Hidden (Krypto) Treasures

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Tag: Jesus the Ark

God’s covenant – all inclusive to …

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On April 4, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Professional Speaking, Through the Bible

Genesis 9:8-17 gives the account of God making a covenant of never again destroying (condemning) the world with water. What is interesting to note it that while we often think of this covenant as having been made between God and Noah, the account actually states that God made this covenant with not just Noah, but with Noah and his sons, and with their children (seed) after them (Genesis 9:8-9). Even more intriguing is that God does not limit his covenant with just man, but includes every living creature (fowl, beast) that came out from the ark (Genesis 9:10,16).

Points to ponder:
God’s covenant is not limited but all inclusive – not just to one generation but to generations that follow – for man and for all living creatures that came out from the ark. All those who came out from the ark were included in God’s covenant. Jesus Christ is the Ark of God who saves and all who are part of him are included in God’s covenant to be never condemned (Romans 8:1).  Are you included in God’s covenant? In other words, have you believed in Jesus Christ?

Genesis 9:8-17 (KJV)
8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
11 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

Quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore’

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On February 13, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Jesus Christ - The Ark, Noah's Ark (and Jesus), Poetic Prompts, Through the Bible

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), American author, critic, editor and poet, is well known for his short stories in the mystery and macabre genre. One of the poems that he is well known for is ‘The Raven’, first published in 1845, four years before his death in the Evening Mirror. The Raven is a poem about the a mysterious raven that visits a man who has just lost the love of his life, a lady name Lenore and for each question, he poses, the answer that the raven gives is “Nevermore” (meaning never again). Poe refers to the raven as an ominous bird of yore. Now, I must admit that I enjoyed reading the poem, despite its melancholy tone and sense of hopelessness undertone, because of its literary composition as a trochaic octameter (8 trochaic feet per line, with alternating stressed and unstressed syllables) and especially because of its references to Biblical words (Seraphim, Balm of Gilead (Jeremiah 8:22), and Aidenn (for Eden i.e., Paradise). However, I would be careful to not call one of God’s creation, ominous, for after God created the fowls of the air (the raven being one of them), he called it good (Genesis 1:21) and it was ravens that brought food to God’s servant, Elijah, to sustain him by the Cherith brook, before the Jordan river (1 Kings 17:1-6).

So there is something we can learn from the raven, as we can from any of the animals mentioned in the Bible.

The Raven was the first creature, after the flood of Noah, to be sent on a mission, most likely for the same reason, he sends out a dove subsequently in a weeks time, which is to determine the readiness of the earth for the inhabitants of the ark. However, the Bible records that the raven flew  to and fro (vacillating) until the waters were dried up from the earth, meaning that it did not return back to Noah. Though, the Bible does not explicitly state the reason for this behavior of the raven that was sent from the ark of Noah, the most plausible explanation is that the raven, an unclean bird (Leviticus 11:15), would have settled to gorge on the dead flesh from the flood, satisfying its appetite, possibly settling on the mountain tops that were seen (Genesis 8:5), instead of fulfilling its mission and returning to Noah. It was to “nevermore” (never again) return to Noah.

Points to ponder:
They that are after the flesh (like the raven that Noah sent out) do mind (commune with) the things of the flesh, which is death, but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit, which is life and peace (Romans 8:5-6). Let us not be like that of the raven, vacillating, nevermore!

Genesis 8:5-7 (KJV)
5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.

Romans 8:5-6 (KJV)
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

To keep seed alive – God’s plan

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On January 13, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Noah's Ark (and Jesus), Through the Bible

Genesis 7:3 speaks about the plan and loving nature of God, which is to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth, while in his just nature, he was going to destroy the world that he had created with the universal flood, in the time of Noah. “To keep seed alive” is God’s plan.

God so loved the world that he wanted to keep seed alive and in order to do so, ironically, God had to smite and bruise The Only begotten SEED of the woman (Genesis 3:15), Jesus Christ, so that by Jesus’ death and resurrection (Philippians 3:10), Jesus could destroy the devil who had the power of death (Hebrews 2:14) and give life to all who believe in him (John 3:16), the SEED (Galatians 3:16).

Points to ponder:
Jesus said, “I have come so that you may have life and that you may have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) The SEED had to be bruised and afflicted (Isaiah 53) so that God could keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. Only those who were in the ark were saved. In like manner, only those who abide in Jesus Christ, the Ark of God, shall be kept alive … Are you alive? In other words, is The SEED (Jesus Christ) germinated in your life?

Genesis 7:2-3 (KJV)
2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

Genesis 3:15 (KJV)
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Galatians 3:16 (KJV)
16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

John 10:10 (KJV)
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Seed and Sacrifice

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On January 9, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Jesus Christ - The Ark, Jesus in the N.T., Noah's Ark (and Jesus), Through the Bible

Children’s books that give the account of Noah and the ark he built, often depict the animals going into the ark two by two. Seldom do any of them make the distinction that there were seven pairs of clean beasts and the fowls of the air, both male and female, while there was only one pair of unclean beasts, both male and female that entered the ark.

Some speculate that it was for the sustenance of Noah and his family, but there is a fallacy in this conjecture as meat was not given unto man for food until after the flood (Genesis 9:4). So if the clean beasts and clean fowls were not for sustenance, why were they to be taken into the ark, in more numbers than the unclean ones.

The Bible says that God wanted the seed to be alive on the face of the earth (Genesis 7:3). It was also necessary to worship God by offering him a sacrifice, when the time was due (Genesis 4:3) and so if there was only pair of clean beasts and clean fowl in the ark, there would have been none left for the seed to be alive after they were sacrifice.

Having seven pairs of clean beasts ensured that even after a sacrifice was made (Genesis 8:20), there was still that kind of beast available for replenishing the earth to keep that seed alive.

Though the distinction of clean and unclean beasts was not given until the time of the Levitical law (Leviticus 11) during the time of Moses and Aaron, from Genesis 4:4 we see that God had certain expectations of what a sacrifice to him should be like – one like that of Abel and not as that of Cain.

Points to ponder:
God wants us his seed to be alive in Christ Jesus, the Ark of God, but he also expects us to worship him by sacrificing ourselves as a living sacrifice that is clean i.e., pleasing and acceptable unto the Lord (Romans 12:1-2). Would you consider your life clean? In other words, have you been washed by the shed blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ?

Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully resting in his grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of the lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

If not, “Come now, and let us reason together,  says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18).

Genesis 7:2-3 (KJV)
2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

Genesis 8:20 (KJV)
20 And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Isaiah 1:18 (KJV)
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Romans 12:1-2 (KJV)
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The Ark of Love – “expressed”

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On January 2, 2014

In Christian, Genesis, Noah's Ark (and Jesus), Through the Bible

When God commanded Noah to build an ark, the Bible says that Noah did ALL that the Lord commanded him (Genesis 6:22). In other words, Noah loved God. We can deduce this from Jesus’ words – “If you love me, [you will] keep [do] my commandments.” (John 14:15). To love God is to DO ALL that he commands us to i.e., express our faith in action.

Points to ponder:
Noah loved God and built an ark for the salvation of God’s creatures. God so loved the world that he made his Only begotten Son, the Ark, that whosoever abides in him, shall not be drowned in sin and death, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Because of his love, God made Jesus, the Ark of Love, for the salvation of God’s creation – including you and me.

Genesis 6:22 (KJV)
22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

John 14:15 (KJV)
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

James 1:22 (KJV)
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

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