6/17 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 22; Psalms 110-111; Isaiah 49; Revelation 19

Genesis 7:6

SIX HUNDRED

One hundred twenty years before the flood (Gen 6:3), God commanded Noah to build an ark (Gen 6:13-22). Twenty years after, when Noah was 500 years old, he begat Japheth, his eldest son (Gen 5:32). Shem was two years younger than Japheth, fathering Arphaxad at 100 years of age, two years after the flood (Gen 11:11). Ham was the youngest (Gen 9:24).

While Noah himself, his fathers, and his sons possessed an extensive life full of many years. Noah was 950 years old when he died (Gen 9:28-29). Yet his age prior to the flood exemplifies the work of God in Christ. 120 years of walking with God, of serving YHVH God in building the ark to save his wife, his sons, his sons wives, and all the animals that the hand of God would bring to him, and of entering the ark to see the destruction of a planet he had lived on for 600 years. This allows us to reflect upon two important truths: first, the preservation of the saints; and second, the perseverance of the saints.

God preserved Noah during his work of faith. He set to work on the ark for twenty years before his first son was born, Japheth. Eventually, the two other sons would be born and the three would grow to be strong and able enough to help their father. With the wickedness surrounding the prophet for 120 years while he built away, God brought Him through. We should reflect upon the grace and power of God here:

And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

Noah also persevered for the glory of God. 120 years in the building of the ark, and by God’s grace, Noah was able to finish it one week ahead of schedule (Gen 7:4, 10). Have you ever been tired? Have you ever wanted the Lord Jesus to return quickly? Consider the longevity of Noah’s labors, with the eyes of his faith upon Christ:

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lord willing, and God helping me, I will attempt to offer an explanation why a Christ-centered interpretation of Scripture is essential in understanding Israel’s role in prophecy, and a future end times scenario.

What troubles me is how dogmatic we as Christians have become over something that has not happened yet. How easily we have forgotten that the disciples, who walked with Jesus on the shores of Galilee as well as during the heated opposition found in Jerusalem, were just as confused about His first coming as we are about His second coming.

Satan has even hurled spiritual darts at us upon our initial confessions of faith, making us believe that Jesus was crucified on Friday. This couldn’t be, according to Scripture. I’ve taught, preached, and written about this extensively over the past twenty-five plus years, so I won’t exhaust the point here. Nevertheless, since most dispensationalists insist on a literal interpretation of Scripture, few dispensationalists take the Lord Jesus’ words literally, when He refuted the religious leaders who sought a sign of His messiahship (Matt 12:38). Jesus said:

“An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Matthew 12:39-40

Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity, literally created the heavens and earth, defining the 24-hour night and day as having twelve hours during the daylight (John 11:9). Was He mistaken or being allegorical when He said that He would be buried for three days and three nights? I hardly think either was the case. Wednesday, the middle of the week literally fulfills Palm Sunday and the examination of the paschal lambs requiring four days kept in the home before they were slaughtered (Ex 12:3-6). A Friday crucifixion makes that literally seven days since Palm Sunday. Was that allegorical? If the chief priests and Pharisees asked Pilate for a guard for Christ’s tomb after Jesus was crucified (Matt 27:62-66), a Friday crucifixion would literally cause them to ask for this guard on Saturday, the Sabbath. How could they violate the Law of Moses in this way when John tells us in his gospel account that they would not enter the governor’s headquarters, “so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover” (John 18:28)? Would these legalistic Jews, so meticulous in keeping the Law for the Passover, being those who opposed Jesus at every turn for healing on the Shabbat, would they now be so lax in their hatred of Jesus that they would defile themselves by breaking the Sabbath commandment? I hardly think so. Jesus’ own commentary of their religious observance was that they were meticulous to the smallest seed and grain of spice (Matt 23:23). Moreover, since the women who went to the tomb arrived while it was still dark on Sunday, the first day of the week (John 20:1), when did they have an opportunity to buy the spices to anoint the Lord Jesus (Mark 16:1-2) since no store would be open until after sunup on Sunday? They didn’t buy them beforehand because everyone of Christ’s disciples were shocked and dismayed by His crucifixion. I won’t go into this at length because I have written about it in The Simple Gospel, the eBook being available free on various platforms including Amazon.com (you can get it here).[1]

To be fair, many Reformed covenant theologians, who are amillennial or historical premillennial, still hold to a Friday crucifixion as well.

Does this mean that those who believe in a Friday crucifixion are not saved? God forbid. Why then are we so grounded by this kind of tradition that opposes Scripture? Two reasons: First, Satan, the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10), attempts to foil us with a twisted view of Scripture from the very beginning. After all, that’s what he did to Adam and Eve in the garden (Gen 3:1-5). He desires to set us at odds with one another because he defies God’s authority, especially as it pertains to His holy Word. Second, our good and sovereign God allows it so that we may trust in Him alone for our guidance into all truth (John 16:13).

Now, I’ve just cited John 16:13 above. Let’s look at that for a moment. Jesus said,

Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. John 16:13, KJV

Having been a pastor of a church in the Bible-belt, Sovereign Grace Baptist Church in Anniston, Alabama (2009-2018), I encountered a lot of church folks who applied this verse to a literal extreme. Several pastors and Sunday school teachers (mostly among Baptists) would not teach on or even talk about the Holy Spirit because of the underlined and highlighted text above. This is absurd. Was Jesus violating what He said in the verse by teaching the disciples some of the most direct and detailed information about the third Person of the Trinity? Of course not.

My point is this: Some Scripture must be taken literally. Some Scripture must be taken allegorically, figuratively, and/or spiritually. And some Scripture may contain elements of both literal and allegorical. Our heads may swim in dizzying circles with that thought since we know that there is a lot of information in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. How is one to know that he or she is guided by the Holy Spirit into all truth? That’s a fair question, but the Lord Jesus also tells us of another work of the Holy Spirit. Again, speaking of the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus also said,

“He will glorify Me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:14

There it is. If Jesus isn’t glorified by our interpretation of Scripture, either our biblical hermeneutic is off, or something in the corruptions remaining in our mortal flesh is perverting our perspective for exalting self and not Christ. That statement is in direct opposition to what the late Dr. John MacArthur preached at the Shepherd’s Conference in 2007[2] and continued to believe when I attended the Shepherd’s Conference in 2023.[3]

To explore this topic, I’m using several quotes from the late John F. MacArthur, Jr. This is not meant to be a dig against the late Dr. M., but he had been for years one of the leading voices in promoting dispensational theology in general and pre-tribulation premillennial eschatology in particular.

Therefore, I’m not picking on the late Dr. M. In fact, I’m grateful that his ministry at Grace to You has been so open with their material, as it is easily accessible and may be readily referenced.

PRINCIPLES OF DR. MACARTHUR’S HEREMENEUTICS

One of John MacArthur’s most frequently repeated hermeneutical principles was that Scripture should be interpreted according to its normal grammatical and historical meaning unless the text itself indicates otherwise. I pray that I am not oversimplifying Dr. MacArthur’s teaching but since he had ministered for nearly 6 decades, wading through all the doctor’s work is far too voluminous than my physical ailments can endure. Nevertheless, Dr. MacArthur’s hermeneutical principles can be exemplified by these five particular.

First, “to be able to interpret [Scripture] accurately”[4] Dr. MacArthur presents literal, historical, grammatical, synthesis, and practical principles in his hermeneutic.[5] Concerning the Literal principle, he writes:

“In simple terms, this means you take the words of Scripture in their literal, normal, natural sense.” —Grace to You[6]

This may be one of the clearest and most concise statements behind Dr. MacArthur’s hermeneutic.

Concerning the next two principles of interpretation, the words of the announcer for the Grace to You radio broadcast summarize Dr. MacArthur’s perspective of the historical and grammatical principles in his hermeneutic:

“ At the heart of our hermeneutics is this basic assumption—when God revealed truth, He intended to communicate to us. He used the normal conventions of human language common to the people and time when His revelation came.

“That’s why we employ the grammatical-historical method of interpretation (the rules of grammar and the facts of history) to discern the meaning of Scripture.” —Grace to You[7]

Concerning the fourth principle, synthesis, Dr. MacArthur writes:

“If the Bible is God’s Word, it must be consistent with itself. No part of Scripture can contradict any other part. It was all inspired by one Author—the Holy Spirit—and consequently, it reflects a marvelous, supernatural unity.” —Grace to You[8]

In another Grace to You broadcast, aired from a Sunday evening sermon, concerning this synthesis principle Dr. MacArthur taught:

“I often tell ministers the meaning of the Scripture is the Scripture.” —Grace to You[9]

Concerning the fifth principle, the practical method, Dr. MacArthur writes:

“Once you’ve considered the literal meaning of a passage, its historical and grammatical context, and how it harmonizes with the rest of Scripture, you need to draw out the practical implications for your life. That’s what productive Bible study looks like—digging down to the original meaning of a text and applying it to your life.” —Grace to You[10]

Here, I don’t disagree with any of these principles above, per se. Nevertheless, if they stand alone “as is,” it may, in my humble opinion, lead the interpreter of Scripture to draw conclusions like this one, a hermeneutic that leads to these kinds of statements with regard to eschatology:

“What I’ve been saying is pretty simple: if you get Israel right, you’re going to get eschatology right; if you don’t get Israel right, you will never get eschatology right.” —Grace to You[11]

These principles, if not centered in glorifying Christ from the text, may cause the congregants to this method of interpretation to readily agree that this is uncompromised truth.

Again, Dr. MacArthur said this:

“The key to eschatology then is Judeo centrism—if you want to coin a phrase. The key to eschatology is Judeo centrism, which alone provides the cohesive base to integrate the various features of biblical prophecy.” —Grace to You[12]

This becomes a difficulty for me, because of what I’ve already mentioned in the Preface, and what we will look at in the section after this next one.

In the lecture Dr. MacArthur delivered at the Shepherd’s Conference in 2007, 17 minutes, 29 seconds into the message he stated,

“Israel always means Israel, never means anything but Israel.”[13]

When he says this, he is talking about ethnic descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He clarifies it by this statement:

“As it does, the perpetuity of the elect church to salvation glory, so the Scripture in similar language and by promises from the same God affirms the perpetuity of ethnic Israel to a future salvation of a generation of Jews that will fulfill all divine promises given to them by God.”[14]

So that you have context for the former statement, I will give you a fuller quote from the lecture.

“If you get eschatology right it’s because you get Israel right. You get Israel right when you get the Old Testament covenants and promises right. You get the Old Testament covenants and promises right when you get the interpretation of Scripture right. You get interpretation of Scripture right when you’re faithful to a legitimate hermeneutic… and God’s integrity is upheld. Get your hermeneutics right, you’ll get the Old Testament promises right. Get promises right, you’ll get Israel right. Get Israel right, you’ll get eschatology right. The Bible calls God the God of Israel over 200 times. The God of Israel. There are over 2,000 references to Israel in Scripture, not one of them means anything but Israel. Not one of them, including Romans 9:6 and Galatians 6:16 which is the only two passages that amillennialists go to trying to convince us that that cancels out the other 2,000. There is no difficulty in interpreting those as simply meaning Jews who were believers; the Israel of God. Israel always means Israel, never means anything but Israel. Seventy-three New Testament uses of Israel always mean Israel.” [15]

First, I have a difficulty with the statement, “Israel always means Israel, never means anything but Israel.” Let’s consider this for a moment. The first time “Israel” is used in the Scripture does not speak of the nation of Israel. This I mentioned in Part One of this series of articles. It was the name given to Jacob by a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ, a Christophany:

And He said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. Genesis 32:28, KJV

There are other verses we can say are certainly more scriptural exceptions to “Israel” meaning the ethnic nation of Israel. Here are a few more.

When Israel was a child, I loved Him, and out of Egypt I called My son. Hosea 11:1

Matthew’s gospel account tells us that this verse was about the Lord Jesus Messiah, when He was a child, as it is written,

And he rose and took the child and His mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called My son.” Matthew 2:14-15

While certainly the children of Israel’s deliverance from the bondage in Egypt is spoken of in Hosea 11:1. Yet the people of God under Moses’s leadership was only a shadow of things to come, a prophetic picture of the Messiah to come. The young Lord Jesus must be removed from the Land of Promise to dwell in a land of sinful, idolatrous men only to come forth in the fullness of the time to grow up in Nazareth to fulfill more Scripture (Isa 11:1; Matt 2:23); and then fulfill more Scripture by beginning His ministry in Galilee (Isa 9:1-2; Matt 4:12-17).

Yet another Old Testament portion that speaks of Messiah Y’shua is this one:

Yet now hear, O Jacob My servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, My servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring: Isaiah 44:1-3, KJV

Notice that YHVH God promises to pour out His Spirit upon “thy seed,” which is also translated “your offspring” (ESV).[16] In Hebrew Isaiah 44:3 is translated literally “thy seed,” a singular possessive, זרעך (zar-E-kha); and what is said by YHVH God here very much resembles what He said to Abraham centuries earlier, using the same term: זרעך (zar-E-kha), as it is written,

And I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. Genesis 17:7, KJV

Now, Paul explains that the covenant promises to Abraham were fulfilled in, by, and through the Messiah, and I suspect that he would have made the same arguments concerning Isaiah 44 above. But why would he need to? He made a more powerful argument by going to the source: Abraham. It is written:

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Galatians 3:16, KJV

Not to “seeds” plural or “offsprings” (ESV), but singular because Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of Israel (as already mentioned in Part One).

The late Dr. MacArthur, as he did throughout his lifetime of ministry, preached passionately for a shade under 80 minutes on March 7, 2007 to open the first general session of the Shepherd’s Conference that year.[17] Interestingly, he walked through the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis during the lecture but mentioned nothing of what the Holy Spirit reveals to us through Paul.[18]

Sadly, however, his lecture contained various logical fallacies—generalizations, ad hominem, straw men, slippery slopes, cherry picking, etc.—to bolster his heartfelt and enthusiastic position.

To be honest, and to be fair, I haven’t performed an exhaustive deep dive into the late doctor’s preaching on his hermeneutics, his eschatology, or his dogmatic stance concerning ethnic Israel as a nation. But frankly, I wouldn’t have the desire to read or listen to more than I had because it was heartbreaking. I don’t doubt His salvation. That’s the beauty and glory of God’s amazing grace in Christ. Nevertheless, according to Dr. MacArthur, not only from his 2007 message, but also the one I heard as I personally attended the 2023 Sheperd’s Conference.[19] Sixteen years had not changed his position whatsoever.

According to Dr. MacArthur, though he follows the hermeneutical method mentioned above, he implies that even our salvation is predicated upon God’s fulfillment of His promises to Israel as a nation. He gives himself away concerning his hermeneutical emphasis with statements like…

“Seventy percent of Scripture is the story of Israel, and I think that the whole point of the ‎story is to get to the ending, and it doesn’t go up in smoke.”[20]

With statements like this one, the emphasis of Dr. MacArthur’s hermeneutic was the ethnic descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But his reasoning, albeit noble, he was an apologist for the sovereign election of ethnic Israel by God. He sincerely believed that if Israel, mentioned in the Scriptures over 2,000 times, is the basis for his eschatological hermeneutic; however, everything he presented in March 2007 shows that Israel, exemplified by the statement above, also drives his entire hermeneutic. That is troubling.

I know I have written it in Part One of this series, but I need to place it here as well. In answer to a question concerning Israel, I wrote:

While Dr. MacArthur proclaimed emphatically that salvation was by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, for God’s glory alone, the faithfulness of God to elect Israel was never connected with Christ’s fulfillment. They still run parallel in MacArthur’s hermeneutic. In an effort to be literal, consistent, and reasonable by his interpretation of Scripture, Dr. MacArthur becomes unreasonable by insisting that Israel and Christ’s church have two destinies.

One of the interesting illustrations of the people of God under the New Covenant is the olive tree. In it, we do not see two olive trees, but one. A natural olive tree with unnatural branches grafted into it:

¹¹So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. ¹²Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! ¹³Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry ¹⁴in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. ¹⁵For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? ¹⁶If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. ¹⁷But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, ¹⁸do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. ¹⁹Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. ²¹For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. ²²Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. ²³And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. ²⁴For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. Romans 11:11-24

Christ is not the essential center nor exalted emphasis in Dr. MacArthur’s interpretation of Scripture. He does not see it in Scripture because he cannot see it; and therefore, he’ll miss things in Scripture that his Bible book commentaries will never address.

Much of what he teaches are things I would agree with whole-heartedly. Even some of these quotes have elements in them that I could say yea and amen to; however, his meaning, in several instances, is different because, for the late doctor, it was more about interpreting Scripture literally, grammatically, and historically, so that when it came to certain passages that required Scripture compared with Scripture, the passage would either be ignored or grossly misinterpreted if there was something nuanced in it concerning Christ. This, I will attempt to justify in the next section.

“What about the over 2,000 references to Israel Dr. MacArthur mentioned in the quote you provided?” someone may ask. We will cover that in the next section as we examine the importance of a Christ-centered hermeneutic.

PREEMINENCE OF CHRIST IN A SOUND, BIBLICAL HERMENEUTIC

Early in his lecture at the opening session of the 2007 Shepherd’s Conference, Dr. MacArthur stated:

“Does the end matter? Does it matter to God? Should it matter to us? I think it matters to God. I think it’s the whole point of history. I know it’s the whole point of history…. Some say, ‘Nearly one-fourth of Scripture relates to the prophecies of the end.’”[21]

Not only was Dr. MacArthur’s hermeneutic based upon literal, historical, and grammatical interpretive methods of understanding Scripture, not only was God’s election upon ethnic Israel emphasized, but his hermeneutic was also driven by end times prophecy. In other words, his eschatology drove his theology, and not the other way around.

Jesus is the reason for everything. He is God-incarnate, the second Person of the Triune God, who breathed out the Scripture. Jesus Himself said about Himself that He is the center of Scripture:

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me,” John 5:39

Jesus wasn’t saying something fresh and new. Though He didn’t quote it literally, He said nothing different from what the Holy Spirit inspired the psalmist to write about the Messiah:

Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of Me: I delight to do Your will, O My God; Your law is within My heart.” Psalm 40:7-8

The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews testifies to the fact that this portion was specifically about the Lord Jesus Christ (Heb 10:7-10). This writer to the Hebrew believers in Messiah implied at the very beginning of his epistle that the Scriptures were about the Son of God:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Hebrews 1:1-3

With regard to prophecy, again, it must glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in some way, shape, or form (John 16:14), as it is written,

For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10

Dr. MacArthur made a common mistake that we frail preachers are prone to make. He believed that by emphasizing the faithfulness of God concerning His promises to Israel, it would bolster the hearing congregant’s faith and prick the unbeliever’s heart that has been prepared by the Holy Spirit so they may be won to Christ. His hermeneutic, therefore, effected his homiletic, and basically resulted in denigrating Christ. God’s faithfulness is most exalted by the truth of His faithfulness to bring about the fulfillment of all prophecy through His one and only Son.

I said that it was a common mistake. I’ve heard several ministers make a similar mistake in preaching, passionate though they might be, feeling that it was absolutely necessary to emphasize the worldwide flood of Noah’s day in order to emphasize God’s judgment upon an evil and wicked world. If the text has us preaching Genesis 6-9, by all means preach it, but the greatest judgment the world has ever seen, and will ever see, occurred on a tree of wood in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago. No man ever walked more intimately with God the Father than the Lord Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:18). He was pleasing to the Father in all He thought, said, and did, even when Jesus suffered the holy wrath of God for sins He did not commit. Therefore, when Jesus suffered on the cross, that disparity between the intimate, loving, fellowship He had known with the Father and the holy wrath from the Father was so great that all the collective torments suffered by every God-hating, Christ-rejecting soul sent to eternal punishment will never come close to comparing with what Christ suffered on Calvary’s cross.

God the Father is most glorified in the Son. It is written,

Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11

Israel hasn’t been replaced, as John MacArthur assumed concerning the beliefs of all amillennialists and historical premillennialists. Some do, but not all. Many believe as I do, that Israel is fulfilled in Christ, being made up of believing Jews and non-Jews, like the illustration earlier of the olive tree and its branches. It is written,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16

This is what I call fulfillment theology, not replacement theology. Yes, there are those in various Protestant denominations that believe Israel has been replaced by the church. I do not believe the Scriptures bear that out. They cannot with a Christ-centered hermeneutic.

And certainly, as “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (Rom 9:6), not everyone who attends church services, or even joins as a member, is saved. Thus, we can also say, “Not all who are in the church are the church” (see Matt 7:21-23).

If Christ Jesus is the center, emphasis, and very testimony of Scripture, then it would make sense that “Nearly one-fourth of Scripture relates to the prophecies of the end.” The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Israel יִשְׂרָאֵל (yis-ra-ĀL) is mentioned 2,505 times in 2,230 verses of the Hebrew Scriptures, and written in every book of the Old Testament except for Esther, Job, Jonah, Habakkuk, and Haggai. Israel Ἰσραήλ (is-ra-ĀL) is mentioned 70 times in 68 verses of the Greek Scriptures, written in thirteen of the twenty-seven books of the Christian New Testament.

If Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of Israel, ruling as a Prince with God because He is Lord of all, and having been governed by God as the perfect and sinless Man while He lived and minstered upon the earth, living the righteous life that you and I cannot possibly live on the planet earth, then it would make sense that Israel is mentioned so many times in the Bible. Because it’s all about Jesus, and Israel was meant to be a prophetic foreshadow of Jesus, the Jew who fulfilled God’s promises.

Even the wickedness of Israel is reflected in Christ, since Christ suffered for those sins as well when He hung upon the cross. Now how does apply this sixth hermeneutical principle of being Christ-centered work? Let me give you an example. While this verse doesn’t mention Israel, per se, it does use a term that is often used of those ethnic descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The word is Jew. It says,

For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. Romans 2:28-29

The apostle here was not giving us new revelation by the Spirit. This comes from the Hebrew Scriptures. In the Torah, before entering the Land of Promise, YHVH God gives His people an impossible command. Moses tells the children of Israel,

Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. Deuteronomy 10:16

The literal, grammatical, and historical principles of Dr. MacArthur’s hermeneutic fails here apart from applying a Christ-centered hermeneutic. “How can one do that?” the children of Israel ask, scratching their heads. They cannot literally do this, and we cannot literally understand it. Nevertheless, YHVH God provides the answer through their prophet, Moses, who says:

And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. Deuteronomy 30:6

That’s regeneration (Ezek 36:26-27) and it is fulfilled in Jesus Messiah according to the prophecy concerning the New Covenant, spoken by YHVH God through Jeremiah (Jer 32; Heb 8:1-13).

As mentioned in Part One, Jesus is, was, and evermore shall be YHVH God’s plan before He said, “Light be!” (Gen 1:3), as it is written concerning Jesus,

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:20-21

The truth of God’s Messiah proclaimed in the garden after Adam and Eve had sinned, some two thousand years before Jacob was named Israel, not only declares salvation for sinners, but establishes the precedent for our Christo-centric hermeneutic:

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel. Genesis 3:15, KJV

There’s that word “Seed” again (see Gen 17:7; Isa 44:3; Gal 3:16).

A Christ-centered hermeneutic allows us to understand why the heavens, earth, and man was created in the first place. Our frail and finite minds think about the fall of man in the garden and it prompts us to think, if not ask altogether, “If God is sovereign, why didn’t He just do something to keep Adam and Eve from sinning?” A Christo-centric hermeneutic helps us to understand that it was to manifest God’s greatest glory through the Son of God, the “Seed” of the woman. How so? Through this episode of original sin in the garden, God illustrates to us that perfect, dusty man living in the perfect environment (Eden), with the perfect companion (Eve), and fellowship with God (Elohiym), that apart from the Lord Jesus Messiah and salvation through Him, all man is capable of is being deceived, dishonoring God by disobeying Him, and bringing death to both himself and to others.

Let’s take a look at one more example of shedding light on a Christ-centered hermeneutic in Scripture. This one should serve nicely for this paper because of Dr. MacArthur’s passionate and continued emphasis on the faithfulness of God in fulfilling His covenant promises to Israel. With regard to faith, yours and mine is weak. Our faith is frail and often falters or even fails. The faith of the Lord Jesus Messiah, as perfect and sinless Man, never failed. Because He was faithful, His faithfulness is imputed to us, that is, placed upon our account as believers in Christ, as it is written,

looking to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

From the original Greek, Jesus is the Founder and Perfector of… faith, or “Author and Finisher of… faith” The word “our” is not in the original text. It’s alright that it is included because this entire verse speaks of imputed righteousness. Jesus went to the cross, not for Himself, but for our sakes; and He did so with joy over the salvation of His creation. You and I would have gone to the cross begrudgingly, kicking and screaming. We don’t despise the shame of sin, but Jesus did; and He did so on our behalf so His holy attitude and His righteous behavior would be placed upon your account and mine. Now, Christ being the Founder and Perfecter of faith, let’s take a look at faith. It is written,

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Another English version translates it in this way:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1, KJV

The English words “assurance” (ESV) and “substance” (KJV) are translated from the Greek word ὑπόστασις (hoop-OS-ta-sis).

It is used two other times in this Epistle to the Hebrews, in chapter one and in chapter three. First, in chapter one we read:

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Hebrews 1:3

Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Hebrews 1:3, KJV

Hoopostasis is also found in the third chapter (and is also translated similarly as “confident” in 2 Corinthians 9:4 and as “confidence” in 2 Corinthians 11:17):

For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. Hebrews 3:14

For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; Hebrews 3:14, KJV

While faith is certainly a “confidence” and “assurance” that something is true, biblically speaking, faith also contains the very “substance,” “person,” and “nature” or the Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, when we see examples of faithful men in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, that faith is not merely a grace imparted to us from the Holy Spirit to believe (Gal 5:22-23; Eph 2:8-9), it is not only an assurance and a confidence that what God has said and promised is so, it includes the very substance, person, and nature of Christ. This is why the Word of God tells us that it is all about Jesus (Psa 40:7-8; John 5:39; et al). Let’s take a brief look at a few of these faithful folk.

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. Hebrews 11:4

The faith of Abel is a picture of the perfect faith of Christ. His acceptable sacrifice reflected Christ’s perfect sacrifice of Himself, and though Christ died, He rose again to show us Himself in the prophetic life of Abel.

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. Hebrews 11:5

The faith of Enoch is a picture of the perfect faith of Christ because Enoch was commended as having pleased God. Jesus was always pleasing to the heavenly Father in all things, never once being unpleasing in His thoughts, words, and deeds (Matt 3:17; 17:5; John 8:29).

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. Hebrews 11:7

The faith of Noah is a picture of the perfect Person of Christ because Noah constructed an ark of wood to save his family and condemned the world for its evil and adulterous wickedness. Faithful Jesus came to the earth from heaven, saved His family by a cross of wood, and by His holy and reverent fear of God, condemned sin by His suffering God’s wrath, dying a horrible death as a Man, and shedding His blood for the forgiveness of sins.

I could go on, not only for the rest of Hebrews, but throughout the Scriptures. But I will end this portion here, as this portion of the series has already gone longer than I intended.

Finally, let’s take a look at possible erroneous suppositions if we fail to interpret Scripture with a Christ-centered hermeneutic.

POSSIBLE ERRONEOUS SUPPOSITIONS

While there are a large number of examples I can give concerning erroneous suppositions we might make when not using a Christo-centric hermeneutic, I will close this section of the series with one particular problem from Scripture that has arisen in preaching of late. Questions from congregants and ministry friends concerning this perspective; and because it has become so prevalent in preaching today, I’ll address it here. It stems from a misunderstanding and misinterpretation of this verse of Scripture:

You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong… Habakkuk 1:13a

Some have concluded by this verse because of the “purer eyes” wording, that the Father could not look at Jesus when He suffered on the cross because Jesus bore our sin. This is preached from a number of pulpits, and from what is presented in this portion of Habakkuk, it is preached, taught, and expounded upon because of a literal, grammatical, and historical hermeneutic. It’s quite a quandary for feeble-faithed men, such as we are.

Yet in the verse itself, the prophet not only says that God’s eyes are too pure to look upon evil, he also says that YHVH God looks upon the Babylonians idly—that He looks upon wretched idolators, who are more evil than the wicked in Judah, and that He’s using these sinners in order to bring about judgment upon Judah (Hab 1:5-11). Here’s the full verse:

You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do You idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he? Habakkuk 1:13

So, first, we already have the proof from Habakkuk 1:5-13 that this cannot be truly applied as a literal restriction concerning YHVH God.

Second, Satan entered the very presence of God at least twice since the fall, recorded in the book of Job ‎‎(Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7), and possibly more than we know (Rev 12:10). I think we can agree that as far as evil ‎is concerned, Satan is the worst of the worst, yet he conversed with YHVH God, and moreover, conversed ‎with the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). Satan’s staining heaven with his presence is why ‎the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus is also the propitiation for the whole world (1 Jn 2:2); because in the ‎regeneration, a new heaven and new earth will be cleansed by the omnipotent power of Christ’s precious ‎blood.‎

And though I will not give exhaustive proof texts for YHVH God looking upon evil, here are a few:‎

You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence. Psalm 90:8‎

The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. Proverbs 15:3

“But they do not consider that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds surround them; they are before My face.” Hosea 7:2

Thirdly, to suggest that the Father could not look at Jesus on the cross would imply that Jesus did not pay the penalty for sins He did not commit but actually became sin itself; and that would in turn imply that Christ’s righteous act was not the delight and satisfaction of Father God. If Jesus was at any time unpleasing to the Father (Matt 3:17; John 8:29), even on the cross, His substitution means nothing (1 Pet 3:18), and you and I have no hope of salvation at all. If Jesus was not pleasing to the heavenly Father on the cross, this would make Jesus a liar when He said the last part of this statement:

“And He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” John 8:29

Was the vindication of God’s justice not pleasing to the Father? Will the righteous Judge on that Day be unable to look at the sinners He’s condemning to eternal punishment? I think not.

Since I cited the entire verse, I must mention this about John 8:29. We do know that Jesus was forsaken of the Father (Psa 22:1; Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34). That’s because the first part of John 8:29 was true of Jesus right up until the cross. Jesus walked intimately with the Father (John 1:18; Heb 1:3), so much more intimately than any man, including Adam; so that when Jesus was forsaken of that relationship, the suffering of all men collectively who have rejected Christ and will be sent to eternal torment in that Day could never come close to matching the wrath that Jesus suffered when He was forsaken by God. What that exactly entails is a heavenly mystery that is infinitely beyond our finite grasp. Yet we will chase down that infinitely glorious truth of Christ crucified for all eternity.

Again, we have a verse of Scripture that specifically states that YHVH God looks upon His “Seed” (KJV) or “Offspring” when He (the LORD) puts Him (Seed, or Offspring) to grief:

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His Offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. Isaiah 53:10

Fourth, this doctrine of the Father not looking at Jesus would devilishly assault the nature and character of the Father because to suggest such a thing would cause the Father to tell us to do something He couldn’t do Himself—that is, to look upon Jesus Christ crucified, which is our only Hope of salvation. This is what the Father told us to do through the prophet—to look upon Jesus to be saved:

Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Isaiah 45:22, KJV

“Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:22

Both are wonderful English translations of this verse. YHVH God says in Hebrew פְּנוּ־אֵלַי (p’NOO—e-LAĪY), “You face Me.” The command is to “face” God because we are looking away from Him, so therefore, the ESV also is correct because the command implies repentance, turning from our sin and turning to God. But since the Father is spirit and has no body (John 4:24), then the command can only be applied by our looking to Jesus (John 1:18; 14:9; 19:37; Heb 1:1-3; 1 Jn 1:2; et al) with spiritual eyes (2 Cor 5:7).

Finally, that brings us to the last point: why would Habakkuk say such a thing if it is not literally true of the Father? I believe that among the redeemed, even in our misgivings and misunderstandings, we still become a gospel witness for Christ’s sake and for His glory. While every prophet points to Messiah, is a witness of and for Messiah, and in many ways is a type of Christ (John 5:39), the weakness of men is one of the ways God works all things together for good (Rom 8:28). When we see the weakness in Abraham, Moses, Aaron, David, Elijah, Habakkuk, etc., we will depend less and less upon men, less and less upon ourselves, and depend more and more upon the Lord Jesus. Jesus didn’t entrust Himself to men (John 2:24-25), and neither should we.

Jesus of Nazareth is certainly that Prophet foretold to come (Deut 18:15). Jesus is the only Jew who ever kept the whole Law both actively and passively. Jesus is the only Son who was wholly obedient to His Father. Jesus is the only Prophet who had ever spoken the truth of heaven without schism or defect. All others were fallen descendants of Adam. And since the Lord Jesus came, all His ministers continue to fall short of His glory. Habakkuk in his frailty and fallenness only expresses what we do all the time—apply our weaknesses to the immutable God. Habakkuk speaks as if the presence of wickedness is going to change God. Certainly, God is not aloof to our sin, for our sin grieves Him (Eph 4:30); but He cannot be changed by anything. He is complete in Himself. He cannot learn; He’s all-knowing. He cannot be nowhere; He is everywhere-present.

Because we are often driven by the wind and tossed in our situations and circumstances, we sometimes project our weaknesses onto the character of the unchanging God. Thus, Habakkuk points to Christ Jesus in his weakness, because it is only in the incarnate God, Jesus Messiah, who was the faithful, infallible, and impeccable Prophet to the end—when He breathed His last on that tree.

We see these same Habakkuk-like characteristics in our own lives, which when we recognize them, provoke us to surrender unto Christ through the Holy Spirit even more. We know that God is sovereign, but sometimes in our hearts, or even by our actions and attitudes, we may openly or secretly give the impression that Jesus couldn’t build His church without us (Jas 4:13-17). Or we know that truth must be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:14), but we sometimes act like or live as if we discovered these treasures on our own (1 Cor 4:7).

Read Part One, “Understanding Israel from Scripture” by clicking here.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Interestingly, although Dr. MacArthur believed in a literal interpretation of Scripture (which we will look at in the next section), for over 56 years as pastor of Grace Community Church, they celebrated “Good Friday,” and the doctor preached a Friday crucifixion.

[2] https://www.gracechurch.org/sermons/332

[3] I was gifted the registration price and the roundtrip travel from Alaska by the saints of Calvary Baptist Church in Ninilchik, Alaska. Before the conference started, Dr. MacArthur suffered a broken wrist, so he only spoke during a Q&A session on the second day and at the final evening service, unveiling a soon-to-be released commentary on Zechariah. Like he had done 16 years earlier, Dr. M. planted a flag upon the hill of pre-tribulation dispensational premillennialism, passionately dogmatic in his conviction. See

.

[4] https://www.gty.org/blogs/B120928/elements-of-productive-bible-study-interpret-part-2

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] https://www.gty.org/blogs/B100202/good-hermeneutics

[8] https://www.gty.org/blogs/B120928/elements-of-productive-bible-study-interpret-part-2

[9] https://www.gty.org/sermons/80-372/can-we-know-what-the-scripture-means

[10] https://www.gty.org/blogs/B120928/elements-of-productive-bible-study-interpret-part-2

[11] https://www.gty.org/sermons/90-336/why-every-calvinist-should-be-a-premillennialist-part-3

[12] Ibid.

[13] https://www.gracechurch.org/sermons/332

[14] Ibid. (10:29); emphasis added.

[15] Ibid. (16:08)

[16] There are more sermons out there, in written form and audio recordings, using the KJV “seed” language than the word “offspring,” so I am using the KJV here.

[17] https://www.gracechurch.org/sermons/332

[18] Ibid. (35:00-38:12)

[19] https://www.gracechurch.org/sermons/20936

[20] https://www.gracechurch.org/sermons/332 (18:36)

[21] Ibid. (3:36); emphasis in original message.

6/16 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 21; Psalms 108-109; Isaiah 48; Revelation 18

Genesis 7:5

OBEDIENCE

We examined Noah’s obedience earlier in the Genesis Devotional Series, when Noah was commanded by YHVH God to begin building an ark:

Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him. Genesis 6:22

We considered that Noah’s obedience sprung from faith, but it was bolstered in a loving and fearful response to God’s mercy, love, and grace (see devotional thought here). We’re told in Scripture that Noah was a preacher of righteousness, calling people to repent of evil while he built the ark God commanded him to build:

if He did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 2 Peter 2:5

After 120 years of serving YHVH God as he built the ark (Gen 6:3), Noah was humbled with even greater love for his Creator and Redeemer so that forsaking the world he knew and entering the ark was simply an act of humble, loving, joyful obedience. Living 600 years on the planet (Gen 7:6), the 120 years he walked with God was everything to him. His obedience foreshadowed true discipleship in Christ. Jesus preached in the Sermon on the Mount,

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

Again, Jesus preached to the crowds accompanying Him,

“So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:33

Paul was humbled by God’s love in Christ. He confessed,

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— Philippians 3:7-9

John was also humbled by God’s love in Christ. He exhorts us in his first general epistle,

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:15-17

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

This paper was written in response to a question concerning “Israel.” Someone asked: “…when God called Jacob ‘Israel,’ what did that mean?” I quickly responded with this:

The story of Esau and Jacob was another topic that was queried. It is in the story of these “two nations” where we understand more fully what Israel is about.

THE GOSPEL BACKGROUND OF JACOB

Isaac was 40 years old when he married his wife, Rebekah (Gen 25:20). He was 60 years old when Rebekah bore his sons, Esau and Jacob (Gen 25:26). While Rebekah was pregnant, the two infants “struggled together within her” and she sought the reason for why this was happening, asking YHVH God (Gen 25:22)— asking really, El Shaddai, because YHVH was not known by His name, יְהֹוָה (y’-HŌ-veh), until after He revealed it to Moses at the burning bush of Exodus 3:14 (Ex 6:3). Concerning this, YHVH God answered Rebekah, not Isaac, as it is written:

And the LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.” Genesis 25:23

The LORD answering Rebekah and not revealing this to Isaac will be significant when Isaac gives his blessing to Jacob instead of Esay; but here, in YHVH’s answer, as well as in the birth of the two children, this prophetically foreshadows the gospel of Jesus Messiah. I’ve mentioned this before to you—the firstborn and second born—as Adam to Christ, Cain to Abel, Japheth to Shem, etc. The New Testament illuminates this redemptive thread seen throughout the Hebrew Scriptures:

Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:45-47

More gospel details are given in Esau and Jacob’s lives. They were named by the revelations from their birth. Esau came forth first, named “Hairy,” עֵשָׂו (ā-SAV) in Hebrew, because he “came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak” (Gen 25:25). Jacob “came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel” (Gen 25:26), so he was called יַעֲקֹב (ya-aq-ŌV), which means “heel catcher” or “supplanter.” Even Jacob’s name is prophetic of the Messiah, because the Messiah would supplant the judgment of sinful Adam by taking on the punishment of sin Himself, suffering God’s holy wrath and dying a shameful death upon Calvary’s tree.

Moreover, we are told that Esau was “a man of the field” (Gen 25:27a); that is, he was a man given over to the world. The scriptural “field” is sometimes an allegorical picture of the sinful world and the sin-cursed ground. The “field” was where Cain slew Abel (Gen 4:8), as well as what Jesus describes in many of His parables as “the world” (Matt 13:24, 31, 38, 44, et al).

The King James Version or Genesis 25:27 renders Jacob’s typology a little better than the English Standard Version in my humble opinion. It states:

And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

Two prophetic characteristics of Messiah are presented here. Jacob was a “plain man.” In Hebrew, he was אִישׁ תָּם (eeysh tam), translated “plain man” (KJV) or “quiet man.”[1] תָּם (tam) means “undefiled,” and comes from the same root that describes Noah in Genesis 6:9, the Hebrew word תָּמַם (ta-MAM), meaning “unblemished.” Tamam is used when describing an animal sacrifice that was to be unblemished or without spot (Ex 12:5; Lev 1:3; etc). We know this describes Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), as it is written:

knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 1 Peter 1:18-19

This was YHVH God’s plan from before the creation of the heavens and the earth because the next two verses tell us:

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:20-21

The second characteristic presented here is that Jacob dwelt in tents. In other words, Jacob was a sojourner. Jesus Messiah was the ultimate Sojourner on the planet. Just a few of our proof texts are:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Matthew 8:20

The next blessed gospel picture given us is when Esau’s name is changed to Edom (Gen 25:29-34). Esau had been hunting in the field. He was exhausted, having caught nothing. Jacob had been cooking stew and Esau wanted some of Jacob’s red stew. For payment to receive a bowl of this stew, Esau must sell Jacob his birthright as the firstborn. Thus Esau was called Edom because of the red stew he had purchased. The word red comes from the Hebrew word אָדֹם (a-DŌM), which is the root for the words “earth,” “ground,” “blood,” and the name “Adam.” Edom, Hebrew אֱדוֹם (e-DŌM), becomes a type of Adam, Hebrew אָדָם (a-DAM), because Esau sold his birthright for something to eat—same as Adam.

Next, Jacob again becomes a type of Christ during the blessing from Isaac (Gen 27:1-46). The blessing occurs after Esau and Jacob are forty years old, because Esau was forty years old when he took wives from the daughters of the Hittites (Gen 26:34; 27:46). Isaac was still alive when Jacob returned after twenty years of servitude under Laban in Haran (Gen 31:38-41), Isaac living to be 180 years old (Gen 35:27-29).

So, when the blessing came to Jacob, Isaac was old and blind, but sometime after 100 years of age—5 years? 10? 20? We’re not told. Remember, Isaac doesn’t know anything about the elder serving the younger, so he sends his eldest son out to hunt game and prepare him the delicious food he loves; and then, he will pronounce the blessing upon Esau (Gen 27:1-4), so he thinks.

Rebekah overhears this and sets things into motion. She “commands” Jacob to bring two young goats from the flock (Gen 27:5-10). The slaying of these two kids was a prophetic foreshadow of the Day of Atonement, when two goats are offered before YHVH God (Lev 16:7-10). While the goats were young for Jacob’s episode, and both were slain, it still reminds us of the ancient Yom Kippur.

For the Day of Atonement, lots were cast upon the two goats (Lev 16:7-10). One was l’YHVH, or “for the LORD,” which was sacrificed as an offering to God for sin. The other was l’azazel, or the “scapegoat,” which was set free in the wilderness, carrying the people’s sin away. This reflected the two-fold work of Messiah in the perfect atoning Sacrifice He offered on Calvary’s tree. Christ’s suffering, death, and shed blood satisfied the holy justice of YHVH God for sin. At the same time, Christ’s substitutionary atonement carried our sins away. That this was done by the high priest once per year, it also foreshadowed the two-fold work of Messiah in being both our Great High Priest (Heb 8:1-13) and the once-and-for-all Sacrifice for sin (Heb 10:1-39).

The young goats were used in Jacob’s instance because kids under one year old had fine, soft hair, close to what Esau’s arms and neck felt like. While Rebekah made the delicious food from the goats, she also clothed Jacob in Esau’s garments and put the kid skins on Jacob’s arms and neck (Gen 27:14-17). This picture was a prophetic type of the incarnation of Christ:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Jacob, the supplanter, received the blessing from Isaac, foreshadowing the blessing redeemed souls would receive through Messiah. It is written:

and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17

And again,

He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” Matthew 17:5

Even in the interaction, Isaac speaks of things that prophetically foretell the Messiah. Isaac said to Jacob,

“Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” Genesis 27:21

Jesus said,

“See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” Luke 24:39

“Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” John 20:27

Isaac also prophetically points to Jesus Messiah when he says,

“The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” Genesis 27:22

The New Testament also verify the prophetic substance of this verse above, since Jesus was fully, flesh and bone Man who spoke the words of heaven without mankind’s sinful corruptions:

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. Matthew 7:28-29

The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this Man!” John 7:46

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our ‎eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of ‎Life 1 John 1:1‎

THE SALVATION OF JACOB

Now, we could get caught up in a lot of other details (and they are good and wonderful), but let’s move forward and look at the salvation of Jacob, which is important to understand when we see why and when his name was changed. There have been some who disagreed with me. They suggest that Jacob was saved when he wrestled with Jesus (a Christophany) when he was named Israel in Genesis 32:28.

After receiving the blessing, Jacob flees Beersheba for Haran to seek Rebekah’s brother, Laban. On his way there, he stops for the night in Luz and has a dream of a ladder reaching into heaven from the earth, with angels ascending and descending upon it (Gen 28:10-12). And above the top of the ladder, he sees YHVH God. This is, of course, a Christophany—an appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ before His incarnation—because” God is Spirit” (John 4:24), and therefore, does not have a body (Jesus is the fulness of God in bodily form, Col 2:9). He is told by the LORD these words:

“I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:13-15

Because of this, when Jacob awoke, he built an altar and called the place Bethel, meaning “house of God.” Then he made this vow.

“If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” Genesis 28:20-22

Jacob was not laying out a tit-for-tat proposition here, promising to worship God if He fulfills His promise to him. Jacob was prophetically speaking from the soul-changing regeneration that occurs when one is saved. Jesus the Son spoke to Jacob and told him that He was “the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac” (Gen 28:13). Then He spoke of His gracious promise to Jacob, the same promises He had made to both Abraham and to Isaac (Gen 17; 26). Jacob responds to this gracious and merciful salvation by saying in effect: “You are the God of Abraham and Isaac. But because You have given me the same promise, You shall be my God.” Thus, latter in the Hebrew Scriptures, and in the New Testament as well, we hear the expression, “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

THE NAME CHANGE OF JACOB

God fulfills His promise to bring Jacob back to the land twenty years later. He is afraid of Esau because Esau hated Jacob and planned to kill his brother (Gen 27:41), which is also a prophetic utterance of Messiah’s fate (John 1:11; 5:18; 7:1). So, Jacob divides his family into groups and sets aside gifts to bestow upon his brother, Esau, in hopes it may appease him (Gen 32:20).

That night, Jacob wrestled with “a man” all night “until the breaking of the day” (Gen 32:24). This, again, was a Christophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jacob hangs on and will not let go until he receives a blessing, Jacob’s hip being dislocated by the touch of the Lord ‎(Gen 32:25-26). Jacob wept in his wrestling with God (Hos 12:3-5).

Jesus asks him his name and Jacob tells Him (Gen 32:27). Jacob’s name, “supplanter,” also carries with it a negative connotation. It means “cheat” or “swindler,” which is what Jacob was in his life. Few and evil were the days of his sojourn (Gen 47:9), but Jesus has changed his name:

Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. Genesis 32:28, KJV

The ESV renders it in this way:

“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Genesis 32:28, ESV

The KJV is more literal from the new name, יִשְׂרָאֵל (yis-ra-ĀL). אֵל (el) means “God.” שַׂר (sar) means “prince,” as in one of the titles of Messiah, שׂר־שׁלום (sar sha-LOM), meaning “Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6). יִשְׂרָ (y’sar), depending upon the sentence structure and context, can either be past tense or future tense. In past tense, the whole meaning of Israel is “ruled by God” or “governed by God.” In future tense, Israel means “God will rule” or “God will govern.”

The ESV (ASV, NASB 1995) uses “striven with God…” The NASB uses “contended with God…” The NKJV uses “struggled with God…”

This is what the MacArthur Study Bible says concerning this verse, using the NKJV,

“no longer… Jacob, but Israel. Jacob’s personal name changed from one meaning ‘heel-catcher’ or “deceiver’ to one meaning ‘God’s fighter’ or ‘he struggles with God’ (cf. Gen 35:10).

“with God and with men. An amazing evaluation of what Jacob had accomplished, i.e., emerging victorious from the struggle. In the record of his life, ‘struggle’ did indeed dominate: (1) with his brother Esau (chs. 25-27); (2) with his father (ch. 27); (3) with his father-in-law (chs. 29-31); (4) with his wives (ch. 30); and (5) with God at Peniel (Gen 32:28).”

The late Dr. M said, “…what Jacob had accomplished…” This is problematic. The difficulty with this approach to our understanding of Jacob’s name change is that it tends toward legalism in our salvation. We have to remember that the only way that Jacob, or any redeemed sinner may be a prince with God and with men is by God’s grace through faith alone (Eph 2:8-9), by the power and strength of Christ alone (Eph 6:10), for the glory of God alone (1 Cor 1:29-31; 10:31), according to Scripture alone (1 Cor 15:3-4). Jesus said,

“I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

As I’ve said and preached and written for years, not only can we do nothing apart from Christ, we are nothing apart from Christ—a branch that doesn’t abide in the vine is good for nothing but kindling.

In application, we find the key to understanding in the last verse of Genesis 32:28, “and prevailed.” It is the Hebrew word וַתּוּכָל (va-too-KHAL), from the root יָכוֹל (ya-KHŌL). It means “to prevail,” or better, “to overcome.” We recognize this from the New Testament because the Lord Jesus exhorts His churches with this when He says seven times…

“To him that overcometh…” Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21, KJV

Yet again, at the risk of sounding repetitive, unless we see that Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the Israel of God, Jacob, the children of Israel, even Christ’s church (Gal 6:16)—which is the fulfillment of what Israel was destined to be, God’s people, both Jews and Gentiles (Rom 1:16)—will cause problems in our interpretation of Scripture and create difficulties in our Christian walk.

To fail to see Jesus, first and foremost, as the ultimate and true fulfillment of Israel will skew our view of Israel in Scripture; and ultimately cause us to miss the prophetic foreshadows for all of God’s people. For example, we will not see the “the land of Israel” (haEretz Yisrael) as the gospel promise of eternal life with Messiah. For three generations the same promise was given to sinners saved by grace—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then, by a providential famine, YHVH God sends Jacob and his progeny (the children of Israel) to Egypt to be saved from the famine; then be forced into slavery by a Pharaoh who doesn’t know Jacob’s favorite son, only to bring them back into the land that YHVH God promised Israel’s patriarchs 430 years earlier. It is because every allegorical picture testifies of and glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. Their freedom from bondage in Egypt reflects the gospel and exalts Jesus Christ first and foremost. Their crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land reflects the gospel and exalts Jesus Christ first and foremost. As you well know, the Lord Jesus Himself said,

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me,” John 5:39

THE GOSPEL REVELATION ABOUT ESAU

I was also asked about how Esau’s nation and people fit into these gospel pictures. That was a reasonable question because YHVH God told Rebekah that there were “two nations” and “two peoples” struggling within her womb (Gen 25:23). Esau’s descendants would become this other nation (Gen 36:1-43), five sons to Edom from his three wives (Gen 36:4-5).

The descendants of Esau, or Edom, were the Edomites. In Jesus’ day, they were the Idumeans. The leadership of this people were the Herodians who ruled in Judea when the Roman Senate voted to install Herod as “king of the Jews” in 40 BC.

So, historically, the Edomites were worldly descendants of Esau, rising to the throne of Israel, their biblical history culminating in the end of the Herodian line when Herod Agrippa I, who mocked the Lord Jesus in His second Roman trial (Luke 23:7-15), and glorified himself before the people and died a horribly painful death (Acts 12:20-23).

Now, if Israel represents the redeemed people of God (Gal 6:14; Rom 1:16), the Edomites represent those reprobate worldlings that exist alongside God’s redeemed. The Herodians are the ultimate expression of that unbelief and opposition to Christ. Jesus is the King of the Jews because He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. To sit upon a throne without exalting the Lord Jesus Christ and bowing the knee to Him is a reprobation of the first order.

As we were created to be the light and image bearers of God, redeemed sinners saved by God’s grace to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom 8:29), then the prophetic picture of Jacob (Israel) giving gifts to Esau (Edom) presents unto us the blessed truth of giving the gift of the gospel to those who do not believe. Freely we have received, therefore, freely we give (Matt 10:8). Does it mean simply the gospel alone? By no means. The Holy Spirit instructs us through the apostle on this matter:

If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? James 2:15-16

At the same time, generosity without exalting Christ from those things by which we have been graced with that increase exalts self and makes us more like the Herodians than any descendant of Esau.

Read the next article in the series, “Understanding Israel from Scripture, Part Two” by clicking here.

FOOTNOTE

[1] “quiet” works too because Jesus did not defend Himself when He was accused. It is written, “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth” (Isa 53:7). Jesus could not open His mouth against the accusations because He was taking on our sin as if He committed the sins Himself, though He was sinless and committed no sin. This is the doctrine of imputation: our sin was imputed to Christ while His righteousness was imputed to those who believe by faith.

6/15 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 20; Psalm 107; Isaiah 47; Revelation 17

Genesis 7:4

DAYS

Commentaries give various reasons for the seven days. The rabbis of antiquity suggest that this was to mourn Methuselah’s death. Some commentaries suggest a final push to give the wicked another opportunity to repent. Still others suggest it was a period given to Noah to make his final preparations before he and his family were shut into the ark.

Seven days is an interesting reference of time. The creation account, including God’s Sabbath rest at the end, was a seven-day timeframe. It seems arbitrary when you think about it. On the fourth day of creation, God made the sun, moon, and stars to govern the light and were set as signs and for appointed times (as mentioned in our devotional thought for Genesis 1:14-19). We know today that the earth revolves around the sun, and by its revolution we have the year. The moon in its orbit not only gives us the tides, but marks one month. Even the 24-hour day is reckoned by one revolution of the earth on its axis; part of the earth facing the sun, giving us the day, and same part turned away from the sun, giving us the dark of night. Yet fifty-two of these seven-day weeks are just shy of being evenly multiplied to make one full year.

Seven is a prime number in mathematics. Seven is also used throughout Scripture in many ways. The battle of Jericho took seven days (Josh 6:3-4). The Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Tabernacles were seven-day festivals of the LORD (Lev 23:6, 36). But the most significant event in all the world, in all of history, and for all eternity, was the presentation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Messiah in Jerusalem. Jesus was presented as the Lamb of God on Sunday, crucified and died between 3-4 p.m. on Wednesday, coincident with the evening oblation and the slaughter of the last paschal lamb, and then He rose from the tomb just after sundown on Saturday Shabbat—seven days.

Perhaps all three suggestions concerning Noah’s seven days are correct. Methusaleh’s death reminds us of the week when we must look upon Him whom we have pierced and mourn for Him as one mourns for an only Son (Zech 12:10). Christ crucified and risen has for 2,000 years been the only way for the opportunity of repentance (John 14:6). And finally, it is our faith in Christ that prepares believers for a judgment that is coming soon (Heb 9:27).

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

6/14 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 19; Psalm 106; Isaiah 46; Revelation 16

Genesis 7:4

DAYS

From this conversation with Noah (Gen 7:1-4), YHVH God revealed that in 7 days it would rain upon the earth for 40 days and 40 nights. 40 seems to be a significant number. Moses entered the cloud of God’s glory on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights (Ex 24:18). The twelve scouts spied out the land of Canaan for 40 days (Num 13:26). The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years (Num 14:44). Elijah fasted for 40 days and 40 nights in Horeb (1 Ki 19:8). Jonah pronounced 40 days before Nineveh’s destruction when he preached in that great city (Jon 3:4). Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights prior to His temptations (Matt 4:2). And the resurrected Lord Jesus Messiah appeared before the disciples for 40 days before His ascension into heaven (Acts 1:3).

Each one of these references with the number forty have their own distinctive features. Moses went before the presence of God to receive instruction while the people below worshiped a golden calf. Ten of the twelve spies brought back a poor report of the land of Canaan, frightening the people. The children of Israel could not enter the Land of Promise for 40 years because of their disbelief. Elijah received miraculous food during his pitiful despair prior to fasting. Jonah’s message was one of judgment for Nineveh, but a lesson of God’s mercy for Jonah. And in our passage above, although the rain would fall for 40 days and 40 nights, Noah and his family would not leave the ark for 370 days after entering it. What’s the connection? It must be found in the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

After Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days and nights, He started to hunger (Matt 4:2). He was literally starving to death at this point. Except for His sufferings upon the cross, this point in the wilderness may have been His weakest point physically. That’s when Satan’s temptations came to Him; and Jesus withstood them. It showed that He was the perfect Man, sinless and thoroughly obedient to the Father’s will. His perfect, precious, impeccable mind kept and catalogued those temptations all the way to the cross, and He withstood them. He appeared for the same number of days after His resurrection to show proof of His perfect, sinless walk and acceptable Sacrifice.

This is why, in His model prayer, He taught us to pray,

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Matthew 6:13

Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matt 4:1). One of the major temptations Satan and his minions will use on us is to tempt us to believe that you and I can go into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Jesus said,

“ Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34

Jesus lived the holy, sinless, righteous life that you and I cannot possibly live, even though we are empowered and led by the Holy Spirit. Whatever our circumstances, whether it be the turmoil surrounding the ark of our salvation (Gen 7:4), or the calf worship at the bottom of the mount (Ex 24-32), or the giants we must face as we spy out the gospel promises (Num 13), or wandering in the wilderness because of the disbelief and unfaithfulness of those around us (Num 14), or depressed and discouraged in the ministry (1 Ki 19), or hearing, preaching, or deserving God’s judgment (Jon 3-4), we can rejoice that Jesus was…

…One who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at the seven days.

6/13 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 18; Psalm 105; Isaiah 45; Revelation 15

Genesis 7:2-3

SPARROWS

There are a few things we can consider from these two verses. The first is God’s great love for the animals He created. Scripture tells us:

“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created.” Revelation 4:11

The KJV renders it, “for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” Will and pleasure are synonymous in Greek, the original word θέλημα (thel-Ā-ma). The Hebrew word חָפֵץ (cha-FĀTZ), likewise, means will or pleasure. Because God’s pleasure is His will and His will is His pleasure.

God created the animals, both clean and unclean, for His will and good pleasure. He loved them. He ensured that each kind was spared from the flood of judgment. This is not an isolated instance. Jonah was rebuked when YHVH God spared Nineveh, telling the prophet,

“And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” Jonah 4:11

Jesus also tells us of the Father’s love for the animals He created; that in His love, the Father’s sovereign will upholds them. Jesus said,

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” Matthew 10:29

Now, let us consider this: only a pair of unclean animals and seven pairs of clean animals entered the ark. The clean animals were known to Noah before they were codified by the Law of Moses some 1,500 years later. But more than that, consider how many clean animals died in the flood of judgment. Those animal sacrifices, as many as there probably were in the world, could not compare with the supreme sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Heb 10:4, 10).

Again, Jesus said,

“But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:30-31

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

6/12 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 17; Psalm 104; Isaiah 44; Revelation 14

Genesis 7:1

COME

The King James Version translates our verse today like this:

Which version is correct? Did YHVH say “Go” or “Come thou”? The Hebrew word בּוֹא (bō) can be translated either “go” or “come.” It often depends upon the context. Sometimes, like here, it remains ambiguous. There are other Hebrew words that carry contrary meanings in English. The Hebrew word שָׁלַח (sha-LAK), for example, can either mean “bring” or “send.”

But here in our verse at hand, I would say both are great translations. Here is the first part of the verse in Hebrew:

“Why both?” you may be asking. The first, “come,” is because it depicts God’s grace in the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ. “How so?” you may ask again. Because, since the ark is literally salvation for those souls during God’s judgment upon the earth, the Lord Jesus Christ, also offers salvation when He said,

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

Moreover, coming to Christ is the promise of eternal life. When He says, “Come,” it is to suggest that not only is Jesus and His cross the ark of safety, Jesus is also in the ark. His presence is what makes heaven heavenly, and to be with Christ is to possess joy unspeakable (Psa 16:11). But what about it’s being translated “go”?

The judgment by which Noah and his family are spared from is the holy anger of almighty God. It is outside the ark/cross of life and refuge. When we are saved from God’s eternal judgment, we are saved from the fiery presence of His consuming wrath. It is written,

“for our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

6/11 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 16; Psalm 103; Isaiah 43; Revelation 13

Genesis 6:22

OBEDIENCE

Of YHVH God’s omniscient understanding of man, He reveals this to us from the Psalms:

For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:14

It is by God’s grace that Noah constructed the ark, doing exactly as God had commanded him. The construction of the ark was successful. That you and I are here is evidence of that fact. Were the project a flop, none of us would be here today. But Noah was empowered by the Spirit of God to obey. It must be. The best of our obedience carries enough corruption in it from our mortal flesh that we should humbly thank God in Christ daily and praise Him spontaneously with every thought of Christ’s imputed righteousness and our salvation by His amazing grace. Because of the corruptions remaining in our mortal flesh, though we’ve been saved, we will have a tendency to pervert obedience—turning it into a legalistic act, or worse, turn our work into something thrown into God’s face, like Cain’s faithless sacrifice (Heb 11:4); essentially implying to YHVH God, “Look what I’ve done for You.”

True, faithful obedience comes from a loving response for who God is (Deut 6:4-5; Matt 22:37-38), and a holy reverence for all He commands (Prov 9:10; Heb 11:7). This is the “secret sauce” that reconciles Paul’s explanation of salvation of by grace alone through faith alone (Rom 4; Gal 3; Eph 2; et al) with James’ faith without works being dead, being the faith of devils (Jas 2:17, 19). We have this tendency toward legalism and this is why we need to see Christ exalted in Scripture; so we may fall in love with Him daily for who He is and what He has done. Then, empowered by God’s grace, obedience is a loving response. We’ll see this more clearly when we get to Genesis 22, the first place in the Bible where “love” is mentioned.

In today’s verse, again, Noah is a type of Christ. The only thoroughly obedient Man who ever walked upon the planet was the Lord Jesus Messiah. He was pleasing to the Father in all He thought, said, and did. Moreover, Christ’s love for the Father and the Father’s love for the Son was so intimate (John 1:18), that when Jesus suffered God’s holy wrath when He hung upon the tree, the disparity between the love of the Father that He knew more intimately than any man and the anger of the Father for sin, was a greater torment for Christ than any man or angel could ever know. When every rebel who has rejected Christ is judged and punished for his or her sins against God, their collective torment will not come close to what Jesus suffered when He hung upon Calvary’s tree. That’s powerful enough to be the propitiation for the whole world (1 Jn 2:1). Hallelujah! What a Savior!

6/10 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 15; Psalm 102; Isaiah 42; Revelation 12

Genesis 6:18-21

GRACE

This is the first time a covenant is mentioned in the Bible. It is the Hebrew word בְּרִית (b’-REEYT). We should take note that it is YHVH God’s covenant to Noah, as He says, “My covenant.” Because it is His covenant, it is a covenant of grace. In establishing His covenant, YHVH God literally “rises” or “stands” to establish His covenant. It is the Hebrew root word קוּם (qoom).

From the substance of this first covenant from God, we see that it equates to salvation, for Noah and his family, as well as all the animals, to be kept alive in the ark during God’s judgment upon the earth.

As this is the first covenant, God will continue to reveal His plans and purposes of the coming Messiah through His covenants hereafter: the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, the Aaronic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, etc.

As YHVH God establishes this first covenant of grace and salvation with Noah, the covenants of God culminate in the final covenant established by God the Son on the night He was betrayed, on the eve of His suffering judgment for sins He did not commit. It is written:

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way also He took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

6/9 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 13-14; Psalms 99-101; Isaiah 41; Revelation 11

Genesis 6:17

JUSTICE

The Triune God had already declared by His holy counsel with Himself that His judgment upon wicked mankind would occur (Gen 6:1-7). Here in this verse, YHVH God reveals the reason for the ark Noah was commanded to build—His holy justice upon an evil and adulterous generation.

This judgment is what every descendant of Adam deserves. God’s judgment, however, is tempered with mercy, as it is written:

Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:13

What do we mean by this? God would have been justified to wipe Adam and Eve out immediately when they sinned. Yet we have seen since Genesis 1:1 that the purpose for the creation was to demonstrate all of God’s glory through the promise and fulfillment of the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and return of His one and only Son, Jesus Messiah. Moreover, God is merciful in this judgment, as the next two verses speak of God establishing His covenant with Noah. The statement in our verse today prophetically foreshadows the final judgment in that Day.

This verse reminds us that vengeance belongs to God and that He will dispense holy justice upon those who have rejected the gospel (Rom 12:19). We need not take vengeance upon the wicked done to us. Neither should we become violent with those who have rejected the gospel.

This allows us a tremendous liberty to share the gospel to a lost and dying world.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

6/8 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 12; Psalms 97-98; Isaiah 40; Revelation 10

Genesis 6:16

LIBERTY

Noah was commanded to make decks within the ark as well. Again, while our salvation is all of God’s grace through the work of Christ, we are not inactive in our Christianity. Our behavior springs forth from a loving and fearful response to God’s love through Christ’s substitutionary Sacrifice and His imputed righteousness, as reflected by making a roof for the ark of our salvation. We are also active evangelists, sharing the good news of the gospel of Christ with others, as reflected by setting a door in the side of our ark’s saving grace. Finally, we are to make decks within the lives of our salvation, lower, second, and third decks. What does this mean? This one thing overlaps with the first two, as it is the love we express to Christ by loving one another as believers. Jesus said,

“By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

This attitude toward confessing believers is manifested in a liberty of love toward our brothers and sister in Christ. This doesn’t give license to every lewdness and lasciviousness the wanton flesh lusts after. The decks are built within the confines of the ark. Therefore, our behavior and perspectives are governed by the boundaries of scriptural salvation. Nevertheless, we must always keep two important things in mind: First, all truth is revelation truth (Heb 1:1-2); and we must be guided in that truth by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). Second, only God sees the heart of man (1 Sam 16:7). I don’t know where people are in their maturity as believers. Neither do you. So, we love them, and trust that our Sovereign Creator and Redeemer will bring them, and us, where they, and we, need to be.

There are three decks within the ark, because in salvation among both men and women, we are described in this way: fathers, young men, and children. The Holy Spirit tells us:

I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. 1 John 2:13

In our growth in grace, we may even experience all three of these levels of maturity at the same time in different areas of our lives. But we should rest assured that Christ Jesus will reveal His truth to us as we are able to hear it (Matt 11:15; Mark 4:33; John 16:12). Hallelujah! What a Savior!

6/7 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 11; Psalms 95-96; Isaiah 39; Revelation 9

Genesis 6:16

LOVE

Yesterday, as we considered God’s command to Noah to make a roof for the ark, being reflective of our loving response to God’s love through Christ, the commandment to set a door in the ark’s side also reflects our loving activity to others. How so?

As far as salvation goes, the door in the ark represents our eternal salvation. After Noah entered the ark through the door he was commanded to set in the ark’s side, YHVH God shut the family in by that door. It is written,

And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in. Genesis 7:16

It is called eternal life, not temporary life. And if salvation is offered by God and applied by God, it is most certainly secured by God. Nevertheless, the command to Noah to set a door into the side of the ark was a prophetic foreshadow of how we are to reflect God’s love to a lost and dying world. After the Lord Jesus was crucified and risen, He appeared to His disciples. Jesus said to them:

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.” John 20:21

God saves us by His grace in order to make us like His beloved Son (Rom 8:29). Since Jesus fulfilled the great commandment of the law, and the second great commandment perfectly. This righteousness is imputed to our lives. Jesus stated what these two commandments are:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40

The greatest demonstration of loving God upon earth is to love others by sharing with them the truth of God’s love through Christ. Jesus saved us when we were weak, ungodly sinners who were enemies of God (Rom 5:6, 8, 10). When we love Christ, we will have a love for others. And that love will move our hearts to testify of Christ to the lost. This is what it means to set a door in the side of the ark; to provide access to the salvation in Christ that we richly enjoy. Jesus said:

“Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.” Revelation 3:8

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

6/6 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 10; Psalm 94; Isaiah 38; Revelation 8

Genesis 6:16

LOVE

Besides the dimensions for the ark, Noah was instructed to first make a roof for the ark; second, to set a door into the ark’s side; and third, to make three decks within the ark. We need to keep in mind that this ark was not a ship. The ark was meant to float upon the waters that covered the earth fifteen cubits above the tallest mountain (Gen 7:20), and to protect the passengers within the ark from the storms of judgment poured out upon the earth (Gen 6:7). The Hebrew word for ark is תֵּבָה (tā-VAH), which means “box.” This reflects our salvation in Christ. A tendency of our corrupt flesh is to selfishly seek “blessings” from God, when salvation is the blessing. The ark represents the blessings we already have in Christ Jesus. We are blessed with the presence of the crucified, risen, and living God (Heb 13:5); the only thing better than that is to see our Savior face to face (1 Cor 13:12), when our faith becomes sight through glorified eyes (2 Cor 5:7; 1 Jn 3:2).

Yesterday, I mentioned that our entire salvation, which is represented by the ark, was built by the Lord Jesus Christ; and He continues to build it, as it is written:

And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

Yet we are not passive while Christ works in us to will and to do His good pleasure (Phil 2:13). The spiritual lessons from this verse are many, but today, we will only focus upon the first of three things.

Noah made a roof for the ark. As redeemed sinners, you and I are to think, act, and speak with the banner of Christ’s love over us. It is written,

He brought me to the banqueting house, and His banner over me was love. Song of Solomon 2:4

We teach this song to our children, but have we truly considered what it means? That banner of Christ’s love is His imputed righteousness. When we are saved by God’s grace and brought to His banqueting house, the Heavenly Father sees you and me through Christ’s righteous life lived and His perfect sacrificed offered. He sees us through Christ’s shed blood, which cleanses us from all unrighteousness (Heb 9:22; 1 Jn 1:8-10). How do we build this roof of grace in our lives? We find the answer here:

¹I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2

We renew our minds with the truth of Christ’s love (Rom 12:2b); that is, we must meditate often upon God’s grace through Christ, and Christ’s imputed righteousness. This will cause us to behave with our whole being as living sacrifices unto God (Rom 12:1), worshiping Him in all we think, say, and do (1 Cor 10:31). Moreover, these meditations will transform us so that we are not conformed to the world (Rom 12:2a). And as we grow in grace and are strengthened in faith by these meditations upon Christ’s gospel and His imputed righteousness, we will begin to discern more easily God’s good, perfect, and acceptable will for our individual lives (Rom 12:2c).

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

6/5 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 9; Psalms 92-93; Isaiah 37; Revelation 7

Genesis 6:15

FULFILLMENT

What should we take away from the dimensions commanded by our holy and sovereign God for the construction of the ark? It must be important, else He wouldn’t have included it into holy writ. Depending upon the commentary, the size of a cubit may vary from 18-21.5 inches. An ancient cubit is believed to have been the measurement of the forearm—elbow to fingertip. My elbow to fingertip measurement is 21 inches (as a US Navy deep-sea and salvage diver years ago, we often used our body parts for measurements underwater). This would make the ark quite huge. Using the measurements of 18-21 inches, its length would then be between 450-525 feet; its breadth, between 75-87.5 feet; and its height, between feet 45-52.5 feet. Again, you may be thinking as you scratch your noggin, what does this tell us?

Yesterday, we considered how God’s commandments to Noah ministered to you and me as redeemed sinners saved by God’s grace, reviewing and meditating upon those commands to Noah as the truth of Christ’s gospel. Now, let’s look at why our obedience to those commands can be powerfully effective in our lives. It is because it is Christ who is working in you and me to will and to do His good pleasure (Phil 2:13). Now, in these two verses, as we see Noah as a type of Christ, YHVH God is the architect of the ark and Noah is the builder. Because the true Builder the ark was Jesus Messiah (John 15:5); just as the true Builder of a good house is Christ (Psa 127:1); and just as the true Builder of Christ’s church is the Lord Jesus Himself (Matt 16:18).

The exact measurements were given to provide for the safety of graciously redeemed souls because it reflects the exact, simple instructions for redemption by grace through faith in Christ alone. The measurements seem ambiguous to you and me. Nevertheless, every detail in the spiritual realm was both literally and spiritually fulfilled by God’s one and only Son, Jesus Messiah. It was Christ’s eternal work to bring all things to pass in His first coming. It is still Christ’s work to bring all things to pass in His second coming. This is how He works all things together for good to you and me who love Christ (Rom 8:28). This is why we sing “Great is Thy Faithfulness” and not “Great is my faithfulness.”

This doesn’t mean we do nothing. On the contrary, our resting in Christ is full of gospel activity. Lord willing, we will look at that tomorrow. Amen! Hallelujah! What a Savior!

6/4 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 8; Psalm 91; Isaiah 36; Revelation 6

Genesis 6:13-14

REDEMPTION

God’s command to Noah to build an ark reflects the Word of Christ’s gospel truth ministering to you and me as redeemed souls saved by God’s grace. Noah had found favor in eyes of the YHVH God (Gen 6:8) because a judgment was coming to an evil, violent, and corrupt population (Gen 6:5, 11-12). Having saved Noah by His grace, God speaks to Noah and tells him the truth of His holy judgment (Gen 6:13) and proclaims the truth of His amazing grace (Gen 6:14). First let’s look at the truth of God’s holy judgment.

Before we were saved, if we attempted to read the Bible, he might understand in plain English what it said, but its spiritual truth was sadly lacking to our reprobate minds. Now that you and I have been saved by God’s grace, Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, reveals to us the truth of its content (Gen 18:17; Psa 25:14; John 14:26; Heb 1:1-2; et al).

Second, because we’ve been saved by God’s grace and His Word is illuminated to us, the Bible’s commandments present to us how we are to lovingly and fearfully respond to God’s mercy, love, and grace, because His commandments are not grievous or burdensome (1 Jn 5:3). As Noah was commanded to make himself an ark of gopher wood, we are to take up our cross daily, as it is written:

And He said to all, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Luke 9:23

As the ark was made of wood, a refuge from coming judgment, Christ’s cross, the Son of God suffering and dying on a tree of wood, is our refuge from the final judgment. We are to build upon that truth, little by little (Isa 28:10), as Christ’s return approaches. Next, we are to abide in the truth of Christ crucified, just as Noah was commanded to make rooms in the ark. Jesus said,

“I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

As I’ve said and preached and written for years, not only can we do nothing apart from Christ, we are nothing apart from Christ—a branch that doesn’t abide in the vine is good for nothing but kindling. Finally, we are to seal the truth of our salvation with the truth of God’s atoning grace in, by, from, and through Jesus Christ, just as Noah was commanded to cover it inside and out with pitch. The Hebrew word for “cover” is כָּפַר (kha-FAR), which means “cover,” “pacify,” or “atone.” The Hebrew word for pitch is כֹּפֶר (KHŌ-fer), which means to “cover,” “ransom,” or “redeem.” It is written,

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16

This is how we are “redeeming the time” (Eph 5:16, KJV) as we await the return of our Lord Jesus. Amen! Hallelujah! What a Savior!

6/3 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 7; Psalm 90; Isaiah 35; Revelation 5

Genesis 6:11-13

Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”

CORRUPT

The return of the Lord Jesus would be like the days preceding the flood. He said,

“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Matthew 24:37

While there have been many commentaries concerning several other distinguishing features concerning the “days of Noah” that our Lord mentioned (Matt 24:36-39), it seems this significant description from Genesis is seldom considered as we approach, day by day, the coming again of our precious Lord. Here in America, supposedly a “Christian nation,” it seems to be filled with violence and corruption—even among those professing to be Christians.

First, let’s consider the violence in all the earth. “Violence,” used twice in our portion here, is the Hebrew word חָמָס (cha-MAS), pronounced by some Hebrew speakers, ha-MAS. Though our Lord Jesus was a Man of War (Ex 15:3), He was not a man of violence. Quoting Isaiah 42:3, the gospel writer states this of our Lord Jesus:

“a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench, until He brings justice to victory;” Matthew 12:20

The Lord Jesus brought justice to victory at Calvary’s tree, and He will reign upon high until He puts down all His and our enemies (1 Cor 15:25). Yet the Scriptures are clear about our place when it comes to violence. Quoting Deuteronomy 32:35-43, the Holy Spirit tells us through the apostle:

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Romans 12:19

And the corruption spoken of here, the Hebrew root שָׁחַת (sha-CHAT), is translated to convey “corruption” three times in our portion and translated to convey “destruction” once in God’s judgment upon this violent corruption (“I will destroy them with the earth”). We should not think that we are immune from producing such violence in our hearts... and even in our words or actions. Do you recall that the Lord Jesus rebuked James and John when they suggested to call fire down on the Samaritans for refusing to show hospitality to Jesus and His disciples when they were on their way to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-55). Our zeal, like the “sons of thunder,” may often be misplaced because of the corruption still remaining in our mortal flesh. But thank God for His merciful grace through the Lord Jesus Messiah. He gives us opportunity to see Him through His Word and in those around us so we may surrender to Him through submission to the Holy Spirit. Jesus sends us…

“…out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

6/2 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 6; Psalm 89; Isaiah 34; Revelation 4

Genesis 6:10

SHEM

In this verse, we get a second look at what we did not cover in our consideration of Genesis 5:32, which states:

Again, as mentioned then, Noah may have had other sons and daughters, but only these three sons and their wives were saved through the flood along with Noah and his wife. If what I mentioned in Genesis 6:3 is correct, then Noah had been a preacher of righteousness for 20 years before these sons were born (2 Pet 2:5); for the worldwide deluge began when Noah was 600 years old (Gen 7:6).

As this name order is mentioned twice within eleven verses in Genesis, there is a scriptural significance here. Why do I suggest this? These sons of Noah are not named by their birth order. First, Ham was Noah’s youngest son (Gen 9:24). Second, Japheth must logically be the oldest because Noah fathered sons when he was 500 years old (Gen 5:32); but we are told later that Shem was 100 years old two years after the flood (Gen 11:10). TTherefore, Shem, whose name in Hebrew שֵׁם (shām), means “name,” was the second-born son—being 98 years old when he entered the ark; Japheth being 100. Our sovereign God does nothing by accident. The Holy Spirit moved Moses to write Genesis 5:32 and Genesis 6:10 in this way to draw our attention to the gospel in the name order. There are two spiritually significant features in this.

First, these two verses demonstrate Christ’s exaltation as the “Second Adam,” or “Second Son.” The Bible declares:

Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:45-47

Shem, being the second-born, is a prophetic picture of Jesus, our Savior, this type being seen throughout Genesis. Just a few examples are seen in Cain, the first-born, slaying Abel, the second-born (Gen 4:1-12); then a resurrection of sorts with Seth taking the place of slain Abel (Gen 4:25). We will see it later on in Genesis 25-27 in the birth and blessing of Jacob, the second-born son of Isaac, ruling over Esau, the first-born son. So Shem and Japheth gives us this gospel illustration of Jesus Messiah’s exaltation above Adam. But what about Ham’s place being mentioned before Japheth?

Ham’s mention in the second position demonstrates God’s amazing grace through Christ. Although Ham dishonors his father Noah and receives a curse (Gen 9:23-25), any sinner who follows Jesus (as Ham is mentioned immediately after Shem), will be saved. Jesus said,

“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Luke 9:23

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

6/1 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 5; Psalm 88; Isaiah 33; Revelation 3

Genesis 6:9

PROPHETS

In one sense, since you and I have been saved by God’s grace, we are prophets like Noah. We deserve holy judgment and eternal punishment for the sins we have committed against a holy God; nevertheless, by saving us, God exalts His Son by making us types of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are prophetic after-shadows of what Noah was as a prophetic foreshadow. The second sentence of our verse today says this in Hebrew:

Literally, “Noah, a man, righteous, unblemished was in his era.”

The Hebrew word אִישׁ (eeysh) means “man.” The Hebrew root צַדִּיק (tza-DEEYK) means “just” or “righteous.” The root word תָּמִים (ta-MEEYM), translated “blameless” (ESV) or “perfect” (KJV), literally means “unblemished,” and is a term used for animals offered in sacrifice to God (Ex 12:5; Lev 1:3; etc., et al). The only perfect, blameless, just, and righteous man who ever lived on the planet was the Lord Jesus Messiah (1 Pet 1:19; 2:22).

Yet this is how YHVH God looks at His redeemed—through the precious, perfect life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus lived the righteous life that you and I cannot possibly live, and because of His unblemished Sacrifice upon Calvary’s tree, His righteousness is imputed to us, placed upon our account as if we’ve never sinned. And not only that, we too, become types of Christ. This is why YHVH God saved us: to exalt His only Son, Jesus of Nazareth, by our redeemed lives.

But because of the corruptions that still remain in our mortal flesh, we at times become antitypes: like Noah, planting a vineyard and getting drunk (Gen 9); like Abraham lying about Sarah (Gen 12; 20); like Moses, murdering an Egyptian and striking the rock twice (Ex 2; Num 20); like Aaron, crafting a golden calf (Ex 32); like David, violating Bathsheba and murdering her husband (2 Sam 11), and toward the end of his reign, numbering Israel (1 Chr 21:1). It is in these times, when we need God’s grace in Christ the most; and when Christ’s imputed righteousness is most treasured in our godly grief and repentance. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

5/31 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 4; Psalms 86-87; Isaiah 32; Revelation 2

Genesis 6:8

FAVOR

Last year, on January 6th, I wrote a devotional on this verse. It focused on the grace you and I receive from YHVH God through Christ when He saves us (you can read that devotional by clicking here). The wording in this verse in English seems odd, but it is very literally translated correctly from the original Hebrew. It is odd because, for someone to find “favor” (ESV) or “grace” (KJV) by actively seeking it or acquiring it because one sought it, would make that entire process a product of the seeker’s works. In other words, it wouldn’t be grace at all. Yet it is said in this way because Noah, once again as a prophet of God, becomes a type of the Lord Jesus Christ by this verse. It is written,

For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD, Proverbs 8:35

Before you and I were saved by God’s grace, we would have been just like Adam and Eve in the garden immediately after they sinned. They did not seek His wisdom before they sinned and they did not seek God afterward. They hid in the trees from God (Gen 3:8).

Though Jesus is the very wisdom from heaven above, as sinless Man, He sought wisdom (Pro 8:35) on our behalf because we could not seek it apart from His grace. Likewise, Jesus sought the heavenly Father for us by His incarnation. And by His righteous life lived and His perfect substitutionary Sacrifice on Calvary’s tree, He secured grace for us, finding favor in the eyes of the LORD on our behalf.

At the same time, this statement about Noah finding favor in the eyes of YHVH God is no different from that which Moses spoke when he interceded on behalf of Israel for their sin:

Moses said to the LORD, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ Now therefore, if I have found favor in Your sight, please show me now Your ways, that I may know You in order to find favor in Your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” Exodus 33:12-13

As a type of Christ, Noah being a “herald of righteousness” (2 Pet 2:5), not only warned of the righteous judgment to come, but interceded in prayer on behalf of others. Our Lord Jesus, who is far greater than the prophet Noah,

…always lives to make intercession… Hebrews 7:25

…for those He is saving.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!