Genesis 1-11

Today I read from "In the beginning..." to Abram and Sarai showing up on the scene.

If you have ever done the math (I have), the first 11 chapters of the Bible take 1946 years to complete.

There is a LOT of history that just happens and is never mentioned. It is kind of mind blowing to think about.

Between, Adam and Abram, there are 1900 years and we only know 4 stories (Creation, Fall, Flood, Babel). I mean... what was going on for all those years?

All we know is that there was a lot of babies being born. And why do they all have such weird names? I know, I know... they don't have weird names. We have weird names like Brent and John and Mary.

I do find it to be interesting that almost all of them have names that mean something. What does my name mean? From the hill... oooohhh, really deep mom and dad.

I'm joking, but seriously though. Why don't our names have significant meanings? When did that start? When did names go from deep, spiritual and relationship meanings to just a name?

When Keyla and I have discussed future children's names, we have kind of put meaning behind their names. We want to name them after people who have been "naming worthy." So I guess in that sense, maybe we haven't changed that much.

But on the flip side, I wonder how many baby LeBrons and Kobes have been born in the last 5 years? Just thinking out loud.

Back to Genesis, I was trying to think of 1 verse that kind of sums up Genesis 1-11 and it really comes down to 2 verses.

Genesis 1:31a God saw all that He had made, and it was very good... This verse really sums up all of creation. God has just finished day 6 and looks back at everything He made and smiles. It was all perfect.

Bees didn't sting. Flowers grew. The weather was perfect. The animals all got along with each other. The ants didn't crawl all over the kitchen. There were no self-help books. Nobody worried about money. Nobody had taxes. Nobody needed health care. Nobody needed guns. There were no news channels. There were no commercial breaks in the middle of your favorite TV show. There was no back pain. There were no Mondays.

Are you starting to get the picture? Earth was perfect. The heavens were perfect. Everything was good.

But verse 2 changes it all. Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Remember that paragraph up there about the paradise that Earth was? Well check this out now... with one little bite Adam and Eve did this:
Bees sting people. Flowers and choked out by weeds. The weather gets really hot and really cold. The animals want to eat each other. The ants did crawl all over the kitchen. There are now self-help books. Everybody worries about money. Everybody pays (or is supposed to pay) taxes. Everybody needs health care. People think they need guns for protection (and once in a while they are right). There are news channels telling us about the horrors in our world. There are no commercial breaks in the middle of your favorite TV show because TV is all about the green stuff. There is back pain. Mondays come once or twice every week.

Thanks a lot Adam and Eve... but seriously, would you or I do anything differently than they did? Hindsight is 20/20. Sure, we can all say that we would never doubt God and eat the fruit. But, what in our lives shows us to be any different than they were?

All of us want to eat right and get in shape, because it is healthy. But how many of us actually eat vegetables and work out?

All of us want to help out the poor and less fortunate. But how many of us actually give money to the mission or take a homeless person to lunch?

All of us want to make a difference in the world. But how many of us are willing to put in the time and effort to change even our own lives?

Starting to see my point? I can blame Adam and Eve, but I would've done the same thing. So, if you want to blame someone for how screwed up the world is... blame the person in the mirror. Or me if you feel so inclined.

And that basically sums up Genesis 1-11. Weird names. Perfect world. Followed closely by a messed up world.

If you read all this and still have the energy to post your thoughts, that would be awesome. I would love to hear from you. If not, then it's all good. Come back tomorrow for Genesis 12-25 to hear my take on Abraham's life.