Bible 101 – The Books of the Law

1. Bible 101 – The Books of the Law Genesis In the Beginning… Bible 101

2. Books of History • Joshua • Judges • Ruth • 1&2 Samuel • 1&2 Kings • 1&2 Chronicles • Ezra • Nehemiah • Esther Bible 101

3. Disclaimer • DISCLAIMER – NONE OF THIS EFFECTS SALVATION • Matt 24 Bible 101

4. The Pre Flood WorldGen 6:1-7 • By the time of Noah, men had been on the earth for about 1500 yrs. • Vs.1 They were having children (multiplying). • Life spans were huge… 1 woman could have had hundreds of children • Some have speculated numbers over 7 billion people on earth before the flood • The pre-flood environmental conditions still existed • Impossible to know hom much different it is now, even though they were under the curse. • But then vs. 2 – the weird stuff starts to happen • More on them in a bit • Vs. 3 God decides that man will only live 120 yrs • Look at the chart, Jacob lived 147 years (800-1200 years after God made the decision) • Jacob and his predecessors were exceptions to the rule? • God allowed the life-spans to slowly drop over time, perhaps as a result of the environmental changes after the flood. • Some feel this was not a limit on life spans but a limit on the time remaining until the flood – Noah would have been 480 yrs old at the time of this statement. • vs. 4 there were Giants on the earth (Nephilim - Fallen ones) • Vs. 5 Man’s heart was wicked – every intent of the thoughts of his heart was evil, continually • Vs.11 The Earth was corrupt and filled with violence, ALL flesh was corrupt. • Vs. 6 the Lord was sorry (repented) He had made Man, Man Grieved God • Vs. 7 God decided that He would destroy everything on earth (Man, beast, birds and creeping things) Bible 101

5. The two Views of vs. 2 • The “Godly line of Seth” view • View emerged around the 5th century • Son’s of God are Seth’s descendants • Daughters of men are Cain’s descendants • These two lines started to intermarry (ess. Christians marrying non-Christians, believers marrying non believers) • By product of these marriages were “famous and mighty men of renown” • But they were also wicked, because the ungodly influence of their mothers corrupted them. • So, God repented of creating them and decided to destroy them • And the animals had to suffer as well… • Why do they believe this? • It’s a more rational view, who would believe that fallen angels and human women could mate and produce offspring? • Main reason is from Jesus teaching in Matt 22:30 about the angels not marrying in heaven. • My main issues with this view: • Sons of God – only used 5 times in the OT, twice here, three times in Job – the Job references are angels (1:6; 2:1; 38:7) – every time the reference is to angels, never to men. • Sons of God – the title implies direct creations of God, Adam could have been “a son of God” • we are not creations of God, we are all born of women (sons and daughters of men - Gen 5:1-3) • True that angels in heaven don’t marry, • These angels aren’t in heaven, they are on earth • we could assume that these angels are fallen, rebellious angels that have an agenda. • MOST OBVIOUS REASON - Godly men who marry ungodly women do not have gigantic offspring, while they may become famous and/or mighty… they do not usually exceed 6-7feet tall. • If everyone on earth died except Noah’s family (all of the Godly line), how did the giants re-appear after the flood? (Vs.4) • If God had meant to convey “Sons of Seth” and “Daughters of Cain”, why didn’t He just SAY that? Bible 101

6. The fallen angels viewGen 6:2;4 • The Sons of God – “bene-Elohim” • Every ref. to this phrase (5 total) refers to angels, never once to men. • Job 1:6; 2:1; best one 38:7 • Daughters of men – human females – duh! • Children of these unions were called: • Giants (Nephilim) • Mighty Men • Men of renown • How is this possible? • I dunno • Jude 6-7 – confirms that it did happen • There are angels reserved in everlasting chains, why? • Left heaven… I assume came to earth • Like the men of Sodom, gave themselves over to sexual immorality • Went after strange flesh (law of reproduction… each after its own kind) Bible 101

7. The fallen angels view, p2 • Why would the fallen angels do this? • To corrupt the human race – for sure… • we are bad on our own… but these Nephilim were evil all the time • If Satan had corrupted all of us… then we wouldn’t be “men” anymore. • A man could not be born of a woman who could come back and crush Satan’s head. • Another interesting fact – 1 Cor 11:10 – girls hate this portion of scripture anyway… here is another reason. • Symbol of authority (in those days – a cover) on her head • Because of the Angels – hmm… you bunch of tempters • If angels stumbled over you girls, us men don’t have a chance – so cover up! • This view was the generally accepted view by: • The early rabbis (not modern) • The early church • The new testament writers (Jude, Paul) • Many conservative scholars today, but not all Bible 101

8. GiantsGen 6:4 • One of the ways we figure out what a word means is to look at how its used • Hebrew word – Nephilim – • Verb form – Gen. translated to fall (fallen by the sword) or to fall away • Gen 6:4/ Num 13:33 are nouns – found only 2 times in the OT • (YLT) translates as “the fallen ones” • So where did we get the word “Giant” – They were really big people • Greek word (LXX) – Gigantes – “earth born” • Greek, I thought the OT was in Hebrew… it was, up until 285 b.c. (300 years before Jesus was born) • Jews needed the OT in a language they could read • Every time Paul quotes the OT in his letters, its from the LXX, not the Hebrew • Same word used to describe the “Titans” – part God and part man • Descriptions: • 1 Chron 20:6 - 6 fingers/6 toes (20:4-8 interesting read) • Deut 3:11 - Og of Bashan’s bed was 9 cubits wide X 4 cubits wide (15.75ft long, 7 feet wide) – Og may have been 13-14ft tall. • Our beds are generally 7 ft. long • 1 Sam 17:4 – Goliath was between 10-11ft tall, armor weighed 156lbs… (smaller than Og?) • Death… • Isa 26:14 – the word for “they are deceased” is “Rapha” which is a form from which we get Rephaim. • Rephaim is one of many names for the Giants in the promised land. • Other names are Anakim (Goliaths family), Emim, Zamzummim, Zuzim • Og of Bashan was a remnant of the Rephaim • Apparently when they die, they go to hell (sheol), they are not going to be resurrected to judgement. • Some creepy examples – Isa 14:9 – the dead; Isa 26:14 – “they are deceased”; Bible 101

9. NoahGen 6:8-10 • Vs. 9 – 3 statements about Noah • A just man • Lawful, righteous correct • (like Enoch) He walked with God • Perfect in his generations • Tamiym – complete, whole, sound, entire • Appears 47 times in the OT, used 2 ways • Translated as upright, perfect – moral sense • Sometimes as a command, rather than an accomplishment “be perfect” • Sometimes used to describe the quality of perfection – not moral but in quality • It was a perfect day. • also used to describe the perfection of the sacrifice – in the sense of Physical perfection – without defect or blemish • Some speculate that was perfect about him was not his Morality, but his Genome – he wasn’t tainted by the fallen angels • Vs 8 – most important verse about Noah • Found grace • (Khane - grace, favor, acceptance) • Praise God so did we. Bible 101

10. Review the rest Genesis 6 The world before Noah’s flood. Memorize the names of the first 17 Books of the OT Next week Bible 101