Summary

Pastor Bill and Pastor Newms were discussing Genesis 1 and the history of how it became included as part of the book of Genesis. They discussed how during the captivity in Babylon, stories from Babylon were added to the existing Genesis 2, as they provided more detail to the creation story. Pastor Newms then reminded Pastor Bill that the Judeans, ancestors of the Jews, were originally a polytheistic people. In summary, the conversation revolved around the history of Genesis 1 and the Judeans. The conversation discussed the ancient Israelites and their belief in multiple gods and their worship of Ashra, a female deity who was believed to be the wife of Yahweh. Yahweh is mentioned in both Sumerian mythology and in the Mosaic Law. Despite this, the Israelites continued to worship other gods, so God punished them by sending them into captivity. The descendants of these captives went on to become the Samaritans, who still held onto some of their beliefs and were expecting the Messiah. Despite their own experiences with God, they eventually gave up the worship of Asherah. Pastor Bill and Pastor Newms discussed the origin of the story of Genesis 1. They noted that it was likely adapted from Sumerian myth by the Babylonians, who wanted the Jewish people to worship their king as a monotheistic god. However, the Jewish people saw similarities between the Sumerian myth and their own history, and made changes to make it more palatable to their own culture. They read Genesis 1, noting the broader strokes of the story, as compared to the more detailed account of Genesis 2. Ultimately, the conversation concluded with an invitation to read Genesis 1. God began the creation of the world by separating light from darkness and creating an expanse between the waters. He then caused the earth to produce vegetation, seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees. He made the two great lights to rule over the day and night and placed stars in the sky. He also caused the waters to swarm with living creatures and the earth to produce livestock, creatures that crawl, and wildlife. On the fifth day, God looked on His creation and saw that it was good.

The topic according to AI

In the religious reflection being discussed, the authors believe that the creation story in the book of Genesis is a historical truth and has a significant impact on our relationship with God as our creator. They argue that the form of the document, its position at the beginning of the book of Genesis, and historical evidence all support the idea that the creation of the heavens, the earth, and all living things is a work of God and an objective fact. The authors critique the limitations of science in establishing the periods of creation and argue that the conclusions about fossiliferous formations and the plants and animals they contain are not established truths and have not been confirmed by continued research. The author summarizes the creation story in Genesis 1:1-13, which describes the creation of heaven and earth, including the creation of light, the firmament, the sea, the earth and its fruits, the lights of heaven, fish and fowl, beasts, man, and food for both. The text stresses the importance of recognizing God's presence in our lives and putting Him first in all things. Humans were created in God's image and given the ability to have dominion over the earth, but it is important to ask God to control the evil in our hearts. The authors also emphasize the importance of examining one's daily work and making improvements, as well as the divine proportioning of day and night, with light symbolizing God, truth, heaven, and decency. The beauty of nature is seen as evidence of the existence of God, and the darkness in the book of Genesis is a symbol of the ongoing struggle between light and darkness. The authors’ central belief is that God is the creator of all things and that creation serves to reveal the truth about His nature and character. They see the relationship between science and God as complementary, with design being at the core of both, and believe that the concept of light and darkness in the book of Genesis is a symbol of the ongoing struggle between good and evil. The author encourages us to live in the Spirit and serve the common good, putting God first in all things, as they believe this is the greatest honor and safety for all. The authors also focus on two specific Hebrew words in the creation story, "nephesh" and "tannin," and offer alternative interpretations to gain a deeper understanding of their significance. They assert that the universe and all its elements were created for a purpose, as an expression of God's love and grace for humanity, and that everything in creation is imbued with a Divine Blessing that serves to preserve the community and support all life. The author presents a comprehensive view of the creation of the sea and air creatures in the Bible, as they see it as a demonstration of God's wisdom, power, and love. They believe that the creation of the universe is not just a physical event but a spiritual one as well, and that the universe was created with a purpose and a specific role to play in God's overall plan. The author interprets the creation story in Genesis 1 as a depiction of God's creative work and argues that all elements of the universe, including sea and air creatures, are symbols of God's glory and power. They delve into the meanings of the Hebrew words "nephesh" and "tannin" used in Genesis 1, offering alternative interpretations to shed light on their significance in the creation story. The authors highlight the numerous ways in which God's presence and power are manifested in the universe, from the physical laws governing the movement of stars and planets to the intricate and diverse forms of life on earth. They emphasize the importance of recognizing the hand of God in the creation of the universe and trusting in Him for our daily sustenance and blessings.

Timestamps

25:07 Conversation Summary: Genesis 1 Overview +

28:45 Exploring the Ancient Polytheistic Beliefs of the Israelites +

34:02 Discussion of the Development of Monotheism in Ancient Babylon +

37:28 Summary of Genesis 1: Creation of the Heavens and the Earth +

40:17 Conversation Summary: Exploring the Creation of Man in Genesis 1-2 +

42:20 Conversation on Splitting Chapters and Verses in the Bible +

45:34 Conversation between Pastors Bill and Newms on the Nature of the Bible +

47:09 Conversation between Pastor Bill and Pastor Newms on Faith and Eternity +

50:42 Exploring the Significance of Faith in Genesis 1 +

56:29 Conversation Summary: Exploring the Identity of the Conqueror in Revelation 21:7-8 +

1:00:51 "Exploring the Different Translations of the Bible: A Conversation between Pastors Bill and Newms" +

1:05:40 Conversation Between Pastor Newms and Pastor Bill on the Podcast "Ekk House" +

1:07:31 Conversation Summary: Disagreeing and Appreciating New Listeners +

Transcription

Pastor Bill: [0:01] Hello and welcome to season 4 episode 11 of The Berean Manifesto; Faith, Hope, and Love for the Modern Christian. I'm Pastor Bill and I'm joined by Pastor Newms. So last week we had all kinds of technical difficulties that I was completely oblivious to until I went to go listen to the thing. Pastor Newms tried to bring it up at the very, very beginning, but he wasn't as forceful as I, you know, as I actually needed him to be. So I didn't really pick up what he was putting down and I just pushed just ahead Yeah, I was like apologies pastor Newms I should have listened better when you were saying I mean last week and Some people might not have even noticed I'm gonna be honest like it's one of those things where are you kidding me? It was horrible. Pastor Newms: [0:47] Well, it was horrible once it went through well Yeah, it was horrible. But like I'll be honest your audio has sounded worse because of technical like oh it's a bad night so you're in and out oh it's fuzzy cuz discourse so it's one of those where it's like okay how much do I bring up the fact that it could be electrical issues like microphone issues it could just be like the the internet is so garbage there that the laser beam doesn't want to work at the moment like you know we're not using cables in the lane yeah like so I was like maybe you know you know I don't know man I don't know but it um it was yeah I. Pastor Bill: [1:35] Got my retro Justice League shirt on Pastor Newms: I do not have a retro shirt on I have a shirt that's from an active anime and manga Which so I bought this shirt, and I didn't wear it I hadn't worn it because I wasn't far enough in the anime to justify wearing an anime shirt if that makes sense I don't know if anyone else does that But so I pulled it out of the back of the closet today and um put it on and my youngest daughter who is Far farther ahead in this particular. Anime than I am she is. Um, where'd that shirt come from? What do you mean? Um, your shirt, you've never worn that shirt. Where did you get that shirt? Uh, is that a... is that a you shirt? Like, asking, is this a you only? Can I steal this shirt when you're not looking? Will you get upset if I steal this shirt when you're not looking? You know, and I'm like, yes it is. It's a me only shirt. I didn't wear it because I wasn't... and she's like, well I mean can you even name the characters on it? I'm like look, you're not weeb-guilting me into giving you the shirt and no I can't name all of them but weeb-guilting? You can't have this shirt so not your shirt and for in case it's my hero academia in case you can't, I realize you can't actually see it But, um... Yeah, so then she proceeds to tell me each person and what their quirk superpower is. And, uh... I think I'm trying to keep it to myself. Pastor Bill: [3:39] Am I in Justice League of America? Pastor Newms: [3:44] It is. Pastor Bill: [3:48] And Batman's got his blue cowl on, so this is more 50s, 60s... Pastor Newms: [3:56] And and that's the you know Weird arrow when they were you know when his costume was I mean sorry Green Lantern when it was a We like it's a different You know Style It's not his. Pastor Bill: [4:19] Black pants, black boots, black mask. Green... uh, green... underwear, green boots. Pastor Newms: [4:27] Bill says it's the... Biggs says it's the 70s. Pastor Bill: [4:32] Did they keep this up all the way through the 70s? Pastor Newms: [4:35] You guys can argue about DC lore later, cause... Pastor Bill: [4:37] I was just basing it off of the Blue Cowl. I know the Blue Cowl... Pastor Newms: [4:48] Um... anyway. I don't know. Oh, he says the 70s is when the Saturday cartoons were showing that style, but that's not necessarily possibly when the books were still using that style. Alright, Pastor Bill, how was your week? Pastor Bill: [5:04] My week... There was rain. Pastor Newms: [5:10] And wind. And storms. Pastor Bill: [5:13] Some roof leakage. I see the water damage in the ceiling above my desk. You know like that discoloration that What's the word Cheat rock gets when it gets wet Yeah Yeah, I had to move my stuff around on my desk and put a big bowl out until the storm stopped because it was tripping just Doop doop doop doop doop doop doop. I was like, oh no, that's not good Your house terrifies me sir Yeah Yeah Yeah, all right nightmare. Pastor Newms: [5:53] It just blew over During the storms like you woke up and the house had gone boop Um hadn't hurt any of y'all because the the house is so old. It just kind of went. Yeah And you guys were able to get out but it just went meh um Okay fell over and everything that fell on us was so weak and brittle. Yeah, it just meh it broke over us. Meh meh meh so um uh yeah it was one of those you have nothing to worry about the house is just gonna go meh and you got nothing to worry about well shelter shelter Okay, my week was good. Um, my week was weird um, I was busy but but like it was an okay busy and then at night I just had stuff all week It was weird. I have stuff a lot more now And it's weird me an invite on Facebook to a Yeah. Sure thing Yeah, that's the men's group at the church and every last Friday last Monday of the month they do a thing and I thought I had sent it to you before but I hadn't so I sent it to you so in case you wanted to watch it because I was sitting in the audience watching it it's good they're a good group very good group I like it I don't dislike like it which is weird because I've been I've been out of organized church for so long it's you know hiding in mega churches not serving not doing anything and then I'm very quickly getting involved more and more the next three Saturdays I actually have things at the church so it's it's good it's it's a it's a good thing but it's a weird thing and like today rain was like I don't like it and I was like why she goes I don't like being out of the house this much we're out of the house way too much at this point like that's my girl but we have to be a little it's okay so um yeah so it was it was a was a good week. Pastor Bill: [8:32] All right. I think it's my week to pull a card. Pastor Newms: [8:35] It is. Okidoki-o. Okidoki-o, pull the card. Pastor Bill: [8:53] That's fair. Pastor Newms: [8:54] Okay. I couldn't see it. It was behind my face. So I'm like, I'm like, what are you doing? Like pull the card? What are you looking at me for homie you said you were full of the car Oh, you're looking at the card that makes much more sense than you staring at my picture Yes, I'm staring at a picture of Newms If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? The problem here is this. It's like I hate your stipulations on these cards. Just answer That's the dadgum question. The easiest answer is pizza. Pastor Bill: [9:38] And the reason that is thingsy. Pastor Newms: [9:39] Well, the problem is Pete exactly Diverse like exactly that's why it's the easy answer So the question like if it's you could only have pepperoni pizza No, I couldn't do that. Like I would end up with a gout flare-up that would rival, you know 15 1600s type gout flare-ups like it would be terrible. But like And you can't answer salad because no or a film Yeah, or some random chemical that because I've been told you can't be allergic to chlorophyll But yet I'm allergic to anything that's green or pretends to be green There are people that are straight-up allergic to water that walk the earth. You can't tell me you can't be allergic to chlorophyll I can't tell you I've been told by physicians and allergists that that's not a thing, but of course You know Hey, he's 80. Pastor Bill: [10:32] It's not a thing until science discovers it. Yeah, and then suddenly they're like hey, it's a new thing And we're like probably not Probably was just really rare. Pastor Newms: [10:41] Yeah, or you just didn't notice it yet Um, yeah, you just hadn't noticed yet Yeah I was actually talking to someone today about dieting and how I need to get back into it and such and it's like but it's really hard at this point of being almost 40 because Like I I can't just have salads and like, you know salads with a little protein and you know, you're good to go Like I can't do it. And so it ends up being like the only valid Option is like a keto style option and that's expensive and It's a tight line to walk with a guarantee two to three week gout flare-up at the beginning Your body gets used to it and actually starts burning the chemicals, the purine protein, So then you stop, you know, like I when I did it like five years ago now, But it's so... Pastor Bill: [11:38] Purine protein, I thought it was an acid issue. Pastor Newms: [11:43] It's, no, it's technically, it's a protein that, so it's a protein that your body then turns into an acid that then you expel. But with... Pastor Bill: [11:56] You don't expel. Pastor Newms: [11:56] I don't expel. It crystallizes. Yeah. But talking about the purine protein half is much more socially acceptable than speaking about the uric acid half because people don't like to talk about bodily fluids. Right. They don't like to equate piss with blood even though that's where pee comes from, from your blood. Yeah. They don't like to... So I usually just stick with the protein side and, oh, and then the kidneys process it wrong for me and then leave it at that as opposed to because people are like why are you talking about that it's like because it's a health issue why are you not um but so it's you know it's one of those it's it's a funny thing is I'm trying to figure out how to get healthier because it's affecting my my side affecting my knees but I find it funny when people drink a bunch of water or you know drink a drink and they're like Man, it's going right through me and I'm like, I mean not technically it's not technically going right through you technically What's happening is your your body is is breaking down more blood into urea in? Pastor Bill: [13:13] Preparation for the intake of the liquids that you're in taking But that liquid you're in taking is not actually leaving the stuff that you drank before is leaving But it's from your blood anyway Anyway, it's not going right for you. Pastor Newms: [13:27] It's just, that's not how it works. weird aspect though because it. Pastor Bill: [13:35] It appears very quickly, like certain beverages and certain things affect very quickly because you're some of it your body's just like uh-uh and so like the first round around the body your body's like I'm it's out it went through your whole body but your body's like it's out like I ain't putting this in like there's some things that there's some things that we literally had to add I can't remember the chemical name for it now but it's basically antifreeze in the chemical makeup we had to add it to it so that our body would hold it and not just straight drop it like a lot of vitamins a lot of minerals you know those pills will have that additive additive chemical that is you know identical to antifreeze under a microscope but isn't actually the antifreeze that forces your body to hold on to it instead of just flushing it out the bottom. Pastor Newms: [14:38] Yeah, that's always interesting. The body is weird. The human body is really, really weird. Pastor Bill: [14:45] Like when you get dehydrated and your body's like, must flush all liquids now I'm dehydrated. Pastor Newms: [14:51] Oop, you're gone. Wait, wait, you're yep. You're gone I'm back. Yep. Pastor Bill: [15:00] You're back now Must flush all liquids is the last thing we have helpful to flush all the liquids when you're dehydrated body Yes, but how do I tell you that? I need more liquids. Yeah, I'm pretty sure by the point the body dumps So I'm I already know I already know. Pastor Newms: [15:16] Yeah, I Don't I don't need extra alarms, I know But do we Cuz I'll be sick and just ignoring the fact that I need to drink something until I stop sweating and then I'm like, oh I'm not sweating no more That's a problem. Pastor Bill: [15:34] You know those old cartoons where they're honest a desert island and one cartoon character looks at over at the other and They start looking like a big ham This water bottle here next to my bed That's on my desk when I when I'm getting low on water man And that thing starts to look like salvation. Like I'm like, it's like glowing gold halo, you know? And it's like, oh, when I look at my water jug, oh yeah, I need to drink some water. Pastor Newms: [16:01] No, I don't, I don't, I don't got that. So what food, what food would you, would you eat forever? Pastor Bill: [16:08] Salad, I would just, I would eat salad. I, the only reason I, I like to have at least a salad a day. The only times I don't is when we can't afford it Because salad is expensive but but yeah, I would have They go help in a salad for every meal I love salad man. You always have it's great I'll live oil on there some a little bit of salt a little bit of garlic and that's the other thing you Can bet you don't put a lot in your salad even it's not even like it's just it's gross, homie some lettuce and spinach some I don't know just add a little color in there and just yeah, I'm into it. Pastor Newms: [16:53] My stomach hurts thinking about it. Pastor Bill: [16:56] And when I eat, when I eat a salad everyday I feel amazing compared to when I don't. You know, just at least one salad a day and my body's just like yeah well yeah, it's cause it's a salad, it's what I would We covered this last week. This is what we're supposed to be eating is clean healthy Salads and greens not But yeah fatty bacon every morning if I could afford it or they were just gonna provide the food I would eat a salad at every meal. Struggle to say that I would give up meat if salad was an option at every meal I but I probably wouldn't have any qualms about that. Pastor Newms: [17:39] I probably could You come over to Jerry and I submit having a salad with it at every meal instead of Anything else but it's just so dang expensive and and yeah it is and the amount you have to Have is expensive also because the caloric intake is not high on it Which is why the additives like the girls love the chicken Caesar Salads, I think it is I guess the Caesar and you know, it comes with the little thing and it They're good for like, you know a day after you buy them if you're lucky because of Farm to table is not great on salads and you would think it would be with how expensive it is, but it's not Well, it's not necessarily farm to table The problem is it's it's all the hands in between right from farm to when it finally gets to right? That's what I'm saying. It's it's not we don't have just farm to table We have you know that did that did that did that did that did that did that did that did that to us in between? Pastor Bill: [18:52] Yeah Anywho, and it appears that says yeah says your mother eats it without salad dressing. I had forgotten that but that doesn't surprise me. That's why I put on the olive oil. That is my salad dressing just a little bit of olive oil and some salt and garlic. That's my that is my salad dressing like I couldn't I can't stand the thought of adding on all those empty calories with the salad dressing just for the sake of some just weak flavoring. Pastor Newms: [19:29] Some of those calories are very big calories. They're not empty. Some of them are very fatty. Pastor Bill: [19:36] They're big, but they're empty. Pastor Newms: [19:37] I'm joking. I know what you meant. It was just... That like buttermilk ranch is a very heavy additive of... I know that's what you meant by... buy it. All right. Pastor Bill: [20:07] The whole new USB setup over here at my desk because I bumped the desk the wrong way. Something disconnects and the daisy chain goes down. The daisy chain goes down like I'm using a laptop. That's only got two USB ports What's has to be the camera and the other one has to be a daisy chain that that works the? Keyboard the mouse the microphone Everything else is on this little port over here And if I bump the desk the wrong way the whole thing goes down And then we got to wait for it to come back up again And then we wonder why the expensive computer that we bought just burnt out sitting in your house for some unknown reason in your house electricity just expensive computer had lots of USB ports it did it did but your run a mouse and a keyboard and a microphone no I know I I don't mean because of your daisy chain I mean because of the electricity in your house and the you know the. Pastor Newms: [21:09] The leaking roof and when a computer fries to a point where everything in it fries at once that that's an issue it's so hard to actually happen because of all the transistors and little safety things that are in each of the parts to keep that from happening and the whole big block of power supply that's whole job is to I protect computer and you had a nice one and it just Because I was worried about that exact issue and I Don't know how it happened because it happened when it wasn't even storming So that was the that was like like had the house got hit by electricity I would have been like yeah, it happens, but it wasn't it was everything everything in this house goes down quickly Like we were you and I was you and I were talking the other day about the last time we had an electrician come out He was like, yeah. Pastor Bill: [22:11] Oh This fuse box was outlawed like 20 years ago You know, I'm technically not even supposed to work on this thing Well, what am I supposed to do? But yeah, like we burn through microwaves real fast. We go through ovens real fast. I mean, we had to find creative. Like right now we have one burner that works on our stove top and then we have two air fryers and a microwave and a griddle. And that's how we cook everything because the oven doesn't work. The other three burners don't work because they all got burned out by the electricity because the electricity is crazy in this house. Pastor Newms: [22:50] Anyway. Pastor Bill: [22:56] So that's how my week was. Oh yeah, we're past that. Big says, have to kill the dirt flavor. Bigs, if your salad tastes like dirt, either A, you're buying from a crappy company, or B, you need to clean your food before you eat it, bro. Just rinse that salad off. Rinse the lettuce or something. It shouldn't taste like dirt unless you're eating beets. Beets just taste like dirt. Or dragon fruit. and fruit seeds those taste like dirt too. If you're just having a regular old salad, it shouldn't taste like dirt I think that's more of just a Colloquialism not an actual Oh, you don't think he means it actually means it tastes like because I was being like beets actually tastes like dirt and so the dragon fruit seeds well potatoes, I mean Lettuce doesn't even grow in the ground. Pastor Newms: [23:49] So if you're eating the part that's in the ground you you've done something wrong already but um I think he I think he just means that whole like it's rabbit food. It tastes like dirt. Um Uh, listen god made dirt dirt don't hurt it does man, it does though The microbes that are in dirt can kill you And speed up the decompressing If you've never built up an immune system If you don't go outside and touch grass, yeah, it does. You're right Like there's this internet thing about you you've been inside too long go touch grass and like I Had I need to go touch some grass and kill you and I'm like, okay I was like I've been inside they're like you need to go outside and I'm like I can't Like the Sun if I'm out there for more than seven minutes I burn and And if I actually touch grass, I'm gonna have a rash so All these you know, these people are like, oh if you just go stand and center yourself in the grass and connect with Mother Nature I'll die. At least I'm not a leadership black pepper, Pastor Bill: [25:07] Thanks Yeah, glad it works for you, um Mother nature's trying to kill me At least All right, so we're in this series where we've been going through the beginning And we did you know, we started in Genesis and we touched on John chapter 1 and we came back to Genesis and Last week we reached the very end of Genesis chapter 1 And so tonight we're just gonna look back at Genesis 1 and do a summary. We're gonna do an overcap we're gonna just talk in general about Genesis 1, right? And so If you remember when we started the series we talked about kind of the history of how Genesis 1 became a part of the book of Genesis and Do you remember what we said, Pastor Newms? Pastor Newms: [26:12] Huh? This is your turn to talk. No, I mean, it... The story from Genesis 1 was kind of added in... Um... to the aspects during the time of captivity in Babylon from the Babylonian stories, because it was like, hey, those line up really well with what we've got written in Genesis 2 already, and they specify some things better than what Genesis 2 does because Genesis 2 is very generic in some of the things it says. So yeah, this has more detail. Let's use it. That makes sense. Pastor Bill: [26:53] You more or less painted the picture. You got a little sloppy around the lines there, but yeah, that's the general idea. Before they went into captivity, the creation story started with what We would call Genesis chapter 2 they didn't call it Genesis chapter 2 They just called it the creation of man they didn't have chapters then either so they just called it laughter the book That's scroll over there That's good. Well, it wasn't even scrolls really. That's true It kind of was by that point. So why were they in captivity in Babylon? What happened there? Pastor Newms: [27:34] One of the many times they screwed up. Alright. Pastor Bill: [27:40] So what happened is that throughout history the Judean people, which there technically weren't Judeans yet, we're talking about the ancestors of the Judean people who eventually settled in Judea and then became the Jews. They were a polytheistic people. They had multiple gods and they worshiped multiple gods and they believed in multiple gods and despite their oral passing down of religion and despite what they believed the Mosaic Law read and despite all of these things, they were still polytheistic and they continued to go back to worshiping other gods over and over and over even though we see over and over and over gods going, no, focus, you know, me, focus on me. So it got to this one point where... A female deity known as Ashra, who the ancient peoples believed was the wife of the god Yahweh. Now you should recognize the name Yahweh because that is actually the name of two historical entities. One is a Sumerian wind god that the Sumerians believed was the god of storms and wind and weather and that he blew through the deserts with his rage and his fury. And then Yahweh is also the name that God identifies with themselves when they're speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai. They call themselves Yahweh. And it's not so much that they call themselves Yahweh, but it's that God releases a series of sounds that then Moses writes down and when humans go to repeat those series of sounds it comes out as Yahweh. And more specifically it is I AM or I EXIST. And if you drill down into the, you know, more into what they're saying there it's I exist because I want to basically. There was nothing and then there was me. I am. And so we have this idea of Yahweh who people believed was married to a goddess named Asherah. And Asherah had become very popular amongst the people of Israel, the descendants of Israel. And Asherah poles, think of like a maple with the long strings, the ribbons, you know, that you've You've seen them in the Germanic and the Nordic cultures, the Maple, and they run around them with the ribbons, and they tie them off. It's still part of Norse mythology celebrations today even in the places where they believe in the Norse religions, the Maple thing. They don't always call it a Maple and they definitely don't call it an Ashrop Hall. But this is what the idea was. They had these Ashera poles and they were burning incense to Ashera and they were worshiping Ashera alongside of Yahweh and it had yet identified her as you know the wife of God So this was going on and God told them to cut it out multiple tops Multiple times you got to stop doing this you got to stop doing that people would tear them down Okay, people would rebuild them people would tear them down So God says, okay, that's enough. So, um, God hands them over to the King of Babylon, right? Puts them into slavery. And it's not one of those things where you're like, nah, God wouldn't do that. No, no. When you look back at history, God always chastises, corrects, puts back on the right path his own people. Period. If your theology tells you that God is just going to spoil you and give you good things, then you've only got half of your theology right. Because the other half of that is that God is a good Father that disciplines his children. God wants to give you the cattle on a thousand hills, but God will also send you away to go eat in the slop in the pig's troughs for a while before you decide to come home like the prodigal son. This is how God offered. Pastor Newms: [32:38] Okay. Pastor Bill: [32:40] So God sends them into captivity. Now there is a small group of people up in the mountains where the Babylonians, not a mountainous people can't get to they're like now that's not worth it right babelans you're like we're not doing it there's no slave worth climbing those mountains we're not doing that now these people their descendants go on to be the Samaritans right so we see that play out in the New Testament their descendants Americans the people that continue to worship Asherah up on the mountain. Now, eventually, they gave up Asherah and they have their own experiences with God that we don't have the recordings of, but we do have the woman at the well talking to Jesus who's like, but we follow this law and we follow this law and our forefather, Jacob, he told us this and this and we're expecting the Messiah. And they had their own whole history and experiences with God that rival that of the actual Israelites that we do have recorded in the Bible. So it's kind of interesting there. But while in Babylon, the people are exposed to this idea that monotheism is paramount. Now the god that the Babylonians wanted them to worship was their king, right? They wanted them to worship their king, the god their king, because all the other gods had quote unquote died so that this god could be king. But they didn't quite buy that. But they saw in the histories of the Babylonians who had adopted a lot of Sumerian myth and take a look at that and they go, this story makes a whole lot of sense with what we know. And not only that, but it's got greater detail, right? Because when you go and you look at Genesis chapter 2, it's kind of broad strokes, right? God created man and God created the animals and there's nothing about when that happens. There's, you know, it's not a lot of detail there. It's very broad. And so it's very broad. It's very broad and you can see their connection. A lot of people call it contradiction. There's contradictions between these two accounts and I'm like but is there though I mean are you just looking for contradictions or or what Okay. So they pick up this this new story that we know of as Genesis one and they uh adapt it and they adopt it and they they make They make some changes to the story right um But not a lot. Um Um, that's not even true they they make a lot of changes to the story to make it more palatable to the Jewish ear. Pastor Newms: [36:08] And to help align. Pastor Bill: [36:09] To help align with Genesis 2. Pastor Newms: [36:12] Yeah. Pastor Bill: [36:13] I have the story over there, but it's kind of convoluted and confusing for the Western ear, so I'm not going to pull that out. So let's read Genesis chapter 1, and then we'll go from there. That's Okay. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And we had fun with that one. We spent a whole episode on just Genesis 1. Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the water. Then God said, Let there be light, and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. There was an evening, and there was a morning, one day. Then God said, Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water. So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. God called the expanse sky. Evening came and then morning, the second day. Then God said, let the water under the sky be gathered into one place and let the dry land appear. Mention the video and start the video. I lost my place. Oh, and it was so. God called the dry land earth and the gathering of the water he called seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, Let the earth produce vegetation, seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And it was so. The earth produced vegetation, seed-bearing plants according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Evening came and then morning, the third day. Then God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky, separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for seasons and for days and years. There will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, and it was so. God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night, as well as the stars. God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, to rule the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness, and God saw that it was good. Morning came and then morning, the fourth day. Then God said, Let the waters swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky. So God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds. He also created every winged creature according to its kind, and God saw that it was good. God blessed them, be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the sea, and let the birds multiply on the earth. Evening came, and then morning, the fifth day. Then God said, let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds, livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so. So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, Let us make man in our image according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth. So God created man in his own image. He created him in the image of God. He created the male and female. God blessed them and God said to them, Be fruitful. Multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth. God also said, Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you. For all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth, everything having the breath of life in it, I have given. Every green plant for food, and it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came, and then morning, the sixth day.", Okay. Anything jump out at you there that you wanted to talk about again? Highlights that you want to make sure that we walk away with? Pastor Newms: [41:39] Um... In seriousness, no. Um, in funny internet meme, my only thought