†. Gen 6:11b . . the earth was filled with lawlessness.
Crime is pretty much the inevitable outcome in a world of sinful beings sans
law and order. Nobody was accountable for a single thing in those days. The
only rules that may have existed were those among clans or in towns. But
those rules wouldn't be universal. Rules like that would be different from
clan to clan and from town to town. And primitive clans are known to war
with each other on a regular basis like the Native Americans did here in
America's early years.
I just hope I don't live to see the day when some sort of nationwide disaster,
like a nuclear holocaust, occurs in America. Nobody will be safe. Electrical
power will be out, the banks won't be open, ATM machines won't work, and
everyone will be so desperate to survive. Roving gangs of thugs will prowl
the rubble looking to scavenge and to steal anything not nailed down or
protected by guards. Law enforcement and medical services will be so
overwhelmed that dialing 911 will be no more productive than writing a
letter to Santa Claus; that is, if telephones even work. If hurricane Katrina
taught us anything in New Orleans, it's that large-scale disasters produce
large-scale anarchy and chaos.
According to the 2011 World Almanac, in the year 2009, there were a total
of 4,343,450 violent crimes committed against individuals in the USA . The
number of property crimes committed against individuals totaled
15,580,510. Those totals exclude arson and non-victim types of crimes like
perjury, contempt of court, internet hackers, identity theft, traffic violations,
J-walking, trespassing, animal abuse, feeding parking meters, cheating on
taxes; et al.
The criminal element has neither honor nor sympathy for its victims. After
the September 29, 2009 tsunami subsided in Samoa, residents returned to
neighborhoods only to find that their homes had been looted.
And to think the USA and its territories are a society of law abiding citizens.
Just think what it must have been like in Noah's day with no organized civil
authority whatsoever to control crime. All I can say is; if something really
bad should ever happen here in the USA, you'd better own deadly weapons
like swords and guns plus lots of pepper spray because neither your life nor
your possessions will be safe after dark.
†. Gen 6:12-13a . . God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for
all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to
Noah: I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled
with violence because of them.
Some people would probably like to translate some of that verse like this:
"for the earth is filled with violence through God." But Genesis doesn't say it
was filled with violence through God; no, God said it was filled with violence
through them.
†. Gen 6:13b . . I am about to destroy them with the earth.
Here is set a precedent of God forewarning His own when He is about to
execute a disastrous event upon the earth. The Passover was another such
example. God forewarned Moses, and Moses' people, of the imminent
annihilation of all the firstborn of Man and Beast in Egypt; which would also
impact Moses and his people if they didn't do exactly as God said and paint
the blood of a lamb on their door jambs (Ex 11:1-13). And our man Noah,
super-duper righteous saint that he was, would have drowned right along
with the rest of the antediluvians had he neglected to construct an ark.
When God gives a warning, it is best to respond accordingly.
†. Prv 22:3 . . A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple
keep going and suffer for it.
†. Gen 6:14a . . Make yourself an ark
The Hebrew word for ark is tebah (tay-baw') and just simply indicates, not a
ship, but a nondescript box. The only other place tebah is used again in the
Old Testament is of the little watertight container Moses' mom constructed
to hide him from Pharaoh's henchmen (Ex 2:1-10).
†. Gen 6:14b . . of gopher wood;
Nobody really knows for sure exactly what kind of trees Noah used to make
the ark. The word for "gopher" has nothing to do with little subterranean
rodents. It's a transliteration of the Hebrew word gopher (go'-fer) which only
suggests a kind of tree suitable for building structures out of wood. Some
think it was cypress because the wood of those trees is so resinous that it
resists rotting even after prolonged submersion in water. Others think it may
have been cedar or spruce; which are good too. Unfortunately, this is the
one and only occurrence of gopher in the entire Old Testament so there's no
other passages that might help identify a specific kind of tree.
†. Gen 6:14c . . make it an ark with compartments,
The word for "compartments" is from qen (kane) which means: a nest (as
fixed), sometimes including the nestlings; figuratively, a chamber or
dwelling. The construction of nests (and stalls) indicates the animals weren't
just herded or jammed together like the crowds attending an outdoor rock
concert. They were neatly stowed aboard in their own areas and apparently
made to feel quite comfortable.
†. Gen 6:14d . . and cover it inside and out with pitch.
The word for "pitch" is kopher (ko'-fer) which means: a cover. It can also
mean a village (as covered in); and also bitumen (as used for coating) and
the henna plant (as used for dye).
Kopher is a common word in the Old testament for "atonement" which is like
pitch as a coating, or a covering, which is not only a sealing compound like
the stuff people apply to weatherproof their patio decks, but also a
concealment coating like tar and feathers.
An atonement, while not actually removing sins; serves to conceal them,
which, for all intents and purposes, granted the sinner a reprieve until
Christ's crucifixion fully satisfied justice for their conduct (Rom 3:23-25) and
that's the means by which the Lord became an atonement.
†. Col 3:3 . . For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
The koiné Greek word for "hid" is krupto (kroop'-to) which means: to conceal
(by covering). It some locations krupto is translated: to keep as a secret.
Prior to Christ; Yhvh's worshippers didn't die for their sins; their sacrifices
did the dying. However, Christ's atonement goes one better in that it
executes the Lord's followers by means of their proxy participation in his
crucifixion. On the books, the Lord's atonement not only conceals his
follower's sin; it puts them to death too.
†. Rom 6:3 . . Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus
Christ were baptized into his death?
†. Rom 6:6 . . Our old self was crucified with him
†. Gal 2:20 . . I am crucified with Christ
Anyway; coating the ark with bitumen not only served to waterproof it; but
also preserved the wood for future uses after the Flood subsided a year later
when Noah no longer had need of a titanic water craft.
Cont.
/
Crime is pretty much the inevitable outcome in a world of sinful beings sans
law and order. Nobody was accountable for a single thing in those days. The
only rules that may have existed were those among clans or in towns. But
those rules wouldn't be universal. Rules like that would be different from
clan to clan and from town to town. And primitive clans are known to war
with each other on a regular basis like the Native Americans did here in
America's early years.
I just hope I don't live to see the day when some sort of nationwide disaster,
like a nuclear holocaust, occurs in America. Nobody will be safe. Electrical
power will be out, the banks won't be open, ATM machines won't work, and
everyone will be so desperate to survive. Roving gangs of thugs will prowl
the rubble looking to scavenge and to steal anything not nailed down or
protected by guards. Law enforcement and medical services will be so
overwhelmed that dialing 911 will be no more productive than writing a
letter to Santa Claus; that is, if telephones even work. If hurricane Katrina
taught us anything in New Orleans, it's that large-scale disasters produce
large-scale anarchy and chaos.
According to the 2011 World Almanac, in the year 2009, there were a total
of 4,343,450 violent crimes committed against individuals in the USA . The
number of property crimes committed against individuals totaled
15,580,510. Those totals exclude arson and non-victim types of crimes like
perjury, contempt of court, internet hackers, identity theft, traffic violations,
J-walking, trespassing, animal abuse, feeding parking meters, cheating on
taxes; et al.
The criminal element has neither honor nor sympathy for its victims. After
the September 29, 2009 tsunami subsided in Samoa, residents returned to
neighborhoods only to find that their homes had been looted.
And to think the USA and its territories are a society of law abiding citizens.
Just think what it must have been like in Noah's day with no organized civil
authority whatsoever to control crime. All I can say is; if something really
bad should ever happen here in the USA, you'd better own deadly weapons
like swords and guns plus lots of pepper spray because neither your life nor
your possessions will be safe after dark.
†. Gen 6:12-13a . . God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for
all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to
Noah: I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled
with violence because of them.
Some people would probably like to translate some of that verse like this:
"for the earth is filled with violence through God." But Genesis doesn't say it
was filled with violence through God; no, God said it was filled with violence
through them.
†. Gen 6:13b . . I am about to destroy them with the earth.
Here is set a precedent of God forewarning His own when He is about to
execute a disastrous event upon the earth. The Passover was another such
example. God forewarned Moses, and Moses' people, of the imminent
annihilation of all the firstborn of Man and Beast in Egypt; which would also
impact Moses and his people if they didn't do exactly as God said and paint
the blood of a lamb on their door jambs (Ex 11:1-13). And our man Noah,
super-duper righteous saint that he was, would have drowned right along
with the rest of the antediluvians had he neglected to construct an ark.
When God gives a warning, it is best to respond accordingly.
†. Prv 22:3 . . A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple
keep going and suffer for it.
†. Gen 6:14a . . Make yourself an ark
The Hebrew word for ark is tebah (tay-baw') and just simply indicates, not a
ship, but a nondescript box. The only other place tebah is used again in the
Old Testament is of the little watertight container Moses' mom constructed
to hide him from Pharaoh's henchmen (Ex 2:1-10).
†. Gen 6:14b . . of gopher wood;
Nobody really knows for sure exactly what kind of trees Noah used to make
the ark. The word for "gopher" has nothing to do with little subterranean
rodents. It's a transliteration of the Hebrew word gopher (go'-fer) which only
suggests a kind of tree suitable for building structures out of wood. Some
think it was cypress because the wood of those trees is so resinous that it
resists rotting even after prolonged submersion in water. Others think it may
have been cedar or spruce; which are good too. Unfortunately, this is the
one and only occurrence of gopher in the entire Old Testament so there's no
other passages that might help identify a specific kind of tree.
†. Gen 6:14c . . make it an ark with compartments,
The word for "compartments" is from qen (kane) which means: a nest (as
fixed), sometimes including the nestlings; figuratively, a chamber or
dwelling. The construction of nests (and stalls) indicates the animals weren't
just herded or jammed together like the crowds attending an outdoor rock
concert. They were neatly stowed aboard in their own areas and apparently
made to feel quite comfortable.
†. Gen 6:14d . . and cover it inside and out with pitch.
The word for "pitch" is kopher (ko'-fer) which means: a cover. It can also
mean a village (as covered in); and also bitumen (as used for coating) and
the henna plant (as used for dye).
Kopher is a common word in the Old testament for "atonement" which is like
pitch as a coating, or a covering, which is not only a sealing compound like
the stuff people apply to weatherproof their patio decks, but also a
concealment coating like tar and feathers.
An atonement, while not actually removing sins; serves to conceal them,
which, for all intents and purposes, granted the sinner a reprieve until
Christ's crucifixion fully satisfied justice for their conduct (Rom 3:23-25) and
that's the means by which the Lord became an atonement.
†. Col 3:3 . . For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
The koiné Greek word for "hid" is krupto (kroop'-to) which means: to conceal
(by covering). It some locations krupto is translated: to keep as a secret.
Prior to Christ; Yhvh's worshippers didn't die for their sins; their sacrifices
did the dying. However, Christ's atonement goes one better in that it
executes the Lord's followers by means of their proxy participation in his
crucifixion. On the books, the Lord's atonement not only conceals his
follower's sin; it puts them to death too.
†. Rom 6:3 . . Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus
Christ were baptized into his death?
†. Rom 6:6 . . Our old self was crucified with him
†. Gal 2:20 . . I am crucified with Christ
Anyway; coating the ark with bitumen not only served to waterproof it; but
also preserved the wood for future uses after the Flood subsided a year later
when Noah no longer had need of a titanic water craft.
Cont.
/
