Our Merciful God and the Flood

Our Merciful God and the Flood

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Amos 3:7 (NKJV)
⁷  Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

God is merciful, but He is also holy.  In His mercy, God, through His prophets, revealed the judgment of the Flood for at least 1,000 years before the Flood came.  We learn this and many other deeper truths when we study the meaning of the names of Biblical characters and places.

Genesis 5:21-24 (NKJV)
²¹  Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. ²²  After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. ²³  So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. ²⁴  And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Enoch means “initiated”.  The manifestation of the mercy of God in dealing with world-wide sin was initiated with Enoch.  Enoch is a picture of those who are taken out of the misery of their circumstance.  The picture is of the power of God to intervene in the lives of those who walk with Him

Before Enoch was “raptured”, he prophesied of the coming judgment. 

Jude 1:14-15 (NKJV)
¹⁴ Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men (evil people who pervert the order of God) also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, ¹⁵  to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." 

God, through Enoch, warned the world and gave opportunity for repentance.  Enoch had named his son Methuselah which means, “his death shall bring”.  Methuselah can also mean  ”man with the dart.”  Both definitions have to do with judgment.  Methuselah lived longer than any other person.  His life span of 969 years shows God’s mercy and forbearance in withholding judgment.  Methuselah died just before the Flood. 

Methuselah’s son is Lamach, meaning sorrowful.  Lamach pictures God’s heartbreak over the evil in the world.   Lamach, in his sorrow, showed God’s mercy by naming his son Noah.  Noah means “rest or comfort.” Genesis 5:29 (NKJV):  ^“And he called his name Noah, saying, "This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.”

However, the evil was systemic and pervasive. The people ignored the preaching of Enoch. They ignored Noah as he spent 100 years building the ark.  They ignored the death of Methuselah.

 

Genesis 6:5-8 (NKJV)
⁵  Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
⁶  And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
⁷  So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."
⁸  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Violence, in both man and beast, was the order of the day.  Life on earth was corrupt and that corruption led to devastating violence. But one man, Noah, was perfect in all his ways.

Genesis 6:11-13 (NKJV) 

 
¹¹  The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹²  So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. ¹³  And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”

God, in mercy, sought to end the corruption and violence.  In that patient mercy, God also forewarned of coming judgment and gave opportunity for repentance. The message of judgment was preached by Enoch, lived by Methuselah, and prepared for by Noah.  People on earth were warned about 1000 years. 

2 Peter 3:8-9 (NKJV) “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

According to Genesis 7, Noah was on the ark for seven days before God closed the door and the rain began.  Anyone, who had wanted to, could have entered the ark.

The ark pictures the rest and comfort (the noah) we can find in Jesus Christ.  It is not our purpose either to ignore or to fear the storm of judgment.  It is our purpose to enter into the ark:  a relationship of peace and comfort in Jesus Christ. 

Softly and Tenderly

By Will L. Thompson

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,
Mercies for you and for me?

Oh, for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.

Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

Don’t Confuse Eve with Pandora

Don’t Confuse Eve with Pandora

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Hebrews 7:22 (NKJV): “by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.”

God’s first covenant was with Adam. When Adam ate with the serpent, he entered into covenant with the enemy. Adam’s covenant with Satan brought disease, famine and hardship. However, God stepped in immediately.  In the midst of the curse, He introduced the covenant of grace.  

Genesis 3:13 (NKJV):  “And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."  The woman recognized the serpent for who he is, a deceiver who seeks to destroy. She recognized the root of the problem. God laid the axe to the root.

Genesis 3:14-15 (NKJV) “So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."

Contrary to faulty Bible exegesis, the woman is not the conduit by which sin and the consequences of sin entered the Creation.  The Bible does not tell us why Adam ate the fruit.  However, it does tell us that Adam was not deceived.  “And Adam was not deceived” 1 Timothy 2:14 (NKJV).  God placed the onus on Adam. ^“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men” Romans 5:12 (NKJV). 

We must be careful not to confuse Eve with Pandora.  According to Greek mythology, the titan Prometheus created men, just males, no females.  He cared for his creation and gave them many gifts. One of the gifts was fire stolen from the gods on Mt. Olympus.  Zeus, the chief of the gods, determined to punish Prometheus by creating a wife for him. 

Zeus commissioned the blacksmith of the gods, Hephaestus, to forge a woman in his smithy.  She was lovely.  All the gods gave her gifts.  Therefore, she was called Pandora which means “all gifts.”  One goddess gave Pandora the gift of curiosity.  Zeus gave her a lovely box as a dowry and sent her to Prometheus.

“Prometheus” means “forethought.”  He thought before he acted.  He saw the lovely woman and reasoned, “Zeus is angry with me.  If he has given me a gift, it must not be a good one.  Therefore, he refused Pandora and her dowry.

However, Prometheus had a twin brother Epimetheus.  “Epimetheus” means “afterthought”.  He acted without thinking.  He saw that Pandora was lovely, gifted and had a dowry.  He married her.  After her marriage, the gift of curiosity stirred within Pandora.  She begged Epimetheus to open the box.  As they lifted the lid to the box, all the evils of the world poured out.  They quickly shut the box before the last thing flew out of it.  They inadvertently shut hope in the box.

In the Greek philosophical mindset, man will always be attracted to woman.  Woman will always bring trouble into his life and this troubled life is without hope.

 

Eve is not Pandora.  She was created as the perfect “help-meet” for Adam. God said that it is not good for the man to be alone.  Woman is his complement.  She completes man.  Because the woman was created from the man, together, they manifest the image of God in the earth.
 

It is the seed of the woman, Jesus Christ, the last Adam, who restores us to the relationship first Adam had with God in the garden. When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, hope is restored.

^”Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3 NKJV).

The Adamic Covenant: Grace

The Adamic Covenant: Grace

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Hebrews 7:22 (NKJV): “by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.”

Remember the Lord’s admonition to Adam: “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:15-17 NKJV)

What is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? “Knowledge” comes from a root word that means to know by seeing; by using the senses:  touching, hearing, etc.  It is Thomas doubting until he can put his hand into the wounds in Jesus’ side. It is walking by experience rather than by faith in the word of God. It becomes a subjective knowledge because no two people perceive something in exactly the same way.  It results in no absolute truth.

The serpent placed doubt and unbelief in the mind of the woman.  “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6 NKJV)  When Adam ate with the serpent, he entered into covenant with the enemy. Adam and Eve gave up their connection to God's supporting power and began their physical decline which eventually resulted in death.

We must never forget that all the dominion that Adam had was transferred to satan. Because satan is cursed, that transfer of power brought a curse on the earth. Because our bodies are created from the earth, the curse is upon our physical bodies as well.  Adam’s covenant with satan brought disease, famine and hardship.

God stepped in immediately.  In the midst of the curse, He introduced the covenant of grace.

 “Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"
So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" (Genesis 3:9-11 NKJV)  

The first manifestation of the consequences of sin was fear.  “Naked” implies vulnerability. A sense of vulnerability leads to fear.  In scripture God consistently tells us not to be fear not.  Fear is the opposite of faith.  Fear is the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  It has never been the intention of God for us to be afraid. ^”For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV)   

The consequences continue.  “Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." (Genesis 3:12 NKJV)  Adam blamed God and the woman. When we refuse to take responsibility for our actions, we cannot overcome our mistakes. 

However, God desires to forgive. First we must acknowledge our sin.  “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8-9 NKJV)

Then we must agree with God that sin is sin.  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. “(1 John 1:8-9 NKJV)

The woman responded differently and her response touched the heart of God. “And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." (Genesis 3:13 NKJV)  The woman recognized the serpent for who he is, a deceiver who seeks to destroy.

When woman recognized the root of the problem, God laid the axe to that root. Genesis 3:15(NKJV) “To the serpent, the Lord said:  ^“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." (Genesis 3:15NKJV)  The seed of the woman is Jesus Christ.  If Jesus had had an earthly father, he would be of the seed of Adam, not the seed of the woman, and could not be our Redeemer.

Throughout history, satan has tried to destroy the seed of the woman. Three outstanding incidents:

▪Cain killed Abel.

▪Pharaoh killed the male infants in Moses’ day.

▪Herod killed the male babies in Jesus’ day.

God also established an order of protection for the woman. “To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you." (Genesis 3:16 NKJV)  Even though childbirth would prove to be painful, it was in childbirth that redemption would come.  God placed the man in dominion over the woman to protect and nurture her.  The woman would desire that protection. However, satan has often perverted that relationship.  The husband is to rule over his family in love just as Christ rules over the Church.  Ruling in God’s sense is dominion rather than domination.

 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.” (Ephesians 5:25-29 NKJV)

 “And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” (Genesis 3:20 NKJV)  Adam demonstrated his faith in the word of God when he named the woman “Mother.”  In Hebrew, “Eve” is Havah (life-giver).

 “Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21 NKJV)  Blood was shed.  A covenant was sealed.  The provision for the covering of sin was enacted. Grace became a reality.

 Although Man broke and continues to break his covenant with God, God, in His grace, has not broken His covenant with man. The question remains through the ages, “Are we willing to enter into the covenant that restores our relationship with the Lord?”