January 4- Somewhere Over the Rainbow

January 4, 2011


Scripture Readings:
Genesis 8:1-10:32; Matthew 4:12-25;
Psalm 4:1-8; Proverbs 1:20-23

Somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high,

There's a land that I heard of

Once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow

Skies are blue,

And the dreams that you dare to dream

Really do come true.

E.Y. Harburg

Genesis 8

In the movie The Wizard of Oz Dorothy gets transported to a place on the far side of the rainbow.  As the theme song indicates, it's a place where your dreams come true.  Ultimately though, Dorothy learns in the land of Oz that "there's no place like home" and home is where her dreams can truly be realized.  Today we read about Noah.  Like Dorothy, Noah also goes to the other side of the rainbow, but what he finds after the storm is not a land where your dreams come true.  He finds a land with a harsh new reality.

When we last saw Noah he was shut up in the ark with his family.  The catastrophic Flood that he warned the ancient world about had come and every living thing on the earth was destroyed.  Noah was essentially baptized by fire.  Indeed, we see a picture of baptism as Noah is saved through the water 
(1 Peter 3:19-21). May I also say that the ark is a symbol of Christ and Noah's faith in the future Messiah is pictured as Noah rests safely in the ark from the judgment of the flood. You and I are safe from judgment through faith in Jesus Christ.

It has been five months on the boat.  Noah sends out a raven and a dove to test for dry land.  Finally, the day comes when the dove does not return and Noah and his family have survived the ordeal.  Noah is now 601 years old. We are told that the ark lands on the mountains of  Ararat, which by the way, are not a fictional mountain range, but a place that you can visit to this day in Turkey.

A Priest-    

 "The little reed, bending to the force of the wind, soon stood upright again when the storm had passed over."    ~Aesop

Only when one faces true hardship is the character of a person revealed.  Noah has been through an incredibly hard ordeal. Today it becomes obvious what sort of man Noah was.  We knew that Noah was obedient and persistent.  We knew he was willing to follow God at all cost.  But now we see his response when he has lost everything he has ever known in the world except his family. Confronted with a desolate earth, left only with his family, we see that the first thing Noah does when he gets off that boat is to act as the priest for his family. The first thing Noah does is worship God. 

Verses 20-22 tell us that Noah builds an altar to the Lord and does an animal sacrifice in keeping with the picture the Lord gave to Adam and Eve in the Garden.  He believes that sin brings death and that there must be shed blood for sin.  This is an act of faith on Noah's part.  Noah's actions show that he believes God's promise that one day a Redeemer Child will come to the earth, be a sacrifice for sin, and save the world.  Noah is showing that he believes in Jesus, who is to come.

A priest stands between God and man seeking forgiveness for sin.  Noah is the first recorded person to act as a priest for others.


 He makes a sacrifice to God in thanks for saving the lives of his family and the animals. Surely Noah is seeking forgiveness for any sins committed as they floated along waiting for the land to reemerge.  God once again uses Noah as a Christ-like figure.  He is a picture of Jesus Christ, our perfect High Priest spoken of in the book of Hebrews.

God is pleased with Noah's obedience and God promises not to destroy the earth by flood again.  God also establishes that the earth will now have seasons.  Prior to the Flood the indication is that the whole world was a tropical environment. This is the first glimpse of how the earth's atmosphere changed after the Flood. God establishes that there will be spring, summer, fall, and winter.


Like Noah, we should worship God in all circumstances.  Like Noah, we should believe in Christ as the sacrificial Lamb, who takes away the sin of the world.


List some circumstances in your life where you need to worship God rather than complain.

Genesis 9

A Promise-

After Noah's obedient worship of God at the altar, God blesses Noah and his family and tells them to multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 9:1).  Another post-Flood change is described.

For the first time in the history of earth animals will fear mankind and animals can be hunted and killed for food (vs. 2-4).  As you might recall, people were vegetarians prior to the Flood.  See my post, Adam's Underwear on January 2, for this reference.

We are not sure what laws and civil government were in place prior to the Flood, but in order to prevent a repeat of the massive sinfulness that occurred prior to the Flood, God makes changes after the catastrophe.  Here are some of the changes:

1. The atmosphere change appears to have caused a harsher climate.
2. Animals have a fear-based relationship with man. (Vs. 2)
3. Animals can be killed for food. (Vs. 3)
4. Capital punishment is established to discourage murder.    (Vs. 6)
5. Any animal that kills a person is to be killed. (Vs. 5)
6. Because of the change in relationship between man and animal, animals will now be a threat to the lives of humans.  This is another way to shorten the lifespan of people. Greater threats are now on the earth.

After pronouncing these changes, God makes a promise to mankind. The Bible calls this a covenant between God and all of Noah's descendants and all living creatures on earth.  He promises never to destroy the earth by flood again. As a sign of this eternal promise, God sets a rainbow in the clouds. 

This beautiful spectacle had to have been a great comfort to Noah and his family after the ordeal they had endured. You can imagine that they may of had something akin to post traumatic stress disorder after the Flood. Maybe they freaked out every time a cloud appeared in the sky. 

A rainbow is a phenomenon that causes our eyes to see a spectrum of light in the sky when the sun shines on drops of water.  What a beautiful way for God to use a natural phenomenon in this new atmosphere He established as a sign to comfort those on earth with the promise that future rain storms will not result in a worldwide catastrophe.  One thing I like about the rainbow is that God calls Himself "Light" throughout the Bible. A rainbow is light. Light is the first thing God creates in Genesis. Here we see that the light spectrum is what causes the beautiful comforting sign to man. In other words, God is comforting man through Light, through Himself.

A Prophet

I just love Noah. He is so good, and yet, so human and real. May I say that Noah is flawed. In chapter 9 verse 20 we see that Noah becomes a farmer after the Flood.  He plants a vineyard, makes wine, becomes drunk, and lays naked in his tent.  I'm pretty sure that if you and I had been through a horrific catastrophe that killed everything on earth, then had the atmosphere of the earth change negatively, have animals become dangerous, and have to start administering justice to prevent great evil again, we might also decide to get drunk and lay in our tent!

What is interesting though is that this incident is how we begin to get some insight into Noah's boys.  Ham finds Noah in the tent.  He runs out to his brothers and in a disrespectful fashion tells the others what has happened.  You can sense the derisive nature of Ham's personality.  The other two sons, Shem and Japheth, take a robe, walk backwards into the tent in order to avoid seeing Noah's nakedness, and cover him up.  Shem and Japheth honor their father.  Ham does not.

Do you remember our discussion about nakedness and shame a few days ago? This is no mistake that we are being told a story of Noah's sin is being covered by an animal skin robe. This is reminiscent of Adam and Eve's sin being covered by God with animal skins.  The two boys, who cover his sin, are being righteous.  Ham, who laughs at Noah's sin, is being evil. Attitude is everything, folks.

When Noah awakes from his stupor he makes a pronouncement about his sons. God uses Noah as a prophet. Noah prophesies about the future of each son's descendants.  Ham is told that his descendants will be servants to both Shem's and Japheth's descendants, Shem will be blessed by God, and Japheth will have prosperity and expanded territory.  Ham's children, who are descended from his child Canaan, will be cursed.

God's sovereignty is seen as He gives Noah a future vision about his descendants.  History will unfold, but not in some haphazard way.  This prophecy teaches us that God has a purpose for all people on earth.  He uses the wicked and the righteous for His glory. We also see that God uses flawed people to bring about His purposes on earth.

How can you be used by God even though you are not a perfect person?

A People

Next, we get the genealogies of each son's line.  These are not designed to be comprehensive, but do establish areas where the future people groups of various lands, tribes, and languages settle.  I will go into more detail about this section in tomorrow's blog.

The emergence of genomic science has allowed us to study the genetics of everyone on the planet.  Using accumulated knowledge and technology, we have now successfully mapped the whole human genome. We can also use computer technology to find data that allows us to track ancestry.

Recently it was discovered through Ancestry.com that Barak Obama is related to both Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh!  

God has a sense of humor, my friends!  Guess what else technology is telling us. We all come from one man. Can you guess his name after this study? Scientist are unable to tell us this. The Bible says that it is Noah. We all are descended from Noah.

Lesson:  Everyone you meet is truly your family.  Therefore, treat everyone with love and respect. As Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Think of ways to see all people as your family.  Will this change any prejudices you may have?

Matthew 4:12-25

Jesus returns to Galilee, rather than Nazareth, after John the Baptist is arrested. This is another  fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.  Jesus begins to preach that people should turn from their sins (vs. 17), continuing the message that John the Baptist initiated.

Jesus calls his disciples, choosing average working men, many of whom are fishermen.  Notice that he chooses flawed individuals who are not part of the religious establishment.  He tells them that they will now fish for men!  This is different than being a Pharisee, who holds the Law over every one's heads.

Jesus' ministry is marked by healing all kinds of illnesses and demon-possessed people.  Large crowds begin to follow him.

Jesus' disciples where chosen by him even though they were flawed individuals.  God uses average people to do His work on earth.  Does this give you hope that He can use you?  Jesus came to earth to heal people.  He is the Great Physician, who is able to heal you and me. What areas of your life do you need healed by the Lord? Have you brought those needs to him?

Psalm 4:1-8

This is another psalm of distress.  I particularly like vs. 4, which states that we should not let our anger control us.  We are admonished to think about our problems overnight and remain silent.

Proverbs 1:20-23

In the first chapter of Proverbs  we are introduced to Wisdom.  You might find it interesting that Wisdom is from God and Wisdom is a Woman!  Hallelujah!  I told you that the picture of both men and women together create the image of God!

It should not be a surprise that this woman talks loudly in the street to warn others.  Ha!  A typical woman...she is relational and persistent.  She encourages people to not be simple-minded and mockers, but embrace wisdom.  Embrace her. She is wisdom.

Let me know how you are liking this study!  Keep reading.  Tell me what you are learning.

Blessings,


Jubilee Gal
Kathy Fullerton