Friday, September 30, 2011

AN OUTLINE ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FIRST ELEVEN CHAPTERS OF GENESIS IN THE FOLLOWING LEVELS: PERSONAL: BEING A MODERN DAY CHRISTIAN, SPIRITUAL: MODERN DAY CHURCH, SOCIAL: SOCIETY IN 2011

Torah inside of the former Glockengasse synago...Image via Wikipedia
It is our great pleasure to share to our thoughts and reflections about the first eleven chapter of Genesis. These reflections aim to provide you a modern day view of the significance of the most crucial chapters of whole Bible. You will then be able to create a better world view after reading all our reflections.
It is best that you find time reading the first eleven chapters so that you will know how significant it is in formation of your perspective as a true Christian.


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GENESIS CHAPTER 11

Tower of BabelImage via Wikipedia

GENESIS CHAPTER 11
1 And the earth was of one tongue, and of the same speech.
2 And when they removed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Sennaar, and dwelt in it.
3 And each one said to his neighbour: Come, let us make brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar.
4 And they said: Come, let us make a city and a tower, the top whereof may reach to heaven: and let us make our name famous before we be scattered abroad into all lands.
5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of Adam were building.
6 And he said: Behold, it is one people, and all have one tongue: and they have begun to do this, neither will they leave off from their designs, till they accomplish them in deed.
7 Come ye, therefore, let us go down, and there confound their tongue, that they may not understand one another's speech.
8 And so the Lord scattered them from that place into all lands, and they ceased to build the city.
9 And therefore the name thereof was called Babel, because there the language of the whole earth was confounded: and from thence the Lord scattered them abroad upon the face of all countries.


The Tower of Babylon is an iconic or a symbolic tower in the story of beginnings. The height of the tower symbolizes the peak our human pride and our ambition to be above ourselves and others and even above God.

PERSONAL:  BEING A MODERN DAY CHRISTIAN
This chapter is another confirmation of the special relationship between God and human being as God intervenes human affairs. God’s mysterious and creative response to the building of the tower shows that He cares about the effect of sin to His creation. He needed to create a situation in such a way that the human race will improve and not regress. It makes me feel that God is just right there in front of our human affairs watching and thinking creatively on how to intervene perfectly without violating His promise.
            My ambition and pride should therefore not be like the tower of Babel. It should rather be conforming with God’s will. My ambition and pride should be shaped according to the values of the Bible. To do it, one’s conscience must have a proper perspective or correct world view.

SPIRITUAL: MODERN DAY CHURCH
The church’s theology of sin and its punishment is very evident in this chapter. Sin is very well manifested in the tower of Babel while God’s creative and wise-loving, punitive-formative response is likewise manifested in the variation of language. The variation of language is like a form of creative and formative punishment that would make human beings better persons. It therefore makes them better persons as they do not become from God because the variation of language hinders them from pursuing their independence from God.
It poses a challenge for the modern church to portray a picture of a loving and forgiving God in the face of a very sinful generation.
In this chapter, the human adventures in science and technology is just but a repetition or a mirror of the building of the tower of Babel. The church being the conscience of the society is rather challenged to make this chapter creatively and effectively communicated to everyone so the values of humility, respect for God, obedience will be infused in the minds of the people.

SOCIAL: SOCIETY IN 2011
The variation of language supports cultural diversity. Although we are diverse, the idea that language divides us is the same idea or solution to the problem of division brought about cultural diversity. In other words, it is but language that can make us one and come up with universal ideas and laws. The effort to come up with a universal language is making man better persons. Why? In the process of learning the universal language such as English, man learns humility, gains social and emotional connection with other races, learns to appreciate diversity of culture as he looks back at his own culture and compare it with others.
The list of the descendants of Shem or the descendants of Terah is a good reminder to the society to respect family being the basic unit of society. It is something that the society should preserve. There are a lot of issues that the society should address in order to protect the family. These issues include: health hazards, the propagation of false notion of over population, abortion, same sex marriage, violence, etc. The family being the source of values, life, nourishment, and love is threatened by anti-life policies due to the hoax of over population. Same sex marriage also threatens family since pro-creation is not possible in this union. Violence in the family creates a dysfunctional family. The society should therefore imbibe the respect for family as implied in this chapter.

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GENESIS CHAPTER 10

This is a part of a scan of an historical docu...Image via Wikipedia

GENESIS CHAPTER 10
1 These are the generations of the sons of Noe: Sem, Cham, and Japheth: and unto them sons were born after the flood.
20 These were Ham's sons, according to their tribes and languages, according to their countries and nations.
31 These are the children of Sem according to their kindreds and tongues, and countries in their nations.

PERSONAL:  BEING A MODERN DAY CHRISTIAN
            This chapter provides me an idea of belongingness to the God I believe in. It makes me realize that I belong to God being the son of Noah. It gives me a sense of personal and family history with God. It makes me feel that I belong to the family of God’s creation. My identity and connection with God is giving me a reason to celebrate life by doing what is good for others who but God’s creation also, to celebrate life by actualizing my potentials in order for me to be of service to God and man, and to celebrate life through my active involvement in the church and society I live in. My identity with God has elevated and changed my own identity. I am no longer a mere earthly existence that will come and go but rather a meaningful creation, has a special role, a special calling, a special purpose, and has a great responsibility.

SPIRITUAL: MODERN DAY CHURCH
It also gives the church a sense of universality as we all come from the family of the after flood. The conflict of faith, division, schism, cultural conflicts, and many others is resolved in this chapter. It is therefore a challenge for the Church to be able to communicate the Good News of the Bible in order to establish unity among God’s children despite cultural barriers. It may sound very idealistic but possible if we see and trace our roots with God’s family.  Looking back at our roots makes us see brotherhood/sisterhood as sons and daughters of God.

SOCIAL: SOCIETY IN 2011
This chapter is a sociological document that gives an idea of cultural diversity as very well implied in the genealogy. This knowledge should debunk the idea of cultural diversity being a barrier to world peace considering that we are all belonging to one ancestor or family of Noah.
It also gives us a sense of history with God. It makes the society recognize God as the author of society and history. Thus, it should make the society recognize God as ever concretely present and supreme over everything.
To me, this is a historical and sociological account that speaks against or rather counters the evolution theory. With this truth, the society is given hope that someday, when the theory of Darwin becomes a big fallacy, every human being would start to recognize God not only in their religious life but also in their social life. Consequently, the evils in the society brought about by non-belief of God will be eliminated. 

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GENESIS CHAPTER 8 and 9

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GENESIS CHAPTER 8
The waters of a flood gradually disappeared and the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The earth was completely dry and Noah and his family came out of the ark as God told him. God blessed every kind of living creature that was with Noah to be able to multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it. Also He blessed the ground and the earth.

GENESIS CHAPTER 9
God blessed Noah and his sons to be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. Then God now established His covenant with Noah and with his descendants and with every living creature that was with Noah. The covenant was that "never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth." And God gave the rainbow as the sign of the covenant. After the flood, when Noah drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth covered their father's nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine he cursed Ham but blessed Shem and Japheth.

II. What 8 and 9 Chapters Tell Us
1. The Noah's Ark as the only place to be saved
God choose Noah and his family from the world filled with sin. He wanted to punish the world with the flood because of its sin but he gave mercy on Noah for His grace and sincere. According to God's order, Noah made the ark which was salvation from the sin, the ungodly world and for the new life. This salvation is only God's grace. Even though Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God(Gen 6:9), he could not foresee the flood by himself and it might impossible to make that big ark for a long time despite of being ridiculed by people.
There was no steering in the ark. It means Noah could not manage and make decision where and how he should go. It must be impossible to control the ark against the flood as great as all the springs of the great deep burst forth and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.(Gen 7:11) The ark could just float around on the water. It is the God's grace. The ark was the only place to be saved from the flood and even Noah and his family did not need to do something to be saved. God wanted them to be in the ark and stay there.
            2. Patience, a main factor in the Ark
The flood was not the partial judgment but general. Before the flood, God gave Noah the details about the flood which was how big the ark was, who he needed to board with. He might feel more comfortable with that time than after that. Because since the time when he was in the ark, God did not give any information about the flood so that he just waited for the time when he could go out. He must stand in calm with the fear of unpredictable situation. Finally the water disappeared but slowly. Almighty God can make the water is gone in a flash but He did not choose that way. He wanted Noah and his family to wait. Instead of His miracle, He let Noah use his wisdom such as sending out a raven and a dove.
            Boarding to the ark takes for very short time but staying there and waiting for the time getting off could take longer. God also waited for a very long time to judge the world with the flood. He did not punish people as soon as they made the sin.
            3. Salvation for worshiping God
            The bible says that Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. As shown in the chapter 5, Noah was a descendant of Enoch who walked with God. It means Noah and Enoch were with God in their life. Noah was definitely obedient and the obedient was from his faith to God and His word. At the time of decreasing the water Noah sent out a raven and a dove to check the level of water. The term of sending out another dove was 7 days. It may symbolize the Sabbath and it tells us Noah kept the Sabbath even in the ark. Even though the time was before the Moses' law, he did not forget to worship God.
            After one year, the earth completely dried and they finally came out of the ark with God's order. Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. (Gen 8:20) The worship to God was the first action on the earth for Noah after the flood. He knew that why God gave His mercy on him and what he needed to do for God's glory. He worshipped God not because of the Law but because of his own will for God.
            4. The Covenant with the saved from the flood
            As God said to Noah before the flood, He established covenant with Noah: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.(Gen 9:11) Every living creature need to breath but the judge of the flood means to stop breathing. The flood was the way to stop the sin on the earth and now He gave the rainbow as a sign which could make us remember His promise and also He wanted us not to fear of the flood again. This grace of God gave us peace and rest and also we do not need to fear in our daily life. The covenant makes us know God is sincere and merciful.
            5. Remember being saved
            After the flood, Noah started to proceed to plant a vineyard and then one day he was drunken and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, one of Noah's son, saw Noah's nakedness and told his brothers but Shem and Japheth covered Noah's mistake. Many people say that the fault is from Noah not from Ham. Of course Noah made serious mistake with drinking wine but the important thing is the attitude of Noah's sons to deal with their father's fault. This happened after the flood. Ham, who revealed his father's fault, totally forgot that he had saved by God's grace. Even though Ham could be saved by God's grace, he was still rude and hasty. Being mature after salvation is important as much as to be saved.
            III. Conclusion
            God gave His mercy on the earth through the Noah's ark. This means there will be another chance to complete the salvation through Jesus Christ. The Noah's ark prefigures Jesus Christ in New Testament as our saviour. Like through the ark Noah could be saved, all the people who believe in the name of Jesus will be saved. During the flood Noah had to be endured in the faith in the ark, all the saved people have to endure the life on the earth in the faith of that Jesus is our saviour. With worshiping God, which is God's blessing for the saved people only, we need to walk with God for His glory depending on His covenant. Every moment we need to remember that we are saved by Jesus' sacrifice even though we are still sinners because of His new command, "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.",(John 13:34)

Reference : NIV bible.
                    Grace Commentary by Young-Jo Hah
                    Matthew Henry Commentary

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GENESIS CHAPTER 7

Noah's Ark, oil on canvas painting by Edward H...Image via Wikipedia

GENESIS CHAPTER 7
In Genesis 7 -The call to Noah is very kind, like that of a tender father to his children to come in-doors when he sees night or a storm coming. Noah did not go into the ark till God bade him, though he knew it was to be his place of refuge. It is very comfortable to see God going before us in every step we take. Noah had taken a great deal of pains to build the ark, and now he was himself kept alive in it. What we do in obedience to the command of God, and in faith, we ourselves shall certainly have the comfort of, first or last. This call to Noah reminds us of the call the gospel gives to poor sinners. Christ is an ark, in whom alone we can be safe, when death and judgment approach.
Hypocrites in the church, who outwardly conform to the laws of that ark, are yet unchanged; and it will appear, one time or other, what kind they are after. God continued his care of Noah. God shut the door, to secure him and keep him safe in the ark; also to keep all others for ever out. In what manner this was done, God has not been pleased to make known. There is much of our gospel duty and privilege to be seen in Noah's safety in the ark. The apostle makes it a type of Christian baptism, 1 Peter 3:20, 21. Observe then, it is our great duty, in obedience to the gospel call, by a lively faith in Christ, to come into that way of salvation which God has provided for poor sinners. Those that come into the ark, should bring as many as they can with them, by good instructions, by persuasions, and by good examples.
There is room enough in Christ for all comers. God put Adam into paradise, but did not shut him in, so he threw himself out; but when God put Noah into the ark, and so when he brings a soul to Christ, the salvation is sure: it is not in our own keeping, but in the Mediator's hand. But the door of mercy will shortly be shut against those that now make light of it. Knock now, and it shall be opened, Luke 13:25.
There is no place on earth so high as to set men out of the reach of God's judgments. God's hand will find out all his enemies, Psalms 21:8. When the flood thus increased, Noah's ark was lifted up, and the waters which broke down every thing else, bore up the ark. That which to unbelievers betokens death unto death, to the faithful betokens life unto life.
The sin of sinners will be their ruin, first or last, if not repented of. The righteous God knows how to bring ruin upon the world of the ungodly, 2 Peter 2:5. How tremendous will be the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men! Happy they who are part of Christ's family, and safe with him as such; they may look forward without dismay, and rejoice that they shall triumph, when fire shall burn up the earth, and all that therein is. We are apt to suppose some favourable distinctions in our own case or character; but if we neglect, refuse, or abuse the salvation of Christ, we shall, notwithstanding such fancied advantages, be destroyed in the common ruin of an unbelieving world.

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GENESIS CHAPTER 6

Noah and his wife and his children are coming ...Image via Wikipedia
GENESIS CHAPTER 6
            The Wickedness and Judgment of Man. When God saw that man was constantly planning and doing evil, he resolved to bring a just destruction upon him. But Noah was a righteous man, so he and his immediate family were to be spared to make a new start
This is just one example that demonstrates the absolute uniqueness of the Bible as God's revealed message to His people.
            The context of Chapter 6 flows from chapters 4 & 5 which just traced the line of Cain and the line of Seth. The merging together of them in chapter 6 would be both natural and the explanation for the utter corruption of all mankind described in verses 5 & 6.The description of evil here is incredible. It was not just the evil acts of man, and it was not just the evil thoughts that they had, but it went another step beyond that. Their very intentions were only evil continually so that all that they thought about was evil, and since actions arise out of what we think, their lives were evil. There was nothing good left.
There are people around today that fit that description. In addition societies continue to degenerate as they turn their backs on God and seek to do whatever they desire. The prophet Isaiah pronounced a woe on such people saying,” Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And clever in their own sight! 22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine, And valiant men in mixing strong drink; 23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right! (Isaiah 5:20-23). The Apostle Peter tells us that the present world is also reserved for God‘s judgement (2 Peter 3:7-12).
            God saw man's wickedness as one injured and wronged by it. He saw it as a tender father sees the folly and stubbornness of a rebellious and disobedient child, which grieves him, and makes him wish he had been childless. None are punished by the justice of God, but those who hate to be reformed by the grace of God. God looks down upon those with an eye of favour, who sincerely look up to him with an eye of faith. It is easy to be religious when religion is in fashion; but it shows strong faith and resolution, to swim against the stream, and to appear for God when no one else appears for him; Noah did so.

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GENESIS CHAPTER 5

Adam & Eve in garden of EdenImage via Wikipedia
GENESIS CHAPTER 5
“This is the book of the generation of Adam. In the day that God created man, he made him to the likeness of God.
He created them male and female; and blessed them: and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begot a son to his own image and likeness, and called his name Seth.
And the days of Adam, after he begot Seth, were eight hundred years: and he begot sons and daughters.
And all the time that Adam lived came to nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.”

PERSONAL:  BEING A MODERN DAY CHRISTIAN
It’s a great honor and privilege to have been created according to the image and likeness of God my creator. However, I also feel that along with such privilege comes a great responsibility. As part of a big and wonderful creation, I have the responsibility to help preserve its beauty and its natural state. Helping means doing something, watching over, guarding, and fighting for it if needed. Helping is not a passive word but rather active. My active involvement is therefore required.

SPIRITUAL: MODERN DAY CHURCH
We are God’s people because God created us in His own image and likeness. Today, the church is confronted with issues brought about by modern thoughts such us evolution theory as against the Bible’s creation story, cloning man, cloning man and animal together, test tube babies as against natural conception, homosexuality, same sex marriage, and many other bio-ethical and moral issues. Chapter 5 solves all these issues if only the church simply and deeply understands its meaning. This chapter clearly speaks about our superior state of being and not a mere evolution from animals. Our superior state should therefore be respected by not cloning or mixing animal and man in a scientific adventure. This chapter clearly states that He created male and female which clearly opposes same sex marriage, and homosexual acts. It also clearly talks about death which is a clear lesson against cloning. The role of the church in all these challenging issues is to take a world view or perspective that is simple yet faithful to the Bible in order not complicate these issues.


SOCIAL: SOCIETY IN 2011
The value of reverence and respect to a Supreme Being, our Creator is what our modern society has failed to inculcate in its people. It is evident in the rise of bio-ethical and moral offenses of our brothers and sisters in the many different fields especially in science and technology, politics, economy, sociology, and many more. The leaders in these fields have failed to show respect to God as they promote values contrary to the Bible values. In this chapter God promotes human dignity as He elevates man being His image and likeness. On the contrary, our politicians, economists, businessmen, scientists, sociologists and many more have degraded man’s dignity through dirty politics, lack respect for life, unequal distribution of goods, alteration of human genes and mixing it with animals, promotion of homosexuality, and immoral behaviors. 

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GENESIS CHAPTER 4

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GENESIS CHAPTER 4
Chapter 4 shows the story of Cain and Abel. The first division among family happened. This is another manifestation of man’s sinful nature.

PERSONAL:  BEING A MODERN DAY CHRISTIAN
This chapter teaches me the value of life. Killing a human being especially a loving and good brother is considered a sin. Cain’s attitude here is simply a mirror of what we see in our daily life as we hear reports about people killing other people because of greed and envy. As a human being, I am not excused from this same feeling. Although moral philosophers say that  feeling itself may not be morally evil until acted upon with another evil action such as killing, I still feel that the feeling is evil and should therefore be ignored, avoided or never given any time.

SPIRITUAL: MODERN DAY CHURCH
The family of Adam collapsed. Adam who failed and lost his authority on creature also failed to govern his family. Like his father, Cain also failed to listen to God’s command and obey it. If one member of the family or church disobeys God’s Word, division comes in. Cain was driven out and the whole family had to start again. Ignoring the Word of God always brings severe results. The church nowadays with all the alluring worldly pleasures and values should spend more time reading and meditating God’s Word in order for them not to forget what God wanted them to be.

 SOCIAL: SOCIETY IN 2011
The ground which opened its mouth to receive Abel’s blood from Cain’s hand did not yield its crops for Cain. Cain worked the soil. He lost his job and his job was cursed. Nowadays unemployment in many parts of the world is growing. It’s not because the unemployed are sinful but because of the sin of selfishness, greed, and envy behind it. There are a lot of big brothers in the world who are not their brothers’ keeper but rather their brothers’ robber. The value therefore we get from this chapter is love and concern for a brother or sister. In big terms, it is called equality, equity, justice, and love.

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GENESIS CHAPTER 3

The Fall of Man, after Hendrick GoltziusImage by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com via Flickr
GENESIS CHAPTER 3
Chapter three accounts the fall of Adam and Eve. It gives us a picture of how sin came into the life of the human being. It shows the weakness or imperfection of the human being. It gives us an idea of the human tendency after sinning to hide from God and cover up sin.

PERSONAL:  BEING A MODERN DAY CHRISTIAN
As a modern day Christian, I am like Adam and Eve who feel guilty and depressed after I sin, and choose to hide from God. However Genesis 3:21 says, ‘God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them’.  What I found from this verse is that God killed animal for them. Hebrews 9:22 says, ‘In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.’ That why God killed an animal and made sacrifice for them. Even if I sin, God will not abandon me. And God already sent His one and only Son as a sacrifice once for all. I am forever righteous before God, by believing His Son.

SPIRITUAL: MODERN DAY CHURCH
The second point is that Adam and Eve represent the church. They were one flesh, which means they could not be separated. Chapter 3 shows that if one part of a body fails to do its own function, the whole body collapses. Eve as a part of Adam also had an authority to rule over all creatures. But she began to listen to the inferior being, the serpent. It means Eve forgot who she was. And the result of losing identity was tragic. Therefore, every part of the body should know their identity and function well. The church therefore should be engaged in uniting themselves in order to do their function as one whole church building the kingdom of God.

SOCIAL: SOCIETY IN 2011
The society of today tempts people to chase after unsatisfying illusions. People go after what looks gorgeous and beautiful. They spend their money on brand new products and various forms of leisure. People have become consumeristic and pleasure oriented. The standard of good has become what’s pleasurable and appears to be beautiful. Eve did not evaluate the fruit of good and evil by the Word of God, but she evaluated the appearance. People should see real things beyond the appearance and it is possible only by the Word of God. In verse 11 God reminded them what He commanded.

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GENESIS CHAPTERS 1 and 2

Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam. The Book ...Image via Wikipedia

GENESIS CHAPTERS 1 and 2
Genesis being the book of the beginnings tells something about two things:
1. The beginning of the world (Genesis 1:1-25)
The beginning consists of the origin of the universe, where it explains the beginning of many important realities: the universe, the earth, people, sin and God’s plan of salvation. It unfolds the beginning of the World, human beings, family, civilization and salvation.  God reveals his personality and nature as a creator, sustainer, judge, and redeemer. It also teaches us that the earth is well made and good.

2. The beginning of the human being (Genesis 1:26; Genesis 2:25)
The value and dignity of human beings made in His own image; culminating with a man and woman made like him is God’s deepest desire to relate and fellowship with the people he created.

PERSONAL:  BEING A MODERN DAY CHRISTIAN
This story of creation is a personal reminder for me as a modern day Christian to firmly hold on my faith that God indeed created us and that no other modern belief or theory can ever disprove or destroy such truth. It teaches me more about God and my identity with God being part of His great creation.
I gained depth in my faith as I see God’s creative power and his eternal nature. I also see how he valued us more than the animals. (Genesis 1:26 - 28). It’s giving me high self-esteem as a human being and giving me as well a sense of responsibility to take care of what I am in charge of, the animals, plants, and the rest of His creation. It teaches me to respect everything and everyone as I respect myself being His wonderful creation very well loved and valued.
            God rested on the seventh day, which means that I have to take time out of my busy schedule to rest in order to refresh myself. (Genesis 2:2-3)The seventh day was blessed by God as He set it aside to be holy, where the Ten Commandments in the book of Exodus 20:1-17 emphasized the observance of the Sabbath day. A day of worship or thanksgiving moment with Him therefore is personally important.
As a modern day Christian, these two chapters have outlined the origins of how God created this universe and His purpose to have people set apart to worship him. He did this by creating man in His own image and from man he created a woman to give him company. (Genesis 1:26) God forms and equips both man and woman for various tasks where it leads to the same goal - to honor God. Man gives life to woman; woman gives life to the world. (Genesis 2:21 – 23)


SPIRITUAL: MODERN DAY CHURCH
This chapter is a valuable reference of the modern day church to defend and deepen the theology of creation. It is also a great challenge for the church to promote the value of marriage, family, children, the natural environment, and procreation.
God’s work was not complete until he made woman, where he made her from the man’s flesh and bone. (Genesis 2:18-24). This is a reference of the church’s teaching on marriage and at the same time a reference that shows the significance of opposite sex marriage and respect for women and the interdependence of man and women. that man and woman symbolically become one flesh. The goal of marriage should be based on oneness instead of friendship, as God gave marriage as a gift to Adam and Eve. Marriage being God’s idea and gift to us should therefore be respected.

SOCIAL: SOCIETY IN 2011
Our modern day society is confronted with many issues relevant to the values already presented in the book of Genesis. The primary issue is genetic engineering, which alters the natural genes of God’s original creation. This issue is linked to many other bio-ethical issues related to God’s natural creation such as cloning, test tube babies, sex change and a lot more. All these are coming out because conservative and moral people cannot accept the fact that most of these if not all are affecting us morally, socially, and environmentally. All these concerns simply affirms the existence of people who still value God’s creation, and people who glorifies and appreciates God gift of nature. Another undeniably hot issue is on marriage. Marriage being a commitment that perpetuates and cares God creation is threatened by certain problems of the modern day society such as divorce, legalized abortion, same sex marriage, etc. These are considered issues because there are still many human beings who still value life, family, and pro-creation. Although marriage is respected in almost all cultures, still we cannot deny the increasing number of dysfunctional families, divorce, abortion, unwanted pregnancies and same sex marriages. 

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AN OUTLINE ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FIRST ELEVEN CHAPTERS OF GENESIS IN THE FOLLOWING LEVELS: PERSONAL: BEING A MODERN DAY CHRISTIAN, SPIRITUAL: MODERN DAY CHURCH, SOCIAL: SOCIETY IN 2011

Torah inside of the former Glockengasse synago...Image via Wikipedia
It is our great pleasure to share to our thoughts and reflections about the first eleven chapter of Genesis. These reflections aim to provide you a modern day view of the significance of the most crucial chapters of whole Bible. You will then be able to create a better world view after reading all our reflections.
It is best that you find time reading the first eleven chapters so that you will know how significant it is in formation of your perspective as a true Christian.

GENESIS CHAPTERS 1 and 2
GENESIS CHAPTER 3
GENESIS CHAPTER 4
GENESIS CHAPTER 5
GENESIS CHAPTER 6
GENESIS CHAPTER 7
GENESIS CHAPTER 8 and 9
GENESIS CHAPTER 10
GENESIS CHAPTER 11

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