GOOD MORNING SIBLINGS!

Today’s readings are Genesis 16-18

Rabbit Trails

Today we see a name change and I have to apologize because I have been using Abraham as Abram’s name all this time and the Father had not yet changed it. Y’all kept up really well, though!

Interesting note about name changes:

Unlike Abraham and Jacob, One of the most famous “name changes” in the Bible never actually happened. Paul’s name was never changed. He held dual citizenship as a Jew and as a Roman citizen and his name simply translates differently between Hebrew and Greek. Similar to how my husband’s name is Richard but his high school Spanish teacher called him “Ricardo”. Okay that was kinda weird but hey, it’s high school Spanish class and she had to keep it interesting.🤣

Noted instances of Paul still being called Saul after His repentance (please note that I said repentance, not conversion. Paul had no need to convert as he already worshipped the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob):

• By Messiah Acts 9:4
• Acts 9:17
• By the Holy Spirit Acts 13:2

Here is an interesting article on it with some good Biblical evidence to help increase understanding: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/no-saul-the-persecutor-did-not-become-paul-the-apostle/

(Important: I just found this article. I do not know the doctrinal bent – if any – of this site, but the article is helpful.)

🌿Also, more covenants!

I’ll leave learning about those to you but I do want to point out that the type of circumcision performed in the Bible was not even remotely as invasive and severe as what takes place today. This will help you understand the lack of hesitancy (although I’m sure there was some) in having it done. And that is all we will say about that. 

🌿18:1 THE FATHER APPEARS TO ABRAHAM! WOW! Note that the Father appears in human form here, walking, talking, etc. It is important to know that this happened. Someday, you may encounter some doctrine that knowing this simple fact disproves. 

🌿Some have expressed an interest in explanations of Biblical names so it is worth noting (in case y’all are ever on a game show with this as a question and a million dollars on the line) that the names we refer to key folks in the Bible as bear little (and in some cases none at all) resemblance to what their mama’s called them.

Their names have been given English “translations” and that is what we are familiar with. A humorous meme that I saw once said “So tell me again how Jesus lived in the middle east and had friends named Peter, James, John, and Matthew?”

The reason that is so funny is because transliterated, their names would sound more like:

• Peter – Kefa
• James – Ya’akov*
• John – Yohhanan*
• Matthew – Mattityahu

*There was no J sound in Hebrew. What we pronounce with that sound now used to be a Y sound.

This is just interesting to know. Aren’t you AMAZED at the many facets of wisdom and knowledge in the Bible? We have just got started!

🌿Also, I use the word “translations” in quotes because in some translations the apostles were given entirely new names rather than use what their name would normally translate to. A noted instance of this is the name of James. As you can see from his pronunciation, that name would more accurately translate to “Jacob”. In fact, the Biblical patriarch we know as Jacob shared his name and his name was translated to Jacob but with the KJV translation but James was suddenly given a new name entirely.

🌿Genesis 17:12 shows us that servants (in addition to relatives) and foreigners living in Abraham’s household were also able to be part of this covenant. Understanding of the importance of this information will grow as we continue to read. In other words, keep this in your back pocket. We’ll pull it out later. 

🌿While Isaac is the grandfather of the twelve tribes of Israel, Hagar’s son Ishmael will also go on to be the father of twelve tribes (Genesis 25:16). His people will be very wealthy, just as God promised, and to this day we still see that his descendants, the Arabs, have tremendous wealth but know precious little peace.

🌿Note: Islam traces its roots back to Ishmael.

In fact, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all consider Abraham (yes, our Abraham that we are reading about) to be their patriarch.

🌿Just to be clear where I stand on all of this, there is one true God and we are saved by Grace through faith alone, not of ourselves, in His son who we commonly refer to as Jesus (pronounced Yeshua in Hebrew) as our Messiah. I am most definitely not of the opinion that “all religions worship the same god”.

However, Judaism is a noted exception in that they DO worship the same God as we do, but some (not all as we are often led to believe) do not yet see Jesus (Yeshua) as the Messiah. There are a myriad of reasons for this -and knowing each should draw our compassion, love, and even repentance rather than scorn- but this is all part of God’s plan and serves his purpose. We will see this purpose unfold as we read through the Word this year. Check out Romans 11:25.

Anti-Semitism has no place in the life of a follower of YHWH. In fact, if you’re not already feeling the love for our Jewish brethren, you’ll find yourself going further and further in that direction the deeper we get into the Word! 

Furthermore, as you will likely notice in our reading this year, prophecy is coming true at a rapid rate and reconciliation between the branches of YHWH is already taking place with more on the horizon. This family reunion is going to take place sooner than we think!

So excited to be on this journey with y’all!

Test everything, hold tight to what is good – and HE is the only source of good.

Leave your greetings and rabbit trails on the group discussion thread. We love getting to know you and you commenting is what helps us to do that! You don’t have to share anything deep unless you want to, a simple Good Morning is great! Also, please know that there are no dumb questions in our Fellowship group. We are ALL learning together.

MAY YHWH BLESS THE READING OF HIS WORD!

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*These Bible notes are part of my Bible Reading Plan in conjunction with my Front Porch Fellowship. In the interest of time needed to devote to the Front Porch Fellowship, my family, homeschooling, and my work on SouthernPlate, Bible posts here do not have comments turned on. If you wish to take part in a discussion or ask questions, please join my Front Porch Fellowship next time membership opens up. It only opens once per year and the next window will be late summer of 2020. Thank you! 

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🌿GOOD AFTERNOON, SIBLINGS! 

Saturday’s readings are: Genesis 12-15. 

Rabbit Trails

Covenants Continue today in our reading!

As I mentioned yesterday, we will learn a great deal about covenants as we read through the Bible this year.

🌿There are two types of covenants: Conditional and Unilateral.

• Conditional covenants are ones that require something from both parties, they are conditional. 
• Unilateral are those that hold no conditions or requirements from the other.

🌿Yesterday, we saw YHWH make a unilateral covenant with all living things in that He will never again destroy the inhabitants of the earth by flood. Nothing was required of us in exchange for that and the covenant stands forever – which is why we should still be in awe whenever we see a rainbow in the sky!

🌿Today, we are seeing another covenant made with Abraham and his descendants. Abraham has to ratify (give formal consent to) the covenant at the start by fulfilling what YHWH required of him – to leave his country, his family, and his father’s house and to follow YHWH to the land He would lead him to. This is another one of YHWH’s patterns in that He elects and separates His people from those that would deter or detract them from His purpose. It is very likely that Abraham’s family worshiped many gods and tradition states that his father may have even been a maker of idols so it would make sense that in order to worship the one true God, leaving this culture of idolatry behind would be necessary.

However, we do need to be careful not to try to apply human reason to why we should obey YHWH. He is God, we are not, plain and simple.

🌿Either way, we will see this electing and separating a lot in Scripture and we will see warnings of YHWH to His people not to intermarry or associate with idolators and such because a little yeast leavens the whole loaf (in fact, that exact phrase is used a few times in the Bible). We will also see examples where YHWH’s people did not heed His advice, intermarried with tribes that worshipped idols or did not separate themselves from those YHWH warned against, and suffered as a result.

🌿Once Abraham performed what was required of him in this covenant, the remainder rested entirely upon YHWH – so we can be certain that it will be upheld from there.

🌿In YHWH making this covenant, it becomes a law of the universe, an inescapable promise that will come to pass no matter what we do.

🙌Our Father is a covenant keeper and when YHWH says something will happen, man cannot stop it.

🌿Genesis 12: We see that YHWH has told Abraham that he will be the father of a nation. However, we have to keep in mind that we know how this story ends, but Abraham doesn’t. Abraham is an old man, his wife is advanced past childbearing years, and he is childless. 

🌿Verse 12:4 could provide some insight into how Abraham is envisioning this happening when we see he takes his wife and his nephew, Lot, with him. Lot is already part of his household and was no doubt set up to be the heir to Abraham’s wealth. They reach an impasse, though, when a dispute erupts and they decide to separate. 

🌿Note where Lot goes: there is a description of his choice of residence in Genesis 13:13 which will come into play later. Abraham, however, continues obeying YHWH in faith, even though he has no apparent heir.

🌿YHWH added to this covenant in Genesis 13:15 by promising a particular land to Abraham and his offspring “forever”.

🌿In Genesis 15 this land is defined and you can see a map of that land at the following link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promised_Land

As you probably already know, this land includes Israel. This land belongs to the descendants of Abraham (He is the grandfather of the twelve tribes of Israel) forever. Regardless of where you stand on Israel, the Bible is clear about where God stands.

~Special reminder: politics are not a topic of discussion allowed in our group.~

🌿Sara was likely around 75 years old when the pharaoh found her beauty irresistible.

🌿When Abraham told Sara to tell folks she was his sister, it wasn’t really a lie. She was his half sister as they shared the same father. Genesis 20:12

🌿YHWH is a God of patterns. Did you see the beginning of a pattern today in the interaction of Egypt with YHWH’s people? This begins a pattern of conflict between YHWH’s chosen people and Egypt – and YHWH sending out plagues when they lock horns. This go around the pharaoh had sense enough not to cross YHWH but in Exodus we’ll see a very different reaction.

🌿13:17 when YHWH tells Abraham to walk the length of his land, this was a legal custom known as chazakah. Anytime a person took possession of a parcel of land, they had to walk the perimeter of it as a sign of ownership, a way of “marking their territory”. Some kings even walked the perimeter of their kingdom from time to time for this very reason, a symbolic demonstration for their subjects.

A verse that helps us connect the dots:

If you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. ~Galatians 3:29

Wow, think on that today!

🌿Backtracking a bit: There has been a lot of discussion about Genesis 6 and the 120 years lifespan. There has also been discussion about how man could possibly live hundreds of years and whether or not this was an actual number or figurative. I want to address that a bit from my viewpoint and encourage you to test it and discard if you find it does not prove true. 

6 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. ³ Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” Genesis 6:1-3

Here is a theory that is worth looking into: If we read Genesis 6  in context, the Father is speaking about man becoming evil and that He is going to put an end to that evil. This is before the flood took place and many believe (based on more math than I’m able to do at this point in my day) that the flood took place 120 years after the Father made this statement. Definitely something worth dig deeper on.

As a result, while the popular thought is that this is limiting man’s lifespan, Scripture doesn’t back that up in terms of the ages we are told they lived after this fact. However, that the Father was speaking of the coming flood does appear to hold water. (totally intentional pun) 😉

Another note regarding ages and a caution: I think one of the most surprising things for Believers to discover is that a great many Bible scholars do not consider the Bible to be true, but rather they consider it to be a collection figurative literature. I actually saw a commercial for an online faith based university this past week where a professor was discussing his Genesis class and this professor considered Genesis to be figurative literature, not truth. Believers were jazzed as all get out about that class in the comments because that little subtlety escaped their notice. And so, thousands of believers will sit, eagerly, and pay to be taught that the Bible is not true – and never even realize it.

When people who see the Bible this way come upon numbers like people living over 500 years, etc, their logic tells them that this is not possible because they haven’t seen it in our time and so it must be a figurative number or symbol of something else.

As humans, we are always always always trying to put YHWH in a box, condense Him down so He fits into a thought that makes sense to us. And so, we take miracles and works of the Father and we dismiss them because we can’t wrap our little human brains around an infinite and all powerful God. 

People even think Revelations is entirely symbolic and figurative but if you imagine John living in his time, with no knowledge of what our military vehicles or aircrafts or bombs look like today, then you show him a vision of a great world war in the middle of taking place with these modern machines – he would try to explain it in the terms like we see in Revelation.

Not realizing that many scholars do not believe the Bible to be true, I think a lot of Believers don’t realize that they’ve been taught to doubt the word of YHWH by scholars who never believed it was true to begin with. A little leaven leavens the whole lump – all the enemy has to do is plant a tiny seed of doubt.

I’m telling you what, this is going to be a journey because we are going to see and learn so much about Him and grow closer to Him than we ever dreamed possible! And guess what else?

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Proverbs 30:5

Test everything, hold tight to what is good – and HE is the only source of good.

Our Friday Blessing:

May YHWH bless you and keep you;

YHWH make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

YHWH lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:22-27

And May YHWH Bless the reading of His word! 

Leave your rabbit trails and greetings on the group discussion thread and know that I thank the Father each time I think of you! See ya Sunday! 

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Today’s link: Crock Pot Lasagna
Catch up on all of our Genesis Posts here
Fellowship Members: Visit the group for our daily discussion thread,   Click here to visit our prayer request thread

*These are my bible notes which I post each day in my Front Porch Fellowship on Facebook. In that group, we also have in depth discussions on each day’s readings. I am posting them here on a trial basis and will determine at some point, at my discretion, whether or not this is fruitful. In the interest of time needed to devote to the Front Porch Fellowship, my family, homeschooling, and my work on SouthernPlate, Bible posts here do not have comments turned on. If you wish to take part in a discussion or ask questions, please join my Front Porch Fellowship next time membership opens up. It only opens once per year and the next window will be late summer of 2020. Thank you! 

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The Bible begins in the beginning, and so should we. If you’re new here, please read the previous chapter’s notes before this one. Click here. 

If you would like a printable copy of this month’s daily Bible readings, click here. 

GOOD KINGDOM MORNING TO YOU SIBLINGS!

Today we’re gonna learn some NEAT things and you’re going to feel so smart! 

Would you like to read my statement of faith? Click here

Today’s readings are: Genesis 8-11.

RABBIT TRAILS

Let us start our day with shalom in the Word!

But what is shalom? Isn’t that Jewish? 

I’m glad you asked! Shalom is a Hebrew word. Jewish is a people, Hebrew is a language. Now the Jewish people are our brethren, who are under many wonderful covenants with the Father which we will learn about as we read this year. We will learn about the covenants that include us as well, beginning today! The books we are reading now were originally written in Hebrew and from time to time you might see a Hebrew word thrown around in the group. You see, Hebrew is a far more nuanced and intricate language than many of the languages it has been translated to and as a result, sometimes in our reading we might find that the Hebrew counterpart to an English word just tends to go deeper for us. Shalom is the perfect example of this. Most folks know that Shalom means peace but it is actually more than that. Shalom is a wholeness of peace that can only come from the Father. This is the peace I wish each of us to have and that I pray multiplies as we continue in His Word! 

I am trying to condense my rabbit trails or keep them to just a few points rather than covering everything for the sake of brevity (and because most folks can’t read Christy’s ramblings all day). Somedays I will be better at that than others. Today I’m about middle of the road.

🌿QUESTION WE ARE GONNA ANSWER TODAY: How long was the earth covered in water and how long were Noah and his family in the ark?

For most of us, our immediate response would be forty days and forty nights. That is just part of the story that we have inherited.

But just as we may have once believed only two of each animal went onto the ark (yesterday’s readings dispelled that myth), this is a great example of us needing firsthand knowledge of the Bible. It is important to note that inherited religion is not a substitute for a direct relationship with the Lord or with His Word and when we see these gaps in our faith (what we believe to be true vs what the Bible actually says) it should cause us to sit up straighter, awaken from our spiritual apathy, and take on the responsibility we have to do our own homework.

So let us look at what the Bible says.

First of all, has it ever occurred to you that you are a descendant of Noah? Just keep in mind while reading this that you are, in fact, reading your family history – in more ways that one. 

So let’s see how long our grandpappy was stuck inside that boat! 👴

💧Genesis 7:7 – Noah and his family go into the ark seven days before the flooding begins (Genesis 7:10)

💧In Genesis 8:11 we are told that in the second month on the seventeenth day the fountains of the great deep burst forth and the Heavens opened. Note that it wasn’t just rain that caused this great flood, but the bursting forth of water sources within the depths of the earth as well.

💧Genesis 8:4 The ark came to rest on the top of a range of mountains known as Ararat (this refers to an entire range, not just a single mountain) on the seventeenth day of the seventh month (five months after it began). 

💧The waters at this point were still covering most of the land because in genesis 8:5 it says that on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen

We are now at 8 months after the flood began.

💧Genesis 8:13 On the first day of the first month the waters were dried from the earth and Noah removed the cover from the ark. Since we began this journey on the tenth day of the second month, we are almost at one full year.

💧Genesis 8:14 – WE HAVE TOUCH DOWN! On the twenty seventh day of the second month, a year and twenty days after Noah and his family entered the ark, YHWH gave them orders to exit the ark and return to land.

RECAP: Noah and his family enter the ark: Second month, tenth day

Noah and his family exit the ark: Second month, twenty seventh day of following year.

In summary, while popular belief is 40 days and 40 nights, the truth is that Noah and his family were in the ark a little over a year and the waters covered the earth a little less than that. 

🌿Neat things to look for:

• Who shut the door of the ark? 7:16
• How long did rain fall upon the earth? 7:12
• How long did the water “prevail over the earth” before it began to recede? Genesis 7:24
• How much longer after that did it take for the waters to fully recede? Genesis 8:3

Noah is considered to be righteous and yet in Genesis 9 we see him getting drunk and passing out unclothed – how can this be righteous behavior? You’ll notice many times in the Bible that we see YHWH’s chosen people behaving in ways that are not Godly and yet they are still counted as His chosen ones. It is important to note that the patriarchs of our faith are not whitewashed in Biblical text. They are shown as fallible, sinning people who fall short. In showing the reality of their character we see that man is never made righteous by our own efforts but through relationship with YHWH – Grace in action. Righteousness cannot be achieved apart from Him. However, that has never been license to live according to our wisdom rather than the Father’s.

🌿Note: the months of the Hebrew lunar calendar do not line up with our Gregorian calendar. The length and time of a year and month are roughly the same, but their months and beginnings of years are different. Jan 1 is not the new year on the Hebrew calendar. This is not significant to this story but just something I wanted to point out.

🌿 The covenant of the rainbow (Genesis 9) – This covenant is unilateral and for all living creatures. Unilateral means that it requires nothing on our part in exchange for YHWH’s promise and action on His part.

🌿Can you imagine the fear folks must have naturally felt, so close to when the flood happened, every time it came a downpour? Add to that the comfort of seeing a rainbow at the end of that rain. Talk about a sigh of relief! Regardless of the time that has passed, do not take seeing a rainbow lightly. YHWH’s covenant still stands – He is a covenant keeper! We will be learning a great deal about covenants – and which ones we are part of, as we go through YHWH’s Word.

🌿About the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:4): YHWH had commanded people to disperse and populate the earth but here we have people working together to accomplish their own will instead. Their desire to reach the heavens and elevate themselves to the level of YHWH demonstrates their haughty disobedience. 

😲Ruh-Roh, I feel a preaching coming on. Feel free to exit the boat and get to your reading or buckle up and hang on!

It shocks me, so close to the flood event, that man was so quick to turn away from YHWH and attempt to assert their own will and dominance, but we are far more guilty of this today.

We turn from His ways, even believing when our world tells us that YHWH’s very Words, spoken in His own voice, are obsolete, and aside from the world, a vast part of the church says that portions of YHWH’s Word are not even relevant. We rely on our own wisdom instead of seeking His and sometimes go so far as to declare our own wisdom to be representative of His even though it stands in direct contradiction to His word.

But the fact of the matter is, You can’t recognize a counterfeit if you don’t know the original. 

So many of these problems would be solved if we just knew the Word of YHWH firsthand. He gave it to us so that we can read it, know it, know Him, and walk in His ways – which are sometimes beyond our understanding but ALWAYS superior to our own.

And that is why it is SO EXCITING to stand on this ground with you, to be here, searching His word, reading it with fresh eyes and minds searching for the truth told to us in His voice.

So have you felt defeated lately? Have you felt tired, worn out, beaten down, dried up, and weary of this world?

Hang onto your hats. Because the waters of life are about to burst forth in your life. 

Stay in the Word. Keep showing up each day. He is welcoming each of us home with open arms.

Class has begun, we have the greatest teacher of all eternity, and we all get to be teacher’s pets.

Test everything, hold tight to what is good – and HE is the only source of good.

May YHWH bless the reading of His Word! 

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Today’s link: Southern Steak and Milk Gravy 

Catch up on all of our Genesis Posts here
Fellowship Members: Click here for Daily Discussion Thread,  Click here to visit our prayer request thread

*These are my bible notes which I post each day in my Front Porch Fellowship on Facebook. In that group, we also have in depth discussions on each day’s readings. I am posting them here on a trial basis and will determine at some point, at my discretion, whether or not this is fruitful. In the interest of time needed to devote to the Front Porch Fellowship, my family, homeschooling, and my work on SouthernPlate, Bible posts here do not have comments turned on. If you wish to take part in a discussion or ask questions, please join my Front Porch Fellowship next time membership opens up. It only opens once per year and the next window will be late summer of 2020. Thank you! 

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