10.8.25 ~ Too Much Comfort
Good morning!!
The 2025 year has been interesting to say the least. Especially now with the Charlie Kirk mystery murder. What can we expect? Yeshua, our Savior and Messiah, gave us a clue in His discourse on the end days (Matt. 24). He told His disciples, 'As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the coming of the Son of man..." (Matt. 24:37-39). Often, as most study this topic, we focus on the 'corruption of mankind in the earth (Gen. 6:5-8). And, as true as this is, a limited myopic focus creates a skewed, judgmental view of mankind resulting in isolation and self-exaltation; welcome to 2025!
In our Sukkot study last night we identified "who is the King' of Deut. 33:5. This morning, I'd like to connect the parallels between the prophetic name of Noah and the Lord's declaration to bring judgment to the earth (Gen. 5:29; 6:5-7). Ironically, the Hebrew rendering of these two passages are identical.
"And He called his name Noah saying, 'this one will comfort/nacham us in our labor/ma'aseh, in the toil/itssabown we do with our hands, because the Lord cursed the earth/eretz" (Gen. 5:29)
"And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted/nacham that He had made/asah man on the earth and it grieved/atsab His heart. And the Lord said I will destroy man, whom I have created, from off the face of the earth/eretz; both man and animals, creeping things and birds of the air, because I regret that I have ever made them." (Gen. 6:5-8)
How strange that the prophetic, functional utterance of Noah's name would be identical in root form to God's prophetic, functional utterance concerning the destruction of living beings within the earth.
By understanding how man became so wicked, we can examine our own lives and prevent the same outcome individually and potentially those in our sphere of influence.
Through Adam and Cain, we see a progressive downward spiral of judgment on the earth, the labor and toil of men. The earth, which at one point, yielded beautiful fruit (Gen. 2:16) produced thorns and thistles (Gen. 3:17-19) and ultimately yielded no strength through Cain's rebellion (Gen. 4:12). Fast forward hundreds of years and the spiral continues into the spiritual barrenness of man's condition; the one formed from the earth (Gen. 6:5-8; 2:6,7).
Let's go back to Noah's father, Lamech, and his functional, prophetic utterance of his name. Somehow, Lamech knows that Noah is going to comfort mankind from the curse placed upon the earth. How?
From the Garden to Noah we see a fruitful theme that seeds: rebellion produces alienation, sadness, and a curse. Initially, it sounds like the prophecy of Noah is a good thing, but when we compare it to God's prophecy, it makes us take a second glance.
The Lord is mimicking Lamech when He decides to destroy the world. What does righteous Noah have to do with the destruction of the world?
How did Noah bring comfort from the labor and toil in the cursed earth? The sages say that Noah invented the plow; a device to make labor easier. Wouldn't Ai, I mean the plow be considered a good thing?
By allowing men to accomplish more work...yes, it's wonderful. As far as bringing 'comfort/nacham, but the real answer is no. Comfort involves a change in perspective. Many of you understand this perspective shift in the loss of a loved one. At first there is a terrible pain, searing grief before the burial. But after the burial, there's a new kind of mourning that makes us deal with the reality of loss. It's a coping mechanism to our pain and loss, which allows us to move on in life.
The curses put upon the earth that led to man making bread through the sweat of our brow and eating in sadness, were given to remind us of our alienation from what the Lord God originally intended. None of us like labor and sadness so we invent objects of comfort...today, it might be likened to all of our 4G and 5G technology. It's our way of dealing with our alienation from God.
The original curses were designed as a homing beacon to guide us back to the creator. The more we become alienated, the stronger the homing beacon becomes and the greater the desire to come back to the Garden.
The curses lead us to understand the consequences of sin, our alienation, our sadness, and the hunger to return to that original intimacy we had in the Garden of Eden.
The Lord makes His declaration to destroy the world when man finds comfort in all the 'plows' of life. Our modern day 'plow' is a technological solution to a spiritual problem. It's the 'pleasure drug' to take our mind off the pain and sadness of life.
The plow is not sinful. We can work the soil with it. We don't have to be alienated anymore. But when we find comfort in the 'plow' that's when the relationship loses its Garden intimacy and the Lord says, it's time to start over.
As it was in the days of Noah...
Fortunately, He's not done calling out individuals, who are building 'Arks' for the saving of His house (Heb. 11:7).
Chag Sameach Sukkot!
Shalom,
Alan
In our Sukkot study last night we identified "who is the King' of Deut. 33:5. This morning, I'd like to connect the parallels between the prophetic name of Noah and the Lord's declaration to bring judgment to the earth (Gen. 5:29; 6:5-7). Ironically, the Hebrew rendering of these two passages are identical.
"And He called his name Noah saying, 'this one will comfort/nacham us in our labor/ma'aseh, in the toil/itssabown we do with our hands, because the Lord cursed the earth/eretz" (Gen. 5:29)
"And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted/nacham that He had made/asah man on the earth and it grieved/atsab His heart. And the Lord said I will destroy man, whom I have created, from off the face of the earth/eretz; both man and animals, creeping things and birds of the air, because I regret that I have ever made them." (Gen. 6:5-8)
How strange that the prophetic, functional utterance of Noah's name would be identical in root form to God's prophetic, functional utterance concerning the destruction of living beings within the earth.
By understanding how man became so wicked, we can examine our own lives and prevent the same outcome individually and potentially those in our sphere of influence.
Through Adam and Cain, we see a progressive downward spiral of judgment on the earth, the labor and toil of men. The earth, which at one point, yielded beautiful fruit (Gen. 2:16) produced thorns and thistles (Gen. 3:17-19) and ultimately yielded no strength through Cain's rebellion (Gen. 4:12). Fast forward hundreds of years and the spiral continues into the spiritual barrenness of man's condition; the one formed from the earth (Gen. 6:5-8; 2:6,7).
Let's go back to Noah's father, Lamech, and his functional, prophetic utterance of his name. Somehow, Lamech knows that Noah is going to comfort mankind from the curse placed upon the earth. How?
From the Garden to Noah we see a fruitful theme that seeds: rebellion produces alienation, sadness, and a curse. Initially, it sounds like the prophecy of Noah is a good thing, but when we compare it to God's prophecy, it makes us take a second glance.
The Lord is mimicking Lamech when He decides to destroy the world. What does righteous Noah have to do with the destruction of the world?
How did Noah bring comfort from the labor and toil in the cursed earth? The sages say that Noah invented the plow; a device to make labor easier. Wouldn't Ai, I mean the plow be considered a good thing?
By allowing men to accomplish more work...yes, it's wonderful. As far as bringing 'comfort/nacham, but the real answer is no. Comfort involves a change in perspective. Many of you understand this perspective shift in the loss of a loved one. At first there is a terrible pain, searing grief before the burial. But after the burial, there's a new kind of mourning that makes us deal with the reality of loss. It's a coping mechanism to our pain and loss, which allows us to move on in life.
The curses put upon the earth that led to man making bread through the sweat of our brow and eating in sadness, were given to remind us of our alienation from what the Lord God originally intended. None of us like labor and sadness so we invent objects of comfort...today, it might be likened to all of our 4G and 5G technology. It's our way of dealing with our alienation from God.
The original curses were designed as a homing beacon to guide us back to the creator. The more we become alienated, the stronger the homing beacon becomes and the greater the desire to come back to the Garden.
The curses lead us to understand the consequences of sin, our alienation, our sadness, and the hunger to return to that original intimacy we had in the Garden of Eden.
The Lord makes His declaration to destroy the world when man finds comfort in all the 'plows' of life. Our modern day 'plow' is a technological solution to a spiritual problem. It's the 'pleasure drug' to take our mind off the pain and sadness of life.
The plow is not sinful. We can work the soil with it. We don't have to be alienated anymore. But when we find comfort in the 'plow' that's when the relationship loses its Garden intimacy and the Lord says, it's time to start over.
As it was in the days of Noah...
Fortunately, He's not done calling out individuals, who are building 'Arks' for the saving of His house (Heb. 11:7).
Chag Sameach Sukkot!
Shalom,
Alan
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