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[First posted 2013. This has been sent in by a former Christian Pastor who has contributed previous articles, please refer to:
- Christian Discovers YHWH, Shares “Evidence”
- Christian Discovers YHWH, Shares “Evidence” – 2
- Christian discovers YHWH, Shares “Evidence’ – 3 – A Look Into The New Testament
- JOURNEY: “Truth set me free!”
- Journey: Truth Set Me Free – Part 2
- A Christian Pastor’s Spiritual Testimony – 1
- A Christian Pastor’s Spiritual Testimony – 2
- A Christian Pastor’s Spiritual Testimony – 3
- “beaten down, bedraggled, and broken”- Could it be they are worshipping the wrong God?
- What kind of person are you?
- Whose ‘voice’ do you listen to?
Reformatting and highlights added.—Admin 1]
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Passage: Genesis 6-9 — Study Of Noah
7 PRINCIPLES OF SCRIPTURE STUDY
Before we tackle our passage today, there are seven principles I would like to re-emphasize when we study Scriptures: (Repetition is the foundation of all learning!)
1) We should always start from the point of view of YHWH (God), rather than from “our own” point of view. Scripture is His manual for us.
2) We should use “inductive” study method i.e. look at the facts first, before making a conclusion, not the other way around, which is called “deductive”.
3) We should always interpret a passage considering the “context” and not take verses out of context, as this could “distort” the meaning.
4) We should consider the “culture” of the Hebrews rather than our own to understand what the writer is trying to say.
5) We should Consult a “Concordance” (dictionary or Lexicon) to check the meaning of the Hebrew Words rather than rely on the English translation alone.
6) We should focus on WHAT IS WRITTEN rather than “subjective” conjectures about what the text means. YHWH’s words (in the original, not the translation) are PERFECT AND PRECISE because God is perfect and precise. We should not “read” something into the text that is not there …
7) All study must have a practical application — It should answer the question — So? What will I now do in my life? Study for knowledge sake without application will just make us “proud”.
A good example of reading something into a verse that is not there is …
Genesis 3:22-24 MKJV
(22) And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man has become as one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever,
(23) therefore Jehovah God sent him out from the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he had been taken.
(24) And He drove out the man. And He placed cherubs at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
People then say … See “US” is plural and therefore it means there are three persons in one God! … Wow! Plural means more than one — where did they get 3? Why not 2 or 7?
What is the “better” interpretation?
1) Context — the passage is not talking about how many persons there are about God. It is talking about what man (Adam) had done and what God will do to him because of what he had done. Based on context the “US” probably refers to God talking to the “cherubs” whom He would assign to guard the gate to the garden. The “US” is clearly defined in the text as those who “know good and evil”. Man, after he disobeyed, now knew good and evil. “man has become like one of US” does not make man = to God. Big probability that the “US” are angels or Cherubim who “know good and evil”.
Bigger context is that this verse is found in Genesis, and the person they call “Jesus” who they claim to be the second person of the trinity was not even “born” or made flesh until about 3,500 years later … Therefore, it is extremely illogical, to our God-given minds, to even propose that the “US” is evidence of triune persons in one God and that “Jesus” is one of those three!
2) Culture — the Hebrews never even came close to believing or teaching that there are more than One God! Moses could never have meant that the “US” is a triune God. All Jews, even today, recite the Shema 2 time a day and it says GOD IS ONE!
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 MKJV
(4) Hear, O, Israel. Jehovah our God is one (echad in Hebrew means “there is only one”) Jehovah.
(5) And you shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
3) Consultation — Concordance shows that the word “Trinity” never appears in Scripture. Consulting “google” we discover the history of the Trinity doctrine which I quote below for your information:
A brief history
The doctrine of the Trinity was formally developed in the early church (RAS NOTE: ROMAN CATHOLIC church) in reaction to errant teaching on the nature of God as found in Arianism. Arianism attempted to protect monotheism (the belief in one God) by denying the full deity of Jesus, a belief most Christians held at this time. Arianism taught that Jesus was divine, but that he was a lesser deity than the Father. To affirm the Church’s stance on the nature of God, the Trinity was formally stated in the Nicene Creed (325 A.D.) and the later Athanasian Creed. As a result of these early ecumenical creeds, any departure from the Christian doctrine of the Trinity was considered heresy. These creeds affirm the early Christian conviction that Jesus was God. Arianism caused the church to dogmatically affirm what was already believed and inherent to the earliest of Christian theology.
The term “Trinity”, is not found in the Bible. Theophilus of Antioch around 180 A.D. first used the Greek term trias(a set of three) in reference to God, his Word, and his Wisdom. However, Tertullian in 215 A.D. was the first one to state this doctrine using the Latin term, Trinitas(Trinity), referring to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (W. Fulton in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics).
CONCLUSION: After looking at the facts, one can conclude that the “US” has nothing to do with the doctrine of the Trinity and it is illogical to use it as “proof text” for such a doctrine that is so foreign to the Hebrews and their Scripture.
LESSONS FROM NOAH PART 1
Many in the group have been wondering about the PURPOSE of their existence.
The passage today, Genesis 6-9, will help us answer this very important question.
WHAT IS YHWH’S PURPOSE FOR ME? Why did He create me?
There are several answers we can get about this from Genesis 1-5 and from Genesis 6-9.
1] YHWH is a precise and perfect creator. He went through 6 days of elaborate preparation to create man and an environment for man to live in. Science of the 21st century tells us that our bodies are extremely intricate and complex and that there are many “unseen laws” in our universe that govern all that happens so everything is orderly. We know there is no life elsewhere in the universe except here in our earth. The precision and orderliness that we see, strongly suggests that there is a DESIGNER of life here on earth rather than “it just happened by random chance”.
Therefore, if there is a designer, such a wise creator MUST have a purpose for creating man.
If you are interested, I have many studies that clearly show that there is a designer and that the theory of “evolution” is just that … a theory with many missing links.
2] YHWH is a PURPOSEFUL creator. What is YHWH’s purpose?
To answer this question Let us look closely at the Torah as a whole first (see the forest) then we will look at the details (see the trees.) We are looking at the Big Picture — the context of Genesis is the Torah — the first 5 books of Scripture.
The very first letter of Genesis is “B” Beyt, meaning house, and it is written MUCH MUCH LARGER than any of the other letters suggesting that it is important. The very last letter of the fifth book of the Torah is “L” Lamed means a shepherd’s staff. Together these 2 letters form the Hebrew word “heart”.
What YHWH seems to be saying implicitly is that He wants to create a “big house” (or a big nation) which is ruled by the “heart”.
3] From Genesis 1 and 2, we see clearly 2 reasons why God created man.
i] YHWH is a PERSONAL God, not just a “force” and His first purpose is to FELLOWSHIP with man; to have a meaningful relationship with man.
YHWH put His “breath” into man i.e. spirit, so that man could relate in a meaningful way to a spiritual being. Only man can “relate” to God spiritually. Only man is created in God’s image.
YHWH planted a perfect garden and placed man there.
YHWH wanted to “be with” man to “walk with” man in the garden. Just as we would enjoy walking with a loved one, so YHWH wanted to walk with man.
YHWH instituted the Sabbath so that He and man would have a time of fellowship together.
ii] The second purpose of YHWH is to BLESS man, here on earth! YHWH is a God who blesses Man.
Genesis 1:27-28 MKJV
(27) And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female.
(28) And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heavens, and all animals that move upon the earth.
Blessing means that YHWH wants man to feel “significant” and to have a “meaningful” life. Therefore, He gave man “dominion” over the earth and the animals. Man was “like” God in that he was the “boss” over the animals and the earth. His task would be to use his God-given abilities and brains to “subdue the earth” tend and keep the garden of God!
Woman was created by YHWH to help man fulfill his destiny of fruitfulness and multiplication. Women would be the channels for blessings (and pleasure). By the way, the meaning of the word Eden in Hebrew is “pleasure”.
In Genesis 2:24, YHWH instituted the means of maximizing relationships and pleasure — marriage. In marriage, man and wife could be “one”. The marriage relationship is a good picture of the relationship that YHWH wants to have with us.
Marriage would be higher priority than parents;
Marriage would be with only one partner; very personal and intimate
Marriage would be permanent;
Marriage would be extremely pleasurable; (physically and spiritually)
Marriage would be productive; produce fruit;
In fact, YHWH blessed the TIME that He set apart to fellowship with man:
Genesis 2:3 MKJV
(3) And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He had rested from all His work which God created to make.
So we know that the purposes of YHWH are to fellowship with man and to bless him.
Since YHWH is God, He never changes. He is perfect. Therefore, it is not surprising that after the flood, when all living things, except Noah and those in the ark, had perished, YHWH repeated the command He have in Genesis 1:
Genesis 9:1 MKJV
(1) And God blessed Noah and his sons. And He said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
We see the heart of YHWH again when He deals with Abram in Genesis 12. We know YHWH chose Israel as His people, out of all the nations. And that He planned it so that “in you all the families of the earth would be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)
APPLICATION FOR US
So if these are YHWH’s PURPOSES for man, how do we apply to our lives?
Our application is to understand that our purpose is to develop and deepen our personal relationship with YHWH, our creator. That is why so often, Scripture refers to YHWH as “our Father”. Let us therefore have a “YHWH-driven-life”
Stated simply, our goal in life is as Jeremiah said …
Jeremiah 9:23-24 MKJV
(23) So says Jehovah, Do not let the wise glory in his wisdom, nor let the mighty glory in his might; do not let the rich glory in his riches;
(24) but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am Jehovah, doing kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these I delight, says Jehovah.
The first part, verse 23, shows us the “traditional” or the “world’s” goals — gain wisdom (pHd), gain strength (athlete), gain riches (money is key).
The second part, verse 24, includes YHWH in the equation and recognizes our true purpose is to know and understand YHWH, that He is God, who loves kindness, justice, and righteous living here on this earth.
The way we are to know Him is simple … just like knowing another person … Walk with Him and Communicate with Him …DAILY…and do the things that PLEASE Him.
Since He is so much “higher” than we are, the only way we can ever know Him is through His own revelation of who He is … He has revealed Himself, what He likes and dislikes, in Scripture.
If we meditate on Scriptures daily, and do what YHWH commands, then we will gain a more intimate knowledge of Him and HE WILL BLESS US as we live on this earth.
Moses in the Torah summarizes what YHWH asks of us, His people:
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 MKJV
(12) And now, Israel, what does Jehovah your God ask of you, but to fear Jehovah your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
(13) to keep the commandments of Jehovah, and His statutes, which I command you today for your good?
Here’s the list of what YHWH asks of us:
(1) Fear YHWH, our God;
(2) walk in all His ways;
(3) Love and serve (worship) Him with all your heart and all your soul;
(4) Keep His commandments & statues.
The Prophet Micah REPEATS plainly how we can please YHWH:
Micah 6:6-8 MKJV
(6) With what shall I come before Jehovah, to bow myself before God the Most High? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
(7) Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
(8) He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does Jehovah require of you but to do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?
The three things are:
(1) Do justice
(2) Love mercy
(3) Walk humbly with YHWH.
If we meditate on His word and delight in it, He promises that we will PROSPER (be bIessed) IN WHATEVER we do!
Psalms 1:1-3 MKJV
(1) Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, and has not stood in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the seat of the scornful.
(2) But his delight is only in the Law of Jehovah; and in His Law he meditates day and night.
(3) And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivulets of water that brings forth its fruit in its seasons, and its leaf shall not wither, and all which he does shall be blessed.
King David REPEATS the same promise to those who walk in the way of YHWH …
Psalms 119:1-2 MKJV
(1) ALEPH: Blessed are the upright in the way, who walk in the Law of Jehovah.
(2) Blessed are they who keep His testimonies, and who seek Him with all the heart.
Like Enoch, Noah and Abraham let us walk daily with YHWH, our God and our Father!
If you have any questions about your purpose and how to apply it in your life, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Ricky Samson
Skype: rickysamson
Email – help.others.ras@gmail.com