I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 8-11.

Yesterday, I commented that parts of that passage suggested that perhaps the Flood did not cover the entire earth, while other parts seem to state that it did.  Today’s passage supports the latter and not the former.  As soon as Noah and his family left the Ark, Noah offered a sacrifice of animals to God.  I find it noteworthy that Noah already had a list of animals which were appropriate to offer as sacrifices and animals which were inappropriate to offer.  

After Noah made his sacrifice to God, God swore to Himself that He would never again wipe out all life from the face of the earth for as long as the earth should endure. We rarely take note of the promise which the writer records God making to Himself when we discuss His promise to Noah and his sons made a few verses later. Having promised to Himself to never wipe out all life on earth until the day the earth comes to its end, God enters into a covenant with Noah and his descendants (which includes us). There are three elements to this covenant. First, God reaffirms Mankind’s dominion over the earth, but adds that animals are there for people to eat (in the Creation accounts God had only specified fruit as food for mankind). Second God declares that He requires the life of any creature which takes a human life. I will note that God specifies that humans should take the life of those who take a human life, which seems to be an exception to the rule about taking human life. Finally God presents the rainbow as evidence that He will never again wipe out all life with a flood. I will note once again that while this promise is only regarding flooding, God had previously promised to Himself not to destroy all life until the end of the earth itself.

The final element of today’s passage which I want to comment on is the beginning of Abram’s story, which is the account of Terah’s family. The story contains elements which intrigue me. First, when Terah set forth from Ur of the Chaldeans he was headed for the land of Canaan. However, he never got there because when he got to Haran, he settled there. Second, when he left Ur, only Abram, Sarai, Abram’s wife, and Lot, Abram’s nephew accompanied him. Nahor and his family appear to have stayed in Ur. Yet later it appears that Nahor’s family also moved from Ur. While nowhere in the Bible does it say this, I believe that Terah moved from Ur because he and his family continued to follow the accounts passed down to them from Noah while the rest of the people of Ur had chosen to worship according to other stories.