Monday, April 5, 2021

FINDING GRACE ON DRY LAND

  The Noahic Covenant was that grace was found, not in the waters, but before the waters. Faith was found again by Noah’s sons, not in the waters, but after the waters.

  The Adamic Covenant was for mankind to have dominion over all living things. [i] With that, Adam was to dominate all the other fleshes. In Darwinian terms, Adam would be the fittest of all the creatures and would survive. Of course, Darwin’s idea of fittest were the other creatures that multiplied with the most proliferation. Obviously, those animals that kill their own would not be the fittest to survive. Mankind fails on that point with abortion and war.

  By Noah’s time, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence” (Gen 6en 6:11). Cain had murdered Abel and before this time, blind Lamech, from the seed of Cain, had killed another man, “I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt” (Gen 4:23). Violence had become “the new norm” and the way of Adam’s kind because by the time of Noah, “All flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth” [ii] All men were violent; and all men were thusly murderers. Each man hated the other, and for hatred some had to die. Indeed, it is seen much later that hatred is as murder. [iii]

  Satan now had his way. God wants that none should perish [iv] and Lucifer that as many as possible perish. God would give Lucifer his way, but for eight people, only one of whom found grace. [v]

  For what reason did the other seven make it onto the ark? By the works of Noah. His diligence and faith, as well as his construction, persuaded the others to board the Ark. With that, Noah was a priest. The original intent of priests was to propagate the truth, to wit: “The priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts” (Mal 2:7).

  Noah became God’s messenger to the world, basically to spread the news; walk the way to the door and enter into the Ark to live. Is that not the gospel? Is the Holy Cross not the Ark to cross the sea of glass into Paradise? [vi]

  Perhaps the others were not selected because of grace. There is no evidence that none of the others had grace. With that said, there were perhaps other reasons.

  Shem had a purpose: “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel” (Exod 19:6). It turns out that the Semites provided the Levitical priests whose role was not to be messengers but workers. They were essentially not deacons in the House of God but superintended the construction and preservation. They were more like trustees than ministers. Over time, they expanded their role and became judges of the Law, and harsh judges at that! Their main role would be to offer sacrifices for the sins of others, but not for their own corruption. [vii]

  God had something in mind for the son, Japtheth, as well; “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom 12:1). Priests made sacrifices very well for others, but the Jewish people sacrificed for the Levites. They supported them rather than the priests sacrificing for the people.

  Japhethites (Gentiles) would sacrifice themselves on the altar of God. They would present their own bodies to God by worshipping Him. Indeed, worship has always been the “aroma” that pleased God, not the incense. Worshipping God in spirit and truth would be for the seed of Japheth.

  What about the purpose of Ham’s seed? To bring tribulation on the world. Those roles are more specific after the flood. God provided the reasons for allowing them onto the Ark: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Gen 9:27).

  Semites would provide the “tents.” For Adam, God had provided the “tent” in Paradise. It was a big “tent.” The Earth was covered by the celestial dome and as such everyone worldwide would live under God’s “tent.”

  The Tenth Heaven (The Secrets of Enoch) was God’s abode just beyond the cosmos in the Tenth Heaven. Looking at the cosmos and understanding that it is the sea of glass between Adam’s kind and God is seeking God.

  As a sidenote, as a child, I saw God in the magnificence of the cosmos. That is what God intended: “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Rom 1”20).

  Well, this verse tells why those not under grace were allowed aboard: “God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant” (Gen 9:27). Semites would build the “tents” (tabernacles) for worship, and then as they traveled in the wilderness, they would erect, prepare, and finally take them down. While they were up, all the Semites would look toward the central Tent where the Holy Spirit of God would be seen. Tabernacle worship was a rudimentary form of worship in the Garden wherein the “trees” were the “tents” (canopies) and the Tree of Life (God manifested) was in the midst. [viii]

  The role of the Semites was to provide a remembrance of Paradise and perfect worship. They would “dress and keep” the Garden as Adam was assigned to do in Paradise. [ix] They were brought along to be priests om God’s Holy Mountain (Mount Arrarat) and would be dressers and keepers of the tents. Noah would be Chief Priest because he was righteous. Noah built an altar and praised God for deliverance. [x]

  Ham, through his son Canaan, had a purpose as well. He would replace Cain as the son of the Wicked One. Canaanites, to this day, (Palestinians) cause tribulation on Earth. Goliath was a Canaanite, and scripture points toward the Antichrist as the seed of Canaan. The Antichrist, will perhaps, come from Mesopotamia and from between the Euphrates River and Palestine… maybe ancient Syria or Iraq. Although the origin of the Antichrist is believed to come from the tribe of Dan, the children of Dan removed themselves to southern Lebanon where they intermarried with Canaanites. Dan’s progeny is amongst the Canaanites to this day.

  Canaanites served in the “tents” as tests for Semites and Gentiles. They are as the Wicked One whose role is to test the faith of Christians.

  Of course, the wives of the three sons of Noah were their help mates in the New World just as Eve was for Adam.

  The Noahic Covenant was much like the Adamic Covenant. Japheth would have dominion over Shem and Ham. That was not a racial dominance because the only race then was Adam’s kind. It was spiritual dominion. For millennia, Semites lived in those tents, but since apostolic times, the seed of Japheth became “royal priests” and God’s “chosen” and “peculiar” people [xi] that replaced the Semites. [xii]

  Thus, the purpose of the flood was to provide grace to Noah’s kind through Japheth. However, all Shem’s kind, Japheth’s kind, and Ham’s kind would be the “whosever” that God God loves so much that they should not perish.

  After the flood, all of Adam’s kind found grace. It is available to all. It seems that they found grace out of grace! That is the epitome of Christians — they find grace out of grace!

  The flood introduced a covenant, as God promised before the flood: “With thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee” (Gen 6:18). That was a Covenant of finding grace after the flood by grace.

  Noah found grace and saw the Ark as the Cross, but his family merely saw a ship and entered by the faith of Noah. As such, Noah was a priest on the order of Melchizedek like Jesus [xiii] whereas Shem was a priest on the order of Aaron and the Levitical Priesthood. Noah was an antitype of Jesus and walking up the ramp onto the ark and entering its door was walking the narrow Way of Jesus and entering the straight gate. [xiv]

  The Noahic Covenant, much as Genesis 3:15, is a Covenant of Grace. The “Mystery of Christ” [xv] is that salvation was always by grace, for all of Noah’s kind — the righteous and the wicked — and Jesus both opens the door and closes it.

  Noah’s finding Grace was him following pre-incarnate Jesus. He saw Jesus and floated the Cross across the sea of glass to the new Holy Mountain — their new Paradise in the mountains of Arrarat. In the shadow of that mountain, on Calvary, Adam’s kind would be redeemed by the Seed, not just of Shem, but Jesus — the seed of Shem, Japheth, and Ham. 

(picture credit: Philadelphia Church of God; "Relationship of God")




[i] Gen 1:26

[ii] Gen 6:12

[iii] 1 John 3:15

[iv] John 3:16

[v] Gen 6:8

[vi] Rev 15:2

[vii] Heb 8:12

[viii] Gen 2:9

[ix] Gen 2:15

[x] Gen 12:7

[xi] 1 Pet 2:9

[xii] Deut 14:2

[xiii] Heb 5:6

[xiv] Mat 7:13-14

[xv] Ephes 3:9

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