OneYearBibleOnline Discussion

Just from what I've read so far in Genesis, none of the people seem to trust God. The serpent tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the tree in the garden. We get the first prophecy about Jesus in Genesis 3 (serpent head crusher). Cain kills Abel. God saves Noah and his family during the flood. However, Noah gets drunk after the flood. And finally, God chooses Abraham to bring the Messiah through his offspring. However, at 85 years old, he has a child with his wife's slave from Egypt. God had already promised Abraham that he would be blessed with many descendents. Because Abraham was human though and he was aging, he decided to take matters into his own hands rather than trust God's timing. The Israelites and the Ishmaelites have been fighting throughout all of history.

I am getting to know a young Palestinian man who is getting ready to return soon to his home in Israel. He was telling me today how it feels to be looked down upon by the Jews because he is Arab and to be looked down upon by non-Israeli Arabs because he is Israeli. In reality, he is an Arab Christian with Israeli citizenship. He spoke to me saddly this afternoon of his daily frustration when he is living in his own country.

The reason why I bring it up here is because it seems easy for us to look back to Genesis and wonder at the lack of trust humans placed in God then; look at CNN and wonder at the lack of trust humans place in God today; then look in our own local communities and realize that it is the choice to not trust Christ's teachings that keeps us continually "fighting"... and then, even closer to home, look at the concept of divorce! Hummm...