Instructor. As the Bible will show again and again, God is an instructor. In the opening verses of this chapter we see God instruct Noah to “come into the ark” (vs.1a), take seven of every clean animal (vs.2a) and two of every unclean animal, both male and female into the boat (vs.2b). He who is infinitely wise condescends to explain things to men in such patient detail when, by Himself, He could accomplish such feats with incredible ease. So, whether it was God telling Noah how to build the ark (Gen. 6:15-16), or God instructing Moses how to build the Tabernacle and the things in it (Ex 25-27), or Jesus sending out the twelve with specific instructions (Lk 9:1-6), the God we love and serve is a God who loves to instruct the people He chooses to redeem and work through.
Tag: Attributes of God (Page 2 of 3)
Patient/Measured. In Genesis 6:3 the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” In other words, the rebellion that was taking place on the earth was not infinite. It was finite. One hundred and twenty years after this pronouncement was made God would flood the earth and shut the door of the ark Himself. So while this text communicates God’s patience it also shows that His patience towards rebellion is measured. It has a limit. It should make the exhortation of Hebrews 4:7 all the more imperative to those who have yet to heed it: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”
The Ultimate Original. In the opening verse of Genesis 5 we’re reminded that God is the creator who made man in His likeness (vs.1). Shortly thereafter we’re told that Adam bore a son in his own likeness, after his image (vs.3). Within three verses we can already see the pattern of derivative-likenesses (God-to-Adam and Adam-to-Seth), but the fountainhead of ‘image giving’ is God. His image and likeness was not derived; it eternally was. For all eternity the Father enjoyed beholding the express image of His person in His Son. And on the sixth day of creation the Godhead commenced with the plan, “Let us make man in our image…” That image, though marred by sin (hence the derivative likeness between Adam and Seth), remains (cf. Jas 3:9). And since the times of Genesis 5, millions and millions of people have walked this earth, all in some way reflecting the image of the ultimate original.
Creator of Life. This truth has been repeated numerous times in the opening chapters of the Book of Genesis: God is the creator and giver of life. But it’s not just creation ex-nihilo that bears witness of that reality, so does procreation. Yes, there are complementary biological mechanisms that God instituted in men and women, but the creation of human beings transcends the material realm. Only God can see that a living being would have an eternal soul. Eve was right when she conceived, bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD” (4:1b). Adam and Eve did not “bring about for themselves” a son; rather, with the help of the creator of life (per NASB translation), they received a son. Subsequent revelation would bear witness to Eve’s exclamation – God sovereignly superintends the conception and formation of life (Gen. 20:18; 25:21; 30:2; 48:4; Ps. 113:9; 127:3; 139:13; Jer. 1:5).
Creator. The third chapter of the Book of Genesis opens in an ominous fashion, “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made” (vs.1a). Leaving aside the pre-fall anatomy of this serpent – remember, this serpent (i.e. dragon/reptile-like creature) didn’t slither up to Eve because it was later cursed to travel upon its belly and eat dust (vs.14), and while quickly affirming that this serpent was in some way, shape, or form animated by and synonymous with Satan (Rev. 12:9; 20:2), it’s worth noting the allusion to God’s creative work on day five (Gen. 3:1b). Again the Scripture indirectly reminds us that the beasts of the field were not the product of matter, motion, time, and chance. Unlike God, they had a beginning and a creator. Not to mention, so did the cunning personality that animated the serpent (cf. Ezek. 28:13-14).
