Shabbat Midrash (Teaching) Outlines

• In last week’s portion, Vayera, we saw how the relationship between Avraham and Yitzchak (Isaac) foreshadowed the relationship between the Heavenly Father and Yeshua.
• We also saw how Yitzchak’s plight up the mountain carrying the wood on his back was symbolic of Yeshua’s sacrifice on the cross.
• In this week’s portion we will see how Avraham’s servant, Eliezar, is a type and shadow of the Ruach HaChodesh (Holy Spirit) as he seeks a bride for Yitzchak (Son of Promise) (Yeshua).

• Can you imagine the relief and joy that Avraham felt when he heard the voice of the malach (angel) instructing him to put the knife down. His only son, Yitzchak, was spared!
• We do not see Yitzchak again until his bride is revealed; the Son of Promise returns to the tent (tabernacle) and awaits her selection based on the qualifications set forth by Avraham (Heavenly Father).
• Avraham’s emotional high is short-lived. While still on Mt. Moriah he hears of the death of Sarah, his wife. She had lived to be 127 years old, the matriarch of the Hebrew people. The sages tell us that when she heard of Yitzchak’s binding and his imminent sacrifice, it was just too much for her to bear.
• After his period of grieving, Avraham purchases a place for Sarah’s burial from Efron the Hittite. He chose the field of Machpelah near Mamre (at Hebron) because it was Sarah’s favorite spot. There was a cave there known as the “Cave of Couples”. Adam and Eve were buried there. Soon Avraham would join Sarah there and then Isaac and Rebecca.

• Yitzchak was 37 years old when Sarah died. Avraham is not getting any younger himself and it was the duty of a Jewish father to provide a bride for his son. Remember from last week, we said that it was the duty of the father to see to the rite of circumcision. By doing this, the father made sure that the seed produced passed through the mark of the covenant.
• Avraham chose his eldest and most trusted servant, Eliezar, for the delicate task of finding a bride for Yitzchak
• Avraham had Eliezar swear by an oath not to choose a bride from among the Canaanites, but from his own relatives, specifically his brother Nahor.
• The oath was performed by placing the hand under the thigh of the one you are making the oath to. The thigh is in close proximity to the reproductive organs and represents the seed of that person. If the oath is broken or violated, then the issued children from that seed would avenge the act of disloyalty.
• So, what was it about the Canaanites that made joining them in a covenant so distasteful to Avraham?

1) All Canaanites are descendents of Ham. Ham shamed his father, Noach, which brought the curse upon Canaan, Ham’s son.

2) When Efron the Hittite brokered the deal with Avraham for the land to bury Sarah, he was more interested in making money that in helping people (the love of money is the root of all evil).

3) In Leviticus 18:24-30, scripture tells us how the Canaanites defiled the land through sexual abominations and sacrificing their children for the sake of their own lusts.

4) The Canaanite kings took on names like Adonai Tzedek, which means ‘Lord of Righteousness’. This was to make them sound like G-d’s people, but their behavior proved otherwise.

• Eliezar gathers 10 camels from the herd of his master and loads them with precious gifts for the prospective bride and her family. He sets out on a 500 mile journey to Aram Haharaim (Mesopotamia).
• Miraculously, Eliezar arrives by evening at the town of Nahor, just as the women from the town came to draw water.
• Eliezar thanks Yahweh for a safe journey and prays for a bride for Yitzchak. He prays specifically that the right choice for his master’s son would say, “Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink (Genesis 24:14).
• Even before he had finished praying, Rebekah (Rivka) came out with her water pitcher on her shoulder. The scripture tells us that she was “fair in appearance.”
• Eliezar approached her and asked for a drink. Rivka not only lowered her pitcher and gave Eliezar a drink, but also offered to water his camels. Eliezar must have been astonished that he was successful on the first encounter! Each camel could consume about 30 gallons of water, so we are talking about 300 gallons that Rivka would have to draw.
• Even though Eliezar must have been really excited at Rivka’s response, he exercises caution until he checks out her family lineage and her desirable traits.
• Eliezar stood by and watched Rivka draw all that water for his camels and checked out her attitude. He concluded that she offered this service from her heart with no motive for reward for her hard work.
• We need to do a self-exam on ourselves in the area of servanthood. Do we give unselfishly to others in our family, neighborhood, or even with perfect strangers?
• Rivka’s evangelism was in her act of hospitality and service which was part of her everyday life. Her testimony was a huge witness that elevated her to a whole new life.
• We should apply this principle to our study of G-d’s Word as it says in II Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to Yahweh as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the Word of Truth.”

• Rivka was obviously accustomed to drawing from the well of “living water.” This well represented the Living Word. Wells are pictures of salvation and grace. It was a source of strength and life to her and she offered this life giving source to others…with no conditions attached…it was a free gift! Rebecca was brought up to delight in her service and do it with joy and obedience. There in lies the heart of Torah and the heart of Rebecca.
• The 10 camels represent the Word of Yahweh; the Torah summed up by the 10 Commandments. The camels also represent the 10 tribes of Israel who had assimilated into the nations being called back to life into the Living Word of Torah
• The Word of G-d takes the servant of G-d to the Bride and the Word of G-d will bring the Bride to her Bridegroom.
• Only after all the camels had finished drinking did Eliezar reveal his true mission and identity. He first placed gifts on Rivka; a golden nose ring and two gold bracelets.
• With these gifts, Eliezar represented the Ruach HaChodesh (Holy Spirit). When we come and surrender and commit our lives to Yahweh and He becomes the Master of our lives, He bestows upon us Gifts of the Spirit
• The two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels, one for each arm, represent the two houses of Israel that will come from the seed of Avraham. The ten shekels represent the ten tribes returning, not lost, but returning to Torah. The two bracelets also represent the two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of G-d, which will later be inscribed on the heart of the Bride of the Messiah.
• Eliezar asks, “Whose daughter are you?” Rebecca reveals her identity to Eliezar and confirms that she is the granddaughter of Milcha and Nahor and her father is Bethuel, relatives of Avraham. Eliezar breathes another sigh of relief!
• Eliezar asks permission to stay the night. He explains his mission to Rivka’s family and distributes gifts. Afterwards, Rivka’s father and brother give permission for her to go with Elizer.
• The next morning Eliezar is ready to leave. Rivka’s parents ask her if she will go and she says “yes”. The journey ahead is through the wilderness and by faith she puts her life in Eliezar’s care. The Bride of Yeshua (Rivka) must be willing to trust the Ruach HaChodesh (Eliezar) to bring her through the wilderness in order to meet the Bridegroom (Yeshua).

• We have not seen Yitzchak since he became a “living sacrifice” on Mount Moriah. Three years have passed and he has been preparing a place for his bride. In John 14:2, Yeshua said, “In my Father’s house are many dwellings; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” In Matthew 23:29 Yeshua said, “For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, “Baruch ha ba B’shem Adonai” (Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahweh).
• We find Yitzchak in the field one evening meditating and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. Rebecca also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel and asked Eliezar, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” He replied, “He is my master.” Rebecca took her veil and covered herself.
• Isaac, the bridegroom, is the one who will remove Rebecca’s veil. Our Bridegroom, Yeshua removed the veil at the Temple when He died. The veil was rent from top to bottom by the power of the shedding of His blood! Yeshua will also be the one who will remove the veil from the hearts of His Bride when the Bride draws close to the Bridegroom.
• I urge all of you to make yourself ready by keeping the Word of G-d in your heart, walking faithfully in His ways, and being obedient to His instructions (Torah)!

posted by Chris Phillips, Congregational Leader  # 11/25/2005

• At the beginning of this portion, we find Avraham with his tent pitched near the oaks of Mamre.
• He is seated in the door of his tent in the heat of the day poised to offer whatever comfort he could to any traveler who passed by. This mitzvot is known as Hachnasat Orchim (hospitality).
• This was the third day after his circumcision when he was in great pain and yet he put the needs of others before his own.
• Yahweh (G-d) decides to pay a visit to Avraham. This mitzvot is known as Bikur Cholim (visiting the sick).
• Yah (G-d) sees how Avraham yearn for guests, so he sends three malachim (angels) dressed in shepherd’s clothing to pass by his tent.
• Avraham gets really excited at the prospect of guests and invites the three “men” to stay for a meal.
• Avraham sends one of his servants to fetch water for the visitors to wash their feet (Jewish custom).
• While his guests are resting under a tree, Avraham instructs Sarai to prepare and serve them a meal.
• The three malachim (angels) each have a mission:

1) Malach Raphael, the healer, has been sent to take away Avraham’s pain. As soon as he drew near to Avraham, the pain from his circumcision was a mere memory.

2) Malach Michoel’s mission was to deliver the news to Avraham that he has waited to hear most of his life; next year, at this time, Sarai will give birth to a son. Avraham received the news with solemn faith. (When Yah sends a messenger to do his will, the messenger literally manifests HIS presence. In John 8:39, 40, the scripture tells us that Avraham received the messengers and showed them respect and received their word from G-D.)

Sarai, on the other hand, couldn’t help but give a little chuckle when she overhears the announcement. Her response is based strictly in the natural. After all, she is 90 years old, well past child bearing age. Yahweh is displeased because Sarai should have based her reaction in the spiritual; realizing that the G-d of all creation was certainly capable of making good on His promise. Contrast Sarai’s reaction to the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4:16 when Elisha foretells the birth of her son, only to have him die in her lap a few years later. The Shunammite woman responded by going immediately to Elisha because she reasoned that if Yahweh defied His rules of nature to bless her with a son, He could likewise defy them and return her son to life by way of another miracle. When her sudden tragedy occurred, she saw in it the perfect opportunity to put her faith into practice. We should learn from this story that we should not have to wait for a tragedy in our lives to practice our faith in our daily lives.

3) Malach Gavriel’s mission was to destroy the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, but not before Malach Raphael rescues Lot and his family from certain death.

Yitzchak and Yisma’el

• The two sons of Avraham teach us a great deal about how Yah’s covenants work;

( Just a reminder: Israel became a nation in 1948. Avraham was born 1,948 years from the Day of Creation. Yitzchak , the Son of Promise, was born 2,048 years from the Day of Creation).

• Although not the child of promise, Yishma’el is Avraham’s son also.
• According to Jewish custom, he was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. From a physical standpoint, the clotting factor for a male child is very high on this day. From a spiritual standpoint, the eighth day represents new beginnings.
• So why wasn’t Yishma’el able to stand before Yahweh as Avraham asked in B’resheet (Genesis) 17:18?
• Because Yishma’el, on every level, represents the striving of the flesh and the works of man.
• When Yah promised Avraham and Sarai a son, His intention was for Sarai to be the mother.
• Avraham and Sarai; however, tried to bring the promise of Yah into fruition on their own.
• Even though Yishma’el was circumcised, this did not keep him from being turned out of Avraham’s house. Yeshua makes reference to this in Matthew 7:21 when He says that not everyone that calls him L-rd, L-rd will enter the Kingdom. The works of the flesh do not earn you salvation, only trusting in Yeshua as your Savior.
• Another example is when Sha’ul (Paul) quotes Sarai in Galatians when she says that a slave’s son will not inherit along with her own son. Sha’ul goes on to build on the idea that circumcision as a means of righteousness is a purely human endeavor that does not grant salvation.
• Sha’ul’s whole point here, using Yishma’el as an example, is that the striving of the flesh cannot earn one’s salvation, only Yahweh can give that gift through Yeshua Ha-Meshiach.

Servant vs. Son

• Sha’ul goes on to compare the Covenant at Sinai, which makes one a servant of Yah, to the Renewed Covenant, which makes one a son of Yah.
• Isn’t it a good thing to want to be a servant of Yah?
• A servant who serves his master out of fear or only because he wants a reward should be considered inferior to the Good Son (Yeshua), who is not only the seed of His Father, but also a servant to His Father. The Good Son serves out of love and respect.
• What about Yitzchak (Isaac)? We need to understand that Yitzchak is symbolic of Yeshua on a deep level and his sacrifice foreshadows the sacrifice of Yeshua

Foreshadowing the Father

• Avraham often foreshadows Yahweh in the role of The Father; and, in this portion of scripture Avraham’s household represents Yah’s children.
• A great example of the role of the Father is found in the rite of circumcision mentioned previously and found in B’resheet (Genesis 17:9-14).
• The obligation to fulfill the commandment to be circumcised falls on the father ( no pun intended!).
• He must make sure that his children are circumcised on the eighth day.
• The eighth day in Hebrew thought represents new beginnings, starting over.
• How does this show us Avraham in the role of the Father in Heaven?
• Just as Yah tells Avraham that he is personally responsible for making sure that his house has been circumcised, Yah tells us in D’varim (Deuteronomy) 30:6 that He will circumcise our hearts Himself.
• In other words, The Father of the House makes sure that this commandment gets done for all His children, meaning us! Hallelujah!
• This point should remind us of Yeshua’s words when He urges us to turn and become as little children.
• Also, Avraham represents the Father circumcising children who are helpless babes before Him.
• The circumcision of the flesh represents the circumcision of the heart, which is a spiritual alteration where the worldly desires are cut away.
• In summation, Avraham foreshadows G-d the Father who circumcises His children in their helplessness, bringing them into new beginnings!

Now let’s look at the interaction between Avraham and Yitzchak to see how they foreshadow Yeshua’s death and resurrection.

Foreshadowing the Son of Promise

• The 22nd chapter of B’resheet (Genesis) is often referred to as the “Binding of Isaac” (called Agedah in Hebrew).
• Isaac is bound on the altar, and his own father is raising the knife to slaughter him when the messenger of Yah (a malach (angel) stops him pointing out that Avraham has proven himself and that he should now sacrifice the ram, which he now sees caught in the thorn bushes by its horns).
• There is much more going on here than Avraham proving his faithfulness to Yah’s will, no matter the price.
• First, there is the location. It is known that this is the same mountain where, centuries later, the Altar would be built by King David and the Temple by his son Solomon.
• Second, Avraham mentions in verse 8 that Yah will provide a lamb and yet a ram is eventually offered up. What happened to the lamb?
• Yitzchak represented that lamb, but the ram was given in his place.
• The Lamb was Yeshua, and for a very long time the people of Yah were waiting for the Lamb to appear to them, when finally, in John 1:29, Yochanan The Immerser (John the Baptist) exclaimed: “Look! G-d’s Lamb! The One who is taking away the sins of the world!”
• Avraham and Yitzchak walked in union when they ascended onto the mountain to worship, just as Yeshua repeatedly says that He and the Father are One.
• The scripture says twice in Genesis 22:6 and 22:8 that “the two walked together”.
• The prophet Amos asked “Do two walk together unless they are in agreement?”
• Yitzchak knew and understood that he was to be the sacrifice, yet he went on in union with his father.
• Avraham believed that Yah would fulfill His promise that through the son Sarai bore would come kings and nations even though Yah’s request of Avraham to sacrifice Yitzchak seemed to contradict the promise.
• In other words, if Yitzchak died, then Yah would bring him back to life.

This foreshadowed the death and resurrection of Yeshua.

• When Avraham says in Genesis 22:5, “I and the boy will go there, worship, and return”, Avraham was merely stating his belief in Yahweh.
• These events are a type and shadow of the Father sacrificing His Son Yeshua. Our Messiah always walked in union with His Father, even to the point of his own death, much as Yitzchak walked with his father because he knew that He would be raised.
• We learn from this the principle that “obedience is better that sacrifice”.
• Avraham trusted and was faithful to something he hadn’t seen with his own eyes, and Yah blessed him for this. John 20:29 tells us “How blessed are those who have not seen and trust anyway.”

posted by Chris Phillips, Congregational Leader  # 11/18/2005

• Yisrael (Israel) became a nation in the year 1948. Avraham (Abraham), the father of the Jewish people, was born 1,948 years after creation. Tell me numbers are not important to Yah’s (G-d’s) plan for all mankind!
• Why Avraham? We can understand why Yah chose Noach from last week’s teaching:

1) Noach was righteous

2) Noach was whole-hearted (toward Yah)

3) Noach walked with Yah (G-d)

• Avraham’s father, Terach, was not only an idol worshipper (Joshua), but research has shown that he was an idol maker.
• With such closeness to idolatry, Avraham came to see the falseness first hand. This led him to the realization that there was only one G-d. There are many stories in Jewish history that recount Avraham breaking the idols that his father made.
• The ground work had already been laid for Avraham because of the rift with his father.
• When Yah told Avraham, “Get yourself out of your country, away from your kinsmen, and away from your father’s house”, Avraham was willing and ready to obey.
• Let’s look at what exactly Avraham is being asked to leave behind and what that would mean to him, or more importantly, to us:
• First, his land
• “Your” is used to show possession here. Avraham might not have otherwise left if Yah had not requested him to leave.
• The culture Avraham left represented a system that was entirely counter to the will of Yah (G-d).
• Like Egypt at the time of the Exodus, people have to come out of the system in order for Yah to do his work!
• If people are not willing to leave, then maybe they are not fit to enter the Kingdom of Yah. Disobedience is what caused man’s downfall from the beginning.
• Avraham was asked to leave a physical location and take a journey to an unknown destination.
• Today, we are asked to leave a spiritual location and take a journey to a promised destination.
• Secondly, his kinsmen
• Avraham not only left his homeland, but he also separated himself from those in his family who would not follow him after Yah revealed himself to Avraham.
• Unfortunately, several members of Avraham’s family had become wealthy (in worldly terms) and they had got caught up in idol worship. Sound like anyone you know?
• Thirdly, his father’s house
• Avraham’s father journeyed as far as Haran (meaning: a dry place) with the family. They dwelled there for several years before Avraham got his call from Yah.
• From Haran, Avraham and Lot (his nephew) set out for Cana’an.
• What does this mean to you and me?
• Three things that stand in the way of answering the call of Yah in our lives are:

1) Country

2) Culture

3) Family

• Concerning country: The people of Yah (G-d) will inherit The Land, Eretz (land of) Israel, not America.
• Concerning culture: American culture on every level runs counter to the teachings of Torah and the Renewed Covenant.
• Example: American Christian holidays are immersed in paganism and commercialism and very much at odds with the teachings of Yeshua (Jesus).
• Concerning family: Many people who have come into Torah will tell a similar story: When they learned the true origins of Christmas, Easter, and Halloween and decided not to celebrate them anymore, preferring instead Pesach and the Festivals of the L-rd, a huge rift opened up between them and their families.
• Matt 10:37 says, “He that loves his father or mother above me is not worthy of me, and he that loves a son or daughter above me is not worthy of me.”
• Avraham chose Yah over family several times; what makes us any different from him?
• When Yah’s word asks us to give up things we’ve been doing all our lives in exchange for things HE is showing us, things that will cause division between us and our culture, people we grew up with, and our families, we are being asked to make the same decisions that Avraham did.
• In other words, YOU MUST BE WILLING TO LEAVE YOUR PAGAN ROOTS IN ORDER TO DISCOVER YOUR JEWISH ROOTS!

Building Altars and Digging Wells

• Altars and wells are references to two forms of love and service that correspond to the scriptural adjuration to love the L-rd with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself.
• An altar represents developing a relationship with Yah and giving the best of one’s self to His service.
• Digging a well shows service to our fellow man and represents the gift of water (life) to a brother or sister.
• We see in G-d’s Word Yitzchak (Isaac) digging wells and his adversaries continually trying to fill them in.
• Those who are opposed to water (life) are doing the work of our adversary, HaSatan (Satan). The well that HaSatan wants to fill in more that any other is that well of Living Water that flows from the innermost being of those of us who put our trust in Yeshua our Messiah.

The Famine

• Genesis 12:10: “And there was a famine in the land and Avraham descended to Egypt because the famine was severe in the land”.
• This was the third global famine to strike the earth in its early years since creation.
• The first was in the time of Adam. Food was in short supply because the ground was cursed; it was only bringing forth thorns and thistles (until Noach came and brought “rest”).
• There was a second famine in the time of Lamech (Noach’s father).
• The third occurs at the time of Lech Lecha.
• The tenth and final famine will not be a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Yah (G-d). (Amos 8:11)
• Today we are so famished for Yah’s word that we are often satisfied with the “scraps”.
• We have been starving for so long that we have forgotten what it is like to be “full”.
• Torah is too vast and time is too short to be satisfied with so little.
• We need to stay at the table and literally “gorge” ourselves until we are filled to overflowing; then go out and share our fullness with others that are starving.

AMEN!

posted by Chris Phillips, Congregational Leader  # 11/11/2005

• Noach was the son of Lamech, the grandson of Hanuk. There were 10 generations from Adam to Noach
• Yah told Abraham that He would not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if He could find 10 righteous people there.
• Repentence was preached throughout the generations from Adam to Noach. Noach listened to his grandfather, Hanuk whose name means learning obedience.
• Soon we will be celebrating Chanukah, the Festival of Lights. If we are obeying Yah and His Torah, we will be walking in the Light as He is in the Light.
• Noach means rest – the kind of rest that we experience on Shabbat- rest from our wrestling with the things of the world.
• Noach’s name is spelled with the two Hebrew letters chet and nun
• When they are read from right to left they spell rest.
• When spelled backwards they mean hen (grace).
• What is true grace? You can’t get true Noach (rest) unless you have found hen (grace).
• Don’t be deceived into believing, like many today, that grace is some leafy covering that entitles you to do whatever and not have to pay the penalty for it.
• Hen (grace) in the Hebrew is the ability and the desire to do Yah’s will.
• It is a willingness and a desire to walk in obedience (Hanuk) to Torah.
• Some say, “Well, Yeshua already covered that base for me, so I don’t have to do anything”. This is the language of a perverted generation that focuses on I,I,I,me,me,me - I will do what is right in my own eyes.
• You are still required to do the will of the Father by the grace (hen) that is freely given to you to accomplish it.
• The Torah mentions Noach’s offspring, but it does not immediately talk a whole lot about them. The Hebrew concept of offspring looks at the spiritual, then the natural.
• Noach’s spiritual offspring were:

Righteousness

Whole-heartedness

Uprightness before Yah

• Religious tradition teaches us that we get baptized and then we are pure. The story of Noach teaches us that the flood represents baptism, but if we read carefully it says that Noach was pure before the flood. The flood did not change his purity. Our thinking is backwards when it comes to Yah’s ways.
• Often we have heard that we should “walk in the spirit” and not in the flesh. What does that mean? Walking in the spirit means doing those things that are meaningful for eternity and not those things that are of a temporal nature. If we examine our daily walking from this angle, we will begin to get a different perspective about the things that occupy our time.
• “They shall walk and not faint - fainting means to fall away from what we are instructed to do in the Torah.
• The daily walk is the most difficult. It is easy sometimes to give in to the fleshly desire and give up.
• But those who wait upon Yah, His timing, His grace (hen) shall renew their strength.
• When the name YHVH is used in the Torah, it refers to his mercy - when the name Elohim is used, it refers to his judgement- when the Torah speaks about Yah destroying mankind, YHVH is used - that was Yah’s mercy, but we think of it as judgement. Again, this proves that our thinking is backwards when it comes to Yah’s ways.
• In western thought, law is something that is in place to keep you from doing what you would really like to do. Our concept of judgement is what happens when you break the law - the judge socks it to you and so, we have a negative view of judgement.
• In the Hebrew concept, the Law, or Torah, is instruction in order to give you life so that you keep from being destroyed.
• Judgement is Yah upholding the righteous - the judge upholds righteousness by putting everything right. Judgement in the Hebrew concept is a good thing.
• If you are living a life according to Torah, you won’t dread judgement, you will welcome it. Yah is coming in judgement and its merciful, otherwise this place would be destroyed because of the sin.
• Gen 7:12 - It rained on Ha’aretz for 40 days and 40 nights.
• Verse 17- the flood was on the ha’aretz for 40 days. This is not the same thing. The inhabitants of the Ha’aretz had 40 days to repent before Yah before they were destroyed –THEY DIDN’T!!
• The scripture tells us that “If we confess our sins, HE is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.
• In our day you can show religious folks what the Torah says and you would think they would want to repent of the lies and wrong teachings that we have inherited. But the prevailing attitude is “God will have to change, not me!”
• Prior to the flood, and ark is built.
• After the flood, a tower is built (Babel).
• The Ark is an image of Messiah. In Him is our salvation. The Ark was G-d’s idea and was made from a living thing.
• The Tower was man’s idea and was made from bricks, a dead thing.

• The ark was built by one person - the tower was built by many
• The ark was moveable , built in obedience. The tower was stationary - built in rebellion.
• The ark ends in salvation - the tower ends in confusion.
• The ark was built by faith - the tower was built by defiance/fear
• The ark was built in humility - the tower was built in pride.
• The ark had a vision of the future - the tower looked to the past.
• The ark was completed - the tower was never completed.
• The ark was Yah’s way - the tower was man’s way.
• The tower represents the religious system. Man came up with his own form of salvation. Man’s form of salvation is NEVER ENOUGH!! Yah’s way is always sufficient.
• The tower was built in Nimrod’s time – the founder of sun-worship - justification through our own way’s, not Yah’s.
• Today’s religion says we can’t walk in obedience so we will walk in defiance - after all, Yah gave us grace (hen) so we could defy Him.
• Yah tells us that we can walk in HIS ways - you can, but it is going to cause you problems. If you go the route of organized religion, you won’t encounter these problems – you will be accepted by the many - the remnant will be accepted by the few…like Noach…but who was spared and who received salvation?
• Colossians 2:8-10

posted by Chris Phillips, Congregational Leader  # 11/04/2005