(#9 Session 2) The First 3 Days of Creation in History

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog!

In Session 1, we learnt that the Creation account gives us a unique Biblical perspective of world history - when God would act in His Kairos. Further, the 7 Days of Creation referred to 7 Millennia (7,000 years) of world history, as determined by the chronology of people and events in the Bible. As we conclude Session 2, we see that this was indeed the case with the first three Days of Creation.

First, we saw how DAY 1 foreshadowed sin and its consequences - in the Fall of Man. In Gen 2:17, God warned Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day he ate from it he would surely die. If a day is indeed like a thousand years, then Adam truly died within the day at age 930. In fact, none lived beyond a thousand years (one day).

Then we saw how DAY 2 foreshadowed impending judgment and salvation - through the Flood and Noah’s Ark. The Flood happened during the Second Millennium - in AM 1656. Noah lived another 350 years after the Flood and passed away in AM 2006 - marking the end of Day 2.

Finally, we saw how DAY 3 foreshadowed God’s dry ground of salvation - beginning with the Patriarchs and followed by the Exodus. Abraham, the first of the Patriarchs, was born at the start of the Third Millennium in AM 2008, two years after Noah died. The Exodus of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt also took place on Day 3 - in AM 2513.

Let me end by briefly highlighting some loose ends to keep in view, given their prophetic significance later on. I know that some of these ideas will appear quite “heavy” to digest, so do take your time and if you wish to, you can study them in more detail by checking out the materials on my website or through your own research.

Circumcision - God instructed Abraham to circumcise all the males in his family as a sign of His covenant or oath with them. This act of physical circumcision foreshadows how God Himself will spiritually circumcise our hearts, cutting off our hardened selves so that we are made receptive to Him, through the Holy Spirit’s work in us when we receive Jesus as our Saviour and Lord.

Melchizedek - this mysterious king, who ruled over Jerusalem and whom Abraham gave a tenth of his possessions, was also said to be a “priest of God Most High.” The Bible would later describe Jesus as both King and Priest from the line of Melchizedek.

Time of Jacob’s trouble - after years on the run, Jacob finally returned to face the consequences of stealing his elder twin’s birthright. The night before he was to meet Esau, Jacob wrestled with God and God changed his name to Israel. This “time of Jacob’s trouble” foreshadows how the nation of Israel - like their forefather Jacob - would wrestle with God later on, crucifying Jesus as part of God’s plan of salvation two thousand years ago, and setting the stage again in the very near future for Jesus to return. Keep our eyes on Israel as the Church shares a common spiritual identity and destiny with it!

Fullness of the Gentiles - when Jacob died, God’s blessings that were inherited by him were passed on to his twelve sons. Now, Joseph received a double portion normally given to the firstborn when Jacob took Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, as his own. In blessing the younger son, Jacob further prophesied that Ephraim’s descendants “will become a multitude [fullness] of [gentile or non-Jewish] nations.” In Rom 11:25-26, Paul explained to us what Jacob meant by revealing that “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved.” You see, Jacob already prophesied through his blessing given to Ephraim that God would bless all nations as He had promised Abraham, because it was through Israel’s rejection and crucifixion of Jesus that the way to God was opened to the rest of the world.

Now throughout these first three days or millennium of history, we see glimpses of Jesus:

Like the ten generations from Adam to Noah, the names of twelve tribes of Israel point to Jesus.

Further, in Jacob’s children Joseph and Judah, we see two descriptions of Jesus the coming Messiah (which means the “Anointed One”). In Joseph, the Messiah was revealed as, firstly, a man of suffering and sorrow. He is the Passover Lamb of God first seen in the Exodus, who died so that God’s judgment will pass over our sins. And through Joseph’s son Ephraim, the way of salvation was open to all nations. Jesus fulfilled all these in His first coming as Saviour of the world. In Judah, the Messiah was revealed as the conquering King of Kings - the Lion of Judah who will rule all nations. This will come to pass when Jesus comes again to usher in the Millennial Kingdom.

Link to presentation.

(#8 Session 2) Day 3 - Exodus

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog!

Earlier, we saw how the Third Day of Creation foretold the literal gathering of the floodwaters and appearing of the Dry Ground of a new world following the Flood.

Symbolically, it pointed to the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) through whom God brought forth His plan of salvation - the dry ground as it were on which we are rescued from drowning in the sea of sin and judgment, this dry ground being none other than Jesus our Rock of salvation.

But there was one more Kairos event that took place on this Day - the supernatural gathering of the waters and appearing of dry ground during the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Most of us are quite familiar with the Exodus story and how it symbolically describes our deliverance from bondage to sin when we accepted Jesus as our personal Saviour and Lord. But there is another and perhaps even more important observation - it was here that God first revealed His personal name.

Although God’s name (Yahweh) was first used in Gen 2:4, bear in mind that Genesis was written by Moses, whom God revealed His name to. Later on (Gen 4:26, 12:8, 13:4, 21:33, 26:25), we see the children of Seth, as well as Abraham and Isaac “calling on the name of the Lord” but we are told in Ex 6:2-3 that God did not reveal His personal name to them, not even when asked by Jacob after wrestling the whole night with God (Gen 32:29-30). It was only here, with Moses, that God revealed His personal name, and we are told the reason in Ex 4:22 - because “Israel is my firstborn son.” God saved the Israelites because He loved them as His very own. He saved His people not just to free them from their physical bondage but to restore their true identity as His children.

Reflections - Many seek God’s name for the wrong reasons, often for power or control, blessings or self-glory. Yes, we are told of the power found in His name alone - that “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, Rom 10:13). We can prophesy, drive out demons and perform many miracles in His name. However, when God proclaimed His name to the Israelites, it was because they were to be His children, His firstborn, who would carry His name to all the world. Likewise, when Jesus took on the name of God - “I AM” (Jn 6:35, 8:12, 10:9, 10:11, 11:25, 14:6, 15:1; see also Jn 8:58) - it was not to seek glory for Himself although He could have easily done so, but to do His Father’s will. God gave us His name in Jesus to let us know that we are His children.

It is this personal relationship that is the key to true discipleship. When we see God as our Heavenly Father, we are motivated by love and obedience, and His will and honour becomes what is most important in our lives. It was this love - love for His Father and love for us His brothers and sisters - that led Jesus to obey and do His Father’s will by dying on the Cross for us. Ultimately, it is God Himself who demonstrated true love to us His children. In Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, actually the father was the true prodigal by His extravagant show of love to his prodigal son. But this was exactly what God did for us as Paul explained in Rom 5:8. Like the father who rushed out of His home to meet his unworthy son, “God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, [God left His home and came down to us as a human in Jesus and] died for us.” (Lk 15:20, Rom 5:8).

Link to presentation.

(#7 Session 2) Day 3 - The Patriarchs

Shalom Aleichem and welcome to my bi-monthly blog!

As we continue our study of the Third Day of Creation, when we look at how God brought about this dry ground of salvation through the lives of the Patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - we learn some very important lessons about our Christian faith.

First, God’s gift of eternal life is unconditional, meaning we cannot do anything to earn our salvation. It only requires faith on our part. Like Abraham, we are called to believe in God alone and in His word for us in order for God to credit or give us His righteousness to cover our sinfulness.

What this means also is that, as Christians, we are children of promise like Isaac. Just as God promised Abraham a son and the blessing of descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, God promised us His very own Son Jesus and the blessing of becoming Abraham’s spiritual descendants and the very children of God. Now, we do not become Christians by being born into Christian families. Neither do we become Christians by trying to earn God’s favour through our religious works. We become God’s children of promise only through faith in Christ, when we enter into a personal saving relationship with Him.

Finally, we need to wait on God and not run ahead of Him. This is the main lesson behind Jacob’s life. Although he was already assured of God’s promises (Gen 25:23, Rom 9:10-13), Jacob did not wait for God’s Kairos but rushed ahead to try to steal the blessing. This led to a life on the run filled with lies and deception. Instead, we are to be like Joseph, who understood God’s Kairos and therefore knew what he should do.

Let me elaborate - Time is God’s gift to us. Our time thus belongs to Him, and the best time for us is always His Kairos. In His wisdom and love, God gave His Creation Seven Days (7,000 years) to make everything good and whole (Shalom - perfect/complete/at rest). When Adam and Eve sinned, God in His mercy sent them out of Eden away from the Tree of Life so that they would not eat from this tree and end up spending eternity in darkness, doom and death. In His time, God gave us a second chance through one man (Noah) and called another (Abraham) through whom we could be saved, promising him a son. But Abraham could not wait; he rushed ahead in his own time. Yet God is faithful. In His time, He fulfilled His promise to give Abraham a son (Isaac). In His time, Isaac had twins, and God chose the younger (Jacob). But Jacob could not wait; he rushed ahead in his own time. Yet God is faithful. In His time, He wrestled Jacob into submission and through his dysfunctional family of twelve sons, brought forth the nation - Israel. In His time, He revealed His plans to Jacob’s favourite son (Joseph) in a dream, which led to the beginning of his living nightmare. Joseph was sold as a slave into Egypt and later imprisoned on false charges. But Joseph knew God and trusted in His faithfulness. He did not rush ahead in his own time but waited on God’s time. So, in God’s time, Joseph was appointed to the highest position in Egypt after Pharaoh. In His time, God brought to pass His plans as revealed in Joseph’s dreams, and brought Joseph face-to-face with his wicked brothers. But Joseph did not harbour anger and bitterness towards them. He knew God and recognised His time and purpose; it was God who sent him ahead into Egypt to preserve a remnant by a great deliverance. In His time, God used one man, Joseph - who could understand the signs of the times and knew what he had to do - as part of His larger salvation plan for all of us.

Today, do we acknowledge that our time belongs to God? Do we know Him well enough and trust in His faithfulness to wait on His Kairos and not rush ahead in our own time? Do we know His heart and His purpose so that we can recognise the signs of the times that we live in today and know what we should do in such a time as this?

Link to presentation.