How'd those in Genesis know...

blhowes · #1 (**permalink**) 01-09-2009, 12:27 PM

I'm reading through Genesis now during my daily Bible reading (still on schedule, praise the Lord). As I try and picture myself living during that time, I wonder how/what they knew about the things of God, being so early on in man's history, at a time before most (any?) of the scriptures had been written.

Gen 6:5,6 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

What resource(s) did the people have back then to know how they were supposed to think and act?

Gen 7:1-3 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. 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. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

When God told Noah to take clean beasts and not clean beasts, how did Noah know which was which? Do we assume that the scriptures are silent about how he knew, and that either 1) God had previously told him which were which or 2) after God made the statement, Noah asked which was which?

Gen 26:4,5 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

What commandments, statutes, and laws did Abraham obey? Are these the same as what Moses wrote down? If so, how'd Abraham know them so he could obey them?

***greenbaggins*** · #2 (**permalink**) 01-09-2009, 12:44 PM

I think the answer to all your questions is the same: the moral was imprinted on the human heart, all human hearts, as part of the image of God. All human beings have this. With regard to the ceremonial aspects of the law, which are OT outworkings of the moral law, God must have instructed Noah in these things.

blhowes · #3 (**permalink**) 01-09-2009, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenbaggins

I think the answer to all your questions is the same: the moral was imprinted on the human heart, all human hearts, as part of the image of God. All human beings have this. With regard to the ceremonial aspects of the law, which are OT outworkings of the moral law, God must have instructed Noah in these things.

Thanks. That makes sense.

Zeno333 · #4 (**permalink**) 01-09-2009, 07:25 PM

The OT many times refers to God "speaking" to different people, and I believe that it was indeed a sort of direct communication that God had with people in the pre-Bible times...(Whether or not the people in the OT times actually heard a "voice" or alternately just a very strong "feeling" that out blasted any other "feelings" is another debate.)

Now we have the Bible, which is God's current way of speaking "directly" to people.

Re4mdant · #5 (**permalink**) 01-09-2009, 07:29 PM

I think the answer is acctually in your question.
You ask how they could know Gods will, or something in that effect,because of it being so early in mans history.
Well that is excatly how they could know, think about it, they did not have to read it in a book, people who had spoken with and spend time with God in the garden of Eden were either still living or only a few generations away.
Also to this must be added that they were far better at keeping oral record back then, then we are now.
So no the did not have the Bible but they had as what was said above the thing in their hearts and on top of that they had Eye wittnesses.
just my

bookslover · #6 (**permalink**) 01-10-2009, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blhowes

I'm reading through Genesis now during my daily Bible reading (still on schedule, praise the Lord).

Well, it's only been 8 days (as of the date of your post)!

bradofshaw · #7 (**permalink**) 01-10-2009, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Marsh

I think the answer is acctually in your question.
You ask how they could know Gods will, or something in that effect,because of it being so early in mans history.
Well that is excatly how they could know, think about it, they did not have to read it in a book, people who had spoken with and spend time with God in the garden of Eden were either still living or only a few generations away.
Also to this must be added that they were far better at keeping oral record back then, then we are now.
So no the did not have the Bible but they had as what was said above the thing in their hearts and on top of that they had Eye wittnesses.
just my

What he said. Interestingly, my wife and I noticed while reading through exodus, that while God goes into great detail to explain all the ins and outs of the design of the tabernacle, he simply tells Moses, "make the ark with two cherubims on it." It hit me, "how do they know what a cherubim looks like?" My conclusion was that they had either interacted with them, or they remembered stories, such as the cherubim that guarded the garden of eden.

blhowes · #8 (**permalink**) 01-10-2009, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bookslover

Well, it's only been 8 days (as of the date of your post)!

What a sad commentary on my Christian discipline when, based on past performance, I find myself praising God for having read the scriptures 8 (make that 10, as of today) days in a row. Nevertheless...

Rev. Todd Ruddell · #9 (**permalink**) 01-10-2009, 01:21 PM

There was direct interaction between God and the patriarchs, as well as oral teaching about God and His revelation to mankind up to that point. We need not expect that every Word of Revelation from the Lord to His chosen people, from the days of Adam, would be recorded and preserved for our reading today. There are sufficient clues in the text of Genesis to infer that the Lord indeed spoke to His people by means of His prophets--Abel, Seth, Noah, Abraham, etc. One of the best commentaries on Genesis I have ever read is by Robert Smith Candlish, Free Church of Scotland Minister of the 19th century during the disruption called "Studies in Genesis". Not a technical commentary in the modern sense of the word, but very true to the text in such a way as to show the mind of the Patriarchs as they interacted with God, as He revealed Himself to them.

Matthew1034 · #10 (**permalink**) 01-10-2009, 01:50 PM

Job and those wise, lovers of God in his day knew the things of God through nature and God's revelation to them

Rocketeer · #11 (**permalink**) 01-10-2009, 02:03 PM

Do not forget that people lived longer; if you add up the ages of birth, you will find out that Noah was born 926 years after day one, whereas Adam lived for 930 years after that; therefore, Adam might have known Noah - Noah could even have recalled Adam dying (at age 4, long-term memory starts coming on line).

They asked Adam, is my solution. And Enoch, who walked with God.

Rangerus · #12 (**permalink**) 01-10-2009, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rev. Todd Ruddell

There was direct interaction between God and the patriarchs, as well as oral teaching about God and His revelation to mankind up to that point. We need not expect that every Word of Revelation from the Lord to His chosen people, from the days of Adam, would be recorded and preserved for our reading today. There are sufficient clues in the text of Genesis to infer that the Lord indeed spoke to His people by means of His prophets--Abel, Seth, Noah, Abraham, etc. One of the best commentaries on Genesis I have ever read is by Robert Smith Candlish, Free Church of Scotland Minister of the 19th century during the disruption called "Studies in Genesis". Not a technical commentary in the modern sense of the word, but very true to the text in such a way as to show the mind of the Patriarchs as they interacted with God, as He revealed Himself to them.

This is what I have been taught. It was not until the NT Pentecost did He fully reveal Himself to the brethren so that we would have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. (Acts 2:1)