Week Eight
What is the Gospel of Peace: Genesis
Week Eight: The Geulah [Redemption]
Contents of this week’s study:
Day One: After Seven Days
Day Two: Aboard the Ark, In the Firmament
Day Three: God Remembered?
Day Four: What is a Covenant?
Day Five: The Olive Leaf of Renewed Covenant
Day Six: The Rebirth of Creation
Genesis 7 (CJB)
Day One: After Seven Days
Today's study is a bit shorter because I am, again, linking some very important, related videos and articles to aid our comprehension and surety. I am not adding a video with my breakdown of today's study; we will discuss the ideas in today's lesson in my video tomorrow.
Genesis 7:10-12 (CJB)
10 After seven days the water flooded the earth. 11 On the seventeenth day of the second month of the 600th year of Noach’s life all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of the sky were opened. 12 It rained on the earth forty days and forty nights.
Follow the link to the free graphic on Pinterest, and use it to fill in the blanks below the link.
Link - Free Graphic - Pinterest - Hebrew Months and Holy Days https://www.pinterest.com/pin/seven-feasts-of-israel--126030489564684187/
There are four Biblical "new years":
1) the first new year falls on the first day of Tishri (the seventh month of the agricultural calendar). This day is also known as Rosh Hashana [head of the year]. In the Bible, this day is called Yom Teruah [the Day of Trumpets]. This is --- the civic new year.
2) the fifteenth day of Shevat (the _____________ month) is --- the new year for trees.
3) the first day of Nisan (the __________ month) is --- the
agricultural new year.
4) the first day of Elul (the _________ month) is --- the new year for tithing livestock.
According to Jewish history, the flood began on the 17th day of Heshvan [also spelled Cheshvan]. Find Heshvan on the graphic on Pinterest.
Cheshvon is called the "second" month in today's scripture, so which of the four new-years is being used here? Hint: it's the one which begins on the first day of Tishri.
1) Civic, 2) Trees, 3) Agricultural, 4) Tithing
Write the name of the first month according to the "civic calendar" in your journal.
Now, write God’s high holy days which fall in the first month of the civic calendar. Hint: they are listed on the pinterest graphic.
1, _______________________________
2, _______________________________
3, _______________________________
Does the whole idea of a worldwide flood sound a little like a fairy tale? Noach and his family aboard the ark for a whole year - with all those animals, tossed upon the waves, in ancient days -- before all the technological advances we've made since the turn of the twentieth century...
Sadly, even much of the church has now accepted the idea that science has "proven the Bible to be inaccurate". Most people in the West have been completely proselytized to believe that the theory of evolution is a proven fact and that there is no evidence of a catastrophic flood event.
Link - Article - Institute for Creation Research (ICR) - All the Fountains of the Deep
https://www.icr.org/article/6859
*Quick read
Optional:
Link - Article - ICR - Evidence of Fountains of the Great Deep
https://www.icr.org/article/evidence-fountains-great-deep
*Slightly longer read
Genesis 7:13 (CJB)
13 On that same day Noach entered the ark with Shem, Ham and Yefet the sons of Noach, Noach’s wife and the three wives of his sons accompanying them...
As we noted before, many scholars understand the first part of chapter seven to be saying that Noach and his family were living in the ark for seven days before the rains even began.
Q) Can you think of a couple practical reasons why God might want to load the ark so long before the flood would begin?
1) ______________________________________
________________________________________.
2) ______________________________________
________________________________________.
Genesis 7:14-16 (CJB)
14 they, and every animal of every species, all the livestock of every species, every animal that creeps on the ground of every species, and every bird of every species — all sorts of winged creatures. 15 They went in to Noach in the ark, couples from every kind of living thing that breathes. 16 Those that entered went in, male and female, from every kind of living being, as God had ordered him; and Adonai shut him inside.
A few technical questions:
Q 1) If you were organizing an “ark of preservation” for a remnant of all creation, would you take full grown animals or juveniles; juveniles who eat less, take up less space, produce less waste and who may, typically --- not reproduce until right around the time the flood ends?
________________________________________.
Q 2) Would Noach have needed to take representative pairs of creatures that live in the water?
______________.
Q 3) Who does our scripture say closed the door; i.e. "shut him inside"?
_____________________.
Link - youtube video - Answers in Genesis - How Many Animals did Noach have to Bring on the Ark?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF8enKZwVa0
Journaling:
Noach vs. Abraham:
Q 1) Did God intend for Noach and his family, alone, to survive aboard the ark? Interesting comparison in this video (it's short).
Watch the following short video and write your thoughts in your journal.
Link – Video – Chabad.org – “Noah vs. Abraham”:
https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/1097167/jewish/Noah-vs-Abraham.htm
Q 2) Does God expect you and I to also bring others into covenant with Him?
Answer the following as honestly as you can in your journal.
Q 3) Until now, have you been more of a Noach or Abraham? Explain briefly
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
The following is an amazing resource; If you haven't yet (or even if you have), I urge you to take some time to sit and watch the following video.
Link - Youtube - Is Genesis History
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM82qxxskZE
Day Two: Aboard the Ark -- "in the Firmament?"
Those who were still in covenant with God; i.e. Noach and his family --- were hidden away and “raised into the firmament” as the world was judged.
There is an interesting idea in Judaism --- of the holy Temple in Jerusalem standing symbolically - in the firmament. This is one reason why it has always been considered an Aliyah (going up) to go to Israel, Jerusalem, and especially, to go up on the Temple Mount. No matter where in the world you are coming from; when you go to Israel, Jerusalem, and Mount Moriah; you are making Aliyah; going up. The flood is also understood to have lifted Noah and the family into the "firmament".
Bereshit [Genesis] 7:17-20 (CJB)
17 The flood was forty days on the earth; the water grew higher and floated the ark, so that it was lifted up off the earth. 18 The water overflowed the earth and grew deeper, until the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19 The water overpowered the earth mightily; all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered; 20 the water covered the mountains by more than twenty-two-and-a-half feet.
The rain fell for forty straight days and nights. Throughout the forty days the rain "poured down" all over the earth. The waters rose continuously higher until they completely covered the highest mountains.
*Remember, it wasn’t just raining. During those forty-days and nights, the earth was under judgement! Creation scientists now believe the Bible is describing a cataclysmic event which rendered the earth unrecognizable. The subsurface of the earth shattered into what we know today as the tectonic plates, which drifted apart and then began colliding with one-another. Extreme mountain ranges such as the Himalaya, Andes, the Alps, Rockies, etc. formed. Many of the earth’s volcanoes and the super volcanoes, which are found all over the world, formed and erupted within a very short amount of time. The fallout from so many eruptions blocked out the sunlight and caused severe weather changes.
Through all of the chaos and devastation, however, Noach, his family and the animals were carried safely inside their protective cocoon although I would imagine it was a bit tumultuous; at least for the first few months. The finality of the situation probably didn’t completely set in until they left the ark to face their new reality.
"Rapture?" or Aliyah to the Promised Land?
The description of the ark being lifted (into the firmament); should bring to mind the rapture. In the church I had always heard that the word rapture is not directly in the Bible. When I started actually studying, however, I learned that it is. You see, the rapture has happened many times throughout Biblical history.
Whenever God's people have left a foreign land to return [shuv] to God's land, the word for that "teshuva" in Biblical Hebrew is "Natzal".
In the Strong's:
Rapture 5337H natsal, naw-tsal'; (PR) to snatch away, whether in a good or bad sense:--- ..., deliver (self), escape, ... pluck, preserve, recover, rescue... take (out).
In Greek the word for rapture is harpazo, and yes, it is used in the Brit Hadasha [New Testament]. In Acts 8:39 rendered - "caught away", 2 Corinthians 12:2 and 4, Revelation 12:5, and our scripture below 1 Thessalonians 4:17 interpreted as "caught -up",
Rapture 726G harpazo; to seize... catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take by force, From 138G hahee-reh'-om-ahee; to take for oneself, i.e. to prefer.
In contemporary Hebrew rapture is "shilhuv".
Thinking about the rapture may cause us to remember 1 Thessalonians Chapter Four; where Paul [Shaul] tells the Greek and Roman converts to not grieve over the dead -- as those who have no hope of resurrection do.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 (TLV)
13 Now, brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died; otherwise, you might become sad the way other people 14 do who have nothing to hope for. For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, we also believe that in the same way God, through Yeshua, will take with him those who have died. 15 When we say this, we base it on the Lord’s own word: we who remain alive when the Lord comes will certainly not take precedence over those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; 17 then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord.
When God called Noach to preserve a remnant of life on the ark; the world had become a very nasty place. Scripture tells us the earth was filled with rah [rebellion, pain and sorrow]. People were liars, they cheated their neighbors, and violence, murder, disease and lust ruled and distorted the heart of mankind. In truth, there was probably not much “living” going on.
As God’s justice was meted out upon the corrupt world including its depraved societies and evil rulers; God’s remnant would be aboard the ark; carried safely above the destruction.
Again, growing up in the church, I was always taught that we would be taken in the “rapture” to live in heaven for eternity, but this is not a Jewish - or a Biblical principle.
Kabbala teaches that everything God created on the earth is an image (representative) of the heavenly original. The Jewish sages understood that Gan Ayden (garden in Eden) was a copy of the heavenly Kingdom. The Tabernacle and the Temple are, likewise, copies of God’s heavenly Tabernacle. Today, the prevailing ideology on the rapture is that it will be a rapturing (going out) to Jerusalem; the location of the garden in Ayden.
Revelation 3:12 (CJB)
I will make him who wins the victory a pillar in the Temple of my God, and he will never leave it. Also I will write on him the name of my God and the name of my God’s city, the new Yerushalayim coming down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name.
Revelation 21:10 (CJB) He carried me off in the Spirit to the top of a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Yerushalayim, coming down out of heaven from God.
My friends, if God's heavenly temple is "coming down" to the earth, why would He rapture [natsal, harpazo, shilhuv] us to "heaven"? Would He not take those who are called by His name to the place where He will reestablish His Kingdom?
Link – Article/short study – Joy of Torah – “The Greater Exodus” http://joyoftorah.blogspot.com/2012/02/greater-exodus.html
Journaling:
Journal your thoughts on the article linked above “The Greater Exodus”; comment on whether you have heard of this idea previously or if this was a complete shock. Write, also, any other thoughts you have about Noach’s ark rising into the firmament and if you believe this is a picture of the future rapture/greater exodus.
Day Three: God Remembered?
Bereshit 7:21-24 (CJB)
21 All living beings that moved on the earth perished — birds, livestock, other animals, insects, and every human being, 22 everything in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life; whatever was on dry land died. 23 He wiped out every living thing on the surface of the ground — not only human beings, but livestock, creeping animals and birds in the air. They were wiped out from the earth; only Noach was left, along with those who were with him in the ark. 24 The water held power over the earth for 150 days.
Today we’re dividing our study into the following two sections in order to contemplate two details revealed here in chapter eight of Bereshit.
Section One: In the Seventh Month
Fill in the blanks with the missing info from our scripture below and answer the questions:
Bereshit [Genesis] 8:1-5 (CJB)
1 God remembered Noach, every living thing and all the livestock with him in the ark; so God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water began to go down. 2 Also the fountains of the deep and the windows of the sky were stopped, the rain from the sky was restrained, 3 and the water came back from completely covering the earth. It was after 150 days that the water went down. 4 On the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 The water kept going down until the tenth month; on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen.
V1) God caused a _________ to pass over the earth, and the ____________ began to go down.
V2) The fountains of the _________ and the _______________ of the sky
were _______________.
V3) The ___________ began to recede. Q) The water was rising for how
many days? _________. Note, this information is part of yesterday's study and is found in Bereshit 7:17-20
V4) The ark came to rest in the mountains of Ararat on the
___________________ day of the ________________ month.
Q) Using the following graphic of the Jewish months, write down the name
of the seventh month. ____________________.
Link - Free Graphic - Pinterest - Hebrew Months and Holy Days https://www.pinterest.com/pin/seven-feasts-of-israel--126030489564684187/
I recommend keeping the graphic open as you'll probably need it to answer the following questions.
B, Name God’s high holy days which fall in the seventh month:
1, _______________________________
2, _______________________________
3, _______________________________
The flood waters were building on the earth for forty days, then the flooding process ceased, but it wasn't until 150 days that the waters began to go down. On the 17th day of the seventh month, Tishri (which is the second day of Sukkot), the waters began to slowly ebb away.
V5) The tops of the mountains were visible on the ____________ day of
the ____________ month.
Q) Using the graphic of the Jewish months, write down the name of the
tenth month. ____________________.
Section Two: God Remembered?
What does it mean when we read “God remembered Noach”?
This is the first time (of many times) the Bible uses the phrase “God remembered”.
In the Strong’s:
Remembered 2142H zâkar, zaw-kar´; (PR); properly- to mark (so as to be recognized), i.e. to remember; by implication- to mention… (make) mention (of), be mindful, recount, record (-er)…
X _____________________________________.
Is the use of the word zahar meant to convey the idea that God suddenly remembered --- that He had forgotten --- the remnant of His creation, or do our verses instead reveal that God recognized Noach and all the remnant as having walked faithfully through a time of trial/testing.
Now let me ask; could there be an even deeper, more beautiful truth veiled beneath the whole incident of the flood? We'll look into these ideas further as part of our journaling section today.
Journaling:
According to the site biblestudy.org, "the word 'forty' appears 158 times in [scripture]". The article proposes that the number 40 "generally symbolizes a period of testing, trial or probation".
For those who want to read the article:
Link - Article - biblestudy.org - Meaning of the Number 40
https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/40.html
I suggest to you that Noach had passed the test which was hinted at in the significance of the forty days it rained.
The number forty is also the Hebrew letter "mem"
Link - Free Graphic - Pinterest - Aleph - Bet and Values:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/490962796854733479/
Write your thoughts:
Could the use of the word "Zahar" ultimately reveal that God was now “recognizing” (another part of the definition of the word “zahar”[i.e. marking, promoting?]) Noah as faithful?
For a more positive, esoteric look at the number forty [letter mem]
Link - Youtube Video - Shivimpanim - Secrets of the Hebrew Letter Mem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MynXTRENj70
Finally, in light of the insight revealed in the Shivimpanim video, write your thoughts on whether the flood/ark/Noach/animals, etc. could reveal the ultimate purpose of the flood was "rebirth" (new beginning) rather than merely judgement.
Day Four: What is a Covenant?
The first earthly covenants were established between God and mankind in Gan-Ayden.
When speaking of the various covenants, the Bible of course, did not have to go into great-detail because the original, Biblical-audience [including those who lived during the Second Temple Period] was very well acquainted with the practice of making, keeping and, unfortunately, breaking covenants.
Though there have been many scholars who have stumbled upon this key to understanding scripture, they have gained little ground in bringing this insight to the church. This information is vital if we truly want to immerse ourselves in this "walk" (covenant language) with the Lord.
It is vital for you and I to begin to learn the cultural and covenential context of scripture, so lets begin with the following link to the page right here on Strength and Courage.
P.S. Don't forget to return to do the exercises you'll find below the link!
Link - Lesson Page - S&C Topics Cache - What is a Blood Covenant?
https://strengthandcourage.godaddysites.com/what-is-a-blood-covenant%3F
Today's Exercises:
Seeing the Rituals Embedded:
What do you think, do the following episodes in scripture follow the rites practiced as part of establishing a blood covenant?
Write the options you think apply on a page in your journal.
In the Garden
Genesis 1:27-28 (CJB)
27 So God created humankind in his own image; in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them: God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.”
This scripture is an example of:
Ritual #1 Establishing the Terms
Now you try it
Note, the following exercises may include examples of more than one covenant ritual. Note all that apply.
Exercise 1:
Genesis 1:29
29 Then God said, “Here! Throughout the whole earth I am giving you as food every seed-bearing plant and every tree with seed-bearing fruit.
Is this an example of:
Ritual #1 Establishing the Terms
Ritual #2 Exchanging a garment, gifts or provision
Ritual #8 Creating a memorial scar
Exercise 2:
It is commonly understood that after God took woman out of the Adam, the woman was given the second letter Hei from God's own name.
Genesis 2:23
23 And man said, "This time, it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one shall be called ishah (woman) because this one was taken from ish (man)."
In Hebrew Ishah is spelled, aleph, shin, hei. It is the letter hei --- from God's sacred name which renders the woman's name Ishah.
Where the original being was named Ish ="Human", the woman's name becomes Ishah meaning, "out of the human" - however, the added letter hei also signifies that " this one is in covenant with God".
Is the above an example of:
Ritual #9 Placing a memorial
Ritual #4 Giving/taking part of one's name
Ritual #6 Blood Brothers
Note that it is Adam (the separated man) who gives the woman both: the "Ish" which is now his name, and also the "letter Hey" from God's name -- as a recognition of the woman's renewed covenant with God.
In a sense, Adam has become the [animal] who is split to establish the covenant between God and the woman.
Of course, we are meant to see the connection between Adam and Yeshua. As we noted in Week 5, Day 2 ; whereas Adam's side was split to "bring forth" his bride, Yeshua's side was split to make the "way back" for His bride.
Do you know some of the other’s in scripture who received part of God’s name when they came into covenant with Him?
Seeing the Rituals Embedded: in God's "friendship" with Abraham
[Avraham]
Genesis 15:7-11 (CJB)
7 Then he said to him *[Abraham], “I am Adonai, who brought you out from Ur-Kasdim to give you this land as your possession.” 8. He replied, “Adonai, God, how am I to know that I will possess it?” 9. He answered him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove and a young pigeon.” 10. He brought him all these, cut the animals in two and placed the pieces opposite each other; but he didn’t cut the birds in half.
Is the above an example of:
Ritual #6 Blood Brothers
Ritual #5 Cutting/dividing an Animal[s] (picture of unity/authorization)
Ritual # 3 Offering the weapon/weapon belt
Genesis 17:1,2 (CJB)
1 When Abram *[Abraham before God changed his name] was 99 years old Adonai appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai [God Almighty]. Walk in my presence and be pure-hearted. 2 I will make my covenant between me and you, and I will increase your numbers greatly.”
Is the above an example of:
Ritual 2) Exchanging a garment, gifts or provision
Ritual #1 Laying out and agreeing to the terms of the treaty
Ritual #3 Offering the weapon/weapon belt
Genesis 17:3-5
3 Abram fell on his face, and God continued speaking with him: 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations. 5 Your name will no longer be Abram [Avram] (exalted father), but your name will be Avra[h]am [father of many], because I have made you the father of many nations.
Is the above an example of:
Ritual #1 Laying out and agreeing to the terms of the treaty
Ritual #2 Exchanging a garment, gifts or provision
Ritual #4 Giving/taking part of one's name
or
#'s 1 and 4
#'s 1 and 2
#'s 2 and 4
Or all of the above
Genesis 17:10-11 (CJB)
10 Here is my covenant, which you are to keep, between me and you, along with your descendants after you: every male among you is to be circumcised. 11 You are to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; this will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.
Is the above an example of:
Ritual # 8 Creating a memorial scar
Ritual # 4 Giving/taking part of one's name
Ritual # 2 Exchanging a garment, gifts or provision
Genesis 17:15-16 (CJB)
And 15 God said to Avraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are not to call her Sarai (mockery); her name is to be Sara[h] (princess). 16 I will bless her; moreover, I will give you a son by her. Truly I will bless her: she will be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
Is the above an example of:
Ritual #1 Laying out and agreeing to the terms of the treaty
Ritual #2 Exchanging a garment, gifts or provision
Ritual #4 Giving/taking part of one's name
or
#'s 1 and 4
#'s 1 and 2
#'s 2 and 4
All of the above
Again, it was the letter Hei that God took from His name to put upon his covenant partners Avraham and Sarah just as He did with Havah when He separated her from the Adam.
Once God and Avraham made their covenant, God was known as "The God of Avraham", and later, as He also covenanted with Yitzhak [Isaac] and then Ya’akov [Jacob], God became known as “The God of Avraham, Yitzhak and Ya’akov”.
Is the above an example of:
Ritual #1 Laying out and agreeing to the terms of the treaty
Ritual #2 Exchanging a garment, gifts or provision
Ritual #4 Giving/taking part of one's name
Seeing the Rituals Embedded: Cutting the Blood Covenant with a Rejected People
So far in this brief search for insight regarding the ancient blood covenant, we have glimpsed a few of the many Tanakh [Old Testament] occurrences of God and man seeming to perform the blood covenant rituals. Now let’s take a look at the details of the “covenant in the blood of Messiah” to see if it is built on the same pattern as the others.
Matthew 4:18-20 (CJB)
18 As Yeshua walked by Lake Kinneret, he saw two brothers who were fishermen — Shim‘on, known as Kefa, and his brother Andrew — throwing their net into the lake. 19 Yeshua said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men!” 20 At once they left their nets and went with him.
Yeshua's invitation is an example of:
Ritual # 6 Blood brothers
Ritual # 8 Creating a memorial scar
Ritual #1 Laying out and agreeing to the terms
Matthew 5:43-45 (CJB)
43 “You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Love your neighbor (brother in God's covenant) — and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 Then you will become children of your Father in heaven (walking uprightly in covenant). For he makes his sun shine on good and bad people alike, and he sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike.
The above is an example of:
Ritual # 7 Eating a symbolic meal
Ritual # 1 Laying out and agreeing to the terms
Ritual #9 Placing a memorial
Matthew 8:16, 17 (CJB)
16 When evening came, many people held in the power of demons were brought to him. He expelled the spirits with a word and healed all who were ill. 17 This was done to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah [Yesha‘yahu], “He himself took our weaknesses and bore our diseases”
The above is an example of:
Ritual # 3 Offering one's weapon or weapon belt
Ritual # 8 Creating a memorial scar
Ritual #4 Giving/taking part of one's name
The Ritual of Eating a Symbolic Meal:
Eating a symbolic meal was a very important and mysterious part of the blood covenant ritual. On one hand this rite was a sacred part of swearing allegiance, yet it was also a joyous celebration.
This description of the symbolic meal ritual should feel very familiar to anyone who was raised making kiddish for Shabbat, keeping Pasach [Passover] or taking communion.
How it was typically done:
Each partner, in turn, takes (usually) a loaf of bread, breaks it in two and hands a piece to the other saying something along the lines of, "This represents my body which Is now yours."
The partners each eat a portion of the bread.
They then repeat the rite with a glass (usually containing wine or grape juice as a symbol of blood) and say something like, "This represents my blood which is now your blood."
The partners each take a sip of the wine.
It is a requirement to celebrate the partnership or union. People would typically have been invited to act as witnesses of the proceedings, and now everyone feasts and imbibes. There is dancing, singing, much joyous laughter and well wishes for all with the proclamation of something akin to "Mazel Tov".
Matthew 26:26-30 CJB)
26 While they were eating, Yeshua took a piece of matzah, made the b’rakhah *[prayer], broke it, gave it to the talmidim and said, “Take! Eat! This is my body!” 27 Also he took a cup of wine, made the b’rakhah, and gave it to them, saying, “All of you, drink from it! 28 For this is my blood, which ratifies the New Covenant, my blood shed on behalf of many, so that they may have their sins forgiven. 29 I tell you, I will not drink this ‘fruit of the vine’ again until the day I drink new wine with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”
30 After singing the Hallel, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Journaling:
1) Can you think of another time or two when scripture seems to note the application of the blood covenant rites; even if God stepped in to halt the progression of the rites.
2)Write your thoughts about both of the following topics:
The memorial of a covenant was often a tree.
It is interesting that in Hebron, which is located in Israel, in the West Bank near where Avraham and Sarah lived, there was once a grove of “Oak” [Terebinth] trees. Today all that is left of these once mighty sentinels is the shrinking trunk of one tree.
The odd thing is that in 2013-14 (about the same time the understanding of the ancient covenant really started to emerge into the mainstream of Christian/Messianic Biblical research) new green shoots began to emerge around this timberous corpse in Hebron.
What if:
This is just speculation, of course, but what if this oak was the memorial tree of God’s covenant with Avraham and Sarah; which Avraham took from where it had self-seeded in the grove of oak trees nearby and planted in a prominent position to serve as a sign of that ancient relationship between the Creator and our ancestors?
Remembering Jim Staley's teaching "Identity Crisis", which we watched some time ago; what if this ancient (possibly memorial) tree is responding to the re-birth of a covenant people who had long ago lost our way?
The Circumcision Scar:
3) Watch the following and write your thoughts.
Link- Youtube video- Perry Stone - “The Importance of Circumcision According to the Bible”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gD6-qEXNTg
Short message about mystery of circumcision and changing the names of Avram and Sarai
Day Five: The Olive Leaf of Renewed Covenant
Did Noach send out the raven and then the dove simply to determine if the waters were receding from the earth, or was there, possibly, a deeper query driving Noach’s actions?
Genesis 8:6-7 (CJB)
6 After forty days Noach opened the window of the ark which he had built; 7 and he sent out a raven, which flew back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.
Why did Noach first send out a non-kosher animal? Remember, Noach had seven pairs if every clean (kosher) animal and only one pair of each of the unclean animals. Also, Why does the raven not return to Noach in the ark where there's presumably food and a mate, and why does the raven wander (keep flying aimlessly)?
Genesis 8:8-9A(CJB)
8 Then he sent out a dove, to see if the water had gone from the surface of the ground. 9 But the dove found no place for her feet to rest, so she returned to him in the ark, because the water still covered the whole earth.
This first time Noach dispatches the dove, the dove does not “wander”, nor does she find a renewed world beginning to emerge from the waters of judgement. She returns to the safety and provision aboard the ark.
Genesis 8:9b(CJB)
He put out his hand, took her and brought her in to him in the ark.
In the Bible, the dove represents, not “peace” as we might define it (lack of conflict and anxiety), but the shalom (often called peace) of covenant. Remember, shalom means to be keeping your covenant oaths to God and, therefore, living in the blessings of His faithful promises to us.
Genesis 8:10-12 (CJB)
10 He waited another seven days and again sent the dove out from the ark. 11 The dove came in to him in the evening, and there in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf, so Noach knew that the water had cleared from the earth. 12 He waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, and she didn’t return to him anymore.
Note: although verse eight doesn't say there were seven days between when Noah sent out the raven and the first time he sent out the dove; in vs. ten we are told Noach waited "another" seven days before he sent the dove out the second time. The word "another" in vs. 10 seems to reveal there were also seven days between the raven and the dove.
As we learned before, anytime a number is repeated, doubled or tripled in scripture; it is a sign-post that is intended to draw our attention and clue us in to a hidden truth in our text.
__________ days between releasing the raven and releasing the dove;
__________ days between when the dove finds no dry land and when she brings back the olive leaf;
and __________ days between when she finds the olive leaf and when she doesn’t return.
"777"
Could the sevens listed in this section of scripture be intended to trigger the realization that there is a Messianic connection embedded in this text?
Of course, we know Noach is a messianic figure; the inclusion of the repeated sevens in the flood narrative is merely a confirmation of that understanding. The addition of an ark that protects God's remnant from His condemnation of evil mankind, the lifting up of the remnant -- into the firmament which is an allusion to the naw-tzal' [rapture] to the temple mount in Jerusalem... What is God trying to get us to understand here in the details of the flood and these seven day intervals, could it be that God wants us to know something about a future time which He has revealed here in Genesis chapter eight?
We know Yeshua said that the last days will be related to the flood, "people will be marrying and giving in marriage" and therefore, "will not realize what is coming upon them until it is too late".
"Marrying and giving in marriage" is a euphemism for a people who want to go on living their lives in the age of man's rule; not working to bring Yeshua's return and the institution of His holy kingdom. Those who are defined as "marrying and giving in marriage" are too concerned with their dreams and plans, their physical and emotional needs to recognize the violence (hamas) which is rising all around them (like the waters of the flood). Nor do they realize 1) they must stand for, not what they think is righteousness and justice, but what God calls righteousness and justice -- or they will either 2) be swept up to become part of the violence or 3) they will become hopeless victims of the violence. These are the only possible choices for the last generation before Yeshua's return. It is obviously those who are "marrying and giving in marriage" who are caught unawares and destroyed.
Note that Noach "sent out" a raven and then a dove. Could there be a message behind the prominence of these two birds in this flood narrative?
Aside from the aforementioned kosher vs. non-kosher aspects, what is the difference between these two birds?
Could it be that the stark difference between the color of their plumage acts as a foil; i.e. the black raven representing the death of a dark, violent world while the white dove represents the beginning of a renewed illuminated, peaceful age?
Or, could you see a connection with Matthew 25:32, 33 "the sheep separated from the goats" which is Yeshua's comparison of those who obey and those who dis-obey God's commands? Of course we know that the raven did not come back to Noah aboard the ark and the dove did.
Also, did you notice that we are told that Noah sent the dove out to see if the waters were receding, but does scripture say why Noach sent the raven out?
Finally, could the use of the raven and the dove be meant to symbolize the dual purpose of the flood itself? Could it be that the raven is a revelation of the flood as judgement of rebellious mankind while the dove pictures the flood as a new beginning for those few who chose to obey God. This final idea reminds me of Moses' words when he presented God's Torah to the children of Israel. The Torah, Moses said, is a blessing - and a curse; it is a blessing to those who walk in covenant with God, and a curse to those who refuse.
Perhaps 1))the raven and the dove, 2)the idea of the flood being judgement to those who rebelled and redemption/new beginning for those who kept their covenant with God, and 3)the Torah also as a blessing for those who keep it and a curse to those who don't --- actually reveal the dual nature of God himself, i.e. the Divine Judge of those usurpers who refuse to obey and the merciful father of those who "love" (covenant language) Him.
Back to the dove's olive leaf:
Many ancient scholars believed the Tree of Life was actually an olive tree. The olive tree, therefore, is often used as a symbol of God's Edenic Covenant. Though the dove returned the second time with an olive leaf in her beak, we know the world was not Edenic after the flood, so could the dove bringing an olive leaf be symbolic of the Edenic covenant being renewed, not necessarily at the time of Noach's flood, but in the time which the flood pictured ---in the latter judgement; at the end of man's reign over the earth.
Journaling:
Watch the following and journal your thoughts.
Link - Youtube - RonWyatt - The Miraculous 1st Trip to Find Noah's Ark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSW5SWRGyZE
Day Six: The Rebirth of Creation
Have you ever had an illness or injury that kept you inside for several days or even been on an excruciatingly long car trip, etc. and as you stepped outside felt the glorious realization that the ordeal was over, and stood there feeling the sunlight on your face?
Can you imagine how amazing it felt to step off that ark for the first time after more than 370 days? Yet, imagine for a moment the shock the family must have felt as they actually witnessed the radical changes which had altered the face of the earth as they drifted safely in there floating cocoon.
Genesis 8:15-22 (CJB)
15 God said to Noach, 16 “Go out from the ark, you, your wife, your sons and your son’s wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing you have with you — birds, livestock and every animal that creeps on the earth — so that they can swarm on the earth, be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
18 So Noach went out with his sons, his wife and his sons’ wives; 19 every animal, every creeping thing and every bird, whatever moves on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark. 20 Noach built an altar to Adonai. Then he took from every clean animal and every clean bird, and he offered burnt offerings on the altar.
What was the first thing Noach did when he left the ark?
________________________________________________
21 Adonai smelled the sweet aroma, and Adonai said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, since the imaginings of a person’s heart are evil from his youth; nor will I ever again destroy all living things, as I have done. 22 So long as the earth exists, sowing time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.”
In the Strong's:
Ground 127H adamah, ad-aw-maw'; soil (from it's general redness); country, earth, ground, husband [-man] (-ry), land, From 119H Adam, aw-dam'; to show blood (in the face), i.e. to flush or turn rosy: --- be (dyed, made) red (ruddy).
________________________________________________
Will God ever again destroy all living beings?
__________
Journaling:
Using the graphic at the link, answer the following questions.
Link - Answers in Genesis – “Biblical Overview of the Flood Timeline”: https://answersingenesis.org/bible-timeline/biblical-overview-of-the-flood-timeline/
1) What was Noach's age when the fountains of the great deep burst?
_______________________________
2) The earths highest places were covered after how many days?
_______________________________
3) What day did the waters of the deep and the rain stop completely?
_______________________________
4) The rains and fountains stopped on day _______, how many days after that until the tops of the mountains were visible?
_______________________________
5) Noach sent out the raven how many days after the tops of the mountains became visible?
_______________________________
6) How many days after sending the raven did Noach wait before sending the dove the first time?
_______________________________
7) How many days did Noach wait to send the dove the second time?
_______________________________
8) What day was it when the dove did not return?
_______________________________
9) How many days later was it before Noach looked out and knew the land was dry?
_______________________________
10) If counting the first and last days as "full" days, how many days total before God told Noach to leave the ark ?
_______________________________
Week Eight of our Gospel of Peace [GOP] study is now Complete. Be Strong and Courageous!
