Genesis: God"s Got the Whole World in His Hands

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Genesis: God’s got the whole world in His hands

Dr. Clovis Chapelle died more than eighty years ago, but he left some of the greatest writings on the Bible that exist today. Ray says “Everything he wrote was rich with revelation and thought provoking mindgrabbers to the max. Any study of Genesis would be incomplete without it.” Join Ray now.

Genesis: God’s got the whole world in His hands

 

 

Genesis: God"s Got the Whole World in His Hands

Genesis 1 thru 4 In The Beginning

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Genesis 1 thru 4 In The Beginning

This is the beginning of a lifelong project to bring you the entire Bible. Since it will be my lifetime, at 79 I can’t guarantee it will ever be completed by me. But I will give it my best shot. I plan to give you a new section every day. And when I leave for Heaven, someone else may finish it for me.

I love the Bible. It makes total sense in a world that doesn’t. I love truth, and the Word of God IS truth. Every few days I will take one day to share teachings from all that I have just read.

I chose the Amplified Bible because it is a favorite of mine and knowing that I am reading this literally “into all the world,”I am fulfilling the Lord’s assignment to do this. The Amplified Bible should make it clearer to understand in every nation.

Here we go. We are beginning in the beginning:

Genesis 1 thru 4 In The Beginning

Genesis 1 thru 4 In The Beginning

The 52 Greatest Stories in the Bible: The Creation "Lights! Camera! Action!"

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The 52 Greatest Stories in the Bible: The Creation “Lights! Camera! Action!”

Kenneth Boa and John Alan Turner continue to bring us two an up close and personal look at the Garden of Eden to begin our day. Is work a curse? Take a look at what God thinks.

Is married sex a curse? It can be if the husband and wife haven’t gotten their instructions from Song of Solomon.

What could you be doing single or married to enjoy life far more than you do now?

Ray will share all this with you now.

The 52 Greatest Stories in the Bible: The Creation “Lights! Camera! Action!”

The 52 Greatest Stories in the Bible: The Creation "Lights! Camera! Action!"

Genesis 3 - Wycliffe translators with Ray

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Genesis 3 – Wycliffe translators with Ray

Chapter 3

v1 Now the snake was the most clever among all the wild animals that the *Lord God had made. The snake said this to the woman: ‘Did God say that you can eat the fruit from all the trees in the garden?’

v2 This is how the woman answered the snake. ‘We can eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. v3 But God said, “You must not eat the fruit from a certain tree. That tree is in the middle of the garden. Do not even touch it, otherwise you will die.” ’

v4 But the snake replied to the woman, ‘You will not die. v5 But when you eat the fruit, your eyes will open. God knows that. You will be like God and you will know right things and wrong things.’

v6 So the woman saw that the fruit was good to eat. And she saw that it was lovely to look at. She also thought that it would make her wise. She then took some fruit and she ate it. She also gave some fruit to her husband and he ate it. v7 Then their eyes opened. They realised that they were naked. They sewed together leaves from a fig tree to cover themselves. (Figs are sweet fruit with many seeds.)

v8 The man and woman heard God walk in the garden in the cool evening. They hid away from God. They hid among the trees in the garden. v9 But the *Lord God called aloud to the man. God said, ‘Where are you?’

v10 The man said, ‘I heard you in the garden. And I was afraid, because I was naked. So I hid.’

v11 God said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten the fruit that I told you not to eat?’

v12 The man replied, ‘You gave the woman to me so that she would be my partner. She gave the fruit to me and I ate.’

v13 Then the *Lord God said to the woman, ‘What have you done?’ The woman replied, ‘The snake tempted me and I ate.’

v14 The *Lord God said this to the snake: ‘Out of all the *cattle and wild animals, you are the animal that I *curse. You shall move on your stomach and you shall eat dust all your life. v15 I will make you and the woman enemies. Your *descendants and her *descendants will be enemies. The woman’s *descendant will badly hurt you, and you will hurt him a little.’

v16 God told the woman that she would have a lot of pain when she was *pregnant. And she would have a lot of pain when she had a baby. She would want her husband’s love, but he would rule over her.

v17 God told Adam, ‘You listened to what your wife said. You ate the fruit from the tree that I told you not to eat from. Now, because you have not obeyed me, the ground has a *curse. You will work hard all your life in order to get food from it.

v18 You will find thorns and thistles there. (Both are wild plants with sharp points along them.) You will eat wild plants.

v19 You will *sweat in order to grow food. That will happen until you die. And then people will bury you. I made you from the dust, and you will again be dust.’

v20 The man called his wife Eve. She would be the mother of all those that would live. That is why he gave her that name.

v21 And the *Lord God made clothes out of skin for Adam and Eve. They wore the clothes. v22 Then the *Lord God said, ‘Now, the man has become like us. He knows good things and evil things. Now, he might reach forward with his hand. Then he might pick fruit from the tree that makes people live. And then he might eat that fruit, and so he would live for always.’ v23And so the *Lord God sent the man out of the garden that was in Eden. God sent him out for always. God had made the man out of the soil. And now God told him to work with the soil.v24 God forced the man to go out. Then God put *cherubim to guard the garden in Eden. They were at the east side of the garden. There was a sword with them and flames were coming from it. The sword moved in all directions to guard every way to the tree. That is, the tree that makes people live.

This chapter is a very important chapter because it helps us to understand the Bible’s message. Before the events in this chapter, the world was perfect. People had not *sinned. They obeyed God. And they were friends of God. Everything changed after the events in this chapter.

Satan (the devil) used a snake to test the first people (called Adam and Eve). Satan told them that they should not trust God’s words. And Satan encouraged them not to obey God.

The results of their action were terrible. They were afraid and they tried to hide from God. They could not continue their friendship with God.

But, even afterwards, God was kind to them. He killed an animal so that they could cover their bodies. And he made a promise to Eve that seems to refer to Jesus. *Sin has been a real problem for every person who has ever lived. Because of *sin, our world is not perfect. Because of *sin, we have many troubles. But Jesus came to free us from our *sins. When he died, he suffered the punishment for our *sins. We need to confess our *sins to God. And we need to invite God into our lives. Then we shall be friends of God.

Notes on the verses

Verse 1 God had made the snake. But *Satan was using it to do something against God’s command. The snake was able to talk to the woman. That shows that it was not an ordinary snake. There was only one tree whose fruit God had forbidden the woman to eat. But the snake made her want that fruit. The snake made her think that God was not speaking the truth. It made her think that God did not care about her and Adam.

Verse 3 The woman spoke as if God had given a very strict command. She said that God had ordered her and Adam, ‘Do not even touch it (the fruit).’ But God had not said that.

Verse 4 The snake then denied what God had said. The snake said, ‘You will not die.’

Verse 5 ‘Your eyes will open’. Writers in the Bible often say that. It does not mean that we cannot see things round us now. It means that we do not understand about God. The woman was greedy. She wanted the fruit and she wanted to be like God. However, God had made the woman like himself already. God had given power to her and her husband, so that they had power over everything else. The woman could have sent the snake away.

Verse 7 ‘Their eyes opened’. *Sin affects all parts of us. Adam and Eve were not actually blind before. But now they saw that they had done something wrong. In other words, they understood it with their mind. They ate the fruit with their bodies, because they were not obeying God with their mind. Then they felt ashamed because they were naked.

Adam and Eve suffer because they *sinned, 3:8-24

Verse 8 The writer described the garden very well. Before Adam and Eve ate that fruit, they had liked to meet God. But we can imagine how Adam and Eve then hid from God. However, people cannot really hide from God, although they may try!

Verse 12 Adam blamed his wife Eve. And Adam even blamed God, because God had given Eve to him!

Verse 13 Eve blamed the snake. People are afraid to say, ‘I did it. I *sinned.’

Verse 14 God punished the snake first.

Verse 15 Next, God punished *Satan, who had seemed to be like the snake. In the original *Hebrew text, God said that the woman’s ‘seed’ (*descendant) would ‘bruise *Satan’s head’. That means that Jesus would hurt *Satan badly. But *Satan’s ‘seed’ (*descendant) would only ‘hurt Jesus’ *heel’. In other words, he would annoy Jesus. But he would not hurt Jesus seriously. Here, the writer uses a different word. It means only ‘hurt in some way’. It does not have the special meaning ‘bruise’.

Verse 16 Next, God explained to the woman the results of her *sin. She would suffer pain. Even the happy time when she had a baby would cause pain. But a woman would still desire a husband and children. And, of course, in verse 15, God had promised that the woman would receive something good by her *descendant or child. Her *descendant would oppose the devil. Her *descendant would free people from the devil’s power, like someone who uses his foot to break a snake’s head. Jesus was the woman’s *descendant. And he did these things when he died for us (Galatians 4:4-5).

There is a special promise to women in 1 Timothy 2:15. This verse says, ‘God will save women during the birth of a child if they continue to trust him. He will do that if they continue to love him. He will do it if they are holy and modest.’

Verse 17 God explained to Adam the results of his *sin. Adam would have to work hard for his food.

Verse 18 The garden in Eden was a nice one, which God designed for Adam. But Adam would not continue to live in that kind of garden.

Verse 19 Adam would have to prepare his own garden.

Verse 20 Eve means ‘someone that gives life’.

Verse 21 In this verse, we see how God showed Adam to *sacrifice animals because of *sin. That was like a picture (or a special description). It showed what Jesus would suffer. People would kill Jesus too, like the animals. He, too, had to suffer because of people’s *sin.

Skin from an animal would protect people better than leaves protected them. (Look at verse 7.) Also, an animal’s skin was warmer than leaves.

Verse 22 Jesus suffered because of people’s *sin. So he knew what *sin was like. People had started to *sin. And *sin causes people to suffer. *Sin is very bad for people. So God did not want people to eat fruit from the tree that makes people live. That was because they would then always live in that bad state. So they would always continue to suffer terribly.

Verse 23 The *cherubim were God’s special servants that guarded *holy things and *holy places. Later, someone sewed a design onto the curtain that people put in the *Temple. In that design, there were pictures that showed *cherubim. When Jesus died, God tore that curtain into two pieces (Matthew 27:51). That action has a special meaning for us. It means that we can now come to God because of Jesus.

Genesis 3 – Wycliffe translators with Ray

Genesis 3 - Wycliffe translators with Ray

Wycliffe translators – Genesis 2 with Ray

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Wycliffe translators – Genesis 2 with Ray

Chapter 2

v1 So God had created the skies and the earth. And he had created the many *creatures in them. He had completed his *creation.

v2 By the seventh day, God had finished his *creation. He had finished that work that he had done. He rested on the seventh day. He rested from all the work that he had done. v3 So God *blessed the seventh day. He considered it different from the other days. He rested then from his work that he had done. He rested from his *creation. That was why he considered it different.

v4 This is the true story about how God created the earth and skies. v5 The *Lord God made the earth and the skies. There were no green plants on the earth, because the *Lord God had not yet sent rain to the earth. There were not yet any people, so nobody could work with the soil. v6 Then a mist came up from the earth, and the mist watered all the soil. v7 Then the *Lord God formed a man from dust that was on the earth. God breathed into the man’s nostrils (the holes in the nose). The breath that God breathed into him made the man live. So the man became a person, who was alive.

v8 The *Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. God put the man that he had formed into that garden. v9 God made all the trees grow there that are pleasant to look at. And their fruit is good to eat. Also, in the middle of the garden, there were these two trees. There was the tree that makes people live. And there was the tree that makes people know right things and wrong things.

v10 A river flowed out of Eden and it watered the garden. The river divided there into four rivers. v11 The first river is called Pishon. It flows all through the region called Havilah. v12There is good gold in Havilah. There is also bdellium (a kind of sticky stuff that smells good). And there is onyx (a valuable kind of stone). v13 The second river is called Gihon. It flows all through the region called Cush. v14 The third river is called the Tigris. It flows along the east side of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

v15 The *Lord God took the man. And he put the man in the garden that was in Eden. God told the man to work with the soil in the garden. God told him to take care of the garden. v16The *Lord God gave these orders to Adam. ‘You can eat from all the other trees in the garden. You can eat from them as much fruit as you want. v17 But you must not eat fruit from the tree that makes you know right things and wrong things. You will die on the day when you eat that fruit. That is why you must not eat it.’

v18 Then the *Lord God said, ‘It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper as a partner for him.’

v19 So the *Lord God had formed from dust all the animals on land. And he had formed all the birds that fly in the air. God brought the animals and birds to Adam. God wanted to see what names Adam would give to them. That was why he brought them to him. Whatever name Adam gave, that was the name for each *creature. v20 Adam gave names to all *cattle. He gave names to all the birds that fly in the air. And he gave names to all the wild animals on the earth. But none among them was a good helper that could be Adam’s partner. v21 So the *Lord God made Adam sleep deeply. While Adam slept, God took one rib out of Adam. (A rib is a bone in the top part of someone’s body.) Then God closed up the place where that bone had been. v22 The *Lord God made a woman from the rib (bone) that he had taken out of the man. Then God brought her to the man.

v23 Then the man said, ‘This, at last, is my bone and *flesh. I shall call her “woman”, because she came out of man.’ v24 Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and he joins his wife. Then the two people become one person.

v25 And the man and his wife were both naked. And they did not think that it was wrong.

Everything that God created was perfect. And everything was wonderful. But men and women had a special place in God’s plan. Firstly, God created a perfect world for the first man to live in. Then God prepared a special home for the man. This home was in a beautiful garden (or farm) that God had planted. God made the man (called Adam) from dust that was on the earth. Then God breathed his Spirit into the man, so that the man was alive (verse 7). Afterwards, God provided a wife (called Eve) for the man.

Notes on the verses

Verse 1 God completed his *creation. However, he is still working. He has not stopped. But it is different work. He now looks after all that he created.

Verse 2 God repeated that he finished his work. This means the work that he did in *creation. It must be very important for us to know this.

Verse 3 God made the seventh (7^th) day special. God made us like himself. After we work for six (6) days, we need one different day. *Jews keep Saturday (the seventh day in the week) special, because of this verse. And it is also because of God’s command in Exodus 20:10. Christians keep Sunday (the first day in the week) special, because Jesus rose from death on the first day. It does not matter whether our special day is the first or seventh day in our week. It is important that we keep one day in a week different. We *worship God together on that day, if we can. We need to have a rest for one day each week to keep our bodies healthy. When we have God’s *blessings, we have duties as well. He has provided a day when we should rest. But we must make it special for God. This is like a description or picture for us. It shows to us something about Jesus. He was dying for us on the cross. That was his work. Then he said, ‘It is finished.’ He had finished that work. But now he lives in heaven to pray for us. God has promised a ‘rest’ for Christians in heaven. That rest will last always. But it does not mean that we shall do nothing there. We shall praise God and we shall serve him.

The garden in Eden, 2:4-25

Verse 4 This story seems similar to the one in chapter 1. This story in chapter 2, however, is the story about man. It is about how God made everything ready for man. The *Hebrew word for ‘true story’ means family or children. It refers back to the many *creatures in verse 1. It can mean past history. Or it can mean future history. Writers use that same word in other places in the Bible. And in those places it means future history.

Verse 7 God made the first man from dust. But God made him special. God breathed into him. God’s breath made the man alive. The same *Hebrew word for ‘breath’ means ‘spirit’ also. So God gave his Spirit to the man, so that his Spirit would live in the man. God also made the man able to breathe air. That was so that the man could live on the earth. Man’s spirit lives as well as his body. But that is not true for animals. God did not breathe his Spirit into animals. The writer says that God formed man. So, God made man as a potter forms a pot. (A potter makes pots skilfully from *clay.) That shows to us how clever God is. It shows to us that we must serve him. And we must obey him as our master. We must obey him because he created us.

Verse 8 Eden seems to be the name of a region.

Verse 12 Bdellium may be a particular kind of tree. The tree produces a sticky stuff (also called bdellium). People use that sticky stuff to make perfume. (Perfume is a liquid that smells nice.) Or the word might mean pearls. (Pearls are shiny white little balls of hard material. They are valuable. People use them to make things beautiful.) Onyx is a kind of valuable stone. We are not certain exactly what these two things are.

Verses 11-14. We do not know the Pishon River today. Nor do we know the Gihon River. However, it is important to know this. Eden was an actual place. This is all true. The rivers flowed out of the garden. They came to places outside it. And so they helped things to live there too. Water is very important in a hot area. Look at Ezekiel chapter 47.

Verse 15 God took care of Adam. And God took Adam to the garden that God had prepared for him. God gave work for Adam to do. Adam’s work was to look after the garden. A better word than ‘garden’ here might be ‘farm’ (like an African farm called a ‘shamba’). The garden was not just a pretty place with flowers and trees. But it was important for food also.

Verse 17 God gave Adam an important command. So Adam was responsible to God. As we shall see in chapter 3, Adam did not obey God’s command. In the garden, Adam had the freedom to be a friend of God. But Adam did not want this freedom. Instead, he wanted the freedom to do whatever things he wanted to do. He wanted to live his own life, without God’s friendship. So Adam chose to do evil things, although God had warned him about the results of such a decision.

‘You will die.’ Death was not part of God’s original plan for men and women. God wanted them to live always and to be his friends. But when men and women began to do evil things, the result was death. Their bodies did not die immediately. But their spirits were dead, because they were not still friends of God. And so they could not go to be with God in heaven when their bodies died.

Adam’s decision to do evil things causes death for everyone. But Christ brings life to everyone who trusts him (1 Corinthians 15:21). Our spirits become alive immediately when we trust Christ. We must confess our *sins to God and we must invite him into our lives. Then we become friends of God. And we shall have a place in heaven. Christ has defeated death, but our bodies still die (1 Corinthians 15:26). But when Christ returns, God will change us (1 Corinthians 15:51). Then Christians who have died will become alive again. And we shall always live with God.

Verse 20 God gave Adam control over everything in the garden. So, Adam chose the name for each animal and bird that was there.

God was very careful that Adam should have a good partner to be his wife.

Verse 21 God made Adam from the dust. But God made Eve from Adam’s own body. This is also like a description or picture of Christ and the church (all the real Christians everywhere). See Ephesians 5:31-32. The Bible also describes the church as ‘the bride of Christ’ and ‘the body of Christ’ (Ephesians 5:23-27). So the church is united with Christ. And the church serves Christ. But the church is also separate from Christ. Christ does not control Christians. Christians have the freedom to make their own decisions.

Verse 23 Adam was very pleased with the woman that God gave him.

Verse 24 Marriage is God’s plan for a man and a woman. Marriage should last for life. A man and his wife become a new family. They live together and they work together, under God’s rules.

Wycliffe translators – Genesis 2 with Ray

Wycliffe translators – Genesis 2 with Ray