Seder 4: Genesis 5 and Hebrews 11---A Question about Enoch

 There are 10 generations listed in the genealogy of Genesis 5, going from Adam to Noah inclusive.  The list features long lifespans, indicating blessing from God. The effects of sin are also evident, since the description of each step ends with the words "and he died."

Except in the case of Enoch, who "walked with God".  Here the text mentions that all his days were 365 years, and that after time "he was not, for God took him'' (v 24).

Enoch is counted as one of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11.  Verse 5 says, "By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him" (ESV).

One usual interpretation is the one given in the NLT, which in verse 5 says, "It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying." 

However, there is some apparent tension here with verse 13, which says, "All these people died still believing what God had promised them" (NLT).

In discussing this issue, adventist Christians also bring in John 3:13: "No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man."

One way to resolve this tension is to remember that "all" in the Bible is often not a "mathematical all",  meaning "every single one." In general the heroes of faith died, and in general people do not ascend to heaven, but perhaps Enoch was a rare exception.  It's also possible that verse 13 only refers to the patriarchs and matriarchs in verses 8-12 and not to Abel, Enoch, and Noah in verses 5-7.  

Some Adventist Christians have a different way of explaining the question. Perhaps Enoch was "taken" or "translated" (KJV) in the figurative sense described in  Colossians 1:13, where Paul says that God "hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son."  In this reading, Hebrews 11:5a is saying that Enoch was translated into God's kingdom so that he wouldn't see the second death.  

In that case, though, why did Enoch experience the "first death" at the comparatively early age of 365?  One possibility is that he was a martyr.  Perhaps he was the "young man" that Lamech boasted about killing in Genesis 4:23.  

We still have to explain Heb 11:5b, which says that Enoch "was not found, because God had taken him."  The Greek word for "taken," metatithemi, is used 6 times in the New Testament.  One of those is in Acts 7:16, which speaks of Jacob's body being moved to a grave near Shechem.  So Hebrews 11:5b may be referring to God moving Enoch's body to an undisclosed location, as he later did with the body of Moses (Dt 34:6).    

Whatever happened to Enoch after 365 years, he was a man of faith, a bright spot in the early history of humanity.          

Seder 118: Numbers 21---The Bronze Snake

 After the first "water from the rock" episode in Exodus 17, the Israelites were attacked by Amalek and achieved a military victory.  Similarly, after the second "water from the rock" episode in Numbers 20, the Israelites were attacked by Arad the Canaanite and defeated him in battle as well (Num 21:1-3)..  

The younger generation of Israelites was showing some courage, but they also shared some of the problems of their ancestors.  As the journey dragged on, they began to speak against God and against Moses (Num 21:4-5), turning up their noses at God's provision for them.  

God sent correction in the form of poisonous snakes (v 6), a punishment with symbolic significance.  Kevin Chen describes this incident as a kind of "fall" for the younger generation of Israelites.  By slandering God and his provision for them, they were succumbing to the temptations of the Serpent.  Chen sees significance in the fact that the Hebrew word for "serpent" in verse 7 is singular rather than plural.  The Israelites ask for relief from the poisonous snakes, but their real problem is with the same Serpent who tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3).  It's really that Serpent which needs to be taken away.  The word for serpent appears five times in both Gen 3 and Numbers 21:4-9, linking the two chapters.

God provides relief by having Moses make a bronze snake and hold it up on a pole.  An Israelite who looked at the bronze snake on the pole would be healed of a snakebite (vv 8-9).  

This remedy has symbolic significance, as is pointed out in John 3:14-15.  The bronze snake is a type of Jesus, who was raised up on the cross to defeat the Serpent.  When the Son of Man is lifted up, the ruler of this world is cast out (Jn 12:31-34).  All who look to Jesus in faith are saved.  

In the imagery of the bronze snake Chen also sees a hint of the hiddenness of the Messiah's identity.  Some wrongly accused Jesus of being a servant of the Serpent (Mt 10:24-26; 12:24-29) and did not recognize a crucified man as the Messiah.

The Son of Man is lifted up on the cross, and we also should lift him up continually in our lives.  Kyle Kettering made this point in a sermon on John 3 at Church of the Messiah on September 24, 2022.

Sukkot 2021: God as Teacher

 In the book of Exodus, we see God as Deliverer and Redeemer.  We also see him as Teacher.  In presentations at the Church of the Messiah Sukkot celebration on September 25, 2021, Kyle Kettering explored this important biblical picture of God, expanding on his remarks from September 18.  

Kyle observed that teachers are patient with their students.  They know the limitations of their students and don't give up on them.  We observe these characteristics of God in the Exodus account, where God patiently deals with the fear, anxiety, and complaining that the people exhibit during the journey to Sinai and at Sinai.  

Whom does God teach?  Psalm 25:8 says that God "instructs sinners in the way."  For those who humbly turn to God for guidance, as David does in Psalm 25, God provides that guidance.  Isa 30:20-21 also pictures sinners receiving instruction in the way to go.  

If God instructs sinners, the Talmud says (b. Makkot 10b), how much more the righteous.  For example, God promised Moses at the burning bush that he would teach Moses what to say when he came before Pharaoh (Ex 4:12).  

God teaches us in many ways.  He teaches everyone through general revelation, through the creation (Rom 1:18-32).  

He teaches us through his word.  Remember that the word "Torah" means instruction rather than "law."  In a broad sense, Torah includes all the spiritual instruction of God's word and its corollaries.

Jesus is a teacher, not just a carpenter.  When Nicodemus came to see Jesus, he confessed, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God" (John 3:2).

God also teaches us through the Holy Spirit--e.g., Luke 12:11-12.

Why does God teach us?  Because we need it.  God created us, and he knows that our thoughts are "but a breath" (Ps 94:11), so he "teaches man knowledge" (v 10).  

God also teaches us so that we will teach others, as David showed the desire to do (Ps 51:12-13).  The recipients of Hebrews are criticized for still needing basic instruction when they ought to be teaching others (Heb 5:12).  

The Talmud (b Sotah 14a) asks what it means to "walk after God"?  The answer:  To do what he does.  God teaches us, and so we should teach others.  

One audience member at Kyle's presentation asked him why he was making use of post-biblical rabbinic literature.  Kyle observed that there is much to learn from it.  The fact that rabbinic literature contains much of value illustrates the fact that God does not give up on his students.  He is still Israel's teacher.  

Seder 22: Abraham's Servant Succeeds---Gen 24

 In Genesis 24, Abraham's servant is focused on his assignment to find a bride for Isaac.  We might view him as a forerunner of John the Baptist in his role as a "friend of the bridegroom" (John 3:29-30).  

The servant convinces Rebekah's family that Rebekah is indeed God's choice for Isaac's bride.  Rebekah shows herself to have the character of Abraham when she agrees unhesitatingly to return with the servant to marry Isaac (v 58).  

Christian teacher Ravi Zacharias, in his book I, Isaac, Take Thee, Rebekah, noted several factors that increased the chances for success in the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah:

• They did not make the decision to marry entirely on their own.  Both families were involved, and God's guidance was sought. 
• Both Isaac and Rebekah were both of strong moral character and ready for marriage.
• They made a commitment.  Commentators have often seen significance in the order of events described in Gen 24:  "she became his wife, and he loved her."  They made a commitment to each other, and love followed.