THROUGH THE BIBLE IN THREE YEARS
This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you miss a day, you may contact us and request that devotion. Please send your request, along with $.50 (p&h) for each page to:
Bruce McGee
P.O. Box 69
Columbia, LA 71418
The commentaries are available for Genesis through John.
Just send $7.50 per book plus shipping and handling (about $2.00 each)
to the address above. Be sure to designate which book(s) you desire.
GENESIS
CHAPTER 7
1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
Salvation depends upon God seeing us as "righteous".
How can we be righteous when the Bible plainly tells us that we are SINNERS(Rom. 3:23)?
2Corinthians 5:21 says, "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."
Now that means that ONLY through Christ Jesus can we be seen as righteous in God's eyes. Therefore we must surrender to Him as Lord and THEN we will be seen as "white as snow." (See Isaiah 1:18)
2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. 3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
Notice that "clean" animals were brought into the ark by "sevens" and not by "twos." God was providing for a sacrifice already. God is always prepared. And God is always calling man to be prepared.
4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. 5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him. 6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. 7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, 9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;
Only ONE week's notice; is that all the people got? NO!
In verse 11 it tells us that in the 600th year of Noah's life the flood came.
But in Genesis 5:32 and Genesis 6:13, we see that God "warned" the people in Noah's 500th year of his life.
God had told Noah. Noah had begun building an ark, and the people KNEW. And Noah had preached and testified for 100 years that the "RAIN" was coming (flood).
But no one had listened. (see Hebrews 11:7)
Noah followed God's commandments (vs 5), and God sent the flood according to His Word of promise.
14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. 15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
In the day that the rain came and began the flood, Noah gathered his family and all the animals into the ark.
Noah and his family and the animals went WILLINGLY into the ark that represented salvation.
16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in
But it was not left up to Noah to close the door of the ark. This door can only be closed by God Himself! That's why the Scripture records that "..the Lord shut him in."
17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. 18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. 20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. 21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land , died. 23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive , and they that were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
Here are some notes that lead into chapter 8.
1) 2nd month, 17th day of Noah's 600th year -- entrance to the Ark (7:11).
2) 3rd month, 27th day of Noah's 600th year -- 40 days & nights of continual rain. (7:17)
3) 7th month, 17th day of Noah's 600th year -- water at same level all over the world. (7:24)
RECAP: God is patient & longsuffering toward sinners, and gives plenty of time for them to repent (2Pet. 3:9).
God Himself is the only One Who can tell people it is TOO LATE!
God is true to His promises.
CHAPTER 8
1 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;
God remembered Noah and his family for their commitment to Him, and He saved them.
2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; 3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. 4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month , on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. 6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: 7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. 8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; 9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. 10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; 11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. 12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more. 13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month , the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. 14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. 15 And God spake unto Noah, saying, 16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. 17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. 18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. 20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Some notes about happenings in this chapter are:
1) 8th month, 27th day of Noah's 600th year - the Ark rests on Mt. Ararat (8:4).
2) 10th month, 1st day of Noah's 600th year - 1st raven sent out (8:7).
3) 1st month, 1st day of Noah's 601st year - the tops of the mountains were sighted, and Noah removed the covering from the ark (8:13).
4) 2nd month, 27th day of Noah's 601st year - they exited the ark and sacrifices of thanksgiving were made (8:14).
21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. 22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
God made a promise, and gave evidence of the promise, that He would never destroy the earth again by "flood."
God is not changing creation again for the benefit of man. He is indeed patient and longsuffering, and desires man to come to repentance and salvation. However, the NEXT time God judges man for his sinfulness, it will be by "FIRE"(2Peter 3:7).
RECAP: God does not forget those who have committed their lives to Him. When God destroys earth again, it will be PERMANENT, and there will be
NO further chances for man to be forgiven and saved.
Jesus is coming SOON -- are YOU ready?
CHAPTER 9
1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
God blessed Noah and his family just as He had blessed Adam and Eve.
God also told them to "..be fruitful and multiply..."
God LOVES people!
Even though God knows the nature of man's heart (see Gen. 8:21), He STILL wants to have more people, and bring more people to heaven with Him.
THAT'S truly "Amazing Grace!!"
3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
God doesn't deny "flesh" to eat; He simply says be sure it is "drained of blood."
Yes. You can be a vegetarian if you desire. Yes. You can be a "meat eater" if you desire.
Yes. It is all right to hunt and take animals for food. God doesn't ordain "pleasure hunting," but he does say it is ok to hunt and take food.
4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
HOWEVER, we are not to eat the "blood" of the animal. The "LIFE" is in the blood!
And that applies to you and me too.
5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. 6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
And "murder" is an act which should be physically punishable with DEATH to the murderer.
Yes. That's what God says. Murder IS a "capital offense."
That's because murder is actually an act against God. Because man is made "..in the image of God" (vs 6).
All sin, actually, is an act against God. Because sin begins with rebellion against God's Word.
7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. 8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
God holds nature in reverence. His covenant with man contains high regard for life of all kinds.
11 And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. 12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
The rainbow is a continual visual reminder. It reminds us that God WILL JUDGE sin and sinners.
It also reminds us that God is merciful and is giving man time to repent.
((By the way, over 270 people groups have written accounts of "the flood." These have been discovered in archaeological digs.))
18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. 19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.
From these three families came all the peoples of the earth.
Japheth went West and North, Shem stayed in the general area, until Abraham went South and West. Ham traveled through Abraham's "promised land" and went on South to Africa. Canaan, Ham's son, stopped in Abraham's "promised land," and that's how that land was first inhabited by the "Canaanites."
20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: 21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
Did Noah get "lax" here? Letting down the spiritual guard always gives Satan an open door. And he will use others to ridicule saved people.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
The language suggests here that Ham publicly made fun of his father.
23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. 24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. 25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
Ham was Noah's son. So the statement is about Ham's SON - Canaan.
Canaan (his descendents) will be "servant" to Shem (vs 26).
27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
Japheth's descendents would receive spiritual blessings from Shem.
28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.
28-29) Noah's life was 950 years. From this point on, man's lifespan begins to decrease.
RECAP:
Sin was found in the first couple, and sin still resides in this family.
All people are "sinners" (Rom. 3:23, Ps. 14:2-3) God continues to work through man's individual sinfulness in order to pour out the grace of salvation to others. Sin has wages that go beyond our death. Others are affected by our sins.
Even the earth and all in it suffer because of man's sins (Rom. 8:22-23).
Please continue with us in Bible study tomorrow.