The Pattern of Judgments (A Cycle Beginning with New Creation and Ending with Judgment) - Part IX
This article will focus on Major Cycle #3 - Genesis 19:30–36:43.
Introduction
As stated in Part I, Genesis 1-3 contains a group of sixteen themes/events1 which combine to form a particular pattern that is repeated numerous times throughout the Bible. I call this the Pattern of Judgments. The Genesis 1-3 thematic pattern starts with Adonai (the Lord) initiating some form of new creation, and ends with Him meting out judgment upon those who have transgressed His commandments in some egregious manner. The first example of this cycle can be seen in Genesis 1-7, where Adonai initiated the cycle with the creation of the heavens and earth (Genesis 1:1-2), and then the cycle was brought to an end with the judgment of Noah’s flood (Genesis 7). Thus, Genesis 1-7 is what I term a major cycle of this pattern of judgments. Chapter 8 then starts a new major cycle with a “new creation” of the earth out of the chaotic waters of Noah’s flood, which is a prophetic replay of the creation out of the waters of chaos in Genesis 1.
In addition to the major cycles, there are also minor cycles. They are minor cycles because they only contain a few of the sixteen themes presented in Genesis 1-3, as opposed to a major cycle which will contain many of them. Despite this, minor cycles have clearly defined beginnings and endings. Genesis 1-7 is Major Cycle #1, and can be divided thematically into the following 3 minor cycles as follows:
Genesis 1-3—The sixteen foundational themes for the pattern of judgments
Minor Cycle #1—Genesis 4:1-24
Minor Cycle #2—Genesis 4:25-5:32
Minor Cycle #3—Genesis 6:1-7:24.
As you can see, Genesis 1-3 establishes the full array of themes found in the pattern of judgments, and then Genesis 4-7 contains three minor cycles. The key to 1) understanding how the pattern repeats itself, and 2) how to perceive this pattern as it occurs, is to continually thematically connect the events in the Biblical narratives back to the sixteen foundational themes established in Genesis 1-3.
The previous article focused on completing Major Cycle #2. This article is specifically dedicated to elucidating the first Minor Cycle (Genesis 19:30–36:43) of Major Cycle #3.
Genesis 3:1-7—Fall into Sin
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings (Genesis 3:4-7).
As of the end of Part VIII of this series of articles we completed Major Cycle #2, which ended with the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah. Therefore, we should expect to see a new creation of some sort. In Part VIII I noted that we would probably not see complete pictures of new creation as we did in Genesis 1 (the creation of the heavens and earth) and Genesis 8 (the re-creation of the world after Noah’s flood) because Adonai is not going to continue to destroy the entire earth and start over with a newly refurbished earth in each of these patterns of judgments. However, there will be thematic hints at a new creation in the text if we have our thematic antenna up and ready.
There are certain themes in the story of Lot and his daughters that remind us of the newly created earth of Genesis 1 and the newly recreated earth of Genesis 8. In order to see these themes you’ll need to view the events surrounding the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah through the eyes of Lot’s daughters, who thought the entire world had been destroyed!
Now the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth” (Genesis 19:31).
With this perspective in mind, the daughters believed it was their responsibility to re-populate the earth. This allows us to make the following connections to Genesis 1 and Genesis 8. These connections will help us view the aftermath of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as a sort of new creation.
Believing that all people on earth had been destroyed other than themselves, Lot thematically (not literally!) fulfilled the role of Adonai’s regent on earth as Adam and Noah had previously.
After the first creation and re-creation, Adonai’s representatives were commanded to be fruitful and multiply. This is exactly the task that was set upon by Lot and his daughters once they erroneously realized they were the only representatives of humanity left on the earth.
Lot and his daughters immediately fell into sin, as did Adam and Eve and Noah and his sons. In fact, we will soon discover a parallelism that specifically links the sexual sins of Lot and his daughters with the sin of Ham and Noah. Both instances involved sexual sin and the use of wine!
So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34 It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, “Indeed I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father.” 35 Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father (Genesis 19:33-36).
Just as Adam and Eve quickly fell into sin after being commissioned to be fruitful and multiply, so, likewise, Noah fell into sin. More interestingly, so did Lot and his daughters! I want to make the case that the sin of Lot and his daughters is thematically equivalent to Noah and Ham’s sin. To do this, once again I will rely on one of the Torah’s most often used literary devices, the parallelism. It just so happens that the story of Noah’s fall into sin is told in parallel with Lot’s fall into sin! A parallelism is a literary device used to tell a story in such a manner that the progression of themes in the first half of the story matches the progression of themes in the second half of the story in thematic content and order. The pattern is similar to this:
This is one of the most profound and convincing techniques Adonai uses to match themes for us in order to teach us some new lesson. With that in mind, let’s see how it is Adonai’s intent for us to connect Noah and Ham’s sin in Genesis 9 to Lot and his daughter’s sins in Genesis 19! We will do this by studying the the parallelism of Genesis 6:9–9:26 and Genesis 18:16–19:38. The first half of the parallelism is Genesis 6:9-9:26 and it’s shown first below. Then, the second half of the parallelism, Genesis 18:16-19:38, is shown after it. This is another example of how the two halves of a parallelism are in separate portions of Scripture instead of adjacent to each other in one continuous flow of events.
There are seven themes in this parallelism, labeled A-G. As you compare A to A’ and B to B’ (etc.) in the two halves of the parallelism, you will easily see the thematic connections between the two stories. I have used bold, italicized print to emphasize the themes connecting the parallel passages. Lastly, notice how the seven themes in both stories occur in chronological order within their respective narratives, and yet each theme matches perfectly with each other when they are considered in a parallel arrangement!
Connection A/A’ pertains to Adonai’s dealings with the righteous and the unrighteous.
In Connection B/B’ Adonai made pronouncements of judgment upon people.
Connection C/C’ relates how people were saved from a judgment from Adonai by being taken to a place of refuge.
Connection D/D’ describes how Adonai killed the wicked.
Connection E/E’ shows how Adonai had mercy on someone even in the midst of His terrible judgment.
Connection F/F’ shows how the mountains became a place of refuge for those who had recently survived Adonai’s hand of judgment.
Connection G/G’ relates the sin of Noah and Ham to the sins of Lot and his daughters!
This parallelism emphatically connects these two stories to each other. Furthermore, it is abundantly obvious that Adonai intentionally arranged the thematic patterns of these two stories and intended that we notice them! As you can plainly see, the pattern of judgments keeps on repeating again and again. The only differences are the characters! As an aside, this parallelism helps to answer the questions, “What was Ham’s sin and why was Canaan punished?” We cannot digress into that subject at present, but if you want to explore that subject further, I’ve included a link HERE to a video I made that uses the parallelism we just studied to discover the nature of Ham’s sin and why Canaan was punished instead of Ham!
Genesis 3:16—Pain in Childbirth (Seed of the Woman)
To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
This theme appears in Genesis 21:3 with the birth of Isaac.
And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac (Genesis 21:1-3).
Genesis 3:15—Enmity of the Seed
This theme has now taken front stage in our development of the pattern of judgments! There are many examples of this theme at this present juncture of Scripture.
And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham,
scoffing (Genesis 21:9).
Genesis 21:9 relates how Ishmael began to persecute Isaac, the seed of the woman. In an earlier article we saw how the seed of the woman is traced through lineage, beginning with Seth, then continuing through Noah, Shem, Abraham and now Isaac. Ishmael is taking his place as the seed of the serpent displaying the enmity which was prophesied of in Genesis 3:15. Notice that the seed of the serpent is the seed of a beast! Quite often the seed of the serpent is referred to in beast-like terminology, signaling his true nature as the seed of the serpent. This is on full display for us as Ishmael is referred to in beastly language when he is described as a wild ass of a man!
He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against every man and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen” (Genesis 16:12, RSV).
The warfare between the two seeds is also referred to in Genesis 22:17 as follows:
. . . and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
This warfare reaches a crescendo in the birth and history of Jacob and Esau, where Jacob is the seed of the woman and Esau is the seed of the serpent.
And the LORD said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.” 24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob (Genesis 25:23-28).
Esau, true to his nature as the seed of the serpent, came out of the womb red and hairy, like a beast, not a human. Furthermore, Scripture relates that Esau was a man of the field, again, hinting at the beast-like nature inherited from his father, the serpent. The enmity between these two seeds was manifest even in the womb! Later in life, Jacob would have to flee to Padan Aram in fear of his life because of the murderous intentions of his serpentine brother, Esau. The animosity between Jacob and Esau and all previous and future epic battles between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman were all set in motion in Genesis 3:15 with Adonai’s prophecy of their mutual enmity.
Genesis 3:17-19—Curse on the Land
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
It is at this point that we remember the curse upon the land theme from Genesis 3. With His declaration that the ground will be cursed, Adonai also mentioned that man would return to the ground from which he was taken. Genesis 23 is the first account of a burial, Sarah’s burial.
And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place (Genesis 23:19-20).
Later, we also read of Abraham’s death and burial in the same plot of land.
This is the sum of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. 11 And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi (Genesis 25:7-11).
Genesis 2:18-25—A Virginal Bride for the Man
23 And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed (Genesis 2:23-25).
The next theme we can trace from Genesis 1-3 is that of a virginal bride for the man. Genesis 24 is a beautiful story of how love was found for Isaac by Abraham’s faithful servant, Eliezer.
And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death (Genesis 24:66-67).
Genesis 3:20-21—Acts of Redemption
20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
Genesis 22 recounts one of the most riveting stories of the Tanakh (Old Testament), known amongst the Jewish people as Akedat Yitzchak, or The Binding of Isaac. This story is filled with messianic significance, so much so that I cannot go into detail in this article. Again, I will point you to the articles I’ve written on The Road to Emmaus Substack section as well as the numerous video teachings on the Restoration of Torah Ministries’ YouTube page where I discuss messianic prophecy and the significance of the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22. The bottom line is that the story of the binding of Isaac is a messianic prophecy of the death, burial and resurrection of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus)! It’s all in the story of the binding of Isaac, where Isaac carries the wood that he is supposed to die upon! Notice the wording of Genesis 22:2:
Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
Does it not sound familiar? Was it not Adonai who was willing to offer His son, His only son Yeshua as a sacrifice for us all? The messianic significance of Isaac’s binding has also been touched upon by the writer of the book of Hebrews:
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense (Hebrews 11:17-19).
Thus, this story is an echo of Genesis 3:20-21 where Adonai sacrificed an innocent animal to provide coverings for the shame and guilt of Adam and Eve. It therefore ranks itself as another example of an act of redemption, intended to help bridge the gap between sinful man and a holy God.
Genesis 3:1-7—Fall into Sin
At this point I’d like to revisit the theme pertaining to Adam and Eve’s fall into sin and bring out an interesting aspect that I have not emphasized as of yet. As I’ve read and studied Genesis 3:1-7, I can’t help but notice the devil’s plan of attack when he weaves his wicked web to cause mankind to fall into sin. Notice how he initiated his plan by an attack upon the woman, the wife of the man. Put another way, hasatan’s devilish plan involves corrupting the bride. This is his preferred plan of attack. He did not directly approach Adam, yet he caused Adam to sin by first corrupting his bride in her mind.
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3).
Now that we’ve taken notice of this strategy, we can look for this pattern in other instances of his attacks upon God’s chosen vessels. For example, in Genesis 12, when Abram had to sojourn in Egypt, how did hasatan influence Pharaoh to derail the plan of salvation through Abram? He took Sarai, hoping to add her to his harem of concubines, thus corrupting Abram’s bride.
So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house (Genesis 12:14-15).
This was also the devil’s ploy when Abimelech took Sarah!
And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” 4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her (Genesis 20:1-7).
This tactic is made even clearer in the instance of Abimelech’s intended sin against Rebekah.
So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, “She is my sister”; for he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold.” 8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’ ” 10 And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.” 11 So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death” (Genesis 26:6-11).
When Abimelech said, “One of the people might soon have lain with your wife,” he was speaking of himself!
The same devilish plan was at work during the generation of the flood. The devil’s plan, which began in the garden, was to corrupt the woman and thereby bring downfall to mankind. This is what happened in Genesis 6 when the sons of God (angels) went into women and gave birth to giants.
Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. 3 And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown (Genesis 6:1-4).
This scenario is played out numerous times in the Scripture. Remember what Absalom did when he wanted to prove to the men of Israel that he had totally repudiated his father?
Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give advice as to what we should do.” 21 And Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel will hear that you are abhorred by your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be strong.” 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel (2 Samuel 16:20-22).
We will return to this theme, the corruption of the bride, one last time towards the end of this article.
Genesis 3:22-24—Judgment
Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
Normally when we think of Adonai’s judgments, we think of devastating events like Noah’s flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the deaths of Eli’s two wicked sons Hophni and Phinehas, or Adonai’s judgment upon Balaam who was slain with the edge of the sword. However, there is one judgment we should be aware of that is also very important—the judgment of exile! In fact, as noted in the passage quoted above, the judgment of exile is one of the primary judgments visited upon Adam and Eve when they sinned in the garden! Knowing this, I’d like to focus on how Major Cycle #3 teaches us about the theme of judgment. It does so in two ways. The first way (the second will be discussed later) is in a subtle manner, using the life of Jacob. We can see the theme of judgment through Jacob’s exile from the Promised Land! One of the most important themes we need to learn pertains to judgment through EXILE. It was demonstrated for us for the first time through Adam and Eve’s banishment from the garden, but it is also demonstrated for us through the lives of Abram, Jacob and the nation of Israel.
Let’s explore this theme through the nation of Israel first. What was Israel’s ultimate punishment supposed to be for the sin of forsaking Adonai? According to Leviticus 26:33, Israel’s ultimate punishment/judgment would be exile into the nations!
I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.
This theme of exile can also be seen in the story of Abram’s sojourn in Egypt. Remember, Adonai promised Abram that He would give him a special land where his descendants would grow into a multitude. Upon believing this promise, Abram and his entire entourage left Mesopotamia and trekked to the Promised Land. And what happened when they arrived in this wonderful land of plenty? A famine struck! Not only could this “Promised Land” not sustain a nation as numerous as the stars in the heaven, it couldn’t even support Abram and his fledgling group of followers! You can read about this in Genesis 12:10-20. So what did Abram do in response to the famine? They took all they had and sojourned in Egypt until the famine was over.
What does this have to do with an exile you may ask? Well, let’s examine this story thematically and see if some of the themes ring a bell.
Abram is married to Sarai.
A famine in Canaan caused Abram to descend with Sarai into Egypt.
Abram went to Egypt to sojourn there.
The famine of Genesis 12 was characterized as very severe.
Before arriving in Egypt, Abram convinced Sarai to change her identity. Thus, when they arrive, the Egyptians do not know Sarai is Abram's wife.
Pharaoh tried to take Sarai for his own possession by forcing her into his harem as a concubine.
The Holy One sent plagues on Pharaoh and his household because of his possession of Sarai.
When Abram left Egypt, he left with much wealth that he had acquired because of Sarai.
Do these themes remind you of any other story in the Tanakh? They should! This is the story of the exodus of the nation of Israel from Egypt! Notice the parallels:
Just as Abram is married to Sarai, The Holy One is married to Israel.
A famine in Canaan caused Abram to descend with Sarai into Egypt. In Genesis 42:5, it is a famine in Canaan that led Jacob to send his sons to Egypt, which ultimately caused the entire family to descend into Egypt.
Abram went to Egypt to sojourn there. The children of Israel "sojourned" in Egypt.
The famine of Genesis 12 and Genesis 42 were both characterized as very severe.
Before arriving in Egypt, Abram convinced Sarai to change her identity. Thus, when they arrive, the Egyptians do not know Sarai is Abram's wife. In the story of the Exodus, initially, the Egyptians do not know that the Israelites are the people of the Holy One, married to Him.
Just as Pharaoh tried to take Sarai for his own possession as a concubine, eventually it was Pharaoh who took Israel as his possession by enslaving them.
The Holy One sent plagues on Pharaoh and his household because of his possession of Sarai. In the Exodus account, the Holy One used plagues against Pharaoh and the land of Egypt because he possessed Israel through slavery. In both cases, the result was the release of the bride.
When Abram left Egypt, he left with much wealth that he had acquired because of Sarai. When the children of Israel left Egypt, they left with much wealth that they had taken from the Egyptians.
The next example is that of Jacob’s life, which we will cover in Part X.
Here is a list of the 16 themes:
Genesis 1:1-25 – New Creation of the Universe
Genesis 1:26-28 – Man, God’s Image-Bearer, Commissioned to Exercise Dominion Over Creation
Genesis 1:29-31 – Man’s Diet
Genesis 2:1-3 – The Sign of the Sabbath
Genesis 2:4-9 – Man’s Work in His Ancestral Plot of Land
Genesis 2:10-14 – Natural Riches of the Creation
Genesis 2:15-17 – The Choice Between Life and Death
Genesis 2:18-25 – A Virginal Bride for the Man
Genesis 3:1-7 – Fall into Sin
Genesis 3:8-13 – Adonai Investigating Sin
Genesis 3:14 – The Curse on the Serpent
Genesis 3:15 – Enmity of the Seed
Genesis 3:16 – Pain in Childbirth
Genesis 3:17-19 – Curse on the Land
Genesis 3:20-21 – Acts of Redemption
Genesis 3:22-24 – Judgment