Category: Study of Genesis

What if Adam had Chosen a Gay Lifestyle?

What would have happened if Adam had rejected Eve whom God had made just for him, and told God he preferred others?

The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.

So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs[d] and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.

“At last!” the man exclaimed.

“This one is bone from my bone,
    and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’
    because she was taken from ‘man.’”

This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame. ~Genesis 2:15-25

What would Eve have done?

What would God have done?

And They Shall Become One Flesh.

Man and his Wife

And the Lord GOD called, “It is not good that the man is separated from his feminine equal, and a helper to be a mate.”

And the Lord GOD formed from the ground every living thing of the land, and every living bird of the heavens, and brought them to the man to see what he would proclaim their name to be.

And the man proclaimed all which were breathing and alive with their name; he proclaimed names to all cattle and to all the birds of the heavens, and to every living thing of the land.

But to Adam there was not found a helper to be a mate.

And the Lord GOD caused a deep sleep to fall on the man, and he slept, and Yahweh took one rib from his ribs and closed the flesh beneath.

And the Lord GOD made from the rib which had been taken from Adam a woman, and brought her to the man and called the man, “This at last is a body from my body, and flesh from my flesh.  For this I proclaim ‘Woman’ because from man she has been taken.”

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and cling to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

And they were both nude, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.

Adam and eve 1 (2).jpg

I have explored the subject of monogamy from nearly every angle imaginable.  Experiencing the parameters of relationship was an intense interest of mine while I was still married.  I even seriously considered going back to school to study anthropology as it applies to human intimacy such was my obsession with this subject.

I succeeded at monogamy for about 22 years, so I know a bit about it; the high points and the low.  The bliss and the brokenness.  I dabbled in polyamory for many years, mostly in my mind, but occasionally in my flesh as well.  I found this dynamic to be my preferred one.  More love was euphoric, why settle for just one love?

I have contemplated, philosophized, debated, meditated, and imagined the realm of relationships possible in life and lived most of them out, from ascetic to swinger.  I have blogged-and deleted-posts of emphatic feeling one way or the other depending on my perspective at any given time.  I swing this way and I swing that way (pun intended).  And I acknowledge that it is a very complex issue, this one of human intimacy and sexual loving.  Perhaps the most difficult one we face in our tenure here on earth.

I know from intense research that the Bible does not make polygyny a sin, which means one man can marry more than one woman, and which much of the world still practices today.  It makes sense also practically for a man to take care of more than one woman, and for women to be co-wives; women and men both are suited to this, and children can benefit as well in certain situations.  That it is not expressly forbidden in the Torah is profound, and meaningful.

Beyond the law however, when we look to the stories of the Bible, it is clear that in every case of polygyny, even in the most blessed sons of God, like Abraham, families and their future seed suffered negative consequences from being married to more than one wife.  Often in the Bible the children of different mothers aggrieve each other, war with each other, and murder each other out of maleficence born from their familial birthright or lack thereof.  This is a grave teaching from God through His prophets for us with eyes to see and ears to hear.  Indeed the first example of polygyny was in Lamech, seven generations from Adam, the man who was noteworthy for vengeance and bloodthirstiness.  And no matter how noble and honorable the patriarchs Abraham and Jacob (Israel) were, their practice of polygyny caused serious problems in their people which even extends into our modern world!

Polygamy is not a sin, and even though more love seems like a good idea, and man in his flesh might be hardwired for this.  From the very beginning, a couple of key points are unmistakably monogamous.  God takes one rib from Adam and closed the flesh beneath.  One rib equals one woman.  Closing the flesh implies it is done.  Then the man and woman become one flesh.  If they become one flesh, they essentially become joined physically and psychically to the point cleaving apart would cause much destruction and pain.

This is God’s ideal state for man and woman.  A bit further into the creation story God also makes man in His image, male and female He makes them.  But I also know that God can manifest Himself in a myriad of forms and ways, and He has unlimited names for Himself.  In this way, man could make himself fit more than one woman, easily as well, as he is made in the image of God.

The Apostle Paul is clear on this subject regarding bishops in the early church:

A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); 6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.  ~1 Timothy 3:2-6

Overall, it requires the Holy Spirit moving in man for each man to know the path God has in mind for him.  Monogamy is not for everyone, and neither is polygamy.  It is almost certain that while not a sin, polygamy will cause familial pain and strife.  Finally, pastors and church leaders are called to be monogamous, at the very least.

~selah

God Gave me this Scripture as I Awoke this Morning: ‘Genesis 23:2’

And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.  ~Genesis 23:2

It is interesting that He gave me this scripture as I have also been studying mourning of late.  I suppose I am mourning for my Sarah, as Abraham is.

In this dawn He also made me know that, as was spoken to in the Job birthday post, He makes His chosen ones to suffer greatly here on earth.  In fact, it is as if those who suffer most are marked by Him as His.

I have heard priests remark that we might never understand why bad people get good things here on earth, but in light of these scriptures we can see that suffering here is a necessary process to enter His final kingdom.  It might be part of that refining by fire that we are taught throughout scripture.  Or separating the wheat from the chaff.  To be burned with fire hurts more than anything on earth.  To separate wheat from chaff, it is basically rhythmically beaten against something hard, so that the wheat heads fall into a pile for storage, and the chaff blows away on the wind~

I am convinced by these verses that those of us who suffer, as Jesus speaks to in the Beatitudes, are the very ones who can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Another reason I have been drawn to alcoholics, the oppressed, and those scarred by life.  They are fellow brethren whom I recognize in spirit.

I love you with all my heart, soul, and might, My LORD.

~s

Ancient Stone Circles in Mideast Baffle Archaeologists

Image: Big Circle J1

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/weird-science/ancient-stone-circles-mideast-baffle-archaeologists-n238941

But they don’t baffle us.  Because we understand that the Israelite Nation worshiped Almighty ALHYM and held the circle as the sacred representation of Him, and His realm, as given to us by Him.

There are 11 circles.  I believe the missing one represents the coming Messiah.  Ancient man is showing God, and only God (because the circles are too large for man to regard easily), that we are eagerly awaiting our Messiah, our perfect Lamb to deliver us from our evil selves and inevitable death, unto everlasting salvation.

The circles all have a mean diameter of 400 meters, or 1300 feet, which correlates to 833.33 cubits.  I have to wonder if ancient man did not have a concept of the metric system before it came into being in modern times.  Circumference = 2 * pi * r, so this means each circle’s perimeter is around 2700 cubits, perhaps even intended to be 2720 cubits.  22/7 is pi so anytime we see these numerals being used, it is almost always a reference to circle, or the divine realm of God.  Interestingly, the inner area of each circle would be around 600,000 cubits.  6 is a number that means not quite finished yet.  7 means completion, and 8 means more than enough; ample.  Noah was in his 600th year of life when he was commissioned by God to make the divine life raft for all remaining life.  Man is still in his 6th day of creation, while God rests in His 7th day.

With 11 circles each measuring as a perfect circle for God (2720), and having an area representing almost-but-not-quite there yet (600.000) proportions, it is quite the calling card for Mighty ALHYM to see on His throne in Heaven.  The Hebrew Nation calling out to YHWH ALHYM, “We honor You and worship You.  We are not complete and we know it.  If we please You, Almighty LORD, please send Your Messiah to us.  We are waiting for Him.”

Perhaps it was His pleasure with this humble Israelite offering to their One God, which spurned Him to finally send the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

The Holy Trinity

It takes obedience to the Law and the Prophets,

Along with grace through faith in Jesus Christ,

To bring us unto God; to know His Divine Will and Living Word.

~~~~~~~

Paul argues that being obedient to the Law is not the means to salvation, but that is is faith through Jesus Christ that brings justification unto God.  He points out that otherwise, works would be enough for salvation, and that since all men are sinners, no matter how obedient to the Law we are, we will always fall short of attaining God’s Realm.  He quotes scripture in Genesis relating how,

“He [Abram] believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”  ~Genesis 15:6

This is true, indeed.  It takes faith and belief in God, and His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as our Lord Messiah to attain true everlasting salvation.

But scripture also says eleven chapters later that the LORD appeared to Isaac and blessed him by restating the covenant that He had made with his father, Abraham:

“…I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”  ~Genesis 26:4-5

This shows that it is not just due to faith and belief that we, and our descendants, are blessed by God, but that it is very much due to obedience that we, and our descendants, are blessed by God on earth.

This raises the question as to whether faith in Jesus Christ provides us with eternal life, and obedience to God provides with abundant blessings while we live out our earthly lives.  Indeed, the Old Testament did not speak to heaven, though it did speak about having plenty for our generation, and the generations to follow, if we loved God, obeyed Him, and had faith in Him.

Some Christians seem more concerned with attaining salvation in Heaven, while flouting God’s Law here on earth.  What does this mean?

I think it is obvious that both a grounding and foundation in God’s Law and commandments, along with  faith and belief that Jesus Christ is our Lord Messiah, which enables us to have flourishing lives here, and in the afterlife, are important.  Why, as God’s Chosen Ones, have we argued the importance of one over the other for millenia?

I personally want to please God, love Him, and know Him more than anything.  In practicing this, I want to know His ancient Law, as well as live by the example His Son gave.  I am saved forevermore by faith in Jesus’ sacrifice to me on the cross, but I am also living a righteous life under God’s Law, and will be blessed by Adonai Elohim for doing so.

I do not desire to forego either one of these.  Do you?

“Then came Peter…

“Then came Peter to Him, and said, ‘Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?’ Jesus saith unto him, ‘I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven.'” ~Matthew 18:21-22

This beautiful exhortation regarding forgiveness is made even more divine when we realize that Jesus Christ was speaking out against the ancient practice of the Tribe of the Lamechites to diabolically take revenge seventy-sevenfold, including upon the families of those who would so much as wound them; making modern day gang fighting appear almost like a daily tea.

“Then Lamech [great great great grandson of Cain] said to his wives:  ‘…I have killed a man for wounding me, even a young man for hurting me.  If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-seven fold.'”  ~Genesis 4:23-24

Jesus used his short time here as rabbi teaching especially contentious subjects which had either been long standing ancient practice, as seen here, or reasserting God’s Will where it digressed from Mosaic Law, as regarding divorce.  Sometimes he clarified word meanings, as when he told a story describing what a ‘neighbor’ was.  Almost all of what he chose to discuss with his followers, that we can see in the pages of scripture at least, made some important new point, in direct opposition to what had been the interpreted belief or status quo of that time.

He rocked the ancient world and conservative Jews so much in these ways.  Even though He was speaking mostly of love and compassion and forgiveness, and healed incessantly, it was impossible for the Pharisees to equate this message with God’s direct Word and Will.  They were so used to assuming God’s Will by reliance on their increasingly tortuous interpretation of the Law.

Not that the Law isn’t important!  It is.  We are commanded by God, by Jesus, and by the Apostles to keep the Law.  But not at the cost of the two greatest commandments.

Genealogy of Jesus

GOD

Adam

Seth

Enosh

Cainan

Mahalaleel

Jared

Enoch

Methuselah

Lamech

Noah

Shem

Arphaxad

Salah

Eber

Peleg

Reu

Serug

Nahor

Terah

Abraham

Isaac

Jacob

Judah

Perez

Hezron

Ram

Amminadab

Nahshon

Salma

Boaz

Obed

Jesse

David

Solomon

Rehoboam

Abijah

Asa

Jehoshaphat

Joram

Uzziah

Jotham

Ahaz

Hezekiah

Manasseh

Amon

Josiah

Jeconiah

Shealtiel

Zerubbabel

Abiud

Eliakim

Azor

Zadok

Achim

Eliud

Eleazar

Matthan

Jacob

Joseph

Jesus

Please notice how there are 10 generations from God to Noah.  10 generations from Noah to Abraham.  10 generations from Judah to David.  And 27 generations from David to Jesus.

10 is a divine number in numerology, and when it manifests in scripture it means the ‘1’ GOD, and the circle ‘0’, which is the complete realm of God, as also represented throughout the Pentateuch as 22/7, or pi, 3.  Notice how there are 3 groups of 10.  This is not a coincidence.  10 was not used as often as some other numbers perhaps, like 40 or 12, or 22/7, but this is probably because it had even more profound sacredness attached to it, as in the 10 commandments.  It is God’s number of completion representing the divine.  His other number of completion regarding stuff of man or the earth is 7.  Everything the Hebrews said and did was laden with meaning, many layers of meaning.

27 is a short-hand for 22/7, which is pi.  It also makes the number ‘9’ in numerology, which means completion.  Jesus Christ is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end of all things.  He was 33 when he died, which is usually considered the last master number in numerology, the highest level of perfection one can achieve.  Numerology is important because the Priestly Circle used it to conscript esoteric meaning into things that they wanted only those worthy to see, or those who had ears to hear…

Just wow.

Life [from God] Begins in the Womb, with Conception: Abortion is Another Manifestation of the Abomination of Desolation and the Great Tribulation

God changed Abram and Sarai’s names just at the time that He prepared them to conceive the heir to His everlasting covenant.  He changed their names to Abraham, and Sarah.  H is the letter ‘Hey’ in the Hebrew alphabet.  It means the ‘outbreathing of the Holy Spirit’, and its sound is made by breathing out.  We know that God breathed [Genesis 1: 2-3] all creation into being, so it is just a reaffirmation here to us in scripture that His breath going into Abram and Sarai is what made them parents.

“…God talked with him, saying:  ‘As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.  No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham…Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan….'” [referring with certainty here to the future Isaac, not Ishmael, his son by Hagar]

“Then God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.  And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her [again!], and she shall be a mother of nations….'”  ~Genesis 17:3-5, 8, 15-16

Sarah got double blessings!  God blessed her with a son, then he blessed her again by blessing her son.

As God’s breath made a baby within Sarah, it changed her to be a completed woman, represented by the letter hey at the end of the sentence, and because the letter hey at the end of a name makes it feminine.  Sarai had been somewhat lacking before, lacking the completeness of womanhood due to being barren.

It is God who gives the breath of life into us to create us.  And it is when that breath comes into us, that a woman and a man become parents to a living child, created from the living breath of God.  It isn’t when Isaac was born that God changed Abram’s and Sarai’s name, it was at or just before conception–He knew He was going to make them conceive Isaac, therefore the conception was as good as done.

Let no man or woman say that the fetus is not living, or that life does not count until birth.  This is blasphemy to God.  It is His power alone to give–and take–life.  Anything else is murder.

In the case of a pregnancy causing the mother to perish, there is scripture which speaks to this, though it is different that rabbinic literature available.  In this case, God allows the young to be taken, that the mother should live.  It is Deuteronomy 22, verses 6 and 7:  “If a bird’s nest happens to be before you along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; you shall surely let the mother go, and take the young for yourself, that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.” 

Ancient men and women considered animals and eggs as food for themselves.  They did not have the luxury we have today of going to the grocery store to restock their larder, nor the luxury to have a multivariate diet.  When they happened upon a bird in a nest full of eggs it was like finding a small treasure!  It would be normal for an unGodly person to greedily take as much as he could, the mother and the eggs.  However, God understands that the mother’s life is more valuable, when young are still in the nest as eggs, or in the womb as a fetus.  Therefore, He says to take only the young and leave the mother alone.  In this way, the mother can make more young and life can continue.  Otherwise, both would perish and life might not continue.

This is the way it is with abortion too.  Only if the mother is in danger of perishing, shall the young be taken, so that she may live and produce more young.  In every other case, it is murderous to take the young.

Interestingly, this is what will happen in the Great Tribulation; mothers and fathers will eat their own young, and all except God’s chosen ones will perish.

Abortion is therefore a manifestation of the abomination of desolation coming in the Great Tribulation, which is what many so-called ‘first world’ countries are already practicing.

Genesis, the Decalogue, and the Circle of Life: An Everlasting New Covenant

The Book of Genesis has become my favorite book of the Bible, by far.  There is so much wisdom and truth in it.  Presented in such a tantalizingly esoteric and artistic way, I am overwhelmed at discovering it all, even though in my ignorance of Hebrew I fall far short of understanding it all properly.

The very beginning of the Bible is a scientifically accurate depiction of creation as we know it.  It is in line with old earth creationism, and I have discussed this in a previous post.

But it is also a summation of the cyclical nature of God creating an Eden for us, a Promised Land; how we are exposed to evil, fall away from God with increasing depravity, until He is forced to annihilate us because He is so besotted over our grievous behavior; saving those who are most holy to begin anew, making a New Covenant with us.

I want to discuss the correlation of the Genesis story with the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, which are first expressly laid out in Exodus chapter 20, when God makes a New Covenant with Moses on Mount Sinai.

We will start at the beginning:

Genesis 1:1  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…and all the host of them.”

God is Sovereign Supreme Being

Enter Day 6 of creation, after God had created everything, creatures on the earth, and man…

Genesis 1:28:  “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  

Commandment 2:  Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down unto them, nor serve them; for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments.

God is saying that He is above man and man is above creature, so there is NO WAY that creature can be above God.  If man does not honor God’s Original Sovereignty, man will be led to commit idolatry.

Genesis 1:31  “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.  So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

Commandment 3:  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.

God is saying that if everything He made is indeed very good, there is no reason to ever use His name in an unholy way.  God is always holy.  If man commits idolatry, man will also be led to believe God is mere vanity or emptiness.

Genesis 2:2-3  “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.  Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”

Commandment 4:  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days shalt thou labor, and do all they work; but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the LORD they God, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

God is saying we should work six days, and rest on the seventh because it is a holy day.  If man believes God is mere vanity or emptiness, man will not feel the need to honor God’s holiness or holy things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here we have an intermission in the Genesis/commandment correlation.  God creates a perfect world for us to live and dwell in with Him.  But evil (which was created before man, as creatures were created before man) enters in and man becomes impure,

and falls away from God.

But God still provides for man and cares for him.  Then the story proceeds…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Genesis 4:1  “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have gotten a man from the LORD.”  

Commandment 5:  Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God givith thee.

God is saying that children born to parents should honor them, not dishonor them.  If man does not honor God’s holiness or holy things, he will also not honor his own parents.

Genesis 4:8  “Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose against Abel his brother and killed him.“

Commandment 6:  Thou shalt not murder.

God is saying that we should not kill those whom we hate.  If a man does not honor his parents, he might also commit murder.

Genesis 4:19  “Then Lamech took for himself two wives:  the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah.”[Lamech means warrior or conqueror, and this is the first case of polygamy in the Bible]

Commandment 7:  Thou shalt not commit adultery.

God is saying that to Him polygamy is adultery.  If a man is capable of committing murder, he will also desecrate the holy sacrament of marriage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here we have another intermission in the Genesis/Commandment correlation.  God sees the increasing depravity of man.  Man has now dishonored and murdered within his own family, and with his act of committing adultery,

his sin is starting to spill over into mankind.

Yet God still continues to give him another chance and Adam has a new son, Seth [which means ‘compensation’ in Hebrew].  Then the story proceeds…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Genesis 6:1-2  “Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God [angels or, likely in this case, fallen angels] saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.”

Commandment 8:  Thou shalt not steal.

God is saying that now matter how powerful you are, or alluring the prize, stealing is wrong.  If a man commits adultery, he will also be willing to steal from others.

Genesis 6:4  “There were fallen ones 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.”

Commandment 9:  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

God is saying that the fallen angels tricked the daughters of men into thinking they were good, so that they would bear them wicked children.  If man steals, he will be willing to swear falsely by his neighbor.

Genesis 6:5  “Then God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every thought of the thoughts in his heart was only evil continually.”

Commandment 10:  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.

God is saying that your wickedness grows until every thought in your heart is bent on evil and attaining your own glory.  If man is willing to swear falsely by his neighbor, there is no end to the lengths man will go to make himself more lofty.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Final intermission.  “And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”  ~Genesis 6:6

Man has fallen so far away from the beginning, so far from

God is Sovereign Supreme Being

That a rip occurs between man and God because man slips so far from God, and since man cannot exist without God, man is annihilated.  However, God saves Noah and his family because Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.  God floods the earth for 40 days and 40 nights.  40 is the archaic way to describe circle, because there are 400 radians in a circle.  Life, exposed to evil, had come full circle.

Then the story continues…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, Commandment 1 stands alone and also brings us back full circle to the beginning.  Commandments 2, 3, and 4 are about us and God.  Commandments 5, 6, and 7 are about us and our family.  And Commandments 8, 9, and 10 are about us and society.  As we get further and further from God, sin is like a cancer that spreads and spreads until it has corrupted all of society.  This reflects number symbology of 1/3/3/3.  Which means One LORD whose realm makes a circle with 3 representing pi:  a circle within a larger circle within a larger circle, representing the ripple effect of sin as it transmits from mans’ relationship with God into his family, and finally into society, 3 being coded for often in the Torah (see previous posts).

Finally, we end with Commandment 1:  I am the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. 

God is saying He will bring those He deems worthy [the Chosen Ones] out of captivity, out of the bondage that we will get ourselves into [time and time again].  All He asks is that we recognize His sovereignty, honor Him,  obey Him, and love Him, and if we do this, we will not continue along the slippery slope of sinfulness, where we will inevitably meet our utter destruction.

This is a perpetual covenant which He renews with us over and over.

He is full of grace.  And LOVE.

Praise be to God.  Amen.

The Seventh Day~

Genesis 2:2-3:

“And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.  Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”  

Exodus 20:8-11:

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God.  In it you shall do no work:  you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.  For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”

Isaiah 58:13

“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath [watch your step], from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and fed you with the heritage of Jacob your Father.  The mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Whether you call the Sabbath Saturday or Sunday, it matters not according to the Bible.  What matters is that the things you do honor and glorify God.  It’s that simple.

Ways to honor God:

  • Attending church or meditating on God and His word
  • Fellowship with other believers
  • Charity
  • Breaking bread with family and friends
  • Praising Him through singing and talking

Ways to dishonor God:

  • Fraternizing places that employ people on the Sabbath
  • Home remodeling
  • Watching television
  • Glorifying oneself and one’s body
  • Practicing profanity or sexual immorality

 

Shalom

~Mary