HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Welcome to our 2009-2010 Journey Through The Word. We are excited to have you along. I hope you got your schedule and are eager to get going. And where do we begin? Ah, one of my most favorite books - Genesis!!! I love this book. I could camp out just about any place and be fed. It's often difficult for me know what to highlight on our weekly journeys.
Should I zero in on the time of Noah and point out that the regulations of animal sacrifice were already established by the time of Noah? God told him to bring seven pairs of animals that were suitable for sacrifice. Obviously, Noah already knew which ones they were. We could meditate on the fact that only animals that could be eaten were allowed to be sacrificed. That would be a great discussion. Or maybe we should look at Noah's relationship with the raven and the dove. Why send out a raven first? Because it was a scavenger that ate off of dead carcases. That would be one way to see if there were any dead corpses lying around! You will notice that the raven came and went pretty much at will. But Noah had a different relationship with the dove. It was released from his hand and returned to his hand. And what does the dove symbolize? The answer - The Holy Spirit! (But you already knew that) Don't you find it interesting that the dove brought Noah an olive branch? Doves don't eat olives! And it literally says that the branch was torn off. And what are olives symbolic of? The answer - the anointing! (But you already knew that too). The dove bringing Noah an olive branch is a symbol of a fresh anointing if I've ever seen one!!! Oh yes, we could camp here for quite some time!
Where do you even begin with Abraham? A man with a promise and the faith to believe it! Many of you have heard me teach on Abraham and Sarah and the changing of their names. God took the Hebrew letter "hay" which makes up half of the letters in Jehovah's name and inserted it into their names. The letter "hay" is pronounced only with the sound of the breath. Some of you are already aware that the Hebrew word for "Spirit" in the Bible is the same word that is used for "breath." So what changed in Abraham and Sarah? Was it merely their names? I don't think so! When the Spirit of God breathes on us and in us, our lives are changed and we become fruitful.
Hmmm! Noah's life was changed by the "Dove" bringing an olive branch, a fresh anointing. Abraham and Sarah find new life when the "Breath of God" is given to them. Are we beginning to see a pattern here? When we read through the Word, watching for patterns is a great tool to get better understanding. Friday's reading is a great example. Let me get you going and see if you can begin to connect the dots for yourself.
Our reading on Friday covers God's visit to Abraham's tent. He has a personal word for Abraham concerning his wife. As God is getting ready to leave, He tells Abraham what He is about to do, which is to go and judge Sodom and Gomorrah. When we see the angels come to Lot in Sodom, we see quite a different encounter and quite a different outcome. Let's begin to look at the similarities and differences.
Both men received them into their homes as their guests and showed them hospitality:
Abraham received three of them.
Lot only had two of them.
God came directly to Abraham's tent.
The two that went to Sodom did not go directly to Lot's home.
God had a prophetic word for both of them:
Abraham - your wife will bear you the promised son by this time next year - life is coming!
Lot - Flee because you are about to lose everything you have here - death is coming!
Both responded to the visit and words they received:
Abraham is concerned for Lot and prays, asking God to spare him.
Lot has no concern for his girls and is ready to hand them over to be ravaged by sinful men.
Lot takes his time and drags his feet rather than responding quickly to God's word.
The end of the visit:
Abraham walks and talks with God as He is departing and God shares His secrets.
Lot has to be drug out by the hand.
Here's a few other thoughts. I'll let you put the pieces together.
Both wives were affected by it:
Both stories end with babies:
These events affected both man's hopes and dreams:
I hope you will take some time to meditate on this passage. There are other points that could be made. We have a tendency to read each story individually, rather than see them as interrelated. I believe there is even greater gold to be found when we sift through and look more closely. The tool of comparison can be a great one to have in your gear bag. You may want to become familiar with it. You never know when we are going to need it!
Should I zero in on the time of Noah and point out that the regulations of animal sacrifice were already established by the time of Noah? God told him to bring seven pairs of animals that were suitable for sacrifice. Obviously, Noah already knew which ones they were. We could meditate on the fact that only animals that could be eaten were allowed to be sacrificed. That would be a great discussion. Or maybe we should look at Noah's relationship with the raven and the dove. Why send out a raven first? Because it was a scavenger that ate off of dead carcases. That would be one way to see if there were any dead corpses lying around! You will notice that the raven came and went pretty much at will. But Noah had a different relationship with the dove. It was released from his hand and returned to his hand. And what does the dove symbolize? The answer - The Holy Spirit! (But you already knew that) Don't you find it interesting that the dove brought Noah an olive branch? Doves don't eat olives! And it literally says that the branch was torn off. And what are olives symbolic of? The answer - the anointing! (But you already knew that too). The dove bringing Noah an olive branch is a symbol of a fresh anointing if I've ever seen one!!! Oh yes, we could camp here for quite some time!
Where do you even begin with Abraham? A man with a promise and the faith to believe it! Many of you have heard me teach on Abraham and Sarah and the changing of their names. God took the Hebrew letter "hay" which makes up half of the letters in Jehovah's name and inserted it into their names. The letter "hay" is pronounced only with the sound of the breath. Some of you are already aware that the Hebrew word for "Spirit" in the Bible is the same word that is used for "breath." So what changed in Abraham and Sarah? Was it merely their names? I don't think so! When the Spirit of God breathes on us and in us, our lives are changed and we become fruitful.
Hmmm! Noah's life was changed by the "Dove" bringing an olive branch, a fresh anointing. Abraham and Sarah find new life when the "Breath of God" is given to them. Are we beginning to see a pattern here? When we read through the Word, watching for patterns is a great tool to get better understanding. Friday's reading is a great example. Let me get you going and see if you can begin to connect the dots for yourself.
Our reading on Friday covers God's visit to Abraham's tent. He has a personal word for Abraham concerning his wife. As God is getting ready to leave, He tells Abraham what He is about to do, which is to go and judge Sodom and Gomorrah. When we see the angels come to Lot in Sodom, we see quite a different encounter and quite a different outcome. Let's begin to look at the similarities and differences.
Both men received them into their homes as their guests and showed them hospitality:
Abraham received three of them.
Lot only had two of them.
God came directly to Abraham's tent.
The two that went to Sodom did not go directly to Lot's home.
God had a prophetic word for both of them:
Abraham - your wife will bear you the promised son by this time next year - life is coming!
Lot - Flee because you are about to lose everything you have here - death is coming!
Both responded to the visit and words they received:
Abraham is concerned for Lot and prays, asking God to spare him.
Lot has no concern for his girls and is ready to hand them over to be ravaged by sinful men.
Lot takes his time and drags his feet rather than responding quickly to God's word.
The end of the visit:
Abraham walks and talks with God as He is departing and God shares His secrets.
Lot has to be drug out by the hand.
Here's a few other thoughts. I'll let you put the pieces together.
Both wives were affected by it:
Both stories end with babies:
These events affected both man's hopes and dreams:
I hope you will take some time to meditate on this passage. There are other points that could be made. We have a tendency to read each story individually, rather than see them as interrelated. I believe there is even greater gold to be found when we sift through and look more closely. The tool of comparison can be a great one to have in your gear bag. You may want to become familiar with it. You never know when we are going to need it!
1 comment:
Thanks Mom you have brought to light some great points that I might have missed.
I am reading the passage of Abram and Sarai going to Egypt. This is the first time I am seeing the similarities of Abram's journey from the time of his promise until he camped in the land the WOULD be his and his decendants. Israelites had a different route than Abram, but could that be because Abram had faith that God would fulfill HIS promise, even if it wasn't in his lifetime. The Israelites didn't have the same faith so they had to take a harder route in order for God to prove He would provide all the while testing them to see if Israel would have faith or to build their faith.
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