#13 The Transition from day five to day six, DECISION TIME IS NOW!

This may be the most fluid transition of the whole set. The flying and swimming “Nephesh Chay” (Strong’s H5315 and H2416) are now joined by the land walkers and runners. The hard and dangerous work of figuring out how to handle day five’s critters, relatively easily transfers to the management of the first set of day six’s created beings.

However it should be expected that systems and relationships will become more complex.

The creation of Human in day six signals that a “God like” being has entered the arena and from now on his role will affect the rest of creation for good or evil.

All of creation now awaits Human’s decision…. Will he rest and worship the Creator or will he plunge ahead, continuing to try to improve his enterprise, in essence worshiping the works of his hands?

Signs of his decision will be evident in day six, since if he plans to rest and worship he will be in the mode of preparation and gathering in day six. On the other hand if he plans to ignore the day of rest he will be setting things up with the intent to build and grow his enterprise in a liner fashion without regard for the revealed.

Sometimes he may get away with this lack of respect for his Creator, but eventually there will be a day of reckoning. The concurring sets of seven days, months, years and sets of seven years, all running simultaneously, causes these reckonings to appear random and convinces an untrained eye that our world is not understandable or ordered.

However a trained eye can see clear purpose of each segment of time.  In many respects creation is as much about division of one element from another, as it is about adding new elements. Early on elements are moved from where they were before to new defined, purposeful locations.  For example the water becomes restricted to its place above and below in day two and later, farther restricted to the seas, lakes and rivers creating bare ground as the place for plants in day three.

Each new day brings new physical structures or beings into the arena but these new creations are set in their place apart from those that came before.

Fish are given the water, birds the air and mammals and human the land. All of these are also separated into male and female form. Therefore not only are these beings created but they are properly set in their habitation, each with their unique role.

As you may recall the element of time came into being in day four with the advent of the sun, moon and stars. This division of time has some very unique characteristics. Its role in our lives is huge yet without the revelation, it’s as though there is nothing we can do with or about time, except to march through it, one day after another. However the information revealed by the biblical counts of seven shows division, separation and specific purpose for each segment of time. They also explain the reckonings that happen from time to time, to those who ignore the revealed appointments.    

Human as the last created being, given the right to rule, has a decision to make, If he chooses to ignore the appointed times the Creator set, then the divisions so neatly organized by the divine hand will begin to break down and the chaos of Genesis 1:2 will begin to creep back into our ordered world.

Next week we will explore the antidote for this creeping chaos and the gift that allows the return to the divine order.     

#12 Day Six, The Zenith Double

A time to gather

²⁴ Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so. ²⁵ God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹ Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; ³⁰ and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. ³¹ God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Genesis 1:24-31

Day six of the creation story is simply full of complex new life. First mammals in all their varieties, suitable for various purposes, terrain, intake and life cycles. Then of course the creation of humanity itself, created to take charge, or rule over all that had been created.

Here is an interesting thought: Is it not unusual to have an ecosystem so complex created and then bring in the ruler or overseer? Much has been made of the human, being made in the image of God but think of his lack of knowledge and understanding. Having been just been created, human had no part in the six days of creation and now with complete ignorance, he is put in charge.

Can this mean anything other than God wanted an ongoing moment by moment, day by day relationship with his final created being?  I think not!

For us who are finishing up a sixth, be it a day, month, year or a set of seven years the lesson seems to be that all the pieces are in place. One can begin to understand fully what the “echad” unity of day one was trying to communicate. In some ways our work of these six has yielded beyond our expectations and yet likely along the way we have suffered loss. Some of our dreams have developed beyond our wildest hopes, while others where lost amid the waves of days one and two or died for lack of new life in day four or where bitten in day five or even day six.

Notice that all these new creatures of day six, just like the day five creatures, have “chay nefesh”. (Vigorous bodies with self-determination, mouths and teeth for communication and biting) If we have figured out how to handle the creatures of day five, then day six critters can be managed in similar fashion with some adaptation. Day six should show great progress for the works of our hands. Day six should be full of good surprises.

Here the manna story of Exodus 16 comes into play giving us some instruction.

²² Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, ²³ then he said to them, “This is what the Lord meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.” ²⁴ So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it.²⁵ Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field.²⁶ Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none.” Exodus 16:22-26

Day six, it turns out is not just a great day for progress but is also a day of preparation for day seven, “the day of rest”. Gather double and prepare it, seems to be the direction.

Here then is another counter intuitive moment. Having just seen everything improve so greatly, the call to prepare to cease building seems rather strange. After all the struggle, after all the loss. We now find ourselves with a fine, working system and now the instruction is to prepare to stop!

Here again is a moment for faith. Remember we are not the Creator only the created, made in the Creator’s image. We need to learn from him how his creation works and tomorrow, day seven will be our first day of intense training … or should I say a day of rest.

The fundamental lesson he wants all of us to learn is that REST is to be first in our lives followed by six days of work. So also for months, years and sets of seven years.

Always remember man was made last on the sixth day and he was put in charge of all of creation, crowned as the ruler and his first day was a day of rest.

If we somehow find ourselves successful or “MADE” in a sixth segment of time, now we know the purpose is to develop a place, ruled by the gracious time line of rest first and then work in the six prepared ahead for us.

Can you hear Ephesians 2 in the Genesis story?

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10

Grace or rest must be first in our lives, then the works of our hands follow. Since they are prepared ahead for us, it would also be wise to acknowledge how clueless we are and our great need for divine wisdom for our new role.   

#11 The transition from day four, to day five

Hey … Look at that!

The fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is pronounced “hey” and has a root meaning of action, spirit and revelation.  The four letter name of God uses this letter twice, also “hey” is the letter that was added to Abram and Sarai’s name to indicate their new relationship with God. In its earliest Paleo form (seen attached) the fifth letter is the sketch of a man with his hands raised as if to exclaim “hey … Look at that!” and indeed as day five develops the sights are amazing.

These sightings often only last a split second as one or a group of the new beings of the air or water puts on a display. The less than productive, almost boring phase of day four is over. A new dynamic is now in place. The preparation, work and vision of our efforts in days one, two, three and four now has a chance to yield some great progress. The advantage seems to go to the strong or those with the means to harvest these wily creatures. While the weak seem vulnerable to the flocks above and the schools below. There is one factor of hope for the less strong or those of moderate means and that is timing.

The revealed use of the guiding lights of day four, give direction for when to rest and when to deploy your nets. When to be under cover and when to come out and play in this new world, now dominated by the mobile biters.

Better to be at the right place at the right time with little capability than to be at the wrong place at the wrong time with large capability. For many, during day five, luck appears to rule the day, some seem just lucky to be at the right place at the right time. Others, seemingly well prepared, find themselves simply positioned badly, ending up damaged or even consumed by some biter that no one saw coming.

On the other hand, the combination of a well-placed bit of produce from day three and timing from day four offers the hunter an opportunity for a successful ambush.

Day five is quite a ride, but if you can find some success in day five the sixth day may be very good indeed.

Hat tip again to Jeff Benner for the letter “Hey” .

#10 Day five, Behold the mobile biters

If day four was too boring for you, day five will make up for it. In day five we are about to experience new life in a very active and at times terrifying form.

Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. Genesis 1:20-23

A new life of swarming sea creatures and creatures capable of flight, fill the seas and the skies, showing clearly day five’s rhyme with day two’s creation of space separating water above from water below.

These creatures are not to be taken for granted or simply admired, because unlike the vegetation type life of day three these creatures have very unique capabilities.

Along with having physical bodies designed for travel in their element, water or sky. They have mouths, with teeth, they can bite, communicate with each other and they have brains and thus self-determination. They go where they wish often at very high speeds.

The plant life of day three is the base of their food chain but they also feed on each other and you, if they get a chance.

To survive and prosper in day five one needs good timing. Unlike the vegetation of day three which was immobile and could be harvested when you wished. The birds and fish of day five are a considerable challenge. Capturing them is very difficult and now they are eating the vegetation of day three as well as biting you when they get a chance.

Interestingly, the ecology is self-sustaining, in addition to the food chain, the plants produce the oxygen the birds and fish consume, while they in turn produce carbon dioxide which the plants consume.

The element of time marked by the celestial bodies of day four will now become crucial for any success. As any gathering of this new life will require being at the right place at the right time, with means and a plan

Opportunity in day five is huge, almost unimaginable, but the requirement is good timing and to be equipped to handle some very difficult creatures. Creatures who have the breath of life, a mind for self-determination and a body of flesh which can fly or swim with strength and skill.

If day four was a disappointment, day five will be a challenge, it can be very rewarding or it can be devastating.

I have to add that sitting here in spring of 2014 the above scene certainly reminds me of the business climate since the fall of 2008. All the assumptions that have developed since 1980 are under review and revision. The opportunities are huge so are the dangers.

Note: For this post I owe considerable credit to Jeff Benner and his insights concerning Strong’s #H2416 “chay” and #H5315 “nephesh” usually translated “living creature”. You can find his work at www.ancient-hebrew.org

#9 A New Normal, Transition to the second set of three.

The transition from day three, to day four is a disappointment for the logical thinker. We noted how everything suddenly made logical sense in day three when water, light, air and bare ground suddenly yielded the new life of vegetation. For the naturalist the hope is that we have turned a corner and the logical growth of our enterprise will continue. Having suffered through day one and day two he grasps the results of day three as proof of better days ahead.

In day four however things on earth see no improvement at all and instead new lights appear in the sky overhead. The naturalist has run into a day that is all about setting standards. Most importantly standards of time. Long term, the benefits of this day will become evident, but in the moment, day four is a disappointment for anyone seeking a continuation or improvement on the first set of three days.

Indeed day four is the beginning of its own set of three days and in many respects just as the light of day one exposed chaos and signaled that order was about to begin, so also the lights of day four signal an opportunity to order, the most difficult concept of time.

The element of time in our world is a mystery, more often, simply accepted than explored. More often taken for granted as normal, than thought of as extraordinary. In order to harness this component of our lives, we moderns have created a calendar which, using mathematical dates, simply moves forward in a steady march, adding one day to the next, one month to the next and one year to the next.

We barely think of the celestial bodies as time setters and it seldom occurs to us that in some way, we may have lived this day before or that history may have clues for us based on the rhythms of the celestial time setters. Therefore we miss many opportunities for new beginnings and sound endings. As a result our transitions in life are chaotic, halfhearted and often forced due to circumstance.

And no wonder since by the end of day four our natural eyes have seen one day, “day three” in which new life has been evidenced. Three of four have been seemingly sterile or inert. Our patience continues to be tested. It’s obvious now that day one and two where necessary for the new life of day three. Day four returns us to testing mode and requires more grit and determination.  As our story develops it will also become obvious, that the time setters of day four will also be of great value.

We are about to experience life very unlike the life we were so happy about back in day three. Day four is a time to set standards and consider the times, look back over previous cycles and set out on a new or maybe altered path. Like day one it’s a new beginning and we will need all our tools and resources for success when day five is revealed.

#8 Day Four

Signs for appointed times,

This may be my most important post to date. The ideas expressed in these next few paragraphs are hard won. Yet the journey to acquire these insights have been so remarkable that I would not change a thing.

Day four begins a new series of three and as such, it has more in common or “unity” with day one than it does with the day that proceeded it. Indeed the transition from the third to the fourth day can be most counter intuitive. I will discuss that transition next week

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for *seasons* and for days and years; ¹⁵ and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. ¹⁷ God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.¹⁹ There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. Genesis 1:14-19 NASB

The writer shows us that these celestial bodies have two purposes the first of which is “as signs for seasons, and for days and years” the secondary purpose, apparently, is “to give light on the earth”. The writer goes on to speak of the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. Much more is going on here than simply providing light.

From this day forward it will be the sun and the moon which will be used to explain the meaning of time and to identify important times to those of us in on the revelation.  

The writer shows the lights in the heavens as created beings, not eternal. He does this by recording that they are created on the fourth day. In other words they have a beginning and as modern researchers now know, they also have an end. This is a very passive aggressive way to demonstrate that the ancient pagan practice of worship of the sun, moon and stars is meaningless and without merit.

Therefore we are subtly warned that these lights above are not gods, but we are to pay attention to them, because it is by their guidance, in collaboration with the revealed, that we will be able to identify important elements of time including days and years.

But notice the phrase “for signs for seasons” in verse 14, the word translated “seasons” is the Hebrew word “mow’ed”, Strongs number H4150.

The word mow’ed is best translated appointment or appointed time. In other words the sun and moon will be used to guide us to specific moments in time. 

This is the purpose of this entire study, to coordinate our efforts with the Creator’s timing. But what times you may ask?

If you recall in my introductory piece I mentioned the Biblical Feast of Tabernacles and its significance concerning the release of debts in the seventh year according to Deuteronomy 31:10 and the role it played in identifying this pattern.

Take a look at Leviticus 23 verse 2 from the New American Standard.

 “The Lord’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:” Twice in this verse the term “appointed times” is used, both clearly defined as God’s appointed times, both Strong’s H4150 “mow’ed”

Leviticus 23 goes on to define, by use of days and moons many “mow’ed” including the 8 days that start on the 15^th day of the seventh moon which is the appointed time of Tabernacles. As a matter of fact Leviticus 23 lays out its appointed times in the period of 7 lunar cycles. Here is likely one more place to gain insight, concerning the pattern of seven built in to creation.

Our modern calendars are designed to take us away from the appointed times as proscribed by the celestial bodies of day four, but to find our Creator’s appointments and rhythms we will need to return to a calendar governed by the sun and moon.

The celestial lights do us no good on their own but joined to the biblical revelation they set us up to be in time with the rhythms of the Creator and his creation. Used properly they will enhance our work and our rest.

Concerning day four itself, while it has no new life in it, as day three had and may feel like a useless day to the naturalist. It is actually a profoundly important moment, when a whole new standard is being set. Be careful what you do on day four, as it will set the standard for many days to come. Even more importantly, figure out how to put your life in rhythm of the “mow’eds” of Leviticus 23. After all if our creator has appointed times with his people, I can’t imagine anyone would want to miss them.

# 7 Transition from Day Two to Day Three.

Imagine the Natural observer at the end of day two. He has made one of two choices during the overwhelming disarray that has come to light, either he has given up or he has tried to fight through to, what he hopes will be, better times.

If he has given up, then if he survives at all, he will be in hunter-gather mode when the new life of day three emerges.  His garden will certainly not have clean rows of valuable produce but he may find some remnants of previous care taking.  

However consider the Naturalist who has worked through the entire period of chaos. The light of day one gave him some hope that a better day may be around the corner. However that light faded into a long night of doubts, if his determination survived the night, the light returned on day two renewing hope.  Alas, day two only yielded some space or an opening a-midst the water which still swirls above and below. Now the light fades again as, day two draws to a close, he faces what he suspects is another long night.

At this point our hard working Naturalist is in danger from his own hand, exhausted from the stress and doubt as well as the physical labor, his temptations are appeasement, capitulation and irresponsibility. Can he find within himself the strength to endure another long night or will he be so psychologically damaged that he makes a self-damaging decision.

As the light dawns on day three the doubts are huge. The real question is, can one endure without the revealed knowledge that, there is life in day three?

How much more, will a individual work hard and take chances in day one and two and how much more cheerfully and steadfastly can a person endure day one, day two and the early dark hours of day three if he understands the whole revelation of the first three days of Creation.