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Bible Study Lesson 3 St. Cecilia Bible Study: Lesson 2 Gen 4-11 Cain and Abel (Gen 4) -Once sin enters the world (Adam and Eve), it doesn’t take long for Capital sins to occur (Murder of Abel) -Inversion of Norms-Abel is good, should be allowed to thrive, but he is cut off in his prime and evil (Cain) multiplies: in other words, righteousness is persecuted -in this way, Abel is a type of Christ: cut off in his prime, unmarried, persecuted by evil -Line of Cain: invents technology, music, culture -Lamech (7th generation from Adam): violent, first bigamist, implying that more than one wife is something evil. [This is part of what is called an Implicit critique of Polygamy in the Old Testament.] *Note about numbers: 7=perfection, 6=man, the beast. (based on the days of creation.) Lamech’s position in the line of Cain reveals that he is the “perfection” of evil. In Genesis 5 we see that Enoch is in the 7th generation from Adam and he “walked with God”—he was righteous and was assumed into heaven. This is to show that Enoch is, in a sense, the “perfection of good” and the polar opposite of Lamech. “Sons of God” (Gen 6) -Polygamy on a large scale between “Sons of God” and “Daughters of Men” -who are these? Historical critical research believes it is a pagan myth incorporated into the bible; however from a literary perspective there is a better explanation. -“Sons of God” are the righteous line of Seth, whereas the “Daughters of Men” are the line of Cain—making the displeasing action to God the intermarriage between good and evil families [and polygamy]—this is a recurring theme throughout the Old Testament; intermarriage with evil/unbelievers brings corruption. *note too that this explains God’s anger: the righteous line of Seth has followed the example of Lamech by taking many wives—showing they are no better than the cursed line of Cain! Noah -Flood is a “Re-creation story” a) Earth is returned to “tohu wabohu” state where everything is watery chaos. b) Dry land appears out of the waters just like day three of creation, due to the Spirit (ruach) of God blowing over the waters c) Animals are released onto the land d) Renewal of the Adamic covenant in Gen 9 -blesses Noah, “be fruitful and multiply” -yet the covenant is inferior, “dread of you shall be upon the beasts” -up to this time, the account in Genesis has everyone being a vegetarian: very practical as well as spiritual meaning—peace among animals and man makes the ark possible The “Second Fall” (Gen 9:20-29) -Immediately after the renewal of the covenant, there is another fall, showing that sin cannot be eradicated simply by getting rid of wicked people. -Fruit consumption is involved, as well as sexual overtones (nakedness) -“seeing the father’s nakedness” is a Hebrew idiom which refers to maternal incest (See Leviticus 18:6ff, and Lev 20:11). This explains why the punishment on Ham’s line is so serious. a) Ham is not the first born--Shem is. Therefore, by trying to take his father’s wife, he is attempting to steal the rights of the first-born. This is based on the idea that “whoever has control of the king’s harem is the king”—we will see this more explicitly in the story of King David and his rebellious son Absalom. b) as a side note, Canaan (Ham’s son) is cursed, NOT Ham. If Canaan is the offspring of Ham and his mother, this could be a possible explanation for the curse -See: Noah's Nakedness and the Curse on Canaan (Genesis 9:20-27) Author(s): John Sietze Bergsma and Scott Walker Hahn. Source: Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 124, No. 1 (Spring, 2005), pp. 25-40—available online Babel (Gen 11:1-9) -This story is primarily typological. The people have one language, but through pride they try to make a name (Shem) for themselves. These are the descendants of Canaan. By building the tower they are trying to prove that they can reach Heaven (and therefore God) by themselves without God’s help. God scatters their language as a punishment -This event is a type of Pentecost. Through the Holy Spirit, God allows all the nations gathered in Jerusalem to hear the Gospel in their own language, signifying that when we are subject to God, He will unify us in every way through His Spirit. The Sin of Babel is definitively reversed in this moment. Structure of Gen 1-11 -Pattern of Creation and Re-creation: Creation Re-Creation 1.) Creation out of watery chaos (Gen 1) 1.) Recreation out of watery chaos- Gen 6:9-8:22 2.) “Natural Covenant” (filial relationship) 2.) Covenant renewal (Gen 9:1-17) (Gen 1:26-2:24) 3.) Sin- fruit, nakedness, shame (Gen 3) 3.) Sin- fruit, nakedness, shame (Gen 9:18-29) 4.) Spreading out of sons (Gen 4) 4.) Spreading out of sons- Gen 10 5.) Genealogy of 10 generations 5.) Massive Sin- Babel (Gen 11:1-9) Adam to Noah Adam has 3 sons (Gen 5) 6.) Massive Sin- Polygamy (Gen 6) 6.) Geneology 10 generations from Noah to Terah Noah has 3 sons (Gen 11:10-26) .
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