Sunday, January 08, 2006

Genesis 1-16

And it was morning, and it was evening: the first day.

Actually, I finished the first day's reading yesterday (working ahead never hurt anyone) .

Yes, I read the 12 pages and even onward. I had to go to a quiet place to do it...especially with the geneaologies. I'm sure that was important to someone, sometime. It took me about 30 minutes, but I'm a really fast reader.

I am reminded as I read and consider this that I have some problems with the Old Testament. The rules don't make sense to me, and God seems (forgive me) to be somewhat capricious. But that's what I'm here for, to learn more.

There is such a cultural gulf between the "then" of the Old Testament and the "now" of modern day America. Women are utterly expendable and are indeed are goods to be traded, given to mobs, etc.

Reading the 12 pages caused me to take several notes under the heading of "YUCK" - Abram giving Sarai to the Pharoah (saying she is his sister so the Pharoah will take her to sleep with, and not kill Abram). That happens again with them, in chapter 20; by that time, Sarah has to be 90 or so!

Also, I have always puzzled about God's favoring Abel's gift and scorning Cain's. Cain was a farmer, so he brought the first fruits, right? As the worker of the soil, what better could he have brought? I am definitely missing something here...

I bought the actual BIND bible and it has a lot of pages for notes, so I'm writing in there. Figure that's a good place for notes on reading this particular Bible.

I'm off to the airport for a late student pick-up. Sweet dreams, all; see you tomorrow!

3 Comments:

At 1/09/2006 2:58 AM, Blogger eija said...

"yuck" category sounds very approppriate :D

About Cain and Abel: We were just a couple of weeks ago given a sermon in our church about that. It was explained somehow like that Cain's products were "self-made", works of his own hand. At that time even the althars had to be natural stone, without any chisel touching it. That would have made it human-made and not acceptable for God.

I really can't explain it that well, but it really made sense to me.

 
At 1/09/2006 12:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for these thoughts! Very helpful.

 
At 1/09/2006 6:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think it was their attitudes

 

Post a Comment

<< Home