Torah: Genesis 6:9-11:32
Haftorah: Isaiah 54:1-55:5

“This is like the days of Noah to me:
    as I swore that the waters of Noah
    should no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
    and will not rebuke you” (Is. 54:9).

“Come, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
    hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
    my steadfast, sure love for David.
Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
    a leader and commander for the peoples” (Is. 55:1-4).

Long ago, the Jewish sages created reading calendars to be read annually throughout all the synagogues every sabbath. They are the Parsha (from the Torah, the first five books of the Bible), and the Haftarah (selected readings from the prophetic books of the Old Testament). Today, I continue my series exploring the Messiah in each of these portioned readings that was planned and scheduled in ancient days and appointed for our present days. For October 24 this year, the readings are cited above. I would encourage you to read those passages first before you read my post, or at least read them in tandem.

Isaiah 55 reminds me of Jesus’ words in John chapter 6:

“’Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal…I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.’”

“So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They said, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, “‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, ‘Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘”And they will all be taught by God.”’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh’” (vs. 27, 35-51)

As I read this full section, I noticed that Jesus cites prophets, and one of those prophets was Isaiah, where he says in chapter 54 verse 13, “All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.” Well, guess what? That section of Isaiah is part of the same Haftarah reading as Isaiah 55:1-4, the same section that reminded me of John chapter 6! It all came full circle. It’s as if Jesus’ teaching in John chapter 6 was on the Haftarah for Parsha Noach. This just blows my mind! Jesus is saying that Isaiah 54 and 55 are about Him! “Come to me,” Jesus says, “and the promises given to you through Isaiah 700 years ago are yours! Just believe in Me! That’s Me! If the Father has taught you before, I’m the one teaching you now!” Jesus said in another section of John, during Hanukkah in particular, “I and the Father are one” (10:30).

Furthermore, Isaiah 55:3 says, “Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.” This is a reference to the Davidic covenant. And what is the Davidic covenant? We can find that in 2 Samuel chapter 7:

“Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever” (11-17).

The Lord spoke to David concerning his son Solomon, yes, for Solomon built the first temple and God established his throne and kingdom unlike any other king of Judah, but ultimately, it concerned Jesus. Solomon’s throne did not last forever. The last king of Judah in this lineage of promise reigned when the kingdom of Babylon attacked Judah and took him into captivity to the city Babylon (2 Kings 24:10-15). Jesus said His body was the temple (John 2:19-22), and again that He came and dwelt or “tabernacled” among us (John 1:14). Gabriel told Mary that ^“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33). Thus is Jesus called the Son, and the God of the covenants is the Father. This Son was different, because this Son did not commit iniquity as the kings (or messiahs) of Judah had. He was righteous. He was Tzaddik (righteous, innocent from sin)(Hebrews 4:15), just like Noah was called tzaddik in his generation. Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek (Malchi Tzaddik, King of Righteousness) (Hebrews 5:6). But he is the ultimate Tzaddik because He was not just a comparatively upstanding person, He had absolutely no sin.

Concerning a Psalm written by David himself, Peter likewise argues that in this Psalm is a prophecy that asserts that David understood the Davidic covenant would be fulfilled in his offspring, the Messiah.

“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses” (Acts 2:29-32). 

Is your soul hungry? Come to the Bread of Life. Are you thirsty? Come to the Living Water, for “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” (Deut. 8:3) and Jesus, Who is the Word became flesh (Jn. 1:14), is your Life. In Him will your soul live forever (Isaiah 55:3, John 6:7). For as long as Christ’s reign is, so long shall be your salvation: forever. You can have this “without money and without price” (Is. 55:3) because it is a gift (Jn. 6:27, 51). This offer for salvation lasts so long as this present world continues before Jesus returns. When He returns, it will be like the flood of the days of Noah, according to Jesus:

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.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. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matt. 24: 36-44).

Today is the day of salvation. Jesus is like the Ark. Whoever enters Him will be safe from the wrath to come on the earth. A door was built into the side of the Ark (Gen. 6:16), and Jesus says He is the Door (Jn. 10:9). One day it will be too late. God sealed the door of the Ark shut before the rain began to fall and the fountains of the deep broke open. The Bible says destruction will suddenly come upon those who do not repent (1 Thes. 5:3). Please repent before it’s too late. The entire reason Jesus has not returned yet is because He is patient and not wanting anyone to perish, but to repent (2 Pet. 3:9). I suppose that when God knows no one else will repent, He will send His Son again. This is my only comfort today when I read the news. Even with all the evil going on, I know that Jesus is saving someone today.

God promised Noah he wouldn’t flood the earth again, not because future generations would be any better than the past ones (He actually said human hearts are still evil from youth (Gen. 6:5, 8:21), but because God chose mercy for this present world. He made the rainbow a sign of this promise. This rainbow is over His throne in heaven (Ezek. 1:27-28, Rev. 4:3). What does that mean? Mercy triumphs over judgement (James 2:13). There is another Ark in the Bible, the Ark of the Covenant. Inside the Ark was the way of life, the Torah. Do these things, and you will live. Follow these instructions, and you will live. But no one could follow them perfectly. All it took was one failure to break the chance of life by self-righteousness (James 2:10). God gave Adam and Eve instructions much more simple than the Torah. He gave them one rule. When they broke that rule, God did not tell Adam and Eve, “Okay guys, I know you messed up this one time, but I’ll give you another chance to stay in the garden, so long as you are mostly good.” No, they were expelled at the first sin. Self-righteousness requires perfect obedience. But what is over the Ark holding the Torah? The Mercy Seat. On the Mercy Seat sat God’s presence in the Tabernacle/Temple. The Mercy Seat was like God’s throne, the seat from which He judges. But it’s not called the Judgement Seat. It’s called the Mercy Seat. That’s what God called it. That means our faith in God’s mercy is our means to life, not our perfect obedience. Isaiah and Ezekiel and John the Apostle all saw the real and glorious throne room of which the Ark of the Covenant on earth was but a shadow (Is. 6, Ezek. 1, Rev. 4, Heb. 8:5), and the rainbow over it.

God destroyed the world because of corruption and violence (Gen. 6:11). What causes corruption? Ephesians 4:22 says it is deceitful desires. The serpent deceived Eve because the fruit looked good and desirable. It’s anything you want that is contrary to God’s goodness. You think it’s good, but it’s deceptive. Think of any of the desires that would cause someone to break the Ten Commandments. The Bible tells us that the last days will be full of people who are lovers of self (2 Tim. 3:2). There is a rainbow flag that is flown today that represents the opposite of the rainbow of the Noachide covenant. When these people who are lovers of self wave that flag over themselves, they are actually waving God’s mercy over themselves, and they don’t even realize it. And what is the word for violence in Hebrew? Hamas. Hamas is in the Bible and it means violence. Is there a group of people today who go by that name and who are violent? Would you say burning babies alive in an oven is violent? What about raping women until their pelvises crack and then shooting them in the head? What about people who hang their own people by their feet over a wall and beat them with metal poles until they die? What about people who take their own, without due process, blindfold them, force them on their knees, and shoot them point blank in the bend of the knee or maybe shoot them in the head. Maybe today they will permanently cripple some, and tomorrow they’ll just kill the others. Maybe they’ll pull your limbs apart and beat you with poles instead. Who knows? Is that violence? You can answer that, I believe, and its supporters are over all the earth. So you could argue that Hamas (violence) is over the whole earth today as it was in the days of Noah. They say “Globalize the intifada,” right? Corruption waves a flag of tolerance over everything, and violence is intolerant of all else. The two are antithetical. Yet they partner with one another in protests all around the world. Why? Their common enemy is the Word of God and those who believe in it. At their protests and rallies, they chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

But what does God say about that? To Joshua, He says, “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the wilderness to the Lebanon, and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea” (Deut. 11:24). I wonder if the protesters know that. Furthermore, from this week’s parsha, Noah prophecies, “May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant” (Genesis 9:27). The Bible tells us Israel is a descendant of Shem. Concerning Israel, this week’s Haftarah says, “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes” (Isaiah 54:2). The Bible tells us the Savior of the world is a descendent of Israel, Jesus Christ. Come under the tent of the Lord, the tent of Shem, whether you are a descendant of Shem, Japeth, or Ham, for God made Messiah “a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples” (Is. 55:4), and Jesus says, “the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (Jn. 6:51). Do not be like Ham, whose son, Canaan, was cursed for his evil heart and deeds. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

The cry of the whole Bible remains the same: Come! Until He comes, you come, because mercy always triumphs over judgement. Until next time, God bless.

Pride Month
June 2022

Raise the standard! Hoist the flag!
Down the streets they march—none lag.
This, this is the month of their pride.
They evil laud and good deride[1].
Raise up the rainbow banner high
Spread out against crystal clear sky.

Little they know this rainbow sign’s
Ancient meaning, higher design.
For when every intent of man
Spawned evil in the whole earth’s span
The Throne of God for Justice cried
But Mercy’s also at His side.
And Mercy called one man, Noah,
To preach unto the lost
What their sin would them cost.
When one hundred twenty years passed
No single soul repented last,
Mercy waited patiently.
Justice’s flood still had to be.
The lightning flashed, the thunder roared,
Justice’s wrath upon earth poured[2].
But God set His bow in the sky
Reminding us exactly why
Day and night ceaseless still be,
The seasons roll, for His Mercy[3].

And earth’s parade, it has no clue
What sign they wave against sky’s blue,
As they boast and brag of their sin,
They wave God’s mercy over them.

Again days like Noah’s shall come[4]
And moon its last circuit shall run[5],
And Christ shall shine forth suddenly
Like lightning from the Flood decree[6],
But until that day arrives,
Mercy cries out from the skies.
Seated on His throne above,
O’er His head the bow of love[7],
And at His feet earth’s crystal sky[8]
To which men wave their proud fists high.

With numbered days[9] men Wrath’s cup fill
For Justice. Mercy, Mercy still!
Men’s days are numbered yet again
But this time we don’t know till when[10].
And these people know not at all
That their rainbow is Mercy’s call,
And Mercy’s stretched above their Judge
Who holds Justice and holds no grudge.
Raise the rainbow higher still
Reminding God of Mercy’s will.

[1] Isaiah 5:20

[2] Genesis 6

[3] Genesis 8:20-22

[4] Isaiah 54:1-10, Matthew 24:37-38, Luke 17:26, 1 Peter 3:20

[5] Isaiah 13:9-11

[6] Matthew 24:27, Luke 17:24, Revelation 4:5, 8:5, 11:19

[7] Revelation 4:2-3

[8] Revelation 4:6

[9] Psalm 90:12, Daniel 5:26

[10] Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32