Posts Tagged Genesis
Biblical Justification for a Two-Day Weekend?
If any of you have ever wondered whether we should have a one-day weekend or two, here’s something to think about:
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night And there was evening and there was morning, one day (emphasis added). Gen. 1:1-5 (NASB)
The account continues:
8 …And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
Creation, creation, creation…
31 …And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
However, immediately following that we have:
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.
2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Gen. 2:1-2 (NASB)
Isn’t it true that in the Jewish tradition, the Sabbath, for example, begins the evening of the sixth day and continues until the evening of the seventh? Why wouldn’t the first day, or “one day” above, begin the same way such that all of the creation events that have been traditionally assigned to the “second day” would have actually happened on day one, and those events assigned to the “first” day (“first” not actually appearing in Hebrew text) would have occurred before time as we know it.
Thus, the creation of man would have occurred on the fifth day, and the, “By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done…” stuff would have happened on the sixth.
So, like us, God might have used the sixth day (our Saturday) to finish up some stuff, too. A little house cleaning after a hard week’s work, if you know what I mean? Think of it as a Sabbath-lite.
The moral of the story: don’t feel bad for only working five days, not six.
And don’t send me a lot of heretical hate mail, or flood the comment section by telling me how wacko I am, I already know that. I’m just trying to have a little fun on a Friday (my Sabbath-lite-lite), and if creation theology is reformed in the process, so be it.
Hebrews Chapter 1-Study Notes
Posted by Peter in Bible, Christianity, Genesis, Israel, New Testament, Old Testament on August 27, 2009
These are my study notes for Hebrews Chapter 1. I don’t know if they will make much sense to anyone else, but if they are helpful to anyone feel free to use them.
The scripture references and discussion notes should have aligned with the appropriate scriptures, but I lost that somehow when I loaded the table into my blog. On the left is, obviously, the Bible text, the center column contains the scriptures I referenced or wanted to reference, and the right-hand column has discussion topics.
| Hebrews 1 (NASB)
1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. 5 For to which of the angels did He ever say, 6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, 7 And of the angels He says, 8 But of the Son He says, 10 And, 13 But to which of the angels has He ever said, 14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? |
Scripture Refs.
1:2-3 – Gen. 1:1, John 1:1 1:5 – Psalm 2 1: 9 – Psalm 45; 1 Samuel 10:1; 1 Samuel 16: 12-14 1:10 – Psalm 102; Gen. 1:1 1:13 – Psalm 110 |
Discussion Notes 1:1-3 – Scripture and prophets like sketches before photos. Ex. layers and layers of sketches required for animation. 1:2 – “spoken to us in,” limited to past tense? “In.” 1:4 - Must understand in context of ancient Israel. Angels = significant, greater than prophets. 1:5 – Psalm 2. First Messianic Psalm. Key to who “Son” is. Author refers to Messianic Psalms over and over. 1:13 – Ps. 110 “order of Melchizedek” theme repeated in Hebrews Ch. 5-7. 1:14 For “those who will inherit salvation?” |
Hebrews Chapter 2-Study Notes
Posted by Peter in Bible, Christianity, Genesis, New Testament on August 27, 2009
These are my study notes for Hebrews Chapter 2. I don’t know if they will make much sense to anyone else, but if they are helpful to anyone feel free to use them.
The scripture references and discussion notes should have aligned with the appropriate scriptures, but I lost that somehow when I loaded the table into my blog. On the left is, obviously, the Bible text, the center column contains the scriptures I referenced or wanted to reference, and the right-hand column has discussion topics.
|
Hebrews 2 (NASB) 1 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, 3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, 4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. 5 For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. 6 But one has testified somewhere, saying, 9 But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying, 13 And again, And again, 14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16 For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. 17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. |
Scripture Refs.
2:6-8 – Psalm 8 2:12 – Psalm 22 2:14 – Gen. 3:15 2:15 – Gal. 4 2:17-18 – Heb. 4:15 |
Discussion Notes 2:1 – What is the “this reason?” Is it what was spoken in 1:1-2? 2:2 – The scriptures given by angels to the fathers in the past unalterable, how much more what is spoken by the Son, and then confirmed by those who heard. 2:6-8 – Psalm 8. Another Messianic Psalm. 2:8 – Will we only see all things subjected to Him upon His return? What do we do now? 2:14 – Since Gen. 3:15, devil has been trying to prevent seed from being born. 2:15 – What are we/they slaves to? 2:17-18 – Tempted in every way, yet w/o sin. Truly knows and understands what we are going through. |
Canon within a Canon
Posted by Peter in Bible, Blogging, Christianity, Genesis on August 10, 2009
My friend Polycarp, et al., are walking the fine line of heresy ( 
) with this Canon within a Canon non-meme, but lest they burn alone, I’ll bite:
My Canon w/i a Canon:
- Genesis
Yup, that about covers it. It’s all in there.
If pressed, however, I would expand said Canon to include:
- Exodus
- Leviticus
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy
- Joshua
- Psalms
- Proverbs
- Job
- Isaiah
- Jeremiah
- Ezekiel
- Daniel
- Joel
- Zechariah
- Matthew
- Mark
- Luke
- John
- Acts
- Paul’s Epistles
- Hebrews
- Revelation
Ouch, that was painful!
Question: What if Adam had Repented?
Posted by Peter in Bible, Christianity, Genesis, God, Old Testament on May 29, 2009
Okay, so this is not just a simple question, but rather two questions (each potentially raising many, many other questions):
- What if Adam had just confessed and repented when the Lord came a callin’ in Genesis 3?
- Or, what if, immediately after Eve partook of the fruit, Adam had said, “No thanks, we’re not supposed to. Serpent, get away, and while we’re at it, Eve, why don’t you confess and repent”?
Would the course of human history be different? If so, how?
Genesis 1:1 Follow Up
Posted by Peter in Ancient Hebrew, Bible, Christianity, Genesis, Hebrew, Old Testament on May 11, 2009
I am working on a post (and have been for some time now) wherein I will compile all of my posts on Genesis 1:1 and its ancient Hebrew pictographs.
I think I will initially publish it as a post and then make it a permanent page when it slips off the bottom of the the front page, but I’m still kicking this idea around. The length is the only reason I would publish it as a page only.
Anyway, for the time being, I will simply say, “Coming Soon.” In the mean time, these are the Genesis 1:1 links which I will reformat into the new post/page, if you want a preview:
Genesis 1:1 Posts:
- In the beginning
- God (The Lord is My Shepherd)
- Created (On Creation)
- The Heavens (Part 1 and Part 2)
- And the Earth
- God’s Signature
Other Related Posts:
Why Tithe?
Posted by Peter in Ancient Hebrew, Bible, Christianity, Genesis, God, Hebrew, Israel, Jesus, New Testament, Old Testament on April 28, 2009
“Tithe” is such an emotionally charged word, it’s hard to discuss it without stirring the pot (see Tithing is Still a Touchy Subject and Why is the Tithe a Tenth?).
So, I will do my best to avoid stepping on any land mines. I do, however, want to share a little of what I was asked to share yesterday during our church’s offering time.
First, the scripture to make it official:
9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.
10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him. (KJV)
Abraham and his crew, having just returned from battle, are met by Melchisedec (to use the King James spelling), King of Salem, who blesses Abraham. In response, Abraham gives Melchisedec a tenth of all.
It’s been a while, but many of you know that a primary focus of this blog is the ancient Hebrew alphabet and the stories told thereby within Biblical words. For example, see Hebrew-The Divine Language. The story told by the ancient Hebrew pictographs that make up the word “tithe” is equally remarkable.
A quick recap, the ancient Hebrew alphabet was made up of pictographs, each representing a letter, a number, and a symbolic meaning (I just recently heard that each represented a color as well, but it was news to me, and I can’t say much more about that).
The Hebrew word for “tithe” is ma’ asser, and please forgive my transliteration. In Hebrew, ma’ asser is spelled by the Hebrew letters MEM (the equivalent of our letter “M”), which is pictured as waves of water and symbolically means nations or waters; AYIN (perhaps our letter “O” or “E”), pictured as an eye and meaning to see; SHIN/SIN (“Sh” or “S”), pictured as two teeth, meaning to consume or destroy; and RESH (“R”), pictured as a man’s head, meaning the first or highest person.
God promised Abraham he would make of him a great nation. He then asks Abraham to sacrifice his son. Thus, “tithe” is the picture of Abraham, the great NATION, SEEing the DESTRUCTION of the FIRST son (Isaac was the son of promise as far as God was concerned). However, “tithe” also represents the act reciprocated by God, in part, because of Abraham’s obedience. We now know that the NATIONS have SEEN the DESTRUCTION of God’s FIRST SON.
Regardless of your theology regarding the tithe, Abraham tithed to Melchisedec after being blessed by him, and his great-grandson got credit for it; and his descendants received tithes from the rest of the nation. I can’t think of a better reason to tithe than simply because we have been blessed by God in his tithe to us: the sacrifice of His son. How better to leave a lasting legacy for your great-grandchildren’s descendants.
Here is the visual of “tithe” (recall, Hebrew is read right to left):
Question: Why is the Tithe a Tenth?
I have a question for all you theology sorts. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, and I have been unable to resolve the issue for myself. I even tried texting my pastor but I had technical difficulties in the process. The question: Why is the tithe a tenth?
Frequent readers of this blog are aware of my preoccupation with Genesis, but I was reading in Genesis (surprise, surprise) last week, and the question occurred to me, “Is the tithe a tenth because God said so, or because that was what Abraham (and, later, Jacob) gave?”
In other words, is the tenth honoring God or is the tenth God honoring us? If Abraham had given Melchizedek 17%, or, if Jacob had said, “surely I will give thee a ninth” would our Sunday morning math be a lot more complicated? God could have very easily commanded 47.3% after all.
I don’t want this to be a discussion of tithing, per se. My humble opinion is that the tithe is no longer required under the law, but I think the spirit of the tithe is alive and well, and the blessings therefrom readily available. I still think we can make the whole lump (of money, labor, time, etc.) holy by offering the first fruits of same to God.
Nevertheless, why a tenth? Thoughts, ideas, comments?
Stumbled by the Right Stumbler
In the shameless self-promotion category…
One of my very first posts ever (The Lord Is My Shepherd) got stumbled upon by (apparently) the right stumbler recently with pleasant results. Within a matter of a few hours, it received over 300 hits and, after a few days, it is about to cross the 1500 hit mark. I have had posts stumbled before with considerably less dramatic results, but I suppose the stars aligned for one of my favorite posts even if it was 15 months late.
I realize that to real bloggers, 1500 hits for a single post in a short period of time probably doesn’t register as anything abnormal, but from my little area of the blogosphere, it’s something to write home about (rather, to write you about).
I am particularly partial to that post because it was my first “discovery” (for lack of a better word) of the extra-textual content contained in the ancient Hebrew alphabetic pictographs. In it, I showed Elohim, Hebrew for “God,” as depicting Psalm 23.
To summarize, the word Elohim is comprised of the Hebrew letters ALEPH (similar to our letter “A,” and pictured in the ancient Hebrew as an ox head, signifying strength or God – as in the Lord is my strength); LAMED (“L,” pictured as a shepherd’s staff, meaning to shepherd or lead); HEY (“H,” pictured as a man with outstretched arms, meaning God’s grace or to behold); YOD (“Y,” pictured as the arm from the fist to the elbow, meaning my or my hand or works); and MEM (“M,” pictured as waves of water, meaning water or peoples/nations).
Thus, the LORD is my SHEPHERD by GRACE MY needs are provided for (I SHALL NOT WANT), he takes me by MY HAND and LEADS me by still WATERS. Here is the visual:
Elohim
Book Review-The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament
Posted by Peter in Bible, Bible Translations, Book Reviews, Christianity, Genesis, God, Israel on January 10, 2009
I want to thank Adrianna Wright at InterVarsity Press for sending me a courtesy copy of The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament by Sandra L. Richter, Ph.D.
The Epic of Eden
Book Details:
The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament
Sandra L. Richter, Ph.D.
Intervarsity Press, October 2008
ISBN 978-0-8308-2577-6
In The Epic of Eden, Sandra L. Richter, Ph.D., touches on one of Christianity’s most sensitive nerves: a lack of understanding about its origins. And in a straightforward and uncritical manner, Dr. Richter brings a bit of healing to this problem.
Dr. Richter labels the underlying problem “the dysfunctional closet syndrome.” She likens the average Christian’s understanding of the Old Testament to a disorganized closet in need of tidying; a hodgepodge of names, places, facts and figures which amount to little more than clutter. On the whole, I think Dr. Richter is correct, and I think her analogy is quite useful. For my male readers, I would suggest substituting “toolshed” for “closet” if the dysfunctional closet reference isn’t quite hitting closely enough to home. The Epic of Eden is Dr. Richter’s attempt to organize our respective closets. In her words:
My goal in writing this book, therefore, is to deal a mortal blow to the dysfunctional closet syndrome. I am convinced that the key to the problem described above is order. Until a believer is able to organize what they know about the Old Testament meaningfully, they cannot use it. An appropriate quotation whose source I have lost over the years says this: “Facts are stupid things until brought into connection with some general law.”
So my goal in this book is to provide structure. Metaphorically speaking, to pick the clothes up off the floor, get some hangers, a pole and some hooks, and help you build a closet of your very own. You already have many (possibly most) of the facts you need: I’m going to give you a place to hang them.
Dr. Richter’s solution is to organize the closet clutter into its respective Covenant cubbies: Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and New. Dr. Richter does not expressly discuss an “Edenic” Covenant, although she thoroughly addresses God’s original purpose in Eden, and brings it full circle by concluding that God’s original intent for Adam is fully accomplished in Christ.
Perhaps the most enlightening section of The Epic of Eden (for me) is Dr. Richter’s detailed discussion of the concept of Covenant. The idea of “covenant” or, in modern legal language, “contract” has considerably less depth and richness today having devolved simply to mean a piece of paper outlining an agreement between parties which may or may not be kept. Yet, this is the framework most (Western) Christians have of “covenant.”
Second only to my visiting Israel is The Epic of Eden in bringing the words of the Bible to life for me, at least as regards our watered-down understanding of the immensely important Biblical and historical concepts of covenant and redemption. These concepts merit entire books of their own, but Dr. Richter does an admirable job of giving lost substance back to words in the Bible we use so casually.
Dr. Richter also does an exceptional job of putting the Bible into real space and time. The recurring Biblical timeline also helps the reader to keep events in historical context. For anyone who needs to clean their Old Testament closet, The Epic of Eden is a wonderful organizational tool.
If there is a shortcoming of The Epic of Eden it is that there is simply too much clutter to tackle. I give the author a tremendous amount of credit for the effort to organize the Old Testament closet, and I think this book is as enlightening as any I’ve read. But, rather than giving the reader a clean closet, The Epic of Eden gives the reader a system of organization, an Old Testament filing system. It’s a closet organizer, not a maid.
Also, I appreciate Dr. Richter’s attempt to bring the Old Testament and the ancient Middle East into a more modern and understandalbe light. In a note to the Introduction, Dr. Ricther writes, “The text of this book is designed for the layperson and should be easily understood by most with little assistance.” I’m not entirely sure Dr. Richter’s frame of reference isn’t a little skewed, and The Epic of Eden is certainly not dry, academic reading. It is highly readable. And enjoyable. But I would guess that on a readability test The Epic of Eden would score at an undergraduate or higher reading level. This is not to detract from the book, but to ensure the reader knows this is not light reading.
In short, read the book. Page for page, The Epic of Eden packs more punch than most books. The actual text itself is well under 250 pages and can easily be read in a few sittings. More importantly, however, is the effect The Epic of Eden will have on your Bible reading. I would guess that most people who read this blog have at one time or another heard a remarkable sermon or sermon series that changed how they read and understand the Bible. Reading this book is a lot like that, only moreso.
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