Genesis 6:14 “Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.”
Genesis 6:17 “And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh,wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.”
Continuing from yesterday concerning storms; not sure we can place Noah’s flood, a worldwide conflagration, in that category, but if there really is such a thing as a “Perfect Storm”, that was…and Noah and his family were, anyway, prepared. And it’s been said that we are in the recapitulated, “Days of Noah”; [Matthew 24:37].
“Make thee an ark of gopher (גפר) wood…”. There’s been much discussion about the identity of this “gopher wood”. Some scholars say Cedar, some, Cypress, while others suggest an alternative reading, which once again demonstrates how the Hebrew language is used by the Holy Spirit in a suggestive and layered, even poetic manner, to point to “types” and profound spiritual truths. Whatever the species of the “gopher” wood, the similarity between the term, ‘gopher’ (גפר), and the Hebrew for “pitch”, ‘kafar’ (כָּפַר), is noticeable and significant, to the point that some commentators suggest that the species of wood is not what’s indicated here, but only the fact that the wood was “covered”, “pitched”, or “laminated” with something sticky, inside and out, to protect it from the flood waters.
But now, the spiritual point: The word for “pitch”, (כָּפַר) also means, “to cover, to cancel, to atone”. The same root is used when speaking of the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, ‘kaporet’ (כפרת), where the blood was to be applied. The word for ‘atonement’ or ‘ransom’ is the word, ‘kapara’ (כפרה). It’s the same word that’s used for the Biblical feast of the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippurim. (יום הכפורים), the day when Israel’s sins were atoned by the scapegoat. So, whatever “gofer” or “kafar” were in the construction of the Ark, their similar sound and meaning point to a “covering,” a source of protection from the flood, which, of course, was the sole purpose of Noah’s Ark. But they also point to this other “covering,” the “atonement” which covers sins, a reference to the “Lamb of God”…
So, that vessel, Noah’s Ark, is a type, a prophetic reference to Yeshua, our “Ark of Salvation” and His atoning (covering) work on the cross. He was our ‘kapparah’, our atonement, the Lamb who covered our sins. There is no storm, no flood, no catastrophe that can nullify Yeshua’s salvation; if your faith in Him is genuine, your sins, you yourself, are “covered”…. through the “Perfect Storm”, in the days of “Days of Noah”, whatever.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]We have seen that names have significant meanings, and as discussed earlier, Elimelech, whose name means “My God is King”, left Bethlehem with Naomi his wife and their two sons. The birth of these two boys must have brought joy and happiness, yet, having perished in Moab actually caused their very names to lose their original meanings.
As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, leaders from around the world gather to honor those who served and died to deliver Europe and the world from the Nazis during World War 2.
During the Biblical festival of Shavuot, the book of Ruth is read. It’s a powerful story of faith, restoration and redemption. The book opens with a famine in all the land surrounding Bethlehem, forcing a difficult decision upon Naomi’s husband, Elimelech. Now, Bethlehem (beth: “house”, lechem: “bread”) literally means “house of bread”, so the irony of Elimelech’s departure from his home, “house of bread”, during a famine, is lost on English speaking readers, but reveals that every detail in the word of God can be meaningful, especially the meanings of names.
One of my favorite ministers of the Gospel is D.L. Moody. He tells a story about having heard Pastor Henry Varley once say that, “The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him.”
The Lord is quoted in this scripture in Matthew and it contains an important principle which I think we sometimes tend to overlook. Many believe and even teach that if someone acquires much material prosperity, then God has surely given them favor, and that if someone is undergoing extreme trial, it must be because they have sinned or that they lack faith. But the Lord says that the sun rises and the rain falls on both the righteous and the unrighteous alike. A life of good circumstances does not necessarily mean that God is with us. And likewise, a life of trial and suffering does not mean that God is not with us!
The African Impala (an African antelope) are amazing creatures that can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance greater than 30 feet. Yet Impalas can be kept in a zoo inside an enclosure with a simple 3 foot wall. Why? Impalas will not jump if they can’t see where their feet will land. Do we have something in common with these antelopes? Able to take great leaps of faith, but refusing to do it unless we can see where we’ll land?
An aging king woke up one day to the realization that should he drop dead, there would be no male in the royal family to take his place. He was the last male in the royal family in a culture where only a male could succeed to the throne – and he was aging. He decided that if he could not give birth to a male, he would adopt a son who then could take his place but he insisted that such an adopted son must be extraordinary in every sense of the word. So he launched a competition in his kingdom, open to all boys, no matter what their background. Ten boys made it to the very top.