Prelude to the Flood (Genesis 6:1-12)

People have spread out from the Garden of Eden and multiplied.  The result of which displeases God.  Here is what happened:

* Total wickedness
People are wicked and every inclination of their thoughts is for evil.  (v. 5).  It is hard to imagine what the Bible means by such a statement.  We get a few details later on, but I think the only fair contrast is Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19.  There, we find two cities where visitors are almost raped.  We can assume that this, or possibly worse, occurred in the world, but on a global level.


* The Nephilim
The text states that sons of God intermarry with the daughters of men.  (v. 1-2).  This seems to create a race of people known as the Nephilim.  (v. 4)

Who were these people?  Most commentators I found believe that this was an angelic-human hybrid race.

We encounter them again in Numbers 13:33.  There, we learn they are giants that inhabit Canaan prior to the conquest of Joshua.

We can infer some things about them based on God's reaction to them.  First, they seem to be an attempt by humanity to reach immortality.  This I infer from Genesis 6:3, where God decides to limit the human lifespan to 120 years in the midst of discussing a hybrid human race.  So, perhaps copulation with an angel was one way to achieve immortal offspring, although it displeases God.

At this point, the echoes of the Greek myths where humans and gods copulated frequently.  It is also should remind of us the circumstances behind the birth of Christ.  If we take the Virgin Birth of Christ seriously, then perhaps we should not be surprised that angels and humans are having children.  We should understand as fallen angels, I.e., demons.

This also echoes a few other things we find in the early accounts of Genesis.  In that, it is the attempt by humanity to become like gods.  Being "like God" is what the serpent tempted Eve.  (3:4).  Looking ahead to the Tower of Babel, one of the stated reasons for its construction was to "reach the heavens".  (11:4).

Second, the existence of Nephilim is something that should be destroyed.  It displeases God in Genesis 6 and in Numbers 13, it is a condition that precedes the conquest.  God authorizes total war and annihilation of the inhabitants of Canaan.  Thus, the presence of the Nephilim is again associated with oncoming destruction by God.

Putting this together, it makes an interesting contrast to the other views offered by ancient near east mythology.  Here, the Bible assumes the existence of the ancient heroes and calls them the Nephilim.  But the God of the Bible is not happy with them and their existence is a prelude to the destruction, either of the earth or Canaan.  The Bible is saying that God is not with them, they are not gods like "God", and God can destroy them.


* Violence and corruption
The earth is corrupt and full of violence because mankind corrupted itself (vv. 5,11-12).  The corruption of man is so bad, that it has corrupted nature.  One wonders what exactly this means.  Perhaps, animals attacked humans on a level worse than today.  Or, perhaps there were more violent diseases.



The Effect
God's heart is filled with pain and he regrets creating mankind.  God plans to wipe out humanity, all but one man and his family.

The beginning of Genesis 6 sounds both harsh and strange.  It is harsh because God wants to destroy the world.  But it is strange because the earth seems to be filled with angelic-human hybrids and nature itself is corrupted.

It is time for a new beginning.

Done!

I have written a commentary on every chapter and every book of the entire Bible.  

Some of the label links to what I have written are below.  I have to publish the links in stages.

Examples of faith (Hebrews 11)

Hebrews 11 takes a different direction from the preceding chapters.  It provides numerous examples of faith from people in the Old Testament.  The common thread is that they all believed in God's promises to them, they acted on it on faith, and were blessed even though they did not receive the full blessing in their lifetime.

The examples run the gambit from Abel (who was killed for his offering) through the prostitute Rahab at the time of Joshua.  The author leaves the reader wanting more by saying he did not have time to cover anyone else, including Gideon, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.

Personally, I wish the author did include a commentary on Jephthah.  His story is one of the strangest in the Old Testament in which it seems like he sacrificed his own daughter.  (Judges 11:34-40).

The author makes a curious statement about faith.  In particular, one must have faith and believe in God in order for an act of faith to count.  This in interesting.  I understand this to mean that God does not want blindly following ritual patterns.

I do not think this means that God overlooks efforts by a person of little or no faith to find faith.  If we remember earlier in the book, the author is intentionally addressing mature Christians by saying his book includes solid food, not just milk (6:1-3).  In that context, the author seems to address those who act with mature faith, but really have little or none.

So how do we get more faith?  The author of Hebrews does not seem to address it.  But we know from elsewhere in the Bible that faith comes from God.  For instance, Galatians 5:22 states it is one of the fruits of the spirit.  Ephesians 2:8-10 might indicate that faith is a gift from God, but the text is a little nebulous at what precisely is the gift - grace, salvation, or faith.

A few other things that stand out to me about Hebrews:

The "by faith" examples begin with the story of Cain and Abel (11:4) who may be the precedent for animal and vegetable sacrifices that God codified in the Mosaic law.  Again, there seems to be know command by God for them to sacrifice anything, it seems they just did it on their volition.

"By faith" Abraham almost sacrificed his son.  The author of Hebrews provides the reason for Abraham in that he reasoned God could raise Isaac from the dead.  (11: 17-19).  The text from Genesis is silent as to this, so it is an interesting statement to make in the New Testament.

Joshua 24

Joshua recounts the history of the Israelites from Abraham to the conquest of Canaan. Interesting, Abraham was from the other side of the Euphrates. I never knew that.

The people renew their covenant with God Yay. A stone is rolled next to the Tabernacle to memorialize the moment.

In the midst of the discussion, Joshua tells them to destroy the idols among the Israelites. This presumes there were idols among them.

Joshua dies at the ripe old age of 110. He is buried in the Ephraim land.

Remember Joseph's bones? They are buried in the parcel of land that Jacob bought to bury Isaac.

Eleazor, son of Aaron, also dies and is buried in land belonging to Phinehas. His death also means that those living in the cities of refuge who accidentally killed people are free to return home.

The book of Joshua ends with faith riding high among the Israelites. God's plan to make the Egyptian generation die off worked well and the people have a strong sense of faith and identity, as indicated by the eastern altar incident.

Next up - Judges. It has the account of Samson, but also some really crazy and disturbing stories.

Joshua 23

Joshua is old and going to die. He warns the Israelites follow God and the entire law of Moses. If they fall away from God, they will disappear from the land.

Interesting - looking ahead to the Assyrian and Babylonian conquest and removal of them, we know the Israelites fall away and are removed. I wonder if this means that the Israelites lost all divine right to the land and that those that returned from Babylon were just "lucky". I'm not sure. It's something I will keep in mind when we get there.

Joshua 22

Joshua is pleased with the service of the tribes east of Jordan (Reuben, Gad, 1/2 Manassah) and he dismisses them to their homes. Their vow for military service is complete.

Across the Narrow Sea (I.e., Jordan River), the same tribes build a new altar to God. This backfires and the other western tribes move to attack the eastern tribes. They remember all the craziness about following other gods and the plagues that God sent. The western tribes do not want to be blamed for any bad things the eastern tribes do to the point of civil war.

Fortunately, cooler heads prevail.

Phinehas, the son of head priest Eleazor, leads a delegation to figure out what is going in the east.

The eastern tribes say that this altar is not a substitute altar for the Tabernacle altar that Moses built. The altar will not be used as sacrifices, but as a memorial to remind the generations east of the river that they have a right to worship God.

The logic sounds strange to me, but it convinces Phinehas and war is averted. Why have a memorial altar? I guess maybe because in that culture, animal sacrifices were the main thing. I think that is actually kind of analogous of Christians today wearing crosses as a symbol of the relationship of God with them.

Joshua 21

The Levites receive 48 cities spread out among the regions of the various tribes.

Joshua 20

The Israelites select several cities of refuge for people to be protected from vengeance by relatives of those accidentally killed. We have nothing like this today since we don't allow vigilante vengeance, but people who commit manslaughter are punished accordingly for that.

Joshua 16-19

These chapters cover the rest of the division of land by each tribe. There is not a whole lot I an say about these chapters, since they largely list cities I am not familiar with.

A couple things stand out:

Ephraim was so big that it had multiple parts. It appears they did not get a continuous portion of land.

The land division seemed to occur piecemeal, like they took a tribe and figured out the land. Then moved onto the next tribe.

The Canaanifes were not chased out of a number of cities. I wonder if that implies that if it is not otherwise stated, then the Canaanites were chased out of each city that is listed.

Joshua 14-15

Joshua 14

Caleb returns to the story. He is now 85 years old and he was 40 years old when Moses sent him to scout out Canaan. Doing the math, it sounds like the conquest of Canaan and demarcation of land took 5 years.

Joshua gives Caleb and his descendants the city of Hebron. There they are to this day (as of the writing of Joshua). Caleb also requested to fight the descendants of Anak.

The people rest because they are tired of war.

Joshua 15

Much of the chapter covers the cities and regions given to the tribe of Judah. It also recounts a war that Caleb fights in the hill country, perhaps against the descendants of Anak. Given that this war occurs after the appointment of land for Judah, I guess that only the tribe of Judah is fighting in this campaign. If so, we have mini-conquests ongoing.

The chapter ends by saying that some of the Jebusites still reside in Jerusalem and that the tribe of Judah did not succeed in chasing them out of the city. This is not that surprising since the text states that the Israelite are tired of fighting, but much remains to be conquered. Still though, regional fighting continues, for example Caleb's campaign.

Joshua 12-13

Joshua 12

The chapter briefly summarizes the places that the Israelites conquered, beginning with the two kingdoms on the east of the Jordan and ending with a list of all the cities they took. Jericho, Ai, Jerusalem, and Bethel (remember from Jacob) are on the list.

Joshua 13

Joshua is getting too old to fight anymore, so there remains more to be conquered. Importantly, their nemesis the Philistines remain, whose kingdom covers such areas as Gath (of Goliath fame), Gaza, and down to the Egyptian border.

The rest of the chapter covers the specific cities that the tribes of Reuban, Gad, and half of Manassah get on the east of the Jordan.

These land demarcations are intended to have lasting consequence. These are the official land demarcations that are to be reinstated every 50 years, regardless of land rentals and people migrations.

Joshua 11

Northern armies form a large alliance and form a huge army. God tells Joshua to not be afraid and that when the army is destroyed, Joshua must cripple their horses and burn their chariots. Joshua defeats the army and does this before going on another city-after-city rampage.

No other kings made peace with Joshua, just the Gibeonites.

The chapter concludes by saying that the entire land had been conquered and the land finally had rest from war.

The remaining chapters of Joshua speak of how the land was divided among the Israelites and catalogs the cities that were destroyed and are yet to be destroyed.

Joshua 10

The surrender of the Gibeonites does not sit well with the locals. The kings of 5 Amorite cities (including Hebron and Jerusalem) gather together and attack Gibeon, who calls for aid from Joshua.

Joshua moves his army to support his new allies, but must take on 5 armies at once. God says to Joshua to not be afraid. He moves through the night and attacks in the morning, I read this to mean that he attacks around dawn before the Amorites have fully woken up.

The Amorites flee and God sends a hail storm that kills more Amorites than Joshua's army did. Joshua also prays that the son and moon be immobilized in the sky. It happens, which allows daylight to be extended.

Woah!

Meanwhile, the 5 kings hide out in a cave. When they are found, Joshua orders a large rock and sentries posted by the cave until the battle is over. After the battle, Joshua returns to the cave and has each king impaled on a pole and displayed until evening. Gross. Vlad Dracula did that a lot too, but he would leave the bodies displayed for longer. I assume that Joshua has them taken down by evening because of the Mosiac code provision that a person is cursed if they are hung from a tree after sunset.

Joshua then goes on a rampage, taking city after city until the entire region is conquered. Afterwards, he goes back to camp at Gilgal.

Joshua 9

The remaining cities in the Promised Land tremble in fear at what happened at Jericho and Ai. One of whom, the Gibeonites hatch, a plan to save themselves.

They bring gifts to the Israelites and say that they are from a very far off land and do no mention they live in Gibeon, one of the cities slated to be destroyed. They request from Joshua a peace truce, which he gives them but without first consulting God.

A few days later, the Israelites discover the ruse, but they honor the arrangement in that the Israelites will not kill them, but they will forever be servants of the Israelites. They "are still there to this day", as of the writing of Joshua 9.

Compare and contrast what happened with Rahab - it is quite possible that God would have let the Gibeonites surrender without the ruse. Rahab's entire family was saved based on her actions. Could an entire city have been spared? I think it would have been likely, at least for the inhabitants, if not their property.

Also, the Gibeonites make a comment that they believe that God promised the land to Moses and that's why the Israelites are winning the battles and having miracles. In short, they recognize the supremacy of God over their local deities. So, why don't they say "we will no longer serve Baal, we want to serve your God, Joshua.". I don't know if they considered as a possibility.

Joshua 6-8

Joshua 6

God orders Joshua to march his men around Jericho once a day for 6 days. They are not to say a single word while the priests carry the Ark and blow trumpets. On the 7th day, they march around it 7 times, then shout, and the wall collapses.

The story is famous - but huh?! Why does God want this? I don't know why, but this whole process would build fear in the people of Jericho and other local cities.

It also straddles the sabbath on one point. If they march for 7 days, then one of those days would have been the sabbath. We are not told which one it is, but it is possible that it is actually the final day in which the walls collapse. Regardless, (1) they are told to do this work on the sabbath, and (2) warfare might be an appropriate exception for the sabbath, since after all, it is not "ordinary work".

Back to the story, the whole city is burned and destroyed. All the gold and silver goes to God's treasury. Rahab and here family is sparred from destruction. Everything else must be burned.

Joshua 7

One of the Israelites kept a few items from Jericho for himself, Achan. Uh oh. God is angry.

The Israelites head off to the next town to conquer, Ai. The spies report that it is lightly defended on only a small portion of the army is needed to defeat Ai. This is actually interesting as it shows that the Israelites have confidence in God. The walls of Jericho falling down made a strong impression on everyone.

The Israelites attack and are soundly beaten. Joshua falls on the ground and laments. Remember, he was promised never to lose any battles, plus here the people show confidence in God, but God does not deliver.

God explains that the defeat was because the Israelites have sinned and took items from Jericho. Now, the destruction of Jericho is aimed at the Israelites.

We're not told exactly how it happens, but the tribe, clan, and family of Achan is singled out as the culprit. He confesses what happens and the Israelites find the items of Jericho in his tent. All this for a robe, silver, and gold.

They then stone Achan and his entire family and destroy all his possessions. woah. Is this an over-reaction? What about the children not being punished for their parents sins? Well, this whole Canaanite war was a major exception to that rule and the stuff in Jericho was supposed to be destroyed (and Rahab's family was an exception to that rule). Taking items from Jericho seemed to have brought the punishment of Jericho to the man and his family.

Joshua 8

The return to Ai. There is no miraculous wall falling down, but rather an impressive military strategy. Also, they are allowed to keep the plunder of this city.

Joshua secretly puts 5,000 men hiding behind the town. The Israelites attack, pretend to be beaten, and fall back. The men of Ai chase them, at which point Joshua signals to the hidden men to take the city, which they do. Ai is completely destroyed and becomes a pile of ruins.

Interesting, the word Ai means "ruins".

The chapter ends with Israel assembling on the two mountains and reading the blessings and curses, as Moses had told them to do.

Joshua 4-5

Joshua 4

Joshua sets up a pile of 12 stones at the camp sight and where the priests held the Ark as they crossed the river. I wonder if these stones are still there. I imagine there would be a problem of people throughout the centuries setting up stone memorials like this, so finding the original ones could be impossible.

Crossing the Jordan river elevated Joshua in the eyes of the people and it confirmed God was with Joshua.

As soon as the priests come out of the riverbed, the water returned to normal.

Joshua 5

Crossing the river had a paralyzing effect on the Amorites and the Canaanites. This was expected from what we know about Rahab.

So, are going to take Jericho yet? Nope. Not even close. First, the soldiers must be circumcised. On one hand, this makes sense that God wants these people to be circumcised. Remember Moses' kids not being circumcised and how God was going to kill Moses for it? God cannot use the people if they are not circumcised.

But the timing from a military perspective is - huh? Now? Remember the story of Simeon and Dinah? Men cannot fight if they have recently been circumcised. In that regard, this is a completely foolish act. But it also forces them to rely on God to fight their battle.

But verse 8 says they rested in the camp until they were healed. Phew.

Meanwhile, the Israelites celebrate Passover, the first Passover in the Promised Land. Likewise, they eat of the crops of the land and manna shuts off, never to be seen again.

Finally, Joshua is by himself and sees a man standing with a sword. It turns out to be an angel, specifically the Commander of the Lord's Army. Is this Jesus? I think some Christian commentators say yes, I personally am not 100% convinced of that, but I am sympathetic to this idea. First, Joshua is commanded to remove his shows because he is in the presence of holiness. Contrast this with other angelic counters, and not all angels have this effect. Further, looking ahead to Revelations, I personally think the White Horse and Rider, which is a warrior, depict Jesus.

But regardless, this angelic being only has one command for Joshua - take off your sandals for the ground is holy.

This is the first angelic encounter since Numbers (the story of Baleem and the donkey).

So, what's the purpose of this? My sense is that it was to encourage Joshua because in the next chapter, they begin their assault on Jericho. It is also his first battle as leader without Moses being around. So, he's probably feeling apprehensive at this moment.

Joshua 1-3

Joshua 1

God tells Joshua that he will succeed in taking Canaan, but only if he follows the entire law faithfully. In fact, It seems to suggest that Joshua will never lose any battles (I think he loses one).

Joshua tells the Israelites that they will cross the Jordan river in 3 days. The warriors from Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh must come as they promised as well. They even tell Joshua that they will put to death anyone who disobeys Joshua's order.

Joshua 2

Meanwhile, Joshua sent out 2 spies to scout out the land around Jericho. They "visit" a prostitute named Rahab at Jericho. The king of Jericho finds out about this and tells Rahab to give them up. However, she hides them on the roof of her home and lies to the king, saying that they moved on.

(ethical question - are lies during warfare, particularly spying or hiding people, OK? For after all, two of the 10 commandments (murder and no work on the sabbath) are about to be broken by Joshua himself)

Back to the story, Rahab tells the spies that people live in fear after hearing that they crossed the Red Sea on dry land and they have already conquered several local kingdoms. She makes the spies swear that she and her family will be protected. Later on, God honors this agreement, which shows that God actually changed His mind about killing everyone.

The men tell Rahab to keep a scarlet rope outside of the window and that when the invasion comes, her family must be in her home. They hide out in the hills while the men of Jericho search for them, but then make their way back to Joshua, who still is across the Jordan river.

Joshua 3

The Israelite camp has moved to next to the Jordan river and it is time to cross the river. The Levite priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant move first and the people are instructed to hold off about a 1/2 mile. It is harvest season and the banks of the Jordan river overflow with water, but as soon as it touches the feet of the priests carrying the Ark, the water shuts off upriver and the whole riverbed becomes dry. The people pass over on dry land. He water did not entirely turn off, but rather backed up upriver, like a miraculous dam.

This has analogies to Moses crossing the Red Sea. But a few differences, 1. No one died, 2. Aquaman's staff played a similar role to the Ark of the Covenant, which did not yet exist, 3. A miraculous dam did this, as opposed to wind.

Some of the Israelites crossing the Jordan may have remembered crossing the Rex Sea 40 years earlier. But hearing about the water backing up upriver also would have had a chilling effect on the inhabitants of Jericho because according to Rahab, crossing the Red Sea was one of the reasons they feared the Israelites.