Tag: atonement

Undoing Death

Posted on by jovial_cynic

Whoever sheds human blood,
By man his blood shall be shed,
For in the image of God
He made mankind.
As for you, be fruitful and multiply;
Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”

Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, “Now behold, I Myself am establishing My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you.
Genesis 9:6-9 (NASB)

Rabbi Ovadiah Seforno in the 1500s suggests that the Covenant God makes with Noah in Gen 9 is a CONDITIONAL covenant tied to the previous verses about the shedding of blood.

Ie., “I won’t destroy the earth with a flood IF you deal rightly with murderers.”

He ties this conditional covenant to Numbers, saying that if human blood is spilled and not addressed rightly, the land will need to be wiped clean again; there is no atonement otherwise.

So you shall not defile the land in which you live; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
Numbers 35:33 (NASB)

I’ve given a lot of thought to the nature of death, and how we read clearly that God killed many people in the flood. Going back to the start, we read that God Himself positioned death in the garden by way of a certain tree. It wasn’t “IF” you eat the fruit, it was “WHEN.”

So when we read that God was “sorry” He made humanity, and that this word “sorry” has a meaning tied to a desire for comfort and repenting, the Numbers passage suddenly resonates.

An image of what the Messiah will do emerges.

It will take His blood.

So you shall not defile the land in which you live; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
Numbers 35:33 (NASB)

This is not the same as saying that God made a mistake in introducing death. It is acknowledging that despite death being here, God will undo all of it with His own blood.

And God said to REST

Posted on by jovial_cynic

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

Posted on by jovial_cynic
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.

Eat what God has Provided

Posted on by jovial_cynic
In Hebrew numerology, you know that three and seven are important. This make multiples (3 x 7 = 21) stand out as well.

So I find it amusing that in the Garden, the word “eat” is stated 21 times in the Hebrew in Gen 1 and Gen 2.

And “eating” is tied to the greenery.

Interestingly, similar to the way the animals in Genesis 1 are described in triplicate (livestock, creeping things, wild animals), we are shown three kinds of plants: grass, herbs, and trees.

In Genesis 6 and 7, the text is specific: God brings all three types of animals. But there’s no mention of the three types of plants. It is only hinted at in this phrase: מִכָּל־מַאֲכָל (mi-kol ma’akhal). This phrase means “of every food.”

You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.
Genesis 6:21 (NIV)

I used to wonder why humans and animals were vegetarian before the flood. Perhaps it’s linked to atonement: the Ark is a grand parable of humanity being preserved.

The three animals are a metaphor for all people, and people should not devour one another. God has provided every food we need.

We are Lifted Up

Posted on by jovial_cynic

For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.
Genesis 7:17-18

If you can see it, it’s so clear.

Forty days is a period of testing.
The flood is a refining force.
The Ark is covered in pitch, which is the same word as atonement.

In our lives, there is a period of testing. This testing refines us. It grows us and raises us above the earth and the waters that would swallow us.

But we are preserved in the ark. In atonement. Held by the very hand of God through it.

Pitch and Atonement

Posted on by jovial_cynic

Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
Genesis 6:14 (KJV)

I don’t normally quote the KJV, but it’s one of the few translations that follow the Hebrew’s weird phrasing of “pitch it… with pitch.” You might think that is odd, but the Hebrew language has some meaning buried in it that is extremely important.

This word “pitch” is used firstly as a verb and then as a noun here, and while that doesn’t seem to make much difference, look closely at the Hebrew meanings of these words.

to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation, cover over with pitch
H3722: כָּפַר (kāp̄ar)

price of a life, ransom, bribe
H3724: כֹּפֶר (kōp̄er)

These are theological words.

The imagery we see is God’s destructive flood that covers the earth, but the boat, inside and out, is going to be covered with PITCH.

With atonement.
With reconciliation.
With the price of a life.
With a ransom.

Everything we hold dear in our faith lives inside Genesis.

More Crafty

Posted on by jovial_cynic
I always assumed that the “covering” God provides Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 is a picture of atonement. Like the pitch that covered the ark.

However, that’s not the word used here. A “covering of skin” is a phrase that shows up again later, in Genesis 27. The usage of the phrase may give us a clue.

Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins.
Genesis 27:15-16 (NIV)

Perhaps God is doing something… tricky.