East of Eden

At Mittagong we have just finished a series on Genesis 1-11.

Preparing for the last talk on Genesis 11/12, I noticed in passing some little detail I had passed over before:

The people keep moving east throughout Genesis (Adam and Eve are banished forever from Eden to the east; Cain is sent to wander east in the land of Nod; the people eventually keep moving eastwards to the plain of Shinar in Genesis 11; I grew up in the eastern suburbs?- joke here!) - it's a way of saying that the people are slowly moving further away from God's presence.

• There's constant reference to the ground and humanity's relationship to it - an interesting theme to survey in the Bible from Genesis onwards
• Genesis 12:1-3 is a real irony compared to Genesis 11. In Genesis 11 people want to be a great nation, make a name for themselves and be united - they do it without God and fail spectacularly! In Genesis 12:1-3, God chooses Abram and promises (you guessed it) to make Abram into a great nation, make his name great and make him a blessing for all peoples on Earth! And God's promises come to pass.
• It's the great I AM (God) behind the 'I am' (us)!