Musing - What did God Create in Genesis? And slide show

Irene and I just returned from 2 weeks experiencing Jerusalem.  For slide show (copy to browser):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bdmccx448hmcjc0/Israel%202014%20Sukkot%20in%20Jerusalem.pdf?dl=0

Hebraic Musing - What did God Create in Genesis?

We are all familiar with the book of Genesis. At the end of six days, God looked at all that He had created and declared that it was good. And on the seventh day our NIV Bible says in Gen 2:3 “And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”  The literal translation of the original Hebrew reads  “Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work which God had created for it to continue to make.”  In the CJB (Complete Jewish Bible) the last few words are “…so that it itself could produce.”

What exactly does that mean?  Could it be that when God created the world, it was only the beginning of the creation process? Did God create us so that together, we could continue to create the world and mold it into a perfect place?  This is what the verse means in Hebrew by “the work which God created for it to continue to make.” God started a process and He created everything necessary to continue the process.  But He left it up to us to finish the work as partners with God.

God had created man a little earlier and He declared, “Let us make mankind in our image…” Gen. 1:26.  Was God talking to all of us, all humanity, as if to say “Let us create humans together.  Let us work together to create these wondrous beings called humans and work together to develop all the potential which I have placed within him or her”?  Every day you and I have a mission and a partner with which to accomplish creation. Our mission is to make ourselves and the world a better place in any way that we can with God as our partner.

The Jewish way of thinking tells us to “Wake like a lion!”  Begin your day by “Waking the dawn”;  “A person must wake the dawn.”  The dawn shouldn’t wake us up; rather, we should wake up the dawn with enthusiasm to start our day.”[1] 

Psalm 57:8 tells us “Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. “   

Psalm 118:24 is our popular song “♫ This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. ♫”

Ultimately, it’s not so important when we wake up in the morning, but how we wake up. We need to start each day with the kind of passion, enthusiasm, and determination that can chase away the darkness of the night and bring the morning light.

Points to Ponder

How can we awaken the dawn?  Be a lion - get a “tiger in your tank”

What does God want us to create each day?

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[1] Inspired by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein – October 2014

Musing - Is our God dictatorial or interactive?

Hebraic Musing - Is our God dictatorial or interactive?

As we study our first Parashah of the year 5776 Genesis, B’reisheet, we find a unique characteristic of Almighty God.  In Genesis 2.19-20 NIV we read –   Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.  So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.  

If God is all knowing, why didn't He just tell Adam the names of each of the animals?  And after dictating the names a few times, maybe Adam would finally have them memorized.  No, God wanted to interact with His beloved creation, man, and develop a relationship out of interaction rather than as a dictator.  Should parents be dictatorial or interactive with their children?

Let's look at other religions, how do they perceive God?  Mormons have a book and their bible version that they must accept.  Muslims are not allowed to question the Koran.  Cults are told what to believe and that their own books contain (dictated) 'truth'.  The commonality - adherents are dictated to!

Meanwhile, our loving Father God talks to us. He provides us with His Word, the Bible with stories, instructions and parables that don't always fit neatly together, i.e. Men of God who are not perfect.  So we are challenged to figure out His intentions and the underlying truths.

Some may say that God dictated the "Ten Commandments" to us; more correctly, His "Ten Words".  Okay, let's use that example to describe His working relationship.  We tell a 3 year old child rather directly "Don't play in the street"; then when they are a little older, we send them across the same street with instructions to watch both ways. Are those contradictions, or are they progressive revelations as one grows in understanding or maturity?  In Genesis, the Ten Words to the Israelites came from God in stone to babes in the wilderness; a kindergarten type lesson in basics. When Moshe retold God's Words in Deuteronomy, he had them internalized and he explained them with more detail and added more explanations and understanding.

Our God trusts us to read, study, ask questions, be confused, find answers, correct one another, etc.  All of this learning process is interactive AND will lead to the truth if our heart is true to Him.  His Holy Spirit will guide us to the truth; therefore He can allow and even encourage interaction with His beloved growing children.  

The best way to learn is to ask questions; which creates a vacuum that needs to be filled.  (Nature abhors a vacuum) And the search for truth becomes interactive and personal. Do you like to hear your children asking questions?  It makes me search and learn in order to answer them, a Win-Win!

Points to Ponder

Are you encouraged to ask questions in Your Bible studies?

Does God mind it when you question him?

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                             October 21, 2014             

Author “Hebraic Insights”;  “Biblical Marriage” & “Musings v.1 – A Victorious Life”
Weekly e-mails “Hebraic Musings”
Yosef1@cox.net   or  www.InsightsByYosef.com

Musing - How do you define Brokenness?

Hebraic Musing - How do you define Brokenness?

(New book just published – See Below)

How many things do you see that are broken?  By that I mean things that are not the way they are supposed to be.    The follow-up question – What should be our response? 

What brokenness do we see around us?  Examples:

·         Marriage definition being distorted;

·         Wars and hostilities in Iraq, Syria and Israel and the atrocities in the Middle-East;

·         Unborn babies being killed;

·         Injustices and lack of integrity in political, sports and business arenas;

·         Addictions to drugs, pharmaceuticals and obesity, etc.;

·         Declining church attendance and meaningfulness;

·         Cyclical perpetuation of poverty in various ethnic groups;

·         Degradation of morality in our culture emanating from the entertainment arena and elsewhere.

Do these issues cause you to be emotionally upset?   If “Yes”, that’s okay.  I’d be worried if we did not become emotionally upset when something is wrong.  If it does not bother us emotionally, then we have a different problem!

Does our emotional upset-ness cause us to be spiritually moved to seek God for an answer?  Are we seeking direction to find out “what can I do about it”?  Too often I find myself second-guessing what someone else should be doing about it! 

David called on God when he realized his own brokenness – “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  Ps 51:16-17   NIV    We need to experience a “a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart.”  And Jesus said something very similar in the opening words of His Sermon On The Mount – "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Matt 5:3 NIV   The words “poor in spirit” could be better translated as “distressed in spirit”. The word “distressed” has more significance than the word “poor” since we should be “distressed in our spirit” over some of the things that we observe that are just plain wrong.

From this, it would seem that we might feel helpless, so we give up and finally call on God; waiting for Him to solve it.  I find that to be incomplete and irresponsible.  Shouldn’t we also seek God for the direction we need so we can take action?  Maybe we cannot solve the whole problem ourselves, but what can we do?   What action(s) are available and doable?  Are we willing to simply accept the fact that things around us are wrong?  Or are we willing to take ownership of our part in a corporate problem and seek God's guidance and then take action?

How often do we simply take the news about that wrong situation and republish it in order to show others that something is wrong?  Is our desire to share grief, or were we seeking to get somebody emotionally and then spiritually involved toward a solution, or working toward resolution?

Point to ponder

Or worse yet, have I given up on the possibility of a solution?

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                             October 7, 2014                           

New Book!   Musings Vol. 1 – A Victorious Life    Published Oct.5, 2014
            Available now at  https://www.createspace.com/5021597

Books author “Hebraic Insights”; “Biblical Marriage”; “Musings v.1 – A Victorious Life”
Weekly e-mails “Hebraic Musings”
Yosef1@cox.net   or  www.InsightsByYosef.com