Preserved

This week's sabbath reading is titled Noach, or the name "Noah" to us. Noach in English means "rest, resting place, quiet". If we look at the individual Hebrew letters of the word and name Noach, which are nun and cheth, we will see an additional meaning : "the Son, the Heir to the throne, separates and protects in an inner chamber". These letters can also mean at the same time : "the faithful seed or offspring that are separated from, divided from, and protected". The story of Noah is well known. Children's stories and toys tell the story of Noah and the Ark. However, we can be sure that there are deep things to learn in this account in scripture. In fact, the warning that Noah brought to the world as he built the ark, according to God's specific instructions, is still crying out a warning for us today. Jesus told us that the account of Noah, the ark, and the flood that brought destruction to the earth will again have meaning in end time events, and the return of the Son of Man (Mt. 24:36-39). The Apostle Peter also referred to the flood of Noah, and its relationship to end time beliefs, unbeliefs and deception: "Scoffers will come in the last days...saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.' For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water." (2 Peter 3:3-6). This past event of the flood is to remind us that as others scoff, God will do what He needs to do to establish justice and righteousness, and to preserve His remnant of people. Not only that, but Peter also wrote that the same word that ultimately preserved the heavens and earth then, is still active, and has caused the heavens and earth to reserve fire "until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." (v. 7). Peter tells us that as much as the flood was an act of judgment, as the coming fire will be, he also tells us here that the flood was an act of preservation for a remnant. It is through this obedience to God's instructions for preservation, which was the ark, that Noah became listed as one of our fathers of faith, and an heir of righteousness by faith (Heb. 11:7). This sabbath reading, Noach, deals with God's merciful preservation out of evil, violence, ungodliness and calamity, one man, his family, and some from all of the animals that breath. We will see other examples of this from this sabbath's reading as well. In our first sabbath portion out of Genesis 6, we find out that the men of the earth had become filled with wickedness, evil, violence and corruption (sahat - corrupt, destroy, destroyer, waster, ruin, decay, be rotted, pervert). Because of their evil, the decay of rotting death had entered living man and, consequently, creation (Gen. 6:5, 11-12). Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death - even a living death, a living corruption. However, also according to Romans 6:23, there is a remedy to this living death, which is the gift (charisma/charizomai/charis/chairo - a gift, a favor one receives without any merit of his own, divine grace, faith, knowledge, holiness, virtue/give freely, bestow, to preserve a person in trouble, to pardon, rescue, forgive/grace, good will, loving-kindness, gift of grace/to rejoice, be glad, be well, thrive) of God, which is in Jesus Christ. We can't buy or earn this gift. It is freely bestowed by God for the asking, and even before we have the good sense to ask for it, so we can't even take the credit for having good sense! Anyone who has had the awesome experience of receiving the grace gift of the salvation of God has experienced this. It as a gift - you can't "earn" it, "deserve" it, or "buy/barter" it from God. It can't be done. The gift is given in Gen. 6: "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD...Noah was a just (sadiq/sadaq - righteous, just as a judge or king is just, justified, to make one righteous, to speak truth) man, perfect (tamim/tamam - without blemish, without spot, complete, finished, shutting up, in accord with truth) in his generations. Noah walked with God." (v. 8-9). This gift of grace is not a one-time event. The gift continues to operate in us, making changes in our minds and hearts. The loving gift of grace will break our stony hearts, and build a new heart in us, if we will allow it to do so, leading and prompting us to righteous acts inspired by the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God. The gift of grace is a life-changer, and a life-definer. Just ask Noah. As Noah received the gift of grace from God, he was given the qualities of justness and perfection. As we can see, both of these qualities are connected with the speaking of and agreement with truth. Jesus said that the truth of the Word of God sanctifies us and sets us free (Jn. 17:17, Jn. 8:31-32). Believers are to walk in truth (Ps. 86:11, 2 Jn. 3-4, 3 Jn. 1-4). The truth is a Person, Jesus (Jn. 1:16-17, Jn. 14:6-7, Rev. 19:11). There may be many who make claims to truth, but there is only one who IS Truth. God connected Noah to this Person of Truth, Jesus, but how? In the verse above, we see the phrase "Noah walked with God". God, in this case is Elohim here in this verse. However, in the Hebrew writing of this phrase, something additional is connected to the word "Elohim". Two Hebrew letters, Aleph and Tav, are joined to "Elohim". In Rev. 22:13, Jesus says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." "Alpha" and "Omega" are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The Hebrew equivalent of first and last letters, which is what Jesus would have used, is "the Aleph" and "the Tav". Besides this example in Gen. 6, there are many other places in scripture where the "Aleph-Tav" is connected to significant words and phrases, but their presence does not get translated into English. In this case, Noah has been given the gift of grace from God, and caused him to walk with God Aleph-Tav that will separate him, and rescue him and his household, as well as representatives from the animal kingdom, from the coming disaster. God told Noah: "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside (bayit/bana - house, shelter, family, descendants, temple, palace) and outside ( hus- outward, whatever is without, to sever or separate by a wall) with pitch (kapar - atonement, reconcile, purge, forgive, cleanse, merciful, to cover, pardon)." (Gen. 6:14). Noah was to "flood-proof" the ark with mercy, forgiveness, cleansing, reconciliation and atonement. We also know that the kapar atonement of scripture is the blood of sacrifice, the Blood of the Lamb, Christ (1 Jn. 2:1-2, Heb. 9:11-14). There is another interesting reference to Jesus Christ in the account of Noah as God commanded Noah to build a window into the top of the ark, and a door into the side (Gen. 6:16). "Window" is the word sohar/sahar meaning "noon, nonday, suddenly, unexpectedly as an attack upon an enemy/to press out oil, to glisten, to shine, come forth, reveal oneself, light, splendor". We have a verse in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, which refers to the destruction of the lawless one, or antichrist: "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming." The word for "door" used above is the Hebrew word petah/patah, which means "door, gate, open, loose, grave, break forth, appear, open wide". We know that Jesus called Himself "the Door", and He broke open the grave for us all (see Jn. 10:7-10, Mt. 27:51-53, Mt. 28:2-6). There are many more details in the account of Noah that we could look at, but we will end this section from Genesis 6 with the promise of God to Noah: "And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth...everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark- you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you." (Gen. 6:17-18). Another example of preservation out of destruction from this week's sabbath reading titled Noach, or "Rest", is from Isaiah 54. God in His anger had turned His back on His people, Israel, like a wife rejected by her husband, like a woman made barren of children: "For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you, says the LORD your Redeemer. For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you...My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed." (Isa. 54:1-10, excerpt). Under the same promise that God made to Noah, He would extend His undeserved mercy and kindness again to this remnant of Noah's descendants who had turned from Him. As we see these mercies of God once again extended here to Israel to serve as an example for us, it should cause our own hearts to soften with love and repentance towards Him as well. In Jeremiah 31, another portion from this week's sabbath reading, Israel had rebelled against God, had broken their covenant with Him, and brought destruction to their doors, as Jeremiah had prophesied would happen. However, Jeremiah also then brought this promise of undeserved mercy from the LORD: "Behold the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah...But...after those days...I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people...For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." (Jer. 31:31-34). His people brought destruction on their own heads, but the LORD, as with Noah, would extend His gift of grace, change His people in their minds and hearts into righteousness, and forgive their sins. Again, a remnant shall be preserved by grace. In another sabbath reading portion, God's people have become corrupt, they have not trusted in, nor drawn near to the LORD. Because of this, the LORD will gather the nations. His wrath and fiery destruction will be poured out over all the earth. However, God will preserve a remnant, and restore "a pure language...and they shall trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth...Be glad and rejoice with all your heart...The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more." (Zeph. 3:8-15). The undeserved grace, mercy, and kindness of God seems to be the recurring theme through this week's sabbath readings. There is a place of rest in the LORD, His ark of Christ, like the one He established with Noah, if we will abide in it as Noah did. God remembers His floodwaters, and has not forgotten that place where His people are preserved by His grace. There is no other place nor means by which we may be preserved. (Acts 4:10-12). If you would like to learn more about being preserved by grace, you can pray with me: "LORD Jesus, the Father gave His grace to us through You, and as You preserved Noah and his household, and even the animals of the earth, You desire to preserve me. I want to walk with You, Aleph Tav-Elohim, as Noah walked with You, and You called him just and perfect, speaking and in accord with truth. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, as the dove returned to the ark with an olive leaf to give Noah sure knowledge and comfort that the waters had indeed receded for him. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were with Noah, and also, I ask, be with me and my household always. I don't wish to search for my place of rest anywhere else but in You, and in your gift of grace. I ask these things in Your holy name. AMEN."

Walk

This entry is based upon the Torah and Haftarah readings assigned to last week's Sabbath, and this Sabbath. Even those these two sections of scripture are read a week apart, I believe they have a common thread. As is true with all scripture, these scriptures have insights that are very pertinent to our walk with Christ and these current times. We will see the ruling image of Christ in these scriptures as well. Last week's Sabbath section of scripture in the Parshah, or assigned reading, is titled "Noah" or "Rest". God had concluded that because of the thorough wickedness of men, and the evil that was in their hearts continually, He would destroy men from the earth: "And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them." (Gen. 6:6-7). Onto this scene of impending judgment and destruction, Noah is inserted: "But Noah found (encountered, acquired) grace (favor, acceptance, mercy, supplication) in the eyes of the LORD. This is the geneology of Noah. Noah was a just (righteous, correct, lawful, cleansed) man, perfect (complete, without blemish, in accord with truth; finished, to be completely crossed over) in his generations (also an age, a period, to dwell). Noah walked (to die, live, manner of life) with God (Elohiym-plural name of God)." (v. 8-9). Last week's Sabbath section of scripture in the Parshah, or assigned reading, is titled "Noah" or "Rest". God had concluded that because of the thorough wickedness of men, and the evil that was in their hearts continually, He would destroy men from the earth: "And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them." (Gen. 6:6-7). Onto this scene of impending judgment and destruction, Noah is inserted: "But Noah found (encountered, acquired) grace (favor, acceptance, mercy, supplication) in the eyes of the LORD. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just (righteous, correct, lawful, cleansed) man, perfect (complete, without blemish, in accord with truth; finished, to be completely crossed over) in his generations (also an age, a period, to dwell). Noah walked (to die, live, manner of life) with God (Elohiym-*plural name of God)." (v. 8-9). (*The use of the name "Elohiym" here for God lets us know that, as a plural, the Son and the Holy Spirit are understood also.) From the Hebrew meanings, including root meanings, of the description of Noah, we can see that he was a forerunner in the Spirit of a follower of Christ in his age. As such a follower, he received the characteristics of Christ through grace. He would provide a place of rest in prepartion for the coming judgment. We are called to have a similar walk with God during the approaching judgment of the earth. Not only would the rest be for himself and those immediately with Noah, but there would be a promise of the same rest for Noah's descendants, his future generations. The haftarah portion from Isa. 54 tells us that God was still keeping His covenant promise established with Noah to show His mercy and kindness to Noah's descendants. God called it His covenant of peace with them. As in the case of the description of Noah here in these verses, we also are "predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren." (Rom. 8:28-30), in our age, which is the age of Christ and His Church. We also therefore are called to provide a place of rest against the shakings and coming judgment of God. That place of rest is the same place of rest as in Noah's day, in Christ. In this week's assigned Torah reading, the section of scripture is called "Lech Lechah", or "Go forth yourself!" It begins in Gen 12, as Abram is told by God: "...Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation...and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen. 12:1-3). In the same way that Noah was described as "just", which in part means "completely crossed over", Abram would begin a journey, or walk, through which he will become "completely crossed over", spiritually speaking. Like Noah, having made this spiritual journey, he will impact many generations, and all the families of the earth. In these first nine verses, Abram is brought from a place of burning, scorching, parching, anger (Haran), to a place of humbling oneself, the bending or falling to the knees (Canaan), to a place where the back and shoulders are offered (consented to) for carrying a burden, and upon which blows are inflicted (Shechem), to the place of teaching, instruction and the early rains (Moreh), to the spiritual place of intercession: positioned between iniquity, perversity, destruction and ruin (Ai) and the House (tent, family, descendants) of God (Bethel). We can clearly see a journey in Christ in these places where Abram was directed to go. This reflects our journey as well as we are brought from death to life through Christ's sacrifice. The work of our walk also includes intercession as we stand between destruction and the House of God, praaying the mercy of God. In the corresponding Haftarah portion for this week's Sabbath, the prophet Isaiah describes the work that was accomplished through Abram, and the generations to follow him: "But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham My friend. You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest regions, and said to you, "You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away...I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." (Isa. 41:8-10). The LORD also declared in this assigned passage for this Sabbath, "Who has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, am the first; and with the last, I am He." (v. 4). As we see the use of the term "beginning", as well as "first" and "last", we can understand that this reference is to Christ, Who identified Himself in these terms in the Book of Revelation (1:8,11, 17)). Christ's work through our walk with Him, is not just with us, but to establish a relationship with us from which to call future generations to Himself. The journey of Abram was a "walk with God", as it was with Noah. This walk produced the work of Christ in these men, as it is also produced in us. The work is not just a change for one man, but a change impacting many generations into the future. We are assured of this great fruit into the distant future because the generations produced out of this Christ-like work, are generations ordained by Christ Himself, the First and the Last. We can see why this Sabbath's section of the Parsha is titled "Go forth yourself!" We can rejoice in the fruit that the Lord guarantees from every life walked with Him. May you be encouraged in your walk with Christ, and may the Lord bring forth His work of rest out of judgment, and the establishment of His covenant blessing to many generations through us. Our Father has called us to walk with Him in Christ. If you would like to begin to walk with God through His Son, Jesus, Who is the First and the Last, we can pray this life-changing, and life-giving confession of faith: Dear Jesus, I believe that You died for me. I believe that You rose again from the dead, and are returning soon to rule and reign on the earth. I confess my sins to You, and believe that You have cleansed me of those sins. I believe I have received the promise of everlasting life in You. Fill me with the Holy Spirit Who will teach me and lead me in this walk to follow You in Your ways of truth and righteousness. I give You thanks for hearing my prayer, and receiving me into the eternal loving covenant family of God. In Your name, I come to the Father. Amen.

Rest

The Sabbath rest is something that is very important to God, and to man. It was so important to God that He made it one of the Ten Commandments, and also one of the feasts of the LORD, one of the holy convocations that God revealed to Moses:
"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."  Ex. 20:8-11
And:
"Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: "The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath  of solemn rest, a holy convocation, You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings."  Lev. 23:2-3
This very important holy day of the LORD's is associated with the rest that He entered on the seventh day, at the conclusion of the six days of creation. There is, however, something deeper here. The completion of the manifested, physical creation, and the subsequent day of rest, is really a shadow and type of an even greater spiritual work, and rest, which we will see. Unfortunately, the Sabbath became, instead, an occasion for religious legalism regarding what can or cannot be done on that day, or, even worse, it has been totally disregarded as a feast of the LORD, and removed from its proper context as such by the Church.
All of the feasts of the LORD, including the Sabbath, also have a prophetic significance, which is revealed in the Hebrew word for convocation. The apostle Paul tells the Church that there is prophetic meaning when he says that the convocations shadow "things to come", and he also tells the Church that the substance, or Body, of these convocations is Christ, Himself (Col. 2:16-17).
Jesus certainly directly connects Himself with the Sabbath by saying, "For the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath (Mt. 12:8, Mr. 2:28, Lk. 6:5). He also said, "Come to Me, all you who labor (exhausted, troubled, beaten with grief and sorrow, wailing in mourning) and are heavy laden (overburdened, carrying spiritual anxiety), and I will give you rest." (Mt. 11:28). As Paul told us, Jesus is indeed the Body of this feast.
One of the reasons given for many having rejected Jesus as Messiah at the time of His coming, was because He did not observe the man-made religious legalisms that had been loaded onto the Sabbath (Jn. 9:16). Jesus instead turns their understanding of the Sabbath on its head by telling them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." What is Jesus telling us? Why is God so insistent that we not only consider the Sabbath holy, but do no work on the Sabbath, not even our animals, nor our servants (employees), nor the stranger that might come across our household? When God talks about the six days of creation, and the seventh day of rest, what is He really revealing to us? And if the convocations are also prophetic, what is the prophetic depth of the Sabbath?
The Book of Hebrews gives us great understanding of the epic, eternal, depth of the Sabbath of the LORD. In Heb. 4:3-11, the Word reveals that although the work of the LORD was manifested and represented in the six days of creation, the actual creative work was begun and completed before the foundation of the world. The reason why the Israelites in the wilderness were not allowed to enter into God's rest (Ps. 95:11), was because they did not believe that He had completed the work regarding them, and that He had rested from it. Entering into the Sabbath rest of the LORD, the holy convocation, requires that we understand and believe that all of His work had already been begun and completed, before the physical world even existed. The past, present, and future has already been created, set into place to such a complete extent that God has rested. This is the rest that the LORD has called us also to enter: the knowledge that all has already been done, already completed:
"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience (the Israelites' unbelief)."  Heb. 4:11
The prophet Isaiah also revealed the eternal dimension of the Sabbath:
"Remember the former things (beginning, first, before, aforetime) of old (perpetual, always, continuous existence, indefinite, unending future, eternity)  for I am God (El), and there is no other; I am God (Elohim), and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from the ancient times (before, anticipate, precede) things that are not yet done, saying "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure...I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it."  Isa. 46:9-11).
When Jesus compels those who labor, and are heavy laden to come to Him, He is talking about the place in Him of this eternal completion, that all of those efforts and burdens are gone in the knowledge that it is already finished. This is the Sabbath rest.
Jesus is the eternity of completion from the beginning to the end, or rest- the work completed before the foundation of the world:
"And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts."  Rev. 21:6
"Father, I desire that they also, whom You gave Me, be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world." Jn. 17:24
"He (Christ) indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you."  1 Pet. 1:20
The atoning work of the cross was completed before the world was physically created:
"All who dwell on the earth will worship Him (Jesus), whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world".  Rev. 13:8
We also are part of this eternal, completed work:
"...just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, and without blame before Him in love..."   Eph. 1:4
Of those who were called:
"For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image  of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."  Rom. 8:29
The holy Sabbath rest is not just a day for going to temple, or church as usual (most churches have changed the day, and context of Sabbath anyway), and it is definitely not a set of religious rules regarding what is allowed on the day. It is something much deeper than that. The Sabbath feast of the LORD, commanded by Him and revealed to His prophet Moses, is the place where we are to enter by the faith, with the understanding, the assurance in Christ, that everything concerning us, our household, our circumstances, our conditions, our salvation, our perfecting into His image, has been begun and completed by the Father and the Son, before the world was even manifested. Therefore, we can join Him in His rest, and accept that the work is finished. The manifestation of that creative work in us and around us, will follow. The Sabbath is not just a day, it is a picture of eternity. To believe less is to refuse to enter into His rest.

Our Father wants us to honor, enter into, and keep His Sabbath rest.

"Be Still My Soul (In You I Rest)"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq59iE3MhXM

"Rest In The LORD"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiKWeK37C6Q