel was a prophet.

 

4:3:  “in process of time” = What is taking place?  Worship!  And when we “worship” we bring an offering.  And there is a day, specified by God, when we are to bring an offering when we “worship.”  And that day is the Seventh-Day Sabbath.  Therefore, this verse could have said instead of, “in the process of time,” but “on the Sabbath day.”  The Hebrew is, “min-nie kates yome,” which literally translates to, “because of [the] process day.”  The process of time to a specific day which we have progressed to.  In other words, along comes the Sabbath, and on the Sabbath, as “it came to pass,” or be about [happening], “Cain brought” his offering. 

 

“Before the flood, the first leaf which fell [Notice that many people were upon the earth before this “first leaf which fell” was noticed], and was discovered decaying upon the ground, caused those who feared God [meaning there are others also who do not fear God] great sorrow.  They mourned over it as we mourn over the loss of a dead friend.  In the decaying leaf they could see an evidence of the curse, and of the decay of nature.”  4aSG:155.

 

“Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering” = Notice the difference in Cain’s offering and Abel’s offering.  Most Bible commentators state it is because of Cain’s “non-blood offering.”  However, grain offering were perfectly acceptable with our Lord (Lev. Ch. 2).  Looking closer, Abel “brought of the firstlings,” Genesis 4:4.  In other words, the best of the best.  While “Cain brought of the fruit of the ground.”  The point is, attitude and worship.  And when God tried to reason with him (verses 6-7), as with most people, there is no reasoning with them, especially when in their mind they blame God.

 

“Cain cherished rebellious feelings, and murmured against God because of the curse pronounced upon Adam, and because the ground was cursed for his sin.”  1SP:54.

 

“Cain brought his offering unto the Lord with murmuring and infidelity in his heart in regard to the promised Sacrifice.  He was unwilling to strictly follow the plan of obedience, and procure a lamb and offer it with the fruit of the ground.  He merely took of the fruit of the ground, and disregarded the requirement of God.  God had made known to Adam that without shedding of blood there could be no remission of sin.  Cain was not particular to bring even the best of the fruits.  Abel advised his brother not to come before the Lord without the blood of a sacrifice.  Cain being the eldest, would not listen to his brother.  He despised his counsel, and with doubt and murmuring in regard to the necessity of the ceremonial offerings, he presented his offering.”  1SP:55.1.

 

“At the cherubim-guarded gate of Paradise the glory of God was revealed, and hither came the first worshipers.  Here their altars were reared, and their offerings presented.  It was here that Cain and Abel had brought their sacrifices, and God had condescended to communicate with them.”  PP:83-84.

 

“The sacrifice of Cain was rejected because it was not an offering that acknowledged the sacrifice of Christ for the sins of the world.  In Cain’s offering there was no confession of sin, no acknowledgment that he was in need of a Savior.”  ST, December 11, 1893.

 

4:4:  “fat thereof” = According to Leviticus 3:16 the “fat” belongs to the Lord.  Thus, Abel’s offering was perfect in every respect.  His offering not only acknowledged the death of the Coming Savior, but its perfection in character, i.e., without blemishes.

 

“the LORD had respect” = Respect can be contagious as the Measles if it is properly spread around.

 

“A light flashes from Heaven and consumes the offering of Abel.”  1SP:55.2.

 

4:5:  “Cain was very wroth” = “Cain sees no manifestation that his is accepted.  He is angry with the Lord, and with his brother.”  1SP:55.2.

 

“He [Cain] thought that his father Adam had been treated harshly in being expelled from Eden.  The idea of keeping that sin ever before the mind, and offering the blood of the slain lamb as a confession of entire dependence upon a Power outside of himself, was torture to the high spirit of Cain.” 1888M4:1323; 14MR:115.

 

4:6-7:  “Why” = “God condescends to send an angel to Cain to converse with him [Cain]. {1SP:55.2}

 

“The angel inquires of him the reason of his anger, and informs him that if he does well, and follows the directions God has given, he will accept [56]

 

“him, and respect his offering.  But if he will not humbly submit to God’s arrangements, and believe and obey Him, He cannot accept his offering.  The angel tells Cain that it was no injustice on the part of God, or partiality shown to Abel; but that it was on account of his own sin, and disobedience of God’s express Command, why He could not respect his offering -- and if he would do well he would be accepted of God, and his brother should listen to him, and he should take the lead, because he was the eldest.  But even after being thus faithfully instructed, Cain did not repent.  Instead of censuring and abhorring himself for his unbelief, he still complains of the injustice and partiality of God.  And in his jealousy and hatred he contends with Abel, and reproaches him.  Abel meekly points out his brother’s error, and shows him that the wrong is in himself.  But Cain hates his brother from the moment that God manifests to him the tokens of His acceptance.  His brother Abel seeks to appease his wrath by contending for the compassion of God in saving the lives of their parents, when he might have brought upon them immediate death.  He tells Cain that God loved them, or He would not have given His Son, innocent and holy, to suffer the wrath which man by his disobedience deserved to suffer.  While Abel justifies the plan of God, Cain becomes enraged, and his anger increases and burns against Abel, until in his rage he slays him.”  1SP:55-56.

 

“After the disrespect shown to His Commands, God does not leave Cain to himself; but He condescends to reason with the man that has shown himself so unreasonable.  ‘And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?’  The Lord was not ignorant of the feelings of resentment cherished by Cain; but He would have Cain reflect upon his course, and, becoming convinced of his sin, repent, and set his feet in the path of obedience.  There was no cause for his wrathful feelings toward either his brother or his God; it was his own disregard of the plainly expressed will of God that had led to the rejection of his offering.  Through His angel messenger, God said to this rebellious, stubborn man: “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.” ‘If thou doest well’ -- not having your own way, but obeying God’s Commandments, coming to Him with the blood of the slain victim, thus showing faith in the promised Redeemer, Who, in the fullness of time, would make an atonement for guilty man, that he might not perish, but have eternal life.”  ST, December 16, 1886.

 

4:7:  “And unto thee shall be his [Abel’s] desire, and thou [Cain] shalt rule over him [Abel].” = “Abel’s offering had been accepted; but this was because Abel had done in every particular as God required him to do.  This would not rob Cain of his birthright.  Abel would love him as his brother, and as the younger, be subject to him.”  ST, December 16, 1886; BEcho, April 8, 1912.

 

“sin” = No one will be in Hell because of their sin.  They will be there for not accepting the Sacrifice for sin.

 

“It is impossible to explain the origin of sin, or to give a reason for its existence.  It is an intruder, for whose existence no reason can be given.  It is mysterious, unaccountable; to excuse it, is to defend it.  Could it be excused, could a cause be shown for its existence, it would cease to be sin.”  4SP:312; GC:492; 88GC:492.

 

“Man is naturally inclined to follow Satan’s suggestions, and he cannot of himself successfully resist so terrible a foe, unless Christ, the mighty Conqueror, dwells in him, guiding his desires, and giving him strength. . . Satan knows better than God’s people the power that they can have over him, when their strength is in Christ.  When they humbly entreat the mighty Conqueror for help the weakest believer in the truth, relying firmly upon Christ, can successfully repulse Satan and all his host.”  RH, May 13, 1862.

 

4:8:  “And Cain talked with Abel his brother” = “ ‘And Cain talked with Abel his brother,’ arguing about his offering, refusing to see that it was his disobedience that had made it unacceptable to God.  He was angry that the offering of Abel, his younger brother, had been accepted, while his had been rejected.  He was angry with Abel for maintaining that God is just.”  ST, December 25, 1901.

 

“Cain hated and killed his brother, not for any wrong that Abel had done, but ‘because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.’  1 John 3:12.  So in all ages the wicked have hated those who were better than themselves.  Abel’s life of obedience and unswerving faith was to Cain a perpetual reproof.  (John 3:20 quoted).  ‘All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.’  2 Tim. 3:12.  The brighter the Heavenly light that is reflected from the character of God’s faithful servants, the more clearly the sins of the ungodly are revealed, and the more determined will be their efforts to destroy those who disturb their peace.”  BEcho, April 8, 1912; PP:74.

 

4:10:  “blood” = According to Revelation 6:10 their blood cries also.  They are not alive; except in the sense that God does not forget them (what was done to them).

 

4:11:  “thou [Cain] cursed from the earth” = Notice that this is the same language used towards “the serpent,” in Genesis 3:14, “Cursed. . . of the field.”  Cain’s new father is Satan.

 

4:12:  “the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength” = See my Genesis 3:17 Note.

 

“The curse upon the ground at first had been felt but lightly; but now a double curse rested upon it.  Cain and Abel represent the two classes, the righteous and the wicked, the believers and unbelievers, which should exist from the fall of man to the Second Coming of Christ.  Cain’s slaying his brother Abel, represents the wicked who will be envious of the righteous, and will hate them because they are better than themselves.  They will be jealous of the righteous, and will persecute and put them to death because their right-doing condemns their sinful course.”  1SP:57.1; 3SG:50.

 

“a fugitive and a vagabond. . . in the earth” = Notice that Cain receives the same punishment as Satan, whom he now represents in character and punishment.

 

“The sentence of death pronounced upon him {Adam} by his Maker, which at first appeared so terrible to him, after he had lived some hundreds of years, looked just and merciful in God, to bring to an end a miserable life.”  1SP:57.2.

 

4:13:  “My punishment is greater than I can bear” = Notice that Cain does not even express even sorrow for his crime.  As with most criminals, only that he got caught.

 

4:14:  “thy face shall I be hid” = See Isaiah 1:15.

4:15:  “whosoever slayeth Cain” = “In sparing the life of Cain, God had demonstrated to the universe what would be the result of permitting sin to go unpunished.  The influence exerted upon his descendants by his life and teaching led to the state of corruption that demanded the destruction of the whole world by a flood.”  PP:325.

 

“mark” = Many have speculated what this “mark” is.  The Hebrew word used for “mark” here is, “oth.”  If we go to Exodus 31:13, it is used there but translated as “a sign.”  Thus, we can determine that the “mark” of Cain is those who do not obey God’s Commandments, while the “mark” in Exodus 31:13 identifies those who will obey God’s Commandments.  Specifically, the keeping of the Sabbath Commandment.  The Sabbath Commandment acknowledges the authority of God; while the “mark [oth]” of Cain acknowledges the authority of oneself.  So this is not a physical “mark,” but spiritually understood.

 

4:16-17:  “Cain went out from the presence of the LORD” = “Adam was Commanded to teach his descendants the fear of the Lord, and, by his example and humble obedience, teach them to highly regard the offerings which typified a Saviour to Come.  Adam carefully treasured what God had revealed to him, and handed it down by word of mouth to his children and children’s children.  By this means the knowledge of God was preserved.  There were some righteous upon the earth who knew and feared God even in Adam’s day.  The Sabbath was observed before the fall.  Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s Command, and ate of the forbidden fruit, they were expelled from Eden; but they observed the Sabbath after their fall.  They had experienced the bitter fruits of disobedience, and learned that every transgressor of God’s Commands will sooner or later learn that God means just what He says, and that He will surely punish the transgressor.”  1SP:59.1.

 

“The descendants of Cain were not careful to respect the day upon which God rested.  They chose their own time for labor and for rest, regardless of Jehovah’s special Command.  There were two distinct classes upon the earth.  One class were in open rebellion against God’s Law, while the other class obeyed His Commandments, and revered His Sabbath.”  1SP:60.1.

 

“There were some righteous upon the earth who knew and feared God even in Adam’s day.  The Sabbath was observed before the fall.  Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s Command, and ate of the forbidden fruit, they were expelled from Eden; but they observed the Sabbath after their fall. . . [53]

 

“On account of the special honors God conferred upon the seventh day, He required His people to number by sevens lest they should forget their Creator Who made the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh.

 

“The descendants of Cain were not careful to respect the day upon which God rested.  They chose their own time for labor and for rest, regardless of Jehovah’s special Command.  There were two distinct classes upon the earth.  One class were in open rebellion against God’s Law; while the other class obeyed His Commandments, and revered His Sabbath.”  3SG:52-53.

 

4:17:  “Cain knew his wife” = The question is often asked, “Where did Cain’s wife come from?”  The Bible makes it plain that Adam and Eve were the only two people that God created in the beginning. Adam is called “the first man,” First Corinthians 15:45-47, and Eve “the mother of all the living,” Genesis 3:20.

 

From Creation Ministries International we read:  “To start a whole population off from only one couple means that in the early generations, there would have to be all sorts of close intermarriage, and at least one instance of brother-sister intermarriage.  If Cain himself did not marry his sister, but rather a niece, that means that at least one of Cain’s brothers must have married a sister, anyway.

 

“The biological problems caused by such unions today come from a progressive accumulation of genetic defects since the fall.  An originally perfect population would not have had any such problem.  It is a biological fact in rare instances of known brother-sister intermarriage there is a very strong likelihood that there will be various defects and deformities in the offspring.”

 

We must remember that in the beginning God pronounced everything as “good,” meaning there were no genetic deformities in the gene pool until sin, and the pool became more and more corrupted through the process of time until God had to give Biblical instructions against the marrying of one’s own relatives.

 

Paul makes it clear in the New Testament that all people alive on Earth today are Adam’s descendants.  He states, “From one man He [God] made every nation of men,” Acts 17: 26.  And Genesis 2:20 (where Adam names the animals) indicates that there was no other member of Adam’s kind present, i.e., no living creature on Earth at that time was suitable to be a mate for him.

 

The Bible makes it very clear in Genesis 5:4 that Adam and Eve had, “other sons and daughters,” meaning that Cain took his wife from among his sisters or his brother’s daughters.  The Bible also makes it very clear that there were many people inhabiting the earth at that time in Genesis 4:15 when Cain departed from Adam and Eve and found his wife.

 

4:19:  “Lamech took unto him two wives” = “Lamech was the first who departed in this respect from God’s wise arrangement.  He had two wives, which created discord in his family.  The envy and jealousy of both made Lamech unhappy.  When men began to multiply upon the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, they took them wives of all which they chose.  This was one of the great sins of the inhabitants of the old world, which brought the wrath of God upon them. . . [100]

 

“Yet it was no less sin because they became corrupted, and departed in this thing from God’s order. . . God has not sanctioned polygamy in a single instance.  It was contrary to His Will.  He knew that the happiness of man would be destroyed by it.”  3SG:99-100.

 

Here it is in 1SP:93-94:  “In the beginning, God gave to Adam one wife, thus showing His order.  He never designed that man should have a plurality of wives.  Lamech was the first who departed in this respect from [94]

 

“God’s wise arrangement.  He had two wives, which created discord in his family.  The envy and jealousy of both made Lamech unhappy.  When men began to multiply upon the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, they took them wives of all which they chose.  This was one of the great sins of the inhabitants of the old world, which brought the wrath of God upon them.  This custom was practiced after the flood, and became so common that even righteous men fell into the practice, and had a plurality of wives.  Yet it was no less sin because they became corrupted, and departed in this thing from God’s order. . .

 

“Noah had but one wife; and their united family discipline was blessed of God.  Because Noah’s sons were righteous, they were preserved in the ark with their righteous father.  God has not sanctioned polygamy in a single instance.  It was contrary to His Will.  He knew that the happiness of man would be destroyed by it.  Abraham’s peace was greatly marred by his unhappy marriage with Hagar.”

 

4:21:  “Jubal” = Jubal was the inventor of musical instruments, not music, and died before the flood.  And we learn from Genesis 31:27, from a conversation between Laban and Jacob that this knowledge was passed on.  According to Job 21:12 and Hebrew tradition, there were originally three types of Music after the flood.

 

Celebration music, which consisted of chanting in the chorus, such as Miriam and Moses’ song of triumph and celebration over the deliverance from the hosts of Egypt.

 

Metrical music, which is sung with accompaniment of all present, such as Deborah and Barak sang after the defeat of Sisera.

 

Simpler Impromptu music, which is slow and methodical, such as the women of Israel greeted David with after the slaughter of the Philistines.

 

4:23:  “to my wounding” = This would be better translated as, “for wounding me.”

 

4:24:  “Lamech seventy and sevenfold” = See verse 15.  Lamech is boasting that if anyone should try to avenge the murder, he would take care of himself seventy and sevenfold.

 

4:25:  “Seth” = “Seth was of more noble stature than Cain or Abel, and resembled Adam more than any of his other sons.”  3SG:60; 1SP:65.

 

Seth “separated himself from the corrupt descendants of Cain, and labored, as Abel would have done had he lived, to turn the minds of sinful men to revere and obey God.”  1SP:60.2.

 

4:26:  “then began men to call upon the Name of the LORD” = Surely Adam did this, and it is recorded that Abraham did this (Gen. 12:8), and many others before this time.  A better translation would be, “Then began men to profane the Name of the LORD.”  The Hebrew word for “call” is “Qara.”  It can be used negatively such as meaning, “to be invoked.”  Or, “to call upon oneself,” which would mean the passage means, “Then men began to call themselves LORD.”  This would help us better understand the reason for a global flood (see its use in Num. 11:34).

 

CHAPTER FIVE

 

 

5:ALL:  Note the antediluvian genealogy, from Adam to Noah and how the Gospel is preached in the lineage of Christ.  Their names and their meanings:

 

Adam = Man -- Genesis 2:23: “And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh:  she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

 

Seth = Appointed -- Genesis 4:25:  “And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth:  For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.”  .

 

Enos = Mortal Man -- First Chronicles 1:1: “Adam, Sheth, Enosh.”  Enosh is another form of Enos, with Enosh meaning, “Mortal.”

 

Cainan = Possessor -- First Chronicles 1:2: “Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered.”  Kenan is another form of Cainan and both are derived from “Canah,” meaning, “to possess.”

 

Mahalaleel = Praise God -- First Chronicles 1:2: “Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered.”  Mahalaleel is a compound word coming from “Hillel,” [1Ch. 1:2 & Neh. 11:4] meaning, “to praise El [God].”

 

Jared = He Comes Down -- First Chronicles 1:2: “Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered.”  Both Jered and Jared are from the Hebrew, “yeredh” and “yaredh,” meaning, “he comes down,” or, “he descends.”

 

Enoch = Consecrating -- Jude 1:14: “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied [or taught] of these, saying, Behold, the Lord Cometh with ten thousands of His saints.”  Enoch comes from Henoch, which means, “consecrated, disciplined, dedicated.”

 

Methuselah = A Man’s Death -- Methuselah broken down is, “Methu,” meaning, “a man,” while “Selah,” means, “rest.”  But with “Methu” in front of “Selah,” the meaning of “Selah,” is more like a permanent “rest,” i.e., “Death.”

 

Lamech = Hurting -- Genesis 4:23:  “And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech:  for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.”

 

Noah = Comfort -- Genesis 5:29: “And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us.” However, the name means “rest.”

 

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER WE READ:  Man is Appointed Mortality a Possessor of it; but Praise God, He Comes Down, Consecrating [or Prophesying] that A Man’s Death brings the Hurting Comfort [or REST].

 

There is one element that makes these genealogies unique in the Bible.  And that is, they contain the element of time, causing some scholars to correctly call them “chronogenealogies.”  In other words, they contain an interlocking mechanism of descent information coupled with spans of time, such that “when Person One had lived “x” years, he fathered Person Two.  And Person One, after he fathered Person Two, lived “y” years, and he fathered other sons and daughters.”

 

Genesis, Chapter 5, adds the formula phrase, “And all the days of Person One were “z” years.”  This interlocking system would have precluded deleting certain generations or adding them.  In fact, Genesis, Chapters 5 and 11 contain a continuous line of descent, as corroborated by First Chronicles 1:18-27, in which there are no added or missing generations.  In this way the Bible interprets Itself.

 

For nearly 2,000 years, Jewish and Christian expositors have interpreted these texts to represent history and an accurate way to determine the date of the Flood and the age of the earth.  This is verified by the Fact (see Exo. 20:11) that the seven days of Creation as depicted in Genesis, Chapters 1-2 is historically accurate.

 

5:1: “the book of the generations of Adam” = This should not be used as a support for Adam being an author, any more than Matthew 1:1, i.e., “The Book of the Generation of Jesus Christ,” can be used to imply Christ as the Author.

 

5:2: “Adam” = Notice that both are called Adam by God, the woman being called Eve by the man, in Genesis 3:20.  Also notice the plural usage of the word “them” in Genesis 1:26.  In other words, God considered them equal at creation.  Ecstatically, the man acknowledged his companion as “woman” (Hebrew “ishshah”), connected to him but separate from himself as “man” (Hebrew “ish”), but still an equal.

 

“When God created Eve, He designed that she should possess neither inferiority nor superiority to the man, but that in all things she should be his equal.  The holy pair were to have no interest independent of each other; and yet each had an individuality in thinking and acting.” 3T:484.

 

5:3: “in his own likeness, after his image” = Does this mean that mankind is no longer in “the image of God?”  NO!  For according to Genesis 9:6, God still values mankind as being in His image (see also Jam. 3:9).  But we also are an image of our parents.  Genesis 1:26-27 is the original creation of mankind into God’s “image.” And Genesis 5:1, a mere two verses earlier refute any concept that mankind is no longer valued as being “in the image of God.”

 

However, sin has defaced mankind (see First Corinthians 11:7).  How well mankind represents the image of God anymore is quite questionable.  We are constantly given a choice in life.  Will we represent God; or will we represent fallen mankind?

 

5:4: “Sons and Daughters” = According to Genesis 5:4, Adam and Eve had more children than just Cain, Abel, and Seth.  They had “sons and daughters” also.  Genetic similarity was not a problem in those days.  After all, Adam married his own rib.  For Cain and Seth to marry their own sisters “in the beginning” was not a predicament, but an only option.  How many “sons and daughters” do you think Adam and Eve could have had in the period of a little less than seven to eight hundred years given them for procreation?

 

5:6-7: “Seth. . . begat sons and daughters” = “The Israelites, who could not be overcome by the arms or by the enchantments of Midian, fell a prey to her harlots.  Such is the power that woman, enlisted in the service of Satan, has exerted to entrap and destroy souls.  ‘She hath cast down many wounded:  yea, many strong men have been slain by her.’  Proverbs 7:26.  It was thus that the children of Seth were seduced from their integrity, and the holy seed became corrupt.  It was thus that Joseph was tempted.  Thus Samson betrayed his strength, the defense of Israel, into the hands of the Philistines.  Here David stumbled.  And Solomon, the wisest of kings, who had thrice been called the beloved of his God, became a slave of passion, and sacrificed his integrity to the same bewitching power.” PP:457.

 

5:21: “Enoch” = Enoch “separated himself from the descendants of Cain, and reproved them for their great wickedness. . . God communed with Enoch through His angels, and gave him Divine instruction.  He made known to him that He would not always bear with man in his rebellion -- that His purpose was to destroy the sinful race by bringing a flood of waters upon the earth.” 1SP:60.

 

“In prophetic vision he was instructed in regard to the Son of God, Who was to die man’s sacrifice, and was shown the Coming of Christ in the clouds of Heaven, attended by the angelic host, to give life to the righteous dead, and ransom them from their graves.  He also saw the corrupt state of the world at the time when Christ should appear the second time -- that there would be a boastful, presumptuous, self-willed generation arrayed in rebellion against the Law of God, and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and trampling upon his blood, and despising his atonement.  He saw the righteous crowned with glory and honor, while the wicked were separated from the presence of the Lord, and consumed with fire.” 1SP:61.3.

 

“In the presence of the righteous and the wicked, Enoch was removed from them.” 1SP:63; 3SG:57.

 

“Enoch’s translation to Heaven just before the destruction of the world by a flood, represents the translation of all the living righteous from the earth previous to its destruction by fire.  The saints will be glorified in the presence of those who have hated them for their loyal obedience to God’s righteous Commandments.” 1SP:85; 3SG:59.

 

“The Lord opened more fully to Enoch the plan of salvation, and by the spirit of prophecy carried him down through the generations which should live after the flood, and showed him the great events connected with the Second Coming of Christ and the end of the world.

 

“Enoch was troubled in regard to the dead.  It seemed to him that the righteous and the wicked would go to the dust together, and that would be [62] their end.  He could not clearly see the life of the just beyond the grave.  In prophetic vision he was instructed in regard to the Son of God, Who was to die man’s sacrifice, and was shown the Coming of Christ in the clouds of Heaven, attended by the angelic host, to give life to the righteous dead, and ransom them from their graves.  He also saw the corrupt state of the world at the time when Christ should appear the Second Time -- that there would be a boastful, presumptuous, self-willed generation arrayed in rebellion against the Law of God, and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and trampling upon His blood, and despising His atonement.  He saw the righteous crowned with glory and honor, while the wicked were separated from the presence of the Lord, and consumed with fire.

 

“Enoch faithfully rehearsed to the people all that God had revealed to him by the spirit of prophecy.  Some believed his words, and turned from their wickedness to fear and worship God.  Such often sought Enoch in his places of retirement, and he instructed them, and prayed for them that God would give them a knowledge of His Will.  At length he chose certain periods for retirement, and would not suffer the people to find him, for they interrupted his holy meditation and communion with God.  He did not exclude himself at all times from the society of those who loved him and listened to his words of wisdom; neither did he separate himself wholly from the corrupt.  He met with the good and bad at stated times, and labored to turn the ungodly from their evil course, and instruct them in the knowledge and fear of God.  He taught those who had the knowledge of God to serve Him more perfectly. [63]

 

“He would remain with them as long as he could benefit them by his godly conversation and holy example, and then would withdraw himself from all society -- from the just, the scoffing and idolatrous, to remain in solitude, hungering and thirsting for communion with God, and that Divine knowledge which He alone could give him.

 

“Enoch continued to grow more Heavenly while communing with God.  His face was radiant with a holy light which would remain upon his countenance while instructing those who would hear his words of wisdom.  His Heavenly and dignified appearance struck the people with awe.  The Lord loved Enoch because he steadfastly followed Him, and abhorred iniquity, and earnestly sought Heavenly knowledge that he might do His Will perfectly.  He yearned to unite himself still more closely to God, Whom he feared, reverenced, and adored.  God would not permit Enoch to die as other men, but sent His angels to take him to Heaven without seeing death.  In the presence of the righteous and the wicked, Enoch was removed from them.  Those who loved him thought that God might have left him in some of his places of retirement; but after seeking him diligently, and being unable to find him, reported that he was not, for God took him.

 

“The Lord here teaches a lesson of the greatest importance by the translation of Enoch, a descendant of fallen Adam, that all would be rewarded, who by faith would rely upon the promised Sacrifice, and faithfully obey His Commandments.” 1SP:61-63.

 

“Through holy angels, God revealed to Enoch His purpose to destroy the world by a flood,” PP:85.

 

5:22 & 24: “Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah” = Notice that it was after Enoch had children that he “walked with God.”

 

“God communed with Enoch through His angels, and gave him Divine instruction.  He made known to him that He would not always bear with man in his rebellion -- that His purpose was to destroy the sinful race by bringing a flood of waters upon the earth.”  3SG:54.

 

“The Lord opened more fully to Enoch the plan of salvation, and by the spirit of prophecy carried him down through the generations which should live after the flood, and showed him the great events connected with the second coming of Christ and the end of the world.”  3SG:55.

 

“And how did Enoch walk with God?  He educated his mind and heart to ever feel that he was in the presence of God, and when in perplexity his prayers would ascend to God to keep him.”  LDE:71.1.

 

“He [Enoch] did not make his abode with the wicked.  He did not locate in Sodom, thinking to save Sodom.  He placed himself and his family where the atmosphere would be as pure as possible.  Then at times he went forth to the inhabitants of the world with his God-given message.  Every visit he made to the world was painful to him.  He saw and understood something of the leprosy of sin.  After proclaiming his message, he always took back with him to his place of retirement some who had received the warning.  Some of these became overcomers and died before the Flood came.  But some had lived so long in the corrupting influence of sin that they could not endure righteousness.  They did not retain their purity of faith, but returned to their former customs and practices.” Manuscript 42, 1900; CTr:49.5; 1BC:1087.10; 

 

Enoch preached “in the land where Cain had thought to flee from the Divine presence.” PUR:139.

 

“Pray in your closet, and as you go about your daily labor let your heart be often uplifted to God.  It was thus that Enoch walked with God.” SC:99.

 

“The message preached by Enoch and his translation to Heaven were a convincing argument to all who lived in his time.  These things were an argument that Methuselah and Noah could use with power to show that the righteous could be translated.  That God Who walked with Enoch was our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” SpTA03:40; 6T:392.

 

“. . . while engaged in our daily work, we should lift the soul to Heaven in prayer.  It was thus that Enoch walked with God. . . We can no more live the Christian life without prayer than we can live the physical life without food.” ST, January 29, 1902; GW:254; MYP:249.

 

“Enoch represents those who shall remain upon the earth and be translated to Heaven without seeing death.  He represents that company that are to live amid the perils of the last days, and withstand all the corruption, vileness, sin, and iniquity, and yet be unsullied by it all.” RH, April 19, 1870.

 

5:24: “he was not; for God took him” = “The flaming chariots of God were sent for this holy man [Enoch], and he was borne to Heaven.” RH, April 19, 1870.

 

5:29: “Noah” = Meaning “rest.”

 

“comfort. . . because of the ground” = This gives reference back to Genesis 3:17, “cursed is the ground. . . in sorrow shalt thou eat of it.”  Now “comfort” will take the place of “sorrow.”

 

5:32: “Shem” = Meaning, “Name, reputation, essence of a person.”  From Shem comes forth the Godly lineage (Gen. 9:26).

 

Genesis 5:32 may be taken to indicate that the sons of Noah were triplets or that Shem (born when Noah was 500 years old) was the firstborn.  However, Genesis 9:24 tells us that Ham is the youngest, while Genesis 10:21 shows us that Japheth is the oldest.  Also, a careful comparison of Genesis 7:6 and 11:10, shows us that Shem was not the eldest.  He was 100 years old two years after the flood, which came when Noah was 600; making him 98 and Japheth 100 at the time of the flood.  Therefore, he was born when Noah was 502 years old and is mentioned first because of his importance as the progenitor of the postdiluvian patriarchal line.

 

“Ham” = Ham appears to be the ancestor to the Egyptians and made his home there:  Psalm 78:51; 104:23 & 27; 105:23 & 27; 106:22.  He was also the youngest of the three (Gen. 9:24).  Ham is thought to be the ancestor of the Black race.

 

“Japheth” = Genesis 9:27 explains his name as meaning, “may God make wide,” or “enlarge.” The Targum of Onkelos says of Japheth, “God shall beautify Japheth.”  According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, “The immediate descendants of Japheth were seven in number, and are represented by the nations designated Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Mesech, and Tiras; or, roughly, the Armenians, Lydians, Medes, Greeks, Tibarenians, and Moschians, the last, Tiras, remaining still obscure.  The sons of Gomer (Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah) were all settled in the West Asian tract; while the sons of Javan (Elisah, Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim or Rodanim) occupied the Mediterranean coast and the adjacent islands.”

​

 

CHAPTER SIX

 

 

6:1-4:  “sons of God” = See my Bible Study:  “SONS OF GOD, THE TRUE.”

 

“The descendants of Seth were called the sons of God -- the descendants of Cain, the sons of men.  As the sons of God mingled with the sons of men, they became corrupt, and by intermarriage with them, lost, through the influence of their wives, their peculiar, holy character, and united with the sons of Cain in their idolatry.  Many cast aside the fear of God, and trampled upon His Commandments.  But there were a few who did righteousness, who feared and honored their Creator.  Noah and his family were among the righteous few.”  3SG:60.2; 1SP:66.1; ST, February 27, 1879, paragraph 1.

 

6:3:  “For that he also is flesh” = A more correct Hebrew word for a translation equaling “also” is “gam,” as in Genesis 3:6 & 22; 4:4 & 22 & 28; 6:4; 7:3.  But here in this passage the Hebrew word is “shagag,” meaning, “to wander,” “to go astray.”  Therefore, a more correct rendering of this passage would be, “for that he wandered, being flesh.”

 

“yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” = Here is my Ezekiel 4:5 Note:  “three hundred and ninetydays” = These “days” were the years during which Israel and Judah sinned, and date in the case of Israel from Jeroboam’s rebellion to the time at which Ezekiel wrote (circa 390 years); and in the case of Judah from Josiah’s reformation.  The breakdown would be when Judah was finally desolated by Nebuzar-adan, in B.C. 584, to the establishment of idolatry in Israel by Jeroboam, in B.C. 975; beginning from First Kings 12:33 and ending in Jeremiah 52:30.  That these “days” equal “years,” speaking prophetically, see verse 6 which states, ”I have appointed thee each day for a year.”  For other instances where our Lord uses “days” in the sense of meaning “years” in prophetic language, see also Numbers 14:34; First Samuel 20:6; Psalm 90:10; and then see Genesis 6:3.

 

That this proclamation of God refers to mankind’s probation before God would destroy them with a flood should they not enter into His sanctuary (the ark built by Noah and others) is seen by the EGW quote below.  However, in a side note, are we not also given a proclamation that man’s lifespan from now on would only be equal to about 120 years as seen in just a very few generations after the flood?

 

“[208] For a hundred and twenty years was sounded in their ears the warning to repent, lest the wrath of God be manifested in their destruction. [339] But the [209] message seemed to them an idle tale, and they believed it not. Emboldened in their wickedness they mocked the messenger of God, made light of his entreaties, and even accused him of presumption.  How dare one man stand up against all the great men of the earth?  If Noah’s message were true, why did not all the world see it and believe it?  One man’s assertion against the wisdom of thousands!  They would not credit the warning, nor would they seek shelter in the ark.  Scoffers pointed to the things of nature, -- to the unvarying succession of the seasons, to the blue skies that had never poured out rain, to the green fields refreshed by the soft dews of night, -- and they cried out:  ‘Doth he not speak parables?’  In contempt they declared the preacher of righteousness to be a wild enthusiast; and they went on, more eager in their pursuit of pleasure, more intent upon their evil ways, than before.”  4SP:208-209; GC88:338-339; GC:338.

 

6:4:  “giants” = See my Bible Study:  “SONS OF GOD, THE TRUE.”

 

These “giants” may not have been necessarily just referring to mankind.  They may be (and I believe they are also) referring to dinosaurs.  See my Bible Study:  “DINOSAURS MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE.”

 

“[65] Seth was of more noble stature than Cain or Abel, and resembled Adam more than any of his other sons.  The descendants of Seth had separated themselves from the wicked descendants of Cain.  They cherished the knowledge of God’s Will, while the ungodly race of Cain had no respect for God and His sacred Commandments.  But when men multiplied upon the earth, the descendants of Seth saw that the daughters of the descendants of Cain were very beautiful, and they [66] departed from God and displeased Him by taking wives as they chose of the idolatrous race of Cain.”  1SP:65-66.

 

“But if there was one sin above another which called for the destruction of the race by the flood, it was the base crime of amalgamation of man and beast which defaced the image of God, and caused confusion everywhere.”  1SP:69; 3SG:64.

 

“Every species of animals which God had created was preserved in the ark.  The confused species which God did not create, which were the result of amalgamation, were destroyed by the flood.  Since the flood, there has been amalgamation of man and beast, as may be seen in the almost endless varieties of species of animals, and in certain races of men.”  1SP:78; 3SG:75.

​

NOTE:  Upon discussing EGW’s comments about “amalgamation,” it is assumed that when speaking of “man” she was meaning the “sons of God” mingling with the “descendants of Cain.”  As I am an expounder of the Bible being all about “character,” that could be plausible.  However, the reason this is surmised in the first place is because EGW is falsely accused of being “racist,” which is totally silly.  Therefore, let’s not stray from her original statement, “amalgamation of man and beast.”  Or else, where did “giants” and dinosaurs come from?

​

“I was shown that very large, powerful animals existed before the flood which do not now exist.”  1SP:87; 3SG:92.

 

“God so ordered that men, beasts, and trees, many times larger than those now upon the earth, and other things, should be buried in the earth at the time of the flood, and there be preserved to evidence to man that the inhabitants of the old world perished by a flood.”  1SP:90; 3SG:95; LHU:59.

 

6:5:  “God saw that the wickedness of man” = “The inhabitants of the Noachian world were destroyed, because they were corrupted through the indulgence of perverted appetite.”  3T:162; 1BC:1090; HR, October 1, 1872 (p. 89).

 

“The world had become so corrupt through indulgence of appetite and debased passions in the days of Noah that God was provoked to destroy its inhabitants by the waters of the flood.  As men again multiplied upon the earth, the indulgence of wine to intoxication perverted the senses, and prepared the way for excessive meat-eating and the strengthening of the animal passions.”  RH, March 3, 1874.

 

“Nearly the whole world was against Noah; yet there were many who had not had light in regard to the redemption that had been promised to our first parents.  The significance of the sacrificial offerings had been perverted, and they no longer shadowed forth to the people the method of the atonement.  The message given by Noah, the building of that strange boat, called forth questions, just as God designed it should, and excited the curiosity of the people.  Crowds of people came from all parts of the world to see the strange and wonderful structure, and heard the message of condemnation and the promise of deliverance.  The words that had been spoken to Adam were rehearsed, -- That sin and Satan should not always triumph.  There was to be victory for those who feared God.  When his voice was lifted in warning of what God was about to bring upon the world in judgment because of the wickedness of men, great opposition was manifested against the words of the messenger.  The opposition, however, was not entirely world-wide; for some believed the message of Noah, and zealously repeated the warning.  But the men who were accounted wise were sought, and were urged to present arguments by which the message of Noah might be counteracted.  And as the world was at peace and not at war with the prince of evil, they were glad of any excuse to set aside the ‘Thus saith the Lord’ and listen to the philosophers of the age, who presented the impossibility of such a change taking place in the forces of nature as Noah predicted. . .

 

“Thus it was that the wise men of this world talked of science and the fixed laws of nature, and declared that there could be no variation in these laws, and that this message of Noah could not possibly be true.  The talented men of Noah’s time set themselves in league against God’s will and purpose, and scorned the message and the messenger that He had sent.  When they could not move Noah from his firm and implicit trust in the word of God, they pointed to him as a fanatic, as a ranting old man, full of superstition and madness.  Thus they condemned him because he would not be turned from his purpose by reasonings and theories of men.  It was true that Noah could not controvert their philosophies, or refute the claims of science so called; but he could proclaim the word of God; for he knew it contained the infinite wisdom of the Creator, and, as he sounded it everywhere, it lost none of its force and reality because men of the world treated him with ridicule and contempt. {ST, April 18, 1895 par. 8}

 

“Noah did not mix the soft, pleasing deceptions of Satan with his message.  He did not utter the sentiment of many of his day who declared that God was too merciful to do such a terrible work.  Many asserted that God would grant the wicked another season of probation; but Noah did not indulge them in the faintest hope that those who neglected the present opportunity, who rejected the present message, would be favored with another opportunity of salvation.  God means that men shall not only love Him, but that His fear shall be in their hearts.

 

“. . . There were many who at first received Noah’s message, but the fear of men was greater than the fear of God, and they turned away from the truth of God to believe a lie.  As time passed on, and reproach and ridicule were heaped upon them, their hearts failed them, and they did not bear the test.”  ST, April 18, 1895.

 

“imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” = Here is the ENTIRE REASON for the flood.

 

6:6:  “repented the LORD” = Apologists use this verse to argue that this makes God out to be “weak and human like in caricature,” Ibn Anwar, BHsc (Hons), MCollT.  That God is “weak” because He has compassion is ridiculous.  That God is “human like in caricature,” we have no problem with this accusation, only as it is tied to “weak.”

 

This does not speak of any passion or uneasiness in the Godhead, for nothing can create a disturbance to the Eternal mind, nor make Him change His mind; for “with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning,” James 1:17 (see also Num. 23:19; 1Sa. 15:29; Tit. 1:2).  But it does speak to His just and Holy displeasure against sin and sinners.  The change is not in God, but in mankind.  Here we can see in a very real sense that our God is not exempt from the pain and anguish which sin had introduced into His creation.

 

What is important to notice from this phrase however, is that our Father is a just God and this foreshadows the judgment that is sure to come for disobedience.  Because our God is Holy, He must react towards sin.  After all, God did see this coming.

 

That this phrase “suggests that there is a higher being than God to receive His repentance or that God repents to Himself which paints a rather unpalatably strange picture (perhaps likened to a schizophrenic who speaks to himself),” Ibn Anwar, BHsc (Hons), MCollT, is answered by the fact once again that our God is compassionate, as opposed to most other man-made-up gods.

 

6:7:  “I will destroy man” = See my Bible Study:  “FLOOD, OTHER ACCOUNTS OF.”

 

Why have a flood?  Why not just destroy all the wicked and leave the righteous to carry on?  I believe the reason is so that future generations would have evidence of a living, righteous God.  The Genesis flood is one of the greatest pieces of evidence against the Evolutionists “Theories” arguments.

 

According to Genesis 7:11-12; Psalm 24:1-2; 33:7; 136:6; Proverbs 8:28; Job 38:8, the earth today used to sit on top of what is now our oceans.  In other words, our plant is different than what it was before the flood.  For Evolutionists to measure time and space and animals for evidence now is to assume to many unanswerable variables.  Or in their case, unprovable theories and false conceptions (unsupported lies).  Plus, there was a canopy of water in the atmosphere (Gen. 1:7); which is no longer there.

 

“The pure and lovely garden of Eden, from which our first parents were driven, remained until God purposed to destroy the earth by a flood.  God had planted that garden, and especially blessed it; and in His wonderful providence He withdrew it from the earth, and will return it to the earth again, more gloriously adorned than before it was removed from the earth.  God purposed to preserve a specimen of His perfect work of creation free from the curse wherewith He had cursed the earth.”  1SP:61.1.

 

“God so ordered that men, beasts, and trees, many times larger than those now upon the earth, and other things, should be buried in the earth at the time of the flood, and there be preserved to evidence to man that the inhabitants of the old world perished by a flood.  God designed that the discovery of these things in the earth should establish the faith of men in inspired history.  But men, with their vain reasoning, make a wrong use of these things which God designed should lead them to exalt Him.  They fall into the same error as did the people before the flood -- those things which God gave them as a benefit, they turned into a curse, by making a wrong use of them.”  1SP:90.1.

 

“They had erected altars in groves, and consecrated them to their idols, whereon they offered human sacrifices.”  3SG:70.

 

“There perished in the flood greater inventions of art and human skill than the world knows of today.  The great gifts with which God had endowed man were perfected.  There was gold and silver in abundance, and men were constantly seeking to exceed their fellow men in devising how they might contend with the universe of heaven and gain possession of Eden.”  20MR:195; 4MR:149.

 

“There are many inventions and improvements, and labor-saving machines now that the ancients did not have.  They did not need them. {CC:33.3}

 

“Men before the flood lived many hundreds of years, and when one hundred years old were considered but youths.  Those long-lived men had sound minds in sound bodies. . . They came upon the stage of action from the ages of sixty to one hundred years, about the time those who now live the longest have acted their part in their little short life time, and have passed off the stage. {CC:33.4}

 

“There were many giants, men of great stature and strength, renowned for wisdom, skillful in devising the most cunning and wonderful works; but their guilt in giving loose rein to iniquity was in proportion to their skill and mental ability. {CC:33.5}

 

“God bestowed upon these antediluvians many and rich gifts; but they used His bounties to glorify themselves, and turned them into a curse by fixing their affections upon the gifts instead of the Giver.  They employed the gold and silver, the precious stones and the choice wood, in the construction of habitations for themselves, and endeavored to excel one another in beautifying their dwellings with the most skillful workmanship.  They sought only to gratify the desires of their own proud hearts, and reveled in scenes of pleasure and wickedness. {CC:33.6}

 

“They became corrupt in their imagination, because they left God out of their plans and councils.  They were wise to do what God had never told them to do, wise to do evil. . . They used the probation so graciously granted them in ridiculing Noah.  They caricatured him and criticized him.  They laughed at him for his peculiar earnestness and intense feeling in regard to the judgments which he declared God would surely fulfill.  They talked of science and of the laws controlling nature.  Then they held a carnival over the words of Noah, calling him a crazy fanatic.”  CC:33.3-7.

 

“God did not condemn the antediluvians for eating and drinking; He had given them the fruits of the earth in great abundance to supply their physical wants.  Their sin consisted in taking these gifts without gratitude to the Giver, and debasing themselves by indulging appetite without restraint.”  PP:101.

 

HERE IS THE ORIGINAL:

 

“There are many inventions and improvements, and labor-saving machines now that the ancients did not have.  They did not need them.  The land has felt the curse, more and more heavily.  Before the flood, the first leaf which fell, and was discovered decaying upon the ground, caused those who feared God great sorrow.  They mourned over it as we mourn over the loss of a dead friend.  In the decaying leaf they could see an evidence of the curse, and of the decay of nature. {4aSG:155.2}

 

“The greater the length of time the earth has lain under the curse, the more difficult has it been for man to cultivate it, and make it productive.  As the soil has become more barren, and double labor has had to be expended upon it, God has raised up men with inventive faculties to construct implements to lighten labor on the land groaning under the curse.  But God has not been in all man’s inventions.  Satan has controlled the minds of men to a great extent, and has hurried men to new inventions which has led them to forget God. {4aSG:155.3}

 

“In strength of intellect, men who now live can bear no comparison to the ancients.  There has been more ancient arts lost that the present generation now possess.  For skill and art those living in this degenerate age will not compare with the knowledge [156] possessed by strong men who lived near one thousand years. {4aSG 155.4}

 

“Men before the flood lived many hundred of years, and when one hundred years old were considered but youths.  Those long-lived men had sound minds in sound bodies.  Their mental and physical strength was so great that the present feeble generation can bear no comparison to them.  Those ancients had nearly one thousand years in which to acquire knowledge.  They came upon the stage of action from the ages of sixty to one hundred years, about the time those who now live the longest have acted their part in their little short life time, and have passed off the stage.  Those who are deceived, and flattered on in the delusion that the present is an age of real progress, and that the human race has been in ages past progressing in true knowledge, are under the influence of the father of lies, whose work has ever been to turn the truth of God into a lie.”  4aSG:155.2-156.1.

 

6:8:  “grace” = Here is the TRUE meaning of “grace:” “Grace is the empowerment to DO the Will of God.”

 

6:9:  “perfect in his generations” = That is, “perfect in his” genealogical lineage of the line of Christ.  That Noah aspired towards “perfection” of character is entailed in the next expression: “and Noah walked with God.”

 

6:11:  “and the earth was filled with violence” = Why did God destroy all living beings upon the earth (Gen. 6:7) with a flood?  If you answer, “It was because of man’s sin?” then we all better go get some life-jackets.  However, if you answer because there was no place on earth without “violence,” and that mankind was “only evil continually,” Genesis 6:5, and had no thoughts of doing the right thing, then you would be closer to the truth.

 

6:13:  “I will destroy them” = There will be those who die twice:  “As He called forth the waters in the earth at the time of the flood, as weapons from His arsenal to accomplish the destruction of the antediluvian race, so at the end of the one thousand years He will call forth the fires in the earth as His weapons which He has reserved for the final destruction, not only of successive generations since the flood, but the antediluvian race who perished by the flood.”  3SG:87.

 

“For 120 years He sent them warnings through His servant Noah.  But they used the probation so graciously granted them in ridiculing Noah.  They caricatured him and criticized him.  They laughed at him for his peculiar earnestness and intense feeling in regard to the judgments which he declared God would surely fulfill.  They talked of science and of the laws controlling nature.  Then they held a carnival over the words of Noah, calling him a crazy fanatic.  God’s patience was exhausted.”  21MR:454.

 

“Fifteen centuries after the sentence pronounced upon Cain, the universe witnessed the fruition of his influence and example, in the crime and pollution that flooded the earth. . . [Thus, the flood] was a blessing rather than a curse.”  PP:78.

 

6:14:  “Make thee an ark” = See my Bible Study:  “NOAH’S ARK.”

 

“Some of the carpenters he employed in building the ark believed the message, but died before the flood; others of Noah’s converts backslid.”  1BC:1088; RH, August 16, 1906; 21MR:65.

 

“Methuselah, the son of Enoch, listened to the preaching of his grandson, Noah, who faithfully warned the inhabitants of the old world that a flood of waters was coming upon the earth.  Methuselah and his sons, and grandsons, lived in the time of the building of the ark.  They, with some others, received instruction from Noah, and assisted him in building the ark.”  1SP:65.2.

 

“God gave Noah the exact dimensions of the ark, and explicit directions in regard to the construction of it in every particular.  In many respects it was not made like a vessel, but prepared like a house, the foundation like a boat which would float upon water.  There were no windows in the sides of the ark.  It was three stories high, and the light they received was from a window in the top.  The door was in the side.  The different apartments prepared for the reception of different [71]

 

“animals were so made that the window in the top gave light to all.  The ark was made of the cypress or gopher wood, which would know nothing of decay for hundreds of years.  It was a building of great durability, which no wisdom of man could invent.  God was the Designer, and Noah His master-builder.”  1SP:70-71.  

 

“Men may labor in connection with the work of God as did Noah’s carpenters, and yet resist the Divine influences.”  1888M4:1387.

 

“There are those who will be like the men who helped to build the ark.  They hear the truth; they have every advantage to become men of moral worth; yet they will not choose the good society, but the corrupt.  If there is an influence that is not heavenly, they will gather to their side and unite with them, and although they act a part in the preparation of the truth which is to fit a people to stand in the day of the Lord, they will perish in the general ruin like Noah’s carpenters who helped to build the ark.”  18MR:261-262.

 

“Those who believed when Noah began to build the ark, lost their faith through association with unbelievers who aroused all the old passion for amusement and display.”  RH, September 15, 1904; 1BC:1088.

 

“Methuselah and his sons. . . assisted in building the ark. . . Every blow struck upon the ark was a witness to the people.  Many at first appeared to receive the warning; yet they did not turn to God with true repentance.  They were unwilling to renounce their sins.  During the time that elapsed before the coming of the flood, their faith was tested, and they failed to endure the trial.  Overcome by the prevailing unbelief, they finally joined their former associates in rejecting the solemn message.  Some were deeply convicted, and would have heeded the words of warning; but there were so many to jest and ridicule, that they partook of the same spirit, resisted the invitations of mercy, and were soon among the boldest and most defiant scoffers; for none are so reckless and go to such lengths in sin as do those who have once had light, but have resisted the convicting Spirit of God.  The men of that generation were not all, in the fullest acceptation of the term, idolaters.  Many professed to be worshipers of [96]

 

“God.  They claimed that their idols were representations of the Deity, and that through them the people could obtain a clearer conception of the Divine Being.  This class were foremost in rejecting the preaching of Noah.  As they endeavored to represent God by material objects, their minds were blinded to His majesty and power; they ceased to realize the holiness of His character, or the sacred, unchanging nature of His requirements. As sin became general, it appeared less and less sinful, and they finally declared that the Divine Law was no longer in force; that it was contrary to the character of God to punish transgression; and they denied that His judgments were to be visited upon the earth.  Had the men of that generation obeyed the Divine Law, they would have recognized the voice of God in the warning of His servant; but their minds had become so blinded by rejection of light that they really believed Noah’s message to be a delusion.”  PP:95-96.

 

“God gave Noah the exact dimensions of the ark, and explicit directions in regard to the construction of it in every particular.  In many respects it was not made like a vessel, but prepared like a house, the foundation like a boat which would float upon water.  There were no windows in the sides of the ark.  It was three stories high, and the light they received was from a window in the top.  The door was in the side.  The different apartments prepared for the reception of different animals were so made that the window in the top gave light to all.”  3SG:66.

 

“gopher wood” = “The ark was made of the cypress or gopher wood, which would know nothing of decay for hundreds of years.”  1SP:71.

 

“shalt pitch it within and without with pitch” = If you ask any wooden boat-builder where they put “pitch,” they will answer, “Only without.”  So why the instruction to also “pitch it within?”  I believe it was to preserve the wood when the flood subsided.  Some believe it was so we could find the ark centuries later to quiet unbelievers.  But I believe it was more practical than that.  Since there would be no trees upon the earth that were not water-logged, Noah could use these treated beams from off of the ark for the shelter that he and his families would need now that the earth could experience rain and other weather out-cropping’s.

 

6:15:  “The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits” = God was very specific.  This is a ratio of 30 to 5 to 3 (length to breadth to height).  As far as we know from recorded history, until about 1858 A.D. the ark was the largest floating ship ever created.  In terms that we can understand better, the ark was about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.  In 1844 A.D., a man named Isambard K. Brunnel built his giant ship, the Great Britain.  He used almost the exact ratio of the ark -- 30 to 5 to 3.

 

As it turns out, these dimensions are the perfect ratio for a huge boat built for seaworthiness and not for speed.  Obviously, the ark was not built for speed, since it had nowhere to go.  What is more, shipbuilders during World War II used approximately the same ratio to build a ship known as the S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien (one of a group of ships known as the Liberty Ships, which were referred to as “the ugly ducklings”), a barge-like boat built to carry tremendous amounts of cargo, just like the ark.  Brunnel and others like him had many generations of shipbuilding knowledge to use, but Noah’s ark measurements literally were the first of its kind.  The “Archimedes Principle” states that the weight of the volume of fluid to the object being displaced needs to be calculated in order for a ship to float properly and be the most stable.  God knew the total mass the ark could support before the gravitational weight would overcome the buoyancy force causing it not to sink and be very stable.

 

Genesis 6:17; 7:6 & 10 & 17; 9:11 & 15 & 28; 10:1 & 32; 11:10; Psalm 29:10:  “flood” = Hebrew “mabbuwl” meaning “the floodgates” of heaven.  Of all the Hebrew words for “flood,” this is the only one that is applied to the universality of Noah’s flood [Psa. 29:10] and God’s universal reign.

 

“The bowels of the earth were the Lord’s arsenal, from which He drew forth the weapons He employed in the destruction of the old world.  Waters in the bowels of the earth gushed forth, and united with the waters from heaven, to accomplish the work of destruction.”  3SG:82.

 

6:18:  “thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives” = God tells Noah before-hand how many will enter the ark!

 

“A multitude at first apparently received the warning of Noah, yet did not fully turn to God with true repentance.  There was some time given them before the flood was to come, in which they were to be placed upon probation -- to be proved and tried.  They failed to endure the trial.  The prevailing degeneracy overcame them, and they finally joined others who were corrupt, in deriding and scoffing at faithful Noah.  They would not leave off their sins, but continued in polygamy, and in the indulgence of their corrupt passions.”  1SP:71.2.

 

6:21:  “take thou unto thee of all food” = “When they saw the last sign given -- the provisions for man and beast taken into the ark -- then mirth and revelry and mocking increased.”  19MR:387.

​

CHAPTER SEVEN

 

 

7:9:  “There went in” = “Angels were sent to collect from the forest and field the beasts which God had created.  Angels went before these animals and they followed, two and two, male and female, and clean beasts by sevens.  These beasts, from the most ferocious, down to the most gentle and harmless, peacefully and solemnly marched into the ark.  The sky seemed clouded with birds of every description.  They came flying to the ark, two and two, male and female, and the clean birds by sevens.  The world looked on with wonder -- some with fear, but they had become so hardened by rebellion that this most signal manifestation of God’s power had but a momentary influence upon them.  For seven days these animals were coming into the ark, and Noah was arranging them in the places prepared for them.”  1SP:72; 3SG:68; SR:65; ST, February 27, 1879.

 

“Everything was now ready for the closing of the ark, which could not have been done by Noah from within.  An angel is seen by the scoffing multitude descending from Heaven, clothed with brightness like the lightning.  He closes that massive outer door, and then takes his course upward to Heaven again.  Seven days were the family of Noah in the ark before the rain began to descend upon the earth.  In this time they were arranging for their long stay while the [73] waters should be upon the earth.  And these were days of blasphemous merriment by the unbelieving multitude.  They thought because the prophecy of Noah was not fulfilled immediately after he entered the ark, that he was deceived, and that it was impossible that the world could be destroyed by a flood.”  1SP:72-73.

 

7:17:  “the waters increased, and bare up the ark” = “The storm increased in violence until water seemed to come from heaven like mighty cataracts.  The boundaries of rivers broke away, and the waters rushed to the valleys.  The foundations of the great deep also were broken up.  Jets of water would burst up from the earth with indescribable force, throwing massive rocks hundreds of feet into the air, and then they would bury themselves deep in the earth.”  1SP:73.

 

“The people first beheld the destruction, of the works of their hands.  Their splendid buildings, their beautifully arranged gardens and groves, where they had placed their idols, were destroyed by lightning from heaven.  Their ruins were scattered everywhere.  They had erected alters in groves, and consecrated them to their idols, whereon they offered human sacrifices.  These which God detested were torn down in His wrath before them, and they were made to tremble before the power of the living God, the Maker of the heavens and the earth, and they were made to know that it was their abominations and horrible idolatrous sacrifices, which had called for their destruction.”  1SP:74; ST, March 6, 1879; PP 99.

 

“The violence of the storm increased, and there were mingled with the warring of the elements, the wailings of the people who had despised the authority of God.  Trees, buildings, rocks, and earth, were hurled in every direction.  The terror of man and beast was beyond description.  And even Satan himself, who was compelled to be amid the warring elements, feared for his own existence.  He had delighted to control so powerful a race, and wished them to live to practice their abominations, and increase their rebellion against the God of Heaven.  He uttered imprecations against God, charging Him with injustice and cruelty.  Many of the people, like Satan, blasphemed God, and if they could have carried out their rebellion, would have torn Him from the throne of justice.  While many were blaspheming and cursing their Creator, others were frantic with fear, stretching their hands toward the ark, pleading for admittance.  But this was impossible.  God had closed the door, the only entrance, and shut [75]

 

“Noah in, and the ungodly out.  He alone could open the door.  Their fear and repentance came too late.  They were compelled to know that there was a living God Who was mightier than man, Whom they had defied and blasphemed.  They called upon Him earnestly, but His ear was not open to their cry.  Some in their desperation sought to break into the ark, but that firm-made structure resisted all their efforts.  Some clung to the ark until borne away with the furious surging of the waters, or their hold was broken off by rocks and trees that were hurled in every direction.  Those who had slighted the warning of Noah, and ridiculed that faithful preacher of righteousness, repented too late of their unbelief.  The ark was severely rocked and tossed about.  The beasts within expressed, by their varied noises, the wildest terror, yet amid all the warring of the elements, the surging of the waters, and the hurling about of trees and rocks, the ark rode safely.  Angels that excel in strength guided the ark and preserved it from harm.  Every moment during that frightful storm of forty days and forty nights the preservation of the ark was a miracle of Almighty power.

 

“The animals exposed to the tempest rushed toward man, choosing the society of human beings, as though expecting help of them.  Some of the people would bind their children and themselves upon powerful beasts, knowing that they would be tenacious for life, and would climb the highest points to escape the rising water.  The storm does not abate its fury -- the waters increase faster than at first.  Some fasten themselves to lofty trees upon the highest points of land, but these trees are torn up by the roots, and carried with [76]

 

“violence through the air, and appear as though angrily hurled, with stones and earth, into the swelling, boiling billows.  Upon the loftiest heights human beings and beasts would strive to hold their position until all were hurled together into the foaming waters, which nearly reached the highest points of land.  The loftiest heights are at length reached, and man and beast alike perish by the waters of the flood.”  1SP:74-76.

 

7:19-20:  “all the high hills. . . were covered” = See my Genesis 7:22-23 Note.  Also, a better account is given to us in Psalm 104:6 & 8, in that verse 6 states the same thing, but verse 8 gives us more detail, showing us that the mountains arose, while the valleys descended.  This explains how places such as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and other places upon this earth were formed, being impossible scientifically to have taken millions of years.

 

7:22-23:  “dry land. . .upon the face of the ground” = It appears from this that marine life would not be affected.  However, the fossil record lets us know that there was violence in the deep also.  The rising of the Tectonic Plates and lowering of the same explain our high mountains today and deep trenches in the oceans of today.  This must have occurred sometime after the “forty days and forty nights,” Genesis 7:12, possibly at “the end of the hundred and fifty days [when] the waters [began to be] were abated,” Genesis 8:3.  The deep trenches in our oceans today would also explain were all of the water went to.  If our earth today were flat, all the water upon the earth would be above the land-mass by “Fifteen cubits,” Genesis 7:20.  Pretty interesting, right?

​

 

CHAPTER EIGHT

 

 

8:3:  “continually” = The Hebrew is “H1980; halak; meaning, “To go; went;” and H7725; shub; meaning, “To turn back; return,” which correlates to wave action the size of a tsunami.

 

8:4:  “on the mountains of Ararat” = History records many sightings of what we label as “Noah’s Ark” in a valley between two mountains in the Ararat chain, near what is now close to Krap/Arpacay/Kars, Turkey.  The sightings are:  “Berosus, B.C. 257; Hieronymus, B.C. 30; Flavius Josephus, 50 A.D.; Theophilus of Antioch, 180 A.D.; Bishop Epiphantus of Salamis, 380 A.D.; Armenian King, Haithon, 1254 A.D.; Marco Polo, 1269 A.D.; Sir John Mandeville, Knight, 1366 A.D.; Sir John Chardin, 1711 A.D.; Friedrich W. Parrot, 1829 A.D.; and the most resent and credible, Ron Wyatt in 1960 A.D.

 

“These mountains were but a little distance apart, and the ark moved about and rested upon one, then another, of these mountains, and was no more driven upon the boundless ocean.  This gave great relief to Noah and all within the ark.  As the mountains and hills appeared, they were in a broken, rough condition, and all around them appeared like a sea of roiled water or soft mud.

 

“In the time of the flood the people, and beasts also, gathered to the highest points of land, and as the waters returned from off the earth, dead bodies were left upon high mountains and upon the hills, as well as upon the plains.  Upon the surface of the earth were the bodies of men and beasts.  But God would not have these to remain upon the face of the earth to decompose and pollute the atmosphere, therefore He made of the earth a vast burying ground.  He caused a powerful wind to pass over the earth for the purpose of drying up the waters, which moved them with great force -- in some instances carrying away the tops of the mountains like mighty avalanches, forming huge hills and high mountains where there were none to be seen before, and burying the dead bodies with trees, stones, and earth.  These mountains and hills increased in size and became more irregular in shape by collections of stones, ledges, trees, and earth, which were driven [81]

 

“upon and around them.  The precious wood, stone, silver and gold, that had made rich and adorned the world before the flood, and which the inhabitants had idolized, was sunk beneath the surface of the earth.  The waters which had broken forth with such great power, had moved earth and rocks, and heaped them upon earth’s treasures, and in many instances formed mountains above them to hide them from the sight and search of men.

 

“God saw that the more He enriched and prospered sinful man, the more he corrupted his way before Him.  These treasures, which should have led man to glorify the bountiful Giver, had been worshiped instead of God, while the Giver had been rejected.

 

“The beautiful, regular-shaped mountains had disappeared.  Stones, ledges, and ragged rocks, appeared upon some parts of the earth which were before out of sight.  Where had been hills and mountains, no traces of them were visible. Where had been beautiful plains covered with verdure and lovely plants, hills and mountains were formed of stones, trees, and earth, above the bodies of men and beasts.  The whole surface of the earth presented an appearance of disorder.  Some parts of the earth were more disfigured than the others.  Where once had been earth’s richest treasures of gold, silver, and precious stones, were seen the heaviest marks of the curse.  And upon countries which were not inhabited, and those portions of the earth where there had been the least crime, the curse rested more lightly.

 

“Before the flood there were immense forests.  The trees were many times larger than any trees [82]

 

“which we now see.  They were of great durability.  They would know nothing of decay for hundreds of years.  At the time of the flood, these forests were torn up or broken down and buried in the earth.  In some places large quantities of these immense trees were thrown together and covered with stones and earth by the commotions of the flood.  They have since petrified and become coal, which accounts for the large coal beds which are now found.  This coal has produced oil.  God causes large quantities of coal and oil to ignite and burn.  Rocks are intensely heated, limestone is burned, and iron ore melted.  Water and fire under the surface of the earth meet.  The action of water upon the limestone adds fury to the intense heat, and causes earthquakes, volcanoes, and fiery issues.  The action of fire and water upon the ledges of rocks and ore causes loud explosions which sound like muffled thunder.  These wonderful exhibitions will be more numerous and terrible just before the Second Coming of Christ and the end of the world, as signs of its speedy destruction.

 

“Coal and oil are generally to be found where there are no burning mountains or fiery issues.  When fire and water under the surface of the earth meet, the fiery issues cannot give sufficient vent to the heated elements beneath.  The earth is convulsed, the ground heaves, and rises into swells or waves, and there are heavy sounds like thunder under ground.  The air is heated, and suffocating.  The earth quickly opens, and I saw villages, cities and burning mountains carried down together into the earth.

 

“God controls all these elements; they are His instruments to do His Will; He calls them into [83] action to serve His purpose.  These fiery issues have been, and will be, His agents to blot out from the earth very wicked cities.  Like Korah, Dathan and Abiram, they go down alive into the pit.”  1SP:80-83.

 

“Upon the surface of the earth were the bodies of men and beasts. But God would not have these to remain upon the face of the earth to decompose and pollute the atmosphere, therefore he made of the earth a vast [78]

 

“burying ground.  He caused a powerful wind to pass over the earth for the purpose of drying up the waters, which moved them with great force -- in some instances carrying away the tops of mountains like mighty avalanches, forming huge hills and high mountains where there were none to be seen before, and burying the dead bodies with trees, stones, and earth.  These mountains and hills increased in size and became more irregular in shape by collection of stones, ledges, trees, and earth which were driven upon and around them.  The precious wood, stone, silver and gold that had made rich, and adorned the world before the flood, which the inhabitants had idolized, was sunk beneath the surface of the earth.  The waters which had broken forth with such great power, had moved earth and rocks, and heaped them upon earth’s treasures, and in many instances formed mountains above them to hide them from the sight and search of men. . . The beautiful, regular shaped mountains had disappeared. [79]

 

“Where had been beautiful plains covered with verdure and lovely plants, hills and mountains were formed of stones, trees, and earth, above the bodies of men and beasts.  The whole surface of the earth presented an appearance of disorder.  Some parts of the earth were more disfigured than the others.  Where once had been earth’s richest treasures of gold, silver and precious stones, was seen the heaviest marks of the curse.  And countries which were not inhabited, and those portions of the earth where there had been the least crime, the curse rested more lightly.

 

“Before the flood there were immense forests.  The trees were many times larger than any trees which we now see.  They were of great durability.  They would know nothing of decay for hundreds of years.  At the time of the flood these forests were torn up or broken down and buried in the earth.  In some places large quantities of these immense trees were thrown together and covered with stones and earth by the commotions of the flood.  They have since petrified and become coal, which accounts for the large coal beds which are now found.  This coal has produced oil.  God causes large quantities of coal and oil to ignite and burn.  Rocks are intensely heated, limestone is burned, and iron ore melted.  Water and fire under the surface of the earth meet.  The action of water upon the limestone adds fury to the intense heat, and causes earthquakes, volcanoes and fiery issues.”  3SG:77-79.

 

“Greater wonders than have yet been seen will be witnessed by those upon the earth a short period previous to the Coming of Christ.”  1SP:84.2.  See Revelation 16:18.

 

“The bowels of the earth were the Lord’s arsenal, from which He drew forth the weapons He employed in the destruction of the old world.  Waters in the bowels of the earth gushed forth, and united with the waters from heaven, to accomplish the work of destruction.  Since the flood, God has used both water and fire in the earth as His agents to destroy wicked cities.

 

“In the day of the Lord, just before the Coming of Christ, God will send lightnings from heaven in His wrath, which will unite with fire in the [85]

 

“earth.  The mountains will burn like a furnace, and will pour forth terrible streams of lava, destroying gardens and fields, villages and cities; and as they pour their melted ore, rocks and heated mud, into the rivers, will cause them to boil like a pot, and send forth massive rocks, and scatter their broken fragments upon the land with indescribable violence.  Whole rivers will be dried up.  The earth will be convulsed, and there will be dreadful eruptions and earthquakes everywhere.  God will plague the wicked inhabitants of the earth until they are destroyed from off it.  The saints are preserved in the earth in the midst of these dreadful commotions, as Noah was preserved in the ark at the time of the flood.”  1SP:84-85.

 

8:7:  “raven” = Interesting choice of bird.  Did Noah send the “raven” to see if it would not came back because it would find dead bodies and thus have enough to eat and not return? Or did he send it to see if there were no dead bodies to feast upon?

 

8:17:  “be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth” = What this tells us is that God put within the framework of animals (and mankind, see Gen. 9:1), organisms with the ability to vary in such a way that they can adapt to the different environments that God knew would eventually transpire upon this earth.

 

8:18:  “Noah went forth” = “Again an angel descends and opens the door of the ark.  Noah could remove the top, but he could not open the door which God had shut.  God spoke to Noah through the angel who opened the door, and bade the family of Noah go forth out of the ark, and bring forth with them every living thing.”  1SP:76.1.

 

“Noah preserved seed and took it with him into the ark, and God by His miraculous power preserved a few of the different kinds of trees and shrubs. . . In God’s providence seeds were scattered and driven into the crevices of the rocks, and there securely hid for the future use of man.”  1SP:79-80.

 

8:19:  “Every beast” = See my Genesis 6:4 Note.

 

8:20:  “took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings” = To this day Rabbi’s argue as to whether or not these “clean beast[s]” were composed of 7 pairs or 7 animals (3 pairs and one extra male).  The reason for the second option is in order for Noah to be able to have a sacrifice of thanksgiving after exiting the ark.  Interesting thought.  But this would entail that the animals had no offspring during their one-year stay upon the ark.  For example, the gestation period for a sheep is from 145 to 152 days; plenty of time.  Also, if the number is 7 animals as opposed to 7 pairs, this would make it even more plausible for all the animals to fit inside the ark.

 

8:21:  “neither will I again smite any more every thing living” = “God gave man no permission to eat animal food until after the [121] flood.  Every thing had been destroyed upon which man could subsist, and therefore the Lord in their necessity gave Noah permission to eat of the clean animals which he had taken with him into the ark [In my opinion, God could have kept enough vegetables fresh, which were also taken into the ark, until a harvest of the seeds, also taken into the ark, had produced.  But most likely Noah and his family also fell into EGW’s next paragraphs statements].  But animal food was not the most healthy article of food for man.

 

“The people who lived before the flood ate animal food, and gratified their lusts until their cup of iniquity was full, and God cleansed the earth of its moral pollution by a flood.  Then the third dreadful curse rested upon the earth.  The first curse was pronounced upon the posterity of Adam and upon the earth, because of disobedience.  The second curse came upon the ground after Cain slew his brother Abel.  The third most dreadful curse from God, came upon the earth at the flood.”

 

“After the flood the people ate largely of animal food.  God saw that the ways of man were corrupt, and that he was disposed to exalt himself proudly against his Creator, and to follow the inclinations of his own heart.  And He permitted that long-lived race to eat animal food to shorten their sinful lives.  Soon after the flood the race began to rapidly decrease in size, and in length of years.  There were a class of very large animals which perished at the flood.  God knew that the strength of man would decrease, and these mammoth animals could not be controlled by feeble man.”  4aSG:120-121.

 

8:22:  “cold and heat” = Apparently it wasn’t overly cold or hot and seasonal before the flood.  If the earth were not tilted at a 23-degree angle as it is now, it would be spring all over the earth.  This “possible” change in the earth’s axis could explain how the mammoths were frozen while standing near the North Pole.

 

CHAPTER NINE

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9:1:  “replenish the earth” = See my Genesis 8:17 Note.

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9:2:  “the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast” = “After Noah had come forth from the ark, he looked around upon the powerful and ferocious [79] beasts which he brought out of the ark, and then upon his family numbering eight, and was greatly afraid that they would be destroyed by the beasts.  But the Lord sent His angel to say to Noah {verse quoted}.  1SP:78-79.

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9:3: “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you” = There are of course two exceptions. The first being obvious, that of the previously distinguished clean animals from the unclean animals. The second being as found in Verse 4, that they clean animals were not to be eaten with the blood still in them. What is known today as “kosher” meat.

 

“Previous to this time God had given man no permission to eat animal food.  Every living substance upon the face of the earth upon which man could subsist had been destroyed, therefore God gave Noah permission to eat of the clean beasts which he had taken with him into the ark.  God said to Noah.  [Verse quoted].  As God had formerly given them the herb of the ground and fruit of the field, now, in the peculiar circumstances in which they are placed He permits them to eat animal food.  Yet I saw that the flesh of animals was not the most healthy article of food for man.  The whole surface of the earth was changed at the flood.  A third dreadful curse now rested upon it in consequence of man’s transgression.”  ST, March 6, 1879; 3SG:76; 1SP:79.

 

“. . . the eating of flesh was suffered, in order to shorten the period of the existence of the long-lived race.  It was allowed because of the hardness of the hearts of men.”  TSDF:68; PC:362; SpM:46.

 

“After the curse was pronounced upon the human family, God permitted man to eat flesh-meat.  This He did that life might be shortened.  The punishment of death has been pronounced upon the race, and the permission to eat flesh-meat was one of the means used by God to inflict this punishment.”  PC:1.3.

 

9:5:  “at the hand of every beast will I require it” = It is to be noted that because the shedding of blood in sacrifices was to keep the worshippers in mind of the great atonement; yet our Lord also intended to check cruelty against all of His creatures, lest men, being used to the shedding and feeding upon the blood of animals, should grow unfeeling towards them and be less shocked at the idea of shedding their blood, and ultimately, shedding human blood.

 

“at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the loife of man” = Here God institutes capital punishment.  Compare with Ecclesiastes 8:11 and Romans 13:1-4.

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9:11:  “neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood” = This promise of God is accompanied by a sign in verse 13.  It is NOT a “Covenant” between man and God, in that man does not “agree” to not sin anymore.  God only “Covenants,” or “agrees” to not destroy mankind for sin in this manner – global flood.

 

9:13:  “I do set My bow” = “This rainbow was to evidence the fact to all generations that God destroyed the inhabitants of the earth by a flood, because of their great wickedness.  It was His design that as the children of after generations should see the bow in the cloud, and should inquire the reason of this glorious arch that spanned the heavens, that their parents could explain to them the destruction of the old world by a flood, because the people gave [78]

 

“themselves up to all manner of wickedness, and that the hands of the Most High had bended the bow, and placed it in the clouds, as a token that He would never bring again a flood of waters on the earth. . . A rainbow is represented in Heaven round about the throne, also above the head of Christ, as a symbol of God’s mercy encompassing the earth.  When man, by his great wickedness, provokes the wrath of God, Christ, man’s intercessor, pleads for him, and points to the rainbow in the cloud, as evidence of God’s great mercy and compassion for erring man; also the rainbow above the throne and upon His head, emblematical of the glory and mercy from God resting there for the benefit of repentant man.”  1SP:77-78.

 

9:16:  “everlasting covenant” = The “everlasting covenant” = “the covenant of grace.”  3ST:21.

 

“This does not imply that He would ever forget; but He speaks to us in our own language, that we may better understand Him.”  PP:106.

 

9:20:  “began” = The Hebrew is, “chalal,” and literally means, “wounded.”  However, in the Jewish line of thinking, this word really means, “started over,” which makes complete sense, as obviously the flood had destroyed everything.

 

9:21:  “wine” = See my Bible Study, “WINE, BIBLICAL.”

 

“Stimulating drinks have been used freely, which have confused the brain and brought down man to the level of the brute creation.  While intoxicated, every degree of crime has been committed, and yet the perpetrators have been excused in many instances, because they knew not what they were doing.  This does not lessen the guilt of the criminal.  If by his own hand he puts the glass to his lips, and deliberately takes that which he knows will destroy his reasoning faculties, he becomes responsible for all the injury he does while intoxicated, at the very moment he lets his appetite control him, and he barters away his reasoning faculties for intoxicating drinks.  It was his own act which brought him even below the brutes, and crimes committed when he is in a state of intoxication should be punished as severely as though the person had all the power of his reasoning faculties.”  4aSG:125.

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9:22: “Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father” = The Hebrew for “father” is “H1; ab,” which can be very confusing, especially when trying to trace family lineage, because it can mean either, “father; grandfather; forefathers; ancestor; father (as in the originator.” Verse 25 clears this verse all up when we understand that the second occurrence of “father” in this verse should be translated as ‘grandfather.”

Thus, the reading in the Hebrew Bible attempts a to be a little more helpful, adding “who,” but even more important, adding “grandfather: “And Ham the father of Canaan, who {Canaan being the “who”} saw the nakedness of his grandfather.” See my verse 24 Note.

Noah was only prophesying what was foreseen by God. This could very well be the first inclinations towards sodomy, which later bore fruit in the line of Ham/Canaan by the time of Sodom and Gomorrah. See my Genesis 10:19 Note.

9:24: “his younger son had done” = Not Noah’s younger son, but Ham’s “younger son,” as verse 25 makes clear, for it is Canaan that is “Cursed.” Here again, the Hebrew, “H1121; ben,” is open, in that it can be either “son; grandson; great-grandson; youth.” Thus, “younger son” should be translated as “grandson.”

9:25: “a servant” = Better, the “lowest of the low servants,” will he be.

“Canaan” = According to Psalm 78:51; 105:23 & 27; 106:22; Ham eventually moved his family to the areas around Egypt. For where Canaan went, a descendant of Ham, see my Note in Genesis 10:19.

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CHAPTER TEN

 

 

10:6:  “Mizraim” = According to Psalm 78:51 & 105:23 & 106:22,  Egypt is where Ham ended up settling.  For those who believe Mizraim was the father of Egypt, there is no trace of this name among the Egyptians and no use of it in the historical books of the Old Testament.  By contrast, some of the earliest sculptures yet found in Egypt represent the god “Min.”  This false god seems also to have been called “Khem,” a very exact Egyptian equivalent for “Ham,” the ancestor of the Hamitic people of Egypt.

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10:8:  “Nimrod” = The name means, “The Rebel.”  In the antient world he was actually known as, “mighty one in the earth.”  Same verse.  The ancients literally called him, ` “Mean Orta,” which means, “God of the earth.”  But the Bible (God) is correctly identifying who this pretender really is/was, “The Rebel.”  This is Satan’s new champion for the post flood peoples.

 

10:9:  “before the Lord” = Or better, “In the face of the Lord,” meaning, in opposition to God and His ways.

 

10:10: “Shinar” = Babylon.

 

10:11:  “Out of that land went forth Asshur” = Asshur is the son of Shem (Gen. 10:22).  This is important to know, for Shem is from the line of “the sons of God.”  See my Bible Study, “SONS OF GOD, THE TRUE.”

 

Now then, Asshur “went forth” “Out of that land.”  Out of what “land?”  The “land” where “Nimrod,” verse 8, had built his kingdom.

 

Therefore, what is going on here is that the Word of God is pointing out to us that Asshur didn’t want anything to do with the corruptive influence of his father’s brother’s offspring; who would later build the famous “Tower of Babel,” in Genesis, Chapter 11.

 

In verses 11-14 we read of the cities he founded; one of them being “Nineveh,” verse 12.  It is from these verses that we learn that Asshur is the father of the Assyrians, i.e., a derivative of Asshur.  We learn from the Book of Jonah that “Nineveh,” a city of the Assyrians, repented when the Lord, through Jonah, spoke to them.

 

Notice that the Assyrians came from the Godly line of Shem and Asshur, but Asshur’s line continued to keep straying.  Let us not be Assyrians; but Shemites.

 

10:15:  “Canaan” = Remember, this is the Canaan of Genesis 9:24-25 fame.

 

10:16:  “Amorite” = The name Amorite is used in the Old Testament to denote (1) The inhabitants of Palestine generally, (2) The population of the hills as opposed to the plain, and (3) a specific people under a king of their own.

 

Thus (1) we hear of them on the west shore of the Dead Sea (Gen. 14:7), at Hebron (Gen. 14:13), and Shechem (Gen. 48:22), in Gilead and Bashan (Deu. 3:10) and under Hermon (Deu. 3:8; 4:48).  They are named instead of the Canaanites as the inhabitants of Palestine whom the Israelites were required to exterminate (Gen. 15:16?; Deu. 20:17; Jud. 6:10; 1Sa. 7:14; 1Ki. 21:26; 2Ki. 21:11); the older population of Judah is called Amorite in Joshua 10:5-6, in conformity with which Ezekiel (Eze. 16:3) states that Jerusalem had an Amorite father; and the Gibeonites are said to have been “of the remnant of the Amorites,” Second Samuel 21:2.

 

On the other hand (2), in Numbers 13:29, the Amorites are described as dwelling in the mountains like the Hittites and Jebusites of Jerusalem, while the Amalekites or Bedouins lived in the south and the Canaanites on the seacoast and in the valley of the Jordan.

 

Lastly (3) we hear of Sihon, “king of the Amorites,” Numbers 21:21-31; Deuteronomy 2:26-35, who had conquered the northern half of Moab.

 

10:18:  “and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad” = That would be “after” the Tower of Babel incident coming up in Genesis, Chapter 11.

 

10:19:  “Sodom, and Gomorrah” = Notice that it is Canaan, that son of Satan from Genesis 9:24-25 fame, that Asshur wanted to get away from (see my Gen. 10:11 Note), that produced this homosexual tendency right down into his offspring (“unto the third and fourth generation,” Exo. 20:5; 34:7; Num. 14:18; Deu. 5:9).  Remember, Canaan was “cursed” because of his sexual perversion (see my Gen. 9:22 Note) from which his offspring finally ended up in and formed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

 

“Noah’s son was so debased by the use of wine that he lost all sense of propriety, and the curse that followed his sin has never been lifted from his descendants.”  ST, March 19, 1902; AUCR:109; 1PRC:595.

 

“The unnatural crime of Ham declared that filial reverence had long before been cast from his soul, and it revealed the impiety and vileness of his character.  These evil characteristics were perpetuated in Canaan and his posterity, whose continued guilt called upon them the judgments of God.”  PP:117.

 

“Lasha” = According to the “Targum of Jonathan,” Lasha is later called Callirrhoe, a place famous for hot waters, which run into the Dead sea (see “Phaleg.” l. 4. c. 37. col. 309).

 

10:21:  “Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber” = This is “the sons of God” line (see my Gen. 10:11 Note).  Shem is “the father” of “Eber,” or in other words, the Hebrews; the line from which Abram and Lot will come from.  Therefore, Lot should have known better than to go down into the cities of (Canaan) the Canaanites.  Deuteronomy 32:7-9 is very clear in explaining why God executed the Tower of Babel incident in the first place.  This is where God chose one people, whom He knew would know the True God, to represent Him on earth.

 

10:25:  “Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided” = That is, the Tower of Babel event in Genesis, Chapter 11.  Peleg literally means, “Divided.”  In other words, this is when God confounded men’s language.

 

Since I believe that God’s Word (the reason He wrote It) is totally and completely about righteous living (and unrighteous living; getting to know the character of God and conforming your life to His), therefore, this can also mean the separation between the righteous and the unrighteous.  Wherefore, in a sense, this is (could be) a dual prophecy.

 

Other theologians have suggested that this could also refer to the fact that the then known earth was being flooded from the melting ice capes of the northern and southern hemispheres (which is why we find fully formed elephants frozen there today), and therefore, the land bridges between continents were no longer usable (this is how we have Kangaroos in Australia and nowhere else, because at the time the weather was more suitable for them there, so why go anywhere else).

 

10:32:  “after the flood” = And also, or better understood as, after the dividing of the earth of verse 25.  In other words, the Tower of Babel.

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CHAPTER ELEVEN

 

 

11:1:  “one language, and of one speech” = The Hebrew literally means, “every word means the same thing.”  As an example, in our English language a word can mean many different things or have many different applications.  However, what is meant here is that every word meant exactly what it meant and everyone knew exactly what you were saying and meaning by it.

 

With this background, there was no confusion (therefore God confused them, because), and that direct communication power was used Satanically to build an empire that enslaved people to a sinful lifestyle.

 

By contrast, according to Zephaniah 3:9, there will only be one “pure language” in Heaven.

 

11:3:  “brick for stone, and slime had they for morter” = Down in the Dead Sea valley it is perfect for this, as it would generally take a very long time to make “bricks,” as Israel had to do in Egypt.  Thus, they chose this location because they could manufacture “bricks” quickly to build their tower.

 

11:4:  “build us a city and a tower” = The Targums, both the “Targums of Jonathan ben Uzziel,” and the “Targums of Jerusalem,” assert that the tower was for idolatrous worship.

 

“Some of the descendants of Noah soon began to apostatize.  A portion followed the example of Noah, and obeyed God’s Commandments; others were unbelieving and rebellious, and even these did not believe alike in regard to the flood.  Some disbelieved in the existence of God, and in their own minds accounted for the flood from natural causes.  Others believed that God existed, and that he destroyed the antediluvian race by a flood; and their feelings, like Cain, rose in rebellion against God, because He destroyed the people from the earth, and cursed the earth the third time by a flood.

 

“Those who were enemies of God felt daily reproved by the righteous conversation and godly lives of those who loved, obeyed, and exalted God.  The unbelieving consulted among themselves, and agreed to separate from the faithful, whose righteous lives were a continual restraint upon their wicked course.  They journeyed a distance from them, and selected a large plain wherein to dwell.  They built them a city, and then conceived the idea of building a large tower to reach unto the clouds, that they might dwell together in the city and tower, and be no more scattered.  They reasoned that they would secure themselves in case of another flood, for they would build their tower to a much greater height than the waters prevailed in the time of the flood, and all the world would honor them, and they would be as gods, and rule over the people.  This tower was calculated to [92]

 

“exalt its builders, and was designed to turn the attention of others who should live upon the earth from God to join with them in their idolatry.  Before the work of building was accomplished, people dwelt in the tower.  Rooms were splendidly furnished, decorated and devoted to their idols.  Those who did not believe in God, imagined if their tower could reach unto the clouds, they would be able to discover reasons for the flood.”  1SP:91-92.

 

“Those who were enemies of God felt daily reproved by the righteous conversation and godly lives of those who loved, obeyed, and exalted God.  The unbelieving agreed to separate from the faithful, whose righteous lives were a continual restraint upon their wicked course.  They journeyed a distance from them, and selected a large plain wherein to dwell. . . [97]

 

“They built them a city, and then conceived the idea of building a large tower to reach unto the clouds, that they might dwell together in the city and tower, and be no more scattered.  They reasoned that they would secure themselves in case of another flood, for they would build their tower to a much greater height than the waters prevailed in the time of the flood, and all the world would honor them, and they would be as gods, and rule over the people.”  3SG:96-97.

 

“The Lord first established the system of sacrificial offerings with Adam after his fall, which he taught to his descendants.  This system was corrupted before the flood by those who separated themselves from the faithful followers of God, and engaged in the building of the tower of Babel.”  3SG:301.4.

NOTE:  Uriah Smith, Editor of the Review and Herald, July 31, 1866, he noted this typographical error, and pointed out that in the original manuscript of EGW’s writings it read:  “This system was corrupted before the flood, and by those. . .”  This is confirmed by seeing 1SP:266, the original writing, where it states:  “flood, and.”  In other words, EGW certainly knew that the Tower of Babel was built after the flood.

 

“The dwellers on the plain of Shinar disbelieved God’s covenant that He would not again bring a flood upon the earth.  Many of them denied the existence of God and attributed the Flood to the operation of natural causes.  Others believed in a Supreme Being, and that it was He who had destroyed the antediluvian world; and their hearts, like that of Cain, rose up in rebellion against Him.  One object before them in the erection of the tower was to secure their own safety in case of another deluge.  By carrying the structure to a much greater height than was reached by the waters of the Flood, they thought to place themselves beyond all possibility of danger.  And as they would be able to ascend to the region of the clouds, they hoped to ascertain the cause of the Flood.”  PP:119.

 

“Among the men of Babel, there were living some who feared God, although they had been deceived by the pretensions of the ungodly, and drawn into their schemes.  These men would not join this confederacy to thwart the purposes of God.  They refused to be deceived by the wonderful representations and the grand outlook.  For the sake of these loyal ones, the Lord delayed his judgments, and gave the ungodly time to reveal their true character.  But the great majority were fully united in their Heaven-daring undertaking.  They heeded not the counsel of the Lord, but strove to carry out their own purposes.

 

“This confederacy was born of rebellion against God.  The dwellers on the plain of Shinar established their kingdom for self-exaltation, not for the glory of God.  Had they succeeded, a mighty power would have borne sway, banishing righteousness, and inaugurating a new religion.  The world would have been demoralized.  The mixture of religious ideas with erroneous theories would have resulted in closing the door to peace, happiness, and security.  These suppositions, erroneous theories, carried out and perfected, would have directed minds from allegiance to the Divine statutes, and the Law of Jehovah would have been ignored and forgotten.  Determined men, inspired and urged on by the first great rebel, would have resisted any interference with their plans or their evil course.  In the place of the Divine precepts they would have substituted laws framed in accordance with the desires of their selfish hearts in order that they might carry out their purposes.

 

“But God never leaves the world without witnesses for Him.  At the time of the first great apostasy after the flood, there were men who humbled themselves before God, and cried unto Him. ‘O God,’ they pleaded, ‘interpose between Thy cause and the plans and methods of men.’

 

“ ‘And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower (the great idol-building), which the children of men builded.’  Angels were sent to bring to naught the purposes of the builders.”  RH, December 10, 1903.

 

11:4:  “let us make us a name” = This is another purpose for the building of the “tower.”  Because they didn’t want (rejected) the Name of God.

 

11:5:  “children of men” = See Genesis 6:2.

 

This passage does not mean that God was not aware or caught by surprise by what they were doing.  Rather, it is a Hebrew expression that means God is ready to take action now, for even our patient and longsuffering Lord has a limit to His forbearance.  The same Hebrew expression is used in Genesis 18:21 when speaking of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

 

“There were some among them, however, who feared the Lord, but who had been deceived by the pretensions of the ungodly, and drawn into their schemes.  For the sake of these faithful ones, the Lord delayed His judgments, and gave the people time to reveal their true character.”  PP:123.

 

11:7:  “confound their language” = “They had built their tower to a lofty height, when the Lord sent two angels to confound them in their work.  Men had been appointed for the purpose of receiving word from the workmen at the top of the tower, calling for material for their work, which the first would communicate to the second, and he to the third, until the word reached those upon the ground.  As the word was passing from one to another in its descent, the angels confounded their language, and when the word reached the workmen upon the ground, material was called for which had not been required.  And after the laborious process of getting the material to the workmen at the top of the tower, it was not that which they wished for.  Disappointed and enraged, they reproached those whom they supposed were at fault.  After this, there was no harmony in their work.  Angry with one another, and unable to account for the misunderstanding, and strange words among them, they left the work and separated from each other, and scattered abroad in the earth.  Up to this time, men had spoken but one language.  Lightning from heaven, as a token of God’s wrath, broke off the top of [93] their tower, casting it to the ground.  Thus God would show to rebellious man that He is supreme.”  1SP:92-93. 

 

“Noah, the faithful preacher of righteousness, lived for three hundred and fifty years after the flood, Shem for five hundred years, and thus their descendants had an opportunity to become acquainted with the requirements of God and the history of His dealings with their fathers.  But they were unwilling to listen to these unpalatable truths; they had no desire to retain God in their knowledge; and by the confusion of tongues they were, in a great measure, shut out from intercourse with those who might have given them light.”  PP:120.

 

11:8:  “scattered them” = “Their confederacy ended in strife and bloodshed.  Lightnings from heaven [“as a token of God’s wrath” in 3SG:98] broke off the upper portion of the tower, and cast it to the ground. . . In our day the Lord desires that his people shall be dispersed throughout the earth.  They are not to colonize. . . When the disciples followed their inclination to remain in large numbers in Jerusalem, persecution was permitted to come upon them, and they were scattered to all parts of the inhabited world.”  RH, December 10, 1903; 8T:214; 1SP:92-93; PUR, November 19, 1903; PP:119.

 

11:9:  “Babylon” = The Babylonians derived the name of their city from Bab-ilu, which means “gate of god.” According to this verse however, the name means “confusion,” because “the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth.”  There seems to be a play on words here, for the two Hebrew words “balal,” meaning “to confuse,” and “babel,” meaning “gate of god,” sound very similar.

 

11:16:  “Eber. . . Peleg” = See my Genesis 10:21 & 25 Notes.

 

11:26:  “Abram” = Meaning, “Great father,” while “Abraham” means, “Father of a Great Nation.”  Abraham is mentioned 74 times in the New Testament.  This makes him a prominent patriarch that needs to be studied.

 

Secular proof of the existence of Abraham was found, when in 1935 the “Inscription Disk,” from Mari, which was the ancient capital of the Amorites, in about B.C. 1800, was uncovered.

 

“The Lord communicated His Will to Abraham through angels.  Christ appeared to him, and gave him a distinct knowledge of the Requirements of the Moral Law, and of the great salvation which would be accomplished through Himself. . . God revealed to Abraham his purposes through vision.  He was shown in a figure that his posterity would become bondmen to an idolatrous nation, because of their transgression of the Law of God, and that they would be punished for their apostasy.”  RH, April 29, 1875.

 

“The Lord had revealed Himself to Abraham in his youth, and gave him understanding, and preserved him from idolatry.”  3SG:98.

 

11:31 & 12:5:  “they went forth with them” = “During their stay in Haran, both Abraham and Sarah had led others to the worship and service of the true God.  These attached themselves to the patriarch’s household, and accompanied him to the land of promise.”  PP:127.

 

11:31:  “Haran” = Meaning, “delayed.”  And Abram was surely “delayed” from going into the land of Canaan while stopping here.  So why did they go north?  They were following the river Euphrates, which is better than attempting to go straight to Canaan, crossing the very inhospitable desert.  However, Haran was also known to have a temple there where the false god of “Sin” was worshipped.  The “Haran Stele” shows an image of Nabonidus, the last Neo-Babylonian king, worshipping “Sin,” the “Moon God,” and also “Ishtar,” the “Sun God.”  See my Bible Study:  “BIBLE, ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS THAT SUPPORT THE.”

 

“from Ur of the Chaldees” = That God called Abram while he was in Ur, see Acts 7:2.  But Terah is given credit out of respect for elders.

​

 

CHAPTER TWELVE

 

 

12:1-2:  “Get thee out of thy country” = See Joshua 24:2-3.  According to these verses it was Abraham who left “the other side of the flood,” rather than his father Terah.

 

The Lord “designed to make him [Abraham] an example of faith, and true devotion, for His people who should afterward live upon the earth.”  3SG:98-99.

 

The Lord had revealed himself to Abraham in his youth, and gave him understanding, and preserved him from idolatry.  He designed to make him an example of faith, and true devotion, for His people who should afterward live upon the earth.  His character was marked for integrity, generosity, and hospitality.  He commanded respect as a mighty prince among the people.  His reverence and love for God, and his strict obedience in performing His Will, gained for him the respect of his servants and neighbors.  His godly example and righteous course, united with his faithful instructions to his servants and all his household, led them to fear, love, and reverence, the God of Abraham.”  1SP:93.1.

 

“Abraham must be separated from the associations of his early life.  The influence of kindred and friends would interfere with the training which the Lord purposed to give His servant.  Now that Abraham was, in a special sense, connected with Heaven, he must dwell among strangers.  His character must be peculiar, differing from all the world.  He could not even explain his course of action so as to be understood by his friends.  Spiritual things are spiritually discerned, and his motives and actions were not comprehended by his idolatrous kindred.”  PP:126.

 

12:3:  “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee:  and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” = This verse is used extensively to promote the near worshipping of the state of Israel.  However, a closer look at the spiritual application of this blessing discovers that the “in thee” would apply to Abraham’s faith in a Coming Savior, and that the “in thee” is really referring to the “Seed,” i.e., the Messiah that would be “in his” lineage.  Is there a dual application here?  Possibly.  But the main purpose should not be missed.  Faith in a Coming Messiah.  And here is the reason Abraham was chosen (because no other could be found doing this):  “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him [in this verse].”  Genesis 18:19.

 

Here is the point of Genesis 18:19 (see my Note there).  You are not the One that is special Abraham (Jewish nation).  The “Torah” is what is special.  And the people or people groups that keep It will be the representatives of Me (the true God).  God’s Commandments are what is special and those who carry them wherever they go will be special.  And keep this in mind.  For God to chose you for a task in this life, on this earth, it will be a burden and a blessing.  A blessing mainly for others to partake of.

 

This is the most abused text in the Bible to promote the “forever” status of Israel as God’s people.  If we go to Jeremiah 31:35-37 we can see that this “blessing” was, as all of God’s statements, CONDITIONAL.  

 

“[35] Thus saith the Lord. . . [36] If those ordinances depart from before Me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me [How Long?] forever. [37] Thus saith the Lord. . . I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord.

 

“God would in no wise excuse sin in a people who had been enlightened, even if He had, in their days of faithfulness and purity, loved them, and given them especial promises.  These promises and blessings were always upon condition of obedience upon their part.”  RH, January 14, 1873.

 

If you should disagree with the statements above, please read Leviticus, Chapter 26, Verses 14-39.  Then see my Bible Study:  “SPIRITUAL ISRAEL AND REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY.”

 

12:5:  “and the souls” = “God called Abraham to be a teacher of His Word, He chose him to be the father of a great nation, because He saw that Abraham would instruct his children and his household in the principles of God’s Law.  And that which gave power to Abraham’s teaching was the influence of his own life.  His great household consisted of more than a thousand souls, many of them heads of families, and not a few but newly converted from heathenism.”  Ed:187.

 

“went forth” = See my Genesis 11:31 Note.

 

12:7:  “there builded he an altar unto the LORD” = According to Deuteronomy 19:14, “Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance.”

 

“The Lord told him [Abram]. . . that wherever he pitched his tent his first work was to build an alter for God.”  13MR:357.

 

12:10:  “there was a famine in the land” = “The Lord in His providence had brought this trial upon Abraham to teach him lessons of submission, patience, and faith, -- lessons that were to be placed on record for the benefit of all who should afterward be called to endure affliction.”  PP:129.

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

 

 

13:7:  “cattle” = Whenever the word “cattle” is used in the Bible, it generally means, “flocks;” such as sheep; goats; camels; et cetera.  The Biblical principle is the same as when such words as “meat” is used (translated), in that “meat” simply means, “food.”

 

13:10:  “before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah” = Reverend Billy Graham has been quoted as saying, “If God does not judge the United States, then He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

 

According to Isaiah 3:9, Sodom was not destroyed because of Sodomy; but because the entire city openly condoned it.

 

“Sodom and Gomorrah will rise up in the judgment and condemn this generation, for if they had been privileged with the light which now shines upon the inhabitants of the earth, they would have repented long ago.”  RH, November 26, 1861.

 

13:13:  “Sodom” = See Ezekiel 16:49-50; then my Genesis 19:24 Notes.

 

13:18:  “Hebron” = Meaning, “friendship” or “unity.”

 

“built there an altar” = See my Genesis 12:7 Note.

 

“. . . wherever he [Abram] pitched his tent, close beside it was built an alter; upon which was offered the morning and evening sacrifice.  When his tent was removed, the Alter remained.  And the roving Canaanite, as he came to the Alter, knew who had been there; and when he had pitched his tent, he repaired the alter, and worshipped the Living God.”  AURA:136; PUR, May 22, 1902; 7T:44.

 

At this time: “Abraham’s household comprised more than a thousand souls.”  AURA:261; RH, April 21, 1904; PP:141.​

 

 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

 

 

14:6:  “Seir” = This name “Seir,” came from, “Seir the Horite,” who first possessed it.  It was later succeeded in it by Esau and his posterity, the Edomites (see Gen. 36:8-9; Deu. 2:12; Eze. 35:2), so that it became the country of Edom; and later it was called “Idumea.”  Here is my Isaiah 34:5 & 6 Note:  “Idumea” = This is the Greek term for the land of Edom.  My Isaiah 21:11 Note, makes them out to be “dumb.”  It is also used as a term implying all the enemies of Israel.

 

14:13:  “Abram the Hebrew” = The standard meaning for the Title “Hebrew,” is “One from beyond.”  However, in the Jewish concept of the word, it means, “One who crossed over,” meaning that Abram “crossed over” to a new land (or location).  Just like John the Baptist “crossed over” the Jordan River in order to immerse people; specifically, the Messiah.

 

“these were confederate” = Notwithstanding he was known as the teacher of a new religion, three royal brothers, rulers of the Amorite plains in which he dwelt, manifested their friendship by inviting him to enter into an alliance with them for greater security; for the country was filled with violence and oppression.  An occasion soon arose for him to avail himself of this alliance.”  PP:134.

 

14:14:  “Dan” = See my Genesis 36:31 Note.

 

14:17:  “king of Sodom” = “At the time of Lot’s removal to Sodom, corruption had not become universal, and God in His mercy permitted rays of light to shine amid the moral darkness.  When Abraham rescued the captives from the Elamites, the attention of the people was called to the true faith.  Abraham was not a stranger to the people of Sodom, and his worship of the unseen God had been a matter of ridicule among them; but his victory over greatly superior forces, and his magnanimous disposition of the prisoners and spoil, excited wonder and admiration.  While his skill and valor were extolled, none could avoid the conviction that a Divine power had made him conqueror.  And his noble and unselfish spirit, so foreign to the self-seeking inhabitants of Sodom, was another evidence of the superiority of the religion which he had honored by his courage and fidelity.”  PP:157.2.

 

14:18:  “Melchizedek” = See my Bible Study, “MELCHIZEDEK.”

 

 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

 

 

15:1: “Fear not” = There is no fear where Love exists.

 

15:10: “And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst” = The symbolism expressed here is that of the way a covenant was made in Abraham’s day.  Men would pass between those animals which they had separated, with the indication that if they should break the covenant that they were agreeing to with the parties involved, that they themselves would be torn in half as these animals had been.  The severity and acuteness of this type of pledge comes out even more fully when we realize that thus God pledges to Abraham, and ultimately to us, “Let this so happen to Me [God] if I [God] so does not to keep the covenant that I [God] have [has] made with you [Abraham and ultimately us].”

 

15:9: “heifer of three years old” = Pushers of “Biblical False Doctrine” use this verse to prove that the “Red Heifer” was “three years old.”  Do you see the word “Red” anywhere is this verse?

 

Genesis 15:13; Acts 7:6: “four hundred years” = Here and in Acts 7:6.  Exodus 12:40 and Galatians 3:16-17 state this period as being 430 years.  See my Bible Study: “EGYPT, HOW LONG IN.”

 

15:16: “in the fourth generation they shall come hither again” = See my Bible Study: “EGYPT, HOW LONG IN,” near the end.

 

Here are the four generations:  Exodus 2:1 has Levi’s daughter (Jochebed) marrying a son of Kohath, i.e., Amram (see Exo. 6:16-20), Jochebed being Amram’s aunt, whom they then produced Moses, who produced Gershom (see Exo. 2:21-22).  Therefore, the four generations are Kohath, son of Levi, Levi’s daughter and Kohath’s son Amram, Moses and Zipporah, and Gershom.

 

“the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” = What a merciful God we have.  He gives the Amorites over 430 years (Exo. 12:40) to change their ways.  That ended in First Samuel 15:3.  But if we go to First Samuel 15:9, we find that the people kept the animals alive.  It must be understood that another reason God would have this nation be destroyed is that they were having sex with animals (“abominations” of Deu. 20:18).  This would cause diseases that would affect the entire region.  Thus, God in his mercy to His people needed to have the animals wiped out also.  Plus, since king Saul did not “utterly destroy” the Amalekites, which the “Agagites” Esther 3:1, came from, “Haman” caused terror for the Jewish people (although if not Haman, then another nation would).

 

According to this verse and Daniel 8:23; Matthew 23:32; First Thessalonians 2:16; & First Peter 3:20; the Second Coming of Christ will occur when this earth’s inhabitants have “filled up their iniquity.” However, I also believe that another event needs to take place also.  That being, when the 144,000 saints have perfected their characters.  Or in other words, the people of God have made themselves available to be saved, which is the “Close of Probation.”

 

15:17-18: “[17] lamp that passed between those pieces. [18] In the same day the LORD made a covenant” = This is remarkable.  What many people miss here, is that God is saying to Abram is that if He should break this “covenant” with Abram, let God be like these “carcases,” Genesis 15:11.  As God “passed between those pieces,” this verse, so God would be cut in half, should He break this covenant.

 

This ancient practice can be seen in Jeremiah 34:17-20.  Thus, this covenant ceremony was known at the time and was surely familiar to Abraham.

 

Another very important thing to realize, is that this is a Blood Covenant, in that it is consummated by the blood of the “heifer,” “she goat,” “ram,” “turtledove,” and “a young pigeon,” Genesis 15:9.  These symbolize the Blood of Jesus, in which He will not fail in ransoming His people with His Own Blood.

 

From PP:137.1-137.2, we read, “The Lord condescended to enter into a covenant with His servant, employing such forms as were customary among men for the ratification of a solemn engagement.  By Divine direction, Abraham sacrificed a heifer, a she-goat, and a ram, each three years old, dividing the bodies and laying the pieces a little distance apart.  To these he added a turtledove and a young pigeon, which, however, were not divided.  This being done, he reverently passed between the parts of the sacrifice, making a solemn vow to God of perpetual obedience.  Watchful and steadfast, he remained beside the carcasses till the going down of the sun, to guard them from being defiled or devoured by birds of prey.  About sunset he sank into a deep sleep; and, ‘lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.’ And the voice of God was heard, bidding him not to expect immediate possession of the Promised Land, and pointing forward to the sufferings of his posterity before their establishment in Canaan.  The plan of redemption was here opened to him, in the death of Christ, the great sacrifice, and His Coming in glory {see John 8:56}.  Abraham saw also the earth restored to its Eden beauty, to be given him for an everlasting possession, as the final and complete fulfillment of the promise. {PP:137.1}.

 

“As a pledge of this covenant of God with men, a smoking furnace and a burning lamp, symbols of the Divine presence, passed between the severed victims, totally consuming them.  And again a voice was heard by Abraham, confirming the gift of the land of Canaan to his descendants, ‘from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.’ ” {PP:137.2}.

​

 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

 

 

16:7: “angel” = “The angels were sinless, but of less value than the Law of God.  They were amenable to Law. They were messengers to do the Will of Christ, and before Him to bow.  They were created beings, and probationers.” RH, December 17, 1872.

 

“. . . the infinite sacrifice that Christ voluntarily made for man remains a mystery that angels cannot fully fathom.” RH, December 17, 1872.

 

16:11: “Ishmael” = The Hebrew being “Yishma’el,” meaning, “God will hear.”

 

16:12: “wild man” = The Hebrew literally is, “wild ass of a man.”  To this day the Arabs are still fighting amongst themselves.

 

“his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him” = Doesn’t this well describe the Arab nations even to this very day?  They still continue to war against each other; even though they have a common enemy (Jews and Christians).  This is exactly what has occurred from Ishmael’s 12 sons.

 

But the verse goes on to say that “he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” And since Ishmael is “against every man,” this means that he will also fight against his “brethren” continually.

 

16:13: “And she called the Name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me” = This is the only place/person where God is given a name instead of God giving us His name.  See my Bible Study:   “GOD, NAMES OF.”

 

 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

 

 

17:1: “walk before Me, and be thou perfect” = A requirement for us all.  See Colossians 1:27.

 

17:5: “Abram. . . Abraham” = Abram means, “The father is exalted,” with possible references to a false god.  See Titus Kennedy book, “The Essential Archaeological Guide To Bible Lands.”  While Abraham means, “Father of a multitude.”

 

17:7: “I will establish My covenant” = “Again the Lord repeated by His angel His promise to give Sarah a son, and that she should be a mother of many nations.” 1SP:96.1.

 

17:10: “you shall be circumcised” = Circumcision is a “cutting of the flesh.” It is a representation of Christ giving of His fleshly body for our sins.

​

“He then required of Abraham and his seed, circumcision, which was a circle cut in the flesh, as a token that God had cut them out and separated them from all nations as His peculiar treasure.  By this sign they solemnly pledged themselves that they would not intermarry with other nations; for by so doing they would lose their reverence for God and His holy Law, and would become like the idolatrous nations around them.” 1SP:263.

 

“If man had kept the Law of God, as given to Adam after his fall, preserved in the ark by Noah, and observed by Abraham, there would have been no necessity for the ordinance of circumcision.  And if the descendants of Abraham had kept the covenant, of which circumcision was a token or pledge, they would never have gone into idolatry, [265]

 

“nor been suffered to go down into Egypt, and there would have been no necessity of God’s proclaiming His Law from Sinai, and engraving it upon tables of stone, and guarding it by definite directions in the judgments and statutes given to Moses.” 1SP:264-265, 268-287; 3SG:298-299; SR:148-149; ST, June 17, 1880.

 

17:13: “everlasting covenant” = (See verses 2 & 4 & 7 & 11, also).  “The terms of this oneness between God and man in the great covenant of redemption were arranged with Christ from all eternity.  The covenant of grace was revealed to the patriarchs.  The covenant made with Abraham four hundred and thirty years before the Law was spoken on Sinai was a covenant confirmed by God in Christ, the very same gospel which is preached to us. . . The covenant of grace is not a new truth, for it existed in the mind of God from all eternity.  This is why it is called the everlasting covenant.  The plan of redemption was not conceived after the fall of man to cure the dreadful evil,” ST, August 24, 1891.

 

17:15: “Sarai, but Sarah” = Sarai means, “princess” or “my princess.”  While “Saran” means “Mother of Nations.

 

17:17: “Abraham. . . is an hundred years old. . . Sarah, that is ninety years old” = Sarah is 10 years younger than Abraham; this is clear.  And according to Genesis 21:5; this is when “Isaac was born;” the same year of the laughter.  And according to Genesis 23:1-2, “Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old” when she “died.”  At this point Isaac is 37 years old.  Then, according to Genesis 25:20, “Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife.” What is important to learn here, is that WE DO NOT KNOW HOW OLD REBEKAH was when she got married to Isaac.  However, according to Genesis 24:15-20, she carried “her pitcher upon her shoulder” and “drew [water] for all his camels.”  This is not a 3-year-old as Muslims, who justify their false prophet Mohammod having sex with a nine-year-old, would have you surmise.

 

17:19: “Isaac” = Meaning “laughter,” because of Abraham (Gen. 17:17) and Sarah’s unbelief in her laughter (Gen. 18:12).

 

17:20: “great” = The word “great” can mean in “mass or number;” also “power; strength; dominance;” also in “riches and wealth;” and more importantly, in terms of “spirituality;” which Ishmael’s descendants failed at.  Examples would be:

Deuteronomy 2:20-21: “[20] the Ammonites call them Zamzummims; [21] A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them.”  Couldn’t be spiritually minded since “the LORD [had to] destroyed them.”

Jeremiah 50:9: “I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations.”  None of those nations were God fearing in spirituality.

Jeremiah 50:41: “Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings.”  Babylon would not be considered “great” in its spirituality.

Jonah 4:11: “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city.” Nineveh, before Jonah, was not right spiritually.

And many more.  So what made Ishmael “great?’ The number of his descendants: “and will multiply him exceedingly.” The only way in which Ishmael could be spiritually accepted as being spiritual, would be for him and his descendants to follow the “covenant” given to the line of Isaac in verse 19, “with his seed after him,” in the form of his descendant, Jesus the Christ.

 

 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

 

 

18:2: “three men stood by him” = According the Jewish literature, the names of these “three” angels were, Michael, Gabriel, and Rafael.

 

“It was Christ Who spoke with Abraham under the oaks at Mamre.” DA:290.3.

 

18:6: “three measures of fine meal” = Here is my Matthew 13:33 Note:  The true meaning of this quantity is discovered by studying Genesis 18:6, where we learn that “three measures” is the custom, still in Arab lands today, for entertaining guests.

 

18:12: “laughed within herself” = See my Genesis 17:19 Note.

 

18:18: “all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” = The Jewish rabbis understand this verse to mean, “all the nations of the earth shall be grafted in.”

 

18:19: “that he [Abram] will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD” = Here is the true reason why Abraham was chosen.  And this will be the guiding analysis as to whether or not we are allowed into Heaven.  See my Genesis 12:3 Note.

 

“justice and judgment” = “Justice” is not a word that needs an adjective.  “Justice” in “righteous” because it is the right thing to do.

 

“Justice has a twin sister that should ever stand by her side, which is Mercy and Love.” 3BC:1149 (Letter 18e, 1890); 21MR:430.

 

18:21: “cry of it, which is come unto Me” = Also see Genesis 19:13.  Who is giving this “cry?” According to Nehemiah 5:6; 9:9; Esther 4:1; 9:31; Job 16:18; etcetera; 920 places in all), this Hebrew word, “za’aq,” meaning “cry,” comes from man.  God hears the “cry” that these cities are wicked and accordingly, “and if not, I will know,” verse 21, if the “cry” is confirmed to be that these cities are indeed wicked, then God will take appropriate measures.  Bottom line:  People were crying out (praying: “which is come unto” God) for God to do something for this wickedness.  Who they were we are not told.

 

 

CHAPTER NINETEEN

 

 

19:1: “angels” = “The angels ascribe honor and glory to Christ, for even they are not secure except by looking to the sufferings of the Son of God.” 5BC:1132.8.

 

19:2: “turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house” = “A poor man was not permitted to become an inhabitant of the city.  He was driven out by abuse, or if not driven out, was the victim of an iniquitous plan that compassed his ruin.” ST, October 9, 1893.

 

19:8: “do ye to them as is good in your eyes” = According to Second Peter 2:7-8, “For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day.”  This is what happens when you associate with evil.  The best excuse I have found for Lot is that knowing the Sodomites would not be interested in women, they would reject that offer and see their error in disrupting the custom of entertaining guests with respect.  But any attempt to reason with unreasonable people is in itself unreasonable.  Bottom line, Lot had become almost as evil as the ones he decided to live with.

 

19:11: “they wearied themselves to find the door” = Notice how despite their “blindness,” which should have detoured them, they still sought to sodomize Lot’s visitors.  This shows the hold of sin upon a reprobate personage.  Don’t mess with any form of sin.

 

19:13: “cry” = See my Genesis 18:21 Note.

 

19:15: “Lot” = The reason Lot was saved is found in Second Peter 2:8.

 

19:16: “he lingered” = “Lot was sad; the thought of leaving his children and his wife, for she refused to go without them, almost broke his heart.” RH, November 14, 1882; 4T:111.

 

“the men laid hold upon his hand” = It was not because of the mercy of the Lord, it was because of the begging of Abraham, that they could not destroy the city while there yet remained any righteous in it.

 

“Lot went out to warn his children.  He repeated the words of the angels, ‘Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city.’  But he seemed to them as one that mocked.  They laughed at what they called his superstitious fears.  His daughters were influenced by their husbands.  They were well enough off where they were.  They could see no evidence of danger.  Everything was just as it had been.  They had great possessions, and they could not believe it possible that beautiful Sodom would be destroyed.  Lot returned sorrowfully to his home and told the story of his failure.  Then the angels bade him arise and take his wife and the two daughters who were yet in his house and leave the city.  But Lot delayed.  Though daily distressed at beholding deeds of violence, he had no true conception of the debasing and abominable iniquity practiced in that vile city.  He did not realize the terrible necessity for God’s judgments to put a check on sin.  Some of his children clung to Sodom, and his wife refused to depart without them.  The thought of leaving those whom he held dearest on earth seemed more than he could bear.  It was hard to forsake his luxurious home and all the wealth acquired by the labors of his whole life, to go forth a destitute wanderer.  Stupefied with sorrow, he lingered, loath to depart.  But for the angels of God, they would all have perished in the ruin of Sodom.” PP:160.

 

19:18-19: “Oh, not so, my Lord” = “Lot pleaded to remain; he distrusted God.  Living in the wicked city had weakened his faith and confidence in the justice of the Lord. . . he had so long been surrounded by corrupting influences that his sensibilities were blunted, and he could not discern the works of God and His purposes; he could not trust himself in His hands to do His bidding.  He was continually pleading for himself, and this unbelief caused the destruction of his wife [verse 26].” RH, November 14, 1882; 4T:111.

 

19:19: “thy servant hath found grace” = “. . . our great need is our only claim on God’s mercy.” DA:317.

 

19:24: “rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire” = See Ezekiel 16:49-50.

 

From Josephus, in his work, “Wars of the Jews, Book IV, Ch. 8, Sec. 4, we read, “There are still the remainders of that Divine fire; and the traces (or shadows) of free cities are still to be seen.”

 

 “Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed through the gratification of unnatural appetite, which so benumbed the intellect that they could not discern the difference between the sacred claims of God and the clamor of appetite.” 3T:162.

 

“The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was on account of their great wickedness.  They gave loose rein to their intemperate appetites, then to their corrupt passions, until they were so debased, and their sins were so abominable, that their cup of iniquity was full, and they were consumed with fire from Heaven.” 4aSG:121.

 

19:26: “his wife looked back” = The Hebrew is even more powerful here.  She did not just look back, she “turned back” “with pleasurable thoughts, favor and care” for the place.

 

“Had Lot earnestly and firmly fled to the mountains, as the angels had directed, without pleading for a new plan, his wife would not have transgressed the commandment of the angels, and would have been at his side.  When the first beams of the morning dawn, the inhabitants of Sodom are not aware of the departure of Lot and the angels.  They were determined to abuse the house of Lot, it is found vacant, and the hour of doom comes upon them.” ST, October 16, 1893; 1PRC:49.

 

“The wife of Lot was a selfish, irreligious woman, and her influence was exerted to separate her husband from Abraham.  But for her, Lot would not have remained in Sodom, deprived of the counsel of the wise, God-fearing patriarch.  The influence of his wife and the associations of that wicked city would have led him to apostatize from God had it not been for the faithful instruction he had early received from Abraham.  The marriage of Lot and his choice of Sodom for a home were the first links in a chain of events fraught with evil to the world for many generations.” PP:174.

 

19:31-32: “let us make our father drink wine” = “The sinful conduct of his daughters after leaving Sodom was the result of wicked associations while there.” RH, November 14, 1882; 4T:112.

 

19:37: “Moab” = See my Bible Study: “MOAB, THE LAND OF.”

 

19:38: “Ammon” = This is the Ammon of Ammon, Jordan, still in existence today and giving Israel trouble.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY

 

 

20:7: “prophet” = Notice that Abraham is called a “prophet” by God.  Our English word “prophet” comes to us through the Greek word “prophetes,” which is a combination of the preposition “pro,” meaning, “for,” or, “on behalf of,” along with the verb “phemi,” meaning, “to speak.” Thus, the concept and connotation being, “to speak for.”

 

Therefore, let me attempt to define what a prophet, no, what prophecy means and is used for.  Prophecy is God telling us in advance, in His sovereignty, things that He knows we need to know in order for us to walk with Him more faithfully and better be prepared for those events that will be coming (mostly against or for the Church as a whole; but can be for specific individuals as well).

 

20:16: “Thus she was reproved” = Meaning Abimelech is saying he has done his best to correct any wrong that may have befallen Sarah.

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

 

 

21:6: “death” = There is no reason for ones’ death if people didn’t know something of value for your living.

 

21:10: “Cast out this bondwoman” = “If God had sanctioned polygamy he would not have thus directed Abraham to send away Hagar and her son.” 3SG:104; 1SP:98.1.

 

“The Lord informs Abraham, through His angels, to listen to the voice of Sarah his wife, and that he should not let his affections for his son, or for Hagar, prevent his compliance with her wishes.  For this was the only course he could pursue to restore harmony and happiness again to his family.  Abraham has the consoling promise from the angel, that Ishmael, although separated from his father’s house, should not die, nor be forsaken of God; that he should be preserved because he was [98] the son of Abraham.  God also promises to make of Ishmael a great nation.” 1SP:97-98.

 

21:14: “sent her away” = “[173] Abraham had marked the result of the intermarriage of those who feared God and those who feared Him not, from the days of [174]

 

“Cain to his own time.  The consequences of his own marriage with Hagar, and of the marriage connections of Ishmael and Lot, were before him.  The lack of faith on the part of Abraham and Sarah had resulted in the birth of Ishmael, the mingling of the righteous seed with the ungodly.  The father’s influence upon his son was counteracted by that of the mother’s idolatrous kindred and by Ishmael’s connection with heathen wives.  The jealousy of Hagar, and of the wives whom she chose for Ishmael, surrounded his family with a barrier that Abraham endeavored in vain to overcome.  Abraham’s early teachings had not been without effect upon Ishmael, but the influence of his wives resulted in establishing idolatry in his family.  Separated from his father, and embittered by the strife and contention of a home destitute of the love and fear of God, Ishmael was driven to choose the wild, marauding life of the desert chief, ‘his hand’ ‘against every man, and every man’s hand against him.’  Genesis 16:12.  In his latter days he repented of his evil ways and returned to his father’s God, but the stamp of character given to his posterity remained.  The powerful nation descended from him were a turbulent, heathen people, who were ever an annoyance and affliction to the descendants of Isaac.” PP:173-174.

 

“[146] The birth of Isaac, bringing, after a lifelong waiting, the fulfillment of their dearest hopes, filled the tents of Abraham and Sarah with gladness.  But to Hagar this event was the overthrow of her fondly cherished ambitions.  Ishmael, now a youth, had been regarded by all in the encampment as the heir of Abraham’s wealth and the inheritor of the blessings promised to his descendants.  Now he was suddenly set aside; and in their disappointment, mother and son hated the child of Sarah.  The general rejoicing increased their jealousy, until Ishmael dared openly to mock the heir of God’s promise.  Sarah saw in Ishmael’s turbulent disposition a perpetual source of discord, and she appealed to Abraham, urging that Hagar and Ishmael be sent away from the encampment.  The patriarch was thrown into great distress.  How could he banish Ishmael his son, still dearly beloved?  In his perplexity he pleaded for Divine guidance.  The Lord, through a holy angel, directed him to grant Sarah’s desire; his love for Ishmael or Hagar ought not to stand in the way, for only thus could he restore harmony and happiness to his family.  And the angel gave him the consoling promise that though separated from his father’s home, Ishmael should not be forsaken by God; his life should be preserved, and he should become the father of a great [147]

 

“nation.  Abraham obeyed the angel’s word, but it was not without keen suffering.  The father’s heart was heavy with unspoken grief as he sent away Hagar and his son.  The instruction given to Abraham touching the sacredness of the marriage relation was to be a lesson for all ages.  It declares that the rights and happiness of this relation are to be carefully guarded, even at a great sacrifice.  Sarah was the only true wife of Abraham.  Her rights as a wife and mother no other person was entitled to share.  She reverenced her husband, and in this she is presented in the New Testament as a worthy example.  But she was unwilling that Abraham’s affections should be given to another, and the Lord did not reprove her for requiring the banishment of her rival.  Both Abraham and Sarah distrusted the power of God, and it was this error that led to the marriage with Hagar.  God had called Abraham to be the father of the faithful, and his life was to stand as an example of faith to succeeding generations.  But his faith had not been perfect.  He had shown distrust of God in concealing the fact that Sarah was his wife, and again in his marriage with Hagar.  That he might reach the highest standard, God subjected him to another test, the closest which man was ever called to endure.” PP:146-147.

 

Abraham “was bowed with grief, and his paternal feelings were deeply moved as he sends away Hagar and his son Ishmael to wander as strangers in a strange land.

 

“If God had sanctioned polygamy, He would not have thus directed Abraham to send away Hagar and her son.  He would teach all a lesson in this, that the rights and happiness of the marriage relation are to be ever respected and guarded, even at a great sacrifice.  Sarah was the first and only true wife of Abraham.  She was entitled to rights, as a wife and mother, which no other could have in the family.  She reverenced her husband, calling him lord; but she was jealous lest his affections should be divided with Hagar.  God did not rebuke Sarah for the course she pursued.  Abraham was reproved by the angels for distrusting God’s power, which had led him to take Hagar as his wife, and to think that through her the promise would be fulfilled.” 1SP 98.2; 3SG:104.2’ PP:147.

 

PP:147 adds, “The instruction given to Abraham touching the sacredness of the marriage relation was to be a lesson for all ages.  It declares that the rights and happiness of this relation are to be carefully guarded, even at a great sacrifice.  Sarah was the only true wife of Abraham.  Her rights as a wife and mother no other person was entitled to share.”

 

21:24: “I will swear” = Abraham was promised this land (Gen. 12:1 & 7; 28:4; Exo. 3:8; Deu. 6:10-11).  Therefore, should he have made a promise to Abimelech?

 

21:32: “Philistines” = According to Isaiah 2:9, the Philistines were “soothsayers.”

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

 

 

22:ALL:  Abraham’s life with God had always been accompanied by Divine promises:  the promise of land, of descendants, of blessings; the promise of a son; and the promise that God would take care of Ishmael.  Abraham sacrificed, but it was always in the light of some promise.  However, in the situation described in Genesis, Chapter 22, Abraham did not get any Divine promise.  Instead, he was told to sacrifice the living promise, his son.  Following through on God’s Command, Abraham showed that God was more important to him than anything else.

 

22:1: “tempt” = The Hebrew is “H5254; nasha,” meaning, “tempt; put to the test; prove.”  Because of James 1:13, we can know that God was “proving” Abraham’s faith; but not tempting him.

 

22:2: “thine only son” = The reason Abraham was so obedient to what we would draw back from is found in Hebrews 11:19:  “Accounting that God was able to raise him up.”

 

“That is, the only son of promise,” 3SG:105-106.

 

“Again the Lord saw fit to test the faith of Abraham by a most fearful trial.  If he had endured the first test, and had patiently waited for the promise to be fulfilled in Sarah, and had not taken Hagar as his wife, he would not have been subjected to the closest test that was ever required of man. . . [99]

 

“Abraham did not disbelieve God, and hesitate, but early in the morning he took two of his servants, and Isaac his son, and the wood for the burnt-offering, and went unto the place of which God had told him.  He did not reveal the true nature of his journey to Sarah, knowing that her affection for Isaac would lead her to distrust God, and withhold her son.  Abraham did not suffer paternal feelings to control him, and lead him to rebel against God.  The Command of God was calculated to stir the depths of his soul.  ‘Take now thy son.’  Then, as though to probe the heart a little deeper, he adds, ‘thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest;’ that is, the only son of promise. . .

 

“Abraham believed that Isaac was the son of promise.  He also believed that God meant just what He said when He bade him to go offer him as a burnt-offering.  He staggered not at the promise of God; but believed that God, Who had in His providence given Sarah a son in her old age, and Who had required him to take that son’s life, could also give life again, and bring up Isaac from the dead {see Hebrews 11:18-19}.

 

“Abraham left the servants by the way, and proposed to go alone with his son to worship some distance from them.  He would not permit his servants to accompany them, lest their love for Isaac might lead them to prevent him from [100] carrying out what God had Commanded him to do.” 1SP:98-100; 3SG:104-106.

 

“At the appointed place they built the altar and laid the wood upon it.  Then, with trembling voice, Abraham unfolded to his son the divine message.  It was with terror and amazement that Isaac learned his fate, but he offered no resistance.  He could have escaped his doom, had he chosen to do so; the grief-stricken old man, exhausted with the struggle of those three terrible days, could not have opposed the will of the vigorous youth.  But Isaac had been trained from childhood to ready, trusting obedience, and as the purpose of God was opened before him, he yielded a willing submission.  He was a sharer in Abraham’s faith, and he felt that he was honored in being called to give his life as an offering to God.  He tenderly seeks to lighten the father’s grief, and encourages his nerveless hands to bind the cords that confine him to the altar.” PP:152.

 

“[154] The ram offered in the place of Isaac represented the Son of God, who was to be sacrificed in our stead. . . It was to impress Abraham’s mind with the reality of the gospel, as well as to test his faith, that God Commanded him to slay his son.  The agony which he endured during the dark days of that fearful trial, was permitted that he might understand from his own experience something of the greatness of the sacrifice made by the infinite God for man’s redemption.  No other test could have caused Abraham such torture of soul as did the offering of his son.  God gave His Son to a death of agony and shame.  The angels who witnessed the humiliation and soul-anguish of the Son of God were not permitted to interpose, as in the case of Isaac.  There was no voice to cry, ‘It is enough.’  To save the fallen race, the King of glory yielded up His life.  What stronger proof can be given of the infinite compassion and love of God? . . . [155]

 

“The sacrifice required of Abraham was not alone for his own good, nor solely for the benefit of succeeding generations; but it was also for the instruction of the sinless intelligences of Heaven and of other worlds.  The field of the controversy between Christ and Satan -- the field on which the plan of redemption is wrought out -- is the lesson-book of the universe.  Because Abraham had shown a lack of faith in God’s promises, Satan had accused him before the angels and before God of having failed to comply with the conditions of the covenant, and as unworthy of its blessings.  God desired to prove the loyalty of His servant before all Heaven, to demonstrate that nothing less than perfect obedience can be accepted, and to open more fully before them the plan of salvation.” PP:154-155.

 

“Moriah” = Meaning, “Foundation.”

 

22:3: “Isaac his son” = According to Josephus, in his work, “Ant.” 1:13, section 2, Isaac was 25 years of age.  And Bible commentators in general believe Isaac to be well aged because of Genesis 22:6, where we have Abraham placing upon Isaac the “wood” for the burning of an offering, the “wood” being of considerable weight.  Also, the next narrative is taking place when Isaac is to be wed and he is 40 years old.  This Bible commentator believes Isaac to have been about 33 1/2 years of age.

 

22:4: “on the third day” = “As they were about to begin the journey of the third day, the patriarch, looking northward, saw the promised sign, a cloud of glory hovering over Mount Moriah, and he knew that the voice which had spoken to him was from Heaven.” PP:151.

 

22:5:  “worship” = What is “worship?”  If we insert the word “worship” into the concept of Revelation 4:11:  “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power:  for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created,” then we can understand that “worship” is giving “glory and honour and power” to one Who is “worthy” of it.

 

22:6: “Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son” = According to the Jewish Rabbi and historian “Midrash Bereshit Raba,” in his ancient Rabbinic Commentary of the same name, Chapter 56, page 3, he states that when Abraham placed the wood on Isaac, “Isaac appeared as a man taking up his cross,” as a Passover rehearsal.

 

22:7: “where is the lamb” = “Firmly walked on that stern, loving, suffering father by the side of his son.  As they came to the place which God had pointed out to Abraham, he builds there an altar, and lays the wood in order, ready for the sacrifice, and then informs Isaac of the Command of God to offer him as a burnt-offering.  He repeats to him the promise that God several times made to him that through Isaac he should become a great nation, and that in performing the Command of God in slaying him, God would fulfill His promise; for He was able to raise him from the dead. {1SP 100.1}

 

“Isaac believed in God.  He had been taught implicit obedience to his father, and he loved and reverenced the God of his father.  He could have resisted his father if he had chosen to do so.  But after affectionately embracing his father, he submitted to be bound and laid upon the wood.” 1SP:100.1-100.2.

 

22:8: “God will provide himself a lamb” = A contention of Michael with Satan is mentioned in Jewish writings by Yalcut Rubeni, fol. 43, 3:  “At the time in which Isaac was bound there was a contention between Michael and Satan.  Michael brought a ram, that Isaac might be liberated; but Satan endeavored to carry off the ram, that Isaac might be slain.”

 

22:9: “bound Isaac” = According to the Jewish Rabbi and historian “Midrash Bereshit Raba,” in his ancient Rabbinic Commentary of the same name, Abraham was told by Isaac to bind him tightly so as not to break any bones.  See John 19:36, then Exodus 12:46 & Numbers 9:12 (Psa. 34:20).

 

“. . . an unresisting victim, had been bound to the altar, -- emblem of the offering of the Son of God.” GC:18.

 

22:10-12: “took the knife to slay his son” = According to Genesis 22:1, this was a “test” of Abrahams faith.

 

“This lesson was of great value to all Israel.  By it Abraham was shown that God does not require parents to offer their sons and daughters for the sins of the world.  This was done by heathen nations, and at times had been practiced by the people calling themselves the Israel of God.  But they were ever to bear in mind that no human being can be accepted as a sin-offering.  The Son of God alone can bear the guilt of the world.” ST, May 3, 1899.

 

22:14: “Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh” = The literal translation of “Jehovahjireh” is:  “The Lord will see, or provide.”  What Abraham is expressing in this name is prophetic, in that Abraham foresaw the ultimate Sacrifice of God’s Son on this very spot, latter to be called, “Golgotha,” Matthew 27:33.

 

“Abraham learned of God the greatest lesson ever given to mortal.  His prayer that he might see Christ before he should die, was answered.  He saw Christ; he saw all that mortal can see and live.  By making an entire surrender, he was able to understand the vision of Christ, which had been given him.  He was shown that in giving His only-begotten Son to save sinners from eternal ruin, God was making a greater and more wonderful sacrifice than ever man could make.” ST, May 3, 1899; DA:469.

 

22:17: “thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies” = This is a prophecy of the Messiah that the KJV misses because of its mistranslation of “thy.”  It should have been translated as, “His [the messiah’s] seed [not as in the physicality as Abraham’s “seed” earlier in this verse; but as in those who will believe upon the Messiah shall possess the gate of His [Messiahs] enemies.”  This makes perfect sense per the sentence structure; for “thy” does not relate to “his” if you read the sentence as written.

 

22:18: “in thy seed shall all nations be blessed” = For those who teach that this refers to the Jewish nation as a whole, that is what they were supposed to do; but failed.  Therefore, the true “seed” actually being referred to here in this prophecy is the Coming Messiah, which would Come through the “seed,” i.e., descendants of Abraham.  See my Bible Study:  “SPIRITUAL ISRAEL AND REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY.”  Thus, the “thy” in this verse is a plurality of the word “thy.”  For it refers both to Abraham [“thy”] and the Coming Messiah [“Thy”].

 

Plus, here is my Psalm 72:17 Note: “and men shall be blessed in Him” = This is loosely quoting Genesis 22:18.  With this insight, we can know that Genesis should not be talking about the entire seed of Abraham, but an Individual, i.e., the promised Messiah.

 

22:19: “So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba” = Question:  Where is Isaac?  We all infer correctly that he went home with the ones listed in the text also.  However!  That is not what the text (Holy Spirit writing) infers.  For Isaac is not mentioned again until two Chapters later when he is meeting his bride.  The inference, if you will, is that Christ dies, goes to Heaven, no longer on this earth, and returns for His bride.

 

22:20: “brother of Nahor” = Nahor (Gen. 11:24) is also the father of Terah, who was the father of three sons, one of them being Abraham.  In other words, this is a different Nahor, brother of Abraham, and not the Nahor, father of Terah.

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

 

 

23:10: “Hittite” = It is argued that since the “Hittites” are descendants of “Heth,” in the Scriptures the “Hittites” should be listed as “Hethites;” which archeology affirms, in that no “Hittites” are found in history, but “Hethites” are.

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

 

 

24:4: “take a wife unto my son Isaac” = “Marriage contracts were then generally made by the parents, yet no compulsion was used to make them marry those they could not love.  But the children had confidence in the judgment of their parents, and followed their counsel, and bestowed their affections upon those whom their God-fearing, experienced parents chose for them.  It was considered a crime to follow a course contrary to this.

 

“What a contrast to the course now pursued by many children!  Instead of showing reverence and due honor for their parents, by consulting them, and having the advantages of their experienced judgment in choosing for them, they move hastily in the matter, and are controlled by [104]

 

“impulse rather than by the judgment of their parents and the fear of God.  It is often the case that they contract marriage without even the knowledge of their parents.  And, in many instances, their lives are imbittered by hasty marriages, because the son-in-law or the daughter-in-law feels under no obligation to make their parents happy.

 

“Young men and women sometimes manifest great independence upon the subject of marriage, as though the Lord had nothing to do with them, or they with the Lord, in that matter; and that it was purely a matter of their own, which neither God nor their parents should in any wise control.  They seem to think that the bestowal of their affections is a matter in which self alone should be consulted.  Such make a serious mistake; and a few years of marriage experience generally teaches them that it is a miserable mistake.  This is the great reason of so many unhappy marriages, in which there is so little true, generous love, and so little exercise of noble forbearance, toward each other. . .

 

“Children now from fifteen to twenty generally consider themselves competent to make their own choice, without the consent of their parents.  And they would look with astonishment, if it should be proposed to them to move in the fear of God and make the matter a subject of prayer.  Isaac’s [105] case is left on record, as an example for children to imitate in after generations, especially those who profess to fear God.

 

“The course which Abraham pursued in the education of Isaac, that caused him to love a life of noble obedience, is recorded for the benefit of parents, and should lead them to command their households after them.  They should instruct their children to yield to, and respect, their authority.  And they should feel that a responsibility rests upon them to guide the affections of their children, that they may be placed upon persons who their judgment would teach them would be suitable companions for their sons and their daughters.  It is a sad fact that Satan controls the affections of the young to a great extent.  And some parents feel that the affections should not be guided or restrained.  The course pursued by Abraham is a rebuke to all such.” 1SP:103-105.

 

24:58: “I will go” = “After all had been arranged, the consent of the father and brother had been obtained, then Rebekah was consulted whether she would go with the servant of Abraham a great distance from her father’s family, to become the wife of Isaac.  She believed from the circumstances that had taken place, that God’s hand had selected her to be Isaac’s wife, ‘and she said, I will go.’ ” 1SP:103.1.

 

24:60: “and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them” = See my Note in Genesis 22:17.  Following along that reasoning, the “KJV” also missed the prophecy of the Messiah in this verse.  Translating as it should have been translated in Genesis 22:17 and here, it should read as, “and let His [the Messiahs] seed possess the gate of those which hate You [the Messiah].”

 

24:63: “Isaac went out to meditate” = “Isaac had been trained in the fear of God to a life of obedience.  And when he was forty years old, he submitted to have the God-fearing, experienced servant of his father choose for him.  He believed that God would direct in regard to his obtaining a wife.” 1SP:104.2.  

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

 

 

25:6: “concubines” = Note the plural.  Although remarried after Sarah, “Keturah,” verse 1, by name, we are not given any more information about these “concubines.”  Ishmael had been given his portion earlier (Gen. 2114).

 

25:8: “gathered to his people” = Is explained by God in Second Chronicles 34:28:  “I will gather thee to thy fathers.”  Compare also with Genesis 3:19 & Job 17:16.

 

25:17: “gathered unto his people” = See my Genesis 25:8 Note.

 

25:22: “she went to enquire of the LORD” = The question is, “Where did she go?”  If He was so readily available, why do we not have more references of people going to “enquire of the Lord?”

 

25:26: “Jacob” = Meaning “deceiver.”  This is one reason why his name was later changed to Israel when his character changed with it.

 

25:30-31: “Sell me this day thy birthright” = “With these promises Esau and Jacob were familiar.  They were taught to regard the birthright as a matter of great importance, for it included not only an inheritance of worldly wealth but spiritual pre-eminence.  He who received it was to be the priest of his family, and in the line of his posterity the Redeemer of the world would come.  On the other hand, there were obligations resting upon the possessor of the birthright.  He who should inherit its blessings must devote his life to the service of God.  Like Abraham, he must be obedient to the Divine requirements.  In marriage, in his family relations, in public life, he must consult the will of God.” PP:177.3.

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

 

 

27:5: “Rebekah heard” = From SP:106.2-107.1, we read, “Rebekah heard the words of Isaac, and she remembered the words of the Lord, ‘The elder shall serve the younger,’ and she knew that Esau had lightly regarded his birthright and sold it to Jacob.  She persuaded Jacob to deceive his father, and by fraud receive the blessing of his father, which she thought could not be obtained in any other way.  Jacob was at first unwilling to practice this deception, but finally consented to his mother’s plans. {1SP 106.2}.

 

“Rebekah was acquainted with Isaac’s partiality for Esau, and was satisfied that reasoning would not change his purpose.  Instead of trusting in God, the disposer of events, she manifested her lack of faith by persuading Jacob to deceive his father.  Jacob’s course in this was not approbated by God.” {107.1}.

 

SDA’s, compare with:  “Rebekah divined his purpose.  She was confident that it was contrary to what God had revealed as His will.  Isaac was in danger of incurring the Divine displeasure and of debarring his younger son from the position to which God had called him.  She had in vain tried the effect of reasoning with Isaac, and she determined to resort to stratagem.” PP:180.

 

27:11:  “Jacob said to Rebekah his mother” = From above, “Jacob was at first unwilling to practice this deception, but finally consented to his mother’s plans.”  1SP:106.2.

 

27:22: “he felt him” = Isaac here had the same problem Christians today have, in that he went by his “feelings” instead of by Jacobs “words; (the Bible).”

 

27:42: “these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah” = “[107] Rebekah repented in bitterness for the wrong counsel which she gave to Jacob, for it was the means of separating him from her forever.  He was compelled to flee for his life from the wrath of Esau, and his mother never saw his face again.  Isaac lived many years after he gave Jacob the blessing, and was convinced, by the course of Esau [108] and Jacob, that the blessing rightly belonged to Jacob.” 1SP:107-108.

 

27:43:  “obey my voice” = “Rebekah and Jacob should have waited for God to bring about His own purposes, in His own way, and in His own time, instead of trying to bring about the foretold events by the aid of deception.  If Esau had received the blessing of his father, which was bestowed upon the first-born, his prosperity could have come from God alone; and He would have blessed him with prosperity, or brought upon him adversity, according to his course of action.  If he should love and reverence God, like righteous Abel, he would be accepted and blessed of God.  If like wicked Cain he had no respect for God, nor for His Commandments, but followed his own corrupt course, he would not receive a blessing from God, but would be rejected of God, as was Cain.  If Jacob’s course should be righteous, if he should love and fear God, he would be blessed of God, and the prospering hand of God would be with him, even if he did not obtain the blessings and privileges generally bestowed upon the first-born.” 1SP:107.

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

 

 

Genesis 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; Exodus 6:3; Revelation 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7 & 14; 21:22: “God Almighty” = “I saw that God’s holy name should be used with reverence and awe.  The words God Almighty are coupled together and used by some in prayer in a careless, thoughtless manner, which is displeasing to Him.  Such have no realizing sense of God or the truth, or they would not speak so irreverently of the great and dreadful God, Who is soon to judge them in the last day.  Said the angel, ‘Couple them not together; for fearful is His name.’  Those who realize the greatness and majesty of God, will take His name on their lips with holy awe.  He dwelleth in light unapproachable; no man can see Him and live.  I saw that these things will have to be understood and corrected before the Church can prosper.” EW:122.

 

28:10-11: “went toward Haran” = “The evening of the second day found him far away from his father’s tents.  He felt that he was an outcast, and he knew that all this trouble had been brought upon him by his own wrong course.  The darkness of despair pressed upon his soul, and he hardly dared to pray.  But he was so utterly lonely that he felt the need of protection from God as he had never felt it before.  With weeping and deep humiliation he confessed his sin, and entreated for some evidence that he was not utterly forsaken.  Still his burdened heart found no relief.  He had lost all confidence in himself, and he feared that the God of his fathers had cast him off.”  But God did not forsake Jacob.  His mercy was still extended to His erring, distrustful servant.  The Lord compassionately revealed just what Jacob needed -- a Saviour.  He had sinned, but his heart was filled with gratitude as he saw revealed a way by which he could be restored to the favor of God.” PP:183.

 

28:12: “ladder” = “Christ is the ladder to Heaven.  The base of this ladder rests firmly on the earth, brought to the very level of humanity, while the top-most round reaches and rests firmly on the Throne of God.  Jacob saw the glory of God shining above this ladder, while the brightness of the Sun of Righteousness illuminated the whole length.  Descending this ladder of shining brightness were angels of God, with communications to the inhabitants of this earth.”  ST, January 6, 1898; 

 

“. . . this ladder represents Christ,” 3SP:440.

 

“Christ is the ladder,” 2SM:222; 3SM:154; 6MR:12; BEcho, October 8, 1894 par. 12; DA:311; RC:24; RH, July 19, 1892 par. 3; RH, March 29, 1887 par. 8; RH, October 1, 1889; RH, September 3, 1895 par. 10; ST, September 16, 1889 par. 5 [3ST:83]; ST, April 11, 1895 par. 3 [3ST:443].

 

“In this vision the plan of redemption was presented to Jacob, not fully, but in such parts as were essential to him at that time.  The mystic ladder revealed to him in his dream was the same to which Christ referred in His conversation with Nathanael.  Said He, ‘Ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.’  John 1:51.  Up to the time of man’s rebellion against the government of God, there had been free communion between God and man.  But the sin of Adam and Eve separated earth from Heaven, so that man could not have communion with his Maker.  Yet the world was not left in solitary hopelessness.  The ladder represents Jesus, the appointed Medium of communication.  Had He not with His own merits bridged the gulf that sin had made, the ministering angels could have held no communion with fallen man.  Christ connects man in his weakness and helplessness with the Source of infinite power.”  PP:184.

 

28:14: “in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed” = Messianic prophecy.  See my Bible Study Chart:  “PROPHECIES OF THE FIRST COMING OF MESSIAH CHART.”

 

28:19: “Bethel” = Beth means “house,” while “El” means “God.”  Therefore, Jacob called this place, “The House Of God.”

 

“but the name of that city was called Luz” = Notice that Jacob did not stay in the city of Luz.  He must be just outside of it.  Why?  Most likely because of his father Isaac’s instructions of “not [to] take a wife of the daughters of Canaan,” Genesis 28:1.

 

28:20-22: “Jacob vowed a vow” = “Jacob was not here seeking to make terms with God.  The Lord had already promised him prosperity, and this vow was the outflow of a heart filled with gratitude for the assurance of God’s love and mercy.” PP:187.

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

 

 

29:12: “he was her father’s brother” = The word “was” is a supplied word, for Jacob was not “her father’s brother.”  Just as Lot was called “Abraham’s brother’s son,” Genesis 14:12, so here should it be understood as being a “nephew by Rebekah [Laban’s sister].”

 

29:20: “love” = One can only understand true “love” when one “loves” people.

 

29:25: “in the morning, behold, it was Leah” = “When Jacob realized the deception that had been practiced upon him, and that Leah had acted her part in deceiving him, he could not love Leah.” 1SP:109; 3SG:121.

 

29:26: “firstborn” = Do not miss this lesson.  God was teaching Jacob the rights of the firstborn which he had taken from Esau.  When we mess with God’s design (Commandments) there are consequences to pay.

 

29:32: “Reuben” = Meaning, “Looked” or “Affliction,” or put together, “Looked upon my affliction,” or better, “Seen my affliction.”  There is also a root meaning to it, denoting, “Behold a son,” in reference to being a firstborn.

 

29:33: “Simeon” = Meaning, “The LORD hath heard,” or just plain, “Heard.”

 

29:34: “Levi” = Meaning, “Joined unto me,” or “Joined too.”

 

29:35: “Judah” = Meaning, “Let him be praised,” or just plain, “Praised.”

​

CHAPTER THIRTY

 

 

30:1:  “Give me children, or else I die” = See my Genesis 35:19 Note.

 

30:6:  “Dan” = Meaning, “Judged me,” or better, “God has vindicated me,” or, “God has corrected a wrong.”  In short, Dan means “Judge.”  See my Genesis 49:16 Note.

 

30:8:  “Naphtali” = Meaning, “wrestled,” or, “having fought.”

 

30:11:  “Gad” = Meaning, “A troop,” or “company,” or the root meaning which is, “Fortune.”

 

30:13:  “Asher” = Meaning, “Happy.”

 

30:18:  “Issachar” = Meaning, “My hire.”

 

30:20:  “Zebulun” = Meaning, “Good dowry,” or “Good gift.”

 

30:21:  “Dinah” = Meaning, “Judgment.”

 

30:24:  “Joseph” = Meaning, “Adding,” in reference to the “adding” of “another son.”

 

NOTE:  Let’s run through the names as listed in order (you can make a sentence of your own): “Looking on my affliction, the LORD hath heard, and joined unto me.  Let Him be praised.  He vindicated me through wrestling.  Fortune and happiness is my hire.  Good gifts from judgment is my adding.”

 

30:38:  “set the rods” = Professional breeders (note “the stronger cattle” of verse 41) of horses, dogs, et cetera, have been strategizing their stocks for years and understand this principle.

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

 

 

31:15:  “hath quite devoured also our money” = “Laban selfishly kept the dowry which should have been given to them.  They have reference to this when they say, [verse quoted].”  1SP:112.

 

31:24:  “good or bad” = “That is, he should not force him to return, or urge him by flattering inducements.” 3SG:121; 1SP:112.

 

31:19:  “Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s” = We now better understand this -- apart from the worship of false gods -- from the discovery of the “Nuzi Tablets,” in northeastern Iraq, which explain the custom of Jacob’s day of whomever owns the idol gods inherits, in this case, Laban’s goods.  Therefore, Rachel may not have been a worshiper of these false gods as has always been assumed, but merely wanted to ensure her (and or also her families) future welfare.

 

31:42:  “God hath seen mine affliction” = “Although Jacob had a number of servants to aid him in tending the flocks owned by himself and Laban, yet the responsibility of the whole matter rested upon him. . . Their flocks were also in danger of being stolen by unprincipled shepherds, who wished to enrich themselves by stealing their neighbor's cattle. . . Jacob was chief shepherd, and had shepherds under him who were termed servants.”  1SP:113.1-113.2.

 

31:50:  “If thou shalt afflict my daughters” = “Laban understood the wrong of polygamy, although it was alone through his artifice that Jacob had taken two wives.  He well knew that it was the jealousy of Leah and Rachel that led them to give their maids to Jacob, which confused the family relation, and increased the unhappiness of his daughters.  And now as his daughters are journeying at a great distance from him, and their interest is to be entirely separate from his own, he would guard, as far as possible, their happiness.  Laban would not have Jacob bring still greater unhappiness upon himself, and upon Leah and [117] Rachel, by taking other wives. . . Jacob made a solemn covenant before the Lord, that he would not take other wives.”  1SP:116-117.

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

 

 

32:2:  “Mahanaim” = Meaning, “two; or dual camps.”  It was used by Jacob to indicate that God had encamped in the midst of Jacob and his family (Gen. 32:1-2).  It was also used as a boundary marker by Joshua (Jos. 13:26, 30).  It became a city of the Levites (Jos. 21:38).  It was located in Gilead (2Sa. 2:8 & 12 & 29) in Gad.  David escaped to “Mohanaim” (note the different spelling) when Absalom rebelled (2Sa. 17:24 & 27).  Solomon established it as the center of one of his districts in Israel (1Ki. 4:14).

 

32:6-7:  “he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him” = Satan “had moved upon Esau to march against him; and during the patriarch’s long night of wrestling, Satan endeavored to force upon him a sense of his guilt, in order to discourage him, and break his hold upon God. . . Heavenly messengers were sent to move upon Esau’s heart, and his purpose of hatred and revenge was changed to fraternal affection.  As Satan influenced Esau to march against Jacob, so he will stir up the wicked to destroy God’s people in the time of trouble.”  4SP:435.

 

“Had not Jacob previously repented of his sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud, God would not have heard his prayer and mercifully preserved his life.”  4SP:437; 1SP:122-123; 4SP:435; 3SG:133.

 

32:24:  “wrestled a man” = “An angel was represented to me as standing before Jacob, presenting his wrong before him in its true character.”  3SG:128.

 

32:24-30:  “man” = This “man” was Jesus because Jacob says in verse 30 that he had “seen God,” and it is Jesus Himself that is the only One authorized to give us a new name (Rev. 2:17; 3:12), and He did in verse 28.

 

“Jacob knows now that it is the Angel of the Covenant with Whom he has been in conflict. . . Through humiliation, repentance, and self-surrender, this sinful, erring mortal prevailed with the Majesty of Heaven.”  4SP:434; GC:617.

 

32:26:  “I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me” = “As he made supplication with tears, The Angel reminded him of his past wrongs, and endeavored to escape from Jacob, to test him and prove him.  So will the righteous, in the day of their [133] anguish, be tested, proved, and tried, to manifest their strength of faith, their perseverance and unshaken confidence in the power of God to deliver them.”  3SG:132-133.

 

32:28:  “Israel” = The name means “he (who) struggles with God.”

 

Prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, there was no serious movement for a Palestinian homeland.  The territories that Israel captured during the Six-Day War did not belong to Yasser Arafat or the Palestinian Authorities, but to Jordan’s King Hussein.  It is only after Israel won the war that these Arabs discovered their national identity as Palestinians.  The truth is that the term “Palestine,” was coined not by native Arabs to designate their homeland, but by the Romans, after they captured Judea in 70 A. D.  After committing genocide against the Jews and smashing the Temple, the Romans decided that Judea would no longer exist as the land of the Jews.  To add insult to injury they changed the name from Judea to Palestine, a name derived from the Philistines.  In other words, today’s Palestinians lie when they say the land belongs to them.

 

32:30:  “face to face” = See my Bible Study:  “GOD, WHO HAS SEEN HIM.”  See Hoshea 12:4.

 

“Jacob had been guilty of a great sin in his conduct toward Esau; but he had repented.  His transgression had been forgiven, and his sin purged; therefore he could endure the revelation of God’s presence.”  DA:108.

 

“It was Christ that was with Jacob through that night, with Whom he wrestled, and Whom he perseveringly held until He blessed him.”  1SP:120; 3SG:130.

 

“It was Christ, ‘the Angel of the covenant,’ Who had revealed Himself to Jacob.”  PP:197.

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

 

 

33:1:  “Esau came, and with him four hundred men” = “Esau was marching against Jacob with an [131] army for the purpose of killing his brother.  But while Jacob was wrestling with the angel that night, another angel was sent to move upon the heart of Esau in his sleeping hours.  In his dream he saw Jacob an exile from his father’s house for twenty years, because he was afraid of his life.  And he marked his sorrow to find his mother dead.  He saw in his dream Jacob’s humility, and angels of God around about him.  He dreamed that when they met, he had no mind to harm him.  When Esau awoke, he related to his four hundred men his dream, and told them that they must not injure Jacob, for the God of his father was with him.  And when they should meet Jacob, not one of them should do him harm.”  3SG:130-131.

 

33:3:  “bowed himself to the ground seven times” = “Jacob had received the blessing for which his soul had longed.  His sin as a supplanter and deceiver had been pardoned.  The crisis in his life was past.  Doubt, perplexity, and remorse had embittered his existence, but now all was changed; and sweet was the peace of reconciliation with God.  Jacob no longer feared to meet his brother.  God, who had forgiven his sin, could move the heart of Esau also to accept his humiliation and repentance.”  PP:198.

 

33:4:  “Esau ran to met him” = “At sight of that crippled sufferer, ‘Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him:  and they wept.’  As they looked upon the scene, even the hearts of Esau’s rude soldiers were touched.  Notwithstanding he had told them of his dream, they could not account for the change that had come over their captain.  Though they beheld the patriarch’s infirmity, they little thought that this his weakness had been made his strength.”  CC:70; PP:198.

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

 

 

34:7:  “folly” = Folly is an action verb which translates to, “a foolish action.”

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

 

 

35:2-3:  “Put away the strange gods that are among you” = “There were false gods in the camp, and idolatry had to some extent gained a foothold even in his household.  Should the Lord deal with them according to their deserts, would He not leave them to the vengeance of the surrounding nations?”  PP:205.

 

“Jacob was humbled, and required his family to humble themselves, and to lay off all their ornaments, for he was to make an atonement for their sins, by offering a sacrifice unto God, that He might be entreated for them, and not leave them to be destroyed by other nations.  God accepted the effort of Jacob to remove the wrong from his family, and appeared unto him, and blessed him, and renewed the promise made to him, because His fear was before him.”  3SG:137.

 

35:4:  “all the strange gods. . . and all their earrings” = “And the family of Jacob never found them again.”  1SP:125; 3SG:137.

 

35:11:  “God Almighty” = See my Genesis 28:3 Note.

 

35:18:  “as her soul was in departing, (for she died)” = Misunderstanding of this verse extends from misunderstanding Genesis 2:7.  Here is my First Kings 17:21-22 Note:  17:21-22:  “soul” = The word “soul” is translated from the Hebrew word, “nephesh” which has been translated 118 times in the Old Testament as “life.”  The same word is used in Genesis 1:30 in reference to animals.  It is never used in one single instance to denote an immortal or undying part of man (See Gen. 35:18).  Every conflict is harmonized if the more proper word “life” is used in reference to the child, instead of “soul.”  Also a proper understanding of Genesis 2:7 would be in order, (see my Bible Study:  “DEATH, THE BIBLICAL TRUTH ABOUT”).

 

“Benoni” = Meaning, “Son of my sorrow.”

 

“Benjamin” = Meaning, “Son of my right hand.”

 

35:19:  “Rachel died” = The irony of Rachel dying in child birth is that she may have prophesied this of herself in Genesis 30:1.

 

35:22:  “Reuben went and lay with Bilhah” = This is more than just a sex act; this is a grab for power (see 2Sa. 16:21-22).

 

35:29:  “gathered unto his people” = Is explained by God in Second Chronicles 34:28:  “I will gather thee to thy fathers.”

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

 

 

36:14:  “the daughter of Zibeon” = This should read, “the granddaughter of Zibeon,” which as the custom was, grandchildren were often listed as being the direct children of what was considered to be the “father” of the family or Nation.

 

36:31:  “before there reigned any king over the children of Israel” = This may have been added by Ezra in an effort to update the “Torah” so that it would be easier to understand.  Another example would be in Genesis 14:14, where to town of “Dan” is mentioned when it didn’t exist then.  It was originally called “Leshem,” or Lais,” and was not called “Dan” until the times of the judges (Jud. 18:29).   Thus, it may have been updated because no one would understand or know where “Leshem” was.

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

 

 

37:3: “coat of many colors” = The “Septuagint” gives us a little more clarity; in that it calls it a “tunic.”

 

37:9 & 10: “[9] sun and moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me [10] his father rebuked him” = Jacob, in verse 10, confirms that the dream is speaking of himself, his wife, and Josheph’s brethren will be bowing to him.

 

“Jacob appeared to regard the dreams of his son with indifference.  But he had been often instructed by the Lord in dreams himself, and he believed that the Lord was teaching Joseph in the same manner.  He reproved Joseph, that his true feelings might not be discovered by his envious brothers.” 1SP:127; 3SG:139.

 

37:10: “thy mother” = But Joseph’s mother Rachel is dead (Gen. 35:19) at this point.  Therefore, Jacob was most likely referring to Leah, being Joseph’s surrogate mother at this point.  But, it is even possible that Leah may have died before Joseph arrived in Egypt (see Gen. 49:31).  Or, just the memory of his mother, if she were alive, she would bow down to her own son in the acknowledgement of the miracle and provision of God.

 

37:20: “let us slay him” = “Satan controlled their minds, and they had no sense of pity, and no feelings of love for their brother.  They stripped him of his coat of many colors that he wore, which was a token of his father's love, and which had excited their envious feelings.” 1SP:129.

 

“As they gave utterance to their envious feelings, Satan controlled their minds, and they had no sense of pity, and no feelings of love for their brother.” 3SG:141.

 

37:26: “Judah said” = “As Judah thought of Joseph lying in the pit, suffering a lingering death by starvation, he was troubled.  For a short time, he, with others of his brethren, seemed to possess a satanic frenzy.  But after they had begun to accomplish their wicked purposes to the helpless, innocent Joseph, some of them were ill at ease.  They did not feel that satisfaction they thought they should have to see Joseph perish.  Judah was the first to express his feelings.” 1SP:129.1.

 

37:28:  “there passed by Midianites merchantmen” = “The thought of being sold as a slave was more dreadful to Joseph than to die.  He manifested [130] the deepest anguish, and appealed first to one of his brethren, then to another, for compassion.  Some of their hearts were moved with pity, but through fear of derision from the rest, kept silent.  They all thought they had gone too far to repent of their acts; for Joseph might expose them to their father, and he would be exceedingly angry with them for their treatment of his much-loved Joseph.  They steeled their hearts against his distress, and would not listen to his entreaties for his father’s sake to let him go, but sold him as a slave.” 1SP:129-130.  

 

“[213] As the caravan journeyed southward toward the borders of Canaan, the boy could discern in the distance the hills among which lay his father’s tents. . . 

 

“But, in the providence of God, even this experience was to be a blessing to him.  He had learned in a few hours that which years might not otherwise have taught him.  His father, strong and tender as his love had been, had done him wrong by his partiality and indulgence.  This unwise preference had angered his brothers and provoked them to the cruel deed that had separated him from his home.  Its effects were manifest also in his own character.  Faults had been encouraged that were now to be corrected.  He was becoming self-sufficient and exacting. . . [214]

 

“One day’s experience had been the turning point in Joseph’s life.  Its terrible calamity had transformed him from a petted child to a man, thoughtful, courageous, and self-possessed.” PP:213-214.

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

 

 

38:6:  “Tamar” = “Strong’s Hebrew Concordance,” 8558-8560, meaning, “Palm tree; Date palm.”

 

38:7:  “And Er was wicked in the sight of the Lord” = That is, in defiance of God and His Law.  That is, exceedingly wicked, as this Hebrew phraseology is the same structure as in Genesis 13:13, signifying that he was guilty of some very heinous sin; but what it was is not mentioned.  According to the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi, it was the same with his brother Onan’s (Gen. 38:9), of which it is suggested he committed, lest his wife should prove with child, and lose her beauty.  In other words, in the Arabic version of Genesis, Chapter 38, the writer puts it in the terms that he cohabited with his wife not according to the course of nature, but in the “sodomitical” way.

 

However, this is only speculative.  Scripture does not give us the liberty to say for sure what it was that displeased our Lord so.  This all began most likely due to Judah’s foolish friendship with a Canaanite-man.  He went down from his brethren, and withdrew for a time from their society and his father’s family, and got to be intimately acquainted with one Hirah, an Adullamite (Gen. 38:1).  It is computed that he was now not much above fifteen or sixteen years of age; an easy prey to the tempter.  Let us be care with the choosing of our friends and associates.

 

To review, what this wickedness consisted in we are not told; but the phraseology sighting of the Lord being added, proves that it was some very great evil, because it is very noteworthy of remark that the Hebrew word used to express Er’s wickedness is his own name, the letters being reversed, i.e., “ra,” which means “wicked.”  It is as if the inspired writer had said, “Er was altogether wicked, and completely abandoned character.”

 

38:29:  “Pharez” = Meaning, “Breach.”

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

 

 

39:3:  “And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand” = “Potiphar, in whose house he served, attributed all his blessings to his purchased slave, and made him a son rather than a servant.  It is God’s purpose that those who love and honor His name shall be honored also themselves, and that the glory given to God through them shall be reflected upon themselves.”  YI, March 11, 1897; 1BC:1096.

 

39:6:  “And he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat” = “It was considered an abomination for a Hebrew to prepare food for an Egyptian.” 1SP:131; 3SG:143.

 

39:20:  “And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners werebound” = Potiphar’s action in confining Joseph with political offenders may be considered extreme leniency in view of the punishment customarily administered for his crime which was a thousand blows upon the feet.  This may be considered to mean that Potiphar knew of his wife’s deception.  However, see Psalm 105:17-18.

 

“God designed that he should obtain an experience by temptations, adversity, and hardships, to prepare him to fill an exalted position.”  1SP:133.2; 3SG:146.

​

CHAPTER FORTY

 

 

40:20:  “Pharaoh’s birthday” = On the Rosetta Stone is a passage that mentions the releasing of prisoners of Pharaoh’s birthday.  Just another proof that our Bible is 100% correct and trustworthy.

 

40:23:  “Yet did not the chief butler remember” = Some Bible commentators have estimated Joseph’s jail time to be about 12 to 13 years.  Let alone, according to Genesis 41:1 it isn’t until 2 years later until Genesis 41:13-14 that the chief butler remembers Joseph.  However, my Notes on Genesis 41:46 would put Joseph in “prison” at most 12 years; most likely less.

 

“Ingratitude is regarded by the Lord as among the most aggravating sins.” 1SP:135; 3SG:148.

 

 

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

 

 

41:ALL:  Notice the difference in the use of the Hebrew words, “erets” and “eret.”  Verse 19, “in all the land [erets] of Egypt.”  Verse 29, “all the land [erets] of Egypt.”  Verse 30, “in the land [erets] of Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land [erets].”  Verse 31, “plenty shall not be known in the land [erets].”  Verse 33, :the land [erets] of Egypt.”  Verse 34, “officers over the land [erets; meaning Egypt].”  Verse 36, “for store to the land [erets] against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land [erets] of Egypt; that the land [erets] perish not.”  Verse 41, “all the land [erets] of Egypt.”  Verse 43, “all the land [erets] of Egypt.”  Verse 44, “all the land [erets] of Egypt.”  Verse 45, “the land of Egypt.”  Verse 46, “all the land [erets] of Egypt.”  Verse 48, “in the land [erets] of Egypt.”  Verse 52, “in the land [erets] of my affliction.”  Verse 53, “in the land [erets] of Egypt.”  Verse 54, “all the land [erets] of Egypt.”  Verse 55, “all the land [erets] of Egypt.”

 

Notice the change here, in that in the above verses, “erets” is translated specifically only in reference to the land of Egypt.  Whereas, in the following two verses, it is in reference to the entire earth.  Verse 54, “in all lands [erets].”  Verse 56, “all the face of the earth [erets].”  Verse 57, “all countries [erets]. . . in all lands [erets].”

 

That this is global, as opposed to local to Egypt and Canaan, and areas around them, consider that this is only 600 to 700 years after the flood.  That there was a global flood is true, why couldn’t there also have been a global drought?  Also, it is most likely that most of the earth was not inhabited at that time.  And or, people to far away may have just died out.  Or, a few people in the America’s made it through (could this be why the Aztecs and others died out).

 

41:14:  “Pharaoh sent and called Joseph” = It was humiliating to Pharaoh to turn away from the magicians and wise men of his kingdom to a Hebrew servant.  But his learned and wise men failed him, and he now will condescend to accept the humble services of a slave if his troubled mind can obtain relief.”  1SP:136.1; 3SG149.

 

41:16:  “It is not in me” = “He {Joseph} tells the king that his knowledge is not greater than that of those whom he has consulted.”  1SP:137.

 

41:45:  “Zaphnathpaaneah” = The name given to Joseph, “Zaphnathpaaneah,” is probably the Egyptian “Zaf-nti-pa-ankh,” meaning, “nourisher of the living one,” i.e., of the Pharaoh.  There are many instances in the Egyptian inscriptions, of foreigners in Egypt receiving Egyptian names, and rising to the highest offices of state.  “Zaphnath-paaneah” in Hebrew means, “one who discovers hidden things.”

 

41:46:  “Joseph was thirty years old” = According to Genesis 37:2, Joseph was 17 when he was taken into slavery.  Therefore, he must have been a slave for 13 years.

 

 

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

 

 

42:9:  “Ye are spies” = “He wished to learn if they possessed the same haughty spirit they had when he was with them; and he was anxious to draw from them some information in regard to his father and Benjamin.  They feel humbled in their adversity, and manifest grief, rather than anger, at the suspicions of Joseph.”  1SP:140.

 

42:13:  “the youngest is this day with our father” = See my Genesis 43:6 Note.

 

42:17:  “put them all together into ward three days” = “The sons of Jacob felt unwilling to consent to this arrangement {in verses 15-17}.  It would require some time for one to go to their father, to get Benjamin, and their families would suffer for food.  And then again, who among them would undertake the journey alone, leaving their brethren in a prison?  How could that one meet his father?  They saw his distress at the supposed death of Joseph, and he would feel that he was deprived of all his sons.  As they conversed with one another in this manner, Joseph heard them.  They said, further, It may be we shall lose our lives, or be made slaves.  And if one go back to our father for Benjamin, and bring him here, he may be made a slave also, and our father will surely die.  They decided to all remain, and suffer together, rather than to bring greater sorrow upon their father by the loss of his much-loved Benjamin.

 

“The three days of confinement were days of bitter sorrow with Jacob’s sons.  They reflected upon their past wrong course, especially their cruelty to Joseph.  They knew if they were convicted of being spies, and they could not bring evidence to clear themselves, they would all have to die, or become slaves.  They doubted whether any effort any one of them might make would cause their father to consent to have Benjamin go from him, [142]

 

“after the cruel death, as he thought, Joseph had suffered.  They sold Joseph as a slave, and they were fearful that God designed to punish them by suffering them to become slaves.  Joseph considers that his father and the families of his brethren may be suffering for food, and he is convinced that his brethren have repented of their cruel treatment of him, and that they would in no case treat Benjamin as they had treated him.

 

“Joseph makes another proposition to his brethren.  And he said unto them the third day,” 1SP:141-142.

 

42:24:  “and took from them Simeon, and bound him” = “Joseph selected Simeon to be bound, because he [143] was the instigator and principal actor in the cruelty of his brethren toward him.”  1SP:142-143; 3SG:157.

 

42:28:  “What is this that God hath done” = Throughout all of this Joseph’s brethren were still “the worshipers of God,” PP:222.

 

“They acknowledge that God has seen their sins, and has marked their wrongs, and that He is now visiting them for their transgressions.”  1SP:143.

 

 

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

 

 

43:6:  “Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother” = See Genesis 42:13 = They told Joseph about Benjamin only because he had directly asked them concerning their family.  See verse 7 and Genesis 44:19.

 

43:14:  “God Almighty” = See my Genesis 28:3 Note.

 

“As his sons were about to leave him to go on their doubtful journey, their aged father arose, and, while standing in their midst, raised his hands to Heaven, and entreated the Lord to go with them, and pronounced upon them a gracious benediction.”  1SP:145; 3SG:159.

 

43:34:  “five times” = “He did this not only to show his particular regard for his brother Benjamin, but to prove them, and see if they regarded Benjamin with the same envious feelings they had him.  They thought that Joseph did not understand their language, and were free to converse with one another in his presence; therefore Joseph had a good opportunity to learn the true state of their feelings without their knowledge.”  1SP:147; 3SG:162.

 

 

CHAPTER FORTY- FOUR

 

 

44:2:  “my cup” = “Kings and rulers had a cup from which they drank, which was considered a sure detective if any poisonous substance was placed in their drink.”  1SP:147.

 

44:13:  “they rent their clothes” = “At this discovery all were greatly surprised; and, to express their great distress, they rent their garments, which was the custom when in great affliction.  Benjamin was more amazed and confounded than his brethren.”  1SP:148.

 

44:15:  “divine” = “Joseph asked this question to draw forth from his brethren an acknowledgment of their past wrong course, that their true feelings might be more fully revealed.  He did not claim any power of divination, but was willing his brethren should believe that he could read the secret acts of their lives.”  1SP:148.

 

44:16:  “God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants” = This would indicate that there are always consequences for sin.

 

“Judah [149] told his brethren that God had found out their iniquity for selling their brother in Egypt, and was now returning upon them their transgressions, by permitting them to become slaves also.”  1SP:148-149.

 

 

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

 

 

45:3:  “his brethren could not answer him” = “His brethren could not answer him for astonishment.  They could not really believe that the ruler of Egypt was their brother Joseph whom they had envied, and would have murdered, but finally were satisfied to sell as a slave.  All their ill treatment of their brother painfully passed before them, and especially his dreams, which they had despised, and had labored to prevent their fulfillment.  They had acted their part in fulfilling these dreams.  Repeatedly had they made obeisance to Joseph, according to his dream.  And now they stood before him condemned and amazed.”  1SP:150.

 

45:24:  “See that ye fall not out by the way” = “He was afraid that they might enter into a dispute, and charge upon [152] one another the cause of their guilt in regard to their cruel treatment of himself.”  1SP:151-152; 3SG:167.

 

45:26:  “Jacob’s heart fainted” = Jacob’s sons then made their humiliating confessions to their father, of their wicked treatment of Joseph, and entreated his forgiveness.  Jacob did not suspect his sons were guilty of such cruelty.  But he saw that God had overruled it all for good, and he forgave and blessed his erring sons.”  1SP:152.1.

 

 

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

 

 

46:1:  “offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac” = “The faithful servants of God understood that it was because of their unfaithfulness to God as a people, and their disposition to intermarry with other nations, and thus being led into idolatry, that the Lord suffered them to go into Egypt.”  1SP:215.

 

Israel “Lost in a great measure their peculiar, holy character, by mingling with the nations around them.  To punish them the Lord brought a famine upon their land, which compelled them to go down into Egypt to preserve their lives.”  3SG:297.

 

“By keeping separate from other nations, a great temptation to engage in their sinful practices, and rebel against God, would be removed from them.  They lost in a great measure their peculiar, holy character, by mingling with the nations around them.  To punish them, the Lord brought a famine upon their land, which compelled them to go down into Egypt to preserve their lives.” 1SP:263.

 

46:20:  “unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim” = “The seed sown in infancy by the careful, God-fearing mother will become trees of righteousness, which will blossom and bear fruit; and the lessons given by a God-fearing father by precept and example will, as in the case of Joseph, yield an abundant harvest by and by.”  Good Health, January 1880; CG:116.3.

 

46:34:  “Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle” = “Joseph counseled his brethren, when Pharaoh should ask them of their occupation, to tell him frankly that they were shepherds, although such an occupation was regarded by the Egyptians as degrading.  Joseph loved righteousness, and feared God.  He did not wish his brethren to be exposed to temptation, therefore would not have them in the king’s special services, amid the corrupting, idolatrous influence at court.  If they should tell the king that they were shepherds, he would not seek to employ them in his service, and exalt them to some honorable position for Joseph’s sake.  When the king learned that they were shepherds, he gave Joseph permission to settle his father and his brethren in the best part of the country of Egypt.  Joseph selected Goshen as a suitable place provided with good pastures, well watered.  Here also they could worship God without being disturbed with the ceremonies attending the idolatrous worship of the Egyptians.  The country round about Goshen was inhabited by the Israelites, until with power and mighty signs and wonders God brought his people out of Egypt.”  1SP:153.1.  

 

 

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

 

 

47:16, 20:  “Give your cattle” / “Joseph bought all the land” = “The children of Israel were not slaves.  They had never sold their cattle, their lands, and themselves to Pharaoh for food, as many of the Egyptians had done. . . [178]

 

“No tax was required of Joseph’s father and brethren by the king of Egypt, and Joseph was allowed the privilege of supplying them liberally with food.  The king said to his rulers, Are we not indebted to the God of Joseph, and to him, for this liberal supply of food?  Was it not because of his wisdom that we laid in so abundantly?  While other lands are perishing, we have enough!  His management has greatly enriched the kingdom.”  3SG:177-178; 1SP:159-160.

 

 

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

 

 

48:3:  “God Almighty” = See my Genesis 28:3 Note.

 

48:5:  “thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. . . are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine” = It would appear that since Joseph was Jacob’s First Born (from Rebecca; as opposed to Rueben from Leah) that the double portion was to go to him.  And this was the way in which Jacob would accomplish it.

 

“Thus one of the birthright privileges, which Rueben had forfeited, was to fall to Joseph, -- a double portion in Israel.”  PP:234.

 

 

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

 

 

49:1:  “Jacob called unto his sons” = “As he spoke with his children for the last time, the Spirit of the Lord rested upon him, and he uttered prophecies concerning them which reached far in the future.  While under the Spirit of Inspiration he laid open before them their past life, and their future history, revealing the purposes of God in regard to them.  He showed them that God would by no means sanction cruelty, or wickedness.”  3SG:170.

 

“in the last days” = The literal Hebrew translation is, “be’ aharit hayyamim,” meaning, “in the last days,” equaling the days just before the Coming of Christ (see verse 10).  Therefore, translations that translate as, “in the days to come,” is incorrect.

 

49:3:  “Reuben” = “Although Reuben had no hand in selling [171] Joseph, yet previous to that transaction he had grievously sinned. His course was corrupt, for he had transgressed the Law of God.  Jacob uttered his prophecy in regard to him.”  3SG:170-171.

 

49:5:  “Simeon and Levi” = “. . .were also the ones who were the most guilty in the case of Joseph. . . Jacob thus uttered the words of inspiration to his sorrowing sons, presenting before them the light in which God viewed their deeds of violence, and that He would visit them for their sins.  His prophetic words in regard to his other sons were not as gloomy.”  3SG:171.

 

49:10:  “sceptre” = Genesis 49:10 has a prophecy about the word “scepter.”  In the year B.C. 2, is when the right of the Jewish people to exercise the punishment of capital punishment was taken away by the Roman power.  It is said that the Jewish leaders considered this to be the fulfillment of the prophecy of Genesis 49:10, the taking away of the “sceptre” from Israel.  Priests and rulers walked around in “sackcloth and ashes” because they believed that this prophecy had been fulfilled, and yet the Messiah had not yet come.  Little did they know that the prophecy was fully in effect, in that a little to the North, a Baby was being born in Bethlehem.  What is not recognized by most is that this prophecy has a dual meaning.  Most understand that Jesus fulfills the fact that the “sceptre” never departs from the tribe of Judah, yet the one mentioned above is not generally understood.

 

The Jewish Rabis have a quibble over the word “shebet,” which we translate as “scepter.”  The quibble, or argument is that they say it signifies “a staff,” or “rod,” and therefore, that the meaning of it is, that “afflictions shall not depart from the Jews till the Messiah comes.”  Their reasoning is that they are still under affliction, and as such, “the Messiah is not Come.”  This is a miserable shift to save a lost cause.

 

Their chief “Targumist,” Onkelos, understood and translated the word nearly as we do; and the same meaning is adopted by the “Jerusalem Targum,” and by all the ancient versions.  The Arabic excepted, which has the word “kazeeb, meaning, “a rod.”  Other ancient Manuscripts of the “Pentateuch” have the Hebrew word “sebet,” which signifies “a tribe.”  The concept is, “Judah shall continue a distinct tribe till the Messiah shall Come; and it did so; and after His Coming it was confounded with the others, so that all distinction has been ever since lost.”

 

The point is, Genesis 49:10 is a prophecy of future events; and that future event tells us that the Jewish nation would be “cut off” after the Messiah Comes.  The reason why is clearly spelled out in Leviticus, Chapter 26, Verses 14-39, and Deuteronomy, Chapter 8, Verse 20:  “As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the Voice of the LORD your God.”  And many others.  See my Bible Study:  “SPIRITUAL ISRAEL AND REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY.”

 

49:16:  “Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel” = The only “judge” of the 13 judges in the Book of Judges (plus Samuel makes 14 in all) to come out of the tribe of “Dan” was Samson (Jud. 13:2).  Therefore, the prophecy here must carry a heaver weight.  The name signifies “judgment,” and therefore must refer to the ultimate fact that this tribe was to be judged for its lack of character and its reason for being left out of the list in the Book of Revelation.  Comparing lists in God’s Word:  See my Bible Study, “Tribes & Symbols Of Israel.

 

49:24:  “The Shepherd, The Stone of Israel” = 

 

49:27:  “shall ravin as a wolf” = A better translation would be, “shall be ravenous as a wolf.”

 

49:33:  “gathered unto his people” = Is explained by God in Second Chronicles 34:28:  “I will gather thee to thy fathers.”

 

 

CHAPTER FIFTY

 

 

50:3:  “mourned for him threescore and ten days” = Which is two days short of how long an Egyptian Pharaoh is to be mourned.

 

50:17:  “wept” = Why did Joseph weep?  Because he realized that his brothers were still under the burden of not receiving/applying the forgiveness that Joseph had given them, canceling their debt.

 

50:19:  “am I in the place of God” = See Romans 13:5-7; Titus 1:3; First Peter 2:13-14.  God has risen up rulers and put down rulers.  We are to be observant of this Biblical fact and obey; except when not honoring God.

 

50:26:  “Joseph died” = “Joseph illustrates Christ.  Jesus came to His Own, but His Own received Him not.  He was rejected and despised, because His acts were righteous, and His consistent, self-denying life was a continual rebuke upon those who professed piety, but whose lives were corrupt.  Joseph’s integrity and virtue were fiercely assailed, and she who would lead him astray could not prevail, therefore her hatred was strong against the virtue and integrity which she could not corrupt, and she testified falsely against him.  The innocent suffered because of his righteousness.  He was cast into prison because of his virtue.  Joseph was sold to his enemies by his own brethren for a small sum of money.  The Son of God was sold to His bitterest enemies by one of His Own disciples.  Jesus was meek and Holy.  His was a life of unexampled self-denial, goodness and Holiness.  He was not guilty of any wrong.  Yet false witnesses were hired to testify against Him.  He was hated because He had been a faithful reprover of sin and corruption.  Joseph’s brethren stripped him of his coat of many colors.  The executioners of Jesus cast lots for His seamless coat.

 

“Joseph’s brethren purposed to kill him, but were finally content to sell him as a slave, to prevent his becoming greater than themselves. [175] They thought they had placed him where they would be no more troubled with his dreams, and where there would not be a possibility of their fulfillment.  But the very course which they pursued, God overruled to bring about that which they designed never should take place -- that he should have dominion over them.

 

“The chief priests and elders were jealous of Christ, that He would draw the attention of the people away from themselves, to Him.  They knew that He was doing greater works than they ever had done, or ever could perform; and they knew that if He was suffered to continue His teachings, He would become higher in authority than they, and might become King of the Jews.  They agreed together to prevent this by privately taking Him, and hiring witnesses to testify falsely against Him, that they might condemn Him, and put Him to death.  They would not accept Him as their King, but cried out, Crucify Him! crucify Him!  The Jews thought that by taking the life of Christ, they could prevent His becoming king.  But by murdering the Son of God, they were bringing about the very thing they sought to prevent.  Joseph by being sold by his brethren into Egypt, became saviour to his father’s family.  Yet this fact did not lessen the guilt of his brethren.  The crucifixion of Christ by His enemies made Him the Redeemer of mankind the Saviour of the fallen race, and Ruler over the whole world.  The crime of His [176]

 

“enemies was just as heinous, as though God’s providential hand had not controlled events for His Own glory and the good of man.

 

“Joseph walked with God.  He would not be persuaded to deviate from the path of righteousness, and transgress God’s Law, by any inducements or threats.  And when he was imprisoned, and suffered because of his innocence, he meekly bore it without murmuring.  His self-control, and patience in adversity, and his unwavering fidelity are left on record of the benefit of all who should afterward live on the earth.  When Joseph’s brethren acknowledged their sin before him, he freely forgave them, and showed by his acts of benevolence and love that he harbored no resentful feelings for their former cruel conduct toward him.  The life of Jesus, the Saviour of the world, was a pattern of benevolence, goodness and Holiness.  Yet He was despised and insulted, mocked and derided for no other reason than because of His righteous life, which was a constant rebuke to sin.  His enemies would not be satisfied until He was given into their hands, that they might put Him to a shameful death.  He died for the guilty race, and, while suffering the most cruel torture, meekly forgave His murderers.  He rose from the dead, ascended up to His Father, and received all power and authority, and returned to the earth again to impart it to His disciples.”  3SG:174-176; 1SP:157-159.

 

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