Genesis 7-8: Noah's Obedience and Patience

Noah's Obedience and Patience

Please forgive me for missing last week. My schedule had changed drastically and I also had 3 finals to do as well as trying to sleep. I will still be doing this weekly, Lord willing.

As we read through Genesis 7-8, there are points to take and questions to ask. I may not have answers to the questions that I propose, but we should always ask questions about scripture in order to bookmark (in a sense) how we think and answers that we seek to find in their proper context.

One point to take home is from Genesis 7:5, "And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him." Think about that. When the Lord commanded Noah to do something, he did it. He did not fight God for years and try to figure out why God was wrong, Noah just did it , like Nike. That paid off major dividends for Noah and his family as they were spared during the flood. When you do what God wants you to, He is sparing you from what is inevitable trouble if you do not follow through with what he said.

Also, there is another take home point from Genesis 8. The water was subsiding, but not quickly like a drain in a sink or bathtub. It took over 10 months for Noah to see the tops of mountains. That takes much patience. Now we also see that Noah kept checking for the development of what had happened to see if it was safe to exit the arc. Noah sent a Raven and then a dove to test the earth. When the dove no longer returned, another 50+ days later- Genesis 8:12, Noah knew then it was time to exit the arc. Do you see the obedience and the patience this man had? No wonder God spared him. That was not some guy that just reacted to everything on an emotional whim. He did what God said. Period.

A question I had was regarding the earth. I wondered if the flood covered the literal earth as in our entire planet, or did the flood cover the earth that surrounded Noah. I did not think I would come up with an answer (probably THE answer) so quickly. In Genesis 8:21 it reads "And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done." We know that there are still floods that happen on earth, but there are not major floods that have covered the entire earth/planet. So, we can understand the flood was covering the entire planet and not just a small portion of it.

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Revelation 4: Four Living Creatures

Four Living Creatures

In the Book of Revelation, there is a lot of symbolism and deeper meaning within things said and written. It is not always a quick understanding of things, but when you look deeper and use a study aide, you can understand things better. For instance, I came across Revelation 4:7-8 which speaks of four creatures (lion, ox, man, and eagle) and each of them had 6 wings and eyes all around. That to me sounds like so0mething out of a sci-fi comic book from the mind of Stan Lee and the marvel Universe. But, knowing what I know and having read what I have read from scripture, what is on the surface is not always the answer. You MUST go deeper if you want to understand. The four creatures (according to Dave Guzik's studies @Studylight.org) could be "the cardinal virtues, the faculties and powers of the human soul, the patriarchal churches, the great apostles, the orders of churchmen, the principle angels, and so forth." Also possible are the head tribes of Israel or symbols of Jesus as he is represented in the 4 gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). No matter what they symbolize and mean, there is one thing that cannot be disputed and that is integral to growth as a church was them all "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" They spoke in unison and in agreement that the Lord God is Almighty, not maybe but is. They knew who the Lord is and was and knew that He was to come.

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John 5- The Authority of Jesus

The Authority of Jesus

Jesus really wanted to validate his presence and who he was. He was not a stand alone guy just doing stuff because he wanted to (verse 19). If that were the case, then would he have been the Son of God and the Son of Man? No, he would have been like a cult leader who do things on their own accord for their own purposes.

Jesus did as he saw what God doing (verses 19-22). Jesus did what God did because whatever God does, Jesus would do. God raised the dead and Jesus did so as the God did. God stopped judging and gave all judgement authority to Jesus. That further supports the understanding that denying Christ is denying God.

Jesus received his authority from God (verse 27). Jesus was sent by God to do a job or in other words fulfill a purpose. Those who witnessed what Jesus did and said and still denied him were denying God. With all that we know of Jesus and can test his existence with the prophecies he fulfilled, you cannot overlook Jesus as God in the flesh.

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John 1:14- And the Word Became Flesh

And the Word Became Flesh

Maybe not for me or you, but I have this feeling it is "easy" for some to forget that Jesus was God in the flesh. Not just a good guy, but the human version of God who was both God and Man at the same time.

God is not the type to overlook you. Remember that. In John 1:14 we see it clearly with "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

"The Word became flesh" breaks down how God became human and was Jesus. "Dwelt among us" shows us how Jesus walked with people and did not just live up on some cloud in the sky. "And we have seen his glory" refers to the physical evidence that shows that it was not some fairy tale told generation after generation, but witnesses seeing the same great things Jesus did. "Glory as of the only Son" tells us that God only had one Son. The S in Son is capitalized to reference that God was in Him. Remember Jesus was half Mary's and half God's. Joseph would be Jesus's step-father so to speak. We have earthly parents while Jesus had one earthly parent. "Full of grace and truth" identifies Jesus's character and his fulfillment of the prophecies.

The next time you think you are having a bad day or think no one cares about you, understand that God came down on earth to walk among us. He didn't do it out of obligation, but out of unconditional love. In that Jesus died for our sins forever uniting us with God if we accept Jesus as being God in the flesh and follow him.

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Mark 7:21-23- From Within

The old way of thinking was that if a person did not wash their hands before eating, then what ever they touched and then ate would defile their soul. Jesus said that this is not true. It was not about how you washed your hand or what you ate that would defile you, it was about what was in your heart, mind and soul and what came out of your mouth.

Your soul cannot be ruined by the food you eat. That belief was not from God, that belief came from man (see Mark 7:2-5). Jesus pointed out that the Pharisees were holding on man's laws more than God's. We do need to obey laws that are on earth, but ultimately God's law is more important. God's law gets overtaken for the beliefs that elders put in place.

Jesus made it very clear that the evil thoughts we have come from within. The sexual immorality we have comes from within. The theft, murder and adultery we commit comes from within. All things wicked that man expresses outwardly, starts inwardly. Remember that God's will and ways are far more important than man's.

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