- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on Oct 22, 2021 17:33:56 GMT -8
This Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Genesis 8:1-19
Haftara- Habakuk 3:1-5; Isaiah 42:7-21
D’rash: I want to tie these last three parashot together by looking at their chiastic structure. We’ve talked about chiasm’s here before, but briefly a chiasm is a type of Hebrew poetry written as a mirrored image:
Chiasm
A
__B
____C Where the two central lines, or possibly one central line are the focus.
____c’ (only C- delete “____c’ ” from the diagram)
__b’
a’
There can be as few as 3 lines, up to as many as the author wants. It’s a reversed order layout, where a’ mirrors A, b’ mirrors B, and so on. The central line or lines is/are the main point; the theme. Whenever we see a chiasm the author is trying to tell us something important.
Moreover the chiastic structure itself is an important element to the narrative:
Chiastic Structure of the Account of the Biblical Flood
A Noah (6:10a)
__B Shem, Ham, and Japheth (6:10b)
___C asked to build the ark (6:14-16)
____D told of the coming flood (6:17)
_____E covenant with Noach (6:18-20)
______F food inside the ark (6:21)
_______G told to enter the ark (7:1-3)
________H told 7 days until the flood (7:4-5)
_________I 7 days waiting for flood (7:7-10)
__________J all enter the ark (7:11-15)
___________K The LORD shuts Noach in (7:16)
____________L 40 days of flooding (7:17a)
_____________M Waters increase (7:17b-18)
______________N Mountains covered (7:19-20)
_______________O for 150 days waters prevail (7:21-24)
________________P God remembers Noach (8:1)
_______________o’ for 150 days the waters recede (8:3)
______________n’ Mountain tops visible (8:4-5)
_____________m’ Waters abate (8:5)
____________l’ 40 days after mountaintops seen (8:6a)
___________k’ Noah opens window of ark (8:6b)
__________j’ the Raven and Dove leave ark (8:7-9)
_________i’ 7 days waiting to see waters subsided (8:10-11)
________h’ 7 days waiting to see land had dried (8:12-13)
_______g’ told to leave ark (8:15-17 [22])
______f’ food outside ark (9:1-4)
_____e’ covenant with all flesh (9:8-10)
____d’ will not be another great flood (9:11-17)
___c’ they left the ark (9:18a)
__b’ Shem, Ham and Japheth (9:18b)
a’ Noah (9:19)
“This chaistic structure, which was used in other Old Testament writings, and thus is a form used in antiquity, demonstrates the unity of the text of Genesis chapters 6-8. Many liberal scholars have tried to argue for a piecemeal construction of the narrative from other similar flood stories, but they missed the continuity shown by it. The majesty of the Righteousness of God and His dealings with mankind is far more clear in the Biblical text than other flood stories. It, Noah’s, is the True Narrative Account.” Dr JG Leslie
Yeshua endorsed the biblical account:
Matthew 24:37-39 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
The book of Hebrews ratified it:
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
1 Peter confirms it:
1 Peter 3:20 because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.
The Psalmist proclaimed its veracity:
Psalm 29:10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
We remember from church that the world (from a human perspective) was saved by Noach and ‘his’ (sic.) ark. However analyzing the chiastic structure of the story reveals a deeper, more important point. Line P at the center has no parallel and indicates the main point of the chiasm:
Genesis 8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.
This is the main point of the entire narrative; the essence and crux of the report. It symbolizes the vanquishing of judgment by mercy. Not to take anything away from other lessons this passage may teach, but nothing is as important as the message that God remembered Noach!
God remembers His own:
Psalm 105:8 He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
Genesis 19:29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.
Psalm 105:42 For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.
Exodus 2:24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
Genesis 30:22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.
1 Samuel 1:19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.
Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
We sometimes do forget who we serve and His promises to us. Abraham forgot, allowing a pagan king to take his wife Sarai who Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak, v’Elohei Ya’akov, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God Of Jacob (Ex 3:15) had said would birth a nation:
Genesis 20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar … took Sarah.
Yet God still remembered Avraham and Sarai:
Genesis 21:1 The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised.
He is faithful, even when we are not. We can all recall the problems Moshe had with the Hebrews in the wilderness. And yet God brought them into the land He had promised:
Joshua 5:10-12 While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. He will keep His word:
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
In line “C” I said Noach was “asked” to build the ark: Genesis 6:14a עשׁה לך ה ֵתּ ָבה ashah lak e’thbeh, Make [for] yourself an ark of gopher wood. (any good Hebrew speakers feel free to correct me; also, different texts say this in various ways)
The ark was for Noach and his family. They could have said no. God does not force anyone; just as when Avraham was asked to sacrifice Yitzchak: “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Genesis 22:1-2. Not translated in English Bibles is the word נא na, “ please.” God didn’t order Avraham, He asked; but he like Noach demonstrated his faith and trust in obedience. We can trust God. He will do what He has said.
We proclaim his trust when we accept Yeshua as Savior. Yet I think few of us really think about what this means:
Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” Yeshayahu, like all ancient Hebrews thought of salvation more in physical terms than the spiritualization we typically invest in it. He is speaking here of the restoration of the nation; the deliverance of his people. And his trust for this is in God his Mogen, his Shield (Ps 18:30).
We as Meshiachim must reconnect with this aspect of salvation; our trust in a holy God; Kadosh Yisroel, the Holy One Of Israel (Psalm 78:41). Our Migdal Oz, Tower Of Strength (Ps 61:3) who will do what He says. A God who will remember us.
Mekorot: Biblical quotes from the English Standard Version, unless otherwise noted; JPS Study TNK; Dr Eli of the IBC; W Wiersbe; Dr JG Leslie; Joseph Shulam; Strong’s, Vines, and BDB ref. books; Rev. K Schaefer; my father and others.
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Gen 9:18-10:32
Haftara- Is 49:1-13
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
Parashah- Genesis 8:1-19
Haftara- Habakuk 3:1-5; Isaiah 42:7-21
D’rash: I want to tie these last three parashot together by looking at their chiastic structure. We’ve talked about chiasm’s here before, but briefly a chiasm is a type of Hebrew poetry written as a mirrored image:
Chiasm
A
__B
____C Where the two central lines, or possibly one central line are the focus.
____c’ (only C- delete “____c’ ” from the diagram)
__b’
a’
There can be as few as 3 lines, up to as many as the author wants. It’s a reversed order layout, where a’ mirrors A, b’ mirrors B, and so on. The central line or lines is/are the main point; the theme. Whenever we see a chiasm the author is trying to tell us something important.
Moreover the chiastic structure itself is an important element to the narrative:
Chiastic Structure of the Account of the Biblical Flood
A Noah (6:10a)
__B Shem, Ham, and Japheth (6:10b)
___C asked to build the ark (6:14-16)
____D told of the coming flood (6:17)
_____E covenant with Noach (6:18-20)
______F food inside the ark (6:21)
_______G told to enter the ark (7:1-3)
________H told 7 days until the flood (7:4-5)
_________I 7 days waiting for flood (7:7-10)
__________J all enter the ark (7:11-15)
___________K The LORD shuts Noach in (7:16)
____________L 40 days of flooding (7:17a)
_____________M Waters increase (7:17b-18)
______________N Mountains covered (7:19-20)
_______________O for 150 days waters prevail (7:21-24)
________________P God remembers Noach (8:1)
_______________o’ for 150 days the waters recede (8:3)
______________n’ Mountain tops visible (8:4-5)
_____________m’ Waters abate (8:5)
____________l’ 40 days after mountaintops seen (8:6a)
___________k’ Noah opens window of ark (8:6b)
__________j’ the Raven and Dove leave ark (8:7-9)
_________i’ 7 days waiting to see waters subsided (8:10-11)
________h’ 7 days waiting to see land had dried (8:12-13)
_______g’ told to leave ark (8:15-17 [22])
______f’ food outside ark (9:1-4)
_____e’ covenant with all flesh (9:8-10)
____d’ will not be another great flood (9:11-17)
___c’ they left the ark (9:18a)
__b’ Shem, Ham and Japheth (9:18b)
a’ Noah (9:19)
“This chaistic structure, which was used in other Old Testament writings, and thus is a form used in antiquity, demonstrates the unity of the text of Genesis chapters 6-8. Many liberal scholars have tried to argue for a piecemeal construction of the narrative from other similar flood stories, but they missed the continuity shown by it. The majesty of the Righteousness of God and His dealings with mankind is far more clear in the Biblical text than other flood stories. It, Noah’s, is the True Narrative Account.” Dr JG Leslie
Yeshua endorsed the biblical account:
Matthew 24:37-39 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
The book of Hebrews ratified it:
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
1 Peter confirms it:
1 Peter 3:20 because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.
The Psalmist proclaimed its veracity:
Psalm 29:10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
We remember from church that the world (from a human perspective) was saved by Noach and ‘his’ (sic.) ark. However analyzing the chiastic structure of the story reveals a deeper, more important point. Line P at the center has no parallel and indicates the main point of the chiasm:
Genesis 8:1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.
This is the main point of the entire narrative; the essence and crux of the report. It symbolizes the vanquishing of judgment by mercy. Not to take anything away from other lessons this passage may teach, but nothing is as important as the message that God remembered Noach!
God remembers His own:
Psalm 105:8 He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
Genesis 19:29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.
Psalm 105:42 For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.
Exodus 2:24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
Genesis 30:22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.
1 Samuel 1:19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.
Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
We sometimes do forget who we serve and His promises to us. Abraham forgot, allowing a pagan king to take his wife Sarai who Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak, v’Elohei Ya’akov, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God Of Jacob (Ex 3:15) had said would birth a nation:
Genesis 20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar … took Sarah.
Yet God still remembered Avraham and Sarai:
Genesis 21:1 The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised.
He is faithful, even when we are not. We can all recall the problems Moshe had with the Hebrews in the wilderness. And yet God brought them into the land He had promised:
Joshua 5:10-12 While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. He will keep His word:
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
In line “C” I said Noach was “asked” to build the ark: Genesis 6:14a עשׁה לך ה ֵתּ ָבה ashah lak e’thbeh, Make [for] yourself an ark of gopher wood. (any good Hebrew speakers feel free to correct me; also, different texts say this in various ways)
The ark was for Noach and his family. They could have said no. God does not force anyone; just as when Avraham was asked to sacrifice Yitzchak: “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Genesis 22:1-2. Not translated in English Bibles is the word נא na, “ please.” God didn’t order Avraham, He asked; but he like Noach demonstrated his faith and trust in obedience. We can trust God. He will do what He has said.
We proclaim his trust when we accept Yeshua as Savior. Yet I think few of us really think about what this means:
Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” Yeshayahu, like all ancient Hebrews thought of salvation more in physical terms than the spiritualization we typically invest in it. He is speaking here of the restoration of the nation; the deliverance of his people. And his trust for this is in God his Mogen, his Shield (Ps 18:30).
We as Meshiachim must reconnect with this aspect of salvation; our trust in a holy God; Kadosh Yisroel, the Holy One Of Israel (Psalm 78:41). Our Migdal Oz, Tower Of Strength (Ps 61:3) who will do what He says. A God who will remember us.
Mekorot: Biblical quotes from the English Standard Version, unless otherwise noted; JPS Study TNK; Dr Eli of the IBC; W Wiersbe; Dr JG Leslie; Joseph Shulam; Strong’s, Vines, and BDB ref. books; Rev. K Schaefer; my father and others.
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Gen 9:18-10:32
Haftara- Is 49:1-13
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
