The second half of Genesis 12
tells a story about how fearful Abram was when he went to Egypt because there was a severe famine in the land of Canaan. Side note - it seems famine hits this region pretty regularly! Do you remember the famine that happened during the days of Joseph? Anyway, when Abram was close to entering Egypt, he said his wife, “I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.” In fear, Abram begged, “Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and I may live because of you.” “So it was.” What Abram asked - Sarai did. Abram was right. “When Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house.” “Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.” Pharaoh really did treat Abram well. But the Lord was not going to let it be so. “But the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.” Pharaoh called for Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” “So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.” Genesis 12:10-20 Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, was smart enough to understand that the plagues came from Abram’s God. Somehow Pharaoh knew that he had been manipulated, and he knew he should not have touched what God made sacred. You see, in those days, Pharaohs’ accumulated many wives, they pretty much took whatever they wanted. They remind me of the sons of God described in Genesis 6, in times of old. Scripture says, “the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.” Genesis 6:2 So I have a question. In the ancient of days, before the flood, when the human race was completely evil, did the sons of God possess men, and make their minds and their hearts completely violent? Did that sons of God indwell men, and use humans vessels as their puppets and pawns? This was never a thought I imagined, UNTIL now, while reading this passage. For some reason, Pharaoh knew that he should not “mess with the God of Abram.” Immediately, Pharaoh gave Sarai back and told Abram to go away. I believe this is just an example of how God shows "His manifold wisdom to the rulers and principalities in heavenly places." Ephesians 3:10 The flood wiped out humankind - God showed Satan and the rebellious angels that He can and will do whatever he wants! Can your imagine if the devil did not have a playground? What kind of authority would he have? The Lord has an appointed time, at the end of 70 prophetic weeks, when He will enact the Great Tribulation. The archangel Gabriel said to Daniel, “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.” Daniel 9:24 People with hard hearts will only remain puppets and pawns, otherwise known as “Satan’s army,” UNTIL the great and terrible Day of the Lord. And when that Day comes, the Lord will have a remnant - people who carry God’s promise inside them. They will be just like Sarai and Abram. In this story, at the beginning of Genesis 12, God promised Abram to make him a great nation. God said, “I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:2-3 You see, it’s through God’s promise that the blessing comes. And in Ephesians 3:8-12 Paul preaches on the great mystery of God. Paul says, “To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to enlighten all people as to what the plan of the mystery is which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; so that the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.” Ephesians 3:8-12 Yes God loves us - but without Christ, we are just pawns and puppets. But with Christ, who is God’s eternal promise, no ruler in hell can ever touch us! They will just have to find another vessel to live in - UNTIL the great and terrible Day of the Lord.
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Yesterday, I said I could not understand
why I thought Abraham had heard from God to leave Ur and go to the land of Canaan. I was stupefied when I learned it was Terah, Abram’s father, who decided to take Abram, Lot and Sarai to Canaan, after Haran, Terah’s son had died. As I said yesterday, Terah must have heartbroken after Haran died, because the scripture says that Terah stopped in the land of Haran, and there he lived and died. My guess is that the land of Haran got its name from Terah when he decided to stay. Since Terah was headed to Canaan, from the land of Babylonia, I thought he would have headed east, but the Bible map shows that Haran went north, to what is known today as southeastern Turkey, a village along the Balikh River, 24 miles southeast of Urfa. So I stand corrected. Abram was not in the land of Ur when he heard from the Lord. He was in the land of Haran - a land that was probably named after his brother. Scripture says, “Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan.” Genesis 12:1-5 Scripture says when Abram, Sarai and Lot came to the land of Canaan. They passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. If you look on a Bible map, Shechem is located between three mountains, Mt. Gerizim, Mt. Ebal and Mt. Ephraim. Today, this area is called Nablus. It’s a city in the West Bank. It lies in an enclosed fertile valley and is the market center of a natural oasis that is watered by numerous springs. Scripture says Abram traveled “as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh.” This passage stumped me. What is a terebinth tree, and where is Moreh? Google says, “a terebinth tree is a deciduous tree, that has very deep roots, and grows at the foot of mountains. This tree is of the species of the genus Pistacia, native to the Mediterranean region - from the western areas of Morocco and Portugal to Greece and western and southeastern Turkey.” As I was researching, I saw that some believe the terebinth tree was not a pistachio tree, but an oak. So, I’m not sure sure - but I will keep my mind and my eyes open while future scripture comes. The exact location of Moreh is not known today, but it appears to be a plain close to Shechem, where a hill must have been. The Hebrew word moreh is derived from the verb yarah, which means “to teach” or “to direct.” It's interesting to me that moreh represents a hill where a person of wisdom and authority can talk - or do divine work. There are two Bible characters whom I identify with the most. They are Gideon and Paul - the ones who God had to chase and knock them down with zest. Right now, I am remembering the story of Gideon - when early in the morning “Jerubbaal (Gideon) and all of his men camped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.” Judges 7:1 And it’s at this location, under the terebinth tree in Moreh that “the Lord appeared to Abram” and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” Genesis 12:7 “And there - Abram built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.” Genesis 12:7 My God! God is an Amazing Compass! After receiving his teaching, "Abram moved to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.” Genesis 12:8-9 The mountain east of Bethel has to be Mt. Ephraim. Abraham pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east - and he built an altar, called on the Lord and must have been directed to continue to go south. God was Abram’s amazing compass! The great Moreh who directed Abram where to go. Are you ready to hear
another generational line? This is the bloodline of Noah’s middle son, and it tells the transition from Shem to Abraham - “Abram” before God renamed him. You can reference this scripture and make sure I am speaking the truth - It can be found in Genesis 11:10-32. Genesis 8:13 says the flood stopped when Noah was 601, and two years after the flood, his grandson Arphaxad was born. Arphaxad was born to Shem, Noah's middle son, when Shem was 100 years old. After Shem had Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 more years, and had many more sons and daughters. That means Shem lived to be 600 years old - the same age Noah was when he entered the boat. Arphaxad lived 35 years, when he begot Salah. After he had Salah, Arphaxad lived 403 years, and had more sons and daughters. Arphaxad lived to be 438. Salah was 30 years old when Eber was born, and Salah lived to be 433 years old. He also had sons and daughters. Genesis 11 says that Eber lived 34 years, and had Peleg. After Eber had Peleg, Eber lived 430 more years, and had many sons and daughters. Eber was 464 years old when he died. Genesis 10:25 says, “Eber had 2 sons. The 1st son was called Peleg, and his young brother was called Joktan. That name Peleg means split up. He got that name because all the people split up into different tribes after he was born.” So I wonder - were Peleg and Joktan twins? Why would one scripture speak to both sons, but the generational timeline only include one? Also, scripture says the people were split into tribes after Peleg was born. This was the time when Peleg’s distant cousin, Nimrod, ruled over Babylon, and attempted to build a tower to reach into the heavens. This is the time when God said, “These people can all talk to each other in the same language, so they can do anything they want. If they keep on going this way, nothing will stop them from doing anything. Come on, let Us go down to these people, and we will make them talk in different languages. Then they will not understand each other, and they will be all mixed up. They will not work things out with each other, so they will not keep on building this city.” Genesis 11:5-7 “They all left that city and went to live in lots of different places, all over the world. That’s how God got people to be in different tribes all over the world. And they called that city Babel (which today is Babylon) That means mixed up. They gave it that name because God mixed up their languages at that time.” Genesis 11:9 Peleg lived 30 years, and had Reu. After he had Reu, Peleg lived 209 years, and had many sons and daughters. That means Peleg was 239 when he died. Notice - Noah lived over 900 years then Shem lived to be 600. Now Peleg lived to be less than 300. In Genesis 6:3, when human daughters were taken by the sons of God, God said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.” God’s Word never returns void, so we can anticipate that the human lifeline will continue to deteriorate until it reaches 120. Reu lived 32 years, and had Serug. After he had Serug, Reu lived 207 years, and had many sons and daughters. Serug lived 30 years, and had Nahor. After he had Nahor, Serug lived 200 years, and had many sons and daughters. Nahor lived 29 years, and had Terah. After he had Terah, Nahor lived 119 years, and had many sons and daughters. Nine generations passed - for God to follow up on His promise that humans would not live past 120 years. Now Terah lived 70 years, and had Abram, Nahor, and Haran.” “This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah.” Genesis 11:27-31 This means that Nahor’s wife was his niece, because she was the daughter of Haran. “But Sarai was barren; she had no child. And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. So the days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.” Genesis 11:27-32 I wonder why God granted Terah more years to live when He already said humans would not live past 120 years? I guess I should not even ask - because God is sovereign, and He can certainly do whatever He wants. But, this passage makes my heart sad. It sounds like Terah endured much grief when he lost his son, Haran. I wonder if Haran was his firstborn? I thought I had once read that Abram heard God’s voice tell him to leave Ur - to go to the land that God would show him. But in this passage, it appears Terah was leading, not Abram. It says Haran died in the land he was born, and Terah cared for Lot, Haran’s son. It says Abram’s wife, Sarai, was barren when Terah took all of them out of Ur, to go to land of Canaan. But on the way to Canaan, they came to a land named Haran and dwelt there. I’m guessing that Terah came to a land and named it after the son he once had. Genesis 11
should not be overlooked - especially at a time when the world is going back. Genesis 11 is about the Tower of Babel - a structure that was built by a unified people who thought they were God. “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.” Genesis 11:1-2 Today, the land of Shinar is called Babylon which is located in Iraq. It’s interesting to me that it says the people journeyed east. This means the people had to come from East of Babylon. I wonder, did they come from present-day Iran? And how does that even make sense if Noah’s ark landed on Mount Ararat in the land of Javan - which now borders Turkey and Armania? The people must have come from the north, and then traveled east building their kingdoms. I really don’t know? Do you? The people in Babylon, under the direction of Nimrod, (the greatest Hunter to ever live) said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly. They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:1-4 You would think the Lord would appreciate the collaborative unity, a united nation working as one. But the scripture says, “But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” It appears from scripture that the Lord (and others) descended from the heavenly realms to stop mankind from working as one. It appears the United Nations are a conglomerate of people wanting to control their own destiny - their own outcome. The Lord purposely chose to confuse their speech so that humanity would not be able to act like God. Can you imagine if a United Nations was rebirthed? What would God think of a group of leaders, acting together to perfect humanity? Would they not build towers to dedicate to themselves, or shrines and make people bow down? Would they not seek world peace and try to create unity through a false god and a false religion? They would probably encourage a one World religion - where a universal God is the centrality. They would probably want to work together to build a one world economy. A United Nations would bring forth the beast - a beast that would be created from a United people on earth. And the number of the beast would be 666 - representing the completion of man. During the days of Nimrod, in Babylon, “the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.” Genesis 11:5-9 Why do you think the Most Holy God did not want people working together? Was it because he did not love them? Or was it because God knows the heart of man - and He knows the unified heart of humanity wants to be like Him? What have we become? We are not only a humanity that does not know how to steward what God created, but we are a humanity that thinks we can control everything. God help us. God Forgive us for taking you out of everything. I pray that we would return to our first love. This morning I’m going to learn about the table of nations that were dispersed throughout the whole earth. After the Great Flood, Noah and his sons (and their wives), got off the boat and made a new life. Japheth was the oldest, and he had 7 sons - Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. These boys started the generations that became the nations that cover the northern regions of Russia, Turkey and Greece. “The sons of Gomer (Russia) were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.” “The sons of Javan (Turkey and Greece) were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. From these, the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.” Genesis 10:2-5 Ham was the youngest of Noah’s sons. He had 4 sons - Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.” Remember- Canaan was the son of Ham, who Noah had cursed because of what Ham had done. Instead of cursing Ham, he cursed Ham's youngest son. Noah was angry that Ham had seen him naked. He was angry that Ham told his older brothers, Japheth and Shem Isn’t it interesting, and encouraging, that God took the land of Canaan back?!?! Cush is known as the region of Ethiopia, and Mizraim is known as present-day Egypt. Put is the land of Libya and Canaan is known as the southern Levant - the land that makes up present-day Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan and the southern portions of Syria and Lebanon. “The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.” Sheba makes up southwestern Arabia - a place we know today as Yemen. And Dedan filled a small region by the Red Sea in northern Arabia. “Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.” "And the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom was Babel,Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” Pay attention to the kingdom of Babel - it’s going to be a place where men come together and try to be like God. It’s the place where the Word of God would come and make the statue fall down. “From that land Nimrod went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah.” Mizraim, another son of Ham, “begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim,Pathrusim, and Casluhim - from whom the Philistines and Caphtorim would come." Do your remember Goliath - the Philistinism giant who David, as a boy, took down - all by himself, and with the help of God? It's a great reminder that God is sovereign and can take down and wipe out any man, tribe or kingdom He wants! “Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth; the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite.” “Afterward the families of the Canaanites were dispersed. And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon (Lebanon) as you go toward Gerar (a city and region in the Negev in which Abraham and Isaac dwelt) as far as Gaza (territory by the Mediterranean Sea)." “Then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha” (a plain under the Dead Sea) “These were the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands and in their nations.” Genesis 10:6-20 Then there’s the children who were born to Shem, Noah’s middle born son - “the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder.” The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. This area appears to make up much of the Fertile Crescent, from the top of the Persian Gulf to Assyria, which is northern Iraq and southwestern Turkey. “The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. Arphaxad begot Salah, and Salah begot Eber.” To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.” Joktan begot Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan. And their dwelling place was from Mesha (modern day Jordan) as you go toward Sephar (modern day Dhamar) the mountain of the east.” These were the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, according to their nations.” Genesis 10:21-31 It’s interesting to note that scripture says, “The earth was divided in the days of Peleg.” What do you think Moses meant? Is this the time when the land was actually split? Is this the time when the land became seven continents? Or is this the time when patriarchy divided the world, into warring tribes and enemy nations? Since God split the nations in response to Babylon - a group of nations coming together to act like God - do you believe the United Nations is really what He wants? Bible stories can be quite interesting,
and can also be kind of confounding, but Genesis 9, starting at verse 18, shares a story that is quite disconcerting. The scripture says, “Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan.” Immediately I thought, “Why mention Noah’s grandson?” “What is the significance of Canaan?” I know that everything in scripture is mentioned for a reason - so as I read on, I will need to pay close attention to the understanding and importance of Canaan. “These three were the sons of Noah, and from these three sons the whole earth was populated.” I wonder why it doesn’t say “repopulated” once again, after the Great Flood? “And Noah began to be a farmer” - This is quite different from the construction worker that God had skilled him with when making the boat! “Noah planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent.” Well, I have to admit... in my youth there were several times when I did the same thing, but it didn't happen in a tent, it happened in my house. “And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.” Now that’s a bit weird, don’t you think? A grown man, telling his brothers that his dad was naked in his own tent. What’s the big deal about that? Why would Ham have cared about seeing his father naked when he was drunk? You would think if he was going to report something, it would be that his dad was drunk - not that his father was naked. “But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.” Shem and Japheth showed some respect and compassion. They gave Noah some mercy and grace, by not looking at what was exposed - instead they covered him with their garments. “So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him.” The scripture does not say how Noah knew that Ham saw him naked. It just says Noah knew what his younger son had done to him. From this passage, we can deduce that Ham was the youngest son, the last born son of Noah. And we can assume that Ham lacked respect, and maybe even turned things into a joke - maybe that is why Noah lashed out at Ham? I really do not know. Do you? “Then Noah said: “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren.” And he said: “Blessed be the Lord, The God of Shem, And may Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, And may he dwell in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be his servant.” Man, Noah was not playing! A cursing came through his scolding. Because of Ham’s decision, Canaan would suffer. There was a generational curse attached to the lineage of Ham. Instead of giving a momentary consequence to Ham, Noah cursed Canaan - and said he would be a servant of servants. “And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.” Genesis 9:18-29 Noah lived almost as long as Methuselah - the oldest man to ever live! Methuselah lived 969 years, and Noah lived 950 years - that’s only a 19 year difference. This is just another interesting fact. God made great promises to Noah after He destroyed the earth with the flood. For one, God said He would never destroy life again, by water. But as some know, God will destroy life again by fire. Jesus said, “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!” Luke 12:49-50 God also promised Noah that he and his sons, (and their wives who were considered to be one with them), that they would be fruitful and multiply and fill the whole earth. God also said the animals would walk in fear and dread, because man would now see them as food. “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.” Genesis 9:3 But there is one thing man could not do - God said, “You must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.” God created man in his image, male and female he created them, and life was in the blood. This reminds me of the Passover Lamb as told in Exodus 12. “Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire - its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.” Exodus 12:9-11 The Lord also said, “And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.” Genesis 9:4-5 According to the covenant, God gave to Noah, Man was not to kill another man- under no circumstances, not even himself. For a man is held accountable for taking his, or another man’s life. And if a man killed an animal, he would also be held accountable for it. Everything with life will give an account. Now notice, this passage is not about capital punishment - at least not the way that our society defines it. There is no where in the Noah covenant, that says that a person can serve as a judge and jury to determine if life or death is worthy of a person. No - that is not what this says at all! We have twisted the meaning of social justice - We believe a person not only gets to judge what is right and just, but we gets to choose whether a person gets to live or die. You see, in the promise to Noah, God gave men tons of power and the ability to rule and reign all over the earth (which by the way is the same power given to Satan). He even allowed men to see all animals as sources of food. He said the animals would now fear men, and that men would have to give an account for them. He promised Noah and his sons, they would be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. From a remnant of eight, four pairs of men and women, God would repopulate the earth with human life. But there was still one thing God wanted humans to know - God is sovereign and ruler of all, and man will be held accountable to God alone! Did you know it took 150 days,
after the Great Flood, for the waters to go down? “And on the 17th day of the 7th month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.” Google says, “Mount Ararat is located in the far eastern part of Turkey, in Armenia, near the border of Iran. It is the mythical resting place of Noah's Ark, as mentioned in the Book of Genesis.” Today, the Ararat Mountain is an inactive volcano, and has 2 ancient volcanic peaks, located in eastern Turkey, in the province of Agri." Mount Ararat stands 16,854 feet tall, and borders present-day Turkey to Iran, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. And it’s known by both Christian and Muslim religions, to be the boat’s landing place after the flood. Can you imagine? After it rained from Heaven, and the flood waters opened up on the earth, It took 2 1/2 months for the waters to go down, just so Noah could see the tops of the mountains. That’s about 43 days for land to become seen! So here’s a question- Just because land could not be seen, does it mean land did not exist? Scripture says, “The waters continued to recede until the 10th month, and on the 1st day of the 10th month the tops of the mountains became visible.” Genesis 8:3-5 “Then after 40 days, Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.” “Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark.” “Noah reached out his hand, took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark.” Genesis 8:6-9 “Noah waited 7 more days and again sent out the dove from the ark.” “When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew the water had receded from the earth.” Genesis 8:10-11 Can you imagine how great Noah must have felt? After all the chaos, and all the despair, a small olive leaf meant there had to be a small olive tree. The earth and the remnant - had been spared! “Noah waited 7 more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return back to him.” Genesis 8:12 I wonder why not? “By the 1st day of the 1st month of Noah’s 601 year, the water had dried up from the earth.” That’s a whole year that Noah (and his wife, his sons and their wives) was on the boat! “Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry.” Genesis 8:13 Has God ever removed the covering from your eyes? Imagine how glorious it will be when He removes the the covering of the sky! “By the 27th day of the 2nd month the earth was completely dry. “Then God said to Noah,” Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you - the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground - so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.” Genesis 8:14-17 Genesis 7:11-13 says Noah entered the ark in the 600th year of his life, on the 17th day of the 2nd month Genesis 8:14-15 says Noah left the ark on the 27th day of the 2nd month - a little over one year later. So Noah came out, together with his sons (Shem, Ham and Japheth) and his wife and the wives of his sons. Assuming that each man only had one wife, that would make 8 people who became the remnant. “All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds - everything that moves on land - came out of the ark, one kind after another.” According to Genesis 6 and 7, 7 pairs of each kind of clean animal - animals that would be acceptable for a blood sacrifice; and 1 pair of each kind of other animals that were taken on the ark.” “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.” “The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Genesis 8:18-22 Can you imagine being the earth? The place that has to endure the consequence of it all! It’s no wonder Jesus said, Even the rocks cry out! Some day, at God’s appointed time, everything we see will be burned up by fire. When Jesus returns, for the second time, he will come as a Lion, not as a meek lamb. The water baptism is just a precursor of what is to come. Fire Baptism - now, that is the One! The old will pass away, and finally there will be a new earth and new Heaven - and together the Children of God will stand. We all know the story
of Noah and the great flood; so today I wanted to focus in on the numbers that are said. Scripture says, “The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.” Genesis 7:1 What did Moses mean by “in this generation?” I believe Moses is referring to a revolution of time. A time that existed when the Nephilim lived. “Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.” Genesis 7:4 The number seven is the most sacred number of all; 7 stands for spiritual completeness and spiritual perfection. Seven expresses the completeness of the earth and of heaven. And I just learned that seven is used over 700 times in the bible; and occurs over 50 times in the Revelation of Christ given to John. The number 40 is typically used to represent probation, trials or periods of testing. The Israelites roamed in the desert for 40 long years; and Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. In addition, Jesus visited his disciples for 40 days in between his resurrection and his ascension back into Heaven. I wonder how many people finally choose to believe? “Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.” Genesis 7:6-7 “In the 600th year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month - on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened up.” Genesis 7:11-12 Now this is a number that stumps me, but I believe, there has to be, some great significance to Noah being exactly 600 years old when the floodwaters came. In addition, Moses is quite direct with the exact day the floodwaters came. He said the earth and the heavens opened up on the 17th day of second month, which in Hebrew calendar is the month of Cheshvan - "our October/November" I also learned that in the Bible the number 17 is related to overcoming the enemy and having complete victory. Hallelujah and Amen to that! “On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.” Genesis 7:13 “On that very day” tells us that God is very specific! Nothing happens by accident! Our God is absolute- He is 100 percent completely prophetic. “Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. The animals going in, male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.” Genesis 7:15-16 This brings me to the number 2, when God does things in pairs. The number 2 conveys the meaning of a union, division or the verification of facts by witnesses. A man and woman - two in number - are made one in marriage. There is also the union between Christ and His church; the Old and the New Testament and Covenant; and the division between Adam and Jesus. Adam brought death, and Jesus brings life back to mankind - all one has to do is come into agreement with Him. “Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.” Genesis 7:23-24 150 days - What could this possibly mean? The Hebrew month is based on 30 days so this would mean the waters flooded the earth for exactly five months. Why 150 days - what do you all think? Noah
“was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, who walked faithfully with God.” Genesis 6:9 Noah, in my opinion, sounds much like Job. “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and stayed away from evil.” Job 1:1 Noah and Job - two righteous men who were described as blameless in the eyes of God. Noah and Job - two righteous men who feared God and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. According to scripture, righteousness is - a behavior that is just under the governance of God; a character of a person who is cleansed and justified. It’s interesting to me that even though these two men were just, one was led to create a boat and one was attacked. Let me explain. Noah was given the command, by God himself, to make a boat - a boat that would save him, his three sons, and their wives. God had decided Noah and his family would live through His wrath. “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:5-8 “So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.” Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” Genesis 6:13-22 Job, on the other hand, was given over into the hands of Satan. Satan was permitted to take Job’s home, his servants, his livelihood, his health and his children, but Satan was not allowed to kill him. “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” Job 1:9-11 “The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.” Job 1:12 Job’s wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.” Job 2:9-10 And while both men shared similar characteristics, the circumstances of their lives were very different. God had a different plan for each of them. In the end, both were saved. In the end, God gave them a double portion for their pain. So as I sit here and ponder how mysterious God is, I wonder at the power of His name. Righteousness, in scripture, is described as the opposite of wicked. Righteousness is described as walking with God. Righteousness is having a healthy fear of the Lord, and trusting in Him no matter what the condition. Righteousness is choosing to submit, to the Most High God, even if it means giving up what you want. Righteousness, according to scripture, is choosing to follow the rules of the Kingdom of God, rather than following what popular culture says. Righteousness describes what is justified, in the eyes of God. And it may look completely different from what the wicked world says. So as you read this, let this message sink into your head, “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 |
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