Tag: ark

The Wood of Atonement

Posted on by jovial_cynic

And Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.
Genesis 22:6 (NASB)

In Genesis 22:6, the Hebrew word describing “the wood” is עֲצֵי (aztay), which is literally the phrase “the wood of.” Here, it’s linked to the burnt offering. A sacrifice.

This phrase only appears one other time in Genesis. It’s in Genesis 6, contained in the instructions for building the ark.

Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
Genesis 6:14 (NASB)

Do you remember the purpose of the ark? It’s being built to preserve humanity. To save Noah and his family.

God tells Noah to “pitch it with pitch,” and the words here are words that also mean “ransom” and “atonement.” These are theological words linked to salvation.

Surely, you can hear the scripture echo…

Sarah and the Ark

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And there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
Genesis 20:2 (NIV)

It’s easy to think that Abraham’s lie to Abimelek is just like his lie to Pharaoh, but the differences are the key to understanding the story.

For starters, there’s no mention of Sarah’s beauty. She’s 90 now, so it’s unlikely that her physical appearance is related.

Second, there is no mention of fear. Genesis 12 mentions the fear of famine that drove them to Egypt and the fear that Pharaoh would kill Abram. But here in Gerar, Abraham isn’t afraid, and he doesn’t think that the men of the city are going to try to kill him. At least, not in the same way. In Genesis 12, the fear is truly about dying. But in Genesis 20:11, the fear mentioned is that the people here don’t “fear God.” The fear of dying, then, isn’t like Genesis 12. Abraham believes he will be kept alive because God has proven Himself faithful. So perhaps Abraham’s fear is about something else.

The rabbis point out an unusual way Abraham relates to Sarah in this verse.

“and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah…”

The text reads “of Sarah,” or אֶל־שָׂרָה in Hebrew. The word “of” here is אֵל (el).

It should be עַל (al), not אֵל (el).

What’s the difference?

“al-Sarah” would mean “about Sarah,” or “of Sarah.” But instead, we are given “el-Sarah,” which really means “towards Sarah.” The word implies a directional relationship, and it carries with it a sense of utility.

The rabbis tie this story to 1 Samuel 4:21.

She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.
1 Samuel 4:21 (NIV)

Here, we have “of the ark,” or “el haron” and it’s the same usage, and the story involves a fissure in the relationship where the ark is used as utility, and not relationally.

The whole story of 1 Samuel 4 involves the people of God taking the ark and believing that simply using it will get them a victory or reward.

This may be the meaning: Abraham isn’t repeating a mistake from the past. He is taking God and his wife for granted. Perhaps he has the following mindset:

“The last time something like this happened, we walked out with treasure. Perhaps we can do it again.” For Abraham, Sarah becomes a means to an end.

The lesson is that we who are within God’s covenant can find ourselves misusing our relationship with one another and with God. It should not be this way.

The ark in the land of the Philistines is Sarah in Gerar.

Abimelek is the King of the Philistines.

Backwards

Posted on by jovial_cynic

When something is repeated in scripture, it might be because you are supposed to pay attention to it. Underline it. Highlight it.

I wondered why the text uses this word אֲחֹרַנִּית (ahoraneeth) twice in the same sentence. Backwards, or Reverse.

But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it on both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were [a]turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.
Genesis 9:23 (NASB)

[a] Lit backward

If you’ve followed along, you know that I have to chase these words down and try to find meaning in them and their usage in the text. Sometimes, this results in dead ends, but often it’s quite enlightening.

But sometimes, it gets very interesting…

One learning is that Genesis is full of spiritual versions of words that later are demonstrated in physical words.

Examples:
Good is the spiritual root of beautiful
Shame is the spiritual root of naked/uncovered

So we’re supposed to view them in a related way. This is the nature of parables.

The Genesis Ark is covered inside and out in “pitch,” and we later learn that this word is the same word used for “atonement.” In Exodus, when Moses is in the basket (same word: Ark), it’s also covered in “pitch,” but it’s the natural version of this word. But it’s linked.

And then there is the relationship between the Genesis Ark (“tayVah”) and the Exodus Ark (“ahRon”) of the Covenant. Same concept… except different words are used. One covered in pitch/atonement, the other covered in gold/purity. Sort of like our house vs God’s house? Maybe.

So anyhow, this word “backwards” appears here in Genesis 9, and the next time we see it is in 1 Samuel 4.

Samuel learns that his two wicked sons have died and that the Ark of the Covenant has been taken. In his shock, he falls backwards and dies.

Then the one who brought the news replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great defeat among the people, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas are also dead; and the ark of God has been taken.” When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. And so he judged Israel for forty years.
1 Samuel 4:17-18 (NASB)

Isn’t that interesting?

Eli has two wicked sons who die, and Noah has two good sons who are blessed. The Ark was taken away instead of God’s people exiting it. Eli falls backwards, breaks his neck, and is forever shamed in the text for being fat vs. the two good sons walking in backwards to protect Noah’s dignity to prevent further shame. These stories seem so connected.

Kind of weird, right? But stranger yet, we later have three back to back instances in Scripture that point to another set of “backwards.”

It’s when Elijah demonstrates the power of God to Hezekiah. He appears to reverse the clock, and then set it forward again by 10-degrees.

So Hezekiah said, “It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but have the shadow turn backward ten steps.”
2 Kings 20:10 (NASB)

Then Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and He brought the shadow on the stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.
2 Kings 20:11 (NASB)

Behold, I will make the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, go back ten steps.” So the sun’s shadow went back ten steps on the stairway on which it had gone down.
Isaiah 38:8 (NASB)

Incidentally, ten degrees by the sun-dial equates to… 40 minutes. And we’ve already learned that 40 = testing or trials. It represents a time of testing.

So here’s an interpretation:

Noah cursed Canaan instead of forgiving him. He thinks he has good reason for this: he wants vengeance.

We can choose vengeance (Noah’s way) or forgiveness (God’s way). There’s time to consider it – a time of testing where God makes the clock stand still. Through our forgiveness or acting out in wrath, we move the sun. We either move forward or backward. We create or destroy.

That’s what forgiveness and wrath do: they create and they destroy. They move creation forward or they undo it and send it back into chaos.

Perhaps we’re meant to see this and understand that time is connected to all of this. God is telling us how to move through time rightly.

The last, and possibly most important instance of “backwards” is in the center of the listings, in 1 Kings 18. This is when Elijah faces off against the prophets of Ba’al, when he calls down fire from heaven.

He prays that God turns the clock of hearts… “backwards.” Back to Him.

Answer me, Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that You, Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back.

—

And here’s another thought:

Based on these connections, I suspect Noah did not merely curse Canaan. He pummeled him with his fists.

Why?

Because Eli’s sons names are as follows:

Phinehas: – root meaning: mouth. This points to the curse from Noah’s mouth.

Hophni – root meaning: fist. This points to the physical beating from Noah’s hands.

Their deaths points to undoing all of Noah’s vengeance as God turns the clock back.

Loving the Dirt

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Genesis is full of patterns, and a break in a pattern is meant to call your attention to it.

There’s a break in the pattern with Noah, and it is profound.

In Genesis 5, we have this repeating pattern in the genealogy. A person was born, they had a son, then they had other sons and daughters, and then they died. Over and over again, from Adam to Lamech.

But not so with Noah.

You might first think, “Well, of course not with Noah. Noah is still alive by the end of Genesis 5,” and you’d be right. He is.

But jump to the end of Genesis 9, and what do you see?

After the flood Noah lived 350 years. Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.
Genesis 9:28-29 (NIV)

Where is the “and had other sons and daughters?” It’s missing.

Remember – the pattern (and deviations from it) IS the story. And in the case of children, it is explicitly tied to the blessing of “be fruitful and multiply” in Genesis 9:7.

But Noah is not fruitful. He does not multiply. This is meant to catch your attention.

The rabbis wondered about this. In the Midrash, one teaching suggests Ham’s sin wasn’t about “shaming dad’s nakedness,” but rather was about castration. In doing this, he prevented Noah from having more children. So Noah retaliates against Ham’s child.

Another view points to Leviticus, where the phrase “your father’s nakedness” comes into view, and it’s associated with sleeping with your father’s wife, although this is generally about a second wife, and not one’s own mother. But maybe Ham is Oedipus?

The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness.
Leviticus 18:8 (NKJV)

I have another view.

When Noah is reintroduced in Genesis 9:21, we are told he is a “man of the soil.” Literally, Noah is “ish ha’adamah.”

Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard.
Genesis 9:20 (NIV)

This word “ish” does mean “man,” but when we first saw this word, it was in Genesis 2, when man met his wife: Ish and Isha. Husband and Wife.

Perhaps Noah fell in love with the ground. Perhaps he first loved the Creator, and then turned and loved the created thing, and devoted all of his time to it, neglecting God and his own wife.

How much dedication does it take to tend a vineyard so you can get drunk from it?

In any event, this is my view. In Jewish studies, this is called “drash,” and it’s only as true as it holds up to other clear teachings/truths in the Torah.

From this drash, I see: love God, love your neighbor. Don’t love the earth or the things in it above people and God.

In the Dark

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Genesis 8:6 says 40 days, but this is not the 40 days of rain at the start.

Before this verse, it says that after the rains, in the tenth month is when the ark bumps into the top of Ararat. That’s when Noah opens the window. So a LOT of time has passed.

In the dark.

At the end of forty days, Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made.
Genesis 8:6 (The Contemporary Torah, JPS 2006)

On the Boat, Off the Boat

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Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.
Genesis 8:15-16 (NIV)

God told Noah to enter the Ark. Twelve months later, God told Noah to exit the Ark.

A Midrash points to a Psalm and says it’s about Noah, crying out to be freed from the Ark.

“God spoke to Noah, saying: Go out of the ark” – “release me from confinement to thank Your name. The righteous, through me, will give glory when You perform kindness with me” (Psalms 142:8). “Release me from confinement [masger]” – this refers to Noah, who had been confined to the ark for twelve months.
Bereshit Rabbah 34:1

Perhaps. But I wonder if he didn’t want off the boat. He would have to face the world again.

The House of the LORD

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Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.
Genesis 7:1 (NKJV)

Nearly every translation renders this “before me” or “in my presence,” and those are correct meanings. But the literal Hebrew here is “to my face.” This feels… intimate. As close as lovers. Face to face.

God calls us to come into His boat. His house. His presence.

Can you feel it?

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
Psalm 23:6 (NKJV)

And God said to REST

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Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.
Genesis 7:1 (NKJV)

The name Noah means “rest.” Here in Genesis 7, we know it refers to the man’s name, but if you get very, very, absurdly literal, consider this other theological statement that it appears to say:

Then the Lord said to REST. He said stop. Trust.

And because the rest of the verse describes God inviting Noah into the Ark, which represents atonement, we have this:

“Come into my protection. My dwelling. My house, you and your people. I see you desire to be with me, to be near me, to be face to face with me right here, and right now. Come. Be with me.”

I’m telling you, this is a love story.

The Exodus and the Flood

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In Exodus, the avenging angel swept through and killed the first-born sons of the land. This was terrifying, but those covered by the sign of atonement were safe.

The flood waters in Genesis 7 were also terrifying, and it served a similar purpose. Terrifying, but those covered by the Ark (which is a place of atonement) were also safe.