Let me also state up front that my purpose is neither to criticize the Bible nor praise every word. However, some of my reaction will involve things in The Good Book that confuse me, inspire me, and teach me something I had not previously known. I imagine many people have never, and maybe will never, read the entire book and some of my reactions may prove informative for them, and may even lead some to read the book for him/herself.
But before I get into quotes and discussion, I would like to share an overall opinion. Thus far, I get the impression that this book (especially the first five books of Moses, known as The Pentateuch) sets out to establish God's relationship ("unfailing love") and the concomitant covenants He made with the people of Israel, solely the people of Israel. Any and all other people are treated as enemies unless such foreigners wish to join or ally themselves with Israel, ridding themselves of their gods and choosing instead to worship the all-powerful God of Israel. Also, whenever the people of Israel lose focus and worship other gods, the God of Israel allows pagan nations, such as the Philistines and Egypt, to rule over Israel as punishment for any number of years. Once they realize their demise is due to their sinning (worshiping other gods and ignoring God's regulations), they beg for forgiveness and the God of Israel returns and protects them once again. Israel is portrayed throughout as God's chosen and highly favored people.
But let me begin with interesting moments in the book of Genesis. Other entities seem to be referenced in Genesis, leading me to believe God is working alongside similarly intelligent/wise beings. See Genesis 3:22 (Then the Lord God said, "Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil."). I presume God, in saying "us", is speaking about other celestial beings as Adam/Eve are banished from Eden, but it's not specified. Not only is there a reference to other celestial beings knowing good and evil like God, there's reference to other humans in the world when God punishes Cain for slaying his younger brother Abel. Cain's main fear with his punishment, "You have banished me from the land and from your presence; you have made me a homeless wanderer. Anyone who finds me will kill me!" Genesis 4:14. So Cain seems to be aware of other human life that is not in God's presence as he was, and that those individuals are likely to harm him. God shares the same awareness and replied (before putting a mark on Cain to warn anyone who kills him), "No, for I will give a sevenfold punishment to anyone who kills you." At that moment of course, God seemed to be physically among Adam/Eve/Cain/Abel...physically present and visible.
So the story progresses, Adam/Eve have another son, Seth, and they all live for over 900 years, multiplying the earth until God sees nothing but evil all around. As you know, God destroys the world, and saves Noah, who back then was the only "blameless" man around. All of the world is said to be descendants of Noah.
I will end this entry with my reactions to God's early punishments. As mentioned earlier, Cain, a crop farmer and first son of Adam/Eve, slew his younger brother Abel, a shepherd, because of the following:
"When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift - the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift." Genesis 4:3-5. We are not told why Cain nor his gift was rejected by God. But God saw how dejected and angry Cain looked and said the following, ""You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master." Gen. 4:7. Maybe this was a test by God to see how the older brother will react to this favoritism God seemingly showed his younger brother. Maybe God needed more than the crops Cain offered, or maybe Cain should have brought God his best crops, as Abel brought God "the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock." Seems like a misunderstanding gone bad to me.
Later, and after blameless Noah and his family are saved via the Ark during the flood, and after God confirms his covenant with Noah and his descendants, the relationship between Noah's sons (Ham, Shem, Japheth) is explained. See, Noah cultivated the land after the flood and planted a vineyard. And as you know, he became drunk off the wine he had made and lay naked inside his tent. Ham, father of Canaan, sees his father naked and tells his brothers, who, without seeing him naked, covered him with a robe. Noah cursed Canaan, the son of Ham for what Ham had done, "May Canaan be cursed! May he be the lowest of servants to his relatives. May the Lord, the God of Shem, be blessed, and may Canaan be his servant! May God expand the territory of Japheth! May Japheth share the prosperity of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant." Gen. 9:25-27.
Of course i was confused by the "crime" and the punishment, confused further as to how Noah had power to curse anyone, let alone his own son's descendants. Fast forward to the story of Lot and his daughters post destruction of Sodom/Gomorrah. Lot's older daughter convinced the younger in an indecent proposal, "There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can't get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have children. Come, let's get him drunk with wine, and then we will have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father." Gen. 19:31-32.
Surely, God must have co-signed Noah's curse against Ham's child Canaan (the alleged ancestor of Africans), but why no cursing of the daughters of Lot, who got him drunk with intent to have sex with and be impregnated by their father? Incest was accepted and in some ways expected back in those days. But the reason why Canaan was cursed for his father Ham accidentally seeing his grandfather Noah naked escapes me. And why Ham wasn't cursed is interesting as well. In fact, I had always thought of it as Ham's curse, so i learned something new there!! Incidentally, this curse has been used to justify the enslavement of Africans.
In my next entry I plan on discussing Sodom/Gomorrah and other issues. Ride with me.
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