Hey, everybody made it back for day two of the daily Bible podcast. We hope so. Anyway, welcome back. If you didn't make it back, it'd be tragic. If somebody was like, I'm out, I'm out after that, do that train wreck. No way. I can't do this anymore. It's just all bad news, fall, everything else. Well, if that's your mindset, then it doesn't get much better today, folks. Yeah. You'll have to listen to the podcast from a couple of days ago to get to the really good news. Right, right. Just back up. Yeah. Um, yeah. Anyways, January 2nd, everybody's getting back to work. I guess, I guess some offices maybe are still closed on the 2nd, but most, most places are getting back to work. New Year's starting and, uh, and things are taking off again. Pastor Rod, I know that you are a, a purveyor of the gym. And so is this time of year. I assume there's a lot of people there that are using machines wrong and trying to read instructions on the machines that they've never seen before. You know, it's funny because I don't, I mean, maybe here is different. I think in LA or Orange County, when we still live there, I would notice a difference in The LA fitness that he used to go to, you would see more people about this time of year. It wasn't always after the first, um, you'd notice an influx pretty shortly after Christmas or in December, November timeframe. So there'd be this massive influx. Um, and you'd have a pretty good drop off. I mean, you do see it. And let me, let me tell you, man, as a, as a, as a gym goer, I, you know, I kind of like having access to the stuff I want to get to, so it's, I'm not sad about it. Uh, if people do stick around, you'll see it. I noticed because everyone goes at the same time and you see the same people. So you kind of know who's there, who's not there. Now, when you see someone new show up and they keep showing up part of you is like, good for you. Way to go. The other part of you is like, Oh man, I wanted to use that, that rack. Come on, hurry it up, move along. So yeah, I guess it's a little bit, not as, not as bad as some studies show, but I do see it a little bit at the old gym, far less here for some reason. Oh, fair enough. Maybe if you see our church goers show up, you'll be like, Hey, I need that rack. You need to roll authority. That's right. I pull my card out. There you go. Flex the pastoral role. See what I did there. Yeah, you're welcome. Um, yeah, January 2nd. So let's jump in. We've got four chapters today, four, four, five, six, seven. Yeah. Yeah. Chapter four, uh, opens up with a familiar story of Cain and Abel, um, and chapter four really is focused on the continued fallout of the fall. Um, this is the first murder that takes place here with Cain and Abel. You've got, uh, Cain, the older brother, uh, which is significant. That was something that, that I noticed this time reading through versus last time. But, uh, Abel is the younger brother and Abel's offering is regarded, whereas Cain's is not. And what that means is that the, the Lord was honored rather by Abel's offering because Abel's offering Qualitatively was just. Better. He brought the first fruits. Whereas, uh, Cain was, uh, was, was bringing the first fruit of the ground. Abel brought the first one of his flock in the fat portions. It was just a more sacrificial, more costly offering that the Lord was pleased with. This was not an indication that one was better than the other in that life was over for Cain and yet Cain takes it to heart so much that he rises up in jealousy and ends up killing his brother. Um, and the, the. Confrontation with Cain the question Cain. Where's your brother? Cain says am I my brother's keeper? And the blood of Abel crying out against his brother which in the new testament that theme is picked up and it's uh, said in the the book of hebrews that the blood of christ speaks a better word than the blood of Abel because here the blood of abel is calling out for justice and vengeance against his brother for the wrong done to him but but chapter four from here and then the the You People that proceed from him. Uh, this is really just about the spread of, of a broken and fallen humanity. That is, is the result of what we saw take place in chapter three, the fall of mankind with Adam and Eve. One thing to note here is Hebrews 11, four tells us one of the reasons, and I think it might be the reason that explains Why Abel's sacrifice is more acceptable says here in Hebrews 11 for by faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain Through which he was commended as righteous God commending him by accepting his gifts and through his faith Though he died, he still speaks. And so, uh, Abel's, Abel's sacrifice was better than Cain's because it was done by faith, right? He was giving God something. And consequently, because it was an act of faith, the quality of it was also better. It was the first, it was the best, and it was motivated by faith, which God loves to esteem. God esteems faith. And you already see it here in Genesis chapter four, you're going to see it weaved all throughout the old Testament and enter the new Testament more clearly and explicitly. Make no mistake, it is faith here that is the cause for his acceptance. Yeah, the depravity is seen continuing here, even down in verse 23, is one of the descendants of Cain, Lamech says to his wives, Adon Zillah, hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, Lamech's is seventy sevenfold. So, murder is progressing and continuing and, and, It's it's just it's it's not good. I think that the lone bright spot really in chapter 4 is in verse 25 It says Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth Seth is going to be the the purveyor of the line of Christ. And so if if We believe Adam and Eve are literal figures, which we do. Um, then we would say that Adam and Eve were the, the parents of all humanity. Well, that would include Christ as far as his humanity is concerned. And Seth is the purveyor of the line of Christ in Christ genealogy. So that's the bright spot here. And it's interesting because even in says here of Seth, God has appointed for me another offspring instead of able for Cain killed him. Eve had other children, but there's something about Seth that causes her to say this is the replacement for Abel, the one that Cain had killed. And so Seth is, uh, is a significant name here to pay attention to as the story of Genesis continues to unfold. Speaking of names, chapter 5, we get into a bunch of names in this genealogy. Like I pointed out yesterday, we have the The reminder that God created man in his likeness in chapter five, verse one, male and female, he created them. It's interesting in verse three, then that we read when Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness after his image and named him Seth. And so there the perpetuation of the image of God, I think is, is at least implied here, uh, in that statement, because it's not repeated that that's just only stated there with Adam and Seth that in the image of Adam. Who was created in the image of God came Seth and so thereby we can conclude that this is true as humanity is is Reproducing that they are reproducing image bearers of God some names to note in the genealogical list here Seth would be one obviously genesis 5 3 from reasons already mentioned enoch in genesis 5 19 is a man who Just we should aspire towards being like enoch enoch walked with god If if that could be your epitaph if that could be the thing that's on your headstone You This person walked with God, that would be an amazing testimony to have, uh, and Enoch walked with God such that he didn't have a tombstone. He was not for God took him. We believe that he's one of only a few people that we find in scripture that did not die, uh, that were taken up rather to be with God, which is, is crazy. And, uh, and that's because of his righteousness. And so Enoch is commended there. Noah in verse 29 is another name, obviously one of the most familiar names. And we're going to get into his story in chapter six and seven here. And then finally Shem in 532, who is again, the descendant of Noah, that's going to perpetuate the line of Christ down through the ages here. What do we make of, speaking the ages, uh, speaking of the ages, what do we make of these long time frames? I mean, Enoch, the one who walked with God, walked for 365 years. Golly, talk about a long time frame, and others here are much longer than that. So what do we do with these really long years? Are they literal? Is this a different timing keeping system here? What do we do with that? I take them as literal. I think whether we want to say, you know, it's the environmental factors. Um, we want to say that their diet, whatever we want to say contributed to the length of years. I do believe this is literal. Um, now in chapter six, verse three, uh, this is something that Hit me afresh this time it says then the lord said my spirit shall not abide in man forever for he is flesh His days shall be 120 years. So chapter 6 is opening with depravity spreading even more so in in Things are we're going to get into the nephilim in chapter 6 as well And so some have said well here god is shorting the time Time span of a man's life his year shall be 120 years and that's going to be the cap. The problem is That's not It's not born out from this point forward. There are men that live longer than that. And so I think there's an alternative reading of that, which would be rather than my spiritual not abide in man forever, that word abide can also mean strive or contend. And so this seems to be what God is saying here is it's going to be another reading of this could be, it's going to be 120 years from that moment until the flood is going to take place. And I think that's what Genesis six, three is, is talking about. But in that context of you asking about these long years of life, and then we read his, Lifespan is going to be 120 years. I think 120 years is a time marker for how long it's going to be before the flood is brought in verse three, not the length of years that these men are going to live. But I take them as literal years. Do you have a different view on that? No, I'm much the same. And I think part of the explanation that I've thought was most helpful is that this is antediluvian earth. So this is that timeframe, which had a different ecosystem, different expectations, therefore, for how long man would dwell or be able to thrive. And remember, God designed it at least initially to be sustaining of human life for forever. So it would make perfect sense that these guys have a, uh, a, a continuingly shorter and shorter period of our lifespan. Uh, so yeah, I would take them as literal. I don't take them any other way. I think it's a, Literal time frame just because it's pre flood that causes the difference Well chapter six we do get into the wickedness of mankind spreading It says in verse five the lord saw that the wickedness of man was great In the earth and that every intention of the thought of his heart was only evil continually Uh the the nephilim here in verse four, I suppose we should hit on those. Who are they? They're the offspring it would appear of relationships between angels and human women. Um, there's other views on that, that without belaboring it too much in, in spending a long time in this, uh, that's the view I think makes the most sense of the text though. It's maybe not the perfect, uh, checking all of the boxes view that that's the view that, that I've always taken, uh, in embrace there on the Nephilim, Pastor Rod, anything that you want to throw out on, on these giants? I'm with you too. I think, I think it is angels and women, and it's a hard Thing to wrap your mind around it is, it is, but that's who it seems to be. They are characteristic of just the general depravity. And that's in verse five, just the thing I want to point out there, uh, just that the emphatic nature of the language here, the wickedness in the man was great. And every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually And it leads in verse six to the statement the lord regretted now regret is not in the sense that the lord says I made a mistake But the regret can convey a pain or an anguish and I think that's what's going on here. The lord is is sorrowful Over the sin of his creation in the wickedness of his creation. And so his conclusion is i'm going to blot out mankind But there's a contrast in verse eight but noah found favor in the eyes of the lord And so the contrast is is found there and noah is introduced to us as one who is going to be different than Uh lost humanity all around him And so Noah is signaled out for God's, uh, God's mercy and God's grace in that generations of Noah are given, um, verses nine and 10. Shem, ham and Jth are his sons. Shem is the one that is gonna be the, the son of the line of Christ. The others are not gonna do great, as we will find out later on in our Bible reading in the coming days. But again. The emphasis here, the earth is corrupt, that he's, God is going to make an end of all flesh. They've corrupted their way on the earth. The earth is filled with violence. And so God's instructions, Hey, build this arc. And we went to Louisville this summer and got to see the arc on our way around town out there. And it's, it's amazing. It's a, it's a sight to behold. The sheer scale of it is phenomenal to stand there and say, wow, uh, Moses built this without modern technology is. Pretty amazing to see he promises the judgment that's coming. The judgment is going to be the flood. Um, Noah's 600 years old in chapter seven, when the flood comes upon the earth. And, uh, and one thing I think is that's worth kicking around. We, we talked about the, uh, literal six day creation, uh, Petra. Let's, let's kick this around then to what about a universal flood? Is that for us as Christians, as far as a point of orthodoxy for us?

That's a good question, Pastor PJ. I would have to answer probably for both of us. I would say we would not make it a matter of orthodoxy, but we would say it's really important and the competing sides are going to be the universal versus the regional, which is going to be the right way to look at it. And we both say it's an important matter. Certainly it's worth our time and attention to carefully handle. The text of scripture. So we have to ask the question, what does the text actually say? And one of the challenges that we all have when we come to scripture is that we bring our own ideas, our own backgrounds and interpretations into the text. And so the good exegete will ask, what does the text say? How do I take out from the text rather than import into the text? And so for both of us, we're going to say super important, but, we want to be sure we're understanding what the, what the tech says. And for both of us, you and I pastor PJ would agree. It's a universal flood, but there are some godly, wise, and heavy hitting men and women, I'm sure, who believe that the flood was regional, without denying orthodoxy. We would say that it's important, but it's not going to have any fundamental implications for the church. Teaching of the faith, the, the gospel or the, the justice of God. In fact, one of the bigger points of contention with the regional flood is that, well, if it's only regional, then doesn't that mean that some people survived here and there and other places it was a no, because the flood, even if it was regional, still had a universal application on humanity at the time. Remember they were not scattered until after the flood. We'll get to that, I think tomorrow, but all that said, this is an important topic, but not one worth breaking fellowship over.

Yeah. So there you go. That leads us up through chapter seven and then, uh, chapter eight, you're gonna pick that up

that's right. And I can't wait to do it. Please join me tomorrow. Don't leave me by myself. I'd love to have all of you guys there.

Let me pray and then we will be done with this episode. God, thanks for this day. And we just ask that you would allow us to be those that, uh, that do. Apply ourselves to study and understand the scriptures. We want to be good Bereans. We want to handle the word well And so we thank you for your word. We thank you for your kindness to us in that We should pray for a great rest of our day today in Jesus name. Amen Amen, keep reading your Bible student again tomorrow for another edition of the daily Bible podcast. See ya